The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

The Stranger Talks of Abraham and Issac

Next time the angel came, Christ was in Jericho. He was following Jesus and his disciples as they made their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus was staying in the house of one of his followers, but Christ had taken a room in a tavern not far away. At midnight he went outside to use the privy. When he turned to go back inside he felt a hand on his shoulder, and knew at once that it was the stranger.

‘Events are moving quickly now,’ the stranger said. ‘We must talk about something important. Take me to your room.’

Once inside, Christ lit the lamp and gathered up the scrolls he had filled.

‘Sir, what do you do with these scrolls?’ he said.

‘I take them to a place of great safety.’

‘Will I be able to see them again? I may need to edit and correct the entries, in the light of what I have since learned about truth and history.’

‘There will be an opportunity for that, never fear. Now tell me about your brother. What is his mood as he gets closer to Jerusalem?’

‘He seems serene and confident, sir. I wouldn’t say that has changed at all.’

‘Does he speak of what he expects to happen there?’

‘Only that the Kingdom will come very soon. Perhaps it will come when he is in the temple.’

‘And the disciples? How is your informant? Is he still close to Jesus?’

‘I would say he is in the very best position. He is not the closest or the most favoured – Peter and James and John are the men Jesus speaks to most confidentially – but my informant is securely among the middle-ranking followers. His reports are full and trustworthy. I have checked them.’

‘We must think about rewarding him at some stage. But now I want to talk to you about something difficult.’

‘I am ready, sir.’

‘You and I know that for the Kingdom to flourish, it needs a body of men, and women too, both Jews and Gentiles, faithful followers under the guidance of men of authority and wisdom. And this church – we can call it a church – will need men of formidable organisational powers and deep intellectual penetration, both to conceive and develop the structure of the body and to formulate the doctrines that will hold it together. There are such men, and they are ready and waiting. The church will not lack organisation and doctrine.

‘But you will remember, my dear Christ, the story of Abraham and Isaac. God sets his people severe tests. How many men of today would be ready to act like Abraham, prepared to sacrifice his son because the Lord had told him to? How many would be like Isaac, ready to do as his father told him and hold out his hands to be bound, and lie down on the altar, and wait peaceably for the knife in the serene confidence of righteousness?’

‘I would,’ said Christ at once. ‘If that is what God wants, I would do that. If it would serve the Kingdom, yes, I would. If it would serve my brother, yes, yes, I would.’

He spoke eagerly, because he knew that this would give him the chance to atone for his failure to heal the woman with the cancer. It was his faith that had been insufficient, not hers; he had spoken harshly to her, and he still felt ashamed.

‘You are devoted to your brother,’ said the stranger.

‘Yes. Everything I do is for him, though he doesn’t know it. I have been shaping the history especially to magnify his name.’

‘Don’t forget what I told you when we first spoke: your name will shine as greatly as his.’

‘I don’t think of that.’

‘No, but it may give you comfort to think that others do, and are working to make sure it comes about.’

‘Others? There are others besides you, sir?’

‘A legion. And it will come to happen, have no fear about that. But before I go, let me ask you again: do you understand how it might be necessary for one man to die so that many can live?’

‘No, I don’t understand it, but I accept it. If it is God’s will, I accept it, even if it’s impossible to understand. The story doesn’t say whether Abraham and Isaac understood what they had to do, but they didn’t hesitate to do it.’

‘Remember your words,’ said the angel. ‘We shall talk again in Jerusalem.’

He kissed Christ on the brow before leaving with the scrolls.