An earthly light penetrates the holy darkness, and animated scenes at Magdala, on the lake, are visible to me.  Fishermen and boatmen, shepherds, artisans from the town, people from the neighbouring villages and from the mountains, are gathered together on the quay where the boats land their passengers.  For the rumour has gone forth that the new prophet is coming.  And in the chattering crowd it is said that he is a magician from the East who possesses miraculous powers, and can make the sick whole.  An amusing thing had happened at Capernaum.  The prophet had been there, and a man ill with rheumatism, a beggar who lived on his lame leg, had been dragged in his bed to him.  Now the prophet could not endure beggars who nursed their infirmities in order to display them, who pretended poverty, troubled themselves about nothing, and yet wished to live in comfort.  The prophet liked to deprive them of their begging tool, namely, the infirmity, so that they were compelled to work.  He healed the man’s rheumatic leg, and said; “Take up thy bed and walk.”  And the sick man was much astounded over the turn things had taken; the bed had carried him there, but he must carry the bed back.

Others said the prophet was an Egyptian, and could foretell the future.  Whereupon someone observed that if he could not foretell the future he would not be a prophet.

“By Father Abraham!” exclaimed an old ferryman, “if prophets had always foretold truly the universe would have fallen into the sea and been drowned long ago.  I can prophesy too; if he comes, well, he’ll be here.”

“Then he’ll soon be here,” said a fisher-boy, laughing, “for there he comes.”

A boat, tossed up and down on the waves, was approaching, and in it sat four men.

“Which is he?”

“The one with the black beard.”

“Oh, that’s rubbish!  The man with the beard is James, the boatman from the Jordan Valley.”

“Then it must be the bald man.”

“But, Assam, you surely know Simon the fisherman of Bethsaida, who comes every month to the market here and spoils other men’s business with his absurdly low prices.”

When they had landed, His companions could scarcely steer a way for Him through the crowd, The people looked at Him; some were disappointed.  That prophet was not sufficiently different from themselves.  Was it really He?  The carpenter of Nazareth!  Well, then, we’ve had a nice run for nothing.  We know what He has to say, and what He can do He does not do.

“He will do it, though.  He did it in Cana.  Bring up the water pitchers—­we’ll be merry today.”

The crowd pressed forward more and more eagerly, for many had come a long distance, and desired to see Him close and hear Him speak.