When Jesus Wept - By Bodie Page 0,39

see or cured a rotting leper of disease. Yes, they were entertained and amazed by such happenings. But most of the mob followed Jesus for a different reason—they wanted bread.

The last miracle I witnessed in Galilee was just before a Passover. Jesus and his inner core of disciples had withdrawn to the wilderness for a time.

Would he come to Jerusalem for the holy days? No one knew for certain.

Mary had decided she would come home with us to Bethany. Martha and I set out ahead of Mary. We determined we would wait at an inn, and Mary would join us after she conferred with Centurion Marcus Longinus.

This centurion was a God-fearer. He now also believed in Jesus. Marcus told Mary that he was taking a Roman official to hear Jesus teach, knowing that Jesus only spoke to the people of peace. He promised Mary he would dedicate his life to warning Jesus of the plots hatched against him and help protect him from opposition.

After Mary parted from the centurion, she and her servants joined us at the inn for the journey to Bethany. We heard from a group of travelers that Jesus was teaching and healing nearby. I longed to hear the message of hope he would preach to those who were making pilgrimage to Jerusalem. I sent Mary and Martha ahead to Bethany with the servants.

The same morning at sunrise, I joined throngs of pilgrims flowing like a river uphill through Galilee—thousands followed thousands seeking Jesus. I walked quickly, passing carts laden with sick and crippled people. The story of Jairus’s daughter was passed from group to group.

“Jesus is near Capernaum!”

“No, he is closer to Tiberias!”

“What if he’s already gone to Jerusalem for Passover?”

“No! He won’t go now. The Herodians and the Pharisees want him dead.”

Zealots and rebels traveled with us. These men had dreams of crowning Jesus king of the Jews and rousing the multitude to arm themselves and fight for our freedom. I had heard enough of Jesus’ teaching by then to be sure that he was not interested in supplanting Herod Antipas. Jesus had said many times, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

None of us knew exactly what Jesus meant. Where exactly was his kingdom if not here on earth? Our existence was only in this world. Like everyone who followed him, I longed for Jesus to declare himself king in Jerusalem and restore Israel to the glory of Solomon. It was clear that the political leaders feared him. Soldiers and Temple officials walked the same road as we did, only for different reasons. I wondered who was at the front of our procession and if, indeed, anyone really knew where Jesus was.

If Jesus was from a different world, how could we be citizens of his kingdom? How could Jesus call on us to fight for a kingdom not of this world?

I was too far back to approach Jesus, but I heard his voice as I came to the edge of the great gathering. “What’s the Kingdom of God like? It’s like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.”

Wildflowers and new grass were trampled on either side of the highway. I climbed the hill overlooking the natural amphitheater. The site was remote, an equal distance between Capernaum and Bethsaida. I guessed that the swale was carpeted with about twenty-five thousand men, women, and children. I reckoned there were at least five thousand civilian males of military age. More were gathered here in this wilderness than the population of any Judean city except for Jerusalem and Caesarea. Clearly the mustard seed had bloomed and grown into a tree. And the Kingdom tree was filled with flocks of birds.

Jesus’ deep voice echoed in the hollow and reached the ears of all. “A certain man was preparing a great banquet for his friends. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come on. Everything is ready!’ But they all made excuses …

“Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant: ‘Go out into the streets and alleys in the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant replied, ‘Sir, what you have ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

“Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come

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