The

New Life

in man

Book 15

Max Seltmann

Recommended chronological reading list:

(with regard to Jesus’ life in flesh and Spirit, up to the time of the book of Revelation.  All books are written by Max Seltmann, unless otherwise indicated. The book marked with bold, is the book currently opened.)

1. Childhood years of Jesus (Jakob Lorber)

2. Book 1 – John the Baptist

3. Book 2 – John the Apostle in his youth with Jesus (Love overcomes Part 1)

4. Book 3 – Jesus’ Life

5. Book 4 – Jesus’ Life

6. Book 5 – Jesus’ Life

7. Book 6 – Jesus’ Life

8. Book 7 – Jesus’ Life

9. Book 8 – Jesus’ Life

10. Book 9 – Jesus prepares for His ministry Part 1

11. Book 10 – Jesus prepares for His ministry Part 2

12. Great Gospel of John, Volumes 1 – 10 (Jakob Lorber)

13. Great Gospel of John, Volume 11 (Leopoldt Engel)

14. Book 11 - Good Friday

15. Book 12 - Judas Iscariot in the beyond

16. Book 13 - On the road to Emmaus

17. Book 14 - The Risen One!

18. Book 15 - The New Life in man

19. Book 16 – At Bethany – story of Theophilus

20. Book 17 - Ascension

21. Book 18 - Pentecost!

22. Book 19 - Among the first Christians

23. Book 20 - Divine guidance of the first Christians

24. Book 21 - The chamberlain from the Orient

25. Book 22 - The God-spark and Saul's conversion

26. Book 23 - Awakening the Divine life

27. Book 24 - Experiences with Jacob, Part 1

28. Book 25 - Experiences with Jacob, Part 2

29. Book 26 - Experiences with Jacob, Part 3

30. Book 27 - Experiences with Jacob, Part 4

31. Book 28 - Naeme

32. Book 29 - John the Apostle as a guide (Love overcomes Part 2)

33. Book 30 - John the Apostle as a guide (Love overcomes Part 3)



Table of Contents

1.  At Mark’s sanctuary 4

2.  The fatal news: ‘Jesus is dead!’ 6

3.  Ursus is disappointed 9

4.  Uncertainty makes the interior restless 11

5.  Mark's certainty: "He lives!" 13

6.  Ursus in inner conflict 16

7.  If you are looking for certainty and peace, look in yourself! 20

8.  Embrace Jesus inwardly 24

9.  Ursus travel with a stranger 27

10.  A messenger from Bethany 31

11.  He lives! 32

12.  The Lord appears 33

At Mark’s sanctuary

On the way to Caesarea Philippi there was a strange procession coming from Egypt; at the head a few camels ridden by black, unarmed men; then loaded wagons, and finally, mounted Roman soldiers.

This caravan was led by a young but extremely strong Roman, who was sitting on an Arabian stallion.  On his face there was a quiet displeasure, because he wanted to be at his destination long ago, but the delay could not be caught up.  He had orders to fetch his master and lord, a rich Roman merchant, from the sanatorium of old Mark.

The sun was shining hotly, and man and animal were longing for refreshment.  With joy he signified to the blacks that they were finally approaching the goal, and pointed to a large estate that was now becoming visible.

There two Jews came to meet them; curiously they looked at the camels with their black riders and asked the Roman if he wanted to go to the old Mark with all the people and animals?

When he answered in the affirmative, one of the Templars said with mocking laughter: "Then you are just in time, for with them all their faith and hope has been destroyed!"

The Roman answered astonished: "I do not understand you and do not want to learn anything about you, because I know my goal; but your face tells me that you have been with this friend of the people with no good intention!  But get out of our way, lest I be angry with you!"

Answering him with conspicuously gloating gestures, the two Jews slowly continued on their way.  The Roman stopped his horse and looked sharply after them, then he gave his stallion a slight thigh-pressure, and at the fastest gallop, he suddenly rode ahead of the others, toward the sanctuary.

"Is all well?" he immediately asked Mark's son, who welcomed him.  "I have a feeling that your peace or your possession is in danger!"

"It is as you said!" - replied the one addressed - "but come and see for yourself, my father is in the great living room."

The young leader handed his horse to the hurrying servant and went to old Mark, who had already noticed him and now greeted him exceedingly cordially.

"My people can be here in a moment" - spoke Ursus, the Roman - "but what has happened here?  I met two Jews whose acclamation seemed to me to mean no good, hence my haste!"

"My friend and young brother" - Mark answered sorrowfully - "yes, I have recently been told that something unspeakable has happened in Jerusalem; but let us wait to hear more!  Of course, the nature of the two Jewish priests makes me fear the worst; but one thing is certain: without the will of our Lord and Master, nothing can have happened" - he reassured himself.  "I will inform Demetrius of your arrival, and then we will talk about it together."

Mark and Ursus went out.  Then a servant came to meet them and already announced the near arrival of the caravan.

Mark gave the necessary orders to accommodate the horses and camels well in the stables, but to entrust the people to the care of his eldest son.

"Come and refresh yourself, first take a cool bath" - he said to Ursus - "meanwhile I will announce you to your master."  And Ursus, who already knew all the premises of the great estate, departed with a brief greeting.

The fatal news: ‘Jesus is dead!’

Old Mark now went over to the large reclining hall, where many sick people were resting comfortably.

With friendly greetings he passed them by and then called out to the Roman businessman and merchant Demetrius: "Ursus has just arrived with his caravan, so I have come myself to fetch you."

"My dear friend" - Demetrius replied gently - "when I saw you coming, I felt within me that you had sorrow!  For never did I see such shadows on your face.  Does it concern Ursus, since you come to me yourself, or do you have secret pain of the soul?"

"If it were only sorrow" - replied Mark - "I would know where to go; but terrible things have been brought to me in the last hour, and this has shaken my whole being!  But come with me to the great parlour, there I have ordered Ursus, and there we will discuss this among ourselves."

The Roman merchant lord still asked: "Mark, what has happened?  But surely you know better than I who is the great Helper in all that has happened!"

"Dear friend -" Mark spoke more softly - "it will be necessary for us to discuss this together, because it is not about us, but about Jesus!"

Silently, both walked towards the house; in the large room, two of Mark's daughters were busy preparing bread and wine for the arrivals.  Wordlessly, both friends took their seats.  But the master of the house was told that a friend from Caesarea wanted to speak to him, and so Demetrius remained alone for a while.

Then Ursus arrived; fresh and strong he stood before his master and was warmly welcomed.  At first, various business matters were discussed, until Mark came and spoke with deep pain in his face: "Oh friends!  My friends!  I have just learned it once again: Our Master Jesus is no more!  Already two priests brought me the news in a mocking manner!  He is said to have been crucified in Jerusalem!  But I could not believe them and assumed it was a shameless lie of the temple.  But now it was delivered to me once again: Jesus is dead!"

Ursus got up in horror; only now did he realize the Templars' scornful looks!  He shouted: "Impossible! - Jesus? - This can only be a temple lie!  Is the wickedness of the Templars and their malice really so great that they do not even stop at the best of men?  Oh my friends!  I could never believe that a man, equipped with divine powers, would submit to demonic forces!"

Mark spoke with emotion: "I wish you were right!  But it is the bitter thing to almost have to believe that it must then have been His holy will after all!  But to remove all these grave doubts, I will send a messenger to Bethany; from Lazarus we shall know the plain truth!"

"Then I want to go" - exclaimed Ursus - “and today, that we may be certain of the fate of Jesus."

Mark calmed him down and said: "Brother, we can be unconcerned about the fate of Jesus.  For He is the Lord!  His arm reaches further than our thoughts!  But we are very short-sighted, and so only my weakness could overpower me so!  I should have known from His words: Without His sacrifice we remain the unsaved!  Only His sacrifice of redemption shall secure for us the unimagined possibilities of the free life of God."

Ursus cried painfully: "But you don't know what is broken in me by this, since now again it shall not be granted to me to see and speak to the Master!  My kind master and fatherly friend here will testify to you with what longing I hastened here to meet Him who has done my friends such unspeakable favors.  Now He is supposed to be dead?  I cannot reconcile that with His knowledge, His Divine powers!  Therefore I ask for leave to Bethany, in order to provide us with certainty!"

Demetrius spoke thoughtfully: "Friends, let us wait until tomorrow!  If nothing else should clear up, then, my Ursus, I myself would ask you to travel to Bethany, so that we learn the truth.  By the way, today is the Sabbath, and it would cause annoyance if you, with some companions on horseback, showed so little respect for the Sabbath of the Jews."

"My friends" - replied Mark - "leave that worry to me!  I have two sons who are acquainted with the ways and with all that pertains to the temple; they will deliver to us all that we wish to know.  But if, contrary to expectation, it should be true after all, I suppose we would all travel to Bethany to learn how such a thing could have happened!"

"Mark, why do you not reckon on the love of Lazarus?" - objected Demetrius - "Have you not considered that Lazarus will not leave his brothers in the dark if such extraordinary things had happened to the Lord?  Therefore, let us wait until tomorrow!"

Ursus now asked Mark for clarification about those Templars who had been with him shortly before his arrival here.  Willingly and gladly Mark answered: "I have many friends among the Templars, but since a few days ago, a change has been made again, which brought us two foreign priests.  These came here two hours ago, in spite of the Sabbath, into my dwelling and demanded that all Jews present here should enter again into communion with the temple!  Because, they said, it was proven that the Nazarene was a servant of Beelzebub.  He had finally succeeded in taking possession of Him and, with the help of the Romans, in giving Him the well-deserved reward.  Posterity would thank the temple and the servants of Jehovah!  ‘Stop, what is the meaning of this?’ - I asked - ‘you have killed the Nazarene?   You, who want to be God's servants, do you offend the anointed One?  I do not believe you!  For before you come to lay hands on Him, you would be ruined!’

But they answered me gleefully: ‘Not at all!  Because in the temple they already celebrate this day, where Jesus of Nazareth ended on the cross, as victory day.  But it is a joy for us to bring the message to all those who believed that He was the Son of God!  It is now over with your Jesus; the temple has proved to be the stronger!  But as it is now over with your Nazarene, so it must be with His teaching!  Therefore we are here and demand from the Jews present to respect the commandment of the temple!’

‘No further!’ - I cried indignantly - ‘first, it is not yet proved; and secondly, I am an imperial subject, endowed with some rights.

If you try again to represent the interests of the temple here in my dwelling or among my sick and guests, I will have you imprisoned and put in irons!’  Now they said nothing more, but left my house in a rage; but I did not really know whether there was any truth in their speeches.

But come what may, everything I have received from Him remains my property!  Jesus remains my Helper, my Savior!  And even if this pain almost pushes me to the ground, this does not cancel the fact that I owe everything I am and have only to Him!

All who received help and salvation from their sufferings here must thank the fact that only the Lord with His miraculous power called this sanctuary into being!  As long as I can still speak, I will testify aloud: He is our Savior, our help in every need!  Where we did not know what to do in our humanity, the Lord helped us in a miraculous way.  Therefore, whether He lives or not - as long as I live here, I will take care that His Spirit does not perish!"

Ursus is disappointed

Mark got up and went out, and so the two Romans were left alone.

Disappointed, Ursus said: "Lord and brother!  With what great hopes I have traveled here, in order to finally see Him, of whom the news has already reached the whole world!  And now He shall be no more?  What is the use of my hopes and longings, if they remain unfulfilled and must remain eternally.  For it makes a huge difference whether I have tangible proofs or only assumptions about Jesus.  By this His end, all my hopes are destroyed."

Consolingly Demetrius spoke: "Here we stand before an enormous riddle.  Everything you see here is a work of the great Master Jesus!  How many sick people have visited this mansion to find healing of their infirmities, and I do not know that a single one has left here unsatisfied, and this despite that the Master Himself was not present!

In these months of my being here I met so many who have not seen the Lord either, but the faith in Him and the knowledge, these healing springs are His work, already creates these miracles!  If, contrary to expectations, the rumor of His death should prove true, nevertheless my faith is unshakable: He is the Lord and He alone remains my great hope!  Also, what I can not understand today in Him, will surely find it's solution one day!"

Ursus spoke pondering: "This belief I understand well from those who could enjoy these blessings of His work and creation here!  But I was only allowed to hear of Him and also believed in Him, since in my heart the gate stood open for His teachings, which tower so high above all other knowledge of the purpose of life!  When I was allowed to bring you here, I made friends with old Mark; his matured experiences and especially his lively sympathy with all the sick, created in me this special affection for him, and after a short time we were like two brothers. But his wonderful stories about Jesus, which you mostly listened to, awakened in me the great desire to get to know this Jesus as well!  But duty demanded obedience!  Your orders led me far into Egypt and Arabia; but now that I am finally at the goal of my hope, I must learn that Jesus is dead?  Why then did I feel so strongly urged to come here?

I am still a young man, and many things may happen to restore my peace and tranquility, but this disappointment is the most bitter thing I have ever experienced in my life."

Demetrius tried to reassure him and said: "Ursus, my son!  You judge this matter too humanly and cause yourself unnecessary pain!  I already look at all this with different eyes, since Jesus was a Master, who could create works, which will outlast human lives and thus will give cause to speak of Him again and again!  But it is not this that is so tremendously outstanding about Him, but His words, His teachings about the eternal truths!  They tower high above all philosophers known to us!  His words are the miracle, because they can make the heart so happy!  And even if I could not hear Him personally, the stories of others about Him fill me with bliss.  Almost not a week went by in which we did not hear something new about Jesus, and everyone felt happy when there was talk about Him!  Yes, I believe that if someone came again and told something about Him, it would still make me wonderfully happy today.

Thoughtfully, Ursus asked: "But how is it that I did not become happy and satisfied when I heard from the Savior, but only desired more and more longingly to see and speak with Him just once?"

"Then we shall have to consult Mark!" - said Demetrius - "But I think we shall have new visitors again, for it has become so lively in the court."

Ursus looked through the window into the courtyard and saw two women and two men getting out of a carriage; one of Mark's sons was helping them, for they were sick people.

"Do so many sick people come here to the bath?"  Ursus asked his master - and he answered: "Yes, Ursus, very many!"  And now I know how much misery there is in the world.  After all, our business left us no time to look around at our fellow men; but these last months showed me how we should not be!  It is a great blessing for the people, this healing bath!  Yes, it is a double happiness: a happiness for the body and a happiness for the soul; for no-one leaves here without taking the conviction with him: All this is the work of Jesus!  Therefore open your eyes and ears in these days, but even more your heart!  Then what you see as a misfortune today, will become a real happiness for you.

Old Mark had made sure that the caravan of his guest Demetrius was well accommodated; and then the new guests arrived, on the Sabbath at that, also not Jews.  He warmly welcomed the strangers in the name of Jesus, the Lord!  They thanked him with tears, and one of them said: "Mark!  You faithful friend of the great Jesus, whom we unfortunately do not yet know, but recognize!  We felt the need to come to you in your sanctuary, for the pain in our limbs robbed us of many a happy hour.  We learned from our friends that through Jesus' miraculous power there is a spring here that brings help and healing to all the sick and infirm."

Mark answered kindly: "If you have the right faith and trust in the true God, you will be helped!  But first we want to see to it that you are well accommodated, for there are many of you in the house.  But now I would like to know who you are and where you come from.

Then one of them answered, "We are two friends; here Gregory, with his wife, and I am Philip, also with my wife.  We come from Damascus and are merchants and traders."

"Be welcome to my house" - said Mark - "and make yourselves at home."

Uncertainty makes the interior restless

Then Mark went back to his Roman friends and told them: "Four strangers have just arrived from Damascus, also merchants, like you, my brother Demetrius.  In these days that you are still here, I especially commend them to your love and care; for you know, through the message about the Master, I have not yet come to inner peace.  If only we could be sure!  I want to go to the city; perhaps there I will learn something more of these events."

Demetrius said, "Then I will go with you!  For my Ursus still has many things to discuss with his people, and we will certainly be back before sunset."

Both of them went to the city to a priest friend, but they learned that he had been summoned to Jerusalem because Jesus of Nazareth was being condemned to death by the temple.  Silently they went on to another friend; but he was as much in the dark as they were.  Soon they were on their way back, and Demetrius asked: "Brother, was it right for us to take the trouble to go to Caesarea?  Shouldn't Jesus give us a sign from which we could see such truth?  It seems to me as if we were acting like two unbelievers."

Thinking, Mark replied: "You may be right, but what would one not do to obtain certainty!  It is true that the Lord promised never to leave us in the dark about anything, even if he was not present!  On the contrary, we should only become more conscious and more certain by it!  For the Spirit of His love would fill our thinking with clarity from above!"

Lively, Demetrius agreed: "You see, brother Mark, now you have said the right thing!  The Spirit of His love will fill us with clarity and with this clarity we can overcome everything that still hinders the Divine in us!  I feel as if you are afraid for the Lord, although your words sound different; but make an effort for once to overcome your human weakness with His power of clarity!  Then you will keep your peace in everything that happens and you will again be the right house-father for your guests and fosterlings.  Behold, the teaching of Jesus was to me like a message from the heavens!

And the hope of a free, joyful and eternal existence does not let me think of anything lowly or selfish anymore!  And so I must confess: through Jesus I have come to know my life in a completely different light!  Behold, He who could develop such wisdom out of Himself, and with His will-power set such miraculous works before us, for Him I am not afraid, even if He wants to go to death.  Certainly, every separation hurts!  But should His Spirit not be able to raise His own again?  If we believe in Him, we also believe in His message of eternal life!  And this life is above all death!  This life of His shall destroy death!"

Mark looked at his friend and said thoughtfully and admiringly: "First man take the greatest trouble to teach you strangers the right concept of God!  And now you are more than a friend and brother; you are becoming a true priest for us!  Your words did me good!  Let us never forget what the Lord has done for us!”

But Demetrius answered him: "Dear Mark!  You always talk about what the Lord has done for us!  But it is also very important to me: What should I do now?  Should Jesus have voluntarily departed from this world, we must not feel so defeated that we become inactive about it!  It would be a bad thanks to Him, if His followers only mourn and leave the field to the enemies of His teachings!  We must follow in His footsteps and help all people searching for truth to get to know Jesus and His teaching, too."

"My brother Demetrius!  You have spoken the right thing!" - answered Mark - "Your words restored balance to my soul and new courage to bear witness to Him!  But think of it, now I am suddenly convinced that His death is a reality!  Yes, only now do I understand His earlier hints about it!  But how will our housemates and all the sick people receive it?  If only I knew whether I should still conceal it?"

Demetrius answered: "Brother, brother!  Even if Jesus died, He still remains the same for me!  For His work and His Spirit live on!  How often you praised His love and His mercy, so that the great desire came alive in all of us: Oh would that the Lord would come to us, too!  If we had something to complain about here, it would only be that we have not seen and spoken to Him!  But we can all get over this, since His love and mercy restored our health by calling this source of healing into existence!  We do not need more from Him than the knowledge: Here the Lord and Master Jesus has created a monument for Himself, which neither His enemies nor His death can destroy!  Therefore, dear Mark, prove to everyone that your faith in Jesus and your love for Him have remained the same.  So much I have already learned and felt in myself that it is a rare happiness to be inspired by His Spirit!  Through this, I feel a whole new life in me, which was unknown to me before.

"My dear friend and brother" - Mark answered - "how good that you are here and can strengthen what has grown weak in me!  Now I already feel how a new joy wants to awaken in me and gives me the strength of soul to serve my brothers!  Yes, I feel solid ground under my feet again and fear nothing more."

Demetrius answered gravely - "So united, while I am still here, let us stand by each other!  For I fear you will still have a hard time.  The Templars will leave no stone unturned to shake the faith in our Jesus in us!"  Silently they covered the short distance, and soon they arrived back at the house.

Mark's certainty: "He lives!"

Ursus eagerly awaited the two friends; when he saw nothing distressing or painful in their expressions, he immediately asked what they had experienced.

Demetrius answered somewhat evasively: "My son, we have experienced nothing that could have shaken our faith or our trust in Jesus!  Though they are as much in the dark in Caesarea as we were, we now know the Master lives, since such a Spirit cannot die after all!"

Incredulous, the young Roman looked at his master, for these words seemed utterly incomprehensible to him; then Demetrius spoke further: "You are astonished at my words, and yet they come from my heart, which is full of confidence and trust.  But let us not anticipate the master of the house; he will find the right words for all."

Mark's sons were also waiting for their father, for the time had come for the common meal in the great dining room.  Joyfully, the guests greeted each other; the four new arrivals were introduced to them, and Mark asked Demetrius to take special care of the two merchant lords.  After brief words of prayer, the meal was begun; Demetrius conversed with Philip and Gregory about business until the word ‘Jesus’ fell from the center of the table.  And as if this name had a secret attraction, all looked at the speaker, the venerable old man Jeremiah; and when he noticed that all eyes were on him, he continued: "Yes, Jesus, the Master, is spoken of!  He Who in His great love for all the sick created this house of hope.  I also came here with the hope of recovery, since I did not have the courage to turn to Him directly before.  Thanks be to Him alone!  I am now so healthy that I will soon be able to make up for what I have missed so far.  My first course, as soon as I leave here, is to visit the great Master and Savior and to express my thanks to Him."

"My friend and brother Jeremiah" - replied Mark - "if you wish in all earnestness to give thanks to the good Savior, it does not require any effort to seek Him out, but deep in the innermost heart, every man can enter into living communion with Him, to which quiet way Jesus has so often pointed out to us.  That is why the Master spoke to us the urgent words: 'Give thanks in and with your heart!  But if you want to show love to Me, you will always have brothers and poor people around you who are in great need of your love!' - Dear friends and housemates" - Mark then continued movingly - "it is with a heavy heart that I now feel obliged to inform you: Our good Savior Jesus is no longer with us as a man!  Yes, by a violent death He has been snatched from us."

Then he added: "The Lord alone knows all things!  He will find ways and means to enlighten us still further, so that doubt, anxiety and fear do not shake our faith in Him."

As if frozen, all those present looked at Mark in silence, until some asked for further clarification as to how this could have happened?

But Mark spoke: "Dear brothers, listen to me!  Also we are still without more exact news!  Two Templars brought me today the hardly believable news, but obviously only to rob our hearts of rest and peace!  And that is why I could not believe it to be true at first!  But when I search in my heart, I find that it can be truth after all!  For once the Master spoke to me the grave words: 'To make the measure full, I must still endure the worst, otherwise mankind cannot be saved!'  Oh friends, as incomprehensible as this event may seem to us at first, I nevertheless suspect the will of God behind it, to which the Master always willingly bowed!  Therefore, dear brethren, we too humbly bow to this will of God, which is above all, and His peace will again enter our hearts."

All were shaken and silent in their innermost being.  Then Demetrius felt something holy flowing through him, creating full clarity in him like a shining light!  And radiantly, he cried out, full of life: "My friends, I feel now within me: All terror will yet turn into joy!  For behold, for the mighty work of Jesus with us who are sick, it was all the same whether He was present or not!  And now it will be the same for Him, whether He is a human or not! Only for us it was important that He was present among us as a man, so that we could see and hear Him with our senses.  Did not our friend Mark tell us that once angels stayed in this house, in visible human form, and this according to the will of Jesus?

And therefore He is a Lord also over all angels in the invisible world.  Already I feel in me something of His new life, which the Lord wants to give to all of us!  Why do we still want to mourn?  I too have not yet seen Him or spoken to Him, but in my heart, I still feel intimately connected to Him!  Does not this work, this miracle-working sanctuary alone, already speak of the greatness of His will-power and also of His helping love for all people?  He who could create out of Himself what is possible only to God alone, and Who is said to have raised even the dead, must be truly exalted, even above His own death!  My longing to see Him has not become smaller, but bigger!  And so I live already now in the certainty: Also I will see Him, as Mark and the ones who were His, saw Him!"

Doubtingly the aged Jeremiah addressed the question to Demetrius: "Dear friend and friend of the house of Mark, what justifies you to such hope that also you will still see Jesus?  Are you convinced that He, as the Lord, will meet your desires as you imagine?  For me all hope has been destroyed, since I once did not respect this love of the Savior and did not want to believe His words!  Only my suffering cured me of my unbelief, and therefore it hurts me twice as much that I can no longer ask Him for forgiveness."

"Dear brother" - Mark answered - "you are worrying in vain!  Do you think that Jesus, who knew all things, does not also know that you have repented of your unbelief toward Him?  Do you really think you would have been healed if the Lord of all life still held your unkindness against you?  Not only he who believes in the miraculous power of this source will find healing, but everyone who believes in Jesus as Lord and in the power of His great love, can find healing everywhere!  Dear brothers and all present!  How inwardly broken I was when the two Templars brought me the exceedingly sad news and still scornfully scourged me, knowing that He was our most faithful Friend and Helper!  Behold now, I thank the Lord alone that He placed this friend of mine, Demetrius, at my side, whose word immediately lifted me up and strengthened me inwardly.  It was Jesus' spirit and the blowing of His love that gave me the healing certainty in my heart: He is alive, although He could have been killed in the flesh!  Now I can also testify of Him from the innermost part of my being and call out to all of you: Yes, He lives!

What may seem incomprehensible to all spirits, angels and people, has become a glorious fact: The Master lives and will forever remain the Lord over all life and death!  See, brother Jeremiah, once the meaning of His speech was incomprehensible to you; now you are in disquiet about it and think that you must therefore ask Him for forgiveness!  But I say to you today: Hope in Him! Believe in His healing love for all who err and choose this love as an example for your life!  Then a new life and understanding will grow in you, which wants to fulfill completely different tasks, namely: to serve Him and to raise up in His Spirit the brothers who are still broken and full of doubts about His death!"

Ursus listened to every word; suddenly he shouted quite excitedly to Mark: "It is really no longer understandable how you, dear Mark, speak about the death of Jesus now!  It sounds as if it were already a matter of course to you that He had to die, He who helped you and so many others!  I have to believe you that He nevertheless lives!  But why did He end up on the cross?  This is the saddest and bitterest kind of death imaginable, and criminals tremble when they hear such a sentence.  And this your Savior and friend ended on the cross?  No, that is too much, I cannot understand that!  I have walked over many a battlefield, I have offered a drink of water to many a fainthearted man, whether friend or foe; and though it grieved me deeply to see men slaying each other with their weapons, I said to myself consolingly: You died fighting for the interests of your fatherland!  And I nourished in me the hope for peaceful times.

When I became acquainted with the glorious love-teaching of Jesus and the great deeds of His will-power, a new hope for blessed times of peace sprouted in me!  And the love and longing for this greatest friend of mankind, grew more and more powerful, so that even far away from the land of the Jews, I carried in me the joyful confidence to see Jesus one day!  How full of joy I was when, after having fulfilled my duty, I went back to Caesarea!  Playfully, all inconveniences were overcome, because it now headed to the meeting with Jesus!  But the first hour at the place of longing brings me the news: Jesus is no longer with us!  Forgive me for my excitement, but I had to speak as it is in my heart!  With the message "The Savior is dead" - my longing has died, too!  Because my love and longing belonged to a living, but only the memory belongs to a dead!  Whether His work lives on, does not satisfy my desire for Him, it can only revive my memory, my thinking of Him!  Therefore, friends, forgive me that I cannot agree with your opinion; I must first overcome my pain, my bitter disappointment!  Leave me alone for a few hours, only in solitude will I find my peace again!"

Ursus went to the stable, bridled his stallion and spoke to the animal: "My friend and comrade!  Even your muteness is a participating language to me; for in joy as in pain we understand each other. Listen: my best friend is no more!  Come, let us fight down the pain and, let us try to regain the inner balance in the silent nature."  It was as if the clever animal sympathized with his master's grief; he leaned his head against his chest and neighed softly.  Ursus stroked it with both hands and knew: My friend understood me!  He opened the gate and rode away.

In the room they were somewhat surprised at the behavior of the young Roman, but Demetrius said: "My beloveds!  Let him deal with himself alone!  He is one of the strong ones who need no-one but himself!  That the longing for Jesus lived so immensely in him, comes from the fact that he had to affirm so vividly in himself every word he heard from the great Master here!  He was less concerned with Jesus' miraculous works than with His teaching.  Jesus' message of the great love for mankind became a light to him, was something that made his whole life rich in content!  So the great desire grew in him to get in personal contact with the Creator of this new love- and life-teaching!  Let us respect his pain!  The master will find what is right also for him."  And for a long time all remained together in lively conversation.

Ursus in inner conflict

Ursus, however, rode out into the night, along the lake, with painful discord in his heart.  The moon shone in dull brightness, and stars revealed their existence by flickering and shining.  He came to a cove where several fishermen were struggling to pull in their heavy net; Ursus dismounted, took hold without a word, and helped bring the rich catch to safety.  The fishermen thanked him with simple words, but Ursus spoke: "Dear people!  I felt the need to help you, because I saw how your strength was not enough."

"Lord," said one: "today was the Sabbath, and we have enjoyed nothing but a morsel of bread and a drink of water at the parting of the sun.  Fish were ordered for a feast, and there was no hesitation.  With the onset of night we went out and brought home good spoil; Jehovah blessed our work!  But is it lawful to ask, lord, where then are you going in this darkness?  The night is dangerous for traveling, since it is easy to err."

Ursus replied; "My friend, I have no destination!  The night lured me to seek what I lost during the day."

"Sir" - said the fisherman - "you have a wrong idea, turn back, for what was lost, will be found more easily tomorrow.  By day also the mind will be glad again; for you, young friend, bears heartache."

"My friend" - asked Ursus - "why do you speak like that?  If you knew what afflicts me, you might suffer just the same!  For what I have lost, is called Jesus of Nazareth!"

"Lord, Lord!" - cried the fisherman - "how could this be possible?  For not only I, but all who are here, and likewise all my house, know Jesus of Nazareth, and owe Him much thanks for all the benefits He has done us.  You lost Jesus?  This is an impossibility!  Because, who once came into inner contact with Jesus and was allowed to experience the whole fullness of His sanctifying love, will not lose the Savior Jesus again!  Every thought of Him already makes us happy!  A thought of Him is like the flaring up of a new life, which warms and overcomes everything petty.  And this life is not to be lost again!  Always and always I must think of Him!  To lose Him would mean not to be able to think of Him anymore!"

"Friend" - said Ursus - "yet it is as I said; I, and you also, have now lost him who did you so much good!  For Jesus is no more!"

"Lord, don't joke with us" - exclaimed the fisherman - "it would be the greatest misfortune in the world if the Savior Jesus were no longer alive.  But have patience for a few moments, my brothers still need me, and then I will be here again."

Ursus watched as the fishermen fastened the net to the top of a pole so that the fish in it remained in the water; but they pulled the boat completely ashore.  Then the old fisherman came and said: "Lord, not far from here is my dwelling, come and stay with us; for Jesus is to us of the highest concern!  One of us can take your horse into care."

"Good" - Ursus replied - "I can stay with you a little while longer!  But old Mark might become anxious if I stayed out of his house all night."

After a few minutes they arrived at the house, which was still dimly lit.  Ursus gave his horse a little blow on the neck and said: "Stay quiet and wait here!"

The fisherman almost could not believe that a horse could also be given an order, and asked: "Sir, did the animal understand the words?  It is the first time that I have experienced such a thing."

"My friend!" said Ursus: “It is not uncommon among desert peoples that animals are almost smarter than humans.  This animal is the gift of an Arab ruler to whom I have been able to render great service.  It is wise and my best comrade, for it understands my joy as well as my pain; try to move the animal, you will not succeed."

The fisherman looked at him in disbelief, then he said: "Lord, it will be all right!  There are also clever fishes, many things could be told about them."

The fisherman's wife opened the door and looked in amazement at the strange guest, but the fisherman said: "Wife, leave us alone, the master has little time, you will learn everything else in the morning!"

Now they entered the large room, where it smelled of wood and fish, but Ursus saw with a glance that everything was clean and tidy in it.  The fisherman invited him: "Come, sir, sit down and tell what troubles you so."

And Ursus told what he had heard from Mark about Jesus.  But the old fisherman said: "Sir, all this is still only a story, which may as well not be true.  Jesus is a Lord after all and has a very strong arm!  Almost daily we hear His praise from travelers or from those who found recovery in the bath!  I do not worry about that!  He is the Lord and remains ‘our’ great Helper in all needs."

"Dear friend" - said Ursus - "you cling to something that is no more!  Do you still believe in a dead man?"

But the fisherman answered him earnestly, "He Himself has taught us that He is the life, and whoever believes in Him can receive this life from Him!  His mouth spoke the following words: ‘If you remain in My Spirit, we will remain united, and My blessing will accompany you in all your actions!’  Lord, see the blessing of tonight!  It is the proof: Our Jesus lives."

"Friend" - Ursus answered - "your speeches are as incomprehensible to me as those of the others!  If the man, on whom I put all my hope, is no more, what can I still hope for from Him?  You claim that He is alive!  But the Templars claim that He is dead!  So it is assertion against assertion!  All that He was to you would be taken from you with His death.”

Thinking, the fisherman said: "Young friend, if you claim that you have lost Jesus, this is not true!  For you will never have felt anything of the wonderful life of Jesus in you!  We are only simple fishermen, but this one thing I tell you: It seems to me that you look at Jesus like an ordinary person to whom you are devoted with all your heart, like a virgin whom you have chosen as your bride.  Certainly, the bride can die, then you have lost her!  And death was the cause of it.  But the Master and Savior Jesus from Nazareth is not only a man, but is God the Lord, who has power over all powers and over all elements!  We were His witnesses when He gave rest to the storm and the waves, and therefore we praise His power and great glory!

We know that when His enemies sought His life, He was not afraid, but caused storms and winds to come, so that this lake was like a boiling cauldron, so that the enemy ship was in the greatest danger, and the fear of His persecutors taught them better who He was!  He is a Lord over life and death!  Consequently, we cannot believe in His death.  It could be that He no longer needed anything human and therefore laid aside His body; but then, young Lord, He is only pure glory!  But His love for us would remain the same!  For through His death, this love will only reveal it's true glory to us even more!"

Ursus said thoughtfully: "You are a riddle to me, which I am not yet able to solve; Jesus - a God?  From this side I have not yet imagined Him."

"Lord" - the fisherman continued to explain - "Jesus cannot be imagined, because such imagination does not grasp His essence!  But His presence can often be felt very clearly!  And, as I feel it now, my whole interior is filled with holy life out of Him, and in me I clearly hear His voice: ‘Have the right patience!  Your brother loves Me sincerely and dearly.’"

"What are you saying" - Ursus asked in amazement - "you hear His words in you?  Do you go so far in your enthusiasm that, if something stirs in you, you already believe that it must be your Jesus?"

The fisherman said: "Lord, you are still so young and quick to judge; we in our age are more thoughtful.  But remember: If Jesus died - and like our ancestors remained in the grave, then we too will pass away without a ray of hope of an eternal survival!  But if Jesus passed through death to enter into eternal life, then we who believe in Him will not remain in death, but will live with Him in His kingdom full of unspeakable glory! This is what His Holy mouth taught us, and His deeds proved that His words were not empty speeches, but that He is the proclaimer and performer of eternal life-truths!  Of course, for you natural proofs are still missing; for me they are not necessary, because I know: He lives and even announces His life in me!"

Ursus now asked: "Friend, forgive my harshness!  I feel it, your mouth announces the truth!  But what is to be done, so that I also receive the conviction: ‘He lives!’  Mark and my Lord spoke of a Lazarus in Bethany; shall I go to this one for proof?"

The fisherman answered, "Young friend, it takes half a week to get to Bethany; and yet it would do you little good!  For if you cannot believe me in earnest, you would not believe Lazarus either.  But Jesus, the Lord, has just said to you through me: ‘Search with your heart!’  Then you shall see Him and also be filled with this new life out of Him.  Come, as often as your heart drives you, to our humble hut; we are always here for you!  But now we need rest, and rest will be necessary for you, too.”

With brief words of thanks, Ursus parted from the old fishermen, led his horse by the reins, and walked slowly back to old Mark's estate; it took more than an hour.  But inside him the fierce discord had not yet been eliminated: A dead man lives and professes: ‘There is no death, neither for Me nor for My followers!’  From afar he saw a lighted lamp that Mark had placed at the gate to make it easier for his guest to find his way.  The eldest son was waiting for the Roman and got his horse; Ursus, however, felt lonely and abandoned; for a long time he looked at the starry sky, until the coming day made the stars fade.

That night he decided not to rest until the mystery of Jesus was revealed.  It was unthinkable to him: Jesus as man and as God?  Of course, Mark had already hinted several times that God's powers were in all power and glory in Him!  But that Jesus was God, he did not hear about that yet!  "Whoever has experienced Jesus' love once, will never lose Him again!"  These words occupied him again and again.  The fishermen, the house of Mark, all were fellow beneficiaries of this glorious Jesus' love, which is why they felt so closely connected to Him.  But where does he stand with Jesus today?

"Oh Jesus!" - Ursus said to himself - “Why did You have to die and leave behind those who are consumed with longing for You?  Why, why, oh Jesus, did You not make use of Your inherent powers?  Oh God from eternity to eternity!  Do not let me fall back into paganism, for then it would be very dull and dark in me!  Your goodness and righteousness make me again a joyful man!"

If you are looking for certainty and peace, look in yourself!

The house became lively, busy hands were already preparing the early meal; Ursus went down to his people, who were already feeding the animals.  The blacks could not express enough their joy that they were not strangers here, but were respected as human brothers, and Ursus rejoiced with them at this news, but thought: "Why am I not happy like these people?" - and bitterness settled over his sore soul.  He went out to the lake, where the calm sound of the waves and the soft humming of the insects led him into inner silence.  It was as if now nothing from the outside reached his ear, but as if a voice rose to him from within: "If you seek certainty and peace, seek within yourself!  All people and the best-meant love are worthless for you, if the gate to your self-world does not open!  Therefore become quiet until [you enter] your sanctuary!"

Ursus turned around: were these words or were they just thoughts?  But from where, from whom did they come?  "Be still until you enter your sanctuary?"  "Yes, this I will!" - he said to himself, breathing a sigh of relief - "but for this old Mark must yet help me!"  Then he saw the old fisherman Hiram coming from afar; Ursus went to meet him, and the old man greeted him: "Peace be with you!"

Ursus gave thanks and said: "Yes, I could use that!  For this night has been restless, and sleep has stayed away from me."

Hiram answered: "Shall we go into the house and talk with Mark about the news from Jerusalem?  As yet I have said nothing to anyone about your tale of yesterday, for, after all, it might be a deception of the temple."

Ursus asked in amazement: "Are you also having doubts?  This night you spoke differently."

"Oh no!" replied the fisherman. "But it is every man's duty to check rumors for the sake of error!  For an error is able to destroy many a carefully guarded new life again."  Both now went back into the house and were kindly greeted by Mark: "What do you bring us, brother Hiram?  Do you need some of my people?  Surely you do not come at this early hour without a reason?"

"No, brother Mark" - said Hiram - "This your guest is the reason.  In this night he tarried in my hut, and told me of an incident in Jerusalem scarcely to be believed."

"So you already know" - asked Mark - "what the Templars brought me?  But it is not yet so certain."

"It is certainty, Brother Mark" - Hiram answered gravely - "The Lord revealed it to me in the morning!  But as so often before, I had misgivings; for I saw the Lord with pierced hands and feet, but with shining face!  I believed it was only a dream image!  But now that I have looked into your eyes, brother Mark, it has become an inner certainty to me!"

Mark answered him: "Also my whole inside rebelled against this message and was shaken to the foundation.  But then Jesus Himself came to my aid through one of my guests, and now I am reassured, for I know He lives and will continue to shadow us with His grace and love!"

Hiram said: "Then all is well! I also know: He lives and will live forever!  But this young friend is still filled with thoughts of doubt!  Therefore, brother Mark, shall we not send someone to Bethany?  You know, without your brotherly advice I would not want to do anything; but here I see the need to get to the bottom of this event."

Mark replied: "Brother Hiram!  Tonight sleep left my bed, and all my mind and thoughts were directed to the Lord!  Thus I am so far in the clear that I can let everything calmly approach me!  Brother Lazarus, together with His disciples, will already find ways and means to inform all friends!  Let us wait and be aware: The Lord knows His own!  He will turn all our sorrows into joys again!"

"But friends!" - exclaimed Ursus excitedly - "you deal with Jesus' death as a matter of course, as if it were already a proven fact!  Surely it could be that the temple only wants to exploit this news to it's success, to shake the best, the faith in Him, among Jesus' friends?"

"There you are mistaken, young friend" - Hiram answered gravely.  "Faith in Jesus gives a living strength and a certainty that no-one can take away from us!  Where the enemy of life can still divide, there Jesus has not yet penetrated!  Many, many saw and heard Jesus, but they did not receive His Spirit and His love into their own inner life and thus could not experience anything of His fullness of life!  But those who believed in Him, experienced His glory and do not want to be without this gracious new life out of Him!  Therefore, do not be troubled!  The Lord knows His own and also loves His own!"  Now the guests came and gathered for the morning meal.  They were glad to greet the old Hiram, because this brother already gave "bread" from the heart of Jesus to many.

Mark asked brother Hiram to say the morning blessing; Hiram rose, spread his hands upwards and said: "Oh you kind, loving Father!  Gone is the night in which You graciously preserved us from evil.  The day has come and proclaims to us: Let the light be Your gift, that we may live!  Oh Lord!  You Light out of the Life of God!  And You Life - out of the Divine Love!  Be You also on this day with us and in us!  Because without You, we feel nothing of this life!  From Your love and grace we have recognized: You Yourself are this new life!  Bless us, so that we too can bless again!  Amen!  But bless the food for us out of Your power and glory!  And let Your holy will become more and more our will, too!  Amen."

"Amen" - they all replied; and now Mark's children sang a psalm: "Lord, You Eternal and You Glorious One, Yours is all power and all life!  Yours are we.  And as Your property we want to live according to Your will!  But be with us!  For without You we can do nothing!  Your power make us strong, and Your glory be manifested to our weak love."

Now they all enjoyed the prepared meal, and then Hiram said: "My friends and also my brothers!  I am very much urged to tell you that our God and eternal Father, in His infinite love and mercy, has now condescended to give the greatest and most glorious thing to us human beings, His Divine Life!  In strength and full of freshness of life we may all join hands as brothers, if we appropriate the Spirit which the Master carried in Himself and which moved Him to sacrifice Himself for us and all people.  The hour of the Master's death is the hour of birth of a completely new life for us and shall lead to the resurrection of all the spiritual powers which still rest hidden in the hearts of all people.  But all development needs it's time.  Jesus died as a man for all people, to take away the threat from death for all eternities.  But only His humanity went through death, but His spirit-life works in us from now on!  His death confronts us with the great task to go on with open eyes and a wide view on the inner ways to Him, which He as our human brother has exemplified and shown to all of us!  The Master now also wants to come to us to show us once again.

Behold, ‘I am the life!’  But He is not able to lead us further, because now our own activity must begin!  His great task, which the Eternal Love of God set for Him, is now fulfilled, which is why His last words as man and brother were addressed to all that lives and will live on earth - and is: ‘It is finished!’  Everything now, which He gave us in love - we want to gladly give back to Him, as people who have become free, but we can only do it according to the measure of His love which has become alive in us!  Only in this way will Jesus, as the glorious One, come closer and closer to us, until we, too, may exclaim: ‘Now we are perfected by His life in us!’

And when the whole world remains mute and does not want to understand and embrace this last of His great love, then we should prove to everyone: He lives in us!  His Spirit is the eternal life!"

After a pause, Hiram continued speaking: "Within me, His Holy Word is just now resounding: ‘All that was Mine is now yours!  And all power and all might, which My love so wonderfully glorified, is now also in you, according to the measure of your love for your brothers!  Fear nothing!  No death and no circumstances are any longer able to restrict the new life out of Me in you!  For now I am the victor and will help all to victory who in steadfast love and loyalty continue My work of helping, redeeming love!  Which service only brings you all the perfection!  Amen!’”

All listened to the words of Hiram and were filled with the new spirit from which Hiram spoke; only the young Roman and the two newly arrived merchants did not quite know how to take the spoken words.

Gregory turned to Demetrius and asked: "Listen, dear friend!  This was something I could not quite understand, for I still know far too little of Jesus and know nothing of this simple fisherman.  But when I look at all the others, how they are filled with the truth of what they heard, I must confess: There must have been something true in his words!  In my life I have hardly encountered an event that interested me as much as this one!"

"My friend" - Demetrius answered - "it is not to be wondered at that you and perhaps others cannot grasp and believe this at once.  I, too, have come to know Jesus only through the experiences of others; but yesterday, when I stood up for Jesus with my whole being and wanted to refute the doubts of brother Mark, I felt a new power flow into me, and I was able to speak words full of convincing life!  So it was .something that animated me so, and this life-force could only have been Jesus' Spirit."

"If this were so," Gregory said musingly, "then Jesus was more than a man!  Then it should also be possible for Him to reveal Himself to us!  For even you have not yet seen Him yourself, and yet His living power worked in you to speak."

Meanwhile Ursus turned to Mark: "Dear friend!  Tell me, was this really Jesus, who, according to Hiram's words, manifested Himself in him?  I cannot believe it!  But I also cannot believe that Hiram is telling us something that is not the truth.  And I look at the others - they certainly believe that He did it!"

Mark replied: "I too believe it was the Master who revealed Himself to us through this honest man!  It is not the first time, but many times Hiram was the mediator between the Lord and us.  Brother, tell me, why can't you believe such things?  It is a proof of His love and grace, when Jesus' Spirit reveals Himself as a new life in man."

Ursus apologized: "Mark, you must not think that I do not want to believe, but I only want to have explained what does not seem natural to me.  If Jesus, although He is supposed to be dead, can still manifest Himself through words, then He must be here?  Why does not someone see Him and say: ‘Jesus is here, I see Him!’"

Mark patiently replied: "Ursus, Ursus, you are burdening yourself with burdens that make you unfree.  It is the task of every human being, first of all, to free himself from the inhibitions of the soul that prevent us from looking upward.  But it is also inherent in every faith that it can be clouded by forces that are not of Jesus!  And that is the only reason why the Lord cannot come to us personally, because He takes your condition into consideration.  Believe in Him as you believed in Him until yesterday!  Hope in Him as the great Helper in all needs, and everything will be cleared up in you!  Nothing is given to anyone, but it must be worked out in us!  Brother, your Savior is waiting for you!"

Now the meal was also finished, and old Mark said: "Dear brothers and friends!  Now let us give thanks and rejoice in our hearts!  Every day brings it's duties, and we will fulfill them today with renewed love!"

Hiram and Demetrius talked about what they had just experienced until Mark came to them and now it was decided to send a messenger to Bethany after all to inquire about all the details.  Demetrius provided Ursus with some soldiers; a son of Mark and his friend were to accompany him tomorrow morning.  With that, Hiram took his leave.

Ursus came out of a side building and asked the old fisherman: "My friend!  If you would be patient for a moment, I would ask my master to take you home in a carriage; it would give me pleasure, since I know that you have hardly slept."  Before Hiram could say anything in reply, Ursus was already with his master.  Permission was gladly granted, and Ursus quickly took his leave, at the same time taking a leave of absence for the whole day.

Embrace Jesus inwardly

With earnest conversation they soon reached their destination, and when the horse and wagon were stabled, Hiram led the young brother to the distant hut of Brother Aziona, who was the elder and head of the community in the fishing village.  The latter was somewhat surprised that Hiram brought him a stranger dressed in the outfit of a Roman.

"The peace of the Lord be with you!" greeted Hiram - "and with you forever" - replied Aziona.  "Come into the house, important things are driving you to me!"

"Yes, brother, not only important, but also decisive for the future!  Namely, to say it in a few words: the life of the Master has been taken away in a cruel way, which has put many in grief and agitation!"

"Hiram, my brother" - Aziona answered - "you could have spared yourself the way for this tiding!  Because in this night, I already experienced this sad event in a vision!  But I said today still to nobody of it, although I know, my vision has not yet showed me anything wrong.  Also I saw how the Master continued to walk as a living One and gathered great crowds of lost spirit-beings around Him.  But it is still necessary to inform brother Mark of this, since many strangers are staying with him."

"This morning I was already there" - replied Hiram - "and this young brother, a guest of Mark, was also inwardly very depressed by it, since he does not yet know the Master."

"Not only depressed" - added Ursus - "but deprived of all hope of ever seeing the Lord face to face!"

"Young brother" - said Aziona - "you do yourself an injustice!  For Jesus is the hope of all, and none who believe in Him will ever be disappointed by Him!  It was not Jesus who could die, but only the form He wore as a man!  At the moment of His death, He already clothed Himself with a new and much more glorious form, and now He can go everywhere, as we have already experienced with angels!  If I as an old and experienced brother can give you advice, it is this: Cling to Jesus with all your being, all your hope and thoughts and do not let a single thought come to life that could cloud His image which you carry in you!  Then He will also come to you and strengthen and raise you up!

When Jesus still served us in the human form, in the flesh, He was also bound to the order of this life - while He now, as Lord over all life and all death, can visibly reveal Himself to His faithful in the fastest possible time and everywhere!  I already experienced such things in this night.  Do not dwell on earthly and therefore transitory ideas, for these are only put to the test for our inner maturity for whether He may already visibly reveal Himself to us without harming our inner freedom.

But so that this young brother may come to inner peace, let us enter into great silence and wait for peace from above!  This peace from the Spirit of the Master is the condition for the fulfillment of all His promises!  You see, dear young friend, that the death of Jesus is not able to take away the least from Him, but can only convey the highest to us, namely the clear consciousness that whoever believes in Him and wants to strive from the heart to serve only Him, will become inwardly aware: The death of Jesus now places me in the place where His love wants to work!  Therefore, brother, wait for the moment when you will become aware: Now I feel connected to the Lord!"

Now they were silent, but after a while, Ursus asked: "Dear friends, once again forgive me for bothering you with questions; it seems to me that your relationship with Jesus is a more inward one, a purely spiritual one!  Until today my greatest longing was to see Him just once, to look Him in the eyes and listen to His words.  But you urge me to a new concept: To grasp Him inwardly, to do what He has willed and done!  But now I become uncertain: Is what is new in me really what Jesus has given me?  Or is there still something unknown in me that could take the place of Jesus?  One thing is certain: today there must be a turning point in my striving, because before my path of life lies a heap of ruins of my longing.  You show me my goal, namely Jesus!  But it is now something different in whom I should hope, in whom I should trust!"

"My brother" - Aziona answered - "here you have my hand as a sign of brotherly love; be assured that you will get rid of all doubts and worries this very day!  But push all bitterness out of your heart, because a heart that loves Jesus, is only filled with powers of Holy Love!  Until now you have heard only about the man Jesus, about the Savior, the great philanthropist!  And you are not the only one who was filled with longing to see Him, to experience something of His inner glory!  There were so many who heard Him and saw Him, but He remained to them the man Jesus.  Behold, to these people, His death will only bring doubts about His mission.

Then there were others who heard Him, feasted on His words, and placed great expectations on Him; to these, the death of Jesus will bring much sorrow and disappointment, since their hopes were not fulfilled.  But those who recognized His Spirit in the depth of their heart as a new life, to whom a word from His mouth was as if it came from the heart of God, to them His death becomes a new powerful experience!  For they feel alive in themselves the holy task to replace for the brothers all that the death of Jesus took from them!  So you see us now, who know: The Lord is no longer human!  Because we separated from His humanity long ago and felt already connected with His soul and His glorious Divine Spirit!

His whole life was a struggle for this freeing of our souls!  Now that we gave Him our souls, He gave His to us, so that I would like to exclaim: ‘Oh Jesus!  You are my I!’  But if I did grow faint with sorrow for Jesus, it was in deep sympathy with His pains at the death-stake."

"Brother" - exclaimed Ursus - "I thank you!  It is as if your word works like a new light in me!  But tell me, you speak of Jesus' death with a certainty as if you have been there; if after all it is otherwise, what then?"

Aziona kindly answered: "Brother!  The Lord knows all who love Him, and He has forgotten none!  As painful as it sounds in us: He has died! - the more joyfully the call will resound in us: He lives!  Now we too may hope for an eternal continuation of life with Him!  For Jesus' death awakened this new life in us!  Try not to think of anything else in your soul now, since there are still outward impulses in you, too, that want to make the high, holy life of God seem small to us!"

Ursus still asked: "So it would no longer be necessary to travel to Bethany to get certainty from the friends there?"

"It is not necessary at all" - Aziona answered - "because I know that soon the Lord will also come to us and will announce to us Himself that He has overcome death, so that we may once again strengthen our faith in Him.  But to satisfy your longing, the sacrifice could be made.  But if we ask the Lord for it in our hearts, we will receive the right answer in a moment."

After a little silence, Hiram spoke: "Brother Aziona!  The Lord announces His coming to us and will open the eyes of all who have not yet been able to recognize Him properly.  Therefore, we should tell all the brothers that He wants to visit them!  But first all pain and sorrow must disappear from their hearts, so that no-one will be frightened."

"Dear brothers," said Ursus now - "I would like to go back to my Lord and process in me all that I have heard from you!  For only when I am alone, will I attain the right clarity."

"So do according to your desire" - Hiram answered - "I will help you to bring your vehicle back on the right way; but do not think so much now, but direct your feeling to Jesus!"

Ursus travel with a stranger

The vehicle rolled slowly along, only traces testified to a path; under a shady fig tree Ursus stopped, gave the waiting horse some fruit and lay down under the tree to overcome his inner restlessness.  "Everyone means well for me" - he said thoughtfully to himself - "but where is the door to clarity for me?  Oh Jesus, why did you have to die just now?  I am supposed to become quiet?  But how to begin this?  Since yesterday it has been surging back and forth in me - and the result?"

The horse sniffed his face and brought his thoughts back to reality. "How one can forget oneself in the care of Jesus!" - he continued to speak - "and at that I should give up all worry?  Wouldn't it be better to go back to some task?  By doing so, my thoughts would most likely come to rest."  So he sat down on the cart again, but left it to the horse to find it's own way back.

After a while he saw a man who was also going that way, and now he was glad that he was not all alone.  "But I wanted to be alone" - he wondered - "what will this man be to me?"

Quickly he let the horse run and soon caught up with the traveller; Ursus stopped and after a short greeting, invited the stranger: "If you go the same way, to the spa of the well-known Mark, then you can gladly take a seat and ride along!"

"I accept your offer with gratitude" - said the stranger - "it will be my pleasure to ride with you!"

Ursus helped the stranger, and when they were seated side by side, he asked: "Whereto in this loneliness?  It is, it seems, a rarity to meet anyone here."

"I am going to friends" - answered the stranger - "who have long been expecting me, since I made a promise to visit them in due time."

Ursus said: "Now that your friends are in Mark's house, they will be glad to see you!  But today you come at an inopportune time, for there is mourning in the house of Mark."

"Mourning?" - asked the stranger in amazement - "hardly believable, since I did not learn that anyone had died there."

"No-one has died in the house of Mark" - said Ursus - "but the builder and founder of the spa, Jesus of Nazareth!"

The stranger replied: "But it hardly seems possible to me that there is mourning in the house of Mark because of this, since everyone knows that Jesus was a Lord over life and death!  They all knew the Nazarene so well that the news of Jesus' death can cause temporary pain, but not grief.  I also know my old friend Mark well, who may be weak once in a while, but does not become discouraged and despondent through grief.  Perhaps you don't really know the whole family yet and only assume they are mourning, since you yourself are sad."

Ursus wondered: "You may be right!  I am really full of sadness, since the death of Jesus has shaken me deeply, and I believed that everyone must be equally shaken by it.  Several friends have tried hard to calm me down, but without success, because it is too difficult for me to believe that whoever has died, can still be active in the same sense!  It is just against this concept that my mind resists!"

The stranger asked sympathetically: "So you too are a friend of Jesus and have truly loved Him?"

Ursus answered sincerely: "No, it would be too much to be a friend of Him!  But I have loved Him for a long time, only I have not yet seen Him and spoken to Him.  It is just for me the greatest sorrow that before I have found Him, He has been lost to me!"

Stranger: "You speak with bitterness of the death of Jesus, although you have already received so much from Him!  Have you not heard Him say: 'Blessed are those who do not seen Him, nor have they seen Him, and yet believe in Him?'  There must be something powerful about such faith!  The Master also had faith, namely faith in His followers!  And this faith overcame all doubts, and so He also went to death for them!"

Ursus asked excitedly: "Yes, tell me, who are you that also you do not become sad by the death message and can still regard the death of Jesus as something great?  It is still so incomprehensible to me that all of you, who want to be followers or even His disciples, still feel connected to Him and can even hear His voice in you!  Why did He not call you for help, yes, why did He reveal His death to you only after some days?  So He had to have special reasons for this, or there is something else behind this!"

With seriousness, the stranger answered: "It seems as if you want to be right with the Master.  Remember: The Master will never confess to one who looks outwardly and in the mind for his reasons why He went to death!  But those who are already connected with His Spirit in the heart-life, find this solution in inner clarity!  Why does your mind resist against that what concerns the heart above all?  And why can't your mind understand that the Master offered His greatest sacrifice of love for the sake of other goals than you can imagine?  Know that he who loves gladly makes sacrifices, and he who is loved is also ready to sacrifice, since the spirit of pure love contains within itself the power to make any sacrifice if necessary!

So Jesus sacrificed Himself and with this sacrifice gave something to all people for which He is to be thanked eternally, do you think that Jesus should first ask others: may and should I bring this sacrifice to you?  You ask who I am and why I am not sad about this message of sorrow?  Then I tell you: I am sad, but not about Jesus, but about such people who cannot appreciate the power of true love and who still have completely wrong ideas about the nature of true willingness to sacrifice!"

Ursus called out pleadingly: "Hold on, my dear friend, I did not want to offend you with my words, which only arose from my inner conflict.  I ask you for forgiveness, yes, I ask you for your assistance, so that I can again reach inner clarity!"

"See, dear Ursus, now it is easier to talk to you" - said the stranger - "since you realize that you have gone too far.  Lost things cannot be brought back by criticism!  On the other hand, this matter is much too serious and too sacred to be judged by the human mind!  But I want to help you, to serve you so far that you, if you only seriously want, can come to the right clarity!  But let us walk, the animal will find it's way anyway, and in walking we will come closer."

Now they both dismounted, and Ursus spoke: "Dear friend, you still have not told me your name!  But you have already mentioned mine, how did you get knowledge of it?"

"Hear what I will tell you about this" - answered the stranger - "To me - nothing remains unknown, since the Spirit of all life and fullness from God, who is in me, has equipped me to such an extent that I can say: ‘All things are manifest to me!’  For there is nothing left in me that could ever bind me to earthly things!"

Ursus marveled: "You are becoming more and more mysterious!  Yes, I almost begin to understand myself no longer.  With Mark, this faith!  With the fishermen this devotion!  And with you, this feeling of oneness with Jesus?  Listen, there is a mystery behind this, isn't there?  I have always found the right thing, but just about this Jesus I cannot reach any clarity!"

Kindly, the stranger said: "My Ursus!  Your human conception, your all too human conception of Jesus suffers shipwreck, and you should only be glad about that!  For the less you have what your mind can still hold on to, the less struggle you have!  Jesus can only be grasped in His inner being, if you switch off all knowledge of the intellect and start to look at Him with the eyes of love and faith!  Or do you think that if Jesus, the Master and Savior, had looked at all people with critical eyes, that love would have become victorious in Him?  It is not easy to move people with such a high sense of justice to excuse the weaknesses of their dear neighbors!  And that is where the lack of understanding for this love of His and for the sacrificial death of Jesus comes from.”

"Friend!  You are hard on me!" - exclaimed Ursus - "And yet I feel your love, which would like to see me differently.  It is true: I do not like to do wrong, but I also do not like to suffer it!  And it is a hard thing for me to acknowledge it as right that Jesus, who only did good, brought good, had to be sacrificed, and this in the most cruel way!  But to what extent all people should be served with it, for this I lack any knowledge.  A man, who brings us such sublime teachings of life and is equipped with such miracle powers, cannot be overcome in my opinion!  And therefore I suffer for Him, as if He were my father or brother.

The stranger spoke sympathetically: "Ursus, your suffering is not greater than that of the Master, and so I will tell you further: Just to be able to redeem all suffering, the Master had to go through this death!  Tell me, is the most glorious teaching, accompanied by miraculous deeds, worth anything, if the herald of the teaching does the opposite?  Or do you think that the purest teaching could survive human life if it had no soul?  The teaching of Jesus about a new life in man was permeated by the Spirit of truth from God!  But it was born in His soul!  He early on learned to know suffering and to experience it in Himself!  And soon began His great work, which should bring salvation from suffering to all souls!  With His teaching of the Divine power of selfless love He gave His soul to mankind!  But in the end He could not do otherwise than to accomplish the most difficult thing, to offer His own soul as a sacrifice for all beings far from God!  Dying on the cross is certainly nothing great, but dying voluntarily to redeem the brothers from all suffering, is great!  Jesus' death on the cross became the full surrender of His soul into the will of God and now reveals to all the victory of His love over all the sins of the world!  Jesus' love struggled for the souls of people bound by error; He wanted to free them from the inclination to earthly-fading illusory life and wanted to show them eternal life, through the awakening of the Spirit of pure love in the heart.  Yes, He wants to give His own soul, now freed from all earthly fetters, to all those who recognize His tried and tested teaching of the inner ways to the salvation of souls and want to follow Him on this way!"

Ursus listened with rapt attention, the stranger continued to speak: "If you have now correctly understood this fact and are penetrated by His holy work of wanting to redeem, then you give your soul to Jesus and accept His in return.  The sacrificial death of Jesus then becomes a shining symbol for you to want to bring redemption to all earthly suffering!  And the more you try to redeem, the more your soul itself will be redeemed!  But this insurmountable power of suffering-redeeming love, is the life out of God in His released soul.  If you are ready to understand Jesus and His sacrifice in this sense, you will open the gate of your heart to this Spirit from God, which was expressed in Jesus' soul as power and life.  And only then you will understand how it happened to Jesus, in whom the voluntary surrender of His soul until death, became a complete becoming-one with the eternal Spirit of God!”

Ursus had listened more and more attentively; now he exclaimed admiringly: "Oh friend, you must have known Jesus well to be able to represent Him so!  You have given me a new light and I am beginning to look at all this very differently!  But one more question!  Up to now we have only talked about the Spirit, the nature and the task of the Master!  He is dead.  His Spirit and His teaching lives in you and in the hearts of perhaps many disciples and friends!  But where does He Himself live?  He - in His whole personality?  Since now, according to the teachings of the fishermen, Jesus carries an indestructible body, surely He must be somewhere?  And so I ask: Am I also able to see and speak to Him once again now?”

The stranger answered sweetly: "My dear Ursus, it is always your longing that makes you ask this question.  So I will tell you: Yes, you too will be enabled to see and speak to Him, if you come to terms with yourself!  Only then will your senses be directed to the new life - which the Master has exemplified to all!  But His stay is there, where loving hearts keep their whole will open for the fulfillment of His love-tasks!  But do not ask any more, but look at yourself in your inner world; then you will find, if you want to serve the Master completely, what is necessary for your salvation!  Look, there in the distance lies the house of brother Mark.  But I will stay behind a little longer, because I know your friends are waiting for you and would like to know the result of your visit to the fishing village."

Ursus wanted to stay with the man, but he stayed with what was said, so he swung himself onto his vehicle and called out to the man who had stayed behind: "See you soon.”  "Was it right," he thought, "that I left this disciple of the Lord behind?  Surely I should have still stayed with him!"  And so he turned around, but saw no-one!  "Surely it is not possible that he has disappeared" - he asked himself - and so he turned his vehicle around and drove back; but nowhere was anything to be seen of him.  Another new mystery: A man disappears from the surface [of the earth] within a few moments?  He stopped his vehicle and searched the whole area with sharp eyes, but nothing was to be discovered.  "It will eventually be cleared up, because he promised to come to the spa" - he continued to think! - "But it was peculiar, the peace I felt near this strange man, and how exactly he knew the Master!"

A messenger from Bethany

Ursus drove home slowly; Mark had seen him coming, went out to meet him, and asked, "Well, dear Ursus, you're coming back early; didn't you want to stay with the brothers all day?"

"Yes, that was my intention, but I was drawn back to you again" - Ursus replied.  "I cannot tell you much now, for I am still under tremendous impressions, but I will tell you one thing: I have met another Savior!  A Lord who can die no more!"

Mark rejoiced secretly and asked him to come to the couch hall, there was a messenger from Bethany who reported about all the events in Jerusalem.

Ursus, however, replied: "I am glad that I was not here, because I was allowed to experience much more beautiful things in the meantime.  I would rather not be reminded of the past, because now I have to think of my future!  It is impossible to describe in words what I feel inwardly after a friend and disciple of the Lord described to me the holy tasks of the Master so vividly and showed me my tasks!  How man can get caught up in his own concepts; but now I hope to become one of yours soon!"

"My brother, how happy you make me" - said Mark - "for I have truly feared for you.  But now hear the glad tidings: the Lord is risen from the dead, and has already spoken to brothers and sisters!  Come and hear for yourself what the commissioner of the brother Lazarus still wants to announce to us."

Both went into the lounge hall.  Ursus looked at those present, but saw little joy in them; for their hearts were still under the impression of the most painful suffering on Golgotha!  He raised his right arm in greeting and took a seat next to Mark.  The messenger continued: "At first, many could not believe that the Lord, barely three days in the grave, could show Himself to His disciples again; but the appearance of the Lord Himself, removed all doubt.  A completely new spirit now animated all hearts, and joyfully they strove to profess to all that they had changed: The Lord has truly risen from death!"

Mark added: "My dear friends and members of my household!  With this, what the Lord has announced to us has already come to pass: "All sorrow will be turned into joy!"  Because to our joy belongs the awareness: The Lord has not remained in death, but He lives!  If the Lord now lives, I will no longer think of His death, but only of the omnipotence of His love, which was able to overcome even the rigid laws of nature, in order to bring us now something completely new, namely the means to make us free from death and perishing!  Therefore let us never forget to follow His teaching!  But now let us take the meal, because it is time, and the human also demands it's order."

He lives!

The evening reunited all friends and guests; but Ursus had become strangely quiet, he could not get the stranger out of his mind, and in vain he waited for his appearance.

Demetrius thought that perhaps the stranger had first visited other friends; Ursus was only impatient and thought he had to come today!

"Certainly, that is how it will be" - Ursus answered - "but why do I feel such a longing for him?  It is incomprehensible to me - that a strange man could affect me so!  And his sudden disappearance is still a mystery to me, too!"

Demetrius smiled subtly: "Perhaps it was an angel, as they were often seen in the Lord's lifetime!  For now the Lord lives, He can also again call angels and messengers to serve us."

A son of Mark came and told: "Today I had many things to do in Caesarea and stayed at noon with an acquaintance who was friendly to us; then the priest Ezra came to tell us how many incredible things are now being said about the Nazarene, and with what imagination His followers speak of Jesus having risen from His grave!

But from the temple, everything would now be done to finally put an end to the raving!  Then I said: Even without your narration we have already learned the whole event; but if Jesus has truly risen, then no-one is able to suppress this truth!  Like wildfire the news of His resurrection will spread from place to place, from country to country!  And the Master will fulfill His promise to show Himself to all friends - to declare: I am and live forever!  But what do you want to do?  You cannot kill Him a second time, can you?  Perhaps you crucified Him out of blindness, and He will have forgiven you for that, since it was His will, so that the measure of your wickedness may be full!  But that you still want to deceive the people about this truth of His resurrection, you will not be forgiven. “

But Ezra said with a sneer: ‘Do not be upset!  We already know ways and means to not let the reputation of the temple suffer!  But you in your delusion will soon be disillusioned; for the temple spares no one!  Jesus is dead!  And now His sham doctrine must also be put to death, for this we have the right from Jehovah!’  Dear friends!  Now I could not stay any longer, otherwise I would have forgotten that the Master taught us: ‘Better suffer injustice than do unkindness!’  So I still said: ‘The future will prove us who will remain victorious, Jesus or your temple!’

Still agitated, I now came home and could not become calm - then a gentle voice sounded in me: ‘Let the fools go, for My life belongs to all those who stand by Me!  Therefore become calm, so that I can strengthen you.’  Then I was glad!  I knew now: It is truth, which is not yet known: He lives!  He lives!  Friends and brothers, we loved our Jesus very much, but we did not talk much about our love!  But now, come what may, I will speak only of His love!"

The Lord appears

The door opened, Hiram and Aziona entered and was greeted warmly; and seeing such visible joy on their faces, Mark asked: "What will you have experienced?  For your eyes shine so brightly upon us."

"Oh friends," answered Hiram: "we bring you glad tidings: Jesus, our glorious Master, is alive, and will Himself set free every heart that still suffers in fear and anxiety for Him!  Yes, He wants to make it known to all of us that through His death, we will now receive a new life from His Spirit in us.  Therefore we hope for His coming also to us!"

Now the night meal was taken, and as in a common jubilant tone the speech went back and forth, until suddenly, in the middle of the room, the Lord and Master stood!  A holy silence fell, then He greeted: "Peace be with you!  For I have conquered even death and thus fulfilled the greatest task of My earthly life!  I will not speak to you of My pains, of My struggle, but of the great joy that now reigns in all heavens and on all worlds!

All the angels and ministering spirits have made it their blessed task to teach the whole universe about the glorious love that emanates from the earth, from the hill of Golgotha!  At My birth, the angels sang: ‘Peace on earth and goodwill to all people!’  But now they proclaim: ‘The great love of God is revealed to all through the Son!  And His Spirit will redeem the whole universe from matter!  All that lives is made receptive to this Spirit of the Son of God!’  So you see Me - see My hands, My side and My feet!  All these wounds tell you how much I have loved you!  But My love goes on and on, and wants to make you even more happy and blessed!

That is why I come to you, to give you all - forever, yes, for all times, My promise: ‘I will not leave you!  I will remain with you, if you do not slacken in selfless service out of love for your neighbor.’  This service, which until now seemed great and almost impossible to you, shall now become something easy and blissful for you!  And if My love in you sets you tasks, you should be sure of it: I am the strength and the success!  Nothing can separate us!  For through My wounds, we are united!  And My blood, which dripped to the earth, is the sign: My love always flows to My children, to strengthen them in their spirit, so that My children become true recipients of the Spirit, which strengthened Me when I stood in the greatest struggle of life!

You, My Mark, and all of you, My brothers!  I go out of this world and leave you behind as My witnesses and confessors; the great task of giving to the world in My place what I wanted to give it - the new life - is now yours!  Do not ask: Why do you not want to stay?  You know: My kingdom and My being are not of this world!  Use every time and hour, so that you always have the strength to overcome every enemy of this new life!  After a while, the news will reach you: I have visibly returned to My eternal world into the essence of My eternal Father-Spirit, in order to strengthen you from there and to fill you with My eternal Divine Spirit!  But My Spirit is the power in you, which carries everything, overcomes everything and completes you!"

Mark said: "Lord, as long as you lived, we knew: You love us!  And we have enough proofs of it.  When You were taken from us, we knew that we also loved You very much!  But the separation hindered us and crippled our limbs.  Oh Lord!  You wanted to stay with us and never ever leave us!  And now You say that for our sake You want to return to Your eternal home?  Oh Lord, You have overcome all suffering and the most painful death!  So we ask: oh let us also die for love of You and take us with You to Your Father!  For a life here without You, would be unbearable."

The Lord instructed him: "Mark, My brother, listen to My words: Your life here has a double value from now on!  For you now have two lives to value: your own and Mine!  You shall carry your life to Me, to the highest heaven, and you shall be filled with delights that no mouth can express!  But My life you shall carry into the depths, yes, into the deepest swamp of hell; and with it you shall please Me and compensate Me for the pains suffered.  As My love for all of you drove Me to please you, so now may your love drive you to please Me, who dwells in the innermost sanctuary of your heart, which Eternal Love consecrated for Itself!  Do not be afraid if you are hated and persecuted or if they even want to kill you!  For I as the life am always in you!  Always keep in mind how precious every soul is to Me!  And likewise let every brother, every sister, be precious to you!  You now know Me, as also many of your brothers know Me!  Therefore, let not a day pass when dear human brothers learn to recognize Me through you!  But you, My faithful ones!  Your love will show you how to awaken this new life in your fellow men!  Do not become tired and weary in it; hold high the banner of love!  It is, after all, Mine!  Then you will soon experience the great, the Divine, that My Spirit in you will make you completely and totally free!  For I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the completion!"

And turning to the newcomers, the Lord continued: "But to you, who sought Me and could not find Me, since in your soul the outward pull is still predominant, to you I say: My blood has flowed for you, too!  Also for you the way is paved, which leads to Me!  For I have a place in My heart for all of you!  Look, these wounds testify to you of My Redeemer's love!  And there is no-one who could ever say: the Savior and Redeemer has excluded me.

Even more I say to you: If you now believe in My love and acquire the Spirit which lives in Me, then you will also be filled with My life exactly like My brothers, who loved Me from the beginning of My existence on earth.  My life then announces to you: All that the earth carries of the bound, you can free, if you stand in the right trust in My grace and My support!  Through this my Redeemer-spirit you are then also called - you become blessed!  And not one hour in your life on earth shall you feel lonely or abandoned!"

And to Ursus directly: "But to you, My Ursus!  Since you have loved Me and have become weak with longing for Me, to you I say: Remain always united with Me in spirit!  Then everything that is still weak in you will strengthen tremendously!  But you can only grow in love for Me, if you strive to satisfy the longing of your brothers!  Behold, I give with full hands to those who keep nothing for themselves and use their strength only for the welfare of their brothers!  If you also learn this, then I am always with you and tangibly in you, for you!  Then you will grow into My heart, as My I will also increase in your heart.  So may My love and My power be mighty in all of you!  But remain in humility!  Stay connected with each other in My suffering-redeeming Spirit of love!  Then I live not only for you, but for the whole world!"

Ursus rushed to the Lord, crying, "Oh Lord!  Forgive me for not recognizing You today!  Lord!  Just one word and You will give me back my heart's peace!  I was blind, but now I see; I was a fool, but now I am healed by His grace and mercy.  Lord!  Take my life, it is Yours!  But first, just one word of forgiveness!"

The Lord spoke graciously: "My son!  Pure as the sun you stand before Me!  Therefore, reach out your hand to Me, and an imprint of My stigmata shall remain in your right hand as a sign of My love, invisible to your brothers, but you shall always see it!  And it shall remain a proof to you of how dearly I love you!  But greater is he who in his heart feels himself one with Me and through Me becomes the mediator between Me and the still erring brothers on earth.  Soon, soon the Spirit from above will also come to you!  Then offer Me your deeply opened hearts!"

And stretching out His hands in blessing, the Lord spoke further: "And as a visible sign of My great love, mercy and grace to all of you I say: Be healthy, all of you who seek healing here!  For your sake I may not stay here longer, since you are to grow through your free activity!  But I will come again and always remain with you, if your love for Me and all brothers has reached the degree of maturity in which it reigns in My glorious Father's house!  My peace and My blessing be and remain with you always and forever!  Amen."

Empty was the place where the master had stood!  All were silent until Ursus had to confess: “Oh My brothers!  This day now makes me your brother in the sense of Jesus!  You would be happy if you could make each other happy, as you have learned from the Lord Himself!  But in the future he is already blessed who feels in himself the calling and wants to prove himself worthy in the Spirit of Jesus to serve all his fellow men!  Today I know that I can make happy without any human help, because Jesus has promised me all help, all assistance!  I will express my gratitude to Him, but not with my mouth alone, but with my heart and my deeds!"

What joy was released in all hearts when all the sick people in the room suddenly felt healthy and no-one had any more reason to complain!  Then the others, who were not in the large room, came and joyfully declared: "The Lord has appeared to us and, as a sign of His great love, has made us all well!"

Heavenly joy spoke from all faces!  For in all of them, the consciousness was alive: "The Lord lives!  He is truly risen and has awakened a whole new life in us."

It was difficult for them to separate today, until at last Mark asked: "Let us go to rest!  For every heart will still long to remain united with Jesus in silence."

And so they parted, all thanking the Lord in their hearts!



Table of Contents

1.  At Mark’s sanctuary 4

2.  The fatal news: ‘Jesus is dead!’ 6

3.  Ursus is disappointed 9

4.  Uncertainty makes the interior restless 11

5.  Mark's certainty: "He lives!" 13

6.  Ursus in inner conflict 16

7.  If you are looking for certainty and peace, look in yourself! 20

8.  Embrace Jesus inwardly 24

9.  Ursus travel with a stranger 27

10.  A messenger from Bethany 31

11.  He lives! 32

12.  The Lord appears 33