Dear Rev. Graham: We went to church on Easter, and the Bible reading included Pilate's question to Jesus, asking what truth is, but it sounded to me like Jesus didn't give him an answer. Was Jesus still searching for the truth, just like Pilate was? — M.J.

Here is an event from Jesus' life that the world knows only from sparse Biblical accounts such as this one. Even in scant form, the story is full enough for Dr Graham to have gleaned the highest truth from it.

Have you ever wanted more of the story? 

The Urantia Book contains the same story, except that in The Urantia Book, we get such rich detail - more of the conversation and more important insight into the personalities of both Pilate and Jesus.

See "The Private Examination By Pilate" HERE. The title of the paper is "The Trial Before Pilate," and contains the whole story of those dark hours preceding the Master's death. 

Any person who wants to know more about Jesus will be intrigued and inspired when they read this account, and realize that it is an accurate account of that day given to us by spiritual beings who were actually there, and who recorded events as they happened. 

This should not be surprising, that there is a chronicle preserved in the universe to immortalize the amazing life of Jesus of Nazareth. Before Jesus came here, he reigned as a Creator Paradise Son of God. His title was "Michael." His appearance on our world was known to the entire universe, and all celestial eyes were on this planet during those times. In that light, it is reasonable to entertain the possibility that these accounts are true, and gifted to us as part of The Urantia Book for the purpose of re-discovering the events of the life and teachings of Jesus as they really occurred. Our world is ready, and our world needs to see Jesus as he was. 

The entire Life and Teachings of Jesus can be found HERE

VATICAN CITY — Lukewarm Christians try to build a Church that conforms to their own common sense and see too much risk in following Jesus, Pope Francis said.

“They are Christians of good sense only: They keep their distance. Christians, so to speak, who are ‘satellites,’ that have a Church small in size. To quote the words of Jesus in Revelation, (they are) ‘lukewarm Christians,’” the Pope said at the April 20 morning Mass in the chapel of St. Martha’s residence.

“They walk only in the presence of common sense. ... This is a temptation (to use) just worldly prudence,” he added.

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

^195:9.6 Primitive man lived a life of superstitious bondage to religious fear. Modern, civilized men dread the thought of falling under the dominance of strong religious convictions. Thinking man has always feared to be held by a religion. When a strong and moving religion threatens to dominate him, he invariably tries to rationalize, traditionalize, and institutionalize it, thereby hoping to gain control of it. By such procedure, even a revealed religion becomes man-made and man-dominated. Modern men and women of intelligence evade the religion of Jesus because of their fears of what it will do to them—and with them. And all such fears are well founded. The religion of Jesus does, indeed, dominate and transform its believers, demanding that men dedicate their lives to seeking for a knowledge of the will of the Father in heaven and requiring that the energies of living be consecrated to the unselfish service of the brotherhood of man.

^195:9.7 Selfish men and women simply will not pay such a price for even the greatest spiritual treasure ever offered mortal man. Only when man has become sufficiently disillusioned by the sorrowful disappointments attendant upon the foolish and deceptive pursuits of selfishness, and subsequent to the discovery of the barrenness of formalized religion, will he be disposed to turn wholeheartedly to the gospel of the kingdom, the religion of Jesus of Nazareth.

"THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS," byJames Goldberg, CreateSpace, $12.95, 330 pages (f)

Serious students of the New Testament are fascinated with the stories and teachings found in the four major gospels or testimonies of Jesus Christ’s disciples. The rich messages give substance to individual lives and help many as they try to live righteously in a difficult world.

But there is much missing from the writings that would be of great interest to the common person. Very little is mentioned concerning the day-to-day activities of Jesus and his disciples as they traveled throughout the Holy Land. And not much is known about the individual personalities of the apostles and other disciples.

James Goldberg’s new book, “The Five Books of Jesus,” is a thought-provoking fictional story of how things might have occurred in the lives of those who encountered Jesus of Nazareth during his ministry.

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

"The ritual washing of feet is a gesture of humility based on the belief that Jesus Christ washed the feet of his apostles on the evening of their final meal together before his arrest, crucifixion and death.

Vatican tradition has it that each year on Good Thursday the pope washes the feet of twelve priests of different ages and nationalities in a solemn ceremony held in Rome's St John Lateran's Basilica or in St Peter's Basilica.

The priests are seen as representing the apostles.

Though retired pontiff Benedict XVI revised the ritual in 2007 by selecting 12 lay men from Rome for the ceremony, the new Pope Francis shook up Catholic tradition Thursday by choosing to honour not only prisoners, but women as well as men."

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

It's pretty sad when something so beautiful and so simple raises such concern - one might think instead, that it would inspire awe, admiration, and even inspiration. Like Jesus, Pope Francis is demonstrating that his view of women is evolved to the point where he is at least willing to include them in his service - as equal recipients.

As Jesus' supposed "representative" on earth, one might assume that this would be standard behavior. Sadly, it has not been; however, maybe Pope Francis in going to change all of that, and welcome the other half of humanity (women) to be participants in spiritual living.

Jesus, of course, was the pioneer. He not only included women in his ministry, he ordained them to be teachers and leaders - roles at which they always excelled.

From The Urantia Book:

^150:1.3 It was most astounding in that day, when women were not even allowed on the main floor of the synagogue (being confined to the women’s gallery), to behold them being recognized as authorized teachers of the new gospel of the kingdom. The charge which Jesus gave these ten women as he set them apart for gospel teaching and ministry was the emancipation proclamation which set free all women and for all time; no more was man to look upon woman as his spiritual inferior.

"Chris and Sarah recently moved into a newly renovated two-bedroom apartment in Xining, a bustling Chinese city on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where they manage a small business and spread the teachings of Jesus Christ. The couple, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, are enthusiastic and devout. They say that they could stay for decades.

'I really love being in a place where, it's like, if you're an artist, and an artist comes in and sees a blank canvas, they go heck yes – they love creating something new, and that's how I feel,'said Sarah. 'That's not to say that there aren't times when I cry my eyes out and get discouraged, but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be, so we're going to find joy in the midst of difficulty.'

Chris and Sarah have a strong affinity for Tibetan culture, even if elements of Tibetan religion strike them as sinister or harsh: its icons, the shamanistic rituals, the draconian precepts of reincarnation. 'I love these people so much, and I feel like I … I want them to be free from fear,' said Sarah. God, she said, brought her overwhelming feelings of love and compassion – feelings she wanted her Tibetan friends to share. Yet so far, progress has been slow. 'You can't expect to go into this really rocky field and immediately plant corn,' she continued. 'It's going to take some time.' "

This is a modern-day story about missionary zeal and carrying the message of Jesus into all the world.  See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

These young people are doing what Jesus advised his followers to do:

^191:4.4 "Go, then, into all the world proclaiming this gospel of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men to all nations and races and ever be wise in your choice of methods for presenting the good news to the different races and tribes of mankind. Freely you have received this gospel of the kingdom, and you will freely give the good news to all nations. Fear not the resistance of evil, for I am with you always, even to the end of the ages. And my peace I leave with you."

We certainly wish them well!!!

"Christians agree that the meaning of gospel is good news, but there is major disagreement about the content of that good news. Over the years on this subject, I have had a radical change of mind.

In Jesus, God accepted me into his holy family. With all my sins forgiven, I was assured that when I die, I would go to Heaven and live eternally as a citizen in the Kingdom of God. Escaping Hell and being promised eternal Heaven was the good news. It was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel reading (Mark 5:21-43) tells us of Jairus’ plea to Jesus, that he go to his sick little girl, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.”

Oh, that spoke to me; on a snowy, cold morning, with the arthritis screaming, I read that and thought, “me too, that I may move!”

Along the way to Jairus’ home, we read what is (for me, anyway) one of the richest and most powerful stories of Christ’s healings:

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

I love this story because it very gently puts the lie to the increasingly popular idea that Jesus asks nothing of us — that he’s just our pal, our fluffy squeeze toy who doesn’t mind what we do and prescribes no rules except that we be nice and, you know, that vaguest of things, “a good person.”

There is no reason not to think the woman with a hemorrhage was not a “good person”, but the Christ she encountered still asked something of her.

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

I think it is so encouraging that, even with the scanty accounts of these amazing events that we have in the Biblical texts, people are still able to glean such rich lessons from them.

How much more will the world be able to appreciate the Master when they can read the full accountings that we have in The Urantia Book! And how many - like me - who only discovered the rich heritage of the Bible after discovering The Urantia Book...

See THIS PAGE from the illustrated "Great Jesus Stories"

THIS PAGE contains the full stories of both the woman with the scourging hemorrhage, Jairus' daughter, and the feeding of the 5000, with great detail...

One can also go to our search feature and plug in key words from these stories to find even more detail...

Saeed Abedini, 32, who is Iranian born, is expected to go on trial next week before a revolutionary tribunal in Tehran in a hearing presided over by a judge blacklisted by the European Union for handing down harsh verdicts.

It is the Season of Epiphany, beginning with the story of the Magi on Jan. 6, and continuing through the Transfiguration of Our Lord on Feb. 10. The liturgical, or historic, expressions of the Christian faith focus on the stories that make God “manifest” in Jesus. A simpler way to say that is to say, “if you want to see God, look at Jesus.”

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further.

...this minister has made a beautiful case for the statement: "He who has seen me has seen the Father," which was said by Jesus on numerous occasions.

There's a really good reason that the revelators of The Urantia Book tell us:

196:1.3   One of the most important things in human living is to find out what Jesus believed, to discover his ideals, and to strive for the achievement of his exalted life purpose. Of all human knowledge, that which is of greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it.

I've lived with and near Muslims since 1983.  If you ask any Muslim, "Do you believe in Jesus?" 100 percent will say yes.  Some will quickly qualify that "yes" with something like, "We believe in all the prophets."  And others will note some of Jesus' great attributes found in the Quran -- he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, worked miracles, called the Word of God and other impressive things. I have found many who will speak in hushed tones out of their great respect of this prophet and messiah -- Jesus Christ.

Some Muslims will even say they "follow Jesus."  They follow his way, or his teachings or his path.  There are ample scriptures in the Quran about "the straight path" and if followed carefully it's notable that they often refer to the way of Jesus of Nazareth.

One such Muslim is my friend Mo Sabri.  Mo is a Pakistani-American who studies pre-medicine at university in Tennessee. He's written and performed the following song clearly entitled "I Believe in Jesus."

See "Link to External Source Article" below to read further. You can also see the video (fun, hip-hop, inspiring!)

The revelation of The Urantia Book does not favor one religion over another...devotion to God and love of the Master can be practiced from many religious platforms. What is needed is a unity of vision - of ideals. This article reminds me of something that Jesus said about unity vs uniformity:

^141:5.1 One of the most eventful of all the evening conferences at Amathus, was the session having to do with the discussion of spiritual unity. James Zebedee had asked, “Master, how shall we learn to see alike and thereby enjoy more harmony among ourselves?” When Jesus heard this question, he was stirred within his spirit, so much so that he replied: “James, James, when did I teach you that you should all see alike? I have come into the world to proclaim spiritual liberty to the end that mortals may be empowered to live individual lives of originality and freedom before God. I do not desire that social harmony and fraternal peace shall be purchased by the sacrifice of free personality and spiritual originality. What I require of you, my apostles, is spirit unity—and that you can experience in the joy of your united dedication to the wholehearted doing of the will of my Father in heaven. You do not have to see alike or feel alike or even think alike in order spiritually to be alike. Spiritual unity is derived from the consciousness that each of you is indwelt, and increasingly dominated, by the spirit gift of the heavenly Father. Your apostolic harmony must grow out of the fact that the spirit hope of each of you is identical in origin, nature, and destiny.