The Son of God         

It is the spring of my twenty-seventh year when I meet John again. He is baptizing people in the Jordan, at the border crossing with Perea. Once again, he addresses the pilgrims who are passing by. They want to be in Jerusalem in time to purify themselves for Passover. John calls out to them:

"You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Yes, the axe is already at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

I think you need to feel guilty to be moved by these words. It doesn't work for me, anyway. But there are plenty of pilgrims who feel addressed. Some even ask if John is the promised Messiah, God's Anointed One.

'I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I is coming. He will baptize you with fire! Look, the farmers are bringing in their harvest and threshing the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff. I tell you that when he comes, he will clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.'

The language is still strong, but the Baptist seems tired. Later that day, I speak to him. I tell him that I did not want to be baptized the first time. "Your time will come," he replies.

Then I ask him if I am right in thinking that he seems less strong than a few years ago. "The end of my race is near. I have tried to bring this people back to God, but this is already the third year and I feel that I do not have much time left."

"What will happen then?"

"I'm not sure. But when I read the scroll of the Messenger of God, I feel that He is going to put an end to all this oppression and corrupt temple service. For that is the threshing floor I spoke of, the threshing floor that King David bought to build the temple."

Then he pauses. "Do you know the prophet Malachi, the messenger of God?"

            Behold, I send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me;
            suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to His temple,
            even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire.
            Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts.
            But who can endure the day of his coming,
            and who will be able to stand when he appears?

            For he will be like the fire of the smelter and like the lye of the bleachers.
            He will sit as a refiner, melting the silver and purifying it.
            He will purify the priests; he will purify them like gold and silver.
            Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord
            so that they may offer sacrifices to the Lord in righteousness.
            as in the days of old, as in former years.

            I am bringing a lawsuit against you.
            And I will be a swift accuser
            against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely,
            against those who oppress the day laborer,
            oppress widows and orphans, and push aside the stranger,
            but do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
           
            For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven!
            Then all the proud and all who are godless will be like stubble.
            The day that is coming will set them ablaze (says the Lord of hosts)
            and will leave them neither root nor branch.
            But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise,
            and healing will be found under its wings.
           
            Remember the law of Moses, my servant,
            which I gave on the mountain for all Israel, statutes and ordinances.
            Behold, I will send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
            He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children
            and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
            so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.                                                                        Malachi 3 and 4, selection

"Are you Elijah?"

'I am just myself. When Elijah comes, the Anointed One will come. '

'Who is the Anointed One?'

'I don't think he is a man like us. The Essenes say that he is the son of the Most High God and will reign forever.

'But when will that be?'

"I think the temple must first be cleansed, as the Messenger says. The Anointed One will only come after a new temple has been built. A temple of the heart instead of this mass of stone that Herod the Great built. The Essens think they are meant, but I cannot believe that God would write off his entire people so easily. Besides, they should not presume to play God. After all, the temple is still standing. The fire has yet to come, Yeshua.

"Do you think that everyone who is unfaithful to God will be lost?"

"Am I God, that I should judge life and death?"

I see sadness in his eyes. Now it is my turn. "Do you know the prophet Hosea?"

            Behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness
            and speak to her heart.
            There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
            when she came out of Egypt.
           
            I will betroth you to me forever.
            I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice,
            by kindness and compassion
            I will betroth you to me in faithfulness.'                                                                                                                        Hosea 13:14b, 18, 19a

He is silent for a moment.

"You are right, there will be a great wedding for the people. Who can say how or when? What matters is that you are invited, you too."

*      

Today I know that John was right too, my time has come. Every day that I stayed longer, the false shame diminished. People told me about their broken lives, their big mistakes, and sincerely sought a new beginning. More and more I feel at one with them. How great is the difference between the one who commits adultery and the one who harbors the desire but is too afraid to act on it? After all, God sees the heart, doesn't He?

The Baptist stands in the waters of the Jordan as I come to him:

"Why now?"

'To fulfill all righteousness.'

The Baptist throws me back into the water. And then, like a gust of wind from above, a great breath fills me; the splashing water is like a white dove flapping its wings and landing on my head. But it was not water, it was a primal force that entered me. John felt the same power; I can see it in his bewildered gaze. And then a voice: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

I don't know what the others heard, but John and I heard the same thing. He says, "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?"

       *      *

The breath of God's Spirit drives me away from the Jordan to the desert of Judea. I feel like the people who were led by Moses through the waters of the sea out of Egypt, but had to wander in the desert for forty years. I wander in the ravines where the streams flow. Then hunger comes. It fills my thoughts relentlessly. I am torn apart by all the conversations of the last few days. Who am I? What does God want from me? And now this, am I that Messenger, that Anointed One? The Son of God?

I hear the voice of the devil: "If you are truly God's son, tell this stone to become bread." But God's word says: "Man shall not live by bread alone."

The devil says, "All the riches of the world are in my power. If you want them, you must worship me." But God's word says, "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."

'If you are really God's son, what does it matter if you jump from the temple roof? It is written: "He will command his angels to protect you" and "They will carry you on their hands, so that you will not even strike your foot against a stone."' But God's word also says: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

I will not test God. I am a son of man.

*       *       *

The breath of God's Spirit carries me back to Galilee. I walk all day through the hills of Samaria and the plain of Jezreel. From afar I see Nazareth on the high hills, where my sisters still live. I sleep there until late in the afternoon. That evening the day of rest begins and my brother-in-law and I go to the meeting.

As usual, the leader of the meeting asks seven people to read aloud, including me, their guest. I stand up and am handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. When I open it at the requested place, I come across the following text:

            The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
            because the Lord has anointed me;
            He has sent me to bring good news to the humble;
            to bind up the brokenhearted,
            to proclaim liberty to the captives
            and to set free those who are bound
            to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.                                                                                                                                           Isaiah 61:1,2a

Here I break off. I try not to tremble as I return the scroll to the servant. I need to sit down for a moment. As usual, someone else translates the words into Aramaic for those who cannot follow the Hebrew well. Then all eyes are on me again. They are waiting for me to continue reading. But I cannot continue reading: "While you were listening, this word became reality. This is what has happened to me." Words of grace come from my lips and the people listen approvingly. Some wonder how it is possible that one of them is speaking these words. "This is Yeshua, the son of Joseph, isn't it?"

Back home in Capernaum, I tell my mother. She is not surprised or happy, but rather sad and concerned. She asks me to calmly go back to work and pray for clarity.

Back with the Baptist                                                           

When summer comes, the Baptist leaves the Jordan Valley and returns to Batanea. He has many disciples there. People from Capernaum also go to him. Some are fishermen or farmers who are less busy now that the fishing season is over and the harvest has been brought in.

I also go to him. I tell him about what happened in Nazareth. When he sees me, he takes me aside. "I don't know who or what you are, Yeshua, but I have something to tell you. After I baptized you, I thought a lot about his words. You are a descendant of David, aren't you? Before my father died, he taught me a prophecy. Those words gave me the strength not to join the Essenes who had raised me, but to seek out the people of God:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.
For he has looked upon his people and brought them salvation,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David, his servant.
God will save us from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
for the sake of our fathers and because of his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to Abraham our father.
He wants us to serve him without fear and redeemed from our enemies,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people about the salvation that lies in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of God's inner compassion,
with which he will look upon us from on high like the rising sun,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

       *      

The large groups of people whom John managed to attract raised questions among the authorities. This was especially because John spoke openly about his aversion to the high priests, whom he believed had sold themselves for money. While I am with John, a delegation of priests from Jerusalem arrives at the Batanea. They want to know what John's plans are and whether he is telling people that he is the Anointed One.

"I am not the Anointed One."

"What then? Are you Elijah?"

"I am not."

"Who are you then? We must give an answer to those who sent us; what do you say about yourself? Are you the prophet Moses spoke of?"

"No."

"But why do you baptize, if you are not the Anointed One, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

"I am the messenger who goes before him. He is standing among you, whom you do not know. He is the one who comes after me. Be on your guard. I am honored just to carry his sandals."

The next day, after the delegation had left, I returned to John. His disciples asked him what he had meant the day before. Before I know it, he points to me. "This is the one I said would come after me. I had no idea who it would be, but to prepare for his coming, I came baptizing with water. I saw the Spirit descend like a dove from heaven and remain on him."

The next day, the Baptist points to two other disciples, Andrew and my cousin John, the son of Zebedee and Salome from Capernaum. "Look there, the son of David who will open the fountain to take away sin."

They are astonished because they know me. They follow me. "What do you want from me?" They come with me and stay with me for most of the day. We talk about John and also about what has happened to me. That same evening, Andrew returns with his brother Simon. Andrew introduces me as the Anointed One of Israel. Simon immediately says that he wants to help me, whatever my work may be. "I am a builder; if you want to help, you must be the foundation on which I can build." I call him Peter, rock.

The next day, I wanted to return to Galilee. We ran into Philip from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. "Come with us." Philip quickly fetched his friend Nathanael from Cana. I greeted him first and called him a true Israelite. But Nathanael responds curtly: "Where do we know each other from?" I can see that he thinks Philip is pulling his leg. "From under the vine and the fig tree." He hears me quoting the prophet Zechariah. "So you are a teacher after all?" "Because I said that about the fig tree? I think it will be about much greater things."

That evening we arrive in Capernaum. I am glad that after a while the days return to normal. I try not to think too much about the words of the Baptist. Time will tell. But John did give me the push I needed. From now on, I regularly stand up in the meeting to tell people about the salvation that lies in repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Although I am not a teacher, people accept that I speak more often than others. They feel that my words have power.

The wedding                                                             

That fall, Peter marries a girl from Capernaum, the daughter of his boatman's widow. He leaves Bethsaida to live with her. There is plenty of room. Around the courtyard of the house are three dwellings. One for the widow, one for the young couple, and one for his brother Andrew, who is involved in the fishing business.

By the spring of my twenty-eighth year, Nathanael, from Cana, also marries. My mother knows his family, because Cana is not far from Nazareth. Together with my mother and my brothers, Peter, Andrew, John, his brother James, and I walk up from the lake to Cana. In the evening, on the eve of the third day, we, the friends of the groom, come to the bride's house and take her to the groom's house. There the marriage contract is signed, the blessing is spoken, and the wedding feast is celebrated. The celebration continues until the evening of the next day. This third day of the week is the favorite wedding day, because on the third day of the creation of heaven and earth, God saw not once, but twice, that "it was good."

But in Cana, things are not going well. They are running out of wine. My mother tells me in a tone that means 'do something about it'. But what can I do? It's not my wedding day, is it?

There are six stone water jars filled with water, which the people use to clean themselves according to Jewish custom. I say, "Then draw some water for the people." And my mother tells the servants to do as I say. They bring a cup of water to the leader of the feast. When he tastes the water, he calls the groom: 'Why did you save this delicious wine for last? Everyone serves the good wine first and only when everyone has drunk well, the lesser wine!'

My friends are excited about the incident, but my brothers shrug it off.

*

We descend again to Capernaum. On the day of rest, we go to the meeting. During the service, someone stands up and starts shouting at me: 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: God's holy son.'

It is as if I hear the voice of the devil again, back to test me. "Be silent and leave this man alone." The man falls writhing on the floor in the middle of the meeting, then he calms down. Everyone stands amazed. "What is this? He commands sick spirits with authority?" I quickly leave the gathering and go to Peter's house across the street. There I find his mother-in-law, shivering with fever. They ask me to pray for her. As I pray, the fever leaves her. She immediately gets up. "Are you all as hungry as I am?" she asks.

The news spreads throughout the city, and at sunset, when the Sabbath is over, they bring the sick from the city to me. I lay my hands on each of them individually, and they are healed. More sick people are brought. Some cry out that I am the Son of God, but I rebuke them and they are calmed. It is getting late. Exhausted, I try to find a place to be alone. But they find me everywhere. I want to leave. But they won't let me go. I run away, but Peter and my friends run after me.

I know this is a sign from God. The words of the Baptist burn in my memory. "I must not stay here. I must go to Judea, I must cleanse the temple."

*      *

It is almost Passover when we set out for Jerusalem. Spring has begun. As we walk through the Jordan Valley, we see hundreds of storks circling in the rising air. Then the landscape changes into a salt desert, through which the Jordan winds its way south. We pass through the oasis of Jericho and find the bed of the Nahal, on which Herod the Great built his palace. From there we walk upstream to Jerusalem.

The temple                                                                         

When we reach the top of the Mount of Olives, we see the temple and the city of Jerusalem before us. We see the enormous square, surrounded by a double colonnade fifteen meters high. In the middle, on the rock of the former threshing floor, stands the actual sanctuary, fifty meters high. Covered with gold and bright white, from a distance it looks like a snow-covered mountain peak rising above the city.

Thousands of people are swarming around the temple when we arrive. They come from all over the country and all over the world. In the square, under the colonnades, they can buy their sacrificial animals. They also exchange their money so that they can pay the temple tax with coins that do not bear the image of foreign gods or the Roman emperors ( ). Annas, the first high priest appointed by the Romans and the father and father-in-law of his successors, receives a commission on every transaction that takes place here. Mockingly, the people call this part of the temple "the bazaar of Annas."

I stand up and proclaim the message of the Baptist. "Return to God our king, for it is time for him to take control!" At first, the people think that John has come to Jerusalem, but then they realize that it is someone else. They look at me expectantly. I make a whip out of ropes and drive the sheep and cattle out of the temple. I throw the money changers' money on the ground and overturn their tables. "Take everything away from here; my Father's house is not a marketplace."

*

It is a Pharisee, Nicodemus, a member of the High Council, who points out the temple guard to us and advises us to leave now. He asks one of my friends where we are spending the night and comes to see me that evening. He tells me that he also comes from Galilee and is looking forward to God's kingdom.

"Teacher, we know that you preach the kingdom of God. But no one can do what you did in the temple unless he is certain that God is with him. And I cannot see how it is God's will that there should be riots in the temple and people killed."

"How can you understand? Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

"How can a man be born when he is already old? Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?"

'Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot accept the kingdom of God. It is not just a matter of baptism, but of God who wants to guide us. The breath of God blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit and driven by the breath of God. How can I do anything other than what I must do?"

"How can God want this?"

"Are you the teacher of Israel? You have read what is written about this temple, haven't you?"

Later in the conversation, we come closer together. We part as friends. And Nicodemus was right in a way; it is too dangerous.

*      *

We leave the city and travel through the land of Judea. The hills of Judea are covered with grass and forests. The plains between them are dotted with fields and fruit trees. They are sandwiched between the desert and the Mediterranean Sea. There are towns and villages everywhere, and there is enough rain for a rich harvest. Yet it is not Galilee, for the streams dry up and the grass withers in the summer.

We stay in Judea for a few more weeks and speak in synagogues. My friends baptize those who convert. The Baptist is also in these regions, but a little north of Judea, near the springs of Salim, from where much water flows into the Jordan.

One day I hear that there was a discussion between a Judean and one of the followers of the Baptist about purification. The Baptist is not concerned with purification itself in the water bath, but with the conversion that precedes it. But the Judean did not agree with John's follower; he wanted to hear what I had to say about it. Then this follower complained to John the Baptist, "Master, the man who was with you in Batanea on the other side of the Jordan is also baptizing, and people are flocking to him." But John's answer was full of grace. "You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Anointed One, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. I am glad to hear that the people are going to him. He must increase, but I must decrease."

I am startled when I hear his loving words. Did he really call me the Anointed One and the Bridegroom? How should I interpret his words? The experience in the temple has made me cautious. I decide to return to Galilee and wait to see what God wants of me.

*       *       *

We travel through Samaria. Samaria is not Jewish, but populated by descendants of Jews and pagan colonists who were brought here centuries ago by the Syrians. When our people returned from Babylon and rebuilt the temple, we rejected their help. They then built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, led by descendants of a high priest who had been rejected in Jerusalem. It was later destroyed by a Jewish army. There is often tension between Jews and Samaritans, especially around holidays when groups of Galileans march demonstratively through the hills of Samaria to Jerusalem and militant Samaritans sometimes pelt them with stones. Sensible people take the road through the Jordan Valley on those days. But in the summer, the heat here is unbearable, and then you have no choice but to go through Samaria.

Like Judea, Samaria is governed from Caesarea by the Roman governor. He leaves the day-to-day administration to the city council of Sebaste, the city that Herod the Great had built on the ruins of ancient Samaria. The region resembles that of Judea. It is alternately hilly and flat, with soil that is easy to work. There are abundant forests and countless wild and cultivated fruit trees. The flowing water is sweet and the grass is excellent, so that the milk of the small cattle tastes delicious. Although it is not Galilee, which is lovely even in summer, it is no wonder that the region is dotted with towns and villages.

We come to the town of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; there is Jacob's well. My friends go into the town to buy food, but I am so tired from the journey that I stay sitting by the well. It is the hottest part of the day. A woman from Samaria comes to draw water. I ask her for some water. "You, a Judean, are asking me, a woman, a Samaritan, for a drink?"

For the Judeans do not associate with Samaritans, and it is not proper for a man to speak to a woman who is a stranger. 'If you knew who I am, you would have asked me for water.'

"Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. How can you give me water?"

"I am not talking about water that quenches your thirst when it is gone. I am talking about the water of forgiveness of sins and the love of our God."

Somehow, I struck a chord with her. "I long for forgiveness."

"Go, call your husband and come here." Even I will not baptize a Samaritan without consulting her husband.

"I have no husband." She lowers her eyes. I understand why she longs for forgiveness and fetches water at this hour, when all the other women stay at home in the coolness of their houses. "You are right to say, 'I have no husband.' The man you have now is not yours. But it is better that you fetch him."

"Sir, I see that you are a prophet. But I am a Samaritan woman. How can I listen to a Jewish prophet? Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you say that Jerusalem is the place where one must worship."

"Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. The time is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such worshipers."

"I know that the Anointed One is coming; when he comes, he will explain everything to us."

"You are talking to him."

My friends have returned and are surprised to see a woman talking to me alone. Fortunately, no one says to her, "What are you doing?" or to me, "Why are you talking to her?" The woman leaves her water jug and goes into the city.

Meanwhile, my friends ask me if I want something to eat, but I am no longer hungry: "I have something to eat that you don't know about. Don't you say, 'Four months after sowing comes the harvest'? Look, do you see those people there? I planted one seed, and already the fields are white for harvest. The sower rejoices at the same time as the reaper. You know the saying, 'One sows, another reaps'? Go to the people and gather the fruit for God.' Some Samaritans ask us to stay. We stay for two days and more of them are converted.

Finally, we continue on to Galilee. I doubt we will be as well received there, for a prophet is often unwelcome in his own country. But everywhere we are welcomed by the people. Many of them have also been to the feast and are enthusiastic about what they saw me do in the temple.