Witness

Jesus: Hello.

Witness: Hello, we'd like to tell you about The Bible.

Jesus: I see.

Witness: Do you know about The Bible?

Jesus: [Feeling irritated.] I've read it.

Witness: [Looking surprised.] Really? You've read it?

Jesus: Yes. I've read The Bible and many other scriptures.

Witness: So you know how Jesus died, and why?

Jesus: Sure. He was a perfect loving mirror. Others saw their imperfections in him and they persecuted and crucified him.

Witness: He died for our sins.

Jesus: Exactly. But not ours. He died for the sins of the people who persecuted and crucified him.

Witness: Take a look at this.

Jesus: Did John know Jesus?

Witness: Yes. He was one of the twelve apostles. He was the one that Jesus loved.

Jesus: Did Jesus not love the others? [The woman with the strange hair giggles.]

Witness: Well of course. But there are special friendships. Like you might have a close friend.

Jesus: It's true, I do. So why are you here?

Witness: We would like to talk with you about this book. [She pulls a book out of her bag entitled, "What The Bible Means."]

Jesus: Who wrote that?

Witness: Many bible scholars. Would you like to read it?

Jesus: No thanks. What else?

Witness: Christ is the only way.

Jesus: The only way to what?

Witness: To heaven.

Jesus: There is only love. Heaven is here. Where is there to go?

Witness: Heaven is in the spirit world.

Jesus: Where is the spirit world?

Witness: [Looks confused.] You can't see it, that why it's the spirit world. The Bible says that you have to believe in Jesus to get into heaven.

Jesus: Who wrote The Bible?

Witness: Men who were inspired by God.

Jesus: How do you know that?

Witness: Because it's been studied by scholars.

Jesus: How do you know that what I'm saying to you right now is not inspired by God?

Witness: We believe that there is no more revelation.

Jesus: Are you telling me that God has stopped speaking? God is alive. God is in all forms. God speaks to us constantly. God is not dead. Christ lives in you and and in me. I look into your eyes and I see Christ. [The woman with the strange hair is nodding.]

Witness: [Looking confused.] Yes but not like in The Bible.

Jesus: The Bible is just some old book that's been edited and translated a lot. I could be speaking living scripture to you right now. How could you know?

Witness: We would need to have scholars study it to see if it agrees with what the other scriptures say.

Jesus: I see. You'd have to get someone else to study it. Heaven is inside of you, not somewhere else.

Witness: It's not, it's in spririt world.

Jesus: Do you disagree with The Bible [Luke 17:21]: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you"?

Witness: He was talking to the Pharisees.

Jesus: I see. So do you think that the Pharisees have heaven within them but that everyone else has to go and find it?

Witness: [Changes subject.] The Devil is very powerful.

Jesus: There is only love.

Witness: The Devil exists.

Jesus: There is something that you call God and there is something that you call The Devil. And there is something that contains, pervades, accepts, and allows both. This I call love. Even The Devil is a part of God.

Witness: That can't be true. Look at all the evil the world.

Jesus: What is evil?

Witness: All the suffering, pain, and starvation.

Jesus: How do you know that it's evil?

Witness: I see with my own eyes.

Jesus: Your eyes know that it's evil?

Witness: Yes. My eyes see evil.

Jesus: Is it really your eyes that know this or is it something else?

Witness: Well it's my mind that knows that it's evil.

Jesus: So there's something inside of you that perceives The Devil. Could it be that the kingdom of God is within you? Could it be that heaven and hell are both within you?

Witness: [silence]

Jesus: I left something cooking on the stove. Please excuse me.