Is This Him?

The Man was silent, standing on the ornate Roman stage. Judith had heard of this Man before; traveling around, preaching, and performing miracles. But, today He did not utter a word as the growing crowd around Judith yelled, "Crucify!" She edged closer to the crowd, straining to hear Pontus Pilot. What did this man do? she thought. She studied the man intently. He looked determined. He looked like He was ready. Ready for what? A man close to Judith bellowed, “Death!” She flinched, turning away. “Drunkard,” a woman muttered. Judith looked back over the ever-growing crowd. Heads bobbed in the sea of people, fists pumped the air. Normally placid people were screaming, spit flying from their mouths. She looked again at the drunkard. Why was he here? What was the crowd doing? She racked her brain for answers, staring at the silent Man. Unless... was this the man Isaiah had talked of? The Lamb? Judith staggered, her ears ringing with the truth of it. "No," she whispered. She looked again towards the stage and began to lose her breath. Two guards brought out Barabbas, the murderer. "No." She couldn't let this happen. The Man was innocent! She tore through the crowd, knocking into people, frantically searching for her father. "Yaaah!!" A scream rose from Barabbas. Judith saw the criminal lift his hands in triumph. They were unshackled. Fear pierced her heart, running through her veins, forcing her to stop. She watched as the Man was led off the stage, Barabbas's shackles on his hands. Barabbas lept of the stage, jumping between people. He was hunched, his eyes darting around the crowd. A small child began to cry. The crowd backed away from him, giving him some space while they shouted at the Man. Barabbas took off running, no doubt searching for his criminal friends. But, Judith didn't care where he went. She only cared about that Man. She ran searching for the governor's headquarters, dust billowing behind her. Once she found it, she searched the walls, looking for a crack, window, anything! On the fourth side was a window, just above her head. She stood on tiptoe, clinging to the ledge, just barely able to see. She watched in horror as the entire battalion was brought out to see the King of the Jews. She could tell He had already been flogged. A scarlet robe was draped around His shoulders, and a crown of thorns was placed on His head. Blood burst from His head, trickling down. Judith cried, silently. "Hail, King of the Jews!" The soldiers mocked Him and laughed. "Our King," another said bowing, "Your Majesty." They punched each other's shoulders and pointed. Like they're at a party, Judith thought. She clenched her jaw. Anger rose in her, boiling hot. They spat in his face, saliva mixing with blood. They took reeds and hit Him on the head, His crown digging in deeper. He groaned in pain, giving them a perfect excuse to mock Him. Judith couldn't look any longer. She wouldn't. She turned away. But, she could not escape this sight. Pilate brought Him back out. "Behold, the Man!" The crowd yelled, "Crucify!" Judith couldn't believe it. These were her people, her neighbors! She could see the donkeyman and the man with a vineyard. I have talked to these people? We had had a sensible conversation? What are they doing? She stood in a haze, watching Pilate yell and the crowd shout. Her ears pounded with the noise, her eyes were filled with tears. Finally, Pilate took the Man back into the headquarters. She could hear a man rallying the people, saying this man deserves to die. It was as if he was igniting anger in them, convincing them to do what he said. Pilate came back out with the Man looking shaken. Again, the Jews cried, "Crucify!" They said if Pilate released the Man, he would not be Caesar's friend. Bingo. What better way to get a man to do what you want than to say he was not pleasing Caesar? Judith felt as if she could see the lie, black and oily, slip into Pilate's ear and resonate in his brain. They shouted some more, deciding this Man's fate. It was as if whoever could shout the loudest would win. The Jews were louder. "Shall I crucify your King?" Pilate asked the crowd. "We have no king but Caesar!" they answered. Judith turned red with rage. God was their King! Were they no longer His people? Or had the anger kindled inside of them made them forget? Pilate gave in. He delivered the Man to be crucified. Another man, Simon, was brought out. They told him to carry the Man's cross. He carried it up to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. It took a long time, the Man was bleeding and bruised and dying. The crowd followed up the hill. Judith joined a group of women- His disciples- in crying. She couldn't believe the injustice of it all. The Man told them not to weep for Him, but to weep for themselves. The soldiers laid the cross on the ground, Judith could see the rough edges and the splinters. The Man laid down on it, putting His feet on the tiny ledge. They nailed Him to it; big, sharp, rusty nails. He was crying and groaning, flinching with each pound of the merciless hammer. They tied ropes to the cross, lifting it between two crosses. Pilate had a sign nailed to the top of His cross, saying, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." The leaders told him to take it down. But, Pilate said, "What I have written I have written." So, they joined in with the crowd jeering at Him. "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" Judith could hear them, but she couldn't see them or understand them. She kneeled on the grown, vaguely aware of the insults and the soldiers casting lots for His clothes. Her face was streaked with tears, dust, and dirt. She saw the Man talking to the criminal. One criminal said, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" The other said, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." The Man turned to Him, trying to smile but grimacing instead. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," the criminal pleaded. The Man nodded, and said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Judith couldn't imagine any sort of paradise in the middle of this place. The day grew dark around Judith, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. She knew her father would be looking for her. But, she didn't move. She sat there, crying and praying that it would all stop. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" the Man cried. Judith cried with Him. A bystander gave Him sour wine to drink. Another one said, "Let's see if Elijah will rescue Him." The Man cried out again, an agonizing cry that broke Judith's cracking heart down the middle. "It is finished!" Each word was a struggle, a fight to string the words together. Then, He was dead. Judith felt as if she would never be happy again. The ground beneath her shook as if someone were tipping the world upsidedown. Someone fell on top of Judith, yelping in fear. Judith pushed him off, not caring that he was scared. Rocks split open, and she heard people screaming near the graves and the temple. People screamed and ran, dirt billowed, no one could see properly. A soldier cried, "Truly this was the Son of God!" Judith nodded her head, sobbing on the floor. She whispered, "He was our King." ​---------- Three days. It had been three days since Judith had last seen the Man. Last seen His “trial.” Last seen His torture. Last seen His death. She could hear His agonizing voice in her head. She could see the blood painting the splintering cross. She could feel the bystander fall on top of her as the Man gave up His life. She lived in a sense of overwhelming sadness. She wouldn’t- couldn’t- move on. As she trudged to His grave tears fell on the bottles of spice she carried. She knew the other women’s spices were wet too. She trudged for minutes, hours, days; she didn’t know. She could barely see through the tears in her eyes. Mary wept openly beside her. “Who will roll away the stone?” someone said. Judith remembered the stone. They rolled it in front of His tomb. A giant, heavy, terrible stone. They sealed Him from the outside world. When Judith watched the last opening being covered by the stone, she felt as if they were covering her path to happiness. She still couldn’t understand what had happened, what was happening. She still couldn’t believe that He was de- A tremble rose from the ground, shaking Judith. She looked up at the other women who had come to see the Man. Fear was painted on their faces. The last time this had happened, He had died. Another earthquake shot from the ground. Judith was thrown forward and one of her jars broke. She cried out, scared of what was happening. That day on the hill flashed through her mind, overwhelming her. No, she thought. She couldn’t do that again. Panic surged through her. Her stomach leapt to her throat, leaving a pit. She cried out again as the ground rocked. Mary was on her knees beside her, her eyes darting around, panic evident in her breathing. Judith grabbed Mary's hand. One woman yelled, "Look!" Judith and Mary looked up to see an angel from Heaven before them. Judith stood up, spice staining her dress. He was beautiful and terrible at the same time. He commanded power, his wings beating behind him. His clothes were white as snow and his appearance was like lightning. He moved to the terrible stone in long strides. He braced himself, then pushed the stone, his muscles glistening. The stone rolled easily. It toppled to the ground, laying helplessly next to the tomb. Judith gasped. What in the world was happening? The angel sat down on the stone. He smiled at the women as if nothing extraordinary was happening. The women cowered together, terrified yet yearning to see the angel. Judith was breathing hard, holding Mary's hand. She gripped it tightly, her fingers turning white. "Don't be afraid," the angel said, his voice like music. His teeth were perfectly white, his words like a beautiful violin spilling from his mouth. "You are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified," the angel continued. There were scattered nods from the group of women, some with tears streaking their faces. The angel gave a soft laugh, then said, "He is not here; He has risen like He said He would." Some of the women had hope playing in their eyes, their knees trembling in anticipation. Others, though, looked hesitant. Scared. They didn't want to have their hopes dashed as their happiness had been. The angel smiled again at them, hope surging through Judith's veins. "Come and see the tomb for yourself." Judith took the first tentative step. Then the women ran to the tomb. They had to know- they needed to know. Was their King alive? Judith reached the tomb first. It didn't smell of dead people. She looked on the bed where the Man should have been. His clothes were folded at the foot of the bed and His headcloth was at the head. Judith gasped and fell to her knees. "He's gone," she whispered. "No," Mary said, a smile on her face. "He's alive." "Go," the angel said, "tell his disciples, 'He is alive and is going to Galilee. There you will see Him." The women gasped and laughed in a state of unbelief. "Now I have told you," the angel said, more to himself than to the women. The women looked at each other, their heads filled with light, a weight lifted off their shoulders. Then they took off running. The women left behind their spices, left the tomb, left the angel. They ran to tell the disciples what had happened. They were going to tell everyone. "He's alive!" they yelled. "He has risen!" They shouted and laughed, their hair whipping behind them, their dresses billowing. Judith whooped, splashing into puddles, her sandals flopping as she ran. "Our King!" she yelled. "Our King is alive! Our King has risen!" The other women echoed her. "Our King! Our King!" She closed her eyes and opened her arms. She felt like a bird flying high in the sky. But then the other women silenced. She looked back at them, confused. "What?" she asked. No one said anything. Mary pointed in front of them. Judith turned and found the Man in front of her. Judith gasped, her hand flying to her heart. "My King," she whispered. The Man smiled and opened up His arms. "Greetings," He said. Judith ran to Him, tears of happiness streaming down her face. The women followed her, enveloping the Man in their arms. They were crying and laughing and eventually they fell to the ground. They grabbed His feet, not caring how dirty He was. They worshipped and praised Him. "Jesus, Jesus," they cried. "You are our King," they praised. Judith knelt on the ground, crying, looking up at her Savior. "Every time I see You, I am on my knees," she whispered. The Man smiled down at her, filling Judith with never-ending happiness. "Do not be afraid," the Man said. He captured the women's attention and they stared at Him in awe. "Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." The women nodded. They would do anything for Him. One by one, they got up, prepared to complete whatever task He set before them. They left, in a state of awe, constantly looking back to see their King. "Jesus," Judith whispered again and again, "Jesus is alive."