JESUS HAD now preached in nearly all parts of Galilee, except in the
middle portion, the region around Nazareth, the home of his younger
days. You remember that when he had tried to speak in Nazareth, soon
after coming from Judea, the people refused to listen to him, thinking
that one who had been only a workingman and not a Rabbi or scribe could
not teach them anything.
But Jesus loved those people in Nazareth, for many of the men had been
with him boys at school; and his own sisters lived there with their
children, boys and girls, who were his nephews and nieces. He longed to
see them all, and made up his mind to go again to Nazareth, and see if
its people would this time listen to him. On his earlier visit he had
been alone, and the men of Nazareth in their anger had tried to kill him
by throwing him down a very steep hill; but now Jesus had with him his
twelve disciples and many more who followed him from place to place. On
this visit the men of Nazareth did not venture to do him harm, because
of his many friends around him.
As before, Jesus went to the village church on the Sabbath day and
preached. Again the people listened to him with wonder at his words; but
again they said:
"Is not this the carpenter who used to make plows and hoes and tables
for us? How can he teach us?"
He could only do a few of his great works, because the people would not
believe in him. He did, indeed, lay his hands upon a few that were sick,
and made them well; but he could only wonder at the hardness of heart
in those among whom he had lived so many years.
Leaving Nazareth with a sad heart, he went around the villages in middle
Galilee, teaching in the churches and curing sickness of all kinds. As
he saw how poor the people were, how little they knew of the truth, and
how greatly they longed for it, he felt a great pity for them. They
seemed to Jesus like sheep that were lost and wandering, not having any
shepherd. He said to his disciples:
"The harvest truly is rich, but the workers in it are very few. Pray
very earnestly to the Lord of the harvest that he may send out workers
to gather in his harvest."
[Illustration: "Peace be to this house"]
Jesus knew that the time of his work in Galilee was nearly ended. There
were other parts of the land of Israel where he had not yet preached,
and he wished to visit them. He knew, too, what none but himself knew,
that in a year he would be taken away from the earth, and his disciples
would be left alone to carry on his work and preach to all the people
the news of God's kingdom. He made up his mind to send out his twelve
disciples, whom he named "the apostles," and to let them begin their
work by preaching in the villages of Galilee which he had not found time
to visit.
So he called together his twelve disciples, and divided them into pairs,
sending two men together, that they might help each other. He poured
upon them some of his own power to cure diseases and to cast out evil
spirits from men. He gave them commands about their work, to whom they
should go and how they should act. He said:
"Do not go to any city of the Gentiles, the foreigners; and keep away
from the villages of the Samaritan people. Your work just now is to be
among the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Go to the Jews throughout
the land, and tell them that the kingdom of God has come, and that they
may enter it. Cure the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse the lepers,
cast out the evil spirits from men. Give freely, without being paid; for
you have received the gift of God freely.
"Do not take with you any money of gold or silver or copper in your
girdle; nor a bag to carry food for the road; nor two shirts, nor a pair
of shoes; but go wearing only sandals on your feet. For God's workman
deserves his food, and it will be given to him.
"When you come to a village, ask for some good man, go to his house, and
stay there while you are in that village. Do not go visiting from one
house to another. When you come to a house say, 'Peace be to this
house.' If the people dwelling in that house are worthy of your peace,
then peace shall be given to them; if they are not worthy, your peace
shall come back to you. And if in any place the people will not hear you
nor give you welcome, then as you go out of that house or that city,
take off your sandals and shake the dust of that place from them as a
sign. I say to you in truth that in the day of judgment it shall be
worse for the cities that have refused you than for Sodom and Gomorrah,
the cities upon which God rained down fire.
"You are sent forth like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents,
yet harmless like doves. But you must watch against evil men, for they
will seize you and hand you over to courts to be judged; you will be
beaten in their court-rooms; you will be brought before governors and
kings, because you are my followers. Now, when they bring you up for
trial, do not be anxious about what you shall speak or how you shall say
it; for what to speak shall be given you when you need it. For it is not
you that speak, but the spirit of your Father in heaven that speaks in
you."
[Illustration: "Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of
cold water because he is my disciple, he will not lose his reward"]
Many more words Jesus spoke to his twelve disciples; and at the end of
his charge he said this:
"Whoever receives you and listens to you, it is the same as though he
received me, your teacher; and whoever receives me, receives my Father
who sent me. He that receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall
receive a prophet's reward. He who receives a good man because he is a
good man shall receive a good man's reward. And whoever gives to one of
these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple of
mine, I tell you truly, he will not lose his reward."
After giving his commands to the twelve disciples, Jesus sent them out
to preach, while he himself went to other places telling the people the
good news of the Kingdom of God.
[Illustration: The great mosque at Damascus]
A Dance; and How It Was Paid For