"What would you know,.stranger? Every day the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The Romans- you are not Roman, are you? No, you do not dress like a Roman or speak in their manner. The Romans have raised taxes, to the greater glory of the emperor, and Pilate the governor now fears a rebellion, so he is attempting to win over to his purposes the priests of the temple."
"What do you know of Jesus, the Nazarene?"
'Ah! You want to know about him as well! You are not a spy, then, are you?"
"No, good man, I am not a spy. I am simply a traveler who knows of the wonders that the Nazarene has worked."
"If you are sick, he can cure you. There are many who say they have been healed by the touch of the Nazarene's fingers."
"And you do not believe that?"
"I, sir, work from sun to sun, tending my orchard and selling my apples. I have a wife and two daughters to feed. I keep all the laws that a good Jew must keep, and I believe in God. Whether the Nazarene is the Messiah, as people say, I know not-I cannot say he is, and I cannot say he is not. But I will tell you, stranger, that the priests, and the Romans as well, are against him, for Jesus has no fear of their power and he defies them equally. A man cannot stand up against the Romans and the priests and expect any good to come of it. This Jesus will, I think, regret his pride."
Josar wandered through the city until he came to the house of Mark. There he was told that he could find Jesus beside the southern wall, preaching to a multitude.
Josar soon found him. The Nazarene, dressed in a simple linen robe, was speaking to his followers in a voice that was firm yet wonderfully sweet.
He felt Jesus' eyes upon him. He had seen Josar, he smiled upon him, and he beckoned him to come closer.
Jesus embraced him and bade him to sit there beside him. John, the youngest of the disciples, moved aside so that Josar might sit at the master's left hand.
There they all spent the morning, and when the sun had reached the highest point in the sky, Judas, one of the disciples, brought bread, figs, and water to the crowd. They ate in silence and in peace. Then Jesus stood to leave.
"My lord," Josar said softly, "I bring a letter for you from my king, Abgar of Edessa."
'And what does Abgar want of me, my good Josar?"
"He is ill, my lord, and asks that you help him. I, too, ask it of you, my lord, because he is a good man, truly, and a good king, and his subjects know that he is fair and kind. Edessa is a small city, but Abgar will share it with you."
Jesus laid his hand on Josar's arm as they walked. And Josar felt privileged to be near the man he truly believed to be the Son of God.
"I will read the letter and answer your king."
That night Josar broke bread with Jesus and his disciples, who were uneasy at the news of the priests' growing antagonism. A woman, Mary Magdalene, had heard in the market that the priests were urging the Romans to arrest Jesus, whom they accused of being the instigator of certain disturbances, some violent, against Rome's power.
Jesus listened in silence and ate calmly. It appeared that all the matters the others were talking about were already known to him. After they had eaten, he told them that they should forgive those who did them harm or spoke against them, that they should show compassion toward those who wished them ill. The disciples replied that it was not easy to forgive a man who does one harm, to remain passive without returning ill for ill.
Jesus listened, but again he argued that forgiveness was a balm for the soul of the person aggrieved.
At the end of the evening, he sought out Josar with his eyes and beckoned him to come closer. Josar saw that the Nazarene was holding a letter.
"Josar, here is my reply to Abgar."
"Will you come with me, my lord?"
"No, I will not go with you. I cannot, for I must do my Father's work as I have been bidden. Instead, I will send one of my disciples. But mark me well, Josar-your king will see me in Edessa, and if he has faith he shall be healed."
"Whom will you send? And how is it possible, my lord, that you shall remain here yet Abgar shall see you in Edessa?"
Jesus smiled and looked calmly but fixedly upon Josar.
"Do you not follow me? Do you not listen to me? You shall go, Josar, and your king shall be healed, and he shall see me in Edessa even when I am no longer in this world."
Josar believed.
The sun poured in through the small window in the room where Josar sat, composing a letter to Abgar. The innkeeper bustled about, preparing food for Josar's companions.
Josar to Abgar, king of Edessa, greetings-
My lord, these men bring you the Nazarene's reply. I beg you, sire, to have faith, for Jesus says that you shall be healed. I know that he will work that wonder, but do not ask me how he will do it or when.
I ask license, my king, to remain in Jerusalem, near to Jesus. My heart tells me that I must remain here. I need to hear him, follow him as the most humble of his disciples. All that I have, you have given me, and so, my lord, do as you will with my possessions, my house, my slaves; give them as you see fit to the poor and needy. I shall remain here, and to follow Jesus I will have need of almost nothing. I sense, too, that something is to happen, for the priests of the temple despise Jesus for calling himself the Son of God and for living according to the laws of the Jews, which the priests themselves do not.
Ibeg of you, my lord, your understanding and your permission to follow where destiny leads me..
Abgar read Josar's letter and was overcome with despair. The Jew would not come to Edessa, and Josar was staying in Jerusalem.
The men who had accompanied Josar had traveled without rest to bring the king the two missives. He had read Josar's first, and now he would read Jesus', but from his heart had passed all hope-he cared little, now what the Nazarene might write to him.
The queen entered the chamber, her eyes filled with worry.
"I have heard that word has come from Josar."
"Indeed. The Jew will not come. Josar asks my leave to remain in Jerusalem. He desires me to portion out his possessions among the poor. He has become a disciple of Jesus."
"Is that man so extraordinary, then, that Josar would abandon all to follow him? How I would like to know him!"
"You will abandon me too?"
"My lord, you know I will not, but I do believe that Jesus is a god. What does he say in his letter?"
"I have not yet broken the seal; wait, I will read it to you."
Blessings upon you, Abgar, for as much as you have believed in me whom you have not seen.
For of me it is written: Those who have seen me shall not believe in me, so that those who have not seen may believe, and be blessed, and live.
As for the favor you ask of me, that I go to you to be by your side-I must bide here and carry out all those things for which I have been sent, so that after I have done I may return to Him who sent me.