(AN: Sorry it's been a while with updating this story. Had revisions to do, additions to other stories and the supreme and virulent lack of internet due to where I'm staying at as my oppositions. Oh well, I hope this makes up for it)

(There's a little something here that happens that might make your heads spin. Don't worry, it's a little bit of artistic licensing I have used. I saw that it benefited the story a little bit more, especially Joshua's place as the Lamb of God)

(A few lines here are original, some are adapted from CSDAC's SonRise program. As such, let me explain that I do not own...well, whatever script they have for this part of the story)

The Aftermath

All hell broke loose the day that Joshua died.

A great earthquake tore the land to pieces. The rocks on the top of the hill above their heads fell down on the road on all sides around them, and broke in pieces. A crack appeared right to the left of the cross-hold, where Joshua had died. All the graves in Jerusalem and Israel were broken open and dead bodies were regurgitated out of them. All nature seemed to cry out in sorrow for their fallen friend and comrade.

Their fallen King.

Those gathered had long dispersed by now, even those who loved Him were off on some business. But most had returned to Jerusalem for the sacrifice that was being done at that moment in the Temple. But even as the act was in place, and the knife was about to slice the spot-less lamb's throat, a loud rumbling was felt and a terrible tear came from the Most Holy Place. In shock and awe those about looked and saw the empty Holy of Holies, with the veil torn down the center. In the confusion, the sacrificial lamb ran away.

The empty had become filled.

The gap had been breached, and no longer was there a need for a veil to separate God from man.

At Golgotha, the earthquake was still raging forth in fury. Seeing that, because of the fallen rocks, some of them might die, the Romans fell to taking down the prisoners.

"Marcus!" Cornelius shouted out, giving his orders. "Take that one on the right! Typhus, take the one on the left! Cassius, take down the center one!"

They scrambled to carry out their orders in the face of the falling rocks and the earthquake.

Marcus took a heavy mallet from the ground and swung it upon both of the prisoner's knees, shattering them. Typhus did likewise to the other.

But Cassius hesitated, the mallet falling out of his hands.

"Hurry!" Quintus shouted to the soldier.

There was something different here. The others flinched and tried to move their knees when the soldiers came with the mallets.

Joshua did not even move.

His chest did not even rise in breathing.

"He's dead!" Cassius shouted.

"Poke Him with your spear!" Typhus shouted. "Make sure He's not just passed out."

Cassius ran over to where he had sat before and picked up his spear. With one swift movement, he ran the spear-head through Joshua's side. As Cassius took the spear out, a strange mixture ran out of the hole: blood and water. It poured out of His wounded side, down the side of the cross and into the crack in the rock right at the left of the cross-hold.

And there, buried deep beneath the earth, in a cave known only to Jeremiah, the blood fell down through the crack in the rock and onto the golden Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant.

Buried here centuries ago by Jeremiah, while the Babylonian armies were marching upon Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant remained perfectly preserved in the dry, arid desert. But here, hidden away from the eyes of those who loved to worship relics and artifacts, the Ark performed its God-given duty one last time.

For as on the Day of Atonement, when the lamb's blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat for the forgiveness of the sins of all in the camp, so the blood and water of the Lamb of God fell upon the Mercy Seat...

For the forgiveness of all mankind.

On the hillside, Cornelius and Quintus watched in awe at the spectacle. They had seen this Man heal Quintus' servant, and had believed in Him ever since. Even during the trial they believed in His innocence, and tried to do what they could in His suffering. When the darkness came, they saw that even the powers of nature bowed down to this Man.

"No, Cornelius," Quintus argued, regarding what his friend had said before.

Quintus had seen righteous men, good men, die many a time before. Nature did not weep for them.

But nature now seemed to weep for the dead Joshua.

That could only mean one thing.

"Surely this Man was the Son of God!"

Almost as soon as he had spoken thus, a small group of people came running toward the side of Golgotha hill. Several of the women who were here before were here, as well as John, Joshua's mother, and two Pharisees.

"Just what do you think you're doing here, Jews?" Marcus asked them contemptuously.

"We're taking the body down." replied Nicodemus, the oldest of the two Pharisees.

"Says who?"

"Your governor!" Joseph said, showing the unbelieving soldier a document allowing the body of Joshua to be taken down and buried with honors.

Marcus passed the document to Quintus.

"Go on," he said. "Take the body down." He then turned to Marcus. "Let them have one of the ladders."

The Roman soldier grumbled and presented John and Joseph of Arimathaea with a ladder. This they placed on the side of the cross. John, being lightest, went up first and was about to remove the nails.

"NO!" cried Miriam of Magdala.

Nicodemus bowed his head in sorrow and shame. He had believed in Joshua, but he kept his peace and allowed the other Pharisees to do their bloody business.

Already he felt rotten inside.

"Maybe," he told John softly. "You should remove the ropes first."

John nodded, and got to work at the knot.

"We're moving too slow!" Salome said, her eyes puffy and red from crying.

"She's right," Nicodemus added. "The Sabbath will soon be upon us."

Joseph walked over to one of the soldiers and asked for another ladder. Typhus didn't care and carried it over to the side of the cross. Though he was not as thin or as young as John, Joseph picked up his robes with one hand and climbed up the ladder himself.

"Wait," he said, looking over at what John was doing. "We should cover Him up first, shouldn't we?"

John nodded in agreement. Salome passed up a large white cloth, which Joseph tied across Joshua's lower body.

"How are we getting Him down?" John asked. "If we take the nails out of His hands first, He'll..."

But John didn't have the heart to continue on what would happen if that happened.

"And if we remove the foot-nail first, He'll just..." His voice trailed off into silence.

Joseph nodded his head in recognition.

"Here," Nicodemus said, coming up with an idea. "Let me have another length of cloth."

Salome started unreeling the cloth roll she had.

"If we tie this around the cross," he suggested. "And then wrap it around His body, we can lower Him down once the arms are secure."

"And the feet?" Martha asked, her eyes red with many tears.

"We'll go slowly," Nicodemus said. "Once the foot-nail is out, we can lower Him into an open sheet you ladies will have ready here."

Miriam nodded and took the spool of white cloth from Salome and began laying out a sheet upon the ground.

"Here, Joseph." Nicodemus said, handing up the length of cloth he had in his hand up to his fellow believing Pharisee. "Tie this around His chest, secure it to the arms of the cross."

"Let me have the other end," John said. "I'll do the same over here."

Joseph and John got to work securing Joshua's body, while the women finished laying out the white sheet.

"Now," Joseph said, once the cloth was secure around Joshua's chest. "We can remove the ropes."

John nodded, and together they attacked the ropes, tearing the knots apart and uncurling the rope from around the cross.

"Now the nails, quickly!" Joseph said, as he gripped hard upon the crudely bent head of the nail.

Using both hands, John took hold of the nail on his end and pulled it free. He and Joseph then attended the cloth they tied around Joshua's body, keeping Him from falling down and tearing a hole in His feet with His dead weight.

"How can we help?" Susanna asked.

"Which one of you is tallest?" Nicodemus asked, grabbing one of the nails as Joseph passed it down to him.

"That would be me, Rabbi." Joanna said.

"Help me with His feet!" he said, as John passed down the last nail. Joanna and Nicodemus came to the foot of the cross, where both of Joshua's feet were nailed together into the foot-stool.

"This one is longer than the others," Nicodemus said, examining the nail. "I will attempt to pull the nail out. When it comes out, the foot-stool will come loose, and there will be nothing keeping Joshua's body from falling save for that cloth..." He turned to Joanna. "And your hands."

"Yes, Rabbi." she nodded, her voice breaking.

"We must be quick." Nicodemus reminded her. He gripped the head of the nail with both his hands and started to pull.

It was dug into the wood, and came out damnable hard. Joshua's mother hid her face in Susanna's shoulder, and even Miriam of Magdala threw herself into the arms of Salome, just so that she would not have to see the nails being torn out of His broken feet.

The nail started to budge, and with it, the foot-stool started to shake.

Nicodemus almost fell backward as he pulled out the long nail.

Joanna held Joshua's feet with both hands. To her side came Miriam of Magdala, who added her hands to Joanna's, to keep Joshua's body from falling.

"Okay, we can bring Him down." Nicodemus said.

John and Joseph began increasing the slack on the cloth that bound His chest, letting the dead weight slowly slide down into the sheet that Miriam, Salome and Nicodemus held out to catch His body. Once they lay Him in the sheet, Miriam placed a trembling hand upon His feet, while Joseph walked down the ladder and removed the ugly crown of thorns from off His head.

"As much as I grieve with the rest of you," Nicodemus said reverently. "The Sabbath draws ever nearer. We must hurry away."

"But we can't just leave Him here!" sobbed Miriam, raising her head from His blood-stained feet.

"And we won't," Joseph said. "I own a small garden just a short way down the hill. There's a tomb in it, they just finished it up a few days ago. It was going to be mine, when my time had come, but as I am alive and..." He lowered his head in respect. "...and Joshua is dead."

Salome broke into tears, as the reality of the whole situation began to sink back into her mind.

"Well, we can put Him in there." Joseph said. He then turned to John and Nicodemus. "Help me with His body."

They nodded and rose to help him. Nicodemus attended Joseph at carrying Joshua's head, while John carried the feet. Miriam herself came and helped John carry Joshua's feet as well.

Once again, she found herself at His feet.

The sad little party made their way down to Joseph's garden and came to the tomb, which was still unopened.

"I'm afraid we don't have time to prepare Him properly." Nicodemus apologized somberly. "But we'll do what we can."

They placed His body upon the ground before the tomb. Carefully, they pulled the sides of the sheet over His body. Then, taking some rope that was at hand, they bound the sheet to His body.

"NO!" cried Miriam the elder. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

She threw herself to the ground, cradling Her dead Son in her arms.

How many times she had done this over and over.

She remembered the very moment He came into the world. She held Him in her arms, cradling Him against the chilly wind of the autumn night. It was so mind-boggling, that very moment, that the Son of God needed to be held like a mere infant, that He needed her care.

Thirty-three years later, she held the same head of her Son that she had kissed many times over.

Only it wasn't the same.

The ugly wounds from the crown of thorns proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"My Son..." she said, her voice low with sadness. "What have they done to You?"

None of them dared speak.

It was just too horrible to watch, let alone interrupt.

"You were the Son of God!" she continued, tears flowing down her cheek and falling upon His cold face. "The Messiah. There was so much You still had to do for all of us..."

She gasped, as if for air.

"GOD OF ABRAHAM!" she wailed, lifting her head to the darkening sky. "WHY? HE WAS YOUR SON! WHY DID YOU LET HIM DIE?"

She broke down into open weeping: the most heart-wrenching kind of tears one has ever heard.

And still, the others stood about, all of them silent.

For none of them dared interfere with the sorrow of a mother.

Except for them...

A small contingent of Roman soldiers, led by a very smug-looking Simeon, entered the garden.

Joseph was the first to notice these intruders.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, turning to the soldiers as they came to a halt before the pitiful mourning party. "This is my tomb, and I have a signed edict from the governor himself saying that He could be buried here!"

"We know that." Simeon answered. Pride dripped from his voice that issued from the smile upon his face. "This is simply an honor guard to be posted around the entrance to your King's tomb!"

"How dare you!" Nicodemus shouted furiously. All save for the soldiers and Joshua's mother balked at this.

Nicodemus was usually so level-headed and slow to anger.

"Excuse me, Rabbi?" queried Simeon incredulously.

"You rejected Him while He was alive," Nicodemus roared, a vindictive fire in his eyes. "Do you actually expect us to believe you would worship Him now that He is dead?"

"Hardly," Simeon returned. "This honor guard is the Sanhedrin's final proof that your Joshua was nothing more than a charlatan: a fraud."

"Leave!" Miriam cried, running from Joshua's feet and throwing herself at Simeon. Only Joseph and John were capable of keeping her from attacking the Pharisee responsible for so much bad in her life.

And now, for so much more sorrow and grief.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" Miriam shouted, flailing her arms angrily at Simeon.

"Dead?" Simeon laughed. "Rumors say that Joshua Himself said that He would rise again. Surely you, His followers, know if these are true."

There was no denying Simeon's haughtiness as he spoke.

"If that is true," Joseph said. "None of your guards can stop Him!"

So deep was he in the sadness of the moment that he did not pay much attention to what was being said.

Simeon shook his head.

"I think not," he replied, condescendingly. "You see, He who claimed to be the Son of God, could not even save Himself from death. So, after three days and Joshua does not rise from the dead, who will you believe, hm?"

Miriam spat in Simeon's direction.

Any other day and she would have been struck for it.

But Simeon was not hit by her un-lady-like gesture.

And neither Nicodemus nor Joseph blamed her for it.

Simeon, meanwhile, turned to look at where the mother knelt, her Son's head lying in her hands.

"Ah," he said. "I see you have not even buried Him yet. Well, I'd get busy if I were you. Wouldn't want to violate the Sabbath, now would we? Off with you!"

Joseph walked over to His mother's side. John let Miriam of Magdala go, and she knelt off by herself, quietly weeping.

"My lady, please." he said. He tried to place a comforting arm on her shoulder, but she brushed him off. "The Sabbath is nigh."

John walked over to Miriam's side.

"I'll take her home." he told Joseph.

John lifted Miriam to her feet and began walking away.

"No, no, please!" she begged. "Let me go!"

"We have to go, mother!" he reminded her, not looking back for a moment.

"That's my Son!" she cried, tears flowing without hindrance down her face.

Joseph summoned the women towards him. Martha took a piece of white cloth, no bigger than a napkin, and placed it over Joshua's face.

"Ladies, please." Joseph begged, turning to Salome, Joanna and Susanna.

The three of them joined Joseph and Martha as they lifted the heavy sheet that bore their Master within. They walked into the tomb and placed Him inside, slowly walking back out once the deed was done.

"That's better." Simeon said smugly. He then turned to the guards and gestured towards the tomb with his head. One by one, they walked over to the mouth of the tomb, laid down their weapons and pushed the heavy boulder into place.

Miriam of Magdala turned her face towards the tomb as the sound of stone grinding upon stone echoed in her ears.

There was a final, ominous thud and the stone fell into place.

"Now secure the tomb." the captain of the guards ordered.

The soldiers had brought several cubits of heavy iron chain, which they lashed about the stone while they rolled it into place. Once it was in place, they secured more cubits of chain to the door and tied them to the nearby trees.

There was no opening the tomb now.

Simeon produced a candle from his robe, which he then lit. Taking it over to the tomb-stone, he then produced a parchment.

The order Pilate had given for the tomb to be sealed off.

Simeon placed the parchment at the top of the stone and poured some of the wax onto the edge and corners. The wax solidified and the order was now part of the door.

"Why are you still here?" Simeon asked, turning to those who remained. "Do you have as little regard for the Sabbath as your false messiah did? Off with you!"

One by one they left...Joseph of Arimathaea...Nicodemus...Salome...Susanna...Joanna...Miriam of Magdala...

As they left, the hopelessness of the dark, grim future hung in the air, darker than the evening sky that settled upon the land of Judaea.

They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And it was that knowledge that saddened their hearts...

Joshua was really dead.

(Yes, Quintus is John "The Duke" Wayne! lol Inappropriate, I know, but I couldn't resist)

(How does one accurately depict Miriam's sorrow over the death of her Son? I didn't like how Mel Gibson had it in The Passion, where she just wept all saintly and silently. As much as Maia Morgenstern is a good actress, imo, in portraying sadness without bawling, it didn't translate well onto paper. Nor did I want Miriam to be bawling and wailing like Olivia Hussey did in Jesus of Nazareth. That seemed just too put over-the-top. So I settled somewhere in between the two [I know, I shouldn't be analyzing portrayals of sorrow, but what would I be if I didn't analyze everything I saw?])

(Re-read Luke. Miriam was told twice by Gabriel that Joshua would be called the Son of God. If anyone knew it, it was her.)