Jesus watched the men listening to Andrew and knew why they agreed. He knew the inward emptiness of fear—fear of a future they could not know. Andrew was right; their peril was increasing every day. But Jesus shook his head. "My followers," he said, "do not think that I was sent to bring peace to this nation. I came to bring strife. It cannot be any other way. Men enter the Kingdom of God only through conflict and pain."
When the disciples arrived in Capernaum on the day after the Sabbath, they heard a report that dismayed them: John the Baptizer had been thrown into prison by King Herod. They found out about it through one of his followers who had come to Capernaum to find Jesus and was waiting for them at Simon's home. The man's name was Jacob. Andrew and John remembered him as one of the Baptizer's most loyal disciples.
"What made the king do it?" asked Andrew.
"John told the king he was doing wrong in the sight of God," replied Jacob.
John is no bolder than Jesus, thought Andrew.
Jacob added, "John himself told us just before he was taken prisoner that we should come to you."
Andrew turned to Jesus. "What will Herod do to him?"
"There is no way to tell. We must be prepared to hear the worst."
"Why did John send you to us?" Simon asked Jacob.
"Some of us went to him and told him that more people were following your Master than were following him," answered the man. "He just said to us: 'Didn't I tell you that I am not the Christ? I am glad that Jesus has many followers. He must grow even stronger, and I must decrease.' When he was thrown into prison, I came to you."