Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Mathew–26—by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Events of the Baptism
Before the baptism
“Then comes Jesus from Galilee up to the Jordan to John for the purpose of being immersed by him.” Before we consider this, we should look back at an event that took place eighteen years before.
“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”
At the age of twelve Jesus proved that the elders of Israel had nothing to teach Him, that He already knew more than they. Having demonstrated this, He made arrangements to depart for India where He learned from the Wise Men who had visited Him year before that wisdom which He then brought back to Israel, and for the teaching of which He was martyred.
Yet, when He returned He went to Jordan to be baptized by John, the Master of the Essenes. Why did He do this, since He had overreached anything the Essenes could impart? The reason is made clear.
The example of John
“But he kept on trying to hinder Him, saying, As for myself, I have need by you to be immersed, and as for you, are you coming to me?”
What a great lesson there is for us in these words! Here John stood, surrounded by a multitude of disciples and seekers, the Master of the Essenes, whom many believed would be revealed as the Messiah. And in the hearing of all he declares that he needs the baptism of Jesus, not the other way around. How assiduously we guard our egos, never exposing them to disregard by either ourselves or others. Even in India it is common for religious figures to refuse to visit other leaders lest it seem that they are recognizing that person’s superiority. I have met them myself and been astounded at their admission. And here we see Saint John readily expressing before others that Jesus was his spiritual superior. Yes, he was being humble, but he was also being clear-sighted and honest.
It is important for us to realize that Jesus had nothing to receive from Saint John–it was just the opposite. So, why was he there, petitioning for baptism, which was the first step for aspirants to membership in the Essene order?
The reason
“But answering, Jesus said to him, Permit it at this time, for thus is it fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Jesus did not come to earth to impress people through the centuries so they would only “believe” on Him and “accept” Him “as their personal Lord and Savior.” No. His intention was far beyond that, and Saint John the Beloved expressed it this way: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” And Saint Peter said that Jesus lived out His life, “leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.”
So what are the lessons Jesus is giving us here? They are:
1) We cannot “do it on our own,” we need to approach a source of spiritual cleansing and empowerment to begin our journey to Christhood.
2) That source must be: a) traditional, b) well-known to the seeker, and c) possessed of spiritual authority and power. (In the case of Christianity this latter means possess of Apostolic Succession and a proficiency in its impartment.)
3) We must first be a disciple before we can be a master.
4) Even the most highly advanced will show respect and learn from others, even if they are behind him in evolution and understanding.
5) Those to whom we go for spiritual empowerment (for this is a matter greatly beyond going to someone for verbal instructions or philosophical/theological teachings) must themselves possess humility and a clear assessment of their own limitations. Consequently they should have no desire to be a “star” of the spirit and be admired by others or fear the disapproval of others. Instead they care nothing for public or private opinion, looking to God alone for approval.
6) The seeker, too, must embody humility in his dealings with the teachers.
7) Divine actions are usually beyond human reason or comprehension.
Because of all this, Jesus bowed His head beneath the hand of John and was baptized in the Jordan.
There is a symbolism here, too. Jesus represents the inner light, and Saint John is the initiate’s will. The light only emerges at the action of our will, and remains subservient to our intelligent will. I emphasize this because of the current idea in India that great souls are “beyond the law” and can act in all sorts of ways inconsistent with good sense and morality. As Jesus said: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.…Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
In India, within a century of one another, two persons have been worshipped by many as divine: Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Anandamayi Ma. Anyone who reads even superficially about Sri Ramakrishna’s life will be struck by his supreme humility and often self-effacing manner. I myself have seen Anandamayi Ma bow to the ground in salutation to a Saint known as Hari Baba. I once saw Mother take the hands of Swami Akandananda, a great monk-scholar, and put them on her head, seeking his blessing. Over and over again I saw Her show great respect to others, and saw how She would never push Herself forward, often being meekly silent when others spoke foolish or outright wrong things. Once when I asked if She approved of something I had done, She replied: “It is not Ma’s place to approve or disapprove.” How different we are! But Jesus, too, had the same sublime humility. After all, only God is without ego.
There is a further point. In the Christian Sacraments, divine power–yes, even Divinity Itself–is “handled” by the ministers of the sacraments. It seems incredible, hard to believe, but when we see the example of Jesus and recall the humility of God, we understand how it can be. In the Liturgy of the Syrian Jacobite Church the priest holds the consecrated Bread that is really the living Body of Christ, and looking upon it prays: “Thee, I hold, Who upholds the borders of the world; Thee I grasp, Who orders the depths; Thee, O God, do I place in my mouth….” No wonder Saint Paul exclaimed: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”
Reality is dual; this is a principle we need to at least acknowledge even if our linear-thinking minds find it hard to comprehend. Light itself, the fundamental component of relative existence, is both wave and particle–both substantial and insubstantial. Real life consists of living dually, living in seeming contradiction. We have already considered such a thing when speaking of the need to realize that spiritual life is the action of God and man simultaneously. Our spiritual ascent is wholly in the hands of God; and at the same time it is wholly in our hands. How can this be? Because is that way things are. The “middle way” commended by Buddha is not a rejection of “right” or “left,” but is both right and left. In other words, when we walk the middle path we walk on right and left together. Swami Kriyananda has stated in one of his recorded talks that in the West we have an “either or” way of looking at things. Something is either good or it is bad. God is either doing it all, or we are doing it all. God is either with form or formless. God is either personal or impersonal. And so forth. But in India he encountered a totally different way of seeing things. Instead of an “either or” mindset, in India people have an “and” viewpoint. That is, something can be both good and bad; we and God are both doing it all; God is both with and without form; God is both personal and impersonal, both Father and Mother, and also It. Although Western psychology has altogether wrested Christian theology into its way of expressing and thinking, the doctrines of the Trinity–that God is both one and three–and of the Incarnation–that Jesus is both God and man–reveal the Oriental character of Christianity. And it is these two ideas that have kept non-Oriental Christians running around and around for these two thousand years. They vociferously insist that these are truths and must be believed, but they continually try to make them comprehensible and explain them to themselves, because these concepts embarrass them. They do not really believe these two principles, but they “have to” if they are not to be “heretics,” so they go round and round like a dog worrying an old rag–and insist that the whole world should join them in this “faith.”
Although touched on in point Two above, a point needs to be put on the fact that Jesus did not strike out and “do it on His own,” making up His own religion in contradiction to “organized religion.” Nothing could be more opposed to the truth. Jesus was a traditionalist, nurtured in the teachings of the traditional scriptures of all religions. And He lived in conformity to tradition–as is demonstrated by His baptism by Saint John, following the traditional practice of the Essenes. And He did not do so to concede to popular opinion or go along with “prevalent social attitudes,” as is often claimed when Jesus does something modern “Christians” do not like. Rather, He called it fulfilling all righteousness.
“Then he acceded to His wishes.”
The sinless one
“And Jesus, having been immersed immediately went up from the water.”
Saint Matthew has told us that the people were coming to Saint John and “being immersed in the Jordan river by him while making a public confession of their sins.” So they would spend some time confessing their sins to Saint John, but Jesus went down into the water, was baptized, and “immediately went up from the water,” attesting that He had no sins to confess. Jesus did not need to be baptized, but He insisted on being baptized. Why? Because we need baptism. And He is our example. Let us not think that we are beyond the need for external ritual or religion. Jesus is demonstrating to us that we are not beyond it at all. In fact, most people who think they are “beyond” religion and ritual are really not yet “up” to them and are only revealing their lack of evolution and understanding. Jesus has shown them the humility they need to progress spiritually.
The opening of the heavens
“And behold, the heavens were opened.” This is the core purpose of baptism and the whole of spiritual life: to open the heavens of infinite consciousness to us; for it is the consciousness symbolized by the boundless sky that is the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. Baptism is not intended to enable us to keep on living an earthly life–just in a better way–but to open the heavens of divine consciousness to us. And it could not be opened to us if infinite consciousness was not already our nature. This is such an important point that I want to spend some time on this, because it does completely contravene what most people think Christianity is about. Standard Christianity teaches that we are all to be “saved” in some way by Jesus and “reconciled” to God and made no longer “hateful” or “offensive” to God so He will not send us to hell but will let us go to heaven and sing His praises eternally. Jesus taught a completely different view.
“He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” Where is blind faith here? Nowhere.
“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Does this sound like the “we are all sinners before God who need His forgiveness” doctrine of Churchianity?
Regarding the Holy Spirit, in Whom He planned to baptize us, Jesus said: “Ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Would such people be trembling before God and whining: “God be merciful to me, a sinner” over and over? Such a prayer may be appropriate before receiving the grace of Christ, but not afterward.
If Jesus stood forth in just about any church today and taught according to the foregoing statements, the reaction of Churchians would be identical with that of the professional religionists of His day: “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” Exactly! To teach like this is to ruin their business, for it wipes out their operational base of fear, superstition, and hate embodied in their blasphemous mythology of an offended, angry, and vengeful God Who in His “justice” condemns and tortures heretics and dissidents forever and ever. Shame! The Russian Orthodox writer, Dostoevsky, thought the same and presented it in his short story, The Inquisitor, in which the Spanish Grand Inquisitor arrests Jesus and condemns Him to be burned as a heretic–even though he knows who Jesus is. I recommend you read it.
Jesus said: “I and my Father are one,” and: “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” So those who follow Jesus are united to God and are one with Him. Jesus is not a mediator with God in the sense of a go-between, but rather as one who unites us with God, making us as much one with God as Jesus Himself. Is this the teaching of what you know as Christianity? Hardly. This is the teaching branded as heresy by the prevailing perversion of Christianity. Not because they are sincere but because it makes them lose their dictatorial hold over others and reduces them to what they are–not much.
Was Jesus’ promises of divine union and identity something new–as Churchians claim? Not at all, for: “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” This possibility was destined for humanity from the very beginning, even before human beings were created. David said: “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” How could God have been our dwelling place in all generations if human beings were execrable sinners who needed Jesus to come and make atonement for them and “satisfy God’s justice”? Obviously we have always been united to God, but our consciousness has been separated from awareness of that eternal union. Reunion of our consciousness with the Consciousness of God is the mediatorship of Jesus with God. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.”
“Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit”
“Ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.”
“Ye are of God, little children.”
“We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”
THIS, my friends, is the teaching of Jesus Christ about you and me. This, and this alone, is Christian doctrine, and those who not only do not teach this, but hate, defame, and seek to silence it, are His enemies, those who instead of gathering men into unity with God seek to scatter them abroad as “miserable sinners” who need their dominance and superstition to “be saved.”
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
The mission of Jesus was to free men throughout the world from the lie that we are separated from God and somehow “displeasing” to Him. Who has listened to it? Hardly anyone. Knowing this, Jesus commented that when He would incarnate again to complete His Messiahship, it could be questioned as to whether He would find His teachings anywhere on the earth.
Descent of the Holy Spirit
“And He saw God’s Spirit descending in a form like that of a dove coming upon Him.” He saw the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a “dove” –a form of radiant light that had two rays coming out from it like wings. In early Christian writings the Holy Spirit is called “the Dove of Light.” All creation-manifestation is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, but for anything to be manifest there hast to be a duality, a dual polarity, and this is represented by the two wings of the Dove. We have spoken a goodly bit about the right-and-left-hand paths; these, too, are the wings of the Dove. In yogic science the “third eye” of intuition, the center between the eyebrows, is a reflection of the chakra that corresponds to the medulla oblongata. It is said that this chakra has two “petals” or rays; so the descent of the Holy Spirit is also the “opening of the third eye” of spirit.
Saint Gabriel had told His Mother: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Following the same pattern, He Who was to be known as Son of God was imbued with the Holy Spirit in the same manner as She Who was to be known as Mother of God.
The heavenly voice
“And behold, a voice out of heaven, saying, This is my Son, the beloved One, in whom I take pleasure.”
God speaks out of heaven, out of the higher regions of our being, not the lower. God does not speak to us through our feelings, physical or emotional, though we may have physical sensations or emotional reactions when God does speak to us; but that is response, not the speaking. The same is true of the senses and the intellect, though they may interpret the divine speaking in a sensory and intellectual manner.
It is a sad fact that in the past five centuries Catholic mystics were usually misunderstood and even persecuted unless they had a Jesuit as their spiritual director. One of the most important discoveries of the Jesuit order in their dealings with many mystics was that many visions are symbolic projections of the superconscious mind, mirroring a much higher, spiritual change or communication that is beyond the mystic’s present ken. For example, in the depths (or heights) of a mystic’s soul God might infuse a high degree of consciousness, enabling him to more fully “live in Christ.” This process would be totally beyond any earthly form of communication. Hence the higher mind of the mystic’s spirit would project downward to the mystic’s “ordinary” mind a vision in which God the Father appeared as a husbandman who took from a cosmic vine the form of Jesus and squeezed it as though it were a bunch a grapes, causing the blood of Jesus to pour forth into the mouth of the mystic, who then drank the blood of Jesus and felt ineffably vivified. This vision would be only a symbol–such an event never took place. But the process symbolized by the vision did. So the vision was not “real,” but it was true. That is, it conveyed to the mystic the action upon his soul that did really occur. So the question “Is it real” is not as relevant in relation to a vision as the question “Is it true”? For an “unreal” vision may convey the truth. I hope this does not seem hairsplitting, for it is not. One mystic saw that Jesus reaching into His chest and drew forth His heart, then took her heart out of her chest and put His in its place. To think that this actually took place, that Jesus did a heart transplant on her it absurd. But as an indication that from that moment on she had attained to “the mind of Christ” is absolutely true.
At the same time we must not become extreme or simplistic in our thinking and claim that all visions are only symbols. For example, Saint Teresa of Avila saw a cherub trust a dart into her heart several times; after her death her heart had real scars–the exact number of thrusts Saint Teresa described. Another saint said that the instruments of Jesus’s suffering were engraved on her heart. After death this was seen to be so. Another had the Name of Jesus carved or stamped on his heart–literally.
But the basic idea is this: all divine communication comes from and enters into the supreme heights of God and man. Meditation leads to those heights where such communication is possible.
Sons of God, beloved
“This is my Son, the beloved One, in whom I take pleasure.” This is a statement of eternal verity. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” This is not something to become, but something to manifest, to realize in our own consciousness. “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
And we are not just sons of God, we are beloved sons. Furthermore, God thinks well of us and approves of us. Even now? Seeing the mess we are in, the hole we keep digging deeper and deeper–God is pleased with us at this very moment. Yes. For God sees our eternal, real status, whereas we see only our momentary illusory status. God sees with the single eye of eternity, and we see with the two eyes of temporality. Think of it this way. Suppose someone with a good knowledge of antiques comes across a dingy, beat-up piece of furniture that somewhere along the line was painted with some kind of cheap and ugly paint. Because of his knowledge, he sees the inner actuality and recognizes it as a beautiful and valuable thing. So he buys it with the intention of restoring its original beauty. Even at the moment he purchases it, he is elated and pleased with it, valuing it greatly. He sees it both for what it is and what it shall be. It is the same with our Father, God, so Saint John continues his previously-cited affirmation: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” What an amazing truth! When we see God we see our selves. For we and God are one. God can neither dislike nor be indifferent to Himself, so He cannot be displeased or indifferent toward us. Loving us, He does all possible to extricate us from the swamps of ignorance in which we have embedded ourselves. God observes our evolution and increasingly shares His life with us, and this is His delight. God loves us, and those who reflect His image in them love God. God never forgets us, and we should never forget Him. God “lives” for us, so we should live for God. God delights in us, and we should delight in Him. This is the truth about God and us and the true attitude we should have. “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.
The work of the Dove
As already stated, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus did not make Him God’s Son, as has erroneously supposed by some theologians, but rather it revealed that He was already the Son of God. This revelation or uncovering of our divine sonship is the work of the Holy Spirit that is begun in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and continued through Holy Communion and meditation. We are not clods of dirt that get turned into lumps of gold, but we already are gold hidden with the coverings of earth and ignorance. We already are children of God, and have been eternally with God. We have been eternally free, but have become seized by the illusion of bondage and live accordingly. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit reveals that we are the immortal sons of God. We need not attain that status, but we have to recall it and manifest it. This is made possible through the sacramental powers bestowed on us. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
1) Luke 2:41-47
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2) For more regarding this, see The Christ of India. [Go back]
3) I John 2:6 [Go back]
4) I Peter 2:21 [Go back]
5) Matthew 7:15-18,20 [Go back]
6) She usually spoke of Herself in the third person on in some circumlocution such as “this body” or “your friend.” [Go back]
7) Romans 11:33 [Go back]
8) John 14:21 [Go back]
9) John 14:23 [Go back]
10) John 14:17 [Go back]
11) This is a mistranslation in the King James Version. The word mistranslated “Jews” is Judeans. The enmity toward Jesus was a matter of Judean prejudice and arrogance toward all other provinces of Israel, and particularly toward Galileans like Jesus. [Go back]
12) John 5:18 [Go back]
13) John 10:30 [Go back]
14) John 6:56 [Go back]
15) Genesis 1:26,27 [Go back]
16) Psalm 90:1 [Go back]
17) Isaiah 57:15 [Go back]
18) Romans 8:9 [Go back]
19) I John 2:24 [Go back]
20) I John 4:4 [Go back]
21) I John 4:16 [Go back]
22) Revelation 3:20 [Go back]
23) Revelation 3:21 [Go back]
24) Revelation 21:22 [Go back]
25) “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” (Matthew 12:30) [Go back]
26) “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” (Psalms 82:6) [Go back]
27) John 10:27 [Go back]
28) “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) [Go back]
29) Luke 1:35 [Go back]
30) “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2:16) [Go back]
31) I John 3:2 [Go back]
32) John 17:5 [Go back]
33) Hebrews 3:14 [Go back]
34) John 5:17 [Go back]
