I Appeal To Caesar!

Jerusalem was only his first step in an awful, downward spiral he will live to regret.

For now, however, his present, consuming thought is that fellow Jews must not violate the beloved Scripture! Madness has come upon him, blown into flaming hate by the High Priesthood; Saul will torment the Church of Jesus without mercy until he himself is confronted and converted by the very Christ he has rejected! At this moment Saul sees the person and teaching of Jesus Christ as a dangerous heresy, and so he becomes its most violent opponent. * * * * * Saul’s leadership of the “Jesus People exterminators” proves highly successful. Annas and Caiaphas are ecstatic over the results! Arrests have been made in Jerusalem and outside Jewish communities. Christian activism has been greatly curtailed! Together in the main office, the two pacified High Priests discuss the Purge. As they talk, Hagar the servant woman, brings a tabulating sheet, recording recent results of the project led by Saul of Tarsus. Caiaphas smiles as he reads aloud: “Fifteen more Jerusalem families have been taken from their homes and imprisoned during the past week!” The two happy priests then happily converse. “Sounds good,” says Annas, “but have any men, heads of households, changed their minds?”