John's Story: The Last Eyewitness Page 14

  “Imagine how the Pharisees took that. One said, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out of the synagogue.

  “When Jesus heard about that, He found the man again and said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’

  “The man said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’

  “And Jesus said, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’

  “The man fell to his knees, worshiping Jesus and saying, ‘Lord, I believe!’

  “So much for those who say Jesus made no claim to His own deity. Jesus told the man, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.’

  “Some of the Pharisees who heard these words said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’

  “Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see.” Therefore your sin remains.’”

  “What was He saying, rabbi?” Polycarp said, as he helped John lie back down.

  “That they remained in their sins because though they were not physically blind, yet they chose not to see. Now, Polycarp, you know what comes next.”

  “In the text?”

  “No.”

  “Ah, it is time for me once again to play the student. Let me review a moment.” He was poring over the document when Ignatius arrived.

  John had briefly closed his eyes, but now he peeked at the big man. “You appear to have news.”

  “Indeed,” the bishop said. “Cerinthus, and not only he but his retinue, have agreed to join us tomorrow for the Lord’s Day.”

  John fell silent.

  “You do not approve, master? What can be the harm in their sitting under sound doctrine and teaching, being exposed to true faith?”

  John shook his head and rolled onto his side with his back to the men. “I must ponder this. Are you prepared to withdraw the invitation if I so decide?”

  “Of course, master, I would defer to your wishes. But I pray you would fairly hear me out, as I earnestly and respectfully disagree on this. I too abhor our members being swayed by this man in the open air of the marketplace, but here he would be in our camp, as it were, and we would have sway over him.”

  “I need time to think and pray about it.”

  “Jesus calls Himself the light of the world,” Polycarp announced. “Is that it, teacher? Is that His sixth sign, revealed in giving sight to the blind?”

  John merely nodded, knowing Polycarp undoubtedly was looking for, and deserved, higher praise for having discerned this. But Ignatius had troubled John beyond his ability to maintain his composure. John had planned to move directly into the telling of what he considered Jesus’ most dramatic miracle and the resounding proof of His deity, but this potential confrontation with Cerinthus himself reminded the aged disciple of something that should perhaps come first.

  “Ignatius,” he whispered, his back still turned, “are you still here?”

  “At your service.”

  “Are you free to stay?”

  “It would be my privilege.”

  “Then sit and listen, for this pertains, even if you may not at first see the connection. I begin with the words of Jesus as He addresses yet more multitudes.”

  And as John began to dictate again, knowing he was making Polycarp strain to hear him, as John had still not moved, he was lulled into a steady cadence by the soft scratching of the quill tip on the papyrus.

  “Jesus said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’

  “Jesus could tell, as we could, that His listeners did not understand. He said, ‘I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

  “‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

  “‘Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.’

  “There was a division again among the Jews. Many of them said, ‘He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?’

  “Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’

  “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, ‘How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’

  “Jesus said, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.’

  “When the Jews took up stones again to stone Him, Jesus said, ‘Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?’

  “The Jews said, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’ Don’t you find it interesting, gentlemen, that Jesus was nearly stoned for making Himself God, and yet people still say He never claimed deity?

  “Jesus said, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, ‘You are gods’”? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.’ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.”

  “By now they must have been convinced he was invincible,” Polycarp said.

  “I don’t know what they thought,” John said, “but we disciples were certainly convinced. It was becoming quite clear that until His time came, no one could touch Him. He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.

  “There, many came to Him and said, ‘John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.’ And many believed in Him there.”

  John fell silent again and waited for some indication from Polycarp that he comprehended Jesus’ message, or from Ignatius that he understood why he was to listen to this. The two must have thought him asleep, John decided, so he rolled over to face them. “Well?”

  “Profound again,” Polycarp said. “To have sat under the
teaching of such a Man…”

  “For three years,” John said. “And pardon me, but to call the Christ profound strikes me as both obvious and understated.”

  “I have no better word for it, rabbi.”

  “I found this fascinating, of course,” Ignatius said. “But I confess I am deliberating over why you felt this was specific to me just now. Tell me.”

  “It is encouraging to know you remain teachable, despite your station. This discourse on Jesus being the Good Shepherd can easily be applied to our roles as bishops and pastors. We are the gatekeepers, the guardians of our flocks. Need I say more?”

  Ignatius stood and paced. “You wish me to use this analogy with Cerinthus.”

  “Precisely.”

  “That I am to protect the flock against one such as he.”

  “No. I am to protect this flock, even against your best intentions.”

  “I stand corrected, master.”

  “Understand, bishop, that should you disinvite him, the man will label us close-minded and exclusive, and he will, no doubt, assure you that we are most welcome at their gatherings. His intention will be to make you seem small and petty.”

  “And while I am your hireling, I must not run from the wolf and leave the sheep unprotected.”

  “Precisely.”

  EIGHTEEN

  All indications were that Ignatius’s Saturday-evening teaching service would be overrun with people. Despite that the Sabbath had ended and that the regular weekly worship service was scheduled for the next evening, the Lord’s Day, the house vibrated with anticipation.

  John sensed Polycarp’s discomfort.

  “What is it, son? You need to be of service to Ignatius this evening?”

  “Yes, but you are my chief concern. I will make arrangements if you would like to continue, as tomorrow will probably be wholly lost to us. I cannot imagine the throng we should expect then.”

  “Are you suggesting we break from now until Monday morning?”

  “I am at your service, rabbi. A week from then, Ignatius is off.”

  John could not bring himself to tell Polycarp his true fear: that he would not last until Ignatius departed. “In the interest of time,” he said, “I need you. And while I prefer treating the Lord’s Day as our Sabbath, we must redeem that time too, do you not agree?”

  “I concur that time is a factor.”

  “Then let us work through the evening or until my strength gives out. We will have Ignatius’s report to look forward to.”

  “I more look forward to the seventh sign.”

  “And well you should. Let me begin.

  “You recall the Master’s dear friend, Lazarus of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair. I’ll get to that story in due time. Others have written of it, so it is well known already throughout the church.

  “The sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’ Because of where we were, Polycarp, this message would have taken at least a whole day to reach Him. Lazarus was probably already dead.

  “When Jesus heard the news, He had an interesting response. He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’

  “My brother James and I and a few of the others were confused. We knew and admired Mary and Martha. Besides being friends of Jesus, they were believers, very devout and serious. We were certain they would not go to the trouble to send word to Jesus about their brother’s illness, unless it was very serious and likely to be ‘unto death.’

  “Jesus loved the sisters and Lazarus, but even after receiving the message, He stayed two more days where He was. I was frankly glad, because if He went back, He would be going again where His life was in danger. But finally He said to us, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’

  “I said, ‘Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?’

  “Jesus said, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’”

  “I’m confused, teacher,” Polycarp said.

  “As I was. Only later did I realize what He was saying in His unique way. I believe He considered His time on earth the daylight, when He could safely do the work His Father had assigned Him. But the ‘night’ was coming, when He would be betrayed and sentenced to death. So He wanted to redeem the time while there was still the light of day. Finally He said, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’

  “My brother James said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.’

  “But Jesus shook His head. ‘Lazarus is dead,’ He said. ‘And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, because now you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.’

  “Then Thomas said to us fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him.’ He was certain the trip into the lair of the religious leaders was suicide for all of us, and while he was being rueful, he was also loyal. He did not want Jesus to face this peril alone.”

  “This,” Polycarp said, “from the one who would question Jesus’ resurrection until he saw His scars?”

  “The same. Well, when we approached Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem, we heard that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Many of the Jews had joined the other women around Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.

  “Martha heard Jesus was coming and actually met us on the road. She was very distressed and said, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’

  “Polycarp, by now I should not have been surprised at anything the Master said or did. But I shuddered when He said simply, ‘Your brother will rise again.’

  “Martha said what I was thinking. ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’

  “But Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’

  “Now hear me, Polycarp, I have gently chastised you and Ignatius for describing the Lord as profound, as that seems such an understatement. Yet, like you, I must say that nothing as profound as this has ever been uttered, before or since. And His question to her is the question of the ages, for therein lies eternal life: ‘Do you believe this?’

  “She said, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’

  “Then she ran and found Mary and sent her to Jesus. We still had not reached Bethany. Mary came, followed by several Jewish women mourners, and fell at Jesus’ feet, saying the same thing Martha had said: ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’

  “Polycarp, it was as if seeing her distress finally made Jesus realize fully what had happened, though of course He knew all along. But when He saw her and the mourners weeping, His countenance fell and He groaned. And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’

  “She said, ‘Lord, come and see.’

  “Jesus cried, and some of the mourners said, ‘See how He loved him!’ But others said, ‘Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?’

  “When we arrived at the tomb, Jesus appeared extremely troubled in His spirit, and I was close enough to hear that He was still groaning. The tomb was a cave with a stone lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’

  “Martha said, ‘Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.’

  “Jesus said, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ They took away the stone, and Jesus lifted His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people wh
o are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.’ Then He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’

  “Polycarp, this was nearly sixty years ago, but I shall never forget, nor would I want to, seeing Lazarus appear in the mouth of that cave, still bound hand and foot in graveclothes and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’”

  John, shuddering, grew quiet. Polycarp whispered, “Jesus proved His power over death. The seventh sign.”

  John nodded. “Yes, and while He had proved this at least twice before, both times He had raised people who had just died, so some conjectured that they had not really died. But here He raises a man who has been dead four days, wrapped in graveclothes, and lying in his tomb. Now there could be no question. Many of the Jews who had come to comfort Mary now believed in Him.

  “But some went to the Pharisees and told them what had happened. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ‘What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.’

  “And one of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.’”

  “What did he mean?” Polycarp said.

  “He was merely saying that it was better that one man should die than that the entire nation be slain for living counter to Rome. Yet God used this as a prophetic statement, as He had with the high priests of old. From that day forward, the religious leaders plotted to put Jesus to death. Things had been growing worse, and He was hated by many, but after this, nothing was ever again the same. We all lived in danger and in fear for our lives, but He was their main target.