"There go Jesus and his disciples!" somebody said. "They"re heading for Bethsaida!"
A crowd of people began to walk around the sh.o.r.e of the lake. As they went, others joined them from the towns and countryside round about.
Jesus was the most popular man in Galilee just then. Wherever he went, he might be sure that a crowd would follow him.
The people walked and ran, and by hurrying they reached the quiet spot near Bethsaida as soon as Jesus did. When he stepped out of the boat, thousands of people were waiting for him on the sh.o.r.e. Jesus had gone away for a rest, but when he saw the people he felt sorry for them.
_They are like a flock of sheep_, he thought--_a flock of sheep with no shepherd to look after them._
They had spoiled his holiday, but Jesus spoke to the people and said that he was glad to see them. Then he began to teach, just as he did in the cities and towns. All day long he taught, and if there were any who were sick, he healed them.
The day wore on, and evening was drawing near. One or two of the disciples pulled Jesus" sleeve, and said to him:
"Master, it is getting late. Hadn"t you better send them away to find something to eat in the towns near by? There is nothing for them out here in the country."
Jesus answered: "There is no need for them to go away. Give them something to eat right here!"
The disciples looked at him as if they did not know whether he was serious or not. They said: "Do you mean that you want us to go and buy food for all these people? Where would we get enough money for that?"
Andrew said: "There"s a boy here with five loaves of bread and a couple of fishes. But how far will that go among five thousand people?"
Jesus only answered, "Tell them to sit down on the gra.s.s."
The disciples went among the crowd, and had the people sit down in groups, fifty in each group.
Jesus took the five loaves and the two fishes, and as he held them, he said a prayer of thanks to G.o.d. Then he broke the loaves, and gave the bread and the fish to the disciples and told them to pa.s.s the food around among the crowd. They pa.s.sed it here and they pa.s.sed it there, but they never ran out of food. n.o.body could tell where it was coming from, but there was enough for everyone and some left over.
The people were hungry after their long walk and the hours of standing in the sun. They ate heartily. As they finished their meal, they began to think about what had happened.
"Where did all this food come from?" they began to ask themselves.
"Where did Jesus get all that food?" "There were but five loaves and a couple of fishes and yet we have all had enough and to spare!"
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The crowd began to talk in excited voices. "Jesus gave us this food."
"A wonderful thing! He gave us food to eat, when there wasn"t anything here!" "Why, this is just the man we have been looking for!"
"There"s the man to make the Jews strong and rich--he makes food out of nothing!"
The people were rising to their feet.
"Make him a king!" they started to cry. "Jesus is the man to be king of the Jews!" they shouted. "We want our king!"
But Jesus was not there any longer. Jesus had gone; he had slipped away through the crowd and disappeared. Even the disciples did not know where he was. He stayed alone in the mountains until long after dark.
Those foolish people! That foolish, foolish crowd! They did not understand him at all. Did they never think of anything except their stomachs?
Jesus remembered how the devil had once tempted him in the wilderness.
What was it that the devil had said? "If you are the Messiah, make these stones into bread."
Yes, all the people would be for him so long as he gave them something to eat. They would even make him a king, if they thought he was the man to get rid of the Romans and make the country free and rich and great. Why, they had offered to make Jesus a king that very day! They said that he was just the man they had been waiting for!
But that was not what Jesus had come to do. He did not want to be that kind of king.
It was soon to be Pa.s.sover time. Many years ago, at Pa.s.sover time, Jesus had been a boy at the Temple in Jerusalem, watching as the lambs were killed for a sacrifice. A year from now it would be Pa.s.sover again. And then it would be time to go to Jerusalem once more. He would go to Jerusalem, and he would be the King of the Jews. Then he would do what he always knew that he would have to do someday.
When Jesus came back to Capernaum, he gathered his band of disciples together and took them away again. This time he took them so far away that no one would follow them. No one wanted very much to follow, anyway, for the people were hurt and angry because Jesus would not be their king.
Jesus led the disciples away to the north, into the country near Caesarea Philippi. Here one of the rivers that flowed into the Jordan came springing out of a cave in a hill. Here too the Greek people round about had built temples for their heathen G.o.ds.
Jesus wanted to be alone with his disciples, for the time had come to have an important talk. He said to them: "Who do people say that I am?"
The disciples answered: "Some people say that you are John the Baptist, come back from the dead. Others say that you are Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets come back to earth. Everyone thinks that you are a great man."
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"But who do _you_ say that I am?" Jesus asked.
There was silence. Then Simon spoke up: "You are the Messiah--the Christ--the Son of the living G.o.d!"
That was it! That was what Jesus was waiting for! His face lighted up in joy. He turned to Simon, and exclaimed: "That is the best thing that could happen to you, Simon, to find out who I am! And no human being could have told you! Only G.o.d himself can have shown you that I really am the Messiah, when n.o.body else believes it. And now you are going to have a new name, Simon. I am going to call you "Peter" from now on, for the name "Peter" means "The Rock." You have faith in me, and your faith is like a rock. I am going to build my Church on faith like yours, and nothing shall ever conquer it. It will be the strongest thing in all the world.
"And now"--Jesus began to speak more quietly--"and now that you know who I really am, I have many things to tell you. In the first place, you must not say anything about my being the Messiah--not just yet.
And this is more important: I am not going to be very popular any more. I am going up to Jerusalem, and when I get there, my enemies will plot against me and put me to death."
Peter thought that this was nonsense. Everyone knew that the Messiah would not be killed like that, but would instead be a great warrior and a triumphant king. In a bold voice Peter spoke up again: "Don"t be foolish. Nothing of that sort is going to happen!"
Jesus turned on Peter. This time he was not joyful; he was angry. He talked to Peter in the same way he had once talked to the devil in the wilderness.
He said: "Get behind me, Satan! The devil has got into you, Peter! G.o.d didn"t have anything to do with what you said to me just now. You"re talking like everybody else. You"re weak. A man who tries to save his own life is sure to lose it. But if a man gives up his life because of me--ah, that man will really know what it means to live!"
But Jesus saw that the disciples did not understand. Even Peter was losing his faith again. Somehow he must make them believe in him and trust in him.
So six days later he took Peter and James and John, to whom he showed the most secret things, up into a high mountain. And there the disciples saw a marvelous vision. Jesus" face became bright as the sun, and his clothes shone like the morning light. They said afterward that Moses and Elijah, who were great among the Jews in the days of long ago, came down and talked with Jesus.
Peter spoke timidly this time, for he did not know what to say.
"Lord," he said, "it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tabernacles here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Then a great cloud came, like a shadow, over the mountain. They heard a voice from the cloud, like the voice of G.o.d, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!"
The disciples fell down to the ground, and there they lay until Jesus came and touched them. At his touch they looked up, and there was no one to be seen but Jesus standing there alone.
"Come away," said Jesus, "and tell n.o.body what you have seen."
They followed him down the mountain, back to where other people were.
Long afterward, they spoke of what had happened. They told of the brightness, and the beauty, and the visitors from olden days, and the voice which said that Jesus was the Son of G.o.d. But in those days they never said a word.