walks of meditation in the heat of the desert?”
Another headshake.
Yeshua sighed. “Had any event prompted this vision? Word from your mother? A visitor?”
“None of that,” Yohannon replied. “But there is more. At first I was troubled by what had happened. Like you, I thought the desert air might have prompted the vision.
“After a sleepless night I sought out the leader and told him I had decided to withdraw and return to my mother. He agreed, and that very morning I set off.”
“Going to Yerushalayim?” Yeshua asked.
“That was my intention. By the river route to avoid bandits on the roads. I reached Nehar ha Yarden and followed it south. And then I saw something amazing.” He paused and his face brightened as he looked at Yeshua.
“Another vision?”
“No, no. Even better! In those parts the great river is never wide except in the floods of early spring. I was able to make my way along the top of the river’s bank.”
“And?”
“Yeshua! I came round a bend and there it was! The very site I had seen in my vision the day before!”
Yeshua was silent for a moment. “Crowds of people waiting?”
“No, no. The river only. I pulled up my garments and almost fell in my haste to scramble down the bank and into the water. I tell you, it was the exact place. Instantly I changed my plans. I came north to Galilea to tell you and others of this.”
Yeshua smiled. “You did smell of the river when you arrived here.”
“Not an Essene model! Days of walking and brief sleep each night in the fields.”
“Saving what dinars you have,” Yeshua nodded. “Well, a good bath always will await you in Nazareth. But why did you not return to your mother first? Why the haste?”
Yohannon stood suddenly and took a few steps down the path to the house. He turned, and his voice was filled with passionate emotion.
“Yeshua, the time has come to prepare for the Messiah!”
Yeshua smiled at his kinsman’s sudden fervor. “Yes, yes, but the days of the Maccabees are long past, if a revolt is what you have in mind.”
Yohannon waved a hand. “No military uprising. What I have seen in my vision is a cleansing of the spirit. A return in our time to humbler, simpler ways. Herod is gone and this Roman, Pontius Pilate, who rules over central Palestine, cares little for matters of faith as long as we fork over the taxes that pay for the legions who maintain the peace.”
Calmly Yeshua replied. “Herod’s son Antipas rules over Galilea. Our taxes go mostly to pay for his grand new buildings in Tiberias and elsewhere.”
“And also to Rome.”
“And to people in Nazareth like my family, who make furniture for some of the new buildings and the homes of administrators and centurions.”
“That is good for you.” Yohannon began to wave his arms about as his voice rose. “But at least your life is not filled with pretension of the sort that is an unholy aroma in the streets of Yerushalayim, even unto the inner sanctums of the Temple itself!”
“Kinsman, calm yourself.” Yeshua patted the bench. “Come and sit with me so that we may discuss your plan for purification. Or have the baths of the Essenes pickled your mind?”
Yohannon came and sat. He spoke passionately. “It is time to prepare. I go tomorrow to other villages in Galilea to find disciples who will assist me.”
“But Galilea is unknown territory to you, a man of Yerushalayim.”
“Some of the Essenes, men of the north, were in sympathy with me. They gave me names of those in Galilea who are of like mind. I am counting on a spiritual hunger that the Lord has created among these villagers. A holy yearning for a new day—the day of the Messiah.”
“Are you serious? The Holy One, anointed of the Lord?”
“Yes. He is coming now. It has been revealed to me.”
“Kinsman, again you border on sacrilege! Time for the Messiah! How can this be?”
“He is coming,” insisted Yohannon. “It has been revealed to me. I am to prepare his way and I will anoint him!”
Chapter 8
“Let us calm ourselves,” Yeshua said evenly. “You speak to me of a vision and what it means to you. You tell me that you have been chosen to anoint the Messiah.”
Yohannon began to sputter, and Yeshua held up a hand. “You are filled with zeal.”
“Yes! He is coming!”
“Even so, this journey to Galilea to recruit disciples may be misguided. You are a southerner. In the north, we are simpler folk than your family and friends in Yerushalayim. In our lives common sense and daily routine are treasured. Excited talk about the Messiah may result in ridicule and yawns rather than enthusiasm. And we have no Roman like Pilate ruling directly over us to rouse our religious convictions. For us, other than taxes for his new construction in Tiberias and the lavish parties within his circle, Antipas rules with a light hand.”
“A hand of wickedness!”
“Oh, come now.” Yeshua smiled. “All earthly rulers have their faults.”
“Faults? You speak as though they were minor sins against heaven. Have you not heard how Philip, weak brother of Antipas, was divorced by his wife—by his wife—and she promptly married Antipas, that fox, as soon as he divorced his wife, the Nabatean princess. Disgusting! And the parties you speak of are orgies of the basest sort. Yet Antipas declares he is a follower of the Lord!”
“The fox, as you call him, will not be ignorant of your attempt at recruiting Galileans.”
“I will be gone to a safe place on the river by then. My disciples will come with me.”
“But where? Is the site in your vision within Pilate’s rule? He seeks calm and steady payment of taxes. He certainly won’t tolerate your preaching of purity and repentance! It will stir people up.”
“Ah, Yeshua. That is how I know the vision is true and that I am the one called to this mission. The river site is not in an area Pilate rules. It is farther north on the river, in Perea.”
Yeshua leaned forward. “I am astonished again. Perea is ruled by your fox, Antipas. How can you call it safe?”
Johannon smiled. “Because it is near the border of the Nabatean king, whose daughter Antipas abruptly and cruelly divorced and ejected from Galilea. She has returned to her father in Nabatea. Antipas has little stomach for war, but in Nabatea vengeance is a strong potion slowly sipped. Antipas has no wish for a high profile in Perea. It would be regarded as hostile and provocative. Besides, the Roman legion based in Perea has no desire for such a provincial spat. Thanks to
