I Appeal To Caesar!

During the day the area seethes with a multitude of

people, stirring in every direction without letup.

The noise is deafening! The braying donkeys and neighing camels add their strident sounds to the loud bargaining of the farmers and oil-pressers and the bantering of the merchants. People yell to be heard, which raises the noise level to an unbelievable pitch! It is here that the impoverished oil-pressers work. Small-time farmers bring their sacks of olives to be ground and pressed in the small mills turned by a donkey or blind slave. Meanwhile, of course, outside the city, the big, wealthy oil mills are driven by the streams of water available there. At the inner base of the great eastern wall, amid the noise, confusion, and putrid smells, Saul spends his last day in Damascus. He hides among the sacks of olives, baskets, and cruses, covering himself with greasy rags. He who hunted and hounded the Christians, now finds himself the victim of that same unwarranted treatment.

Prayer continues, but no one is wise enough to suggest

a solution!

Then, the answer comes! A humble laborer supplies the

escape plan!

Jesse is a poor man who works with the olive presses and disposal of the olive sludge. He learns of Saul’s ministry and dilemma and suggests a way to escape over the walls.