CHAPTER 66.
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Levi
Six of John’s disciples follow Jesus and become his disciples. He teaches them. They sit in the Silence.
Among the followers of John were many men from Galilee. The most devout were Andrew, Simon, James, and John, with Philip and his brother of Bethsaida.
2 One day as Andrew, Philip and a son of Zebedee, were talking with the harbinger, the Logos came, and John exclaimed, Behold the Christ!
3 And then the three disciples followed Jesus, and he asked, What do you seek?
4 And the disciples asked, Where do you live? And Jesus answered, Come and see.
5 And Andrew called his brother Simon, saying, Come with me, for I have found the Christ.
6 When Jesus looked in Simon’s face he said, Behold a rock! and Peter is your name.
7 And Philip found Nathaniel sitting by a tree, and said, My brother, come with me, for I have found the Christ! In Nazareth he abides.
8 Nathaniel said, Can anything of good come out of Nazareth? And Philip answered, Come and see.
9 When Jesus saw Nathaniel come he said, Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile!
10 Nathaniel said, How can you speak about me thus?
11 And Jesus said, I saw you as you sat beneath the fig tree over there, before your brother called.
12 Nathaniel lifted up his hands and said, This surely is the Christ, the king, for whom the harbinger has often testified.
13 And John went forth and found his brother James, and brought him to the Christ.
14 The six disciples went with Jesus to the place where he abode.
15 And Peter said, We long have sought for Christ. We came from Galilee to John; we thought that he was Christ, but he confessed to us that he was not;
16 That he was but the harbinger sent forth to clear the way, and make the pathway easy for the coming king; and when you came he said, Behold the Christ!
17 And we would gladly follow where you go. Lord, tell us what to do.
18 And Jesus said, The foxes of the earth have homes, the birds have nests; I have no place to lay my head.
19 He who would follow me must give up all the cravings of the self and lose his life in saving life.
20 I come to save the lost, and man is saved when he is rescued from himself. But men are slow to comprehend this doctrine of the Christ.
21 And Peter said, I cannot speak for any other man, but for myself I speak: I will leave all and follow where you lead.
22 And then the others spoke and said, You have the words of truth; you came from God, and if we follow in your footsteps we cannot miss the way.
23 Then Jesus and the six disciples sat a long, long time in silent thought.