The Making of the Lamb by Robert Bear Read Free Book Online Page A

for Britain.
    “Does Papa agree with this?” asked Jesus.
    “Yes, but he insisted this decision is yours to make.” Mary paused. “He says you are a man now.”
    “Come with us, Jesus. Think of what an adventure it will be!” said Daniel.
    “With Papa so sick, this is hardly the time for me to be off looking for adventures.” Jesus turned to Mary and her uncle. “On the other hand, I do not care about hardship or danger. My Father will protect me.” Seeing Uncle wince, Jesus corrected himself. “I put my faith in God to protect me. But how can I leave you alone, Mother, to take care of Papa?”
    “I won’t be alone. Joseph’s children will help care for him.” Even as Mary said this, she realized there would be trouble on that score. Jesus’s older half-brothers and half-sisters, Joseph’s children by a previous marriage, honored and respected Joseph as their father. They would certainly do everything they could for him. But to them Mary was the stepmother. Still an outsider.
    “Papa has many children,” said Jesus, “but I am your only son, and what kind of son would I be if I left you at a time like this? The Sadducees said they just want to talk to me. Let us hear what they have to say. If I agree to what they ask of me, they may leave us alone.”
    “Perhaps you will find it harder than you think to agree to what the Sadducees want,” said Uncle Joseph.
    “It doesn’t matter. If I must keep my silence to stay with my parents, I will do it.”
    “Daniel and I will stay in the village until I see this matter resolved.”
    “That is very kind of you, Uncle Joseph, but you are wasting your time. My mind is made up to agree to everything they ask of me.”
Joseph
    Uncle Joseph could not stay long at his niece’s house. The Sadducees might be along at any time, and it would not do for him to be found helping Jesus. So, he went with Daniel to find a place to stay among the villagers.
    That evening he remonstrated with his son. “What has gotten into you? You acted this afternoon as if your cousin is a god! He’s only a boy.”
    “But, Papa, I saw it with my own eyes. A divine light glowed within him, and suddenly his body burned as bright as the sun.”
    “The only thing having to do with the sun is that you were out in it too long. Stop this talk at once. Can’t you see how you frightened the boy?” Despite a tepid acknowledgment from Daniel, Joseph feared this would not be the last of his son’s strange behavior.
Mary
    The Sadducees were at the front door an hour after dawn. Jesus let them in. Joseph lay coughing in bed, while Mary sat beside him and applied damp compresses to his forehead. The Sadducees looked in on him and offered a prayer for his recovery. Mary and Jesus joined in and thanked them for their kindness.
    With the unexpected pastoral duty concluded, the first Sadducee, Elimelech, began. “We come under the authority of Annas, the high priest of the temple. He has received reports of your son’s teaching in the temple, and your rabbi informs us that Jesus has continued to interpret Scripture to anyone who will listen.”
    “Did I not speak the truth?” asked Jesus.
    “Everyone was impressed by your knowledge of the Scriptures, but that is not the point.”
    “Pardon me,” said Mary. “As a woman these things are so strange to me. I only see him as my child. Can you explain to me why learned rabbis such as you need to come all the way to Nazareth? Surely, the temple will stand regardless of what my son says.”
    “Not for long, if the Romans hear that we allow talk of a Messiah coming to free our people from their rule.”
    “I understand,” said Jesus.
    “There is also the question of spreading blasphemy,” said Elimelech. “Scripture is full of contradictions. It is one thing to read from Scripture, but we must leave the interpretation in the hands of the rabbis. That is the only way to avoid the spread of error among the people.”
    “If I stop talking about