Men Called Him Master | Page 6

us all the
same way. No one here will betray you." The man's face showed his
relief.
"Perhaps you will tell us where you are from," suggested Simon.
"I am a Greek; a fisherman from Corinth. I was taken captive and made
the slave of a Roman soldier. We were sent to Sidon." He waved his
hand toward the west. "I watched my chance and ran away. Here I want
to work and remain unknown."
John said: "Will you come with us to the synagogue? If you are going
to work with us, you should become one of us."
"I will worship any god who will give me a happy life."

"I can't promise that God will do that," answered John. "Our nation has
always suffered greatly." He looked at Andrew. "But we believe what
John the Baptizer tells us: God is soon coming to save us."
The gentile shook his head. "I don't understand."
"Perhaps he has not heard of the Prophet," Andrew said to Simon. He
turned to the slave and said, "God has sent a Prophet to warn us to turn
back to God."
"What will your god do for you?" asked the other.
Andrew spoke sternly to him. "God is not our servant! We are his
servants! We obey him."
"John the Baptizer says God will soon set up his Kingdom," added
John.
"I must say the Zealots make better sense to me," interrupted Simon.
"After all, you have to make some effort yourself. You can't just sit and
wait."
"Who are the Zealots?" asked the gentile.
"They are warlike patriots who are always staging riots against the
Romans," explained Simon.
"While I was at Sidon, the Romans were busy hunting down bands of
these people," observed the gentile.
"Many brave men have been killed by Rome. We seem to be defeated
in every rebellion." Simon turned to his brother. "Do you remember
Judah the Galilean?" Andrew nodded.
"Judah was a Zealot," continued Simon. "He gathered a group of brave
young Jews and raided one of Herod's forts. They took swords, spears,
and money to buy food. At the Feast of the Passover, they came out of
their hiding places in the northern hills." He pointed toward the
mountains where the snowy crest of Mount Hermon shone in the

morning light. "They hid swords under their robes and joined the
crowds going to Jerusalem. I was only a child but my parents took me
to Jerusalem that year.
"The Zealots knew the Temple would be guarded by Roman soldiers,
so they surrounded it. The Roman commander saw men with swords in
the crowd of pilgrims filling the Temple and thought they were going
to attack his men, so he ordered his soldiers to attack first.
"The Zealots were taken by surprise and the Romans gained the upper
hand. Then Judah saw his chance. He rallied his men, and they climbed
on the roof of the wooden buildings which surround the Temple
courtyard. From there they threw spears down on the Romans. It
looked then as though they had a chance to win.
"To drive the Jews off these buildings, the Romans set them afire. They
were dry as tinder and burned fiercely. The Zealots had to get down.
Some killed themselves rather than surrender. Others leaped among the
Romans and died fighting. Those that escaped to the country hid in the
hills around Jerusalem. There Judah gathered together as many of his
men as were still alive.
"The Roman general sent bands of his men into the hills to hunt down
the survivors. One morning there was a blare of trumpets and a group
of Roman soldiers came marching down the street. From the roof of the
house where I stayed with my parents we saw Judah of Galilee being
prodded along by guards in armor. He was hurt but he walked proudly.
"I began to cry. Even my father had tears in his eyes. Although I was
only a young boy, I knew that Judah would be killed for fighting the
Romans. But I did not know how terrible it would be.
"The Romans made all Jews who did not live in Jerusalem leave within
two days. It was a sad time. We had come in joy, remembering how at
the first Passover Feast God had protected us from the Egyptians. We
left sorrowing. We saw a dreadful sight when we went out of the city
gate."

The fishermen had finished their food and sat with their eyes fixed on
Simon. James and Andrew had heard bits of this story before, but
listened eagerly for details as Simon talked. John's eyes seemed to be
saying: "Go on! Go on!" Zebedee was older and knew the story well.
Already his face showed pain and sorrow.
"Judah had been condemned