Final Confrontation

by D. Brian Shafer

  Jesus turned to the people and asked:

  “If, then, David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be his Son?”

  Zichri was enraged. He looked at the others and was so beside himself he could not speak. A few of the Pharisees made a weak suggestion here or there, but they were otherwise silenced by the authority of Jesus’ answer.

  Kara and Pellecus watched as the three groups of bested men—the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees—murmured among themselves. The crowd in the outer court of the Temple was pressing in to hear Jesus.

  “These fools will never defeat Jesus with words,” remarked Pellecus. “Look how the people hang on His every word. It’s obvious they believe Him.”

  “It is not by twisting words that the Son of Man will be destroyed,” came a voice. “It is by twisting minds.”

  “Ah, my prince,” said Kara, as Lucifer walked over. They stood under one of the porticos in the outer court of the Temple. “How true. These men have proven that words are useless with Jesus.”

  “Nevertheless, you will continue fanning the passions of these men,” Lucifer said, looking at Zichri. “In the end they will serve us well.”

  “How goes the matter with Judas?” asked Pellecus. “Has he turned yet?”

  “As I have taken over that assignment personally I can assure you he is very close to ‘turning’,” snapped Lucifer. “I should think in the next day or two he shall be paying a visit to the high priest. It has already entered his mind.”

  “You mean, it was introduced into his mind,” said Kara smiling.

  “Yes and no,” said Lucifer. “What Judas does is of his own free will—just as every other crime committed by humans. I am merely expediting what is already in his heart. I am appealing to his greed, you know. And while normally we can allow men to run their lives with little interference, as long as they are not in covenant with the Most High, in the case of Judas I will leave nothing to chance. Thus I am personally seeing to it.”

  “And then?” asked Pellecus.

  “Then we shall see what the life of Jesus can be bought for,” said Lucifer.

  Jesus began walking in a circle, speaking to the crowd. When He came to the Pharisees and Sadducees, He stopped. He gestured toward the religious leaders, then spoke to the crowd.

  “These men, these teachers of Israel,” He began, “they sit in the seat of Moses and have great learning and wisdom. And so you must obey them and do everything they tell you.”

  Zichri and the other priests looked at each other as if they were trying to figure out just what Jesus was saying. Several of them nodded in cautious agreement.

  “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach!”

  “Here now, Rabbi,” protested Zichri. Jesus ignored him and went on.

  “These men create heavy loads and put them on your shoulders. And yet they themselves are not willing to help you carry the burden they impose upon you.”

  The crowd murmured. Zichri sent his priests throughout the crowd to begin quelling some of the passions that were brewing. The Sadducees simply listened, hands folded, faces as smug as ever.

  “Everything…everything these men do is done as a show—to be seen of other men. Have you ever noticed how they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues? Have you ever seen them in the marketplaces being greeted by the people and loving it so? Oh yes—they especially love it when you call them ‘rabbi’!”

  Several people in the crowd, as well as a few of the disciples that were with Jesus in the Temple, laughed aloud. Zichri shot a sharp glance in the direction of one of those in the crowd. The man stopped immediately.

  “Rabbi, a word please,” pleaded Zichri.

  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven and the hope of ever entering into it in the faces of men who are seeking it. At least move out of the way and let others enter into the Kingdom which you yourselves shall never enter!”

  “How dare you say…”

  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You work very hard to convert someone over to your way of thinking. And in the end that poor fellow becomes twice as hell-bound as you yourselves!

  “Hell-bound? Really, Jesus…”

  “Woe to you, blind leaders! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel whole!”

  Laughter again.

  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean with great diligence the outside of the cup and dish to keep from being unclean. Don’t you see that on the inside there is greed and self-indulgence? You blind Pharisee! Clean first what is inside, and then the outside shall become clean!”

  Zichri and his men were slowly becoming more and more enraged at Jesus’ accusations. But they dared not touch Him in the Temple.

  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like freshly scrubbed and whitewashed tombs that are beautiful on the outside. Yet consider the rot and corruption housed within. So it is with you—looking fine and polished and righteous on the outside—yet on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

  “Enough!” sputtered Zichri.

  “You snakes! You vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

  But because of you, I am sending prophets and wise men and teachers. And yes—you will kill some of them, and harass others, and persecute many. You will hunt them down from town to town. But it shall be on your own heads that righteous blood shall be shed—just as has always been the case from Abel to Zechariah whom you murdered in God’s Holy Temple!”

  “Blasphemy!” shouted Zichri, who turned and stormed out of the area. The Temple guards were standing ready to make sure the crowd did not riot. Zichri could hear Jesus crying out as he left.

  “Oh, Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You are the city that kills the prophets who are sent to save you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you are stiff-necked and unwilling. And now you shall become desolate.”

  Jesus turned back to the people and looked at them with compassion. Some of them were disturbed by His words; others had simply gathered to see what was going on; still others pondered this Man’s ability to get the better of the Pharisees.

  “I tell you all now, you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’!”

  Lucifer turned to Kara and Pellecus following Jesus’ address.

  “That was it,” he said. “He has just signed His own execution order. Mobilize the Pharisees and see they carry out the evil plans festering in their hearts.”

  Kara nodded with understanding.

  “You, Pellecus, shall wait until the Romans are brought into this. That fool Pilate will have to give the order. These priests are supremely hypocritical, you know. Rather than a dagger in the back in some alley, they will want this to be done publicly and legally. But Pilate is a vacillator by nature—he may need shoring up.”

  Pellecus nodded.

  “And I shall visit Judas,” said Lucifer. “The matter is drawing to a close in his mind now.”

  His eyes lit up with a reddish glow. He turned his back on the two angels, looking in the direction of the Most Holy Place.

  “And so our little adventure is coming to a close,” he began. “One way or another, for good or bad, this week shall decide the fate of Jesus, ourselves and humanity. There is much blood to come, be sure. But I never demanded blood. I would have settled for a resolution long ago if the Most High were not so stubborn. But He has determined we play out our little game to the bloody end. And so we shall.” He smiled. “Wait and see. As I said before, Jesus will bleed like any other Man!”

  A.D. 33

  Tuesday, the Last Week

  Mount of Olives

  “Our Lord certainly loves this place,” said Nathaniel, resting his aching feet.

  Bartholome
w nodded in agreement.

  “Up and down, back and forth,” interjected Thomas. “We must have been on this mountain a dozen times in the past few months!”

  “And we’ll go a dozen more if the Lord leads us here,” said Nathaniel.

  “A dozen more?” Judas asked wearily.

  The men laughed.

  The disciples had left Jerusalem and stopped at the Mount of Olives, a few hundred yards from the Temple Mount. Only two miles long, the Mount of Olives is a low ridge rising over two hundred feet above the Kidron Valley. Some of the disciples recalled numerous events in their nation’s history that had taken place there.

  David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape his son, Absalom. King Solomon built pagan altars there. Later, the reformer-king Josiah destroyed them. The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Lord there; and in Nehemiah’s time, the people came bearing olive branches for the renewal of the Feast of Tabernacles, which they had not celebrated since being taken into captivity.

  The disciples were personally familiar with the place, as it had become their route between Bethany and Jerusalem during Passover Week. Enjoying a light breeze on the gently sloping hillside, they rested from their long days of ministry. How far away it all seemed right now—the pressing of the crowds; the venom of the Pharisees; the burden of not completely understanding, and yet trusting in the Man who had led them these past three-and-one-half years.

  “I wonder how it will end,” came a voice.

  “What?” asked Peter, looking around.

  “I wonder how it will end for Jesus. And for all of us.”

  It was James.

  “You know as well as I do,” said Peter. “Jesus has promised that we are to be a part of His Kingdom.”

  “A Kingdom not of this world,” said Judas with a bite of sarcasm. “How practical.”

  Peter began to object to Judas when Thomas stopped him.

  “It’s a fair question,” he admitted. “Judas is only speaking what all of us have thought. I mean…where does it all end?”

  “Let me tell you,” said Jesus, walking into their midst.

  “My Lord, I was not doubting You,” said James, now regretting he had given voice to his thoughts.

  “Don’t worry, James,” said Jesus. “I know you all are wondering what is to come.” He sat down and the men drew in. “You know what is to come of Me. Now let Me tell you what is to come of this world.”

  He then began to teach the men what must happen.

  “Now you’ll get some answers, teacher,” said Serus.

  Crispin stood next to a large olive tree near where Jesus sat with His disciples. He only nodded and grunted an affirmative. Not his usual demeanor.

  “What is troubling you, Crispin?” asked Serus.

  Crispin looked at Serus as if he were surprised that Serus had picked up on his mood. He walked over closer to the men.

  “It occurs to me we are very near the end of this ministry,” he said. “I was thinking back to all we have witnessed; all that has been done on behalf of these humans; all that has transpired since Eden. And now it is drawing to a close.”

  Serus smiled.

  “But of course it is,” he said. “It had to come to an end one day.”

  “Yes,” Crispin admitted. “But I am beginning to see that the end coming is very different from the one I had envisioned.”

  “What do you mean, teacher?” asked Serus.

  “I mean, that the love of God is beyond the capacity of even angels to understand,” he said, marveling. “And I believe I am beginning to understand what Jesus means when He speaks of dying at the hands of men.”

  “He has been talking about that for some time now,” said Serus. “Most of the angels believe He intends another meaning—something cryptic.”

  “Do they now?” mused Crispin.

  Serus looked sharply at Crispin.

  “You mean to say that you really believe that Jesus—the Most High—intends to be taken by men and killed?”

  Crispin looked at Jesus, then turned to Serus.

  “No, Serus. I never said I believe Jesus will be taken by men. I said I think He will give Himself to them.”

  “Master,” said James. “Will you tell us what we might expect at the end of the age? What will be the sign of Your return?”

  “First of all, be watchful that nobody fools you. There will be many claiming to be Me, who will come in My name. And many will be deceived! Many things must happen before the end comes. But be watchful! There will be talk of wars and much violence throughout the world. People will rise against other people, countries shall go to war against other countries. Not only that—the earth itself shall suffer violence with earthquakes and famines occurring all over. But these are like birth pains and not yet the end.”

  “But what about us?’ asked Thomas. “Here and now?”

  Peter turned and glared at Thomas. But Jesus waved Peter aside.

  “A fair question, Thomas,” He said. “And here is the answer. You and others in the future who come after you, will suffer persecution and death and all manner of hatred because of your love for Me. In fact, the intense persecution will cause many to falter in their faith. Some will betray the truth, testifying against their brothers and turning them in to the authorities for fear of them. False prophets will emerge and lead many people astray. And love in those days shall grow cold as wickedness increases.”

  “Is there any hope then?” asked Andrew.

  “Yes, Andrew,” said Jesus, encouragingly. “For he who stands firm to the end will be saved. What’s more, this good news of the Kingdom you now preach shall be preached to all the nations of the world—only then will the end come.”

  “But when shall this be?” asked James. “How shall we know?”

  “I’ll tell you,” said Jesus. “Though it is a mystery. When you see standing in the Holy Place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’—you know, the one spoken of by the prophet Daniel—then you should be prepared for the end. Those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. Don’t worry about going back for things. I pity the women who are pregnant in those troubling times.

  “I tell you that there is coming a time of great travail that has never been witnessed before in this world—nor shall it ever be witnessed again. But because of you who know the Father, those awful days will be cut short—or else no one would survive them. And so you see I am telling you all these things ahead of time.”

  “So we may look for Your coming?” asked Bartholomew.

  “Yes!” said Jesus. “But beware. There will be many people claiming to be the Christ. Some will say, ‘He’s out there in the desert’. Others will say, ‘no, He’s over here’.”

  “But do not believe it. Let Me describe how the coming of the Son of Man shall be. It is as I described before: just as lightning that comes from the east is visible also in the west—that is how My return shall be.”

  Jesus stood, looking into the sky as He continued speaking.

  “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give off its light; the very stars will fall from the sky, and the great heavenly bodies will be shaken. The nations will mourn because they will know the time of the Son of Man is at hand. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And a loud trumpet will signal the holy angels, and they will gather those who love His coming from one end of Heaven to the other!”

  “But when, Master?” pleaded Andrew. “When shall these things happen?”

  Jesus smiled at Andrew.

  “I don’t know, Andrew. No man knows—nor angel. Only the Father in Heaven knows the hour of the Son’s return. But this much I can tell you: No one knows about that day or hour. Remember how it was in Noah’s days? That’s how it shall be. Nobody expected the Flood to come crashing down on them, and so they continued their normal lives—eating, drinking, raising their families—until that day when the ark was shut and the Flood came. That is how the return of th
e Son of Man shall be.”

  “So what are we to do?” asked Thomas.

  “As I said you must keep watch. You don’t know when the Lord might return—so you must be ready at all times. Think of it this way: If the owner of the house had known what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. You see? You must also be ready for the return of the Son of Man—just like that thief coming at some unknown hour.

  “I tell you though, the Lord shall be returning for the servant who is looking for His return. You know, a faithful servant takes care of his master’s place when the master has gone away on a long trip. He keeps things in order so that when his master returns all will be in place. But a foolish servant thinks while the master is away he can do as he pleases. The master will return unexpectedly and condemn him.”

  Jesus looked at the men with deeply concerned eyes, as if seeing all that He was describing in his mind’s eye. “And he will cut the foolish servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

  Crispin was silent for a while after Jesus finished speaking. He was grasping the enormity of these things. He realized Jesus’ ministry on earth was only the beginning of something far greater, something far more glorifying and terrible that must happen in the future. It would be a difficult and dangerous but rewarding destiny for the humans who knew the Lord!

  CHAPTER 18

  “We need to settle this before the Passover.”

  A.D. 33

  Tuesday Evening, The Last Week

  House of Caiaphas

  The light in the room was dim, just enough to make out the faces of the several men around a large table. They had gathered in the house of Caiaphas, to discuss the final disposition of Jesus. Kara and Berenius were in the room as well, silent, dark shadows unseen by the men and enjoying the final fruits of their labor.

  “You know why we are meeting,” Caiaphas said. “I had hoped it would not come to this. But this Jesus is causing the people to lose confidence in us. Therefore, the good of the nation must supercede the life of this Man.”