The friends and disciples of Jesus were scattered throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside like sheep who have lost their shepherd. They were oppressed by a great fear of persecution and a deep sadness over the fate of their dear master. But the love and loyalty of a world saviour are boundless; he never forgets his disciples and assistants. When disciples live daily in the presence of their master who treats them kindly and as comrades without any standing on ceremony, it may happen that some of them forget his spiritual superiority and perfection and through lack of understanding do not agree with the master. A world saviour does not indeed act from motives arising out of the earthly sphere or out of a momentary local situation; his acts take into account centuries and eras. The master's arrangements may therefore sometimes seem to the disciples illogical or contrary to common sense and morality, although, of course, they fully conform with that divine plan for mankind which the world saviour has been initiated to realise and which must unconditionally be realised, even if that costs the loss of friends and leads to Golgotha and crucifixion.
      Disciples who through shortsightedness cannot follow the all-embracing vision of the master and who have forgotten who he is, notice in his actions only the fact that they do not always correspond to the actual situation, and therefore they think them erroneous and endeavour to "advise" the master, sometimes even growing indignant if he cannot accept the "advice" and carry out their self-important wishes. But a world saviour does not come to be taught by his disciples; as far as he is concerned, the occult law "When a pupil speaks, the master is silent" is more effectively valid than it is with anyone else. And disciples, such as those mentioned, are, although they are not conscious of it, slipping away from the spiritual presence of the master in spite of their physical proximity to him. Their "image of the master" becomes more and more nebulous because they are mainly occupied with their unfulfilled hopes and with the apparently erroneous actions of the master. Finally they no longer see a "master" but, just like the great majority, only see an ordinary obviously "imperfect" mortal man. Such disciples, of course, disturb and hinder the mission of a world saviour, and therefore he must refuse their obtrusive fervour because he can follow only his own divine inspiration along the path destined for him from his initiation. But life itself will show the disciples their error and in due course lead them back to the master. Eventually they will all, in spite of every mistake, rest in his bosom, "and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father".