Free Unafraid by Francine Rivers Page B

crackle with tension and could hear the rabbi speaking in a taut voice about some aspect of the Law. As soon as he saw Joseph, he clapped his hands. “Enough for today. Remember what we’ve discussed as you go home. Think well on these things.” He waved his hand in dismissal.
    The boys rose and hurried from the synagogue, all except Jesus, who sat on a bench in the front. Heart sinking, Joseph came up beside him and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
    The rabbi shoved his hands into his sleeves and glowered at Jesus. “I’m tired of him questioning me!”
    Joseph blinked. “Rabbi?” The synagogue was the place for questioning, the place for exploring the Law.
    The rabbi shook his head, annoyed. “I don’t mind questions. It’s the manner of his questions I mind.”
    Confused, Joseph looked from the rabbi to Jesus and back to the rabbi.
    “Speak with him!” The rabbi’s eyes flashed. “Explain to your son that I am the rabbi, and if he persists in asking questions that make me look . . . self-righteous, I will bar him from the synagogue. I will not have a mere carpenter’s son undermining my authority.”
    Heat poured through Joseph’s body. He let go of Jesus’ shoulder and took a step forward, but Jesus caught his hand and stood. “I meant no disrespect, Rabbi,” the boy said with quiet dignity and looked straight into the man’s eyes and said no more.
    All the bluster went out of the rabbi. He blinked. Then his eyes narrowed as he sought some hint of mockery. “You’ve been warned.”
    As Joseph left the synagogue with Jesus, he thought of asking him what question had caused such hostility. But when he looked at Jesus, he saw tears. Wincing, Joseph put his arm around the boy. “Did he humiliate you before the others?” Of course he had, Joseph thought, angry enough to go back and give the rabbi a piece of his mind.
    Jesus shook his head, that faraway look coming into his eyes again. “Why are men so stubborn?”
    Joseph knew Jesus was not asking him for an answer.

          
    When it came time for Jesus to read the Torah in the synagogue, Mary pressed forward in the women’s gallery until she was able to see down into the gathering. The reader chanted the Shema . The children answered “amen.” Facing Jesus on the platform was Nazareth’s rabbi and the wealthy merchant who headed the congregation. Behind them sat the town’s seven elders and then the men according to their trade. She spotted Joseph, Jesus, James, and Joseph among the carpenters.
    Mary’s fingers gripped the lattice. She had been waiting for this day, the day when her son would read before the congregation. Would he declare himself before the gathering? Would they finally see that he was the Anointed One of God?
    The rabbi, followed by the head of the congregation and the chief of the court, approached the Ark of the Covenant and lifted out the sacred scroll of the Torah. The congregation rose and cried out, “And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would cry, ‘Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!’”
    Jesus stepped out from the benches where the carpenters sat and walked forward, adjusting his prayer shawl across his shoulders. He walked with great dignity for one so young. Did others see the difference in his demeanor? Mary’s heart pounded as Jesus ascended the platform. Would something happen today that would make his identity known to all in Nazareth who had whispered behind their hands about her and Joseph? Would they finally see that this son of hers was the Messiah? Would they gather around him and praise his name? Would they follow wherever he led them?
    Let it be so, Lord. Let his time be now. Father in heaven, we have waited so long. David was anointed king as a boy. You gave David victory on every side.
    Jesus took the place of the reader and held the scroll open. “The Lord Almighty says, ‘The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. The arrogant