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Rumors

“Shema Israel, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai ehad.”1 The quiet rumbling came from deep within the chest of the worshipper as he recited his morning prayers on the roof of his house just before dawn. He wore the robes of a rich man. The phylacteries, the prayer boxes attached to long leather bands, were carefully wrapped around his right arm and forehead. He wore a long prayer shawl on his head, the edges adorned with tassels. He finished his prayers and carefully removed the prayer boxes, putting them back in the pouch he kept them in. After that he left the roof and descended into the rear courtyard, heading for the morning meal.

“Good morning, rabbi!” He waved his hand in half-recognition, pondering on the things in the weeks passed. He pulled on his long, graying beard as he entered the low doorway into the room where the meal was laid out by his servants. He quickly went through the ritual washing before reclining at the table.

“Good morning, Abba2 !”

“Eh, what’s that?” He looked up to see his eldest son, Malachi, standing in front of him. “Good morning, good morning.” The father pulled on his beard again. That—that Baptizer, that was what bothered him. The rumors of the Kingdom of Heaven being near.

“Prepare the way!” the rabbi muttered into his beard and got up without having touched any of the food. Best send someone to check it out.

“Abba, will you be here when the wares arrive?” Malachi cut into his thoughts.

“Huh? No—no, I need to get to the synagogue. So many questions...” The rest of it was lost in his beard as he walked out of the room.

* * *

“Good morning, rabbi!” the students called as they saw him enter the building. He just waved a hand, pulled on his beard, and went towards his customary place.

“Nicodemus!” He looked up and a smile crossed his face.

“Joseph! It has been some time.” He embraced his friend in the customary way and the two of them sat down away from the students, whose constant buzz from reciting made conversation difficult.

“What brings you here?” Nicodemus asked.

“I got a message from some friends concerning the Baptizer.”

“And?”

“Well, we’ve decided to send a delegation down to see them. I wanted to know if you might go along.”

“You’re going?” the rabbi asked his friend.

“Yes, I wouldn’t miss seeing this … this prophet for anything.” Nicodemus pulled on his beard thoughtfully.

“So you think he is a prophet.”

“Yes, and you?”

“I’m not sure ... not sure. There are so many things happening that I don’t know what to do or say. I heard that the Baptizer is proclaiming the Messiah.” Joseph’s dark eyes sparkled as he ran a hand over his short beard.

“He is! Some say that he is the Messiah.”

“Hm. I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” the teacher mused. Then he scanned his students.

“Reuel!” One young man with clean, clear features looked up. He couldn’t be much older than nineteen or twenty. He quickly left the circle of students who were gathered around the other rabbi’s feet and stood in front of the two older men.

“Reuel, I want you to go with Joseph and see about the Baptizer. If I know my colleagues,” here he smiled secretively, “they will have already prepared a delegation. You should both join them, but, Reuel, I want you to report back to me personally, understood?”

“Yes, Rabbi Nicodemus,” the young man answered, his features fairly glowing with delight. The rabbi dismissed him and turned back to his friend.

“I would like to know your impression also, friend Joseph,” he said in an even tone. “If the Messiah is near, then the days of the Goyim’s3 power over us are numbered!” Joseph smiled, rose, and bid his friend farewell.

* * *

“Master Nicodemus.” The rabbi looked up from his scroll, irritated. A servant girl was standing there.

“Yes, child, what is it?”

“Reuel would like to see you, sir.”

“Ah, yes.” Nicodemus rose and left the room, walking out into the balmy evening air. He paused and took a look at the house. Why did Abba have to build this house like the Goyim have theirs? he wondered again. He would have chosen a place somewhere in the country, away from the sweltering heat of Jerusalem, but as a member of the Sanhedrin and as the only son among nine sisters, he inherited the property and was forced to stay here. Oh well, there were some things in life that wouldn’t change, even if the Messiah came.

Reuel was already waiting on the roof of the house for him. Excitement colored his face, and he could hardly stand still. Nicodemus motioned him towards a bench of marble that his father had put up here. They both sat down.

“Tell me, Reuel, what happened,” the older man prompted. The young man smiled and began to recount the happenings of the last days.

“We came down to the Bethany beyond Jordan, where the Baptizer was baptizing at the time. There were some priests and Levites along with us. I tell you that man is wild! It is said that he is a Nazarite, and you can tell that by the length of his hair! He wore a rough cloak of camel hair and had a thick leather belt around his waist. He looked like someone really wild!”

“Yes, yes,” Nicodemus cut in, “but what about the questions?” The student thought for a moment.

“Ah, right, the priests and Levites asked him who he was. He said that he wasn’t the Messiah. When they questioned him if he was Elijah or the Prophet, he also said no to that. Then they said, ‘Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’4

“‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, “Make straight the way for the Lord,”5 was his answer.”

“Isaiah,” Nicodemus muttered into his beard.

“What?”

“Nothing. Go on.”

“After that Simon asked him why he was baptizing if he wasn’t any of those people. He gave a really strange answer.

“‘I baptize with water,’ he said, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’6 That wasn’t enough for most of us, so we stayed around until the next day. Suddenly the Baptizer pointed to the road, where a traveler was coming along, out of the wilderness. The Baptizer cried out, ‘Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant, when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’”7

“So, the Baptizer is preparing the way...,” the rabbi mused into his beard.

“But Rabbi, he wasn’t finished,” Reuel continued excitedly. “He then said, ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and I testify that this is the son of God.’8 That was what he said.” The young man suddenly looked very perplexed. “Rabbi, what did he mean by ‘Son of God?’”

“The son of David, the promised king, of course,” Nicodemus answered a bit impatiently. “Thank you, Reuel, you may go. I will think about what you have said.” The young man bid his teacher farewell and was escorted out of the large house by a servant. Nicodemus sat until the wee hours of the night, pondering what he had heard from his student. Could it be that the Messiah had come?

  • 1Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
  • 2Aramaic for “father”
  • 3Hebrew for “Gentiles”
  • 4Jn. 1:22
  • 5Jn. 1:23
  • 6Jn. 1:24
  • 7Jn. 1:30-31
  • 8Jn. 1:32-34
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Copyright © 1995 J.M. Diener. All Rights Reserved.