The King Nobody Wanted

esus had healed the sick, and the disciples had watched. Now, however, Jesus told the d

nd villages. You will tell the people what you have heard me say-that God has come to the earth to rule over men's he

lainly what th

ody. Don't take many clothes, either; you are to travel quickly, and attend to

until you go to the next place. If nobody will listen to you, go somewhere else. But before you go, warn t

reached as Jesus told them. The

ack home, with many stories about their experiences. When they were all wit

o their stories,

ome with me to some lonely place wher

knew of, near the town of Bethsaida. But they got no chance to

ciples!" somebody said. "Th

ined them from the towns and countryside round about. Jesus was the most popular man

n as Jesus did. When he stepped out of the boat, thousands of people were waiting for him on

he thought-a flock of sheep with

s glad to see them. Then he began to teach, just as he did in the cities and to

ing near. One or two of the disciples

hem away to find something to eat in the towns near b

ed for them to go away. Give th

rious or not. They said: "Do you mean that you want us to go and buy

aves of bread and a couple of fishes. But how

, "Tell them to sit

owd, and had the people sit dow

e the bread and the fish to the disciples and told them to pass the food around among the crowd. They passed it here and they passed it

of standing in the sun. They ate heartily. As they finish

"Where did Jesus get all that food?" "There were but five loaves

ave us food to eat, when there wasn't anything here!" "Why, this is just the man we have been

ere rising t

. "Jesus is the man to be king of the

ay through the crowd and disappeared. Even the disciples did not know

wd! They did not understand him at all. Did the

the wilderness. What was it that the devil had said?

if they thought he was the man to get rid of the Romans and make the country free and rich and great. Why, the

had come to do. He did not w

ambs were killed for a sacrifice. A year from now it would be Passover again. And then it would be time to go to Jerusalem once more.

y again. This time he took them so far away that no one would follow them. No one wanted very m

Here one of the rivers that flowed into the Jordan came springing out of a cave in a

r the time had come to have an important talk.

back from the dead. Others say that you are Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of th

u say that I a

ke up: "You are the Messiah-the C

d have told you! Only God himself can have shown you that I really am the Messiah, when nobody else believes it. And now you are going to have a new name, Simon. I am going to call you 'Peter' from now on, for the n

st place, you must not say anything about my being the Messiah-not just yet. And this is more important: I am not going to be

ed like that, but would instead be a great warrior and a triumphant king. In a bold vo

; he was angry. He talked to Peter in the same way

said to me just now. You're talking like everybody else. You're weak. A man who tries to save his own life is su

d. Even Peter was losing his faith again. Somehow

e the disciples saw a marvelous vision. Jesus' face became bright as the sun, and his clothes shone like the morning light. The

his time, for he did

e. Let us build three tabernacles here, one f

y heard a voice from the cloud, like the voice of God, saying:

il Jesus came and touched them. At his touch they looked up,

sus, "and tell nobod

the mountain, back to w

s, and the beauty, and the visitors from olden days, and the voice which sa

he mountaintop they