The next day, Jesus left Capernaum with the Twelve, traveling swiftly on the main highway toward Tiberias, Jericho, and Jerusalem. Early in the afternoon, a wind rose from the south. The sky grew dark; clouds scudded overhead as the disciples plodded along the dusty road. The Lake of Galilee lay to their left. When the sun shone it was refreshing, blue and cool. Now the water was gray, whipped into angry waves by the wind. Only a few months before, the men had nearly drowned in a gale like this.

To their right were bleak hills, bare of trees. An anxious shepherd was driving his sheep to shelter. The black, windy sky reminded the disciples of all the fears that filled them: fear of their own future and distrust of one another.

"Where can we stay for the night. Master?" asked Andrew, raising his voice above a gust that snatched the words from his lips.

Jesus glanced at the sky. "Perhaps we can find an inn at Tiberias."

The wind was hot and laden with dust. Its choking heat kept their skin dry even though the men perspired freely. They covered their faces with their robes to avoid breathing dust.

The air was thick; they could not see the sun, though it was fully four hours before sunset. They could not even see the crest of the ridge rising above them to the right.

"If the wind changes to the southwest, this is sure to turn to rain," remarked James, almost shouting. John nodded. A moment later they heard Andrew call to them.

"Look there!" he shouted. "Up the hill." He was pointing to a tumble-down shed a few yards from the road to their right.

Greatly relieved, the whole group left the road and in a moment were inside the shelter. "We are lucky to find this," said James, throwing the cover off his face. "It is getting cooler, and the wind is changing."

The disciples had hardly caught their breath when they heard a familiar sound. "Sheep!" exclaimed Philip. An instant later a tightly packed flock of frightened sheep crowded into the shed. It overflowed in a moment, but the bleating animals kept on pushing in. Suddenly their shepherd stood in the midst of the men.

"Oh!" He was completely surprised at finding people in his shed.

"We were looking for shelter from the wind and rain," explained Peter.

"Oh ... why yes!" replied the man. He was embarrassed in the presence of all these strangers. "This is a very poor old shed," he said, smiling apologetically. Shyly he turned away from the disciples and began to count his sheep.

The men watched. He was very slow and started over again three times. They smiled at each other as though to say, "A simple fellow, isn't he?"

The flimsy little shelter rocked under the gusts of the gale, now at its height. The shepherd was too busy counting to notice. Suddenly he jerked up straight. "There is one missing!" Before the disciples could stop him, he plunged into the windy darkness.

"Come back!" shouted James.

"One is missing!" A heavy gust almost drowned the shepherd's reply.

"You'll get hurt!" The man was gone. "How can he ever find his way?" protested James to the others. "There are gullies and high rocks! He will be killed in the dark!"

"He has practically all the sheep in," declared John. "He could wait a little while till this lets up."

"He would leave his flock here and search all night for a sheep," remarked Jesus.

"He ought not to risk his life like that," answered James.

"A good shepherd is ready to face death to find just one sheep," said Jesus.

Death! The twelve men had been able to think of nothing but fear and death the whole day through. Why did the Master talk about it so much?

At that instant the shepherd came back. Under his arm was a lamb, frightened but not harmed. "There," sighed the man, putting it gently down. "Now all are safe."

"You are hurt!" exclaimed Peter. He knelt and gently touched the man's ankle. The shepherd flinched, but said, "Oh, it is nothing!"

"Let me bandage it," insisted Peter. The man sat down; he was in pain. "How did this happen?" asked Peter, tearing a strip of cloth from the long loose shirt he wore.

"I heard the little one crying and ran toward him," answered the man. "I must have stumbled on a sharp rock."

Jesus was watching the man. "You are a faithful shepherd," he said.

The shepherd looked up quickly and smiled. This man understood! But the disciples were quiet. They knew Jesus was thinking about his own work in Jerusalem.

The wind had veered around and now blew from the southwest. Spattering drops turned into a steady, cold, driving rainstorm.

"Perhaps it will settle the dust," said Andrew hopefully. He was thinking how dejected the sheep looked that had not found room in the shed when he felt cold water on his back. "This place leaks!" he exclaimed. Soon all the men were moving uncomfortably about, trying to find places to stand where they could keep dry. But it was hopeless. The rain poured through the cracks in the old roof.

"We might as well be walking outside as standing here," declared the Zealot in disgust. The suggestion seemed sensible.

"Thank you for the shelter," said Jesus to the shepherd.

The rain had not let up at all, but the men plunged into the night. "Be careful of that ankle," said Peter, the last to go. The shepherd smiled in farewell.

Two hours later the company of miserable disciples arrived in Tiberias. For an hour and a half they had been soaked to the skin. The wind had become quite cold, and they were chilled through. Only after they entered the city of Tiberias did they find an inn where there was room for them.

"This city is crowded with people going to Jerusalem for the feast," observed James, as the disciples stripped off their wet clothing.

"I wonder how Herod likes to have his home city full of loyal Jews," replied John.

"I just hope he does not find out we are here."

The disciples were alarmed when Jesus insisted on teaching the next day in the market place, where people gathered to gossip and buy food.

"What if the tyrant discovers that we are here?" inquired Andrew fearfully. "He could throw us into prison before we could escape!"

"This is an important city for us," replied Jesus. "We must tell the news of the Kingdom to all these pilgrims who are traveling to Jerusalem." Nervously the disciples kept watch for the Roman police while Jesus talked to the people.

It was well that they did. "Here come some Pharisees," warned John. The men were stepping around carts piled with food, taking care to avoid the heavily burdened donkeys that crowded the street. The people dropped back to let them pass. The two Pharisees smiled as they came up to Jesus.

"They seem friendly!" said John, astonished.

"Don't let them deceive you," warned the Zealot.

Jesus received the men graciously. The first said: "Rabbi, we have come to warn you. You had better get out of Tiberias as soon as possible. We have private information from Herod's court that he intends to kill you!"

The disciples were alarmed. The Zealot was frowning and looking at the Pharisees very suspiciously. "Why do you tell us this?" he asked bluntly. They ignored his question, waiting to see what Jesus would say.

Jesus' answer was stern: "Go tell that sly fox that he does not have the power to stop my work!" The people were startled. How did he dare speak like this about the king? "Now I am preaching the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven and helping people," continued Jesus. "When I finish this work I will leave—but I will go to Jerusalem only when the time comes for me to be delivered up to death!"

"Unless you leave Tiberias at once, you will certainly die here," said the second Pharisee.

"No." There was bitter humor in Jesus' tone. "It would hardly be right for a prophet to be killed anywhere but in Jerusalem. It is always our holy city that kills the messengers whom God sends!"

The Pharisees turned and walked away. "Well!" exclaimed John. "For men who want to save us from Herod they certainly act oddly."

"They care nothing about our lives," said the Zealot sourly. "They are just trying to scare us out of Galilee. Herod knows he cannot put us into prison—there would be a riot!"

The people were indeed very loyal to Jesus. Many who had listened to him in their home villages greeted him with great joy when they found him teaching in Tiberias and refused to go on without him.

"We want you to lead us to Jerusalem," declared one man from Capernaum who had often listened to Jesus at the lakeside.

"I must stay here several days to teach others who travel through," answered Jesus.

"Then we shall wait." More and more people joined this man in asking Jesus to lead them to Jerusalem.

The disciples were greatly worried by this. "Herod is sure to hear of this!" exclaimed Andrew, anxiously watching the people crowd around Jesus.

"He must know we are here by now," said John. Any moment the men expected the officers of King Herod to come to arrest them. They were greatly relieved when Jesus led a small group of especially loyal followers into the hills west of Tiberias.

"At least we are safe out here," observed John as they climbed the brown hill above Herod's capital city. When Jesus stopped, they could see the whole Lake of Galilee spread below them. High above the city rose the towers of Herod's palace. Peter looked northward to where Capernaum lay. Beyond the city he could see Mount Hermon, majestic and cool. A few days before, he had stood on its slopes and gazed at Capernaum, where his wife and children lived. Then he had expected to see them soon. But now he knew he might never see them again.

A ridge concealed the group with Jesus from the road which led west from Tiberias to the Mediterranean Sea. "Tonight we shall rest in the hills," said Jesus to them; there were about seventy beside the disciples. "Tomorrow I will send you to prepare my way to Jerusalem."

The thought of leaving Herod's territory cheered the disciples, but they had not heard all that their Master had to say. "For a few more days I am going to remain here to summon these people to repent and confess that God is King," continued Jesus. "You are to stay with me. I am sending these others into the cities that I will visit." He turned to the Seventy: "Declare the good news of the rule of God. Tell them that the Kingdom is here. Return to me on the third day. Then we shall set out for Jerusalem!"

The people began to talk excitedly with one another. "You must go two by two," continued Jesus, raising his voice. "You have a great work to do, and now is the time to do it! Pray, therefore, that you will find many who will believe your message of the Kingdom of God and help you. Do not let anyone stop you, but press on to tell the gospel in every city where Jews live. You will be in danger; I send you out like sheep among wolves. Just the same, have courage, for you carry good news. Preach this message: 'The rule of God is here; give yourselves to him'!"

After the Seventy had gone, great crowds continued to throng Jesus as he preached in the market place of Tiberias. The anxiety that the disciples first felt when Jesus decided to await the return of the Seventy gradually gave way to optimism when they saw the great popularity of Jesus.

"The king knows he cannot arrest us," said the Zealot. "Look at this crowd!"

"It will not be long before we are in Jerusalem!" said John. Jerusalem! The disciples began to talk eagerly about the new kingdom.

"Nothing must stop us!" declared James and John. When the Seventy returned, they were enthusiastic.

"Everyone listened to us!" declared the first two men to return. "People brought their sick to us. They believed our teaching! Even the demons obeyed us!"

"Here is a man who wants to become a follower," said his companion.

A third person stepped up to Jesus and said very sincerely, "I will go with you anywhere."

Jesus looked at him keenly and said: "My way is not easy. The foxes in the woods have holes to sleep in. Even the wild birds have nests—but I have no home and no place to give you."

"I will follow you anywhere," said the man again.

Through the day others returned. Every hour the disciples heard good reports of the success of the Seventy. At sunset all the followers whom Jesus had sent out gathered in the hills. The bright rays of the sinking sun lighted Jesus' face as he raised his hand to quiet the excited men.

"Satan is utterly defeated!" he declared. "The power of God is yours! Nothing can stand in the way of God's rule!" The people could not restrain their excitement. They burst into a babble of conversation. One man cried out, "Master, we even have power over demons!"

Jesus answered quickly. "You should rejoice because you know what it is to be a part of God's Kingdom—not because you can do miracles!" He raised his arms to pray. Like the silent shadow that had stolen over them as the sun sank from sight, a reverent hush settled over the crowd.

"Father in heaven, I thank thee that thou hast concealed thyself from men who think they are wise. I praise thee that thou hast revealed all these things to the humble and the simple. I praise thee that it is thy purpose to rule over all who are willing to give their hearts to thee."

While the group were returning to their lodging in Tiberias, James and John made a discovery that shocked and angered them. One of the Seventy had been turned roughly away from a town on the border of Samaria. Indignantly the two fishermen came with the man to Jesus.

"This man was driven out of a village in Samaria," they said angrily. "Let us call down fire from the sky and burn up these people!"

"No!" commanded Jesus. "We have not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

"Why should these worthless Samaritans be allowed to stand in the way of the Kingdom of God?" demanded James hotly. "We should destroy them. They are enemies of God!"

"Our own towns in Galilee have rejected us as harshly as any town in Samaria," answered Jesus. He pointed northward toward the villages on the Lake of Galilee. His voice sent a chill through the fishermen: "O Bethsaida, you are doomed—you are doomed! If my miracles had been done in Tyre or Sidon, they would have repented long ago. But you have turned your back on me! And you, Capernaum! Will you become great? No! You shall be utterly destroyed for your sin!"

These towns—the ones James and John knew and loved the best—Jesus condemned because they had not accepted his gospel! Did he believe Galilee had rejected him? Of what mighty destruction was he speaking?

By morning the fishermen had forgotten Jesus' somber warning. The little waves on the lake sparkled in the brightness of the sun. As Jesus' followers walked briskly with him along the road toward Jerusalem, they could talk of nothing but their arrival in the holy city.

"We shall be welcomed in Jerusalem," said Peter. "See how well liked the Master is by all the pilgrims!"

"That is true," agreed a man from Capernaum. "But just the same, Pilate is a dangerous man. Did you hear what he did at the last festival?"

"No," answered James. "What was that?"

"Some Zealots from Galilee started a riot in the Temple. I did not see what happened myself, but they say that the Roman soldiers put a stop to the trouble and within a few hours Pilate crucified twelve of the Zealots." He looked at the others. "There were many Galileans in Jerusalem—but that did not stop Pilate!"

"But we are not going to start a riot," James hastened to say. "As Judas says, we will work from the inside until the right time." Peter glanced curiously at the other men. No doubt of the future seemed to cross their minds. Peter restrained a desire to interrupt. Finally James turned to him and asked, "Do you think Jesus would let himself be trapped by the officials?"

Very forcefully Peter answered: "I do not think he will be trapped. I do not know what will happen. But do not forget what he said; again and again he has told us that he will be killed in Jerusalem!"

"Oh, I am sure he doesn't mean it the way it sounds," said James hastily. "He was discouraged when he said that."

"Just the same, he definitely said his work in Jerusalem would cost his life!"

"There will be no new kingdom for any of us if that happens!" replied James.