Chapter One: Sown Among Thorns
It is not enemies who taunt me—
I could bear that;
it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—
I could hide from them.
But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
-Psalms 55:12-13
Jacob ran down the cobbled streets of Alexandria, sweat beading on his forehead. He rounded a corner and beheld the synagogue, glimmering white in the noonday sun, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. Jacob pushed through them in a rush, prompting several grumbles and swearing in Greek and Coptic. He broke past the crowd and saw a group of Jews near the door, headed by Rabbi Matthias. In front of him stood John, red-faced and yelling viciously at Matthias, backed by a few confused and angry looking believers.
"Is it true?" Jacob called out. The arguing men turned to look his way. "Are we being excommunicated from the synagogue?" Matthias raised a finger as if to speak, but John broke him off.
"It's true. We're kicked out. For so-called 'blasphemy'." His voice was dripping with rage. Jacob's heart felt like lead in his chest.
"How? Why? Are we not Jews, just like you?" Rabbi Matthias glared at him, then spoke.
"You desecrate the name of the messiah with your preaching. Your blasphemy against him will no longer be tolerated."
"We follow the law faithfully, even those of the nations who find it a stumbling block. Why should our opinion on the messiah be such a cause for discord?" Jacob pleaded.
"Your opinion that a crucified criminal is the man the Almighty sent to deliver us from our suffering is insulting and blasphemous. There will be no further debate. You are no longer welcome at the synagogue." Matthias turned and with a curt nod gestured for his fellow Jews to return to the building. The door slammed shut with a bang. John and Jacob stood together under the hot sun, before the centerpiece of the Jewish community, now closed to them.
On the History of the Jesus-worshipping sect
penned 461 AC [431 AD] by Iohannes Ben Mordecai
I.
The present issues we have been facing with the Jesus-worshippers has inspired me to pen a short treatise on their history and traditions, so that all may come to better knowledge of this most strange and curious sect. According to the Jesus-worshippers, they were founded by Jesus himself, the man they call Christ. However, many learned men have claimed that such doctrine could not have been propounded by a simple carpenter (which the Jesus-followers claim he was) but instead must have been invented by later and more sophisticated men. Some have even claimed that this sect is a Persian plot to weaken their foes, though I find that most unlikely. First, the early history of the worshippers of the so-called Christ is obscure, and most information comes from possibly unreliable Jesus-worshipper traditions. However, in my most thorough and orderly study I have found a few writings from those not from their sect that mention it early in its history, and they are to be relied upon the most of any material provided within. Touching first on the traditions, there is much material to work with but little knowledge on its truth. However, a cursory knowledge is needed for the learned man to know how these Jesus-worshippers view their own history and to attempt to parse these traditions for some remaining truth. According to the traditions, Jesus was a simple man who preached a message of peace and hope among the many towns of Judea. According to spurious Jesus-worshipping claims, he performed many miracles, though this is highly disputed and either a creation of fantasy or the work of demons, according to all reasonable men. Jesus then came to Jerusalem to preach, and was executed on the cross for claiming to be the prophesied rightful king of the Jews, the Christ. After his death the Jesus-followers claimed he rose from the dead and then ascended to heaven. Such ideas are obviously incorrect, for why would one rise from the dead only to return to the land of the dead afterwards? Many say this to the Jesus-worshippers but they in their foolishness are unmoved. After the death and supposed resurrection of this Jesus, his followers went out into the world to preach his message. Among their number were a man called Kepha and another named James, who is also called the brother of Jesus. These men allegedly experienced a number of miracles [Margin note: Foolishness!] and began to preach to the Jews of the region. They were most successful among a people named "the fearers of god", a group of strange Greeks who worshipped the Jewish god. They also amassed a following among Greeks who had outright converted to Judaism. Though filled with many miracles and fanciful stories, there seems to me to be an impression given by the traditions of the early church of bitterness, for they were rejected by the Jews for their deviant and repulsive ideas of the prophesied King of Israel being an executed criminal and also rejected by the Greeks for their Jewish practice of circumcision. Also included in this narrative is a number of fanciful tales including miracles and dramatic martyrdoms of their leaders at the hands of Roman rulers. However, it is my opinion that the core narrative of rejection by both Jews and Greeks is correct, though many other elements are truly fanciful. It seems that the Jesus-worshippers of earliest fame were a bitter and rejected group, betrayed by their Jewish kindred but still rejected by the nations. Lastly, our sources not reliant on Jesus-worshipper fables have little to say about the earliest parts of this history. In the fifth section of the annals of Theodosius there is a mention of a controversy in Jerusalem over those who claimed a Jesus was the rightful king. Theodosius transcribes the name into Greek in a strange manner, and the date is undoubtedly long after the alleged execution of their false messiah, but despite those caveats this seems a fairly uncontested reference. Unfortunately, Theodosius says very little about the incident, and only provides evidence for the anger of more orthodox Jews against the Jesus-followers. Truly, apart from the hatred they recieved from their kindred Jews, little of the early history of the Jesus-worshippers is certain.
Map of the spread of Early Christianity, 30-100 AD (Hotspots of early Christianity marked in yellow).
