Paper 155 Overview: Fleeing Through Northern Galilee

Paper 155 presents a pivotal period in Jesus' ministry when he and his twenty-four apostles and evangelists retreated northward from the increasing hostility of religious authorities, pausing first near Kheresa before traveling to Caesarea-Philippi and eventually toward Phoenicia. During this journey, Jesus delivered profound discourses on the nature of true religion, contrasting the religion of the spirit with the religion of authority that had become institutionalized in Jewish tradition. These teachings constitute some of the most direct and transformative spiritual guidance recorded in Jesus' ministry, addressing the fundamental contrast between intellectual conformity to religious tradition and the vibrant personal spiritual experience that characterizes authentic faith.

The journey documented in this paper reflects a transitional phase in Jesus' work, as he deliberately shifted focus from public ministry to a more intensive period of teaching his close followers. Through his discourse on true religion near Luz and his second discourse while paused on the Phoenician road, Jesus articulated a revolutionary understanding of religion that emphasized personal spiritual experience, progressive revelation, and the freedom of the individual to pursue truth without being bound by tradition or authority. These teachings established the foundation for what would become the core spiritual message of the gospel of the kingdom: that true religion is not about conformity to established beliefs but about the living discovery of God within the soul of the believer.

Jesus and his twenty-four followers landed near Kheresa on a Sunday and moved to a familiar park south of Bethsaida-Julias, where they spent the night. Before retiring, the Master gathered his companions to discuss plans for their upcoming tour through Batanea and northern Galilee, eventually continuing to the Phoenician coast. This gathering marked the beginning of a strategic withdrawal from areas where hostility toward Jesus was increasing, while simultaneously providing an opportunity for more concentrated teaching of his closest followers.

This brief respite in the familiar camping place served as a transition point between the increasingly confrontational public ministry in more populated areas and the more secluded journey that would follow. The Master used this opportunity to prepare his followers for the changing nature of their work, as they would now be traveling through regions where they might encounter different cultural perspectives and challenges. The planned route through northern territories and ultimately to the gentile regions of Phoenicia signaled Jesus' intention to broaden the outreach of his message beyond the traditional Jewish communities where much of his previous teaching had occurred.

Jesus began his discourse by referencing the Psalmist's question about why the heathen rage and the peoples plot in vain against the Lord and his anointed. He immediately clarified that while the first part of this prophecy was being fulfilled in their present experience, the remainder reflected erroneous ideas about the Son of Man's mission on earth. Jesus emphasized that his kingdom was founded on love, proclaimed in mercy, and established through unselfish service—not through divine wrath or judgment. He directly challenged the traditional interpretations that portrayed God as wrathful, instead describing a Father who welcomes the so-called "heathen" with open arms of mercy and affection, seeing them as ignorant and untaught brethren rather than objects of divine anger.

Jesus then turned his critique toward his followers, pointing out that while the "heathen" were energetic and focused in their pursuits because of their narrow outlook, his own disciples were "vacillating and indefinite" in their conduct. He challenged them to stop "regretting the past, whining over the present, and vainly hoping for the future" and instead to take the kingdom by "spiritual assault" through decisive action. This pointed criticism revealed Jesus' frustration with the hesitancy and uncertainty that characterized his followers, comparing their ineffectiveness unfavorably with the purposeful determination of those who opposed them but whose motivations stemmed from ignorance rather than malice.

The Master concluded this section with a profound teaching on truth-coordination, warning against the dangers of becoming one-sided and overspecialized like the Pharisees, who had become "so narrowed by tradition that they are blinded by prejudice and hardened by fear." He contrasted their approach with that of the Greeks, who had "a science without religion," noting that both approaches represented a "narrow and confused disintegration of truth." Jesus proclaimed that salvation required becoming truth-coordinated, which would enable his followers to exemplify a "beautiful wholeness of righteousness" that would naturally draw others to them. He established that the effectiveness of their message would be measured by how completely they themselves lived the truth-coordinated life.

Though Jesus performed no public work during their two-week sojourn near Caesarea-Philippi, the apostles held numerous quiet evening meetings in the city, and believers occasionally visited their camp to converse with the Master. Few new converts joined them during this period, but Jesus spoke with the apostles daily, helping them recognize that a new phase of their work was beginning. They were coming to understand that the "kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink but the realization of the spiritual joy of the acceptance of divine sonship," a pivotal shift from material to spiritual conceptions of the kingdom.

This time proved challenging for the eleven apostles, who found themselves somewhat depressed without Peter's enthusiastic presence. Despite making few converts, they gained valuable insights through their daily conferences with Jesus. They learned that the Jews were spiritually stagnant because they had "crystallized truth into a creed," transforming what should have been "signposts of spiritual guidance and progress" into "boundary lines of self-righteous exclusiveness." This fundamental insight identified the fatal flaw in religions of authority that sacrifice vitality for structure and preservation.

The apostles gained profound understanding during this period, learning to see human personalities in terms of their eternal potential rather than merely their temporal status. They discovered that many people could be led to love the unseen God by first being taught to love their visible brothers and sisters, giving new meaning to Jesus' teaching about unselfish service. Additional lessons included insights about the dangers of allowing sacredness to become attached to non-sacred things, the definition of true religion as "heartfelt loyalty to one's highest and truest convictions," and the understanding that spiritually-motivated religion makes all of life more meaningful by "filling it with high purposes, dignifying it with transcendent values, inspiring it with superb motives, all the while comforting the human soul with a sublime and sustaining hope." Jesus repeatedly emphasized the danger of accepting religious symbols and ceremonies as substitutes for authentic spiritual experience.

On Thursday morning, June 9, after receiving word from David's messengers regarding the progress of the kingdom movement in Bethsaida, the group of twenty-five teachers departed from Caesarea-Philippi to begin their journey toward the Phoenician coast. They navigated around marsh country by way of Luz to the junction with the Magdala-Mount Lebanon trail road, then proceeded to the crossing with the road leading to Sidon, arriving there by Friday afternoon. This carefully planned route represented a strategic withdrawal from areas of increasing hostility while simultaneously extending their ministry into new territories.

During a lunch break beneath an overhanging ledge of rock near Luz, Jesus delivered what his apostles considered one of his most remarkable addresses. The discourse was prompted by Simon Peter's question about why they were fleeing from their enemies rather than confronting them, especially since "the Father in heaven knows all things" and his spirit supported their work in establishing the kingdom. Thomas added his own question, asking what was fundamentally wrong with the religion of their enemies in Jerusalem and what constituted the real difference between their beliefs when all professed to serve the same God.

Jesus indicated he would address Thomas's question rather than Peter's, recognizing that explaining their avoidance of conflict with Jewish authorities might be easily misunderstood. This strategic choice to focus on the nature of true religion rather than tactical considerations reflected Jesus' priority of providing his apostles with fundamental spiritual understanding that would sustain them regardless of external circumstances. The decision to address the deeper theological question rather than the immediate practical concern demonstrated Jesus' consistent approach of addressing root principles rather than superficial manifestations of problems.

Jesus began his discourse on religion by identifying its dual origins, natural and revelatory, and distinguishing three manifestations of religious devotion: primitive religion (the semi-natural, instinctive urge to fear mysterious energies and worship superior forces), the religion of civilization (the intellectual theology established by religious tradition), and true religion (the revelation of supernatural values and partial insight into eternal realities as demonstrated in human experience). While not belittling primitive religion, Jesus clarified that the essential difference between the religion of the mind and the religion of the spirit was that the former relies on ecclesiastical authority while the latter is "wholly based on human experience."

The Master elaborated that less developed societies would naturally persist in childlike, superstitious ceremonies characteristic of primitive religious practices, and many individuals would continue to prefer religions of authority that require only intellectual assent rather than active spiritual participation. He described how established religions provide "a ready refuge to which the distracted and distraught soul of man may flee when harassed by fear and tormented by uncertainty," requiring as payment "only a passive and purely intellectual assent." In contrast, the religion of the spirit demands "effort, struggle, conflict, faith, determination, love, loyalty, and progress," making it a challenging but infinitely more rewarding path for those brave enough to undertake "those faith voyages of daring adventure out upon the high seas of unexplored truth."

Jesus directly addressed the impending conflict with the religious establishment at Jerusalem, explaining that they had "formulated the various doctrines of their traditional teachers and the prophets of other days into an established system of intellectual beliefs, a religion of authority." He declared that he and his followers would soon begin proclaiming "a new religion—a religion which is not a religion in the present-day meaning of that word," one that makes its primary appeal to the divine spirit residing within human minds and derives its authority from "the fruits of its acceptance that will so certainly appear in the personal experience of all who really and truly become believers." He challenged his twenty-four listeners to choose between the easy path of conformity to an established religion or the more difficult but spiritually rewarding journey of proclaiming "a better way of salvation." Rather than accepting an immediate response, Jesus instructed them to meditate privately and find their "unemotional answer" in communion with the Father, demonstrating his respect for genuine, considered spiritual decision-making rather than emotional reactivity.

As the group paused in the shade of a hillside later that day, Jesus delivered a second discourse on religion at his followers' request. He acknowledged their courage in leaving behind the security of traditional religious authority for "the assurances of the spirit of adventurous and progressive faith." He warned them against confusing human interpretations with divine revelation, reminding them that while God spoke through ancient prophets, his communication of truth continued beyond their era. Jesus urged them to "commit not the folly of calling that divine which is wholly human" while remaining open to recognizing truth regardless of its apparent source.

Jesus called his followers to experience rebirth in the spirit, transitioning from "the darkness of authority and the lethargy of tradition" into the "transcendent light" of personal discovery of God. He described this as a passage "from death to life, from the authority of tradition to the experience of knowing God; thus will you pass from darkness to light, from a racial faith inherited to a personal faith achieved by actual experience." This transformation represented not merely a change in belief but an evolution from a religion of the mind "tied hopelessly to the past" to a religion of the spirit characterized by "progressive revelation" that continually beckons toward "higher and holier achievements." The Master emphasized that this spiritual freedom did not require believers to "subscribe to things which are spiritually repugnant, unholy, and untruthful" but instead left them "forever free to follow the truth wherever the leadings of the spirit may take you."

The discourse culminated with Jesus addressing the challenge of religious unity, explaining that while "religions of authority can only divide men" because they demand uniformity of belief that is impossible to achieve, "the religion of the spirit will progressively draw men together" by requiring only "unity of experience—uniformity of destiny" while allowing for diversity of belief. He honored the persistent spiritual searching of the Jewish people who, despite "failures and falterings," had progressively revealed "an ever clearer and more truthful picture of the eternal God" that prepared the way for a greater revelation of the Father. Jesus concluded by reminding his apostles that finding God in one's own soul leads to discovering him in others, and that while intellectual proof of God-knowing is impossible, it can be demonstrated through "the fruits of the spirit" in daily life and through unreservedly risking everything on "the adventure of survival after death in the pursuit of the God of eternity." With this comprehensive spiritual foundation established, Jesus beckoned to Andrew and indicated it was time to continue their journey westward toward Phoenicia.