The Man Who Bought a Kingdom: Four Gospels as One Story

By Barrie Thomson

Jesus is one of the world’s best-known historical figures, but how well do we know him as a boy and a man? What do we know of his parents? Was his father really a poverty-stricken carpenter and his mother a simple uneducated country girl? Who were his friends and associates? What was his true message and passion? How well did he relate to the women in his life and who was ‘the disciple that Jesus loved’?

This story answers these questions and is based largely on the New Testament gospels, but with the addition of material from other sources. It contains elaborate dialogues and settings, body language and emotional content. His true message is brought to the forefront, and we see the beginning of the first church in Jerusalem. This is the Jesus story as you have never read it before! Revealing a man with incredible spiritual connection but in every other sense a real and masculine man. A man that you will want to know so much more intimately.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398483071

Barrie Thomson

Barrie has held many positions in his working life, from laboratory assistant to production chemist, then computer programmer (in 1960) with Boots Pure Drug Co., in England. Then chief programmer with Walls Ice-cream, lecturer on Unilever’s world-wide management education project, before joining ICL as a database and systems specialist. He moved to South Africa with his wife, Doreen and their children, Ian and Bridget, in 1975, and helped establish a software company, Compusons, before retiring from business life. Barrie then began producing puzzles and word games for newspapers and magazines; became a preacher with the Methodist Church and a writer of articles and stories. He currently lives with his wife in Jeffreys Bay on the South African East Coast.

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About the Author

Barrie has held many positions in his working life, from laboratory assistant to production chemist, then computer programmer (in 1960) with Boots Pure Drug Co., in England. Then chief programmer with Walls Ice-cream, lecturer on Unilever’s world-wide management education project, before joining ICL as a database and systems specialist. He moved to South Africa with his wife, Doreen and their children, Ian and Bridget, in 1975, and helped establish a software company, Compusons, before retiring from business life.

Barrie then began producing puzzles and word games for newspapers and magazines; became a preacher with the Methodist Church and a writer of articles and stories. He currently lives with his wife in Jeffreys Bay on the South African East Coast.

Dedication

To my wife, Doreen, of over 60 years, for her support and inspirational suggestions, and the encouragement of my whole family.

Copyright Information ©

Barrie Thomson 2023

The right of Barrie Thomson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398483064 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398483071 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

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Chapter Index

The family from Magdalo start the first overseas ministry. (Non-biblical)

The start of all things, and Zechariah is told he will have a son. Mary is told she too will have a son and John the Baptist is born.

Jesus is born and the shepherds attend the birth. Magi visit and the family flee to Egypt.

The boy Jesus has discussions with teachers in the Temple and is left behind.

John the Baptist begins his ministry.

Jesus is baptised and begins his ministry.

Jesus is tempted in the desert and then choses some disciples. There is a wedding in Cana and he preaches the Sermon-on-the-Mount and other teachings.

Jesus heals many and calls Matthew.

Jesus clears the Temple and meets Nicodemus before preaching in Samaria. He then preaches in Nazareth and there is an attempt on his life.

Jesus sends out his disciples and dines with a Pharisee.

Jesus is challenged regarding the Sabbath and performs more miracles.

The death of John the Baptist and Jesus does more healing.

Jesus feeds 5,000 and walks on water.

Journey to Jerusalem and a stay-over with the family of Lazarus. There are more attempts to arrest Jesus and to stone him.

Jesus heals a man born blind and there are more attempts to arrest him. Jesus sends out the 72 followers.

Story of the Prodigal Son and Jesus tells of future events.

Jesus and his disciples go to Tyre and perform healings and then move east and south to feed 4,000. Moving further north near Caesarea Philippi and some experience the Transfiguration before moving south again.

Jesus predicts his death and Peter and Judas decide to force Jesus into action. Jesus calls Zacchaeus and brings Lazarus back from the dead. Jesus is then anointed at a feast and enters Jerusalem.

Jesus washes his follower’s feet and the plot of Peter and Judas thickens. Jesus shares the last supper then prays in Gethsemane. He is arrested and tried.

The crucifixion.

He rises from the tomb and speaks to disciples on the Emmaus road and in the Upper Room. He meets them all by the Sea of Galilee, journeys back to Jerusalem and is taken up. The Holy Spirit is made available to all. The Jerusalem church comes into being and the Lazarus family is set adrift.

Introduction

This is a story about Jesus, the man who bought a kingdom with his own life. It is based on the biblical gospels but with many added features.

There is a love story which was hinted at, but carefully obscured by the gospel writers. There is body language, feelings, atmosphere, context, colour and information from non-biblical sources that make the story more meaningful and readable. There is more emphasis on the true message that Jesus was bringing to the world rather than what others think he was saying.

A couple of things have been missed out; the genealogies in Matthew 1: 1–17 and Luke 3: 23–38 are controversial because they do not correspond; even giving different fathers for Joseph; but in-any-case the genealogy of Joseph is irrelevant because he was not the father of Jesus! I have also left out bible verses that appear to be editorial comments by the gospel writer and not a statement by a character in the Jesus saga. An example of this is to be found in John 12: 6 where Judas is labelled as a thief.

The gospels were written at a time, when the church had become increasingly patriarchal and women were kept in a subordinate role. The idea that Jesus could have had female disciples was not to be considered by the gospel writers, so the mysterious role of ‘the disciple who Jesus loved’ was never revealed in the gospels, and that disciple was always referred to as masculine (he) in the stories. In this story, she is identified as Mary Magdalene who was undoubtedly feminine.

I have added some information from other contemporary sources, where there is good reason to believe the information is true, and other aspects of the story come from later legends, particularly those from the Provence region of southern France, where there is good reason to believe the fundamental facts of the legend.

Am I rewriting the gospels? No! But by writing the story of the four gospels in an enhanced form which can be read and enjoyed, I hope some readers will turn to their Bible and read the gospels with new eyes and a fresh understanding.

It is commonly stated that John’s gospel was the last to be written, and I think it is true that John’s gospel was put together and published long after the synoptic gospels; BUT I do not accept that it was the last to be written. It seems evident to me that much of the detail within John’s gospel must have originated with someone writing at the time the recorded events occurred. The original writings would not have been written as a ‘gospel’ but as student notes of happenings and teachings, probably in the form of letters to be sent back to family members; a mother and father who were passionately interested in the progress of their sons John and James who they had encouraged to become disciples under the tutorship of the famous rabbi Jesus.

Zebedee, the father of John and James was almost certainly paying for his son’s keep while they were with Jesus. The notes and letters they produced were private writings; possibly seen by the other disciples and by Jesus himself, but never intended to be published. Such private writings would have been kept by the family as precious documents and handed down from generation to generation.

As knowledge of their existence became more widespread and as the family descendants became more numerous, others would be asking for copies, so some preliminary editing and distribution could have taken place, omitting information which could be thought of as too sensitive, or unsuitable for public release. The account of the woman caught in adultery would be an example of such exclusion. At a later date a fuller editing would have been done and the gospel of John as we now know it would have been circulated.

It is for this reason that I make John my gospel of preference, and what I have done is to take the gospel of Mark – the oldest and most ‘basic’ of the synoptic gospels, and insert into the John gospel anything that is not already covered by John. The next gospel to be inserted was that of Matthew, leaving out anything that was already covered in John or Mark. Luke’s gospel was added last as this is, in my opinion, the least reliable gospel and does contain some errors and discrepancies.

Combining the gospels in this way gave a new insight into some of the stories of Jesus as did some of the non-biblical ‘gospels’ that were available in the fourth century, which I believe also contain relevant truths.

I decided to write this ‘Jesus story’ using modern words and interpretations to give an up-to-date account of his life and his message, and to incorporate some of the emotions and body language that are only vaguely hinted at in the traditional translations.

We start with the beginning of a European ministry that followed shortly after the establishment of the Christian church in Jerusalem, but an evangelistic mission that never found a place in the gospels or the book of Acts.

Chapter 1

The Family from Magdalo

It was Mary Magdalene who first saw the shoreline as she was kneeling on the prow of their boat in the early morning light. The sun was rising behind her and reflecting back from the waves that seemed to be carrying them towards the distant shore.

Her dark hair was bedraggled and caked with salt and her face was burnt by over exposure to the blazing sun. Her salt caked cloak flapped ahead of her as the wind seemed intent on making this shoreline their destination.

She was not alone; her brother Lazarus rose stiffly from a hard bed in the only small cabin on the boat. He looked even more bedraggled than his young sister and his hair blew around his face and beard as he stood upright. Using the cabin roof for support he looked towards Mary, who was kneeling and silently pointing to the distant shore. Words were few when lips were cracked and burnt as theirs were. Last night they had finished the last of their fresh water and throats were parched.

The two of them were joined by Martha, the older sister who was now crawling up from the cabin. She felt too weak to stand, but when she saw Mary’s pointing hand she scrambled to join her to see what she hoped would be a sign of their salvation!

Their voyage had been long and eventful. Set adrift in a boat with limited provisions and no oars or sail and with the rudder removed, they had drifted from outside the harbour of Joppa in Israel and carried wherever wind and current would take them.

How life had changed for all of them. They were born to wealthy parents of royal lineage in their castle of Magdalo only three kilometres from Nazareth. As children they had known Joseph, an artisan of great repute, whose skills covered carpentry as well as masonry and the design and construction of buildings. He had worked closely with their father Cyrus on his property developments in Jerusalem and Bethany. They also knew Joseph’s young bride Mary and their children. The young Jesus was the boy Lazarus played with the most even though he was a couple of years older than Jesus, and it was Jesus that Mary secretly adored as a young girl.

Now they were all starving, weak and helpless, trusting only in their faith in Jesus’ promise that he would never leave them.

As they neared the shore, they could see a young woman looking at them from the rocks above the shoreline. She had her arm raised to shade her eyes from the glaring sun and her raven black hair was blowing around her head. With her other hand, she was waving to them but only Mary and Lazarus could manage a weak wave in return. The young woman suddenly disappeared from sight. They drifted on with the sound of the waves pounding on the shore becoming louder in their ears as they came sideways-on towards a broad beach. There was a shuddering crunch as the keel hit the sand and tipped the boat on to its side, throwing all three of them into the racing water.

As it did so, the woman reappeared from behind the rocks with three burley men following her. They raced down the beach towards Lazarus and his sisters who were in danger of drowning in the surf. The waves were strong and high but the men managed to catch Lazarus and Martha as they were hurled forward. The boat had been turned by the waves so that the stern now faced the shore; it was low in the swirling water but a racing wave lifted it and sent it shoreward, bearing down on Mary as she floundered in the foam.

It was the raven-haired woman who caught Mary’s arm and pulled her to one side as the boat hit the shore with a thundering crash.

The two half drowned women allowed themselves to be carried to safety, but Lazarus insisted on walking up the beach himself, assisted by one of the men and by the raven haired girl.

An hour later all three of the family were sitting comfortably in a house with caring folk offering them a change of clothes, hot soup and a chance to recover by a log fire.

The young woman was a servant girl by the name of Sarah and her dark hair and eyes and sharp bronze features set her apart from the people of Gaul around her and betrayed her Indo-Arabic heritage.

In years to come, she would be venerated by the Roma communities, better known as gypsies, as a patron saint.

When fully recovered, Lazarus and his sisters were able to tell their story and begin the first Christian ministry in that part of the world. So successful was this ministry that evidence remained for centuries to come in monuments, churches, place names and celebratory events.

All three of them often thought about that upper room in Jerusalem and wondered what had happened to it. Their time there had been gloriously joy-filled and eventful. After the death of her beloved Jesus, Mary became very fond of the disciple John, a gentle man of learning and wisdom and she loved his writings.

On one occasion, in the earlier days of Jesus ministry Mary had asked Jesus how the world began, How did God make this wonderful universe? she had asked him as she, Jesus and John were sitting by the Sea of Galilee, gazing up into a star spangled sky. Jesus had explained in words she could barely understand, speaking of a powerful life-giving spirit within the nothingness; knowing itself to be the ‘I AM’ of everything. A three in one that envisaged a trinity of dimensions and a component of time to permit the creation of a physical universe and an earth that could nurture and sustain the ultimate creation of man.

John wrote his own understanding of this at the beginning of what later became his gospel; In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

Chapter 2

The start of all things as described by John in his gospel could, with our present knowledge, be reworded as follows.

It began as a thought of the supreme conscious power of all that is; having a consciousness of self, of being God, of ‘I AM’, and a desire to love and create. The thought became a brilliant light of perception that saw itself as beyond the now. It conceived of itself as all that was and all that is to come. In that instant, time began!

God conceived of dimension, and blazed out in length from infinity to infinity; of breadth which burst out as a blazing, expanding ring of unity; a circle without end and an eternal symbol of love.

The ring demanded depth and blossomed into an explosive expanding ball of light, heat and creativity which became known billions of years later as the Big Bang. It was a trinity of three dimensions; three in one. No dimension could exist without the others; the whole was a unity and demanded its three parts to be as one.

That vibrating life energy that was God needed to more fully experience itself, but there was nothing else with which to compare and contrast, so the whole divided itself like a primeval amoeba, becoming two, and GOD saw of himself and pronounced it GOOD, and the two were united by a bond of unity and love; a bond that was the SPIRIT of LIFE, again a three in one. From this unity, all things were made. And without that unity nothing was made that ever was made.

A swirling galaxy of stars came into being and in that galaxy there was a sun and round the sun there circled planets, one of which was earth and on that earth life took form.

God, the great ‘I AM’ desired to experience a wide variety of life within his created universe. The energy of the SPIRIT of LIFE divided itself uncountable zillions of times – each the spirit of an individual life, united as a corporate entity we know as HOLY SPIRIT. The spirits became living entities, some visible and made of materials created within the stars, and others made of non-material energy. Love began to live and became LIFE within the created universe and on the planet earth; and that life became the light for all people.

The brilliant light of love shone throughout the darkness, but many people remained within darkness, failing to see that light of love that is embodied within the brilliance.

In the land of Israel on planet earth, the people had been given an awareness of the creative force of the universe which they regarded with a mixture of awe and fear within their faith named Judaism.

In the region of Judea within Israel, there was a king by the name of Herod the Great who reigned from 37 to 4 BCE. The faith over which he reigned had its centre in the capital city of Jerusalem within a holy enclave called the temple. Within that temple, there was a hierarchy of priests and teachers and one of these was a priest named Zechariah, who could trace his ancestry back to Abijah, the head of the eighth of twenty four groups of priesthood established by the great King David centuries before (1 Chronicles 24: 10). Zechariah had a wife by the name of Elizabeth and she too was of the priestly line of Aaron who was the brother of Moses, the first great priest of Israel.

Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were devout people who faithfully lived by the laws of God as they understood them in the book of the Torah. To the dismay and shame of them both they had been unable to have children, and Elizabeth was becoming rather old for childbearing, but it was their greatest desire to have a child of their own.

On one fateful morning in the city of Jerusalem, Zechariah was with a group of priests in the great temple court. They were the priests who had to serve in the temple for one week; Sabbath to Sabbath and to draw lots to decide who would have the great privilege of burning incense on the great altar.

Zechariah could feel the perspiration running down his forehead and his hands trembled as he put his hand in the bag of marble balls. He was older than all the other priests assembled that day and many of those were not taking part in the lottery because they had performed the sacred task at some time in the past. No priest could perform this sacred burning of incense more than once in his lifetime and then receive the title of ‘Rich’. Was he, the oldest priest, to be passed over again?

Caiaphas, the chief priest shook the bag to make the balls clink together to show his impatience and to hurry Zechariah up in his selection. Slowly Zechariah gripped one of the balls and drew it out of the bag. He held the pure white ball which in his mind indicated that the divine God had chosen him to perform the sacred act. His face broke into a broad smile of excitement and he almost dropped the ball as his hand was shaking so much. It was now his duty to place the blocks of incense on the most holy altar which was set up in front of the heavy woven veil of the temple, a veil that hid from view the holy of holies, the most sacred room in the temple. The smoke rising from this altar represented the prayers of the people being accepted by God.

Zechariah had taken part in the ceremony several times as an assistant and knew exactly what was required of him, but he now felt himself trembling violently at the thought of being in that holy place alone.

Zechariah knew that his first task was to select two companions to assist him, but that was easy because over the years he had dreamed of doing this so often that he knew exactly which of his many friends would assist him in the sacred task.

It was at nine o’clock in the morning that Zechariah and his companions entered the inner court of the temple; a dimly lit windowless room illuminated on their left by the seven-branched menorah with its candles freshly replenished by another priest who had been in before them. In front of them, Zechariah could see the old coals dimly glowing on the golden altar of incense and he nodded to the first of his companions whose task it was to remove these coals.

The man stepped forward carrying a bronze rake in one hand with which to remove the coals, and a bronze pan in the other hand to hold the ashes. He used the prongs of the rake to remove the still glowing coals and then, turning the rake over he removed as much of the fine grey ash as he could. He stood for a moment muttering his own personal prayers before walking slowly backwards out of the inner court. It was now the task of Zechariah’s second companion to fetch live coals from the sacrificial altar on which a lamb had been slaughtered and its blood sprinkled, and to bring those coals and place them on the altar of incense, as close to the Holy of Holies as possible. Having done this, he too stood and offered his own personal prayers before moving backward to the outer court. Zechariah was now alone. In his hands, he carried a bronze bowl with the solid lumps of incense within it. In silence, he moved to the altar and placed the lumps of incense among the coals. As the smoke began to rise and the rich aroma filled the room, he uttered his own prayer for a son and heir for himself and his precious Elizabeth.

As he gazed upon the rising smoke he caught sight of a movement to his right, close to the table of showbread. The smoke was now in his eyes and he rubbed then to see more clearly the figure of a man standing looking at him, but indistinctly and with a strange luminosity as though having his own light from within. Zechariah turned to face the strange apparition trembling with fear yet knowing that this was a messenger from God; an angel!

Zechariah was terrified by the sight, but managed to turn to face the angel who spoke in a soft and cultured tone saying Don’t be afraid, your prayers for a child have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You should call him John, and he will certainly bring great delight to both of you. In fact everyone, the whole community around you will benefit from his presence. He will be a man of great significance in the sight of God. You, Zechariah, as his father should never encourage him to indulge in drinking alcoholic beverages. Significantly he will be one of only a few people filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. Through your son John, many in Israel will turn back to their faith in God. Your John will be blessed with the power and Spirit of the prophet Elijah to re-establish the loving bond between fathers and their children, and to turn the rebellious to the wisdom of the Godly. He will prepare the people to receive their Lord.

Zechariah was astonished and comforted to hear the angel speak in such a soft and friendly way; tension dropped from his shoulders. He shook his head slowly from side to side in disbelief saying But both my wife Elizabeth, and I are getting rather old, and though we long to have a child, particularly a son, I can hardly believe that this will happen to us. How can I be sure this will happen?

The angel hesitated before answering, evidently rather offended that Zechariah should question him. He answered in soft measured tones saying My name is Gabriel, and I have been sent by God to tell you this good news, yet you dare to doubt my words! You ask for confirmation, so this is what will happen this very moment. You will be unable to speak until the time this son of yours has been born. Zechariah wanted to ask when and how this would happen, but the angelic figure gradually faded from sight and he found he simply couldn’t talk. The words formed in his mind but his tongue refused to move.

He turned back to face the altar and moved backwards towards the curtained door. Reaching up to push the curtain aside, he staggered and held onto the stonework beside the door. His two companions who had been waiting and praying outside had become anxious because he was taking so long in the temple room and immediately rushed to his side to steady him and ask what had happened. Zechariah gesticulated and made signs so that they quickly came to realise that he must have had a vision and was now incapable of speech.

As soon as he was able to finish the rest of his duties at the temple, he returned to his home in Hebron, and continued to live as best he could without speaking. It didn’t take very long for his wife Elizabeth to discover that she had become pregnant. She remained in seclusion for about five months and was heard to say It is the Lord who has caused this to happen. He has shown me favour and taken away the disgrace I have felt from other people.

Zechariah was very aware that Gabriel had said that John would have the Spirit within him from birth. Both he and Elizabeth discussed the words of Gabriel for many hours; Zechariah writing his comments on a slate. To be blessed with the Holy Spirit was an almost unheard of privilege. Zechariah knew of some from his studies, but they had all been given the Spirit in adulthood, never at birth. The ancient prophet who had been Zechariah’s namesake had been given it; so had Moses, Gideon, King David, Ezekiel, Daniel and of course the great Elijah. When Zechariah conveyed to Elizabeth what had happened and described how their son John would be given the power and spirit that was in Elijah, she just couldn’t understand it; how could either of them understand that most of mankind had no conscious link with their own living spirit, a spirit that was created before the world began. How could they understand that almost all the world’s people would become ‘lost souls’ at death; people ‘living in darkness’, unaware of the source of their being and their place in the eternal light of God.

The birth of another child to be called Jesus was to change this desperate situation of mankind forever.

Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth had been pregnant for six months when the same angel by the name of Gabriel, who had spoken with her husband, was again sent to deliver a message, but this time he was sent to the small town of Nazareth in Galilee to visit a young woman named Mary.

Mary’s parents Joachim and Anne were a relatively wealthy couple who had been childless for many years. When they were married, they had prayed hard to have a child and after several years their prayers were answered and Anne became pregnant. She had a daughter who they called Mary, but so convinced were they that their child was a special gift of God, that they decided that at the age of three she should be dedicated to the temple as a temple maiden. In that capacity, she would learn sewing and embroidery; be taught how to bake the showbread and compose liturgical prayers to be said or sung in the temple.

The little girl Mary had loved her time in the temple, but had always known that at the age of twelve or so, she would be put into the care and ultimate marriage of a man of substance and devotion. When she became of age, she was initially sent back to her parents in Nazareth, and lived with them for a while in her own house. In the meantime, the temple authorities looked for a worthy man to take her as a wife and care for her needs. The man chosen for her was an artisan of great esteem named Joseph. He was well known in the temple as a carpenter and building expert and was known to be a descendant of King David.

On that fateful night when Gabriel visited Nazareth, Mary was staying alone in her house because her chosen husband Joseph was still working in the temple in Jerusalem. She retired to bed at sunset but her mind was so filled with thoughts of where her life was going that she could not sleep. She had met Joseph a couple of times and he had seemed a nice gentle sort of man, though much older than herself. He was a widower with children of his own, but she had never met them. She gazed out of the window at a sky studded with brilliant stars. There was no moon and that always seemed to make the stars shine brighter as though trying to compensate for the loss of the moon’s brilliance.

Suddenly she became aware of a shimmering glow in the middle of the room that increased in brilliance as she looked at it. The brightness then took on the form of a man in shining clothes. She was not a fearful girl and her years of training in the temple enabled her to rationalise that what she was seeing was an angel, but she began to tremble never-the-less and was comforted by the soft tone of his voice and his warm greeting and assurance that she had nothing to be afraid of.

You have been greatly favoured by God, Gabriel told her and added that God was very close to her at that very moment.

Mary still felt rather alarmed and, sitting up in her bed she wrapped her blanket tightly around her, sinking into its folds wondering what was coming next! Gabriel smiled and crouched down in front of her telling her yet again not to be afraid. He then said that she should prepare herself to discover that she was pregnant. Ultimately you will give birth to a son, who you must call Jesus. I promise you that he will become a great man and receive the title of ‘Son of the Most High’. Gabriel waited a few moments for his words to sink in, and then added God’s plan is that he will be given the throne of his distant ancestor King David and that his kingdom will extend over the whole earth like no other kingdom; a heavenly kingdom that will never end.

Mary sat open-mouthed with amazement and shook her head saying How can this possibly be when I have never been with a man? I can assure you that I’m still a virgin and intend to stay that way until I am married! Gabriel smiled kindly at her and answered You will conceive through the Holy Spirit; it is the power of God that will be over you. So your son, when born, will be called ‘The Son of God’. I can also tell you that your relative, Elizabeth, is pregnant even though she is advanced in years. She is delighted to be pregnant as she thought she was barren. She is now in her sixth month, so you can see that nothing is impossible for God.

Mary was silent for a while as she tried to digest all that was being said, but eventually she managed to stammer out I am God’s servant; may it happen to me as you have said. As she said these words the image of Gabriel began to fade into a glowing cloud of light and then diminish further to darkness. After a few minutes hesitation, she lay back on her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

She awoke with the sun streaming through the window. She immediately remembered her angel encounter and wondered if it had been a dream or if it had really happened. It had all seemed so real and she could remember every word that had been said.

She quickly got dressed and rushed into her parent’s home to tell them of her experience. While she was full of apprehension, her parents were over-the-moon with excitement and suggested that she could confirm the truth of what Gabriel had said by visiting her cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah and find out if it was true that she was pregnant.

But they live in Hebron, down in the hill country beyond Jerusalem, she said. It’s a long journey and I couldn’t possibly go alone. Joseph is staying in Jerusalem and I don’t expect to see him for weeks: and there is no way that I want you undertaking such a journey, you are both getting too frail!

Both Joachim and Anne were a little taken aback by Mary’s sudden outburst, but they had to admit that they would not be the best companions on such a journey (about 130 kms.). Joachim would not admit to frailty on his part, but he did agree with Mary that Anne would be an additional worry on such a journey and he felt he had to be at home with her. They wondered who, among their friends might be able to go with Mary.

One family came to mind immediately. It was Cyrus and his wife Eucharis who lived close by in the castle Magdalo. Joachim had been friends with Cyrus from their childhood, even though Joachim was several years older than Cyrus they had often played together. Cyrus could not be expected to go with Mary himself, but they were a wealthy family and had many servants who could act as an armed escort on the journey.

So they sent their servant round to the castle to find out if it would be convenient to visit and were promptly told to come for lunch the following day. After a pleasant lunch of braised goat meat, figs, goat cheese and freshly baked bread, the news about the angel’s visit was passed on, together with a request for a guard for Mary. There was no hesitation on the part of Cyrus, who was, in any case planning a journey to Jerusalem to attend to the maintenance of properties he owned in the city. He immediately offered to allow Mary to travel with him; to drop him off in Jerusalem and then allow Mary to continue in his carriage with the two-man guard and to leave her with her cousin in Hebron. The servants would stay overnight in the carriage before returning to him in Jerusalem.

***

Elizabeth was alarmed to see two armed men stopping outside her home in Hebron in the late afternoon, but was delighted