""Hear, O Israel: The Lord our G.o.d is one G.o.d....
Thou shalt love the Lord thy G.o.d with all thy heart, And with all thy soul, And with all thy might."
Remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them.
"I am the Lord your G.o.d, who brought you ... out of the land of Egypt"
To be your G.o.d. I am the Lord your G.o.d."
Philip leaned over and whispered to Simon, "Do you think he will dare say anything about founding a new kingdom?"
"I have never heard him here before," answered Simon, "but he will say what he thinks."
After Jesus had repeated two prayers of thanksgiving, the minister of the synagogue brought a heavy scroll to the desk. A man from the congregation read some verses from Leviticus; then several other men read short pa.s.sages.
The people stirred expectantly when Jesus stood up. Again Philip was impressed by the clear and convincing manner of his speech. "Listen to the words of the Prophet Isaiah," Jesus said.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has consecrated me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release for captives and recovery of sight for the blind. He has sent me to set free the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord"s blessing." Jesus rolled up the scroll. Every person in the synagogue waited to hear what he would say.
"This very year," declared Jesus quietly but firmly, "is the year that Isaiah is talking about. You do not have to wait any longer for G.o.d to come to you. The words of Isaiah are true right now; G.o.d is here. The prophets tell you about a great day, but that day is not far in the future! G.o.d can be your King now! He can defeat every evil power. He will rule you if only you will open your hearts to him."
Philip turned to Simon. He was disappointed. "What can he mean by that?"
Simon did not answer. He was waiting attentively for Jesus to go on.
"You think you are oppressed and poor," continued Jesus. "But I tell you that you will never win freedom by fighting and by shedding blood. Only the truth of G.o.d can make you free. Only his eternal treasures can make you rich! It is useless to depend on earthly things: moths destroy clothing; rust destroys iron; thieves steal money. Fire will burn down barns. Do not spend your lives getting things that pa.s.s away. Rather, store up treasures in the Kingdom of G.o.d. Only G.o.d"s Kingdom is truly real. Only in his Kingdom are you truly free. Only his treasures make you really rich!"
"But how shall we get this Kingdom? That is what I want to know!"
whispered Philip hoa.r.s.ely to Simon.
"He will tell you," answered Simon.
"You spend all your time getting ready for a Kingdom that is far away,"
cried Jesus. "You do not have to wait for G.o.d"s Kingdom. G.o.d is here now, working among you." His voice became stern. "The trouble is that you do not really believe in G.o.d at all. You do not wish to give yourselves to him. You always want to live for yourselves a little longer. You are blind to the rule of G.o.d because you are stubborn and unwilling to obey his will.
"The prophets tell you what G.o.d wants you to do! Have you obeyed them?
No! Repent your sin! Give yourselves to G.o.d! On this very day you shall find his Kingdom!"
The people were looking at Jesus blankly. They had never heard anyone speak like this before. But Philip was able to understand one thing: the Kingdom of which Jesus had been speaking was very different from anything he had expected.
Behind them Simon and Philip heard a man say, "He doesn"t speak as the scribes do!" Scribes always read or recited from memory the comments which the great Rabbis had written on the Law and the Prophets.
Suddenly there was a fearful scream in the rear of the building. A man had jumped from his bench near the back of the synagogue and was rushing down the aisle. Insanely he yelled: "Ha! Jesus of Nazareth! What business have you with me?"
"Let me out of here!" exclaimed a frightened man on the front benches.
"He has a demon!" In his haste to get out of reach, the man tipped the bench over and it struck the stone floor with a bang.
"Have you come to destroy us?" shrieked the madman. "I know who you are!
You are the Holy One from G.o.d!"
"Silence! Come out of him!" In an instant, Jesus had taken complete control of the man; as though all his strength suddenly melted away, he dropped to the floor and lay still. A single moan broke the tense silence of the synagogue. He seemed to be dying. Jesus motioned to the elders and they brought a cup of water.
In a moment the man stood up. He was weak but in his right mind. Utter amazement filled the people.
The elders were looking at one another, shaking their heads. "There is no doubt about it. He is free!" Others asked in wonder: "Who can this Rabbi be? He even has power over demons!"
People pressed toward the front of the room to stare at the man whom Jesus had healed. After a while, they began to drift away, talking excitedly. Philip did not push forward with the curious crowd but stood staring at Jesus. Even after the people had all gone, he continued to gaze wonderingly at Jesus. He could hardly believe his eyes: The man who had been so violent now sat quietly listening to Jesus.
Simon came over to where Philip was standing. "Do you now see how powerful his word is, Philip?" he asked. "Do you see why I follow him?"
"Never in all my life have I known such a man," said Philip, almost speaking to himself. He could not understand what was happening within him. He did not feel excited; his mind was clear and cool--but Philip knew that some strange power was at work. Everything had somehow changed. Jesus turned to him.
"Philip," asked the Master simply, "will you follow me?"
Jesus" words were like the turning of a key. Philip wanted to speak only words of obedience: "Master! I will go with you anywhere!"
[Ill.u.s.tration]
4. G.o.d IS NOW KING!
Before nightfall, all Capernaum was talking about the Teacher from Nazareth who had power to overcome demons. What strange person had arrived in their midst? He had even dared to break the Sabbath law, for healing on the day of rest was strictly forbidden. Some believed he was planning to start a rebellion to set the nation free from Roman rule; but to the sick and lame of Capernaum, the news meant just one thing: someone had come to help them.
Curious eyes had seen Jesus leave the synagogue with Simon. No sooner had the sun set, marking the end of the Sabbath, than hundreds of crippled and diseased persons crowded to the street where Simon lived.
Jesus would not refuse them. In the cool twilight he taught and healed all who asked.
As it grew darker, the disciples began to marvel that the people kept coming. They knew everyone was very superst.i.tious and hardly anyone ever went out at night for fear of evil spirits. But as the hours pa.s.sed, Simon noticed many people who were not sick or crippled. They came for another kind of help; they knew Jesus could give more than healing for the body.
In the babble of voices Simon suddenly heard a man cry out sharply. The pain in the man"s voice cut into Simon"s heart like a knife. Simon scanned the crowd, but in the darkness could not see him. No one moved to let him through.
Jesus looked toward the man. "Do you cry out to me?" he asked, raising his voice above the noisy crowd around him. "Come and I will help you."
Unwillingly, the people made way and the man crawled toward Jesus.
Something was wrong with his legs. A hush settled over the crowd when Jesus spoke. "Your greatest need is not to be free from pain--it is to be rid of sin. Repent and turn back to G.o.d. Believe my word and you shall enter the Kingdom of G.o.d!" Jesus stooped and laid his hand on the man lying before him.
"O Father," he prayed, "heal this man of his suffering, in order that he may know thy truth and enter thy Kingdom." Jesus straightened up and held out his arms to all the people. "Come to me, all of you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest!"
The disciples felt the power of their Master as they heard him call on the people to repent. They had never known anyone like him; they had never heard a message like his. Again and again they heard Jesus say: "Do you understand why you have been healed? This is a sign that the power of G.o.d has come among you."
It was after midnight when the last person left. Jesus was very tired.
He looked at the black sky. There was no moon. The stars shed a faint light on the hills above Capernaum. Jesus turned to Simon. "It is time to rest." He went into the house.
"The people had no fear of evil night spirits," remarked James.
"They know he has power over them," commented Simon.
In the morning, long before dawn, Jesus rose in order to pray outside the city. A few yards from Simon"s home the street dwindled to a path, and Jesus had to push through the stiff, dry gra.s.s which grew knee-high all over the hillside. As he climbed, he walked around large rocks. When he reached the crest of the hill, Jesus stood for a long while gazing down at Capernaum, barely visible in the starlight. There was a little breeze from the east. It smelled of both lake and desert.
The memory of the sick and lame people filled Jesus with sorrow. Some of these people really thought that everything would be all right if their bodies could be healed! What a terrible mistake! Had they understood what he had told them?
Would they realize that they were thinking only of themselves? Perhaps their lives were too cluttered with little hopes and ambitions to see the will of G.o.d. How dearly they loved worthless things! Jesus found a hollow where the bushes sheltered him from the wind and knelt to pray.