Jesus had watched them without saying a word. Now he spoke. "My followers, what have you to worry about?"
"This stupid Philip forgot to bring the food!" said James, irritated.
"Have you ever gone hungry when you were with me?" asked Jesus patiently. "You have seen me feed crowds--and yet you do not trust me!
Many times you have heard me say that I am the Bread of Life--and now you are worried about your stomachs!" Tempers cooled as quickly as they had risen. "Do you not understand the meaning of the things I do?" asked Jesus.
"You are right. Master," said James, shamefaced. "We should not worry about food."
"Is that all I mean to you?" asked Jesus. "You do not understand why I fed the people, do you?"
Simon and John brought the boat to land at a deserted spot near the fishing village of Bethsaida, and Jesus led the men north along the Jordan toward the Lebanon Mountains. For three days they traveled, finally reaching the narrow valleys of the foothills of the Lebanons.
The land was hilly but very fertile. Many people lived here: a few Jews but many gentiles. The disciples had never traveled this far north before. As the mountains grew higher, they turned westward toward the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus chose this road because he believed he could find privacy in which to teach the disciples.
However, things were not as Jesus hoped. About ten miles from Sidon, a gentile city on the seacoast, they pa.s.sed through a small village. The disciples thought they had not been recognized, but a short distance beyond the town John said, "There is someone following us!"
The others glanced around. A woman was coming after them. "Let us hurry on," said Simon. "Perhaps she will drop back." All of them quickened their pace. After a moment Simon glanced around again. "She is running after us!"
The woman cried out: "O thou Son of David! Have pity on me!"
Jesus paid no attention. "Have mercy on me, Son of David!" cried the woman desperately. "My daughter has an evil spirit!"
Still Jesus walked on. "Send her away, Master," said Simon. "She is just going to keep on wailing behind us."
Jesus stopped. "G.o.d has sent me only to the lost sheep of the flock of Israel."
"And she is a gentile," said James with satisfaction. When the woman overtook them, he was sure Jesus would send her away.
Kneeling, the woman said, "Do help me, Lord!"
The disciples were taken back. How did she dare call him "Lord"! Who did she think he was?
When Jesus spoke to the woman his voice was kindly, but the words seemed harsh: "Woman, it is not fair to take the children"s food and throw it to the dogs under the table."
_That will show her she has no right to bother us_, thought James.
But James was mistaken. "No, Master," the woman answered smiling, "but the dogs can wait patiently for the crumbs to fall from the children"s table, can"t they?"
Jesus" face lighted up. "O woman, you have great faith! You have found the Kingdom of G.o.d. Go back to your daughter; your prayer is granted."
The disciples were aghast. James burst out, "Master, what can this mean?"
"How can a gentile be included in our Kingdom?" demanded Simon.
"Do you not yet understand why I have come?" answered Jesus. "My Father sent me to declare that all who are far away from him may come back if they will repent. The Kingdom of G.o.d belongs to anyone who will come."
"But that cannot mean all the gentiles," protested Simon.
"You have forgotten what the Prophet Hosea once said," replied Jesus.
"To certain people it was said at one time, "You do not belong to G.o.d"--but now these very people are the children of G.o.d!" There was finality in Jesus" voice, and the disciples could say nothing more as the woman went home to her daughter.
Jesus knew from their sullen silence that the disciples resented his kindness to the gentile woman. He saw Simon, Andrew, and James drop behind the group.
"How can he do a thing like that?" fumed Simon. "He came to help outcasts--but not gentiles!"
"She had the impudence to call him "Lord"!" remarked Andrew.
Nevertheless, not one of them dared complain against Jesus even though they went on talking among themselves after they left the country around Sidon. Jesus made it so hard for them to follow him! Yet they were bound to him, and nothing could drive them away.
Jesus did not enter Sidon, but turned back toward the mountain pa.s.ses that led toward Caesarea Philippi, a city near the foot of Mount Hermon.
The disciples had preached the good news of the Kingdom in the villages of upper Galilee, and every day they saw people that they recognized.
But something seemed to be wrong. When they had preached before, the people had welcomed them with joy. But now people hardly even greeted them! What had happened? Had they forgotten the Rabbi from Nazareth who had healed their sick? Where were the people who had said that Jesus had changed their lives and given them new hope?
"Have the rumors about us spread here too?" asked James in despair.
"Do you wonder the people think he goes to extremes?" asked James bitterly. "If they knew he told a gentile woman she could share in our Kingdom, everyone would turn away from us!"
"Sometimes it almost seems as though the scribes were right!" confessed Andrew.
Simon caught him up instantly. "Do you think that Jesus is trying to destroy the faith of our nation?" he asked sharply. Andrew did not answer.
"Why did we follow him in the first place, brother?" urged Simon. Still Andrew said nothing--but he knew what Simon meant.
"Should we go back to our fishing, Andrew?"
"Oh, no!" answered Andrew, thinking of the hopeless years before Jesus came. "That could never be."
"G.o.d has sent him to open a new day for us!" declared Simon firmly.
Jesus had been walking with Philip, but now he dropped back beside the other disciples. The road lay between high rock walls. Their footsteps rang with a hollow sound. The shadows were deep; no other travelers were in sight. James said quietly, "We were just talking about what people are saying, Master."
"What do they say about me?" asked Jesus. Simon knew that he sensed the discouragement and doubt of his followers.
"The Pharisees say that you are trying to break down the Law of Moses,"
replied John hesitantly. There was a long silence.
"Some people think you are John the Baptizer risen from the dead," added Andrew.
The Zealot said: "I hear some saying that you are Elijah come down from heaven to prepare the way of the Messiah. That is what I thought at first." A tiny stream of water, flowing over a rock, could be heard in the silence that followed the Zealot"s remark.
"What else do people say about me?" persisted Jesus.
"Many people think that you are a prophet. Master," answered Simon.
Jesus looked quietly at the men around him. When he spoke his words came deliberately. His voice was strong and deep. "But, Simon, who do you believe I am?"
To Simon, Jesus" question was like a powerful beam of light shining into the darkest corners of his mind, driving away the last black shadows of doubt. With a sigh he raised his head and caught sight of the brilliant blue sky high above the dark valley that shut them in. The answer to his Master"s question was as clear as that sunny sky--why had he not known it before? Simon"s lips moved; then came his answer: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d."