Jesus Walked Into the Wilderness Alone, Without a Friend

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 1011

The purpose of a church is to find and establish God’s nation; it is not to find and establish a church. God’s original ideal for creation was to establish one world centered on a nation. Hence, the destination of the church is to find that nation. (149-48, 1986.11.2)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1107

What do the words “Principle of the Unification Church” mean? Why is it called the Principle? The purpose of the Principle is to show clearly the borderline between the realm of dominion based upon accomplishments through the Principle and the realm of direct dominion.Adam and Eve, as firstborn children, had to grow through the stages of formation, growth and completion. This is the way of the Principle. Even within the realm of indirect dominion, human beings must fulfill their portion of responsibility if they are to perfect themselves. It means that until you reach maturity you should never have a love relationship. Before reaching adult-hood, Adam and Eve should not have committed themselves in this kind of relationship. That is why a boundary line was set and God told them, “Wait; do not take and eat!” (137-252, 1986.1.3)

Jesus

7. The Three Temptations in the Wilderness

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hun-gry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered,

“It is written,‘‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,‘‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! for it is written,‘‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.  
    Matthew 4.1-11

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Jesus defeated Satan by overcoming the three temptations in the wilderness, the last of them on a mountaintop. Yet we should realize that when Jesus journeyed to the wilderness after being rejected by John the Baptist and his followers—a situation that made likely his rejection by the Jewish people as well—he carried a heart of sorrow the like of which no one on the earth had ever experienced.
    Jesus appeared as the only Son of God, who came to resolve the 4,000-year history of God’s providence. He came as the seal of victory that God could boast about before that generation and countless generations to come. Yet it was with a sad heart Jesus that walked into the wilderness—alone, without a friend, leaving his family, the chosen John the Baptist, the religious authorities, and his people behind.
    Jesus set out, filled with determination and sense of mission to pay the debts of history. What did he think about during his 40 days of fasting? He felt an acute sense of responsibility to restore through indemnity, by himself, the rueful course of his forbearers…
    No one ever had more determination and resolution to fulfill God’s will than Jesus Christ. He went to the wilderness with a burning heart to capture and subjugate Satan. He stood alone on that mountain with a firmer determination than any ancestor in history. (5:194-96, January 25, 1959)

Satan tempted Jesus three times. First, while he was fasting for forty days, Satan tempted him with food. He appeared before Jesus and asked him to change a stone into bread. This would be good news to a starving person, but Jesus refused. He clearly stated, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This means that Jesus refused to yield any conditions to Satan pertaining to the necessities of life.     
    Throughout history up until that time, people had been fighting over material wealth. However, Jesus’ victory over Satan’s first test made it possible to bring and end to this interminable struggle for material goods.
    What trial did Jesus have to face next? Satan led him to the top of the Holy Temple. There he tested him, saying, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” Jesus came with the religious teaching that could educate Judaism and the people of Israel. When Satan said, “throw yourself down,” he meant for Jesus to bow down before the conventional Jewish doctrines and traditions and abandon his role to educate and lead them. But Jesus did not fall for Satan’s test. Instead he won the victory.
    What was the third test? “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’” Here Jesus rejected Satan’s demand in order to fulfill the Will of God. Far from needing Satan’s help, Jesus came bearing the universal teaching by which he would build God’s nation, the Kingdom of God. (3:121, October 13, 1957)

Jesus Should Have Married

Isaiah 3:16

16 The Lord says:
    The women of Jerusalem
are proud
and strut around,
    winking shamelessly.
They wear anklets that jingle
and call attention
    to the way they walk.
17 But I, the Lord, will cover
    their heads with sores,
and I will uncover
    their private parts.

Isaiah 6

8 After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?”

“I’ll go,” I answered. “Send me!”

Jesus

6. Misunderstood by His Family

He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” 
    Mark 6.1-4

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”… And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.
    Luke 2.41-51

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
    John 2.1-4

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
    Mark 3.31-35

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Today Christians easily believe that the Virgin Mary conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, but in those days who believed it? Apparently an illegitimate child, Jesus was the target of derision. His brothers cursed him, the villagers pointed fingers at him, and even children mocked him and harassed him. Jesus lived to be 33, yet he was not married. Why? Everyone gets married, but what family would willingly give their daughter to be the bride of such a pariah, to face the miserable circumstances of life with him? (243:242-43, January 17, 1993)

Do you think that the people in the village did not suppose that Jesus was an illegitimate child? They did, and this caused great tension between Joseph and Mary. Joseph asked Mary many times, “Who is the boy’s father?” Whenever he asked her, Mary could not answer. When she told him that she conceived Jesus by the Holy     Spirit, Joseph must have disbelieved her, saying, “I am the one who saved your life. What kind of game are you trying to play with me?” Thus they would fight and quar-rel all the time because of Joseph’s suspicions. Their fighting must have continued even after Mary gave birth to other children.  
    At the age of 12, Jesus had a chance to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. His parents did not know that they had left him behind until three days into their journey home. When they returned and found him in the Temple with the priests, Mary asked, “Why are you here?” Jesus replied, “Where else would I be but in my Father’s house?” He was complaining about his parents, who had left him behind for three days, returning home without him. (235:237-38, September 20, 1992)

Even when Jesus was helping Joseph with his carpentry work, he did not lead a comfortable life. His life was full of hardships, and his heart endured infinite sorrow. (7:334, October 18, 1959)

Mary did not help Jesus with the wedding he desired. She even opposed it. Jesus’ words to Mary during the wedding at Cana, “O woman, what have you to do with me?” reveal his reproachful heart toward his mother, who helped in the weddings of others but neglected to help her own son receive a bride. Yet for Jesus to marry was the most important requirement of the providence. With this perspective, we can understand why Jesus asked, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” (Matt. 12:48) (277:210, April 16, 1996)

In those days it was customary for males to marry at around 18 to 20 years of age. Why did Jesus not marry? Why was he still single even at the age of 33? In fact, when Jesus was 17 years old he honestly told Mary the providential reason why he must marry: Adam fell around age 16, to restore the Human Fall he had to marry, and a certain procedure would be required. Three times he spoke of this to his mother: at age 17, then again at age 27 and again at age 30. But his mother would not listen to him. (266:193, December 25, 1994)

The reason why Jesus had to go the way of the cross was only secondarily because the leaders of Israel betrayed him and the Jews went against him. The primary reason was that Joseph’s family could not prepare the day for Jesus to be blessed in a holy marriage. Had that one day come, Jesus would not have died on the cross. (30:173-74, March 22, 1970)

 

In Order to Raise Good Descendants, the Parents Should Do Well

#97-Why is the Truth about the January 6th US Capitol Protest Being Obfuscated? – VisionRoot The Richard Urban Show

Why is the Truth about the January 6th US Capitol Protest Being Obfuscated? – VisionRoot Blog Post

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1827

The time has come when we can farm under the ice. Do you know what this means? Flowers will bloom. If you go to Alaska, the tall mountains are covered with perpetual snow and grass grows in the central regions. Below there, flowers bloom and people go fishing. You have no idea what a beautiful and enchanted land it is. It is beautiful with clean water and clear air, and is a perfect ecologically balanced environment. If you ever visit there on vacation and enjoy it, you will want to live there and never leave. The reason I am exerting myself and investing in all these projects is because such things are now possible. (220-13, 1991.10.13)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1091

You cannot expect your children to grow well when you do not even strictly observe morning Pledge service, devotion, and Sunday service. You should establish a four-position foundation centering upon True Parents. In order to raise good descendants, the parents should do well. (21-87, 1968.10.27)

Jesus

5. Worldwide Preparation for Christ’s Advent

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea…” They went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
    Matthew 2.1-11

The ancient children of the East were possessed of a wisdom which they inherited from Abraham, who transmitted it to the sons of his concubines, as it is written, “Unto the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away… eastward, unto the country of the children of he East.” (Gen. 25.6). In the course of time they followed the track of that wisdom into many directions.
    Zohar 1.100b (Judaism)

I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven.
    Matthew 8.1

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Buddhism in India, Confucianism in China and Zoroastrianism in Persia were religions with leading influence in the Orient. Spiritualists of these religions could naturally recognize who Jesus was. (227:81, February 10, 1992)

In preparation for the First Coming of Christ, God sent the prophet Malachi to the chosen people 430 years beforehand to arouse in them a strong messianic expectation. At the same time… among the world’s peoples, God founded religions suited to their regions and cultures by which they could make the necessary internal preparations to receive the Messiah. In India, God established Buddhism through Gautama Buddha (565-485 b.c.) as a new development out of Hinduism. In Greece, God inspired Socrates (470-399 b.c.) and opened the brilliant age of classical Greek civilization. In the Far East, God raised up Confucius (552-479 b.c.), whose teachings of Confucianism established the standard of human ethics. Jesus was to come upon this worldwide foundation of preparation, and through his teachings he was to bring together Judaism, Hellenism, Buddhism and Confucianism. He was to unify all religions and civilizations into one worldwide civilization founded upon the Christian Gospel. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Parallels 6)

Jesus was born of Asian blood, but since he lost his body in Asia, his legacy moved in the opposite direction—to Western civilization centered on Rome—in a course of restoration through indemnity. Originally, had Jesus not died on the cross, He would have led Israel to create a unified religious sphere with Buddhism in India and Confucianism in the Far East, centered on his teachings. The religious realm was to be unified first. The highest leaders in the religious sphere communicate with the spirit world and know the direction of Heaven. For this reason, had Jesus won for Israel a degree of independence from Rome and unified the divided peoples in lands of the Middle East (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), he would certainly have been able to embrace Asia. (229:174-75, April 12, 1992)

It Only Takes a Spark to Start a Forest Fire!

#97-Why is the Truth about the January 6th US Capitol Protest Being Obfuscated? – VisionRoot The Richard Urban Show

Why is the Truth about the January 6th US Capitol Protest Being Obfuscated? – VisionRoot Blog Post

James 3

It takes only a spark to start a forest fire! 6 The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person’s entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. 8 But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison.

Ecclesiastes 1

10 I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. 11 Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.

Jesus

4. Preparation for Christ’s Advent and the Responsibility of John the Baptist

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

If the Messiah were sent to this fallen world without any preparations or foundation, the enemy Satan would definitely capture him and kill him. Therefore, to prepare for his coming, God worked throughout history to establish religions. God erected the major religions and separated good from evil to find the people on His side. God’s plan was to raise an individual, family, tribe, people and nation that could be victorious over Satan. It would be the prepared foundation, ready to unite totally with the Messiah when he came. That foundation was the nation called Israel, which means victory. (74:59-60, November 12, 1974)
 
Through many prophets, God sent messages promising that He would send the Messiah to Israel. Thus God built a foundation of messianic expectation in the Jewish people. At the proper time, God fulfilled His promise by sending His Son, the Messiah. He was Jesus. (73:218, September 18, 1974)
 
When Jesus was born, God proclaimed his advent. He sent the three wise men from the East as well as Simon, Anna, John the Baptist and others to testify widely.
    Concerning John the Baptist in particular, many people knew that an angel had appeared and testified to his conception. (Luke 1.13) The miracles surrounding his birth stirred all of Judea in expectation. (Luke 1.63-66) Furthermore, John’s ascetic life in the wilderness was so impressive that many people questioned in their hearts whether perhaps he was the Christ. (Luke 3.15) God’s purpose behind sending such a great personality as John the Baptist to bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah was to encourage the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. (Exposition of the Divine Principle,Messiah 1.3)I
 
f the Jewish believers who respected John the Baptist as a prophet had united with Jesus, what would have happened? Jesus’ disciples would have been the leading citizens of Israel, not poor fishermen. With that level of support, who would have dared arrested and killed Jesus? Was it originally God’s will that Jesus’ chief followers should be tax collectors and prostitutes? (74:153, November 28, 1974)
 
When the mind of John the Baptist was focused on God, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah and testified to him. Later, when the inspiration left him and he returned to a mundane state, his ignorance returned and exacerbated his faithlessness. Unable to acknowledge that he was the return of Elijah, John began to regard Jesus in the same disbelieving way as other Jews viewed him, particularly after he was imprisoned. Jesus’ every word and deed seemed to him only strange and perplexing. At one point, John tried to resolve his doubts by sending his disciples to Jesus and asking, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11.3)…
 
    John the Baptist had been chosen while still inside the womb for the mission of attending Jesus. He led an arduous, ascetic life in the wilderness, building his ministry in order to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. When Jesus began his public ministry, God revealed the identity of Jesus to John before anyone else and inspired John to bear witness to him as the Son of God. Yet John did not properly receive the grace that Heaven had bestowed on him. Therefore, when confronted with John’s doubting question, Jesus did not answer explicitly that he was the Messiah; he instead answered in this circuitous way. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Messiah 2.3)
 
Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” (Matt. 11.11) What did he mean by this? The mission of prophets through the ages was mainly to testify to the Messiah. Prophets in the past testified from a distance of time, but John the Baptist was the prophet contemporary with the Messiah, the prophet who could bear witness, in person, to the living Christ. Therefore he was the greatest among prophets. However, John failed to love and serve the Messiah. Even the least of the prophets then living in the spirit world knew that Jesus was the Son of God and served him. That is why John, who was given the greatest mission and failed, became less than the least.
    From his birth, John should have lived and died in the service of Christ, but instead he died over involvement in a trivial matter, the affair of Herodias. Was that the path God intended for John the Baptist?
    Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has advanced forcefully, and forceful men lay hold of it.” (Matt. 11:12) In other words, Jesus said that during days of John the Baptist just prior to the appearance of Jesus, there was the possibility that the Kingdom of Heaven could be taken and claimed by forceful men.
    If John the Baptist had believed in Jesus, he certainly would have become Jesus’ chief disciple. Jesus’ 12 disciples and 70 disciples would have been the leaders of John the Baptist’s group. As Jews of good reputation, they could have won over the scribes and priests to Jesus’ side.
    One day John’s followers came to him and asked, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” (John 3.26) They carried concern in their question: Look at all the people going to Jesus. What about you? John replied, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” (John 3.30) Usually this passage is interpreted as evidence of John’s humility. But what it really means is that John and Jesus were not united in heart and action. If Jesus and John had been united, their destiny would be to rise or fall together. Know, then, that the reason Jesus died on the cross was due to the failure of John the Baptist. (69:139, October 23, 1973)
 
 
 

There Can Be No Perfection in Ignorance

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2168

Are you brave soldiers who should stand forward for the establishment of the homeland, or are you failures who bring it down? When we say brave warriors, we mean those who can represent the nation and carry out the things that other people cannot do. We do not use the term brave soldier for the people who do what just anyone can do; they are the rank and file troops. The brave soldier is the one who carries out the mission that his comrades have retreated from or failed to accomplish. The word yong means swift, quick. The brave soldier has to be able to run faster than anyone else, and even to be able to dodge bullets. The term brave soldier is reserved for those who do what no one else can do.

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1260

There can be no perfection in ignorance. Who did I say Satan is? He is the adulterer. I have made all this clear to you. Do you think you can go to the Kingdom of Heaven if you ignore this? Do you think you can be saved if you ignore it? There is not even the slimmest chance. What a set of ignorant people! If you could be saved by just believing what you are told to believe, people like you and I would have been saved a long time ago. We would not have to suffer like this. (188-230, 1989.2.26)

Jesus

4. Preparation for Christ’s Advent and the Responsibility of John the Baptist

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
    Micah 5.2

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
who shall prepare thy way;
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight”—
 
John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey.
    Mark 1.2-6
 
John said, “I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
    The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
    John 1.26-34
 
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”
    As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out?… To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
 
‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,who shall prepare thy way before thee.’
 
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.
    For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
    Matthew 11.2-15
 
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
    John 1.19-21