Final Confrontation (37 page)

Jesus began walking in a circle, speaking to the crowd. When He came to the Pharisees and Sadducees, He stopped. He gestured toward the religious leaders, then spoke to the crowd.

“These men, these teachers of Israel,” He began, “they sit in the seat of Moses and have great learning and wisdom. And so you must obey them and do everything they tell you.”

Zichri and the other priests looked at each other as if they were trying to figure out just what Jesus was saying. Several of them nodded in cautious agreement.

“But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach!”

“Here now, Rabbi,” protested Zichri. Jesus ignored him and went on.

“These men create heavy loads and put them on your shoulders. And yet they themselves are not willing to help you carry the burden they impose upon you.”

The crowd murmured. Zichri sent his priests throughout the crowd to begin quelling some of the passions that were brewing. The Sadducees simply listened, hands folded, faces as smug as ever.

“Everything…everything these men do is done as a show—to be seen of other men. Have you ever noticed how they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues? Have you ever seen them in the marketplaces being greeted by the people and loving it so? Oh yes—they especially love it when you call them ‘rabbi’!”

Several people in the crowd, as well as a few of the disciples that were with Jesus in the Temple, laughed aloud. Zichri shot a sharp glance in the direction of one of those in the crowd. The man stopped immediately.

“Rabbi, a word please,” pleaded Zichri.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are shutting the Kingdom of Heaven and the hope of ever entering into it in the faces of men who are seeking it. At least move out of the way and let others enter into the Kingdom which you yourselves shall never enter!”

“How dare you say…”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You work very hard to convert someone over to your way of thinking. And in the end that poor fellow becomes twice as hell-bound as you yourselves!

“Hell-bound? Really, Jesus…”

“Woe to you, blind leaders! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel whole!”

Laughter again.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean with great diligence the outside of the cup and dish to keep from being unclean. Don’t you see that on the inside there is greed and self-indulgence? You blind Pharisee! Clean first what is inside, and then the outside shall become clean!”

Zichri and his men were slowly becoming more and more enraged at Jesus’ accusations. But they dared not touch Him in the Temple.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like freshly scrubbed and whitewashed tombs that are beautiful on the outside. Yet consider the rot and corruption housed within. So it is with you—looking fine and polished and righteous on the outside—yet on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

“Enough!” sputtered Zichri.

“You snakes! You vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

But because of you, I am sending prophets and wise men and teachers. And yes—you will kill some of them, and harass others, and persecute many. You will hunt them down from town to town. But it shall be on your own heads that righteous blood shall be shed—just as has always been the case from Abel to Zechariah whom you murdered in God’s Holy Temple!”

“Blasphemy!” shouted Zichri, who turned and stormed out of the area. The Temple guards were standing ready to make sure the crowd did not riot. Zichri could hear Jesus crying out as he left.

“Oh, Jerusalem! Jerusalem! You are the city that kills the prophets who are sent to save you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you are stiff-necked and unwilling. And now you shall become desolate.”

Jesus turned back to the people and looked at them with compassion. Some of them were disturbed by His words; others had simply gathered to see what was going on; still others pondered this Man’s ability to get the better of the Pharisees.

“I tell you all now, you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’!”

Lucifer turned to Kara and Pellecus following Jesus’ address.

“That was it,” he said. “He has just signed His own execution order. Mobilize the Pharisees and see they carry out the evil plans festering in their hearts.”

Kara nodded with understanding.

“You, Pellecus, shall wait until the Romans are brought into this. That fool Pilate will have to give the order. These priests are supremely hypocritical, you know. Rather than a dagger in the back in some alley, they will want this to be done publicly and legally. But Pilate is a vacillator by nature—he may need shoring up.”

Pellecus nodded.

“And I shall visit Judas,” said Lucifer. “The matter is drawing to a close in his mind now.”

His eyes lit up with a reddish glow. He turned his back on the two angels, looking in the direction of the Most Holy Place.

“And so our little adventure is coming to a close,” he began. “One way or another, for good or bad, this week shall decide the fate of Jesus, ourselves and humanity. There is much blood to come, be sure. But I never demanded blood. I would have settled for a resolution long ago if the Most High were not so stubborn. But He has determined we play out our little game to the bloody end. And so we shall.” He smiled. “Wait and see. As I said before, Jesus will bleed like any other Man!”

“Our Lord certainly loves this place,” said Nathaniel, resting his aching feet.

Bartholomew nodded in agreement.

“Up and down, back and forth,” interjected Thomas. “We must have been on this mountain a dozen times in the past few months!”

“And we’ll go a dozen more if the Lord leads us here,” said Nathaniel.

“A dozen more?” Judas asked wearily.

The men laughed.

The disciples had left Jerusalem and stopped at the Mount of Olives, a few hundred yards from the Temple Mount. Only two miles long, the Mount of Olives is a low ridge rising over two hundred feet above the Kidron Valley. Some of the disciples recalled numerous events in their nation’s history that had taken place there.

David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape his son, Absalom. King Solomon built pagan altars there. Later, the reformer-king Josiah destroyed them. The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Lord there; and in Nehemiah’s time, the people came bearing olive branches for the renewal of the Feast of Tabernacles, which they had not celebrated since being taken into captivity.

The disciples were personally familiar with the place, as it had become their route between Bethany and Jerusalem during Passover Week. Enjoying a light breeze on the gently sloping hillside, they rested from their long days of ministry. How far away it all seemed right now—the pressing of the crowds; the venom of the Pharisees; the burden of not completely understanding, and yet trusting in the Man who had led them these past three-and-one-half years.

“I wonder how it will end,” came a voice.

“What?” asked Peter, looking around.

“I wonder how it will end for Jesus. And for all of us.”

It was James.

“You know as well as I do,” said Peter. “Jesus has promised that we are to be a part of His Kingdom.”

“A Kingdom not of this world,” said Judas with a bite of sarcasm. “How practical.”

Peter began to object to Judas when Thomas stopped him.

“It’s a fair question,” he admitted. “Judas is only speaking what all of us have thought. I mean…where does it all end?”

“Let me tell you,” said Jesus, walking into their midst.

“My Lord, I was not doubting You,” said James, now regretting he had given voice to his thoughts.

“Don’t worry, James,” said Jesus. “I know you all are wondering what is to come.” He sat down and the men drew in. “You know what is to come of Me. Now let Me tell you what is to come of this world.”

He then began to teach the men what must happen.

“Now you’ll get some answers, teacher,” said Serus.

Crispin stood next to a large olive tree near where Jesus sat with His disciples. He only nodded and grunted an affirmative. Not his usual demeanor.

“What is troubling you, Crispin?” asked Serus.

Crispin looked at Serus as if he were surprised that Serus had picked up on his mood. He walked over closer to the men.

“It occurs to me we are very near the end of this ministry,” he said. “I was thinking back to all we have witnessed; all that has been done on behalf of these humans; all that has transpired since Eden. And now it is drawing to a close.”

Serus smiled.

“But of course it is,” he said. “It had to come to an end one day.”

“Yes,” Crispin admitted. “But I am beginning to see that the end coming is very different from the one I had envisioned.”

“What do you mean, teacher?” asked Serus.

“I mean, that the love of God is beyond the capacity of even angels to understand,” he said, marveling. “And I believe I am beginning to understand what Jesus means when He speaks of dying at the hands of men.”

“He has been talking about that for some time now,” said Serus. “Most of the angels believe He intends another meaning—something cryptic.”

“Do they now?” mused Crispin.

Serus looked sharply at Crispin.

“You mean to say that you really believe that Jesus—the Most High—intends to be taken by men and killed?”

Crispin looked at Jesus, then turned to Serus.

“No, Serus. I never said I believe Jesus will be taken by men. I said I think He will give Himself to them.”