Then he gave them instructions for the journey that lay before them.
"You are to travel two by two. Preach only to Jews, not to Samaritans or gentiles, for the time is short. Your work is to seek everywhere the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Return when this is done.
"Take only a walking stick and one pair of sandals--neither food nor money nor extra clothes."
"How shall we live, Master? Where shall we stay?" asked Simon.
"When you come to a strange town, find someone who will open his home to you while you work there," answered Jesus. "Once you have decided with whom you will stay, do not change. Hold fast to your first friend."
"What if no one will take us in?" asked Andrew.
"If you find no one who will help you, leave that town immediately,"
answered Jesus. "G.o.d will judge any town that will not hear your message.
"This is your gospel: Tell all Jews that G.o.d has come among us. Tell them that his power is right now at work. Tell them that he is the ruler of all who trust him. Warn them to repent and turn to him now." The disciples realized that they would have to face the people without Jesus.
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves," warned Jesus. "You will be persecuted. Never put your trust in persons in high positions, for they will betray you.
"If you are put in prison and brought into court, do not be anxious about what you should say. The spirit of G.o.d your Father will help you, and everyone who hears you will learn the good news that G.o.d"s Kingdom has come."
"Master, how shall we ever have strength to do it?" burst out Andrew.
"Do not be afraid!" Jesus was standing now, ready to bid them farewell.
"G.o.d has given you his own power. You carry news of eternal life; you are doing the work of G.o.d"s Kingdom!"
A few days later, one of the Twelve visited Nazareth. He saw the mother and brothers of Jesus and told them how Jesus was sending missionaries of the Kingdom to every village in Palestine. Mary was at once fearful.
"That will put him in great danger," she said nervously.
"He has already made a big enough fool of himself," remarked one of her sons rudely. He was a strong young fellow about twenty-five. "The trouble with him is that people make too much of him."
"Don"t speak that way, Jude," protested Mary. She had spent many sleepless nights wondering if the rumor could be true that Jesus had become a fanatic and was not in his right mind.
"Bah! The only trouble with him is that popularity has gone to his head!"
"What should I do, Jude?" asked Mary. "He is bound to get into some kind of trouble if he goes on like this."
"Oh, I don"t know." Jude wished his mother would stop worrying. "Perhaps we can make him come home."
Mary s.n.a.t.c.hed at the suggestion. "Let us go to him right away." She prepared hastily for the trip, greatly relieved to be doing something about her strange son Jesus.
Upon arriving at Capernaum, Mary and Jude went directly to the home of Simon where they knew Jesus stayed. They found the courtyard crowded.
Mary was dismayed.
"Don"t worry," said Jude. "He will come when I tell him you are here waiting for him." He began to shove through the tightly packed people.
There were angry murmurs, but Jude paid no attention. As he got farther into the courtyard he could hear a man shouting angrily. _That"s not Jesus" voice_, he thought. Finally he reached a place where he could see his brother.
Behind Jesus stood some of the disciples who had already returned from their mission. All around him were sick and lame people, but he was not healing them. He was standing silently before the man whose harsh voice Jude had heard. The man was completely out of control of himself. Jude couldn"t see why he was so angry, but he thought this must have been going on for some time.
"Who is the angry one?" he asked a bystander.
"Some scribe."
The scribe had almost run out of breath, but Jesus still said nothing.
Irritated by Jesus" silence, he threw a final accusation at him.
"You false prophet! You are a complete fake!"
A man in the crowd suddenly cried out: "He is not false! He tells us the truth as no man ever did."
"He has brought healing to many," added another. "How could he do that if he were not sent from G.o.d?" Others nodded.
The angry scribe turned on the man. "Many magicians can heal and drive out demons! I can show you a hundred right here in Galilee who can do anything he can! Bah! This prophet of yours is a fake!"
The man did not know what to answer. "I"ll tell you why he can drive out demons," snapped the enraged scribe. "I"ll tell you! The prince of all demons has got hold of him! That"s why he can do it!" Scornfully he drove home his point. "Why shouldn"t he be stronger than the demons? He is possessed by Satan himself."
Simon flushed. The charge was crude and ridiculous. He opened his mouth to deny it, but he realized he could not. How could he prove the scribe wrong? Simon"s anger turned to shame.
Jesus" voice was calm and controlled, when at last he spoke. "Would Satan cast out his own helpers?" he asked the man, coolly. There was a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "A nation divided within itself will fall! Has Satan risen up against himself and given me power to destroy his own power over men?"
Jude was amazed at the power of his brother"s words. This did not sound as though he were out of his mind!
Jesus did not give the scribe a chance to reply. "No!" he declared, speaking now to all the people. "I have no demon. No one can enter a man"s house and take his property without first binding the owner with ropes. I have power to cast out demons because I have overcome the prince of all evil!"
The answer could not be denied. Looking sternly at the scribe, Jesus said: "I tell you, men will be forgiven all their sins and blasphemies except one: If you harden yourself against the Holy Spirit, you commit eternal sin!" Jesus then raised his voice. "By the very finger of G.o.d I cast out demons--and because I have overcome the evil one himself, G.o.d is now ruling among you!"
An excited woman cried out, "How fortunate your mother is to have such a son!"
"The person who is truly fortunate is the one who hears and believes the Word of G.o.d," answered Jesus quickly.
Jude looked at the woman startled. She had said his mother was fortunate--but to Mary Jesus was a great worry! Remembering why he had come, Jude began to push his way toward Jesus. When finally he could get no farther, he touched the shoulder of a man ahead of him. "Would you tell the Rabbi that his mother and brothers want to see him outside?"
When the man delivered the message to Jesus, the disciples stepped forward and started to clear a path, but Jesus put out his hand and stopped them. He looked around at the faces of the loyal men who had left everything to follow him and at the sick and anxious people sitting on the hard-packed dirt of the courtyard.
"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" The words were gentle, very different from his tone a moment before. "I tell you, you are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of G.o.d is my brother, my sister, my mother!
"A true missionary of the Kingdom must be willing to give up his own family for my sake and take the people of G.o.d"s Kingdom for his family.
Anyone who thinks more of his own mother, wife, or child, than he does of the Kingdom cannot be my disciple."
"Master, we have given up everything to follow you," said Simon.
"You may have to give even your life, Simon," answered Jesus. "Yet great is your reward in heaven."
Jude pushed his way out of the courtyard. The first thing he said to his mother was, "Jesus seems like another person."
Despair darkened Mary"s expression. "Do you mean that what the people are saying about him is true?" she asked.
"No, no. I didn"t mean that," Jude said quickly. "He is different in another way. He is ... he is not like us any more." He tried to describe Jesus but could not.
"Well, what happened?" Mary was relieved but puzzled. "What did he do?"