Johann Quisumbing

An Adventure Story of Yeshua bar Yosef by JQuisumbing

At first, he thought it was the wind. Then Yeshua heard, from a great distance, ‘Mmaasst… terrr!’ It was faint. He opened his eyes to find that the pale horizon told him that sunrise was about an hour away. He slowly stood up and looked down from the crest where he spent all night. He spotted about half a dozen torches about half a mile down milling about. It was his followers searching for him for some reason. Jesus then stoked his campfire back to life. Picking up a fiery brand, he proceeded to wave it high above his head, calling out in a loud voice, “over here!” The torches converged and in a line started to wind their way up the ridge. Just as the first rays of the sun started to peek, Shimon, Sy and some of his followers came into his camp.

“Rabbi, it is good to see you safe,” said Sy. 

“Why? What concerns you, Sy? Shimon?”

“Some men came to our camp last night,” Shimon said.

“They were zealots, Lord,” Sy whispered, “from my own order. They had been following and observing you for the past months. They see in you power… power to combat Roman oppression but yet they are confused. They are confused that the Son of David had not claimed the crown. Their elders wanted to speak to you. They were sent to take you there. When you did not return last night, we all thought…” 

“You thought that maybe I was taken against my will?” Yeshua chuckled. “Fear not, my followers. I am in no danger. After all, I am in good hands. Come, let us eat.”

Yeshua was passing around some flatbread to the men. Yeshua noticed that Sy was standing apart from the others. He approached him and asked, “What is in your mind, Sy?”

“Master, I must ask. Why are you not making a claim as king of Israel?”

“Didn’t we have this same discussion?”

“Yes, Rabbi. But could you not solve the people’s sin problem as king?”

“Do you really think that would matter that much? Look back at the people’s history. When the Lord Adonai daily revealed Himself in the wilderness… in the cloud during the day… in the pillar of fire, at night… in the providence of manna and meat… every day and night for forty years. Was He not considered as the King of the universe?  And yet still, the people rebelled. Again, look to the time when even kings ruled the land, did not the kingdom still split asunder? Even if I was proclaimed by the emperor himself, sin shall still prevail. ”

“But what of the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah?”

“Oh, fear not! That will happen… in its proper time,” Yeshua emphasized slowly. “Remember, the cart cannot go ahead of the horse. There is much that I still have to do first. So, can I depend on you not to stress this issue so much, for your own peace of mind? Now, I know my cooking is not the best, but would you join the others to eat some food?”

Two weeks had passed like a whirl wind. Yeshua was numb with exhaustion. In the last village they were in, he must have healed close to seventy people non-stop. By the time the moon rose, he had retreated back into the house they were staying in. Shimon was helping him up to the upper room, when he heard Toam’s voice from below saying, “That last person that the Master healed came all the way from Syria!” Another voice said, “That makes twenty eight from that region. Did you see how tired he was? Sy, how long can he keep doing this? Tomorrow is going to be the same.”

When they got to the room, his mother was there with Mariam and Ioanna. They quickly took over from Shimon. Yeshua felt a damp cool cloth on his face. That felt good. The women had removed his robe and his sandals. When he finally laid down on a cot, he let out a deep sigh of relief. Then, he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, it was still dark. He slipped out of the house without notice. Half an hour later he was at the top of the hill that overlooked the sleepy village. Just as his eyes closed in prayer, he was greeted by a welcoming voice.

“My Son, we have much work to do.”

TO BE CONTINUED

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