Man in White

by Johnny Cash

  He moaned at the desecration of the Holy Scriptures, the horrid tooth-marks on the scroll.

  “The holy Temple of the Most High shall never fall,” he said.“His service and his house are my life, my daily portion, my daily service.”

  He rolled the scroll back up and placed it carefully and lovingly back in the cubicle. It took awhile to put the loom, basket, and spindle back in order. Having done this, he went to the basin and washed himself all over, brushed his hair and his beard, and put on a clean loincloth and tunic. He faced in the direction of the Temple, where the sun rising over Mt. Nebo was beginning to bathe its pinnacles in a golden glow. Then he began his morning prayers. It was to be a long, troubled day.

  Jonathan ben Annas, the high priest, looked down at the young Pharisee who stood before him. He was a small man; his hair and short curly beard were auburn, but his dark eyes under heavy black eyebrows were alive and piercing. Saul of Tarsus had brought before the Sanhedrin another prisoner charged with blasphemy. Only forty-two members of the Sanhedrin were present. Many had excused themselves, claiming other business rather than hearing the case against and deciding the fate of yet another follower of the crucified Nazarene.

  Since the last days of Herod, the Temple at Jerusalem was watched over by what the Jews called “the evil eye in the sky”—the perpetual presence of Roman guards who stood watch atop the fortress Antonia at the northwest corner of the Temple complex. This fortress could barrack as many as a thousand soldiers. Adjacent to one side of the fortress were stables for the soldiers’ Syrian horses. The Roman governor,Marcellus, was afforded every luxury that his office and position allowed. His hall of justice was on the main floor under the tower with business offices and chambers around it. Underneath the justice hall was the prison, a dark, musky, vile-smelling nightmare almost as large as the barracks itself. Into this dungeon were thrown the rabble of Jerusalem, the drunks, thieves, and rebels, anyone who wouldn’t bow to Roman law, and captured Zealots, those awaiting trial for active organized resistance to Roman rule in Judea.

  On a balcony on the side of the great hall that touched the Temple wall were two huge iron doors at which ten Roman soldiers always stood guard. Beyond these doors was a hallway through the wall, a no-man’s-land forty cubits long that led to another pair of huge iron doors that opened into the Temple area. The hall through the Temple wall was cut by Herod, and the pious spat in disgust at the sound of his name. They could never forget that the holy Temple of God was defiled on the northwest corner by the presence of the hated Romans. Their tower could even be seen from a portion of the open sacrificial court. Inside the second pair of iron doors was a large balcony from which seventy wide steps descended into the Court of the People and onto the Temple complex.

  On feast days and other holidays, this giant Temple rectangle accommodated enormous throngs of pilgrims. Its outside walls were eight hundred cubits long. Made of precision-cut white stone blocks, the walls were eighty cubits high and forty cubits thick. The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of worship and sacrifice, yet very few people were ever in the area of the steps that led up to the guarded doors. A Jew would consider himself unclean if he set foot on the pavement of the fortress Antonia.

  The Temple building nearest to these steps was the hall Gazith, the Palace of Hewn Stone, or the council chamber of the Sanhedrin. The Jews wanted to believe that the Sanhedrin was the highest court of all, but there was no denying that Roman officials had supreme power, even over routing Jewish affairs if they chose to become involved. The installation of a high priest as head of this council was automatically approved by the Roman governor if the man elected was willing to adhere to Roman military and civil policy.

  The Sanhedrin sat in session daily except on the Sabbath and holy days, governing the religious order of Jews; its decisions and pronouncements were adhered to not only by the Jews of Judea but by those dispersed throughout the empire as well. In this chamber the seventy-two members voted to, or not to, allocate funds from the Temple treasury for various projects and charities. Malefactors were judged before this body of men; suits were decided and judgment pronounced.

  Behind Saul stood a man called Stephen. He was barefoot, and apparently the only garment he had on was the rough goat-hair robe he wore. He stood perfectly still, and though his beardless chin was caked with dried blood and a large blue bruise was evident on his cheek, his face was expressionless, his blue eyes staring blankly ahead. The presence of the high priest and the supreme court did not intimidate him; his mind was obviously elsewhere. His curly hair was cut short in the Greek style and framed his face like a halo. He was tall and stately, with wide shoulders; long, muscular arms; wide, full lips; and an aquiline nose. A very handsome man, he had the bearing of a man of wealth and position. He had, in fact, come from a wealthy family, but had forsaken it all to promote the cause of Jesus of Nazareth.

  Jonathan wanted to be done with the whole matter of the Nazarene, because his followers had been a constant problem ever since his death. It was evident that this sect was not dying out.

  “Saul of Tarsus, who is this man, and what is the charge against him?” the high priest asked solemnly.

  Saul was glowing with triumph. His dark eyes, under heavy curling eyebrows, were piercing.

  “His name is Stephen,” Saul said. “He is a Jew from my own country of Cilicia, but unlike myself, he has the heart of a Gentile. I know his kind well, Father Jonathan. He was trained from youth to pollute the Law, and now, here in the city of God, his perverted religion has reached fruition. He teaches radical doctrine in the name of the Carpenter. He is one of the chief followers. He has publicly blasphemed Moses and the Law and vilified this very Temple. I have brought two witnesses against this man.”

  “Let them speak,” said the high priest.

  One of the two stepped forward, reluctantly. He, like the other, was unkempt, ragged, and dirty, one of the street rabble always on the lookout for a way to make a piece of silver for services rendered. He moved with a slight limp; his foot twisted outward, and he favored that side as he shuffled forward.

  “Speak up,” Saul whispered as he stepped up beside him. The man stammered at first, standing in great awe of this august body of judges and the high priest himself.

  “My brother here and I,” he began, “have heard this Stephen vilify this Temple. He said that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy it!”

  A murmur arose in the Sanhedrin. “Jesus of Nazareth is dead,” said the high priest.

  “This man claims he is alive again and is coming back to destroy this Temple and to abolish its sacrifices,” the man replied.

  “Have you actually heard him say these things?” the high priest asked the man.

  He looked at his brother, then at Saul, and then, nodding to the high priest, he said, “I have.”

  The second man had only one eye; it stared wide to compensate for lack of the other. Shy and fawning, but ready to be a part of the action now that his brother had spoken out, he came forward and,with his head down to hide his deformity, said,“He prays to that Jesus.”He paused as all eyes were upon him, then stumbled on ahead.“He perverts the worship of the foreign Jews newly come to this city. We’ve heard him speak to hundreds in the language of the Greeks. He gathers all those of the Synagogue of the Libertines about him, and those of the Synagogue of the Isles of the Sea, desecrating this holy Temple.”

  The first witness, wanting to get back into the act, piped up, “He goes about working magic, deluding the people by giving honor to that Jesus for cures that are supposedly wrought by his hand.”

  “What tricks and what cures does he claim?” the high priest asked.

  The man became perplexed and nervous, embarrassed at the direct question. “I . . . I . . .”

  “Speak up,” Saul said to him sharply.

  “Saul, would you please be seated until these proceedings are completed?” said Jonathan. Saul reluctantly moved to a bench nearby, turning as he sat down so that he
was facing Stephen and his witnesses.

  “He has no more power than the Egyptian magician who came through Jerusalem deceiving everyone,” the witness began.

  The high priest interrupted. “We are not to be concerned with your personal opinion of this man. He is charged with blasphemy. Were you a witness to such?”

  “There was a beggar who sat at the Damascus Gate, claiming to be blind. Everyone knew he could see as well as I. But he was lazy, so he begged from strangers. I watched this Stephen as he was entering through the gate. It was very crowded, and he knew that many people would be convinced that he had miraculous powers. He stopped and laid his hands on the beggar’s eyes. When he took his hands away, the beggar shouted, ‘I can see! I can see!’”

  The high priest stopped him again. “We are not here to examine the validity of Egyptian tricks or miracle cures. We are assembled to decide whether or not this man has committed blasphemy.”

  The Sanhedrin was becoming restless. One of the judges beckoned for a servant to fill his goblet with pomegranate juice and wine. Many of the judges sipped the fruit-wine drink during court.

  At this point the teacher Gamaliel raised his hand to be recognized.“May I ask the witness a question, Father Jonathan?” he asked quietly. Jonathan nodded, and all eyes in the chamber were upon Gamaliel.

  The stately, handsome Gamaliel was one of those people whose presence filled a room. He was tall and slim as a willow. What little hair he had left could be seen in silver gray under his Pharisee turban. His face had a kind, fatherly countenance. He took a deep breath and held his hands together in front of himself, the fingers of one hand slightly touching and tapping those of the other. His gracious manner had a calming effect on the man he addressed.

  “What is your name?” Gamaliel asked.

  “I am Shemei of Hebron, Master Gamaliel,” he answered.

  Saul sat up straight and turned toward Gamaliel. Very rarely did his old teacher and friend speak out from his seat in the Sanhedrin. Whenever he did, it was worth hearing. He was the most loved and revered teacher in Jerusalem.

  “Shemei,” Gamaliel began, “this council spends much of its time in session, hearing charges against the exponents of the doctrines of the Nazarene. Concerning these so-called miracle cures, we have heard enough about people claiming various powers from various sources. Now I would like to ask you something,” he continued.

  I know what he’s going to ask, Saul thought triumphantly. Now we’re going to convict this man.

  “Shemei,” Gamaliel asked, “did this Stephen invoke the name of a divinity when he supposedly performed this cure?”

  “No,Master,” said Shemei.“He did it in the name of the Nazarene, Jesus.”

  There was a rumble in the chamber. Someone said, “Stone him.”Another said, “That’s the end of that.” The Temple guards lining the walls of the closed council chamber were tense. High Priest Jonathan raised his hands for silence.

  Stephen stood still, his eyes still straight ahead, but he appeared to be somewhere else. Faint traces of a smile were upon his face. Many curious eyes were upon Stephen, but Gamaliel was not finished. Looking at the second man, he asked, “And your name?”

  “I am Cononiah, also of Hebron, Master,” he answered.

  “Cononiah, were you with your brother when he heard the accused invoke the name of Jesus the Nazarene?” Gamaliel asked sternly and slowly.

  “I . . . I was there,Master. I was coming through the gate just behind my brother,” he said.

  Gamaliel asked patiently, “Did you hear the accused speak?”

  “No,Master,” he replied, but added quickly, “I heard the blind man claim he had been cured by Stephen.”

  Gamaliel sat down with a sigh. “Thank you, Father Jonathan. No more questions,” he said.

  Saul anxiously stood up to be recognized by the high priest, who nodded his assent.

  “Master Gamaliel,” Saul said, “for many years I studied at your feet. Through you the holy Torah was opened up to me. You, Master, taught me to love the Law! You have filled my heart and mind with the oral traditions of our fathers. I treasure the years you gave me. There are three things that are important in my life: our people, our Law, and our traditions. Our Law we received directly from the Most High. I see the authority and the integrity of the Law threatened by the vile sect.” Saul’s voice was rising. He was waving his arms, and his eyes were blazing. As he continued talking, his hands sliced the air, chopping up imaginary victims. “I have been responsible for the arrest and trial of many of them. Fortunately, I have seen justice done in many cases. But this Stephen”—Saul was shouting, pointing at the accused—“this apostle of the so-called dead messiah, I have carefully watched, and he is a great prize. Hundreds every week are breaking the Covenant of our fathers and banding with this corruptible clan. This man is a ringleader! He must die!” Saul sat down. Sweat dripped from his face, and he was trembling. Opening and closing his fists, he stared at Stephen.

  Gamaliel was of the highly respected group called Pharisees, as was Saul. The Pharisees had begun and flourished when national power and spirit were endangered by pagan influences, resulting in a necessity for men to protect the true faith of their fathers. Hence, a devout band organized in rebellion against the contamination of the Jewish spirit and called themselves Pharisees. They exerted a powerful moral and spiritual influence on people.

  Another group, the Sadducees, was also represented in the Sanhedrin. Many of these men sat in the Sanhedrin because they belonged to families of wealth and power. Though they helped maintain worship in form, they were worldly and cared little for the strict rabbinical interpretations of the Law they helped enforce.

  The high priest spoke up before Gamaliel could respond to Saul’s tirade. “We do not have the authority to carry out the death penalty without Roman approval,” he reminded Saul.

  Saul forced himself to calm down before responding to the council chairman. “What the Romans do not know about will cause us no pain, Father,” Saul said. “Many times they have turned their backs rather than become involved in our affairs. I personally have meted out justice to some of these insects in certain situations where I caught them in abominable acts against Israel, and I intend to do everything in my power to bring them to justice.”

  He was furious and ached with other things he wanted to say, but dared not. He knew that the high priest communicated closely with the Roman procurator,Marcellus. He knew also, but dared not say, that the reason the Romans looked the other way on many Jewish affairs was because of tacit agreements between Marcellus and Jonathan. The high priest controlled the people, prevented rebellions against Rome, and counseled toleration of the unfolding of the Roman standard at the games. In return, Marcellus gave Jonathan free reign in the exercise of Temple worship and religious rules, which included the trying of those accused of heresy and blasphemy. This was supposedly a secret agreement, though many, like Saul and other members of the Sanhedrin, knew of the understanding between the high priest and the governor. In order for this arrangement to continue, though, it had to be kept quiet; such subversion could never reach the ears of Tiberius Caesar, so no one appeared to know.

  “Saul,” the high priest said sternly, pointing a long finger at him, “You are not the Law. Justice will be determined by a vote in this Sanhedrin.”

  “Yes, Father,” Saul replied resignedly.

  Cononiah raised his hand for permission to speak once more.

  “Yes?”

  “Father,” began the witness, “the same day that my brother heard him use the name of Jesus when he touched the blind man, we came by later and heard this Stephen speaking in Aramaic to a crowd of people near the gate.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said, and . . . as he spoke, he pointed to the Temple, even the inner parts, the Holy of Holies, and he said . . .”

  “What did he say?” asked the high priest calmly.

  “He said that Jesus would leave the right hand
of God’s throne to return to destroy the Temple and abolish the sacrifices,” the man stammered.

  A roar went up from the Sanhedrin. Several Pharisees stood, grasped their robes at the neck with both hands, and tore them to the waist as a display of shock and disgust at hearing blasphemy. A smile of victory appeared on Saul’s face. Now that both men had testified that they had heard Stephen speaking of Jesus’ claim, Stephen was doomed. Many of the Sanhedrin were talking wildly, pointing to Stephen. Some were beating their own chests in protest against the blasphemous accusation. They would stop their own hearts from beating rather than hear more abominable words of sacrilege.

  Saul, upon seeing that Stephen was unmoved through all this, began to seethe. The man stands in this holy place, he thought, near the very dwelling place of the Most High, and he appears to be proud of the evil things he has spoken and done. He stands smiling to himself about it all. I should not have brought him before this council, knowing for sure of his guilt. I should have killed him myself. He is wasting my time, and I need to be about the work to which I have been called. Saul’s mind was raging now. He could hardly remain in his seat. How has he preached of his dead messiah? Countless generations of my people have lived and died with the glorious hope I pray for daily—the true Messiah!

  Near to bursting with anger, Saul sprang to his feet. “This man stands convicted,” he shouted to the high priest.

  An affirming cry went up from the assembly. The high priest began banging on the table. “Silence!” he shouted again and again.

  Gamaliel had remained seated during all the commotion. He knew the prophesy of Jesus concerning the Temple, that it would be destroyed, that not one stone would be left upon another. Jesus had spoken these words to his disciples shortly before his death, telling them of terrible things to come and signs of the end of the age. When the shouting stopped and all was quiet, Saul, red-faced with fury, realized that all eyes were upon him, especially the quiet eyes of Gamaliel. Saul reluctantly took his seat.