“Brothers, let's call
this meeting to order. We have much to discuss.”
Slowly the heated
conversation died down and the men all turned to look at John. They
were sitting at a conference table in a brightly lit boardroom, which
must have been soundproofed because all the outside noises
disappeared when John closed the door.
“Where's Peter?”
Matthew wanted to know, shocked that John was going to start without
him.
“Peter is in Rome,”
John explained patiently. “He wants to visit the Roman church
before it's too late, considering Nero is on the rampage.”
The men were stunned and
weren't sure what to make of this new information. Most of them were
concerned to hear that he was in Rome, but they also needed his input
the most.
“He sent me to contribute
what he knows,” Mark all of a sudden piped up. “I have questioned
him at length about all aspects of the gospel message and he has
shared with me everything he remembers. Anything that I don't cover,
I'm sure it will be in his letters.”
“What letters?” They
asked him, all ears.
“I helped him to write
two letters which are going to be sent out everywhere, to Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia... He is really worried about
the body, because of the increase in persecution and he wants to get
his writings out before anything happens to him.”
“Why is he here,
then?” Matthew wanted to know, looking around the faces of the men
seated at the table and his eyes rested on Luke.
“Theophilus sent me,”
Luke said matter-of-factly. “He has hired me to listen in on what
you have to say. I've already spoken to a number of eye witnesses,
but now I need to hear the accounts straight from the mouths of the
Lord's apostles.”
The men nodded, satisfied
with his answer.
“And how do you know
Peter, Mark?” Luke asked, pen-in-hand ready to take notes if
necessary. He stared at him with a trained eye, listening for new
information.
Mark shrank back a little
from Luke's intensity. “I worked alongside him on his missionary
work.”
“I knew I'd heard of
you,” John smiled at him. “If I'm right, your given name is
John?”
“That's right,” Mark
said smiling back at him.
“Oh, you're the 'other'
John,” Matthew said, as if something had just dawned on him. “Peter
stayed with you after he escaped from prison.”
Luke was furiously
scrawling notes and made a noise as if to say, “That's
interesting.”
“He stayed at my mother's
house in Jerusalem,” Mark explained. “The Lord's hand was on
Peter that day.”
There was a respectful
pause and then John jumped in again. “Now that we're all here, we
should pray.”
The men stood without
hesitation and all began to lift their voices passionately to the God
that they loved with all their hearts, minds and souls. They declared
that Jesus was God, who made the heaven and earth and the sea, and
all that is in them; an echo of a prayer that they had prayed when
Peter and John had been released from the hands of the religious
leaders who had threatened them.
John, with tears streaming
down his face, could be heard saying, “How great is your love Lord,
which you have given to us, that we should be called children of
God...”
Matthew boldly recalled the
words of Jesus, “You have said that heaven and earth shall pass
away, but your words will never pass away...”
“You have given us a
living hope, according to your great mercy, and guard us for
salvation,” Mark prayed, recalling a prayer of Peter. “All flesh
is like grass and all it's glory like the flower of grass. The grass
withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains
forever.”
“Send labourers to your
harvest,” Luke petitioned.
But Matthew's voice was the
loudest, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to You, Jesus Christ our Lord. Make disciples of all nations in
Your name, and help us to teach them in Your way that they might obey
Your commands. Lord You are with us always, to the end of the age.”
In a strong voice John
ended the prayer with, “To Him be the glory both now and to the day
of eternity. Amen.”
The men echoed the amen
fervently and there was a new sense of boldness in them, though their
bodies were weary. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they all
began speaking at once recalling the words and works of Jesus.
“Hold on,” it was Luke
who begged for order this time, getting mildly frustrated. “We must
take turns or we cannot possibly get everything down. Maybe we should
decide where to start.”
“I think we should go
right back and show Christ's genealogy,” Matthew insisted, poking
the desk with his finger to add emphasis to his words. “Our people
need to know that He is indeed the prophesied Messiah who comes from
the lineage of David.”
Mark made a noise which
showed that he didn't agree so Matthew, with a sigh, asked him to say
what he was thinking.
Carefully, so as to not
offend, Mark said, “I think we should start at the beginning of
Jesus' ministry and not get distracted by proving His Lordship. We
shouldn't have to make a defensive case for Christ. His works speak
for themselves.”
“We're not defending
ourselves, we are recalling the Lord's history,” Matthew argued,
indicating to the paper in front of him. It was clear he had already
made many notes and had been doing a lot of research of his own.
“Luke, where do you think
we should start?”
“Theophilus was most
intrigued by the birth of Jesus and the events that followed; as am
I. If it's true that Jesus was born by a virgin girl and honoured by
the Magi, people should know about it.”
Matthew agreed with Luke
about that. “I have already spoken with Mary and I have a lot of
information about how Jesus was born. It's truly a miraculous story!
Probably the most significant part of His life, other than His death,
of course. Wouldn't you agree, John?”
John looked from Mark to
Matthew and tried to answer tactfully, “I think that we should find
a compromise. We should establish His Lordship so that people are in
no doubt as to whom He is, but I also have to say that I agree with
Mark about beginning with His ministry.”
Mark nodded. “Perhaps we
could start at His baptism?”
John jotted the note down.
“Yes.”
“Wait a minute,” Luke
protested. “If you're going to talk about the baptism of Jesus you
will need to mention the prophecy surrounding John the Baptist.
Otherwise people will not understand the significance of it. The
gospel should be a historical account so that nothing is forgotten.”
“We could mention it
within the account of His baptism though,” Mark said,
looking to John for approval and then turned back to Matthew.
Matthew didn't seem
satisfied, but before he could argue again, John said. “How about
we leave it for now and we discuss what we remember of His baptism.”
It dawned on the men that
this was going to be harder than they thought. They all had such
differing perspectives and they hadn't agreed on any approach of
writing the account yet.
“Well, according to
John's disciples,” Matthew drew his notes closer to his face and
his brow furrowed in concentration as he read. “Jesus was baptised
by John the Baptist in the Jordan. He had just come from Nazareth in
Galilee.”
There were slow nods from
around the table as they processed this.
“What's really amazing is
that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of God given to Isaiah—”
“In the wilderness
prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway
for our God,” John began to quote the passage, with a faraway look
in his eyes.
It gave the men goosebumps
and the room fell silent for a minute.
“What did John say when
he saw Jesus?” Luke was the first to break the silence. “Apparently
he identified him as the Messiah, is that true?”
“He proclaimed, 'Behold,
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!',” John
answered and his lips curled into a smile.
“Actually he said that he
needed to be baptised by Jesus and not the other way around,”
Matthew added.
“I didn't know that,”
John was intrigued. “What was Jesus' response to that?”
“Jesus told John that He
needed to be baptised in order to fulfil all righteousness, so John
agreed to do it.”
“Who could argue with the
Saviour?” Mark shook his head slowly, wishing with everything
within him that he could have been there to see it.
“What did Jesus mean when
He said he needed to be baptised in order to fulfil all
righteousness?” Luke wanted to know, looking a bit confused.
“Wasn't He already holy?”
“It wasn't for cleansing;
it was done out of obedience to the law, to show that He was taking
our place,” Matthew clarified. “And to affirm John's ministry,”
he added as an afterthought.
“We're forgetting the
most important part of His baptism,” Mark said and then added with
fervour, “The Spirit of God descended to rest on Him and a voice
from heaven said, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased.' The Father entrusted His Son with the mission of bringing
righteousness to fulfilment.”
They all took some time to
write this down because they all had supporting stories about the
baptism of Jesus, John got up to take a break and pour the men some
water.
Matthew didn't say anything
to the men, but thinking about the baptism of Jesus made him inwardly
seethe about the Pharisees—the brood of vipers!—who came to be
baptised believing they were already holy, with no intention of
repenting. If he had his way he would write a word against them.
Jesus had no reason to repent but had been willing to humble Himself
and be washed alongside such filth.
“What's the next
significant thing that happened?” Luke asked, interrupting
Matthew's thoughts and they all racked their brains to try and think
back.
“Well,” Matthew began.
“After He was baptised, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil.”
“Satan,” Mark
corrected.
“For forty days in the
wilderness, as I recall,” Luke was flicking through his notes
trying to find the exact reference.
“What's next?” Mark
asked, but Luke put up a hand to stop him, having just found the
page.
“Now, hang on,” he
said. “Jesus wasn't just tempted. The devil—”
“Satan.”
“—tempted Him straight
from his knowledge of the scriptures and offered Him things that no
man could refuse. Jesus proved stronger because He knew the
scriptures better than anyone.”
“'You shall not put the
Lord your God to the test',” Matthew and Luke both quoted at the
same time.
“How do you know that he
said that?” Mark asked looking sceptical.
“You're forgetting how
much time we spent with Jesus,” John said, as a way of confirming
it. The men waited for John to elaborate but he remained silent on
the matter.
“Let's get this
straight,” Matthew looked to Luke. “The devil—Satan—appealed
to his hunger first and told Jesus to turn the stones into bread.”
“Right,” Luke agreed.
“Then the devil took him
to the top of the temple and told Jesus to throw himself down from
there because the scriptures say that the angels will bear Jesus up
with their hands.”
Luke shook his head. “No,
before that he gave Jesus a vision of the kingdoms of the world and
said that if Jesus would worship him he would give him all the
kingdoms.”
“I remember it
differently.” Matthew frowned in thought. “That was the last one
because it was the biggest temptation.”
Luke didn't argue, but was
inwardly sure that he himself
had it right. Mark didn't think it mattered which order it happened
in.
“I felt it would be
fitting to mention the calling of the first disciples after His
baptism,” John suggested kindly. “Since the baptism set Jesus up
for His office, the next thing He would have needed to do was find
some helpers.”
They all agreed and could
easily name the first disciples. Every follower of Jesus knew the
story of how Jesus had called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew the
fisherman and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men.” Then they bore witness of Him to the famous sons of Zebedee,
James and John.
“How did you feel when
Peter told you about Jesus?” They asked John in awe.
John smiled in remembrance.
“I was young and eager, but I had no idea what I was getting myself
into. Jesus called me and my brother 'Sons of Thunder' because we
were hot headed and quick to jump into things.”
The men laughed, but it
wasn't too hard to believe because looking at John you could tell
that there was a lot of passion in him. They knew the story about how
John had left his father fixing the fisherman's nets and followed
Jesus.
“Then Jesus started
proclaiming the gospel of God throughout Galilee,” John continued.
“I thought Jesus had
already been performing miracles before He met you?” Mark quizzed
John.
“I can't remember.”
John shrugged. “I knew about him before I met Him, so maybe He had
already been spreading the gospel.”
“I heard that He was
teaching in the synagogues before He called the disciples,” Luke
said. “I don't think He had performed any miracles at that point.
His first miracle that I have recorded was a man being healed from an
unclean demon.”
“No.” John sat up a
little straighter and they stared at him in anticipation. “The
healing of the unclean demon may have been the first well-known
miracle but He also performed a miracle at a wedding that we all went
to.”
“What happened at the
wedding?” Luke asked; although, he wasn't as interested in a
wedding as he was about the demon-possessed man.
“I remember it clearly,”
John reminisced, with an amused smile on his face. “Jesus was
trying to keep a low profile and enjoy the wedding just as one of the
guests, but His mother asked Him to help when the wine ran out. I'm
not sure what she was expecting but I can tell you that she was
definitely surprised when He managed to turn water into wine.”
Matthew nearly spat his
drink out. “He what?”
“Jesus
told her that it wasn't time yet to deliver any miracles, but Mary
was so insistent that hHe help. Jesus of course wanted to honour His
mother's wishes and so He helped. Everyone thought the bridegroom had
saved the best wine till last.” They all laughed along with John.
“I
have to say, that I believed in Him after that,” John said
solemnly, all joking aside.
The men
each began to think about moments in their own lives when they first
believed. In every case it was a gradual thing, but there seemed to
be a clear defining occasion when their thinking began to shift.
“The
miracle I was talking about before,” Luke suddenly interrupted
their contemplation, “happened at Capernaum. You were apparently in
a synagogue when the demon-possessed man started shouting at Jesus
saying that He was the Holy One of God.”
“I
don't remember that specific instance,” John said. “But I
remember that not long after the miracle at the wedding in Cana,
Jesus did so many amazing things that I couldn't help but worship
Him.”
“What
do you remember?” Luke asked John, with an eyebrow raised in
challenge.
“Let
me see,” John wove his fingers together, sitting back in his chair.
“Jesus drove all the money changers out of the temple in
Jerusalem—He was righteously angry about that. He witnessed to
people about who He was—and I don't just mean fellow Jews—He
would talk to women, poor people, sinners, Gentiles, and even
prostitutes.”
In the
past the men would have been uncomfortable about that side of Jesus,
but now they were amazed at the mercy of God to include even heathen
Gentiles in His plan.
“He
healed an official's son who was ill without even being in the same
room as him. At the sheep gate pool He also healed a man, whom was an
invalid, with only His words. He told him to, 'Get up, take your bed
and walk.' Then, of course, there was the time that we fed five
thousand people—”
“You
know I just remembered something important that we have forgotten!”
Luke interrupted excitedly and the men turned to him, surprised by
his enthusiasm. “Jesus read the prophecy in Isaiah out to the
synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth and said, 'Today this scripture
has been fulfilled in your hearing.'”
“Which
passage in Isaiah?” Matthew wanted to know.
“Near
the end when the prophecy mentions the Lord's favour.”
“If I
recall, it says 'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the
Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me
to bind up the troubled—no, brokenhearted—to proclaim
liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who
are bound,” John quoted.
“Then
they drove Him out of the city because they were so mad at Him for
what He had said. They nearly threw Him off a cliff,” Luke said,
with a hint of burning anger showing in his eyes.
“No
one would have had the power to harm Jesus if He did not wish it,”
John assured Luke and he nodded, grateful for John's compassion.
Mark
and Luke agreed that that story should definitely be in the record.
“Let's
go back for a minute to talk about the miracles of Jesus,” Matthew
suggested, getting up out of his seat to stretch his legs and walk
around. “We should list as many miracles as we can remember. I
think the more evidence for His case, the better.”
“Well,
there was the wedding, the nobleman's son, the invalid at the pool at
Bethesda, the man who was born blind who was healed, the haul of
fish...and the most significant miracle was raising Lazarus from the
dead,” John listed.
“Don't
forget about how He cast out the unclean spirit,” Mark piped up.
“He also healed Peter's mother-in-law. Peter would want us to
mention that. He healed a leper and a deaf-mute man...”
“I
also heard that there was a woman who had been bleeding for a long
time and He healed her. He raised a widow's son from the dead, cured
a man of dropsy, and cleansed 10 lepers,” Luke read.
“But
there are more,” Matthew insisted. “Keep thinking.”
“Well,
what do you remember?” John asked him. “You might not have
been there at the beginning but from the moment you gave up
collecting taxes and followed Jesus, you saw a lot of these things
happen yourself.”
“I
remember...” Matthew sat back in his seat and paused to think. “He
healed the Centurion's son.” He turned to Mark. “I'm surprised
you haven't mentioned about how Jesus calmed the storm.”
“Why?”
Mark wanted to know, suprised.
“I'll
never forget his words,” John shook his head sadly. “How they
burn me even now... He said to us, 'Why are you afraid, O you of
little faith?' Then He prayed and the storm immediately died down.”
“I
may have got over my fear of the storm, but I was definitely more
afraid of Him after that,” Matthew admitted with a nervous
laugh.
“That
reminds me of a story that Peter once told me about how Jesus walked
on the water,” Mark said. “They thought he was a ghost.”
“That's
not all Peter should have told you,” Matthew corrected him. “Peter
tested Jesus asking Him to call him out to walk on the water too.”
“Well?”
Mark prodded him. “Did he?”
“Maybe
a couple of steps, I don't know, I couldn't see,” Matthew waved his
hand through the air as if it didn't matter. “But I will never
forget what Jesus said to Peter when he gave up and started sinking.
He said, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'”
“I
don't think Peter has ever got over that,” John said sadly, shaking
his head slowly.
“No,
the thing that Peter has never got over is denying Jesus three
times,” Mark said, swallowing to keep the emotion out of his voice.
“He beats himself up about how he didn't remain by Jesus' side when
He died.”
The men
all fell silent, aware that most of them had not been at Jesus side
when He hung on the cross either. They had mostly heard about it from
the women later. It was true that the women were allowed to be
present without fear of being arrested, as long as they didn't
interfere, but the men envied their courage.
They
spent all morning going over the teachings of Jesus. All recalled the
sermon on the mount and conversations Jesus had with individuals like
Nicodemus and the woman at the well, as well as the memorable
parables that Jesus had told. Matthew seemed to remember most of the
parables including the parable of the sower, the parable of the
wedding feast, the parable of the talents. Luke spent a lot of time
getting the story of the Lost Son straight because to him he felt it
made a strong parallel with the Father's love for His people.
Jesus
had taught them so much in the few years that they had known Him and
they could have continued talking, but it was now starting to get
dark outside. The men were beginning to feel the stirrings of hunger
in their bellies and fatigue was setting in.
John
took a deep breath as if mentally preparing himself. “It's time.”
“I
agree.” Luke turned to the last page of his notes and the other's
followed suit.
“We
must be sure about this. Nothing matters apart from the cross,”
John's voice was deeply emotional like he was in pain. “We must
include every detail we can remember.”
The men
murmured their agreement.
“We
should mention how He was anointed beforehand. Jesus said that Mary
was preparing Him for burial,” Matthew answered reflectively. “I
remember because Judas was furious about the waste of the oil.”
“I
thought it was a sinner who anointed Jesus and then He forgave her
sins?” Luke was perplexed. “And I thought this was when He was
still in Galilee, not before His death?”
“That
was a different occasion, actually,” John answered and Luke nodded,
but he was still not completely sure he understood the difference.
“John,
do you remember the night that Jesus told us He was going to die?”
Matthew asked with a strangled voice.
“I'll
never forget. He made us sit down while He...washed our feet.”
Mark
gasped and the men hung their heads in shame.
“How
could the Lord, our great King, humble Himself like that?” Matthew
still couldn't believe it.
John
answered him, “Jesus wanted us to understand why he washed our
feet; it was important to Him. He was setting an example for us so
that we knew how to treat each other.”
There
was some silence as the men absorbed this convicting lesson, each
wondering if they had been obedient in this request of their Saviour.
“I
sat beside Him that night,” John's voice announced in a tortured
whisper. “He warned us that where He was going we couldn't come—how
painful that was to me. And He warned us that He would be betrayed by
one of us.”
“I
never felt so alone as I did in that moment, wondering which of my
brothers was a traitor,” Matthew said with some bitterness, but
then he smiled at John. “I knew it couldn't be you, John. You loved
him.”
“So
did Peter.” Mark shrugged. “Yet he was able to deny knowing Jesus
with no hesitation. I think the point is, it could have been any of
us.”
“You're
right, Mark. I wasn't much braver than Peter,” John admitted sadly.
“Yet
you were there,” Matthew protested. “I can see why Jesus honoured
you.”
“I am
nothing without Him,” John argued. “Do not consider me
like that, Matthew. Think of the Saviour and what He did. Do you
remember what He told us, that night?”
“'Let
not your hearts be troubled',” Matthew quoted the words of the
Lord. “'Believe in God; believe also in me.'”
“'In
my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have
told you that I go to prepare a place for you'?” Mark joined in.
“'And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take
you to myself, that where I am you may be also',” John recited.
“'And you know the way to where I am going. I am the way, and the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,
you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and
have seen him.'”
“'Whoever
has seen me, has seen the Father',” Matthew added. “...If you
love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and
he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever... He will
teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have
said to you'.”
At
this, all the men had chills and were afraid. How those words had
been so true yet they had been so blind! Now that their eyes were
opened, sometimes it was too much to bear, as if they were staring
into the face of Moses after he came down from Mount Sinai.
“How
could God's people be so blind? How were we once so blind?”
Matthew asked John.
“Jesus
said, 'They will do these things because they have not known the
Father nor me.',” John answered.
“Luke,
what have you been told about that time?” John wanted to know.
“After
Jesus had the last supper with His disciples,” Luke began to read.
“He went and prayed on the Mount of Olives.” He stopped to look
at John. “John it was you who told me about the blood. It's my
medical opinion that He sweat drops of blood because of stress and
anxiety. He must have known what He was going to face...”
“Peter
may have slept through a lot of that night but he recalled the
following words of Jesus,” Mark interrupted and looked at his
notes. “'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this
cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'”
“I've
never seen someone so torn,” John put his head in his hands, in
despair of the memory. Mark gripped his shoulder, offering him his
strength. Finally, John looked up again and said in a small voice, “I
heard Him pray to the Father that night. Right before we went across
the Kidron to the garden there, I heard some of His prayer. He said,
'Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify
you, since you have given Him authority over all flesh, to give
eternal life to all whom you have given Him. And this is eternal
life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you
have sent.' He talked to His Father about how He did what He was sent
to do and how He didn't lose any of those that were given to Him
except for Judas. He prayed for us, His disciples, and asked His
Father to glorify us and make us one (like He is one with the Father)
and that we would one day be where He is. He didn't ask much for
Himself, but He prayed over and over again that we would know the
truth and that we would share the truth with others.”
“I
can't believe that He spent His last night before He died praying for
us,” Matthew was in shock. “I am certain that I have heard of no
greater love than Jesus showed.”
“That's
not all,” Mark brought them back to the account. “Peter was
willing to defend the Lord against the men who came to take Him and
he cut the man's ear off. Jesus actually rebuked Peter and healed the
man's ear.”
“I
wonder if I would have had such compassion,” Matthew remarked. “I
would have done as Peter did. Although perhaps I would have gone
after Judas...”
“What
is it you told me earlier that Jesus said, Matthew?” Mark asked.
“'I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother...'”
“Will
be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to
the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell
of fire.'” Matthew finished for him and thanked Mark for the
reminder. “I know I need to forgive Judas. I'm sorry, brothers. It
could easily have been me, if the Lord had so willed it.”
“So
Judas betrayed the Lord, identifying Him with a kiss—” Luke was
saying.
Matthew
interrupted, “And received thirty pieces of silver, too!”
Luke's
eyes widened at this, but he continued his story. “Jesus went
willingly with the officers of the temple. It was there that He was
mocked and beaten by the officers, who taunted Him to prophesy about
who was hitting Him.”
“What?
I knew none of this,” John fumed. “I cannot believe they would
stoop as low as the Roman guards.”
“Well,
the Roman guards beat Him and taunted Him too, about being the King
of the Jews, but Pilate declared Him to be an innocent man and palmed
Him off onto Herod to decide what to do. Herod was a fan of Jesus and
wanted to question Him at length, but Jesus didn't answer his
questions. Even when people threw accusations against Jesus, He said
nothing—”
“I
didn't know He went to see Herod?” John looked with interest at
Luke.
“He
fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah which said, 'He was oppressed, and
He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth,” Mark interjected.
“Yes.
Of course,” Luke allowed. “Then Herod sent Him back to Pilate and
the people weren't satisfied with the stripes on Jesus back, they
wanted Him dead so they began to shout, 'Crucify Him!'--”
“If I
might add something,” John interrupted, waiting for Luke's nod to
proceed. “Pilate actually had a conversation with Jesus about
truth. Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world and those who
are part of His kingdom listen to His voice. He had the courage to
tell Pilate that Pilate would not have the authority to kill Him
unless God had given him that authority.”
“What
was Pilates' reaction to that?” Luke wanted to know, imagining that
the pride and ego of such a man would prevent him from seeing such a
truth.
“He
asked Jesus, 'What is truth?'” John answered.
“What
does that mean?”
John
shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps Pilate was lost too.”
“Pilate
gave the Jews one more chance to do the right thing by offering Jesus
as the prisoner to be released. Instead they asked for Barabbas. I
wonder if they were mad that Jesus, as the Messiah, did not lead an
uprising? In contrast, Barabbas was a troublemaker who led an
insurrection...”
“Whatever
their motives,” Matthew interrupted. “Pilate didn't want to have
the blood of Jesus on his hands so he washed his hands and told them
to kill Jesus themselves.”
“All
the while, Jesus pleaded for His Father to forgive them, saying that
they didn't understand what they were doing and the people responded
by stripping Him naked and selling His clothes.”
“That
was to fulfil another prophecy,” John said and the men were
beginning to think that perhaps John knew the whole of the scriptures
inside out. “It was written in a Psalm of David, 'They divide my
garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots'.”
“They
taunted Him.”
“And
spat on Him.”
“They
nailed His hands and feet to the cross and hung Him up beside thieves
and murderers, who had the hide to mock Him too.”
“One
thief actually believed in Jesus,” Luke insisted, not needing to
look at his notes, because he knew the story well. It reminded him
that even the worst sinner can be forgiven, much like his friend Paul
was. “And Jesus said to the thief, 'Today you will be with Me in
paradise.'”
“They
offered Him sour wine.”
“It
took nine hours.”
“When
He died a curtain in the temple was torn and the sky went dark.”
“And
Jesus said—” John began and Luke interrupted with, “Father,
into Your hands I commit My Spirit!”
“I
heard Him say, 'It is finished.'” John said with a triumphant smile
raising his fist in the air.
“And
a Centurion saw Jesus release His spirit with a loud cry, he said,
'Truly this man was the Son of God.'” Mark reported.
“Whose
tomb did they place Jesus' body? I keep forgetting?” Matthew asked.
“I
believe it was Joseph of Arimathea, a member of council. He went to
Pilate to ask for Jesus' body to place in his own tomb and Pilate was
surprised that Jesus had died so quickly. He ordered a centurion to
check and it was reported that Jesus was indeed dead—“
“He
actually pierced His side, just like Isaiah prophesied,” John
interrupted again. “'Not one of his bones will be broken.'”
None of
the others had heard this, but it made them even more excited.
“So
Joseph took Jesus' body and laid Him in his tomb, then he rolled the
stone against the entrance,” Luke continued.
“I
heard that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus,” Matthew said with a
shrug.
John,
getting excited, decided to take over. “And then next morning when
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, she saw that the stone had been
rolled away and His body was gone. She ran to tell Peter and I,
terrified that His body had been stolen. Peter went into the tomb
first and he called out to tell me that the linen cloths from His
body were there, but they were, strangely, folded up. I went in to
see it for myself and, sure enough, he was right.” John took a deep
breath before plunging in again. “We went home in disgust and anger
that someone would do something so terrible—especially to someone
we dearly loved. I thought I had failed Him even in death...”
“What
happened next?” Luke asked a smile lighting his face, even though
he already knew the answer. But hearing John tell the story was like
he was experiencing it firsthand.
A quick
look around the room told Luke that the other men were smiling
broadly too.
“Mary
told us that when we left she was weeping outside the temple, but
suddenly decided to look inside again and she saw something amazing,”
John said and left a dramatic pause.
“Get
on with it, John.” Matthew shook his head at his friend, but the
excitement was building in him too.
“She
saw two angels. One was sitting where Jesus' head had been and the
other was sitting where His feet had been.” John widened his eyes
as if it was significant and at their blank stares he sighed and
said, “The ark of the covenant! Two angels guarded the mercy seat,
the seat of atonement!”
Now
John was standing in his excitement and Mark burst out laughing,
unable to contain his joy.
John
couldn't speak in any volume less than a shout at this point.
“'Woman, why are you weeping?' The angels asked her and she told
them that the Lord's body had been taken and she didn't know where or
whom had done it. Sensing something behind her though she turned to
see the RISEN CHRIST!”
The men
cheered and clapped, but John silenced them with his hands, not
finished yet. “Not recognising Him, Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why
are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'”
“Close
enough,” Luke muttered; although he had spoken to Mary and she had
said that the angels asked her why she was seeking the living among
the dead and reminded her of Jesus words that he would be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and crucified but would rise again on
the third day.
“She
really didn't know?” Mark couldn't believe his ears. “But she had
been with Him so long...”
“When
He said her name 'Mary,' she turned and answered, 'Rabboni!' and
hugged Him.”
“She
what?” Matthew's eyes bugged out of his head. “Silly
woman.”
“I
know you would have done the same,” Luke insisted, but John wasn't
listening to them, he was lost in the story.
“'Do
not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to
My brothers and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your
Father, to My God and your God.'” John quoted the words of Jesus.
“I
bet you didn't believe a word she said,” Matthew gave John a look,
daring him to lie.
“I
wanted to believe her,” John answered truthfully. “I wished it
could be so, but I didn't see how.”
“Even
after seeing all those miracles?” Mark questioned him.
“Well,
I definitely didn't doubt it when He came through the door—the
locked door—in all of His splendour and said, 'Peace be with you.'”
“I
wish I had been there when you first saw Him. I didn't see Him till
much later,” Matthew said, disappointed.
“Well,
Thomas took a little more convincing, you know what He's like, but He
believed too,” John said with a gleam of victory in his eyes.
“'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'”
“His
appearance was like lightning, and His clothing white as snow.
Everyone who saw Him was afraid, including the guards who fell on the
floor like they had died. People plotted to say that it was all a lie
and they spread a story around that we had stolen Jesus' body,”
Matthew said.
“At
least they thought we had the courage,” John sighed. “The reality
was that I had been hiding in fear for my life. If Mary hadn't scared
me out of her whits with the story of Jesus' body missing, I wouldn't
have come out of that building for days.”
“Praise
the risen Lord!” Mark shouted and they all echoed his joy.
“I
really think we should end with our role in spreading the gospel.
Have you forgotten what Jesus told us to do, John?” Matthew asked
him, disapproving of his silence.
“Peter
is always quoting this,” Mark acknowledged Matthew with a smile,
glad for once they could agree on something so completely. “'Go
into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not
believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who
believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new
tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they
drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their
hands on the sick, and they will recover.'”
“Close
enough,” Matthew replied and they both burst out laughing.
“So,
what shall we write?” Luke finally asked and the room went silent.
They
could hear a clock ticking on the wall, the wind howling against the
tall building and they saw lights appearing all across the city,
lighting it up.
“Maybe
we should each write our own account,” Mark finally said.
“Yes,”
John agreed, liking the idea. “The gospels according to Matthew,
Mark, Luke and...John.”
