The Urantia Book
PAPER 152
EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE CAPERNAUM
CRISIS
152:0.1 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."
152:0.2 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."
152:0.3 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 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
152:1.1 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.
152:1.2 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.
152:1.3 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.
152:1.4 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 the attributes of creative energy combined with spiritual
endowments which transcend time and most other material
limitations.
152:1.5 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
152:2.1 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.
152:2.2 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.
152:2.3 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.
152:2.4 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.
152:2.5 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 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.
152:2.6 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."
152:2.7 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."
152:2.8 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."
152:2.9 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.
152:2.10 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
152:3.1 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!"
152:3.2 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."
152:3.3 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
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
152:4.1 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?
152:4.2 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?"
152:4.3 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.
152:4.4 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
152:5.1 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.
152:5.2 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:
152:5.3 "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.'
152:5.4 "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."
152:5.5 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.
152:5.6 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.
6. AT GENNESARET
152:6.1 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.
152:6.2 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.
152:6.3 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."
152:6.4 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.
152:6.5 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 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.
152:6.6 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
152:7.1 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.
152:7.2 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.
152:7.3 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.
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