Chapter 29, The Third Preaching Tour
Abner and John’s apostles arrived at Bethsaida Sunday evening, January 16, A.D. 29 to meet with Andrew and the others the next morning. They met like this on occasion, with Abner’s group coming over from their headquarters in Hebron. John’s apostles had been using oil to massage the sick in conjunction with their prayers and they wanted this practice to be the standard for both groups. But Jesus’ apostles refused to be bound to the ritual, and Jesus continued to refuse to participate in the debates or comment on their results.
The next morning, Tuesday, January 18th the seventy-five new evangelists joined the apostles at Zebedee’s house in Bethsaida and prepared for the third preaching tour through Galilee. The evangelists were sent out in groups of five, and for the first three weeks Abner and John’s apostles went along to advise them and baptize believers. Jesus and his twelve apostles stayed together most of this time, going out in pairs to baptize people as needed. During this round they visited all of the villages they had previously visited in Magdala, Tiberias, and Nazareth as well as all of the other major towns in central and southern Galilee. Except for the northern portion of the land, this was their last work in the area.
The Women’s Evangelistic Corps
It was on that Sunday evening after Abner and John’s disciples arrived at Bethsaida that Jesus made the most daring announcement of his time on Earth. With no warning whatsoever Jesus told the apostles, “Tomorrow we will set apart ten women to minister for the kingdom.”
Earlier, when Jesus had everyone take two weeks rest after the second preaching tour, he had also asked David Zebedee to do two things: first, to ask David’s parents to come back to their home, and second, to send out messengers to all of the women who had helped at the large Bethsaida camp recruiting ten of them who were devoted to the gospel. These women had all listened in on the lessons taught to the new evangelists, but it never dawned on them or anyone else that Jesus would dare to send women out to teach the gospel and care for the sick. The ten women that Jesus selected were Agaman, a widow from Damascus; Milcha, one of Thomas’ cousins; Celta, a Roman centurion’s daughter; Ruth, Matthew Levi’s oldest daughter; Martha, Peter and Andrew’s older sister; Nasanta, daughter of Elman the Syrian physician; Rachel, who was Jesus’ brother Jude’s sister-in-law; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, one of Herod Antipas’ stewards; Susanna, the daughter of the former chazan of the Nazareth synagogue; and Elizabeth, the daughter of a wealthy Jew from Tiberias and Sepphoris. Later Jesus added two more women to the group: Mary Magdalene and Rebecca, the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea.
Jesus told the women to organize themselves, and he had Judas provide the money they needed to buy their supplies and pack animals. They elected Susanna as their chief and Joanna as their treasurer. From this time onward they furnished their own funds; never again did they ask Judas for support. In this era when women were confined to the women’s gallery and not allowed on the main floor of the synagogue, it was astonishing to see them authorized to teach the new gospel of the kingdom. The honor that Jesus gave these ten women was the emancipation proclamation that set all women free for all time; no more were men to look down on women as their spiritual inferiors.
Jesus’ decision shocked the twelve apostles. They had heard him say many times that, “in the kingdom of heaven there are neither rich nor poor, free nor bond, male nor female: all are equally the sons and daughters of God,” but they were stunned when he wanted to bring women on as religious teachers and permit them to travel with the group. The whole country side was stirred up by this action and Jesus’ enemies capitalized on it. But the women who believed in the gospel stood behind their sisters and voiced their approval of Jesus acknowledging women’s place in religion. For a short time later in the early days of the new Christian church, the apostles and the general population recognized women—called deaconesses—as teachers of the gospel. But as time went on the people fell back to their old ways. Even Paul, who agreed with women’s rights in theory, never practiced it.
The Stop at Magdala
When Jesus and the apostles traveled the women took up the rear; when they held their meetings the women sat in a group in the front to the right of the speaker. Increasingly women were believing in the gospel, but in the past a problem along with a fair amount of embarrassment would develop when a woman wanted to have a personal talk with Jesus or one of the twelve apostles. Now it was different: when one of them wanted to meet with Jesus or one of the twelve they first went to Susanna, who then along with one of the other women evangelists would take them straight to the person.
At Magdala the women proved their worth and confirmed Jesus’ wisdom choosing them for the mission. From the start Andrew had imposed strict rules about men working with women, especially those that were considered of questionable character. When they arrived at Magdala it was the ten women evangelists who were free to enter the brothels and preach the good news in person, and it was them who brought Mary Magdalene into the kingdom. Because of the Jews unforgiving nature, Mary and the other women were more or less trapped working in Magdala’s brothels. That was until Martha and Rachel told her and the others that the kingdom of heaven was open to everyone, even women like them. Mary believed them and the next day Peter baptized her.
Of the twelve women apostles, Mary Magdalene became the most illustrious teacher of them all. About four weeks after being baptized, she along with Rebecca joined the other ten spreading the gospel. These twelve women worked faithfully throughout Jesus’ life on Earth to uplift their downtrodden sisters, and when the final tragic episode in his life was happening and all of the apostles but one had fled, they were present and not one of them ever denied or betrayed their Master.
Sabbath at Tiberias
Jesus instructed Andrew to let the women’s group conduct the Sabbath services; this meant they could not be held in the synagogue. Since Herod was away in residence at Julias in Perea, they held the services in his new palace’s banquet room. The women chose Joanna to lead the meeting, and she read about women’s past work in religion referencing Miriam, Esther, Deborah, and others.
Later in the evening Jesus spoke on magic and superstition. In that era, if a new bright star showed up in the sky it was a sign that an important person had been born on Earth. Something similar to this had recently happened, and Andrew asked Jesus for an explanation. In response, Jesus addressed the whole subject of human superstition and made the following ten points:
1. The trajectories of the stars in heaven have nothing whatsoever to do with human events on Earth. Astronomy is the proper pursuit of science, but astrology is superstition that has no place in the gospel of the kingdom.
2. Examining the internal organs of a recently killed animal reveals nothing about the weather, future events, or the outcome of human affairs.
3. The spirits of the dead do not come back to communicate with their families or their former friends among the living.
4. Charms and relics do not heal disease, ward off disaster, or influence evil spirits; the belief in all such material means of influencing the spiritual world is gross superstition.
5. Casting lots—random selection—may be a convenient way of settling small problems, but it does not work to disclose divine will. Such outcomes are purely matters of material chance. The only means of communion with the spiritual world is through the indwelling spirit of the Father, the spirit of the Son, and the always present influence of the Infinite Spirit.
6. Sorcery, witchcraft, divination and the delusion of magic are superstitions of ignorant minds, as are the belief in magic numbers and omens signaling bad or good luck.
7. Interpreting dreams is mostly a superstitious way of ignorant and fantastic speculation. The gospel of the kingdom must have nothing in common with the soothsayer priests of primitive religions.
8. The spirits of good or evil cannot live in material symbols of clay, wood, or metal: idols are nothing more than the material comprising them.
9. The practices of the wizards, magicians, sorcerers, and enchanters came from the superstitions of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the ancient Canaanites. Amulets and incantations do not make good spirits protect you or ward off supposed evil spirits.
10. Jesus exposed and denounced people’s beliefs in signs, spells, cursing, ordeals, mandrakes, bewitching, knotted cords and all other forms of ignorant and enslaving superstition.
Sending the Apostles Out Two and Two
The next evening when speaking to the new women’s group and the twenty-four apostles, Jesus said “You can see for yourselves that it is a full harvest, but we have few laborers. So let us all pray to the Lord of the harvest that he sends even more workers into his fields. While I remain to comfort and instruct the younger teachers, I am sending out the older ones two at a time to quickly go through all of Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom while it is still peaceful.” Jesus then paired up the following apostles to go into Galilee: Peter and Andrew, John and James Zebedee, Philip and Nathaniel, Thomas and Matthew, James and Judas Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes and Judas Iscariot.
Jesus told the twelve he would meet them all together in Nazareth, and before they left he said “On this mission do not go to any of the gentile cities, or go into Samaria. Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Preach the gospel of the kingdom and declare the saving truth that people are the sons of God. Remember that the disciple is not above his master, and a servant is not greater than his lord. It is enough for the disciple to be equal with his master and for the servant to become like his lord. If some people have dared to call the master of the house a friend of Beelzebub, you know that they will say much worse about those in his household! But do not fear these unbelieving enemies. I declare to you that there is nothing covered up that is not going to be revealed; there is nothing hidden that will not be known. What I have taught you in private, preach with wisdom out in the open. What I have revealed to you in the inner chamber, you will in due season announce from the rooftops. And I say to you my friends and disciples, do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but who cannot destroy the soul; instead, put your trust in him who is able to sustain the body and save the soul.’
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet I declare that not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Do you not know that the very hairs of your head are all numbered? So fear not because you are worth more than a whole bunch of sparrows. Do not be ashamed of my teaching; go forth announcing peace and good will but do not be deceived: peace will not always attend your preaching. I came to bring peace on Earth, but when people reject my gift turmoil and division result. When all of a family receive the gospel of the kingdom peace abides in that house, but when some of the family enter the kingdom and others reject the gospel such disagreement will only produce sorrow and sadness. Work hard to save the whole family so that people’s foes do not become those of their own household. But when you have done all you can for all in every family, know that those who love their father or mother more than this gospel are not worthy of the kingdom.” After the apostles heard these words they made ready to depart. They did not come together again until they met in Nazareth with Jesus and the other disciples like the Master had arranged.
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
One evening as Jesus was teaching, Rebecca said “Master, what do we say when the women ask us what they must do to be saved?”
Jesus replied “When people ask you what they should do to be saved, tell them: believe in this gospel of the kingdom and accept divine forgiveness. With faith know that you have inside of you a spirit of God that makes you a son of God. Have you read in the scriptures where it says ‘In the Lord I have strength and righteousness?’ Also where the Father says ‘My righteousness is near; my salvation has gone forth and my arms will enfold my people.’ ‘My soul will be joyful in the love of my God for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and has covered me with the robe of his righteousness.’ Have you also read about the Father that his name ‘will be called the Lord our righteousness.’ ‘Take away the filthy rags of self-righteousness and clothe my son with the robe of eternal salvation and divine righteousness.’ It is forever true, ‘the just will live by faith.’ Entrance into the Father’s kingdom is wholly free, but progress—growth in grace—is essential to remain in it.’
“Salvation is the gift of the Father revealed by his Sons. Having faith in your salvation makes you a partner of the divine nature, a son or a daughter of God. Your faith justifies you: saves you. By acting on this faith you are forever advanced on the path to divine perfection. By faith Abraham was justified and made aware of salvation through Melchizedek’s teachings. Throughout the ages this same faith has saved the sons of humanity, but now a Son has come forth from the Father to make salvation more real and acceptable.” When Jesus finished speaking everyone who heard these gracious words rejoiced, and they all went on in the days that followed announcing the gospel of the kingdom with new power, energy, and enthusiasm.
Jesus summed up his finial statement saying “You cannot buy salvation; you cannot earn righteousness. Salvation is the gift of God and righteousness is the natural result of being led by your spirit as a son of the kingdom. You are not saved because you live a righteous life: you live a righteous life because you have already been saved; you have already recognized your sonship as a gift of God and that service in the kingdom of God is the supreme delight of life on Earth.’
“When people believe this gospel, which is a revelation of the goodness of God, they will be led to voluntarily stop sinning. The knowing that you are a son of God does not fit with wanting to sin. Instead, those who believe in the kingdom hunger for righteousness, and thirst for divine perfection.”
The Evening Lessons
With the older apostles out working for the kingdom, the groups of younger men and women had more time to talk with Jesus. During these evening talks on the third preaching tour Jesus discussed “Malice,” “The Love of God,” “Music and Worship,” “Wisdom and Worship,” “Dreams and Visions,” “Doubts and Unbelief,” “Courage and Loyalty,” “Peace and Perfection,” “Humility and Meekness,” “Service and Obedience,” “Pride and Presumption,” “Evil Speaking and Envy,” “Evil, Sin, and Temptation,” and “Forgiveness in Relation to Repentance.”
David’s messenger service kept Jesus and the others scattered around Galilee informed about the kingdom’s progress. These messages encouraged everyone and did much to hold them all together. Jesus would work with one group of evangelists for a few days at a time before moving on to another. Since this was their first experience teaching in public, the women spent most of their time with Jesus. Before everyone had left on this teaching tour they were all told to be back in Nazareth by Friday, March 4th. In due order they returned, and those who arrived early set up camp for everyone in the high ground north of the city. This was the first time Jesus had returned to Nazareth since beginning his public ministry.
The Stay at Nazareth
As Jesus walked around Nazareth, no one recognized him. He wandered by the house and carpenter shop where he had grown up, and then he sat for thirty minutes or so on the hill where he played as a child. These memories stirred up more human emotion than any others had since the day he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. As Jesus walked down from the hilltop he heard the trumpet blast announcing sundown just like he had so many times growing up. Before returning to the camp he strolled by the synagogue where he had gone to school and he let his mind flood with the memories of his childhood. Earlier that day Jesus had sent Thomas to the synagogue to arrange for him to conduct the following morning’s service.
The people in Nazareth were not known for being religious or for righteous living. As time had passed this village was increasingly contaminated by the low moral standards of nearby Sepphoris. During the years that Jesus had lived in Nazareth the people had become divided about him, and many of them resented his move to Capernaum. While they had heard about Jesus’ activities after leaving Nazareth, most of them were angry that he had not included them in his earlier preaching tours. By this time in his mission the town was in an uproar over Jesus with most of the people holding him in low regard. Instead of a welcomed homecoming, he was met with hostility and hypocrisy. Furthermore, Jesus’ enemies knew that he planned to speak at the synagogue in the morning and they had hired a band of thugs to make as much trouble for him as possible.
Most of Jesus’ older friends, including the chazan that had mentored him so well when he was a boy, had died or moved away from Nazareth and the younger people living there now were mostly jealous of him. They did not remember his devotion to his family after Joseph’s death, and they bitterly criticized him for not visiting his brother and sisters who still lived in Nazareth. His family’s attitude toward him just made everything worse. In fact, Jesus’ reception was so bad that the more orthodox Jews even criticized him for walking too fast on the way to the synagogue.
The Sabbath Service
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Nazareth. So many people showed up at the synagogue that there was not enough room for everyone inside, so many of those who were traveling with Jesus had to listen from outside the building. Jesus had spoken here many times before, but when he was given the scripture to read no one seemed to realize that it was the same manuscript that Jesus himself had donated to the synagogue when he was a young man.
The services were held just like they had been when Jesus was a child. He took the podium with the leader of the synagogue and they began by reciting two prayers. First, “Blessed is the Lord, King of the world, who forms the light and creates the darkness, who makes peace and creates everything; who, in mercy, gives light to the Earth and to those who dwell on it and in goodness, day by day and every day, renews the works of creation. Blessed is the Lord our God for the glory of his handiworks and for the light giving lights that he has made for his praise. Stop and listen. Blessed is the Lord our God, who has formed the lights.”
Then after a moment’s pause, they continued with the second prayer, “With great love the Lord our God has loved us, and with much overflowing pity he has pitied us, our Father and our King, for the sake of our fathers who trusted in him. You taught them the statutes of life; have mercy on us and teach us. Enlighten our eyes in the law; cause our hearts to cleave to your commandments; unite our hearts to love and fear your name and we will not be put to shame, world without end. For you are a God who prepares salvation, and you have chosen us from among all nations and tongues, and in truth you have brought us near your great name, stop and listen, that we may lovingly praise your unity. Blessed is the Lord, who in love chose his people Israel.”
They then led the congregation in reciting the Shema, the Jewish creed of faith. This ritual meant repeating many passages from the law; its purpose was to show that the worshipers assumed the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and the yoke of the commandments as applied to the day and the night. Then came a third prayer, “It is true that you are Yahweh, our God and the God of our fathers; our king and the king of our fathers; our savior and the savior of our fathers; our creator and the rock of our salvation; our help and our deliverer. Your name is from everlasting, and there is no God beside you. A new song the delivered sung to your name by the seashore; together all did praise and call you king and say ‘Yahweh will reign, world without end. Blessed is the lord who saves Israel.’”
The leader of the synagogue would then normally take his place before the ark that contained the sacred writings and begin to recite nineteen benedictions. But to give Jesus more time to speak, he shortened this part of the service and only read the first and last of the nineteen prayers. The first was, “Blessed is the Lord our God and the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob; the great, the mighty, and the terrible God who creates all things, who shows mercy and kindness, who remembers the gracious promises to the fathers and who brings a savior to their children’s children for his own name’s sake, in love. O King, helper, savior, and shield! Blessed are you, O Yahweh, the shield of Abraham.”
The last of the nineteen benedictions was, “O bestow on your people Israel great peace forever, for you are King and the Lord of all peace. And it is good in your eyes to bless Israel at all times and at every hour with peace. Blessed you are, Yahweh, who blesses his people Israel with peace.” The congregation did not look at the rabbi as he recited the benedictions. Afterward he offered an informal prayer suitable for the occasion, and then all in the congregation joined together saying “Amen!”. The rabbi then went over to the ark and took out a roll that he gave to Jesus to read. Normally they would have called on seven people to read at least three verses of the law, but this time they let Jesus choose.
Jesus stood in front of the congregation and read from Deuteronomy, “For this commandment that I give you this day is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven; you do not have to ask who will go up to heaven and bring it down to us so that we can follow it. Neither is it beyond the sea so that you would have to ask who will go over the sea to bring the commandment to us so that we can follow it. No, the word of life is near to you, it is in your heart so that you can know it.”
After Jesus had finished reading from the law he turned to Isaiah and began to read, “The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are bruised and to announce the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus closed the book and after returning it to the rabbi sat down and began to speak to the people. He began by saying “Today these scriptures are fulfilled,” then Jesus spoke for almost fifteen minutes on “The Sons and Daughters of God.” Many of the people were happy with the lesson and they marveled at Jesus’ wisdom and graciousness.
After the end of the formal service it was normal for the speaker to visit with the people so they could ask him questions. In the crowd pressing around Jesus were the malcontents who just wanted to agitate everyone, and around the fringe of the people were the thugs who had been hired to molest him. The apostles and other disciples who had been outside the synagogue were now inside, and they quickly saw the trouble brewing. They tried to convince Jesus to leave but he would not.
The Nazareth Rejection
Jesus was surrounded by a crowd comprised mostly of his enemies with a few followers scattered among them. In reply to their taunts, Jesus half humorously said “Yes, I am Joseph’s son. I am the carpenter, and I am not surprised that you remind me of the proverb, ‘Physician heal yourself,’ and that you dare me to do in Nazareth what you have heard I did at Capernaum. But you should know that even the scriptures say that ‘a prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people.’”
The crowd grew angry, and pointing at him people said “You think you are better than us in Nazareth. You moved away from us, but your brother is a common workman and your sisters still live among us. We know your mother Mary. Where are they today? We hear big things about you, but we notice that you do no wonders when you come back.”
Jesus said “I love the people who dwell in the city where I grew up and I would be happy to see you all enter the kingdom of heaven, but it is not for me to determine what God does. The transformations of grace come as the result of the living faith of those who receive it.”
Jesus could have and would have good-naturedly managed the crowd and disarmed even his violent enemies. But Simon Zelotes with the help of Nahor, who was one of the younger evangelists, rounded up a group of Jesus’ friends and then they confronted his enemies telling them to leave.
Many times Jesus had taught the apostles that a soft answer turns away wrath. But his followers were not used to seeing their Master treated with such discourtesy. It was too much for them, and they became angry yelling at the people who were making trouble. This added fuel to the fire and the mob took on a mind of its own. Those who had been hired to rough-up Jesus took the lead; they grabbed ahold of Jesus and hauled him out of the synagogue to the edge of a cliff close by so they could throw him off to his death. But just as they reached the edge Jesus stopped, turned around, faced his captors, and simply folded his arms. He said nothing, and his followers were astonished as he walked forward, the mob parting and allowing him to pass without harm.
Jesus’ disciples followed him back to camp where everyone recounted what had occurred. Then they all prepared to return to Capernaum the next morning. This harsh experience right at the end of the third preaching tour sobered the apostles. They were starting to understand the meaning behind some of Jesus’ teachings, and they were beginning to realize that the kingdom was only going to come about after much bitter disappointment. Everyone left Nazareth that Sunday morning, and after taking different routes when returning to Bethsaida they all arrived by noon on Thursday, March 10th. This time instead of coming together like some enthusiastic and all-conquering band of triumphant crusaders, they were more sober, serious, and disillusioned.
Bob
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