551 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
551 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
![]() |
Urantia Book Paper 152 Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis
|
|||
|
SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
|
|||
|
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
|
|||
|
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
|
|||
|
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
|
|||
|
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
|
|||
|
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
|
|||
|
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
|
|||
|
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
|
|||
|
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
|
|||
|
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
|
|||
|
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
|
|||
|
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
|
|||
|
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
|
|||
|
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
|
|||
|
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
|
|||
|
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
|
|||
|
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
|
|||
|
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
|
|||
|
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
|
|||
|
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
|
|||
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
Paper 152 Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
Introduction
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
THE story of the cure of Amos, the Kheresa lunatic, had already reached
|
|||
|
Bethsaida and Capernaum, so that a great crowd was waiting for Jesus when his
|
|||
|
boat landed that Tuesday forenoon. Among this throng were the new observers
|
|||
|
from the Jerusalem Sanhedrin who had come down to Capernaum to find cause for
|
|||
|
the Master's apprehension and conviction. As Jesus spoke with those who had
|
|||
|
assembled to greet him, Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, made his
|
|||
|
way through the crowd and, falling down at his feet, took him by the hand and
|
|||
|
besought that he would hasten away with him, saying: "Master, my little
|
|||
|
daughter, an only child, lies in my home at the point of death. I pray that you
|
|||
|
will come and heal her." When Jesus heard the request of this father, he said:
|
|||
|
"I will go with you."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
As Jesus went along with Jairus, the large crowd which had heard the father's
|
|||
|
request followed on to see what would happen. Shortly before they reached the
|
|||
|
ruler's house, as they hastened through a narrow street and as the throng
|
|||
|
jostled him, Jesus suddenly stopped, exclaiming, "Someone touched me." And when
|
|||
|
those who were near him denied that they had touched him, Peter spoke up:
|
|||
|
"Master, you can see that this crowd presses you, threatening to crush us, and
|
|||
|
yet you say `someone has touched me.' What do you mean?" Then Jesus said: "I
|
|||
|
asked who touched me, for I perceived that living energy had gone forth from
|
|||
|
me." As Jesus looked about him, his eyes fell upon a near-by woman, who, coming
|
|||
|
forward, knelt at his feet and said: "For years I have been afflicted with a
|
|||
|
scourging hemorrhage. I have suffered many things from many physicians; I have
|
|||
|
spent all my substance, but none could cure me. Then I heard of you, and I
|
|||
|
thought if I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall certainly be made
|
|||
|
whole. And so I pressed forward with the crowd as it moved along until,
|
|||
|
standing near you, Master, I touched the border of your garment, and I was made
|
|||
|
whole; I know that I have been healed of my affliction."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
When Jesus heard this, he took the woman by the hand and, lifting her up, said:
|
|||
|
"Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace." It was her faith and
|
|||
|
not her touch that made her whole. And this case is a good illustration of many
|
|||
|
apparently miraculous cures which attended upon Jesus' earth career, but which
|
|||
|
he in no sense consciously willed. The passing of time demonstrated that this
|
|||
|
woman was really cured of her malady. Her faith was of the sort that laid
|
|||
|
direct hold upon the creative power resident in the Master's person. With the
|
|||
|
faith she had, it was only necessary to approach the Master's person. It was
|
|||
|
not at all necessary to touch his garment; that was merely the superstitious
|
|||
|
part of her belief. Jesus called this woman, Veronica of Caesarea-Philippi,
|
|||
|
into
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1699
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
his presence to correct two errors which might have lingered in her mind, or
|
|||
|
which might have persisted in the minds of those who witnessed this healing: He
|
|||
|
did not want Veronica to go away thinking that her fear in attempting to steal
|
|||
|
her cure had been honored, or that her superstition in associating the touch of
|
|||
|
his garment with her healing had been effective. He desired all to know that it
|
|||
|
was her pure and living faith that had wrought the cure.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. AT JAIRUS'S HOUSE
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jairus was, of course, terribly impatient of this delay in reaching his home;
|
|||
|
so they now hastened on at quickened pace. Even before they entered the ruler's
|
|||
|
yard, one of his servants came out, saying: "Trouble not the Master; your
|
|||
|
daughter is dead." But Jesus seemed not to heed the servant's words, for,
|
|||
|
taking with him Peter, James, and John, he turned and said to the
|
|||
|
grief-stricken father: "Fear not; only believe." When he entered the house, he
|
|||
|
found the flute-players already there with the mourners, who were making an
|
|||
|
unseemly tumult; already were the relatives engaged in weeping and wailing. And
|
|||
|
when he had put all the mourners out of the room, he went in with the father
|
|||
|
and mother and his three apostles. He had told the mourners that the damsel was
|
|||
|
not dead, but they laughed him to scorn. Jesus now turned to the mother,
|
|||
|
saying: "Your daughter is not dead; she is only asleep." And when the house had
|
|||
|
quieted down, Jesus, going up to where the child lay, took her by the hand and
|
|||
|
said, "Daughter, I say to you, awake and arise!" And when the girl heard these
|
|||
|
words, she immediately rose up and walked across the room. And presently, after
|
|||
|
she had recovered from her daze, Jesus directed that they should give her
|
|||
|
something to eat, for she had been a long time without food.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Since there was much agitation in Capernaum against Jesus, he called the family
|
|||
|
together and explained that the maiden had been in a state of coma following a
|
|||
|
long fever, and that he had merely aroused her, that he had not raised her from
|
|||
|
the dead. He likewise explained all this to his apostles, but it was futile;
|
|||
|
they all believed he had raised the little girl from the dead. What Jesus said
|
|||
|
in explanation of many of these apparent miracles had little effect on his
|
|||
|
followers. They were miracle-minded and lost no opportunity to ascribe another
|
|||
|
wonder to Jesus. Jesus and the apostles returned to Bethsaida after he had
|
|||
|
specifically charged all of them that they should tell no man.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
When he came out of Jairus's house, two blind men led by a dumb boy followed
|
|||
|
him and cried out for healing. About this time Jesus' reputation as a healer
|
|||
|
was at its very height. Everywhere he went the sick and the afflicted were
|
|||
|
waiting for him. The Master now looked much worn, and all of his friends were
|
|||
|
becoming concerned lest he continue his work of teaching and healing to the
|
|||
|
point of actual collapse.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus' apostles, let alone the common people, could not understand the nature
|
|||
|
and attributes of this God-man. Neither has any subsequent generation been able
|
|||
|
to evaluate what took place on earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. And
|
|||
|
there can never occur an opportunity for either science or religion to check up
|
|||
|
on these remarkable events for the simple reason that such an extraordinary
|
|||
|
situation can never again occur, either on this world or on any other world in
|
|||
|
Nebadon. Never again, on any world in this entire universe, will a being appear
|
|||
|
in the likeness of mortal flesh, at the same time embodying all
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1700
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
the attributes of creative energy combined with spiritual endowments which
|
|||
|
transcend time and most other material limitations.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Never before Jesus was on earth, nor since, has it been possible so directly
|
|||
|
and graphically to secure the results attendant upon the strong and living
|
|||
|
faith of mortal men and women. To repeat these phenomena, we would have to go
|
|||
|
into the immediate presence of Michael, the Creator, and find him as he was in
|
|||
|
those days--the Son of Man. Likewise, today, while his absence prevents such
|
|||
|
material manifestations, you should refrain from placing any sort of limitation
|
|||
|
on the possible exhibition of his spiritual power. Though the Master is absent
|
|||
|
as a material being, he is present as a spiritual influence in the hearts of
|
|||
|
men. By going away from the world, Jesus made it possible for his spirit to
|
|||
|
live alongside that of his Father which indwells the minds of all mankind.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
2. FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus continued to teach the people by day while he instructed the apostles and
|
|||
|
evangelists at night. On Friday he declared a furlough of one week that all his
|
|||
|
followers might go home or to their friends for a few days before preparing to
|
|||
|
go up to Jerusalem for the Passover. But more than one half of his disciples
|
|||
|
refused to leave him, and the multitude was daily increasing in size, so much
|
|||
|
so that David Zebedee desired to establish a new encampment, but Jesus refused
|
|||
|
consent. The Master had so little rest over the Sabbath that on Sunday morning,
|
|||
|
March 27, he sought to get away from the people. Some of the evangelists were
|
|||
|
left to talk to the multitude while Jesus and the twelve planned to escape,
|
|||
|
unnoticed, to the opposite shore of the lake, where they proposed to obtain
|
|||
|
much needed rest in a beautiful park south of Bethsaida-Julias. This region was
|
|||
|
a favorite resorting place for Capernaum folks; they were all familiar with
|
|||
|
these parks on the eastern shore.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
But the people would not have it so. They saw the direction taken by Jesus'
|
|||
|
boat, and hiring every craft available, they started out in pursuit. Those who
|
|||
|
could not obtain boats fared forth on foot to walk around the upper end of the
|
|||
|
lake.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
By late afternoon more than a thousand persons had located the Master in one of
|
|||
|
the parks, and he spoke to them briefly, being followed by Peter. Many of these
|
|||
|
people had brought food with them, and after eating the evening meal, they
|
|||
|
gathered about in small groups while Jesus' apostles and disciples taught them.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Monday afternoon the multitude had increased to more than three thousand. And
|
|||
|
still--way into the evening--the people continued to flock in, bringing all
|
|||
|
manner of sick folks with them. Hundreds of interested persons had made their
|
|||
|
plans to stop over at Capernaum to see and hear Jesus on their way to the
|
|||
|
Passover, and they simply refused to be disappointed. By Wednesday noon about
|
|||
|
five thousand men, women, and children were assembled here in this park to the
|
|||
|
south of Bethsaida-Julias. The weather was pleasant, it being near the end of
|
|||
|
the rainy season in this locality.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Philip had provided a three days' supply of food for Jesus and the twelve,
|
|||
|
which was in the custody of the Mark lad, their boy of all chores. By afternoon
|
|||
|
of this, the third day for almost half of this multitude, the food the people
|
|||
|
had brought with them was nearly exhausted. David Zebedee had no tented
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1701
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
city here to feed and accommodate the crowds. Neither had Philip made food
|
|||
|
provision for such a multitude. But the people, even though they were hungry,
|
|||
|
would not go away. It was being quietly whispered about that Jesus, desiring to
|
|||
|
avoid trouble with both Herod and the Jerusalem leaders, had chosen this quiet
|
|||
|
spot outside the jurisdiction of all his enemies as the proper place to be
|
|||
|
crowned king. The enthusiasm of the people was rising every hour. Not a word
|
|||
|
was said to Jesus, though, of course, he knew all that was going on. Even the
|
|||
|
twelve apostles were still tainted with such notions, and especially the
|
|||
|
younger evangelists. The apostles who favored this attempt to proclaim Jesus
|
|||
|
king were Peter, John, Simon Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot. Those opposing the
|
|||
|
plan were Andrew, James, Nathaniel, and Thomas. Matthew, Philip, and the
|
|||
|
Alpheus twins were noncommittal. The ringleader of this plot to make him king
|
|||
|
was Joab, one of the young evangelists.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This was the stage setting about five o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, when
|
|||
|
Jesus asked James Alpheus to summon Andrew and Philip. Said Jesus: "What shall
|
|||
|
we do with the multitude? They have been with us now three days, and many of
|
|||
|
them are hungry. They have no food." Philip and Andrew exchanged glances, and
|
|||
|
then Philip answered: "Master, you should send these people away so that they
|
|||
|
may go to the villages around about and buy themselves food." And Andrew,
|
|||
|
fearing the materialization of the king plot, quickly joined with Philip,
|
|||
|
saying: "Yes, Master, I think it best that you dismiss the multitude so that
|
|||
|
they may go their way and buy food while you secure rest for a season." By this
|
|||
|
time others of the twelve had joined the conference. Then said Jesus: "But I do
|
|||
|
not desire to send them away hungry; can you not feed them?" This was too much
|
|||
|
for Philip, and he spoke right up: "Master, in this country place where can we
|
|||
|
buy bread for this multitude? Two hundred denarii worth would not be enough for
|
|||
|
lunch."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Before the apostles had an opportunity to express themselves, Jesus turned to
|
|||
|
Andrew and Philip, saying: "I do not want to send these people away. Here they
|
|||
|
are, like sheep without a shepherd. I would like to feed them. What food have
|
|||
|
we with us?" While Philip was conversing with Matthew and Judas, Andrew sought
|
|||
|
out the Mark lad to ascertain how much was left of their store of provisions.
|
|||
|
He returned to Jesus, saying: "The lad has left only five barley loaves and two
|
|||
|
dried fishes"--and Peter promptly added, "We have yet to eat this evening."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
For a moment Jesus stood in silence. There was a faraway look in his eyes. The
|
|||
|
apostles said nothing. Jesus turned suddenly to Andrew and said, "Bring me the
|
|||
|
loaves and fishes." And when Andrew had brought the basket to Jesus, the Master
|
|||
|
said: "Direct the people to sit down on the grass in companies of one hundred
|
|||
|
and appoint a leader over each group while you bring all of the evangelists
|
|||
|
here with us."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus took up the loaves in his hands, and after he had given thanks, he broke
|
|||
|
the bread and gave to his apostles, who passed it on to their associates, who
|
|||
|
in turn carried it to the multitude. Jesus in like manner broke and distributed
|
|||
|
the fishes. And this multitude did eat and were filled. And when they had
|
|||
|
finished eating, Jesus said to the disciples: "Gather up the broken pieces that
|
|||
|
remain over so that nothing will be lost." And when they had finished gathering
|
|||
|
up the fragments, they had twelve basketfuls. They who ate of this
|
|||
|
extraordinary feast numbered about five thousand men, women, and children.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1702
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
And this is the first and only nature miracle which Jesus performed as a result
|
|||
|
of his conscious preplanning. It is true that his disciples were disposed to
|
|||
|
call many things miracles which were not, but this was a genuine supernatural
|
|||
|
ministration. In this case, so we were taught, Michael multiplied food elements
|
|||
|
as he always does except for the elimination of the time factor and the visible
|
|||
|
life channel.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
3. THE KING-MAKING EPISODE
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The feeding of the five thousand by supernatural energy was another of those
|
|||
|
cases where human pity plus creative power equaled that which happened. Now
|
|||
|
that the multitude had been fed to the full, and since Jesus' fame was then and
|
|||
|
there augmented by this stupendous wonder, the project to seize the Master and
|
|||
|
proclaim him king required no further personal direction. The idea seemed to
|
|||
|
spread through the crowd like a contagion. The reaction of the multitude to
|
|||
|
this sudden and spectacular supplying of their physical needs was profound and
|
|||
|
overwhelming. For a long time the Jews had been taught that the Messiah, the
|
|||
|
son of David, when he should come, would cause the land again to flow with milk
|
|||
|
and honey, and that the bread of life would be bestowed upon them as manna from
|
|||
|
heaven was supposed to have fallen upon their forefathers in the wilderness.
|
|||
|
And was not all of this expectation now fulfilled right before their eyes? When
|
|||
|
this hungry, undernourished multitude had finished gorging itself with the
|
|||
|
wonder-food, there was but one unanimous reaction: "Here is our king." The
|
|||
|
wonder-working deliverer of Israel had come. In the eyes of these simple-minded
|
|||
|
people the power to feed carried with it the right to rule. No wonder, then,
|
|||
|
that the multitude, when it had finished feasting, rose as one man and shouted,
|
|||
|
"Make him king!"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This mighty shout enthused Peter and those of the apostles who still retained
|
|||
|
the hope of seeing Jesus assert his right to rule. But these false hopes were
|
|||
|
not to live for long. This mighty shout of the multitude had hardly ceased to
|
|||
|
reverberate from the near-by rocks when Jesus stepped upon a huge stone and,
|
|||
|
lifting up his right hand to command their attention, said: "My children, you
|
|||
|
mean well, but you are short-sighted and material-minded." There was a brief
|
|||
|
pause; this stalwart Galilean was there majestically posed in the enchanting
|
|||
|
glow of that eastern twilight. Every inch he looked a king as he continued to
|
|||
|
speak to this breathless multitude: "You would make me king, not because your
|
|||
|
souls have been lighted with a great truth, but because your stomachs have been
|
|||
|
filled with bread. How many times have I told you that my kingdom is not of
|
|||
|
this world? This kingdom of heaven which we proclaim is a spiritual
|
|||
|
brotherhood, and no man rules over it seated upon a material throne. My Father
|
|||
|
in heaven is the all-wise and the all-powerful Ruler over this spiritual
|
|||
|
brotherhood of the sons of God on earth. Have I so failed in revealing to you
|
|||
|
the Father of spirits that you would make a king of his Son in the flesh! Now
|
|||
|
all of you go hence to your own homes. If you must have a king, let the Father
|
|||
|
of lights be enthroned in the heart of each of you as the spirit Ruler of all
|
|||
|
things."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
These words of Jesus sent the multitude away stunned and disheartened. Many who
|
|||
|
had believed in him turned back and followed him no more from that day. The
|
|||
|
apostles were speechless; they stood in silence gathered about the twelve
|
|||
|
baskets of the fragments of food; only the chore boy, the Mark
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1703
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
lad, spoke, "And he refused to be our king." Jesus, before going off to be
|
|||
|
alone in the hills, turned to Andrew and said: "Take your brethren back to
|
|||
|
Zebedee's house and pray with them, especially for your brother, Simon Peter."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
4. SIMON PETER'S NIGHT VISION
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The apostles, without their Master--sent off by themselves--entered the boat
|
|||
|
and in silence began to row toward Bethsaida on the western shore of the lake.
|
|||
|
None of the twelve was so crushed and downcast as Simon Peter. Hardly a word
|
|||
|
was spoken; they were all thinking of the Master alone in the hills. Had he
|
|||
|
forsaken them? He had never before sent them all away and refused to go with
|
|||
|
them. What could all this mean?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Darkness descended upon them, for there had arisen a strong and contrary wind
|
|||
|
which made progress almost impossible. As the hours of darkness and hard rowing
|
|||
|
passed, Peter grew weary and fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion. Andrew and
|
|||
|
James put him to rest on the cushioned seat in the stern of the boat. While the
|
|||
|
other apostles toiled against the wind and the waves, Peter dreamed a dream; he
|
|||
|
saw a vision of Jesus coming to them walking on the sea. When the Master seemed
|
|||
|
to walk on by the boat, Peter cried out, "Save us, Master, save us." And those
|
|||
|
who were in the rear of the boat heard him say some of these words. As this
|
|||
|
apparition of the night season continued in Peter's mind, he dreamed that he
|
|||
|
heard Jesus say: "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." This was like the
|
|||
|
balm of Gilead to Peter's disturbed soul; it soothed his troubled spirit, so
|
|||
|
that (in his dream) he cried out to the Master: "Lord, if it really is you, bid
|
|||
|
me come and walk with you on the water." And when Peter started to walk upon
|
|||
|
the water, the boisterous waves frightened him, and as he was about to sink, he
|
|||
|
cried out, "Lord, save me!" And many of the twelve heard him utter this cry.
|
|||
|
Then Peter dreamed that Jesus came to the rescue and, stretching forth his
|
|||
|
hand, took hold and lifted him up, saying: "O, you of little faith, wherefore
|
|||
|
did you doubt?"
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In connection with the latter part of his dream Peter arose from the seat
|
|||
|
whereon he slept and actually stepped overboard and into the water. And he
|
|||
|
awakened from his dream as Andrew, James, and John reached down and pulled him
|
|||
|
out of the sea.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
To Peter this experience was always real. He sincerely believed that Jesus came
|
|||
|
to them that night. He only partially convinced John Mark, which explains why
|
|||
|
Mark left a portion of the story out of his narrative. Luke, the physician, who
|
|||
|
made careful search into these matters, concluded that the episode was a vision
|
|||
|
of Peter's and therefore refused to give place to this story in the preparation
|
|||
|
of his narrative.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
5. BACK IN BETHSAIDA
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Thursday morning, before daylight, they anchored their boat offshore near
|
|||
|
Zebedee's house and sought sleep until about noontime. Andrew was first up and,
|
|||
|
going for a walk by the sea, found Jesus, in company with their chore boy,
|
|||
|
sitting on a stone by the water's edge. Notwithstanding that many of the
|
|||
|
multitude and the young evangelists searched all night and much of the next day
|
|||
|
about the eastern hills for Jesus, shortly after midnight he and the Mark lad
|
|||
|
had started to walk around the lake and across the river, back to Bethsaida.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1704
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Of the five thousand who were miraculously fed, and who, when their stomachs
|
|||
|
were full and their hearts empty, would have made him king, only about five
|
|||
|
hundred persisted in following after him. But before these received word that
|
|||
|
he was back in Bethsaida, Jesus asked Andrew to assemble the twelve apostles
|
|||
|
and their associates, including the women, saying, "I desire to speak with
|
|||
|
them." And when all were ready, Jesus said:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"How long shall I bear with you? Are you all slow of spiritual comprehension
|
|||
|
and deficient in living faith? All these months have I taught you the truths of
|
|||
|
the kingdom, and yet are you dominated by material motives instead of spiritual
|
|||
|
considerations. Have you not even read in the Scriptures where Moses exhorted
|
|||
|
the unbelieving children of Israel, saying: `Fear not, stand still and see the
|
|||
|
salvation of the Lord'? Said the singer: `Put your trust in the Lord.' `Be
|
|||
|
patient, wait upon the Lord and be of good courage. He shall strengthen your
|
|||
|
heart.' `Cast your burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain you. Trust him at
|
|||
|
all times and pour out your heart to him, for God is your refuge.' `He who
|
|||
|
dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
|
|||
|
Almighty.' `It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in human
|
|||
|
princes.'
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
"And now do you all see that the working of miracles and the performance of
|
|||
|
material wonders will not win souls for the spiritual kingdom? We fed the
|
|||
|
multitude, but it did not lead them to hunger for the bread of life neither to
|
|||
|
thirst for the waters of spiritual righteousness. When their hunger was
|
|||
|
satisfied, they sought not entrance into the kingdom of heaven but rather
|
|||
|
sought to proclaim the Son of Man king after the manner of the kings of this
|
|||
|
world, only that they might continue to eat bread without having to toil
|
|||
|
therefor. And all this, in which many of you did more or less participate, does
|
|||
|
nothing to reveal the heavenly Father or to advance his kingdom on earth. Have
|
|||
|
we not sufficient enemies among the religious leaders of the land without doing
|
|||
|
that which is likely to estrange also the civil rulers? I pray that the Father
|
|||
|
will anoint your eyes that you may see and open your ears that you may hear, to
|
|||
|
the end that you may have full faith in the gospel which I have taught you."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus then announced that he wished to withdraw for a few days of rest with his
|
|||
|
apostles before they made ready to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover, and he
|
|||
|
forbade any of the disciples or the multitude to follow him. Accordingly they
|
|||
|
went by boat to the region of Gennesaret for two or three days of rest and
|
|||
|
sleep. Jesus was preparing for a great crisis of his life on earth, and he
|
|||
|
therefore spent much time in communion with the Father in heaven.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The news of the feeding of the five thousand and the attempt to make Jesus king
|
|||
|
aroused widespread curiosity and stirred up the fears of both the religious
|
|||
|
leaders and the civil rulers throughout all Galilee and Judea. While this great
|
|||
|
miracle did nothing to further the gospel of the kingdom in the souls of
|
|||
|
material-minded and halfhearted believers, it did serve the purpose of bringing
|
|||
|
to a head the miracle-seeking and king-craving proclivities of Jesus' immediate
|
|||
|
family of apostles and close disciples. This spectacular episode brought an end
|
|||
|
to the early era of teaching, training, and healing, thereby preparing the way
|
|||
|
for the inauguration of this last year of proclaiming the higher and more
|
|||
|
spiritual phases of the new gospel of the kingdom--divine sonship, spiritual
|
|||
|
liberty, and eternal salvation.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1705
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
6. AT GENNESARET
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
While resting at the home of a wealthy believer in the Gennesaret region, Jesus
|
|||
|
held informal conferences with the twelve every afternoon. The ambassadors of
|
|||
|
the kingdom were a serious, sober, and chastened group of disillusioned men.
|
|||
|
But even after all that had happened, and as subsequent events disclosed, these
|
|||
|
twelve men were not yet fully delivered from their inbred and long-cherished
|
|||
|
notions about the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Events of the preceding few
|
|||
|
weeks had moved too swiftly for these astonished fishermen to grasp their full
|
|||
|
significance. It requires time for men and women to effect radical and
|
|||
|
extensive changes in their basic and fundamental concepts of social conduct,
|
|||
|
philosophic attitudes, and religious convictions.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
While Jesus and the twelve were resting at Gennesaret, the multitudes
|
|||
|
dispersed, some going to their homes, others going on up to Jerusalem for the
|
|||
|
Passover. In less than one month's time the enthusiastic and open followers of
|
|||
|
Jesus, who numbered more than fifty thousand in Galilee alone, shrank to less
|
|||
|
than five hundred. Jesus desired to give his apostles such an experience with
|
|||
|
the fickleness of popular acclaim that they would not be tempted to rely on
|
|||
|
such manifestations of transient religious hysteria after he should leave them
|
|||
|
alone in the work of the kingdom, but he was only partially successful in this
|
|||
|
effort.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The second night of their sojourn at Gennesaret the Master again told the
|
|||
|
apostles the parable of the sower and added these words: "You see, my children,
|
|||
|
the appeal to human feelings is transitory and utterly disappointing; the
|
|||
|
exclusive appeal to the intellect of man is likewise empty and barren; it is
|
|||
|
only by making your appeal to the spirit which lives within the human mind that
|
|||
|
you can hope to achieve lasting success and accomplish those marvelous
|
|||
|
transformations of human character that are presently shown in the abundant
|
|||
|
yielding of the genuine fruits of the spirit in the daily lives of all who are
|
|||
|
thus delivered from the darkness of doubt by the birth of the spirit into the
|
|||
|
light of faith--the kingdom of heaven."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus taught the appeal to the emotions as the technique of arresting and
|
|||
|
focusing the intellectual attention. He designated the mind thus aroused and
|
|||
|
quickened as the gateway to the soul, where there resides that spiritual nature
|
|||
|
of man which must recognize truth and respond to the spiritual appeal of the
|
|||
|
gospel in order to afford the permanent results of true character
|
|||
|
transformations.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus thus endeavored to prepare the apostles for the impending shock--the
|
|||
|
crisis in the public attitude toward him which was only a few days distant. He
|
|||
|
explained to the twelve that the religious rulers of Jerusalem would conspire
|
|||
|
with Herod Antipas to effect their destruction. The twelve began to realize
|
|||
|
more fully (though not finally) that Jesus was not going to sit on David's
|
|||
|
throne. They saw more fully that spiritual truth was not to be advanced by
|
|||
|
material wonders. They began to realize that the feeding of the five thousand
|
|||
|
and the popular movement to make Jesus king was the apex of the
|
|||
|
miracle-seeking, wonder-working expectance of the people and the height of
|
|||
|
Jesus' acclaim by the populace. They vaguely discerned and dimly foresaw the
|
|||
|
approaching times of spiritual sifting and cruel adversity. These twelve men
|
|||
|
were
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1706
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
slowly awaking to the realization of the real nature of their task as
|
|||
|
ambassadors of the kingdom, and they began to gird themselves for the trying
|
|||
|
and testing ordeals of the last year of the Master's ministry on earth.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Before they left Gennesaret, Jesus instructed them regarding the miraculous
|
|||
|
feeding of the five thousand, telling them just why he engaged in this
|
|||
|
extraordinary manifestation of creative power and also assuring them that he
|
|||
|
did not thus yield to his sympathy for the multitude until he had ascertained
|
|||
|
that it was "according to the Father's will."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7. AT JERUSALEM
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Sunday, April 3, Jesus, accompanied only by the twelve apostles, started from
|
|||
|
Bethsaida on the journey to Jerusalem. To avoid the multitudes and to attract
|
|||
|
as little attention as possible, they journeyed by way of Gerasa and
|
|||
|
Philadelphia. He forbade them to do any public teaching on this trip; neither
|
|||
|
did he permit them to teach or preach while sojourning in Jerusalem. They
|
|||
|
arrived at Bethany, near Jerusalem, late on Wednesday evening, April 6. For
|
|||
|
this one night they stopped at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, but the
|
|||
|
next day they separated. Jesus, with John, stayed at the home of a believer
|
|||
|
named Simon, near the house of Lazarus in Bethany. Judas Iscariot and Simon
|
|||
|
Zelotes stopped with friends in Jerusalem, while the rest of the apostles
|
|||
|
sojourned, two and two, in different homes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Jesus entered Jerusalem only once during this Passover, and that was on the
|
|||
|
great day of the feast. Many of the Jerusalem believers were brought out by
|
|||
|
Abner to meet Jesus at Bethany. During this sojourn at Jerusalem the twelve
|
|||
|
learned how bitter the feeling was becoming toward their Master. They departed
|
|||
|
from Jerusalem all believing that a crisis was impending.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
On Sunday, April 24, Jesus and the apostles left Jerusalem for Bethsaida, going
|
|||
|
by way of the coast cities of Joppa, Caesarea, and Ptolemais. Thence, overland
|
|||
|
they went by Ramah and Chorazin to Bethsaida, arriving on Friday, April 29.
|
|||
|
Immediately on reaching home, Jesus dispatched Andrew to ask of the ruler of
|
|||
|
the synagogue permission to speak the next day, that being the Sabbath, at the
|
|||
|
afternoon service. And Jesus well knew that that would be the last time he
|
|||
|
would ever be permitted to speak in the Capernaum synagogue.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
top of page - 1707
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
|
|||
|
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
|
|||
|
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
|
|||
|
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
|
|||
|
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
|
|||
|
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
|
|||
|
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
|
|||
|
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
|
|||
|
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
|
|||
|
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
|
|||
|
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
|
|||
|
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
|
|||
|
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
|
|||
|
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
|
|||
|
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
|
|||
|
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
|
|||
|
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
|
|||
|
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
|
|||
|
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
|
|||
|
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
|
|||
|
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
|
|||
|
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
|
|||
|
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
|
|||
|
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
|
|||
|
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
|
|||
|
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
|
|||
|
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
|
|||
|
Faith Of Jesus
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> // <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> Tarrying And <20> The Crisis At <20> Urantia Book <20> Search <20> SiteMap! <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> Te... <20> C... <20> PA... <20> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
//
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> SPIRITWEB ORG (info@spiritweb.org), <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> http://www.spiritweb.org <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> Webmaster <webmaster@spiritweb.org> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> ONLINE SINCE 1993. MAINTAINED IN SWITZERLAND. <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> DISTRIBUTED TO CALIFORNIA, SPAIN, ITALY, SOUTH AFRICA, <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> AUSTRALIA <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|