Men Called Him Master | Page 7

to die as a criminal. All criminals were
crucified. He was thrown to the ground and his body was spread on a
wooden cross. His hands were nailed to the crossbeam. His feet were
nailed also. The cross was set upright beside the road from Jerusalem to
Galilee. All the Zealots who had been hiding in the hills of Judea were
crucified with him.
"When my father and mother took me out through the city gate, I saw
hundreds of crosses on both sides of the road. On each cross hung a
brave Galilean. When I saw that Judah was dead, my boyhood dream
crumbled. I have never forgotten."
The fire had burned out while Simon talked. The morning sun glared
on the gray ashes. Lost in thought, the men gazed at the dead fire.
Finally Simon said: "It seems that every time we fight for the Kingdom
of God we suffer all the more. How does John the Baptizer explain that,
Andrew?"
"He didn't say anything about it that I remember," Andrew admitted.
People were hurrying along the road back of the beach.
"Come along, men," said Zebedee briskly. "We must clean the nets."
"I think I'll try my luck in the shallow water," said Andrew. He picked
up a circular net with weights around the edges. He waded to his knees
and threw the net. It fell flat on the water and sank, trapping a small
fish under it.
The others began to wash the nets, patiently picking out the seaweed
and pebbles caught in them.

"Say! What's going on?" John pointed to a knot of people following a
man who was walking along the beach.
"Probably some trader," remarked Simon.
"He looks more like a teacher to me," said John.
"Why not go over and see?" suggested Simon.
In a moment John came running back. "It is Jesus, the Galilean whom
Andrew and I saw with John the Baptizer! Andrew! Andrew!" he called.
"Come and see him, Simon. Come on!"
"I think I had better finish cleaning this net, John."
"But this man is a Prophet!"
"You go ahead if you want to." John gave Simon a disgusted look.
When he turned toward the crowd of people, he noticed that they were
moving toward him.
I wish they would come over here, thought John. As if he had read
John's mind, Jesus walked nearer the fisherman. Everyone was
listening to a scribe who was asking questions. Scribes knew the
religious laws and the sacred books thoroughly.
"How can I get into this Kingdom you are telling us about, Rabbi?"
"What is written in the Law? What do you read there?" asked Jesus.
The scribe answered: "You must love the Lord your God with your
whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole
mind. Also, love your neighbor as yourself."
"Correct," said Jesus. "Do that and you will live." Simon's hands were
busy, but he smiled to hear Jesus answer the educated man so easily.
The scribe felt foolish because Jesus had made him answer his own
question. Hoping to escape embarrassment, he asked, "Just who is my
neighbor, Master?"

"There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho," answered
Jesus. "He was attacked by some robbers who took everything he had
and left him badly hurt. After a while a priest came by, but when he
caught sight of the man lying in the ditch bleeding, he went on without
even looking a second time. A Levite came along a little later and he
too passed by on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan came
along." Simon was listening intently. Like most of the people there, he
looked down on Samaritans, and wondered why Jesus had brought this
one into the story.
"The two Jews had done nothing to help their fellow countryman, but
the Samaritan stopped," continued Jesus. "He put salve on his wounds
and tied them up. He put him on his own donkey and took him to an
inn by the road. He paid his bill so that he could stay as long as it
would take to get well. When the Samaritan left, he said to the manager:
'Take care of him. If you have to do more for him, I will pay you back
when I come this way again.'" Jesus looked at the scribe. "Which of
these three men was a true neighbor to the man who was beaten?"
"The man who was kind to him," admitted the scribe grudgingly.
"Then go and be like that yourself!" said Jesus.
Simon looked at Jesus amazed, the net in his hand completely forgotten.
Not even John the Baptizer would say the Samaritan was better than
the others, he thought to himself. No wonder Andrew and John had
talked