The Centurion and the Crown of Thorns

by Chuck Antone, Jr

  'It’s time to go home. We have to prepare for the journey early tomorrow morning.'

  Walking hand in hand, Marcus carried the full basket, and Antony carried the empty one. Marcus was looking forward to seeing Jesus. He glanced down at his son, and by the look on the boy’s face he was sure he was also thinking of the moment he would be meeting the Savior.

  They arrived home, cleaned up, and were just about ready to enjoy the dinner Rae-dona had prepared for them, when they heard a light knocking on the door.

  Chapter 49

  The knock came again, gentle, like the sound of the sparrow tapping on the basket. Marcus got up and told his son to wait where he was. As he got closer, the tapping sound became a little louder.

  He then heard a voice. 'Marcus, please open the door. It’s me, Fabius.'

  Marcus recognized the voice immediately as belonging to one of the men who had been under his command when he was a centurion. This was just a few days ago, but to him it seemed like many months. He realized how quickly he had forgotten his old life.

  Opening the door, Fabius stepped in quickly, holding a cloth bag identical to the one that had held the crown of thorns. He handed it to Marcus.

  'Marcus, I became a believer about six months ago. My wife and her parents heard two disciples of Jesus teaching about the way to the kingdom of God. They came home and told me what they had heard. The next day we went back to where the disciples had been teaching, but they weren’t there. Instead, it was this man called Jesus, the one known as the Messiah. Marcus, the love He had was beyond one’s imagination. We listened to Him for over an hour. When He spoke, everyone was in awe of Him. His love flowed from His inner being to all of us. When He was through, I was convinced that He was truly everything that He said He was.

  'For those of us who believed that day, His followers took us to the nearest river and baptized us. From that moment, I became a follower of the Christ. But I was afraid to tell anyone for fear that I would lose my position in the army. Believe me, Marcus, there are other secret followers of Jesus Christ who are solders. Many of us were under your authority when you were our leader.

  'We’re proud of you and your stand for the Savior. You’ve given us believers strength and encouragement to speak up for our Lord. Many of us will soon resign from the army and follow the Messiah Jesus, just like you, because there is no way now that we can join in the compulsory worship of Roman gods.

  'The bag you’re holding, Marcus, contains the crown of thorns. In the hands of Cardius and the others in authority it had no power, however hard they tried to make something happen. They threw it on the rubbish pile to be burned. I rescued it and brought it here to you.'

  Marcus took a deep breath. 'I can’t thank you enough, Fabius. You’re a great friend. Tomorrow I’m going to see Jesus and I want to give it to Him. I don’t know why, but I feel I must.'

  With much excitement in his voice, Fabius said, 'Are you saying that Jesus will be here tomorrow? Where? I also want to go and see Him.'

  'No, not here. Everyone is invited, so come and join us. Bring your wife and her family and let it be known among the other believers in the army. For those who are free to come, we’ll be meeting at the disciple John’s house. I’ll explain the way.'

  Marcus took one of his wax tablets and a stylus. 'Here’s Jerusalem and here’s Anathoth to the north. You go through Anathoth and then take this road for about an hour. This is John’s village. It’s the first village you come to.' He drew a circle. 'You need to be there two hours after the sun rises. You’ll see us gathering together. It’s going to be an exciting time. Maybe now is the time for you and the others to stand strong for Jesus, and no longer be secret believers.'

  Fabius nodded enthusiastically. 'I’ll be there with my family for sure. It is time for us to take a stand. I’ll tell the others, but whether they are there or not will be up to them. I know of some who will want to come, but the others might still have some fears. And of course not everyone will be off duty. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow and, Marcus, it will be my privilege to see you there. Perhaps we will be able to sit together.'

  Chapter 50

  Before Marcus and Antony went to bed that night, they hung the crown of thorns in its place in the room where they would be sleeping. Sleep for them was fitful, as they woke up many times during the night. Antony kept getting up to see if the sun was ready to rise.

  After tossing and turning most of the night, Marcus decided to get up. He went into the other room, took out his piece of parchment onto which he had copied his list of prophecies and went over each one. There was no doubt in his mind that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Savior of the world.

  He began to pray, thanking God for revealing Himself. He prayed for Antony and his relationship with Rae-dona, that his son would love her as he himself loved her. A couple of ancient Jewish songs about God’s love that he had heard at the fellowship came to his mind, so he began to sing and worship the Lord.

  With his eyes closed he felt a closeness that he had never felt before. It was as if he, a Gentile, was at the Tabernacle of God. He could feel the very presence of the Lord in the room. It was more powerful than when he experienced the power coming from the crown of thorns.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder. It startled him for a moment, but when he opened his eyes it was Antony.

  'I’m sorry, Father. Did I frighten you?'

  'Yes, my son, you did. But it’s all right. I couldn’t sleep so I came in here and started to pray.'

  'I couldn’t sleep either. I woke up many times during the night just waiting for the sun to rise.'

  'I know you did, and I did the same. I was looking over my notes and then I began to pray. Since neither of us can sleep, maybe we should get ready to go. We can arrive early at Jairus’ house. I’m sure they will need help. Rae-dona said that many would meet us there to make the journey to John’s village together for safety on the country road. I can help collect the donkeys together. Like last time, the able bodied men can walk, but I think some of the people there will need rides. If you want to help, I’m sure they’ll be able to find you a job to do. Does that sound all right?'

  'Yes, I’m excited, Father. The sooner we leave, the happier I’ll be. I’ll help anywhere that they ask me to. How soon can we leave?'

  'Look, Antony, the sun is getting ready to rise at last.'

  They looked out the window and saw that it was going to be a perfect day.

  'Let’s get washed and change our clothes. Then we can go and help those who may need us.'

  Chapter 51

  Marcus removed the crown from its nail and wrapped it once more with cloth. Today he wore a flowing robe, with plenty of room underneath the chest area for the bag containing the crown. He felt so content having it back, close to his heart.

  He mounted his horse, then took Antony’s hand and with one lift swung the young boy behind him. They rode off laughing and shouting with great expectation that today they would be meeting Jesus.

  When they arrived at Rae-dona’s village, people were already gathering, and there was much excitement in the air. Marcus was surprised to see that many had brought baskets of food for the fellowship meeting. He felt embarrassed that he had come empty handed.

  Rae-dona came over to them and took Marcus’ and Antony’s hands and led them to Jairus who was in command, assigning the people to different tasks. The men had the heavier work to do, and the women the lighter duties. There was an old, rather fragile looking cart that a farmer had supplied, along with an equally ancient donkey.

  Jairus turned to Antony. 'My boy, go and see Ametrius. He’s in charge of the young people. He needs all the help he can get.'

  Antony ran as fast as he could until he reached Ametrius. He saw that his friend Justina was helping her father, along with Diana’s twin brothers.

  'Here I am. What can I do?'

  Ametrius took Antony in his arms and put him in the back of the cart. 'I�
�ve been waiting for you, young man. You have a special job. When the others bring you the food items, I want you to start piling them up neatly. Start at the back of the cart and pack them very tightly so they’ll not tumble about as we travel on the bumpy roads. Do you think you can do that, Antony?'

  'I can. It’ll be just like putting a puzzle together. I can do it perfectly, and I will like this job.'

  In the meantime Marcus was telling Rae-dona, 'I’m so sorry. I didn’t think about bringing something for the meeting. After we arrive in John’s village I’ll go and purchase something to eat.'

  Rae-dona laughed gently. 'That’s all right, Marcus. Look around. We have lots of food. More than enough, I think, and there will be more where we’re going. So don’t you worry. Jairus wants you to help him sort out the donkeys and the walkers for the journey. Anyone who’s going on foot can walk with a rider on one of the donkeys. Jairus needs you to help arrange who walks and who rides. He thinks the donkeys should be mainly for the women and the children, and also the older men if you don’t think they’ll be able to walk. He wants all the horses, donkeys and walkers to stick together for safety.'

  Marcus hurried over to Jairus. They worked well together and everything was properly organized. A couple of times Jairus asked Marcus certain questions about his past. Marcus knew that Jairus was trying to get to know him better because of the relationship that was happening between him and his niece.

  Some of the questions were similar to those Marcus would ask the men under his authority when he wanted to get better acquainted with them. Marcus liked Jairus, and he was glad his assignment was to work alongside him, although he was sure that Jairus had planned it that way.

  More people were arriving. Some came on foot, others on donkeys. Then another cart and donkey arrived, with the donkey making a great noise as it hee-hawed loudly.

  Marcus looked up and saw Fabius riding up to him with a woman sharing his horse. Walking behind came four other men

  Fabius jumped off his horse. 'Marcus, how exciting to see you again. I heard some people were meeting here first, so we decided to come here hoping to help with the journey.'

  They greeted each other with a handshake. The four soldiers looked over at Marcus and hesitantly smiled at him. Marcus immediately recognized them as four of his men who had been under his command when he was a centurion. He waved to them, guessing that they were some of the secret believers who wanted to break through. His heart felt like it skipped a beat as, overcome with emotion, he wiped tears from his eyes.

  Chapter 52

  Everyone, riders and walkers, set off after everything was safely loaded in the two little farm carts.

  It was an exciting time for all, as every once in a while someone would break out singing. Then the whole procession joined in. The ancient worship of words and music of psalms from Scripture brought tears to many of the people, because they knew that soon they would be seeing their Savior.

  The procession stopped to rest at a place where they could water the animals and eat some dried dates and figs, along with freshly baked bread that was prepared specially for their time of rest.

  After eating, they sang more worship songs, and just about everyone prayed. The electricity was still in the air, and they could hardly wait to get to John’s village.

  Marcus walked over to Fabius and his wife. She was so happy to meet Marcus and said that her husband had told her all about him and how he had stood up for his faith. She told Marcus that because of him, Fabius was leaving the military and looking for ways to serve their Lord, although they would miss the regular income.

  The other four men also told Marcus that he was an encouragement to them to come out of hiding their spiritual encounter with Jesus, and they were going to stand firm even if it meant that they also would have to resign from the Roman army. They were ready, and no longer wanted to be secret followers of the Christ. However, they hoped they would be able to stay in military service and share their new faith with their comrades.

  Marcus explained about the prophecies he had been searching for, and how events were predicted in the Jewish Scriptures hundreds of years before, and that many had already been fulfilled by Jesus.

  Marcus told them that today would be a very special time for all of them, because they would hear and see Jesus whom two of them had helped crucify, but now was alive. He would be teaching and speaking to them personally. Marcus said he was so happy that they were there to enjoy this day with him.

  It was an emotional time as Marcus got the horses and donkeys, and their allotted riders, ready to continue their journey. He and Ametrius moved around the group easily, for their trained horses were far more obedient than the donkeys.

  As they moved off, the singing began again, as many voices lifted up to the mighty God in the heavenly places. Even a couple of donkeys joined in with their own sound of praise to their Creator. At least, that’s what Antony said they were doing.

  Chapter 53

  Arriving at John’s home, they could see others had already arrived. There was a large olive grove a little way up the hill above the house. Some of the household workers were seeing to the animals with hay and water. One of them said, 'Follow the path that leads to the olive grove, and join with the others. It’s not far.'

  Someone shouted, 'There will be someone down the lane to guide you.'

  Rae-dona said, 'Marcus, I’m going to find Salome and Mary to see if they need help.'

  She ran to the house. Finding the two women, she asked them if there was anything some of the men and women who came with her could do to help.

  'That would be wonderful,' Salome answered. 'We can always use a few more hands. We suggest you leave the donkeys and horses here, so they’re out of the way. We need some men to help carry the food baskets to the olive grove. I hope we have enough food.'

  'Yes, we’d be happy to help in any way we can. And don’t worry about the food, we have a cart full of delicious things.'

  Mary, the mother of Jesus said, 'Oh, Rae-dona, that’s wonderful. Everyone’s been so thoughtful. It’s such a big relief taken off of our shoulders. I’ll no longer worry about what we’ll eat. Thank you, thank you.'

  'I’ll get some of the men to help carry the food.'

  'That would be good,' Salome said. 'If it’s all right with you, Rae-dona, I’ll put you in charge of the food. That will give Mary and me more time to see about the other things that must be done.'

  Saying, 'I’ll be delighted to take care of this for the two of you,' Rae-dona scurried off. She didn’t ask what the others things were, but looking around she could see that the two women had lots to do. And of course Salome, having the gift of hospitality, wanted to greet and welcome everyone.

  Marcus was still waiting for Rae-dona, so she told him what was needed. He gathered up some of the men to carry the food to the shady grove along the lane where the olive trees grew, while Rae-dona assembled the help she would need to lay out the covered baskets on the ground. It took a while, but eventually their mission was accomplished.

  The disciple John came by, announcing that Jesus the Messiah would arrive shortly. Everyone broke out in applause. What they had come here for was soon to be reality -- they were going to see the Man who rose from the dead, the Man who was now their Savior.

  John told them that he had to leave, because he was going over the hill to meet the other disciples and Jesus, and bring them down into the village.

  As John left they all waved.

  'Hurry back with Jesus the Lord!'

  Marcus turned round to see who was calling out. It was Fabius, who had a look of joy on his face.

  Chapter 54

  It seemed like no more than a few minutes had passed when the people who were waiting in the olive grove saw twelve men walking down the hill toward them. They were talking and laughing, with Jesus in the middle.

  All twelve stopped, looked down at the gathering, and began to wave. They continued waving in turns until they reached the oliv
e grove where Jesus was going to share with them. As the twelve got closer, the crowd became more silent, and as Jesus reached them a complete hush fell upon everyone.

  The men had built a rough wooden platform between two olive trees, for the Messiah and His eleven disciples. A few people shuffled around to find a better place where they would be able to see without their view being obstructed by the trees.

  As Jesus approached the platform, He walked between the people who were standing and watching His every move. He smiled as He walked, studying their faces. He stopped for a moment when He saw Marcus. Their eyes met, but neither said a word. Instantly Marcus began to weep.

  The Messiah looked at Rae-dona as if He recognized her, and smiled. As He turned to step up on the raised area, Fabius was there. He reached out his hand. Jesus took it and looked at Fabius and nodded. Fabius knew instantly that this was the Man he wanted to follow for the rest of his life.

  'Good evening, My followers. It’s so nice for all of you to gather here to see Me. I know many of you have traveled far and are very busy. I want to thank you all for being here.'

  The first thing Marcus noticed was that although Jesus appeared to be talking quietly, his voice was loud, like thunder in his soul. He had wondered how all the people would be able to hear Him, but now hearing Jesus speak, he was sure that everyone, no matter where they were standing or sitting, could hear the Savior.

  'I’ll be here for a short time, as I must go from village to village, and town to town to teach about the kingdom of My Father. So sit back, make yourselves comfortable and relax. Enjoy the things I will teach you today, and learn from them.'

  Silence again fell over the olive grove. The Messiah prayed for His Father’s wisdom to fall upon Him and for the words to be the words of His Spirit. When He was through praying, He looked around and then began to speak.

  Chapter 55

  'John has been telling you about My life and My teaching. One day, but not just yet, John and others will be writing about My life and what I have taught My disciples. I know John has already promised he will do this.'

  Jesus glanced meaningfully at John, who nodded.