Jesus said: “When you look upon your likenesses, you rejoice. But when you look upon your true likenesses, which came into being before you, which neither die nor do they manifest, how much more joy will you bear!”
Once again, I’ve opted for William Duffy’s translation of this saying since it clarifies more of what’s going on in the text. First, the “you” here is plural. So, Jesus is addressing all of his disciples as a group rather than as individuals. The real meat of this saying is in the second sentence which contrasts the joy of seeing yourself in the mirror, or in a reflection, with the infinitely greater joy of realizing your true likeness which is Christ – the One “which came into being before you.”
What I like about the fact that Jesus addresses a plural “you” in this saying is that when he refers to the Christ as our true likeness, he’s talking to all of us at once.
The Christ is who we really are. All of us. Not merely you, or me, but everyone, everywhere.
We are the Christ. The Christ is us.
There’s something in the phrase referring to our “true likenesses” [plural] as they “which neither die nor…manifest” that’s especially curious to me. We don’t usually think of the Christ as “they” although we would refer to a group of people as “they.” But, if Christ is in everyone, then everyone is Christ and that means the term “they” is an appropriate one to use when referring to Christ.
There’s also a curious bit in there about how “they” [the Christ] do not manifest. How are we to understand this? Aren’t we the manifestation of the Christ, collectively? Yes, of course we are. But, then, how can Jesus suggest that “they” [the Christ] “neither die(s) nor…manifest(s)”?
Perhaps the answer is in realizing that Christ extends beyond the physical creation.
Yes, we are all manifestations of the Christ, but the Christ is within us and outside of us. The Christ isn’t limited to our created [manifested] bodies.
The Christ is both created and Creator. So, there is a much wider, expansive, and greater sense in which the Christ is not manifested. That is the likeness of the Christ which we can look upon and rejoice over immeasurably.
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Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He hosts the Second Cup with Keith podcast, and co-hosts the Apostates Anonymous podcast, and the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.
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