He approached a boat where three men sat mending nets. They glanced at him and looked away. “I am looking for your spokesman,” Levi said.
“Of course you are,” one muttered.
“He is not on the water today, sir.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Where is he? Do you know?”
The man shrugged. “Perhaps listening to the prophet on the eastern shore.”
“The prophet?”
“Some of the early morning men returned with stories of a man over there carrying on about the kingdom of God.”
Levi felt a chill. “Anyone going that way yet today?”
“We are if we can get this work done.”
“Might I catch a ride with you? Surely it would be faster than walking.”
“What, is a tax due for preaching?”
The men laughed, and to stay in their good graces and gain passage, Levi chuckled along. “I am just curious. And perhaps I will meet with Simon.”
“We’ll be another hour.”
“Would it be more prudent for me to walk?”
“You’d be ahead if you could find a cart ride right now. Otherwise, we’ll take you.”
Levi busied himself while waiting by observing other boats coming and going, offloading fish, and making small repairs. Presently he came upon the elderly Zebedee, whose wispy white hair sprouted from a leathery brown head. The old man was slowly folding a net, appearing to conserve his waning strength. They greeted each other and Levi asked after James and John.
Zebedee looked surprised, as if he found it difficult to believe the chief publican cared about his sons. “Well, they are all right,” he said, a slight smile revealing toothless gums. “They, and all of us, have very much appreciated your consideration these last two months.”
In truth, Levi was not in the habit of congenial conversation. “Well, you should appreciate it. And the benefits to the business had better show, and soon.”
Zebedee’s smile faded and he nodded, turning back to his work.
THREE HOURS LATER Levi disembarked on the eastern shore with a less than effusive thank-you to his hosts. Hundreds of people were milling about, talking excitedly. He overheard a woman say, “I have never heard anything like it!”
“Pardon me, madam,” Levi said, “what did I miss?”
“You didn’t hear the Preacher?”
“I only just arrived.”
“He spoke as One with authority.”
“What did He say?”
“He said what the baptizer had been saying, to repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
“What did He mean?”
“I don’t know, but I will hear Him again.”
Levi searched in vain for Simon or Andrew and eventually resorted to getting a slow ride all the way around to the northern end of sea on an oxcart. All the way back he planned what he would write to his brother. No, he had not seen the Man in question, but yes, it had to be the one James was assigned to follow.
And yet, too, the more Levi thought about the fact that Simon and perhaps his brother had been distracted from their work and business so soon after benefiting from his largesse, the angrier he became. He was grateful to find the brothers securing their boat when finally he arrived back.
“What do you mean by taking the day off when you are behind in your taxes?”
Simon normally retorted angrily when Levi challenged him, especially publicly. But now his eyes seemed to dance. “We didn’t take the entire day off, friend. In fact, we just finished processing a decent catch just before you arrived. I was on the eastern shore where—”
“So I heard. Listening to a Preacher?”
“More of a prophet. He was most impressive. He—”
“I know, I know. Don’t make a habit of this while trying to make up for the tax break.”
“You should hear Him, sir.”
“Perhaps I will! But you have responsibilities. After your work is finished tomorrow, I want you to come by the tax office.”
“Must I?”
“You must! Rome will have no more patience with you than I do.”
IT WAS DARK by the time Levi reached the tax office, where he planned to simply be certain all was in order before penning his missive to his brother and heading home. Though it was dusk, he was surprised to see more people than usual milling about in the streets. They were speaking excitedly, as those on the other side of the Galilee had been, and Levi realized that for the second time in one day, he had just missed the Prophet, or Teacher, or Preacher, or impostor—whichever it was he might be.
Naturally Levi suspected the last, but he couldn’t deny the stir caused by the Man. A passerby said, “He taught in the synagogue, preaching the gospel of the kingdom! And rumor has it He then went out and healed all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people!”
Levi had seen fake healers before. They paid people to feign maladies, which they then miraculously cured. Their fame was brief, as they were soon found out. He hurried to the synagogue, where the rabbi was surrounded by citizens, all clamoring for answers.
“I do not know what to make of Him any more than you do,” he was saying.
“Yes, but you allowed Him inside to read the Scriptures and teach! Is He a rabbi?”
“He certainly spoke like one,” the rabbi said. “Didn’t He?”
“But if you don’t know Him, how could you allow—”
“He asked my permission. He introduced himself as Jesus bar Joseph of Nazareth, and—”
“Is He a rabbi there?”
The rabbi threw up his hands. “Not to my knowledge. He said His trade was carpentry.”
“Carpentry! Are you not to guard the gate of the temple the way a shepherd protects the flock? What possessed you to allow Him that place of honor when He has no training?”
The rabbi hesitated. “I don’t know. All I can say is that His tone, His very visage, gave me confidence that He was sincere and had a word for us. Plus crowds followed Him here, so I knew they were already persuaded that He was worth hearing. And did you not hear Him? Could you argue with a single point He made?”
“I did not understand Him,” a woman called out.
“Neither did I!” a man said. “He spoke mysteries.”
“Yet He made sense,” the rabbi said. “And I would welcome Him again.”
“And I would hear Him again!”
“Me too!”
“Did you hear about the healings?”
The rabbi nodded. “I heard, but I did not witness anything of the sort, so I will withhold judgment and comment on that.”
Levi stepped forward. “What if He turns out to be a sorcerer, a charlatan?”
“Then we will have all been played for fools,” the rabbi said. “And I the chief among you.”
“Don’t include me,” Levi said. “I am not convinced.”
“You heard Him and were not impressed?” a young man said.
And Levi was caught. All he had heard was what others had said, but admitting that would render his opinion moot. He swore. “I heard all I needed to hear. I am not swept along by every wind that passes through Capernaum.”
“Watch your language!” the rabbi said.
“And go back to your overflowing purse!” a woman said. “We stopped caring what you thought years ago.”
Levi waved them off as he skulked back to his office. He scratched neatly on a piece of papyrus, “James, the object of your investigation is here. Jesus bar Joseph of Nazareth. The populace is in an uproar. I cannot imagine he is who you hope him to be, but you might want to come in haste.”
FOURTEEN
The night proved long and particularly lonely for Levi, especially since he knew that his message to his brother would not even begin its way to Jerusalem until the next morning. Perhaps James would have already heard the clamor that had to be spreading throughout the land.
If this Jesus was from Nazareth, even
if He was the right age to be the Messiah, the Christ who had supposedly been born thirty years before, how had He escaped Herod’s sword? Levi soon recognized the illogic of his own question. Surely God would find a way to protect the Messiah.
Levi ate listlessly and found himself barking at the servants over minor matters. He nearly apologized, alarming himself by some new sensitivity that had seemed to come over him. He talked himself out of it, though he knew the problem was his, not theirs. Nothing and no one could please him this night.
Sleep eluded him and he walked the grounds, the gardens, the vineyard. Levi found himself wishing, hoping, everything but praying that this Nazarene would still be in Capernaum the next day. He would see Him, hear Him, perhaps even question Him, whatever it took. And he would look forward to his brother’s arrival, which would likely be only days away. James would be versed in all the evidences necessary to identify whether this Man fit the prophetic description of Messiah.
Levi finally drifted into a fitful sleep a few hours after midnight and found himself waking every hour or so before dawn. He ate a light breakfast and was at the tax office to address the staff before they headed out to their various posts. Efah seemed offended that Levi would address them all, when in recent years Levi had left direct supervision of them to him.
“I have an appointment here at the end of the day with the spokesmen for the fishermen,” Levi announced. “But I want you all to be on the lookout for this Preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, and send word to me immediately if He appears near your area.”
UNFORTUNATELY, the word Levi was looking for did not come until the end of the day, and it came from the shores. Jesus had been spotted interacting with the fishermen themselves. Levi was tempted to rush there, but he feared he would be too late and would then miss his appointment with Simon. Simon was expected soon, so perhaps he would be able to tell Levi something more about the Man and what he was up to.
But Simon never showed up. More than an hour after Simon was supposed to be there, Levi was pacing and trying to decide whether to make his way to the shore when one of his young tax collectors hurried in. “You were at the shore today, no?” Levi said.
“Yes!” the man said, out of breath. “And I spotted your Man, the one you were looking for!”
“Is he still there?”
“No, he was not there long.”
“And what of Simon? Is he on his way here?”
“No, sir! Let me tell you what happened. This Man was walking by the sea and stopped when He saw Simon and his brother casting a net. He called out to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
“Fishers of men? What did he mean?”
“I don’t know, master, but Simon and Andrew immediately dropped their nets and left with Him.”
Levi could not make sense of this. “They left their new nets?”
The young man nodded. “Others of their crew immediately took over their work, but the brothers are gone, following this Man.”
“Following Him where?”
“They headed north. And when they came to the sons of Zebedee, in the boat with their father mending their nets, this Man called out to them too, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.”
Levi realized he was trembling and interlocked his fingers to hide it. “Do you value your job, young man?”
“Of course I do, sir.”
“Did you collect taxes from these men before they left? They owe for each boat, each net, each crew member, and every fish they caught.”
“I know, but you seemed so urgent this morning about hearing word of the Preacher that I came immediately to tell what I had seen.”
“Get back there and collect those taxes! These men had better not have left their businesses for good. Who will make up for the break they were given to improve their income?”
“It may be too late for today, master, but I will do my best.”
“Do that, and if no one remains there to pay, find them tomorrow. And if you hear anything about where they went with this stranger, bring me word of that too. I will be at home.”
THAT NIGHT LEVI WAS listlessly dining alone when he heard activity at the front gate. He wiped his mouth and waited until a servant told him an employee wished to see him.
“Send him in.”
The young man entered and apologized for interrupting his meal.
“Not at all. What news?”
“Today’s taxes were paid in full by all the fishermen, and I have been assured they will be paid daily from here on out, even by the crews who have lost their owners.”
“Lost? So Simon and Andrew and Zebedee’s sons are gone?”
“They are, sir. Gone to be disciples of the Preacher.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It puzzled me too. But they tell me that the crowds hearing Him speak and watching Him heal people have grown to many hundreds.”
“I am curious about this Man and should hear him. Where would I do that?”
“He is dwelling in Capernaum now.”
“You don’t say.” Levi smiled. “He will become a taxpayer. I have official reasons to meet Him now.”
“I believe he is staying at Simon’s house, sir.”
“Hmm. So just a visitor. Where might I hear Him speak and watch Him perform his so-called miracles?”
“No one knows. But when crowds begin to gather, as they seem to whenever He appears, follow the crowd.”
“I do not want to miss this.”
“I understand, sir. I will keep an eye out for Him and tell the others to do the same.”
THE MAN CREATING the stir was living in Capernaum. James would make a huge assumption from that. All it told Levi was that he would do what his young employee suggested. He would pack a satchel with papyrus, ink, and quills, and he would be at the ready when crowds began to form around this Man. Levi would use one of his greatest talents—his proficiency at tachygraphy—to record every word Jesus said. Then he would have time to pore over it with his brother and decide whether there was anything legitimate about Him.
HIS MERE EXCITEMENT over the possibility would have kept Levi awake yet another night had it not been for his fatigue. He had walked more the last few days than in weeks before that, and his concern over both the man of mystery and the tax obligations of the fishermen weighed on him. Levi was sleeping soundly at dawn when he was awakened by his main servant.
“A thousand apologies, master, but a runner has arrived, sent by one of your employees.”
“What’s the trouble?”
“The message is that crowds are gathering in anticipation of the Galilean, and your man was certain you would want to be made aware.”
“Yes! Thank you! Prepare a horse and cart and driver.”
Levi hurriedly bathed and dressed, and another servant drove him into his office in minutes. People were streaming alongside the road, hurrying into the city. And when Levi arrived at the tax office, it was plain the multitudes were now heading north and west.
“He’s up there!” someone shouted, and many ran ahead.
Levi had never seen so much excitement. He filled his shoulder bag with papyrus and writing supplies, planning to join the throng. He still had not caught sight of the Man.
On his way out he was brought up short by Efah. “How many of us may take the day off for the spectacle?”
“None!”
“You are our leader, and you find diversion while we work?”
“Precisely. I cannot imagine it will take long.”
“How will you discipline someone who follows your example?”
Levi stopped. “I will sever my relationship with you if you cause me any further delay! And anyone who misses his daily quota will not have to be told the consequences.”
Levi hurried out into the street and fell in with the crowd, now moving swiftly. He quickly became aware of his age, as he was soon panting, his knees and ankles aching. He needed to find a place to be able
to sit with his bag in his lap to serve as a foundation for his papyrus. It would not do for him to be in the middle of a jostling crowd.
Levi increased his pace to where he was trotting, passing men and women and families, including many carrying sick and crippled friends and relatives. They would know soon enough if the Preacher/Healer was genuine.
As he finally neared the front of the pack, now trudging up into the foothills, Levi caught sight of Jesus. He strode along at a steady pace, surrounded by perhaps twenty men, including the four fishermen Levi recognized even from behind. He was of a mind to demand of them how they could leave their businesses at such a crucial time, but for now he would see how their pledges to his employee worked out. They had said they would pay, even though their boats and nets were under new management. Well, someone would pay, that was certain.
As Jesus climbed the hill in the distance, He turned, and for the first time, Levi got a good look at Him. He was rather plain-looking, of medium height and build, and He clearly followed the Jewish custom of not cutting His hair or beard. Levi was not close enough to see His eyes, but from a distance He did not appear to be striking or handsome.
The Man appeared surprised at the size of the crowd and briefly spoke to a few of the men near Him. They pointed farther up to a mountain, and suddenly they all turned and began the climb in earnest. Levi was already exhausted, but he had figured out where the men were headed, and he was determined to beat everyone else there so he could situate himself to hear clearly and be able to write. If he was correct, the Man would speak at one particular spot near the top, which benefited from the shade of a small grove of olive trees. Levi could sit with his back against a large rock on the left.
By the time he had hurried past the others and even Jesus and His friends, Levi was sweating and gasping. He situated himself where he guessed he would have the best view and be able to hear clearly. But just as he set the papyrus in his lap and pulled out his first quill, Jesus Himself and a few of the men approached him.
“Would you mind if I sat right there to address the crowd?” Jesus said. “You need move just a few feet.”