“Shalom, Simeon of Capernaum,” Sextus Rubrius said quietly.
Simeon could only stare. He was not in his uniform but wore a simple tunic and hooded outer robe.
Sextus looked at Simeon’s father. “I won’t stay long.” Then he looked at Simeon. “I just had one question I had to ask you.”
A little dazed, Simeon nodded.
The Roman reached in a fold of his tunic and withdrew something. At first Simeon could not tell what it was. Then as Sextus held it out, Simeon’s eyes flew open in surprise. It was the upper half of an arrow.
“Does this belong to you?”
Baffled, Simeon took it and peered more closely at it. Then he nodded. Those feathers were distinctive. He had glued them into place with his own hands. “Yes,” he said, completely astonished. “Where did you get this?”
“I took it out of the back of the man who was trying to kill me.”
The image of a man with a sword, both hands raised high, standing over a fallen Roman, flashed into Simeon’s mind. “That was you?” he cried.
“That was me.”
Only then did Simeon see that the centurion had a walking stick in one hand and that he leaned heavily upon it. Reeling, his eyes lifted to meet Sextus’s gaze.
“When you decide what it is you want to do about your friend, Yehuda,” Sextus said, “I would like to be of help.”
With that, he nodded at Simeon, then to his father, and turned and started for the gate, limping noticeably as he made his way across the paving tiles.
V
14 June, a.d. 30
Simeon rapped on the door sharply, then stepped back. He heard the shuffle of footsteps inside; then the door opened. “Good morning, Anna.”
Peter’s wife looked up at him in surprise. “Good morning, Simeon.”
“Is—” But before he could ask, Peter appeared behind his wife.
“Simeon, what a pleasant surprise. We heard that you were supposed to get back yesterday.”
“Yes, I arrived late last night.”
Peter sobered. “Did you speak with Shana?”
He nodded.
“Your mother said she asked for a bill of divorcement,” Anna said sadly.
“She did. Can you blame her?” He took a quick breath. “Is Jesus staying with you?”
Peter nodded. “He is, but he left early this morning.”
Simeon’s face fell.
Peter smiled gently. “He said he was going for a walk down by the seashore. It’s still early. If you go now I think you might still catch him alone.”
“Thank you.”
VI
They walked slowly along the pebbled beach. From time to time Jesus would stoop down, pick up a handful of rocks and then flip them one by one into the water, watching them plop softly and disappear.
Finally he turned and looked at Simeon. “Peter told me of all that happened.”
Simeon nodded, not surprised. The whole town seemed to know of the disaster that had struck the Zealots. “Did my mother tell you about the woman called Miriam?”
“Yes. When I next go to Jerusalem, I hope I shall get to meet her and her servant girl.”
“She is very worried about her father.”
Jesus flipped another pebble away and watched as the ripples spread outward across the smooth surface of the water. “Do you remember what I said that day of the baptisms when your uncle came down and spoke harshly to your mother?”
Simeon’s eyes lifted. He had thought of that yesterday and wished he had remembered it soon enough to share it with Miriam. “I do.”
“‘Think not that I am come to bring peace on earth,’” he said, quoting himself softly.
Simeon picked it up from there, quoting as best as he could remember. “‘I am come to set a man—or a woman!—at variance against his or her father. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.’”
Jesus nodded his head in acknowledgment. “The word of God is like a two-edged sword, Simeon. It is quick and powerful, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.”
“Why?” he burst out. “I thought that choosing to follow you would bring joy. That’s what my mother said.”
“Do you feel no joy, Simeon, son of David?” came the soft reply.
“No!” he cried. “I have never felt such agony of spirit in my life.”
“Then why do you not turn away?”
That brought his head around. “Because I know who you are,” he whispered.
Again Jesus gave the briefest of nods. “My mother sent word that you had come to see her.”
“Yes. She is a remarkable woman. She told me the story of the angel.” He paused, then shook his head. “The Son of God? I don’t understand what that means.”
Jesus smiled gently. “Does it surprise you that the finite mind cannot fully comprehend the infinite?”
“No, but if I could, I would like to understand at least a small portion.”
“You already understand more than you realize.”
Simeon threw up his hands. “Will it always be this way?”
“What way is that, Simeon?”
“Will it always be this hard? Following after you?”
“And if it is, what then? Will you turn away?”
That caught him up short. Would he? Could he? Finally he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
He murmured in satisfaction. “That is good, for no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Simeon kicked at the rocks, sending several skittering away. “I am not sure that I am fit for the kingdom of God.”
Jesus stopped and turned to face him fully. “That day on the mount, when I was teaching the people, you rose and stalked away.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
He brushed that aside. “You did not hear the final things I had to say.”
Now he had Simeon’s full attention. “What else did you say?”
“I spoke of the day of judgment. When it comes, there will be many who think they serve God but who will be surprised, for not everyone who says unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Simeon gave him a long look, considering his words. “Then who will?”
There was a pause, then, “He that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
“But the Pharisees claim they are doing God’s will. My Uncle Aaron is convinced he is doing more to please God than any of the rest of us. The Sadducees claim their beliefs are the most correct. The Zealots are sure their way is the right way. How do you know?”
“Many will say in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?’” Jesus stopped and turned to face him again. “But I will profess unto them, ‘I never knew you.’” His face grew sorrowful. “‘And you never knew me!’”
For several long moments there was no sound but the twitter of birds off in the brush and the soft lapping of the water against the shore. “Here is what you would have heard had you stayed that day, Simeon. ‘Whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not.’” His head lifted, and his eyes bored into Simeon’s. “Why? Because it was founded upon a rock.
“‘But those who hear my sayings and do them not, them shall I liken unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.’”
The turmoil inside Simeon’s mind was still there, but it was subsiding. The words of this man had a way of calming even the most turbulent of seas. “I wish to build my house upon that rock, Master,” he said quietly.
“And if you were to know that if you do, the way might even lead to the cross, Simeon, son of David, w
hat then? Will you then turn away?”
Simeon pulled back his shoulders and met his gaze squarely. “I cannot.”
Jesus leaned forward, peering deeply into his eyes. “And why is that?”
His answer came simply and without hesitation. “Because I know who you are.”
Jesus laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled serenely. “That is enough.”
Chapter Notes
The scripture about putting one’s hand to the plow comes from Luke 9:62. The reference to those who will be saved in the kingdom and the parable of building one’s house upon the rock are the concluding part of the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 7:21–29).
Bibliography
Bahat, Dan. Carta’s Historical Atlas of Jerusalem: A Brief Illustrated Survey. Jerusalem: Carta, the Israel Map and Publishing Co., 1973.
Blackman, Philip. Tractate Sabbath: Being the First Tractate of the Second Order Moed. New York: Judaica Press, 1967.
Bloch, Abraham C. The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies. New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1980.
Brandon, S. G. F. “The Zealots: The Jewish Resistance Against Rome a.d. 6 73.” History Today, 15 (September 1965): 632 41.
Carcopina, Jerome. Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1940.
Clarke, Adam. Clarke’s Commentary. 3 vol. Nashville: Abingdon, 1977.
Dummelow, J. R. The One Volume Bible Commentary. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1908.
Edersheim, Alfred. Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979.
———. The Temple: Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Christ. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1958.
Fallows, Samuel, ed. The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopædia and Scriptural Dictionary. 3 vol. Chicago: The Howard-Severance Co., 1911.
Farrar, Frederic. The Life of Christ. Portland, Ore.: Fountain Publications, 1964.
Guthrie, D., J. A. Motyer, A. M. Stibbs, and D. J. Wiseman, eds. The New Bible Commentary: Revised. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970.
Hastings, James, ed. Dictionary of the Bible. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909.
Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. In Josephus: Complete Works. William Whiston, trans. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1960.
Keil, C. F. and F. Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., reprinted 1975.
Mackie, George M. Bible Manners and Customs. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., n.d.
Mathews, Shailer. The Messianic Hope in the New Testament. Vol. XII, The Decennial Publications, 2d ser. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906.
Ritmeyer, Kathleen and Leen. “Reconstructing Herod’s Temple Mount in Jerusalem.” Biblical Archeological Review, November/December 1989, 23 53.
Schürer, Emil. The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus. Nahum Glatzer, ed. New York: Shocken Books, 1961.
Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. 2d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Talmage, James E. Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission according to Holy Scriptures both Ancient and Modern. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957.
Vincent, Marvin R. Word Studies in the New Testament. 4 vols. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1887 1900.
Wight, Fred H. Manners and Customs of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody Press, 1953.
Wright, George Ernest, and Floyd Vivian Filson, eds. The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1956.
Zimmerman, Michael A. “Tunnel Exposes Areas of Temple Mount.” Biblical Archeological Review, May/June 1981, 34 41.
About the Author
Gerald N. Lund received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from Brigham Young University. While in southern California, he also did extensive graduate work in New Testament studies at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles and studied Hebrew at the University of Judaism in Hollywood. His love for the Middle East and its people has taken him to the Holy Land more than a dozen times as a tour director and lecturer.
He was a religious educator for more than thirty-five years in the Church Educational System for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he taught students both on the high school and college levels. During his career, he also wrote and developed curriculum materials, including numerous media presentations on the Old and New Testaments.
He is the author of more than nineteen books. In addition to the nine volumes in the bestselling The Work and the Glory series, he has written five other novels: One in Thine Hand, The Alliance, Leverage Point, The Freedom Factor, and Fire of the Covenant. He has also written several books on gospel studies, including The Coming of the Lord, a study of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. His books have won several honors, including twice winning the Independent Booksellers “Book of the Year” award.
He and his wife, Lynn, have seven children and live in Alpine, Utah.
Come Unto Me:
Kingdom and the Crown, Volume 2
Lund, Gerald N. Come unto me / Gerald N. Lund. p. cm. — (The kingdom and the crown; v. 2) ISBN 1-57008-714-8 (hardbound : alk. paper) ISBN-10 1-59038-668-X (paperbound) ISBN-13 978-1-59038-668-2 (paperbound) 1. Bible. N. T.—History of Biblical events—Fiction. 2. Jesus Christ—Fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Lund, Gerald N. Kingdom and the crown; v. 2. PS3562.U485 C66 2001 813'.54—dc21 2001004747
Printed in the United States of America Banta, Menasha, WI
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Maps
Preface
In the preface to volume one, Fishers of Men, I noted some of the challenges associated with attempting to write an “accurate” historical novel set in the times of the New Testament world. These included such issues as:
• The many different versions of the Bible and which one to use when citing the words of Jesus.
• The date of Christ’s birth and whether to use the Jewish or Roman calendar.
• Dealing with the multiple languages that were part of the cultural life of the period—Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
• The proper pronunciation of various names.
• Dealing with the name of God and other religious traditions.
• Supplying specific details required for a novel that are not given in the scriptural record.
I did not feel it necessary to repeat that information here. I suggest that readers concerned about such issues may want to review the earlier preface before reading Come unto Me.
Once again, chapter notes are provided in many cases to help clarify historical, linguistic, or cultural information or to explain why I, as an author, chose to treat the material as I did.
It has been a gratifying and rewarding experience to once again immerse myself in the life and times of Jesus. I owe a great debt to the numerous scholars, both living and dead, who through a lifetime of study made it possible for that immersion to take place.
I also offer the deepest thanks to the staff at Shadow Mountain for their enormous contribution to this project. Jana Erickson and Cory Maxwell are not only consummate professionals, but they have become dear and treasured friends. Sheri Dew’s unflagging support has been significant in bringing this work to a wide market of readers. Jay Parry’s thoughtful and meticulous (but never intrusive) editing has strengthened the book in countless ways. Simon Dewey, whose cover paintings become treasured pieces of art in their own right, has also contributed significantly to the overall project.
My daughters, Cynthia Dobson and Julie Stoddard, not only read the manuscript and made suggestions, but they also undertook the tedious and enormous task of cataloguing the thousands of details (character descriptions, geographical locations, scriptural references, and so forth) that I need to keep straight while writing a mult
ivolume series. Though never seen by the reader, their work has influenced almost every page. Shawn Stringham, friend for a good share of our lifetimes, is a thoughtful and, more importantly, an honest, perceptive reader and critic, and I thank her for her willingness to read and make suggestions for improving the manuscript.
Above all, I offer thanks to my wife, Lynn. She is always my first reader and most valued text evaluator. Readers of this series and previous works have largely been spared the pain of laboring through tortured passages or weak characterizations because of Lynn’s editorial contribution. I value her insights and wisdom, and more critically, I value her love for the Savior and his teachings that makes her insist that I try to “get it right.” Our companionship, now approaching forty rich and wonderful years, has been the most significant influence in my life, and words seem terribly inadequate to thank her for that.
My hope for all readers, whether they agree with my portrayal and depiction of the Savior and his disciples or not, is that this work will stimulate in them a desire to answer for themselves the question that Jesus asked: “What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” (Matthew 22:42).
Alpine, Utah
July 2001
Synopsis of Volume One
Fishers of Men opened as Marcus Quadratus Didius, a tribune in the Roman legions, comes to the family of David ben Joseph, a wealthy merchant from Capernaum. The Holy Land has been under the total and often brutal rule of the Roman Empire for almost a century. The corrupt system of Roman tax collection encourages corruption, and David ben Joseph has gone to Damascus to try to raise money to pay an exorbitant assessment. His wife, Deborah, is already deeply embittered against the Romans. When she was fifteen years old, her family was caught up in a rebellion against Rome. Several, including her father, were killed, and her mother died in the months following as they were forced to hide through the winter in the mountains. This hatred for everything Roman has been passed on to her son, Simeon, twenty-one, who leads a band of “Zealots.” When Marcus Didius learns that the family does not have the money for their taxes, he refuses to accept their pleas for additional time and tries to arrest them. Simeon resists and is nearly killed. David, his father, returns barely in time to rescue his wife and daughter from being sold into slavery. It is against this backdrop of violence and injustice that the story unfolds.
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