Man in White Read online

  Saul stood up when he heard the approaching footsteps. He was in a state of prayerful expectation as he felt a kindred spirit enter the room. The footsteps stopped just in front of him.

  “Saul of Tarsus?” asked Ananias.

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “The Lord Jesus has appeared to me in a vision,” said Ananias.“He has told me that you have been shown things that you will suffer for his name’s sake.”

  “I have seen the Lord,” said Saul.

  “I have heard of much evil that you have done to the People of the Way in Jerusalem, and that you came here on authority from the chief priests to arrest the saints in this city.”

  “That is true,” said Saul, “but I have seen Jesus.”

  Ananias stepped closer to Saul and, raising his hands, placed the ends of his fingers over Saul’s eyes. Saul felt the warmth of the Spirit in the hands of Ananias; he raised his own hands and placed them gently upon Ananias’s hands. Ananias said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you as you came to this city has sent me to you that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will. You shall hear the voice and see the face of the Just One.”

  “I have heard his voice and was blinded by his countenance,” said Saul. His knees weakened, and he sat down.

  Ananias continued.“The Lord said that you are a chosen vessel, to bear his name before the Gentiles, before kings, and before your own people, Israel.”

  Ananias’s hands shook under the warmth of Saul’s. The scales fell away from Saul’s eyes, and he looked into the face he had seen in the vision.

  Saul looked around the room, then back to the Stephen-like face of love. “Take me and baptize me, Ananias.”

  “Let us thank your host,” said Ananias. “Then we will go to my home.”

  Judas met them in the courtyard as they came out of the room.“You can see,” he said to Saul.

  “Yes,” said Saul.

  “Where will you go?” asked Judas.

  “Into the world,” said Saul. “Thank you for the lodging. I have no money to pay, but I have a precious gift for you if you will believe.”

  Judas was anxious for them to be gone. He knew Saul had been blind, but now he thought he was insane, conversing with the unseen and with himself.

  “Believe what?” Judas asked testily.

  “That Jesus of Nazareth is Lord,” said Saul.

  Judas turned to Ananias, disregarding Saul. “Where will you take him?”

  “To my home,” said Ananias,“but we will be at Synagogue Moriah on the Sabbath.”

  “I will be looking for you,” said Judas as he watched them go.

  Leaving his cloak with the golden fringes and the Pharisee turban behind, Saul left with Ananias. His legs were shaky from the momentous experiences at the house of Judas. Holding on to the arm of his friend, he struck out down the street called Straight. His formidable countenance was Stephen-like; yet it was not as one dying but as one having just been born.

  Saul sat in the preacher’s seat of the Mount Moriah Synagogue in Damascus. Prayers had been offered and the Law had been read and commented upon by the Rabbi Judas.

  Saul had asked, as guest speaker, to read verses from the Prophets and to comment upon them. He was dressed in a simple, dark, seamless garment, with a prayer shawl over his shoulders and the Benjaminite skull cap upon his head.

  He read haltingly from the scroll, not as if he was unsure of himself, but as if he wanted to be sure that he was heard and understood. He took his time as he read and looked straight ahead into nothingness when he did take his eyes off the scroll of Isaiah.

  He continued reading more loudly. “You shall be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may go to the ends of the earth. So said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom Israel abhors.”

  He closed the scroll, inserted it into the ark, and dropped the golden coverlet over it. He stood and faced his audience.

  “The Holy One, the ‘servant’ just spoken of, is the Messiah. He has come.”

  Saul waited as his audience murmured and shuffled their feet, then continued. “I have realized the beauty and the unsearchable riches of a word which only recently I found despicable. The word is ‘Christ,’ the Greek translation of ‘Messiah.’” He spoke more loudly as the audience’s murmur rose in volume. “To the Gentiles who never had such a promise as we have had in the Messiah, the word ‘Christ’ takes on glorious connotations. Our Messiah has come to us and to the Gentiles.”

  Judas the Pharisee arose. Saul stood facing him, silently challenging him to interrupt. After a while Judas gave in and sat down to hear him out.

  “In Christ,” said Saul, “we have a new high priest who does not require new daily blood sacrifices, because for the propitiation of our sins he offered himself up as a sacrifice for us all. He returns to us now in the Spirit of the Comforter and Counselor. All who receive him and his love are made joint heirs with him in the kingdom of heaven.”

  Again Judas stood up to speak, but Saul raised a hand to stop him. “I will debate with you or answer questions when I have finished, Master Judas,” he said. “For a few moments now I have more to say.”

  Again Judas sat down and with a red face turned and looked in another direction. How did it come to this? he asked himself. A new high priest indeed! What will happen when Jonathan ben Annas hears of this heretical dissertation in my synagogue?

  The worshipers were restless. The members of the synagogue were in various stages of surprise and hostility. They looked anxiously at Judas, expecting the preacher to be stopped.

  Saul stood straight and, it seemed, taller than he had ever been. He raised his face to search out the receptive faces in the congregation, and his countenance took on that glorious Stephen-like serenity. When he began speaking again, it was as if the Voice were speaking through him. He felt like a man renewed, a man refilled with power, invincible and unafraid. His voice echoed the flowering fruit of the Word that filled his mind.

  “The psalmist asked the Lord, ‘What is man that you are mindful of him?’ He cares enough in that he sent his Son to die at our hands, and for us he died a human death. And to those who sought after a sign, he gave the sign of the prophet Jonah. He lay in the grave three days, then by the power of the Most High, he arose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father.”

  People continued to stir and mumble, and Saul’s voice grew louder to rise above the noise. Rabbi Judas sat with his arms folded, sternly awaiting Saul’s conclusion.

  “The Messiah, the Christ himself, said his kingdom is not of this world, yet having been of this world for our sake, he here shed his blood for our redemption.

  “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this, the judgment. So Christ died once, never to die again, yet in the self-sacrificial offering, he died to bear the sins of any who call upon his name. So it is that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. The Lamb of God is our final blood sacrifice. Without the cross there is no crown of glory, but by his crucifixion and resurrection, if we come to him and live in the bond of his love, we are joint heirs with him in the kingdom of heaven. By faith we come to him. By faith in him we are justified. In our faith in him, we will live according to his blood covenant, and our seed of faith shall bear good fruit; therefore, by our works we shall be known.

  “The new blood covenant, the new testament of Jesus of Nazareth, does not make null and void the Law of God as given to us by the men of God of old. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.”

  Saul paused. Judas was slumped in his chair, his eyes turned away from Saul and locked upon some imaginary spot on the wall. Some members of Synagogue Moriah followed Judas’s attitude and sat wit
h courteous disinterest as Saul concluded his sermon. But Saul smiled at those who listened in rapt attention, spellbound by the self-assured speaker.

  “The prophet Isaiah has said, and it is written, ‘Who has believed our report? To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.’”

  Saul paused again, remembering the glorious light that had temporarily blinded him outside Damascus.

  “I have seen that glorious light,” said Saul in conclusion.

  After the benediction all eyes were upon Saul. Ananias came to him and said, “Sit and wait for the congregation to leave. You will face much hostility among some of these Damascenes.”

  Well, thought Judas, still studying Saul, who remained in hushed conversation with Ananias, he brought his message to his kinsmen, and at the expense of a tumult in this house of worship.

  Ananias and Saul stood up as Judas arose and approached them, pulling his waistband up under his robe. Judas was gray-haired with a long, sharp beard, which was prematurely white. Judas’s stern, highly intelligent eyes twinkled.

  “Tell me, Brother Saul, how is it that in such a short time you have gone from the chief persecutor to chief authority on the teachings of the Nazarene? Your status in the holy Temple came from lifelong study and contemplation of the Law. You wore the head covering of a Pharisee. Now you seem content in homespun and the prayer shawl of a peasant. The only vestment of your religion and race is the Benjaminite cap you wear.” Judas was sincerely puzzled, and though he had been offended by Saul’s sermon, he earnestly sought the answers to the puzzle of Saul’s about-face in his religion. “Where and how did you so quickly learn the doctrine of salvation through faith in the dead Nazarene?” Judas looked at Ananias, but Ananias dropped his eyes.

  “I have seen Jesus,” said Saul.“He appeared to me on the way to Damascus.” Then Saul added with a kind smile, “And while I was a guest in your home, he taught me.”

  Judas’s face flushed, and he stammered, “The Nazarene in my home?”

  “His Spirit,” said Saul. “I have seen him, and even still this day his counsel of truth teaches me, and through me he speaks.”

  Judas stared at him for a long time, at a loss for a retort to such a presumptuous, outrageous statement. “I warn you,” he said. “Go your way in peace, and speak no more in public in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”

  “Why,Master Judas?” asked Saul.

  Judas paused, studying the bright, clear eyes of the Benjaminite. He sighed deeply, then softly said, “You have publicly proclaimed a high priest other than Jonathan ben Annas in Jerusalem. You may not leave this city alive.”

  Saul paused, then calmly said, “Perhaps I shall if the Lord leads me to do so. I do not fear what men can do to me, nor can I help but preach Jesus. Thank you for your hospitality, Master Judas.” He raised his hand in a salute. “Now I must go with Ananias to meet with the People of the Way.”

  Judas slowly followed Saul and Ananias to the door and was as unsuspecting as they were when the stones started flying. Seeing Judas’s display of consternation during Saul’s speech, a dozen or so of the men of the Synagogue Moriah had gathered outside the door to wait for Saul. He had taken no more than a couple of steps outside when he saw the men. As he glanced to his right, he barely had time to glimpse the stone that struck him squarely on the head. He saw only stars before his eyes as he fell. He was unconscious just for a moment, and then he realized he was being carried, not by those who would kill him, but by Ananias and the other Nazarenes. They were fighting for him. Stones were striking him even as they were carrying him away.

  Judas was shouting for the mob to disperse. “He has been admonished and will return no more. Let the man go.”

  “Yes, I will return, Master Judas,” said Saul as he blacked out again. His friends carried him away.

  A horseman, riding hard, came upon the scene just as they were taking Saul away. Judas, standing at the door of the synagogue, recognized him as the courier from Jerusalem.

  “A letter from the high priest,” said the man to Judas as Judas reached up for it. He walked back inside and sat down to read it.

  To Judas, Chief Rabbi of Damascus

  Praised Be the Most High.

  Greetings:

  Place Saul of Tarsus under arrest and bring him in chains to this holy Temple. He is to be charged with blasphemy,murder, and certain other traitorous acts and will be tried before the Supreme Council.

  Jonathan ben Annas

  High Priest

  Seal affixed

  At the house of Ananias, his wife, Rebeccah, and the wife of one of the elders had come into the room with pans of warm water. Rebeccah was at the foot of the bed Saul was lying on. A stone had evidently struck him on the big toe of his right foot. As Rebeccah softly bathed it with warm water, Saul moved the foot and a sharp pain shot up his right leg. The other woman was bathing the bruises on his head. Saul closed his eyes, enduring the pain. As Rebeccah was applying a poultice of healing herbs to his foot, Saul whispered,“My body is sown in dishonor, to be raised in power.”

  Ananias touched his fingers to Saul’s eyes and said, “Again your body needs rest and restoration. The Holy Spirit desires to dwell in a healthy temple.”

  Saul lay still, feeling the warm healing herbs at Rebeccah’s hand. And where his head had been aching, the pain had disappeared at Ananias’s touch.

  Saul opened his eyes and looked at Ananias. “Though I am nothing, Ananias,” he said, “even in my nothingness shall I be the chief apostle of Jesus. His grace is sufficient for me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.”

  Saul sat up on the side of the bed, removed the poultice from his foot, and stood up. The women were surprised that he was able to stand so soon, and they were aghast when he walked across the room without a limp and mounted the stairway that led to the open, spacious roof of the house of Ananias. He turned and said to his host as he climbed the stairs, “I shall take pleasure in infirmities for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

  Ananias turned, smiling to his wife. “Tell the other women to call the saints to the rooftop. This day shall be spent in prayer for the new mission that our zealous brother Saul of Tarsus has set for himself.”

  FIVE

  THE WANDERING

  Early in the morning toward the end of the week, Ananias searched the household for Saul and couldn’t find him. His bed had not been slept in, and there was no indication that he had been in the room. Rebeccah was afraid when Ananias awakened her to tell her that Saul had disappeared. She put on her robe, washed her face and hands thoroughly, then, brushing her long black hair before the copper mirror, said, “I fear for Saul, Ananias. I had not mentioned it earlier for fear that you would think it was just women’s idle conversation, but for the last two days I have heard bits of information here and there that there is a plot afoot to kill Saul.”

  Ananias put his arms around his wife, looking at her beautiful but troubled face in the mirror. He said gently, “Where does this talk come from, Rebeccah?”

  She turned and faced her husband. “Indirectly from the Synagogue Moriah,” she said, twisting her hair and arranging it on the back of her head. “I cannot say for sure, but some of the women have reported that Judas, the chief rabbi, sent a messenger to Jerusalem to report to Jonathan ben Annas that Saul had abandoned his mission of destroying our congregation and that he had become one of us.”

  Ananias studied the information for a while, then said, “Saul would be happy for that bit of truth to be broadcast.”He looked at his wife a moment, then turned and walked down the stairs and across the vestibule to the front door. Just as he reached the front door, he heard a noise behind the door to his left that led to the basement. A dim light was shining under the door.

  He opened the door and walked quietly down the stairs. Saul sat on a stool, his head resting on his folded arms on the large horizontal loom where he had worked all night. Dawn was brea
king through a small window near the ceiling, bringing more light into the room now than the nearly burned-out candle hanging from the lamp near Saul’s head.

  Ananias smiled down at the sleeping guest and gently shook him awake. “Saul,” he said sympathetically, “wake up.”

  Saul arose with a start. When he saw Ananias, he smiled sheepishly and rubbed his tired, red eyes.

  “You haven’t slept in your bed,” said Ananias.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” he said.

  Ananias studied him a moment, then asked, “What troubles you, Saul? May I help?”

  Saul slowly turned and walked over to the front wall and looked up at the small window where the sunlight was just breaking through.

  “The Lord Jesus spoke to my mind again last night, Ananias,” said Saul.

  “Did the Lord tell you that your very life is in danger?” asked Ananias.

  Saul walked across the room and stood facing his friend. “I do not fear what men can do to my body. Yet I must survive now to go about the business for which the Lord calls me. Yes, Ananias,” he said, “those who oppose me are quite prepared to kill me, and the Lord does not at this time require martyrdom of me, but service.”

  “What will you do, Saul?” asked Ananias. “The city gates are being watched, and you will be arrested.”

  “I know how you can leave the city safely,” said Rebeccah, descending the stairs. Saul and Ananias turned toward her. “What about the window in the east wall of the city?” she suggested.

  Ananias’s face brightened. The library was next to the eastern wall. The only opening in the wall, barely large enough for a man to squeeze through, was a window on the third floor of the library, the place of ancient scrolls. In this room of the Jewish library were the large scrolls, writings by the prophets and seers of Israel, as well as writings by Solomon and Ezra and many works of commentary on the Prophets. There were timeless precious books on ethics, medicine, agriculture, and philosophy, all meticulously copied from earlier works. Some were on sheepskin, some on parchment, and some on papyrus made from reeds that grew along the Jordan and along the Nile in Egypt. The small window was opened and closed every morning and evening to allow the warm, dry east wind to circulate in the room, protecting the precious scrolls from mold and mildew.