The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman Read Free Book Online Page A

Baptist came to Galilee and told him what had happened; and Jesus, wanting to be alone, went out in a boat by himself. No one knew where he had gone, but Christ let one or two people know, and soon the word got around. When Jesus came ashore in what he thought would be a lonely place, he found a great crowd waiting for him.
    He felt sorry for them, and began to speak, and some people who were sick felt themselves uplifted by his presence, and declared themselves cured.
    It was nearly evening, and Jesus's disciples said to him, 'This is the middle of nowhere, and all these people need to eat. Tell them to go away now, and find a village where they can buy food. They can't stay here all night.'
    Jesus said, 'They don't need to go away. As for food, what have you got between you?'
    'Five loaves and two fishes, master; nothing else.'
    'Give them to me,' said Jesus.
    He took the loaves and the fishes, and blessed them, and then said to the crowd, 'See how I share this food out? You do the same. There'll be enough for everyone.'
    And sure enough, it turned out that one man had brought some barley cakes, and another had a couple of apples, and a third had some dried fish, and a fourth had a pocketful of raisins, and so on; and between them all, there was plenty to go round. No one was left hungry.
    And Christ, watching it all and taking notes, recorded this as another miracle.

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    The Informant, and the Canaanite Woman
    But Christ couldn't follow Jesus everywhere. It would have attracted notice, and by this time he was sure he should remain very much in the background. Accordingly, he asked one of the disciples to tell him what happened when he wasn't there keeping it quiet, of course.
    'There's no need to tell Jesus about it,' Christ told him. 'But I'm keeping a record of his wise words and his marvellous deeds, and it would be a great help if I could rely on an accurate report.'
    'Who is this for?' said the disciple. 'It's not for the Romans, is it? Or the Pharisees or the Sadducees?'
    'No, no. It's for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Every kingdom has its historian, or how would we know of the great deeds of David and Solomon? That's my role: just a simple historian. Will you help me?'
    The disciple agreed, and soon he had something to tell. It happened when Jesus was away from Galilee, travelling in the coastal region between Tyre and Sidon. Evidently his fame had already reached those parts, because a woman from that district, a Canaanite, heard he was passing by and came running to cry out:
    'Have mercy on me, son of David!'
    She addressed him like that despite the fact that she was a Gentile. However, it made little impression on Jesus, who took no notice of her, though the woman's cries began to annoy the disciples who were with him.
    'Send her away, master!' they said.
    Finally he turned to her and said, 'I haven't come to speak to the Gentiles. I'm here for the house of Israel, not for you.'
    'But please, master!' she said. 'My daughter is tormented by a demon, and I've got no one else to ask!' And she threw herself to her knees in front of him and said, 'Lord, help me!'
    'Should I take food meant for the children, and throw it to the dogs?' Jesus said.
    But this woman was clever enough to find an answer, and she said, 'Even the dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table.'
    That answer pleased him, and he said, 'Woman, your faith has saved your daughter. Go home and find her well.'
    The disciple reported this, and Christ wrote it down.

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    The Woman with the Ointment
    Shortly afterwards Jesus had another encounter with a woman, and the disciple reported this as well. It happened in Magdala at a private dinner in the house of a Pharisee called Simon. A woman of the city heard he was there, and came bringing Jesus a gift of ointment in an alabaster jar. The host let her in and she knelt before Jesus and wept, bathing his feet