Paper 130 Overview: On the Way to Rome

Jesus' tour of the Roman world occurred during his twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth years of life, spanning from April 26, A.D. 22, to December 10, A.D. 23. During this time, he traveled with two natives from India—a wealthy merchant named Gonod and his son Ganid—beginning in Jerusalem and journeying through numerous Mediterranean cities including Alexandria, Athens, and Rome before ending at Charax on the Persian Gulf. This extensive journey provided Jesus with opportunities to study the different cultures of the Occidental world while simultaneously serving as a teacher to young Ganid and as an interpreter for Gonod during business meetings.

Jesus spent about half of each day teaching Ganid and interpreting for Gonod, and the rest forging meaningful connections with people from all walks of life. Through these firsthand encounters, Jesus gained profound insight into the higher material and intellectual civilizations of the Western world and the Levant. From Gonod and Ganid, he also learned much about Indian and Chinese cultures, as Gonod had made three extensive visits to China, giving Jesus a well-rounded understanding of major world civilizations.

The Mediterranean journey of Jesus and his two Indian companions, Gonod and Ganid, began when they left Jerusalem on Sunday morning, April 26, A.D. 22, and concluded at Charax on the Persian Gulf on December 10, A.D. 23. Their extensive travel route took them from Jerusalem to Caesarea by way of Joppa, then to Alexandria by boat, followed by numerous stops including Crete, Carthage, Naples, Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Cyprus, Antioch, Damascus, Babylon, and finally Charax, where Jesus parted ways with his friends.

Jesus had acquired some knowledge of the language spoken by his Indian companions while working in Damascus, where he had spent four months translating Greek texts into one of India's languages. Throughout the Mediterranean tour, Jesus divided his time between teaching Ganid and serving as interpreter for Gonod's business dealings, and making personal connections with the people he encountered along the way. Through his observations and interactions, Jesus learned about Western civilization, while gaining insights about Eastern cultures from his conversations with Gonod and Ganid, who repeatedly invited him to return with them to India—an offer Jesus consistently declined, citing his responsibilities to his family in Palestine.

During their stay in Joppa, Jesus formed a meaningful friendship with Gadiah, a Philistine interpreter who worked for Simon the tanner. The connection between them was spiritually significant because, as the text states, "When a great truth seeker and a great truth giver meet, the result is a great and liberating enlightenment born of the experience of new truth." One evening as they walked by the sea, Gadiah pointed out the ship landing where Jonah had reportedly embarked on his ill-fated voyage to Tarshish, and asked Jesus if he thought the fish really swallowed Jonah.

Recognizing that this story had profoundly influenced Gadiah's sense of duty, Jesus offered a thoughtful response that preserved the story's moral value without necessarily confirming its literal truth. He explained that all people are like Jonah when they attempt to escape their present duties, placing themselves under the control of influences that oppose truth and righteousness. Jesus emphasized that "flight from duty is the sacrifice of truth," but added that even those who have fallen into despair can be delivered when they sincerely seek God with a hungry heart. This conversation deeply moved Gadiah, who later became a believer after hearing Peter preach, and played a significant role in convincing Simon, a wealthy leather merchant, to embrace Christianity.

While in Caesarea, Jesus and his companions had to extend their stay because one of the steering paddles on their ship needed repairs. Jesus, skilled in woodworking, volunteered to help craft a new paddle, demonstrating his willingness to use his practical abilities whenever needed. During their evenings, Jesus, Gonod, and Ganid enjoyed walking along the promenade surrounding the port, with Jesus explaining to Ganid the city's impressive water system that utilized tides to flush the streets and sewers. They also attended performances at both the amphitheater and theater, visited the governor's palace, and engaged in various cultural activities that broadened young Ganid's experiences.

At their lodging, Jesus had several meaningful conversations with a merchant from Mongolia who spoke Greek fairly well. This merchant was deeply impressed by Jesus' philosophy about "living the heavenly life while on earth by means of daily submission to the will of the heavenly Father." Upon returning to Mongolia, the merchant taught these advanced truths to his neighbors and business associates, which led to a multigenerational commitment to monotheism—his son became a Taoist priest, and his descendants continued promoting the doctrine of One God. The narrative notes that had someone like Peter or Paul taken Jesus' teachings to Asia, where spiritual hunger was great, they might have found an equally receptive audience as they did in the West, suggesting the universal appeal of Jesus' message.

Upon arrival in Alexandria, Jesus and his companions were immediately impressed by the famous lighthouse of Pharos, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As they admired this remarkable structure, Jesus used it as a teaching opportunity, telling Ganid: "You will become like the light of life to those who sit about you in darkness, showing all who so desire the way to reach the harbor of salvation in safety." This metaphor deeply moved Ganid, who promised to fulfill such a mission upon his return to India.

During their stay in Alexandria, while Gonod attended to business matters, Jesus and Ganid spent considerable time at the city's renowned library, which housed nearly a million manuscripts from civilizations across the world. There, Jesus guided Ganid through a comparative study of the world's religions, helping him to collect teachings from those that recognized a Universal Deity. Throughout these discussions, Jesus consistently emphasized that "Yahweh is the God developed from the revelations of Melchizedek and the covenant of Abraham," and that the Jewish religion, despite its limitations, "portrayed a clearer recognition of the Lord God of Israel as the Universal Father in heaven than any other world religion." Jesus tactfully commended the elements of truth in Greek philosophy and Stoic doctrines while emphasizing that a true religion must lead people to find God and enjoy a living experience of knowing the Eternal.

The night before departing Alexandria, Jesus and Ganid had an intellectually stimulating conversation with a university professor about Plato's teachings. After the professor left, Jesus engaged in a heart-to-heart discussion with Ganid about the nature of reality in the universe. Using language that Ganid could comprehend, Jesus delivered a profound discourse on the relationship between the finite and the infinite, explaining that "The source of universe reality is the Infinite" and that material things are "time-space repercussions of the Paradise Pattern and the Universal Mind of the eternal God."

Jesus elaborated on the nature of reality, teaching that even in an ever-changing universe, the Original Personality remains changeless and absolute. He explained that the highest achievement for finite creatures is to recognize the Universal Father and know the Supreme, emphasizing that "only in the perfection, harmony, and unanimity of will can the creature become as one with the Creator." When Ganid raised further questions about evil, Jesus described it as "a relativity concept" that arises from the necessary incompleteness of finite existence. He cautioned against static concepts, which "invariably retard science, politics, society, and religion," teaching instead that truth is dynamic and continually evolving in its expression.

On Crete, Jesus and Ganid spent their time hiking, mountain climbing, and engaging with the local population. Despite the Cretans' reputation for questionable character (later referenced in Paul's critical remarks to Titus), Jesus formed meaningful connections with many islanders, helping them elevate their thinking and way of living. These positive interactions laid a foundation for the later reception of Christian teachings when the first preachers from Jerusalem arrived on the island, demonstrating how Jesus' personal ministry prepared the way for the subsequent spread of his message.

During their time on Crete, Gonod had a significant conversation with Jesus about religion and was so impressed that he again proposed Jesus return to India with them—a suggestion that delighted Ganid. When the young man asked Jesus why he had not become a public teacher, Jesus responded with wisdom about divine timing: "Everything must await the coming of its time. You are born into the world, but no amount of anxiety and no manifestation of impatience will help you to grow up." He used the example of Moses and his forty years of preparation to illustrate the importance of patience and proper timing in spiritual work. This principle of divine timing would remain central to Jesus' approach to his ministry.

While in the mountains of Crete, Jesus encountered a young man who was deeply troubled, fearful, and withdrawn from society due to feelings of inferiority and challenging life circumstances. Jesus approached him with great psychological insight, first asking for directions to Phenix to establish rapport. After the young man helpfully explained the trails, Jesus cleverly turned the conversation, saying it would be unfair to receive help finding his physical path without offering assistance for the young man's life journey. This approach opened the door to a deeper conversation about the young man's struggles.

With compassion and wisdom, Jesus encouraged the downcast youth to recognize his inner strengths and potential. He pointed out that the young man had a strong body, a capable mind, and most importantly, a spirit within that could stimulate and inspire his mind to control his body. Jesus told him, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will help you." Through this encounter, the young man—later identified as Fortune—experienced a spiritual rebirth that transformed him from a fearful wanderer into a confident leader. Fortune eventually became an influential figure among Christians in Crete and worked closely with Titus to strengthen and uplift the community of believers on the island.

During their journey to Carthage, Jesus entertained his companions with stories about his early life in Galilee, revealing himself to be an engaging storyteller. When Ganid inquired about how to make friends, Jesus provided practical advice: "Become interested in your fellows; learn how to love them and watch for the opportunity to do something for them which you are sure they want done." He reinforced this wisdom with the Jewish proverb, "A man who would have friends must show himself friendly," demonstrating his ability to offer timeless guidance for human relationships.

While in Carthage, Jesus had a profound philosophical conversation with a Mithraic priest about time and eternity. He explained that time is the "stream of flowing temporal events perceived by creature consciousness" and exists as a relative phenomenon outside of Paradise. Jesus taught that animals perceive time differently than humans, and as humans progress spiritually, they begin to see events less as a linear sequence and more as interconnected wholes. He described space as measured by time rather than time by space, and outlined seven different conceptions of space conditioned by time. Jesus concluded by explaining how time-space concepts expand as consciousness ascends toward higher realms, eventually approaching "the timeless and spaceless concepts of the Absolutes" at the transcendental levels of existence.

The journey toward Italy included several meaningful encounters that demonstrated Jesus' gift for transforming lives through brief but profound interactions. On Malta, Jesus counseled a despondent young man named Claudus who had contemplated suicide. After their conversation, Claudus embraced life with new purpose, later becoming a Cynic preacher and eventually joining Peter in proclaiming Christianity in Rome, Naples, and Spain. In Syracuse, Jesus helped rehabilitate Ezra, a backslidden Jew who had lost hope of finding God, by reassuring him that his desire to find God was evidence that God had already found him. At Messina, Jesus made a lasting impression on a young fruit vendor with a few kind words and the suggestion to "learn how to feed the soul" just as he fed the body.

Upon reaching Naples, Jesus and Ganid explored the city and continued their pattern of identifying and helping those in need. Jesus taught Ganid an important lesson about discernment after giving a coin to a street beggar but declining to speak with him, explaining that words are wasted on those who cannot "perceive the meaning" or respond to spiritual leading. From Naples, they traveled by way of Capua and along the Appian Way toward Rome. All three travelers—Jesus, Gonod, and Ganid—eagerly anticipated seeing Rome, regarded as "the mistress of empire and the greatest city in all the world." Their excitement reflected the culmination of a journey that had broadened their horizons and deepened their understanding of the diverse cultures that comprised the Mediterranean world.