Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes. He looked around, and now could see everything distinctly. Jesus said to him, "Now go directly to your home; and do not go into the town, where men will see you and ask how you received your sight." Jesus and his disciples did not stop in Bethsaida; for he felt that he must find some quiet, lonely place, where he could teach his disciples the great truths of which they knew nothing; truths, too, which it would be hard for them to believe and to understand. So from Bethsaida he went on, following a road beside the river Jordan to the foot of Mount Hermon, far in the north. The Great Confession CHAPTER 47 FROM BETHSAIDA by the Sea of Galilee Jesus led his twelve disciples northward, to the very end of the land of Israel, at the foot of Mount Hermon. Here, at one of the great springs from which the river Jordan flows, was the city of Cæsarea-Philippi, or "Philip's Cæsarea," so called because it was in the land ruled by Herod Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas, who was ruling in Galilee. Jesus did not go into the city of Cæsarea-Philippi, but into one of the villages near the city, for he wished not to have a crowd around him, but to be alone with his disciples. The time had now come for the disciples to know more about Jesus, who he was, the work that he was to do and what he was soon to suffer. His plan of teaching them was not to tell them, but to lead them on by questions so that they might learn the truth by finding it out themselves. One day, after he had been alone praying to his Father, he asked his disciples: "Tell me, who do the people say that I am?" "Some say that you are John the Baptist, raised up from the dead," answered the disciples; "others say that you are Elijah the prophet come to earth again; and still others say that you are the prophet Jeremiah or some other one of the old prophets." "But you, who do you say that I am?" asked Jesus. At once Simon Peter answered, for he was the one among the Twelve always ready to speak: [Illustration: "But you, who do you say that I am?" asked Jesus of Simon Peter.] "You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God!" You know that the Jews everywhere were looking for a king to rule over them, set them free from the Roman power and make of them a great conquering nation. This king, in their own language, they called "the Messiah," which means, "the Anointed One," for in Israel a new king was chosen by having oil poured upon his head. The word "Messiah," in the Greek language, which was spoken everywhere, was "Christ," also meaning "The Anointed One." Peter, in speaking those words, "Thou art the Messiah, the Christ," meant to say that Jesus was the King of Israel, for whom all the people were looking.