special kind of men. Change your lives, and change Ihem so that one may see by your actions that you have changed. If you do not change, you will not escape the fate of the fruit-tree that bears no fruit. If the tree bears no fruit it is cut down for firewood; and that is what will happen to you if you do no good. If you don't alter your lives, you will perish."
John tried to persuade all to be merciful, just, and meek. And those who promised to amend their lives, he bathed in the river Jordan, as a sign of the change in their lives. And when he bathed them he said: "I cleanse you with water; but only the spirit of God within you can make you quite pure."
The words of John, who said that people must change their lives so that the Kingdom of God might come, and that only by the spirit of God could men become clean, sank deep into the heart of Jesus. And to think out all that he had heard from John, Jesus, instead of returning home, remained in the wilderness. There he lived many days, thinking over what he had heard from John.
MaU. I. 18; Luke U. 51; ///, 23; Matt. Ш. 1-13; Lttke Ш. 3-14; Matt. IV. 1, 2.
III.
John said that for the Kingdom of God to come, people must be cleansed by the spirit of God.
"What does cleansed by the spirit of God mean?" thought Jesus. "If to be cleansed by the spirit of God means to live not for one's body, but for the spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God would certainly come if people lived according to this spirit, for the spirit of God is the same in all men; and if all men lived by that spirit, they would all be tuiited, and the Kingdom of God would ha.v«.
come. But men can't live only in spirit, they must also live in their bodies. If they live for the sake of their bodies, serving their bodies, and making them their chief care, they wilt all live disunited, as they do now; and the Kingdom of God will never come. Then what is to be done?" thought Jesus. "To live only for the spirit is impossible, and to live only for the body, as worldly people do, is wrong; and if we live so we shall all live apart, and the Kingdom of God will never come. Then what is to be done? To kill one's body won't do; because the spirit hves in the body by the will of God. To kill oneself is, therefore, to go against the will of God."
And having thought this, Jesus said to himself: "It comes to this: We cannot live only in the spirit, because the spirit lives in the body. And we ought not to live only in the body, serving it as most people do. Nor can we free ourselves of the body, for the spirit lives in the body by God's will. Then what can be done? Only one thing: We can live in the body as God wishes us to live; but while living in the body we must serve not it, but God."
And, having come to that conclusion, Jesus left the wilderness, and went through the towns and villages to preach his teaching. Matt. IV, 3-10: Luke IV. 3-15.
IV.
And the rumor of Jesus spread through the district, and many people began to come to htm, to hear his words.
And he spoke to the people saying:
"You went out to hear John in the wilderness. Why did you go ? One goes t9 see people dressed in fine clothes, but they live in palaces; there was nothing of that kind in the wilderness. Then why did you go to John in the wHderness ? You went to hear a man who taught you how
to live a good life. What did he teach you ? He taught you that the Kingdcmi of God must come, but that to make it come—and that there may be no evil in the world—it is necessary that men should not live separately, each for himself, but that all should be united, loving one another. So that to bring about the Kingdom of God you must first of all change your life. The Kingdom of God will not come of itself; God will not estabhsh that Kingdom; but you yourselves must and can establish that Kingdom of God; and you will establish it when you try to change your way of life.
"Do not think that the Kingdom of God will appear in a visible form. The Kingdom of God cannot be seen. And if they tell you: 'It is there, or there,' do not believe them, and do not go after it. The Kingdom of God is not at any special time, or in any special place. It is everywhere and nowhere—for it is within yourselves, in your own souls." Mail. XI, 7-12; Luke XVI. 16; XVII. 20-4.
And Jesus explained his teaching more and more clearly. Once, when many people had come to him, he began telling them how men should live, so that the Kingdom of God may come.
He said:
"God's Kingdom is quite different to worldly kingdoms. Into God's Kingdom will enter not the proud and the rich. The proud and the rich rule now. They amuse themselves now, and everybody praises and respects them now. But so long as they are proud and rich and the Kingdom of God is not in their souls, they will not enter the Kingdom of God, Not the proud will enter the Kingdom of God, but the meek; not the rich, Ь\Л iW v*>'=- ^"^ "***■
meek and the poor will only enter it if they are meek and poor, not because they were unable to become rich and famous, but because they would not sin in order to become grand and rich, If you are poor only because you are unable to get riches, you are like salt that has no taste. Salt is no use unless it tastes salt; if it does not taste salt, it is good for nothing, and is thrown away.
"It is the same with you: if you are poor only because you did not know how to get rich, you also are not fit for anything—neither to be poor nor to be rich,
"So, before all else, it is necessary to be in the Kingdom of God. Seek for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and you will have alt you need.
"And don't think that I am teaching you anything new, I teach you what all the wise and holy men tau^t. I only teach you how to fulfil what they taught. And to do that, you must obey God's commandments—not merely talk about them, as false teachers do, but fulfil them. For only he who fulfils God's commandments, and by his example teaches others to fulfil them, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Matt. V, 1-20; Luke VI. 20-26.
VI.
And Jesus said:
"The first commandment is this: In the old law it was said, 'Do not murder,' and, 'He who murders is a sinner.'
"But I tell you that if a man is angry with his brother, he is a sinner before God; and he is a yet greater sinner if he says a rude word of abuse to his brother. So, if yoa begin to pray, and remember that you are angry with your brother, first go and make it up with him, or if for any reason you cannot do that, put away the anger against him that is Ш your heart.
"This is the first commandment.
"Another commandment is this: The old law said, *Do not commit adultery, and if you separate from your wife, give her a letter of divorce.'
"But I tell you, that not only must a man not commit adultery, but if he looks at a woman with bad thoughts in his mind, he is already a sinner before God. And about divorce, I tell you, that a man who divorces from his wife commits adultery himself, and leads his wife into doing the same, and also leads into sin him who marries the divorced woman.
"That is the second commandment.
"The third commandment is this: In the old law you were told, *Do not forswear yourself, but keep your oaths before God.'
"But I say that you should not swear at all, but if you are asked about anything, say, *Yes' if it is Yes, and 'No' if it is No. You must not swear by anything. Man is altogether in God's power, and cannot promise beforehand to do what his oath binds him to do.
That is the third commandment.
The fourth commandment is, that in the old law it was said: 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
"But I say that you should not return evil for evil, and take an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth. And if any one strikes you on one cheek, it is better to turn the other cheek to him, than to give a blow in answer to a blow. And if any one wants to take away your shirt, it is better to give him your coat as well, than to be his enemy and fight with your brother. You must not resist evil with evil.