Paper 155 Overview: Fleeing Through Northern Galilee

After arriving near Bethsaida-Julias, Jesus and his group found rest in a familiar place and prepared for a journey through northern Galilee to the Phoenician coast. During this break, Jesus began teaching his followers about challenges they would face and how to remain strong in their mission. He used a passage from the Psalms to explain that his kingdom was about love and mercy, not judgment and fear. Jesus urged his followers to stay focused, avoid narrow thinking, and balance science with religion to better understand truth.

Later, Jesus taught about different kinds of religion during a powerful speech given while resting along the road to Sidon. He explained the difference between religion based on fear, traditions, and true religion, which comes from personal spiritual experience. Jesus encouraged his followers to choose faith through experience over blind trust in authority, saying true religion leads people to grow closer to God. He ended by reminding them that the best way to show they truly know God is to live with love, kindness, and a deep desire to follow him.

After their eventful arrival near Kheresa, Jesus and his group of twenty-four companions traveled northward to camp in a familiar and beautiful park south of Bethsaida-Julias. They had previously visited this location and were comfortable with the surroundings. Before retiring for the night, Jesus gathered his followers to discuss their upcoming plans for a tour through Batanea and northern Galilee, with the ultimate destination being the Phoenician coast. This brief respite provided an opportunity for Jesus to prepare his disciples for the challenges ahead.

The introduction sets the scene for the important teachings that would follow during this period of retreat from public ministry. Jesus recognized the need to strengthen his followers' understanding before continuing their mission, knowing they would face increasing opposition from religious authorities as their work progressed through the region.

Jesus began by quoting from the Psalms, particularly the passage questioning why the heathen rage and plot against the Lord. He acknowledged that while they were witnessing part of this prophecy being fulfilled, the Psalmist had entertained erroneous ideas about the Son of Man's mission. Jesus clarified that his kingdom was founded on love and mercy rather than wrath and judgment, explaining that his Father does not look upon non-believers with derision or anger.

Jesus continued by contrasting his approach with the fearful worship described by the Psalmist, inviting his followers to enter into divine sonship through faith rather than fear. He then pointed out that the so-called "heathen" demonstrated admirable focus and enthusiasm in pursuing their limited goals, whereas his own followers often displayed indecision and vague yearning. Jesus admonished them to avoid one-sided thinking and to embrace truth coordination—the balanced integration of science and religion—to avoid the pitfalls of prejudice that had entrapped the Pharisees.

When interest in the kingdom message appeared to wane in the region, Peter gathered his associates on Tuesday, June 7, and departed for Caesarea-Philippi to reunite with Jesus and the apostles. Upon their arrival around noon the following day, they spent the evening discussing their experiences among the unbelievers in Chorazin. During these discussions, Jesus referred to the parable of the sower to illustrate important lessons about apparent failures in life's undertakings.

This section highlights how Jesus used the preaching corps' experiences of rejection as teaching opportunities. Rather than allowing his followers to become discouraged by apparent failure, he helped them see these situations as part of a larger pattern in which not every effort produces immediate visible results. This teaching prepared them for the difficult work ahead and helped them maintain perspective when facing opposition.

During their two-week sojourn near Caesarea-Philippi, Jesus conducted no public work but held numerous quiet evening meetings in the city. Believers from the surrounding areas came to the camp to speak with Jesus, though few new converts joined their ranks during this period. In daily conversations with his apostles, Jesus helped them discern that a new phase of kingdom work was beginning—one that emphasized spiritual joy and divine sonship rather than material concerns.

This time tested the eleven apostles considerably as they experienced depression without Peter's enthusiastic presence. Despite making few converts, they gained valuable insights through their daily conferences with Jesus. They learned about the dangers of crystallizing truth into rigid creeds, the importance of seeing human potential rather than limitations, the risks of attaching sacredness to mundane things, and the necessity of maintaining spiritually-focused religion that could withstand advancing scientific knowledge.

On Thursday morning, June 9, after receiving updates on kingdom progress from David's messengers, the group of twenty-five truth teachers departed from Caesarea-Philippi toward the Phoenician coast. They traveled around marsh country via Luz, eventually connecting with the road to Sidon and arriving there by Friday afternoon.

During a lunch stop beneath an overhanging rock ledge near Luz, Jesus delivered one of his most remarkable addresses. The moment began when Simon Peter questioned why they were fleeing from their enemies rather than confronting them, followed by Thomas asking about the differences between their religion and that of their opponents in Jerusalem. Jesus indicated that while Peter's question was important, he would address Thomas's question after their meal because it would prove more helpful for their spiritual development.

In this landmark discourse, Jesus expounded on the three manifestations of religious devotion: primitive religion based on fear of mysterious forces; the religion of civilization centered on intellectual theology and established traditions; and true religion—the religion of revelation—which provides insight into eternal realities through personal spiritual experience.

Jesus distinguished between the religion of the mind, upheld by ecclesiastical authority, and the religion of the spirit, based entirely on human experience. He explained that until humanity becomes more advanced, many will continue to practice superstitious ceremonies and prefer religions of authority that require only intellectual assent rather than active spiritual participation. Jesus described how established religions offer an easy refuge from uncertainty but at the cost of sacrificing personal spiritual discovery and growth.

As the group rested in the hillside shade, Jesus continued teaching about the religion of the spirit. He acknowledged their courage in choosing the adventure of progressive faith over the security of authoritative certainty. Jesus urged them to experience being born of the spirit, moving from darkness to light and from inherited racial faith to personal faith achieved through experience.

Jesus taught that true religion transforms from intellectual belief in tradition to actual experience of living faith that grasps God's reality. While religion of authority ties people to the past, the religion of the spirit leads to ever higher spiritual achievements. He emphasized that his Father does not require belief in repugnant or untruthful concepts as the price of entering heaven, and condemned religious teachers who drag seekers backward rather than forward. Jesus concluded by explaining that the proof of knowing God comes through displaying the fruits of the spirit in daily life and through committing one's entire life to the pursuit of finding God.