_Jesus and the three disciples return to Capernaum. Jesus
receives the report of the seventy. With his disciples he
goes through all Galilee encouraging the believers. He heals
a woman. Relates the parable of the little seed and the great
tree._
The time had come for the return of the three score and ten whom Jesus
sent abroad to preach.
2 And Jesus, Peter, James and John began their journey back to Galilee.
3 They went up through Samaria; they passed through many villages and
towns, and everywhere the people thronged the ways to see the man the
seventy had told about; and Jesus taught and healed the sick.
4 And when they reached Capernaum the seventy were there; and they
were filled with joy; they said,
5 The Spirit of the Lord of hosts was with us all the way, and we were
filled.
6 The power of the sacred Word was manifest in us; we healed the sick;
we caused the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see.
7 The very devils trembled when we spoke the Word, and they were
subject unto us.
8 And Jesus said, As you were going on your way, the heavens were
bright with light, the earth was bright, they seemed to meet and be at
one; and I beheld, and Satan fell as lightning from the heavens.
9 Behold, for you have power to tread on serpents and on scorpions,
and these are symbols of the enemies of men. You are protected in the
way of right, and naught can harm.
10 And as you went I heard a master say, Well done.
11 But you may not rejoice because you have the power to heal the sick
and make the devils tremble by the Word; for such rejoicing is from
carnal self.
12 You may rejoice because the nations of the earth have ears to hear
the Word, and eyes to see the glory of the Lord, and hearts to feel
the inner breathing of the Holy Breath.
13 And you may well be glad because your names are written in the Book
of Life.
14 Then Jesus looked to heaven and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because thou hast revealed thyself to babes, and
taught them how to light the path and lead the wise to thee.
15 What thou hast given to me, lo, I have given to them, and through
the sacred Word I have bestowed on them the understanding heart,
16 That they might know and honor thee through Christ, who was, and
is, and evermore shall be.
17 And then he said aside, unto the seventy and twelve, Most blessed
are your eyes because you see the things you see;
18 And blessed are your ears because they hear the things they hear;
19 And blessed are your hearts because you understand.
20 In ages that are gone the wise of earth, the prophets, seers and
kings, desired to hear and see and know what you have heard and seen
and known; but they had not attained and could not hear, and see and
know.
21 And Jesus said again, Lo, I have gone before you many moons, and I
have given to you the bread of heaven and the cup of life;
22 Have been your buckler and your stay; but now that you have learned
the way, and have the strength to stand alone, behold, I lay my body
down and go to him who is the All.
23 In forty days then we will turn our faces toward Jerusalem where I
will find the altar of the Lord and give my life in willing sacrifice
for men.
24 Let us arise and go through all the coasts of Galilee, and give a
salutation of good cheer to all the sons of God by faith.
25 And they arose and went; they entered every town and village on the
coast, and everywhere they said, The benedictions of the Christ abide
with you forevermore.
26 Now, in a certain town they went up to the synagogue upon the
Sabbath day, and Jesus taught.
27 And as he spoke, two men brought on a cot a woman bent near double
with disease; she had not risen from her bed for eighteen years
without a helping hand.
28 And Jesus laid his hand upon the woman, and he said, Arise, be free
from your infirmity.
29 And as he spoke the Word the woman found that she was straight and
strong, and she arose and walked and said, Praise God.
30 The ruler of the synagogue was filled with wrath because the healer
healed upon the Sabbath day.
31 He did not censure Jesus face to face, but turning to the
multitudes he said,
32 You men of Galilee, why do you break the laws of God? There are
six days in every week when you may work, and then you may bring the
afflicted to be healed.
33 This is the day that God has blessed, the Sabbath day in which men
may not work.
34 And Jesus said, You inconsistent scribes and Pharisees! Upon the
Sabbath day you take your beasts of burden from their stalls, and lead
them forth to eat and drink; is this not work?
35 This daughter of your father Abraham, who has been bound for
eighteen years, has come in faith to be made free.
36 Now, tell me, men, is it a crime to break her bonds and set her
free upon the Sabbath day?
37 The ruler said no more; the people all rejoiced and said, Behold
the Christ!
38 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, The kingdom of the Christ is
like a little seed that one put in the ground;
39 It grew and after many years became a mighty tree, and many people
rested in its shade, and birds built nests and reared their young
among its leafy boughs.