Thursday Afternoon on the Lake 

Jesus was well aware that his apostles were not fully understanding his teachings. He decided to give special instructions to Peter, James, and John in the hopes that they would be able to clarify the ideas of their associates. He observed that the twelve were grasping some aspects of the concept of a spiritual kingdom, but they insisted on attaching these new spiritual teachings directly to their old and entrenched literal concepts of the kingdom of heaven as the restoration of David's throne and the re-establishment of Israel as a temporal power on earth.

As a result, on Thursday afternoon, January 16, 27 CE, Jesus left the shore in a boat with Peter, James, and John to conduct a four-hour teaching conference that included many questions and answers.

One of the topics Jesus discussed with the three apostles was doing the Father's will. He emphasized that trusting in the heavenly Father's care was not blind and passive fatalism. He quoted an old Hebrew proverb: "He who will not work shall not eat." He cited his own experience as adequate commentary on his teachings. At the same time, his teachings on trusting the Father should not be judged by the social or economic conditions of today or any other era. His instruction encompasses the ideal principles of living near God throughout all ages.

Jesus encouraged his apostles to use prudence and foresight while discouraging them from experiencing anxiety and worry. He taught active and alert obedience to God's will. In response to their questions about frugality and thriftiness, he simply referred to his life as a carpenter, boatmaker, and fisherman, as well as his meticulous organization of the twelve. He sought to make it clear that the world is not an enemy; rather, life's circumstances are a divine dispensation that works alongside God's children.

Jesus had a difficult time convincing them of his personal practice of nonviolence. He refused to defend himself, and the apostles assumed he would be pleased if they followed suit. He taught them not to resist evil and not to fight injustice or injury, but he also did not teach passive acceptance of wrongdoing. He made it clear that he supported social punishment for evildoers and criminals and the use of force by civil governments to maintain social order and carry out justice.

He never stopped warning his disciples about the evil practice of retaliation; he had no tolerance for vengeance or the desire to get even. He deplored holding grudges. He rejected the concept of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." He rejected the entire concept of private and personal vengeance, delegating these matters to civil government on the one hand and God's judgment on the other. He made it clear to the three that his teachings applied to individuals rather than the state. He summarized his previous instructions on these matters as follows:

1. Love your enemies and remember the moral claims of human brotherhood.
2. Evil is futile: Vengeance cannot right a wrong. Do not make the mistake of confronting evil with its own weapons.
3. Have faith – believe in the ultimate triumph of divine justice and eternal goodness.

Jesus warned his apostles to be discreet in their remarks about the strained relations that existed at the time between the Jewish people and the Roman government; he prohibited them from becoming involved in these difficulties. He was always careful to avoid his adversaries' political traps, responding, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." He refused to be distracted from his mission of establishing a new way of salvation; he would not allow himself to be concerned with anything else. In his personal life, he strictly adhered to all civil laws and regulations; however, in all of his public teachings, he ignored civic, social, and economic issues. He informed the three apostles that he was only concerned with the principles of human's inner and personal spiritual lives.

Jesus was not a political reformer. He did not come to reorganize the world; even if he had, it would have been limited to that day and generation. Nonetheless, he demonstrated the best way to live, and no generation is exempt from the task of determining how to best adapt Jesus' life to its own problems.

The Jewish rabbis had long debated the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus came to present the concept of active and spontaneous kindness, a genuine love for one's fellows that extended the neighborhood to include the entire world, making all people one's neighbors. Despite all of this, Jesus was only interested in the individual, not the masses. Jesus was not a sociologist, but he worked to eliminate all forms of selfish isolation. He taught sympathy and compassion.

Jesus did not say that one should never entertain their friends at meals, but he did say that his disciples should host feasts for the poor and the unfortunate. Jesus had a strong sense of justice, but it was always balanced with mercy. The closest he got to making sociological pronouncements was saying, "Judge not, that you be not judged."

He stated clearly that indiscriminate kindness can be blamed for a wide range of social evils. Jesus instructed that no apostolic funds would be distributed as alms except upon his request or the joint petition of two of the apostles. In all of these matters, Jesus would say, "Be as wise as serpents, but as harmless as doves." His goal in all social situations was to instill patience, tolerance, and forgiveness.

The family was central to Jesus' philosophy of life, both now and in the future. He centered his teachings about God on the family, attempting to correct the Jewish tendency to overvalue ancestors. He praised family life as the highest human duty, but emphasized that family relationships should not interfere with religious obligations. He emphasized that the family is a temporal institution that does not exist after death. When his family refused to obey the Father's will, Jesus did not hesitate to give them up. Divorce was common in Palestine and the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. He repeatedly refused to establish laws governing marriage and divorce, but many of Jesus' early followers held strong views on divorce and were quick to attribute them to him.

Jesus worked, lived, and traded in the world as he discovered it. He was not an economic reformer, but he frequently pointed out the injustice of unequal wealth distribution. However, he made no suggestions for a remedy. He made it clear to the three that, while his apostles were not to own property, he was not preaching against wealth and property, but rather about its unequal and unfair distribution. He recognized the importance of social justice and industrial fairness, but provided no guidelines for achieving them. He only taught his twelve apostles to avoid earthly possessions.

Jesus frequently warned his audience against covetousness, saying that "a man's happiness consists not in the abundance of his material possessions." He kept saying, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" He made no direct attack on property ownership, but he did insist that spiritual values always take precedence. In his later teachings, he attempted to correct many erroneous views of life by narrating numerous parables that he delivered during his public ministry. Jesus never intended to develop economic theories; he was well aware that each generation must devise its own solutions to existing problems.

If Jesus were alive today, living his life in the flesh, he would disappoint the vast majority of individuals simply because he would not take sides in current political, social, or economic disputes. He would remain grandly aloof while teaching you how to perfect your inner spiritual life, making you many times more capable of attacking the solution to your purely human problems.

Jesus would make all humans Godlike and then watch sympathetically as these children of God solve their own political, social, and economic problems. He criticized what wealth does to the majority of its devotees, rather than wealth itself. On this Thursday afternoon, Jesus told his associates that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Jesus’ teachings are best understood by examining his life. He lived a perfect life, and his unique teachings can only be understood when this life is visualized in its immediate context. It is his life, not his lessons to the twelve or his sermons to the multitudes, that will most effectively reveal the Father's divine character and loving personality.

Jesus did not criticize the teachings of the Hebrew prophets or Greek moralists. The Master recognized the many good things that these great teachers represented, but he had come to earth to teach something more: "the voluntary conformity of human will to God's will." Jesus did not simply want to create a religious person, a mortal who was entirely preoccupied with religious feelings and driven solely by spiritual impulses. Jesus had extensive experience in the things of this world. The teachings of Jesus in this regard have been grossly perverted and greatly misrepresented throughout the centuries of the Christian era.

People have also misunderstood the Master's meekness and humility. He aimed for superb self-respect. Jesus only advised people to humble themselves so that they could become truly exalted; what he really desired was true humility toward God. He placed a high value on honesty – a pure heart. Fidelity was a cardinal virtue in his assessment of character, and courage was at the heart of his teaching. "Fear not" was his watchword, and patient endurance represented his ideal of character strength. The teachings of Jesus form a religion of valor, courage, and heroism. And this is precisely why he appointed twelve ordinary men as his personal representatives, the vast majority of whom were rugged, virile, and manly fishermen.

Jesus had little to say about the social vices of his day, and he rarely mentioned moral delinquency. He was a positive example of true virtue. He studiously avoided the negative method of instruction and refused to promote evil. He was not a moral reformer. He knew, and taught his apostles, that religious rebuke and legal prohibitions do not suppress the sensual urges of humans. His few condemnations were primarily directed at pride, cruelty, oppression, and hypocrisy.

Jesus knew that many of the scribes and Pharisees had good intentions, and he recognized their enslavement to religious traditions. Jesus placed a strong emphasis on "first making the tree good." He convinced the three apostles that he valued the entire life, not just a few special virtues.