The Christ Commission by Og Mandino

Author:Og Mandino [Mandino, Og]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-78089-8
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

ten

TWO SENTINELS, high atop flagstone walls, stared down at us suspiciously as we emerged from the carriage and approached the gates to Rome’s military headquarters in Jerusalem. Shields, body armor, and even their long supple spears glinted menacingly in the early morning sun.

“Our welcoming committee,” Joseph said casually.

“What would it take for them to let those javelins fly?”

The old man chuckled. “They are only Syrian auxiliaries, Matthias, and would undoubtedly miss their mark by several cubits from that height.”

“How comforting.”

“We are no more than a momentary diversion for them. Their main concern is in that direction.” He nodded toward the adjoining great Temple, whose marble and gold facade glowed in vivid contrast to its flinty-gray, dingy neighbor.

I had once read that during his later years as puppet king of Israel, Herod had erected a huge golden eagle on the foremost part of the Temple roof so that it could be viewed from anywhere in the city. Before his death he had suffered the ultimate humiliation of seeing his tasteless and sacrilegious tribute to Rome pulled down and destroyed by a small band of Jewish scholars.

Thirty or more years had passed since the eagle had fallen, but now a far more intimidating and deadly symbol cast its degrading shadow across the people and their holy place of worship. Squatting on a domelike hill of hard limestone that soared high above the Temple’s tallest pinnacle was the fortress called Antonia, presently occupied by more than a thousand Roman legionaires and auxiliaries.

Ignoring the curious soldiers immediately above our heads, Joseph said, “Note the smoothness of the walls’ outer surface, Matthias, constructed so as to prevent any uninvited guests from ascending its steep sides. The old palace of Herod, inside the wall, is three stories high and surrounds spacious parade grounds paved entirely with stone. There is, as you can see, a tower above each of the four corners of the outer wall, and the base of this one nearest to us actually encroaches into the Temple courtyard, with passageways leading directly to the Court of the Gentiles for easy access by the soldiers in the event of trouble. Antonia has become, without question, a Roman fortress of the highest rating, capable of sustaining a full legion, if necessary. It has its own cisterns for water storage, a large granary, hospital, baths, and countless rows of barracks on the north side of the grounds. Pilate and his officers are always quartered in the south wing, whenever he is in the city, and fortunately for us he has only just recently arrived for our Feast of Tabernacles, which commences next week. The procurator always makes it his duty to be here in Jerusalem for each of our three great holidays, usually bringing with him an additional cohort of soldiers from his headquarters in Caesarea to assist in controlling the crowds and maintaining peace.”

The old man gripped my arm as we passed beneath the thick wall’s arched gateway, guiding me to the right along a wide

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