Paper 159 Overview: The Decapolis Tour

This paper chronicles Jesus and his apostles' four-week teaching tour throughout the cities of the Decapolis, which began on August 18. For this mission, Jesus organized his followers into twelve groups, each led by an apostle paired with an evangelist, while he remained with the women's corps and other disciples. During this period, Jesus delivered several significant discourses addressing forgiveness, religious tolerance, respecting human personality, the positive nature of true religion, and his views on the Hebrew scriptures.

The Decapolis mission proved moderately successful, with hundreds joining the kingdom during this time. Jesus used this period to impart crucial teachings about the universal nature of divine love, the importance of active rather than passive righteousness, and the need to evaluate scripture based on its spiritual value rather than treating it as infallible. When the disciples reassembled at Magadan Park on September 16, they prepared for a week's rest before embarking on their final mission in Perea, which would continue until Jesus reached Jerusalem for the culminating events of his earthly life.

When Jesus and the twelve arrived at Magadan Park, they found almost one hundred evangelists and disciples waiting for them, including the women's corps. This assembled group was prepared to immediately begin teaching and preaching throughout the cities of the Decapolis, a region of ten predominantly Greek-influenced cities east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee.

On Thursday morning, August 18, Jesus instructed each apostle to partner with one of the twelve evangelists, forming twelve teaching groups with additional evangelists. He directed these teams to work in the cities and villages of the Decapolis, while the women's corps and other disciples remained with him. Jesus assigned four weeks for this tour, instructing his followers to return to Magadan no later than Friday, September 16, and promised to visit them periodically during this time. Throughout this organized mission, no extraordinary healing miracles occurred as the focus remained on teaching spiritual truths.

One evening in Hippos, responding to a disciple's question, Jesus delivered a comprehensive teaching on forgiveness. He began with the parable of the lost sheep, describing how a good shepherd would leave ninety-nine safe sheep to search for one that had wandered away. Jesus emphasized that "there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance," illustrating God's active seeking of the lost rather than merely waiting for them to return.

Jesus proceeded to outline a practical approach to handling conflicts between believers. He instructed them to first address issues privately with the offending person, then to involve one or two witnesses if necessary, and finally to bring the matter before the congregation if earlier efforts failed. He explained that while they couldn't judge souls or forgive sins, they had responsibility for maintaining temporal order in the earthly brotherhood. Simon Peter then asked how often he should forgive someone who sinned against him, wondering if seven times was sufficient. Jesus responded "Not only seven times but even to seventy times and seven," and illustrated this principle with the parable of the unforgiving steward who, despite receiving mercy from his king for a large debt, refused to show similar compassion to someone who owed him a small amount.

While visiting John and his associates in Gamala, John informed Jesus that he had encountered a man teaching and casting out devils in Jesus' name who wasn't part of their group, and that he had forbidden this man from continuing such activities. Rather than approving John's action, Jesus instructed, "Forbid him not," explaining that as the gospel spread worldwide, many would believe who weren't under the apostles' direct supervision or authority.

Jesus helped John understand that people working for good in his name, regardless of their formal affiliation, should be welcomed rather than restrained, saying, "He who is not against us is for us." This teaching perplexed John, who recalled Jesus' seemingly contradictory statement, "He who is not with me is against me." Jesus was distinguishing between individual spiritual relationships with his teachings (where neutrality is impossible) and the broader social work of the kingdom, where many could contribute positively without formal membership. This lesson proved valuable to John in his later ministry, though the apostles frequently struggled with accepting independent workers who taught in Jesus' name without being part of their official organization.

During a visit to Edrei, where Thomas and his associates were working, Jesus spent a day and night providing comprehensive instruction for those who would teach truth and spread the gospel of the kingdom. He established fundamental principles that would guide effective spiritual teaching, beginning with the foundational concept that every person's personality must be respected and never manipulated through force, whether physical, psychological, or emotional.

Jesus taught that appeals should be directed to the divine spirit within people rather than exploiting emotions or overwhelming them with clever arguments. He emphasized the importance of self-respect, instructing his followers to help restore dignity to those who had lost it and be careful not to wound the self-esteem of the timid. Jesus cautioned against using fear to motivate belief, instead encouraging his disciples to recognize that strong emotions are not equivalent to spiritual guidance. He reassured them that while entering the kingdom guaranteed life's challenges rather than escape from them, true believers could face difficulties without fear, knowing that the Father accompanies them through all adversities.

When Jesus visited Abila, where Nathaniel and his associates were working, Nathaniel expressed concern about certain statements Jesus had made that seemed to question the authority of the Hebrew scriptures. In a private conversation, Jesus candidly shared his perspective on the nature and limitations of scripture. He explained that the writings were not the infallible words of God but represented the work of men—some holy, others less so—who recorded their understanding of God according to the enlightenment of their times.

Jesus helped Nathaniel understand that the scriptures contained varying degrees of truth and spiritual insight, with later writings generally being more reliable than earlier ones. He explicitly rejected passages that portrayed God as directing violence or showing favoritism, stating, "Never permit yourself for one moment to believe the Scripture records which tell you that the God of love directed your forefathers to go forth in battle to slay all their enemies." Jesus emphasized that divine authority resides in the spirit that indwells living manifestations of truth rather than in "the dead words of the less illuminated and supposedly inspired men of another generation." This revolutionary perspective on scripture's nature and interpretation deeply affected Nathaniel, though he shared these teachings with no one until after Jesus' ascension.

In Philadelphia, where James was working, Jesus taught his disciples about the positive nature of the gospel of the kingdom. When James asked how to select the best passages from Scripture for personal edification, Jesus directed him toward eternally true and divinely beautiful teachings, citing examples such as "Create in me a clean heart" and "The Lord is my shepherd." These selections demonstrated Jesus' approach to Scripture—extracting timeless spiritual truths while setting aside culturally limited concepts.

Jesus transformed the Jewish religion from passive compliance with ceremonial requirements to active doing of the Father's will. He consistently emphasized positive action over negative restraint, particularly regarding the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself," which he extracted from a longer passage while rejecting the negative elements. When discussing turning the other cheek, Jesus explained this wasn't a call for passive submission but required "positive and vigorous expression of the believer's personality" to actively lead wrongdoers toward righteous living. He categorized three responses to evil: returning evil (unrighteous), passively suffering evil (negative), and returning good for evil (positive and righteous)—clearly advocating for the third approach that actively overcomes evil with good.

The four-week mission in the Decapolis achieved moderate success, with hundreds of new believers joining the kingdom. This mission provided valuable experience for the apostles and evangelists as they learned to carry on their work without the immediate personal presence of Jesus, developing greater independence and confidence in their ministry capabilities. On Friday, September 16, the entire corps of workers reassembled at Magadan Park as scheduled to discuss future plans for extending the kingdom.

The following day, they conducted a council attended by more than one hundred believers to consider the expansion of their work. David's messengers reported on the welfare of believers throughout Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and adjoining regions, demonstrating the importance of this communication network that not only connected believers but also collected funds for supporting Jesus and the apostles, as well as their families. After this productive gathering, Jesus and his associates prepared for a week of rest before embarking on their final mission in Perea, which would continue until they reached Jerusalem for the culminating events of Jesus' earth career.