A new deal (This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

Please go to the latest, revised edition of The Secret Path -- A Story of Jesus

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The reconstruction of events in this section is in some places speculative.

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En route to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, Peter and other disciples stopped off to rest. That pilgrimage feast, known in Greek as Pentecost, occurs seven weeks after the Passover celebration.

As they sat inside a house in Bethany -- possibly the house of Lazarus -- a man appeared among them, though no one noticed him enter the room.

"Why are some of you troubled?" the man asked. "What is this skepticism of yours?"

At once, the men who had met Jesus in Galilee realized who was speaking, but some of the others who had missed that appearance were skeptical -- though because of his strange arrival they wondered whether they might be seeing a ghost.

The man held up his wounded hands and displayed his injured feet.

 "Look at my hands and feet," he said. "Feel me. A ghost lacks flesh and bones. But you can see I am made of flesh and bone."

Skepticism turned to incredulous joy among those who had had doubts about the Galilee encounter.

"Have you something to eat?" Jesus asked.

He was given a piece of broiled fish, which he ate as they watched.

Then, as he had done with the Emmaus pair, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the meaning of the Scriptures referring to him – the Messiah – that are written in the Mosaic books, the Psalms and the prophets. The Scriptures show, he said, that it was necessary for the Messiah to endure pain and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all peoples, beginning at Jerusalem.

"I send you just as my Father sent me," Jesus told them. He then breathed on them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you absolve anyone of sin, he is absolved, and if you don't absolve, then his sin remains."

They would be clothed with power from on high, Jesus added.

Then, as he blessed his brothers, he was gone.

Everyone knew where he had gone. He had gone to join his divine Father.

By speaking the word and breathing, Jesus assured that the gift of the Spirit was  bound to come. Very soon, at the Feast of Pentecost, God's Spirit would come.

Shortly thereafter in Jerusalem, the disciples were gathered in an upstairs room room that had been provided for them with the help of the wealthy women who had followed Jesus and the disciples around. Among those present were  some of those women followers, along with Jesus' mother Mary, who was accompanied by some of his biological brothers. Other women on hand were Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary of Magdala and Jesus' maternal aunt.

As the fellow who had been Jesus' pet disciple contemplated Mary, the feeling came over him that he should accept responsibility for her care. Mary also felt a deep connection toward that disciple. It was as if Jesus were talking to them from the cross. They were to be mother and son, even though male relatives were legally and morally responsible for Mary's welfare.

Aside from Peter, others present were the brothers James and John; Andrew; Philip; Thomas; Bartholomew; Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus; and Simon the Zealot; and Judah the brother of James.

Outside, Peter called a conference of Jesus' disciples, who numbered about  120 altogether.

As 120 = 10 x 12, it is possible that the Lucan writer wanted to convey the idea that the Twelve chief disciples were "embodied" in the rest of the disciples and followers gathered there.

"Brothers, the Scripture had to have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke through David concerning Judah, who guided those who arrested Jesus. He was one of us and shared in our service work. This man purchased a field with the iniquitous payoff and falling headlong, his up body burst open and his bowels were emptied."

Later, a Christian noted that everyone who lived in Jerusalem had heard about this incident.  That's why that plot of land, he wrote, came to be known as Blood Field, or, in Aramaic, Hakel-D'ma.

We add that Peter may well have been speaking metaphorically. As in: all that Judah's blood money got him was a burial plot in the field his money paid for. According to Matthew, Judah hanged himself once he realized the enormity of his crime and, according to Acts, he ended up in the very field that was purchased for the burial of non-Jews. Because Judah had accepted blood money, it is quite possible the very people who gave him the payoff deemed him unfit for a proper Jewish burial.

Peter's description of Judah's suicide is compatible with the fact that on death, muscles are suddenly relaxed, often causing the bowels to empty.

Further, we mention that Peter does not specify that Judah hanged himself in Potter's Field.

Peter pointed out, "For it is written in the book of Psalms,

Let his habitation be desolate,
and let no man dwell therein:
and his position let another take." [NDx1]

He then recommended that the disciples choose someone to come in to the inner circle to take the place of the dead Judah and help the other eleven in their work of declaring the truth and meaning of the resurrection. Many of those standing there had followed Jesus and the Twelve right from the beginning of the ministry, when John was immersing people in the Jordan.

So they decided on two candidates, Joseph (who was known as Barabba) and whose surname was Justus, and Matthias.

The men prayed, saying, "Lord, you know the hearts of all men. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take part in our mission after Judah transgressed and fell, so that he might go to his own place."

So the men used a lottery to determine God's choice. The lot fell to Matthias and he was then considered the twelfth apostle.

We may note that the term apostle originally signified a messenger or missionary. Later, Christians used that word as a title that signified someone specially commissioned to start the church. Paul uses the word in both senses.

Lottery. Probably the disciples placed marked straws in a container and shook it up. The first one pulled would be the winner. If that was not the method, it was something similar.

On the actual day of Pentecost – a festival for offering homage to God for the harvest – a group of men and women followers of Jesus were gathered together, all in accord.

Suddenly the house was filled with a sound of the rush of a strong wind and what looked like pronged tongues of fire that rested on each person present.

The people were filled with the Holy Spirit, who motivated their speech.

Now since Pentecost was a pilgrimage feast, Jerusalem was packed with observant Jews from all over – not only Jewish Palestine, but from Jewish colonies around the Roman Empire. Passersby heard the commotion and quickly a crowd gathered.

On arrival, these Jews were shocked to hear the message of salvation being proclaimed in their own language.

"See here! Aren't these people speaking all these languages Galilaeans?" said amazed bystanders. "Yet, I hear my own language spoken!"

In that time, people from Galilee were regarded as generally uneducated and in some eyes barely Jewish.

Among the hearers were Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia Minor. Others were from Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and from in and around Kyrene, Libya. Crete and Arabia were also represented. More came from Rome – both Jews and people who wished to convert to Judaism. And of course there were plenty of people from all over Jewish Palestine.

They were all astonished to hear the wonderful works of God being proclaimed. "What does this mean?!" they wondered. But other people in the crowd laughed at them, saying, "These men are full of new wine."

Peter, flanked by the other eleven chief disciples, went to the crowd, raised his voice and used words to this effect:

"Men of Judaea and all you who are in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I have to say:

"These people here aren't drunk, as you suppose. It's only the third hour! [9 a.m.]

"What is happening is what was foretold by the prophet Joel:

It will come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour my Spirit onto all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days, on my servants and on my servant girls will I pour forth my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
The sun will go dark, and the moon will turn to blood, before that great and terrible Day of the Lord comes.
And it shall come to pass, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.[NDh1]

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth was a man among you, whom God confirmed by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did by him in your midst – miracles many of you know about.

"He was handed over, in accordance with God's plan and foreknowledge, to you, and by wicked hands he was crucified and slain. But God has raised him up, having untied the pangs of death,  for it was impossible that Death should hold him.

David speaks about him:

I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad.
Moreover also my flesh will rest in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy with your countenance.[NDh2]

"Men and brothers, let me speak honestly about the patriarch David: He is dead and buried, and his tomb is still here with us. But, being a prophet – and knowing that God had made him a promise to raise up one of his descendants [according to the flesh] as the Messiah to sit on his throne – when David had this vision, he was speaking of the resurrection of the Anointed One, whose soul was not left in the Valley of Death.[NDk1] Nor did his flesh see corruption.

"This Jesus has God raised up, and we are all witnesses.

"Having been raised to the position of God's right-hand man and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has shed forth that Spirit, which is what you're now seeing and hearing.

"David did not ascend to the heavens, and yet he himself said:

The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, while I make your foes your footstool.[NDm1]

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know that it is certain that God has made that same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."

At these words, many in the crowd were cut to the heart.

"What can we do?!" they asked.

Peter replied, "Turn away from you old ways, and let every one of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Jesus for the remission of sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Peter, who had first been a disciple of John the Dunker, initiates water baptism here, exercising his authority over God's kingdom given to him (and not only him) by Jesus. Peter believed that water baptism was a good way to demonstrate one's true conversion toward God in the name of Jesus. But note that, without first trusting in Jesus, they could not be saved. Also note that Peter associated the act of water baptism with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which was to follow immediately.

Peter pointed out that the "promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

The promise was to Jews near and far. But God was extending that promise to non-Jews.

Peter continued with many other words to testify and exhort. His message was: "Save yourselves from out of this warped society."

Many gladly received his word and were baptized. That day, the Messianic group expanded by about three thousand souls.

God had established a new people in a single day.

Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.[NDk2]

When Jesus was dying on the cross to pay for all sin, "Zion travailed." When the Holy Spirit descended on all sorts of ordinary Jews at Pentecost, "a nation was born in a day."