A New Beginning
It was not many weeks later that the Sanhedrin, that is, Jereriah’s superiors, once again became involved in my imprisonment and started to take over, leaving him pushed to the side as if a stone. We still spent time together, and once in a while, the entire evening and night discussing, what now had become the important part in his life, Christ, Him crucified, and Him resurrected, but now had to use stealth. This only served to make the both of us stronger in Faith.
Sometimes the Sadducees, and at times the Roman soldiers, would enter into my dark habitat and try to convince me, through various tactics, to turn from my so-called ‘wicked ways’ and deny that this Jesus was really the Christ. The soldiers, they were there for fun; it was their entertainment to harass me in any way that was comical to them, but to neither did I give in, and never could that happen.
No, I denied Him thrice just before His crucifixion, and got caught doing so, and this, my friend, served as a great building stone for my life yet lived. I was thankful. It might have taken awhile before coming to myself about this denial, and who it was that I denied, but when it took root, the tree within me began growing. I will not, at this point, ever return to that mire, of which I’ve been washed from; the world.
So, with all the pressure the Sadducees thought they were placing on me, and my unwillingness to conform, and because of the stir that was created by Christ speaking thru me, a death sentence was announced. This news brought no sadness to my bones, nor did it affect my countenance in the slightest, but instead, brought a deeper peace that could only be understood when completely yielded to God’s Messiah, the Christ, and I was at total peace with it.
This young man understood and received Christ earlier, and much faster, than was ever possible for me, that being that Jereriah had received the Holy Spirit, and now dwelled from within him. With his perception of Jesus as the Christ, and the personal relationship that was had, he had understood and received more in this year or so, than was had by me in the first decade. In no way was Jereriah a follower of me, he’d learned early and knew from the Spirit that he was to be a follower of no man, making Christ, and Him only, the center of life.
He could now see that following this, or any religious sect, was not the street to be traveled, and had to, at some point, break away from the teaching of father and mother. They were devout in their opinions, and he decided that this matter was to be handled subtly, but could and would be broken quickly if need be, for a Truth had been given, and could in no way return back to the fables of the blind.
The word was given to Jereriah that I was to be put to death, and I had to be moved to another city, farther north, to receive that punishment. He was willing, at that point, to go with me as an intercessor and mediator, and sometimes an interrupter for me, to those that would hear my case.
Three weeks later I rode into, on a donkeys back, a larger city than my last abode; it was night when the small caravan arrived, but the city still continued in much business. Jereriah, still at my side, went with them that again, placed this body of mine into another dark dungeon; still feeling the presence of Christ, that hole was received as well as if it were under the stars and that Carob tree. And my face expressed every bit of my satisfaction to Jereriah, and also, to those that led me in there, for the peace that dwelt in my bowels could not be disturbed, not by this, nor any other ordeal that this body could be placed in. Me, being in peace, brought my friend and companion into peace also. The good folks that brought us here were tired, and after the chains were locked tight, left, and only the two of us, with no torch, settled in for the night.
Jereriah was privy to certain information, and at times would try to see if the details were wanted, but in this era of my being, I had no interest, what-so-ever, in why or how the coming days were to unfold, but he did. The Love that lodged in every aspect of my being conquered every fear, every regret, every trouble, now or back then, that had a hold on me, and at last, he began to understand it. I’ve really never seen or met a man like this, to say, no matter what’s given to him, whether it be simple Truth or a complex meaning, Jereriah stayed with it, until the understanding was begotten. It was his hunger and thirst for the principles of God that this young man lived for, and at times he would assign a word of knowledge to me, that otherwise wasn’t understood, and I too was growing.
Some months later, Jereriah came for our daily visit, but on this particular evening he had a look about him, showing within the face, and the slumping of the shoulders, I knew something was bothering him to the core. We said our usual greetings, but this time, instead of his normal enthusiasm, he sat bent over with pause in his demeanor, not a word was spoken then.
“I perceive that you’ve heard something that has got you to thinking.” I said this after more than several minutes. “It’s as if the news is bad, and maybe hasn’t yet been dissolved. If you want to talk, we will, if you want to sit quiet; that we’ll also do.”
He’d look up, and our eyes would meet, but only for a short period before hanging again his head. After a long pause, I could see droplets of tears soaking the robe that was worn, and as loudly as the silence was quiet, he spoke in a determined voice and almost shouted; “they’re going to crucify you.”
I couldn’t get any closer to him for the length of the chains that bound my ankles, wouldn’t allow it and asking him to come nearer, he did. “Jereriah, don’t be troubled over such things, for this same God that brought me into this Life, is able to see me through to the end.”
“But you don’t understand, in three days, those that call themselves righteous, are going to kill you.”
“Jereriah, I knew this was to be months ago,” I said with him now laying his head on my chest, “I am old, I have lived my life, I have walked my walk, seeds have been planted in me, and a few, I have strewn in my walk with Jesus these past years. My time is come, be not troubled for this that has to be.”
“But Peter, what the Sanhedrin is about to do destroys your ministry, your life, and in the process, destroying themselves also, this ought not to happen.” He said, but this time sitting up with his hands on my shoulders, looking me forward in the face with an expression of despair.
Settling back and reflecting for a long time, waiting on him to compose himself, and then told him with a smile that conveyed and articulated every true thought that was filling my body with Love. “What a privilege to be counted worthy of the same blessing that Jesus gave to us all. And totaling my whole life; and this journey traveled, to be found in earnest with Him that gave this Life to me.”
“But in three days.” That’s all he said, but now began to come back to himself a little more relaxed, but still tense.
“When I was your age, I could go where I wanted, and needed no help in doing so, but now in my old age, I cannot gird myself, and where I go, someone takes me. This was told to me many years ago by our Lord, and now it is coming to pass, and all that remains in me is; Love. For of a truth, I am ready.”
My close friend and I chatted most of the night, hashing as many particulars of God that either could come up with, and every time a subject was disseminated, the Spirit would show one or the other, and sometimes both, a revealed meaning of the scriptures. He understood that his time with me was short, and I think, therefore wanting to glean or understand as much as he was able, but I told Jereriah that the Holy Spirit knows all things, and will never leave him, and will in fact, teach all things that he needs to know. I might be of some help, but until God is ready to reveal to you certain things, the help I give would be futile.
But I did have one request to him, and it was at his convenience; “would you write a letter for me to my wife and those back home? Seeing how my hands are tied, and you’ve been such a wonderful encouragement to me with your writing thus far, I thought of maybe writing a small epistle of reassurance to those that care, and to those that love me also.
The answer; although with tears was; “yes.”
That early morning, after Jereriah had left, for he too needed rest, the Lord fell upon me as mightily as that of the special day at Pentecost. A Love flushed thru my heart and soul, and also filling the body and mind of the same, lifting me to heights never before entered. I had had rushes of His presence, on occasion, but just about the time that the night broke into day, His existence in Love, or, His Love in His existence, fell into every orifice of this dark dungeon, and expanding into every crevice of me being. IT WAS WONDERFUL!
The acceptance that I’d thought in my understanding of Love, the indulgence thus far perceived in Love, nor even the forbearance of what I grasped as being Love, were far short of the revelation that plummeted upon me that beautiful morning. Or did I fall into It? My eye have not seen, nor my ear heard, nor has it ever entered into my heart that the presence of Christ, and His unfathomable Love, would have such richness as that which, that morning, was generated in me. I knew Him to have a hand on me. I burst from the ‘old man’ that had held me to the dimensions of this earth, and now floated above and beyond what this planet could contain. To attempt to articulate the greatness of the Love of God thru His Christ would certainly be unsuccessful at best, and on the other hand, certainly be inaccurate, for what flowed through me was more than the mind of man could ascertain. His presence lit the dungeon as if it was outside, and even now, a halo of glow remains. Those other prisoners, thru the several tunnels, also cheered with excitement at the manifestation of His authority of Love in this underground vault, for they too could see the brightness of His existence as it illuminated thru every crack and crevice.
Again, to explain this with the limited words of the language of this earth would be inadequate, so don’t fault me for trying.
The beauty of the presence of Christ was far more real than I’d seen during our days of walking together, in the flesh that is, and the colors of His speech, the multi tones of His movements, the sounds of the glow in His eyes, and the fluid of His smile was more than this man, or I think any man, could truly receive and still be in our earthly body. The presence of Jesus and His Love filled me to overflowing, and at first, I fell on my face, being paralyzed with an overwhelming influence of His being. This was much like the day after His resurrection when, without a door being opened, revealed Himself in Glory, but much grandeur. A few moments later, or so I thought, the emanating light had somehow become brighter, therefore giving me a window to see Him clearly. As Jesus spoke, telling me of His presence, and saying; “fear not, it is I,” I arose from my stupor to His open arms which held an unforgettable hug.
Not much was said by either, nor did we need too, but instead, a communication existed, detailed in every way; that established our friendship and His great and tender Love for me. I could see what he saw when looking at me, and at that point, all he could see in me was Love, for every person that Jesus saw, all that He viewed, was filtered through the Love of God, and I received it in fullness.
I didn’t, from that point forward, have to ask nor seek the truest of the meanings of Love, for I too, soaked every morsel of its value thru my being. As inadequate as the speaking of my precept about this encounter is; it is all that can be spoken with the derisory language we have. This unbeknownst Love ran straighter and truer with its’ unequaled existence to illuminate the righteousness of God; and this was done to me, or should I say for me?
Love, at least the way I viewed it in the past, was a precept, a definition of a thought or a feeling, but now understood it to be a living form of life; in fact, the expressed form of our living God. To miss, or not find this Love, I now know, was to think that life is a set of circumstances, accidents, or just plain luck, but the Truth is; Love is the final evidence, the last stage of mans’ existence and the true fullness of why we were created.