A/N: Well, I've never attempted any Bible fiction. I guess I've always been worried that it would come across as blasphemous. Good Friday has been on my mind this year more than ever before. When we read the Bible, we read of Jesus' death, and then the very next chapter tells us how He rose from the dead. I've always read it through from one event to the next and never really thought about the in-between. Even His own disciples were not expecting Him to rise from the dead, so in those couple of days after His death but before the resurrection, I can imagine a lot of His followers feeling lost and depressed. The Bible tells us the disciples were hidden away because they were afraid. They were the ones closest to Jesus, and if they were afraid, I can imagine many of the people who followed Him wouldn't have wanted to try to continue His work, either.
But anyway, the character in this story is just a made-up character, just one of the many people who had heard Jesus' teachings and had come to believe in Him.
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It's hard to explain the emptiness I feel. I had heard of Him, of the things He taught, and could not wait for my own opportunity to see Him and hear Him speak. People said His words were like nothing they had ever heard. I only had the chance to hear Him once, but the things He said were amazing.
Jesus said He had been sent by God to save the world from death. He said if we believed in Him, then we would have life forever. He told stories about how we are supposed to live, attitudes we are supposed to have that are pleasing to God. Attitudes such as being kind and showing love to everyone, even to those who we may not think deserve it. Attitudes such as always forgiving others when they do wrong by us.
I wondered, at first, if He was a prophet. I had heard rumors about it, but there seemed to be differences of opinion. He claimed to be the Son of God, and while many doubted, there were also many that believed.
I believed Him. With the words that He spoke and the miracles He performed, how could I not believe? Truly, there was something very special and very unique about this man.
The ones who doubted Him were always asking Him questions and accusing Him of doing wrong. He only made them angrier by turning things around and answering their questions with questions of His own. It became so bad, they conspired to get rid of Him, to put Him to death.
They did it. They've killed Him, and many are afraid. People like myself, who believed in Him and the words He spoke, and the promises He made, we are lost. I know I am confused. I saw what they did to Him, and while I have seen them put many criminals to death, this execution was different.
It seemed as if there was a malice behind it, as if the devil himself was rejoicing because of it, because of all the pain they inflicted upon Him. The beat Him and scourged Him so terribly, He did not even look like a man anymore. And if that wasn't enough, they mocked Him, and then finally, they crucified Him. Because of the terrible beating they had given Him, He did not last very long on the cross. When I saw His head drop as He took His last breath, I was filled with an emptiness.
At that moment, I wondered how someone who promised everlasting life couldn't even escape His own death. I was filled with confusion. Had I been deceived? Had I wrongly placed my belief in Him?
Hours later, I watched as they took Him down from the cross with such care. Later, I heard talk of how they had prepared His body for burial. A burial! Many of the criminals that were crucified were just tossed into a pit, they didn't get a burial. But apparently a man named Joseph had come and offered the tomb that was intended to be his own someday. He just gave it away to this man who claimed to be the Son of God.
At that moment, my faith was confirmed again. There were other people who had believed in the words He had said, and they hadn't given up hope. To me, Joseph represented other followers who would not let any doubts work their way through their minds, as I had begun to do. He would not have offered his tomb to just any crucified criminal, he would have only done it for the man called Jesus Christ. He would have only done it if he truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God. And I still believed it, too.
I know now, that just because they killed Him, He is still alive through everything He taught. If we live by that, if we still believe in the words He spoke, if we try to be the kind of person that He was, those ideals will always remain alive in us.
It still seemed as if something had changed, though. Now that Jesus was gone, what were we supposed to do? I've heard rumors that His disciples are going into hiding because of what happened. They fear the same fate. Other followers, like myself, who still believe in the words He spoke, should be trying to encourage the others who have lost faith, letting them know that there is still faith to be had. However, they are all afraid, too.
When Jesus spoke, He was not afraid to say what needed to be said, but now He is gone, and His followers are silent and afraid.
So who will continue to speak for Him?
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To be continued... on Easter Sunday...
