This lesson from Jesus has eternal value. It is not some historical event that has no present day meaning for us. Within this story are important messages from God that we can understand through communion between our soul and the spirit of Jesus that is within us. So long as the story is taken literally, we will not be able to understand the message. Beneath the text is a moral. We can get to this insight through our own study of the text, by meditation on the words with the help of the Holy Spirit, and by studying commentaries.