3. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

4. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

5. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat.

6. And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Jesus did not ask this question because he desired information, but simply to find out what Philip thought.

Why should he desire to feed them when they had only just come there. They could be no more hungry, physically, than was Jesus because they had come no farther.

7. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

9. There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10. And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given

thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

12. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

14. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he de

parted again into a mountain himself alone.

"By their fruits shall ye know them.' The people whom Jesus had taught, had seen some of his works of ministry, and came to believe that he possessed still greater power than he had displayed. As they were a people in bondage, they thought that, by making him their king, he would be able to free them from their bondage, and otherwise help them without effort on their part.

They did not yet understand the higher part of his ministry. All they could understand was that he had been able to give relief to many who had been suffering. They could not understand that his ministry primarily concerned the Soul and the principles of Soul Development.

16. And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

17. And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

18. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. 19. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

20. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

21. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

22. The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;

23. (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks :)

24. When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

25. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

26. Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles,

but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

30. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

31. Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto

you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this

bread.

35. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The word bread, as used in the Bible, does not refer to material food. It is the symbol of the living Christ. He who believes in the teachings of Jesus and truly accepts them, will live according to these teachings; and he who lives according to them will find the Christ. He who finds the Christ will have eaten of "the bread of life," and will

nevermore go hungry. The hunger is for wisdom. When the Christ is found, man has found wisdom. He knows the truth, he will no longer seek after strange gods; for he has found the Father.

Fishes, like bread, are emblematical of the life principles, and are often used in the scriptures in a symbolic sense.

The Christ is the Soul. For this reason is he likened to that which gives nourishment. He who finds the Christ finds nourishment, he finds that which gives him eternal life, or Immortality.

LESSON TWENTY-TWO

That which comes from heaven-that is, the Soul of manbelongs to the Father.

St. John 6:36-50.

36. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

The body of man does not come from the Father because it is of the earth, earthly; but the spirit of man (which is the life), and the divine spark (which is to become the Conscious Soul) do come from the Father. The Father gives life to the body; and He gives the divine spark to the body in care of the spirit. These belong to man to make use of; it is his privilege to use them as he wishes. If he accepts the gifts he has received, and will work for Illumination of Soul, then is he "accepted" and "in no wise cast out."

38. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own mill, but the will of him that sent me.

The divine spark, the soul-germ, comes from the Father, from heaven. It is sent by the Father not to do the will of the flesh, or the carnal man, but to do the will of the Divine.

Man can, however, do as he wishes; for he has free-will. If he brings his mind into harmony with the divine principle dwelling in the divine spark, in time, the soul will attain consciousness; then, man becomes the Christ, the Son of

God.

39. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

As features of the Divine Law, Jesus taught that the Father gave our parents the power to create the body which we inhabit; that He gave life to the body so that it might move and think and create and have free-will; that He planted within the body the divine spark; that He desires us so to use the mind and the body as to "raise up," awaken, and bring to conscious activity, the divine spark planted in our natures, so that we may become His Sons, the Christ.

"The last day" of the flesh is come when the Soul has become truly conscious, when it has become illuminated; for then the Soul, instead of the fleshly nature, will hold supremacy over our lives. This is the "resurrection," the dead come to life.

40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

All men have equal privileges to become the Sons of God. In all ages, men have been sent to mankind to teach them the Divine Law. These teachers, if they were truly doing the work of the Father, were always such as had found the Christ; they were therefore the Sons of God. Those who believed their teachings and lived according to them, raised up the divine spark-that which was as dead, because it had no consciousness before-and found everlasting life. 41. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.