Paper 148 Overview: Training Evangelists at Bethsaida

From May to October of year 28, Jesus and the apostles established a significant training center at Bethsaida by the seaside near the Zebedee home. This five-month period represented the longest settled and well-organized phase of Jesus' teaching ministry, during which a camp housing between five hundred and fifteen hundred truth seekers, healing candidates, and curious visitors was maintained under David Zebedee's supervision. The camp became the foundation for Peter's school of evangelists, where the apostles taught daily classes to prepare over one hundred individuals who would later become messengers of the kingdom.

During this time, Jesus often withdrew to be "about the Father's business," taking only two apostles with him on these occasions. He delivered important teachings on prayer, suffering, evil, sin, and iniquity through private conversations and weekly question sessions. This period was marked by notable healings, including the man with the withered hand and the paralytic, both of which demonstrated Jesus' growing conflict with religious authorities while simultaneously winning new converts to the gospel of the kingdom.

From May 3 to October 3 in the year 28, Jesus and the apostolic party resided at the Zebedee home in Bethsaida, establishing a large seaside camp that accommodated between five hundred and fifteen hundred visitors. This encampment, supervised by David Zebedee with assistance from the Alpheus twins, maintained exemplary order and sanitation, including segregated areas for different types of sick people under the care of a Syrian physician named Elman. The apostles maintained a regular schedule, fishing one day per week to contribute to the camp's resources and spending one week each month with their families.

While Andrew continued as general director of apostolic activities, Peter took full charge of the school of evangelists where a structured teaching program was implemented. The apostles taught groups of evangelists each morning, and both teachers and students taught the public during afternoons. Five evenings per week, the apostles conducted question classes for the evangelists, with Jesus presiding once weekly to answer remaining questions from previous sessions. This well-organized arrangement allowed thousands of interested individuals from across the Roman Empire and lands east of the Euphrates to visit, making it the longest settled period of Jesus' teaching ministry.

Peter, James, and Andrew formed the committee appointed by Jesus to evaluate applicants for the school of evangelists, which welcomed students from all races and nationalities across the Roman world and as far as India. The school operated on a principle of learning and doing – students learned during the morning, taught by the seaside in the afternoon, and participated in informal discussions after supper to process both their learning and teaching experiences from the day. This practical approach ensured that knowledge was immediately applied and reinforced through teaching others.

Each apostolic teacher presented his own interpretation of the gospel of the kingdom, with no standardized doctrinal formulation required. Jesus supported this diversity of personal experience and understanding of kingdom truths, harmonizing these varied viewpoints during his weekly question sessions. While Peter's theological perspective tended to dominate, followed by James Zebedee's influence, the more than one hundred evangelists trained during this period represented diverse approaches to the gospel message. These trainees would later form the core of the seventy gospel teachers commissioned by Jesus, though they did not baptize believers until after their formal ordination.

In connection with the seaside encampment, Elman, the Syrian physician, organized and operated what could be considered the kingdom's first hospital for four months with the help of twenty-five young women and twelve men. This infirmary, located near the main camp, treated the sick using both material medical methods and spiritual practices including prayer and faith encouragement. Jesus personally visited these patients at least three times each week, demonstrating his continued concern for physical well-being alongside spiritual teaching.

Although no supernatural miracles of healing occurred among the thousand patients who passed through this facility, the majority experienced improvement or cure and credited Jesus for their recovery. The healings at this infirmary demonstrated the powerful effect of Jesus' personality on expectant and faith-dominated individuals, as his ministry banished fear and destroyed anxiety. Elman and his associates attempted to educate patients about the true nature of so-called "evil spirit possession," but found limited success against the nearly universal belief that physical and mental illness resulted from indwelling unclean spirits.

Throughout this period, Jesus conducted public services at the encampment less than a dozen times and spoke only once in the Capernaum synagogue before the evangelists departed on their second preaching tour. He spent considerable time alone, telling the apostles when questioned that he was "about the Father's business," a phrase that became associated with these periods of withdrawal. When Jesus went to the hills, he would take only two apostles with him rather than his usual three close companions (Peter, James, and John), whom he had temporarily released from personal companionship duties so they could participate in training the evangelists.

Though not explicitly revealed in the record, these solitary periods appear to have involved Jesus in direct and executive association with universe affairs and the direction of high spirit intelligences. The apostles occasionally observed Jesus' facial features undergo rapid and multitudinous changes during these times, though they heard no words spoken and saw no visible manifestation of celestial beings. These observations suggest that Jesus, as the incarnated Sovereign of the universe, maintained his cosmic responsibilities even while carrying out his earthly ministry – activities he simply described as his "Father's business."

Jesus established a practice of holding private conversations with individuals two evenings each week in a secluded corner of the Zebedee garden. During one such conversation, Thomas asked about the necessity of spiritual rebirth and the nature of evil. In response, Jesus clarified the distinctions between evil, sin, and iniquity, providing precise definitions for each term. He explained that evil is unconscious or unintended transgression of divine law, measuring imperfection in obedience to the Father's will. Sin, by contrast, represents conscious and deliberate transgression against divine law, measuring unwillingness to be divinely led. Iniquity stands as the most serious category – willful, determined, and persistent rejection of God's will, measuring continued rejection of God's plan and salvation.

Jesus corrected several misconceptions Thomas held, particularly those derived from Greek philosophy and Persian religious ideas. He explained that humans are not the children of the evil one unless they deliberately choose paths of sin and iniquity. While humans are naturally subject to evil tendencies, these imperfections do not constitute sin but rather represent the starting point of humanity's long ascent toward the perfection of the Father. Jesus emphasized that humans are ascending toward divine perfection rather than descending from a state of perfection, contrasting his teaching with prevalent Greek beliefs about human corruption from a once-perfect state.

In another private garden conversation, Nathaniel questioned Jesus about why a loving Father permits his children to suffer afflictions. Jesus explained that many of humanity's problems stemmed from the natural order of the world being repeatedly disturbed by rebellious traitors to the Father's will. He had come to begin setting these disturbances in order, though he acknowledged that it would take ages to restore the proper path and release people from the extra burdens of sin and rebellion. He emphasized that the presence of evil alone provides sufficient test for human ascension, without sin being essential for survival.

Jesus clarified that God does not purposely afflict his children; rather, humans bring unnecessary suffering upon themselves by refusing to follow the divine will. He noted that the imperfections and handicaps of evil are inherent in an evolving world, while penalties of sin are inevitable and the consequences of iniquity inexorable. Jesus urged Nathaniel not to doubt the Father's love when encountering difficult divine ordinances, and reminded him of numerous scriptural passages affirming God's compassion toward the suffering, his role as a refuge and strength, and his commitment to healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds.

When John asked Jesus why innocent people suffered from diseases and afflictions, Jesus delivered a comprehensive discourse on the Book of Job. He explained that traditional interpretations misunderstood Job's story, which began with material prosperity mistakenly equated with divine favor. Jesus clarified that God loves the poor equally as the rich and is no respecter of persons. Although transgression of divine law eventually brings punishment, Jesus emphasized that human suffering is not always punishment for previous sin.

Jesus analyzed the false comfort offered by Job's three friends: Eliphaz urged Job to maintain the same fortitude he had recommended to others; Bildad suggested Job's children must have been sinners since they perished; and Zophar offered melancholy advice without genuine help. Jesus explained that Job's growing spiritual insight was the true value of the story – his faith ultimately pierced the clouds of suffering to discern the light of life from the Father. Jesus concluded by stating that the Father does not willingly afflict his children; rather, suffering comes from accidents of time, imperfections of physical existence, consequences of sin, and the harvest of persistent rebellion against heaven's rule on earth.

On the second Sabbath before the departure of the apostles and the new corps of evangelists on their second preaching tour, Jesus spoke in the Capernaum synagogue on "The Joys of Righteous Living." After his address, the Pharisaic spies arranged for a man with a withered hand to approach Jesus asking if it would be lawful to be healed on the Sabbath day. Recognizing the trap, Jesus asked whether it would be lawful to help a sheep that had fallen into a pit on the Sabbath, then proceeded to make his point about the greater value of human beings compared to animals.

After establishing the principle that doing good on the Sabbath was lawful, Jesus healed the man's withered hand, instructing him to stretch it out. The Pharisees were angered by this demonstration and hurried to Tiberias to seek Herod's alliance against Jesus. However, Herod refused to take action, advising them to take their complaints to Jerusalem instead. This healing marked the first case where Jesus performed a miracle in direct response to his enemies' challenge, deliberately using it as an effective protest against making the Sabbath a bondage of meaningless restrictions rather than a day for doing good.

During the final week at Bethsaida, division grew among the Jerusalem spies observing Jesus, with three becoming favorably impressed by his teachings and ministry. This internal division coincided with news from Jerusalem that Abraham, a young and influential Sanhedrin member, had publicly embraced Jesus' teachings and been baptized by Abner. This notable conversion created such a stir in Jerusalem that messengers were immediately dispatched to recall the six spying Pharisees from Bethsaida.

The week brought various visitors and disruptions to the camp. A Greek philosopher who had previously been converted to the kingdom returned with wealthy Jews from Alexandria, inviting Jesus to establish a joint school of philosophy and religion along with an infirmary in their city, which Jesus politely declined. A self-proclaimed trance prophet from Bagdad named Kirmeth created a disturbance in the camp, but Jesus allowed him freedom of action before he eventually departed with only a few followers. The most significant development came when Abraham the Pharisee donated all his worldly possessions to the apostolic treasury, providing essential funding for sending forth the hundred newly trained evangelists as the camp prepared to close.

On Friday afternoon, October 1, during Jesus' final meeting with the apostles, evangelists, and leaders of the disbanding encampment, a dramatic interruption occurred when friends of a paralyzed man, unable to enter the crowded house where Jesus was speaking, climbed onto the roof, removed tiles, and lowered the afflicted man on his couch directly in front of Jesus. The paralytic expressed his determination to be made whole not merely for healing but to serve in the kingdom of heaven. Recognizing the man's faith despite his condition being caused by his misspent life, Jesus told him his sins were forgiven and commanded him to arise.

When the Pharisees present objected to Jesus' claim to forgive sins as blasphemy, Jesus directly challenged their reasoning. He asked which was easier: to declare sins forgiven or to command the paralytic to walk, then demonstrated his authority by healing the man completely. The paralytic immediately arose and walked out before the astonished assembly, causing many to glorify God for this remarkable event. This powerful demonstration had significant consequences among the six spying Pharisees from Jerusalem – when messengers arrived recalling them to Jerusalem, three returned while the other three confessed faith in Jesus and were baptized as children of the kingdom.