Final Confrontation

by D. Brian Shafer

  “I have certainly held up my end of things,” said Kara. “I have sent all manner of tempting possibilities His way.” He shrugged. “But unlike most humans He has overcome them all.”

  “True,” said Lucifer, thinking back to his own vain attempts at bringing Jesus down through temptation “Try as we might, tempting Him is not the answer. I learned that one in the wilderness.”

  Lucifer looked over the desolate plains below. Then he turned to the others.

  “No! I am convinced the only way to get at Jesus is through the betrayal by someone He trusts. And I believe we are progressing in that area.”

  He looked at Kara as if waiting for a report.

  “Yes, of course,” said Kara, looking uncomfortably at the other two. “We believe we have found several possibilities among the twelve. Most of them are quite unaccomplished and rough men. Ignorant. Poor. But of the twelve there are five who have been under our scrutiny as possibilities for betrayal.

  “First there are the brothers, James and John. They are loyal to Jesus in many respects. But they seem quite volatile. Very temperamental. Their nickname the “Sons of Thunder” bears that out. Then there is Simon, now called Peter. Another hothead. Unsteady and abrupt. He might turn on Jesus if we can appeal to his impatient nature. Thomas is always asking questions and seems to be wondering about it all. And finally there is Judas. He is aloof and a loner. He scorns Jesus when He is not around and he sometimes robs from the common purse. I would say of all of them, Judas is the most promising.”

  “Interesting,” said Lucifer. “I quite agree. Judas bears watching.”

  He looked at the others.

  “Very well. Then we shall watch for an opportunity to enter the heart of this man. In the meantime, we must continue inflaming the ignorant priesthood. In the end they will be the destroyers of Jesus. The Romans, as well, have no use for Him.”

  He made a sweeping gesture of Masada.

  “Herod built this place as a fortress which in the end he never really needed. Oh, he used it a few times as a refuge, you may recall. But it never played the sort of role he imagined it might.”

  His head nodded slowly up and down as if agreeing with himself—trying to convince himself what he was about to say might possibly be true.

  “So it must be with Jesus. In the end the priests shall have no need of Him. Mark me! Religious venom is the deadliest poison humans have ever invented.”

  He looked at the morning star which was rising above the eastern horizon. The twilight was still a bit reddish at the crest where land meets sky. Lucifer strode to that side of the fortress and looked northward in the direction of Jerusalem.

  “So that is where it shall end,” he began. “Somewhere down there in the holy city.”

  He looked back at the others who were making their way cautiously toward him on the northwest point of the fortress.

  “I lived in a holy city once. The holiest. I worshipped there, too. And angels sang at my choruses and the Presence of the Most High God was intoxicating. Every creature bowed at the throne of God. All of them!”

  Lucifer stared at the morning star and continued speaking, as if he were speaking to Heaven itself.

  “It was You to whom they bowed. But it was by my music that they worshiped. It was to You that they made their allegiance. But it was I who allowed them to think for themselves. It was Your law that bound them to servitude. But I have given them an opportunity for freedom. And now it comes to some sort of bloody end.

  “I am prepared for the outcome. And I will see it through. But the cost to You, Most High, will be greater than anyone will ever understand. But why must it be? Why are we contesting over a rotten humanity which has no interest in You? These people have thrown You over. Their crimes against You are innumerable. They far outweigh any offense that an angel has brought! I accuse these people of being unworthy of Your attention and I further bring these charges:

  “You created them to commune with You in Eden and were forced to expel them because of their disobedience; You made a covenant with them to become a great nation and they broke covenant; You introduced Law to them which they have not kept; You sent prophets to them to whom they would not listen. And now You come in Person and they still do not understand You?

  “How long will You endure this shame, Most High? How long will You be the object of ridicule in all of Your creation? Hear me! Leave this miserable, rotten planet to me and I will train up these people so even if they do not respect Your mercy and grace they shall respect law and order.”

  He held his fist high toward Heaven.

  “These people only understand blood, Most High. It is only by blood that they shall ever be conquered. It is only by blood that they will ever be subdued. How much more blood must be shed? How much more blood are You willing to dirty Your hands with in order to bring this war to a close?”

  He looked at the others and smirked.

  “I suspect there is a limit to the blood the Most High is willing to spill. And in the end, the blood will win the day. Mark me!”

  Herod’s Temple was the uncontested center of life in Israel. Jews from all over the world, and speaking all the languages of the Empire attended the Temple at least once in their lives, if possible. Elaborating on the Temple built in the days of Ezra, the Temple consisted of a series of common areas which were reached by climbing steps from one level to the next.

  The first common area, called the Court of the Gentiles, was devoted to foreigners who had come to worship God. Herod had surrounded the court with colonnades so that foreigners could enter the complex and admire his building. Being non-Jewish, however, these visitors could not proceed any farther into the complex.

  Heading east, one would come to the Court of the Women, which admitted only Jewish women. But they could go no farther into the complex itself.

  Next came the Court of Israel, which was open to Jewish laymen, and was the last great court open to the public.

  Finally came the innermost Court of the Priests, which excluded all lay people. In the eastern part of this court stood the great altar of burnt offering made according to the Law, of unwrought stone. West of this was the Temple containing the Most Holy Place. Between the Holy Place and the altar stood the laver of cleansing.

  It was one thing for Jesus to promulgate His message in the countryside among the ignorant, but it was intolerable for Him to be teaching in proximity of the Most Holy Place on earth! The priests were grouped as usual, watching with disgust as people actually sat at the feet of this Man! They murmured and accused Him, always listening for an opening to accuse Him of heresy; always prepared to compare His doctrine to some facet of the Law He might have offended.

  The crowds that gathered around Jesus always commanded the attention and anger of the Jews, but nowhere more than when He was teaching in one of the Temple’s inner courts, as he was doing now in the Court of Israel. Kara and Pellecus stood in the middle of the priests, enjoying their fury.

  “These priests are at a loss about Jesus,” said Kara, noticing their icy stares.

  “They are jealous,” said Pellecus. “They command by fear and law, compelling people to listen. Jesus fills their heads with hope—something that religious law has never been able to do.”

  “Yes, well I prefer law,” sniffed Kara. “It makes humans much more manageable.”

  “And disagreeable,” added Pellecus.

  “You would think there would be some sort of shame left in your cursed spirits,” came the voice of Crispin.

  Kara and Pellecus turned to see the affable teacher alighting nearby. With him was Alamar. They hailed him as if welcoming him to their own home.

  “Welcome to the Temple,” said Kara. “Built by a madman for madmen!”

  He laughed.

  “And mad angels, apparently.” Crispin retorted, to Alamar’s delight.

  Pellecus came near to where his former colleague stood. One time legends in the angelic realm of instructors at the Academy of t
he Host, Pellecus had fallen from favor when he began promoting Lucifer’s mystical and independent brand of doctrine.

  “Amazing what these humans can engineer,” he commented. “Of course this is nothing like Solomon’s Temple, but it is remarkable, isn’t it?”

  “I suspect there is enough of the image of God inside humans to do many remarkable things,” answered Crispin guardedly.

  “Of course,” continued Pellecus, “these same humans with that same image inside them are capable of doing the most horrific things.”

  “True,”agreed Crispin, watching a few more devils gathering in the court. “Humans have been taught well since their fall. Their horror springs from the heart of the most horrible of all.”

  “Come now, Crispin,” boomed the voice of Lucifer. “Am I really that horrible?”

  Pellecus and Kara laughed.

  “Any creature who would have the impudence to turn on his Creator and then show up at His Temple is horrible indeed,” answered Crispin.

  Before Lucifer could answer, a burst of laughter came from the crowd around Jesus. He had just related a very funny illustration. Lucifer noticed as a priest came hurrying in and whispered frantically to the other priests. They in turn huddled and then scurried out of the court.

  “They are up to something mischievous,” surmised Crispin to Alamar, as if he forgot Lucifer was near.

  “Priests are always up to something mischievous,” said Lucifer. “Holding dear those things that are formal and devoid of spirit, keeping watch in the morality of others while they themselves step into heartless legalism or unchecked mysticism.”

  “Angels are known to work mischief as well,” said Crispin.

  As they spoke, several angels from both the holy and the unholy camps began gathering around the two. Crispin looked at them all.

  “If you are waiting for some sort of dramatic confrontation, I’m afraid you are going to be disappointed,” he said, causing an outburst of laughter among the host. “Besides, the Lord decided this battle a long time ago.”

  Lucifer glared at him and was about to answer when a stirring in the entrance to the court began. A mob of angry priests carried stones, as a young woman was hustled into the courtyard. The woman was thrown on the ground in front of Jesus. The people who had been listening to Him backed away and the priests, many of whom had been in the Temple minutes before, stood nearby fingering the large stones in their hands.

  A devil rushed to Lucifer and told him what had happened. Lucifer beamed and gestured toward the woman on the ground.

  “This will be an interesting dilemma, I suspect,” said Lucifer to Crispin. “You are always promoting the righteousness of the Law that was introduced by the Most High, are you not?”

  Crispin, looking for a verbal trap, agreed.

  “I will always promote those things which are instituted by the Lord,” he said firmly.

  “Well, this woman was caught in the act of adultery,” said Lucifer, almost drooling. “A definite breach of the Law which requires her life! Now as far as I am concerned whether or not she committed adultery is of no consequence.”

  He was now speaking over Crispin and directly to Jesus.

  “But this is Your law, Jesus! You are the One who placed a death sentence upon this behavior. And now You may deal with it!”

  CHAPTER 13

  “I am the Light of the world.”

  Jesus glanced at Lucifer for just a second and then sat down and began to write upon the dirt with His finger. In the meantime, a spokesman for the priests emerged to accuse the woman of having been caught in the very act of adultery. The priests hoped they finally had Jesus in a theological corner which would expose Him as the fraud He must be. Jesus, however, only continued writing on the sand.

  “Master,” said the priest. “As you know, it was Moses who instructed us that this woman should be stoned to death. What do you say?”

  “You speak the truth,” said Jesus, looking at the girl who was trembling. “Moses did indeed instruct these things. And I see all of you are ready to carry out that part of the Law.”

  Lucifer was enjoying the predicament that he felt Jesus had been forced into. Kara and Pellecus exchanged comments as well. The other angels simply listened, preparing themselves that this girl must in fact die.

  “I told you yesterday, in this very Temple, that you accuse Me of all manner of things. I told you that the things I teach are not Mine, but they are His that sent me. You speak of Moses and the Law. Did not Moses give you all of the Law? And yet you keep it only in part?”

  He stood in front of one of the youngest priests and took His stone, holding it in the same manner as the others.

  “Therefore we must do what the Law says,” he continued. “But let the man here who is without sin in his life throw the first stone.”

  Lucifer’s grin quickly turned sour as he saw the looks upon the faces of the priests. What man can justify himself, they were thinking.

  Thud!

  The eldest priest in attendance dropped his rock on the ground and walked away.

  Thud! Thud!

  More stones dropped as the men slinked away, from the oldest to the youngest, until finally the only people remaining were Jesus and the woman. She looked up at him, not knowing what to do.

  “Where did they all go?” Jesus asked her. “Is there nobody here to charge you with this crime?”

  She looked about and shook her head.

  “No, my Lord.”

  “I do not charge you either,” Jesus said. “Now leave here. But do not sin anymore.”

  The woman walked away, past the remaining Pharisees who had witnessed the entire episode. Jesus looked at them.

  “I tell you—I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me and My teaching shall not be in darkness, but will have the light of life!”

  Lucifer ordered Kara and Pellecus to begin enraging the Pharisees. The two angels slipped into the circle and made suggestions of various sorts, questioning Jesus’ authority to make such statements and encouraging their desire to protect their traditions.

  “This is as good a time and place as any to challenge Him directly,” Lucifer said to the angels with him. “Let us see what these priests will do when their silly religion is being threatened! And go and fetch that stupid Zichri! He has hated Jesus ever since the time they spoke in the house of Matthew.”

  An angel immediately left to find Zichri, the priest.

  As the priests spoke to Jesus, Kara and Pellecus spoke things into their minds:

  “He has no credentials…no witness to His credibility…”

  “The light of the world?” one of the Pharisees scoffed. “Here You are, appearing as Your own witness; therefore according to the Law, Your testimony is not valid.”

  Jesus answered, “You don’t understand. Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you and your kind have no idea where I come from or where I am going.”

  He began walking in front of the men, as an ever-increasing audience of visitors to the Temple listened to Him. “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. However, if I do judge, My decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me.”

  “His Father! His Father! Who is His Father…” Kara purred.

  “In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am One who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me.”

  One of the Pharisees made a big show of looking around the grounds. “And just where is Your Father?”

  The Pharisees laughed.

  “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

  The crowds murmured, nodding their heads as if they understood and were sympathetic to the things He was saying. The priests took notice of this as Jesus continued speaking.

  “Listen to me—all of you! I am going away, and you will look
for Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

  “Only an insane man would speak such nonsense of going to a place where no other man can come.”

  Jesus continued, “All of you are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the One I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

  “So clear it up,” said a priest. “Just who are you?”

  It was Zichri, out of breath from running. The devil had placed into his mind that Jesus was in the Temple. Zichri had interpreted it as a voice from the Lord and hurried over to defend the Law from this law-breaker.

  “Who I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied, turning to Zichri. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But He who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”

  They did not understand He was telling them about His Father.

  “Who are you speaking of?” asked Zichri.

  Jesus ignored him and continued.

  “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know I am the One I claim to be and that I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me. The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.”

  “Tell them, Jesus!” came an encouraging voice from the crowd. Many in fact were beginning to believe upon Jesus. The priests became enraged at this. There were even some priests who had begun to believe upon Him. To those He said:

  “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

  “Words, words, words,” sneered Zichri. “We are Abraham’s descendants. Abraham! We are nobody’s slaves. We are a free people. Even in the midst of pagan occupation we are a nation of free men under God’s Law! How can You say we shall be set free?”

  “Because,” Jesus continued, “everyone who sins is a slave to sin. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill Me, because you have no room for My word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, but you do what you have heard from your father.”