Greetings my brothers. I write to you from Bethany, after a week of recruiting in each town along the way. Our numbers are growing, my brothers! The people grow tired of these Romans, as they look down on our ways, and they mock our God. I grow more confident each day that the Lord will bring an end to their rule over our beloved land, and I watch as the restlessness of His people grows more and more. The rebellion we seek will soon be at hand, as Jehovah will use the blades of our swords to push each of these Romans back into the Sea, sending them back to their land to mend their wounds.
I so miss the sight of Beer Sheva(Beersheba), and I long to return to my home again. But as the crowds gather for Passover, it is Jerusalem where I now need to be. Recruiting more for our cause each day, and filling our numbers more and more with each face in the crowd I get to speak to. But as I rest this Sabbath, here in Bethany, there is a buzz coming from this town that is unlike anything I have ever seen or heard. One so great that it is all that is being talked about, and impossible to escape as it is all that you hear as you walk on each street.
I am hearing their whispers now turn to shouts as they are proclaiming the Messiah has come. I know my brothers, many have made this claim and countless have claimed to be His Chosen One(Matthew 24:5). But there is an excitement with this man named Jesus, son of Joseph, that is just not like anything I have ever seen. They speak of the miracles this man has done, and they all but sound hard to believe. They say he cast out demons and ordered them to be quiet(Mark 1:23-28). That he healed a man of leprosy(Mark 1:40-45). That he commanded the storm to calm, and the crashing waves suddenly became still(Matthew 8:23-27), That he cured two blind men so they could see(Matthew 9:27-31). That he fed thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish(Matthew 14:15-21). And that he raised a man, right here in Bethany, from the dead(John 11:1-46).
I know I must be skeptical and cautious, my brothers, but could this be the One? Could this be the promised King we have been waiting many lifetimes for(Isaiah 9:6-7)? Could this be the Son of God that has long been promised(Hosea 11:1, Micah 5:1-3)? If it is, could His timing be a sign from the Lord that our rebellion is soon to be made worthwhile? That the Promised King will lead our march to cleanse the Romans from our land, as the Lord sets up His kingdom?
Brothers, I must know! This one I speak of is here, in Bethany, as I speak. He stays this day at the family home of the man named Lazarus, the one he is said to have raised from the dead(John 12:1-11). And word after word is coming from this house that one of his sister’s broke an alabaster vial filled with nard, and poured it over his head in order to honor him(Mark 14:3-9). To think, something so precious that it would be worth a year’s wages poured over the head of this man. Could anyone who would do this see this man as anything less than the Messiah?
As word of this has spread through the streets, many have questioned why this woman by the name of Mary would do such a thing(John 12:3). Did she not realize the good that could have been done if this vial had been sold(Matthew 26:6-13)? Think of the soldiers for our cause that small vial of precious oil would have funded. But as this was being discussed, I heard a man speak, and his words have stayed this day with me. He said, “Nothing that could be offered to the Messiah in faith and love could ever be wasted. The fragrance of the oil might fade as the days pass, but the significance of the worship will remain as long as there are days.” Nothing I can do will now allow me to escape those words.
I must know more, my brothers. I must find a way to talk to this man. To hear his words, and to see for myself if this is the One that the Jehovah promised, and the prophets spoke so much about. I can think of nothing I could now do that would be better for our cause, than to find out more about this man named Jesus. To know if he truly fills the hope of that promise, and to see if he is the One we have so many days longed for. This will be my focus tomorrow, to observe this man, and maybe to even meet with this man. Because if he is who they say, Rome’s days may be far less in number than we even thought, my brothers. This vile and wicked oppression may soon be removed from our backs. I will write to you again tomorrow, as I know more.
Continuing for our cause!
Meshach
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