The first installment of the “Back in Time” series….
Martha: Hi, Ishmael.
Ishmael: Hi, Martha. How are things with your family?
Martha: Well, my younger brother Peter has decided to follow this new rabbi from Nazareth.
Ishmael: You mean that Jesus fellow, son of the carpenter Joseph?
Martha: That’s the one! The guy who goes around from town to town talking about God. He’s very popular. Sometimes thousands of people show up to hear him. My brother decided to join his entourage.
Ishmael: Your brother’s a part of Jesus’ entourage? Wow. Jesus is famous. They say he can heal the sick and even raise the dead.
Martha: Well, I don’t know about that. All I know is that when Jesus and his followers came to my village, I invited them to have dinner at my house. My sister Mary just sat at his feet the whole time as if he were some kind of rock star. I had to do all the work in the kitchen. I wasn’t too happy about that.
Ishmael: Well, they also say that Jesus is secretly gathering people who can help him overthrow the Romans, the evil Roman Empire that took over our country. You know, like Judah Maccabee did a couple of hundred years ago. They say that Jesus is getting fighters and warriors to drive the Romans out of Judea.
Martha: Well, I don’t know about that. You know my brother Peter, can you imagine him fighting anyone? I don’t think so.
Ishmael: But they also say that Jesus and his followers are entering Jerusalem today. Now, publicly Jesus is saying, he just wants to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. But they say he and his followers are going to start fighting the Romans in Jerusalem.
Martha: That’s just a rumor. My brother would have told me if he was planning something like that. But now, you’ve got me wondering…what will the Romans thing when they see Jesus and all of his followers going into Jerusalem?
Narrator: What will happen in Jerusalem? What will Jesus and his followers do? And what will the Romans do? Tune in next week and find out!
British police box image: CC BY SA 2.0 Immanuel Burton