"You boy, come here!" The High Priest Caiaphas yelled at me. "Coming, sir," I called back. My name is Levi. I have short brown hair and I'm unusually short for my age. Despite my young age of 15, I am the High Priest's servant. It is my duty to do whatever he asks of me. Master Caiaphas has been quite stressed out lately. The biggest holiday of the year, Passover, is this week and people are hoarding the streets to celebrate this most holy of festivals. Master Caiaphas is quite busy preparing the sacrifices and the ritual baths.
"Boy! I said come here!" "Coming, sir!" I dash down the corridor and enter the balcony where the High Priest is waiting for me. "Finally! Why do you run so slowly? Well never mind that. Do you see that man there?" I look out from the balcony and see a man, about thirty years of age and looked quite angry and yet peaceful at the same time. "Yes sir," I reply. "That man is a dangerous rebel. His name is Jesus. Take a closer look at him. Do you know why he is angry?" I looked at him again. He appeared to be storming off from the direction of the Temple. "No sir." "I'll tell you. Not just a half-hour ago he stormed into the Temple and overturned the tables and shouted some things about the Temple being a den of thieves. I am told that he has a group of followers that follow him everywhere he goes. Hmm, I must do something about this man." "But why sir?" "Because, my dear servant, he threatens my power and wealth. You see, if this Jesus converts enough people to his unruly way of thinking, then the people will begin to think that the Temple is not necessary. If that happens, I lose everything. But what will I do? Hmm, I have much to think about; be gone from me."
Later that night, I was just about to fall asleep when a booming voice rang for me. "Boy! Come here immediately!" I arose from my bed and called back, "Coming, Master!" I raced down the stairs to the living area of the Temple. It is a spacious room, meaning quite a few people could live there, and more or less well lit by the flame lanterns that our country uses. But tonight in this room, there is a huge, long table with about twenty people seated around it. At the head of the table was Master Caiaphas. Seated at the right hand of the High Priest was Annas, Caiaphas' right-hand man. "My dear boy, take this scroll and write down everything you hear tonight." Annas told me. Scribing was a usual task for me. Most people my age don't know how to write, but I was educated at an early age to learn this noble skill. "I will, Master Annas. But what is to take place tonight?" I asked. "You will see, you will see." He told me and then motioned for me to take a seat.
I gazed around the table and saw the other eighteen men seated here. They were all older men and looked to be quite wealthy. There's no doubt that they are part of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council of Elders. Caiaphas rose from his seat and began this secret meeting. "Ah, gentlemen, I presume you know why we have gathered here. As you all know, it is the Passover week: the greatest of all Jewish holidays and a time of joy and festivities. But this year, we have quite a large problem to deal with. There is a man running around named Jesus of Nazareth. He is threatening our power and authority. As such, he must be silenced! But how, dear gentlemen, how?" One of the old men stood up and spoke in a raspy voice, "I think it's obvious that we need to imprison him, at least for this most holy of weeks." Another old man, slightly younger, rose up and said, "Of course something must be done! If we don't stop him, those blasted Romans are sure to strike at us hard!" At the mention of the Romans, everyone in the room fell silent. It was Annas who finally spoke up, "Of course! At this time of the year, the Romans are most paranoid of a revolt. We must take care of this quietly. Are you getting all of this, boy?" "Yes, Master Annas," I replied. But then Caiaphas rose up and said in a deep booming voice, "Fools! Isn't the answer evident? There is only one option. If we imprison him, his insane followers will riot and demand his freedom. That will surely bring the wrath of the Romans upon us. No, there is only one answer. We must kill him!" At this remark, the whole gathering was aghast. "B-but how? W-we have no laws to condemn a man to death." Annas pointed out. "Mufufu, don't you think I've thought of that? I have a plan to make this work. Boy, be gone. We have secret plans to make; plans that can't be trusted to a wimp like you." I suppose I should be insulted by this, but I'm used to insults from Master Caiaphas. I gave what scrolls I had written to Annas and then left the room. I was quite tired and needed to rest…
The next day, Thursday, a man came running into the Temple around noon. He was asking to see the High Priest. I directed and followed him to his quarters where he was resting. Normally, Caiaphas does not like to be disturbed while he is resting, but this man seemed to need him urgently. He was mildly tall for his age, which I'm guessing was about thirty. He ran wildly up to Caiaphas and whispered something which I could not hear. At that moment Caiaphas' face lit up and he dismissed me saying that these matters were too important for my ears. Once again, I was not insulted. Ever since I came to work in the Temple, Caiaphas treated me terribly. To him, I am nothing but a slave. From what I hear, he has always been that arrogant and insatiable. My parents, before they died, brought me to the Temple, saying I was destined for greatness. I don't know if they did the right thing, but here I am, so I guess I'll deal with it. At least Master Annas is nice to me. Ever since his own son died of pneumonia, he's felt a deep loss. I think he views me as his own son and as such, treats me most kindly.
After about an hour, the strange man came running out of Master Caiaphas' room and the High Priest called me in. He told me to summon as many Temple guards as I could and bring them to him. I questioned him as to why, but he merely told me that tonight was to be a great night for all of Judea. I ran to the guards' quarters and told them that the High Priest wanted them. "All of us?! Why?" An actual friend of mine, Rueben, asked me. "I'm not quite sure, Rueben, but the Master says that tonight is going to be a great night." "Well alright then, we'll be there. You take care of yourself now, Levi." "Will do!" I replied and then ran back to the High Priest. "I did as you commanded, Master Caiaphas." I told him. "Very good, boy. Tonight will be the triumph of all and the downfall of a few. Now I want you to get some rest. I expect you to meet us at the back entrance of the Temple at eight o'clock tonight. Go!" I ran off quickly to my chambers. Caiaphas is not normally this generous, but I assume what the strange man told him was very good news. I wonder what he said. The only thing he told me was that his name was Judas Iscariot…
"My dear boy, please awaken." A voice said and a hand shook me from my bed. Master Annas was standing above me and told me to come quickly to the back entrance. I had almost forgotten that I had to wake up in the middle of this night. I always slept in my working clothes, just in case the Masters needed something in the middle of the night. I dashed out of bed and ran with Master Annas to the back of the Temple where Master Caiaphas and the guards were waiting. I noticed the strange man called Judas was also here. "Well it's about time, boy!" Caiaphas yelled. "But no matter. Tonight we put that Jesus out once and for all. This brilliant man here, Judas, has volunteered to turn in Jesus. He also agrees that he is a dangerous man and that he must be stopped. You see, Judas was one of Jesus' close followers. But now he has seen our way of thinking. Good old Judas! Now, we're going to meet Jesus alone where he is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. When we get there, Judas will give the signal: The one whom he kisses is the one we arrest." Caiaphas finished and Annas took over, "Got all that? Yes? Alright, men, let's move out!"
Quietly we crept towards the Garden. Total, there were about fifteen guards, plus Master Caiaphas and Master Annas and I. When we arrived at the Garden, we sat in the shadows for a moment to gaze upon the scene. Lying down not far from us were three men, two looked to be close brothers, and they looked like they had passed out from drinking too much. I suppose this is not unusual, being as it is Passover and many people drink excessive amounts of wine during these blissful days. Kneeling on a rock, quite far from us and the drunken men, was the same man that I saw from the balcony of the Temple. He appeared to be praying and he looked quite exhausted. It may just be my imagination, but he appeared to be sweating blood. He rose from the rock, wiped his brow, and started walking towards the other men, who were no doubt his other Apostles. He looked at them disappointedly and that's when Judas separated from our crowd and started walking towards the man called Jesus. "Hail, Rabbi!" And then he kissed him on the cheek, just as he said he would. Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you have come for."
I thought for a moment. It was as if this man knew that Judas was going to come to betray him. But I didn't have ample time because the guards were already on the move. We all ran out, the guards with their spears and clubs, and even I with a small hand knife. Jesus did not even try to resist when we surrounded him. But suddenly, the drunken men awoke and came running at us with their swords. Two of the guards held off the two brothers, but the third man, stronger looking than the other two, came running directly towards me. I didn't know what to do; I was paralyzed by this angry man who held his sword high. The hate in his eyes instilled a new type of fear into me. Though I have been beaten and bullied by many others, never before have I imagined a man like this come racing towards me with such malice in his heart and darkness on his sword. When he at last reached me, he paused for a moment and then took a long swipe at my head. I tried to dodge this fatal blow at the last moment, but it was too late. The blade came rolling down and sliced off my right ear. I felt a wave of coldness slash across my head and then I felt a cold liquid coming down my face. Blood came gushing out from the open wound and I felt the pain rip through my head and body.
"Arrgh! I screamed. "Levi!" Annas yelled through the melee. "Are you alright, my boy?" Annas said as he ran towards me. "I-I think so." I said uncertainly. It was then that Jesus walked towards his apostle and me. "Don't touch this boy!" But Jesus merely turned to his apostle and said, "Put away your sword. Why are you so obsessed with fighting? Those who live by the sword shall also die by the sword." And then he pushed Annas aside and picked up the dismembered ear. "What are you doing?! Are you mad?!" Annas yelled. But Jesus didn't say a word. He just pushed Annas to the side and placed the ear back onto my head, right where it should be. Then he removed his hand and the ear stuck. "How…" "M-my ear. It's healed!" Everyone around was completely amazed by this healing miracle. But none was more amazed than I. How has this, a so called dangerous rebel, caused such a miracle to happen? If he was an evil man, how had the power of Yahweh worked through him so well? I don't understand it all.
"H-how? W-why?" Annas asked, for he was just as amazed as everyone else. "It doesn't matter!" Caiaphas yelled. "Seize him!" And at that moment the guards snapped back to their senses and continued with the arrest. Jesus' three apostles ran off somewhere into the woods and the swarm of guards dragged Jesus off towards the direction of the Temple. I didn't know what to do. I felt my ear. It was still in its place. I couldn't even feel a scar from the blow or anything. Soon, everybody had gone off leaving me standing in the garden alone. A cold wind blew through the trees and I realized that it was pointless to stay here any longer. I also started walking back to the Temple.
By the time I had arrived, the secret trial was almost over. Caiaphas shouted some remarks about Jesus being a blasphemer and that he needed to be put on an official trial by the Romans. As I was walking into the Temple, the angry mob of guards was leading the silent Jesus out of the area. Despite all of the insults and curses that were being thrown at Jesus, he did not say a word but merely held his head low and kept on walking. I don't know how he had endured this without even flinching. Surely, no man could. I had not realized that I had been standing on the back steps of the Temple for quite a while. Master Annas came walking out of the Temple saying, "Come in now, Levi. You're going to catch a cold." But I was too deep in thought to react and answer him. He came a little closer and asked, "Is everything alright?" "Yes, Master Annas, everything is fine." "Very good. Now come in, it's getting late." I smiled at Annas' kindness, despite everything and went inside. It wasn't long before I was back into my bed, sound asleep.
The next morning, Friday, I woke up at about seven and went outside my room. As I entered the hallway and stretched, I was almost ran over by my guard friend, Rueben. "Sorry, about that Levi." He said. "It's okay. Why are you in such a hurry?" I replied and asked. "You didn't hear? They say that Jesus is to be put on trial by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor." "Is that true?! Well then, let's go see it!" I exclaimed excitedly. I was eager to see how exactly the Romans would react to this Jesus. Together, Rueben and I raced out of the Temple and towards the center of Jerusalem, where Pilate made his temporary base. I heard that Pilate, like most Romans, does not like us Jews and has his official palace far from Jerusalem. But every year at Passover, he visits us to keep law and order.
When we arrived at the entrance to the building, we saw a horrific sight. Outside of the building, there had to be thousands of people looking up at the balcony where Pilate was standing. Next to him were two men. One of them was none other than a man whose name is known throughout the city. Barabas, he is called, was a cold-blooded murderer who tried in vain to start a violent revolution against the Romans. He killed five Jews in a riot before the Roman soldiers came and arrested him and a few of his cohorts. The other man on the balcony, to Pilate's left, was Jesus. But he looked quite different than he had last night. His face was all bloody and bruised and his body was in a sorry shape. It looked as if he had been beaten relentlessly by the Roman soldiers. I had heard stories about them being a sadistic people, but I did not think they were entirely true.
"It is time once again for the annual release of a prisoner on Passover." Pilate shouted above everybody. "I have with me here two prime candidates for that release. To my right, is the malicious, cold-blooded radical Barabas. And to my left, is Jesus of Nazareth. Which do you want me to release?" I knew in my heart that my people would rather have a known criminal die than this wayward religious. But I was shocked and disgusted when the assembly shouted their answer. "Release Barabas!" From the looks of things, Pilate was just as shocked. "What do you mean?! This man named Jesus is innocent of any crimes except maybe pride. If you wish Barabas to be released, then what will you do with Jesus?" All of the color drained from my face when the people shouted back at Pilate two fateful words: "Crucify him!" I don't know why I care so much for Jesus. As far as I know, he may be deserving of this. But what I do know is that this man healed one of his enemies when one of his own men had severely wounded him. I don't think I can ever repay him for what he did to me.
"Do you really wish this man dead by a most painful method? Why do you harbor such malevolence for this man?" Pilate shouted at them. But the people did not answer him. They merely chanted their inexorable phrase, "Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!" I could see that Pilate was getting frustrated by these people. He did not want to kill Jesus, but it did not seem like he had a choice. "Then let it be so! I wash my hands of you. Let Jesus of Nazareth be sentenced to death by crucifixion in one hour from now." And with that said, Pilate walked off the balcony and back into his chambers. The guards escorted Jesus and Barabas back into the building as well. I could not believe what had just happened. I didn't know what to do. So I ran. I ran from Rueben. I ran from the crowd. I ran from Jesus and Pilate themselves. I ran out to the outskirts of town, and I cried.
After about an hour, I realized that it was pointless to cry any longer. I had to return to my work, no matter how much I thought it was wrong of Caiaphas to do this to someone. I started walking home when I passed a most wicked road. It was a road that led out of the city, towards a hill called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. What I saw on that road will haunt me forever. It was Jesus slowly stumbling down this road with a heavy cross upon his shoulder. I saw him struggle under the weight, and fall to the dirt and mire. I watched as the crown of thorns they placed on his head dug into his scalp and blood flowed from the open wounds like a sinister torrent of misery and life force. I saw a woman go up to him and wipe his face and I watched as a strong man lifted up the heavy cross to help him carry it. It all happened in a bit of a daze, but after a long while, Jesus finally reached that damned hill where he is to be killed. The soldiers threw the cross on the ground, taking some of the flesh of his shoulders with it, and pushed him unto it. Then they drove their long, iron nails into his feet and wrists. And then they stood the cross upright and stood there mocking him until he drew his last breath. At about three o'clock on that fateful Friday, Jesus lifted his maimed head to the heavens and uttered one last phrase, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." And then he died.
I just stood there for a moment, like in a dream, not knowing what to do. But this was no dream; it was a living nightmare. How could humans so badly mangle another human like that? Did they have any hearts in their bodies? Did they have any souls in their spirits? I asked myself these questions. And then I ran again. This time, I ran to the Garden where Jesus once sat and prayed before this evil circuit took place; the same place where he healed my ear. I ran into the garden, to the same rock where he prayed, and I raised my head to the sky, and had another emotional jolt. Hanging from a tree was the body of Judas, the man who had betrayed Jesus. Isn't it ironic: that the betrayer would execute himself in the same place as he betrayed. But the last look on his pathetic face was the most heartrending thing of all. He looked sorry for what he had done and he looked as if he asked God for forgiveness in his last moments of life. I couldn't take this all in one day. I passed out on the bleeding rock.
"Levi! Levi! Oh, Levi I thought I might find you here." I heard a voice say as I flickered back into consciousness. I looked up and saw a man I thought I might never see again. "M-master Annas?" I asked him. "Yes, dear boy, it's me. Oh but what happened to you? You look a fright!" I was still weak from the emotional shock and it showed in my voice. "I saw Jesus die on the cross. And then I ran here and saw Judas…" "Ah, I understand. Judas came rushing into the Temple this morning and threw the money we gave him back at us. Caiaphas seemed insulted, but I understood. That really hit me. Up until a few days ago, I only thought of money and power. But seeing a man die a death that no man should ever have to go through, that made me realize that I was wrong. I saw the error of my ways, but Caiaphas was still too obsessed with power to realize this too. And then I began to wonder where you had run off to. I came here looking because I figured you might come back after what happened… But that's not important now. What are you going to do now? I'm assuming that you don't want to back and work for us, and I completely understand if you don't. But I urge you to spend the night at the Temple. Just one night to think and plan. Will you do it?" I thought for a moment and then asked, "Master Annas, what day is it?" "It's Saturday, about mid-afternoon. You've been out for quite a while then, hunh?" "I guess so. Yes, I'll come back to the Temple, but just for one night." "Oh thank you Levi! I knew you'd see reason! Now come." "Yes, Master Annas." "There's no need to call me master anymore." "Yes Annas." And then we walked back to the Temple of greed and supremacy. And then I slept a little more.
"Boy, come here!" I heard a booming voice yell. "Coming!" I called back as I routinely raced into Caiaphas' main room. "Don't you realize it's Sunday morning? Go and fetch me some water! I'm very thirsty!" I stood there for a moment and then said in utter defiance, "No." Caiaphas was outraged. "No?! What do you mean no? You work for me slave!" "Not anymore!" I yelled. And then I ran far from the place where the dreadful saga began. But I still ran towards the well, because for some reason, I felt compelled to go there. I got to the well and broke down in tears. But it most not have been for long because a man came up to me and said, "Why are you crying?" I had my head buried in my knees, so I didn't see the stranger's face. I merely kept crying. "Arise, Levi! It is the start of a new day! There is no need to cry." The voice seemed so confident in this, so I had to raise my head to see who it was. I was expecting Annas, but who I saw lit up my world like the sun exploding in my heart. Standing before me was Jesus! He was alive and well. "Jesus!" I had no other way to react. I embraced him and he patted me on the back. "I thought… I thought…" "Did you not hear my message. 'And I will rise again on the third day.' Do not cry, child. Come with me and you will find comfort." I truly believed in this angelic and glorious man. I wiped my eyes and they shone with a new type of hope; Hope for a better tomorrow despite the darkness of yesterday. My heart was filled with joy and Jesus started walking away. I followed him as I will forever follow him, even to the ends of the earth. I have a new master.