The day I met Jesus

The day I met Jesus I didnt actually meet him - not as such. I had been living in Capernaum for several years having been posted there with the legion from Rome and rising through the ranks to become Centurion of the fort.  I liked it there.  The people were friendly and accommodated our troops without resistance or aggravation.  I had made a concerted effort to get on side with the towns elders and the leaders of the synagogue and in return the townspeople had been happy to do business with us.  Trade with the fort was good for the local economy.  I made sure my men showed respect to the townspeople and behaved properly at all times , so peace was maintained and my bosses in Rome were pleased.   When the town synagogue had suffered damage in a small earthquake my soldiers and I had helped to rebuild it ( I even paid for some of the repairs)  I considered it an act of friendship in a time of stress in the local community.  In return many of ...

We had been begging together for seveal years just outside Jericho.  We were both partially sighted , I had no vision at all at any distance but could see a little if I was very close up indeed. Jonas had some peripheral vision but couldnt see anything close up.  So between the two of us we helped each other out a bit and managed to get to the spot on the road into the city where we begged most days. On the day we met Jesus we had heard that he had been in the city. Everyone knew about him and the stories about the miracles he had been performing were being talked about by everyone going into and coming out of the city.   I was firmly convinced that he was the Messiah - how else could he be doing all the things people were saying he was doing?  I had always believed that Messiah was coming, and why shouldnt it be now, when we needed liberation from our Roman opressors?  If I had been able to see I would have been in the forum and the market place with the...

It had started when I was in my late teens.  At first it was just a dull ache at the bottom of my back.  i thought it was caused by carrying wood for the fire and grain at harvest time and then later my three children.  But it was an ache which didnt go away when I rested and then after a while my lower back strted to become very stiff.  By the time I was in my mid twenties I couldnt really bend over much at all and then as the years went on I started to bend over too much.   By the time I was thirty I was pretty much bent ovre double and in alot of pain every day.  I didnt sleep well.  i found it really difficult to look after my children and of course I couldnt work. My husband was kind and tried to be understanding but basically I was a useless wife to him.  We had spent alot of money at the apothecary on lotions and potions and herbal tinctures and none of them had any effect on the state of my back.  So all I could do was pray and...

I loved Jesus.  I loved him from the minute I set eyes on him.  He wasnt handsome in the conventional sense, but his eyes always had a twinkle, he had a great laugh, he was so kind and he noticed things that other people didnt notice.   He never walked past someone in the street who really needed a touch or a word.  He treated women so very differently from most men I knew - with respect and honour.  His teaching of the scriptures was amazing.  I just loved everything about him. I first met him the day he came to our house.   I had been living in Bethany with my brother and sister for most of my life.  Our parents had died several years before leaving us the house and the farm.  Lazarus was very good with the livestock and really enjoyed the outdoor life.  Mary was a brilliant seamstress and made all of our clothes as well as mending and making for the village.  And I kept house and also cared for an elderly nieghbour wh...

I was born blind.  I am twenty years old and had taught myself how to play the lute when I was about eight or nine.  Ever since then I'd been playing for a living, usually on the street corners and on market days, sometimes in people's homes and at festivals and celebrations The day I met Jesus I was playing in the street when I heard a large crowd of people passing by.  They stopped next to me and I heard a voice asking if my blindness had been caused by my own sins or by the sins of my parents.  I thought I might have recognised the voice but I wasnt sure so I stopped playing so that I could hear the reply.   The man who answered the question was someone Id definitely not heard before.  He had a Nazareth accent.   He said that I was born blind not because of anyones sins but so that the goodness and kindness of God could be revelaed.  I didnt understand what he meant but the next thing I knew I felt a hand on my shoulder and the same...

I had been saving that perfume for a long time.  It had been given to me by a wealthy businessman who was one of my clients.  He liked me and he treated me well.  One day he just turned up with the perfume and I was overwhelmed by his generosity and kindness.  It was worth a lot of money and I really hadnt done anything to deserve it.  I had been kind to him I suppose.  He was a lonely man with few friends and I felt sorry for him.  I sometimes asked him to stay for supper after we had done what he payed me for.  I didnt do that with other clients, but something about him made me treat him differently.  I know he appreciated the company and the conversation.  And I guess I did too.  It can be a lonely and isolating existence when you do what I do for a living. Of course I hadnt always been a street worker.   I had grown up in a normal family, had a perfectly ordinary upbringing and was all set to  be married and bec...

I have tried to forget the day I met Jesus.   It is not an occasion I remember fondly. It all started when the young Rabbi came to teach in our synagogue.   We had already heard on the grapevine that he was contentious and some had called his teaching heretical.  So when we knew he was coming our way we were on our guard.   The people all loved him, so we knew we had to tread carefully with him.   And besides, most of us were secretly fascinated to hear what he had to say and see if he was going to perform any of the alleged miracles he was becoming famous for.  He arrived in town late one evening and turned up the next day to preach and teach in the synagogue.  However he also seemed to teach and preach wherever he went and was as likely to be found out in a field or sitting in the market square than in the synagogue.  Which was very odd.   Anyhow, his teaching was simple and straightforward - I really couldnt fi...

Every day I recite the Shema.  I know the Torah and I serve in the synagogue.  I give a tenth of my income to the synagogue too and ever since I can remember I have kept all the commandments.   Because of this God has blessed me.  Not only was I born into a noble Jewish family but my business dealings have gone well in recent years and I have gained prestige and wealth.  I have lots of friends and I employ many people.  I live in a mansion with fountains and marble pillars - I have everything I could need or want.   But I can't sleep. I havent slept well for years.  The doctors have tried prescribing me sleeping draughts but nothng really works very well or for very long.   My mother thinks I worry too much - and I suppose she is right.  Business is always on my mind and I find it hard not to always be thinking about the next deal I have to make.   But I dont think this is why I cant sleep.   Most nig...

I had heard that the Rabbi was in town so I had taken my son to try to see him as I had heard that many miracles were being performed.  My son, Thomas, had started having fits when he was about two years old and had them so many times a day that sometimes we didnt know how he had the energy to stay alive.   He needed constant care.  If he was left alone for the shortest time he could have a seizure and bash his head off the floor, roll into the fire or swallow his tongue.  So we had to watch him 24 hours a day.  My wife and I took it in turns to sleep next to him and most nights we were up with him three or four times.   He had no life.  When he was not experiencing seizures he was exhausted.  His speech was very difficult to understand and he spent his time in the house because people in our neighbourhood thought that he was possessed by a demon.  People can be cruel. So when we heard about the miracles that Jesus had been doing ...

I had been unhappily married for many years.  My husband was cold and uninterested in me and treated me more like a servant than a wife.  I had given him three sons, had kept his house and nursed his mother when she was dying, but he barely spoke to me any more and life was lonely, dull and thankless.   Once my sons became old enough to go out into the world by themselves I felt that any purpose I had once had was gone.  True, I did have a couple of friends, women from my village who had grown up with me and married at the same time, staying local and therefore easy to keep in touch with.   But nobody really knew how miserable I was.  I kept my loneliness to myself and tried to ' play happy families' for the sake of my children's reputation and the good name of my husband. Then, two years ago whilst I was at the market buying linen to make a new outer garment for my youngest son, I bumped into Timon. Timon had lived two houses away from me whe...

I had been blind from birth and had been working as a basket weaver since I was seven years old.   I had a small workshop on the high street in Bethsaida and was well known by everyone in town.  I managed to make a living because I made good baskets with the help of my work partner Amos.  I was grateful to have a profession and I thanked God daily for my blessings.  I was a faithful attender of the synagogue and I payed my tithes and my taxes.  In most ways I considered myself to be a good man and for the most part I was a contented one. The day I met Jesus, Amos told me that there was a prophet in town who was teaching about a new kingdom and doing miracles.   Amos really wanted to go and hear the prophet speak, and as we could not run the shop without him , I agreed to close early and go with him to find out what this man was all about.   Amos led me to the market square where a large crowd seemed to have gathered.  I could feel...