Son of God

by Roma Downey

  Peter acts as a human shield as the crowd grows more and more fanatic. He is fearful that someone will be trampled under the donkey’s hooves.

  “Hosanna! Hosanna!”

  “Save us! Save us!”

  It is written.

  “Hosanna.”

  “A donkey?” Caiaphas, leader of the Sanhedrin, fumes when a servant tells him of Jesus’ mode of transportation.

  The elders of the Temple stand with him, shaking their heads. Jesus’ arrival represents a direct challenge to the Jewish authorities. Claims that Jesus is the Messiah have outraged and incensed the Sanhedrin, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees. Only they can anoint the new Messiah, and this carpenter from Nazareth is clearly not such a man.

  “ ‘See your king comes to you,’ ” Caiaphas sarcastically quotes from scripture. “ ‘Triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey.’ ”

  The elders say nothing.

  “And where is he headed?” Caiaphas asks the servant.

  The servant lowers his head. What he’s about to say next will not be the words that Caiaphas or the elders want to hear.

  “The Temple,” he says.

  “The Temple!”

  One of the elders, a man named Nicodemus, quotes another verse: “ ‘To lead his people to victory and throw out the oppressors.’ ”

  “The crowds,” Caiaphas demands of the servant. “How are they responding?”

  The servant’s name is Malchus. He had hoped to impress the Sanhedrin by racing to tell them Jesus’ whereabouts. Yet it seems that every word that comes from his mouth is just another variation of bad news. So he says nothing.

  Caiaphas knows precisely what that means. He paces animatedly. “And the Romans,” he says, worried now. “Have they made a move against this man yet?”

  Malchus shakes his head.

  “Not yet,” says a concerned Caiaphas, who remembers only too well the massacre of his people. “We don’t need Pilate feeling threatened, or intervening in this situation, particularly during Passover. If we have a repeat of those executions there’s no telling what kind of anarchy will erupt.”

  Nicodemus agrees. “Last time Pilate felt threatened, hundreds of Jews were killed by the Romans,” he says, stating what everyone in the room knows all too well.

  Caiaphas nods to Nicodemus. “Go with Malchus. If he enters the Temple, you watch him. I want to know every move he makes.”

  Jesus urges his donkey on toward the Temple’s outer wall. Peter, John, and the other disciples quicken their pace to keep up. The crowd continues chanting as they part to let Jesus through. The apostles grow tense as they realize that the people are expecting amazing things from Jesus. This time it’s not miracles, but a complete revitalization of Israel. “It is written,” voices cry out from the crowd. “He will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ ”

  Jesus would normally shy away from such profound benedictions. Instead, much to the apostle’s shock, he is riding straight for the heart of his own people’s national identity: the Temple of Jerusalem. This can mean just one thing: the situation is about to explode. John scans the crowd nervously and sees for the first time that their actions are being monitored. He sees the hard eyes of spies and messengers, their faces bereft of the joy possessed by so many others in the crowd. Peter’s eyes dart from face to face. He sees Nicodemus in his priestly robes, strategically analyzing their progress. Then, as he glances down a side street, Peter’s heart sinks at the sight of Roman soldiers following them on foot.

  A manic thug bursts from the crowd. His name is Barabbas, and as he leaps directly in front of Jesus, he yells the word “Messiah.” He does not speak with reverence. Rather, he taunts Jesus, forcing Peter to move quickly to protect Jesus. He grabs at Barabbas’s robe, which falls back to reveal the hilt of a long knife.

  But Barabbas is too strong for even the rugged Peter. He shakes him off and gets close to Jesus. “If you’re the Messiah, then confront the Roman scum. Prove it.” All Jews want freedom from Roman rule, but anarchists like Barabbas believe that God wants them to use violence to attain this goal. “Make us free,” he challenges Jesus, even as Peter once again tries to intervene.

  Peter, John, and Thomas work together to form a human shield. “We come in peace,” says Peter.

  Barabbas looks directly at Jesus, whose serene eyes lock with his. Then Barabbas stops talking, as if mesmerized. He lowers his gaze and steps back into the crowd. He doesn’t know what has affected him, but he feels Jesus’ gentle power.

  At last Jesus reaches the temple. He dismounts from the donkey and begins climbing the staircase to the Temple’s outer gate. Not even his disciples know what he will do next.

  The Romans are watching his every move. One wrong step will surely prove fatal for this Jesus. They saw Barabbas, a known revolutionary, approach Jesus. Ready as always to crush any sign of political dissent, the Romans wonder whether or not Jesus might be a coconspirator. But there are no Romans inside the Temple complex as Jesus enters. The great palace of worship is filled with Temple officials and money changers. The mood is tense, a stark contrast to the reception Jesus enjoyed just moments ago. The disciples are concerned that things could get out of hand. This is a time to remain completely calm, not upsetting anyone or otherwise inviting trouble.

  Jesus reaches the outer court of the great Jerusalem Temple complex—the Court of the Gentiles, as it is known. He walks ahead of the disciples. There is purpose to his every footfall and a determination in his eyes.

  “Now what happens?” Peter asks.

  “I don’t know,” answers John.

  Judas is frightened. “I don’t like the looks of this,” he says in a hushed voice. His fascination with being a disciple has been wearing thin lately, and he’s not as eager as the others to lay down their lives for Jesus.

  “Stay together and we’ll be fine,” Mary Magdalene adds firmly.

  All around them, the great court is filled with human activity. Lambs, doves, and goats are for sale, and their sounds and smells add to the human cacophony. There is the familiar clink of coins being counted and changing hands. The climax of Passover is a ritual animal sacrifice. Poor pilgrims traveling into Jerusalem from all over Israel must part with their hard-earned money to buy the animals. But their coins bear images of Roman emperors or Greek gods, images that are thought to be idolatrous by the Temple priests. So pilgrims must change all coins into temple currency. A portion of the proceeds from the exchange goes to the Temple authorities, part goes in taxes to the Romans, and the rest is pocketed by the corrupt moneylenders, who prey on the pilgrims by charging more than the law allows for making the currency exchange.

  The disciples stay close as Jesus stops walking and studies all that is going on around him. His face and eyes are the picture of sadness. He sees more than just animals and money changers: an old man being shooed away by an angry moneylender, a poor family trying to buy a lamb but having only enough for doves, a frail old woman being jostled, and a lost little girl crying. The commotion makes it impossible for anyone to engage in devout prayer. Jesus’ face clouds with anger and resentment. He walks calmly toward the stall where the moneylenders have set up shop. Coins are piled on the tables. Their hands are dirty from counting money. They banter with one another. Jesus grabs the table edge with two hands and flips it over. Then he goes on to the next table and does the same. All heads in the Temple court turn to the sound of spilling coins, and onlookers immediately race to scoop up the fallen money. “What are you doing?” shrieks one money changer.

  “Rabbi!” Judas pleads, scooping up some coins in his palm. “No!”

  But Jesus is not done. He cannot be stopped. On to the next table.

  Jesus flips another table, which bounces against a birdcage and sets loose a flock of doves.

  Judas sees a band of Roman soldiers lining up like riot police near the entrance to the Temple complex. “Jesus! Please!” Judas pleads. He doesn’t h
ave the stomach for Jesus’ brand of revolution. Judas wants to be safe and protected. He fears he will be thrown into prison along with Jesus and all the disciples. Unlike the other disciples, he is an educated man who knows the way of the big city. “If only you would listen to me,” laments Judas.

  But Jesus doesn’t listen to Judas. He isn’t listening to anyone. Another table gets flipped.

  “Why?” asks one vendor, disconsolate about all his earnings scattered about the Temple floor. “Why have you done this?”

  “Is it not written?”

  “What on earth could you possibly mean?”

  “Is it not written?” Jesus repeats, but this time in a booming voice that echoes throughout the chamber. In an instant, the entire court is silent.

  “My house… My house shall be called a house of prayer,” Jesus continues. “But you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

  Peter and John hold back the angry merchants as they attempt to punish Jesus, who has finished this task and is marching out of the court. In his wake are tipped tables, angry traders, and a scene of total chaos.

  Nicodemus from the Sanhedrin steps forward. Judas is so impressed by his expensive robes that he almost trips over himself in his hurry to bow down to the temple elder.

  “Who are you to tell us this? How dare you. It is we who interpret God’s law—not you.”

  “You’re more like snakes than teachers of the law,” Jesus replies in a heated tone.

  Nicodemus is beyond shocked. “Wait. You can’t say that! We uphold the law. We serve God.”

  “No,” Jesus replies. “You pray lofty prayers. You strut about the Temple, impressed by your own piety. But you are just hypocrites.”

  Nicodemus is stunned. Men of his rank are simply not spoken to in this manner.

  Jesus reaches out and gently lifts the fine material of Nicodemus’ robe, rubbing the fine threads between his fingers. “It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,” Jesus tells him, letting go of the robe.

  Everyone in the temple has heard Jesus’ words. The Jewish pilgrims who have traveled so far to be here for Passover are inspired by such a courageous stance against the rich and powerful men of the religious establishment, who have oppressed their own people as much as the Romans have. Only they’ve used threats and God’s law to control the people instead of brute force.

  Nicodemus looks about uneasily. He feels trapped. The crowd is definitely on Jesus’ side. At the far end of the chamber, he sees the Roman soldiers prepared to move in if the situation gets out of hand. Such an intervention would further discredit the Temple elders and Sanhedrin, so Nicodemus says nothing as Jesus strolls away. He will deal with Jesus another day.

  Nicodemus notices that one of the disciples, Judas, seems more impressed by the ways of the Temple than by Jesus. He calmly eyes the man, and is rewarded with a deferential gaze.

  “Messiah,” the crowd chants spontaneously, as Jesus continues on his way out of the Temple. “Messiah!”

  Jesus shows no fear as he walks past the line of Roman soldiers at the entrance, their shields braced for signs of trouble.

  Jesus’ actions in the Temple have confirmed Caiaphas’s worst fears. He and a handful of elders have been watching the action from a balcony high above the Temple floor. The chant of the crowd still vibrates throughout the great chamber long after Jesus has left. The people have been energized by Jesus. That makes the elders very nervous.

  “This is outrageous,” fumes Caiaphas. He normally prides himself on his stoic behavior, preferring to come across as unruffled and untroubled at all times. So for his peers to see Caiaphas looking upset is extremely troubling.

  A slightly breathless Nicodemus comes up the steps and joins them.

  “You weren’t much help,” says Caiaphas.

  “He’s clever,” Nicodemus counters. “The crowd worships him. There’s something unusual about him that is easy for people to draw near.”

  “There’s absolutely nothing unusual about him,” Caiaphas snaps. “Except for his ability to create havoc.”

  Caiaphas turns back to view the scene. Just in time to see one of the disciples approach his favorite servant, Malchus. There is an exchange between them. At first Caiaphas fears that their words will be angry, but whatever this particular disciple is saying surprises Malchus. The two clearly reach an agreement and then part ways. As the disciple hurries to catch up with Jesus, Malchus cranes his head upward to where Caiaphas stands. The look on his face is all Caiaphas needs to see. Judas will betray Jesus.

  Caiaphas turns to the elders. “We may have found a way to deal with this Jesus.”

  As he leaves the temple, Jesus is followed by the disciples, a crowd of excited new followers, and a few Jewish elders who want to know more about Jesus’ teachings. Malchus trails far behind, working as Caiaphas’s spy.

  Jesus leads this unlikely procession of old friends, new friends, elders, and a spy down the Temple steps, then suddenly stops, turns, and faces them.

  Malchus does his best to appear as if he’s there accidentally, but his purpose is now clear.

  Jesus ignores him. Instead, despite the huge crowd, he speaks to his disciples as if no one else is there. “Do you see this great building?” he tells them. “I tell you that not one stone of this place will be left standing.”

  Peter and John look at one another. Did Jesus really say what they thought he said? Is he really threatening to destroy the Temple?

  A Jewish elder has heard Jesus’ words and questions him. “Who are you to say these things?”

  Jesus continues talking to his disciples: “Destroy this Temple and I will build it again in three days.”

  “But it took forty-six years to build,” replies the shocked elder. “How is this possible?”

  Jesus doesn’t answer him. He abruptly turns and continues on his way, leaving his disciples scratching their heads about what Jesus means by his comments.

  “What does he mean?” asks the one they call Thomas, the one who is constantly so doubtful. “Destroy the Temple? I don’t get it.”

  John has a gift for vision and insight that is unparalleled among the disciples. “He’s saying that we don’t need a stone temple to worship in. He will be our access to God.”

  “Really?” Thomas questions him, once again showing his unerring ability to question every little fact.

  With that, John and Thomas hurry to catch up with Jesus.

  Pontius Pilate’s Jerusalem residence is far more sumptuous than his home in Caesarea, which is a good thing, because he rarely feels comfortable venturing outside when he’s in Jerusalem. The city is totally Jewish, which is in stark contrast to the Roman design and Roman population of Caesarea. He feels like a complete foreigner when in Jerusalem, living in a small world with a completely different set of rules and way of life.

  As Pilate and his wife Claudia take lunch on the veranda, Antonius, his top military commander, enters and salutes. News of Jesus’ confrontation with the money changers spread through Jerusalem in a matter of minutes, but it’s only now that Pilate is about to hear of Jesus for the first time.

  “We are eating,” barks Pilate.

  “So sorry to bother you, sir. But a Jew has been causing trouble in the Temple.”

  “You interrupt our meal for that?”

  “Sir, he attacked the money changers and said he will destroy the Temple.”

  Pilate laughs. It is the first time Antonius has ever seen Pilate laugh, and the sight makes him uncomfortable. “He has a very large number of supporters,” Antonius hastens to add.

  Pilate’s smile disappears. “What’s his name?” he asks.

  “They call him Jesus of Nazareth.”

  This catches Claudia’s attention. “My servants talk about him,” she says.

  Pilate looks at her quizzically and then back to Antonius. He has made up his mind. “This Jesus is Caiaphas’s business, not mine. But keep
your eye on these crowds following him. If they get out of hand, I will shut down the Temple, festival or no festival.

  “I mean it.”

  Caiaphas and the high priests are gathered, discussing the situation with Nicodemus, his servant Malchus, and his handpicked group of elders.

  “He said what?” asks an incredulous Caiaphas.

  Malchus is the first to reply: “That he would destroy the Temple.”

  “I am shocked. He claims to be a man of God, and then says he plans to destroy the House of our Lord?”

  Caiaphas remains silent, steadying himself against the shock waves pounding his body. This is far worse than he thought. Finally, he speaks. “We must act fast. Very fast. But with care. We cannot arrest him openly. His supporters will riot, and then Pontius Pilate will crack down.” Caiaphas pauses, thinking through a new plan. “We must arrest him quietly at night. Before Passover. Malchus, what was the name of that friend of his, the one who approached you?”

  “Judas, High Priest?”

  “Yes, Judas. Bring him here. Discreetly.”

  Malchus nods and makes a hasty exit.

  Jesus and his disciples camp on the hillside of the Mount of Olives, surrounded by pilgrims who have made their way to Jerusalem for the Holy Day. Smoke from the many campfires rises into the evening sky, and row upon row of tents cover the hill. Jesus drinks water from a small stream, as Peter tries in vain to gather the disciples to have a discussion.

  “Has anyone seen Judas?” Peter asks aloud.

  They all shake their heads. Jesus looks to Peter but doesn’t offer an answer.

  A figure steps out of the coming darkness and cautiously approaches Jesus.

  “Judas,” Peter calls, seeing a shadow by the olive trees, “is that you?”

  A man whose face is covered by a hood steps into the light of the campfire. He wears a discreet cloak covering his temple robes. When he pulls back his hood, the face of Nicodemus is revealed. Nicodemus is a member of the Sanhedrin and a Pharisee, but he has come down under the cover of night to see for himself what Jesus is about.