I have decided to keep following this course that I am on even though the opposition to Jesus seems to grow larger and larger with each passing day. I recall when we entered in the synagogue on a Sabbath Day and there was a man with a withered hand trying to worship there. The Pharisee were there also. They spoke not a word when we walked in but only watched us in stony silence. Jesus turned to the man with the withered hand and said," come here". Then he turned to the Pharisees and said," is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good work or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" They just remained there in their stony silence. I could see that Jesus was upset with them because they would rather remain silent than answer a simple question about kindness. Jesus then turned back to the man and said to him," Stretch out your hand." The man did so. Jesus then took hold of his hand and before our very eyes the hand was restored to normal. What happened next would have been funny if it were not so scary. For the Pharisees stomped out of the synagogue cackling like a bunch of old hens, feathers in an uproar, looking as if they were about to lay eggs. The scary part was that I saw them talking to some other men as they looked back and pointed at Jesus. I later asked who these men were that were talking to the Pharisees. I found out that they were Herodians, a political party who supported King Herod. I also found out that the Pharisees and the Herodians were not great friends. I thought to myself how often hate can align the worst of people together.
A Great Crowd follows Jesus (7 - 12)
Wherever we went it seems as though the crowds seem to be able to find us. We withdrew and went down to sea and yet a great crowd still followed us. They came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon and beyond the Jordan. The crowd became so great that Jesus told Simon and the others to have a boat ready for Him because the crowd might crush Him. His fame for healing had now become so great that all who had diseases tried to press around him to touch Him. The unclean spirits when they saw him fell down before Him. Then they would cry out," you are the son of God." He ordered them all not to make Him known. I pondered this statement that these men who seemed so possessed would cry out," you are the son of God" and yet the ones who were supposed to be the religious leaders seem to scorn him. It puzzled me that those who were supposed to be so evil would cry out," you are the son of God" and those who were supposed to be so good acted as if they wanted to do away with Him.
The Twelve Apostles (13 - 21)
One morning we went up on the mountain and Jesus called the following men to him. He said you twelve are my apostles. Soon I am going to send you out to preach and also to have authority to cast out demons. I later learned that this term apostle meant one sent out on a special mission. Here are the names of the twelve that he appointed Simon, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot. Judas seemed to be the smartest of all of them. Judas was clever with money and ideas of what to do with it. Though he seemed more intelligent than the others I must confess that for some reason I did not like him. We tried going back to Jesus's home but the crowd followed even there. His family approached us once and I know they were trying to help by trying to persuade him to stop what he was doing. They could see as I could see that there was only a catastrophe ahead. I even heard one of them say he is out of his mind. I do not want to say who that one was.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (22 - 30)
While we were at the home of Jesus some Scribes came down from Jerusalem. They begin to say that Jesus was possessed by an evil spirit. They said that’s how he is able to cast evil spirits out of people. I thought to myself if I was possessed by an evil spirit I would want everybody else to be so why would I cast them out. Jesus in his own way said the same thing but in a different way. He said to them how can I cast out evil spirits by evil spirits. I would be fighting against my own self. Then he became very serious, he gave the Scribes a look which frightened me. He said all sins will be forgiven men and even the blasphemy that they utter. But those who blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness. They will be guilty eternally. I must confess that I was not sure who this Holy Spirit was but for some reason I remembered what I thought was that dove that came down and landed on his shoulder the day that He was baptized in the Jordan River. For some reason the pure whiteness of that dove and the way the sun was shining so brightly when the clouds parted reminded me of something Holy.
Jesus's Mother and Brother (31 - 35)
In the time that I had been following Jesus I had come to learn that His ways were not the way that I would have done things nor was his thinking the way that I was often thinking. I was about to learn another lesson when it came to His family and the way that He thought about them. His mother and brothers had come down to the house where we were at and we found out that they wanted Him to come out to them, for one of the men shouted out, " your mother and brothers are outside seeking you." He sat in silence for a short while and then startled us with His answer,"
Who are my mother and brothers?" Then He sat silently for a short while again. You could have heard a piece of straw drop it was so quiet. Then He began to point at different disciples and say, "Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." He then got up and went outside leaving us there in our silent thoughts. I sensed that there was so much more to this man than just His ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. I also felt he wanted more from me than just for me to follow along on this journey. I knew in my heart that there was much more for me to believe or even not believe if I was going to continue on. Then I thought I must follow on to the end whatever that might be.