Jesus turned to the people now and told them a parable, which made plain to all how God would overlook the priests and seek out others who were more worthy.
The Pharisees, in their cunning, took another tack. They asked him if a Jew should give tribute to Caesar.
Gamaliel was breathless in anticipation for his answer, for if he answered yes he would be going against Judaic law, and if he answered no he would incur the wrath of Rome.
‘Why do you tempt me with such questions, which are only snares? Give me a coin that I may see it.’ Jesus said. When he had inspected it he returned it to the scribe. ‘Whose image is it on this coin?’ he asked him.
The man said, ‘Caesar Tiberias.’
‘Well then, give unto Caesar Tiberias the things that are his, and to God the things that are God’s.’
There was a great murmur.
One Pharisee said, ‘Jesus son of a Carpenter are you not from the line of Nathan? The Messiah is not destined to come out of the line of Nathan but from Solomon’s line!’
Jesus said, ‘The Messiah is the son of which man?’
The scribe replied, ‘The Messiah is destined to be the son of David!’
Jesus looked at this a moment. ‘Well then…if what you say is true, how can David call the Messiah his Lord, if the Messiah is also his son?’ He waited for an answer and none came. ‘You do not know how to answer because you do not see that the Messiah is not only a man born of a blood line, but that he is also a God born into a man through the spirit!’ Then to the people he said, ‘Beware of the Sadducees, the Scribes and the Pharisees who are hypocrites and liars and distort the scriptures to suit their means! They tell you to do as they say but not as they do, since they say much and do nothing themselves! They burden all of you with heavy oaths and vows but they do not live by them because they are not concerned with the goodness of their hearts, but only with how good they look in their rich fineries, and whether they are given the best seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts! Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!’ He pointed to them. ‘You shut up the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven because you don’t want to concern yourselves with it and yet you bar the way for others so that they cannot enter! Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees! You beautify the outside of the cup, but within it is ugly and full of filth…don’t you realise that God can see into your hearts?’
A Pharisee called out, thrusting his aged head at him, ‘Who are you?’
He looked at the man, ‘You read the face of the sky and of the earth, but you cannot recognise the Messiah, for whom you have so long prepared! You have prayed for deliverance, you have mourned and called out to God and you have beaten your breasts and ripped at your clothes for a Messiah and now that he stands before you, you do not know him! You do not know how to read this moment, which you have longed for, so how can you escape your own damnation?’
There was a thunder in the heavens. All looked up to see if the world would soon end.
Gamaliel’s eyes were opened then, and for a moment he saw the sky part over Jesus. He saw wings and eyes and thrones and lights and he could taste honey on his lips, a sweetness in his soul. What a mighty thing was this?
He laughed, happy as a child.
‘The Christ in me must die!’ Jesus said then, ‘But when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men with me!’
‘How can you say that you are Christ and that you must die and be lifted up, when they say that the Messiah will live forever?’ a man cried out.
Gamaliel, near overcome with his own visions, now turned to look at the man who had said it. It was Saul.
Jesus regarded him with a grave face, ‘Life on earth is but a passing moment to you, but life on earth for me shall be eternal and it will only come when I die. I have chosen to make the earth my heaven. I will light up the earth, for I am the light of the world!’
The people were hushed by these words.
‘And while you have the light before you, believe in it, so that you can also one day have the light in you!’
Gamaliel’s eyes were full of light! He looked to Saul and realised that he was full of stern hatred. He was appalled and said to him, ‘Saul, did you not hear it? Did you not see it and hear it and know it in your heart the voice of God?’
Saul let his dark eyes fall upon his teacher a moment, before he answered, ‘I heard nothing except arrogance and blasphemy! Look at him! Boasting about being the Messiah! If he keeps up this show he will train the stupid people to forsake the faith of their fathers when they should be preparing for the true Messiah! If I had it my way I would have this pretender stoned!’