The Madonna and the Political Prisoner, Chapter 23/1

Chapter 23 AD 26

The night is long. None of us sleep but sit talking about all that has happened this week and our fears based on the predictions Joshua made. Only one or two voices dismiss these as nonsense. James listens for a while.

“The fool has brought it on himself. I always said he would. If this is the best way of bringing in his beloved ‘kingdom of God’, then I’m as mad as he is. And he’s put all of us in danger too.”

The other women look alarmed.

“Yes, we’re in danger if they arrest him. Do you think they’ll leave the other men with him alone? Of course they won’t. They’ll arrest the lot and torture them until they reveal our hiding place, then they’ll be here and we shall be delivered into their snares as well. I’m sorry, but that’s what’ll happen. And if it doesn’t, as soon as it’s light, I’m taking my mother back to Bethany and I strongly suggest the rest of you join us. You women have got families to go back to and look after. Don’t stay here and throw yourselves away as well – that is if we’re given any choice.”

“I’m staying. I’m going nowhere until I know what happens. If Yeshua needs me, I’ll be here.” Mary has spoken and she means it. She looks quite fierce as she says it.

“Me too!” I say this scarcely without thinking. I do not care about the consequences. It’s all in God’s hands now. He’s looked after me so far and I can do no else but continue to place my life in his hands.

“Don’t be stupid, Mother. You’re not thinking straight. You’re tired and overwrought. Get some sleep while it’s still dark. I’ll wake you at first light and we’ll start back to Bethany at least. Then we’ll get back to Nazareth where the rest of our family can make up for this sorry episode here.”

There’s no point in arguing. I won’t go and he can’t make me, but words are futile now. And there’s no way that I’m going to get any sleep. Even as James is about to say more, there’s a sudden sound of footsteps on the stairs outside and a loud pounding on the door. We shrink in fright until we hear familiar voices, albeit with an element of hysteria in their shouts.

One of the women unlocks the door and three dishevelled disciples are standing there, Philip, Thaddaeus and Thomas. They burst in and one of them shouts, “Lock the door quickly. I don’t think we’re being followed but you never know!”

The chorus goes up, “What’s happened? Where are the others?”

When they’ve got their breath back, Thomas tells us.

“A huge band of soldiers have arrested Yeshua. I think they were Temple Guards but I’m not sure, it was so dark and we didn’t hang around to find out. We went to the garden called Gethsemane just the other side of the city wall and the Master said he wanted to pray alone. Then he asked three of us to keep him company and Peter, James and John went with him deeper into the garden. Nothing happened for a long time and we grew bored and tired so some of us lay down and went to sleep. Then a sudden noise woke us up and there was a mass of soldiers all around us. In the confusion we managed to get away but I’m not sure about the others.”

“What about Simon?” It’s Simon Peter’s wife who looks shocked.

“I don’t know, I last saw him still with the Master and I think he was struggling to free him, but it was hopeless, there were just too many soldiers.”

“And my sons?” Dorcas is worried about James and John.

“I don’t know. They were with Peter and Yeshua when the soldiers came.”

“I’m sure I saw Judas with the soldiers. He wasn’t with us in the garden before. I don’t know what he thought he was doing.” It’s Philip who’s interjected now.

“What should we do? Do you think we’re safe here?” Susannah voices our fears.

“There’s not much else we can do while it’s still dark. We’ll be too obvious if we venture out now. The streets are deserted. At least stay put until dawn. I think you women should go back to Bethany. You should be alright if you go with Yeshua’s brother, you’ll just be like other Passover pilgrims on the road. No-one will recognise you as followers and relatives of Yeshua.” The three disciples are agreed, Thaddaeus and Philip nodding at Thomas’s words.

It’s not good enough. I want to know what’s happened.

“Where have the taken my son?”

“I have no idea, Mariam. If they were Temple Guards, I presume they took him to the Temple or even the High Priest’s house. If they were Romans, he’ll be in the city gaol.”

“I want to go out to find him. Who’ll help me?”

Everyone looks aghast at me. No-one says anything.

“Please, we can’t abandon Joshua. We must make our voices heard. What has he done that warrants his arrest? All he’s done is criticise some priests and rabbis who’ve abused the trust of pilgrims. Surely there’s nothing wrong in that? He’s not hit anyone or threatened violence. He’s restrained his followers who would have done more. We need to go and find out where he is, then we must find someone in authority to protest.”

“Mother, stop being so idiotic. You can’t go out now. It’s pitch dark. Even if you found where he is, no-one will let you near anyone of authority. And in the unlikely event that you did get to someone, they’d just arrest you, so what’s the point?”

A few minutes later there’s another banging at the door and two more wild-eyed disciples come barging in – Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother and Matthew. We beg for more news. There’s not much more they can tell. They confirm it was the Temple Guards.

“I last saw my brother and John trailing off after the soldiers. Yeshua had been bound and was being dragged away. All the rest of us fled into the trees of the olive grove and watched, but the soldiers only seemed bothered about Yeshua himself. Judas was with the guards, the swine. It must have been him that the Master was indicating at supper when he said someone would betray him. I can’t think what possessed the man.”

Really, no-one’s bothered about that now.

“Will nobody come with me? I’m going to the High Priest’s house to see if I can find out anything.”

“I’ll come with you, Mari. I can’t sit around here doing nothing till daybreak.” Mary is impatient like me.

“No-one’s going anywhere. Stay where you are. Do you want to get arrested too?”

“Do you know where the High Priest’s house is?” Andrew asks me. I don’t. I’d need to rely on one of the disciples and they have no intention of going out again. And James doesn’t know and wouldn’t tell me even if he did. Mary comes over and clings to me.

“Please, Mari, let’s go. I’m sure someone will know.”

“Mary, the only people on the streets are soldiers. You’ll have to wait.” Andrew is harsh. He’s clearly angry and upset and is barely controlling his temper.

So we wait. I can’t sit down, I can’t stand still, and Mary is worse than I am.

“Mary, just shut up and sit down. You’re sending me crazy charging up and down the room.” Andrew daren’t speak to me like that. I still hold their respect as their Master’s mother. It’s clear that the disciples are irritated by Mary’s presence though, and see her as an interloper who has no right to spend as much time with my son as she does, nor be so intimate with him, often going for long walks together.

I want to scream but force myself to be still. I shut my eyes and pray, but no words will come, except ‘help us God’ over and over, no pretty words now. The time drags. Eventually I sit down and try to sleep. Salome and Susannah seem to be dozing. So are some of the other women, although Dorcas is still wide awake. I try to shut my eyes, but my ears are listening to every sound, especially anything from the road outside. At one point I hear the trudging of feet and guess that a group of soldiers are marching past. Then I hear a cock crow. The city is stirring. I hear a flock of sheep being driven down the road. Dogs are barking in the distance. The wind is getting up, a storm is brewing. Some of the women have woken up and look to see if there is any food left over from last night. We’re meant to have eaten everything from the Passover meal, but many of us were not hungry and there’s a little cold stew at the bottom of the pot and some crusts of unleavened bread. James is wide awake.

“Get something to eat, Mother, and then we’re leaving for Bethany.”

I ignore him.

“Mother, do as you’re told. I’m master of our household now and you’ll do what I say.”

“Mary and I are going to look for Joshua. We’ll enquire for the High Priest’s house. People here will know.”

We’ve reached an impasse, which means that neither do we set off for Bethany, nor do we escape the house to seek out Joshua. Then I hear more footsteps on the stone stairs outside and there is a tapping at the door. It doesn’t sound like the tread or summons of the military. Someone unlocks the door and we see it’s John, alone. Dorcas cries out in relief and rushes over to her son and embraces him. Eventually he frees himself from her clutches.

“Where’s James? Have the soldiers got him?”

“Calm down, Mother, don’t worry so. No, as far as I know the soldiers haven’t got him. I last saw him rushing off into the olive grove in Gethsemane, but that was hours ago. I thought he’d be back here, but don’t worry, he’ll be alright. He knows how to look after himself.”

“Where have you been? Have you seen my brother?”

“Peter and I followed the soldiers in the distance, we wanted to see where they were taking the Master. They went to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest and into the courtyard there. We slipped inside before they closed the gate. There were plenty of people about and we mingled with the crowds, and tried to pick up what was happening by overhearing the conversations round a big fire in the centre of the courtyard. We found out that someone had gone to wake the High Priest up and that Yeshua had been taken through to the man’s private quarters and I managed to slip through with a couple of servants. Peter stayed in the courtyard and I haven’t seen him since. I looked for him when I came back out, but he was nowhere to be seen.”

“What did you find out? What’s happened to the Master?”

“He’d apparently been questioned but I couldn’t find out what he’s been accused of. After a couple of hours he suddenly came out chained to Temple Guards and I heard someone say that he was being taken to Herod Antipas. Presumably that’s because Yeshua comes from Galilee.”

“Weren’t you under threat there?”

“No-one seemed to notice me. It was dark and there were lots of people milling around. I don’t know who they all were, but nobody tackled me. When Yeshua was led through the gates with the military escort I followed with a number of others and nobody took any notice of me. I didn’t know whether to follow them or come back here. I thought it probably best to come and put you in the picture because if I went to where Herod is staying, I wouldn’t learn anything. I’ll go back to Caiaphas’s courtyard later and see what I can find out.”

“Be careful, John. They will notice you in daylight and you’ll not find it so easy.” John’s mother is clearly worried.

“John, when you go back, I’m coming with you.”

“And me!” Mary joins in my plea to John. James comes over and grabs John by the shoulder.

“No, John. They come back to Bethany with me. You can stay and find out what happens if you will. Join us at Bethany tonight.”

“John, I want to come with you. I’ll never rest until I know I’ve done everything I could to help my son.”

“What can you do, Mother? You’ll just get yourself beaten up by the Roman thugs if nothing worse.”

“No-one said he was a prisoner of the Romans.”

“He soon will be. If the priests want him executed they’ll have to get the Governor’s permission.”

“Then I’ll demand to see the Governor.”

“Are you out of your mind? Don’t even think about it. You won’t get near him. Try to approach the Governor’s palace and you’ll get a spear through you just for looking.”

“You’re just going back to the High Priest’s house, aren’t you, John? What’s the harm in that?”

“Mother, you don’t understand these people. Joshua’s threatened their livelihood, their accommodation with the Romans. They think he’s a danger to them, therefore anyone connected with him is a danger too. I know it sounds silly to us, but that is what they think. If you go with John, you’ll be putting yourself at risk.”

“I don’t care. He’s my son and he’s done nothing wrong. And I’m going with John and Mary. Salome, Susannah, are you coming too?”

“I’m sure they’ll be more sensible than you and come back to Bethany with me.”

“What are the disciples’ wives going to do? I think we’re safer with them.”

Apparently they’ve all agreed to stay in Jerusalem until their husbands return. Susannah and Salome agree quickly to remain with them.

“Can we stay here? Whose room is this? Will we not have to vacate it anyway?”

“I’ve no idea whose it is.”

Andrew overhears. “It belongs to a friend of the Master, an influential man in the Sanhedrin. He keeps his friendship secret in case he’s embarrassed to be seen to be a supporter of a mad prophet from a backwater in Galilee. I think the Master agreed with him that we could have this room for the whole Passover festival.”

“If he’s influential, can’t we go and see him and plead for Joshua?”

“Mariam, I wish we could but even I don’t know who he is. The Master apparently promised him confidentiality and he’s never even told us.”

“Andrew, what do you and the others intend to do? Are you going to stay with the women here or come looking for Yeshua with me?”

“I think we should all stay here. When the Master’s friend hears what has happened he’ll come and find us and see what he can do. At least some of us should stay. If you want to risk going to the High Priest’s house to establish what you can, I’ll not stop you, but I think it’s unwise to take any of the women with you.”

“Andrew, I can’t stay cooped up in this room. I’m going with John and so is Mary here, aren’t you?”

Mary and I pull on our cloaks and go to John, who looks us in the eye and sees our determination.

“James, let them do as they wish. You’ve done what you feel is your duty, but I can understand their feelings. I’ll see they come to no harm.”

“You can’t promise that, John. You’ve no idea what the authorities can and will do.”

John shrugs his shoulders and I go to his side.

“He’ll do his best and that is good enough for me. I can’t stay here and do nothing.”

James gives up and goes to Salome and Susannah.

“At least your sister and cousin have some sense. Be careful. Don’t tell anyone where we are and make sure you’re not followed when you come back.”