This episode begins with a flashback to Nob, Israel in 1008 B.C. Ahimelech the priest is talking with his wife, who is worried about their eldest son's illness. He asks her to send their son Abiathar so he can teach him how to prepare the Bread of Presence for the Tabernacle. As Abiathar helps his father with the 12 big loaves they freshly baked, he asks why God did not eat the old loaves. Ahimelech explains, "God doesn't need food. It's called the Bread of the Presence because it's a reminder of His presence in our lives, a symbol that He sits at our table and dwells in our midst." Abiathar wants to know what happens to the old bread. His father says, "In the Law of Moses it is written that Aaron and his sons shall eat it in a holy place, since for him it is the most holy portion out of Adonai's food offerings, a perpetual due." Now Abiathar knows what his older relatives have been eating after the new bread is put out.
Father and son count off the new loaves according to the 12 tribes of Israel. When they get to Judah, the tribe from whom the Messiah was prophesied to come, in walks the future King David, a descendant of Judah. Ahimelech sends Abiathar away and speaks to David alone. David, at this point in his life, is on the run from wicked King Saul. He and his men are in desperate need of food, and the old Bread of Presence is handy. It is not lawful for them to eat, but Ahimelech decides to apply the principle of pikuach nefesh to preserve life in an emergency. He correctly realizes this decision will jeopardize his own life. So does appreciative David, but Ahimelech says, "I'm not sorry. Something is going to come through you." At the end of this episode, we will hear David's descendant, the Messiah Jesus, describe David's need here to teach life-giving truth.
Moving forward to Jesus and His disciples, Simon and Matthew begin their morning in Jericho so they can look for Mary Magdalene. Matthew is studying a map, certain she is there since she is more comfortable in cities. He already checked with the synagogue if a distraught woman fitting her description stopped by, but none did. Simon notices a Roman soldier staggering after climbing up stairs from an all-nighter at the bar below. The stairs remind Matthew of the passage Jesus said to keep in mind: "If I descend to the depths, You are there" (Psalm 139:8).
Matthew with his map.
The scene changes to Mother Mary and Ramah, who are looking for edible plants. Mary finds joy in the situation, saying that "Jesus is doing what He was born to do, and maybe sometimes that means we will be hungry for a few days. At least His time has come." Ramah wonders out loud why then Jesus doesn't just bring Mary Magdalene back. Mother Mary says, "It doesn't work that way. We lived in Egypt when Jesus was a boy. One of their gods was called Thoth, whom they believed they could compel to grant their wishes if they performed the rituals. It's not like that with our God; why would it be with Jesus?" Ramah can't see any good coming from Mary disappearing and Simon and Matthew, who do not like each other, working together to find Mary. "Do you know that?" asks Mother Mary, gently. Ramah cries out, "She could be dead or lying in a ditch somewhere! Why would Jesus use her pain to unite two men annoyed by each other?" Mary responds, "Ramah, some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Adonai, our God." Ramah, understanding quickly, joins her in completing that quote from Psalm 20. She confides that she wants to be a teacher someday, but fears she won't if Mary doesn't come back. Mother Mary says, "We can't fix anything by worrying about it." She then spots wildflowers they can gather for everyone to eat.
Mother Mary and Ramah discuss theology while searching for food.
Mary Magdalene is around that time in a bar with rough men at a gaming table with a pile of coins and a steady stream of drinks coming her way. As she makes a fool of herself, she is jolted by the memory of her father teaching her as a girl to "fear not" from Isaiah 43. She runs from the table, leaving the money behind.
Thomas, meanwhile, is at the disciples' camp, counting out the last of the food they have left. He grumbles to Andrew that Jesus "can make people walk. He can heal lepers. Why can't He make food out of thin air?" (He is forgetting how Jesus turned water into wine, and will later see Jesus multiply bread and fish.) Andrew tells Thomas that when he was ministering with John the Baptizer, sometimes they would go for days without food. Big James and his brother John are chopping wood nearby. They stop to observe Simon the former Zealot's physical training routine, commenting that adding practices like that to the 613 commandments of Mosaic law seems like overkill to them, but they also realize decades of training don't go away overnight. They then humbly recall their own problems, and James admits, "I actually don't understand most of this, just pieces here and there when good things happen, but the rest? I'm just following." John says, "I have a sinking feeling it's going to take a long time to understand. For everyone."
Matthew and Simon stare down the steps to The Nomad bar in Jericho. Matthew bravely takes the first step, but Simon stops him and walks ahead, saying, "I know places like this." Matthew quickly follows, reciting, "When I make my bed deep in the depths, You are there." Simon quietly observes the bar inside, but Matthew inquires loudly about a distraught woman with long, dark hair. A man speaks up who lost money gambling with a woman fitting that description. Simon is convinced that was Mary and asks the man if he knows where she is.
Next we see Matthew and Simon back up the stairs. Matthew is sure Mary can't be far and suggests splitting up to cover more ground. Simon doesn't want to do that because he thinks Mary can obviously take care of herself, but Matthew cannot. Matthew counters, "What if you were cut off from Jesus because of something in your past? Wouldn't you want help getting back as soon as possible?" Simon admits the sense of that, but before they split up, someone overhearing them nearby says, "Boys?" It's Mary! She says she thought she was dreaming. Simon asks if she can walk. Mary says, "I'm not going anywhere." Matthew says, "We have to go back." Simon tells her that Jesus sent them to get her. Mary responds, "No. He already fixed me once, and I broke again. I can't face Him." Matthew approaches her and says, "I'm a bad person, Mary. My whole life, all for me. No faith." That gets Mary thinking and she says, "I do have faith in Him, but not in me." Matthew says, "I'm learning more about Torah and God because of you." He gestures with his eyes for Simon to speak up, who does, reminding Mary of how she helped people meet Jesus because of her care for them and good ideas. Matthew mentions her helping Ramah to read and write, saying, "He saved you to do all these things." Mary is encouraged enough to smile and laugh a bit, but then the alcohol works its way out of her system. Matthew at once sets aside his fastidious tendencies and helps clean her up, instructing Simon to find water.
In Jerusalem, Shmuel and Yanni walk with an official named Dunash who remarks, "So all you're telling me is about someone who told someone to carry his mat on Shabbat?" Shmuel adds, "He invoked the title Son of Man from the prophet Daniel," speaking of the healing of the paralyzed man lowered from the roof in Capernaum. Dunash is the secretary of Shimon, the official who represents the liberal wing of the Pharisees. He thinks their complaint is thin because of a lack of corroborating witnesses, and tells them it is not worthy of Shimon's attention. Yanni asks sarcastically, "Which violations of God's immutable Law does President Shimon deem worthy of his attention?" Dunash belittles Yanni, but Shmuel draws him out to state, "Of the 613 commandments, when laws are pitted against each other under certain circumstances, it creates pain for our people, who are already suffering." He returns to the matter of witnesses for an example, stating that two or three witnesses are required in the Law "to judicially establish a fact," but fails to observe that the fact the Law is talking about is a crime brought before a court. Some Pharisees went so far as to consider the wife of a man who died with her as the only witness as an agunah, literally a woman chained to her marriage and unable to remarry. Dunash states that Shimon and Shimon's father, Hillel, care about vulnerable people caught in situations like that (without, however, caring to clarify God's Law). He rightly criticizes Yanni and Shmuel for caring more about people carrying mats on Shabbat.
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Yanni and Shmuel with dismissive
Dunash. |
Later, Yanni and Shmuel complain about Dunash disregarding what they think is blasphemy. Shmuel believes their case is hopeless, but Yanni says, "No. It's just getting started. Now we go to the other side: the rigid one, Shammai. I was hoping to create more chaos by working through Shimon, but perhaps Shammai will respond to our stories with such fury, this will work better anyway. Shimon will have no explanation why he did not take this seriously." Shmuel shakes his head sadly and says, "Why does it take all this?"
As Simon and Matthew arrive back to the disciples’ camp with Mary Magdalene, Simon notices his brother, Andrew, looking distressed in a concerned circle of other disciples. Ramah gasps with relief when she sees Mary, running over to her. Mother Mary follows and drapes Mary's uncovered head with a dignified covering appropriate in their culture as a gesture of respect and love. Simon walks over to the men and asks what happened. He learns that John the Baptizer was roughly arrested and taken to Herod's most heavily blockaded prison.
Ramah asks if Mary needs anything. Mary asks where Jesus is. Upon learning He is in His tent, she asks if she should wait. Mother Mary answers no and says she will take her to Him. The two walk in and see Jesus mourning. He says, "It's not you. There's quite a lot going on right now." He sniffles and turns to face them, saying, "It's good to have you back." Mary looks down and replies, "I don't know what to say." He says kindly, "I don't require much." Mary says, "I'm so ashamed. You redeemed me and I just threw it all away." He says, "It's not much of a redemption if it can be lost in a day, is it?" Mary says, "I owe You everything, but I just don't think I can do it." Jesus wants her to tell Him what she means. She's thinking in terms of living up to all He has done for her. He tells her, "I just want your heart. The Father just wants your heart. Give Us that, which you already have, and the rest will come in time. Did you really think you'd never struggle or sin again?" "I shouldn't," says Mary. Jesus says, "Someday, but not here." Mary says how sorry she is and begins weeping, eyes downcast. Jesus asks her to look up at Him, which she does slowly. He says, "I forgive you. It's over." As Jesus steps closer, she reaches to embrace Him. He smiles and comforts Mary like a father would a beloved daughter. Mother Mary looks on with joy and Matthew, seen listening outside the tent, smiles.
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| Jesus is patient and tender with the humble and repentant. |
Simon comforts Andrew, who is weeping because he fears they will never see John the Baptizer again. Philip told them John was sentenced with lifetime imprisonment. Simon the Zealot says, "We could break him out. I know some people." Philip says, "The Zealots against Herod's army? Now that's a fight I'd pay to see. It's maximum security up there." Simon replies, "That would make it more fun." Philip reconsiders and says, "No. You're not a part of that Order anymore. You're a part of this one." Thomas speaks up: "I'm afraid the situation is worse than you know." He is led to Jesus, whom he tells with embarrassment their immediate problem of lack of food after that night's simple Shabbat meal. Jesus sighs and says simply, "Seems like something we should seek My Father about." "Pray?" asks Thomas. "Well, it is almost Shabbat, after all," says Jesus. He tells Thomas to inform the others that they will head out to a nearby synagogue in the morning.
That morning we see the remote Wadi Qelt synagogue near Jericho getting ready to receive worshipers. Jesus and His disciples pass by grain fields on their way there. The disciples ask why He wants to go to this particular synagogue. Jesus says, "Have you noticed that no matter where we go recently, more and more we are misunderstood?" Some answer in unison, "Definitely!" Jesus continues, "It is a very complicated time." He is grieved to know Mary knew she would not be welcome at the synagogue in Jericho when she arrived there distraught because of their low view of women. They all soon discover that the small-town synagogue in Wadi Qelt is no better. The rabbi there sternly recites from Deuteronomy 23, "No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation. No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord." He goes on in a harsh tone without any explanation. Jesus adds much-needed compassion to this congregation by greeting a man with a withered hand. The rabbi interrupts, asks if Jesus is a healer, and tells Him healing is not allowed on the Sabbath anyway. Jesus sighs and says, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not lift it out? Of how much more value is this man than a sheep! Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" Despite protests from the synagogue officials, Jesus heals the man's hand. "It's good, huh?" says Jesus to the man. "If God meant for that man to be healed, He would have done it Himself!" shouts one of the officials. "Interesting point," says Jesus. He is ordered out, gladly complying. "Blasphemer! What is wrong with you?" says the rabbi. "Apparently everything," responds Jesus in an even tone.
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| Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on Shabbat. |
Walking past the grain fields again, Jesus's disciples talk excitedly about what just happened. One of them, after laughing, absentmindedly grabs a handful of grain and munches on the sun-roasted nuggets. The others stare at him. He spits them out and apologizes, knowing that although the law generously makes provision for hungry travelers, Rabbinic rules of the day regard such innocent activities as Sabbath violations. Jesus, knowing His disciples are hungry, looks at them all and says, "You may." They all take Him at His word and eat with gratitude.
Running up to them are the two synagogue officials, the elder Madai and Rabbi Lamech, who demand to know Jesus's name and lineage to report Him for "making a mockery of Torah." Lamech then notices what the disciples are doing, accusing them of following Jesus's example in violating the Sabbath. Jesus says, "Have you not read what David did when he was in need and was hungry? He entered the house of God in the time of Ahimelech the priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, but only for the priests." Madai says, "You would dare to compare yourself with David?" Jesus continues, "Or have you not read in the law that on Shabbat the priests in the Temple 'profane' the Sabbath (by working) but are guiltless? Listen carefully: something greater than the temple is here, and if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Jesus leads His disciples away as Madai and Lamech, stunned, contemplate Jesus's use of the Messianic title Son of Man.
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| Jesus is stern with the proud and merciless. |
Sadly, the Wadi Qelt officials don't allow what Jesus said to challenge their thinking. They feel they must warn the Sanhedrin and others about Jesus, adding to their complaints that He has women following Him, but they rightly realize the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath claims are the main issues. They hope their little synagogue gains fame, but are afraid they will be disregarded. Rabbi Lamech says, "Who knows? All we can do is fulfill our duty to report the facts. And pray." "For what?" asks Madai. "For justice," answers Lamech.
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