Chapter 15
It was
Passover week and I had lambs to bring into Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, I
had to make several trips to the Temple that week. I had a new boy helping me.
His name was Ezra. Looking at Ezra brought back many wonderful memories. Ezra
was a lot like me when Mr. Isaac had brought me to the Temple for the first
time with a flock of Passover lambs. He was bright and energetic and a hard
worker, just like Nathan had been. Now Nathan was one of my best men. Ezra had
a string of Lambs and handled them like a pro.
After we had
sold them to the Temple priest, we went to the market to buy supplies. We were
just selecting some dried dates when we heard a commotion. Everyone began running
toward the Eastern Gate. I asked what was going on, and someone said that the
Teacher was riding into town.
I asked,
“What teacher?”
The man
looked at me in dismay and said, “Why, Jesus, of course!”
I joined the
crowd; Ezra followed me. He had no idea what was going on. I was interested in
seeing Jesus, but Ezra was only interested in keeping up with me. The closer
that we got to the main street, the louder the crowds got. Many had torn off
palm branches and were waving them in acknowledgement of the arriving Teacher.
Dust and excitement were thick in the air. I could see people in the crowd
straining to catch a glimpse of Jesus, so I could tell about where he was.
Many began
the prophetic chant, “Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord!” If the
local governor would have heard the crowd’s cheering, they would have feared
for their position. Jesus could have taken over all of Israel that day!
Suddenly, I
caught a glimpse of the Master. He was riding on the colt of a donkey: the
symbol of humility. A conquering king rides on a prancing charger, but Jesus
arrived on a donkey. “Jesus has style,” I thought. People were throwing down
their robes and palm branches in front of the Jesus. The disciples walking
behind Jesus appeared to be enjoying their fame. But no one was cheering for
them; they were cheering for Jesus.
Jesus was
riding a wave pf popularity, and it was growing each day. Despite his approval
of the crowds, he had many enemies. Would he confront the Romans and liberate
Israel? Would he assume authority over the priests as the Messiah?
I had left my
staff at the Temple when I had dropped off the lambs. The Temple was on my way
home, so I stopped by to retrieve it. I walked up the white marble steps and
found Eleazar, who had bought the lambs. Off-handedly, I asked him what he
thought of Jesus of Nazareth. His face clouded with a scowl and he said, “He is
a dangerous man. Pontius Pilate, the governor says the Romans will retaliate if
Jesus begins an uprising. We have no idea what he intends to do. He talks
peace, but his followers are fanatics.”
I countered,
“But isn’t almost everyone behind him?”
Eleazar
replied, “The common folk follow him without thinking. But the Jewish leaders
know he has to be stopped. I think they will make their move this week.”
“This week?!”
I protested. “Did you see all of the people cheering him when he entered the
city this morning?”
Eleazar
nodded his head, but gave a crooked half-smile. “The people are fickle. They
can be manipulated. It won’t be very hard, you’ll see.” And with that, he
handed me my staff and turned back up the stairs.
I shrugged
and thought to myself, “I guess our discussion is over.” But I couldn’t forget
all of those people cheering and waving palm branches. “Can Jesus control his
followers, or can his followers be controlled by someone else,” I thought.
“We’ll see. We’ll see.”
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