Bar-Simon, who was once a leper and was cleansed by Jesus by the sacred Word, abode in Bethany. In honor of the Christine Lord he gave a feast, and Lazarus was among the guests, and Ruth and Martha served.
And as the guests reclined about the table, Mary took a cruse of rich perfume and poured it out on Jesus’ head and feet. And then she knelt and with her hair she wiped his feet; the odor of the rich perfume filled all the room.
Now, Judas, always looking at the selfish side of life, exclaimed, For shame! why did you waste that costly perfume thus? We might have sold it for three hundred pence, and had the money to supply our wants and feed the poor. (Now, Judas was the treasurer, and carried all the money of the Christine band.)
And others said, Why, Mary, what a profligate you are! You should not throw such wealth away. (Aquarian Gospel 159:1-8)
The world always begrudges anything offered to God. Worldlings that live in personal luxury become indignant when money is spent on places of worship or anything that deals with spiritual life. But the loudest complaints are about those who dedicate themselves to God in monastic life. “What a waste!” they shout, as they throw their own precious life away in selfish pursuit of emptiness. It is true: you cannot take wealth and possessions with you at the time of death. But I assure you you can take every penny of the spiritual wealth you have accumulated through spiritual practice, discipline, dedication and sacrifice. Make the wise choice: invest in your divine spirit, and divine illumination will be the interest you receive abundantly.
But Jesus said, You men, be still; let her alone; you know not what you say. The poor are with you constantly; at any time you can administer to them; but I will not be with you long. And Mary knows the sadness of the coming days; she has anointed me beforehand for my burial. The gospel of the Christ will everywhere be preached, and he who tells the story of the Christ will tell about this day; and what was done by Mary at this hour will be a sweet memorial to her wherever men abide. And when the feast was over Jesus went with Lazarus to his home. (Aquarian Gospel 159:9-13)
Jesus’ prophecy about the everlasting remembrance of Mary’s love and sacrifice has certainly come true. At my paternal grandmother’s funeral the minister read Saint Mark’s account of this incident and preached on Jesus’ words: “She hath done what she could” (Mark 14:8).
Now, in Jerusalem the priests and Pharisees were busy with their plans to seize the Lord and take his life.
The high priest called in counsel all the wisest men and said, This deed must be accomplished in a secret way. He must be taken when the multitudes are not a-near, else we may cause a war; the common people may stand forth in his defense and thus pollute this sacred place with human blood. And what we do, that we must do before the great day of the feast.
And Ananias said, I have a plan that will succeed. The twelve with Jesus every day go forth alone to pray; and we will find their trysting place; then we can seize the man and bring him here without the knowledge of the multitudes. I know one of the twelve, a man who worships wealth, and for a sum I think that he will lead the way to where the man is wont to pray.
And then Caiaphas said, If you will lead the way and bribe the man of whom you speak, to aid in seizing Jesus in a secret place, then we will give to you a hundred silver pieces for your hire.
And Ananias said, ’Tis well. (Aquarian Gospel 159:14-22)
How astonishing this is! They are going to stain their souls with the sin of murder, and not murder of an ordinary man but of the Christ, the Messiah of the Lord. Yet the high priest says: “The common people may stand forth in his defense and thus pollute this sacred place with human blood.” Thus we see the mental and spiritual devastation worked by externalized, exoteric religion.
Judas the betrayer is rightly characterized by Ananias as “a man who worships wealth.” All those who worship materiality (mammon) betray their own inner Christ, selling their divine birthright for perishable gain that death will wrench from them forever.
And then he went to Bethany and found the twelve at Simon’s house and, calling Judas to the side he said, If you would care to make a sum of money for yourself, hear me: The high priest and other rulers in Jerusalem would like to talk with Jesus when alone, that they may know about his claims; and if he proves himself to be the Christ, lo, they will stand in his defense. Now, if you will but lead the way to where your master is tomorrow night that they may send a priest to talk with him alone, there is a sum of silver, thirty pieces, that the priests will give to you:
And Judas reasoned with himself; he said, It surely may be well to give the Lord a chance to tell the priests about his claims when he is all alone. And if the priests would do him harm he has the power to disappear and go his way as he has done before; and thirty pieces is a goodly sum. And so he said to Ananias, I will lead the way, and by a kiss make known which person is the Lord. (Aquarian Gospel 159:23-30)
This shameful picture needs no comment, just a serious asking of ourselves if we, too, betray through such specious reasoning, through such willing gullibility. We need to ask ourselves the question Jesus put to Judas: “Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48).
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis