The Painted Messiah (34 page)

'You're saying he was raised to be insane?'

'Psychopaths make the best generals.'

'Let's say I buy the Templar connection and some of what you're telling me about Corbeau. At least he believes it, even if I don't. I still have problems with this painting being a portrait of Christ. You say the man who was to become the first king of Christian Jerusalem shows up in Edessa and finds it?'

'We have independent confirmation that such a painting existed in Edessa. It's not just a theory.'

'But that doesn't mean the painting is authentic. It could be just a first century icon. Nothing connects a painting of Christ back to Pontius Pilate - except the legend.'

'There are two sources that state a painting of Christ 'made by no human hand' - whatever that means - came out of Jerusalem and into the possession of a King Abgar of Edessa in the first century. Another reference, by Irenaeus, mentions a painting of Jesus made by Pilate when Christ walked among men.'

'But this material is . . . what? A few centuries after the fact?'

'Irenaeus writes about a century-and-a-half after the Crucifixion.'

'Well, what's a couple hundred years between friends?'

'Point made. A long time.'

'Very long compared to a human life.'

'Wilde referred to it as
Pontius Pilate's Portrait of Christ
. I don't know where he got the idea, but the logical assumption is he got it from Corbeau's grandfather.'

'. . . who got it second hand from the Knights Templar. Let me ask you something.'

'Okay.'

'Why would Pilate want to make a painting of Jesus?'

'In some Eastern traditions both Pilate and his wife are saints - because they defended Jesus against the Jews.'

'Pilate had a wife?'

'Book of Matthew: Pilate's wife had a dream that Pilate was about to execute an innocent man, and she sent a message to her husband, begging him not to do it.'

'Any idea why Pilate would care to have a painting made of a man he was about to execute?'

'I can't help you there. All I know is the reference to the painting pre-dates any other legend of the True Image. That doesn't mean it exists, but it does mean a lot of people thought it did. The last step, believing Pilate is responsible for having it made, that's your leap of faith - if you care to make it.'

As he said this Ethan pulled off the highway and drove toward a small private airport. The hanger was closed, the lights were out.

'We're here,' Kate said. 'If you can get some sleep, now is probably a good time. Come four o'clock tomorrow morning things are going to hop.'

'Sounds good,' Malloy answered.

'There's a cot in the hanger.' She handed him a key. 'Make yourself at home.'

'Where are you two going to be?'

'We've got a tent set up about a mile back in the woods.'

CHAPTER TEN

Caesarea Summer

AD 29.

Wearing the toga of a common citizen, Senator Publius Vitellius sailed into Caesarea on a merchant ship. Pilate first knew he was in the city when he saw the wax impression of the senator's signet ring. The moment he recognized it, he cleared his morning schedule.

In his youth Vitellius had been the friend of Prince Germanicus, later his most trusted general. Following the death of the Prince - which many believed Tiberius himself had ordered - the empire had been on the verge of civil war. Instead of exciting the crowd and rallying the legions around his own banner Vitellius had sought a peaceful resolution - one which spared Tiberius the humiliation of accusations and yet brought to justice the very man many believed Tiberius had sent to assassinate the Prince.

In the aftermath of these events Vitellius became a close ally of Tiberius and was accorded the supreme honour of owning the villa closest to Tiberius's Villa Jovis on the Isle of Capri. Despite this, the two men were never intimate. Tiberius was too cunning to expose himself to a man whose best friend he had
murdered. In Rome men might do business with one another, but they never forgot a debt of blood.

Pilate had first met Vitellius when Pilate commanded the Guard escorting the remains of Germanicus from Brindisium to Rome. Over the course of a month of travel the two men had spoken only twice, but that was sufficient for Vitellius to appreciate Pilate's potential. When they were in Rome, Vitellius used his influence to promote Pilate's career.

Despite the patronage Vitellius had offered him Pilate did not anticipate meeting with the senator. In fact he would have preferred never to have seen the man again.

'You have done quite well for yourself, Prefect,' Vitellius observed pleasantly when they met
in camera
in Pilate's cabinet close by the great hall. Vitellius had aged considerably since the two men had last met. His hair had gone to grey, his complexion had lost its colour but the essential man remained unchanged. He was persuasive, shrewd and dangerous.

Pilate could not anticipate the purpose for Vitellius's arrival in Judaea, so he answered with the extreme modesty of a corrupt civil servant. 'I aspire only to serve Rome, Senator.'

'That is good, Prefect, because Rome has need of such loyalty.'

Such statements inevitably required the sacrifice of one's own life and Pilate felt a chill take hold of him. 'I will do what I can, but I hardly need remind you that I command only half a legion of Romans. The Syrian cavalry, like any of our mercenary forces, is loyal only in the sunshine.'

'You will not need an army, only a bit of discretion.'

'The Senator knows he can trust me.'

'Tell me, Pilate, have you heard of the Jew they call Yeshua? He's a Nazarene, I believe.'

Pilate felt the tension leave him. 'I've heard of him, but have had no dealings with the man. He makes trouble in the hill country of Galilee, not in Judaea. Antipas endures him no doubt because he fears all holy men. What about him?'

'He has become a danger to the peace.'

'Not the peace of my provinces.'

Vitellius pressed the issue. 'There are many who believe the man is preparing to declare himself the Jewish Messiah.'

Pilate offered a condescending smile. 'So what if he does? He's is an indigent. He has no base beyond Galilee, no money, no weapons, not even the makings of an army! As I understand it only the poor and the desperate and a great many women follow him about. If he declares himself the Jewish king, I'll respond if Antipas cannot or will not handle it. Until then—'

'A man named Judas Kerioth has become one of his followers, Prefect.'

I'm not familiar with the name.'

'Really? I was under the impression you had dealt with the man. "The most dangerous man in Judaea," I believe you called him in one of your early reports.'

'That
Judas. Of course I'm familiar with him, and I stand by my opinion. A very great danger. But if I may I ask . . . are your sources quite certain the Nazarene has not pledged himself to Judas?'

'Friends in Galilee tell us the Nazarene is something more than he seems.'

'Be that as it may, Judas did not strike me as a follower of any man.'

'Perhaps he has found someone who inspires him.'

'If it's really so—'

'We have reports Yeshua has raised the dead, a young girl, in point of fact, the daughter of a leader of the synagogue in Capernaum.'

Pilate smiled, shaking his head. 'In the East, Senator, these kinds of stories attach to magicians and self-styled holy men. One ought not to make too much of it.'

'This is more than a rumor. The wife of Antipas - a very sensible woman, if I am any judge of character - talked to the girl's father. He was reluctant to admit the truth but did so under torture. On another occasion, it is reported Yeshua met and fed five thousand men with a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish. It may be perfect nonsense, but if the man is as innocent as he seems, what is he doing meeting five thousand men in the desert?'

'I see the problem! I will look into the matter at once.'

'There is no need for that. A course of action has already been determined. We need only for you to press Antipas to arrest this Yeshua as quickly as possible and deliver him to you in Jerusalem. Once he is there I want you to execute the man as an example to the next would-be Messiah.'

That did not seem such a very great thing. 'I will contact Antipas at once.'

'Just so we understand one another. I want you to make sure Yeshua's followers are left alone.'

'That is a mistake, Senator.'

Vitellius blinked in surprise.

'—to leave Judas free, I mean. It would be a far better idea to execute Judas alongside his master. I have dealt with this man! Believe me, you do not want him free to make trouble, especially in Jerusalem!'

'Your command has given you a great deal of confidence.'

'Thank you, Senator.'

Vitellius's
 
face darkened. 'I did not mean to compliment you. You have your orders. See you obey them.'

When Vitellius had left him, Pilate considered his predicament miserably. Tiberius imagined the affair was as simple as a public execution to set an example, but he had not seen ten thousand men present their necks for Roman swords because Judas had set the example! He had no idea what passion these Jews possessed and what an utter lack of concern for their lives they felt when their blood was up.

Summoning Cornelius, Pilate explained his orders. 'Permission to speak plainly, Prefect?'

'Of course.'

'I think Herodias has discovered the fuel for a great fire.'

'I am not sure I follow you.'

'A war in Judaea can only benefit Sejanus and the house of Herod. I believe Herodias has found someone capable of starting it.'

'This Yeshua?'

'You, sir. Outnumbered as we are, there will be no resisting the kind of uprising Judas can lead against our garrisons after we have crucified the Jewish Messiah.

Afterwards, your death will be the excuse Sejanus needs to march on Jerusalem. Once he avenges your death and breaks Jerusalem as he has always wanted, Tiberius will not be able to resist him. Sejanus will have the army and the population behind him and will force Tiberius to adopt him.'

'But the order comes from Tiberius!'

'Are you quite sure of that, Prefect?'

Pilate sighed. 'No, but if I attempt to go to Tiberius to ask if he has issued it, Sejanus will know.'

'Then you will do as you are told . . . and prepare for the worst?'

'I think I must.'

Caesarea

Fall and Winter AD 29-30.

Despite Pilate's request for Antipas to arrest Yeshua, the holy man continued to work openly in Galilee. Inquiring after the delay, Pilate learned that Yeshua made a habit of working in a crowd for a few hours and then moving quickly away, always a step ahead of Antipas's agents. 'It is like chasing the wind,' the tetrarch's envoy reported
in camera
some months after Pilate had asked the tetrarch for his help.

Alone with the prefect later, Cornelius begged the opportunity to offer his opinion. Pilate was feeling the pressure in the unexpected delay and looked to the man eagerly. By all means, offer an opinion!

'If one desires to catch the wind, Prefect, one cannot chase after it foolishly in the manner of Antipas. One must construct a sail and await its pleasure.'

'Anticipate him, you mean? It is impossible! Patrols find thieves who have established campsites for themselves in the wilderness, but this man stays here one night, there another. He has no fixed camp, no home. There is no anticipating such a man! I know only this. He avoids Tiberias, Caesarea, and Jerusalem.'

'I cannot speak about this Yeshua, but Judas is not a fool. If he knows Antipas is after his master, he knows time is running out. If he stays in the desert long enough, he is finished, but in Jerusalem, at the Passover, he will find an army wanting only its king.'

Jerusalem Passover

AD 30.

When Nicodemus heard that Pilate and his court were in Jerusalem, he invited the prefect to visit him at his farm for a couple of days. Arriving under an unusually heavy escort at midday, Pilate spent a long afternoon in his friend's luxurious private baths, followed by a celebratory banquet that evening.

The following morning Nicodemus and his son took Pilate into the desert to show him the wonders the aqueduct had accomplished. The transformation was impressive, and Pilate congratulated his friend. 'You are a visionary, Nicodemus!' he exclaimed.

'On the contrary, my friend, you are the one who has brought additional prosperity to all of Judaea.'

'I fear Judaea prefers death to prosperity.'

'I am not sure what you mean.'