An Easter Disciple | Page 5

In his tent Quintus is wondering
through the long hours if, among his people on the Tiber, the Shepherd
shall not find some sheep to whom he will give the unending life.

III
CHRIST HIMSELF THE WITNESS TO IMMORTALITY
"He appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets
had foretold."--Josephus.
How often have men missed the sight of great historic occurrences, in
their attention to the routine of life! So it was that Quintus did not
witness the tragic events of that Passover week on which human

destiny was to turn. To Tyre on the Great Sea he had gone, to arrange
for the landing of a new quota of troops from Brundisium. The
commander at Scopus had chosen him for the responsible mission, in
token of his especial fitness. The compliment was pleasing. But in his
absence he was ever thinking of the promise made by the Teacher in
Solomon's Porch, that the sheep who followed him should have eternal
life.
Astir was all Jerusalem, when the knight returned to Scopus. It was on
the morning after the Lord's resurrection. That Roman centurion who
had been at Calvary reviewed for Quintus the fateful happenings. With
pomp reminding of a Roman triumph the Christ had entered David's
city; after four days Iscariot had betrayed him with a kiss; for
blasphemy Pilatus, the procurator, had sentenced him to the cross; they
had put on him a scarlet robe in mockery; they had hung him between
two robbers on the hill of Golgotha; a brutal soldier now at Scopus had
won by lot his seamless robe, and was jauntily displaying it as a trophy;
an uncanny darkness had covered the Judaean sky; the soldier Longinus
had pierced the sufferer's side; they had buried the dead Christ in the
garden tomb of the Arimathaean Joseph. Monumental events were
these--all new to Quintus, but destined to be written indelibly in the
calendars of Christendom.
"More than this," continues the centurion, "an amazing rumor is now
abroad in the city that yesterday the dead Christus awoke from his sleep
and has been five times seen by his amazed disciples. When I beheld
him yield up the ghost, I hailed his death as that of a devout man, but
little did I think that he was a God and would return from the tomb. The
report says he has now come back. On swift wing the rumor has flown
through Jerusalem and even into Pilate's palace."
Down from the heights of Scopus the hurrying feet of Quintus carry
him to Jerusalem. Doubts and wonderings and half-beliefs fill his mind.
What if by any shadow of possibility the prediction of the strange
Teacher has been fulfilled, that he should return from the dead on the
third day? Finding his way to Joseph's garden, Quintus stands by an
empty sepulcher. There is a group of wondering visitors near, and
among them is one whose inviting face leads Quintus to accost him.
Not frightened by the sword and armor of the Roman knight, but
assured by his candid look, the other answers in the Aramaic which

both can speak:
"Johannes is my name. Till three years ago I was a fisherman, up on the
waters of Gennesaret. Since then I have been a disciple of this Man
from Galilee. In his company I have heard surprising words and have
felt a heavenly influence. He was no ordinary Teacher. He was indeed
from above."
"Is it true," asks Quintus in breathless words, "that your Master has
risen from the grave? I have been away in Tyrus. Now in the Roman
camp on Scopus I have heard that he has come forth from the sepulcher.
What means such a marvelous report?"
"Yes, it is all true," John answers with his face aglow; "this is the very
sepulcher where our Lord was laid. Your own sentries kept guard
before the tomb securely sealed. But on the morning of yesterday there
was a shaking of the earth; some angelic visitants rolled away the stone
door of the grave; and our immortal Christus came forth again.
"Astounding," Quintus interrupts in a whirl of words; "but did he make
any promise of another life for men, before he was put to death?"
"He truly did," replies the disciple; "when we had eaten the Passover
supper with him, he spoke a word more marvelous than any of your
Roman teachers has ever uttered. Into the spirit world he said he was
departing, to make ready a room in the Father's ample house for those
who were his own; and on his return he would take them to be with
himself. Ever since our sad-hearted band have been comforting
themselves with this last promise in the upper room."
"None of our Roman gods has