The feast of the Passover was a yearly festival in commemoration of the hour when the son of man should be lifted from death unto Life. This Jewish festival was but little understood by those who so devoutly carried out the letter of the feast; since their literal apprehension of it blinded them to the true spiritual feast, that Jesus gave the apostles. Judaism represents literalism. They were looking for a personal Saviour, that is: they expected God to come to man. Through Science, we have at last learned that God is too pure to behold iniquity. Science and Health teaches us that man must become Godlike, instead of God becoming manlike; that we must put off the old man of sin and death, and be led by the Spirit of God which is wholly good. All who now are looking for the second coming of Christ, and who yet reject His impersonal appearing in Science, are the "Jews" of the present time. Our devout literalists are to-day trying to crucify the Christ-Life manifested in the Science of Healing. Jesus and the eleven apostles represent the highest sense of good at that time; a little band of faithful followers of the true Principle of Life in good, who had overcome all pride and selfishness, and were now entering with Jesus the new kingdom of righteousness, purity and goodness.
Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.
The feast of unleavened bread is the spiritual interpretation of all things that gives mortals the true understanding of Life. "Unleavened" means the absence of all sense of sin and error of belief. This feast typified the time when sin shall have no more dominion over man; when all shall know God, from the least to the greatest. Impersonal love demands the sacrifice of all sense of the flesh. The finest of the flock were killed to show that the highest sense of mortal good must be sacrificed for the pure, spiritual understanding of Life and Love. The highest mortal affections must give way to impersonal Love. Jesus, the purest mortal sense of good, must pass-over from the dream of Life, Substance and Intelligence in matter, to the true sense of Life, Substance and Intelligence in Mind—Divine Principle. The time had come when the material claim of life must be given up. He must prove to the world his teachings. He said "I and my Father are one," "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." He taught the allness of God, and the oneness of Life in the divine Principle of good. In this sense, Jesus' sacrifice was for the whole world. The whole world is individual mind—one represents the whole. The demonstration of one over the false claim of Life in matter, demands the same demonstration from all; and all have to take up the same cross-bearing spirit and follow him in demonstration of Truth. Not one has been saved from sin, sickness or death by Jesus' personal death; but we are saved when we each, like him, overcome in ourself the law of sin in the personal sense of Life. If we would reap the reward he reaped, we must meet each and every individual claim of sin, through demonstration in Science. Fidelity to the one Principle, gives us strength and courage and lifts us above all doubt, fear and distrust—the fruits of the personal sense of power.
And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him.
In impersonal rendering, "chief priests" here would signify the ruling passions within man—pride, ambition, self-righteousness, self-love—that would destroy all that is noble and good in him, and make him hypocritical, deceitful, overbearing;—the same spirit the chief priests and scribes manifested toward Jesus. He had overcome all sense of sin in his own nature, and thereby they felt rebuked; pride blinding them to prevent their receiving the rebuke in the right spirit. The scribes, impersonally, might represent the abiding sense of selfishness manifested in these different forms of error. Their pride of person was touched by his teachings; for he taught as one having authority, and the power of his words was felt. He rebuked their personal religion, their personal sense of God, and they sought to destroy him. Error always tries to make Truth appear the lie. The worst enemy Science has to meet to day is false theology.
Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
Satan represents selfishness, the fountain of all evil; and Judas is the embodiment of selfishness and sensuality. Judas no doubt had had the same advantages in listening to Jesus' teachings that the rest of the apostles had; and it is even thought he was one of the most promising of the twelve; but he failed to conquer pride, self-love, covetousness. Covetousness will lead into all sin, and pride will conceal its tracks; they walk hand in hand. Pride is the outer garment of mortal mind, that conceals all the inner evil thoughts and actions. Let the spirit of pride and covetousness enter where selfishness is the ruling passion, and betrayal of the good that we would have is sure to follow— except we conquer through Science.
And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.
Self-love, pride, self-will and self-exaltation are ever communing together as one to try to overthrow the honest convictions of truth and love in our nature.
And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
Money itself is considered the false representative of the highest sense of good, impersonal love; and the love of money indicates great love of self, of personal power. Error always enters at the weakest point of our nature, if the door be not made secure by our understanding of Science. Evil compensates only for selfish purposes, and disappointment and despair are the sure reward of sin and wrong doing. True remuneration and compensation are a law of gratitude and love. As with Judas, selfishness blinds us to our own interests. We ever stand in our own light when we turn away from the true motive of life, which is "love thy neighbor as thyself."
And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.
The multitude, here, represents our general verdict in favor of the truth of Jesus' teachings. Judas believed his teachings to be truth, but he was too selfish to meet the claim of sin that caused the betrayal. This teaches us, that one sense of sin yielded to, will lead us to betraying all sense of good into the hands of the worst sense of evil; and we cannot be free until we pay the last farthing, in sickness and death. Flesh will manifest the law of sin and sickness, and death will follow. Jesus was not crucified for his own personal sins, but for the sins of those who represented him. He was betrayed by one of his own apostles, was delivered into the hands of envy and malice by the greatest error manifested through one of the twelve. The spiritual light manifested through Jesus at the last supper, revealed the error that would betray the Christ-Principle—that is, selfishness and sensuality, the complete representation of the five personal senses.
Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
The day of unleavened bread is the hour when all error must be sifted from the Truth, and Jesus suffered that this error might be brought to consciousness and destroyed. We cannot destroy sin until we are awakened to a sense of it; so, when Judas was awakened to a consciousness of having betrayed the innocent Jesus, he destroyed himself. Truth brings error to the surface to be self-destroyed, and innocence must suffer, in belief, for exposing guilt; hence Jesus said, "take up the cross and follow me." There is no doubt that Jesus had great compassion for Judas at this hour of trial, that he tried hard to save him from the sin and shame of this cowardly act. There is but one "mortal mind," or belief of life in matter, and Judas is the perfect representation of this enmity to God. Truth destroying error, must meet the malice of injured pride. Jesus was the Passover to be killed. The last supper, in one sense, means the last enemy to be destroyed—when the Truth shall be free as manifested in Christ Jesus; when man shall have dominion over the whole earth, and know no other mind but Good; when consciously he shall be wholly governed by divine Principle. God will not allow us to enter His kingdom until all sense of sin is destroyed. All personal sense of life, with its false affections, must be crucified before we can have the perfect love that casts out fear—the Love that brings mercy with justice. This Love had to be brought out in Jesus before he could become the Christ, the son of God.
And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
The passover must be prepared by the declaration of Truth. Peter and John stood highest in thought with him, hence could best understand him; moreover, they understood the signs of the times, could best read mental conditions, having overcome errors of belief in themselves.
And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
This city is Divine Science. When we acknowledge God to be the only Life and Intelligence of man, and through demonstration enter into scientific relation with Him—as in obedience to His will Jesus did—we also will have given us the revelation of Truth in its highest sense. House, here, represents a state of harmony in Science; and the man bearing the pitcher of water represents faith based upon understanding of Science, that will lead us into perfect knowledge of harmonious life.
And ye shall say unto the good man of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.
The "good man "of the house is Divine Mind, which provides all needful things; we having but to utilize the abundance of His goodness in the way He has appointed. The large upper room is the guest chamber of the pure affection of Soul. We enter this beautiful guest-room—"not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
Understanding of the One Mind will lead us into all Truth. When we enter into the spirit of Christ, we will then know what He has for us to do; but mortal ears cannot hear the voice of Truth and Love.
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
To sit at the table together was to be on an equality. Jesus' great aim was to teach them meekness, humbleness, and forbearance toward each other; and himself set the example by washing their feet. They had not yet reached the summit of the beautiful "mountain of righteousness" composed of all the virtues, else they had not had strife among themselves as to who should be greatest. To this query Jesus' reply is: "He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? But I am among you as he that serveth." A beautiful lesson of meekness that no doubt destroyed the seeming sense of selfishness in them.
And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.
Jesus no doubt had audibly and mentally taught and prepared them for his last instructions at the feast of the Passover. He would have to spiritualize their thought before they could understand his spiritual lesson in the true theology of life.
For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
To eat is to partake of, to strengthen, to be in relation with. I will give no more instructions, or partake no more of this understanding with you, until the law has been fulfilled in me; until all righteousness has been fulfilled through me, and Mind is realized to be the only power, the only law given in and to man. All life is expressed through man and the universe. Man, the compound idea, includes the full sense of life; but man under the law of sin has lost the true meaning of spiritual Life. All that is not spiritual is not real; for Spirit is eternal, and eternity and reality have the same signification.
And he took the cup and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
In the fifteenth chapter of John, Jesus said: "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." The vine, to us, would represent the spiritual idea of life; the fruit of the vine, the full understanding and demonstration of Truth; and the wine, the inspiration of the revelation of Life and Love. The cup and wine together, represent Science, in which is revealed Truth and Love. "Take this cup and divide it among yourselves." Love one another as I have loved you. Receive this blessing in remembrance of what I have done for you, and the same give to each other. He had been clothing them with spiritual light; and now they must share the work and fruits with each other; for he himself must leave them and pass on to a higher realm (understanding) of Light.
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Bread, here, means the understanding of Truth revealed; the word of God made manifest. "He brake it," that is, he explained the Truth to all present, "saying this is my body," —his pure spiritual sense of good given to them. He was giving them a foretaste of heavenly life, that they might not forget his teachings. The literal eating and drinking is the false, or literal, expression of understanding and demonstration. Hunger and thirst are the physical manifestation of a mental want. This is the reason that Mind can heal best. Wheat is supposed to contain every quality necessary to sustain life, hence bread is given as a symbol of life. Paul gives, in first Corinthians, a clear explanation: "For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." Also, "the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?"
Communion means union of thought, the realization of the one understanding in Truth, Life and Love. The one realization of the All-Good, brings out the power of Principle. The pure sense of divine Life that Jesus realized, was the bread and wine that strengthened and inspired the apostles. There is but one Life—one bread, one faith, one baptism of the Holy Ghost. There is but one voice, one love, one truth, one presence, one communion. There is but one cup now for us each to drink from, and that cup is ever filled with inspiration from the real vine of Life. In this sense Jesus celebrated the feast of the Passover, and we now are partaking of the same bread and wine in Science. The same faith that once delivered the saints, is now delivering us. We are now in the passover feast of understanding and demonstration that will deliver us from all error, if we prove faithful and true to the Principle.
