Ed Rabel - Words of Jesus - Final Words of Jesus

In this concluding lesson, Ed Rabel considers final Words of Jesus.

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1. Letting go as crucifixion

Luke 23:43 (00:00). Crucifixion is never separate from resurrection. “Letting go” as crucifixion. Crucifixion as a willing acceptance of the “Law of Yea, Yea and Nay, Nay” (Mt. 5:37).

Now, friends, we will consider the final recorded words of Jesus as contained in our four gospels, beginning with the words spoken from the cross. Before we quote Jesus, let’s look for a moment at this experience called crucifixion. Remember that everything that happens to Jesus, everything he causes to happen, and every word he speaks, somehow relates to each one of us. Not only in our collective life wave identities, but in our individuality identities. So that there is nothing wasted in the gospels where Jesus is concerned as far as our own ongoing experiences are concerned. Jesus was crucified exactly as he said he would be, but he said that we are to follow him in all ways, in all things. And so the meaning of crucifixion is meaningful to our present day existence and our ongoing existence.

You will notice that Jesus never talks about the cross or crucifixion as an isolated thing all by itself. It is always, any time he mentions it, it’s within a whole process that he refers to. The same is true of Charles Fillmore in his writings about Jesus. Charles Fillmore never separates the crucifixion from resurrection and ascension. They are the trinity of victory in our overcoming. You cannot skip crucifixion no more can you skip resurrection or ascension if you are a living evolving being. So crucifixion is not a thing in and of itself metaphysically. It is a prelude to something that follows, which is resurrection.

Now you know in our Unity teachings we say that before a person can take on his greater good, he must often let go and give up some of the older, lesser, outmoded, no longer needful good. In other words, you have to empty the wine from the ... and the new wine ... all that. So constant process of letting go and taking on. Letting go, taking on. And I know you absolutely know what the letting go experience is symbolized as, crucifixion. Now, very often, your and my letting go looks like someone’s taking it from us. That we’re being forced to give it up. Life is forcing it, people are forcing, the police are forcing it, Father Time is forcing me to give up. You see?

But it needn’t be that if you understand the Law of Trinity. A person who understands the Law of Trinity will know, will intuitively know, when it’s time for a crucifixion experience in my life. You will know. Your intuition will tell you. Like itself will give you all the signs. And if you are tuned into spirit, you will say, “I must do this the way Jesus did it. Consciously and willingly knowing that this giving up is not being robbed or having it taken. It is my cooperation with the law of yay, yay, nay, nay. The law of being the inlet and the outlet of all God’s good. Then you will find that every sacrifice, every crossing out, every letting go that you go through in your life is under your dominion and authority. You will be able to do it graciously, lovingly, and forgivingly as whose example shows us it can be done? Jesus. See?

So his first words from the cross, or I should be our words every day, for anything in life that seems like it’s trying to take something from me or any person in my life who seems to want to make things tough for me and there are such. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Do you think that mob howling and yelling and spitting at the foot of the cross knew that they were actually helping carry Jesus to his greatest, greatest victory? They didn’t know it. They also didn’t know, probably didn’t know, how unjust this was on the surface of things. Because, you see, these people had to have lost their individuality and plugged into mob consciousness. Anyone who is enjoying a spectacle of cruelty has to be tuned into mob consciousness. And in order to be tuned into mob consciousness, you have to have lost your individuality consciousness. And so Jesus was perfectly understanding and able to forgive while he’s in the midst of being crucified and you notice he doesn’t give himself any credit for this forgiveness. Who gets all the credit? Father, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Friends, if God were not first the only forgiving power, how could you and I forgive? We couldn’t cook it up. God already is the forgiving power and we let it express and radiate through us, through our God consciousness.

2. Living in past and future Luke 23:43

Luke 23:43 (16:18). Two thieves symbolize living in the past and the future.

“I say unto thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” He speaks this to the thief on one side of the cross. Charles Fillmore says, the two thieves on either side of Jesus during the crucifixion symbolize the thief of living in the past and the thief of living in the future. When one tries to live in the past or live in the future, both past and future, rob that person of his capacity to enjoy the now. And Jesus in the center of this, represents or symbolizes a here and now consciousness of oneness with God. The thieves living in the past, living in the future.

The first thief rails on Jesus, scolds him, saying, “If you be the son of God saved thyself and us,” and of course he only meant to torment.

The other thief, instead of railing and taunting speaks to Jesus as the future can speak to us. “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Father’s kingdom.” He’s talking about where? Future. Remember me when you come into your father’s kingdom, the voice of the future. See? Think about me as you travel toward me says your future.

But Jesus sees that this thief can be converted from a thief into an inhabitant of the Kingdom of Heaven. So he says, “Today, thou shall be with me in paradise.” And paradise, friends, is always here and now. We must learn to say this to all of our concern about our future, not let it remain a thief. But any time you are thinking about, concerned about, worried about your future, bring your future into your now, and now I am one with God. That’s paradise. And so when the future arrives, what does it turn into? Now. And where are you now? Aware of oneness with God, which is paradise. And this is the guarantee that your future is always going to turn out right because God is rightness. See?

3. Our metaphysical family John 19:26

John 19:26 (09:00). Metaphysically we are all mother, sister, brother to one another.

Then his next statement are spoken to his mother, Mary, and one of his disciples. This statement is simply, “Woman, behold thy son, then said he to the disciple, “Behold thy mother.” Now here Jesus is repeating a teaching he had given previously more elaborately when trying to reveal the truth underlying all human relations in our life way. He says, “Who is my mother? Who are my brethren?” And he stretches forth his hand toward all the people, and he says, “All these that do the will of my father, the same is my mother and my brother and my sister,” making no distinction between gender bodies and family tree genealogies, and he does the same thing here.

This was not the disciple’s mother, he was not her son genealogically. See? But metaphysically, metaphysically, every member of our life wave has the same relationship in spirit to every other member. Guess what? I am your mother and I’m a man. See? Genealogically, generically, but spiritually, I am your mother, your brother, and your sister and vice versa, and all around it goes. We are each other’s mother, brother and sister. Who’s left out? God. Right. He took care of that. “Call no man on earth your father.” One is your father, which is God who is in heaven, but mother, brother and sister, we’re it.

4. I thirst John 19:28

John 19:28 (10:51). I thirst. In a “hopeless” moment Jesus can still affirm.

Again, he practices next what he had been preaching all these years. He said, “Ask and ye shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be,” but notice he doesn’t qualify that in any way. He doesn’t say, “Ask under these conditions and you’ll get. Seek under those conditions and you will get.” But just what? Ask, seek, knock, meaning under any conditions. Here he practices what he preaches.

He is under the worst imaginable condition. Nailed to a cross, folks. Facing people who have one wish for him only. Die as quickly as possible. You’re keeping us out in this hot sun. Die, die fast, and he says, “I thirst,” and he gets a drink from one of his executioners. If we’re told that one of those who wanted him to die quick comes after he says, “I thirst,” puts a sponge on a forked stick, dips the sponge in a pail of vinegar and hyssop, which was a delicacy in those days, like Coca Cola would be today. And dips it in the thing and raises it to Jesus’ lips and Jesus’ thirst is quenched. Practiced what he preached, didn’t he? “I thirst,” when he should have said, “It’s hopeless.” But he affirmed and asked, “I thirst,” and it manifested the law of mind action.

5. The only time Jesus ... Mark 15:34

Mark 15:34 (12:40). The only time Jesus addresses God as other than “Father.”

The next statement isn’t easy to interpret. We’re not going to even try this time, which is “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” I cannot interpret that, but I can comment. This is the only negative statement Jesus makes about God. Really about himself really, isn’t it? And this is the one time when Jesus is talking to God, but not calling God by the name he always calls God by, Father. Every other statement Jesus makes to God, he states it as Father. This is the one negative statement he makes and he doesn’t use the word father. He uses the formal absolute title, “My God, my God.” I can’t give an interpretation of this, but I can only give a hunch I have. That’s as far as I can go. My feeling about this statement, and I don’t believe he was quoting one of the psalms. I know that psalm and I still say I don’t think he was quoting it because if he had meant the quote Psalms, he would’ve quoted Psalms and this was really not the place to quote Psalms. These were his final words.

My own feeling is he is using himself as he does on other occasions as a mirror, as a psychic mirror or a metaphysical mirror, and he is showing us by what he says here something about ourselves. That even when we feel we have advanced a great deal in spiritual consciousness and high levels of being, it’s always possible for some of the unconscious belief in separation to rise again, especially under pressure and stress. This can come up before a person is even aware that has come up and find himself or herself wondering about separation from God and questioning that.

6. Finishing business John 19:30

John 19:30 (14:58). Spiritual mastery is the ability to see the finished business in one’s life.

But of course he drops that very quickly and continues, “It is finished.” One of the great symptoms of spiritual mastery is when a person is able to see finished business in his or her life and call it finished business. Some people never learn how to do this. Have you ever known people who can’t throw anything out of their storage closets and wardrobe? You see? That physically, they’re incapable of it. Well, metaphysically, psychologically, there are a lot of people who just cannot throw out anything that’s ever happened to them because they don’t see, they don’t have the light and the understanding and the courage to say, “When certain business is finished in my life, I should learn to call it by its right name and let it go and go on to new business.” And if you follow Jesus Christ, you will gain that ability to say, This is finished business. Thank you. Goodbye and let’s go on to the next highest good.”

7. We are whole beings Luke 23:46

Luke 23:46 (16:07). We are whole beings who have a spirit, a soul and a body.

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Notice he is saying he has a spirit that he can commend. This is very different from saying he is a spirit. You and I have a spirit, we have a soul, we have a body, and we can consent to do things with our spirit. The spirit that we have, the soul that we have, and the body that we have, we are more than the things we have. We are whole beings who have spirits, have souls, have bodies. When I say, “You are a spiritual being,” I am saying a partially correct truth about you. I should be saying you are a whole being, a total being, and you have a spirit. Same is true of Jesus. Jesus said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.” You see, he doesn’t say myself, but my spirit. Then after that it says, and he gave up the ghost. He stopped being a ghost. We can give up the ghost anytime. Stop being ghosts. Commend your spirit unto the Father.

8. The etherealized body John 20:17

John 20:17 (17:36 ). Jesus had entered into an etherealized body and the clinging sentimentality of Mary Magdalene should not embrace him when all of our commitment should be on a spiritual focus.

Mary Magdalen tries to embrace him when she recognizes him and he says, “Touch me not for I am not yet ascended unto the Father.” There are two meanings here. The first is Jesus had entered the etherealized body. He had been resurrected and he was now inhabiting an etherealized body. It is not a good idea for a gross physical body to try to grab hold of an etherealized body. I will not go into that. Just take my word for it. I’ve been told by the seancers that it is not a good idea. There’s a certain danger involved for a gross physical body to try to grab hold of an ethereal body. Don’t try to grab the ghost. You might wish you hadn’t. You follow me? So it’s not good for gross physicality to try to embrace etherealization. They’re on two different planes.

That’s one meaning. But the metaphysical meaning is that Mary Magdalen in the gospels is the symbol of something very beautiful but very limited. Clinging, affectionate sentimentality. This is what Mary Magdalen, the character, symbolizes in Gospel symbolism. She is clinging, affectionate sentimentality. Is there always a time and place for that? Always. What would life be like without it? Right? She could not have been part of Jesus entourage if she symbolized something useless. Even Judas was one of the 12. There’s a place for him and so there is a place in our lives for clinging, affectionate sentimentality, but there are times when that is out of place. And a time when that would be out of place is when all of our energies, all of our commitment should be on a spiritual ascension, a spiritual ongoing. Here is the time when we must often forsake clinging, affectionate sentimentality, and tell it, “Wait.” See, he didn’t say, “Never embrace me.” He only meant right now, at this point. We are all embracing Jesus right now, you see, so it’s okay.

9. Our belief is in divine ideals John 20:29

John 20:29 (20:22 ). We have to outgrow the “seeing is believing” mentality. Our belief is in divine ideals.

Thomas had said he would not believe in the resurrection of Jesus until he could physically examine the wound in Jesus’ body, and Jesus who loved his disciples, decides to give Thomas what he needs to be convinced. So he appears before them and opens his robe and shows this wound that had been healed in the etherealized body, but returns in a physicalized body and tells Thomas, “Come on, you need this feel for proof to convince you? Do it.”

Thomas does. He believes, “My lord and my God,” but Jesus doesn’t drop it.

He says to Thomas and to us, “Because thous hast seen, thou hast believed.” Big Deal, huh? See? “But blessed are they that have not seen and yet believe.” We’ve got to outgrow this seeing is believing smugness. It’s a serious limitation, folks, and it can make us miss out on so many miracles in our lives. See? You talk to me about a miracle, show me first. There’ll be no miracle. But I believe in miracles before there has been an ounce of change, you will see miracles. Your belief is in divine ideas.

10. Have you ought to eat? John 21:5

John 21:5 (21:49 ). Children, have you ought to eat? Jesus physicalized himself for their sake.

He appears before his disciples and they had been out fishing all night and caught nothing. Here he is in front of them, vindicating all that he had said he would do and which they didn’t believe, and here he is appearing before then, at the seashore and his only words to them are, “Children have you aught to eat?” That’s all. Not, “Look at me. I told you, look at me. You didn’t believe me. Look at me.” No, none of that, “Children have you aught to eat?” That’s Jesus. And when they said no, he said, “Go back in your boats, go out again, throw the nets on the other side, you’ll catch plenty of fish. Then come back in and we’ll eat.” And they did and he sat and he ate. Again, he physicalized himself for their sakes like he did for Thomas.

11. Love cancels out karma John 21:15

John 21:15 (22:55 ). Christ is lord of karma and love can cancel out karma. Jesus helps Peter cancel out the karma of his denials.
He says to Peter, “Simon Peter, lovest thou me?” He saith to him again, the second time, “Simon, lovest though me?” He saith unto him the third time, “Simon, lovest thou me?” Remember in a previous lesson we said Jesus represents that Christ is Lord of karma and that love can cancel out karma? Love can transcend the karmic cycle of cause and effect outworking. Jesus said this to the woman when he said, “You see her, or about her, her sins, which are many are forgiven because she loved much.” Karma was canceled for her. Right? Here, Peter’s karma is even bigger. Three times he had denied Jesus after promising he wouldn’t. There is the mistake, not the denial, but lying about it in advance. He said he wouldn’t do it, and he did. So there was that karmic score there and Jesus knew this. So before he goes off to his glorious ascension, he comes to Peter and helps Peter straighten out the thing. “So you denied me three times. Let’s have you love me three times.” And once again, love cancels out karma.

12. Tune into the indwelling I AM John 21:22

John 21:22 (24:24). Tune into the indwelling I AM, the individuality, do not tune into mob or “groupie consciousness.”

Now his last words, last recorded words, were for them, were for Peter, but they are certainly for us. Peter was worried about what other guys are doing and Jesus very simply says, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” Here again, Jesus is repeating the absolute essentiality of realizing and expressing individuality, instead of staying tuned in to groupie consciousness. In groupie consciousness, our biggest concern is what are they up to? See? What are they doing? What about their sins? What about their commitment? Their vision is turned entirely outward to the group, to the mob, which we’re plugged into. And Jesus is constantly trying to get us unplugged from the mob, unplugged from groupie thinking, and tune into the Father within to your own indwelling I am, which is individuality. “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.”

And in closing this presentation, I would like us to acknowledge the presence of Jesus Christ with us. We have asked for him, he has given himself, he is with us, his truth lives even as we live and will continue to live as we will continue to live. I am in the Father, we are in me, I am in you. And for this blessed realization of your truth, Father, we do give thanks in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Wayne Manning: The contemplation of Jesus’ life will enrich yours so that you may grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. It is our prayer that you may find the life of Jesus Christ to be the ultimate example for you to follow.

Personal Use Study Questions

  1. How would you explain the way in which crucifixion is symbolic of “letting go old patterns of thought and ways of responding to life situations”?
  2. What, in your own words, is the result in your life when the “thief of living in the past or future” takes over your thought world? How can you stop this thief from robbing you of the here and now?
  3. Explain the difference between your genealogical family and your spiritual family. Why do you think Jesus emphasized this difference at the Cross?
  4. Explain, in your own words, the significance of the Law of Mind Action. How has it been working in your life?
  5. What does Ed Rabel's commentary on the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” mean to you? Read Psalms 22:1. Do you agree or disagree that Jesus is not quoting the Psalm?
  6. How would you explain the significance of “using” the words, “It is finished,” when we find it difficult to “throw away thoughts about what has happened to us”?
  7. Meditate on the statement, “You are a total being with a Spirit, a soul, and a body.” What practical significance does this statement have for you?
  8. When do you think is an appropriate time to express “clinging, affectionate sentimentality”? When is its expression inappropriate? How would you explain the danger of its inappropriate expression?
  9. How would you explain the statement, “Love cancels karma”?
  10. Explain, in your own words, what it means to “unplug our thoughts from groupie consciousness.” Describe some of the ways “groupie consciousness” can impede our spiritual unfoldment.

Credits:

Executive producer: S. Rickert Grace
Narrator: Wayne Manning
Producer - Director: George Simms Sol
Associate Director: Mike Parker
Cameramen: Robbie Wilcox, Mike Dali, Eric Matthews
Audio & Video Engineer: Vince Gallo
Gaffer: Jeff Parker
Grip: Christian Simms
Subject matter created by Ed Rabel in consultation with Philip White, Dean of Education of U.S.R.S.
Recorded at Unity Village, MO. in 1986 with appreciation to the students of the Ministerial Education Program.
A GRS Production
K.C. Mo.