THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter One
It starts in the desert.
In the beginning of the world, says Genesis, the whole earth was a void and the spirit of God swept over it. This desert out on the banks of the Jordan is no voidβeven in the night the camels moan and the crickets chirpβbut when it does get quiet some say you can still feel the spirit of God sweep by, breathe it deep down into your chest.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Two
After John goes to prison, his legend grows even larger. Everyone in Judea talks about him now: the workmen in the quarries who canβt help but think about his boldness every time they strike the unforgiving face of the rock, the visiting palace steward and his wife whose hushed tones at night and knowing glancing in daylight say he was rightβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Three
Itβs quiet on the lake where Simon and his brother Andrew are searching desperately for fish to fill an empty boat and empty stomachs, but the hours have been empty, too, so the only proof they have of their hard dayβs work is the gleam of the late afternoon sun on the gathered waters. Zebedeeβs boys pull closer and call out to Simon and Andβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Four
When everyone is awake, Jesus announces theyβre going back into Capernaum. Since Zebedeeβs employees took the boats home, itβll be a long walk, but Jesus says itβs better if they go in after dark anyway: itβs hard for him to find a moment alone under the sun, but the starlight suits him.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Five
Peter dreams that night of fish. In his dream, the lake has risen to his house, so that he doesnβt have to choose between following and fishing: he is inviting the sick straight into the courtyard, seating them here and there while they wait for his Master; the lake must follow him because he feels a fish swimming right past his ankle, looks down in timβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Six
An angry shepherd accosts Thomas: one of his sheep has either been stolen or else become confused by the crowds and wandered off. Is this any way to treat someone who freely offered his advice and hospitality? βCalm down,β says Thomas, βitβs just one sheep.β
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book One, Chapter Seven
It starts in the assembly. One of Jesusβ former disciples reads from Ezekiel: And I will judge you, the way women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged; I will give you blood in fury and jealousy. Then he sits, and speaks about Israelβs obligation to keep its covenants, about the dangers of religious laxity in a time of occupation.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter One
The rumors that get back to Jesusβ family in Nazareth are not encouraging. They donβt listen too closely to the former disciples who pass through with stories about how his fame has filled him with arrogance. They do their best to ignore the men who come just to look for Mary, to warn her of plots and snares theyβve heard about from people who want to sβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Two
As they approach the camp again, James and John hear their mother. Why sheβs made the journey out to see them and what has her so animated at the moment they can only guess, but long before they can see her face, thereβs no doubt itβs her. Of all the women in Capernaum, Salome has the most distinctive voiceβand the one most likely to be raised when someβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Three
Some say killers and their weapons like to gamble with each other over the next victimβs name. And that once the wager has been placed, they grow impatient to see whose blood will be made to redden next as it is brought naked to face the air. In this empire, the suspense never lasts long. Executioners in palaces keep their weapons unsheathed by their bedβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Four
Jesus gets up early in the morning and leads the twelve to a quiet spot on the stream next to Bethsaida. On the west side of the stream is Galilee proper, ruled by the Herod who killed John, but here on the east side theyβre safely in his brother Philipβs land.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Five
Matthew and Thomas are the last of the twelve to get word that Jesus is now in Magdala and wants to meet them there. In the evening, they say their goodbyes to the people of the town where theyβve been preaching. As soon as the sun sets, the air cools off, and the villagers go to sleep, Matthew and Thomas plan to go.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Six
Evening winds stir the lakeβs waters, so itβs a rough ride back to Magdala for the apostles who grew up inland. Thomas has the worst time. While the others take turns helping row, he hangs on to the side of the boat against the swaying feeling inside him and breathes through his mouth to keep his stomach from turning at the accumulated smell of old fish.
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THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Seven
Itβs a three daysβ walk straight from Magdala to Zarephath: two if youβre in a hurry. Jesus doesnβt go straight or hurry, so it takes him a week and a half. They spend the first day in Magdala. Jesus has a long talk with Matthew and Thomas, who heβs leaving behind to care for his followers here. Mary and Judas pack provisions while the others prepare theβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Eight
Magdalaβs fishermen are still out on the lake when Jesusβ boat comes in, so itβs quiet on the harbor. For a moment, Peter wishes he could push out to fish instead of heading into the city: he knows how to harvest the lakeβs bounty far better than he knows, even now, how to handle the crowds. But because he made a promise, he doesnβt hesitate long. He heβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Nine
Before Jesus sends out the seventy, he gives them a warning: theyβll be like sheep among wolves. They all nod gravely and brace themselves against dangers they vaguely imagine, but almost none of them really understand, because almost none of them have spent enough time alone out in the hills, as Jesus has, to see how wolves hunt.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Ten
That night, four of the apostles have nightmares. In his dream, Matthew is running down an alley toward the setting sun, his heart pounding so hard he can feel it in his temples. He knows he has to get to his office before they come. He needs to protect the names written in his ledger. The slanting light half-blinds him and he trips on one rock, falling β¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Eleven
Jesus has led them up hills before, but Galileeβs hills are nothing like this mountain. At first, they think heβs just looking for a solitary place on its steep, forbidding slopes. But after an hour or so of strenuous climbing, they realize heβs leading them toward the top of the mountainβthough the summit is still far beyond their sight.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Two, Chapter Twelve
Apostles return from the north, south, and east to their meeting place in the hills, but Matthewβs group is late. As he watches for them, Nathanael grows more and more nervous. Didnβt the other nine leave the province for a reason? Arenβt they keeping out of sight for a reason now? What might have happened to the one group that stayed in Galilee?
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Three: Vayiqra (And He Called), Section One
βIf his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. . .βSomeday theyβll see: the driving wind mingles the dust of my body with the ashes of the moth βSauda
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Three: Vayiqra (And He Called), Section One (Continued)
When they approach the eastern wall of JerusalemβGodβs chosen cityβthe people who have come with Jesus start to pave the road with their clothes, lining the way for him. And as he draws closer to the city, they start to sing from a psalm: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the House of the Lord! God is the Lord, let his β¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Three, Section Two
Donβt regret our breathβs use as air, our bloodβs as oilβ some lamps at last are burning in the night. βFaiz Mary from Magdala goes to the market with all the savings she has. For years, sheβs managed money carefully, feeling that someday she would need itβshe never would have imagined, though, sheβd be spending her savings like this.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Three, Section Two (continued)
Judas sits out in the courtyard while the others sleep inside. Judas wants to pray, but he canβt focus. Judas tries to pray the same thing heβs prayed thousands of times: βWhen is the End going to come? Master of the Universe, when is it going to come?β But when he starts to say the words, thereβs none of the warmth or excitement he used to feel in respβ¦
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Three, Section Three
βI am like a candle that has gone out on the grave of a poor man.ββGhalib Torches shine like scars on the dark, smooth face of this spring night when the clanking of steel against a rock startles eight of the apostles awake. A group of armed menβthe high priestβs Temple guards and a few Roman soldiersβpass close by, muscles tensed in anxious anticipation.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Four, “Sinai”
βThe law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.β 1. Andrew and Nathanael hear from the men in the fish market, who heard it from a passing soldier. James hears from John when he gets back in the late afternoon. Simon and Philip hear from a passerby shortly after they wake up, panicked, in a filthy alley. Matthew and Thomas hear from them an hour later.
THE FIVE BOOKS OF JESUS
Book Five: Devarim (Words)
Maryβs hair is white and thinning by the time the foreign doctor comes to visit; her joints are sore and stiff. He speaks halting Aramaic with a heavy accent; she wishes sheβd been educated, so she could talk to him in his native Greek tongue. People have been talking about her son for decades, but no one has asked her so many questions before, or listeβ¦
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James GoldbergΒ is a poet, playwright, essayist, novelist, documentary filmmaker, scholar, and translator who specializes in Mormon literature.
Original artwork byΒ Sarah Hawkes.
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