Paper 144 Overview: At Gilboa and in the Decapolis

Jesus and his apostles spent September and October in a camp on Mount Gilboa. They were in retirement for several reasons: Jerusalem religious leaders were against them, Herod still had John in prison, and tension was growing between John's followers and Jesus' apostles. Jesus knew the days of teaching and preaching were ending, and the final effort of his life on earth was about to begin.

During this time, Jesus taught his apostles much about prayer and answered Thomas's request to teach them how to pray. The apostles of Jesus and John held a three-week conference at Gilboa, working out their differences. Later, they all worked together in the cities of the Decapolis until John the Baptist was killed in January 28 A.D., when Jesus announced it was time to proclaim the kingdom openly.

Jesus and his apostles spent September and October in retirement at Mount Gilboa. There were several reasons for their retreat: the Jerusalem religious leaders were very hostile, Herod Antipas still held John in prison, and the tension between John's followers and Jesus' apostles was growing worse. Jesus knew that the preliminary work of teaching was almost over and his final effort on earth was about to begin.

Jesus decided to spend some time in retirement training his apostles and then doing quiet work in the Decapolis until John was either executed or released. He wanted to avoid any strain or embarrassment to John the Baptist. The apostles were becoming more devoted to Jesus but still didn't fully understand his teaching or the nature of his mission on earth.

Jesus made it clear to his apostles that they were in retirement for three reasons: to strengthen their understanding of the gospel, to let opposition in Judea and Galilee calm down, and to wait and see what would happen to John the Baptist. Jesus told the twelve much about his early life and his experiences after his baptism, but told them not to share these stories until after he returned to the Father.

During September, the apostles rested, shared their experiences, and tried to understand what Jesus had taught them. They had different ideas about what the kingdom would be like: John and Andrew thought it had already come, Peter and James believed it was yet to come, while others were uncertain or confused. Jesus spent much time alone on the mountain praying, and when Thomas asked him to teach them how to pray, Jesus gave them a memorable lesson.

Jesus told his apostles that John had taught a simple prayer, but it was meant for teaching the crowds rather than expressing their own souls in prayer. He explained that true prayer is personal and spontaneous, an expression of the soul's attitude toward the spirit. Prayer should lead to intelligent worship and help them understand the Father's will.

Jesus told them a story about a man who persisted in asking his neighbor for bread at midnight, saying that persistence in prayer will win the bread of life from God. He reminded them that a wise father gives what his children need, not necessarily what they ask for, and that faith can remove mountains of difficulty. Jesus emphasized that prayer doesn't change God, but it does change the person who prays.

James Zebedee told Jesus that while they understood his teaching on prayer, they needed a model prayer to teach new believers who often asked them for guidance. Jesus then shared the prayer he had taught to his brothers and sisters in Nazareth, which was a version of what later became known as the Lord's Prayer.

The prayer began with "Our Father who is in heaven" and included asking for daily bread, forgiveness of debts, and deliverance from evil. Jesus taught them that effective prayer should be unselfish, believing, sincere, intelligent, and trustful in submitting to God's will. He preferred to pray in private and often spent whole nights in prayer, mostly for his disciples rather than for himself.

During the days following the discourse on prayer, the apostles continued to ask Jesus questions about prayer and worship. Jesus explained that prayer expands the soul's capacity to receive spiritual blessings and reminds us that being a child of God is a gift that cannot be earned, just as a child does not earn their status as a son or daughter.

Prayer led Jesus to communion with the rulers of the universe and can lead humans to true worship. Prayer helps detach from daily routines, serves as an antidote to harmful self-inspection, and is like breathing for the spirit life. Jesus often prayed for others rather than himself, and usually prayed in the plural form rather than singular. Prayer can be compared to recharging spiritual batteries, while worship is like tuning in to receive broadcasts from the Universal Father.

Jesus occasionally showed the apostles additional forms of prayer, but only as examples and told them not to teach these "parable prayers" to the crowds. Many of these prayers were from other inhabited planets, though Jesus did not reveal this fact to the twelve apostles.

These prayers addressed God in various ways, such as "Our Father in whom consist the universe realms," "Our creative Parent, who is in the center of the universe," and "Our perfect and righteous heavenly Father." The prayers asked for divine guidance, wisdom, energy, and spiritual growth, often ending with phrases like "not our will but yours be done." The apostles gained much from these revelations in their personal religious lives, though they couldn't share them in their public teaching.

Around the beginning of October, Philip and some other apostles met some of John the Baptist's apostles in a nearby village. This led to a three-week conference between the two groups at the Gilboa camp. John had recently appointed twelve of his leaders as apostles, following Jesus' example.

Jesus was present during the first week but refused to participate in their discussions or solve their problems. Instead, he spoke to them three times about sympathy, cooperation, and tolerance. Andrew and Abner took turns presiding over the meetings as the two groups worked out their differences. They agreed to adopt the prayer Jesus had taught, to continue their work separately while John lived, and settled the question of baptism by deciding that John's apostles would baptize believers while Jesus' apostles would instruct them.

During November and December, Jesus and all twenty-four apostles worked quietly in the Greek cities of the Decapolis, mainly in Scythopolis, Gerasa, Abila, and Gadara. This marked the end of the preliminary period of taking over John's work and organization. The followers of Jesus adopted water baptism as a compromise to bring John's followers into their group.

Jesus did little public teaching during this mission to the Decapolis. He spent much time teaching the twenty-four and having special sessions with John's twelve apostles. Working in pairs—one of Jesus' apostles with one of John's—they won many souls among the gentiles and apostate Jews. John's apostles began to understand why Jesus didn't visit John in prison or try to secure his release, though they still wondered why he didn't perform miracles or show signs of his authority.

In late December, they set up camp near Pella by the Jordan River. While Jesus was teaching the crowds, friends of John the Baptist brought Jesus the last message he would ever receive from John, who had been in prison for a year and a half. They asked Jesus, "Are you truly the Deliverer, or shall we look for another?"

Jesus told them to return to John and tell him what they had seen and heard, adding that the poor were having good news preached to them. Then he told the crowd that John was not doubting the gospel but only asking to reassure his disciples. Jesus praised John highly, calling him more than a prophet and saying there had never been anyone greater born of women. Many in the crowd submitted to John's baptism that day, publicly entering the kingdom.

John the Baptist was executed by order of Herod Antipas on January 10, 28 A.D. The next day, some of John's disciples recovered his body and buried it at Sebaste, the home of Abner. On January 12, they went to the camp of John's and Jesus' apostles near Pella and told Jesus about John's death.

When Jesus heard the news, he dismissed the crowd and gathered the twenty-four apostles. He told them, "John is dead. Herod has beheaded him. There shall be delay no longer. The hour has come to proclaim the kingdom openly and with power. Tomorrow we go into Galilee." Early the next morning, Jesus and the apostles, along with about twenty-five disciples, traveled to Capernaum and stayed at Zebedee's house.