Paper 144 Overview: At Gilboa and in the Decapolis

During September and October of 27 A.D., Jesus and his apostles established a secluded camp on Mount Gilboa for spiritual renewal and instruction. This period of retirement served multiple purposes: to avoid growing opposition from religious authorities, to give Herod Antipas time to decide John the Baptist's fate, and to ease tensions between John's followers and Jesus' disciples. Jesus recognized this time as a transition from his preliminary teaching work to the final phase of his earth mission.

While at Gilboa, Jesus delivered profound teachings on prayer, including what later became known as the Lord's Prayer. A significant conference between Jesus' apostles and John's disciples took place, resolving differences about baptism and organization. After John's execution in January 28 A.D., Jesus declared it was time to proclaim the kingdom openly, ending their period of quiet work in the Decapolis and marking the beginning of his public ministry in Galilee.

In September and October of 27 A.D., Jesus and his twelve apostles established a secluded camp on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. They chose this retirement for several important reasons: the religious leaders in Jerusalem were becoming increasingly hostile, Herod Antipas still held John the Baptist in prison while suspecting a connection between John and Jesus, and tensions were growing between John's followers and Jesus' apostles as more believers joined their movement.

Jesus understood that the preliminary phase of teaching and preaching was coming to an end, and his final and full effort on earth was about to begin. He decided to spend time in retirement to prepare his apostles and then work quietly in the Decapolis region until John was either released or executed. Jesus wanted to avoid creating any situation that might be difficult or embarrassing for John the Baptist, so he withdrew from public ministry temporarily.

As time passed, the twelve apostles became increasingly devoted to Jesus, though their commitment was largely based on personal loyalty rather than a complete understanding of his teachings. Jesus explained that they were in retirement for three specific purposes: to strengthen their understanding of the kingdom gospel, to allow opposition in Judea and Galilee to subside, and to await developments regarding John the Baptist's imprisonment. During this time, Jesus shared details about his early life and his experiences on Mount Hermon, instructing them not to share these stories until after he returned to the Father.

Throughout September, the apostles rested, shared experiences, and worked to coordinate what Jesus had taught them. They sensed this might be their last extended period of rest before their public work began in earnest. The apostles held varying views about the kingdom: John and Andrew believed it had already arrived, Peter and James thought it was still to come, while others were confused or uncertain about its nature. Jesus often spent time alone on the mountain, sometimes taking Peter, James, or John with him. When Thomas asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, Jesus delivered a memorable discourse on the subject.

Jesus began his teaching on prayer by explaining that John the Baptist had taught his disciples a simple prayer formula, but it was intended for teaching the multitudes rather than as a personal expression. Jesus described true prayer as a spontaneous expression of the soul's attitude toward the spirit, explaining that authentic prayer should lead to cooperative spiritual progress and intelligent worship. He emphasized that prayer is the attempt to discover the Father's will and should help believers be persistent in seeking God.

To illustrate persistence in prayer, Jesus shared the parable of a man who goes to his neighbor at midnight asking for bread for an unexpected visitor. Though the neighbor initially refuses, the man's persistence eventually succeeds. Jesus explained that just as a human father knows how to give appropriate gifts to his children rather than harmful substitutes, the heavenly Father gives good gifts to those who ask. He also told the story of the persistent widow who finally obtained justice from an unjust judge, clarifying that such persistence in prayer doesn't change God but rather changes the person praying by enlarging their soul's capacity for spiritual receptivity.

Though Jesus had taught about prayer conceptually, the apostles still desired a model prayer they could teach to new believers. James Zebedee explained that they needed a simple prayer not so much for themselves but for newer disciples who frequently asked for guidance on how to pray. In response, Jesus presented the prayer he had taught his brothers and sisters in Nazareth, which later became known as the Lord's Prayer with its familiar opening "Our Father who is in heaven."

The prayer continued with phrases asking for God's name to be hallowed, his kingdom to come, daily bread, refreshment for the soul, forgiveness of debts, deliverance from evil, and increasing perfection. Jesus taught that effective prayer must meet five conditions: it must be unselfish, believing, sincere, intelligent, and trustful in submitting to the Father's will. Jesus preferred private prayer and taught the twelve to pray in secret rather than publicly. He himself prayed primarily for his disciples rather than for himself, often engaging in prayer that was more like communion with his Father than petition.

In the days following Jesus' discourse on prayer, the apostles continued to ask questions about this important spiritual practice. Jesus explained that sincere repetition of petitions expands the soul's capacity for spiritual receptivity, even if the specific request cannot be directly answered. He emphasized that sonship with God is a gift received through faith, not something earned through works, comparing it to how children on earth become part of a family through their parents' will rather than through their own efforts.

Jesus taught that prayer had led him to supercommunion with the universe rulers and could similarly lead mortals to true worship. He described prayer as a technique for detaching from daily routines and approaching spiritualized self-realization. Prayer serves as an antidote to harmful introspection, especially when one prays for others as Jesus consistently did. He compared prayer to recharging spiritual batteries and worship to tuning in to catch universal broadcasts from the Father. Prayer is a sincere look of the child to the spirit Father, exchanging human will for divine will as part of the divine plan for spiritual growth.

During the remainder of Jesus' time on earth, he occasionally presented additional forms of prayer to his apostles, though only as illustrative examples rather than formulas to be taught to the multitudes. Jesus explicitly instructed that these "parable prayers" were not to be shared with the general public. Many of these prayers originated from other inhabited planets, though Jesus never revealed this fact to the twelve apostles.

These exemplary prayers addressed God in various ways, including "Our Father in whom consist the universe realms," "Our creative Parent, who is in the center of the universe," and "Glorious Father and Mother, in one parent combined." Each prayer expressed reverence, sought spiritual guidance, requested divine assistance, and acknowledged submission to God's will with phrases like "not our will but yours be done." Though the apostles could not teach these prayers publicly, they benefited greatly from these revelations in their personal religious experiences and spiritual development.

In early October, Philip and some fellow apostles met several of John the Baptist's apostles in a nearby village. This chance encounter led to a three-week conference at the Gilboa camp between the apostles of Jesus and the apostles of John, who had recently appointed twelve leaders following Jesus' example. Jesus attended during the first week but deliberately refused to participate in their discussions about organizational matters, though he did speak to them three times on the topics of sympathy, cooperation, and tolerance.

Andrew and Abner alternated as leaders of the joint meetings as the two groups worked through their differences. Jesus explained that he was concerned only with personal religious problems, not with coordinating divergent human interpretations. The twenty-four men reached several important agreements: they adopted Jesus' prayer for both groups to teach, decided to continue their separate ministries while John lived with joint quarterly meetings, and resolved the baptism question by agreeing that John's apostles would perform baptisms while Jesus' apostles would instruct new disciples. These decisions represented their first attempt to coordinate differing approaches and establish shared practices.

Throughout November and December, Jesus and the twenty-four apostles worked quietly in the Greek cities of the Decapolis, primarily in Scythopolis, Gerasa, Abila, and Gadara. This period marked the conclusion of the preliminary phase of incorporating John's work and organization. The apostles of Jesus adopted water baptism as a compromise to maintain unity with John's followers, demonstrating how new religious movements often must compromise with established forms of the preceding religion they seek to preserve.

Jesus conducted minimal public teaching during this mission to the Decapolis cities, focusing instead on instructing the twenty-four apostles and holding special sessions with John's twelve. The two groups worked in pairs – one of Jesus' apostles with one of John's – with John's apostle performing baptisms while Jesus' apostle provided spiritual instruction. This arrangement proved effective as they won many converts among the gentiles and apostate Jews. John's followers gradually came to understand why Jesus did not attempt to secure John's release from prison, though they continued to wonder why Jesus performed no miraculous works or signs of his divine authority.

In late December, the group established a camp near the Jordan River close to Pella, where both Jews and gentiles came to hear the gospel. During one afternoon teaching session, friends of John the Baptist delivered his final message to Jesus. After eighteen months in prison, John sent messengers to ask, "Are you truly the Deliverer, or shall we look for another?" This question reflected the uncertainty that had developed during John's long imprisonment.

Jesus responded by telling John's messengers to report what they had seen and heard, particularly that "the poor have good tidings preached to them." He then spoke to the multitude, explaining that John was not doubting but merely seeking reassurance for his disciples. Jesus praised John as greater than a prophet, declaring that among those born of women, none had arisen greater than John the Baptist. His words moved many in the crowd to submit to John's baptism that day, publicly professing their entrance into the kingdom. This event further strengthened the bond between John's followers and Jesus' disciples.

On January 10, 28 A.D., Herod Antipas ordered the execution of John the Baptist. The following day, some of John's disciples recovered his body from Machaerus and buried it at Sebaste, the home of Abner. On January 12, they traveled to the camp near Pella to inform Jesus and the apostles about John's death, a development that marked a significant turning point in Jesus' ministry.

Upon hearing this news, Jesus dismissed the multitude and gathered the twenty-four apostles together. He announced, "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, accompanied by about twenty-five disciples, departed for Capernaum, arriving that evening at Zebedee's house. This decisive move signaled the beginning of Jesus' open proclamation of the kingdom and the next phase of his public ministry.