Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Luke Chapter 24
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 24:1-12
24:1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. 24:2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 24:3And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 24:4And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel: 24:5and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 24:6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 24:7saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 24:8And they remembered his words, 24:9and returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. 24:10Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles. 24:11And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them. 24:12But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass.
March 51, 1929: Luke 24:1-12
What is represented by the coming of the women at early dawn to the tomb and finding the stone rolled away? The coming of the women at early dawn to the tomb represents the early awakening of the soul-feminine, through which the body is quickened into life; their finding the stone rolled away indicates that the material concept of the body (represented by the stone) has been taken away.
What is represented by the two men who “stood by them in dazzling apparel”? These two men represent spiritual thoughts of wisdom within the soul, thoughts which understand the resurrecting power of the Word. “He is hot here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Why did not Peter comprehend the act of the resurrection of Jesus Christ’s body? Faith (Peter) functions almost wholly in spiritual consciousness and does not readily comprehend that the body is essentially spiritual and is being raised into the fine essence of spiritual life.
What great truth, as demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus Christ does spiritual understanding reveal to us? The great truth that spiritual understanding reveals to us is that the resurrection of the body from death is not to be confined to Jesus Christ, but that every man, by following the teachings of Jesus Christ, may develop the ability to resurrect his own body.
Does the resurrection of Christ ever take place in man’s consciousness? Yes, every time that man raises his realization of the perpetual indwelling life to the spiritual standard, he is connected with the indwelling Christ. Through the power of the living Word man enters into the realization of a new and higher life activity than that of the physical life.
What immediate effect does this new concept of spiritual life have upon man? This new concept of life raises the atomic vibration of man's organism above the disintegrating thought currents of the earth.
April 21, 1935: Luke 24:1-12
What is eternity? This word signifies timelessness, or in other words, infinite duration, without beginning or end.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Explain this statement. I AM is the Word made flesh, or the divine life principle that is latent in the body, waiting to be called forth to fullness of expression.
To what condition do the words “dead through your trespasses and sins” refer? Until man becomes conscious of eternal life here and now, he is outside the bounds of spiritual consciousness, or “dead through ... trespasses and sins.”
Paul said, “I die daily.” What did he mean? In this statement Paul showed that he habitually denied the reality and dominion of the sense mind, in order to awaken more fully to the mind of Christ.
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 24:13-35
24:13And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. 24:14And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened. 24:15And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 24:16But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 24:17And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad. 24:18And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? 24:19And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:24:20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.24:21But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. 24:22Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb; 24:23and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24:24And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 24:25And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 24:26Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? 24:27And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
24:28And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further. 24:29And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them. 24:30And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. 24:31And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 24:32And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? 24:33And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 24:34saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 24:35And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread.
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 24:36-49
24:36And as they spake these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 24:37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. 24:38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? 24:39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having. 24:40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 24:41And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat? 24:42And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish. 24:43And he took it, and ate before them.
24:44And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. 24:45Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures; 24:46and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; 24:47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 24:48Ye are witnesses of these things. 24:49And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.
June 14, 1931: Luke 24:25-40
To whom are the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus a great mystery? Those who read the Bible in the letter only, and who have no discernment of the power of Spirit to transform the body, regard these achievements of Jesus Christ as mysteries.
To understand the Scriptures truly, what state of mind is necessary? In order to interpret the Scriptures spiritually, it is necessary that the mind have the quality usually called spiritual illumination. In verse 45 of the lesson we read: “Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures.”
Interpreting this lesson in the light of spiritual illumination, what do we understand by the statement in verse 36: “He himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you”? Standing “in the midst of them” represents the Christ presence abiding within the individual. With the Christ presence dominant in consciousness, the mind becomes peaceful and receptive.
When they become aware of the Christ presence, why do the faculties in the outer thought realms sometimes become terrified, as though some abnormal experience were brought to their attention? The mind has not wholly entered into the understanding that the body is being transformed into actual substance and life. The disciples thought that Jesus was dead, and they supposed that He was appearing in the ghostly form in which the spirits of the dead were supposed to come.
Are we to understand that Jesus actually appeared in the same body that was crucified on the cross? The Scriptures plainly state that after His death Jesus raised His body and appeared several times to His disciples and to others who believed in Him, five hundred being present on one occasion.
The body of Jesus Christ, after the resurrection, had acquired new power. In His resurrected body Jesus could appear and disappear, pass through closed doors, and do other things that are impossible to the ordinary physical organism. Why this bodily change? On the cross Jesus eliminated from His body the gross elements that have gradually crept into the body of the race through sin, and His body was restored to the image and likeness of God in which man existed before he fell into material consciousness.
June 14, 1942: Luke 24:33-48
Time and time again before the last journey to Jerusalem Jesus tried to make it clear to the Apostles that He would be put to death and would rise again after three days. Mark tells us that they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him. They came thus to the Crucifixion and passed through it without understanding of what had happened or of what was about to happen.
The beclouded state of mind of the Apostles after the Crucifixion was not strange or exceptional. Many would-be followers of the Christ are in the same state today in regard to the story of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. They do not accept the account as literally true. A well-known minister has said that many of us have just enough belief in a future life to make us dread it. The message of joy and peace that would move believers to ecstasy, if they knew that it applied to life, here and now strikes no responsive chord in their soul, when they are told that it was brought back from beyond death.
Yet it is the same message that Jesus brought to the world in Galilee and elsewhere before the Crucifixion: a message of peace and of the nearness, in fact immanence of the kingdom. Those who can make their faith active and alive know that the Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that life also is infinite and eternal. The Resurrection is true both literally and metaphysically. The power of the Spirit to transform the body has never yet been measured, perhaps never will be.
Whoever is possessed by a desire to know the Truth and express it habitually is in the Christ consciousness. All men are to be saved by gaining knowledge of it and expressing it.
The disciples were to preach “repentance and remission of sins ... unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Jerusalem means “habitation of peace,” and all change for the better must have its beginning in a peaceful state of mind. No sooner is the mind changed from the consciousness of sin to the sinlessness of new life in Christ than remission of sins takes place. Full pardon of “sins” is a complete change of mind. What one drops completely from mind can no longer hamper or weigh down the soul or spirit.
In the material world a person is a witness to anything that he has seen or experienced. In the inner realm everyone is a witness concerning what he understands or knows in his inmost thought to be true because he has experienced it. We become witnesses to the truth of the Christ life, when we become conscious of this life in ourselves and when we live this life in our daily round.
It was only after the peace and joy that came to the disciples, when they knew that Jesus had actually risen from the dead, had rid them of fear and made them conscious of the Holy Spirit within them that their eyes were opened to Jesus Christ’s ministry.
The friends and followers of Jesus were “terrified and affrighted” when Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst after His resurrection. They thought that He was a ghost, and that only the spirit of the dead Jesus was appearing to them. When He showed them His hands and His feet, assuring them that He was a real flesh and bone man, and when He afterwards ate before them, they were able to believe at last that what He had been telling them had actually come to pass.
For years, how many we do not know, Jesus had been training His soul to attain eternal life. He had spent whole nights in prayer, and through the intensity of His devotions had made union with Divine Mind. This union was complete, and His whole being was flooded with spiritual life, power, and substance, and the wisdom to use them in divine order. He thus embodied the divine-body idea, and through it His mortal body was transformed to an immortal body. He accomplished this before the Crucifixion, and knew that His soul, so strengthened, would restore His body no matter how harshly it might be used by destructive men.
Forty days after the Resurrection the body of Jesus was transmuted to a body of thought and mind power. Translated into the universal medium, He is able to help those who fix their thought upon Him and rest their faith in Him.
The Master of life brought with Him from beyond the tomb no new or startling truth. “These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you.” His original teaching was true, and He returned to convince them of its truth and impress it upon them. All the Truth that has been discerned through devotion to the principle of good as the law of life (the law of Moses), all that has been discerned through the sequence of cause and effect (the Prophets), all that is learned by experience in prayer and praise (the Psalms), is concentrated in the Christ Spirit and finds fulfillment there. Jesus Christ's commission to His disciples was that they should carry on His work of leading men into an understanding of Truth. To this end He “opened . . . their mind” to understand the Truth that had already been discerned and recorded in the Scriptures. This truth had behind it the authority of long acceptance and would have greater weight with the hearers of the disciples than new truth originally uttered.
June 17, 1945: Luke 24:44-47
Are the things that are written “in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms” concerning the Christ many or few? They are many, because all that accords with the principles of Truth concerns the Christ, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life.”
How are these three phrases of the Christ depicted in this lesson? By the Law (of Moses) or the way of morality, which accords with Truth; by the Prophets, who studied causes and in them discerned effects, a practice that gives true understanding of life; and by the Psalms, which express joy, praise, exaltation, aspiration, trust, and the other faculties that enter into the life of the mind and soul.
Why must all that is written of Truth be fulfilled? Because Truth, being eternal, is never lost, but is always made manifest, even though the manifestation may take ages of time. Delayed manifestation is due to admixture of error, but error passes and Truth at last comes to light.
How is the mind opened to understand Truth? By love, joy, gladness, desire for understanding, and all other constructive expressions of the faculties.
Since the Christ is the complete idea of perfect man in Divine Mind, the true, spiritual, higher self of every individual, how does this idea “suffer”? It suffers in being denied [expression] in persons and in the race. The ideal of the complete perfection of all mankind has not yet reached fulfillment. Failure to measure up to the perfect is tantamount to the suppression of Truth. Truth suffers from neglect, denial, oblivion, and all other negative attitudes regarding it. Nevertheless it will at length prevail.
What significance have the three days that Jesus said would elapse before the Christ would rise again from the dead? The three days signify the threefold nature of man, body, soul, and spirit. When these three are impregnated with the truth of the Christ life the perfect man rises from the dead, quickened to such life as he could not know before.
June 30, 1946: Luke 24:45-49
“Ye are witnesses of these things.” What does the word “witnesses” signify in this connection? Witnesses prove what they know by competent testimony. The witnesses of the Resurrection proved their knowledge by their subsequent life and work. The Christ was risen in them, worked with them, and confirmed “the word by the signs that followed.” The Christ risen in us enables us to do mighty works.
Is the suffering of the Christ a part of the divine law? It is rather a consequence of the action of the race mind, which is enmity against God and which sets itself to resist the Christ or Truth.
How are repentance and remission of sins possible “in his name”? “In his name” means by the authority or power of the Christ. Since all power is given unto the Christ, repentance and remission of sins are possible by virtue of this power.
Why is the disbeliever condemned? God does not condemn him, but his own disbelief or lack of faith condemns him to remain outside the pale of understanding. Faith operates to open the mind and prepare it to receive an influx of Truth.
September 11, 1949: Luke 24:44
What is written in the law of Moses concerning the Christ? All that Moses wrote about the principle of good as the law of life refers to the Christ.
What is the spiritual message of the prophets? They foretell the birth of the Christ, and they portray in symbolism the spiritual experiences of man leading up to his recognition of the Christ.
What state of mind is portrayed in most of the Psalms? Chiefly a state of prayer and praise. Through prayer and praise we come into a realization of the Christ Spirit.
What part of the teaching of Jesus was new to the people of His time? His interpretation of what the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to say concerning the Christ. The truths concerning the Christ in these sources are the same, but Jesus gave them new meaning by interpreting them spiritually in the light of divine understanding.
Metaphysically Interpreting Luke 24:50-53
24:50And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 24:51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 24:52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 24:53and were continually in the temple, blessing God.
March 22, 1925: Luke 24:36-53
To understand the scriptures, what state of mind is necessary? In order to interpret the Scriptures spiritually it is necessary that the mind have the quality usually called spiritual illumination. In verse 45 of the lesson we read: “Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures.”
Interpreting this lesson in the light of spiritual illumination, what do we understand by the statement in verse 36: “He himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, peace be unto you”? Standing “In the midst of them” represents the Christ presence abiding in the individual. With the Christ presence dominant in consciousness, the mind becomes peaceful and receptive.
When they become aware of the Christ presence, why do the faculties in the outer thought realms become terrified, thinking that they behold a spirit? The mind has not wholly entered into the understanding that the body is being transformed into actual substance and life. They think Jesus is dead and expect him to appear in ghostly form in which the spirits of the dead are supposed to come.
Are we to understand that Jesus actually appeared in the same body that was crucified on the cross? The scriptures plainly state that after his supposed death, Jesus raised his body and appeared several times to his disciples and to others, five hundred being present on one occasion.
The body of Jesus after the resurrection, had acquired new ability: in the resurrected body Jesus could appear and disappear, pass through closed doors, and do other things impossible to the physical organism. Why this bodily change? On the cross Jesus eliminated from his body the grosser elements that, through sin, have gradually crept into the body of the race, and his body was restored to the image and likeness given to man before he fell into material consciousness.
Should the followers of Jesus expect their bodies to become transformed, as Jesus' body was transformed? Everyone who accepts the Jesus Christ way of redemption should begin the process of forgiveness of sin and the consequent redemption of the body, passing day to day through the same changes that Jesus passed through. When the carnal mind has been wholly cast out, our bodies will be perfectly healthy; we shall be able to transport them through air at will; matter will form no obstruction to anything that we may wish to do. When we attain this estate, we shall be with Jesus in the place which he promised would [be] prepared for us in the heavens, or the omnipresent ether.
June 14, 1931: Luke 24:50-51
Should the followers of Jesus Christ expect their bodies to become transformed, as His body was transformed? Everyone who accepts the Jesus Christ way of redemption should begin the process of forgiveness of sin and the consequent redemption of the body, passing by degrees through the same changes that Jesus Christ passed through. When the carnal mind has been wholly cast out, men's bodies will be perfectly healthy, and they shall be able to transport them through the air at will, since matter will then form no obstruction to anything that they may wish to do. When we attain this estate, we shall be with Jesus Christ in the place that He promised would be prepared for us in the heavens, or the omnipresent ether.
June 21, 1936: Luke 24:36-53
How do we become aware of the Christ Spirit in us?
We center our faculties in prayer, meditation, and contemplation of spiritual things. As we do these things, we learn to concentrate on the things of God, and thus we make contact with the Christ Spirit.What is the first message of the Christ mind to man? Peace is the first thing that impresses man, when he makes union with the Christ mind.
Is man altogether subject to change? The I AM or true identity of man remains constant, “the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for ever.” All else in him is subject to change.
Define the “I AM.” The term denotes the principle of divine identity or the Spirit of the Lord (the Christ) in man.
How did Jesus convince the disciples that he had resurrected his body after the crucifixion? He appealed to their senses of seeing and feeling. “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see.”
How does one “see” and “handle” the I AM? The I AM is seen clearly when it is identified with Truth and one claims one's true nature. One handles the I AM by means of one's words, by affirming life, health, wisdom, peace, power through Christ.
What is the Ascension? The Ascension is the final step in attaining complete union with Divine Mind, throughout His earthly life, Jesus identified himself with the Father in His thought as well as in His word. Through the realization of His oneness with Divine Mind He completely spiritualized His Physical body.
The ascension took place at Bethany. What does this signify? Bethany means “fruitage.” Jesus' fulfillment of the spiritual law enabled Him to ascend into the pure realm of Spirit.
What is meant by the words “I die daily”? We lose interest in the old erroneous beliefs and give them up, when we catch a larger vision of Truth. As we put away old thoughts and ideas, we die to them and are reborn into the kingdom of the new.
March 30, 1941: Luke 24:36-53
What was the first message of the risen Christ to His disciples? He proclaimed peace first of all. As men lift up the Christ anew in their life, peace will come again to the world. Peace on earth was part of His work, as announced at His birth.
What proofs are necessary to convince man of the truth of resurrection life? Before he will believe in resurrection man must be convinced that the identity of the individual is preserved. Jesus gave the disciples physical proof that He was the same Master they had known before the Crucifixion.
Did the truth that the risen Jesus proclaimed differ in any essential respect from what He had taught during His ministry? No. He emphasized the same truth and impressed on the disciples the same teaching that He had already taught them. “These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you.” Truth is one.
Into what categories may Truth be divided for man's convenience in remembering and applying it? Into what has been learned about the principle of good as the law of life (the law of Moses); what has been learned through the sequence of cause and effect (the Prophets); and what has been found true through prayer and praise (the Psalms).
What was Christ’s commission to the disciples? That they should carry on the work of Jesus, which was to lead men to understand Truth.
Does the Christ consciousness affect man's understanding in any marked degree? It enables him to see the unity of Truth. It therefore gives new meaning and significance to the truth that has been discerned by others. “Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures.”
Why should the Christ “suffer”? Jesus identified Himself so completely with the Christ that His sufferings have been spoken of as those of the Christ Spirit or principle. Jesus suffered when He gave up personality and merged His identity in the universal life. The Christ does not suffer.
What is the “promise of my Father”? This is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which man is promised by reason of his potential capacity to express the divine, He must develop this capacity by practicing such expression.
What is the clearest proof that one is in the Christ consciousness? The fact that one desires to know the Truth and tries to express it is proof that one is in the consciousness or mind of the Christ.
June 21, 1942: Luke 24:49-53
The gospel is to be preached throughout “the world;” that is, the entire consciousness, embracing mind, soul, and body. The “whole creation” of manifest and unmanifest being is to learn what insures its peace and to lay hold of the saving power of faith and concentrated denial (baptism). This was Jesus’ promise.
He who believes and who speaks the word affirming Truth in full faith everywhere and under all circumstances proves the law, for the higher law (the Lord) confirms the creative word by the signs that always follow faithful thinking and speaking in conformity with the singleness of intent implied in the affirmation.
It was “over against Bethany” that Jesus blessed His disciples and was “parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.” Bethany means fruitage or “house of figs.” When we make a mental demonstration and get a certain result in mind or body, this is the fruit of our thought. Upon his ascension Jesus realized the fruit of His complete consciousness of the spiritual body. And He left us an example that we should follow.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 01-29-2014
