Ch. 33, Last Days at Capernaum
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
Last Days at Capernaum
As Jesus worked to strengthen his followers that Saturday night, April 30th the Sanhedrin was meeting with Herod Antipas in Tiberias: they wanted him to arrest Jesus. They did their best to convince Herod that Jesus was inciting the people to rebel against him, but he refused to see Jesus as a political problem. Herod’s advisors had told him that the people did try to make Jesus king, but they also told him that he had refused.
Chuza was a member of Herod’s official family, and his wife was a member of Jesus’ women’s corps. Chuza had told Herod that Jesus had no intention of meddling in humanity’s affairs on Earth; that he was only concerned with establishing a spiritual brotherhood that he called the kingdom of heaven. Herod believed Chuza, and he refused to interfere with Jesus. Furthermore, Herod was one of those people who believed in nothing but feared everything, and he had a superstitious fear of John the Baptist. He felt guilty for putting John to death and he did not want to become entangled in all the scheming around Jesus. He knew that Jesus had apparently healed many people, and he regarded Jesus as either a prophet or some harmless religious fanatic. The Sanhedrin in turn then threatened to tell Caesar that Herod was covering up for a traitor against the realm. Those comments infuriated Herod and he kicked the Sanhedrin out of his palace. That is how matters stood for the following week as Jesus prepared his followers for their coming dispersal.
A Week of Counsel
During the week between May 1st and 7th Jesus held a series of confidential talks with only his most tried and trusted followers. They were in more or less seclusion and met three times a day: morning, noon, and night. At this point there were only about one hundred disciples who were courageous enough to take a stand against the Pharisees and publicly declare their allegiance to Jesus. Other smaller groups of people, never more than maybe fifty at a time, would meet down on the beach and one of the apostles or evangelists would teach them.
On Friday the order came down from the Pharisees in Jerusalem that the synagogue at Capernaum was closed to Jesus and all of his followers. Jairus then resigned as chazan and openly supported Jesus.
On Saturday afternoon, May 7th Jesus held the last meeting on the beach and spoke to less than one hundred and fifty people. That day marked the low point in his popularity. From then on a new following was built from the slow but steady influx of people who were better grounded in their faith, and this resulted in a healthier and more dependable group of believers. The transition stage of melding materialistic ideas of the kingdom with Jesus’ more idealistic and spiritual teachings was now over, and Jesus emphasized the enormous scope of the gospel’s far-reaching spiritual implications.
A Week of Rest
On Sunday, May 8, A.D. 29 the Sanhedrin ordered that all of the synagogues in Palestine were closed to Jesus and his followers: this had never occurred before and it extended beyond the Sanhedrin’s authority to dictate to the synagogues. Each synagogue outside of Jerusalem was independent under it is own board of governors, and the Sanhedrin only had jurisdiction over the ones in Jerusalem. So when the Sanhedrin issued this order five of their members resigned in protest. The Sanhedrin then sent out one hundred messengers to enforce this new rule, and in only two weeks every synagogue in Palestine, except the one in Hebron whose leaders rejected the Sanhedrin’s authority, obeyed the order and closed their doors to Jesus. The leaders of the Hebron synagogue did not disobey Jerusalem because they were sympathetic to Jesus, but rather because the Sanhedrin had overstepped their authority. A short time later that synagogue burned down.
Earlier that morning Jesus had urged his followers to go home or to visit friends and rest their troubled souls for a week. He asked them to cheer up and encourage their families, and to “Go to your favorite places to play or fish while you pray for the extension of the kingdom.” Jesus went fishing with David Zebedee several times, and he was able to visit many of the families and groups along the beach. Even though Jesus went out by himself much of the time, there were always two or three of David’s most trusted messengers shadowing him: they had been given specific orders by David to protect Jesus. During this week there was no public teaching.
Nathaniel and James Zebedee became ill and for three days they had painful stomach aches. Salome, James’ mother, cared for them at first and then on the third night Jesus sent her home to rest and he took over tending to his two apostles. Jesus could have performed a miracle and healed them at once, but that is not how he or our Father help us to deal with our daily problems.
Never once did Jesus ever use supernatural ways to benefit his family or his immediate followers.
For evolving mortal souls the experience of meeting obstacles is part of our training and growth to perfection: our spiritualization requires the experience of solving a wide range of universe problems. Our animal nature keeps us from growing when life is easy. The stimulation we get from working through obstacles quickens our mind and soul and helps us to reach higher levels of spiritual understanding.
The Second Tiberias Conference
On May 16th the Pharisees, Sanhedrin, and political leaders from Jerusalem met with Herod Antipas in Tiberias. The Jews reported that almost all of the synagogues in both Judea and Galilee were closed to Jesus and his followers, and once again they tried to get Herod to arrest Jesus. Herod still said no, but then two days later on May 18th he consented to the Sanhedrin arresting Jesus on religious charges and taking him to Jerusalem for trial—provided that the Roman ruler in Judea agreed with the plan. While all of this was happening, Jesus’ enemies spread throughout Galilee telling everyone that Herod was going to arrest Jesus and then exterminate anyone who believed his teachings.
On Saturday night, May 21st a message arrived from Jerusalem with word permitting Jesus to be arrested for breaking the Jewish laws. Herod knew that Jesus would not receive a fair trail from his bitter enemies, but the Jews continued to pressure him. Eventually, right before midnight Herod signed the authorization for the Sanhedrin to arrest Jesus and take him to Jerusalem for trial.
Saturday Night in Capernaum
That same Saturday night in Capernaum fifty leading citizens met in the synagogue to discuss what should be done about Jesus. They met until after midnight but they never reached an agreement. There were still a few people who believed that Jesus may be the Messiah, or at least a holy man or prophet, but the rest were divided into four different beliefs: that he was a misled but harmless religious fanatic; that he was cunning and dangerous and may stir up rebellion; that he was in league with devils and may even be a prince of devils, or that he was crazy: mentally unbalanced.
Jesus’ enemies believed his teachings were impractical: that society would fall apart if people tried to live as he taught. This belief has been carried on by many people in later generations. Even in the more enlightened ages of the kingdom many intelligent well-meaning people maintain that modern civilization could not have been built on Jesus’ teachings. And while they are partially right they forget that a much better civilization could have been built, and some day will be. Other than half-hearted attempts to follow the doctrine of so-called Christianity, there has never been a substantial effort to live according to Jesus’ teachings.
The Eventful Sunday Morning
Sunday, May 22nd was a busy day. Before dawn one of David’s messengers rushed in from Tiberias with the news that Herod was going to authorize the Sanhedrin to arrest Jesus and take him to Jerusalem for trial. David Zebedee woke up his messengers and sent them out to tell everyone to come back there for an emergency meeting at seven o’clock that morning. When Jude’s sister-in-law (Jude, Jesus’ brother) heard the news, she took it on herself to let the family know about the meeting: Mary, Jude, Ruth, James, and Joseph attended.
At the meeting Jesus gave everyone their final instructions before they split up and everyone left Capernaum. Jesus said to look to God for guidance, and to continue the kingdom’s work regardless of the consequences. The evangelists, except for twelve that he selected to go with him, were on their own to do as they saw fit until he called for them. The original twelve apostles were to stay with him no matter what happened, and the twelve women he told to stay at Peter’s and Zebedee’s houses until they heard from him.
Jesus told David Zebedee to continue his countrywide messenger service. When they parted, David said “Go do your work, Master. Do not let the bigots catch you and never doubt that the messengers are following you. My men will never lose contact with you, and through them you will know about the other parts of the kingdom and from them we will all know about you. Nothing that may happen to me will interfere with this service because I have appointed first and second leaders, even a third. I am not a teacher or a preacher but it is my heart to do this, and no one can stop me.”
After the meeting about seven-thirty in the morning, Jesus spoke his farewell words to about one hundred believers who had gathered inside. It was a solemn occasion, but Jesus was cheerful and once more his normal self. The seriousness of the last several weeks had lifted, and Jesus invigorated everyone speaking of hope, faith, and courage.
Jesus’ Family Arrives
About eight o’clock in the morning the five members of Jesus’ family arrived. The only one that continually believed in Jesus’ divinity with her whole heart was Ruth. Jude, James, and even Joseph still had faith in Jesus, but their pride was in the way of their better judgement and spiritual inclinations. Mary was in the same predicament: she was torn between love and fear—motherly love and family pride. But even though Mary had her doubts about her son, she was never able to forget Gabriel’s visit before he was born. The Pharisees had been trying to convince her that Jesus was crazy: that he was not rational, and urged her to take her sons and convince him to stop his public teaching. They assured Mary that Jesus would soon have a physical breakdown, and that he would disgrace the entire family if he was allowed to go on preaching. Mary and the family had been gathered at her home meeting with the Pharisees the night before they received word from Jude’s sister-in-law. After that long talk that went well into the night, most of them were more or less convinced that Jesus was, and had been, acting strangely. The only one not in agreement was Ruth—while she could not explain what Jesus was doing she reminded everyone that he had always treated his family fairly, and she refused to have anything to do with stopping him from completing his mission.
On the way to Zebedee’s house, Mary and the others agreed to try and convince Jesus to come home with them. Mary said “I know I could influence my son if he would only come home and listen to me.” Jude and James had heard the rumors about the plan to arrest Jesus and take him to Jerusalem for trial. They were also afraid for their own safety. Jesus’ family had let events continue as long as Jesus was still popular with the people, but now that the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and the people in Capernaum had turned against him they were starting to feel disgraced and embarrassed.
Mary and the others expected to take Jesus aside and urge him to return home with them. They intended to assure him that they would forget and forgive that he had neglected them, if he would quit being foolish and preaching a new religion that brought trouble and dishonor on the family. Ruth would have nothing to do with their plan, and said “I will tell my brother that I think he is a man of God and that I hope he would be willing to die before he would allow these wicked Pharisees to stop his preaching.” Joseph then promised everyone that he would keep Ruth quiet while the others worked on Jesus.
When the family arrived at Zebedee’s house, Jesus was in the middle of his farewell to the disciples. Mary and the others tried to go inside but it was too crowded. Instead, they went around to the back porch and had a message passed from person to person to Jesus: it said they had arrived and that they wanted to talk with him. When Simon Peter received the message he whispered to Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they are anxious to talk with you.”
Mary did not realize the importance of the speech she was interrupting, and she was not aware that the authorities were going to show up at any moment to arrest Jesus. She thought that after so long from his family, and the fact that she and his brothers had actually shown the grace to come to him, that Jesus would immediately stop what he was doing and rush over to them. This was another one of those times when Jesus’ family did not understand his duty to his Father’s business. So Mary and his brothers were deeply hurt when Jesus did not come over to meet them, and instead they heard his musical voice pick up volume as he said “Say to my mother and my brothers that they should have no fear for me. The Father who sent me into the world will not abandon me; neither will any harm come to my family. Tell them to be of good courage and to put their trust in the Father of the kingdom. But after all, who is my mother and who are my brothers?”
Then stretching forth his hands toward all of his disciples assembled in the room, Jesus said “I have no mother; I have no brothers. Look at my mother and see my colleagues! Those who do the will of my Father in heaven are my mother, my brother, and my sister.” When Mary heard these words she collapsed in Jude’s arms. They carried her out to the garden so she could recover while Jesus finished speaking to the disciples. When done, Jesus had intended to go out and talk with his family but just then a messenger from Tiberias rushed in and told Andrew that the Sanhedrin would be there soon to arrest Jesus and take him to Jerusalem.
Andrew forgot that David had posted twenty-five guards around the house so that no one could take them by surprise, so he asked Jesus what they should do. Jesus stood in silence. Mary was in the garden recovering from having heard Jesus say “I have no mother.” Then a woman inside the house stood up and loudly said “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and blessed are the breasts that nursed you.”
Jesus turned aside from Andrew, and looking at the woman said “No. Blessed are they who hear the word of God and dare to obey it.”
Mary and Jesus’ brothers thought that he had lost his interest in them and that he did not understand them. But the reality was that it was them who did not understand Jesus. Jesus well knew how difficult it is for people to break with their past. He knew how people are swayed by the preacher’s eloquence, and how their conscience responds to emotional appeal just like their mind responds to logic and reason. But he also knew that it was much harder to persuade people to disown the past.
It will forever be true, that anyone who ends up feeling misunderstood or unappreciated will have in Jesus a sympathetic friend and understanding advisor. Jesus had warned the apostles that a person’s adversaries may come from their own family, without realizing how close this prediction would be to his own life. Jesus did not abandon his family to do God’s work, they deserted him. Later after Jesus had been killed and resurrected and his brother James had joined the early Christian church, James lived with immense suffering for having failed to enjoy his earlier time with Jesus and the disciples.
As Jesus navigated his way through these events he decided to be guided by his limited human knowledge. He wanted to experience his time with the others as a mere man. Jesus did not interrupt his farewell to greet his family just becauseit had been such a long time since he had seen them. His plan had been to visit with them afterwards before they all left. But this could not happen because of the way events unfolded. Before Jesus could talk with his family a group of David’s messengers arrived at the back door of the house. In the midst of all of the commotion their arrival caused, the apostles became confused and thought that it was the agents of the Sanhedrin who had arrived. Fearing for Jesus, they quickly ushered him out of the front door and straight to the boat waiting on the shore. This was why Jesus never made it to the back porch to visit his family.
But as he was getting into the boat, Jesus pulled David Zebedee aside and said “Go back to the house and tell my mother that I appreciate their coming and that I intended to see them. Warn them to not be mad at me, but to instead seek to know the will of God and to have the grace and courage to do that will.”
The Hasty Flight
It was almost eight-thirty in the morning when Jesus, the twelve apostles, and twelve of the evangelists manned the oars and started pulling for the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. They were escaping the agents of the Sanhedrin from Bethsaida with orders from Herod Antipas to arrest Jesus and take him to Jerusalem for breaking the Jewish laws.
Following Jesus and his people was a smaller boat with six of David’s messengers. Their mission was to stay in contact with Jesus and to send regular reports back to David’s house in Bethsaida about his safety and whereabouts: David’s house had been serving as their headquarters for some time. But from this point on, Jesus truly had nowhere to rest; never again did he have even the semblance of a home. They made shore near Kheresa, stowed the boats with some friends, and began the last eventful year of Jesus’ life. For a while they stayed in Philip’s domains, then they moved up to Caesarea-Philippi, and from there they made their way to the Phoenician coast.
As the crowd at Zebedee’s house lingered around watching the two boats fade out of sight, they were interrupted by the agents from Jerusalem who started searching for Jesus. They would not believe that he had escaped, so they spent most of the next week looking for him around Capernaum while Jesus and the others made their way north through Batanea. Jesus’ family returned home to Capernaum and spent most of the next week talking, praying, and debating. They were anxious and confused. They enjoyed no peace until Thursday afternoon when Ruth, after visiting the Zebedee’s, returned home and told them that Jesus was safe, healthy, and making his way toward the Phoenician coast.