The Sword of Ruth: The Story of Jesus' Little Sister

by V. M. Franck

The atmosphere in the capital city was frenzied. People, even the women, were gathered in throngs wherever Ruth went. She checked the place James lived. He was not there. A neighbor said he had gone to Golgotha with Demetrius to try to stop yet another crucifixion. Lately, they happened everywhere. Riots erupted regularly. Soldiers attacked the people. The people attacked the soldiers. Gone were the days when a strong voice could calm them. Terrorism reigned.

  Heading along the route she had taken the day of Yeshua's crucifixion, unnoticed by the crowd, she hugged the edges of the buildings. After a time she came to an open area on the outskirts of the city.

  None of the men nor even the women wore head coverings. Anger abandoned caution. So as not to stand out, Ruth's head, too, was bare. Dressed in a loose-fitting tunic, her hair corralled in a braid down her back, she wore the look of haggard determination.

  Intuitively she allowed herself to be swept along with the insurgents. They stopped in the middle of a rock infested hillside. Surveying the scene, searching for the tall handsome man whose hair had yet to grey, whose body showed only modest effects of age, she spotted him twenty feet away.

  Soldiers surrounded him, trying to protect him from the mob. She recognized some of them.

  "Stop," she yelled. "James is your friend. Don't hurt him."

  "Shut up, Ruth," came the burly voice of a man hidden by the crowd. "Get the hell out of here."

  Fear knotted her throat.

  "Don't do it," she said, mustering a strong unwavering voice. "It's not right. Don't do it. You can't kill him."

  "Ruth?" another man yelled. He started pushing toward her.

  "Demetrius, we've got to save him. Please help me save him."

  Age had worn crevices into Demetrius' face. Everything about him looked weary.

  "What are you doing here? Oh, God, there's blood," Demetrius said, sounding sick.

  In his job he had seen a lot of it. The spilling of it for any reason always set on him as wrong. He kept his position so the task would be administered as humanely as possible. That didn't make it right. He would pay one day, as would others. Things had a way of coming around.

  Ruth said, "I see another guy, too. They're beating him."

  "And James. They're beating James. Stop. Stop." Demetrius kicked and punched the attackers.

  "Listen to me," Ruth screamed. "Listen. He's not the one you want. He didn't betray you. It was Claudius, the magistrate. He's been telling lies to turn you against each other. Stoooop."

  Determined, she pushed further into the crowd. Demetrius grabbed her shoulders. She struggled to get away.

  "Let me go," she said. "I can save him, Demetrius. Let go of me."

  Demetrius said, "I won't let you get killed."

  "I've got to save him," Ruth said.

  "Oh, no," Demetrius said. "They stabbed him. Someone stabbed him."

  Panicked, Ruth tried again. "Let me go."

  Demetrius released her.

  She made it to her brother and kneeled beside him.

  "Ruth?" he whispered. Eyes of pain stared up into hers.

  "Yes, I'm here," she said, kissing his forehead.

  "Go from this place and tell others," James said. "Tell them how it really was. They're getting it all wrong. They've turned Yeshua into a God. He didn't want that. You know he didn't. This is the most important thing you can ever do. You may have to do it alone. Others may not believe you. They may try to stop you. You must not let them. Nothing must ever stop you from telling the truth."

  "It won't, I promise," she said. "You can't die. James, you can't die. I can heal you. I am good at it, almost as good as Mother. You know I am."

  James said, "It's my time, Ruthie. Mother and the others are waiting. Do you see them?"

  "No."

  In a croaking whisper, James said, "You were always my favorite. I got so angry because I couldn't change what needed changing. You understood. You understood so many things. That's why I love you so, for your kindness. It's the only thing that brings victory in the end."

  "It isn't possible anymore," Ruth said. On her walk to Jerusalem she had thought of many things. This was one of them.

  James replied, "Yes, it is. You can do it."

  "I've been trying for a long time. It hasn't worked."

  "Each pure step is never wasted, even when all seems hopeless. It builds on what others have done, down over time. You'll see, Ruthie." James coughed, spewing blood.

  "Oh, James," Ruth whispered. She held his hand firmly in her own.

  "Father is here," James said. "He and Sarah have come for me. Have Demetrius get you out of the city."

  "I won't leave you," she said, "not like this."

  "You know what you need to do, Ruth. You alone are left to do it. Demetrius, get her out of here. Promise me."

  "I promise," Demetrius said. "I vow to do what needs to be done, no matter how long it takes or who has to pay."

  A man in a filthy robe rushed in. He thrust a knife deep into James' throat.

  Chapter 35