This volume begins with an exploration of the various positions people took when Jesus restored a man who had been living naked and tormented in the tombs on a Gadarean hillside. The cleansed and restored man wanted to join Jesus’ company of followers, but Jesus told him to go home and share the good news of what God had done for him with his own family. In another chapter, as Jesus returned to Capernaum, a woman suffering from a long-standing illness thought that if she touched his garment, she would be healed. The significance of that little word “if” in life cannot be underestimated.

When Jesus went into the house of a prominent Capernaumite to pray for his young daughter, he had to clear the area of those who lived in the past and had a dark picture of the future.

Later, Jesus and his disciples revisited his home town, Nazareth, only to find that the hometown, like many others have found, had changed. The question arises: Can one truly go home again? Yes, as this story shows, one can go home again—if one dares.

Following this, Jesus sent his disciples on a short-term practicum. His syllabus listed all the requirements for their trip. While not necessarily a pattern for all evangelistic work, this episode nonetheless serves as a valuable illustration for a modern disciple.

While Jesus and his disciples were engaged in evangelism, the vengeful desire of the king’s wife led to the execution of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. This tragic event raises the age-old question of why bad things happen to good people. This chapter offers one perspective to that enduring question.