Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of Luke……………………………..Luke 6:36 Jesus goes back to the Hebrew scriptures for inspiration when he tells his listeners to be perfect like God is perfect; he says: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”(Exodus 34:6). With this imperative Jesus is interpreting another Torah commandment: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am Holy” (Leviticus 19:2). The Torah is the first five books of the OT, also called the Pentateuch. Karma isn’t just taught in Eastern religions. Jesus says: “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” What goes around comes around. New Age witches believe what you send out comes back in threes, and I have often experienced bad luck grouped in three incidents. Anyway, Jesus calls us to be merciful. All the superuniverses have a special individual quality, and our SU of Orvonton has the quality of mercy. As God of Nebadon Christ Michael is a rich source of mercy.. Luke 7:11-17 Whenever Jesus performs a miracle or brings the dead back to life, the kingdom of God is present. Jesus was traveling to the city of Nain when a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, a widow. When Jesus saw her, he was moved to pity for her. He said to her: “Do not weep” and moved to the coffin; at this the bearers halted and he said: “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The man sat up and began to speak. Fear seized them all and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst” and “God has visited his people!” The crowd glorified God, and Jesus is publicly recognized as a great prophet. Jesus, in a sense, has arisen himself, foreshadowing his own resurrection. Jesus is like Elijah and Elisha, who both brought men back from the dead. But Jesus is greater than these prophets, healing by his own words rather than praying to God. In the saving help that Jesus brings God has visited his people……………………. Luke 7:28 Jesus was talking to the crowds about John. John was in prison and had sent messengers to ask if Jesus was the real deal. Jesus said of John: “I tell you, of those born of women, no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Jesus repeats constantly that one must have humility to enter the kingdom. Humility is not obsequiousness; humility is adherence to the truth, especially about one’s self. This universe is not heaven, although Jesus rules it and his planet/HQ, Salvington is very beautiful, and we will train on its satellites. On one of the satellites the Life Carriers make life, just as our scientists try to do now. Life under the Universal Father is highly organized, chaos is NOT. But I digress…………………. Luke 8:1 Luke reminds readers that Jesus’ mission is preaching and proclaiming the good news, the content of which continues to be the kingdom of God and its immanent arrival……… Luke 8:4-18 Jesus told a parable of a farmer sowing seeds on a path, on rocks, on thistles and on good soil and what happened to those seeds. “Then his disciples asked what the meaning of the parable might be. He answered: “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you, but to the rest they are made known through parables so that they might look but not see, and hear but not understand. This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they might not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root and believe only for a time. The seeds fallen among the thorns have heard but are choked by the anxieties of life. The seeds which fall on rich soil, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance. Jesus says something that appears at first as if he has deep skepticism about humanity’s ability to understand the word. He says: “they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.” But the author/commentator Pablo Gadenz explains what the words mean. The words allude to Isaiah 6:9. Jesus is aware that, like the prophets before him, who met with rejection, he is a “sign that will be contradicted”(Luke 2:34). The meanings of the parables will be perceived by those whose hearts are “generous and good,” but not by those with a “sluggish” heart (Isaiah 6:10). While the disciples are granted this knowledge, the rest remain on the surface rather than attain the mysteries of the kingdom of God hidden in the parables. The word “mysteries” refers to God’s unfolding plan of salvation.