The Last Disciple (13 page)

Sophia moved beside him. She was not a helpless woman.

Still, when the guards arrived, she was glad that Vitas addressed the lead man, a middle-aged soldier with a prominent mole below his left eye. “Good morning.”

“Stand aside,” the leader said without emotion. “We are here to take this litter back to the treasurer.”

“You make assumptions about the passenger in this litter,” Vitas said.

Sophia remained silent, knowing her status as a slave dictated this.

“Hardly,” the soldier answered. “Aristarchus had it followed. And the woman and baby behind you are ample proof of what he seeks. Stand aside.”

“If I don’t?”

The older man sighed. “You are outnumbered. And Aristarchus would send two dozen more if needed.”

All of it was true. With the spears pointed at the belly of Vitas, any action he attempted would be useless.

Sophia could not help herself. She clutched Vitas by the elbow.

Vitas gritted his teeth and stepped aside, trying to move Sophia behind him.

She wrenched free and stood directly in front of the lead guard. “Please,” she said to the guard, “leave us in peace.”

He shook his head, implacable. “You may remain behind. But Aristarchus wants his divorced wife. And the baby.”

One of the younger guards, hardly more than a boy, could not resist the opportunity for added drama. “He’s going to kill the baby himself! There’s nothing you can do.”

“Shut your mouth,” the lead guard said in a weary voice. “Making a woman cry is not a sign of manhood.” He motioned at the others. “Take the woman with the baby.” Pointing at the slaves standing with the litter, he said, “Follow us if you value your lives.”

“You may remain behind,”
the soldier had said. Aristarchus, then, did not care to keep Sophia as a slave. She could finally return to Jerusalem. She could search for her family. Her mother and sister. When her father had died three years earlier, he’d left debts that could only be paid if one of them had been sold into slavery. Sophia had accepted it, had been taken to Asia. And now she was free to return?

For a moment, she considered this freedom. If she stayed, perhaps Vitas might help her return to Jerusalem. She banished the thought. Paulina, the woman she’d led to faith, needed her. The newborn baby needed her. Without saying good-bye, Sophia resolutely began to follow the litter and the guards.

She could not, however, resist one final look backward, just before the entire retinue disappeared over the crest of the hill.

Her heart soared.

Vitas had begun to sprint after them.

In front of Helius, Zabad began speaking directly to Caleb in a soft, compassionate voice. “Please, my friend, treat this as something more than a debate. What you choose to believe about Jesus has eternal consequences.”

Helius interrupted sharply. “This has far more immediate consequences. The one who pleases Nero will live.”

Zabad showed no fear. “There is much more to our existence than our lives on this earth. If you even considered it for a moment, you would—”

“Enough!” Helius pointed at Caleb. “Begin. Let us understand why this Jesus of Nazareth is a false god.”

Caleb nodded and addressed Zabad. “I would like to deal with the matter of the supposed resurrection of Jesus. After all, as your famous proselytizer Paul rightly says, if there is no Resurrection, everything you believe is false.”

“That is everything. To ignore the Resurrection or deny it is to deny Jesus Himself. I, too, would like us to deal with that matter. So tell me please. Why was Jesus killed?” Zabad asked.

“What does that matter?” Caleb asked. “It is not His death that concerns us but the claims that He came back to life and walked among His followers.”

“Are you afraid to answer the question?”

“Of course not.”

“Why was Jesus killed?” Zabad repeated.

Helius was impatient. “We are aware of the trial. Romans are scrupulous when it comes to the law, and Pilate knew this might have political ramifications. He was careful to have the trial recorded. In short, Christos was crucified because of sedition. Let us move past this issue.”

“Sedition,” Zabad responded. “It is true those were the charges put forth by the religious leaders. If you are aware of the trial, you will know that the charges were not proven, that Pilate was forced to do the will of the religious leaders or face riots.”

Zabad turned back to Caleb. “Why was the religious establishment so eager to have Jesus killed?”

Caleb shrugged. “He falsely claimed to be the Messiah. I stress
falsely
.”

“Was it a false claim?” Zabad countered. “After all, every couple of years a madman comes out of the desert heat to make that claim. Dozens did before Jesus. Dozens have since. Few take notice, except to enjoy the entertainment.”

Caleb held up a hand. “I can name a half dozen crucified for the claim.”

“By Rome. And only because they actually gathered armed followers with the intent to revolt against Rome. The Jewish religious establishment refused—and refuses—to dignify the claims of most of them by paying any heed to their rantings. Yet the full force of the temple authorities was used to arrange the death of Jesus. So you’ll agree that Jesus—unlike the others who claimed to be Messiah—was actually a threat to the Jewish leaders?”

Caleb’s face was expressionless. “I suppose.”

“We agree Jesus was a threat,” Zabad said. “Because He was a good teacher?”

“Certainly.”

“You know that is wrong. Good teachers are welcomed and applauded among our people. Did Jesus contradict any of the teachings?”

“He . . .”

“You know as well as I do that He did not contradict a single teaching. He knew our laws completely. He stated again and again that He was here to fulfill the laws, not destroy them. So why was He a threat?”

Caleb shifted position slightly but did not reply.

“I will answer it for you then,” Zabad said. “He was a threat because He performed miracles in validation of His claim. It is that simple. He healed the lame and the leprous. Raised a man from the dead. Asked if it was easier to forgive a man’s sins or tell him to get up and walk, a man who had been lame all his life.”

Zabad waited several moments before continuing. “You may try to deny the miracles, but you know the man did take up his mat and walk. You know there are ample witnesses still alive who will attest to that and to the rest of the miracles. Jesus had a power from beyond this world. It made Him so dangerous, the temple authorities had to kill Him. Will you agree with that assessment? Or should we make this a very legal trial and send for the witnesses?”

“We don’t have time for that!” Helius snapped. “Move on.”

Zabad smiled calmly. “You’ll concede the point then?”

“For the sake of argument, yes.” Caleb appeared calm and confident, waving away a protest that Helius was clearly about to make.

“Then let me emphasize this,” Zabad answered. “I will proceed as if we are in agreement that Jesus performed miracles as attested to by hundreds of witnesses, and because of it, His following grew to the point where He—unlike any other to make the messiah claim—was such a threat to the temple authorities that they were forced to find a way to kill Him. For the record, do you agree with me on this?”

The slave with the stylus looked up. The conversation had obviously become interesting to him.

“Yes,” Caleb said. Still calm, still confident.

“Now that we have established this point together,” Zabad said, “I am prepared to deal with the matter of His resurrection. Can you assure me He was truly dead before He was taken down from the cross?”

“That is my question to you. The Resurrection cannot be debated unless we are both certain He was dead. And I have my doubts.”

“Excellent,” Zabad said. “Let me address those doubts then. Roman soldiers are trained to ensure that no one survives a crucifixion. Ever. Would you expect that they make an exception in His case?”

“Perhaps they were bribed.”

“By a traveling teacher who depended on the generosity of those who listened to His teachings? Where would He and His immediate followers get enough money? And why would the soldiers risk their lives for a bribe of any amount? Crucifixions are public events—and this one more so. If you were one of the attending soldiers, would you risk anyone reporting that He hadn’t died on the cross?”

Zabad continued after sipping water from a clay cup. “That’s why if there is any doubt, the soldiers break the legs of the victim on the cross. Once the body weight cannot be supported, suffocation comes within minutes. Read the eyewitness accounts. The soldiers saw that Jesus was dead and didn’t bother to break His legs. They pierced His side with a spear. Water and blood gushed out. Would a man still alive survive this? Would a man alive—?”

Caleb waved a hand. “I am prepared to agree that He was dead when taken from the cross.”

“This is an important point. I want to make certain that you won’t argue that He revived in the tomb.”

Helius interrupted. “I will. Despite what you say, soldiers are not beyond taking bribes. A man with His following most certainly would have had supporters willing to pull together money to save His life. A man on the cross could easily pretend to be dead and act in complicity with the soldiers. While the witnesses say that blood and water poured from His side, a man can survive a substantial blood loss, and, as you pointed out, the legs were not broken to make certain suffocation had taken place. If the wound in His side was bound quickly enough . . .”

“Let’s consider for a moment that—unlikely as this might be—Jesus did survive His time on the cross and that His followers somehow managed to solicit enough money in the few hours they had on that Friday morning, and out of the dozens of people they would have had to approach, not a single person has revealed the secret of the bribe.”

Helius stared at Zabad. “Yes, let’s consider it.”

Zabad nodded. “This man’s body was beaten and whipped and shredded after an illegal trial that kept Him awake all through the night, then hung from a cross on spikes and violated by a spear. You are suggesting that if He had somehow survived, that a man this broken and torn, single-handedly rolled away the massive stone that sealed His tomb?”

“Friends, perhaps,” Helius said. He had not meant to get involved but could not help himself.

“Again, read the accounts. All His friends had fled, and would be committed to His deity only after His resurrection. Why would unarmed peasants face the well-trained soldiers guarding the tomb? And if they did, how would they manage to defeat them? And even if that had happened, how could they have kept this secret? Those same arguments can be used against those who claim Jesus was dead but His body was stolen from the tomb. No, all evidence and logic point out that He went in there a dead man and that some force beyond our understanding gave Him the life and power to leave that tomb without help.”

Caleb smiled. “As you have emphasized, we should read the accounts. I’ve studied them closely. The first witnesses to the supposed empty tomb were women. Surely you realize the significance of that?”

“Because a woman’s testimony is regarded to have such little value in our Jewish courts of law that if a man is seen committing a crime and there are only women to witness it, he cannot be convicted?”

“Exactly.”

“That only speaks more fully of the truth of the accounts. Any person with intelligence determined to fabricate a story would not choose to include women as witnesses.”

Caleb had no reply.

Helius was beginning to think the debate would turn out too disastrously to be of any use to Nero.

“Tell me,” Zabad said to Caleb, “as a Jew and a rabbi, you have most certainly heard of James, the brother of Jesus, who lived in Jerusalem and was stoned to death a few years ago?”

“I have.”

“This is the same James who, as the brother of Jesus, denied that Jesus was the Messiah, was embarrassed by Him. Then, later, this same James gave his life because of that belief, willingly died for the notion that one of his family members is God. You have to ask yourself what it would take for a man to change his mind like that. I’ll answer that for you. James saw his brother resurrected. What gave Jesus’ disciples the power to withstand jail and death threats and even death, when they acted like frightened rabbits the night of His trial? The same answer. They met Jesus after His resurrection,” Zabad concluded.

Helius spoke to Caleb. “I suggest you find a different matter to argue than the Resurrection. I also suggest you do a better job of it than you have so far.”

If the rebuke stung Caleb, he didn’t show it. “Of course. I had all of the previous evening to read the eyewitness accounts of the man and His teachings. I will show that by His very words, this Jesus of Nazareth proved Himself to be a false prophet.”

Hora Sexta

A hush of expectation fell on the crowd in the amphitheater. They knew the lions were next.

To Leah, the hush seemed almost supernatural. There were fifty thousand spectators, and the silence was so complete it was as if all had decided to hold their breath.