He looked up at her again, sadness in his eyes. “Please... Remember that Jesus is a first century Jew. He was never anything else. He believes in the Covenant, the Torah, all the rules thereof, and absolutely in God’s promise to his people. He passed out on the cross believing that God would save him and that he would become the anointed one to lead his people into the Kingdom of God. Now, he wakes up to find that two thousand years have passed and a massive church has grown up in his name but not teaching what he actually taught. The Temple in Jerusalem is no more and the Jews have to fight for their existence almost every day.
“He went through so much when we fetched him to our time. The unimaginable ordeal of the crucifixion, if nothing else. We tried so hard to make this easy on him, not to shock him too much.”
For a few long seconds he said nothing. Then, “This is nothing short of an attempt to destroy his fragile mind.”
“How is he taking it?” she had to ask.
“How? He won’t even talk to me! He just pointed to the tablet. He looks like a man who is in shock. His whole world is turned upside down, to say the least. I think he blames me somehow. Or all of us.”
“Let me talk to him,” she said softly.
“You?” There was disbelief in his voice, but it was replaced by sadness. “Might as well. Can’t make anything worse. He likes you. He told me so himself.” He laughed sadly. “Maybe partly because there were damned few blondes in that part of the world.”
As he rose slowly and reached for his cane, he advised her, “I think this is going to be an important conversation, not just chatting over lunch. It is important that shades of meaning and context come across correctly. I will try to translate the colloquialisms of his time and place into English but keep the original meaning as best I can.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she told him. “Let’s see what we can do in the way of damage control,” she said firmly, rising from her chair. “Come on.”
Chapter 30: Damage Control
He was in his room, a plate of food untouched on the table. He lay on the bed, almost curled up into a prenatal position.
“Jesus, I want to talk to you,” Tamara said, and Myers translated. Jesus barely glanced up at her, and then he turned his head away. “I won’t go until we have talked,” she told him, and received no reply. Gently, she placed her hand on his arm. It took a few seconds, but his head did turn around to face her. His lips barely moved when he said, “I failed. I was not good enough for God.”
“You did not fail. You tried your best for your people,” she said firmly but kindly, unaware she was echoing Myers’ words. “And the church that grew up in your name has done a lot of good.”
He sat up slowly. She saw that his eyes were red and there were tear streaks on his cheeks. “Do you know of this church called Catholic?”
“Yes. Everyone does.”
“And that man they call the Pope? Is he just the high priest or is he the Anointed One? The chosen by God?”
She hesitated. The look on Myers’ face told her to tread carefully, and then he said, “He is not the Anointed One in the way that you mean it, Rabbi. He is not the Messiah.”
Tamara took it up from there. “Some of the people of that church believe he hears the words of God. But it is my belief that the Pope is simply a man. Someone has to lead a church.”
He seemed to think on that for a few seconds. “If he is not the Messiah, and I am not the Messiah, then where is he? Where is the Son of Man?”
Myers shook his head sadly. “No one knows,” was all he could say.
Jesus digested that, and then said, “That thing showed pictures of Jerusalem and the Temple. Is it true that the Temple was destroyed? That a single wall is all that remains of it?”
“This is true,” Tamara said. She turned to Myers and whispered, “I think it’s time for the whole truth.” Myers nodded. Turning back to Jesus, “A few years after your... your time, the Jewish people rebelled and Rome was harsh in its treatment of the land and people. The Temple was torn down. Many were killed. A great many.”
“But Jerusalem is now ours again?”
“Israel is an independent nation. A strong nation of good people.” She felt bad about not truthfully answering his question, pushing aside the question of whether Jerusalem, the city itself, was ruled by the Jewish people.
“But it is not God’s Kingdom. Not what was promised our people by the prophets and by God.” He seemed to almost be pleading with her. “It was to be a Kingdom of good and peace. Of all men being pure and obedient to God.”
“That Kingdom has not yet come,” she told him. It was a simple half-truth, in that it implied it might yet come to pass. “The Jewish people are many, and a good people. They live in all the lands of the Earth.”
She was tempted to go on in that vein but instead returned to Jesus himself. “Your teachings have reached more people than you can ever believe. And many sincerely try to lead their lives by those teachings. Later, I will show you a book that tells of your life and your teachings. It is called the Bible. You have done much good for people of all races.”
Her words seemed to both calm him and, oddly enough, stir up an anger within. “But I failed! God had chosen me to bring about his Kingdom. I am the Son of Man! I am the Anointed One!” Then doubt came into his eyes. “But the Kingdom did not come, even though I gave up my life for it.” He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “I tried so hard. Some people listened to me and believed. Some understood how they might become pure and be accepted into the Kingdom. But others cursed me. Even when I cured the sick and cast out demons, so many did not believe. So many did not believe.” His hands were clenched into fists and he looked on the verge of crying again.
Anxious to keep him talking, Tamara asked, “When did you know you were the Anointed One, the Son of Man?”
He looked at her sharply. Was he thinking that she might be mocking him? Quickly she tried to reassure him, “Was it when John baptized you? Please, I want to know.”
The anger fled, and his face took on a sadness but was calm.
“I grew up with the words of the Torah; the words of the prophets. They foretold of a good time to come. Of a return of our people to God’s graces. They told of a man who would be chosen by God to bring this about. I always knew these words were true; that this would happen. We lived in the land that God had given us, but it was not ours. We had to pay taxes to Rome. We had to put up with their soldiers taking what they wanted and making us work. Of them defying the Temple. It was only right that God would give back to us what he promised if we were pure and free of sin.” He looked firmly into her eyes as he said, “And that time was to be soon! It had to be. We had suffered enough.”
After pausing for a moment, he went on, “I heard of John teaching by the Jordan, telling of the coming Kingdom, telling people cast aside their sins and become pure. In the living water of the Jordan, he washed away the sins and made ready the path into the Kingdom. I went to him.
“It was not easy. I had to leave my family and all that I knew in Galilee. When I saw John, he was as the prophets of old. He lived in the wilderness and ate of the land. But there was a holy glow in his eyes when he spoke of the coming Kingdom! He understood! It was good that I followed a man who knew and loved the old words as I did. And I learned so much more from him. I spent a long time with him.
“Then, one day, soldiers came and took him away. Herod Antipas took him away because he feared that John might incite the people to rebellion. But he was wrong. John did not say to take up arms. He taught only repentance and obedience to God’s will, so that one would be ready for the Kingdom.”
Jesus paused for a few moments, reflecting inwardly of a time so very long ago. “You know,” he said calmly, “I believed then that we were so right to teach of the coming Kingdom and the man who would come forth to announce that Kingdom, the Son of Man. When John was taken away, I went back to Galilee, back to my home. I felt compelled to continue the
teaching of John, to make people understand what they need do for themselves and for our people. Oh, it would be so good and proper when God came! I knew in my heart that day would be soon. It had to be!”
“You told the people,” she prompted, “but they did not believe?”
“Some did. Some did. But not all. I tried. There were some who believed me and wanted to follow me. I stayed out of the cities. There was too much that was impure there. And too many of the priests. To tell the truth, I was afraid. I did not want what happened to John to happen to me. My message was so important. People had to understand what they must do to make ready for the coming Kingdom.
“A few times I went down to Jerusalem for a holy festival. The Torah tells us to visit the Temple for Passover, Shavuot and Sukkoth. Oh, the Temple was so beautiful! You could sense the presence of God within. I longed to be as the High Priest and go into the Holy of Holies, the place of God.
“But I found much that was not right. The priests dressed in costly garments and displayed riches like the noble Romans did. The moneychangers and sellers of animals were right there, inside the Temple! It was as in the cities; mammon was more important than holiness. I was angry. I wanted to tear out those unholy things!”
He took a deep breath. “That was what really got the priests angry with me, you know. The last time I went to the Temple, I could not hold in my anger. I overturned some tables and cursed the people there. Got a lot of people upset. I got out just before the Temple police came. But the Pharisees were against me even more after that.”
“That was near the end,” Tamara said. “Was it in those last few days that you came to know that you were the Son of Man?”
“No. I knew before I cast out the moneychangers. When I heard of John’s death, in the days that followed I was thinking about what John had said, about the coming of the Kingdom and wondering when that day would be. Soon, I knew, but when? Then, suddenly, as if God were speaking inside my mind, I knew. He had chosen to open my eyes! I was the one who had to make the prophecies come true. I was the one God had chosen! It washed over me like the cold waters of the Jordan years before. Suddenly it was all so clear! I was not just continuing the words John taught, I was the one he talked of. The Son of Man. The Anointed One.
“It all made sense. I was of the line of King David. I understood better than any other man what was to come and what had to be done. The prophets and the words of God guided me.”
As he talked, he became more animated. Tamara could see the depression fading away as he spoke of what he considered the most important in all of times. It would be an event that would set the whole world right.
“I tried to make those who followed me understand, but I think most of them did not really know the meaning of my words. My good friend Judas understood better than the others. And John. And my wife, Mariam, she understood. My mother knew what I was talking about, but I could sense she had her doubts about my being the Son of Man even though she believed with all her heart of the coming Kingdom. It was my beloved wife who believed most. She knew what I was saying. She understood what I would have to go through to bring about the Kingdom. It saddened her, I believe, but it was also a source of great comfort to both of us to know we were part of God’s plan.”
Myers paused for a breath. “I hope I’m getting his meaning correctly. These are things we never talked about. I’ve never seen him open up like this before.”
“I’m sure you’re doing just fine,” she told him. Then, to Jesus: “So you went to Jerusalem one more time.”
“It would be the right time and place. I had to be near the Temple, the most holy place of all. It had to be a time when there were many people to see. I had to fulfill the prophecies exactly.”
“But you knew that you would be killed?” Tamara could not stop herself from asking.
Chapter 31: Answers
“Yes, I knew.” He paused for a moment. “You know, I thought that it would be the hated Romans who would kill me. But I was not surprised when it was the Pharisees who forced Pilate to issue the order. They would have killed me themselves but for the law. I don’t think Pilate understood at all the importance of what was happening. He thought of me as a minor rebel, a nuisance, little more. But this was as it should be. As the prophecies foretold.”
“The prophecies! Like the donkey you rode into Jerusalem on,” Tamara asked, “you arranged for that, didn’t you?”
Jesus actually smiled. “I had friends who lived in Jerusalem. They would help me because they understood and believed. Yes, when I said go and find an ass at a certain place, I knew it would be waiting for my followers. That was one of the prophecies.”
“Did the people really greet you as the coming Messiah?”
“Some did. Some of the people coming for the festival from Galilee had heard of me. And there were those who came with me. They placed palm branches down and made a cheerful noise. But, to tell the truth, we had to pass through a lot of people who ignored our procession.”
“And the Last Supper? Did that really happen?”
“The last supper? Oh, I know what you mean. Yes, we had a celebration meal. I told my followers again that they should remember God’s gift to them when they ate of bread and wine. I told them to imagine that the bread was my body, and the wine my blood. And I again told them that I was the Anointed One, but I doubt they all really believed that.”
At that point Myers interjected a question of his own, “In whose house was that meal?”
“Joseph. My good friend, Joseph from Arimathea. His house was within the walls of Jerusalem, not far from the Temple, in fact.”
“And what happened then?” Tamara asked.
“It was a time for thought. I went to a nearby garden. It was always easier to think when I was alone. I had made Judas understand that he must inform the Pharisees of my location. It was necessary for them to play their part in fulfilling the prophecies. He did not want to go. I had to yell at him. He left with tears in his eyes.”
“And then...”
“The night grew late as we waited. The other followers did not know what was to happen. I could not trust them that far. Some of them would have tried to prevent what had to happen.
“I went off to think. I am ashamed to admit that I had my doubts. Was I really doing what God wanted?” Jesus turned to Myers and said, “I never wavered in believing that it was time for God to act. I want you to know that.”
Then he lowered his head. “The night became cold. I prayed. I remember how brightly the stars shone down. How beautiful they were. It came to pass that I felt myself calming. A sense of peace came to me. I was doing as God wished. I was to be a part of his grand plan. I was in his hands.”
He sighed deeply. “So when Judas came with a group of men, including Temple police, I simply stood there.”
“Did he kiss you to show them who to arrest?” Tamara asked.
“He kissed me. But it was because he loved me. As I did him. There were tears in his eyes.
“They took me. As I had feared, a couple of my followers wanted to fight them, even grabbed swords. But I stopped them. If there was a fight and my followers killed or arrested, who would there be to spread the word?
“I went with the Temple Police. I was taken before Caiaphas and a few of the Sanhedrin. They all seemed angry, but most of all Caiaphas. He seemed to take my teachings as a personal affront. He ranted and raved and I said nothing. I saw Joseph was there.”
“Joseph of Arimathea?”
“Yes. But he could not defend me. He knew what was to pass just as I did. We had talked of this. But that night it was the other Joseph who did all the talking. It was to his house that I was taken. I tried not to speak for I knew I had to force them to do what they must do. The prophecies, you know.”
“What other Joseph?” Tamara asked.
“Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest, of course. He asked me if I had claimed to be the proper king of the Israel. I said nothing. It is true that I am a desc
endant of David, but I had not claimed to be the King of the Jewish people.
“Caiaphas grew angrier. He slapped me and yelled at me to say something. I held my words for I knew the right time was yet to come.
“When Caiaphas asked me if I was the Son of God, I could no longer hold my tongue. ‘You say I am,’ I told him. Truth is, I had never claimed to be the Son of God. I am the Son of Man, one who is chosen by God to do his purpose. But Caiaphas did not ask me that, he asked if I were the Son of God.
“That was all he needed. He ordered that I be taken to that Roman Prefect, Pilate, by the Temple Police. It was not yet morning. We walked through the empty streets of Jerusalem. At Herod’s Palace I had to wait in the courtyard for a long time. It was early in the morning, the sun barely visible when Pilate himself came out.”
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