Читать книгу Journey of the Pearl - A. E. Smith - Страница 5

Longinus (Lown-GEE-nus) is the reported name of the centurion who executed Jesus. When he announced, “This man must have been the Son of God!” he sealed his place in history. The rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could have eternal life. The answer was not well received, but perhaps later events helped him to embrace it. Zacchaeus, a once dishonest tax collector, made amends. Jesus was nearly arrested by Malchus, but Simon Peter cut off his ear. Then Jesus healed him. Did Malchus become a believer? Cornelius and his household were the first Gentiles baptized into the faith. How did that dedication change their lives? A Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his dying servant. How were their lives changed? Jesus forgave a woman caught in adultery. Did she squander her second chance or did she become a better person? Demas, one of the thieves crucified with Jesus became a believer while he was dying. Perhaps it was not the first time Demas and Jesus had met. Theophilus, for whom Luke wrote The Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, was a high-ranking Roman. Did it change his life? Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, sentenced sixteen soldiers (four squads) to death for “allowing” Simon Peter to escape. Could there be other reasons these men were put to death? The time Christ spent in this world leaves us with many unknown accounts. What happened to the people who encountered Jesus, and either accepted him as The Christ, or rejected him? Where history leaves off, the storyteller may carry on.

Pearls in ancient times were valued as highly as diamonds are today. A perfectly spherical pearl with an unusual color would have the same value as the fifty-nine carat Pink Star Diamond which was sold in 2017 for $71,000,000.

Words of emphasis, Latin, Hebrew, and direct Biblical quotes are in italics.