Ch. 32, The Crisis at Capernaum
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
Chapter 32
The Crisis at Capernaum
Jesus and the apostles arrived at Bethsaida on Friday evening. That night and the next morning the apostles could tell that Jesus was preoccupied. He skipped breakfast, ate little for lunch, and had hardly spoken since they left Jerusalem. The apostles and the others were scattered about the house, garden, and beach in small groups. They were all tense, uncertain, and a bit nervous. It had been months since they had seen Jesus so uncommunicative.
Even Simon Peter was depressed, and Andrew was at a loss to know what to do for his friends. Nathaniel said they were in the lull before the storm; Thomas said that something out of the ordinary was about to happen, and Philip advised David Zebedee to forget about feeding and lodging the crowds until they knew what the Master was thinking about. Matthew went out looking for ways to boost their savings account, and John and James speculated about what Jesus was going to say at the sermon in the synagogue later that day. Simon Zelotes expressed his belief, actually more a hope, that “the Father in heaven may be about to intervene in some way to support his Son and prove he is the son of God,” and all the while Judas Iscariot dared to think that Jesus was regretting that he did not have the courage to let the five thousand people he fed crown him the king of the Jews.
It was from this group of sad and depressed followers that Jesus left that beautiful Saturday morning to make his historic earthshattering sermon in the Capernaum synagogue. No one said good-bye to Jesus or wished him luck as he left the house except one of the Alpheus twins who, unaware of the their companions consternation, waved goodbye to Jesus with a happy smile saying “We pray the Father will help you, and that we will have bigger crowds of people than ever.”
Setting the Stage
It was three o’clock in the afternoon when Jesus arrived at the synagogue. The congregation that met him was made up of more than thirty leaders of neighboring synagogues, fifty-three Pharisees and Sadducees that had just arrived from Jerusalem under the orders of the Sanhedrin to openly challenge Jesus and his disciples, and in the seats of honor along-side the religious leaders sat the official observers of Herod Antipas who were there on his orders to get the truth about what had occurred when the Jews tried to make Jesus king.
Jairus led the sermon, and when everyone was settled he handed Jesus the scriptures to read. Jesus knew that he was facing an immediate confrontation—open public warfare—with his enemies: he was bold and took the offensive. When he had fed the five thousand people he was challenging the Jewish idea of a material messiah. Now he was going to again openly attack their ideas of the Jewish deliverer. Jesus was in a crisis: one that had begun with feeding the mass of people and that was going to end with this sermon. This was the point in his career where Jesus lost his fame and popularity with the public. From here on the work of the kingdom was increasingly focused on winning lasting converts to the religious brotherhood of humanity. Jesus knew many of his followers were preparing themselves to reject him. He also knew that many of his disciples had reached the spiritual maturity where they could overcome their doubts and go forth preaching the gospel with faith and courage. This sermon shifts Jesus’ attempts from debate and public controversy to open warfare with the Sanhedrin and the final rejection or acceptance of his message.
Jesus understood that people prepare themselves for meeting challenges and performing heroic deeds by the slow process of continually having to choose between good and evil. In the past he had forced his disciples to repeatedly choose between these two, and he had well-rehearsed them in disappointment. Jesus knew that by them having developed these spiritual habits he could count on his followers to make the right choice when they would be met with their final test. While this sermon ended this particular crisis in Jesus’ life, it began a crisis in the apostles lives that continued for a whole year only ending with Jesus’ crucifixion.
As the people sat in the synagogue waiting for Jesus to speak, both his foes and friends were of one thought, “Why did he deliberately ruin his popularity?” The people were dumfounded: Jesus had just performed the most stunning miracle of his career. Feeding the masses was the one thing that appealed the most to the Jewish idea of the expected messiah. But all of this power vanished with his absolute refusal to be made king. Immediately before and after this sermon, those people who were disgruntled with Jesus let their displeasure morph into opposition to his message and eventually turn into actual hatred of the man. It was here that Judas Iscariot had his first conscious thought of deserting, but for the time being he managed to keep those ideas in check. That Saturday morning and the evening before the Sanhedrin had pressured Jairus to not let Jesus speak at the synagogue, but without luck. All he would say to their attempts was, “I have granted this request and I will not violate my word.”
The Epochal Sermon
Jesus began by reading from the law in Deuteronomy, “But it will come to pass if this people does not listen to the word of God that the results of sin will overtake them. The Lord will cause you to be beaten by your enemies, and you will be displaced into all the countries of the Earth. And the Lord will give you and your king to the hands of a strange nation. You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all nations. Your sons and your daughters will go into captivity. The strangers among you will rise high in power while you are brought low.’
“And these things will happen to you and your seed forever because you would not listen to the word of the Lord. And so you will serve your enemies who will come against you. You will endure hunger and thirst and wear their alien yoke of iron. The Lord will bring against you a nation from afar, from the end of the Earth, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce nation, a nation that will care little for you. And they will besiege you in all your towns until the high fortified walls you trust come down and all of the land will fall into their hands. And it will come to pass that you will be driven to eat the fruit of your own bodies, the flesh of your sons and daughters, during this time of siege because of the intensity with which your enemies will demolish you.”
When Jesus had finished this scripture he turned to the Prophets and read from Jeremiah, “‘If you will not listen to the words of my prophets that I have sent to you, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the Earth.’ And the priests and the teachers heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. And it came to pass that when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had ordered him to say to the people, the priests and teachers grabbed ahold of him saying ‘You will surely die.’ And all of the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. And when the princes of Judah heard these things they sat in judgment on Jeremiah. Then the priests and the teachers spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying ‘This man is worthy to die for he has prophesied against our city, and you have heard him with your own ears.’
“Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, ‘The Lord sent me to prophesize against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. So now change your ways and reform your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God so that you can escape the evil that has been pronounced against you. As for me, behold I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right in your eyes. But you know for certain that if you put me to death you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on these people, for it is the truth that the Lord has sent me to speak all these words for you to hear.’
“The priests and teachers that day sought to kill Jeremiah but the judges would not consent, although for his words of warning they dropped him by a rope into a filthy dungeon until he sunk up to his armpits in muck. That is what thesepeople did to the Prophet Jeremiah when he obeyed the Lord’s order to warn them of their impending political downfall. Today I want to ask you, what will your chief priests do with the man who dares to warn you and them of the day of their spiritual doom? Will you also try to put to death the teacher who dares to announce the word of the Lord, and who does not fear to point out that you refuse to walk in the way of light that leads to the entrance to the kingdom of heaven?’
“What is it that you seek as evidence of my mission on Earth? My apostles and I have left you alone in your positions of power and influence while we preached glad tidings to the poor and the outcast. We have made no hostile attack on what you revere; instead, we have announced new liberty for people’s fear-ridden souls. I came into the world to reveal my Father and to establish on Earth the spiritual brotherhood of the sons of God, the kingdom of heaven. And even though I have so many times reminded you that my kingdom is not of this world, my Father has still granted you many miracles and evidence of spiritual regeneration and transformation.’
“What new sign is it that you seek at my hands? I am telling you that you already have sufficient evidence to let you to make your decision. It is true when I say that many of you who sit before me today are confronted with the necessity of choosing the way you will go. And I say to you as Joshua said to your ancestors, ‘choose this day who you will serve.’ Today, many of you stand at the parting of the ways.’
“Some of you when you could not find me after feeding the mass of people on the other side of the lake hired the Tiberias fishing fleet (which a week before had taken shelter nearby during a storm) to follow me, and for what? Not for truth and righteousness or that you may better know how to serve and minister to your friends! No, but rather so you may have more bread for which you had not worked. It was not to fill your souls with the word of life but only that you may fill your bellies with the bread of ease. And you have been taught for a long time that the Messiah when he should come would work those wonders that would make life easy and pleasant for all of the chosen people. So it is not strange that you who have been taught these ideas should long for the fish and the bread. But I am telling you that is not the mission of the Son of Man. I have come to foster living faith, teach eternal truth, and announce spiritual liberty.’
“My friends, do not yearn for meat that perishes but rather seek spiritual food that nourishes even to eternal life. This is the bread of life that the Son gives to all who will take and eat it, for the Father has given the Son this life without measure. And when you asked me, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ I plainly told you ‘This is the work of God, that you believe him whom he has sent.’”
Then, pointing up to the pot of manna embellished with grape clusters that decorated the header beam over the door of this new synagogue, Jesus said “You think that your ancestors in the wilderness ate manna, the bread of heaven, but that is wrong. I am telling you that this was the bread of the Earth. While Moses did not give your fathers bread from heaven, my Father now stands ready to give you the true bread of life. The bread of heaven is what comes down from God and gives eternal life to the people of the world. And when you say to me ‘give us this living bread’ I will answer: Iam this bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger, while he who believes me will never thirst. You have seen me, lived with me, and beheld my works yet you do not believe that I came from the Father. But to those who do believe: fear not. All those led by the Father will come to me, and he who comes to me will in no way be cast out.’
“And now let me declare to you once and for all time that I have come down to the Earth not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the final will of Him who sent me:
that of all the people he has given me I should not lose one. And this is the will of the Father: that everyone who beholds the Son and who believes him will have eternal life. Only yesterday I fed you with bread for your bodies: today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls. Will you now take the bread of the spirit as you then so willingly ate the bread of this world?”
As Jesus paused for a moment to look over the congregation, one of the teachers from Jerusalem (a member of the Sanhedrin) stood up and said “Do I understand you to say that you are the bread that comes down from heaven, and that the manna that Moses gave to our fathers in the wilderness did not?”
Jesus replied “You understood correctly.”
The Pharisee said “But are you not Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph the carpenter? Are not your father and mother as well as your sisters and brothers well known to many of us? How is it then that you appear here in God’s house and declare that you have come down from heaven?”
By this time the people were grumbling among themselves and the crowd was getting angry, so Jesus stood up and said “Let us be patient: the truth never suffers from honest examination. I am all that you say but more. The Father and I are one; the Son does only what the Father teaches him while all those who are given to the Son by the Father the Son will receive in himself. You have read where it is written in the Prophets, ‘You will all be taught by God,’ and that ‘Those whom the Father teaches will also hear his Son.’ Everyone who yields to the teaching of the Father’s indwelling spirit will eventually come to me. Not that any person has seen the Father, but the Father’s spirit does live in people. And the Son who came down from heaven, he has surely seen the Father. And those who truly believe this Son already have eternal life.’
“I am this bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they are dead. But this bread that comes down from God, if people eat it they will never die in spirit. I repeat, I am this living bread, and every soul who attains the realization of this united nature of God and human will live forever. And this bread of life that I give to all who will receive it is my own living and combined nature. The Father in the Son and the Son one with the Father: that is my life giving revelation to the world and my saving gift to all nations.”
When Jesus had finished speaking Jairus dismissed the congregation, but they would not leave. Some crowded around Jesus to ask more questions while others argued among themselves. This state of affairs lasted for more than three hours: it was well past seven o’clock before the people finally left.
The After Meeting
Jesus was asked many questions at this meeting. Some were from his disciples who were a bit confused, but most were from carping unbelievers who only wanted to entrap and embarrass him. One of the visiting Pharisees after climbing up on to a lamppost shouted out to Jesus, “You tell us that you are the bread of life. How can you give us your flesh to eat or your blood to drink? What good is your teaching if it cannot be carried out?”
Jesus said “I did not teach you that my flesh is the bread of life or that my blood is the water of life. But I did say that my life in the flesh is a bestowal of the bread of heaven. The fact of the word of God given to you in the flesh and the phenomena of the Son of Man subject to the will of God is an experience equal to divine food. You cannot eat my flesh and you cannot drink my blood, but you can become one in spirit with me even as I am one in spirit with the Father. You can be nourished by the eternal word of God, which is indeed the bread of life and that has been bestowed in the likeness of mortal flesh, and you can be watered in soul by the divine spirit, which is truly the water of life. The Father has sent me into this world to show how he desires to direct and indwell all people; I have lived this life in the flesh in the same way to inspire people to forever seek to know and do the will of the indwelling heavenly Father.”
One of the Jerusalem spies said “We notice that neither you nor your apostles wash your hands properly before you eat. You must well know that eating with dirty hands is a transgression of the law of the elders. Nor do you properly wash your plates and glasses. Why is it that you show such disrespect for the traditions of our fathers and the laws of our elders?”
Jesus said “Why is it that you use the laws of your tradition to disobey the commandments of God? The commandment says ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and directs that you share with them your food if necessary. But you enact a law of tradition that permits undutiful children to say that the money that might have helped the parents has been ‘given to God.’ The law of the elders thus relieves these crafty children of their responsibility, even though the children later use all that money for their own comfort. Why is it that you use your own tradition to ignore this commandment? Isaiah did well when he prophesized about you hypocrites when he said ‘These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is useless, instead they teach people’s ideas as their laws.’
“You can see how you desert God’s commandment while you hold fast to people’s tradition. You are altogether willing to reject the word of God while you maintain your own ways. And in many other ways do you dare to put your own teachings above the law and the prophets.”
Then Jesus directed his remarks to everyone present and said “But listen to me, all of you. It is not what enters into the mouth that spiritually ruins people, but rather what proceeds out of their mouths and hearts.”
But even the apostles failed to grasp what he meant because Simon Peter then said “In case some of your hearers may be unnecessarily offended, would you explain to us the meaning of those words?”
Jesus said “Are you also hard of understanding? Do you not know that every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up? Turn your attention now to those who want to know the truth. You cannot compel people to love the truth. Many of these teachers are blind guides. And you know that if the blind lead the blind both will fall into the pit. But listen while I tell you the truth concerning those things that morally tarnish and spiritually contaminate people. I declare that it is not what enters the body by the mouth or gains access to the mind through the eyes and ears that spoils a person. People are only ruined by the evil that originates in the heart and that finds expression in the words and deeds of such unholy ones. Do you not know that evil thoughts, wicked projects of theft, murder, and adultery together with lying, pride, anger, revenge, cursing, and jealousy come from the heart? These are the things that corrupt people, and not because they eat bread with dirty hands.”
The Pharisees were now almost convinced that Jesus had to be arrested on a charge of blasphemy or for flouting the sacred laws of the Jews. These beliefs dominated their lives: for example, no matter how scarce water may be at some times of the year, these traditionally enslaved Jews would never fail to do the required ceremonial washing of their hands before every meal. This was why they wanted to involve Jesus in the discussion of and possible attack on some of the traditions of the elders, or the so-called oral laws of the nation: it had been reported that Jesus had said “Salvation is a matter of clean hearts, not of clean hands.” But it was the rabbis’ belief that, “it is better to die than to break the laws of the elders.” Remember, these Jews thought that eating with unwashed hands was as bad as paying a prostitute for her services, and both were equally punishable by excommunication. Even many years after this day the Apostle Peter was still bound by fear to many of the traditions about clean and unclean things; it was only after an extraordinary vivid dream that he was finally done with these beliefs.
This was how Jesus discussed and exposed the stupidity of the entire rabbinic system of rules and regulations represented by the oral law, the traditions of the elders, all of which were regarded as more sacred and binding on the Jews than even the scriptures. Jesus was now less reserved in his speech because the hour had come when he could do nothing more to prevent an open break with the religious leaders.
Last Words in the Synagogue
In the midst of these discussions one of the Pharisees from Jerusalem brought forward a distraught lad who was possessed with an unruly and rebellious spirit. Leading the wild boy up to Jesus, he said “What can you do for a disorder like this? Can you cast out devils?”
When Jesus looked at the youth he was moved with compassion; motioning for the boy to come to him Jesus took him by the hand and said “You know who I am: come out of him, and I charge one of your loyal fellows to see that you do not return.”
Immediately the boy was normal and in his right mind. This is the first case where Jesus did cast an evil spirit out of a human being. In all of the previous cases people only thought they were possessed by the devil. But this was a genuine case of demoniac possession like sometimes happened in those days and right up to the Pentecost when Jesus’ spirit was poured out on all flesh making it forever impossible for celestial rebels to take advantage of certain unstable types of human beings.
When the crowd marveled at what Jesus had done, one of the Pharisees stood up and said that he could do these things only because he was in league with devils, and that he had admitted he and this devil were known to each other. He went on to say that the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had decided that Jesus did all of his so-called miracles by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. The Pharisee said “Have nothing to do with this man; he is in partnership with Satan.”
Jesus replied “How can Satan cast out Satan? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand; if a house is divided against itself it is soon destroyed. Can a city withstand a siege if it is not united? If Satan casts out Satan he is divided against himself: how then will his kingdom stand? You should know that no one can enter the house of a strong man and take his goods unless he first overpowers and ties-up that strong man. And so if I by the power of Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Hence they will be your judges. But if I by the spirit of God cast out devils, then has the kingdom of God truly come on you. If you were not blinded by prejudice and misled by fear and pride you would easily see that one who is greater than devils stands in your midst. You compel me to declare that he who is not with me is against me, while he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. And let me utter a solemn warning to you who would presume with your eyes open and with premeditated malice to knowingly say the works of God are the doings of devils! In truth I say to you while all of your sins will be forgiven, even all of your blasphemies, he who deliberatelyblasphemes against God with wicked intention will never obtain forgiveness. Such persistent workers of iniquity will never seek or receive forgiveness because they are guilty of the sin of eternally rejecting divine forgiveness.’
“Today many of you have come to the parting of the ways: you have come to the inevitable choice between the will of the Father and the self-chosen ways of darkness. As you now choose, you eventually will be. You must either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else the tree and its fruit will become corrupt. I declare that in my Father’s eternal kingdom the tree is known by its fruits. But how can some of you who are like vipers having already chosen evil bring forth good fruits? After all, your mouths show the abundance of the evil in your hearts.”
Another Pharisee stood up and said “Teacher we would like you to give us a predetermined sign that we will agree on as establishing your authority and right to teach. Will you agree to that?”
Jesus replied “This faithless and sign-seeking generation wants to see a token, but no sign will be given to you other than what you already have and what you will see when the Son of Man leaves you.” When Jesus finished speaking his apostles surrounded him and led him out of the synagogue. They walked back to Bethsaida in silence. They were all amazed and somewhat terror-stricken by the sudden change in Jesus’ approach: they were wholly unaccustomed to seeing him take such an aggressive stance.
The Saturday Evening
Time and again Jesus had dashed the hopes of his apostles. He had repeatedly crushed their fondest expectations, but nothing had ever equaled what overtook them that day. Mixed in with their depression was a real fear for their safety. They were startled and surprised by how suddenly and completely the people had deserted them. They were also somewhat concerned and frightened by the unexpected assertiveness of the Pharisees who had come down from Jerusalem. But most of all they were bewildered by Jesus’ sudden change in tactics. Under ordinary circumstances they would have welcomed this more militant attitude, but coming as it did along with so much that was unexpected it startled them.
On top of all of these worries Jesus refused to eat when they arrived back at the house, and instead isolated himself for hours in one of the upper rooms. Then about midnight, Joab the evangelist leader returned and reported that about one third of his group had deserted the kingdom. All throughout the night loyal disciples arrived and reported the general feeling of revulsion against Jesus in Capernaum. The leaders from Jerusalem fed this disaffection and in every way possible fueled the growing dissatisfaction against Jesus. During these trying hours the twelve women were in session over at Peter’s house: they were also upset, but none of them deserted.
Shortly after midnight Jesus came down from the upper chamber and rejoined the apostles and others, numbering about thirty people in all. Jesus said “I recognize that this sifting of the kingdom worries you, but it is unavoidable. Still, after all of the training you have had was there any good reason why you should stumble at my words? Why is it that you are filled with fear and consternation when you see the kingdom getting rid of these lukewarm people and these half-hearted disciples? Why do you grieve when the new day is dawning for the spiritual teachings of the kingdom of heaven to shine forth in new glory? If you find it difficult to endure this test, what will you do when the Son of Man has to return to the Father? When and how will you prepare yourselves for the time when I arise to the place from where I came to this world?’
“My beloved, you must remember that it is the spirit that quickens: the flesh and all of the flesh profits one little. The words that I have spoken to you are life and spirit. Be happy! I have not deserted you. Many people will be offended by my plain speaking in the future: you have already heard that many of my disciples have turned back; they no longer walk with me. From the beginning I knew that these half-hearted believers would fall off by the way. Did I not choose you twelve men and set you apart as ambassadors of the kingdom? And now at such a time as this you would also desert me? Let each of you look to his own faith, because one of you stands in grave danger.”
Simon Peter said “Yes Lord, we are sad and perplexed but we will never desert you. You have taught us the words of eternal life. We have believed in you and followed you all this time. We will not turn back because we know that you are sent by God.” And as Peter quit speaking, all of them in agreement nodded their approval of his pledge of loyalty.
Jesus replied “Go get your rest, because busy times are on us; active days are just ahead.”
Bob