Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate: A Novel (27 page)

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L
ucius left the room in the early hours after gazing down at his wife, sleeping soundly. She had brought him comfort in his darkest hour and he was filled with love for her. As to the events of the previous day, he would have to live with that—if he could. There was no undoing the horrible deed he had allowed. Now he must move on and do his job. Whether Tiberius would call him back to Rome over this, he knew not.

He stared down at the long letter he had just written to the emperor, laying out all the facts of the case and giving the reasons behind his decision. He reminded the emperor, as tactfully as he knew, that he had been admonished to uphold the Jewish laws and customs, and since this was a matter of their law, he had allowed the death penalty rather than deal with another riot. He rolled up the scroll and sealed it, pressing his signet ring into the warm wax.

Calling for his tribune, he sent the message by courier. Now he could only wait for the answer from Rome.

The city seemed quiet, but the quiet could be deceptive. There were areas to inspect for damage that would take several days.

As he went out on the steps to wait for his horse to be brought out, a delegation of the chief priests and Pharisees came hurrying toward him.

“Excellency, we must speak with you.”

If it was up to him at the moment, he would have slaughtered the lot of them, so great was his revulsion. He forced himself to answer them. “What is it you want this time?”

“Excellency, that deceiver told his disciples that after three days he would rise from the dead. Therefore we request that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Was he hearing correctly? Lucius’s laughter spilled out as he looked from one self-righteous face to another. These fools wanted him to send a detail to guard a dead man? The very idea was preposterous. What would these Jews come up with next? He regained his composure, shaking his head. Well, what harm could it do if it was a means of keeping the peace.

“Very well, you have a watch, now leave me. Make the tomb as secure as you can.” He almost sneered at them. Puffed-up hypocrites! Turning to his tribune, he murmured, “See to it.”

The tribune called some of the waiting soldiers over and chose ten men, directing them to follow the Jewish leaders to the tomb and stand watch through the night. Some of the men grumbled at the unusual request, but they were trained men and did as they were told.

Lucius watched them go, and as a slight breeze ruffled his cloak, he wondered at the contrast between the darkness the day before and this day. Something troubled him, but he didn’t know what it was. His horse was led out, and dismissing the strange premonition, he mounted and rode out with his men toward the aqueduct.

Hotep swept up pieces of broken pottery and put Claudia’s room back in order. Lucius had ordered the repairs of the water pipe in the bathing room and the cistern checked, but it would have to wait until someone was free to repair it, due to the damage in the city.

When the first day of the Jewish week dawned, no more Passover lambs could be sacrificed and roasted. The smell of roast lamb still permeated the city from the many ovens set up at various strategic points. Because lamb was plentiful during this season, there was even lamb on their dinner table. Claudia felt strange about eating it, because of Passover and the fact that she wasn’t Jewish, but Lucius assured her that there were many lambs not used for sacrifice left over.

It was early evening two days later when there was a soft knock on the door, and Hotep opened it to see Joanna standing with the glory of the sun shining from her eyes.

“I had to come and tell you.”

“What has happened?” Claudia ushered the beaming woman into the room and indicated a chair, but Joanna seemed too excited to sit.

“My lady, the Lord has risen.”

“Risen? What do you mean?”

“We have seen Jesus. He came into the upper room where we were praying and stood among us.”

“You saw his ghost?”

“No, it was not his ghost. It was the Lord himself. He actually ate with us and showed us the nail prints in his hands and feet. He tried to tell us so many times that he would rise on the third day, but it was hidden from us. We didn’t understand. We thought him dead, but he left the tomb where he’d been laid. Peter and John went to the tomb and saw the burial garments, lying there as though he had just slipped out of them.”

Finally Joanna sank onto the chair. “After the Lord was crucified, we were bereft. We thought he was dead. He was taken down from the cross and one of the members of the Sanhedrin who is a believer, Nicodemus, asked for his body. He and another member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimethea, took the Lord’s body to a nearby tomb. We followed, not knowing what to do. The two priests anointed the body with myrrh and aloes as is our custom and wrapped it in burial cloths. When they had finished, we waited until they had gone and then
marked the place of the tomb. We wanted to return in the morning when the Sabbath was over to make sure the body of our Lord was prepared properly.”

Claudia interrupted. “But you said the men prepared the body.”

“Yes, my lady, but it is the women who usually do this and we needed to be sure all was done that was to be done.”

Claudia nodded and indicated Joanna was to go on.

“We purchased spices in the marketplace early in the morning before daylight and made our way to the tomb. There were three of us, including Mary from Magdala. Since the stone was so great, we discussed among ourselves who could roll it away for us. We had heard that your husband had authorized a watch of soldiers to guard the tomb, and we were hoping some of them were there and would move the stone for us. When we got there, the soldiers were gone. It appeared they’d left in haste, for some of their belongings were scattered on the ground. We were wondering what to do when we realized the stone had already been rolled away. We feared the worst and cautiously entered the tomb.”

Joanna stopped and her face lit up again. “There was this wondrous being in the tomb, I’m sure it was an angel. The light from his body illuminated the entire tomb and was almost blinding. The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and indeed he is going before you into Galilee; there you will see him. Behold, I have told you.’”

“You saw an angel?” Hotep could not keep silent at Joanna’s words.

Joanna nodded. “Yes. I believe that’s what he was.”

Claudia’s brow wrinkled. “This was the very thing the Jews thought would happen. My husband told me they asked for a watch. They were afraid the disciples would steal the Lord’s body and claim he had risen from the dead.”

“But he did, my lady. No one stole the body. The graveclothes were
still lying on the slab as though the body had just slipped out of them, and the head cloth was folded in its place. With soldiers guarding the tomb, how could the disciples move that great stone without making noise and drawing the attention of the soldiers?”

Claudia wanted to believe her. “That is true. Since I heard that all the disciples ran away when Jesus was arrested, it would have been a reckless move on their part. They would have been arrested by the guards.”

Joanna went on, “And here is an even more wondrous part. I went with Susanna to tell the disciples what we’d seen, for we knew where they were hiding. Mary Magdalene stayed behind. She was so devoted to the Lord. She was weeping and wanted to remain there alone.

“We were doing our best to convince Peter and the other disciples of what we’d seen and they would have none of it. Then, suddenly, Mary burst into the room crying, ‘I’ve seen him! I’ve seen the Lord!’ She had actually seen him in his resurrected body and he’d spoken to her. She was nearly beside herself with joy. Well, I can tell you that Peter and John, as men do, scoffed at our story and wouldn’t believe Mary either. They decided to see for themselves and ran to the tomb. Of course they found it just as we had told them. They went back to the upper room to talk to the other disciples and believers, and suddenly the Lord himself appeared in the middle of the room!”

“Are you sure he was not a ghost?”

“Yes. He spoke with us and actually asked for some food, and ate it in front of us. No ghost can do that.”

Joy rose like the dawn in Claudia’s heart. The Lord was not dead after all. In spite of what her husband and the Jewish elders thought they had done to him, he had risen and was alive. She reached out and clasped Joanna’s hands in her own. “What will the believers do now?”

“We are to wait. The Lord said to wait until we receive power from on high.”

“Power from on high? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, my lady, but we will wait in the upper room until we know.”

“The believers and the disciples will need food then.” Claudia turned to Hotep. “Tell the cook I need baskets of food prepared to send with the Lady Joanna.” She turned back to Joanna. “How many are there?”

“Over one hundred.”

Claudia raised her eyebrows but instructed Hotep to prepare for one hundred—bread, wine, fruit, and cheeses. She dared not send meat, for the Jews were careful not to eat the meat from the Gentile markets, lest it had been offered to an idol.

“Would they be afraid if I went there?”

Joanna nodded. “It is too soon. Your husband ordered his crucifixion. I believe you would be regarded as a spy in their midst. Give them a little time. There are many groups meeting in homes throughout the city. Perhaps in time, a small group of believers . . .”

Claudia’s face fell. “I am ordered by my husband to remain in the castle until we return to Caesarea. I can no longer go about the city.”

Joanna patted her hand. “Then I will start a group in my quarters. Chuza has already mentioned doing that. We will have to be discreet, but you are welcome to join us when you are here in Jerusalem, and you would not have to leave the palace. No one would suspect the staff meeting with us in Herod’s very palace. I will let you know when we begin.”

The women embraced and Joanna left. Claudia turned to Hotep, who had been listening.

Hotep looked anxiously at her mistress. “Might I go also, Domina?”

“Of course. We will both go.”

“What about your son?”

“He shall go with us. I want him to learn at an early age about our Lord. He will be ready for a tutor in a couple of years, and if there is any way to do so, I intend to make sure the man is a believer.”

“What is a believer, Mater?”

The women turned to see Doros standing in the doorway of his room, rubbing his eyes. How long had he been there? “Did you hear what Joanna said, Doros?”

“Jesus is dead, but he came alive. How did he get dead, Mater?”

“Don’t worry about that, my son. Jesus is alive. He is not dead.”

He came over to her and climbed up on her lap. “I am glad. I like Jesus. Can I see him?”

Claudia glanced at Hotep. “Not right now, my love. He had to go on a journey. When he gets back, perhaps you can see him.”