Overhearing a Revolutionary Plot
Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
by Christofer French
Rain Dancer Associates, LLC
I scooched over to her there under the old gnarly tree at the end of an old stony street. She giggled. She put the wine skin up to her pretty mouth and opened up for a generous swallow.
She pulled the skin away and I kissed her a big one. The wine mingled in our mouths. Then I finished off my kiss exploring her eyes and forehead in a searching kind of way, looking for a place I had not yet kissed. We are new “old” friends. I know her father. I have been watching her grow up. She used to flirt with me at family gatherings. Now she is a full grown woman. She is enchanted with me for some reason. I guess I can see why. As long as she keeps her mouth closed, we are fine.
I say it’s free of people, but just through the trees and next to an old column, 5 men gathered. By their language, they were a mixed group. They were rough but somewhat educated. Immediately I recognized the one with a nicer robe. He looks like he bears some responsibility. He is the leading talker. He keeps referring to another group he is with.
A loud mouth keeps competing with him. “Look, each of us here represents at least 10 others. Once they see us form together, we can probably gather hundreds more. Our secret cave up in the hills is full of good weapons. Some are crafted here; others have been pilfered and robbed from the local army. But this here is as far as we can go until we get a real leader.”
The guy with the nicer clothing spoke up. He obviously had a connection to a leader.
“Look, my guy is powerful, almost magical. People listen to him. He has told me in confidence that he wants to lead an army. He plans on leading a Kingdom.”
“He Wants to Lead an Army”
The quiet one near the loud mouth spoke up. “I met him on the street the other day. He does not look to me like a guy who can lead an army. He has charisma, but he has no military training. He comes from a strong family with lots of tradition. Are we sure he would change his politics to fighting and sneaking around, and jumping those SOB soldiers. Fighting a standing army is a hard thing to do. He doesn’t seem to be like that. Maybe he is a great actor? I don’t know.”
The quiet one and the loud mouth turned away from the group and commiserated. The leader with the nice clothing took that as an opportunity.
“Look he is a puzzle. People don’t know what to think of him. But I am an insider, and I know this guy could match the intensity of our toughest guys. He would cut a throat and command others to cut throats. He would jump a squadron, butcher them and strip them of their goods. All we have to do is convince him, and yes, show him an “event”. You know – something I can point to and show how committed we are to overthrowing these SOBs.”
The group gathered and lowered their voices. I moved my girl over and leaned in to the bushes and trees to get a better view and be able to hear more easily. I whispered in her ear to be utterly silent. She drank some more and smiled.
“Look, the road on the way into town from the Southwest. That turn that it makes around that old stand of rocks just as you get a view of the city. That’s where we can ambush a squad. With the right planning, we can attack from the rear, and then as they turn around, we leap from the rocks and then pinch them from the front. They wouldn’t be able to swing their swords and we could dispatch with arrows, knives and spears. In just a couple minutes, we could have their horses, strip them down and defile their bodies. Tell him that we will be doing this. Tell him to watch for this. Yes?”
Then, the men stopped and drank wine, and chatted together one on one. The Leader with the excellent robe moved over to my tree and bush. I could have touched him. He spoke quietly to the loudmouth. “Look, that plan sounds good. I know he will be impressed. He has told me confidentially that his movement will go revolutionary. He plans on starting a fight. A real fight that won’t quit.”
What is this guy really like?
“I am going to the Mount to listen to him. I want to see what this guy is really like.” The loudmouth hugged the Leader. “I promise! My guy is our long sought leader.” The group walked away from the faint moonlit alley and disappeared into the back alleys of the city.
My girl could barely contain herself. “I know that guy. That’s Judas. He is full of himself. He is the money guy for Yeshua. Yeshua is not like that. I think these guys are losers. These are unemployed jerks. Two of them can’t do a day’s work, but they will rob anybody. The other two are from the outside of town. A family of out of work stone cutters. You shouldn’t be listening to that guy, Judas.”
“Oh honey, what do you know?” I thought the wine was talking.
“I am going to put a word in a few people’s ears. This is valuable information. It will help me with a few leaders, priests and city officials I know.”
“Honey, I think you drink too much, and you need to watch your reputation.” She straightened out her robe and kissed me on the cheek and walked away.
Later that week I told a score of our leaders about how this teacher was really a revolutionary. There were several who were interested. It turns out that hearing this kind of word was very important to certain leaders. After my first hand information, you could hear it on the street that he was actually a Zealot. People started talking about him quite negatively. It helped my standing with certain types. This helped my business, and my taxation issues. Lots of people thought different things about this guy, but I think my secret information did much for my standing.
Well, later on, it turns out that this Yeshua guy. They arrested him. They said, that he was from Royal blood. The Romans thought he could have been a danger. The religious people thought of him as a threat. There were lots of people who liked him. Some who absolutely loved him. I found out later from my girl that he was not a Zealot. He wasn’t trying to mount an armed effort.
A Crucifixion
My girl friend took me to his crucifixion. She was not happy with me. She knew the women in his family. I think she turned into a follower of his. She won’t talk to me anymore. The last thing she said was: “Keep your wine and kisses. I hope you’re happy. You made up lies about him didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
“Honey.”
“Don’t call me honey and keep your cheap wine. I went to a wedding where he made the sweetest wine I ever tasted. You don’t care what you say do you? Don’t feel guilty. Oh, don’t feel guilty. This is just one more thing you have to be sorry for. You helped nail him to that cross.”
“Oh honey. He had too many enemies.”
She wouldn’t have any of it. She looked at me with tearful eyes. “Look up there. Tell me he was a revolutionary. Tell me he was a danger…..to anybody!”
I walked home and sat down with my wife.
“How’s business ?” she inquired as she moved about the kitchen.
“Oh, I think my mouth gets out of control sometimes. I am gonna get down to harder work.”
“Sounds good to me honey. You know that fella Yeshua that they crucified? I know Elizabeth’s daughter, Marta? She followed him. You know her honey. That sweet beautiful young woman we have known for all of these years?”
“Uh, yes, Marta.”
“Apparently, they are related to that family. She came over the other day and gave us some special wine. I protested and said that if we drank too much wine, it’s not good. I guess my prudish ways got in the way of that little encounter.”
“What did she say after that?”
“Funny you should ask. She said that Yeshua said: “It is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of his mouth that defiles him”.
“Did she say anything after that?” I looked at my feet, afraid to lift my eyes. “No that was it. She said, to share the wine and to share that saying with you. Not sure what that all means, but she seemed very sad about that Yeshua fellow.”
“Thanks honey. “
“Want some of this wine?”
“Not right now, honey, thanks.”
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)What a great way to make the Savior real, betrayed, and denied...no one wants to stand up for him, because they worry about themselves. Great story.Thanks very much. I tried to make the world a very pedestrian one, since that what it really is.
Amazing, Christofer. I've never been able to see biblical characters as real people, and when I got to Yeshua's name a kind of collision happened in my brain - between fantasy and reality, if that makes any sense. Reality won, you have made that world real.I could not have said that better. You are not only a great writer, you perhaps are the best commentor in the whole darned realm. That is exactly what I was trying to do. I thought: "Any story that is going to be about Jesus has to be about a boozy sloppy make out session in a runned down olive grove with a really nasty horny old man and a bunch of sweating unemployed schemers. Then you slowly unfold the time and place and characters." Thanks very much for your comment.Oh you make me laugh with this: "Any story that is going to be about Jesus has to be about a boozy sloppy make out session in a runned down olive grove with a really nasty horny old man and a bunch of sweating unemployed schemers. Then you slowly unfold the time and place and characters."
Thanks for the compliment re my comments - I always feel like they're paltry, somehow!
You had me though out the whole tale. Excellent writing as usual. What a beginng and what an ending to say nothing of what was in between!You make me feel good.
Yes, I enjoyed the way you persented this story too. Did make the world a very pedestrian one, in the way you wrote.Thanks very much.
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