“And the master commanded that the talent be taken from the one that did not work with it and he gave it to the one that worked the most.
“And then the servants said to him, ‘Lord, they already have so much.’
“And the master said, ‘Give it to them that worked most, because the one who watches over what he has been given will receive even more, and he who does not watch over it will have even his last bit taken away. Drive out the ones who do not want to be under my power, so that they are no longer here.’”
The master—that is the source of life, the spirit father. His servants are people. Talents are the life of the spirit. Just as the master does not work on his estate himself, but commands the servants to work, each on his own, likewise, the spirit of the father placed the spirit of life in people, gave them a decree to work for the life of other people and then left them alone. Those who sent word that they no longer recognize the authority of the master, these are the ones who do not recognize the spirit of life. The return of the master and the demand for the account is the destruction of mortal life and the deciding of people’s fates: do they have any other life beyond the one that was given them, or not. Some of the servants, those that fulfill the master’s will, work on what was given them and increase the money that they started with, these are the people who, having received life, understand that life is the father’s will and that it should serve the life of others. The stupid and evil servant who hid his talent and did not work on it represents those who only fulfill their own will, not the father’s will, and do not serve the lives of others. The servants that fulfill the master’s will and work for the prosperity of the master’s estate become full participants in the master’s estate and the servants that do not fulfill his will and do not work for the master are deprived of all that had been previously given. People who fulfill the father’s will and serve life become participants in the life of the father and receive life, despite the destruction of mortal life. Those who do not fulfill his will and do not serve life are deprived of the life they had, and they are destroyed. Those that did not want to recognize the master’s power do not exist for the master; he banishes them. People who do not recognize the life of the spirit within themselves do not exist for the father.
After this, Jesus went into a deserted place and many people followed after him. And he climbed up onto a mountain and sat there with his students.
And he saw that many people were coming and he said, “Where could we get some bread to feed all of these people?”
Philip said, “Two hundred dinari would not buy enough, even if we gave just a little bit to each person. We have only a little bread and fish.”
And another student said, “They have bread, I saw a boy with five loaves of bread and two fish.”
And Jesus said, “Tell them all to lie down on the grass.” And Jesus took the bread that he had and gave it to his students and commanded them to give it to the others, and thus, everyone began to give what they had to one another, and everyone was filled and much bread was left over.
On the next day, the people came to Jesus again and he said to them, “Now you come to me not because you have seen miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled.”
And he said to them, “Do not work for perishable food, but for eternal food, which only the spirit of the son of man can give, sealed by God.”
And the Jews said, “What do we need to do in order to perform the acts of God?”
And Jesus said, “The acts of God are based on believing in the life he has given you.”
They said, “Give us proof so that we can believe in you and in what you are doing. Our fathers ate manna in the desert. God gave them bread from heaven to eat, so it is written.”
Jesus answered them, “The true bread of heaven is the spirit of the son of man, the one that is given by the father, because a person’s nourishment comes from the spirit as it descends from heaven. That is what gives life to the world. My teaching gives true nourishment to people. Whoever follows after me will not go hungry, and whoever believes my teaching will never know thirst.
“But I have already told you that you have seen this and you still do not believe. All the life that was given to the son by the father has a place in my teaching and everyone who believes in it will be a participant in it. Because I have come down from heaven not to do whatever I might want, but to do the will of the father, the one who gave me life. The will of the father who sent me is that anyone who sees the son and believes in him will have eternal life.”
The Jews were confused by this statement, that his teaching had come down from heaven.
They said, “But this is Jesus, the son of Joseph, we know his father and mother. How is it that he says his teaching has come down from heaven?”
And Jesus said to them, “Do not base your judgments on who I am or where I come from. My teaching is true, not because I plan on convincing you that God spoke with me on Sinai, as Moses did; my teaching is true because it is within you also. And in the prophets it is written that all things will be taught by God. Everyone who comes to understand the father and learns to understand his will becomes devoted to my teaching in the process. No one has ever seen God and no one will, but he who comes from God has seen and continues to see the father.
“He who believes me has eternal life. My teaching is life’s nourishment. Your fathers ate manna, food directly from heaven, but they still died. But life’s true nourishment, descending from heaven, is such that whoever is nourished by it will not die. My teaching is life’s nourishment, descending from heaven. Whoever is nourished by it will live forever. And this nourishment that I am teaching is my flesh, which I surrender for the life of all people.”
The Jews did not understand at all what he had said and they began to argue about how one could give up their flesh for the nourishment of other people and why they would do such a thing.
And Jesus said to them, “If you do not give up your flesh for the life of the spirit then there will be no life within you. Whoever does not give up his flesh for the life of the spirit does not have an actual life. The only living part of me is that which surrenders the flesh for the spirit. And therefore, our flesh is the true food for actual life. Only the part of me that consumes my body and gives up mortal life for true life, only this part is me, the true me. It is within me, and I am within it. And just as I live in the flesh by the will of the father, that which lives within me lives by my will.”
And a few of the students, having heard this, said, “These words are severe, and it is hard to understand them.”
And Jesus said to them, “You are so confused that what I am saying to you seems difficult, even though it concerns what man always has been, is and what he always will be. Man is a spirit in the flesh, and only the spirit gives life, the flesh does not give life. Though I used words that seemed sharp to you, I have said nothing more, after all, than that the spirit is life.”
Then Jesus chose seventy people from his close followers and sent them to the places that he wanted to be himself.
He told them, “Many people do not know the blessing of real life. I am sorry for all of them and I want to teach them all. But just as the master is not enough to perform the harvest of his whole field alone, I also cannot do this alone.
“Go to the various cities and announce everywhere the fulfillment of the will of God. Say that the will of the father is in the five commandments: the first—do not be angry, the second—do not be depraved, the third—do not swear oaths, the fourth—do not resist evil and the fifth—do not create divisions between people. And so, moreover, keep these commandments in all things yourselves. I send you to go like lambs among wolves. Be wise like snakes and pure like doves.