Men Called Him Master Part 27

"Unclean! We are unclean!" they called. The law compelled them to warn everyone of their disease with this cry. "Master, have mercy upon us."

They were indeed a pitiable sight. With inward pain, Jesus looked at their wasted bodies, mere skin and bone. Repulsive scars from the disease marked their faces.

"These men seem to know the Master," murmured Andrew in surprise.

"They might be Galileans," replied James. "Perhaps they live here because they were driven out of their homes." The people were afraid that the lepers might come near them, but the twelve disciples knew that Jesus intended to help them.

"Make ready and go immediately to Jerusalem," commanded Jesus. "Go to the priest there and get a certificate showing that you are clean according to the Law of Moses." The ten men turned without a word and made for the leper house. In a moment they were out again, taking the road around the outside of the city. On the way to Jerusalem they would beg food.

"Let us go into the city," said Jesus. He had hardly come into the shadow of the high wall when one of the lepers came running back. He threw himself down in front of Jesus and cried out: "Blessed art thou.

Master! G.o.d is good! I am clean!" It was true. The men could see no sign of the terrible disease.

"Where are the other nine?" asked Jesus. "Were they not healed also?"

"This man is not from Galilee!" exclaimed Andrew under his breath.

"Is this Samaritan the only one to come back and thank me?" Jesus asked the people. He turned to the man. "Get up and go back to your own home.

Your faith has made you well."

The gate into Scythopolis was like a dark tunnel because the wall was so thick. Roman guards stationed on the inside examined the travelers as they pa.s.sed through. If they were surprised to find a large group of Galileans in a town on the border of Samaria, they said nothing.

"This town seems different from the one that refused us," admitted James. Every one of the people who accompanied Jesus found a place to stay. They discovered that many of the townsmen knew about Jesus. Some even gathered curiously in the courtyard of the inn where Jesus rested.

By the time they left Scythopolis the next morning everyone knew they were there.

"The Master could make many disciples here," observed Andrew enthusiastically.

All the followers of Jesus were in high spirits. Even though Jesus kept a fast pace, they did not fall behind. At noon they pa.s.sed through a large town, but Jesus paused only long enough for them to draw water to drink. Farther south they entered the narrowest part of the Jordan Valley. The road followed the brink of low limestone cliffs which overhung the Jordan. The swift water was cutting into the banks; whirlpools and rapids swirled below them. Occasionally they had to walk around places where the river had undermined a section of the bank and caused a cave-in.

Even though the river constantly washed away portions of their farms, the people raised heavy crops. The farmers lived in crowded villages along the road. Between the wheat from the rich soil and the sheep that grazed on the hills above, the people were quite prosperous.

For two days Jesus pressed forward without a rest. As the group approached the borders of Judea, the valley gradually widened until the mountains across the river were blue in the haze that hung heavy in the air. The damp heat had nearly exhausted the travelers, but some inward force seemed to drive Jesus faster every hour. In the afternoon of the second day they crossed the first of the streams that flowed from the highlands behind Jericho. Ahead of the disciples, clear to the foot of the distant hills, lay green fields of wheat, fig orchards, and vineyards. Beside the road were rows of stately palms.

"There is Jericho!" Everyone looked ahead. The city stood on a low, flat hill. Its walls rose high above the trees. The Galileans could see very clearly the beautiful theater built thirty years before by Herod the Great, father of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. Beside it stood the ma.s.sive fortress which he had built to defend Jericho. Dominating both city and plain stood the square stone tower of Cyprus; from this high lookout Herod's soldiers could easily see any enemy who might dare attack Jericho.

Jewish pilgrims crowded the road. "They must have waded the Jordan at the ford where we first heard John the Baptizer," commented Andrew to John.

"The way we came is shorter," answered John, thinking of the many loads of salted fish he and Andrew had brought to Jerusalem on the road east of the river. The disciples saw the Galilean pilgrims on the road staring at Jesus and murmuring to one another. At length one man came up to John.

"Wasn't your Rabbi in Tiberias a few days ago?" he asked. John nodded.

The man and his friends joined the group with Jesus. Others followed.

"This is not good," observed Andrew.

"It certainly would be better not to cause any disturbance in Jericho,"

agreed Peter.

"We shall be in serious trouble if Pilate's local commander sends him word that we caused a riot here," added Judas. "I hope these people keep their heads."

Outside the gate of Jericho sat the usual line of beggars, ragged, filthy, and diseased. Some were silent, but others called out, asking alms. Hardly anyone paid any attention. Suddenly there was a loud cry from the side of the road.

"Jesus! Jesus! Thou Son of David! Messiah! Have mercy on me!"

"Shut up!" snapped someone. Others looked harshly at the beggar who had shouted, but he could not see their hard faces. He was blind.

"Jesus! Messiah! Have pity on me!" His voice was louder than before.

"In the name of heaven, make that wretch be quiet!" burst out Judas. "We shall have the whole Roman army on us if anyone hears him talking as though Jesus were going to lead a revolution!"

Jesus stopped. "Who is calling to me?"

"Oh, just some beggar," answered James.

"Bring him to me." The man who had scolded the beggar said to him: "Don't worry. The Master himself is calling you." The blind man leaped to his feet, threw off his tattered coat, and pushed his way through the crowd toward Jesus.

"What do you want me to do for you?" asked Jesus.

The beggar dropped to his knees. "O Master, that I might be able to see again!"

A hush had fallen over the crowd. Jesus said: "Open your eyes. Your faith has made you well again." The man looked around him. He saw the people, the city wall above him, the palm trees at the side of the road.

Jesus turned and led the crowd through the gate into Jericho. People cl.u.s.tered around the beggar as he walked after Jesus. He talked loudly and happily, hardly able to express his joy.

Judas came up to Jesus. "Can't we send that man away? Think what will happen if the Romans hear him babbling like this!"

"Let him tell what has happened to him," answered Jesus. "We have come to Judea to proclaim the gospel. That man has found the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him declare it to everyone!"

"We are losing our chance to win over the high priests in Jerusalem!"

burst out Judas. "Before tomorrow night word will reach them that the people are trying to make Jesus king! They will all be against us!"

"Well, there is nothing to do about it now," said the Zealot. The man in front of Judas stopped in his tracks and Judas ran into him. "What is the matter now?" he demanded impatiently.

The Zealot pointed to a tree over their heads. "Look!" A man was standing on a heavy lower limb of one of the sycamore trees that grew at the side of the street. The whole crowd gaped. Jesus spoke with someone in the crowd for a moment and then called to the man in the tree: "Zacchaeus, come down here! I want to visit your home."

Judas turned to a man beside him. "Who is that fellow?"

"He is the chief tax collector in Jericho. He is very rich."

"A tax collector!" exploded Judas. He turned to the Zealot. "Did you hear that? He wants to stay with a tax collector! Why does he insist on mixing with such people? Everyone will say he is a lover of traitors and sinners!" If Judas had not known it was useless, he would have protested to Jesus then and there.

Zacchaeus climbed out of the tree and stood in front of Jesus. "May I come to your home?" asked Jesus again.

"Oh, yes, Master!" exclaimed Zacchaeus, and he turned to lead the way.

The rumor spread fast. The Galilean Prophet was staying with Zacchaeus!

The deliverer of Israel--staying with a tax collector? Impossible!

Perhaps he was not Messiah at all!

The publican knew that people considered him a traitor. He knew how much it meant that Jesus had chosen him for a friend. The next morning, just before Jesus left his home, Zacchaeus declared in the presence of all the disciples: "I am not the man I was yesterday. I intend to be a different person. If I have cheated anyone in collecting taxes, I will give half of all that I possess to the poor; and I will give every man whom I cheated four times what I took from him."

Jesus smiled. "Zacchaeus, this day G.o.d has forgiven your sin and accepted you in his Kingdom. Because you believe, you are a true son of Abraham."