Volume 2

Jesus in Gadara
357
Nathanael (Chased), Jonathan, Peter's half-brother, and I
think Philip. Jesus put up at the inn outside the Jewish
quarter, where already a great number of arbors had
been erected for the Feast of Tabernacles.
Next morning when Jesus went to the synagogue to
preach He was met by a great crowd of sick, who had assembled
outside to wait for Him, and also by several raging
possessed. The Pharisees and Sadducees, though apparently
well-disposed, wanted to drive these people
away. They should not be so importunate, they said, it
was not the time for that. But Jesus very graciously interposed.
"Let them remain," He said, "for it was for them
that I came," and He cured many of them.
The Jewish Sanhedrim of Gadara were meantime
deliberating whether or not they should allow Jesus to
teach, since so much was said against Him. They
unanimously resolved to permit Him to do so, for they
had heard Him very well spoken of, especially after the
cure of the son of the Centurion of Capharnaum.
The disciples lately arrived spoke to Jesus of another
person at Capharnaum who greatly needed His assistance.
In the synagogue Jesus taught of Elias, of Achab and
Jezabel, and of the idol of Baal erected in Samaria. In
speaking of Elias, Jesus said that he had not received
bread from ravens, because he had been disobedient.
There was also some allusion made to King Balthasar of
Babylon, who had desecrated the sacred vessels and had
seen the writing on the wall. Jesus taught long and earnestly
from Isaias, most strikingly applying the Prophet's
words to Himself and uttering profound thoughts upon
His own approaching Passion and victory. He spoke of
the wine press, of the red, bloody garments, of the lonely
worker, of the nations trodden down in wrath. He had
previously spoken of the rebuilding of Sion, of the watchmen
upon the walls of the Holy City, and I felt that He