A JOURNEY WITH JESUS.
Jesus went away with His disciples into the "borders of Tyre and
Sidon." He did not go to the Passover feast, for the anger of the Jews
had been growing more violent toward Him and His disciples, and he took
the twelve away from the crowded towns around the Lake into the parts
that bordered upon a heathen country. He could do far more for the
simple-hearted heathen than for Jews who believed themselves to be wise
and religious.
When it was known that the young teacher of Nazareth was among them
some came to Him who were not Jews. One was a Syrian woman whose
daughter was troubled by an evil spirit, and she begged Jesus to have
mercy upon her. The disciples were not pleased to have her follow them
with strange cries in another language. They believed that the works
of Jesus were for the Jews only, and so they begged Him to send her
away. Jesus was silent, for He knew all hearts, and saw faith growing
in the heart of the poor woman.
He said, trying her faith,
"It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs."
"Truth, Lord," she said, "yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their master's table."
Then Jesus hid Himself no longer from her faith, but said,
"O woman, great is thy faith! be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And
her daughter was cured that very hour.
Jesus did not go down by the great sea, though He could see it lying
like blue and silver across the west whenever He came to a hilltop as
they journeyed, but He went northward to the hills that lie around the
mountains of Lebanon. Upon these mountains grew the cedars that
Solomon's servants cut down and carried to Jerusalem for the building
of the Holy House. They stopped in the Lebanon villages, and came at
length to the foot of Mount Hermon, and to the Jordan, crossing over
and passing near the place where the great company who followed Jesus
had been fed. As they came into Decapolis on the east side of the lake
of Gennesaret the people came to Him in crowds again for healing.
There He healed a man who could neither hear nor speak.
Coming to Gadara He found crowds coming with their sick for healing.
Eight months before He had healed a poor man in whom was a legion of
devils, casting them out into a herd of swine, and they had begged Him
to leave their coast for they were afraid of Him, but now they were
glad to come to Him for healing. No doubt the man who had been healed
had told them of the gentleness of Jesus, and of His wonderful words,
and had brought many to Him.
It was in Bethsaida-Julias that Jesus once opened the eyes of a blind
man. He did not see clearly at first, but when Jesus laid His hand a
second time upon his eyes he saw quite well, and was so grateful that
he wanted to go and tell all his friends about it, but Jesus told him
to go quietly home.
Two blind men followed Him also, crying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy
on us!" They followed Him into a house and there Jesus asked, "Believe
ye that I am able to do this?" "Yea, Lord," they said.
"According to your faith be it unto you," He said, touching their eyes,
and their eyes were opened at once.
Though Jesus had said, "See that no man know it," yet they told it
through all that country.