Disciples from Bethsaida

CHAPTER 14

Cephas, Amram, Ya’akov, Yohhanan, Philip, and Nathanael all become disciples of Yeshua from Bethsaida.

 1 And it came to pass that Yeshua, Miriam, and Philip walked back into Galilee, and the excitement and joy of Philip grew with each step as he continued to feast upon the words of Yeshua.

 2 As they did at every opportunity, Yeshua and Miriam went first to Nazareth so that they might again see their children and the family of Yeshua, and Philip came with them.

 3 The family of Yeshua was happy to meet Philip, for they knew his presence meant that Yeshua had begun to publicly allow himself to be recognized as a rabbi.

 4 But as Yeshua and Miriam and Philip made ready to depart again for the lake country, Yakov was agitated that Philip walked with Yeshua as his disciple, but his brother had not asked him to come with them.

 5 Of all the brothers, Yakov most cherished the teachings of Yeshua, and he desired to be with him in his ministry.

 6 Yeshua sensed his brother’s feelings and said unto him, “You are a great light upon the land, and your voice shall be heard by all the Children of Israel, who seek the Celestine Light.

 7 Where there shall be few who hear my words and hearken to the light, there will be many who hear your words and hearken unto them.

 8 I am the light of the world, and you are a great flame of the fire. But your time is not now, while the Sun still shines high in the sky, but after it has been buried in darkness, then rises again.

 9 Today, you hold the sacred charge to be a steward of our mother and our wives and our children. As you are a good steward over a few, Elohim shall make you a great steward over many, even all of Jerusalem. Let this not be a burden, for the day will soon come when your family shall be one with the Community of Light upon the lake. Then you will be free to follow me.”

 10 Yakov was humbled and happy at the words of Yeshua, and with new understanding, he bid him God’s light until they met again.

 11 After saying good-bye again to their children and family with words and warm embraces, Yeshua and Miriam departed again on the road to the east, accompanied by Philip.

 12 Because Philip was with them, they did not stop at the villa on the lake at Magdala, but continued on to Capernaum, where Miriam’s father owned a small two-room house. They returned to this house often as Yeshua began to teach the Celestine Light of Elohim at Galilee and among the Children of Israel.

 13 Leaving Yeshua and Miriam for a short time, Philip returned to his home on the other side of the river in Bethsaida to let his friends and family know that Yeshua and Miriam had returned and that Yeshua had asked him to become his disciple.

 14 Now the brothers, Cephas and Amram, were surprised to learn that Philip was already counted a disciple of Yeshua, for they remembered that Yeshua said he would return and ask them if they were prepared in their hearts to follow him. As Cephas was a local leader of the delta area, they assumed he would be asked before any others.

 15 The following day, Philip went to see Yeshua and Miriam at Capernaum, and his friend Nathanael, a merchant, traveled with him. Philip was anxious to introduce him to Yeshua, saying, “He is here, the man of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write, even Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Yosef.”

 16 Nathanael was dubious and said, “A good man I am sure, but can anything great come out of Nazareth? Please do not take offense, but I do not understand how anyone can even stand to live in that place, even though the view is beautiful from the top of the mountain. Surely, if God was going to raise a prophet in our day, he would come from almost anywhere else.”

 17 But Philip persisted, saying, “We are here now. Let us seek him out, and you can see for yourself. I said he was a prophet, but truly, I feel he is more than that.”

 18 And it came to pass that they found Yeshua and Miriam conversing beneath a fig tree, and seeing them approach, Yeshua called out to them, saying, “Greetings, Philip and Nathanael.”

 19 When Nathanael was near, he asked, “How is it that you know my name?”

 20 Yeshua answered unto him, saying, “Philip has spoken to us of you as a man without guile. You wear that truth upon your countenance. You could only be he of whom Philip has thus spoken.”

 21 Nathanael was astounded and said, “Surely, you must be more than a Nazarethian to be able to read such things in the faces of men.”

 22 Yeshua laughed and said unto him, “Because I said I could see in your face that you are a man without guile, you believe in me? Verily, I say unto you: Hereafter, you shall see greater things than this.”

 23 Many more things did Yeshua tell Nathanael that astounded him. And from that day forth, Nathanael was counted as a disciple of Yeshua.

 24 And it came to pass that Yeshua went with his wife and Philip and Nathanael to Bethsaida that same day, and coming to the shore of the lake, he saw the boats of Cephas and the sons of Zebedee casting nets into the waters of the lake; beckoning them toward shore, he walked into the water to meet their boats.

 25 Standing nearly to his waist in the water, he grasped the boat of Cephas on one side, and the boat of the sons of Zebedee on the other, and calling out asked, “Cephas, Amram, Ya’akov, and Yohhanan, can you bear the brightness of the light?”

 26 Cephas and Amram and the sons of Zebedee remembered the words of Yeshua from when he had last spoken to them, asking that they ponder upon the teachings he had given them and decide if they could live them in their lives, even though they might be different than the law would dictate and not the same as the traditions to which they were accustomed.

 27 They had spoken of these things many days among themselves, and they knew now their true hearts. And Cephas replied, “I will follow you wherever your light leads.”

 28 Amram bowed his head and said, “I am blessed among men to have a greater light to follow. Though I am only a fisherman with little in my head, my heart yearns for the greater light. I will follow you to learn of it.”

 29 Yohhanan answered, “You are the light. Your words pierce my heart, and I have awaited your return. I know my family will be cared for as I care for the light”

 30 And Ya’akov replied, “Although I still do not understand all that you teach of women, I greatly desire to learn more, and I will follow you and share the light you give to us with others.”

 31 Then Yeshua bade them to jump into the water beside him, and straightway, they did, pushing their boats back into the lake; and Cephas turned to the men remaining in the boat and told them to return to Bethsaida.

 32 Zebedee stood in his boat with his servants holding an empty net, and he looked at his sons in disbelief.

 33 Yeshua and the four men walked to shore, and Yeshua said unto them, “You have been fishers of the sea, and from the fish, life you have taken. Now I will teach you how to be fishers of men, and to the men, life you shall give.”