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The Fourth Lesson: The Beginning of the Ministry.981
available to Him at that moment in order to satisfy the cravings of His body,
and to break His fast.
None but the advanced occultist who has known what it was to be
tempted to use his mysterious powers to satisfy his personal wants, can
appreciate the nature of the struggle through which Jesus passed, and from
which He emerged victorious. And like the occult Master that He was, He
summoned His Inner Forces and beat off the Tempter.
* * *
But a still greater temptation than this arose to try Him to the utmost.
He found Himself brought face to face with the idea of Messiahship, and
Kingship of the Jews, of which we spoke. Was He the Messiah? And if so,
what must be His course of life and action? Was He destined to throw
aside the robe and staff of the ascetic, and to don the royal purple and the
sceptre? Was He to forsake the role of the spiritual guide and teacher, and
to become the King and Ruler over the people of Israel? These were the
questions He asked His soul, and for which He demanded an answer.
And the mystic legends tell us that His Spirit answered by showing Him
two sets of mental pictures, with the assurance that He could choose either,
at will, and cause it to become realized.
The first picture showed Him true to His spiritual instincts, and loyal to
His mission, but which rendered Him indeed the “Man of Sorrows.” He saw
himself continuing to sow the seeds of Truth, which would, centuries after,
spring up, blossom and bear fruit to nourish the world, but which would
now bring down upon His head the hatred and persecution of those in
power and authority. And He saw each successive step, each showing the
approach of the end, until at last He saw Himself crowned with thorns and
meeting the death of a criminal on the cross, between two base criminals
of the lowest classes of men. All this He saw and even His brave heart felt a
deadly sickness at the ignominious end of it all—the apparent failure of His
earthly mission. But it is related that some of the mighty intelligences which
dwell upon the higher planes of existence, gathered around Him, and gave