And it was the Sabbath! "Did heathens dwell here ?" the disciples asked.

No; it was a Jewish village, and the inhabitants were so pious that they seldom let a Passover go by without going up to Jerusalem.

Many years ago they had heard a young man speak words in the Temple which they had never forgotten.

"Men should work on the Sabbath if it was for the good of their fellows," the young man had preached with great impressiveness.
Now, it is generally admitted that all work is for the good of the individual and also of the community.

So they began there and then, and had never since stopped working for a single day.