It took less than a week for the report that Jesus had defied the Pharisees to spread throughout all Galilee. Those who most welcomed the news were the Zealots. For a long time, they had been plotting to rebel against the Romans, but so far had found no plan that promised to be successful. They believed that Jesus was the leader for whom they had been waiting so long. He was brave. He stood up to the officials. He was popular with the common people. One of their leaders decided to find out what Jesus intended to do. His name was Simon. Well known in Galilee for his courage, everyone called him "the Zealot." He made a special trip to Capernaum that same week and came to Simon's home. Before the week was past he became a follower of Jesus. But there were many things he found it hard to understand.

"Tell me," he asked Simon and James privately, "does the Rabbi intend to set up the new kingdom now?"

Simon was cautious. "The Master has said nothing about that."

The Zealot glanced about to make sure that the door and shutters were tightly closed. "Do you not know that he could easily persuade the people to revolt against Herod?"

James was alarmed. "But we're not ready for that yet."

Simon gave him a warning glance. He still mistrusted this man. "We plan to tell everyone in this country our message," he said guardedly.

"If you are going to establish a free Jewish nation, you must do more than talk," declared the Zealot. "You should organize!"

The fishermen looked at each other, doubting how much they should say. Finally James said vaguely, "We think it won't be much longer."

"Why can't we do something definite about it?" said the Zealot.

"Do you really think he could be king of the Jews?" asked James.

"I'm certain of it!" replied the Zealot. "My people would follow him to a man!"

James looked inquiringly at Simon. "I think most of the people would be favorable, don't you?"

Simon shook his head doubtfully. "We ought to see what the Master thinks. King Herod has many Roman soldiers under his command!"

"Listen, Simon," argued James. "The Master has spent plenty of time teaching already. Everyone in Galilee has heard about the kingdom." Simon didn't reply. "He intends to fight eventually," continued James. "Didn't he say he came to bring conflict and not peace? I think it is about time to stop talking and get to work!"

Simon stared at the ground. "Well, one thing is sure," he admitted. "The Pharisees are all against us. They will keep us out of the synagogues."

"That is exactly why I think Jesus should openly declare himself king," affirmed the Zealot strongly. "It is time to go forward!"

Jesus had told the disciples to wait for him in Capernaum and had gone to the hills for prayer. He knew his work had reached a turning point. For several days he remained alone, praying and seeking wisdom from God. When he returned to Capernaum, he called the disciples together.

"My followers," he said gravely, when they were gathered about him, "many times I have told you that the Kingdom of God cannot come without suffering. Men who hate truth hate anyone who speaks the truth." The men knew Jesus had made a decision. "The Kingdom of God has been proclaimed only in Galilee," he continued. "The time has now come to carry the news to all Palestine!"

That means Judea! thought James and John at the same time. In Jerusalem the priests and Pharisees were strongest.

"Rulers will show us no mercy," said Jesus. "God is our only Source of strength. We must tell the gospel in every village and countryside. We must not miss a single Jew. You are to be my missionaries to this nation!"

The men stirred and glanced at one another. The Zealot vigorously nodded his approval. No hiding in the hills for them; they were going forward! Fear mixed with eagerness sent chills through them.

Jesus rose and stood facing Simon, who went to his knees before him. Jesus laid his hand on Simon's head and, lifting up his eyes, prayed for him. He asked the Heavenly Father to strengthen him and to give him the wisdom and courage he would need for the important task he was about to undertake. One by one, Jesus blessed each of the twelve men. He knew them better than they knew themselves and he prayed simply and frankly for each one. Awe filled them as they listened. The work was so great, and they were so weak! They were to teach and heal as Jesus himself had been doing! A new spirit gripped them.

"Shall we too be able to drive out demons and raise the dead, Master?" asked Simon.

"The power of the Kingdom is yours," declared Jesus. "You have both the right and the power to destroy evil wherever you find it—whether demons, sickness, or spiritual blindness."

Then he gave them instructions for the journey that lay before them. "You are to travel two by two. Preach only to Jews, not to Samaritans or gentiles, for the time is short. Your work is to seek everywhere the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Return when this is done.

"Take only a walking stick and one pair of sandals—neither food nor money nor extra clothes."

"How shall we live, Master? Where shall we stay?" asked Simon.

"When you come to a strange town, find someone who will open his home to you while you work there," answered Jesus. "Once you have decided with whom you will stay, do not change. Hold fast to your first friend."

"What if no one will take us in?" asked Andrew.

"If you find no one who will help you, leave that town immediately," answered Jesus. "God will judge any town that will not hear your message.

"This is your gospel: Tell all Jews that God has come among us. Tell them that his power is right now at work. Tell them that he is the ruler of all who trust him. Warn them to repent and turn to him now." The disciples realized that they would have to face the people without Jesus.

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves," warned Jesus. "You will be persecuted. Never put your trust in persons in high positions, for they will betray you.

"If you are put in prison and brought into court, do not be anxious about what you should say. The spirit of God your Father will help you, and everyone who hears you will learn the good news that God's Kingdom has come."

"Master, how shall we ever have strength to do it?" burst out Andrew.

"Do not be afraid!" Jesus was standing now, ready to bid them farewell. "God has given you his own power. You carry news of eternal life; you are doing the work of God's Kingdom!"

A few days later, one of the Twelve visited Nazareth. He saw the mother and brothers of Jesus and told them how Jesus was sending missionaries of the Kingdom to every village in Palestine. Mary was at once fearful.

"That will put him in great danger," she said nervously.

"He has already made a big enough fool of himself," remarked one of her sons rudely. He was a strong young fellow about twenty-five. "The trouble with him is that people make too much of him."

"Don't speak that way, Jude," protested Mary. She had spent many sleepless nights wondering if the rumor could be true that Jesus had become a fanatic and was not in his right mind.

"Bah! The only trouble with him is that popularity has gone to his head!"

"What should I do, Jude?" asked Mary. "He is bound to get into some kind of trouble if he goes on like this."

"Oh, I don't know." Jude wished his mother would stop worrying. "Perhaps we can make him come home."

Mary snatched at the suggestion. "Let us go to him right away." She prepared hastily for the trip, greatly relieved to be doing something about her strange son Jesus.

Upon arriving at Capernaum, Mary and Jude went directly to the home of Simon where they knew Jesus stayed. They found the courtyard crowded. Mary was dismayed.

"Don't worry," said Jude. "He will come when I tell him you are here waiting for him." He began to shove through the tightly packed people. There were angry murmurs, but Jude paid no attention. As he got farther into the courtyard he could hear a man shouting angrily. That's not Jesus' voice, he thought. Finally he reached a place where he could see his brother.

Behind Jesus stood some of the disciples who had already returned from their mission. All around him were sick and lame people, but he was not healing them. He was standing silently before the man whose harsh voice Jude had heard. The man was completely out of control of himself. Jude couldn't see why he was so angry, but he thought this must have been going on for some time.

"Who is the angry one?" he asked a bystander.

"Some scribe."

The scribe had almost run out of breath, but Jesus still said nothing. Irritated by Jesus' silence, he threw a final accusation at him.

"You false prophet! You are a complete fake!"

A man in the crowd suddenly cried out: "He is not false! He tells us the truth as no man ever did."

"He has brought healing to many," added another. "How could he do that if he were not sent from God?" Others nodded.

The angry scribe turned on the man. "Many magicians can heal and drive out demons! I can show you a hundred right here in Galilee who can do anything he can! Bah! This prophet of yours is a fake!"

The man did not know what to answer. "I'll tell you why he can drive out demons," snapped the enraged scribe. "I'll tell you! The prince of all demons has got hold of him! That's why he can do it!" Scornfully he drove home his point. "Why shouldn't he be stronger than the demons? He is possessed by Satan himself."

Simon flushed. The charge was crude and ridiculous. He opened his mouth to deny it, but he realized he could not. How could he prove the scribe wrong? Simon's anger turned to shame.

Jesus' voice was calm and controlled, when at last he spoke. "Would Satan cast out his own helpers?" he asked the man, coolly. There was a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "A nation divided within itself will fall! Has Satan risen up against himself and given me power to destroy his own power over men?"

Jude was amazed at the power of his brother's words. This did not sound as though he were out of his mind!

Jesus did not give the scribe a chance to reply. "No!" he declared, speaking now to all the people. "I have no demon. No one can enter a man's house and take his property without first binding the owner with ropes. I have power to cast out demons because I have overcome the prince of all evil!"

The answer could not be denied. Looking sternly at the scribe, Jesus said: "I tell you, men will be forgiven all their sins and blasphemies except one: If you harden yourself against the Holy Spirit, you commit eternal sin!" Jesus then raised his voice. "By the very finger of God I cast out demons—and because I have overcome the evil one himself, God is now ruling among you!"

An excited woman cried out, "How fortunate your mother is to have such a son!"

"The person who is truly fortunate is the one who hears and believes the Word of God," answered Jesus quickly.

Jude looked at the woman startled. She had said his mother was fortunate—but to Mary Jesus was a great worry! Remembering why he had come, Jude began to push his way toward Jesus. When finally he could get no farther, he touched the shoulder of a man ahead of him. "Would you tell the Rabbi that his mother and brothers want to see him outside?"

When the man delivered the message to Jesus, the disciples stepped forward and started to clear a path, but Jesus put out his hand and stopped them. He looked around at the faces of the loyal men who had left everything to follow him and at the sick and anxious people sitting on the hard-packed dirt of the courtyard.

"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" The words were gentle, very different from his tone a moment before. "I tell you, you are my mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother!

"A true missionary of the Kingdom must be willing to give up his own family for my sake and take the people of God's Kingdom for his family. Anyone who thinks more of his own mother, wife, or child, than he does of the Kingdom cannot be my disciple."

"Master, we have given up everything to follow you," said Simon.

"You may have to give even your life, Simon," answered Jesus. "Yet great is your reward in heaven."

Jude pushed his way out of the courtyard. The first thing he said to his mother was, "Jesus seems like another person."

Despair darkened Mary's expression. "Do you mean that what the people are saying about him is true?" she asked.

"No, no. I didn't mean that," Jude said quickly. "He is different in another way. He is ... he is not like us any more." He tried to describe Jesus but could not.

"Well, what happened?" Mary was relieved but puzzled. "What did he do?" Jude then told her all that he had seen from the moment he had entered the courtyard. She listened, wondering at the son who had left her home only a few months before. When Jude finished she turned to leave.

"Wait, mother!" said Jude. "Don't you want to see him?"

"There is no reason for us to see him, my son," replied Mary quietly. "He doesn't need us to care for him. This is God's work that he is doing." That same day Mary returned to Nazareth, filled with wonder at the things that had happened.

Not only Mary but the disciples too were amazed at Jesus' power. Even the Zealot, the most eager to start spreading the news of the Kingdom, saw how much he needed to learn before attempting to do Jesus' work. At the table that evening, Simon spoke the feeling of them all.

"Master, how shall we ever be strong enough to be your missionaries?"

"Whoever knows God, lives by his power, Simon," answered Jesus. "The evil one does not rule such men."

"But I believe in God, Master," said Simon. "Yet I cannot heal anyone." He paused and then added in a tone of despair, "I could never have answered that scribe!"

"Simon, if you had real faith in God—even a tiny grain—you would be able to do great things."

"I have prayed many times and still I do not have the strength," said Simon humbly.

"Listen to me," said Jesus. "Suppose you were to go to a friend's house late at night and say: 'Friend, will you lend me three loaves of bread? A visitor has arrived unexpectedly and I am out of food.' Suppose he were to answer: 'Don't bother me. I'm in bed and the door is locked. I can't get up.' What would you do?"

After a pause, John answered, "Why, you just keep on knocking until he does get up!" The disciples smiled.

"True!" said Jesus. "He may not get up because of friendliness, but if you keep on knocking, he'll give you the bread just to get rid of you! But God is your friend! Will he not give you what you ask? But you must not grow weary in asking.

"In a certain town," he continued, "there was a very unfair judge. He didn't care about anyone. There was a poor widow in that town who was being mistreated. Again and again she went to the judge and asked him to help her—but he never paid any attention. Finally he said to himself: 'I don't care about this woman, but she is becoming a nuisance. Perhaps if I give her what she wants she will stop pestering me.'" Jesus said very emphatically, "If this wicked man finally helped a widow because she kept on asking for justice, won't God, who is good and just, answer you if you pray sincerely?"

Simon saw how little real faith he had in spite of all his praying. How often he had thought to himself. Now I'll pray and see what happens. He had been testing God, not trusting him!

"O Master," he urged, "won't you teach us to pray as John the Baptizer taught his disciples?"

"When you pray, say: 'Our Father in heaven, holy be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Most of the time, the disciples had to admit, they thought only of persuading God to do what they wanted.

"Ask your Heavenly Father, 'Give us today the food we will need to do our work tomorrow,'" said Jesus. "Anyone who serves God trusts him for all things he needs day by day.

"Then you must ask God to forgive you your sins. But if you are not willing to forgive others, do not think for one moment that God will forgive you."

"Master, how often shall someone sin against me and I go on forgiving him?" asked Peter. "Seven times?"

"Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven." Jesus paused and then went on. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. The king ordered one man, with his wife and children, to be sold into slavery, and all his possessions sold for cash so that the debt could be met.

"The servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Master have patience with me and I will pay you every penny.' Out of pity, the king released him and forgave him the whole debt.

"On his way home, the servant met a fellow servant who owed him a very small sum of money. He grabbed the poor fellow by the throat and demanded, 'You pay me what you owe me!' The man fell on his knees and begged, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you.' But he refused. Instead, he put him into prison until the debt should be paid. The other servants saw how unfair this was and they told the king what had happened.

"The king called for the unjust servant and said: 'You wicked servant! When you asked, I forgave you all that you owed me—should you not have been merciful to your fellow servant, as I was merciful to you?' Very angry, the king threw the unjust man into jail to remain there until his whole debt was paid.

"Neither can you be forgiven," concluded Jesus, "unless you forgive others from your heart."

After a moment John said: "Do you really think God pays attention to us. Master? He seems so far away. Oh, I know he watches over the nation—but I am not sure he cares what happens to me!"

Jesus nodded toward Simon. "Simon loves his children," he said. "Simon, if your little son should ask you for a piece of bread, would you give him a rock to eat? Or if he asked for a broiled fish, would you give him a poisonous snake instead? Or if he asked for an egg, would you give him a scorpion with a deadly stinger?"

"No, of course not!" exclaimed Simon.

"Well, then, if you can do that much for your children, do you not think that God will do far more for those who trust him?"

Jesus lifted his arms to pray. It seemed to Simon that Jesus was praying specially for him when he asked the Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit upon them all. As they left the place of prayer, Simon and Andrew dropped behind the others.

"What I cannot understand," said Andrew, "is how he knows all these things. Where did he learn it all?"

"It is strange," agreed Simon. "You would almost think he came down from heaven, wouldn't you?"