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March 18th, 2002
Received by H.
Cuenca, Ecuador.
My dear brother,
I promised you a surprise and today I will give it to you. I would
like to discuss in detail a key chapter in the New Testament, a
chapter that despite its great importance has always been treated
incidentally in previous messages.
However, let us proceed in order.
The Passover feast was approaching. As Joseph had decided, he put
an administrator in charge of his workshop, and then he went with
all his family to Kpar Nahum, where they met with Jesus and his
disciples. They stayed overnight in Peter’s house.
On the following day the large group of people headed south.
When they passed through Magdala, a band of women joined them, amongst
them, of course, Mariam the Magdalene, Shusha, Yokhan, who had obtained
her husband's permission to undertake this journey, and several
others, the wives of artisans, and also one or other woman who exercised
a less honorable profession.
Joseph had decided to take the road along the Jordan valley, for
reasons of safety, avoiding the multiple threats and harassments
by the Samaritans, and joining other groups of pilgrims. The larger
the group, the safer from assaults by highwaymen.
When they came to the place where John the Baptist had his camp,
they crossed the Jordan, to stay there overnight and throughout
the following day. Some of the disciples who had never visited John
were astonished by the enormous multitude of people that gathered
there, listening to the Baptist's sermons. When the flow of pilgrims
increased on the road towards Jericho and Jerusalem, the number
of faithful people also increased, who stayed one or more days with
John.
Finally, the Galileans resumed their trip, arrived at Jericho,
and from there, they ascended to the mountains of Judea. They did
not enter Jerusalem immediately, but stayed in the house of an old
friend of the family, Lazarus of Bethany.
Joseph's voyage had a double purpose, of which he had not spoken
to anybody. Apart from his participation in the Temple rituals,
he had also planned to buy a house. On one hand, he wanted to extend
his business to the capital city of the Jews, on the other hand,
he did not want to spend his old days in a tiny village, and such
was Nazareth, but he rather wanted to live right in the center
of Judaism, in his dear Judea.
At that time an enormously rich man lived in Jerusalem whose name
was Buni. He had a hand in all the branches of business that you
can imagine, from real estate over construction to the sale of metals.
He was the appropriate man for Joseph to visit in search of a house
in the city.
The two men, as was the habit of the time, spent a long time in
exchanging formulas of courtesy, asking after the health of the
other, until they came to the point of their business. Accompanied
by a group of servants, Buni showed Joseph a variety of houses,
from a shack that almost was collapsing under its own weight, and
that Buni extolled as a true palace, worthy of the selfsame Solomon,
to a decent house that Joseph liked and that he decided to buy.
Then followed the habitual bargaining over the price, until Buni’s
exorbitant demand and Joseph’s ridiculous offer met halfway.
Then, over an exuberant dinner, both celebrated the conclusion
of their business. It had taken the whole day, but we Orientals,
we did not know hurry in business.
Finally Buni glanced full of curiosity towards
Joseph and asked:
"Joseph, you have told me that you are from Galilee, but you
do not speak like they do.”
“This is true. I was born and grew up in Judea, in Bethlehem.
But now, I live and run my business in Nazareth. But I am planning
to spend my old days in Jerusalem."
“A wise decision. Jerusalem is the City of God, of peace,
the center of the world. But, as you tell me that you live in Galilee,
maybe you may quench one of my curiosities.
I have been told that there is a new prophet over there, who works
many miracles. They say that he calls himself the Messiah. And now
it seems that he is here preaching in Jerusalem. What can you tell
me about that man?"
Joseph recognised the worry in Buni’s voice, and he felt concern.
Buni, as a rich businessman, feared those self-proclaimed prophets.
Their presence always meant trouble: Disturbances among people,
rebellions against the Romans — these political and military
crises really were not good for business. However his fears and
worries had much deeper roots. The Zealots, who always took advantage
of the people’s dissatisfaction, would have liked very much
to cut his throat, since they considered him a collaborator of the
Roman oppressors. And it was true, Buni had a lot of business with them
too.
Apart from being a successful merchant, Buni occupied a preferential
position in the Sanhedrin, the High Council of the Jews, as one
of the three senior counselors. He was a studied man, an expert
in the Law and in the Scriptures. He used to frequently invite the
wise men of the Law to discuss with them the topics that worried
or interested him.
Joseph cleared his throat and said:
"Are you referring to the man they call Yeshua ha Notzri ha
Mashiakh, Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah?”
“Yes, that is the man!”
“Well, to tell the truth, he is my son, Yeshua
ben Yosef.”
Buni’s eyes opened with surprise.
"Ah...., I see. Well, then you must know
what he is preaching. Tell me of him.”
And so, Joseph, feeling sick to the stomach, told him of Jesus,
the whole story, from the strange circumstances surrounding his
birth, over their stay in Egypt, up to the beginning of his mission.
And he did not hide his own incomprehension.
Buni smiled.
“Joseph, I thank you for the frankness of your words. You
are a man I like very much. I would like to ask you a great favor.
My servants have listened to your son when he preached in the markets,
and what they told me I cannot understand. It is my desire to talk
to your son. I want to discover for myself what his ideas and doctrines
are. In truth, this man has awakened my curiosity. And your words
soothe my worries that he does not try to incite violence, but that
he rather preaches peace.”
And so it happened that Joseph arranged a meeting between Jesus
and Buni in his new pride, his own house in Jerusalem.
You understand, my dear H___, that I have not reproduced the exact
words of the conversation, but only what Buni and Joseph have told
me. Of course, I was not present during this conversation.
In the following evening, Buni, accompanied by
several servants who served as his bodyguards, came to Joseph's
house in order to speak with Jesus.
The Master spoke to him of the Kingdom of God, of the Love that
the Heavenly Father offers all His children, well, you know already
what were and still are his teachings. And Buni listened to him
with great interest, but obviously without understanding. It was
not surprising. We had spent months with the Master, and we did
not get his deep message fully.
“I see, Rabbi,” said Buni, “that your knowledge
of the Scriptures is great, and that you are a wise man. Wisdom
reaches beyond knowledge. Tell me, please, how you have come to
all these conclusions.”
Jesus, with a smile upon his lips, recited the following passage
from the Old Testament:
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“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather
you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own
land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I
put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of
your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk
in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
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“This is a quote from Ezekiel!” Buni
shouted in astonishment.
“Sure it is,“ Jesus replied. “And John the Baptist
is already applying the water of purification, as the symbol for
the moment that has come, when the Lord sheds His Spirits over mankind.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
And Buni looked at him full of confusion:
“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
Jesus replied:
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born
again.”
Now, my dear H___, in some Bible translations
you find “born again”, and in others “born from above.”
The reason for this discrepancy is simply that Jesus said in Aramaic:
“Mitiled min d’resh”, that is, “born from the
head,” an idiomatic expression, which may be understood as
“born from above” or “born again”.
Buni still could not understand. So, Jesus continued:
“The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof,
but cannot tell whence it comes, and whither it goes; so it is with
the Spiritual Rebirth.”
Buni answered:
“How is all this possible?”
And Jesus, with a smile on his lips, replied:
"Are you the Teacher of Israel, and yet do
you not understand these things?
Verily, verily, I tell you that we speak what we know, and give
testimony of that of which we were eye-witnesses, and yet you all
reject our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and none
of you believe me, how will you believe me if I tell you of things
in Heaven?”
Jesus already has delivered a marvelous explanation of these words.
Buni could not understand the workings of the wind, a material phenomenon,
hence, he could not understand an operation of a spiritual thing,
the New Birth. This is a play on words, since the Hebrew word “ruakh”
and the Aramaic word “rukha” mean “wind”, “blow”
and “spirit”. The Master loved word plays, transforming
abstract contents into everyday experiences, making them understandable
to the world.
I also wish to call your attention to the fact that Jesus also
explains and testifies his own experience of the New Birth: “We
speak what we know, and give testimony of that of which we were
eye-witnesses.”
Buni still was confused, but deeply impressed. In the future, whenever
there was the opportunity to do so, he would witness the Master’s
discourses, and he would become his follower, but not openly. He
would also use his wealth to support the Master's growing movement,
and he would become the principal person in favoring Joseph's political-religious
career, facilitating his acceptance into the bosom of the Sanhedrin.
I see, you understand that what I have told you is Nicodemus’
story. And you wonder why I have called him Buni.
Well, actually his name was Buni ben Gurion, and he was a man of
great fame. Such was his reputation as a religious and rich man
that even the Babylonian Talmud mentions his name. There you may
read that his nickname was “Nakdimon,” and the explanation
of its meaning. Nevertheless, this explanation is not true; it is
only the product of the author’s fantasy, in his effort of
giving some meaning to this name. There are also some stories of
his life contained therein, which are false, nothing but legends.
But at the base of the legends, truth often resounds. They say that
Nakdimon was punished by God, because he did not use his wealth
as he ought to. Actually, God did not punish him. When Pilate, Annas
and Caiaphas decided to cut off Jesus' movement, they did not consider
it enough to kill its leader, the Master, but they also wanted to
cut all sources of support. Consequently, the movement, devoid of
leadership and without source of supply, would soon end in nothing,
according to their reckoning. That was the reason why Buni would
perish under the daggers of murderers, and Lazarus would have to
abandon his home and seek shelter outside Judea. But of all that,
we will speak in another message.
Buni opposed the farce called "trial" against the Master,
a solitary voice against a wall of hatred. Also this attitude did
not gain him the sympathy of the Sadducees and Roman authorities.
Because of his opposition against Jesus' condemnation, people conferred
upon him the nickname of "Naqiy Dam" or "innocent
of the blood;” hence, his nickname has nothing to do with the
Greek interpretation of his name "NikodhmoV”
as “conqueror." The nickname was selected in allusion
to several passages in the Old Testament, where "dam naqiy"
or "innocent blood" is mentioned, such as in the Psalms.
My dear brother, this has been a very long message. However, I
wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to present Nicodemus,
a little known character of the Bible. That interview between Buni
and the Master is the only place in the whole New Testament where
the New Birth is directly spoken of; it is a key passage for the
understanding of the true Christian doctrine. For that reason, I
apologize for the perhaps exaggerated detail of this message, but
I believe that it has been worthwhile.
Now, go and have a rest, and I will write you soon another message,
where our shameful lack of understanding once again will come to
the light of day.
Until then, I wish you all the Father’s blessings,
Judas of Kerioth
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