Part One: Peter’s Tale
I told him I would never leave him. But, I have to tell you, all this strange talk about how he would have to suffer and die - and how we would leave him to suffer alone - and that I would disown him? Me! Peter, the rock! All this strange talk was getting to be too much.
When we set out on the road for Jerusalem, we knew that big things would happen. Everywhere we went, people were listening to Jesus. REALLY listening. In every town, the local Pharisees debated with Jesus. They didn’t like that he preached resistance against the government, but they had to admit that he followed the Scriptures. And the people loved him, so the authorities had to take him seriously.
It would be the same in Jerusalem, we were sure. The people would love him, and the High Priest would have to admit that his teachings were valid. Everyone would have to take him seriously. And things would change.
We knew it was dangerous. We knew what happened to the Baptizer. Herod had him executed. We had steeled ourselves to face danger. Jesus didn’t want us to fight, but we wouldn’t listen to him. We were ready to fight and die for him. It was absurd to suggest that we would desert him. But surely nothing would happen until after the Passover festival! He would continue to teach, more and more people would listen to him, the priests would take him seriously, and the government would have to start treating us differently.
So, imagine our surprise when they came to arrest him on the night before Passover. How dare they disrespect the holiday? I drew my sword, determined that no one would stop me. But, somehow, he did stop me. And then he did something I never imagined.
He went with them, willingly. Didn’t he have confidence in us? Didn’t he think we could win a fight? Does he want us to just give up, now that we’re so close to our goal?
Part Two: Judas’ Tale
Where could I find forgiveness? I never dreamed they would send armed guards to arrest him. I never imagined they would haul him away in chains like a criminal. We thought his strange talk about having to suffer and die was just pessimism. We thought he was just selling himself short.
We’d been in Jerusalem for days and still he hadn’t met with the high priests. They refused to come out to discuss with him, and he seemed reluctant to go to them. But what if I could be the one who brought them together, where they could listen to his preaching! If I could arrange that meeting, I would be guaranteed greatness in the kingdom to come!
When I told the priests where to find him, I thought they would go alone. I thought they wanted to talk privately with him, without the audience that would gather if they went in public. But when the time came, they made a public affair of it! They brought soldiers, and invited a crowd to follow! There was nothing I could do but beg them to take him peacefully. I saw the way his other followers looked at me. As though I had betrayed them all. It was almost unbearable.
I followed them into the city. Then I realized that they weren’t going to let him explain himself. He would be convicted and thrown into prison, because he held demonstrations against them and the government.
When they brought him out, I thought that maybe I had been wrong. Maybe they had heard him, and everything would turn out okay! But he was still in chains. I followed as far as I could, until I realized where they were going. They were taking him to Pilate. I couldn’t believe it! The high priests were turning him over to the Romans! That a Jew would hand another Jew over to a heathen authority! My heart turned to water. There’s only one reason that they would hand him over to Pilate. They want him killed, and they don’t have the authority. They’ll frame him. He’ll be crucified as a terrorist.
I did this. Where could I find forgiveness?
If he dies, I’ll die too. There is no life after he dies. If I can’t live in his kingdom, I’ll take my own life. So be it.
Part Three: The Other Mary’s Tale
Magdalene and I were the only ones to stay with him through his horrible ordeal. The men all ran, including my sons James and Joseph. We saw Peter and Judas in Jerusalem, but by the time the soldiers brought Jesus out of the presidium, beaten and bleeding, they had disappeared just like the others.
I don’t blame them, really. Nobody outside our group had ever noticed us at all, through all the healings and the debates and the demonstrations. The men would squabble over who was his greatest disciple, while we got to work bandaging the sick and giving alms to the poor. This meant that they were so much more visible - so much more recognizable as his disciples.
You never know with the Roman authorities. When they go after a group like ours, sometimes they take only the leader, and other times they round everybody up to be crucified. It was probably smart for them to disappear. But that didn’t make it any easier for me and Magdalene, to watch what happened.
It was horrible when the people called for Bar-Abbas to be released. Again, I don’t blame them, really. Let me tell you about Bar-Abbas. He’s a famous bandit. He and his men live in the hills and raid caravans. They’re angry over the suffering of the poor, so they steal from the rich. But, if you ask me, they’re really doing it for themselves. How much of the wealth they steal do they give to the poor villages they left behind? Almost nothing.
But Bar-Abbas says he fights for the poor, so the poor people love him. And the people he raids are either Romans, or Jews who work with the Romans. So the people who hate Rome love Bar-Abbas. They think that a man in the hills with a sword can change things. I don’t blame them.
How quickly they forgot Jesus - the man who tried to change things by tending to their broken bodies and broken spirits. They forgot the man who tried to show them that God loves each and every one of them. They forgot the one who tried to change the world by touching their hearts and opening their eyes.
I don’t blame them, really. But it was a horrible thing to see.
Part Four: Magdalene’s Tale
What do we do now? When the Baptizer died, Jesus was there to pick up the pieces and show us a way greater than we imagined. But who will pick up the pieces now?
I remember when we first came to Jerusalem - the energy and the excitement. We thought we could change things. Show people that there is another way to resist the Romans other than violence. Jesus was building a community of people who cared for each other. Before him, all you saw was people neglecting others and focusing only on themselves. That’s what the Empire is doing to us. Pilate and Herod prefer to rule over selfish people.
We tried. We tried to show people that by caring for each other, you can have the kingdom of God.
But we didn’t change anything. We failed, and Jesus is gone. I watched him, there on the cross. I didn’t take my eyes off of him. He called out, “Why have you forsaken me?” If only he could have seen me, and known that I was there. If only he could have known that not everyone had forsaken him.
I don’t know what we’ll do next. I think we’ll find each other and talk about what happened. It’s still Passover, and Jesus would want us to be together. Then, when things have quieted down a bit and the Sabbath is over, we’ll go and see where they laid him.
We’ll do our best to pick up the pieces. But things will never be the same.
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