Paper 156 Overview: The Sojourn at Tyre and Sidon

Jesus and his followers traveled to Sidon where they stayed for about two and a half weeks, resting and teaching. During this time, Jesus healed a young Syrian girl who was having seizures, after her mother showed great faith. Jesus and his apostles then visited other cities along the Phoenician coast, teaching and gaining many followers among the non-Jewish people.

Jesus gave many important teachings during this journey about forgiveness, temptation, and doing good. The Phoenician people welcomed Jesus's message and understood his teachings about God's love for all people. This trip strengthened Jesus's followers while giving them a break from the growing opposition in Jewish areas.

On Friday, June 10, Jesus and his companions arrived near Sidon, staying at the home of a woman who had been healed at the Bethsaida hospital. The evangelists and apostles were lodged with the woman's friends in the neighborhood. They spent nearly two and a half weeks in Sidon and the surrounding area before they planned to visit coastal cities to the north.

The Sabbath day after they arrived was very quiet. The evangelists and apostles spent time thinking about Jesus's recent teachings about religion. They all understood something of what he had taught them on the journey to Sidon, but none of them fully grasped the meaning of his lessons.

A Syrian woman named Norana lived near where Jesus was staying. She had heard Jesus was a great healer and brought her twelve-year-old daughter who suffered from seizures. Jesus had asked his followers to tell no one he was there because he wanted to rest, but a servant told Norana anyway.

When the apostles told Norana that Jesus was resting, she refused to leave. Even after Simon Zelotes told her Jesus's teaching was meant for the Jews, not "dogs" like her, Norana replied she was just a "believing dog" wanting crumbs from the children's table. When her daughter had a seizure, Jesus came out and said, "O woman, great is your faith," and healed the girl.

As Jesus and his followers entered Sidon, they crossed a bridge. Jesus said to them: "This world is only a bridge; you may pass over it, but you should not think to build a dwelling place upon it." This was an important lesson about not getting too attached to worldly things.

The apostles and evangelists were encouraged by how well the non-Jewish people in Sidon accepted their message. During their six weeks in Phoenicia, many people joined the kingdom. These Gentiles understood Jesus's teachings about God's universal laws and that God shows no favoritism to any race or nation.

On Tuesday, June 28, Jesus and his followers left Sidon and traveled up the coast to Porphyreon and Heldua. Many non-Jews in these places believed their message and joined the kingdom. While his followers were teaching in these cities, Jesus went alone to visit Beirut for three or four days.

On Wednesday, July 6, they all returned to Sidon and stayed with Justa until Sunday. Then they left for Tyre, arriving there on Monday, July 11. By this time, the apostles were getting used to working among these non-Jewish people, who were mainly descended from earlier tribes but spoke Greek. They were surprised by how eager these people were to hear and believe the gospel.

From July 11 to July 24, Jesus and his followers taught in Tyre. Each apostle worked with one evangelist, and in pairs they taught throughout the city and surrounding areas. Many people in this busy seaport listened to their message, and many were baptized.

Jesus stayed at the home of a Jewish believer named Joseph who lived a few miles south of Tyre. Every day believers would come from the city to talk with Jesus at his resting place. Jesus only spoke in Tyre once, on July 20, teaching about the Father's love for all mankind and the Son's mission to reveal the Father to all races.

During his address in Tyre, Jesus told the story of a white lily that grows from the mud but raises its head to the sunshine. He compared this to how humans can rise above their animal nature through faith. Jesus also used a parable about carpentry, his own trade, teaching about building strong spiritual character.

When Nathaniel asked Jesus about prayer and temptation, Jesus explained that God does not lead people into temptation. Instead, people are often tempted by their own selfishness and animal impulses. Jesus taught that the way to overcome temptation is not through willpower alone, but by developing a genuine love for higher and more idealistic ways of living.

Around noon on Sunday, July 24, Jesus and the twelve left Joseph's home south of Tyre. They traveled down the coast to Ptolemais where they stayed for a day, with Peter preaching to the believers there in the evening.

Over the next several days, they journeyed inland through various villages, eventually reaching the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They met with David Zebedee and learned that many leaders were gathered near Kheresa. They crossed the lake and rested in the hills, then spent three days in the park where Jesus had once fed five thousand people.