The document “Matthew 3” provides a metaphysical and spiritual analysis of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. It explores faith baptism; deep spiritual meanings and symbolism, focusing on themes such as faith, spiritual awakening, and the teachings of John the Baptist and Christ. The material delves into the significance of repentance, baptism, and spiritual purification.

Matthew 3:1-6

ln those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is He that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness,’ Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”. And the same John had his raiment of camel‘s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

 S We have here, as in John, that there must come the awakening within selves; that it may be that which causes sacrifice as seen in the purification diet of the entity mentioned, or that which galls and bothers and is worrisome as in the hair shirt. And yet, it must come before there can raise in self the rest of the body, the rest of the will, the mind, the rest of the being that is the entity, or the facets of entity. That there can come, then, the rebirth within self that is the awakening to Christ.

Q Was the locust a plant or an insect?

S The seed plant.

Q Is this the seed of the legume that is now called carob?

S Correct.

Q When John the Baptist preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand,” this is usually interpreted to mean ‘about to occur.‘ But is there a deeper significance?

S The significance is that there must be a rearranging not only of the mental, but of the physical being, then, through the habits, through the exercise, through the entire being. For ye cannot awaken, ye cannot think again, ye cannot repent, unless ye have done it one hundred percent. Which does not mean a hundred percent of just the mind, but the entirety of the being. This is the awakening, the calling in, the repenting. This is that which leads to the Christ within.

Q What does the hand symbolize?

S This hand is that which gives.

Q Are we expected to sacrifice as John did?

S Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice is that of the spirit. Is it not the Psalms that said that God asks for a broken spirit? By this is meant the humbling of self, the lowering of the ego, the uplifting of the spiritual nature of self. God does not require destruction, bloodletting, or pain. For the overcoming of the world, the questioner has mentioned, is an individual thing. It is a step-by-step process accomplished one stage at a time. It is for those who would be about the Father’s business to overcome this and that, and again another. For some it is the first step in overcoming the material, to overcome possessions. The next step is overcoming pride. Many develop pride in the overcoming of possessions – pride in themselves and in the way. It is a progressive thing, you see. There are so many things to be overcome, so many things to do. Some have to learn, first of all to still themselves – and this is an overcoming. Make no mistake, ye must overcome desire and want. And yet we say overcome, dispel – not destroy, not displace, but to put in order that which is a balance, that which is the proper use and understanding of the terms urge, desire, want. They must be put on a level, even as that which is the will, the intellect, and the spirit must become on a level. Then ye have overcome the world. Ye have progressed to the point that ye may be as He, Jesus, the man who became christed, that you, too, may be christed.

Q How does this overcoming of self, help put others first?

S When you overcome self, it is by your actions, in truth, toward others. You may desire to do that. You may want to do that. You may feel the urge to do that from within. You must proceed in that manner. But then you must overcome the want, the desire, the urge, and just be. This does not mean remove yourself from the world. For The Example, Jesus the Christ, was in this world, aware of this world, the ramifications of the world, and yet overcame the world. For when you put others first, you are saying, in reality (if you do not understand what is being said) is, ”Guide my actions from thought to movement, from the infinite to the finite, that what happens is You, God, for others”. Ye have not lost contact with the spiritual, the mental, or the physical in doing that – but they are in their place. The ego is in its place, properly chastened, properly used. [10-45, 5-7-78]

Matthew 3:7-12

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham to our father’: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is  mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

S This is the representing of, within self, the entire cleansing: that making the focal point of all things, God’s way, God‘s will. Thy will be done in me, through me, oh Lord, is that which leads to the perfection. There cannot be any halfway measures. There cannot be, as represented, the ritual behavior as the cleansing way. It must be first from the mind and the will, and then through the spiritual nature of self. Begin, then, with self, the entire being, each day cleansing self, becoming one with God, lest ye are as the chaff to be burned, to be thrown away. But so, in truth, must that which are the negative qualities of self be destroyed by the cleansing of fire. Let not that which ye would have as your personality be tainted by selfishness that is shown in that which is not fulfilling the way as given.

Q Could you clarify the meaning of Pharisee and Sadducee and why this statement was made.

S These are those who, by ritual, by position, establish to themselves and to the world that they were select, that they, by the measure of their own, would be saved -by their own measure, not God’s. You find this rampant in religions and individuals. “Oh, if I lead the good Christian life, I need nothing more.” But what is the Christian life? The individual’s interpretation and not that which is Jesus the Christ’s interpretation which is here for man to benefit by. Or by a religion [that] says ye do this, ye tithe, ye do that, ye sacrifice, so forth. It is by their choosing, not God ‘s.

Q We‘ve been given to understand that God loves all His children and does not wish that any should perish. This statement of ‘‘burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire,” just what does it mean?

S First there is a cleansing and that is the cleansing of the individual, as the individual must have it be, giving them the choice of going on into other spheres and other ways to redeem themselves, to find the way, to once again be on the path; or to stay here and lose themselves in God, with no personality; or to retain the personality they have abuilded and the perfection of same and go on to be as gods, as the Lord, Father-Mother God, would have it be.

Q The Source mentioned that there is a cleansing of individuals and there is a choice of going on into other spheres to redeem oneself. Would you please clarify the choice of going on into other spheres for cleansing?

S There are two relative areas that are generally chosen: other planetary systems, or the planets of this system, remembering that each planet has an area of influence, especially for certain individuals the more. You broach a complicated subject which necessitates the understanding, or that which is the search in the rays, the sub-rays, and that which is the spectorial or the spectrum approach (of the soul force) to the cosmos. [10-26, 12–26-76]

Q Is there a relationship between this and Alice Bailey’s concept of rays?

S Very much so.

Q Are they generally correct?

S Most generally correct. [10-45, 5–7–78]

Q Please explain the process or mechanism of baptism with the Holy Spirit.

S That is bringing the Holy Spirit within, into self, by the opening, in truth, of that which is the path within self; the seven centers purified by the actions, by the longing, by the love, by the unselfishness of an individual. To an extent, this brings in, then, all that we have said before: that which is the exercise of the body, that which is the feeding of the body, that which must be prayer and meditation to feed the soul. It then opens the way for the Christ within to meet that which is the Holy Spirit from without, that they may become one and active within an individual.

Q I assume that we may use ‘Holy Spirit‘ in place of ‘Holy Ghost,‘ as in this edition?

S Much more apropos.

Matthew 3:13–17

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” And Jesus answering said unto him, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

S For each and every individual must establish within themselves that they have the ability, the right, by God, to bring forth within themselves the Jesus that meets the Holy Spirit, that meets that which is God‘s love, God’s notice of purity and truth. For how many would turn aside, saying that they were inadequate, even as representation here is of John tying only the shoe, or being able only to tie the shoe of Jesus. For each must build, and this is what Jesus was giving forth with. All things must be fulfilled. There are no jumps, no short cuts. A step at a time and ye meet that which is the pleasure of God.

Q How can we tell where we are?

S You cannot.

Q Did anyone else see the Spirit of God descending like a dove, other than the Master?

S Yes. Most of those who were present who were inclined to the spiritual nature – even inclined, not perfected in any manner of speaking, but inclined, saw something. Those who were more than inclined, that were true seekers, saw and understood what was happening here.

Q It was stated that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, and the Source said that those who were inclined to the spiritual nature, even inclined not perfected, saw something. For understanding, what did they see?

S As to their ability to see, some saw light. Some saw (and understand this) music. Some saw that which was form. Some saw as that which is as reflection. Those who were enlightened to the greater degree, saw that which was the imprint of the bird, or the spiritual imprint, see? [10-46, 5-13–78]

Q What was the meaning of the dove that the Gospels record lit on Jesus at the time of His baptism?

S This was as close as an identification could be written. For dove it was not, but the Word, even as the Word had dwelled within God, being manifested, being shown forth. It actually was that which was light, which was music, which was harmony, which was that of the cosmic, or the great musician, see? In symbols, in symbolmatic language, this was as that which is the great peace, for the bird, the dove, symbolizes peace, that which was sent out by Noah to return, that which is the inoffensive, harms not, attacks not, defends not; the dove, the spirit. This … is that which is the light, the crowning of the Messiah or the Christ.

Q Did the Master realize who He was and His mission before this minute, or was it an immediate Christing at that point?

S He entered as the Christ, and from prenatal times knew. Even the body, not inhibited or inhabited at that time by the spirit, knew who the possessor would be. It was as that, though, that symbolized the Messiahhood, the opening of the Way. He could not do what He did until that was given, even though the studies were made, even though the awareness was there, even though the life was even almost as that which would be described as perfected, and perfect, it must have been through that which is as given, the dove, that He could then perform, and be that which He is, and was; that He would be about His Father‘s business, His mission, for was not it after that that the miracles, or that which is called the miracles, occurred? [10-9,–5-19-74]

Q Could you make it a little clearer for people that come after us the meaning of “it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness”?

S This is that which brings the truth of the being, the righteousness of that which is in the individual, to the forefront, even as represented in Jesus, who, believe it or not, did no wrong in the entire lifetime as Jesus.