The Encounter by Chip Smith

Author:Chip Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ChipSmith
Published: 2021-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

IN THE EARLY MORNING hours of the next day, Micah felt himself being jerked to his feet by unknown hands. “How long has he been like this?” a man’s voice asked.

“He’s been in the corner since last night,” the tavern keeper answered. “I’d have notified someone sooner, but he wouldn’t speak. Besides, we rarely have people in here with a purse as large as his.”

Bartholomew glanced at his surroundings and understood. Aside from the few other drunks still sleeping at their tables, there were two aging prostitutes eagerly looking for customers. The bar and brothel were on the far outskirts of the city. Bartholomew would never have found his friend had Micah not been spotted heading in that direction late at night on the day of Jesus’s crucifixion.

It was pure coincidence that Bartholomew learned of Micah’s general whereabouts. His door-to-door search proved productive. He could only guess what had taken place for Micah to be found in such a place as this.

Young Bartholomew and the disciples were shattered by Jesus’s death. Bartholomew returned to Bethany along with Susanna, Stephen and his sister Sharon. Mary and Martha, and a few others hastily prepared Jesus’s body for burial in a tomb near Golgotha. The rest of the disciples were hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem, fearing they would become targets of the Chief Priest and the temple guard.

Bartholomew examined Micah carefully and shook him. “Do you know who I am?” he asked. Micah nodded, but made no sound. “I’ve got to get you out of here, Micah. You can tell me what happened later.” Ducking his head under Micah’s arm, Bartholomew supported his friend’s weight as best he could and hauled him out into an overcast sky.

“I need to go back to Jerusalem and be with the others,” Bartholomew said. “I’ll get you to your uncle’s house and try to come and see you again in a few days.” Micah jerked violently away from his friend, almost falling in the effort. “What’s the matter?” Bartholomew demanded. Micah would not speak, but shook his head angrily, and made it clear he wouldn’t go to Simon’s house. “I don’t understand. Listen, I have some good friends who don’t live too far from here. Try to pull yourself together, and we’ll see if they can take care of you.” Micah made no objection, so the two men set off slowly down the dusty street and away from their corrupt surroundings.

A while later, Micah proceeded down a wide street lined with sycamore trees. The homes, while not lavish, obviously belonged to families of some substance. Turning right, Bartholomew led his friend to a gate, pulled it open and walked to the entrance of an attractive house.

“My friend Stephen and his sister Sharon live here. Their father is a well-known scholar and teacher in Bethany. He has always been sympathetic to Jesus. So are Stephen and Sharon. I know they’re taking the news of Jesus’s execution extremely hard, but I know they will help.”

Bartholomew saw his friend’s eyes widen with alarm, but he needed to find a safe place for Micah to recover his wits.

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