Johann Quisumbing

An Adventure Story of Yeshua bar Yosef by JQuisumbing

“Rabbi, how can you say that the kingdom of heaven is here? The Romans are still here. My family is still deep in poverty. I cannot see it!” Other voices in the crowd uttered similar sentiments.

“Can it be that you cannot see because you are not looking?” Yeshua asked calmly. “When you see a flock of geese flying south, surely you know what is coming. When the tips of the leaves of these berry bushes turn white, are you not sure what has already come?”

“Yes, the Romans are here and they have done unspeakable things. But are they truly the source of your problems? Think! This is not the first time that foreigners had come into this land. We had the Greeks, the Persians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Amalekites, the Midianites, the Philistines and many more marauders. Why? What does your history say about them?”

The assembled crowd was silent. Yeshua watched each individual face and knew that they would not answer without recriminating themselves. 

“Does not the Psalmist rightly sing, ‘Oh you, a stubborn and rebellious generation, are you not like your forefathers who had sinned, time and time again, against Adonai in the wilderness… in the high places… in the villages and the cities that were not of your own but were given to you? ‘ “

Someone in the back of the crowd shouted, “But our situation is not the same as our ancestors!”

“Then, how do you explain the Romans?” 

“What must we do?” several of them asked.

“Repent!” Seeing their faces with questions, he said, “A servant was instructed by his master to carry a parcel to the city of Hebron which was 40 miles south from his master’s home. But not knowing the way to go, the servant took the north road to Damascus. He had been journeying for almost 70 miles when finally he asked a passerby directions. To his horror, he realized his error. To deliver his master’s parcel, he would have to trek back 110 miles. He looked north and saw that Damascus was already nearby. Fearing to face his master’s ire, he chose to go into hiding in the city.” Yeshua stood up from the bench he was teaching them on. Panning the faces, left to right, he ended with, “Now, those of you who have ears… Listen!”

Twenty minutes later, Yeshua and his followers returned to the campsite just outside a small hamlet. They were off the beaten track. The first thing that he noticed was an extra tent and not too far from it, was a posh wagon and a horse tied to a tree. The tent flap parted and Yeshua’s mother emerged. She came up to him and whispered into his ear, “It is Ioanna.”

“Two days ago, she came to Rivkah’s house desperately looking for you. When we told her that we were not sure where you were, she was upset and was adamant to find you. My son, she was all by herself. She alone drove that wagon from Tiberius to Capernaum. I could not let her search for you on her own, not while she was distraught and very emotional. I convinced her to stay the night, mainly to rest the horse which she drove to exhaustion.

“The next day, we packed up the wagon with such essentials that you would need. Oh, I wish that I did not send your young brother and his family home. We could’ve used him to drive this wagon, but Ioanna and I managed. She is actually quite good with horses and driving chariots. I knew you were heading north, so we followed the King’s Road. Fortunately, we didn’t have difficulty in determining where you were going. Every village we went through, there was talk about a miracle worker declaring that the Kingdom of Heaven was here. So, we followed your trail of miracles until we finally ended up here,” said his mother. She pointed at the tent. “She is waiting for you inside.” 

“Imma, you better come in with me, lest there be talk,” Yeshua said gently. Looking around, he spotted Mariam. “Mariam, you too better come in.”

He looked around and counted twenty eight followers going about doing their chores around the campsite. Five more had joined his wandering group just that morning. He expects that their number will increase with every village that they visit. The increase of numbers did not really concern him but he had to consider that his growing followings may be construed as an army. He will have to think about it when he speaks to his Father later that night. He turns to face the entry port of the tent. 

Meanwhile, Ioanna awaits him inside.

TO BE CONTINUED

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