The Urantia Book
PAPER 146
FIRST PREACHING TOUR OF GALILEE
146:0.1 THE first public preaching tour of
Galilee began on Sunday, January 18, A.D. 28, and continued for
about two months, ending with the return to Capernaum on March 17.
On this tour Jesus and the twelve apostles, assisted by the former
apostles of John, preached the gospel and baptized believers in
Rimmon, Jotapata, Ramah, Zebulun, Iron, Gischala, Chorazin, Madon,
Cana, Nain, and Endor. In these cities they tarried and taught,
while in many other smaller towns they proclaimed the gospel of
the kingdom as they passed through.
146:0.2 This was the first time Jesus permitted
his associates to preach without restraint. On this tour he
cautioned them on only three occasions; he admonished them to
remain away from Nazareth and to be discreet when passing through
Capernaum and Tiberias. It was a source of great satisfaction to
the apostles at last to feel they were at liberty to preach and
teach without restriction, and they threw themselves into the work
of preaching the gospel, ministering to the sick, and baptizing
believers, with great earnestness and joy.
1. PREACHING AT RIMMON
146:1.1 The small city of Rimmon had once been
dedicated to the worship of a Babylonian god of the air, Ramman.
Many of the earlier Babylonian and later Zoroastrian teachings
were still embraced in the beliefs of the Rimmonites; therefore
did Jesus and the twenty-four devote much of their time to the
task of making plain the difference between these older beliefs
and the new gospel of the kingdom. Peter here preached one of the
great sermons of his early career on "Aaron and the Golden Calf."
146:1.2 Although many of the citizens of Rimmon
became believers in Jesus' teachings, they made great trouble for
their brethren in later years. It is difficult to convert nature
worshipers to the full fellowship of the adoration of a spiritual
ideal during the short space of a single lifetime.
146:1.3 Many of the better of the Babylonian and
Persian ideas of light and darkness, good and evil, time and
eternity, were later incorporated in the doctrines of so-called
Christianity, and their inclusion rendered the Christian teachings
more immediately acceptable to the peoples of the Near East. In
like manner, the inclusion of many of Plato's theories of the
ideal spirit or invisible patterns of all things visible and
material, as later adapted by Philo to the Hebrew theology, made
Paul's Christian teachings more easy of acceptance by the western
Greeks.
146:1.4 It was at Rimmon that Todan first heard
the gospel of the kingdom, and he later carried this message into
Mesopotamia and far beyond. He was among the first to preach the
good news to those who dwelt beyond the Euphrates.
2. AT JOTAPATA
146:2.1 While the common people of Jotapata
heard Jesus and his apostles gladly and many accepted the gospel
of the kingdom, it was the discourse of Jesus to the twenty-four
on the second evening of their sojourn in this small town that
distinguishes the Jotapata mission. Nathaniel was confused in his
mind about the Master's teachings concerning prayer, thanksgiving,
and worship, and in response to his question Jesus spoke at great
length in further explanation of his teaching. Summarized in
modern phraseology, this discourse may be presented as emphasizing
the following points:
146:2.2 1. The conscious and persistent regard
for iniquity in the heart of man gradually destroys the prayer
connection of the human soul with the spirit circuits of
communication between man and his Maker. Naturally God hears the
petition of his child, but when the human heart deliberately and
persistently harbors the concepts of iniquity, there gradually
ensues the loss of personal communion between the earth child and
his heavenly Father.
146:2.3 2. That prayer which is inconsistent
with the known and established laws of God is an abomination to
the Paradise Deities. If man will not listen to the Gods as they
speak to their creation in the laws of spirit, mind, and matter,
the very act of such deliberate and conscious disdain by the
creature turns the ears of spirit personalities away from hearing
the personal petitions of such lawless and disobedient mortals.
Jesus quoted to his apostles from the Prophet Zechariah: "But they
refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped their
ears that they should not hear. Yes, they made their hearts
adamant like a stone, lest they should hear my law and the words
which I sent by my spirit through the prophets; therefore did the
results of their evil thinking come as a great wrath upon their
guilty heads. And so it came to pass that they cried for mercy,
but there was no ear open to hear." And then Jesus quoted the
proverb of the wise man who said: "He who turns away his ear from
hearing the divine law, even his prayer shall be an abomination."
146:2.4 3. By opening the human end of the
channel of the God-man communication, mortals make immediately
available the ever-flowing stream of divine ministry to the
creatures of the worlds. When man hears God's spirit speak within
the human heart, inherent in such an experience is the fact that
God simultaneously hears that man's prayer. Even the forgiveness
of sin operates in this same unerring fashion. The Father in
heaven has forgiven you even before you have thought to ask him,
but such forgiveness is not available in your personal religious
experience until such a time as you forgive your fellow men. God's
forgiveness in fact is not conditioned upon your forgiving
your fellows, but in experience it is exactly so
conditioned. And this fact of the synchrony of divine and human
forgiveness was thus recognized and linked together in the prayer
which Jesus taught the apostles.
146:2.5 4. There is a basic law of justice in
the universe which mercy is powerless to circumvent. The unselfish
glories of Paradise are not possible of reception by a thoroughly
selfish creature of the realms of time and space. Even the
infinite love of God cannot force the salvation of eternal
survival upon any mortal creature who does not choose to survive.
Mercy has great latitude of bestowal, but, after all, there are
mandates of justice which even love combined with mercy cannot
effectively abrogate. Again Jesus quoted from the Hebrew
scriptures: "I have called and you refused to hear; I stretched
out my hand, but no man regarded. You have set at naught all my
counsel, and you have rejected my reproof, and because of this
rebellious attitude it becomes inevitable that you shall call upon
me and fail to receive an answer. Having rejected the way of life,
you may seek me diligently in your times of suffering, but you
will not find me."
146:2.6 5. They who would receive mercy must
show mercy; judge not that you be not judged. With the spirit with
which you judge others you also shall be judged. Mercy does not
wholly abrogate universe fairness. In the end it will prove true:
"Whoso stops his ears to the cry of the poor, he also shall some
day cry for help, and no one will hear him." The sincerity of any
prayer is the assurance of its being heard; the spiritual wisdom
and universe consistency of any petition is the determiner of the
time, manner, and degree of the answer. A wise father does not
literally answer the foolish prayers of his ignorant and
inexperienced children, albeit the children may derive much
pleasure and real soul satisfaction from the making of such absurd
petitions.
146:2.7 6. When you have become wholly dedicated
to the doing of the will of the Father in heaven, the answer to
all your petitions will be forthcoming because your prayers will
be in full accordance with the Father's will, and the Father's
will is ever manifest throughout his vast universe. What the true
son desires and the infinite Father wills IS. Such a prayer cannot
remain unanswered, and no other sort of petition can possibly be
fully answered.
146:2.8 7. The cry of the righteous is the faith
act of the child of God which opens the door of the Father's
storehouse of goodness, truth, and mercy, and these good gifts
have long been in waiting for the son's approach and personal
appropriation. Prayer does not change the divine attitude toward
man, but it does change man's attitude toward the changeless
Father. The motive of the prayer gives it right of way to
the divine ear, not the social, economic, or outward religious
status of the one who prays.
146:2.9 8. Prayer may not be employed to avoid
the delays of time or to transcend the handicaps of space. Prayer
is not designed as a technique for aggrandizing self or for
gaining unfair advantage over one's fellows. A thoroughly selfish
soul cannot pray in the true sense of the word. Said Jesus: "Let
your supreme delight be in the character of God, and he shall
surely give you the sincere desires of your heart." "Commit your
way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act." "For the Lord
hears the cry of the needy, and he will regard the prayer of the
destitute."
146:2.10 9. "I have come forth from the Father;
if, therefore, you are ever in doubt as to what you would ask of
the Father, ask in my name, and I will present your petition in
accordance with your real needs and desires and in accordance with
my Father's will." Guard against the great danger of becoming
self-centered in your prayers. Avoid praying much for yourself;
pray more for the spiritual progress of your brethren. Avoid
materialistic praying; pray in the spirit and for the abundance of
the gifts of the spirit.
146:2.11 10. When you pray for the sick and
afflicted, do not expect that your petitions will take the place
of loving and intelligent ministry to the necessities of these
afflicted ones. Pray for the welfare of your families, friends,
and fellows, but especially pray for those who curse you, and make
loving petitions for those who persecute you. "But when to pray, I
will not say. Only the spirit that dwells within you may move you
to the utterance of those petitions which are expressive of your
inner relationship with the Father of spirits."
146:2.12 11. Many resort to prayer only when in
trouble. Such a practice is thoughtless and misleading. True, you
do well to pray when harassed, but you should also be mindful to
speak as a son to your Father even when all goes well with your
soul. Let your real petitions always be in secret. Do not let men
hear your personal prayers. Prayers of thanksgiving are
appropriate for groups of worshipers, but the prayer of the soul
is a personal matter. There is but one form of prayer which is
appropriate for all God's children, and that is: "Nevertheless,
your will be done."
146:2.13 12. All believers in this gospel should
pray sincerely for the extension of the kingdom of heaven. Of all
the prayers of the Hebrew scriptures he commented most approvingly
on the petition of the Psalmist: "Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me. Purge me from secret sins
and keep back your servant from presumptuous transgression." Jesus
commented at great length on the relation of prayer to careless
and offending speech, quoting: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my
mouth; keep the door of my lips." "The human tongue," said Jesus,
"is a member which few men can tame, but the spirit within can
transform this unruly member into a kindly voice of tolerance and
an inspiring minister of mercy."
146:2.14 13. Jesus taught that the prayer for
divine guidance over the pathway of earthly life was next in
importance to the petition for a knowledge of the Father's will.
In reality this means a prayer for divine wisdom. Jesus never
taught that human knowledge and special skill could be gained by
prayer. But he did teach that prayer is a factor in the
enlargement of one's capacity to receive the presence of the
divine spirit. When Jesus taught his associates to pray in the
spirit and in truth, he explained that he referred to praying
sincerely and in accordance with one's enlightenment, to praying
wholeheartedly and intelligently, earnestly and steadfastly.
146:2.15 14. Jesus warned his followers against
thinking that their prayers would be rendered more efficacious by
ornate repetitions, eloquent phraseology, fasting, penance, or
sacrifices. But he did exhort his believers to employ prayer as a
means of leading up through thanksgiving to true worship. Jesus
deplored that so little of the spirit of thanksgiving was to be
found in the prayers and worship of his followers. He quoted from
the Scriptures on this occasion, saying: "It is a good thing to
give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to the name of the
Most High, to acknowledge his loving-kindness every morning and
his faithfulness every night, for God has made me glad through his
work. In everything I will give thanks according to the will of
God."
146:2.16 15. And then Jesus said: "Be not
constantly overanxious about your common needs. Be not
apprehensive concerning the problems of your earthly existence,
but in all these things by prayer and supplication, with the
spirit of sincere thanksgiving, let your needs be spread out
before your Father who is in heaven." Then he quoted from the
Scriptures: "I will praise the name of God with a song and will
magnify him with thanksgiving. And this will please the Lord
better than the sacrifice of an ox or bullock with horns and
hoofs."
146:2.17 16. Jesus taught his followers that,
when they had made their prayers to the Father, they should remain
for a time in silent receptivity to afford the indwelling spirit
the better opportunity to speak to the listening soul. The spirit
of the Father speaks best to man when the human mind is in an
attitude of true worship. We worship God by the aid of the
Father's indwelling spirit and by the illumination of the human
mind through the ministry of truth. Worship, taught Jesus, makes
one increasingly like the being who is worshiped. Worship is a
transforming experience whereby the finite gradually approaches
and ultimately attains the presence of the Infinite.
146:2.18 And many other truths did Jesus tell
his apostles about man's communion with God, but not many of them
could fully encompass his teaching.
3. THE STOP AT RAMAH
146:3.1 At Ramah Jesus had the memorable
discussion with the aged Greek philosopher who taught that science
and philosophy were sufficient to satisfy the needs of human
experience. Jesus listened with patience and sympathy to this
Greek teacher, allowing the truth of many things he said but
pointing out that, when he was through, he had failed in his
discussion of human existence to explain "whence, why, and
whither," and added: "Where you leave off, we begin. Religion is a
revelation to man's soul dealing with spiritual realities which
the mind alone could never discover or fully fathom. Intellectual
strivings may reveal the facts of life, but the gospel of the
kingdom unfolds the truths of being. You have discussed the
material shadows of truth; will you now listen while I tell you
about the eternal and spiritual realities which cast these
transient time shadows of the material facts of mortal existence?"
For more than an hour Jesus taught this Greek the saving truths of
the gospel of the kingdom. The old philosopher was susceptible to
the Master's mode of approach, and being sincerely honest of
heart, he quickly believed this gospel of salvation.
146:3.2 The apostles were a bit disconcerted by
the open manner of Jesus' assent to many of the Greek's
propositions, but Jesus afterward privately said to them: "My
children, marvel not that I was tolerant of the Greek's
philosophy. True and genuine inward certainty does not in the
least fear outward analysis, nor does truth resent honest
criticism. You should never forget that intolerance is the mask
covering up the entertainment of secret doubts as to the trueness
of one's belief. No man is at any time disturbed by his neighbor's
attitude when he has perfect confidence in the truth of that which
he wholeheartedly believes. Courage is the confidence of
thoroughgoing honesty about those things which one professes to
believe. Sincere men are unafraid of the critical examination of
their true convictions and noble ideals."
146:3.3 On the second evening at Ramah, Thomas
asked Jesus this question: "Master, how can a new believer in your
teaching really know, really be certain, about the truth of this
gospel of the kingdom?"
146:3.4 And Jesus said to Thomas: "Your
assurance that you have entered into the kingdom family of the
Father, and that you will eternally survive with the children of
the kingdom, is wholly a matter of personal experience -- faith in
the word of truth. Spiritual assurance is the equivalent of your
personal religious experience in the eternal realities of divine
truth and is otherwise equal to your intelligent understanding of
truth realities plus your spiritual faith and minus your honest
doubts.
146:3.5 "The Son is naturally endowed with the
life of the Father. Having been endowed with the living spirit of
the Father, you are therefore sons of God. You survive your life
in the material world of the flesh because you are identified with
the Father's living spirit, the gift of eternal life. Many,
indeed, had this life before I came forth from the Father, and
many more have received this spirit because they believed my word;
but I declare that, when I return to the Father, he will send his
spirit into the hearts of all men.
146:3.6 "While you cannot observe the divine
spirit at work in your minds, there is a practical method of
discovering the degree to which you have yielded the control of
your soul powers to the teaching and guidance of this indwelling
spirit of the heavenly Father, and that is the degree of your love
for your fellow men. This spirit of the Father partakes of the
love of the Father, and as it dominates man, it unfailingly leads
in the directions of divine worship and loving regard for one's
fellows. At first you believe that you are sons of God because my
teaching has made you more conscious of the inner leadings of our
Father's indwelling presence; but presently the Spirit of Truth
shall be poured out upon all flesh, and it will live among men and
teach all men, even as I now live among you and speak to you the
words of truth. And this Spirit of Truth, speaking for the
spiritual endowments of your souls, will help you to know that you
are the sons of God. It will unfailingly bear witness with the
Father's indwelling presence, your spirit, then dwelling in all
men as it now dwells in some, telling you that you are in reality
the sons of God.
146:3.7 "Every earth child who follows the
leading of this spirit shall eventually know the will of God, and
he who surrenders to the will of my Father shall abide forever.
The way from the earth life to the eternal estate has not been
made plain to you, but there is a way, there always has been, and
I have come to make that way new and living. He who enters the
kingdom has eternal life already -- he shall never perish. But
much of this you will the better understand when I shall have
returned to the Father and you are able to view your present
experiences in retrospect."
146:3.8 And all who heard these blessed words
were greatly cheered. The Jewish teachings had been confused and
uncertain regarding the survival of the righteous, and it was
refreshing and inspiring for Jesus' followers to hear these very
definite and positive words of assurance about the eternal
survival of all true believers.
146:3.9 The apostles continued to preach and
baptize believers, while they kept up the practice of visiting
from house to house, comforting the downcast and ministering to
the sick and afflicted. The apostolic organization was expanded in
that each of Jesus' apostles now had one of John's as an
associate; Abner was the associate of Andrew; and this plan
prevailed until they went down to Jerusalem for the next
Passover.
146:3.10 The special instruction given by Jesus
during their stay at Zebulun had chiefly to do with further
discussions of the mutual obligations of the kingdom and embraced
teaching designed to make clear the differences between personal
religious experience and the amities of social religious
obligations. This was one of the few times the Master ever
discussed the social aspects of religion. Throughout his entire
earth life Jesus gave his followers very little instruction
regarding the socialization of religion.
146:3.11 In Zebulun the people were of a mixed
race, hardly Jew or gentile, and few of them really believed in
Jesus, notwithstanding they had heard of the healing of the sick
at Capernaum.
4. THE GOSPEL AT IRON
146:4.1 At Iron, as in many of even the smaller
cities of Galilee and Judea, there was a synagogue, and during the
earlier times of Jesus' ministry it was his custom to speak in
these synagogues on the Sabbath day. Sometimes he would speak at
the morning service, and Peter or one of the other apostles would
preach at the afternoon hour. Jesus and the apostles would also
often teach and preach at the week-day evening assemblies at the
synagogue. Although the religious leaders at Jerusalem became
increasingly antagonistic toward Jesus, they exercised no direct
control over the synagogues outside of that city. It was not until
later in Jesus' public ministry that they were able to create such
a widespread sentiment against him as to bring about the almost
universal closing of the synagogues to his teaching. At this time
all the synagogues of Galilee and Judea were open to him.
146:4.2 Iron was the site of extensive mineral
mines for those days, and since Jesus had never shared the life of
the miner, he spent most of his time, while sojourning at Iron, in
the mines. While the apostles visited the homes and preached in
the public places, Jesus worked in the mines with these
underground laborers. The fame of Jesus as a healer had spread
even to this remote village, and many sick and afflicted sought
help at his hands, and many were greatly benefited by his healing
ministry. But in none of these cases did the Master perform a
so-called miracle of healing save in that of the leper.
146:4.3 Late on the afternoon of the third day
at Iron, as Jesus was returning from the mines, he chanced to pass
through a narrow side street on his way to his lodging place. As
he drew near the squalid hovel of a certain leprous man, the
afflicted one, having heard of his fame as a healer, made bold to
accost him as he passed his door, saying as he knelt before him:
"Lord, if only you would, you could make me clean. I have heard
the message of your teachers, and I would enter the kingdom if I
could be made clean." And the leper spoke in this way because
among the Jews lepers were forbidden even to attend the synagogue
or otherwise engage in public worship. This man really believed
that he could not be received into the coming kingdom unless he
could find a cure for his leprosy. And when Jesus saw him in his
affliction and heard his words of clinging faith, his human heart
was touched, and the divine mind was moved with compassion. As
Jesus looked upon him, the man fell upon his face and worshiped.
Then the Master stretched forth his hand and, touching him, said:
"I will -- be clean." And immediately he was healed; the leprosy
no longer afflicted him.
146:4.4 When Jesus had lifted the man upon his
feet, he charged him: "See that you tell no man about your healing
but rather go quietly about your business, showing yourself to the
priest and offering those sacrifices commanded by Moses in
testimony of your cleansing." But this man did not do as Jesus had
instructed him. Instead, he began to publish abroad throughout the
town that Jesus had cured his leprosy, and since he was known to
all the village, the people could plainly see that he had been
cleansed of his disease. He did not go to the priests as Jesus had
admonished him. As a result of his spreading abroad the news that
Jesus had healed him, the Master was so thronged by the sick that
he was forced to rise early the next day and leave the village.
Although Jesus did not again enter the town, he remained two days
in the outskirts near the mines, continuing to instruct the
believing miners further regarding the gospel of the kingdom.
146:4.5 This cleansing of the leper was the
first so-called miracle which Jesus had intentionally and
deliberately performed up to this time. And this was a case of
real leprosy.
146:4.6 From Iron they went to Gischala,
spending two days proclaiming the gospel, and then departed for
Chorazin, where they spent almost a week preaching the good news;
but they were unable to win many believers for the kingdom in
Chorazin. In no place where Jesus had taught had he met with such
a general rejection of his message. The sojourn at Chorazin was
very depressing to most of the apostles, and Andrew and Abner had
much difficulty in upholding the courage of their associates. And
so, passing quietly through Capernaum, they went on to the village
of Madon, where they fared little better. There prevailed in the
minds of most of the apostles the idea that their failure to meet
with success in these towns so recently visited was due to Jesus'
insistence that they refrain, in their teaching and preaching,
from referring to him as a healer. How they wished he would
cleanse another leper or in some other manner so manifest his
power as to attract the attention of the people! But the Master
was unmoved by their earnest urging.
5. BACK IN CANA
146:5.1 The apostolic party was greatly cheered
when Jesus announced, "Tomorrow we go to Cana." They knew they
would have a sympathetic hearing at Cana, for Jesus was well known
there. They were doing well with their work of bringing people
into the kingdom when, on the third day, there arrived in Cana a
certain prominent citizen of Capernaum, Titus, who was a partial
believer, and whose son was critically ill. He heard that Jesus
was at Cana; so he hastened over to see him. The believers at
Capernaum thought Jesus could heal any sickness.
146:5.2 When this nobleman had located Jesus in
Cana, he besought him to hurry over to Capernaum and heal his
afflicted son. While the apostles stood by in breathless
expectancy, Jesus, looking at the father of the sick boy, said:
"How long shall I bear with you? The power of God is in your
midst, but except you see signs and behold wonders, you refuse to
believe." But the nobleman pleaded with Jesus, saying: "My Lord, I
do believe, but come ere my child perishes, for when I left him he
was even then at the point of death." And when Jesus had bowed his
head a moment in silent meditation, he suddenly spoke, "Return to
your home; your son will live." Titus believed the word of Jesus
and hastened back to Capernaum. And as he was returning, his
servants came out to meet him, saying, "Rejoice, for your son is
improved -- he lives." Then Titus inquired of them at what hour
the boy began to mend, and when the servants answered "yesterday
about the seventh hour the fever left him," the father recalled
that it was about that hour when Jesus had said, "Your son will
live." And Titus henceforth believed with a whole heart, and all
his family also believed. This son became a mighty minister of the
kingdom and later yielded up his life with those who suffered in
Rome. Though the entire household of Titus, their friends, and
even the apostles regarded this episode as a miracle, it was not.
At least this was not a miracle of curing physical disease. It was
merely a case of preknowledge concerning the course of natural
law, just such knowledge as Jesus frequently resorted to
subsequent to his baptism.
146:5.3 Again was Jesus compelled to hasten away
from Cana because of the undue attention attracted by the second
episode of this sort to attend his ministry in this village. The
townspeople remembered the water and the wine, and now that he was
supposed to have healed the nobleman's son at so great a distance,
they came to him, not only bringing the sick and afflicted but
also sending messengers requesting that he heal sufferers at a
distance. And when Jesus saw that the whole countryside was
aroused, he said, "Let us go to Nain."
6. NAIN AND THE WIDOW'S SON
146:6.1 These people believed in signs; they
were a wonder-seeking generation. By this time the people of
central and southern Galilee had become miracle minded regarding
Jesus and his personal ministry. Scores, hundreds, of honest
persons suffering from purely nervous disorders and afflicted with
emotional disturbances came into Jesus' presence and then returned
home to their friends announcing that Jesus had healed them. And
such cases of mental healing these ignorant and simple-minded
people regarded as physical healing, miraculous cures.
146:6.2 When Jesus sought to leave Cana and go
to Nain, a great multitude of believers and many curious people
followed after him. They were bent on beholding miracles and
wonders, and they were not to be disappointed. As Jesus and his
apostles drew near the gate of the city, they met a funeral
procession on its way to the near-by cemetery, carrying the only
son of a widowed mother of Nain. This woman was much respected,
and half of the village followed the bearers of the bier of this
supposedly dead boy. When the funeral procession had come up to
Jesus and his followers, the widow and her friends recognized the
Master and besought him to bring the son back to life. Their
miracle expectancy was aroused to such a high pitch they thought
Jesus could cure any human disease, and why could not such a
healer even raise the dead? Jesus, while being thus importuned,
stepped forward and, raising the covering of the bier, examined
the boy. Discovering that the young man was not really dead, he
perceived the tragedy which his presence could avert; so, turning
to the mother, he said: "Weep not. Your son is not dead; he
sleeps. He will be restored to you." And then, taking the young
man by the hand, he said, "Awake and arise." And the youth who was
supposed to be dead presently sat up and began to speak, and Jesus
sent them back to their homes.
146:6.3 Jesus endeavored to calm the multitude
and vainly tried to explain that the lad was not really dead, that
he had not brought him back from the grave, but it was useless.
The multitude which followed him, and the whole village of Nain,
were aroused to the highest pitch of emotional frenzy. Fear seized
many, panic others, while still others fell to praying and wailing
over their sins. And it was not until long after nightfall that
the clamoring multitude could be dispersed. And, of course,
notwithstanding Jesus' statement that the boy was not dead,
everyone insisted that a miracle had been wrought, even the dead
raised. Although Jesus told them the boy was merely in a deep
sleep, they explained that that was the manner of his speaking and
called attention to the fact that he always in great modesty tried
to hide his miracles.
146:6.4 So the word went abroad throughout
Galilee and into Judea that Jesus had raised the widow's son from
the dead, and many who heard this report believed it. Never was
Jesus able to make even all his apostles fully understand that the
widow's son was not really dead when he bade him awake and arise.
But he did impress them sufficiently to keep it out of all
subsequent records except that of Luke, who recorded it as the
episode had been related to him. And again was Jesus so besieged
as a physician that he departed early the next day for Endor.
7. AT ENDOR
146:7.1 At Endor Jesus escaped for a few days
from the clamoring multitudes in quest of physical healing. During
their sojourn at this place the Master recounted for the
instruction of the apostles the story of King Saul and the witch
of Endor. Jesus plainly told his apostles that the stray and
rebellious midwayers who had oftentimes impersonated the supposed
spirits of the dead would soon be brought under control so that
they could no more do these strange things. He told his followers
that, after he returned to the Father, and after they had poured
out their spirit upon all flesh, no more could such semispirit
beings -- so-called unclean spirits -- possess the feeble- and
evil-minded among mortals.
146:7.2 Jesus further explained to his apostles
that the spirits of departed human beings do not come back to the
world of their origin to communicate with their living fellows.
Only after the passing of a dispensational age would it be
possible for the advancing spirit of mortal man to return to earth
and then only in exceptional cases and as a part of the spiritual
administration of the planet.
146:7.3 When they had rested two days, Jesus
said to his apostles: "On the morrow let us return to Capernaum to
tarry and teach while the countryside quiets down. At home they
will have by this time partly recovered from this sort of
excitement."
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