It is the evening before their crucifixion. Sling and Smiley (who never smiles) stare forward and Jesse is in a corner deep in prayer. Their dungeon is forbidding. The formal names of these men are Saul ben Isaac (Sling), Ezra ben Abraham (Smiley), and Jeshua ben Joseph (Jesse/Jesus).

 

Sling

This can’t be! I’m remembering this. How could I be remembering this? I’ve never been here before. Am I mad? Am I possessed?

 

Smiley

You’re panicking. That’s all.

 

Sling

And you were there and this dungeon and that other guy… what’s his name?

 

Smiley

Who cares? I’ve never been here and neither have you. Once in, no one comes out. We need to concentrate.

 

Sling

You concentrate. I’m about to faint. My wife will hate you for getting us into this. I’ll never see my family again.

 

Smiley

This is the risk we took. What ever you do, don’t let them see you like this, weak. When the time comes you must show the strength our God has given you.

 

Sling

I know.

 

Smiley

Calm yourself. I have an idea. It’s not complete, but it’s a start. Suppose one of us strangles the other two? That way only one of us gets crucified.

 

Sling

How do we decide?

 

Smiley

I don’t know. Maybe throw fingers?

 

(tapping fists and popping out two fingers) No. We need three to get an odd number.

 

 

 

What about him?

Sling

(indicating Jesse)

 

Smiley

Let’s wake him up.

 

(both approach Jesse who has been busy rocking forward and backward in prayer) What about it? Are you willing? … Hey? … YOU! Snap out of it! Did you hear what we said?

Jesse

You interrupt a conversation with God.

 

Sling

But did you hear our idea?

 

Jesse

I heard only God’s voice. Leave me. Let me pray.

 

Sling

We found a way to avoid crucifixion, at least for two of us.

 

Smiley

We throw fingers. Whoever pairs up is strangled by the third. Will you join us?

 

Jesse

No Jew may murder another Jew. The lord made no exceptions.

 

Smiley

He will understand our situation and reward our ingenuity on the Day of Days.

 

Jesse

I think he will wonder why your faith fell short of the holy men who were thrown into the fiery furnace. Why, when you had the chance to show perfect love for your perfect god, you chose the easy way? How will you explain your choice? What special words will you use to talk your way into paradise?

 

Smiley

He’s a rabbi, Sling. Forget it. It’s just us.

 

Jesse

Why do you think the Lord won’t save you? Why do you think a day’s agony isn’t worth Paradise? Do you not believe?

 

Smiley

Just don’t interfere with us.

 

Jesse

I have already interfered with you. Prove your love of God or be forever doomed to the grave.

 

Sling

He has a point.

 

Smiley

I don’t feel relieved.

 

 

 

 

Let’s pray together.

Jesse

(reaching out for their hands)

 

 

Smiley

Don’t touch me.

 

Jesse

(silence)

 

I am Jeshua ben Joseph. Please call me Jesse. I apologize for the anxiety I have just caused you and I will pray that your choice is understood. Will you honor me with your forgiveness?

 

Smiley

I am Ezra ben Abraham. They call me Smiley. This is Saul ben Isaac

 

Sling

Sling. I go by Sling.

 

Smiley

What was your vote?

 

Jesse

At the Sanhedrin?

 

Smiley

Yes.

 

Jesse

Twenty-three innocent and forty-eight guilty. The Zealots wanted me released; insufficient evidence. The rest wanted me on a cross.

 

Sling

Twenty-three!!! We were unanimous. Seventy-one against.

 

Smiley

They found your sling under your robes. Hard to claim innocence.

 

Sling

It looked like a belt.

 

Smiley

A braided six foot leather strip with a pouch in the middle hidden under your clothes looked like a belt?

 

Jesse

So you’re handy with the sling then?

 

Smiley

Handy? No. His hand is guided by angels. He can flick a gnat off the back of a fly.

 

Jesse

I didn’t know possession of a sling was serious enough to crucify you.

 

Sling

There’s more to it. We thought… well… you tell him.

 

Smiley

We planned to assassinate Pilate on his way back to Caesarea once Passover had ended. We found the perfect ambush spot.

 

Sling

His entourage stops for his midday meal at the same place every time. The terrain is perfect. It even allows us a quick getaway.

 

Smiley

He’d smash a lead pellet into Pilate’s skull and then one into the lead carriage horse. Then we disappear. Killing Pilate would make Saul here the new David by killing the new Goliath. It’s the way to trigger the final insurrection. Israel expels Rome, brings about the End Times, and Sling is crowned the messiah. That was the plan anyway.

 

Jesse

Yahweh’s angels would crush Satan’s power and you would reign as the messiah-king.

 

Smiley

The men of Israel need no help from the Lord. Being the sons of God is enough.

 

Jesse

I am sorry you were caught. Who turned you in?

 

Sling

We have suspicions but…

 

Smiley

We have no idea and it’s useless to guess. We are here and we face our fate.

 

(distant laughter echoes through the halls) They laugh at us. Truly they serve the Evil One.

 

Jesse

I don’t think they can hear us. We can’t hear them. Maybe someone said something funny?

 

Smiley

I can’t imaging a Roman soldier finds anything funny unless its our screams.

 

(silence)

 

You sound like a northerner.

 

Jesse

Is it that obvious?

 

Sling

Oh, yes.

 

Jesse

Near Lake Tiberius. You both sound like Jerusalem.

 

Smiley

All our lives and we don’t call it Lake Tiberius here. That name stains our tongue. We call it the Sea of Galilee.

 

Jesse

It’s a fresh water lake.

 

Sling

We know. That’s what we call it though. So, how did you wind up here, rabbi Jesse?

 

Jesse

They caught me preaching the good news from the Temple steps and took offense.

 

Smiley

How long have you been in the Holy City?

 

Jesse

A little over a day. About half way though my preach I looked down at the crowd and saw four Romans advancing on me. Everyone else had scattered. They shoved a leather bag over my head and marched me directly to the Sanhedrin.

 

Smiley

The only safe way to spread the word in Jerusalem is quietly and in very small groups- and absolutely NOT during Passover. There are countless Roman troops in town now, and even more Jewish spies who will gladly rat.

 

Sling

If you grew up here you’d have known that.

 

Smiley

Traitor Jews are worse than the occupiers. They are not sons of God. We do not accept their excuses. You either believe in the destruction of Rome or you don’t. They don’t. We do. How many collaborators have you killed, Sling?

 

Sling

Sixteen for sure and another twenty-two maybe. Badly wounded.  Who knows the actual total?  I do my part. Smiley thinks that why the soldiers always wear their helmets now. They didn’t used to a few years ago.

 

Jesse

You are a true son of Israel.

 

Sling

As are you. Ever use a sling?

 

Jesse

My brothers and I would rock birds eating olives in our orchard. Never hit one. Just kept them off the fruit. It was fun.

 

Sling

You can’t use city technique for orchard birds. Too much wind-up. You’d get spotted. One and a half side revolutions and let it fly. That’s all it takes. Oh, and you need a short sling. I’d have used The Serpent on Pilate. Twice as long. Overhead windup. Very deadly.

 

Smiley

Head explodes like a ripe melon. Beautiful sight. I have to ask… Why did you come down to Jerusalem? The Galilee is so much safer.

 

Jesse

The Galilee had become wicked dangerous for me, Smiley. Herod’s people almost got me.

 

Smiley

Herod!??! Herod Antipater Herod?

 

Jesse

The same. He killed my cousin, second cousin really, and he was coming for me. I had to get beyond his reach.

 

Smiley

Tell us your story, friend.

 

Jesse

It’s a long and complicated one. Stop me if you get bored.

 

Smiley

The longer the better. Takes our mind off things.

 

Jesse

But you’ll stop me if…

 

Smiley

We’ll throw a sandal at your head.

 

Jesse

Good. Well, I suppose I should start with that cousin I mentioned. One morning he gathered us around and announced that an angel had visited him in a dream. He had been ordered to baptize the righteous in the Jordan in preparation for the Judgment Day. So he packed up and walked east to the river.

Before long he had become quite popular. He was actually getting people from as far south as Bethlehem.

 

Smiley

Wait! Is your cousin’s name John?

 

Jesse

Yes! You heard of him?

 

Smiley

Are you kidding? He’s famous. Everyone knows about the Baptizer!

 

Sling

Not everyone. In our group, yes, but …

 

Smiley

In our group then. Yes. He’s wonderful! We went up and got blessed.  He said some powerful things to us.

 

Sling

He gave us the courage to continue the fight. I can’t believe he’s your cousin!

 

Jesse

He’s the holiest person I’ve ever known. Loved him like a brother. For a while I thought he might have been the messiah, but he wasn’t. Did you hear Herod killed him?

 

Smiley and Sling

No!

 

Smiley

We noticed people had stopped heading up to the river. We didn’t know why.

 

Jesse

Some said Herod was furious because John had criticized his divorce and quick marriage. Others said all the baptizing was making him nervous. Who knows?

 

Smiley

 

So you decided to take over his baptizing?

 

(Sling and Smiley gradually become enthralled with Jesse’s tale)

 

Jesse

Not baptizing. After we heard he news my wife and I trekked to the pool John had used. A sorrow pilgrimage. The night of our arrival, I had a dream. Its power nearly stopped my heart. An angel, maybe the same one who visited John, appeared to me and commanded me to continue his work, but not as a baptizer, and not as just a messenger but the messenger. I was commanded to spread the word to Jews throughout the land- “The Day of the Lord was at hand.” … and …  “Ours is the generation that will be the living witness to the Great Day.” I, a simple wheelwright, have been chosen to spread the great good news. The eternal wait we Children of God have endured is finally coming to an end. My message was … is … to persuade those who would listen that they still had time to purify themselves, to become worthy of admission to the coming paradise. Prepare for the Final Judgment. No time to delay. Love one another without reserve. Keep the law with perfect strictness but always, always in the light of total love. Our generation has been chosen to witness the greatest miracle. Glory arrives!

 

(Smiley and Sling stare silently at Jesse)

 

Are you not joyful? Do you doubt? Do you think the angel lied?

 

Smiley

Dawn brings torture, not joy.

 

(silence ensues)

 

So, continue. What did you do?

 

Jesse

First, I made a plan. My brother James and I decided to head north up to Lake Tiberius, sell some wheels so we could buy lots of salted fish. We’d be on the road for a long time and would need something to eat. But they gave it to us free.

 

Sling

Why free?

 

Jesse

I told some fishermen the great news and they just gave their fish to us. In fact, one of the men dropped his net and joined us. He was my first follower.

 

Smiley

What about your brother?

 

Jesse

True. He was my first.

 

Sling

Wait. You have followers?

 

Jesse

At first only a few but by year’s end I had I don’t know how many. Some literally followed me. I went to most every village in Galilee. It helped a lot when they learned I was John’s cousin. That got them to listen. Then they came alive with the message. You could see the light in their eyes.

 

Smiley

No one has ever heard such good news.

 

Jesse

There has never been such good news.

 

Sling

You did this for a year?

 

Jesse

More. Get free fish and then roam the country. People started feeding us and I started to give away our fish. I fed their hopes and bellies.

 

Sling

And Herod?

 

Jesse

Early on we knew we couldn’t stay in Nazareth. I was known to live there. So, I set up a base camp on the Jordan, close to where we were all baptized. Very beautiful and very hidden. On our way back to it we go word it had been discovered so we changed course and headed south to a little village I knew called Cana. The patriarch, Micah, was about to marry off his youngest daughter. When my group showed he invited me to give the benediction. Just as I had finished, Micah’s wife emerged and whispered in his ear.  He raised up his arms and grandly announces that his son had been stricken ill and turned to me and asked if I would go inside and tend him. Of course I agreed. It was all a ruse.

Micah had no son and we all knew it. I slipped away and escaped certain capture.

 

Smiley

How did Micah’s wife know you were in danger?

 

Jesse

She noticed that several horsemen had arrived as I was speaking. They were dressed like Syrians. Everyone knew Herod had murdered my cousin, and that I would be next.

 

Sling

A miracle.

 

Jesse

Truly.

 

Smiley

And the wedding?

 

Jesse

Went forward as though nothing had happened. Funny thing though.  Micah wasn’t expecting the whole village to show up but, since word got out that I would be there, everyone came. He had bought enough food to cover the extra people but had to dip into his own private reserve to give everyone a taste of wine. I offered to pay but he refused. God is great.

 

Smiley and Sling

Amen

 

(We hear the dungeon door creek open and the three men back away. Leo enters. He is an older man dressed in fine Roman raiment. He carries a wicker plate of strawberries. He has a wine skin under his tunic. After a tense silence Leo kneels.)

 

Leo

I am Leo. Please don’t kill me.

 

(He pushes the strawberries toward the others. After a pause, Sling and Smiley slowly walk toward the kneeling Leo.)

 

Smiley

What say you, Sling? Shall you kill him or shall I?

 

Sling

Or shall we both and share the glory?

 

Smiley

Both

 

Leo

May I tell you why killing me would not be in your interest?

 

Smiley

Please do. This just got more fun.

 

Leo

If you kill me, the tortures you receive tomorrow may extend past sundown. The guards may decide to keep you alive for as long as they can. You may even live to see a second day.

 

Smiley

Why would they care? We would save them the trouble of crucifying you.

 

Leo

I’m getting beheaded. Besides, they like me. I made friends with them. That’s why they gave me those strawberries. I told them my son was in the army and then I made them laugh.

 

Smiley

How did you make them laugh?

 

Leo

I told them the joke that got me condemned. They thought it was funny.

 

Jesse

Your joke deserved the death sentence? I don’t think I’ve ever hear one that funny.

 

Leo

I actually just translated it and the target of the joke was deeply offended. He came after me with his knife.

 

Jesse

But it wasn’t your joke. Why did you get blamed?

 

Leo

Convenience.

 

Sling

You’re dressed like a great lord.

 

Leo

I am dressed to attend a reception given by Pontius Pilate for a top Persian trade emissary. He was the butt of the joke but spoke no Latin. He demanded to know what was so funny. It fell to me to deliver the insult. The question is ‘why didn’t Pilate use his own translator?’ Why me?

 

Jesse

Why you?

 

Leo

Pilate chose to insult my House by forcing its translator to deliver the offense knowing that my lord could not intervene. And that insult, gentlemen, will not go unnoticed in Rome. Of course, the translation provoked a second round of laughter. That put the Persian in a white rage. I’m lucky the guards stopped him before he got to me.

 

Smiley

Why didn’t he attack the joke-maker?

 

Leo

Because the joker is the head of Pilate’s guard. Attack him and the Persian would be dead before he hit the floor. He attacked the logical substitute.

 

Jesse

And Pilate offered you as the sacrificial atonement.

 

Leo

 

… and will live to regret it.

 

Sling

What was the joke?

 

Leo

It was a pun actually. I could tell it to you in Latin if you like, or I could translate it into your language but it wouldn’t make sense in Aramaic.

 

Jesse

We have a word for what you are: scapegoat.

 

Leo

I know almost no Hebrew.

 

Jesse

Once a year Jews hold a ritual where we heap all our transgressions against God onto the back of a goat…

 

Smiley

… or a donkey…

 

Jesse

… or a donkey and then drive it south into the desert. We expiate our sins.

 

Leo

That’s convenient. Does it work?

 

Sling

Of course. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.

 

Leo

What happens to the goat?

 

Smiley

Someone grabs it the next day and becomes one goat richer. It never suffers. It all works out.

 

Leo

Then yes, I am a scapegoat but with no expectation of rescue. Try the strawberries. Late in the season, very sweet. Pilate tolerates only the best.

 

Sling

How do we know they’re not poison?

 

Leo

I’ll eat one. You pick.

 

Smiley

All the better if the are, Slinger. Think about it. I have a proposal for you, Roman. You kill us (indicating Sling and himself) and we will not kill you. What say you?

 

Leo

(after a pause)

The guards expect three crucifixions. They’ll compensate for the deficit with me if they have to. They won’t like it, but they will do it. I think I’ll have to decline. May I ask you a question?

 

Smiley

Me?

 

Leo

To any who can answer.

 

Smiley

Ask away.

 

Leo

What is barabbas?

 

(silence)

 

Smiley

Anyone know that word?

 

Jesse

Not me. Where did you hear it?

 

Leo

The reception. Just before my fatal pun we heard a chant from the courtyard below. “Give us barabbas. Give us barabbas.” No one knew what barabbas was. Most thought it was a wine, a few thought it was some kind of Passover bread.

 

Sling

What did you guess?

 

Leo

I thought it mean freedom but I didn’t offer a guess.

 

Jesse

Barabbas? It does sound like a wine. Is that something local?

 

Smiley

Maybe the chanting crowd were Syrians or Egyptians. We get all sorts of Jews at Passover.

 

Jesse

 

Maybe it was actually two words; bar abbas- son of the father.

 

Leo

So it might have been a man’s name?

 

Sling

No. We get our names from our sacred scripture. It can’t be a name.

 

Smiley

If it were a nickname, it‘s not a good one. What man is not the son of his father?

 

Sling

Your son is in the Roman army?

 

Leo

Fifth Macedonica. He loves it. With your skills you’d be an honored member of the Fifth, Sling.

 

Sling

Since you meant that as a compliment I will not gouge your eyes out.

 

Leo

Yes. Thank you. I was inconsiderate. I apologize. Have some berries.

 

Sling

I just realized I haven’t eaten today. Neither of us have.

 

(Gathers up the plate of berries and handing them out to Smiley and Jesse, and paces.) These are amazing.

Leo

It’s good to be rich.

 

Jesse

Some would debate that.

 

Leo

Why didn’t you take one?

 

Jesse

I want to feel the gnaw in my gut. Will you have some?

 

Leo

I had my fill in the kitchen just before the reception.

 

Smiley

Your new friend here was days away from assassinating Pilate.

 

 

 

 

 

EZRA!

Sling

(Stops pacing)

 

 

Smiley

What? It’s not like it’s a secret any more. We should be proud. Let’s tell him.

 

Sling

Not me.

 

Smiley

Pilate and his entourage return home to Caesarea on the great road once Passover ends. They always stop for their midday meal at the same spot. Been doing it for years. It’s a perfect place for an ambush. One lead pellet to his head. Sling doesn’t miss. His hand is guided by the Lord. We worked out a foolproof escape, too.

 

Leo

Killing Pilate would get several thousand Jews massacred. Surely you know that.

 

Smiley

We’ve been enduring massacres for a thousand years. This one would have triggered the End of Days. The messiah is ready to destroy Rome and establish world rule by the new King of Israel. Praise God!

 

Sling and Jesse

Praise god.

 

Leo

Romans have war gods, too. It would take more than a god to destroy the Imperium. Time is Rome’s only enemy and, at the moment, Janus favors Romulus.

 

Smiley

There is only one god and his name is Yahweh.

 

Leo

… and that belief is one of the reasons why Romans like Jews. Not that we think you’re right, but that you draw such confidence in your belief despite your own history. Rome has no enemies left, gentlemen. These days it only protects the imperial borders and maintains order. Its power is staggering, Ezra. Tell me, do you Israelites have an army, a navy, siege machinery? You have a god, yes, but to you have an army?

 

Smiley

We have a thousand year, unbreakable faith.

 

Leo

And that faith, I fear, will eventually get your holy city reduced to rubble and your people enslaved. There is nothing- and I say this with my knowledge of Roman imperial finances- nothing more

 

valuable than slave labor. And there are those in the Senate who advocate moving on Judea now and making slaves of you. That will happen if and when we weary of the perpetual annoyances you Jews cause Rome. Pray that that day never arrives. Pray your god gives you insight into your fate. I tell you this as a friend, Smiley. I truly do. Sling, may I use you to demonstrate?

 

(Sling looks to Smiley and gets an approving nod. Sling follows Leo’s directions.)

 

Good. Hold your arm our straight. Thank you. Sling, gentlemen, is the Roman Empire- head to toe. Note its size.

 

Smiley

What is the head?

 

Leo

Britannia. It’s a large island far to the northwest and inhabited by fierce warriors. And, believe it or not, some have red hair and blue eyes.

 

Sling

I don’t believe it.

 

Jesse

Where’s Jerusalem?

 

Leo

(to Sling)

Now make a fist and stick out your thumb. (Sling does so) The arm is the region cupping the eastern edge of the Roman Sea- from Greece down to the Sinai desert. The thumb is Palestine. That top knuckle is Judea. See the fingernail? That’s Jerusalem. These, gentlemen, are the proportions of the Empire. If Rome tires of the continual uprisings in Judea and decides the aggravation is no longer worth the candle, it will send in a hundred thousand troops and extract that fingernail. It will burn Jerusalem to the ground, enslave the population, carry off anything of value, and reduce your great temple to rubble. Your Holy of Holies will disappear. Jews will lose their ancient homeland and be dispersed. If you thought what Babylonia did was bad, just wait until Rome takes its turn. As you can see, it will indeed take an all-powerful god to prevent that catastrophe.

 

(silence ensues)

 

Jesse

Yahweh has promised his people that a king in the line of David will appear, lead an army- perhaps composed of angels, perhaps not- and eradicate Rome. He will then take the throne as the King of Israel and rule the world. All who have died will rise from their graves and be judged either worthy of admission to the new earthly paradise, or be returned to the dirt.

 

Leo

What about the people who are alive when all this comes about?

 

Jesse

 

We will be judged, too. Those who qualify will enter. Those who do not will perish.

 

Leo

And if none of that happens?

 

Jesse

Our God does not break promises.

 

Smiley

Yes he does.

 

Sling

Shut up.

 

Leo

Let’s say these prophecies come about. What happens to people like me? Am I resurrected or is it just the Jews?

 

Jesse

That’s just the kind of question we rabbi-types like to chew on. Personally, I think everyone will be restored and judged. Others think only Jews.

 

Leo

Might non-Jews be admitted to the paradise?

 

Smiley

Of course not. They didn’t follow Jewish law. They didn’t even know it existed.

 

Jesse

Ah… I see Smiley is also a rabbi! You should know, Leo, that we Jews love nothing more than to argue. We settle nothing, of course, but it passes the time. No one truly knows the mind of God. To claim otherwise is blasphemy.

 

Sling

This stuff is why I pace. Can we please change the subject? All this messiah talk is making my teeth ache.

 

Leo

Messiah… There’s a Hebrew word I don’t know.

 

Smiley

Explain it, Jess.

 

Sling

Nooooooooooo

 

Jesse

 

Okay… Originally, technically, a messiah was just someone who had been anointed in a ceremony conducted by a priest. The high priest would anoint the king, so our anointed kings would have all been messiahs. In these modern times, the word has taken on a very special, very large meaning. The messiah will be anointed by God to purge evil from the world, set up a never-ending kingdom, and rule paradise. And paradise will be the restoration of the time on earth when no suffering, no want, no unpleasantness exists.

 

Leo

I know this paradise well. Slaves like to worship Saturn. He is an old god who ruled the world when the ideal life was lived. No slavery. Just bliss. Speaking of which… try the wine.

 

(pulling a wine skin from under a cloak) Compliments from one of the richest families in the world.

Smiley

The guards gave you wine?

 

Leo

I make friends easily.

 

Jesse

I must decline. My mind must be clear.

 

Leo

That just leaves you two. If I even put wine in my mouth, my head swells and throat starts to close. Bacchus left me with a curse. Drink up, friends.

 

Smiley

Thank you, Roman. You are a good man.

 

(Smiley and Sling swap squirts and drink until it’s almost gone)

 

Why does Rome enslave us, Leo. We offer no threat. We would trade willingly. We are a peaceful people. Why are you cursed Romans even here?

 

Leo

For the same reason the Greeks held the territory, and the Persians, and before that the Babylonians…

 

Jesse

… and the Assyrians and the Egyptians. But why? The question is why?

 

Leo

Because you Jews have been cursed with proximity, young man. Your little strip of earth is the roadway that connects the great bounty of Egypt to all points north. But, it hasn’t been all bad, has it? Do pirates roam the sea? No. Rome eliminated them. Do the hills swarm with bandits?  No.  Rome has brought law. Are there distant wars? Perhaps, but none roil within Rome’s great imperium. Trade

 

thrives everywhere, and trade means wealth, and wealth brings goodness.  So, let me ask you this. Why do the Jews hate us? Do we not let you run your affairs and worship your god? Your lives would be far easier if you accepted us.

 

Jesse

You defile God’s earth with your presence. We have no choice but to resist. One day you will be gone. God is great.

 

Smiley and Sling

God is great.

 

Leo

Very well. Your god is great. Your answer sounds an awful lot like a hope.

 

Sling

Uh… this wine is great. I am drunk already. Does it carry a spell?

 

Leo

Yes. The guards laced the grape with tears of the poppy. I wish I could enjoy it with you. We’d be blessed with a dreamless sleep.

 

Sling

You are a good man, Roman. I hope we see you again in paradise.

 

Leo

I would like nothing more.

 

Jesse

You do make friends easily. You are my first Roman. We don’t get many up in Galilee. Soldiers mostly.

 

(Smiley and Sling have passed out)

 

Leo

They’d be very unlikely to speak Aramaic.

 

Jesse

Am I your first Jew?

 

Leo

I grew up with Aramaic speaking Jews. Rome is home to many of your tribe.

 

Jesse

Is it as beautiful as Jerusalem?

 

Leo

Unfair comparison. Rome is many times larger than Jerusalem and, while parts are desperately grim,

 

others are beyond compare. Many buildings are polished marble. The prettiest city I’ve seen, and I’ve seen most, is Alexandria. I hope if your paradise comes about it will look like Alexandria. The libraries! They are acquiring all that wisdom that has ever been written.

 

Jesse

Are our holy scriptures there?

 

Leo

In Hebrew and in Greek.

 

Jesse

Greek befouls the word.

 

Leo

Even for Jews who don’t know Hebrew?

 

Jesse

Especially to them. Most especially.

 

(Leo takes the wine skin as sprinkles a little on the garments of the sleeping men)

 

Leo

It wouldn’t have worked. The Pilate assassination plan. It wouldn’t have worked.

 

Jesse

If he is really as good with a sling as he…

 

Leo

Pilate isn’t returning home to Caesarea. He’s heading south to Gaza, sailing to Alexandria, and then across the sea to Rome.

 

Jesse

Is Rome recalling him?

 

Leo

Maybe. Who knows? I doubt it. Judea has been stable under him… at least as stable as could be expected.

 

 

 

 

What are you doing? Don’t do that.

Jesse

(noticing Leo’s actions)

 

 

Leo

I am asking Bacchus to implore Mars to fortify these men with iron so they can endure tomorrow’s suffering. They are good men and warriors. Mars will approve.

 

Jesse

 

They’re Jews! Mars will curse them.

 

Leo

Mars is the god of all war. He doesn’t care who engages. He just likes fighting.

 

Jesse

Well don’t do it. These men believe in the one true god and this offering is offensive to him. You risk their future in paradise.

 

Leo

Wouldn’t your god approve a prayer to another god it that prayer gave grace to one of his worshipers.

 

Jesse

Your prayers are empty. They may be well intentioned but they dissolve in the air. There is only Yahweh. And you insult those men.

 

Leo

Those men are asleep.

 

Jesse

Well, you insult me by praying to a false god in my presence.

 

Leo

Jesse, I meant no disrespect. Forgive me.

 

Jesse

I apologize to you for my anger. Your intention is what counts.

 

Leo

Well look at us, a couple of old friends finding peace. But, tell me this, Jesse. How could it be there is but one god if there are also false gods?

 

Jesse

You prayed to the evil spirit that rules the earth. Our name for him is Satan. Any god not Yahweh is Satan, and Satan isn’t a god but an evil spirit with power second only to god’s.

 

Leo

We Romans would apply the word ‘god’ to this Satan spirit you describe. He sounds more powerful than Jupiter and Mars combined.

 

Jesse

He is, but he’s not a god. He’s a spirit.

 

Leo

We Latins call your argument circular logic and try to avoid them.

 

Jesse

 

You would have made a good rabbi. We love these sorts of tangles. Tell me about your family.

 

Leo

Wife. Three living children. I mentioned the one with the Macedonica. There’s also a younger son whose language skills are like mine, and my daughter who works along side my wife in the main kitchen of the country villa. Every time I set out on a journey my heart breaks a little. It breaks now knowing I will never see them again.

 

Jesse

I will pray for them.

 

Leo

And I will pray for…. no. I will think kindly upon your family. Tell me of them.

 

Jesse

Wife, only one child- a son, many brothers and sisters, my mother and my father. Half my family came with me to Jerusalem. They worry about me.

 

Leo

Do they know you’re in here?

 

Jesse

I’m sure they do. Leo, you show no fear.

 

Leo

Neither do you. In my case by death will be instantaneous and bring about much good. My children will all be freed, including my soldier boy. Master Lucian will be saddened. He …

 

Jesse

Are you a slave?

 

Leo

Yes. In a few hours my head and I will be free. That is a great solace. I’m feeling fear and regret, sure. But mostly I feel elated. Many good things will flow from my passing. The House of Altrua will collect a large judgment against the House of Pontii thanks to the craven weakness of Pilate. But you, Jesse, you face an unthinkably painful end yet you are even tempered. You even ask about me. How is it you are unrocked?

 

Jesse

I will tell you something that I have only hinted at, and even then only to my closest followers. I will tell you who I am and what I am. I do this because you are not a Jew. Telling one of my people would stun them into silent. Or provoke rage, or laughter. Leo, I am the messiah foretold. I can not be killed tomorrow. God will rescue me and set in motion the final days of this Age of Satan. Yahweh will use me as his king of Israel. I will break Rome. I will be at his side when he raises from the dead every person who has ever drawn breath. I will be there when he judges them. I banish evil with the power God gives me, and will reign over the sanctified earth. This is who I am, Leo. I am the anointed one. I am the end of one age and the beginning of another- the final age. I did not ask for this, Leo. I was

 

selected. I am the end of history.

 

(silence)

 

I don’t ask you to believe me.

 

Leo

If you are this person and I hope you are, I truly do, why are you here? What purpose does this imprisonment serve?

 

Jesse

A moment ago, just before you asked me who I was, I couldn’t have answered that but now I know. I am here to have this conversation with you. I know who you are Leo, and you are not who you say. You are a messenger of the lord. You are an angel in the flesh. God has sent you to focus my mind. Saying it all out loud has just done that. You have removed the doubt I didn’t know I carried. You have opened me.

 

Leo

I am only me. I am no angel. I am an aging slave who is ready to die.

 

Jesse

You are a god send who appears in the form of a Roman. I see now those prayers to Saturn and Mars were a brilliant touch.

 

Leo

I… I…

 

Jesse

Say nothing. I can pray in deep peace now. Please, I beg you place your palm on my forehead, angel Leo. I beg you.

 

(Leo does so. Jesse emerges as if in a trance.)

 

I am anointed. Thank you Father. I go forth now and live in your fullness.

 

(Jesse wanders off to a corner and prays in the manner we first saw him do.)

 

Leo

(to the audience)

He will die tomorrow without ever knowing himself. Maybe it’s best that way. I hope he prays right up until the hood goes on. Maybe he will still keep his faith through the whippings. Maybe he can even sustain it through his last breath. I hope he never knows his god has forsaken him. Were I him, I’d know.  I’d ask this god why he allows his good men to undergo crucifixion suicide as an act of  worship? I’d ask him what kind of monster god would do this to his adoring people? I think maybe Yahweh is really the Satan god. Rome has no god like this. How can anyone worship this god?  Jews are a mystery.

 

The three were stripped naked, shackled, and hooded. No one said a word. Tiber, the guard who promised his blade would be at its sharpest for my neck, returned once the others had been delivered. He opened the cell door and pointed to the pile of clothes left on the floor. “take one, put it on, and leave through the opening at the end of the hall.” I said “But my head is to be a trophy.” “No, we found a replacement for yours. You are free.” Then he gave me some very good advice. He said I should change my name to something Jewish. I selected Jesse’s garment from the pile and, let me tell you, it was beautifully made. I slipped it on, found the sunlight, and just sat on a stone. For a long time. I had suddenly begun a second life. I eventually made my way to the crucifixion. The usual crowd was there, plus several women. You never see women at crucifixions. They had to be Jeshua’s followers. Then, when it became clear that Jesse had died, I slowly approached them and told them of my evening. The oldest one stared at me and finally asked my name. Without even thinking I said ‘Barabbas’.

 

~ The End ~