Messages 2006
Suffering, Redemption and the Cross.
December 19, 2006
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB.
I am here, Jesus.
I see you are confused. On the one hand, you believe that my death on the cross was a tragic mistake and not God’s plan for redemption, and on the other hand, you have observed that most of the major spiritual leaders of history have suffered because of their respective missions.
You have been aware that in your Jewish tradition, there has been a strong tendency toward the concept of redemptive suffering. So where is the truth?
The truth is that spiritual leaders do indeed take responsibility for humanity, and in this process, they often have to endure attacks and sufferings. Though God never wishes harm to anyone, nevertheless when suffering and hardship come to His chosen ones, He uses this adversity to help that person to become stronger. In this process, humanity as a whole advances, since that person represents humanity, and has taken responsibility for it. It does not go as far as actual redemption, since the true redemption is in the Divine Love.
When God instructed Ezekiel to lie on his side to symbolize the destruction of Jerusalem, He was using the prophet to symbolize His plan. There are certain favored individuals whom God uses to further His loving plan for humanity. These people, because they are more advanced, incur often great hardship. These hardships were preordained to strengthen these courageous souls.
For example, take Joseph. He was not only thrown in a pit to die, but sold into slavery, and then thrown into jail. But God foreknew that he would use these misfortunes to actually become stronger, since God knew his heart.
And so, it is not specifically redemption at work, but a strengthening process. And it is not cruelty but kindness, since God saw that this sort of suffering, when endured by a spiritually evolved soul, is the very best way for that soul to grow stronger.
But let me be clear; I am not saying that this suffering actually represents redemption, nor am I saying that God is pleased to make His favored ones suffer. No, God always wishes and wills the good, and in His wisdom, He has ordained that a certain amount of suffering be allowed to come to certain spiritual leaders, since in His plan, this painful process advances their soul, and thus, along with them, humanity.
Now let me address the issue of my crucifixion. This occurred, not because God willed it, but because of the hysteria that prevailed.
Now, I will confess, though, that my crucifixion did actually strengthen my faith, for as I lay dying a horrible death, my faith in God was stronger than it had ever been. Thus, when death came, I was in a more fortunate position spiritually than I would have been had I lived and died peacefully.
I hope I have clarified this for you. To summarize, the sufferings of prophets and holy people inevitably lead to greater strength and faith for these advanced souls. These sufferings were not specifically inflicted by God, but they were allowed to suffer so that they be strengthened, and thus God’s plan be furthered.
The tendency toward seeing the suffering of an individual as redemptive, has been widespread in the world’s religions, and Judaism has had its share of this concept. Thus, as knowledge of God’s true plan, the New Birth of the soul in the Divine Love, got lost to the world, it was very easy for the concept of redemptive suffering to come to the fore, since this appealed to the pagans, who had already widely embraced this concept.
But all this is history, and humanity is now ready to embrace the truth - that I came, not for the purpose of dying on the cross, but to teach the world the truth of the New Birth.