The Lion, the Lamb, and the Dawn of Christianity

By Frank DiLorenzo

The Lion, the Lamb, and the Dawn of Christianity is a work of historical fiction based on the four New Testament Gospels of the Christian Bible. By imbuing some major events in the Gospels with dramatic connective tissue, the story will engage the reader with some fresh new concepts, as well as traditional ones.

Many Christian stories have you standing with Jesus and speaking out to the crowd. This book will put you into the crowd. By interacting with the characters, readers have the opportunity to compare them to their own mantra. They will experience Roman life, war, conversion, martyrdom, and the feelings of the first "Christians" as they await the Pentecost.

Readers will step into the skin of some powerful men who encounter the living Christ and are converted by him. Why were they converted? What did they feel? Why were the words of Jesus relevant to them? How did the centurion come by the faith that Jesus called "the greatest he had seen in all Israel" (Matthew 8:10)? Why was the centurion's faith tolerated by the Empire-or was it? How did the Pentecost transform a small number of fearful followers into blazing evangelists?

The story was written to be concise and a fast read. You will keep turning the pages and will not want to put it down. There are no "slow parts." A reread for a second and third time? Certainly. It is a multifaceted story for a book group. You can discuss not only the story but the wealth of sources cited in the "End Notes," which will enrich the experience-and the fun-with websites for further research and what many will find to be surprising facts.

Isolate yourself while reading this book. It is a true escape from today's noise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098073527

Book preview

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The Lion, the Lamb, and the Dawn of Christianity

A Novel

Frank Dilorenzo

ISBN 978-1-0980-7351-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-7352-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Frank Dilorenzo

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All biblical quotes and references from the Douay-Rheims Bible (1899) (CrossReach Bible Collection Book 14), which is in the Public Domain.

Printed in the United States of America

To Katie, my wife and soul mate. People will search for the most stupendous thing in science, in art, and in human achievement, but the greatest they will ever find is the love that resides in the heart.

Invocation

Be nothing solicitous; but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:6–7

List of Characters

¹

Abihayil, Judean rebel

Aetius, senior tribune of the tenth Roman legion

Agron, Holy Family’s neighbor in Nazareth

Amantius, Roman legionary

Andrew, apostle; Peter’s brother

Anna, mother of Jesus’s mother, Mary

Annas, high priest; Caiaphas’s predecessor/brother-in-law

Atilius, Lucanus, Roman soldier and centurion

Atarah, orphan; sister of Jesus

Augustus Caesar* (a.k.a. Octavian), first emperor of Rome (63 BC–AD 13)

Barabbas, Judean rebel

Barnabus, evangelist and Mark’s kinsman

Bartholomew, apostle

Bernardus, Roman centurion

Blasius, Roman legionary

Brennius, Roman legionary

Caiaphas, high priest appointed by Rome

Cestus, Roman legionary

Chaniel, Judean rebel crucified with Jesus

Chusa, Herod’s steward

Cleophas, disciple; husband of Mary’s half sister, Mary; walks to Emmaus

Datan, Judean rebel crucified with Jesus

Decimus, Roman legionary

Demetra, servant who teaches Greek to Martina

Donatus, son of Atilius

Eitan, paralytic whom Jesus heals

Eliana, daughter of Atilius

Elysia, Claudia’s head servant

Emm (Mom), Mary, the mother of Jesus

Emilia, Claudia’s friend

Evron, Judean rebel

Fabius, Roman legionary

Fretensis, the tenth Roman legion

Fulminata, the twelfth Roman legion

Gaviel, Judean rebel

Gracilis Celsus, Roman soldier and centurion

Herod the Great*, king of Judea and Galilee; master builder

Herod Antipas*, Herod’s son; tetrarch of Galilee (Roman client king)

Ianus, Pilate’s scribe

James, son of Zebedee; apostle

James, son of Alpheus; apostle

James, orphan; brother of Jesus; leader of The Way

Jesus, the Son of God

Joachim, father of the Virgin Mary

Joanna, wife of Herod’s steward; cured of infirmities in town of Magdala

John, son of Zebedee; apostle

Joseph, orphan; brother of Jesus

Joseph, stepfather of Jesus

Joseph of Arimathea, pharisee who buried Jesus

JudasIscariot, apostle; Judean rebel

Judas, orphan; brother of Jesus

Lamia, Lucius Aelius*, legate/governor of the Roman province of Syria

Liora, orphan; sister of Jesus

Livia, Claudia’s friend

Makarios, Paulus’s servant whom Jesus heals

Mark (John Mark), kinsman to Barnabus and Gospel writer

Martha, sister of Lazarus and Mary

Martina, wife of Atilius

Mary, mother of Jesus

Mary, half sister of the mother of Jesus; wife of Cleophas

Mary, Magdalen, from whom Jesus expelled seven demons

Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha

Matthew, apostle and Gospel writer

Merodach, leader of the Judean rebels

Paulus Lucretius, Roman centurion

Peter (Cephas), apostle

Pilatus (Pilate), Pontius M.*, Roman governor of Judea (AD 26–AD 36)

Piso, Lucius*, governor of the city of Rome

Philip, apostle

Plinius, Roman legionary

Quirinius*, former legate of the Roman province of Syria when Jesus was born

Rufus, disciple; sees the risen Jesus on road to Emmaus

Sejanus*, Praetorian Guard officer and Pilate’s advocate

Simon, the Canaanite; apostle

Simon, orphan; brother of Jesus

Steven, evangelist and martyr

Susanna, cured of her infirmities in the town of Magdala

Tamir, servant of Martha and Mary

Thaddeus, apostle

Thomas, apostle

Tiberius Caesar*, second emperor of Rome (AD 14–AD 37)

Usiris, Paulus’s servant

Valerius Gratus*, Pilate’s predecessor

Vitellius*, legate/governor of the Roman province of Syria

Vitus, Pilate’s head servant and translator

Introduction

This is a work of historical fiction based on the four New Testament Gospels of the Christian Bible. By imbuing some major events in the Gospels with dramatic connective tissue, the goal is to rekindle interest in the Christian story and the Bible. Conversion is the theme. The reader will step into the skin of some powerful men who encountered the living Christ and were converted by him. Why were they converted. What did they feel ? Why were the words of Jesus relevant to them? How did the centurion come by the faith that Jesus referred to as the greatest he had seen in all of Israel (Matthew 8:10)? Why was the centurion’s faith tolerated by the Empire—or was it? How did the Pentecost transform a small number of fearful followers into blazing evangelists?

II.

Virtually, all scholars who have investigated the history of the Christian movement find that the historicity of Jesus is effectively certain…and reject the Christ myth theory that Jesus never existed,¹ but they continue to debate the year of his birth, the year(s) of his ministry, and the year of his crucifixion.²

The Gospels of Mark and John do not have an infancy narrative, but the Gospels of Luke and Matthew have detailed descriptions of time and place.

The Gospel of Matthew 2:1–23 tells us that Jesus was born before King Herod the Great died. That would have to be since Matthew tells us also that Herod ordered the slaughter, in Bethlehem, of all newborn males up to two years old. Herod died in 4 BC, so Jesus had to have been born before that date.³ Further, Matthew tells us that the Holy Family fled to Egypt and lived there for a while until they learned of Herod’s death. The footnotes in some Bibles propose that Jesus was born as early as 7–6 BC.

The Gospel of Luke 2:1–7 gives the Roman census as the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Luke also talks about Jesus’s circumcision and his presentation in the temple.

Luke 2:41–52 gives the account of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple with the elders. In Luke 3:1–3, John the Baptist begins his ministry when he was thirty years old in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Jesus was about six months younger than John. The fifteenth year of Tiberius was AD 28–29, depending on the inclusion of the overlap with the last year of Augustus.⁴ Jesus had a three-year ministry according to the Gospel of John.

The Roman Empire enabled Christianity to spread throughout the known world—which was all part of God’s divine plan.

III.

Life in first century Palestine was uncertain. There was a high infant mortality rate and many orphans whose parents died from malnutrition, disease, parasites, violence, imprisonment, crucifixion, and childbirth. Some families or relatives took orphans into their homes and cared for them.⁵ It is reasonable to postulate that Jesus lived with protected orphans whom he called brothers and sisters.

The Letter of James 1:27 says,

Religion pure and immaculate with God and the Father is this:

To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep oneself immaculate from the world.

IV.

About Judas Iscariot, only the Gospel of Matthew describes Judas throwing the silver pieces into the temple and hanging himself. In the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John, Judas does not commit suicide nor does he return the money. In Acts of the Apostles, Judas uses the money to buy property, but he dies from an accidental fall on that property.

V.

About Mary Magdalene, none of the four Gospels name Mary Magdalene as the adulteress.⁶ The Gospel of Mark (16:9) and the Gospel of Luke (8:2) say she was the woman from whom seven demons came out. Even in Luke 7:37–50, the sinful woman who washed Jesus’s feet in the home of the Pharisee, is not named Mary Magdalene—that woman also is anonymous. The Gospels of Mathew (28:1–2), Mark (16:1–8), and John (20:1–3) say she was the first to discover the empty tomb, but they do not agree on the other women accompanying her. In John’s Gospel, she goes to the tomb alone. In this book, the author has chosen only the words of the Gospels, as they pertain to Mary Magdalen, resisting the temptation to read into them something that is not there, as did some early Christians—probably out of their own sexual fantasies.

The spelling Magdalen is used since that is true to the version of the Bible that is sourced.

VI.

This is a work of fiction. Although the asterisked (*) names in the list of characters are actual historical figures and the italicized names are figures from the New Testament, they are used fictitiously in this book, as are the places and events. All other characters are fictitious, and any relation to a person’s past or present is purely coincidental and not intended.

Prologue: AD 23

AD 23

It was twilight over the forest outside Rome. Atilius squatted behind some low bushes and drew back his bow. He aimed for the animal’s eye. Donatus, his ten-year-old son, knelt behind him, aligning his sight with the shaft of the arrow. He marveled at his father’s strength in pulling the cord of the thick bow to his shoulder. The arrowhead followed the slow, unsuspecting movement of the fox until…Atilius released the bow. He and his son watched the arrow as it pierced clean through the fox’s head at the temples. An excited Donatus ran to the carcass, lifting it by its tail. He was still short, so he couldn’t raise it high enough to keep the fox’s head from dragging on the ground.

Atilius said, Son, lift the fox by the scruff of the neck—like the mother fox carries her pups—put it in the sack and sling the sack over your shoulder. We will have cooked meat tonight, Donatus. It will help you grow.

Tata, this is good! Why do we not do this more often?

Hunters have killed too many animals, son. Now they are hard to find—let that be a lesson for you about excesses.

When they arrived home, Atilius said, Donatus, put the sack here on the ground. Do not bring it inside the house.

The lad dropped it by the firepit. Now take the animal out of the sack, then go inside and bring my knife. It is hanging on the wall near the door.

The child brought the long knife. Tata, is this your army knife?

It is—be careful, it is very sharp. Hand it to me in the sheath. Do not take it out to hand it over.

The boy watched his father cut off the tail and head; he skinned it and took a long wooden skewer, ramming it into the stump of the neck, through the body, and out the butthole. He placed the skewer on the chocks over the firepit.

Son, when it is done on one side, I want you to grab the end of the stick and turn the fox over to the other side. You must do this to cook the carcass evenly.

Meanwhile, Martina, spouse and mother, crushed some grapes, dumped them into a jar with a little water, and stirred. Grape juice is what she preferred to give the children although she knew Atilius sneaked them a little wine on occasion. She put out some olives and fresh fruit. She smiled and said to the children, Tonight, we will eat like rich people.

II.

In the small town of Nazareth, the poorest in Galilee, five brothers were building a larger multiroom house for themselves, their sisters, and their aging parents, having outgrown the house of their childhood. Jesus was the oldest at twenty-seven. He had four brothers and two sisters—all orphaned at very young ages from different parents and at different times.⁷ Joseph and Mary took them in and raised them as family. James, twenty-four; Joseph, twenty-three; Judas, seventeen; and Simon, the youngest boy, at thirteen. His sisters were Atarah, sixteen, and Liora, fourteen.

This day marked the second year of the construction project. Jesus was working with his stepfather, Joseph, webbing olive tree branches together to form a base for the straw roof. Joseph and Judas wielded chisels and heavy hammers to break rocks into roughly rectangular blocks for the exterior and interior walls. Simon was relegated to getting buckets of water from the town’s central well to mix with dirt and tiny stone chips for mud to fill small spaces between the uneven blocks. Meanwhile, their mother, Mary, baked bread in the oven of their old house to keep them nourished and energized.

The men were building a four-room house—one bedroom for their parents; one for Joseph, Judas, and Simon; and a third for Atarah and Liora. The large central room was where Jesus and James would sleep; it would be used also as the family room for cooking, washing, weaving, and meals. Atarah and Liora helped their mother stitch blankets and window coverings with heavy wool.

Jesus carried a pile of branches to the outside bench for shaping, passing by young Simon who called after his older brother, Why am I always told to make the mud?

Jesus laughed. Because you always played in it when you were young!

I was just a small child then!

Yes, and Emm had to keep washing your hands and face—and your clothes!

I did not care, Simon protested. She could have just let me be!

Jesus laughed softly and moved on.

A few of the neighbors watched the industry, one remarked, You are fortunate to have so many sons to help you, Joseph. Would you consider lending them to me?

Yes, if you pay their wages.

I have to pay them? They would charge an old neighbor who watched them grow up?

But if we do you a favor—Joseph put a branch on the rasping table—justice demands that we offer the same to all four hundred people in this town!

Jesus approached and said, Joseph, let us be generous with Nazoreans. We can earn wages working outside this town.

Joseph answered in a subdued tone, It was in jest, but who am I to disagree with you. Then he turned to his neighbor. At the insistence of my son, I will make you this offer, Agron. Some time when we need eggs, you will give us freely from the bounty of your hens!

Joseph, do not require anything of our neighbor, and the Father will bless you, Jesus said with a big smile.

Joseph’s resignation was clear. Forgive my selfishness, Agron. Forget the eggs—my son takes me seriously!

Judas was puzzled by Jesus’s seeming privilege. He said to his brother, Joseph, Father disagrees with us easily enough, but he agrees to everything Jesus says.

Joseph looked at Jesus and their stepfather. It does not bother me. I am grateful they gave us a home when we were young and vulnerable.

They finished the house as the moon was rising. Standing together to view their accomplishment, Jesus led them in a prayer of thanksgiving. There was some conversation and stargazing before they turned in to sleep for the first time in their new home.

III.

For Claudia Procula, Rome was one big playground. As the granddaughter of Caesar Augustus, she was born into high society. Her family proudly reminded her that, as an infant, she was carried and burped by the most powerful man in the world. When Augustus died, he was succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius; so Claudia’s connection to the Roman upper classes remained. This brought about her marriage to a man of high standing in Roman society—a member of the equestrian rank—men who, in a later age, would be called knights. And her husband enjoyed added notoriety as a descendant of the Pontii clan.⁸

In spite of her privileges, the norm for women in Roman high society was to not