Jude then told her all that he had seen from the moment he had entered the courtyard. She listened, wondering at the son who had left her home only a few months before. When Jude finished she turned to leave.
"Wait, mother!" said Jude. "Don"t you want to see him?"
"There is no reason for us to see him, my son," replied Mary quietly.
"He doesn"t need us to care for him. This is G.o.d"s work that he is doing." That same day Mary returned to Nazareth, filled with wonder at the things that had happened.
Not only Mary but the disciples too were amazed at Jesus" power. Even the Zealot, the most eager to start spreading the news of the Kingdom, saw how much he needed to learn before attempting to do Jesus" work. At the table that evening, Simon spoke the feeling of them all.
"Master, how shall we ever be strong enough to be your missionaries?"
"Whoever knows G.o.d, lives by his power, Simon," answered Jesus. "The evil one does not rule such men."
"But I believe in G.o.d, Master," said Simon. "Yet I cannot heal anyone."
He paused and then added in a tone of despair, "I could never have answered that scribe!"
"Simon, if you had real faith in G.o.d--even a tiny grain--you would be able to do great things."
"I have prayed many times and still I do not have the strength," said Simon humbly.
"Listen to me," said Jesus. "Suppose you were to go to a friend"s house late at night and say: "Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread?
A visitor has arrived unexpectedly and I am out of food." Suppose he were to answer: "Don"t bother me. I"m in bed and the door is locked. I can"t get up." What would you do?"
After a pause, John answered, "Why, you just keep on knocking until he _does_ get up!" The disciples smiled.
"True!" said Jesus. "He may not get up because of friendliness, but if you keep on knocking, he"ll give you the bread just to get rid of you!
But G.o.d is your friend! Will he not give you what you ask? But you must not grow weary in asking.
"In a certain town," he continued, "there was a very unfair judge. He didn"t care about anyone. There was a poor widow in that town who was being mistreated. Again and again she went to the judge and asked him to help her--but he never paid any attention. Finally he said to himself: "I don"t care about this woman, but she is becoming a nuisance. Perhaps if I give her what she wants she will stop pestering me."" Jesus said very emphatically, "If this wicked man finally helped a widow because she kept on asking for justice, won"t G.o.d, who is good and just, answer you if you pray sincerely?"
Simon saw how little real faith he had in spite of all his praying. How often he had thought to himself. _Now I"ll pray and see what happens._ He had been testing G.o.d, not trusting him!
"O Master," he urged, "won"t you teach us to pray as John the Baptizer taught his disciples?"
"When you pray, say: "Our Father in heaven, holy be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.""
Most of the time, the disciples had to admit, they thought only of persuading G.o.d to do what they wanted.
"Ask your Heavenly Father, "Give us today the food we will need to do our work tomorrow,"" said Jesus. "Anyone who serves G.o.d trusts him for all things he needs day by day.
"Then you must ask G.o.d to forgive you your sins. But if you are not willing to forgive others, do not think for one moment that G.o.d will forgive you."
"Master, how often shall someone sin against me and I go on forgiving him?" asked Peter. "Seven times?"
"Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven." Jesus paused and then went on. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. The king ordered one man, with his wife and children, to be sold into slavery, and all his possessions sold for cash so that the debt could be met.
"The servant fell on his knees and begged, "Master have patience with me and I will pay you every penny." Out of pity, the king released him and forgave him the whole debt.
"On his way home, the servant met a fellow servant who owed him a very small sum of money. He grabbed the poor fellow by the throat and demanded, "You pay me what you owe me!" The man fell on his knees and begged, "Have patience with me and I will pay you." But he refused.
Instead, he put him into prison until the debt should be paid. The other servants saw how unfair this was and they told the king what had happened.
"The king called for the unjust servant and said: "You wicked servant!
When you asked, I forgave you all that you owed me--should you not have been merciful to your fellow servant, as I was merciful to you?" Very angry, the king threw the unjust man into jail to remain there until his whole debt was paid.
"Neither can you be forgiven," concluded Jesus, "unless you forgive others from your heart."
After a moment John said: "Do you really think G.o.d pays attention to us.
Master? He seems so far away. Oh, I know he watches over the nation--but I am not sure he cares what happens to me!"
Jesus nodded toward Simon. "Simon loves his children," he said. "Simon, if your little son should ask you for a piece of bread, would you give him a rock to eat? Or if he asked for a broiled fish, would you give him a poisonous snake instead? Or if he asked for an egg, would you give him a scorpion with a deadly stinger?"
"No, of course not!" exclaimed Simon.
"Well, then, if you can do that much for your children, do you not think that G.o.d will do far more for those who trust him?"
Jesus lifted his arms to pray. It seemed to Simon that Jesus was praying specially for him when he asked the Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them all. As they left the place of prayer, Simon and Andrew dropped behind the others.
"What I cannot understand," said Andrew, "is how he knows all these things. Where did he learn it all?"
"It is strange," agreed Simon. "You would almost think he came down from heaven, wouldn"t you?"
[Ill.u.s.tration]
8. HE IS MORE THAN A TEACHER
Far away to the south, John the Baptizer was imprisoned in King Herod"s fortress at Machaerus. Through the bars of his tiny window he could see the green waters of the Dead Sea far below and the rocky hills of Judea beyond. He did not expect to lie in this dungeon long. At any moment the Day of Judgment might come; G.o.d would send hosts of angels to punish wrongdoers and to reward his faithful servants.
John listened intently to the news that his followers brought about Jesus. They told him all that Jesus did: his demand that all men should repent; the new teaching about the Kingdom of G.o.d which was the talk of men everywhere. John was amazed at the power Jesus had to heal many sick people; he was glad when he heard that Jesus was not afraid of the Pharisees.
But as days pa.s.sed, doubts began to creep into the Baptizer"s mind.
Could G.o.d have chosen this man to deliver His people? John could not understand why the deliverance did not come. Jesus was training only a handful of disciples to preach. It would take more than that to bring G.o.d"s great day. At last the Prophet sent two messengers to Jesus.
"Our Prophet, John the Baptizer, has sent us to ask a question," said the leader. "Are you the One whom G.o.d has sent to judge the wicked and justify the faithful?"
This very question was stirring in the minds of the disciples. Why did Jesus not tell them plainly who he was?
"Are you the Messiah of G.o.d?" repeated the man. "Or should we look for someone else?"
"You know what I teach," answered Jesus. "You have heard about the things that I do. Go back to John and tell him that the eyes of the blind are opened; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed--the good news that G.o.d is present among men is declared to everyone who will listen."
"But, Rabbi," said the puzzled leader, "what shall we tell the Prophet?
Are you truly the Messiah?"
"How do you expect to know the Messiah?" asked Jesus. "What will he do that you will recognize him?" The men did not answer. "Isaiah the Prophet said: "Here is my servant, my Chosen One. He will not be loud and noisy: He will not raise a great shout in public. He will not break a bent sapling or even blow out the tiniest lamp flame!""
The followers of John murmured to themselves. "The Messiah--coming silently?... You say he won"t even break a twig?" The ideas seemed to escape them, slipping away as soon as they were spoken.