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September 27, 2006
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB.
I am here, Jesus.
I come to continue my discourse on the relationship of my
teachings to the Jewish Talmud.
I want now to discuss the parable. As everyone knows, this
was a favorite method of mine to teach the spiritual
Truths to the people, who were not educated, as the
Talmudic rabbis were, in learned investigation.
What is not generally known is that the parable was also a
favorite device of the Talmudic writers.
Here is a famous parable of mine.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking
fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he
went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew
13:45-46).
Compare this with the following Talmudic example.
"Disdain it not, the parable. Remember that when a pearl
of great worth is lost, we search after it with a candle
that costs but the smallest coin. So the lowly parable
takes us home to the great teachings of the Torah." (Shir
ha-Shirim Rabbah 1:1).
Here are two other famous parables of mine.
"A certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited
many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to
those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready
now.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first
one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need
to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.' And
another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I
am going to try them out; please consider me excused.' And
another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that
reason I cannot come.' And the slave came back and
reported this to his master. Then the head of the
household became angry and said to his slave, 'go out at
once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in
here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the
slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and
still there is room.' And the master said to the slave,
'go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell
you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my
dinner.'" (Luke 14:16-24)
"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten
virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were foolish, and five were
prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took
no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along
with their lamps. Now while the bridgegroom was delaying,
they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight
there was a shout, 'behold, the bridegroom! Come out to
meet him.' Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their
lamps. And the foolish said to the prudent, 'give us some
of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent
answered, saying, 'no, there will not be enough for us and
you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for
yourselves.' And while they were going away to make the
purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready
went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was
shut. And later the other virgins also came, saying,
'lord, lord, open up for us.' But he answered and said,
'truly I say to you, I do not know you.' Be on the alert
then, for you do not know the day nor the hour." (Matthew
25 1:13)
Now compare these two with this Talmudic parable, by
Rabban Johanan ben Zaccai.
"A king once invited his servants to a banquet without
indicating the precise time when it would be given. Those
who were wise remembered that things are always ready in a
king's palace, and they arrayed themselves and sat by the
palace gate attentive for the call to enter, while those
who were foolish continued their customary occupations,
saying: 'a banquet requires great preparation.' When the
king suddenly called his servants to the banquet, those
who were wise appeared in clean raiment and well adorned,
while those who were foolish entered in soiled and
ordinary garments. The king took pleasure at the wise, but
was full of anger at those who were foolish, saying that
those who had come prepared for the banquet should sit
down and eat and drink, but those who had not properly
arrayed themselves should remain standing and look on."
(Shabbat 153a)
It is obvious that they are very similar.
In my time, the great spiritual Truths had to be taught
through the parable. Even though my teachings have been
frequently distorted and misunderstood these last two
thousand years, nevertheless humanity is ready now to hear
them anew freshly, and without resort to the indirect
method of the parable.
These parables are the Truth, but the greater Truth
resides in those souls who follow my teachings by bringing
the Divine Love into their soul through sincere prayer and
faith.
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