14-AndrewPhilip-A

And We Thought We Knew You:
Soul Journey With the Real Jesus

Vol. II: Dream Maker

Andrew and Philip
ODYSSES OF TRUTH

Spring AD 27
Bethsaida, Galilee [1]

�� Andrew and Philip have their heads in the clouds.� But their utopian ideas are reactionary against the complete political turmoil Palestine is in.� There's the guy who looked so much like Herod the Great that he passed himself off as the king.� Got by with it for awhile, too.�

�� A man named Simon got himself a crown, located a large band of robbers to be his army, and declared himself king.� His movement was stopped by Rome.

�� What about the shepherd, strong as they come, tall and commanding, who announced he was the king?� He gathered a troop of armed men and named his brothers their commanders.� They were everywhere, killing Romans and even throwing in robbing and killing their own people, the Jews.

�� There is the outlaw Judas, leader of the commandos alternating between sniping Roman soldiers and stealing from common travelers to support their cause. [2]

�� Andrew and Philip grew up together in Bethsaida. [3]� Always best buddies.� Always walked together to synagogue school.� Always sat by each other on the bench; well, as long as the rabbi didn't catch them whispering to each other.� Been friends some 25 years now.� They vow they will be friends to the death.� It will happen that way, but not as they plan.

�� Andrew followed his father, Jonah's, footsteps and became a fisherman. [4] Philip did the same thing.� Except he has become a horse breeder.� His family has been selling horses to the military for generations, mostly for chariots. [5]

�� This is their day at the inn.� Andrew and Philip always meet there every Tuesday and Thursday evening.� To talk.� To predict.� To anticipate.

�� "You know John the Baptizer, Philip?"� It's not a question.

�� "Of course," Andrew replies.� "People are talking about him everywhere.� He claims the kingdom of God will be set up soon.� What do you think?"

�� "Sound to me like he's politicking to be another one of those so-called kings."

�� "But he doesn't have an army.� He claims he's the advance man to the king.� That's a switch."

�� "Let's go check him out."

�� "Just another wild goose chase.� There have been many others claiming to be the God-sent king.� So many of them." Philip's thoughts trail off into his memory and wander into dead ends. [6]

�� "But we won't be fooled like everyone else.� We've set up criteria.� He must meet our criteria." Philip's thoughts come back to life.

�� "Well, the last I heard he was down around Bethany.� Even if he's not there now, I hear he always stays close to the Jordan."

�� "The ceremonial cleansing he's doing ~ the baptizing ~ that's not on our list.

�� "So you think our list may still be incomplete?� Have we run into anything about ceremonial cleansings before?"

�� "Well, just before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, Moses was supposed to tell the people to...."

�� Philip turns his now-empty mug upside down with a bang and he joins in with Andrew's last few words.� "....wash their clothes!" [7]

�� "Well, that's one."

�� "Then there's the Day of Atonement when we are all cleansed from our sins once a year." [8]

�� "That's fine," Philip responds, swinging around and propping his feet up on his bench.� "But what about predictions of cleansing or washing in the new kingdom of God?� I never heard of any."

�� Andrew finishes his drink and balances his empty mug on top of Philip's.�

�� "Well, Isaiah and Jeremiah have most of the predictions about the kingdom of God.� You take Isaiah and I'll take Jeremiah."

�� Late that night there is a bang on Philip's gate.

�� "Hey, Philip!" Andrew calls in a loud whisper, trying not to wake the neighbors or Philip's parents.

�� "Yeah?" he replies, unlatching the gate into the family compound. He'd been reading on the roof hoping he'd hear his friend if he came by.

�� "Isaiah.� Nearly at the beginning."

�� Philip pushes his hair back out of his eyes and sits down on the nearest bench, but holding his torch in Andrew's direction.�

�� " 'Wash and clean yourselves up,' " Andrew reads, holding his scroll near the torch.�

�� "Yeah, so?"

�� " 'Take your immoral acts out of my sight.� Stop doing wrong....Though your sins are blood red, they shall be snow white....Afterward you will be called the City of God, the Loyal City.' " [9]

�� Philip looks over his friend's shoulder at the scroll.� "Sounds like you're on track.� I haven't found anything yet myself.� Now let me go back to bed."

�� Two days later Philip is down at the shore where Andrew is washing nets.� "Okay, Andrew.� Here's something."

�� "Let's have it" he says, checking out a tear in his net.

�� " 'I will wash away all the sins they have committed....In those days I will make a good Branch sprout from David's family tree....This is the name he will have: The Lord our Goodness.' " [10]

�� "I think we should hook up with that John to hear for ourselves what else he has to say."

�� "Oh no you don't!" Philip's father argues.� "You're not going anywhere.� I need you here, not wandering off after another crook and all his lies."

�� The next day the two friends meet at the local caravan stop.� They will head south along the Jordan River. [11]

On the Road through Decapolis [12]

�� The search.� It has never been easy.� Truth is evasive.�� People tell them to not take it so seriously, that God will bring back his kingdom no matter what the Romans or Jews, soldiers or fishermen, or anyone else does.� People tell them to not go running after every guy claiming the new king.� People tell them to not get too excited.� They'll just be let down again.� Like everyone has always has been. [13]

�� The road is busy.� Busy with Roman soldiers patrolling to keep the peace.� Busy with merchants to and from the Mediterranean coast.� Or merchants headed north toward Ephesus on the Aegean coast.

On the Road through Perea [14]

�� "Is John the Baptizer anywhere nearby?"they inquire in Pelia.

�� "John the Baptizer?� Is he the guy we keep hearing about who wears animal skins instead of robes?"

�� "Well, actually we think he's dressing like the old prophet Elijah.� But yes, that's the one."

�� "Kind of weird.� You don't take him seriously, do you?"

�� Andrew clears his throat.� "Well, maybe."

�� "We want to check him out."� Philip finishes his friend's explanation.

�� "Well, haven't heard he's around here.� Demon-possessed is what I say.� You're nuts to waste your time looking for him."

�� "Not a search, sir.� An odyssey."

�� "Some kind of odyssey.� Running after frauds."

�� "Nope.� Running after truth."

�� In a few days a caravan arrives headed farther south and they head for Peniel.� Maybe John is there.� Maybe he's the future king.� Maybe he knows things other people don't.

�� Back on the road.� Carrying some fresh fruit safely stored in their back pack.� Carrying a few clothes.� Carrying the dream of a new kingdom of God.

�� Philip gets an idea.� The caravan leader doesn't care.

�� "Attention, folks!" he announces running among the travelers.� "We're looking for John the Baptizer.� Has anyone here actually seen or heard him?� Does anyone know where he's speaking next?"

�� Philip waits.� People look at each other obviously disinterested.� Still, Andrew thinks the announcement is a good idea.

�� A tall, muscular black man shouts back at Philip.� "Sir, I heard him.� It was in Shittim a few months ago."

�� A few travelers get excited, though most think that John is just another fraud.� A few pause to shake dust out of their sandals and go back to trodding along the desert and fretting at the dust stirred up by the people just ahead of them.

�� Andrew and Philip cross over to walk next to the eye witness.� A few others join them.� The witness tells what he saw and heard.� The caravan stops.� They talk all night.� They reach a mutual hope.� The kind of hope that arises in a fog.� Hope that, once things warm up, could clear into knowledge.� Warmed by truth burning its way to freedom.

�� At dawn the group disburses.� Silence as they rejoin the caravan now awake and gathering.� Silence as they wait for the others.� Silence as their souls probe for the mind of God.� Silence as their eyes search for signs of an unusual crowd.� Deep, deep silence as their stubborn wills reach out across Palestine for the Son of God.

�� At the last minute, they decide not to go farther.� Andrew and Philip say goodbye to their new soul friend.

�� "Good luck," he tells them.� "You'll find him.� I know you will."

�� "Thank you, friend.� Thank you for everything.� God give you peace."

�� A soldier standing nearby ~ for the soldiers are never far away ~ hears the word "God" and eyes the fanatics impatiently.

�� They part.� Andrew and Philip head into the town searching for news.

�� "Over here!"

�� They see an inn.� People at inns always know what is going on, and someone always has time to tell everything they know.� They enter, completely unaware they could fail.� Timeless optimism ~ greater than ever.� Surely the truth is near.

�� "Someone in here knows," Andrew mutters.� "In my gut I'm sure."

�� "Sir, have you heard where John the Baptizer might be?"

�� "Sir, have you actually seen John the Baptizer?"

�� "Sir, we're looking for him.� How can we find John the Baptizer?"

�� "Hey, Philip.� Over here!"

�� "Yeah, I heard him with my own ears over in Tappish across the river just last week.� He named the new king.� Said he just baptized him a couple days earlier.� Strange though:� He called him the Son of God ~ whatever that means.� Actually, the man's name ~ the one he called the future king ~ is Jesus.� He's a carpenter from up north somewhere." [15]

�� The man pauses to take a swig of cheap wine.

�� "What is the procurator saying about him?� Is he worried?"

�� "Pilate?� Not that anyone can tell.� Probably thinks it's just another hoax."

�� "A political unknown, he probably calls him," Philip muses.� "What about the high priest at the Temple in Jerusalem?� What has he had to say?"

�� "Don't know.� I'd imagine he'd be pretty worried since John says this messiah plans to be both our high priest and king." [16]

�� The stranger picks up his mug and becomes sidetracked with a game of dice being played at the next table.� He knows what he thinks will never sway either politics or religion.

�� Andrew leaves the man a tip.� He and Philip return to the street.

�� "We've made it!� He's somewhere between here and Bethany!� He's got to be!"

�� They return to where they had left the caravan to find another headed farther south.� They find a place to sit and wait for one to assemble.�

�� "We're going to see the new king!" Andrew says to the stranger he sits near.

�� The man looks up.� They expect a sneer.

�� "You're looking for John the Baptizer?� I heard him just a month ago up north while visiting my brother.� Great man."

�� The two wonder at the familiarity people in the south have of John.� Back to the caravan.� This time tomorrow their faith will have become sight.� In the flesh.�� Truth at last.

Bethany, Perea [17]

�� No sign in Shittim.� They progress to Bethany.� Searching and refusing to give up.� Then they see it.� A lineup of people in the direction of the river.�

�� The two young men dart out of the caravan.� They run across the highway, dodging a cart driven by a single oxen.� Down the narrowing, rocky road toward the river.� Running.� Closer.� Closer to John and truth.� And the kingdom of God.� At a common river bank!

�� Panting, they draw closer to the river.� And the crowd.� Oh yes.� The crowd.� John's crowd.� God's crowd.� It has to be.� Please God, let it be.� Please God!

�� "Repent!" they hear.� "Repent, for the kingdom of God is just around the corner!� Cleanse your lives!� Get ready!� It's almost here!� Come!� Be ceremonially cleansed!� Come!� Get your heart ready for God's salvation!� Come!� Everyone, come!"

�� John talks awhile longer, explaining ancient prophecies now coming true.� Andrew and Philip become convinced.� Impatiently, they get in line with the others wanting to be baptized in the river.

�� Eventually it is their turn.� The two young men with the wrinkled tunics, dirty loose sandals, and dirty ruffled hair.

�� "Man, I do repent.� I've asked God to cleanse me, so I can be ready before him.� Baptize me, John.� Me and my friend."

��"Yes.� I repent too.� We'll try to do better.� Just show us how.� We've been looking for you.� Thank God we found you."

�� John sighs.� He feels a kindred spirit with these two.� They're focusing in on attitude, not altitude.� Not so much the kingdom of God, but the heart of God.

�� "Come out into the water with me.� We'll do it right now."

�� They wade out.� They submit to the traditional complete submersion. [18] �Of body into the cleansing water.� Of soul into the cleansing spirit. [19]

�� Making their way back to shore, John says, "I'd like to meet with you two in private.� I think you've still got questions."

�� "Yes, sir, we do.� Thank you.� We'll be here."

�� For awhile they stay nearby listening as John answers questions from the crowd.� Sometimes genuine.� Sometimes hostile.� Sometimes straight and sometimes twisted.� But when John says he must stop awhile for a rest, Philip and Andrew pull out the small tent they brought along and set it up.

�� Then they get out their scroll with the list of requirements for the new kingdom as foretold by the prophets, and look it over once more.

�� "Hey, guys!� Hey in the tent!� Hey in there!"

�� Philip peeks out.� "It's him!� Let's go!"

�� Andrew and Philip crawl out of the tent in anticipation.� It's nearly dark.

�� John leads them out zig-zagging his way between rocks and desert brush seen clearly in the moonlight.

�� "We heard you announced who the new king of God's kingdom is:� Jesus.� Which Jesus?� How do you know?"

�� John explains words of the old prophets centuries earlier about the King of kings.� His place of birth in Bethlehem, Judea, the slaughter of babies there, fleeing to Egypt, his living in Nazareth, Galilee, the exact years of his ministry.� Only God could have known all these things centuries before. [20]

�� Philip checks off several of the criteria on their list.� "Now, sir.� Where are the soldiers?� Everyone else who has declared they were the God-sent king cut down the foreigners wherever they could."

�� "Gentlemen.� I'm surprised you brought this up.� This is a kingdom of peace, not war."

�� Andrew and Philip grin broadly.

�� "Right on!� Check off another one!� 'Prince of Peace' from Isaiah the prophet, and 'Peace to the kingdoms' from Zechariah the prophet."[21]

�� John realizes he was conned into that answer, and laughs heartily.

�� One criteria after another.� Check.� Check.� Triple check.� Born in Bethlehem.� The king's seal will be justice ~ from the Psalms.� Check another one. [22]

�� Deeper and deeper into truth.� Gut wrenching truth.� Truth that takes hold of you and captures you.� Truth that at first seems all wrong.

�� "Well, it's late.� I really need some rest now."� It is after midnight.

�� "Repent!� The kingdom of heaven is coming soon!"� His message always the same.� Everyone needs it.� He has so little time to get them ready.

�� Philip walks to the back of the crowd and listens for awhile.� Where's Andrew?

�� "Folks, if you've come to hear John the Baptizer, he's right over there." Andrew is standing by a well.

�� "He's weird.� I heard he's demon-possessed."

�� "Go hear for yourself," Andrew urges.� "You're this close.� Why miss the chance to find out for yourself?"

�� Philip wanders around until he spies Andrew and what he's doing.� Not a bad idea.� Philip goes out to the road.� He slows travelers down, then tells them, "John the Baptizer's here today.� If you're not in a hurry, go listen to him awhile."

�� Some travelers decide, "Why not?".� Some have appointments and are in a hurry.� Some do not slow down and nearly run into Philip ~ like the troops of Romans.

�� That night they meet once again with John.

�� "When can we meet him ~ Jesus?"

�� "Well, he's gone right now.� I baptized him a few days ago.� Shortly afterwards he told me he needed time alone.� He felt torn inside like Satan was trying to get him to forget the whole thing, or to make the kingdom different than planned.� I felt his agony.� Don't know how long it will take him to work it all though."

�� "He has made it thirty years without sinning.� He's got three to go, according to Daniel."[23]

�� "Sinless!"� Thought.� Straining to comprehend what man cannot.� Straining to grasp the stubborn will of divinity.

�� "Guys.� Maybe you don't understand this yet.� But Jesus is God descended into human flesh." [24]

�� Andrew and Philip sit.� And stare.� No words.� Boggled thoughts.� Trembling souls.� John has gone too far.� This cannot be the truth.

�� Philip gets up from the rock he's been sitting on and paces.� Andrew gets up and walks away from the other two awhile.� John waits.� He's been through this a hundred times himself.� God in flesh!

�� Philip remembers the list of criteria.� Pulls the dirty scroll out of his belt.� It's there.� Didn't he realize what he was writing?� Isaiah!� "To us a son is given....Mighty God." [25]

�� "The Son!� Mighty God!"

�� Andrew hears from a hundred paces away and returns.� "But you can't see God!"

�� "It's on our list, Andrew," Philip almost whispers.� "How did it get there?"

�� "You wrote it, dummy!"� Andrew heckles.� They are grateful for their own laughter.

�� But that laughter takes a nose dive into wonder, and descends deep into their throats.� Their hearts race to their gawking minds.� John waits still.

�� Philip puts both fists to either side of his head, looks upward, and swings around as if on a pivot.

�� Andrew kicks a rock, slumps down on the rock he'd been using as a seat, and stands back again.

�� "Woah!� That's deep!"

�� John stands.� It is going to take more time than he thought.� "I think you've got all you can handle for tonight.� I'll see you in the morning."

�� They return to their tent, but do not speak the rest of the night.

�� "Repent!" they hear outside.� A new day.

�� At noon John walks over.� "Well?"

�� They know what he means by "well".� Neither has mentioned it yet.

�� "We don't know."

�� "We'll have to leave that point open."

�� "We'll have to wait and see."

�� John is amused how they finish each other's sentences.

�� "I'm moving on down the road tomorrow.� A week in one place is long enough.� Care to go along?"

�� The two look at each other in delighted surprise.

�� "If you have jobs to get back to, I understand."

�� "What do you think?"

�� "Peter can handle the business."

�� "My parents can get along without me awhile longer."

�� "I have a ring here I can sell for some money to live on."

�� "For how long, John?"

�� "Don't know.� Could you handle a month for now?"

On the road along the Jordan River [26]

�� John the Baptizer speaks day after day.� Caravan stop after caravan stop.

�� Andrew runs into some friends from back home in Bethsaida.

�� "I guess my brother is keeping all the merchants supplied with their fish."

�� "Peter?� Oh, he's not there.� He's gone to Bethany on some kind of business."

�� "Hey, that's not far from here.� We're headed that way ourselves.� Maybe we'll run into him."

�� In the mean time, Philip sends a message to an old buddy, Nathaniel.� He has lived in these parts several years.� "I'm with John the Baptizer.� Find me.� Let's talk."

Bethany, Perea [27]

�� John stands over by the river where the water will help carry his voice.� "Repent!� Get on God's good side.� His eternal kingdom will be set up soon!"

�� Repent.� Over and over repent.� It draws crowds by the hundreds at first, then thousands.� No one else has had the nerve to say what John does.� Repent?� People have things to repent of?� John opens their eyes.� They don't steal, cheat, lie, or kill.� But their sins of attitude; what about them?� That's sin too?� The crowds want to understand.� The honest crowds.� The crowds wanting truth at last.� Liberating truth.

�� Then he sees him.� Him!� He's back.� He has caught up with John.� He has made it through his latest temptation.� Jesus is smiling.� He is okay.

�� "Look!" John gestures.� "The Lamb of God!� He's taking away the sins of the world!" [28]

�� But Andrew and Philip are out at the road pointing curious travelers in the direction of John.� They miss it.� Jesus comes and goes, and they miss it.

�� "He was here," John tells Andrew and Philip hesitatingly toward the end of the day.� "Jesus was here."

�� "Here?� We missed him?� Why didn't you come get us?"

�� "I couldn't do that."

�� They know it is true.� But it does not alleviate the herculean disappointment that weighs on them.

�� "Oh, he's not far.� He'll be back. �Maybe tomorrow.� Probably tomorrow."

�� The next day they stay close to John.� They search the crowd, the sea of faces.� Where is Jesus?� Which one is Jesus?� Is he here yet?� Jesus!� Where are you?� Jesus!� You're taking too long.� Jesus!� Come to us!� Please, Jesus!

�� "Look!� It's him!� The sacrificial lamb of God." [29]

�� The pair looks in the direction that John is pointing.� A man about their same age turns away from the crowd and begins walking away.

�� "Him?" they ask John in a half-whisper, distracting him from his preaching.

�� "Yes him," John interrupts his sermon to answer.� "Hurry and catch him!"

�� John smiles and stays behind.� He is going to have to get used to staying behind.� This is the job for which he was born.� And they ~ they need to be alone with their Savior.

�� "Uh, teacher!� Sir?� Uh, may we bother you, sir?"

�� Jesus turns. [30]

�� "Jesus?� Jesus?" Andrew stops in his tracks.� "But it's just you," Andrew stutters at an old friend from Nazareth not far from Bethsaida.� "What are you doing here?"

�� Philip watches Andrew's confusion with perplexity.� Have they both been fooled?� Has John been fooled?� What's wrong?

�� Andrew turns his back on Jesus and Philip and walks away.� But suddenly he turns back.�

�� "No!� The one we've been searching for is not you.� You're the wrong Jesus.� You're just James' and John's cousin. [31] �I met you a few times growing up.� It can't be you."

�� Andrew is fuming.� He turns again and walks over to a tree and pounds it frantically.� He has been tricked.� Everyone has been tricked.� After all the setting up criteria and all the searching.� Now this.� It's all been one big lie.

�� Again Andrew turns and walks back to the two men.� He wants to make sense of the unsensible.� "You were never known to be a practical joker, Jesus.� Don't start now."

�� Jesus has been giving Andrew time to comprehend.� Now he reaches over and puts his hand on Andrew's shoulder.� Andrew pulls away in repulsion.� "You tricked us!� Philip, let's go home.� It's useless.� We'll never find him."

�� "Andrew, let's talk," Jesus suggests.

�� "Let's give him a chance, Andrew," Philip adds.� "John wouldn't have lied to us.� Didn't he go through all the scriptures with us proving this Jesus was the one?� Give him a chance."

�� "Well, where are you staying?"

�� Jesus replies, "Come and see."

�� "I'm not promising you anything, Jesus.� All I know is that you will never convince me you will be the next king.� Of all people not you."

�� Jesus has a rented room on the edge of Bethany.� They talk.� For hours they talk. [32] Jesus reviews all the scriptures prophesying his life.� Where he would be born, where he would live.� Of course Andrew has always known where Jesus was born, but he never put two and two together.� Jesus reminds Andrew of his miraculous birth.�

�� "Well, I've always heard that story from my mother, that your mother was a virgin.� But I never took it seriously.� No one did." [33]

�� Jesus does not reply.� He waits.� Waits for Andrew's past to catch up with his present and his future.� "But...."� Then Andrew returns to perplexing thought.� He is bewildered.� Nonplussed.� What is happening?

�� Still they talk.� Philip has been quietly studying Jesus.� "Andrew, listen to him.� He's got to be the one.� Everything adds up."

�� Still Jesus waits.� Philip has caught on.� He no longer waits for Andrew.

�� "Jesus, I've looked for you all my life.� I want to be by your side when you begin the new kingdom.� I am convinced God sent you."

�� Andrew interrupts.� "What are you doing, Philip?"� He is shocked.� Any more he is unsure.� The prophesied king; it's not him.� Not Jesus.� He can't be.

�� Philip and Jesus become absorbed in conversation.� Andrew keeps himself out of it on purpose.� It's not supposed to be this way.�

�� Finally, when it is late, Andrew takes a chance without betraying his confusion to the others.� He tries looking at Jesus as more than a boyhood friend.� Can he really be God's chosen one?� Somehow?� The scriptures, the proof, swirls through his head.� He looks at the checklist Philip has laid on the table.� Everything checks off.�

�� "But, you?� Jesus?" he says at last.

�� "Yes, it's me.� Try to believe."

�� Then Jesus shares his plans.� He must go everywhere preparing people.� Drawing people.� Saving people.

�� It's almost daylight.� A subtle sun rises slowly on a group of men.� Three men.� Actually, two men and God.

�� "I guess I believe you, Jesus.� I know believe you," repeats Andrew.� His soul is now at peace.� Little does he know the price he will pay.

�� Suddenly without warning, Andrew becomes excited.� He has made up his mind.� He stands up and excuses himself.�

�� Running out into the street, he asks the first pedestrian he sees.� "Have you seen a fisherman from up north around here?� He's my brother."� Up and down the street he searches and inquires and searches.�

�� At last.� In the fish market.� "Peter, you've got to come!"

�� Peter turns around already smiling, recognizing his brother's voice.� "So this is where you've been hiding since leaving home."

�� "Drop everything!� We have found the Messiah, the deliverer, the king of God's new kingdom!"

�� Peter, only half believing him, but always ready to try something new, interrupts his negotiations with the fish merchant.� "Well, lead me to him!" [34]

�� In the mean time, Philip has left Jesus' rented quarters and headed out to find an old school friend who has lived in Bethany several years now.� It does not take him long to find Nathaniel's house.

�� But Nathaniel is not Peter.� He is glad to see Philip all right, but he has to attend a wedding in his home town up north.

�� "But, we have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about!" Philip objects.

�� Nathaniel stops and stares at the floor briefly, then at Philip.� "You've found who?� The next king?� Who is he?"

�� "He's Jesus of Nazareth, Galilee.� He's the son of Joseph."

�� Nathaniel, ever the teaser, objects.� "But great prophets come out of holy Jerusalem.� Nazareth is not holy.� There are too many Greeks and Romans up in Galilee.� Too many Gentiles and pagans."

�� "Hey, you're from Galilee yourself, man.� Don't knock it!� Come and see for yourself.� He meets all the criteria."

�� "All right.� But not for long.� I'll be on my way out of town for the wedding.� It will have to be early."[35]

�� Philip, Andrew, and Peter sit under a tree and listen to Jesus.� A Jesus they realize now they only thought they knew.� Drawn to his words like starving children.� Empty wells.� Void wastelands.

�� "I'm heading up to Cana tomorrow early," Jesus finally says, breaking up their discussion.� "Would you like to go with me?"[36]

�� Go with Jesus?� Be a part of his world?� Watch him build the new kingdom of God from the ground floor up?� Watch heaven's invasion?

�� Andrew recalls that this is Nathaniel's same destination ~ Cana.� What a coincidence.

�� The next morning after breakfast, Jesus heads out with his four friends ~ Andrew, Philip, Peter, and Nathaniel.�

AD 27 - AD 30
Cities in Galilee and Judea, Palestine

�� After Cana they keep going.� Month after month.� They travel with Jesus.� They travel with Wonderful.� They travel with the King of all kings.� The eternal high priest.� Ultimate truth. [37]

�� They make their way slowly around Galilee and head back south again to Jerusalem.� Will he take over now?� No.

�� But something unbelievable happens.� Jesus begins to perform miracles.� How does he do that?� Actually God does it.� Then he appoints twelve men to be his future ambassadors.� Andrew and Philip are two of those lucky ones. [38]

�� Back across the country once again ~Jericho, Sychar, Salim, Nain, up through the middle of the country to the north.� Back to Jesus' home town.� Then up to Bethsaida.

�� There he does an amazing things.� He feeds over 10,000 people single handedly.� Andrew is the one who finds the boy with the lunch of few rolls and dried fish.� That's all Jesus requires.� He feeds the whole multitude with it.� Then gives the boy's lunch back to him.� With seconds. [39]

�� Back the other way.� East to Capernaum, Magdala, Nain, Salim, and back to Jerusalem.� Will he take over this time?� No.

�� The cause continues to mount.� People become ready for the new kingdom of God.� Jesus will give his Twelve the power.� The power to perform miracles.� Andrew and Philip too.� These two guys from little towns up in the hills.� God will use them to prove their words are his words. [40]

�� The time of the takeover will indeed come.� Eventually Jesus will enter Jerusalem with great pomp and ceremony.� It will be to Andrew and Philip that the foreign Gentile Grecians go to try to get an audience with Jesus. [41]

�� It is finally their last private talk with Jesus.� He tries to explain his destination to them.� They think it is Herod's palace or the grand Temple.� It is not.� It is heaven.� Jesus says his Father is there and he'll prepare mansions for them there too.

�� "Then show us where your Father is, and that is all we'll need to understand you."� Philip still wants all the facts.

�� "Philip, don't you understand who I really am?� If you've seen me, you've seen my Father.� We are one.� Everything I say are his words.� You've seen enough miracles to understand I'm not talking about the natural but about the supernatural." [42]

�� Over and over Andrew and Philip promise to remain loyal to Jesus through thick and thin.� They will keep their promise, even after Jesus is gone.

AD 30 - c. AD 90

�� Andrew and Philip will keep their promise to each other too.� At least for awhile.� They will travel together and tell people about Jesus in barbarian Scythia along the Black Sea.� But finally they will part.� Not in anger.� Only so they can keep their promise to be together in death.

�� Andrew will continue on in Russia through the Caucasus Mountains and as far north as the Caspian Sea about the Jesus he met at a river so long ago.� Later he will return south and preach in Byzantium where he will be imprisoned and stoned.�

�� Finally he will move on to another Roman province where he will convert the governor's wife.� In retaliation, the governor will order him to recant or die.� Forsake the Jesus who believed in him so long ago?� Never.�

�� Andrew will be scourged with a whip of sharp steel chunks.� Still he will not die.� The stubborn governor will have him tied to an X-shaped cross to die of exposure.� It will take two days and weakened Andrew will use this time to beg people to follow Jesus.� His last words will be, "Accept me, O Christ Jesus, whom I saw, whom I love, and in whom I am; accept my spirit in peace in your eternal realm."

�� And Philip?� After bidding his boyhood friend, Andrew, goodbye in Scythia, he will work his way west across the continent and end up in Gaul by the unexplored Atlantic Ocean.� But as he grows older, he will move to Hierapolis in Phrygia inland from the Aegean sea.� At age 86, he will convert the wife of the Roman proconsul.� In revenge her husband will have him speared through the thighs and hung upside down to die.

�� In his last moments Philip will see someone.� It will be Andrew motioning for him they way he used to do in their youth.� Only now Andrew's cross will be gone.� Once again the two friends will walk side by side.� And joining them will be Jesus. [43]

���� LIFE APPLICATION

1.�� Faith is not blind; Hebrews 11:1 in the Bible says it has evidence.� Footnote 16 gives some predictions of the new king to come centuries later.� Do you think such predictions could be fulfilled by someone trying to imitate the king?

2.�� There are four lives of Christ in the New Testament written by four different followers of Jesus.� Have you ever read any of them for yourself?� Which one will you read from beginning to ending?� Afterwards, tell what your impression of it was.

3.�� Get hold of a Bible with center-column cross-references.� In private, go through the birth and death of Christ both, and follow up on the Old Testament references, many of which are prophecies.� Do you think such prophecies could have been purposely set up and artificially fulfilled by someone wanting to be king?�

4.�� Go to a library and check out the sacred writings of Buddhism, Hinduism, or whatever you like.� Scan through them or read them.� Do you find anything in them you could use to prove they came from a Supreme All-Knowing God?� How does this make you feel about the Bible and its provability?

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