Stupid, stupid, stupid! He said I would do it, and I did it." And then, to add insult to injury, the rooster crowed, stupid bird. Could anything else go wrong? Looking around to make sure no one heard my betrayal, I turned, looked Jesus straight in the eye, and my world fell apart. His face…
Chapter 53
I HAD TO find the rest of the group. But I didn't even know where to start looking. Maybe they went back to Abigail's home. That was the last place we'd been before the garden, but I was so turned around that I wasn't even sure if I could find it again. The streets were…
Nature of Contentment
It’s a favourite verse for many people. It’s a verse that gets claimed when we are in difficult situations. When we are trying new things. A verse for those times when we are attempting the difficult, the improbable, and the impossible. But for too many people, it is more a motivational statement or a mantra…
Chapter 54
It was brutal. Two of the soldiers held Jesus’ arms while the third flogged him. They pulled his robe down and beat him with a lead tip scourge. And he didn’t utter a sound. The crowd couldn’t believe it. Public flogging wasn’t uncommon under the Romans, and the screams that accompanied the crack of the…
Chapter 55
The soldiers dragged Jesus down the steps and across the street and laid the cross beam prepared for Barabbas across his shoulders. Weak from the lack of sleep and loss of blood, Jesus only took a few steps when the beam fell to the ground. I tried pushing through the crowd, but the Romans had…
Chapter 56
Two of the soldiers took Jesus by the arms and pushed him down on the cross that had been prepared. His body arched as the torn flesh of his back scraped against the rough wood. The men didn't say anything as they tied his arms and legs to hold him in place. They were just…
Chapter 57
It was dark by the time I found my way back to the house. Most of the others were already there. It seemed as if we all had the same idea. Mark and his mother had left blankets for us in the upper room, and even though the others wanted to talk about what…
Chapter 58
When the laughter stopped, I told my story. All of it. How I followed from a distance, how I denied Jesus three times, and then how I watched as the Romans killed him and didn’t do anything to stop them. John interrupted, “I heard that Simon carried his cross. I just assumed that it was…
Chapter 59
I woke up to Mary Magdalene yelling my name. What was she doing here? This was where the men were sleeping. She had no business being here, let alone waking me up. And besides, it was still dark outside.“Peter, Peter, wake up. He’s alive!”“Alive? Who?”“Jesus, he’s alive. He wanted me to tell you.”“Who? What? Mary,…
Chapter 60
It was agreed that Jesus’ mother and aunt would return to Nazareth to break the news to his siblings. Abigail insisted that Mark accompany them so they weren’t traveling alone. It took the rest of us the best part of three days to get from Jerusalem to Galilee. We arrived late the evening of the…