Paper 136 Overview: Baptism and the Forty Days

Jesus began his public ministry when interest in John the Baptist's preaching was at its peak and when the Jewish people eagerly anticipated the Messiah's appearance. The contrast between these two leaders was striking—John was earnest and urgent in his work, while Jesus was calm and joyful. John's message emphasized repentance and fleeing from divine wrath, whereas Jesus, while maintaining the call to repentance, expanded it with the good news of joy and freedom within the coming kingdom. Their different approaches reflected their distinct roles in preparing for and establishing the spiritual kingdom.

The forty days following Jesus' baptism represented a crucial period during which he made pivotal decisions about his mission and methodology. Withdrawing into the Perean hills, Jesus engaged in deep contemplation about how to fulfill his divine purpose while operating within human limitations. He decided against using supernatural powers for personal benefit or to impress potential followers, rejecting the prevailing expectations of a miracle-working Messiah. Instead, he chose to operate through natural human processes, to prioritize the Father's will over his own, and to focus on revealing God's loving nature through his life and teachings. These decisions established the pattern for his entire public ministry and reflected the unique approach of his universe sovereignty.

Jesus began his public work during the height of popular interest in John's preaching and at a time when the Jewish people eagerly anticipated the Messiah's appearance. A profound contrast existed between John and Jesus—John labored with earnestness and intensity, while Jesus worked with tranquility and happiness. John could hardly be considered a comfort or example to others, whereas Jesus provided consolation and demonstrated a way of living that others could follow. The Master spoke of John as the greatest prophet of the old order, yet noted that even the least person who embraced the new way and entered the kingdom would be greater than John.

When John preached about the coming kingdom, his central message emphasized repentance and escaping the coming judgment. Jesus also called for repentance in his preaching, but he consistently followed this with the gospel—the good news about the joy and freedom available in the new kingdom. This fundamental difference in messaging revealed their complementary roles: John as the final prophet of the preparatory era and Jesus as the inaugurator of a new spiritual dispensation that would transform human understanding of relationship with God.

The Jews maintained diverse perspectives on the expected deliverer, with each school of Messianic teaching finding support in various Hebrew scriptural passages. The general Jewish view held that their national history began with Abraham and would culminate with the Messiah and the new age of God's kingdom. The concept evolved from viewing the deliverer as "the servant of the Lord" to "the son of David," "Son of Man," and finally "Son of God," with learned Jews of Jesus' time conceptualizing the Messiah as embodying the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.

The prevailing belief among Jews was that the Messiah would deliver them from Roman domination through miraculous powers and feats surpassing those Moses performed in freeing their ancestors from Egyptian bondage. The rabbis had compiled nearly five hundred passages from Scripture which they interpreted as prophetic of the Messiah's coming, though these often contained apparent contradictions. Their focus on restoring Jewish national glory—Israel's temporal exaltation—rather than world salvation, created a materialistic Messianic concept that Jesus could never satisfy. Had they viewed these prophecies differently, they might have recognized Jesus as concluding one age and beginning a new and better dispensation of mercy and salvation for all nations.

Jesus was baptized during the peak period of John's ministry, when Palestine was spiritually awakened by the prophet's message that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Jewish sense of racial solidarity was profound, leading many devout souls to receive John's baptism not because they personally felt guilty of specific sins, but for the good of Israel and out of fear that some sin of ignorance might delay the Messiah's coming. Jesus participated in this ritual not as an act of repentance or for remission of sins, but following the example of many pious Israelites.

When Jesus entered the Jordan for baptism, he had achieved the pinnacle of human evolutionary development in conquering his mind and identifying with his indwelling spirit. As John baptized him, the divine Thought Adjuster within Jesus departed and returned as a Personalized Adjuster, speaking the words, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." This voice was heard by John and Jesus' two brothers but not by John's other disciples. Following this profound spiritual event, Jesus prayed to his Father, received a vision of himself as a Son of God, and was thereafter in constant communion with this exalted Adjuster throughout his earthly ministry. This moment marked the conclusion of Jesus' purely human life and the beginning of his conscious awareness of his combined human and divine natures.

Jesus' forty-day solitude in the Perean hills followed his greatest mortal temptation on Mount Hermon, where he had already defeated Caligastia, the rebellious "prince of this world." During this period of seclusion, Jesus adjusted to the changed relationships between himself and the universe resulting from the personalization of his Adjuster, while formulating plans and determining techniques for proclaiming the kingdom of God. Unlike Moses and Elijah before him, Jesus did not withdraw for fasting or self-affliction, but for meditation and planning his future ministry.

During this period, Jesus encountered several significant universe personalities. Gabriel, the Bright and Morning Star of Nebadon, reestablished personal communication with Jesus and informed him that his bestowal experience was virtually complete regarding earning perfect sovereignty of his universe and terminating the Lucifer rebellion. The Constellation Father of Edentia appeared to confirm that all records were complete and that Jesus could, at any time of his choosing, terminate his incarnation and return to the right hand of his Father. Despite this confirmation that his technical work was finished, Jesus chose to remain on earth to complete his human mission, promising to keep the counsel he had received regarding the Father's will.

Day by day in the hills, Jesus formulated his plans for the remainder of his earthly ministry, making crucial decisions about his approach. His first resolution was to avoid teaching simultaneously with John, preferring to remain comparatively withdrawn until John's work accomplished its purpose or was interrupted by imprisonment. Jesus anticipated that John's fearless preaching would soon provoke opposition from civil authorities, and he deliberately planned his future public work with this understanding in mind.

After coordinating his program with John's movement, Jesus reviewed Immanuel's instructions about his methods of labor, noting the directive to leave no permanent writing on the planet. Upon returning to Nazareth, he would destroy all his previous writings preserved at the carpenter shop. Jesus carefully considered Immanuel's advice regarding his economic, social, and political attitudes toward the world as he would find it. Unlike popular misconceptions, Jesus did not fast during these forty days, except for his first two days when he was so engrossed in thinking that he forgot to eat. This period represented the final conference between his human and divine minds, conclusively demonstrating that the divine mind had spiritually dominated the human intellect.

On the third day of his secluded conference with himself and his Personalized Adjuster, Jesus received a vision of the assembled celestial hosts of Nebadon—twelve legions of seraphim and proportionate numbers of every order of universe intelligence—awaiting his command. His first momentous decision concerned whether to utilize these mighty personalities in connection with his upcoming public ministry on earth. After careful deliberation, Jesus decided not to employ any of these beings unless it became evident that this aligned with his Father's will.

Despite this general decision, these celestial hosts remained with Jesus throughout his earthly life, ready to obey the slightest expression of their Sovereign's will. Jesus assigned immediate command of this universe assembly to his Personalized Adjuster, who for more than four years directed these selected personalities from every division of universe intelligences. The Adjuster assured Jesus that these superhuman agencies would never be permitted to serve or manifest themselves in connection with his earth career unless the Father independently willed such intervention. This decision essentially eliminated the possibility of supernatural accompaniments to Jesus' ministry except in matters related to time, over which the Adjuster had limited control.

Having established his policy regarding the personalities of all classes of his created intelligences, Jesus now turned his thoughts to himself and how he would use his creator prerogatives in everyday situations. This matter presented itself practically when he grew hungry on the third day of his meditation, raising the question of whether he should use his divine powers to produce food or seek it through ordinary human means. What has been portrayed as a temptation by supposed enemies to "command that these stones become loaves of bread" was actually this inner deliberation.

Jesus settled upon a consistent policy for the remainder of his earth labors: he chose to pursue the path of normal earthly existence concerning his personal needs and relations with other personalities. He decided against transcending, violating, or outgraging his own established natural laws, though he was warned these laws might be greatly accelerated in conceivable circumstances. In principle, Jesus organized his life's work in accordance with natural law and harmony with existing social structures—essentially deciding against miracles and wonders in his personal life. He chose the "unnatural" course of not seeking self-preservation, formulating his conclusion in the scriptural words: "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

Having resolved matters regarding food and physical ministration, Jesus next considered his approach to personal danger. He decided to exercise normal precautions for his human safety but to refrain from superhuman intervention if his life in the flesh faced termination. As he formulated this decision, Jesus sat under a tree on an overhanging ledge with a precipice before him, fully recognizing he could cast himself off unharmed if he were willing to rescind his previous decisions against invoking celestial assistance.

Jesus understood that his countrymen expected a Messiah who would transcend natural law, as Scripture stated: "There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways." However, he recognized that such presumption and defiance of his Father's laws of gravity would not reveal his Father but would merely trifle with the established laws of the universe. Thus, Jesus remained steadfastly loyal to this decision throughout his life, regardless of whether Pharisees taunted him for a sign or observers at Calvary challenged him to come down from the cross.

The next significant problem Jesus resolved in accordance with the Father's will concerned whether to employ his superhuman powers to attract attention and win followers. He decidedly rejected this approach, settling upon a policy that eliminated using spectacular powers as a method of drawing attention to his mission. He consistently upheld this great decision throughout his ministry, almost invariably advising those who received his healing ministry to tell no one about the benefits received, and always refusing his enemies' challenges to "show a sign" as proof of his divinity.

Jesus wisely recognized that performing miracles and wonders would only evoke outward allegiance by impressing material minds, but would not reveal God or genuinely save people. He refused to become merely a wonder-worker, resolving instead to focus exclusively on establishing the kingdom of heaven. Despite the human element of questioning and near-doubting in this momentous dialogue with himself, Jesus remained positive in his decision not to create even one unnatural situation to enhance his moral values or accelerate spiritual progress. He refused to compromise with evil or consort with sin, triumphantly putting loyalty to his Father's will above every earthly consideration.

On his final day of isolated contemplation, before descending the mountain to rejoin John and his disciples, Jesus made his ultimate decision. He communicated to his Personalized Adjuster: "And in all other matters, as in these now of decision-record, I pledge you I will be subject to the will of my Father." With this commitment, he journeyed down the mountain, his face shining with the glory of spiritual victory and moral achievement.