Nicodemus the Politician – part 2

 

I very quickly realised that although I had been dismissed by Pilate, he had not entirely let me go. Everywhere I went I would see someone following me, from the market to the Temple. I suppose they hoped I would lead them to Jesus, but they got no joy out of me. I tried to attend the Sanhedrin, but was barred by the Temple Guards. Joseph was also barred, so we would spend time together sitting in the portico talking, with our eaves droppers listening to our every words. By unspoken consent we did not speak about Jesus, nor did we try to contact his followers. Whatever was going on, they would be in a lot more danger than us if the authorities found them.

This went on for a couple of weeks, and we began to hear rumours around the city that Jesus of Nazareth had come back from the dead, and had been seen by a number of his followers. We heard that Roman soldiers had arrested and flogged a few people caught telling these stories, but it didn’t seem to stop them spreading. Then I had a visit from one of my kinsmen living in the town which I represented in the Sanhedrin. He told me that the council of the elders had been called together the following week to elect a representative for the Sanhedrin. I was not due to retire yet, so I was absolutely bewildered as to who had called for an election. My kinsman said that he didn’t know for sure, but the rumours were that the order had come from the top. I had a long talk with my wife, and then, despite what Pilate had said to me, I set off to return to the place of my birth to defend my position on the Sanhedrin.

On the day of the debate I arrived at the town Synagogue with my kinsman to debate with whoever had been chosen to challenge me. To my complete astonishment it was not a local man, as it should be, but Ananus ben Ananus the youngest son of Ananus ben Seth, and the only one of his five sons not already in the Sanhedrin. So this was going to be a Sadducee takeover of my seat on the Sanhedrin. Sat next to him was his oldest brother Eleazar, who had already served a one year term as High Priest. This was going to be no easy debate, not that I had expected it to be, but something was in the air. The senior Elder asked Ananus to begin. Perhaps I should have been prepared for it, but I had not expected to have to listen to a run down of my interactions with the ‘rebel Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth’; from going to listen to hear him speak when he was near to Jerusalem, to going to visit him at night. I was accused of defending him at his trial in the Sanhedrin, (I was moved to protest at this point, that I had only backed up Joseph when he pointed out that the law was not being fulfilled, but this was just swept over). The Elders were told that I had then gone to the Roman Governor to get his body, which I had buried, and then finally I had stolen it away in the night, leading to the most ridiculous claims that he had risen from the dead, which his followers were now trumpeting over Jerusalem and beyond. All this was said with a look of great sorrow on his face, as his words made me out to be, at best a foolish old man led through the nose by a charismatic rebel leader or at worse an old man who had decided to have one last throw at power, who threw his lot in with a man raising an army to try and defeat the Romans at great cost to the people. When he had finished I was fairly open mouthed. I had not realised how close a watch this lad’s father kept on members of the Sanhedrin. I mentally reviewed all the accusations against me. Well, most of the actions he had outlined were true, what was not true was the interpretation of what I had done, or his view of Rabbi Jesus as a rebel leader. I looked at the disproving faces of the elders, and decided that this was one verbal battle I was not going to win.

I stood up and gathered my cloak around me.

“Many of the actions that you have had laid before you are true, I did go to hear Rabbi Jesus speak, as I suspect many of you did, and so I suspect have both Ananus ben Ananus and his brother, since they are so well informed about what Rabbi Jesus has been teaching. I did go and speak to Rabbi Jesus at night, to have a personal conversation with him. I did raise a point of law during his trial, but every man is entitled to a fair trial. I did go to ask Pontius Pilate for his body to bury it, otherwise it would have been thrown into a pit dug by the Romans, which would have been sacreligious for any Israelite. I did not remove his body from the tomb, nor cause any other man to remove his body, nor have any knowledge of how his body came to be removed from the tomb. I assure you that, on my honour, and you have known me to be an honourable man for these many years that I have served you. Where I accept many of the accusations Ananus has laid on me, what I disagree with is his interpretation of them.”

Here Ananus leapt to his feet and began to talk over me. I stopped, and he stopped. He sat and I continued, with him glaring at me all the while.

“But I do not propose to give you my view of these events. I have at all times acted with honour, for the people of this town, and for Israel and its people, for Torah which I love and have loved from the moment my father whispered the first words in my ear as a baby, and for Yahweh who I love with all my heart. If you do not know this, and believe it, then I am a man without honour among you, and it is time for me to resign and return to my village.”

I looked at the faces around me, and read in them a mixture of disbelief of the innocence of my actions and pride in being singled out by such a well connected young man who wished to represent them now in the Sanhedrin. I knew there was nothing more I could do or say to change their minds, so I went up to Ananus and shook his hand, then turned and left the Synagogue. Moments later I was joined by my kinsman, and we walked out of the town, and in the direction of my village, and the house I still have there.

I returned to Jerusalem the day after the trial – Oh I know it wasn’t really a trial, but it felt like it. I had been found guilty by a gathering of the Elders, on the evidence of two witnesses who agreed, Eleazar and Ananus ben Ananus, and sentenced, to exile from Jerusalem and from all that I am. Yahweh gave me a brain and a heart for Torah. He enabled me to become a member of the Sanhedrin, and I served him faithfully there until now. Now I must return to my village, and be, what?

My wife knew by my face that something had happened to me. We sat down and talked late into the night. The following morning she set the servants packing up and cleaning the house. I went to the gate of the city and sat and chatted with the Elders there. One suggested someone who might like to buy our house, and someone else had suggested a woman he knew who was looking for some good servants. Our servants had been given the choice as to whether they would go into exile with us. One wanted to, but the others had families in the city and did not want to leave them. So we packed our possessions onto some hired donkeys and set off to the village where I had been born and grew up. Before I left I managed to see Joseph. He had been forced to resign, and like me was selling up and moving back to the village of his birth. We had been found guilty of the crime of disagreeing with Ananus ben Seth. His retribution was swift, but thankfully we were both spared our lives. I left Jerusalem never to return.

Nicodemus the Politician – part 1

The knock on my door came a couple of hours after dawn, and after I had only been asleep for a little while. I had not slept properly since participating in Jesus’ trial. Witnessing his crucifixion had been giving me nightmares every time I closed my eyes. The weather was also really warm, even at night, so I had divested myself of as much clothing as I could before finally falling into a fitful sleep. My wife opened the door to find six Roman soldiers standing outside. They demanded to know whether I was within, and on being told I was, they came in, and seeing me, hauled me out of bed. They would have dragged me out of doors with them as I was, but my wife protested so much that they at least allowed me to throw a robe over my head and hold it in place with a belt. She threw me a pair of sandles as I was hustled out of the door.

With a burly soldier on either side, I was walked rapidly up the hill towards the Temple complex. I tried to ask what was going on, but they just told me to shut up and walk. We passed by the entrance to the Temple, and I was marched through the gateway to the Antonia Fortress. As I was hustled across the courtyard, I heard some screams of pain, and turned to see two soldiers being given a lashing by their centurion. I was hustled on and quickly led into the presence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, who was there with Ciaiphas the High Priest and Ananus ben Seth the former High Priest, father-in-law to Ciaiphas, and the prime political mover behind the Sanhedrin. I could understand Ananus and Ciaiphas being together, but why were they here with Pontius Pilate? Before I had time to gather my thoughts together, Pilate stepped forward until he was almost nose to nose with me and aggressively demanded

“Where is he?”

“Where is who?” I asked, bewildered

“You know perfectly well who. Jesus of Nazareth.”

“But Jesus of Nazareth is dead, your soldiers crucified him. I was there, I saw it. They crucified him, and when he was dead they plunged a spear into his side to really make sure he was dead.”

“You took his body.”

“You gave Joseph of Arimathea and I permission to take his body and give it a decent burial. We had your soldiers with us from the moment his body was taken down from the cross, to the moment they sealed his body in Joseph’s tomb. The last I saw of the tomb was just as the sun was beginning to set at the beginning of the Sabbath. Joseph and I walked away back to Jerusalem to get home in time for the evening meal, leaving soldiers standing guarding the tomb, as you had ordered. What has happened, why am I here?”

Pilate stepped back from me and went to sit down, while he obviously calculated what to say to me next.

“You are here because the body of Jesus has been removed from the tomb. The guards say they were knocked unconscious, and two men wearing white robes took the body of Jesus away. Were these men your servants? If they were, you had better get them to bring the body back, or else.”

I did not know what to think at this announcement, I just looked at Pilate bewildered.

“I didn’t send my servants anywhere. We have been keeping Passover, so we did not leave the house until you came and fetched me from my bed. I expect the servants went out to the market at first light, but they have been with us all the time, until then.”

Ananus looked at me.

“I would like to believe you Nicodemus. You and I have known each other for many years, With the body gone, the followers of Jesus will begin to talk about him having come back to life, like that man Lazarus. They will rise up, and lead a rebellion against the Romans. I do not want any more of our people killed for following a misguided preacher from the countryside who has no knowledge about how this country is ruled and managed. I have worked hard with the Sanhedrin to keep us treading a difficult path with Rome. We have been allowed to keep our laws and our God with as little interference as possible. I want to keep it that way.”

Pilate spoke up again

“If the people rebel again I will give the order to kill them. I will arrest those who do not die fighting, and there will be crosses on every road leading out of this city, do I make myself clear Nicodemus?”

“You make yourself very clear, both of you. You wanted Jesus of Nazareth dead because you were afraid he would lead a rebellion against you, and challenge your authority. Now his body has gone you are afraid that his followers will take up his mantle, and his death will not have stopped a rebellion after all.”

“You are right. It was better that one man die than many be led to death by him.”

“And you three loose your positions and authority.” I said angrily. “You Ciaiphas trumped up charges against him to keep your position as High Priest, and you Ananus conspired with him. And you Pilate, did you already know that you would be asked to confirm the death penalty?”

Pilate didn’t answer my question. He stood up and stepped forwards towards me again.

“All of that is irrelevant. What matters now is that you hand over Jesus’ body so that it can be taken and buried where it will never be found.”

I stood up straight in front of Pilate and looked him straight in the eye.

“I am sorry, but even if I knew where the body of Jesus was, I wouldn’t tell you, but on my honour, I have no idea.”

I turned to look at Ananus again.

“I don’t suppose that it has occurred to you that he has actually come back to life? I was there when he brought Lazarus back from the grave. He told us in the Hall of the Hewn Stones that he was the son of Yahweh, so why should Yahweh not have brought him back to life as well?”

Ciaiphas spoke for the first time,

“You are an old fool. Of course he has not come back from the dead. That can’t happen. You have been hoodwinked by a man with magical powers given to him by Satan.”

I looked at Ciaiphas, and opened my mouth to challenge what he had just said, but one look at his face told me that his mind was completely closed to anything I might say. So I closed my mouth again. Ciaiphas looked contemptuously at me.

“You know in your heart you have been hoodwinked, but you are not going to admit it, are you?”

Pilate spoke again.

“You had better tell me the truth now, as there are men questioning your wife, children and servants. If they hear one little thing that they think is false, they will arrest them, and bring them here for further questioning. I might not be as gentle with them as I am with you.”

I shuddered at what that might mean for my family, but reiterated again that I had not taken the body of Jesus of Nazareth, and had no idea who might have done so. The three of them kept at me for a couple of hours, but there was nothing I could tell them. Eventually the door opened and a soldier came in and whispered to Pilate, who looked at Ciaiphas and Ananus, and nodded. He looked at me.

“You can go now. But do not leave Jerusalem.”

I headed thankfully towards the door. I had not thought that they would let me go. I left the Antonia Fortress, and almost ran back down the hill towards my house. My wife fell in my arms as soon as I was through the door. She had not known whether she would ever see me again.