Paper 154 Overview: Last Days at Capernaum

While Jesus comforted his downcast disciples on Saturday night, April 30, religious leaders from Jerusalem were meeting with Herod Antipas, trying to convince him to arrest Jesus as a political offender. Herod refused to take action against Jesus because his advisor Chuza had informed him that Jesus was only concerned with establishing a spiritual brotherhood, not earthly rule. The Jewish leaders threatened to report Herod to Caesar for protecting a traitor, but Herod ordered them out of his council chamber, and matters remained unsettled for a week while Jesus prepared his followers for their coming dispersion.

From May 1 to May 7, Jesus held intimate counsel with his trusted followers at the Zebedee house, while his popular support continued to diminish. The rulers of the Capernaum synagogue officially closed their doors to Jesus at the instigation of the Jerusalem Pharisees, and Jairus resigned as chief ruler to openly join Jesus. This period marked the lowest point in Jesus' popular support, but those who remained loyal now possessed a stronger spiritual faith and genuine religious experience, having moved beyond the materialistic concepts of the kingdom.

On the evening of April 30, while Jesus was speaking words of comfort to his bewildered disciples, representatives of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin were meeting with Herod Antipas to persuade him to arrest Jesus as a political troublemaker. After hearing reports about Jesus rejecting the crowd's attempt to make him king, Herod refused to take action against him. Herod's advisor Chuza, whose wife served in Jesus' women's corps, had informed him that Jesus was only concerned with establishing a spiritual brotherhood called the kingdom of heaven.

Herod's refusal to act against Jesus was also influenced by his superstitious fear regarding John the Baptist, whom he had executed. When the Jewish leaders threatened to report to Caesar that Herod was protecting a traitor, he ordered them to leave his council chamber. The situation remained unresolved for a week, during which time Jesus prepared his followers for the coming period of dispersion and opposition.

From May 1 to May 7, Jesus held intimate counsel with his followers at the Zebedee house, limiting attendance to only his tried and trusted disciples. Only about one hundred followers had the moral courage to openly declare their allegiance to Jesus despite the growing opposition from the Pharisees. While these private sessions continued, small groups of inquirers still gathered by the seaside to hear Jesus' evangelists and apostles teach, though these gatherings rarely exceeded fifty people.

On Friday of this week, the rulers of the Capernaum synagogue officially closed their doors to Jesus and all his followers, acting under the direction of the Jerusalem Pharisees. In response to this action, Jairus resigned his position as chief ruler of the synagogue and publicly aligned himself with Jesus. The final seaside meeting occurred on Saturday afternoon, May 7, with fewer than one hundred and fifty people in attendance, marking the lowest point in Jesus' popular support. From this time forward, the work of the kingdom would focus more on winning spiritual converts rather than seeking popularity, ending the transition period between materialistic expectations and spiritual understanding.

On Sunday, May 8, the Jerusalem Sanhedrin passed an unprecedented decree closing all synagogues in Palestine to Jesus and his followers. This action represented an unusual assumption of authority by the Sanhedrin, as previously each synagogue functioned independently under its own board of governors. Within two weeks, every synagogue except the one in Hebron had complied with this decree, and the Hebron synagogue was subsequently destroyed by fire because of its refusal to acknowledge the Sanhedrin's jurisdiction.

That same Sunday, Jesus declared a week's holiday, encouraging his disciples to return to their homes to rest and rejuvenate. During this week, Jesus visited many families along the seaside and went fishing with David Zebedee several times, though protective messengers always stayed nearby for his safety. During this period, Nathaniel and James Zebedee suffered from a painful digestive illness for three days, but Jesus chose not to heal them miraculously. He recognized that facing such natural difficulties was part of the growth experience necessary for developing souls, understanding that problematic situations coupled with exertion help achieve higher spiritual development.

On May 16, a second conference took place in Tiberias between the Jerusalem authorities and Herod Antipas. The Jewish religious leaders reported that nearly all synagogues in Galilee and Judea were now closed to Jesus' teachings, and they renewed their efforts to convince Herod to arrest Jesus. Though Herod again refused their direct request, on May 18 he agreed to allow the Sanhedrin authorities to seize Jesus and take him to Jerusalem for trial on religious charges, provided the Roman ruler of Judea approved this arrangement.

Meanwhile, Jesus' enemies spread rumors throughout Galilee that Herod had become hostile toward Jesus and planned to eliminate anyone who believed in his teachings. On Saturday night, May 21, word reached Tiberias that the civil authorities in Jerusalem had no objection to the agreement between Herod and the Pharisees. Just before midnight, Herod signed the decree authorizing officers of the Sanhedrin to seize Jesus within Herod's domains and forcibly take him to Jerusalem for trial. Herod knew Jesus could not expect a fair trial before his bitter enemies in Jerusalem, but he yielded to the pressure brought against him from many sides.

On the same Saturday night in Capernaum, fifty leading citizens gathered at the synagogue to discuss what should be done about Jesus. They debated until after midnight but could not reach any agreement on how to view Jesus or what action to take. The meeting divided into four nearly equal groups with vastly different opinions about Jesus and his work.

The first group believed Jesus was simply a deluded but harmless religious fanatic, while the second saw him as a dangerous agitator who might incite rebellion. The third group suspected Jesus was in league with devils or might even be a prince of devils himself, and the fourth group considered him mentally unbalanced. Many argued that Jesus' teachings were impractical and would cause society to collapse if everyone lived according to his ideas. Ironically, many people in later generations would make similar arguments, failing to realize that although modern civilization was not built upon Jesus' teachings, a much better society could have been created if humanity had genuinely tried to follow his guidance.

Early on Sunday morning, May 22, one of David Zebedee's messengers arrived in great haste from Tiberias with news that Herod had authorized Jesus' arrest by officers of the Sanhedrin. David immediately roused his messengers and sent them to all local groups of disciples, calling them to an emergency meeting at seven o'clock that morning. When Jesus' sister-in-law heard this alarming report, she quickly notified all of Jesus' family living nearby, summoning them to gather at Zebedee's house.

During this early morning meeting, Jesus gave farewell instructions to his assembled followers, knowing they would soon be scattered from Capernaum. He directed them to seek God's guidance and continue the kingdom work regardless of consequences, selecting twelve evangelists to accompany him while instructing the twelve apostles to stay with him no matter what happened. David Zebedee pledged to maintain his countrywide messenger service despite any dangers, assuring Jesus, "My men will never lose contact with you, and through them you shall know of the kingdom in other parts, and by them we will all know about you." Around 7:30 that morning, Jesus began his parting address to nearly one hundred believers who had gathered indoors, remaining unusually cheerful despite the serious circumstances.

Around eight o'clock that Sunday morning, five members of Jesus' earth family—Mary, James, Joseph, Jude, and Ruth—arrived at Zebedee's house in response to the urgent summons. Of all his family, only Ruth fully believed in Jesus' divine mission without reservation. The others, especially Mary, were torn between their love for Jesus and their embarrassment over his public ministry, which they feared would bring disgrace to the family.

The Pharisees had been working to convince Mary that Jesus was mentally unstable, urging her and her sons to dissuade him from further public teaching. When they arrived at Zebedee's house, Jesus was in the midst of delivering his farewell address to his disciples. They established themselves on the back porch and passed a message to Jesus that they wished to speak with him. However, not understanding the urgency of Jesus giving his final instructions to his followers, they were deeply hurt when Jesus responded by saying, "I have no mother; I have no brothers," and describing his true family as those who do his Father's will. Mary collapsed upon hearing these words, and before Jesus could speak with his family afterward, a messenger arrived with news that officers were coming to arrest him.

On Sunday morning, May 22, Jesus fled with his twelve apostles and twelve evangelists to escape the Sanhedrin officers who were on their way to Bethsaida with authority from Herod to arrest him. At almost half past eight in the morning, this company of twenty-five men rowed their boat toward the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, beginning their final departure from the region that had been their home base.

A smaller boat containing six of David's messengers followed behind, maintaining contact with Jesus and ensuring that information about their location and safety was regularly transmitted back to Zebedee's house in Bethsaida. From this point forward, Jesus would no longer have even the semblance of a settled home, as they began the wanderings of his eventful last year of life on earth. They rowed to Kheresa, then traveled northward to Caesarea-Philippi and eventually made their way to the Phoenician coast. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem officers spent nearly a week searching for Jesus around Capernaum, not realizing he had escaped to another region entirely.