Yeshua had never seen a crucifixion. Traveling about Galilee one is likely to see an occasional crucifixion here and there as a few rebels are rounded up. He had been traveling alone along a minor road that connected to some backwater towns that lay off the major trading routes. As he ambled along, deep in thought and almost unconscious of His surroundings, He heard some shouting and laughing ahead; a small detachment of Roman soldiers had captured two Jewish rebels. The two captives were very young, barely eighteen years of age, and appeared to very frightened. Four Roman soldiers were lounging on the ground, joking with each other. They were drinking from a large wineskin and were obviously in no hurry. Yeshua slowed His pace; He was not afraid of the group of soldiers even though He had heard stories of their stirring up trouble and with local villagers and making inappropriate remarks to village women, especially when they had been doing some hard drinking and had too much time on their hands. A well disciplined officer usually kept soldiers like this in line, but there was occasional mischief.
The soldiers noticed Him approaching and began to eye Him suspiciously. Yeshua returned their stares without losing the rhythm of His pace.
“Hey, you!” One of the soldiers shouted, “Where are you going?”
Yeshua halted and faced the group without moving a muscle, “I am traveling to the next village.”
“On what business?” The soldier insolently shouted. Neither Yeshua nor his family and friends had ever been questioned in this fashion. Most Romans paid little attention to Jews.
“To see if I can start a rebellion,” Yeshua quietly answered.
This piqued the interest of all four soldiers; they sat up in amazement at Yeshua’s audacity.
“You?” Another soldier laughed, “Where are your weapons? You seem harmless enough.”
Yeshua approached the group and boldly sat down on the ground even though He had been not invited to do so. They were all studying Him with great interest.
“May I have some water?” Yeshua asked.
The first soldier chuckled and shrugged, “Why not?” He took a small cup from inside his satchel and poured out some water. As he handed it to Yeshua, he sensed a wine soaked gust of air.
The soldiers watched as Yeshua drained the cup. “You’re a strange fellow,” one of the soldiers remarked. “Aren’t you afraid of us?”
Yeshua shook His head, “No, I have no reason to fear you. Even if I did fear you, my fear belongs to me alone. What are your names?”
Once again the four soldiers were so nonplussed at Yeshua’s engaging manner that they introduced themselves all around. The first soldier was Clavius; the other three were Marcus, Clodius, and Crixus.
“What are you going to do with these two men?” Yeshua pointed to the men tied to the tree.
“We have standing orders to crucify rebels,” Marcus answered.
“Did they kill any Romans?” Yeshua inquired, “Did you see them take up arms against Rome?”
“Well, no,” Marcus replied, “We surprized a group of rebels in their lair. The others escaped, but we captured these two.”
“Then these young men have not rebelled against Rome,” Yeshua said simply.
“Wait a moment, what is your name? If you plan to start a rebellion, we need to know your name.” This provoked laughter with the Romans..
“Yeshua.”
Clodius spoke up, “Didn’t you Jews have a great national hero by the name of Yeshua?”
“Yes, when we Jews came into the land of Canaan.” Yeshua smiled, playing on the ethnic distinction the Roman was making.
“Like a horde of conquering locusts, or so I understand,” Crixus remarked. “That doesn’t make this Yeshua any different from us Romans. Didn’t this Yeshua destroy a city?”
“Yes, Jericho,” Yeshua answered.
“Are you surprised that I know something about your history,” Crixus asked.
“No,” Yeshua responded evenly.
Clavius stretched his arms wide and yawned, “Well, I tell you Yeshua, we are going to take those two men to the next town and crucify them as an example for the townspeople. Ever see a crucifixion?”
“No.”
“Well, this is what we do. We fix a crossbar to an upright, we then tie the arms and ankles and drive nails through the wrists and the feet until the wretch is secure on the cross. We make sure there is some flex in the legs so the prisoner can push up and breathe. Then we hoist it and drop it into a hole. Then we post guards so there is no interference.”
“And you have to have strong drink to do it,” Yeshua fixed His gaze on Clavius. The other men stirred; they were becoming nervous. An ominous, great silence settled over the group; only the soft wind could be heard rustling in the nearby tree where the prisoners were.
Finally Clavius murmured, “Yes.” He nervously stirred the dirt in front of him with his index finger. Clavius was wrestling with the powerful, conflicting emotions that he was feeling. The other men were not unaffected. Something from this man Yeshua was reaching into the innermost part of Clavius; he had never met a man like this. The man was totally without fear and this was a sobering fact. All his life, particularly in his assignment to Palestine, he had encountered Jews who were beyond obsequious in their attitude towards Romans. The few rebels that he rounded up were, of course, brave, outspoken men, quite often insolent, fixed in their purpose, and quite often insulting even as the nails were driven into their flesh. Yeshua had no weapons, no sword, no knife, no spear, no sling, but Clavius felt as much disarmed as if a party of one hundred rebels had descended upon him and conquered him. But yet, this Yeshua was armed, armed in a way that Clavius did not understand. It was something that went beyond a command from a superior officer, a friendly compulsion, or even an edict from Caesar himself. Above and beyond all of these considerations, Clavius knew that generally Jews hated Romans; the Romans were the conquerors and the Jews were the conquered, so of course, they hated their conquerors. Clavius was not receiving any such feelings from Yeshua. His stern, Roman pride was being mellowing under the gaze of Yeshua. There was rebellion within Yeshua, but Clavius was completely lacking in the ability to understand it.
Clavius found his voice, “Who are you, or perhaps I should say, what are you? What kind of rebel are you?”
“Not a rebellion of armed force. A rebellion of spirit.”
“A rebellion against what?”
“Sin, death, and suffering.”
Clavius shook his head; the other men remained silent, listening to the exchange between Yeshua and Clavius. Their first reaction was to think that this was another of many wandering holy men, a preacher who went about making empty declarations about freedom and a new way of life. But this was only an initial reaction; there was more to this man than empty phrases.
Finally, the four soldiers bestirred themselves; the effect of the wine was almost wearing off. Clavius signaled for everyone to get up. They tidied themselves, put on their helmets, and tightened their bucklers. Yeshua rose and watched them ready themselves.
“We must be on our way,” Clavius announced. Marcus, Clodius, and Crixus rallied to action. The prisoners were untied from the tree and shackled in chains. The men swung onto their horses and rode out to the road with the prisoners trailing behind them.
Clavius reined up his horse and trotted back to Yeshua. He regarded Yeshua for a moment, then asked, “I do not understand your rebellion.”
“Think about the men you captured,” Yeshua answered, “They will not rebel against Rome; they merely want to go home. If they go home, then you will understand my rebellion.”
Clavius jerked the reins, the horse snorted and neighed, and he peered at Yeshua momentarily. Then his rejoined his detachment.

Yeshua rested for a while before resuming his journey. The sun was climbing high in the sky as He began walking down the road in the direction of the village to which the Romans had gone. As he entered the village, he looked for signs of the Romans and the crucified men; there was nothing in sight to indicate that they had even been there.
Yeshua stopped an elderly woman and questioned her.
“Oh, yes,” the woman answered, “Some Romans came with two prisoners. They did make a half hearted announcement that they had caught these two rebels and that they would be punished as an example for us. Not that any of us would rebel. This is a village filled with oldsters like myself, but I suppose they felt that they had to make that speech. But they never nailed the men to crosses; they merely took them away with them and I don’t know what happened to them or where they went. Their leader said that they had duties elsewhere and that they could not stay. A very strange business, sir, not at all like the Romans I have seen. You know how Romans love to crucify rebels to impress us. These two young men did not look like rebels. Well, may the Lord bless you and keep you.”