09 - The Two Marys

When word got out that that the disciples had been tried before the High Priest and set free, their esteem rose tremendously in the minds of the people. This was especially true when it became known that Rabban Gamaliel, the Master of the Pharisees, had said that perhaps the thing was from God. He said that if it was, then fighting against it was tantamount to fighting against God.

Legends soon became widespread. There was the miracle Simon had performed on the lame man and there was the story of angels having released the imprisoned disciples. And of course everyone knew about the many miracles that their rabbi had performed.

Multitudes now flocked to the chamber in King David’s wall, where the disciples lived, including the sick, the lame and the possessed. Wherever Simon went he was followed by a host of cripples, hoping that at least his shadow might fall on them.


Meanwhile, the congregation of Hellenists was also growing. Barnabas discovered that there were many cantors and higher synagogue officials from wealthy and powerful Greek colonies, including Cypriots, Libertines, and Cyreneans among others. Stephen, Phillip and other well-known figures among the Greek Jews were already members. This increase in numbers and influence led to a demand for special representation in the “serving at tables.”

This was a matter of utmost importance.

The Pharisees practiced a strict code when it came to who could and who couldn’t sit and eat with them, and the new congregation had adopted the same procedure. The only people who could be admitted to the meal were those who were full-fledged “companions.”

Nor did these restrictions apply only to Gentiles, for fellow Jews who weren’t “companions” couldn’t break bread with them either. The utmost caution was taken with newcomers because ignorant people and outsiders were automatically suspected of sexual impurity. The touch of their hands made food ritually unfit for eating. Moreover, once a man was admitted to the table, he was subject to a severe regimen of cleanliness, both in food and in his general behavior.

The only real difference between the old companionship and the new was that the new believed Messiah had already come and would soon return. For them, the table was regarded as an altar and the breaking of bread as a sacred service. They were supreme symbols of comradeship and companionship. Therefore they were extremely careful in admitting newcomers to the service.

Up to this point, the only men who had the right to admit newcomers to the table were the twelve disciples, eleven appointed by Messiah directly, and the twelfth chosen by lot and the Holy Spirit. They also were the only ones who could perform baptism.

At some point the increase in membership made it impossible to hold the common meals in one place, so they began holding the meals in the various homes of wealthier members, who, as a result, were absolved from the duty of selling their earthly possessions. But they also made it a requirement that at least one of the twelve had to be present at any common meal. That one would also make the decision as to who was allowed to sit.

As time went on, this serving took up more and more of the disciples’ time. Disputes arose, and since the disciples alone had the authority to settle them, they soon found themselves prevented from preaching the gospel and accepting new members. Something had to be done.

Simon Peter’s simple fisherman’s sense told him that the net should be thrown out where the haul was likely to be greatest and that there was a huge harvest to be had in the Greek-speaking community. But as he understood it, authority had only been given to the twelve, and he didn’t know if this right could be transferred to others.

The disciples were basically simple people. They weren’t strong in the law. They had their faith and their mission, and it was enough. But Simon had also recently found out what it was like to spend the night in fervent prayer when he was in prison. So he built on that experience, and again spent a night praying about this problem.

The next day, at his suggestion, the Hellenists were told to draw lots among themselves to pick their own “cantors” or “servants.”


There was another related problem, as it became clear that no matter how prepared they were for the coming of Messiah, there were still everyday needs that needed to be met. Many people found it very hard to give up their earthly possessions, and this became an obstacle to growth. So a new procedure was instituted. When Barnabas’ sister Mary joined the congregation shortly after he did, she wasn’t required to sell her estates or the great house she had, as Barnabas had done. Rather than let them fall into the hands of speculators, it was decided that homes such as these would be kept as common property of the congregation. Members worked the estate’s vineyards and olive groves and lived on them. Mary’s house was particularly useful, for it accommodated a large number of people, and had large rooms for prayer meetings and common meals.

The first person to be moved into the new quarters was Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was becoming weaker from day to day. Susannah, the mother of the Zebedees, and Simon Peter’s mother-in-law also moved in and were charged with her care. Mary Magdalene, the first to see Messiah after his resurrection, also moved in. She had taken on the character of a prophetess, but she was also wasting away with the passing of the days.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the widow, Barnabas’ sister, were drawn together right from the start. Mary the widow reawakened in Mary Magdalene a love she once had for incense plants and sweet oils, but had gotten away from. They often sat together among the shadows of the cypress alley, when the ripening jasmine poured its sweet perfume on the air, and the mint its bitter perfume, and Mary Magdalene told Mary the widow the stories of the days when her lord and redeemer lived among them. She told of the days when love failed her, and how she heard the good man of Nazareth, whose words came to her like the perfume of sweet oil. She told how she left her many lovers and her powerful protectors and her rich house and went to the house of Simon the Pharisee to find him. She saw her lord seated at the end of the table by the door. She fell at his feet, begged forgiveness for her sins, anointed his feet with her sweet oils, and dried them with her hair.

Mary told further of the days when she and the disciples followed their lord and savior through the hills and valleys of Galilee, of the Sabbath they spent together in his mother’s house, and of his last days in Jerusalem.

Young John Mark sat at the feet of the two women. He listened attentively to Mary’s descriptions of the life and acts of King Messiah, and he wrote them down on the tablets of his heart.