Jesus of Nazareth is undoubtedly the most known figure in Western civilization.
Christianity as a religion is embraced by one-third of the human population that is based around his life and wise lessons.
This, in and of itself, is an astounding achievement as the teachings of Jesus only lasted around three years prior to his death, and yet in that short amount of time a tremendous world of truth, myth, legend and superstition was built around him.
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Even though Christians share a certain set of beliefs that they hold as essential to their faith, there are a wide range of interpretations and opinions when studying the Bible. For example, there are approximately 30 major Christian creeds or interpretations (from Catholic ritualistic ideas to Amish self-denying notions), and within each, an endless amount of sub-creed churches.
As a young boy, I constantly struggled with this problem when I was being taught the Roman Catholic way of understanding the Bible. Some interpretations I felt to be true, while others felt as though they were not congruent with my understanding of Jesus.
This, I thought, was the essential problem when a living Master dies: when they are alive they cannot speak of truth because truth is an experience, although they can point you in the right direction with their words. When living Master’s die, however, all you’re left with are dead words open to interpretation.
These words were full of wisdom and vibrancy when spoken by this man who had tasted the truth, but once he wasn’t there to correct any misunderstandings, his followers were left with their limited understanding of his message. This continues to happen to this day with his contemporary followers who haven’t necessarily experienced the truth, but continue to spread their ideas of his work with good intentions.
Once I understood all of this, I began looking at the words of Jesus in a new light, as complimentary guidance and wisdom to my own experiential journey.
Here are a few of my own interpretations of his teachings. I don’t claim them to be true, but to those who might be on a similar journey, they may provide deeper understanding.
1.
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But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
The first 30 years of Jesus’ life were historically uneventful, until the moment came when something suddenly awoke within him to begin his ministry. At last he had found what he’d been looking for, and he wanted to share this with others.
This statement perfectly embodies the awakening cry of someone who has come in contact with their true nature, their own authenticity, someone who listened to their spiritual thirst to find something higher than themselves.
The beginning of this passage is very significant. To transform yourself you must prioritize what you do; your life becomes a reflection of that which you ‘seek’. If money, relationships, sex, status or power are your “God”, then your life will only become as fulfilling as the depth of what you are pursuing.
2.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 (KJV)
‘Poor in spirit’ has often been interpreted as a false piety cultivated by either poverty of personality, or material wealth.
Poverty of spirit can be understood as a lack of ‘pride’, of egotism. To be too full of ourselves, of the need to be right, of our arrogant ‘knowledge’ and presumptions about ourselves, others and the world, is one of the greatest barriers to the growth of our beings. There is no room to learn anything new.
3.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 (KJV)
‘Righteousness’ is a word I particularly dislike. It has caused so much destruction throughout time in the name of politics and religion. Even in psychology ‘self-righteousness’ is considered to be stubborn-minded behavior and arrogance that corrodes relationships (synonymous with the egotism mentioned above).
However, righteousness originally had the positive meanings of being “genuine” or “excellent”. It comes from the old English (which they used to translate the Bible) word: “rightwise“, meaning to be both trustworthy and wise. This statement can be translated as: To have a deep drive and desire above all else for true wisdom that will bless you with much joy.
4.
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Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7, (KJV)
Although this is usually seen as a lesson in simple ‘Forgiveness’, it goes much deeper than that.
Forgiveness for many people is just a dutiful task to do in order to appear pious (when deep down we still dislike them), or to go to heaven. But to the person who has awoken to their true nature, they realize the depth of interconnectedness that exists in life. It is at this point that the birth of compassion occurs in knowing that those who haven’t experienced the truth, or God, still live as slaves to their emotions (anger, jealousy, lust, etc.), thoughts (traumas, beliefs, ideals etc.) and reactive natures, that come from perceiving themselves as separate from everything around them.
By giving mercy we’re not just freeing others from the labels we’ve created for others, but we’re freeing ourselves from all that emotional attachment we carry around as the heavy inner energy known as ‘hate’.
5 & 6.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 (KJV)
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you. Matthew 5:11 (KJV)
In these two sentences, Jesus described perfectly the eternal struggle of the sincere spiritual seeker; that of becoming a social outsider, a Lone Wolf.
Those who aspire to change, to transform themselves, to improve and become better, will constantly have to fight against the entire world, the social collective, and even their families. To strive to be aware and free from your mental chains of beliefs, social values and materialistic desires will make you appear crazy or highly dangerous to the mass of man who are still chained.
Historically we are well aware of these patterns, and keep them around as common sayings, for example: “A prophet is never recognized in his own country” or a “Genius is never recognized while they live“.
7.
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5, (KJV)
A man of immense insight, Jesus anticipated the psychological idea of “Projection” in this verse. With our judgments, our hatred, or lack of inner peace, we perceive these same elements in those around us who don’t share our perception.
8.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Matthew 16:25–26 (KJV)
There is a self-preserving nature within us all, an individualistic identity known psychologically as our ‘ego‘ that tries to protect its existence at the cost of denying us the ability to experience our souls.
Our ego fools us into thinking that ‘attaining life’ is accumulating external things like possessions, power, status or indulging in pleasure. To ‘lose our life’ in this sense, is to lose this false reality, this dream we’ve created of who we think we are and where we think we come from.
9.
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 (KJV)
Jesus was an intense man as we can clearly see in Biblical accounts such as the story of the “Cleansing of the Temple”. He was a man who was radically uncompromising in his search for truth, and he expected no less from his disciples.
To prioritize the search for truth above all was an essential ingredient to be a sincere seeker. ‘Hating’ your father, mother, etc. was a metaphor for placing everything beneath the intention to be aware in order to awaken to your higher divine self.
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Superficially it may sound like a selfish act to place your quest for truth and liberation above your family, but deep down it is an act of pure Self-love. To be able to help anyone, you must first be able to help yourself. To free yourself from the enslavement to your thoughts and emotions will transform you into a person that is centered and experiencing inner peace in order to help others. Without helping yourself first, you live a selfish life of indulging your ‘Pride’, or egotistical desires.
10.
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:21 (KJV)
In these few words, Jesus was trying to solve the timeless problem many spiritual seekers encounter; that of thinking God, Heaven, or Divinity is an external place or entity.
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!” Don’t believe anyone who is telling you to look here or there, because the only way you will find God is within, through self-exploration, of exploring your heart and your soul.
***
At the core of any religion are lessons that help you become a better and wiser person. It is important not to let our interpretations be tainted by others understanding of them, and to only apply to our lives that which rings true to our own experience. These teachings of Jesus (as well as many other Masters), have helped me accomplish that.
Are there any interpretations from Jesus, or any other spiritual or religious Master, that have aided you in your own inner work path?
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Whenever someone’s asked me what my view on religion is, I’ve always stated I don’t indulge in any theory unless I can explain it as simply as 1+1=2. Or analyze it to a similar level. I’m not “God” nor would I pretend to be by simply stating something must be right because I believe it to be so. That being said I’ve never had a problem with people that pursue religious activities in a positive manner. But so many hundreds of thousands have become indoctrinated into this ethnocentric paradox of “self-rightfulness”, and even completely miss the most basic themes of compassion in their own religion :/.
Ranting aside thank you for restoring some of my faith in one particular religion. I’ll have to spend some time working through the bible again, preferably without a priest “instructing” me in the process.
Thank you for knowledge! Keep it up!
Thanks Mateo. Great article and I resonate with your interpetions, However I’d like to know how the writing of words like ye originated in the bible? Peter
My Mama taught me that Jesus’ saying of ‘turn the other cheek’ meant ‘turn and walk’, thus turning , instead of left or right cheek to be struck again, turning one’s backside cheek in leaving abuse. An old friend of hers from early childhood explained it as Aramaic street slang, from a man speaking for fishermen, not speaking for the ‘educated’.
This helps me, personally not to stay around ‘friends’ who will harm me, to move on instead.
Very interesting article. I was an evangelical Christian for about 30 years. I still respect the teachings of Jesus – however, when I saw your article I was hoping you would include your interpretation of “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”. Now that I no longer consider myself to be a Christian, this verse bothers me. Jesus appears to be saying that he is the only way to God. I sometimes wonder whether he never really said that, but that he said something more like “I show the way, you can only come to the father through following my teachings” but his followers may have misinterpreted it. What do you think?
I really appreciate this article as I know there are hot debates on what is the “absolute truth” of the Bible. I grew up in a devout Christian family (churchgoing, talking about God and Jesus daily, ministry work) so it really influenced how I was raised and how I should view the world. I know my parents want me to follow the Christian path and be a “Christ-follower”, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t the path for me. As long as I can remember, I never really resonated with it. I even tried to conform my beliefs to the Christian ones years ago but that didn’t work. I felt like I couldn’t grow as a person. It wasn’t until I was a senior in high school (17 years old) did I began to explore spirituality and teachings from spiritual teachers by reading articles and watching videos from the Internet, which gave me immense insights into life and changed my life forever and for the better. I see myself as spiritual but not religious, and I feel deep down that it’s what will help me grow. I know there is a danger in absolutely adhering to certain beliefs because it… Read more »
You say that some people are not aware of their higher self. You say that higher self is actually you, but “higher” than you(rself). Who is the higher self, which spiritual seekers searching? Is it themselfves? It’s not their self, but something else, or rather someone else, which lives in them.
High self-esteem are usually end up failing at a person. They think themselves something better and they expect to be better, but end up in failing. If one wants to find his “higher-self”, then he must throw away his expectations.
Here is one example of a perfect man: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded (to) you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Luke 17:10 KJV
Down steep hills, through crowded streets I walk… and behold the emptiness of human kind. “Come dance with us,” cry some, “for it is pleasing to the Lord our God.” “Come sing with us,” cry others, “surely the Lord will bless us.” “Come, let us proclaim the Gospel,” cry others, “for this is the good work to which we are called.” “Let us lay hands on the sick that they might be healed,” they called, “surely the Spirit of God is upon us.” “Behold,” they cried in unison, as one standing together, “see what great things the Lord has done; we are free from the corruption of the world. We are clean, no longer defiled.” In their midst sat a man with a book who proclaimed, “Behold, the Word of Life wherein may be found all righteousness and truth. Let us learn of its mysteries that we may be the children of God.” Onward I walked and soon found a path, overgrown with thorns and little used. As I walked the path thorns pulled at and tore me in many places, and at each cut I remembered a face from the crowd. Alone I walked, and came to a hill… Read more »
The two main things I’ve learned in my religious quest is that we CAN make personal contact with our Creator – believe it or not!
And that this life is not all there is… we may be in this world, but we’re not of it –
John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as it loves its own people. But I have chosen you to be different from those in the world. So you don’t belong to the world, and that is why the world hates you.
– which is why we feel so uncomfortable and displaced. We’re actually destined for the world to come…
You have done well … This is only my opinion and it may be wrong but what you have written mirrors my understanding of truth and the pursuit of love with my fellow man. Thank you for posting this.
Some people are blinded by false beliefs. They obey what their religion tells them to do. But I respect their belief. It is just that some of them continue criticizing each other’s religion. And i think it’s wrong. I believe in God and not in religion cause for me it’s confusion. I always listen to my innerself and to the faith in me. After reading your article, Sol, it makes everything clear now for me. I hope people will be aware of Jesus’ message to us. Thank you for writing this.