As already mentioned, men must adopt the way of living of the Saviour of the world in order to become saved. For that reason it is necessary for them to be taught about that way of living, not only theoretically but also and in particular through practical action. Such instruction can be given only by an individual who is himself "saved", in other words an individual so developed that he has "become one with the Father" and consciously feels his life part of the universal life with its perfect divine laws, an individual whom the holy spirit has raised through consciousness of immortality high above material things and above all pain and who has thus been made immune from the forces of darkness. It is just such individuals who direct the development of mankind. At certain intervals of time these individuals are born in the physical sphere, embodied in earthly material. Among these individuals Jesus of Nazareth is the one who has more convincingly than others borne witness to a divine or cosmic consciousness by extensive practical action and who has appeared as the brightest radiating paragon of that way of living which is the sole "salvation of the world". Let us remain for a moment then at the feet of this paragon, the brightest on the earth. Let us look back with spiritual, not with bodily, eyes, back through two thousand years. We shall bring the events on Golgotha nearer so that the chief details of the spirit of the Saviour will become clearly visible. And, without consideration of that "which is written", we shall put the eternal words of Jesus into their correct place, that is, in the midst of the culmination of sufferings and the depressing state of affairs for which his words were the cure; in that way they are brought out in relief in their true light, as they deserve.
      A doctor cannot display his capabilities and cannot be judged as he deserves as long as he has only healthy people about him, and in the same way the acts of the Saviour could not come into full evidence and receive their deserved recognition while he was restricted to a friendly environment. A full and accurate picture of the world-saving nature of his thoughts appeared only when he was with murderous enemies, in his attitude to people who had betrayed, slandered and tortured him, because it was precisely in those circumstances that the greatness of his spirit showed itself so convincingly in a manner that could not arise in any other situation. The task of this little book, therefore, is not to explore the authenticity or non-authenticity of the stories in the Bible but to try to give a universal analysis of the true manifestations of the state of consciousness which would save the world, as will be shown in the situations described below. And with that purpose in mind we shall follow God's emissary through the culmination of his sufferings in which came into being the immortal words and deeds which have made him a divine model for human beings in their evolution from beast to man.