“Yes. Yes… but no…”
Judah spread his hands. “How can this be yes and no? It is either yes or no.”
“And yet with Yeshua it can be both. It depends on—”
“What my brother means,” the one I assumed to be Peter interrupted, “is that we don’t know. Yeshua says the kingdom is at hand.”
“Of course. Meaning upon us.”
“Meaning it is now at hand. And among us, he says. Among us already. This is what he says everywhere he goes.”
“But of course! We are the very seeds of that kingdom! This kingdom will come from among the true sons of Israel. And it will come now!”
“And within,” Peter added. “He says the kingdom of heaven is not here nor there, but within.”
“Within?” Judah asked. A moment of silence passed. “Within what?”
“Within the heart.”
“Inside a man?” Clearly this was a new concept to them, as it was to me. “But of course this must be merely symbolic,” Judah said. “It’s the spirit of Israel rising up to take her rightful place in the Holy Land.”
“Yeshua says the kingdom is not of flesh and blood but of spirit,” Andrew said, taking up from his brother. “And is now among us.”
Judah stood and paced to his left. He spoke as much with his hands as his voice. “And yet he heals flesh and blood. He says he has not come to bring peace, but a sword to divide even a man from his father. Is this not what you have said?”
“Yes… but no. He carries no sword and speaks only of peace.”
“You just said he speaks also of the sword! Which is it?” Judah weighed his hands, one and then the other. “Yes or no, this way or that way, blood or no blood? You’ve been with him for many months, how can you not know these things?”
“Please,” Levi said. “Speak with grace in my home.”
Judah placed a hand on the table and leaned forward. “I have come to you with news from my elders that surely confirms what you have wondered. Yeshua is to be king. The way must now be made plain.”
Andrew looked at the Pharisee, who watched without comment. “You must understand, Judah, in Yeshua’s way, nothing is plain. What he speaks makes little sense to the common man.”
“Are you a common man? Surely his way must be plain. Why would you follow him otherwise?”
Peter abruptly stood and addressed Judah in no uncertain terms. “Yes! We are common, and still, he chooses us. We only say as much as we do because of who you are. Do not judge too quickly. When you see him you will know why we follow him. Then you will also know that what he says is not easily grasped. Everywhere we go he speaks riddles that leave the mind amazed, yet with little understanding. Many times he says one thing and then immediately seems to offer its contradiction.”
I was certain by now that I did not belong in the house, but I was fixed. I couldn’t see Judah’s eyes, but I feared for his heart. What if his king was only a madman?
“What kind of riddles?” Judah asked.
Levi spoke in an even, calculating tone.
“He says that he did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. That until heaven and earth themselves pass away, not one jot nor tittle shall pass from the Law. Any who annuls one of the least of the laws given by Moses shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
Levi picked up a cup and absently turned it in his hand.
“And yet he himself commands all who hear him to break these laws. It is dangerous talk. The Sanhedrin won’t stand for it.”
“Impossible,” Judah said. “You are hearing it wrong. What law does he command you to break?”
“Sit!” Levi looked between Judah and Peter, who both took their seats.
“Thank you. Now…” Levi nodded at the Pharisee. “Ask one who is friend and knows the Law well.”
I could only assume that they had not used the Pharisee’s name because he wished to be unknown. A friend to Yeshua might cause problems among his peers in Jerusalem.
“You are a teacher of the Law,” Judah said. “Does Yeshua command his followers to break the Law?”
The Pharisee hesitated, then spoke in a smooth, calming voice.
“So it appears. Some laws are only interpretations of the Law, but many are directly from the scriptures, as given to Moses word for word from God.”
“Then tell me just one Yeshua breaks. I would know.”
“From Exodus, anyone who strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. He who strikes his mother or father shall be put to death. He who kidnaps a man shall be put to death. He who curses his mother or father shall be put to death. As it is written, you shall appoint as penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. This I quote.”