GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 24 - 27

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 24

1 Then Jesus went out and departed
From the temple, and then they started,
His disciples, to come to show
Him the temple buildings below.
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you
Not see all these things? It is true,
I say to you, not one stone shall
Be left here standing up, that shall
Not be thrown down.” 3 Now as he sat
On Mount of Olives, where he’s at,
Disciples came in private, saying,
“Tell us, when will these things be? And
What will be the sign that you stand
To come, and of the age’s end?”

It seems, Beloved, a stone or two’s still standing
In that distressful city that we’re branding
With violence as nothing new or old.
The stone wall hot by day at night grows cold,
Just like the hearts both hot and cold that bare
Destruction in Jerusalem the fair.
One sent from You proclaimed that they would stand
One stone upon another in that land
Until at last they all should be thrown down.
His hearers understood that time’s renown
To be at the last day, and so it seems
That wall of stones still enters all men’s dreams.
Throw down my stones, Beloved, today that I
May enter in sweet judgement day’s reply.

4 And Jesus answered them not staying,
“Take heed no one deceives his friend.
5 “For many will come in my name,
Saying, ‘I am the Christ’ in fame
And will deceive many. 6 “And you
Will hear of wars and rumours true.
See that you are not troubled, for
All these must come to pass and more,
But the end is not yet. 7 “For nation
Will rise against nation and station,
And kingdom against kingdom. And
There’ll be famines on every hand,
Pestilences, and earthquakes in
Various places. 8 “All these win
As the start of sorrows. 9 “Then they
Will deliver you up one day
To tribulation and kill you,
And you will be hated with rue
By all nations for my name’s sake.

Not many men say they are Christ and live
Freely to speak again without the sieve
Of watchful psychiatric care and aid
Of calming drugs to empty what mind played.
Yet christs there be in every time and place
A human being claims to show Your face
To others with divine authority.
Ah yes, there are the priests of trinity,
Their bishops and their popes in quantity,
Their chiefs of state and of economy,
Their captains and their admirals as well
As every boss that’s known this side of hell.
Who is not deceived by the great and swell
Will catch the tale of trouble such can tell.

10 “And then many will offence take,
Each other will betray with hate.
11 “Then many false prophets of late
Will rise up and deceive many.
12 “And because lawlessness reigns free,
The love of many will grow cold.
13 “But he who endures in the fold
Until the end shall then be saved.
14 “This kingdom’s gospel once engraved
Will be preached in all the world as
A witness that each nation has,
And then the end will come. 15 “Therefore
When you see what was said before
By Daniel of ‘abomination
Of desolation,’ stand in station
In holy place” (whoever reads,
May understand prophetic seeds),
16 “Then let those who are in Judea
Flee to the hills so they won’t see you.
17 “Let him who is on the housetop
Not go down to take from his crop
Or anything out of his house,
Nor silver coin nor hen nor grouse.
18 “And let him who is in the field
Not go back to get clothes concealed.
19 “But woe to those who are with child
And those who’re nursing in days mild!
20 “And pray that your flight may not be
In winter or Sabbath’s decree.

Four things alone Your sent one in this book
Commands to pray for, now just take a look,
And the last is for peace on Sabbath day
Not to be caught in flight within its ray.
They tell me that was just because the Jews
Would make the flight a hard one and abuse,
Not that Your own would keep the Sabbath true
And love to find it bringing them to You.
But the fulfilment of the prophecy
Of Daniel was long after the Jewry
Was in control of the Judean hills.
Abomination that comes in and spills
The temple mount was not built till the time
The Muslim hordes poured in with hoop and crime.

21 “For then there will be tribulation,
Such as not known since instigation
Of the world till this time and station.
22 “And unless those days were made short,
No flesh would be saved from their sport,
But for the elect’s sake those days
Will be shortened and for God’s praise.
23 “Then if anyone says to you,
‘Look, here’s the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ then do
Not believe it. 24 “For false christs and
False prophets rise on every hand
And show great signs and wonders to
Deceive, if possible, the true.
25 “See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look,
He's in the desert!’ do not book
A flight, or ‘Look, he’s in the inner
Rooms!’ then do not believe the sinner.
27 “For as the lightning comes from east
And flashes to the west at least,
So also will the coming be
Of Son of Man for all to see.
28 “For wherever the carcass is,
There eagles gather in a whiz.

Quotation from Daniel twelve seems to make
The fall of Ottomans the easy stake.
The tribulation came after that time,
The fall of the stock market and its rhyme,
The great depression and the holocaust
Come down upon the world that was still lost.
The tribulation was cut short at cost,
And now we live in that brief generation
Of some reprieve to Your own chosen nation.
In the midst of this controlled violence
That in peace rests upon this earth’s pretence
Shall come the lightning strike to show the core
Of sin wrenched from the pot to touch the gore.
I wait the cataclismic, light-drenched shore.

29 “Right after those days’ tribulation
The sun will be darkened in ration,
And the moon will not give its light,
The stars will fall from heaven as bright,
And the powers of the heavens be shaken.
30 “Then Son of Man’s sign unmistaken
Will appear in the sky, and all
The tribes of earth will mourn and fall,
And they will see the Son of Man
Coming on heavenly clouds by plan
With power and glory above all.
31 “And he will send his angels and
A great sound of a trumpet grand,
And they will gather his elect
From the four winds, from one aspect
Of heaven to the other hand.

Some say the signs have all fulfilled in past,
The dark day, the blood moon, the stars down-cast.
But those were just the shifting seams of time.
The world after the show went on to climb.
Those wonders shall appear again one day,
And when they do, it will be late to say
Repent. The flower of Your eternity
Will break through the veils for all men to see.
The argument of Jew and Christian then
About the sought Messiah in his den
Will matter no more, and the Muslim’s fight
About the Mahdi, whether born or right,
Will fail at last. And all shall see the sight,
And leave off faith and hope before the bright.

32 “Learn this figure from the fig tree:
For when its branch has already
Become tender and puts forth leaves,
You know that summer near retrieves.
33 “So you also, when you see all
These things, know that it’s near the call
And even at the doors! 34 “It’s true,
I say to you, this generation
Will by no means pass or be few
Till all these things stand in their station.

They say the prophecy of Jesus failed
And all that generation was impaled
Upon death’s wing. When Ellen White for sting
Repeated the same prophecy to sing,
Her creditors came swooping down to say
She also lied mistaken in the way.
If so, she followed Jesus in his pay.
For both spoke of the last times and the sight
Of the last signs before the judgement light.
And so both spoke the truth and they were right.
When cosmic fabric rends, the end is near,
And all who see it, see it but to fear
The breaking in of the eternal day
Of Sabbath rest where all the nations stay.

35 “Both heaven and earth will pass away,
But my words will not lead astray.
36 “But of that day and hour no one
Knows, not even angel or son,
But my Father only when done.

If Jesus is the self-existing One
As written on the icons in the sun,
The very substance of Father of lights,
Very God of God come in human sights,
Then he must know all things known to You too,
Our God and Father come before the true.
Yet here he says his knowledge is prevented
By Your own knowing of the unrelented.
I take the word and not theology,
I take the spurred and not philosophy,
And stand unled astray, though I may be
Unknowing of the secrets that I flee.
Beloved, pity my child’s simplicity
As I lean on Your breast and in Your view.

37 “But as the days of Noah, so
Also the Son of Man will show.
38 “For as in days before the flood,
They ate and drank and mixed their blood
In marrying and giving in
Marriage and forgetting their sin,
Until the day that Noah went
Into the ark where he was sent,
39 “And did not know until the flood
Came and took all of them away,
So too will come Son of Man’s day.

It was not that they did not know that made
The people in Noah’s day on parade
Fail of salvation, it was that they paid
Attention to no ark where Noah stayed.
I look around me here to see the ark.
No one has built one in the city park.
I need not know, and doing in the dark
Will not keep me from drowning with the clerk.
Beloved, I eat and drink most every day,
And have a wife well married in my pay,
And I know nothing of the end of time,
Catastrophe about to fall on rhyme.
When You provide a shell to shelter me,
Reveal it to my eye and I shall see.

40 “Then two men will be in the field:
One will be taken without shield,
The other left. 41 “Two grinding at
The mill: one taken where she sat,
The other left. 42 “So watch therefore,
For you do not know what time your
Lord is coming. 43 “But know this, that
If the house master had known what
Time the thief would come, he’d have shut
The door and watched and not allowed
His house robbed or his pasture ploughed.
44 “Therefore you also must be ready,
For the Son of Man’s coming steady
At a time you do not expect.

Not getting ready is the word You sent,
But being ready is like to prevent
Surprise that ends in woe. And so I’ve spent
My life to be ready when You relent.
I keep the Decalogue, I do Your will,
And failing each day to fulfil the bill
I come repenting day by day to fill
My cup with Your grace and Your mercy still.
Such watching in the tent I trust will show
The day when it begins to burn and glow
And Son of man returns or comes at last
To conquer love and hope of earthly past.
Beloved, rob my house now and every day
Till nothing’s left for robbers but the clay.

45 “Who then’s a faithful and wise slave,
Whom his master made ruler grave
Over his household, to give them
Food in due season’s stratagem?
46 “Blessed is that servant whom when his
Master comes, will find that he is
Doing so. 47 “Truly, I tell you
That he will make him ruler too
Over all his goods. 48 “But if that
Evil servant says in his fat
Heart, ‘My master delays his coming,’
49 “And begins to beat fellow humming
Among the servants, and to eat
And drink with drunkards in their seat,
50 “The master of that servant will
Come on a day when he is still
Not looking for him and a time
That he is not aware is prime,
51 “And will cut him in two and give
Him his share where hypocrites live.
There shall be weeping there as well
As gnashing of teeth for a spell.

Two faiths provide for humankind to hear.
One clamours that his coming is right near
And others say delay is at the ear.
Truth is the ones who cry delay are right
Up to the very verge of coming night.
The faithful song is wrong and so along
Until the very edge of evil’s gong.
There is no paradox on earth but this.
The wicked tell the truth and yet they miss
The saving grace of folly at the kiss
Of time run out upon the open bliss.
Beloved, let me believe this is the last
Day of life that I have to work and cast,
Though ten thousand more come until they’ve passed.

MATTHEW 25

1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be
Compared to ten virgins who see
Their lamps, and who went out in bloom
To the meeting of the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five
Were foolish. All ten were alive.
3 The foolish ones who took their lamps
Forgot to take oil in their damps.
4 But the wise took oil in their pots
Along with their lamps in their lots.
5 But the bridegroom delayed to come,
All fell asleep in the humdrum.
6 At midnight though, a cry went out,
“See, now the bridegroom comes about!
Go out to meet him with a shout.”
7 Then all those virgins were aroused
And lit their lamps that had been doused.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise,
“Give us some of your oil in prize,
For our flame flickers and it dies.”
9 But the wise answered, saying, “No,
Lest there not be enough to glow
For us and you. But rather, go
To those who sell and buy a row.”
10 But while they went away to buy,
The bridegroom came down from the sky.
Those who were ready went with him
Into the wedding feast and trim,
And so the door was shut and grim.
11 Afterwards the rest of the virgins
Also came with their oil of sturgeons,
Saying “Sir, sir, open for urgings.”
12 But he replied and said “It’s true
That I do not recognize you.”
13 So watch, for you do not know when
The day or hour that you will ken
The Son of Man comes back again.

The difference between foolish and wise
Is not that sleep came to close both their eyes,
But that the one was ready all the time
While others were just settling in the crime
Of getting ready all the while in rhyme.
To be ready or get ready defines
Who sits at wedding parties drinking wines
And who is shut out from holy confines.
Let me not get ready for judgement day,
But rather to be ready all the way.
I joy to know that I’ve no task to fill,
No job to get me ready on the hill.
But it’s enough in grace to be instead
Of getting in the furnace of the spread.

14 For it is like a man who left
On a trip abroad, who was deft
To call his own slaves and give his
Possessions to them to keep biz.
15 And to one indeed he gave five
Talents, and to another, two,
And to another, one to strive,
And to each one according to
His ability. And he went
Abroad straight off from the present.

I’m up for business with my books in view:
I’ll give five to the best to sell on cue
And with the profits he can sell ten more
If he is good at playing shop and store.
It is a Gospel theme, and so I rate
The ones who read and sell in my estate
The good and fair, while others are mere drones
To sit and gawp at masters and their bones.
All humankind is easily divided
Into two camps, criterion provided:
Those who appreciate Beloved and I
And those who reap beneath an empty sky.
Beloved, I guess in that I’m just like You.
You spot those who keep ten commandments too.

16 And the one with five talents went
And acted on them all unspent
And earned five more not to relent.
17 In the same way the second one
Took the two talents he had won
And with them gained two more for fun.
18 But the one who received just one
Went off and dug a hole when done
And hid his master’s silver there.
19 After a long time from his ware
The master of the slaves came and
Called in account his slaves as planned.
20 The one who had received the five
Came up and brought another five,
Talents near, saying “Sir, you gave
Me five talents to keep and save,
And I have gained five talents more.”
21 His master said to him in store,
“Well done you good and faithful slave.
You worked hard over little grave,
I’ll set you over much. Come in
To the joy of your master’s bin.”
22 Then the one who got two came in
And said “Sir, you gave me to win
Two talents. See I’ve gained two more.”
23 His master said to him for score
“Well done you good and faithful slave.
You worked hard over little grave,
I’ll set you over much. Come in
To the joy of your master’s bin.”

I too thank those who sell a book of mine
Even if it’s to make a profit fine
For himself only in the final share.
Congratulations to those who’re aware.
The minimum of good grace I require
Is selling of two books as though on fire.
Only the elite can make five in pyre.
But everyone of virtue can sell two
And keep the third to read for her review.
Your sent one himself spoke of two or three,
And that makes a whole church with quire and fee.
Beloved, I’ll give you just one copy free,
As You’re no salesman, but You still deserve
To have a look at what I write with verve.

24 And the one who got just one talent
Also came up and he was valiant
To say “Sir, I knew you were hard,
Reaping where you did not sow shard,
And gathering where you did not
Scatter to make a business plot,
25 “And so I feared and went my way
And hid your talent there to stay
In the earth. See now, take your pay.”
26 His master answered him to say
“You wicked and you lazy slave!
You knew that I reap and I pave
Where I do not sow, and I take
Where I did not scatter and rake.
27 “Then you ought to have put away
My silver in the bankers’ pay,
And when I came I should get my
Own back with interest on the sly.
28 “So take the talent from him and
Give it to the one in the band
Who has ten talents on the sand.
29 “For to each one who has the more
Shall be given to break his score.
But from the one with naught in hand,
Even what he has will be taken
Away and out the door be shaken.
30 “So cast the worthless slave away
Into outer darkness to play.
There will be weeping to bequeath
As well as gnashing of the teeth.

Beloved, I should not be so hard on one
Who bought my book and settled down for fun
To read it in his den of earth alone
And not tell any soul about the loan.
One sale’s a sale, and what’s been said of pence
And taking care of pounds still has some sense.
I would not cast him out in darkness where
The teeth are gnashed and weeping is the share
Of humankind. Instead, I’d let him wear
A smile to see the punishment of fire
Heaped on the millions who without desire
Pass by my book unbought, though pockets weigh
In silver and in golden counterplay.
Let buried treasure, Beloved, have its day.

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in
His glory, and with all the din
Of holy angels with him, then
He’ll sit on his throne of glory.
32 “Before him shall be gathered men
Of all the nations and then he
Will separate them carefully
From one another, as the good
Shepherd separates sheep from hood.
33 “And truly he will set the sheep
At his right hand, but the goats keep
On the left hand. 34 The king will say
To those on his right hand to lay,
'Come, blessed of my Father today,
Inherit the kingdom prepared
For you from earth’s foundation shared.'
35 “For I was hungry and you gave
Me food to eat, in thirst I’m brave,
And you gave me to drink the lave,
I was a stranger, and you took
Me in and never once forsook.
36 “I was naked, and you clothed me;
I was sick, you visited me;
I was in prison, and you came
To me with comfort and not blame.
37 The righteous will answer and say
“Sir, when did we see you in pay
Of hunger, and feed you, or thirst
And gave you drink and like to burst?
38 “And when did we see you become
A stranger, and took you to hum,
Or naked and clothed you in sum?
39 “And when did we see you were sick,
Or in a prison wall built thick
And come to you in time for nick?”
40 In answer then the king will say
To them, “Truly I say today
To you, in what you came to do
It for one of these in my crew
Of least of brothers, so did you
The thing to me and in my view.”

Truth is, Beloved, the Gospel spells out right
The greatest principle of faith in sight.
There is no I but You, and all the night
Is just a veil that blinds the human blight.
The simplest soul upon the earth that knows
The I-ness of the morning that arose
In ecstasy no words could then express
Contains the grand reflection and address
Of You, Creator of all hope and fire.
You are reflected in glory and mire.
The slave upon the workbench is Your own
Heart and mind tortured to the marrow bone,
And none defies Your will but for the cast
Of divine wareness in the living blast.

41 Then he will also say to those
On his left, “Go from me in rows,
You cursed ones, get you in the fire,
The everlasting, that entire
Is so prepared for devil and
His angels in their wicked band.
42 “For I was hungry, you did not
Give me a thing to eat in lot.
And I was thirsty and you did
Not give me anything in bid
To drink; 43 “I was a stranger, and
You did not take me in to stand;
Naked, and you did not clothe me;
Sick and in prison by decree
And you did not come visit me.”
44 Then they will also answer him
Saying “Sir, when did we see grim
Hunger on you, or thirst, or then
When were you a stranger in glen,
Or naked, sick, or in the den
Of prison and fail to serve you?”
45 Then he’ll reply to them in crew
And say “Truly I say to you,
In what you did not do to one
Of these the least, neither for fun
Did you do it to save my bun.”
46 And these shall go away to be
In punishment eternally,
But the righteous into reward
Of life eternal without sword.

All men know that the soul contains
The realization beyond the pains
Of human flesh, that I am God alone
And there is none other who can atone.
Distinction comes with knowing in the care
Of man’s existence and in woman’s share,
That every body caught within the coil
Is equally with I-ness on the soil
Reflection of divinity to toil.
Seeing You, my Beloved, in every face,
Instead of mine alone, is saving grace.
All who fail in that sight are sent to hell
To be lone gods forever under spell
Of blindness of reality to tell.

MATTHEW 26

1 It happened, when Jesus had done
Speaking all these things for the fun,
He said to His disciples won,
2 You know that the Passover’s come
After two days, and Son of Man’s
Betrayed to crucifixion’s hum.

The synoptics pretend Passover comes
After two days alone and so it hums
Four days behind John in the patient lurch.
That's just because John uses for his search
The luni-solar calendar Rabbis
Have since that time dared always to revise,
While Matthew tames the Jubilees in guise,
And makes the Passover come Tuesday night.
The two ways of the reckoning in sight
Show how the crucifixion of the wight
Can be in Matthew after feast's delight,
But on the eve of the fifteenth for those
Who follow the officials in their rows.
The Gospel's contradictions fail to pose.

3 Then the chief priests along with bans
Of scribes and the folk’s elders came
Assembling to the high priest’s court,
Who was Caiaphas by name.
4 And they connived to plot in sort
To seize Jesus by guile to kill.
5 But they said “Not by the feast’s frill
To avoid rioting and spill.”

Society is safe and sane because
The most of men obey its obscene laws
That ignore justice, mercy, and the right,
But make appropriate the thing in sight.
It’s not appropriate to spoil the feast,
The holiday, the peace, the folk’s increased,
But fair enough to murder in the night,
And stalk the singer after the twilight.
There’s hardly now, Beloved, a gathering
In boardroom or in governmently ring
But shares the character of that meeting
With the high priest to bring Jesus astray.
Appropriateness carries off the day,
While innocence is left to die for pay.

6 And Jesus was in Bethany,
In Simon the leper's home tree.
7 A woman came to him freely
With alabaster bottle filled
With precious ointment and distilled.
She poured it on his head in share
While he was lying eating there.
8 When his disciples saw the thing,
They were offended and saying
Why such a waste under the wing?
9 “The ointment could have been sold for
A great price and given to the poor.”

I too, Beloved, would like to do my thing
In this world by taking under my wing
The people who need help and charity.
But that is not how You created me.
You made me to be outcast from the church,
Despised by those who run the comic perch,
Appreciated by the quiet few
Who have an eye for small beauties in brew.
My beauties are so microscopic that
It takes adjusting in the melting vat
Before they are apparent to the nose.
Though bottle’s crushed, I’m quelling like a rose.
The alabaster shards reflect the light
Shed from my work in chambers of the night.

10 But Jesus knew what they were saying.
“Why strike the woman with gainsaying?
For she’s done a good thing to me.
11 “For you will always have degree
Among you in their poverty,
But you do not always have me.
12 “For when she put this oil on me,
She did it for to bury me.
13 “Indeed I tell you, where with speed
This Gospel is preached to world’s need,
What she did will be spoken well
Of her in memory of her spell.”

The promise Jesus made is true indeed,
Which indicates no exegete in need
Need question the authentic story here:
Each true Gospel will keep it at the ear.
That cuts out Luke for sure. He missed the rote,
And so his Gospel’s left the sheep for goat.
The implication is that Matthew’s not
Compatible to stay in the same plot
With Luke at all. A shorter Bible then
Would be the right one for most modern men.
Beloved, don’t be so harsh with either one:
You see the church let both in by the tonne,
So I retreat in my own poverty
To see the conflict in the church rightly.

14 Then one of the twelve went to plot
With chief priests, Jude Iscariot.
15 He said “What will you give to me
If I deliver you freely
This man?” And they counted for him
Thirty silver coins tarnished dim.
16 From then on he looked for the chance
To betray him with wrong and dance.
17 And on the first day of the Feast
Of Unleavened Bread, came increased
The disciples to Jesus, saying
To him, “Where do you hope for staying
To eat the Passover for slaying?”

The first day of the feast was the day set
As the fourteenth of the first month that's met,
So this day the disciples came to speak
Was a day earlier in that same week
That John calls day of preparation and
Was the day of the crucifixion grand.
The question rises, that the meal they eat
For the Passover came before the treat
Of crucifixion, while the law provides
They should have eaten after taking sides.
The conflict of the calendars can be
Because the synoptics refer to Jubilee
While John sticks to the noble Pharisee
And how Rabbinic luni-solar rides.

18 And he said “Go into the town
To a certain man of renown
And tell him what the teacher says
'My time is near, and not for praise,
At your place I intend to keep
Passover with my friends to peep.'
19 And the disciples came to do
As Jesus ordered them in crew,
Preparing the Passover too.
20 When evening came, he came to lie
Down there with the twelve without spy.

I’d have held out for forty, I’m so crass.
I would not give in for just tacks and brass.
And yet that sly delay is merely boasting.
No doubt I’ve betrayed Jesus in my hosting
For nothing more than a guffaw accepting
Me in the crowd of others who’re inepting.
It is betrayal that I let some pass
And call him second in the triune mass.
I should cry loud against idolatry.
Instead I am polite to pagan spree.
Let Jesus uphold Decalogue and I
Am ready to claim him above the cry
Of those who wish to pass the poor chap by
Or make of him a god and on the sly.

21 And while they ate, he said to them,
“Truly I tell you one in hem
Of you will betray me for gem.”
22 And grieving very much, they started
To ask by turn, “Sir, is it I?”
23 But he replied and told them tarted,
“The one who dips his hand to try
Me in the dish betrays my sigh.
24 “Truly the son of man’s betrayed
As it was written for him stayed.
But woe to that man by whom then
The son of man’s given to men.
It would have been better for him
Never to have been born so grim.”
25 The one betraying in reply,
Judas said “Teacher, it’s not I?”
He said to him “You are the spy.”

According to all rules of guest and host,
Betrayal of one eating jam and toast
At one table is something beyond boast.
All cultures, lands, each family and coast
Know how to be hospitable with roast.
The pretence of Judas seems ripe to see,
And yet he too follows the master’s key:
Whatever the Tanach says one should do,
No matter how far-fetched in modelled cue,
He’s out to do the thing just to please You.
Beloved, give me such faith combined at last
With some more knowledge of Your will to cast,
And I like Jesus and Judas shall lean
Obedient to commandments I have seen.

26 And as they ate, Jesus took bread
And blessed and gave it as he said
To his disciples “Take and eat,
This is my body for a treat.”
27 And when he took the cup, he gave
Thanks and handed it in their lave,
Saying “All of you drink the meet.
28 “For this is my blood on the seat
Of new covenant which for crowd
Of many’s poured out as allowed
Releasing sins that many greet.

If just a joke or allegory I
Don’t think that cannibalism can vie
With truth. Your sent one was not wise to make
Allusion to eating his flesh for sake
Of drinking blood. Too many on the take
Read that as literal or even worse
The functional replacement of a curse.
It’s better just to say eating the flesh
And drinking human blood is something fresh
Forbidden by the law and all good sense.
Then we’d have been turned from the mass to pence.
I don’t appreciate the state we’re in
Because of cannibalistical sin
In every church from here to Timbuctin.

29 “But I tell you, I shall not drink
Of this fruit of the vine on brink
Till that day when I drink it new
In my Father’s kingdom with you.”

Your sent one, despite reputation from
The wedding at Cana and every sum
Of company he’s caught with like a bum,
Here makes a clean breast of his own delight:
He will not drink fermented wine in sight,
And on the day he meets his friends again,
He’ll only drink new wine among his men,
And that is just grape juice. No doubt by then
The final prophet will at last have shown
That drinking alcohol’s a thing that’s known
To be an inappropriate thing here
Where thousands of deaths come from it each year.

30 And singing a Psalm they went to
The Mount of Olives out of view.

The Great Hallel no doubt is what they sang:
Their only songbook was the swing and twang
Of Tehilim, the book of David’s Psalms,
The book that swears and praises and then calms.
I add to praise and plaint and penance that
Petition that I might not sing them flat.
But You who bent creating suns and moons,
The universe of power and beauty’s swoons,
Despite all effort to give me my boons,
Cannot make my voice born of alley cat
Sing true and beautiful after the bat.
Beloved, I still sing David’s Psalms and find
That I rise higher than the tined and wined
Who skip to dock and pole to make them blind.

31 Then Jesus told them, “You all will
Be offended in me while still
This very night goes on to trill.
For it’s been written, 'I will strike
The shepherd, and the flock is like
To be spread scattered on the hill.

Jesus and his are cute in the fair way
They seek to follow Tanach every day
In all they do. There’s hardly any word
They speak but is reflection often blurred
Of what some prophet spoke in ancient time.
Make my life too, Beloved, of such a rhyme.
Because the shepherd’s struck and sheep are bent
On scattering, so Jesus will relent
And kneel beneath the quirt until he’s spent.
The Christian secretly pretends that he
Would not have left his master on the lee,
But in that he betrays the fact he fails
To keep the law and prophets in his tales.
Let me be no such Christian in my key.

32 After my resurrection I
Will go before you up to spy
The land of Galilee undry.
33 And Peter answered him and said
“If all others here have been led
To be offended, know that I
Will never leave you in the die.”
34 Jesus told him, “Truly I say
To you, tonight before the ray
Of the cock crowing, you’ll deny
Me three times and still wonder why.”
35 Peter told him, “And should I die
With you, I never will deny,
No never!” The disciples all
Said the same thing against the wall.
36 Then Jesus came with them into
A place called Gethsemane’s view.
And he told his disciples there,
“Sit here, and I shall go in prayer.”
37 He took him Peter and the two
Of Zebedee’s sons in the crew,
And he began to cry and moan.
38 And then he spoke to them alone,
“My soul is deeply grieved to see
My death. Stay here and watch with me.”
39 He went a little farther and
Fell on his face, and prayed to stand,
Saying, “O my Father, if it
Is possible, let this cup fit
Pass from me, but not as I will,
But as You will let it fulfil.”

O my Belovèd, with what pain You saw
The one You sent by night alone withdraw
Into the garden and fall to the earth to pray
Upon his face and in prostration stay
The while! As he is my example, let
Me too on earth prostrate by minaret
Beneath a dome of stone or sky
Until the prayer in prostrating’s gone by.
Then save me from the bitter cup and cross
If so be Your intention to my loss
Or gain, as was to him who living rose
Toward the sky. My prayers by night transpose
The darkness into starlight, starlight guiding
My resurrected steps and faith confiding.

40 He came to the disciples and
Found them asleep. He said to Peter,
“Indeed, it seems you could not stand
To watch one hour, for sleep was sweeter.
41 “But watch and pray that you do not
Fall into such temptation’s plot.
The spirit truly’s willing but
The flesh is weak though it may strut.”
42 He went away a second time
And prayed, saying “Father, what crime
Would it be if I missed this cup?
But let Your will be up and up.”
43 He came and found them once again
Asleep, for they were weary men.
44 He left them and went back once more
And prayed a third time the same score.
45 He came to His disciples and
He said to them, “Sleep is not banned,
Rest for what little time remains.
See how the moment rushes in,
The son of man for all his pains
Is betrayed into hands of sin.”

The fact that Jesus speaks of flesh and spirit
Shows how far into Greece or at least near it
The first century of Judaism fell.
It is a sorrow that I have to tell.
The unity of anthropology
Of Semites is a wonder that I see,
And although Hellenistic thought resides
In modern science too, it still derides
The basics of reality I share
With men of common sense and everywhere.
The spirit is not willing if the flesh
Is not confounded by the shapely fresh.
The spirit and the flesh are just one thing
And making two of them is dastard fling.

46 “Get up and go, for see arrives
The traitor coming from his hives.”
47 And as He spoke, see, Judas came,
One of the twelve, Judas the same.
And with him was a great crowd bearing
Both swords and clubs from chief priests wearing
And elders of the people swearing.
48 And the betrayer gave a sign,
Saying “The one kissed by design
Is the right one, so grab him fine.”
49 And coming up at once to Jesus,
He said ”Hello, master,” to please us,
And then he kissed him in the line.

It’s common among men today as then
To betray with a kiss among the ten.
The ramming of faint praise, the willing sore
That raises up the friend to touch the gore,
All happen in both politics and mire
Of workplace everywhere and without tire.
Because we live in civilized law’s grace
The safest way to betray’s with a face
Of friendship and of lawfulness of mace.
Turn law and custom both against a man
And there’s no rising from the push and span.
Beloved, kiss me or not, I find the way
Is sordid and still gross before the play,
And full of pitfalls for the john at bay.

50 But Jesus said to him, ”My friend,
Why are you here, and to what end?”
Then they came up to Jesus then
And grabbed him there among his men.
51 And one of those with Jesus then
Stretched out his hand and drew his sword
And struck the high priest’s slave aboard
And sliced off his ear as abhorred.
52 Then Jesus told him, ”Put away
Your sword back in its place to stay.
For all who take the sword shall die
Beneath the sword without a cry.”
53 “Or do you think that I cannot
Now call on my father in plot
And He will put beside me more
Than twelve legions of angels’ store?
54 “How then should the Scriptures fulfil
Unless I go walk up this hill?”
55 That very hour then Jesus said
To the crowds, ”Have you now been led
Against me with swords, clubs and all
As against a robber in pall?
I sat with you each day to teach
Within the temple and in reach
And you did not lay hands on me.”
56 But all this happened by decree
Of prophets in the Scriptures so.
Then all his disciples would go
And on the run forsake his row.

Jesus’ disciple wore a sword indeed,
Which is a thing to wonder at with speed,
Unless he changed his teaching at the draught,
When all the rabble grabbed at what they sought.
The man had sworn that he would not deny
His master even if the darkened sky
Fell on him. But he just was not prepared
To have his master turn on him sword bared.
I have no sword, and what I had I gave
Back to my cousin, one well to behave,
To keep it safe in hand after the spoil
Of Japanese warehouses on the foil.
And yet I too follow the Scripture’s sound
And keep my feet still walking on the ground.

57 And those who seized Jesus led him
Away to Caiaphas grim
The high priest, where the scribes and elders
Were gathering from helder-skelders.
58 And Peter followed him afar,
Even to the court of the bar
Of the high priest. He went inside
And sat with the house folk to bide
What would happen and would betide.
59 And the chief priests and elders and
The whole Sanhedrin looked in band
For false witness against the stand
Of Jesus, so they might put him
To death, as their thoughts were so grim.
60 But they did not find an excuse,
Even though there were for abuse
Many false witnesses that came,
Till at last two false ones for shame
61 Said “This one said 'I can destroy
The temple of God and employ
But three days to build it again.’”
62 And the high priest stood right up then
And said to him, “Do you not say
A word in answer? Hear the way
These witness against you today.”
63 But Jesus kept his mouth shut till
The high priest told him, ”I instil
You on oath by the living God
That you tell us if on the sod
You are the Christ, the son of God.”

The son of God is here defined at last
In opposition to pagan outcast
Gods and their goddesses as just a term
Technical for the Christ, Messiah firm.
If he is Christ, then he’s the son of God,
Just as was David with promise in pod.
But that means nothing of his essence true,
Or whether he’s diviner than the crew
Of other men born in a world of rue.
The son of God just means the ruler king
Come after David to sort out the thing.
If pagan stories know another wing
Of solar myths with resurrection’s sting,
That has nothing to do, nothing to do.

64 Jesus said to him, “So you say.
And I will tell you more today.
This time you’ll see the son of man
Sit on the right hand of might’s span,
And coming on the clouds in sway.”
65 Then the high priest tore off his robe
And said “He blasphemed like a strobe!
Why do we need more witnesses?
See now you’ve heard blasphemy’s whiz.
66 ”How does it seem to you?” And they
Replied and said “Death sentence pay.”

As I read the text carefully I find
No word of blasphemy among the blind.
Not once did Jesus speak in pride or shame
Against You or against Your holy name.
He may have made a very foolish claim,
But that’s not blasphemy, not for a game.
The wickedness of his accusers’ heart
Attributed to him blasphemy’s part,
As though he made himself then out to be
You Yourself, second one in Trinity.
I hate to find such guilt in ancient crowd
Or in the one today that speaks aloud
Accusing him of the blasphemy’s word.
They fill the churches with unholy herd.

67 Then they spat in his face and they
Beat him with the fist in array,
And some slapped him 68 and came to say
‘Prophesy to us, Christ, and tell
Who is the one striking you well?’”

To claim that Jesus Christ was God Himself,
The second person of Trinity’s shelf,
Is just to spit in his face and beat him
With the fist and slap him with hard hands grim.
Establishment of church in ancient time
Accused him of the same in awful rhyme
That priests and elders still today in crime
Accuse him of, for nickel and for dime.
Beloved, I stand against the fit of crowd
And claim that what the man said is allowed,
That he is innocent of all the farce
That priest and political shove in arse.
Beloved, I take the faith of Jesus bold
That’s nothing but what Decalogue has told.

69 And Peter sat outside in court.
And one girl came near him in sort
Saying “You were with Jesus then,
The Galilean among men.”
70 But he denied before then all,
Saying “I don’t know him at all.”
71 And he went out into the porch
Where someone else saw him to scorch
And said to those there, “This man too
Was with Jesus Nazarene’s crew.”
72 And once more he denied and swore,
“I didn’t know this man before.”
73 And soon those standing by came near
And said to Peter for his fear,
“Truly you also are of those,
Your accent betrays you for shows.”
74 Then he began to curse and swear,
“I do not know the man from mare.”
And straight away a cock crowed there.
75 Then Peter remembered the word
Of Jesus saying to him stirred,
“Before a cock crows, you’ll deny
Me three times here beneath the sky.”
And he went out sorely to cry.

Peter’s mistake was placing confidence
In arm of flesh, even though its defence
Was that he was Messiah in his tents.
The confidence in Christ to remove sin
By dying on a cross will never win,
And those who deny him his rightful place
By such illusions will deny his face.
Beloved, let me join feather, then, and fin.
Mistaken expectations always lead
To disappointment in the fond-held creed.
Let me expect nothing of You at last
For keeping to the Decalogue to cast
Out every faith established under mast.
I love and obey without hope of seed.

MATTHEW 27

1 As morning drew near all the chief
Priests and the elders for relief
Of the folk took counsel with each
Against Jesus to kill the peach.
2 They tied him and led him away
And gave him to Pontius fey
Pilate the governor in sway.
3 Then Judas, his betrayer, saw
He was condemned, repented paw,
Returned the thirty pieces of
Silver to the chief priests for love
And elders, 4 saying “I have sinned,
Betraying innocent blood binned.”
But they said “What is that to us?
See to it yourself while you curse.”
5 He threw the silver pieces in
The temple and left with a din,
And hung himself, which was a sin.

This play acting by taking every cue
From obscure passage of Tanach and true
Tradition spoken by common assent
Among the pious must at last relent.
Judas went along with the role game till
He saw the priests were really there to kill.
And then in awful horror threw the coin
Into the temple. He’d no longer join
The game and see his own beloved one slain.
Judas was the first one among the sane.
But sanity on this world’s stage must end
In treachery to self without a friend.
Beloved, I take Your Scriptures in my guile
As guide indeed, but do not play the while.

6 The chief priests took the silver money
And said “It is not right or funny
To put this in the treasury,
Since it’s the price of blood’s degree.”
7 They counselled together and bought
With them the potter’s field for slot
Of foreigners’ place to be buried.
8 So that field to this day unharried
Is called the Field of Blood when carried.
9 So was fulfilled what had been said
By Jeremiah, prophet spread,
Saying “And I took thirty count
Of silver, the price of slave’s mount,
As Israel’s sons would set amount,
10 “And gave them for the potter’s field,
As order by the Lord appealed.”

First off the writer was one Zechariah
And not the favoured prophet Jeremiah.
The scroll might well go by his name perforce.
But that’s of little consequence, of course.
What strikes me is that murderers still feel
For what’s appropriate in row and reel.
What difference to the treasury to gain
A coin that is still reddened with the stain
Of blood, when that coin left the sacred hall
To buy the life of innocence in thrall?
Truth is, each treasury is filled with such,
With blood corruption and the evil touch.
The murderer is squeamish with as much,
But not with the death stroke. He needs his crutch.

11 And Jesus stood before the chief.
The governor questioned him lief,
And said “Are you the Jews’ king’s grief?”
And Jesus said to him, “You’re saying.”
12 And when He was accused dismaying
By the chief priests and elders, he
Answered nothing, stayed quietly.

The term the son of God is just a stroke
That means in jargon the king that awoke
To reign on David’s seat and by appointment
Of You, Beloved, and by divine anointment.
The priest says son of God, the ruler there
For Rome says king of Jews in his own share,
But both mean the same thing, and that’s the care.
The priest eschews the rise of king to bear
The rulership and usurp priestly ware.
The emperor is jealous of the state.
And so the two join in a plot for mate.
Beloved, I too long for the stable slate,
But find the violence upon my pate,
And so retreat to You alone to swear.

13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you
Not hear how many things of rue
They testify now against you?”
14 And he did not reply a word,
So that the chief was greatly stirred.

Hope always rises in the human heart
That some word will free him from awful part
Of power. But truth is nothing can be said
To the interrogator when one’s led
Before the rack. Nothing one says will free
Despite the wicked promises of glee.
The torture is for its own sake and not
To get confession of ungainly plot.
Confession merely adds a crime in lot
And stands a useless thing to relieve pain.
The only freedom from the hand of king
Is death, and that’s why Jesus knows to sing
Nor word nor hope before the royal reign.
Let me keep my mouth shut, Beloved, or sting.

15 And at the feast, the governor
Was wont to set free from the store
One prisoner to please the crowd,
Whatever one they had allowed.
16 And they had there one of renown,
A prisoner, Barabbas down.
17 When they were gathered, Pilate said
To them, “Whom do you wish I spread
Free for you, this Barabbas, or
Jesus who’s called the Christ and more.”
18 For he knew they delivered him
Through envy, that’s why they were grim.

I wonder what the simple man had over
The elite leaders not yet sent to clover
That they could envy him. No treasure trover
Was he who had no place to lay his head.
They surely did not envy him his bed.
I need not ask the question. It is sure
That they envied his power to work a cure,
Not for the cure itself, but for the praise
He gained from men and women all his days.
Though praise is cheap and fickle, all the more
The ones who bid for power love it in store.
That’s why, no doubt, elections always find
More praise and blame are scattered than the kind
Of issues discussed for importance due.
Thanks are appreciated more than true.

19 But he was sitting on the seat
Of judgement, and his wife’s entreat
Was sent to him to say ”Don’t meet
Anything here between you and
This just man brought into the stand.
For I have suffered much this night
For having him in my dream’s sight.”
20 But the chief priests and elders came,
Persuaded the crowds to acclaim
Barabbas, and to cast the blame
On Jesus for their own great shame.
21 And answering, the ruler said
To them, “Of the two here out-spread
Which do you want me to set free?”
And they said “Set Barabbas free.”
22 Then Pilate said to them, “What then
Should I do to Jesus of men
Called Christ?” They all said to him then,
”Crucify him by your decree!”

The media will always make the crowd
Choose wickedness within the things allowed
By the establishment of judgement hall.
They always hear the priestly din and call.
It’s not surprising in the least to see
That robbers stand their trial and then go free,
While innocent when caught within the mesh
Of the police give up their lovely flesh
To punishment and even unto death.
Such is the stink of normal human breath.
Beloved, protect me from the siren voice
Of media and priestcraft with its choice
Of limited in violence to make
The status quo the desired birthday cake.

23 The ruler said “And for what sin?”
But they cried out in greater din,
Saying “Crucify him in bin!”
24 And seeing that nothing was gained,
But rather a riot sustained,
Pilate took water to wash hands
Before the crowd saying commands,
“I’m innocent of this man’s blood
Who’s righteous, your eye’s full of mud.”
25 And all the people then replied,
Saying “His blood on us abide
And on our children,” so they cried.
26 Then he set them Barabbas free.
But he flogged Jesus and sent him
Up to be crucified in trim.

The difference between the rabble and
The one that sits upon the judgement stand
Is not of guilt, oh no, they both have that,
But that the rabble cries without a thought
But for excitement of the priestly plot,
While the judge on the stair knows what he’s wrought.
The one excuses it that hands tied flat
Or washed as it may be by the strong tide
Of the opinion public on the side.
He fails to note the public din has come
From the same source as his own power to hum:
Desire to keep the status quo of power
Among the chosen by corruption’s hour.
Beloved, I watch it from my own rose bower.

27 The soldiers took Jesus into
The praetorium and in view
Of governor assembled all
The cohort against him in thrall.
28 They stripped him and put on him then
A scarlet cloak with scarlet hem.
29 They plaited him a crown of thorn
And placed it on his head forlorn,
And put a reed in his right hand.
They bowed the knee before him and
They mocked him, saying “Hail, sir, stand
King of the Jews throughout the land.”
30 They spit on him, they took the reed
And struck him on the head indeed.
31 When they had mocked him, they stripped off
His cloak, and they put on to scoff
His garments and led Him away
To crucify him for their pay.

Beloved, remark that every deed and vile
Done in this world to innocence with guile
Is done by those who do their duty and
Merely receive their pay after in hand.
This is the great interpretation that
The state gives to the word of Jesus flat
That anger and hate are the sin and not
The deed itself, but rather sinful thought.
Because the soldiers do not know or hate,
But only maim and kill both soon and late
Within the hours for which they’re paid a rate,
What they do is no wrong, but duty done
To state and god and goddess of the sun.
Beloved, I’d rather be a robber’s mate.

32 They went out and they found a man,
A Cyrenean, named Simon.
They made him bear the cross for fun.

When rulers set loose soldiers on the folk,
They always pretend nothing’s in the stroke
But just a bit of fun for passing bloke.
Simon too was an innocent come by,
And that’s why he was chosen on the sly.
If he’d been of the rabble and the crowd
Demanding crucifixion, they’d allowed
Him to pass freely through the streets again.
Such is the course of every kind of men.
Beloved, at times I think You made mistakes
In making men instead of just mudcakes.
The Cyrenean walks the earth today,
Impoverished by servitude and pay
Of those who hold the oil and gold in sway.

33 They came to a place that is called
Golgotha, place of the skull walled.
34 They gave him vinegar with gall
To drink, but when he tasted tall,
He would not drink the stuff at all.
35 They crucified him, then sat down
To distribute his cloak and gown.
They cast a lot fulfilling what
Was spoken by the prophet’s glut,
“They divided my garments for
Themselves, and cast a lot in store
Of my clothing.” 36 And they sat down
To watch him die beside the town.
37 And they put up over his head
His charge, as it was written spread:
This is Jesus, the king of Jews.

Let Jesus be my king too, not just Jews,
Because he is the one that I would choose.
He upheld Decalogue before the face
Of power and held it till the taunt and pace
Came to the cross. Besides that he too claimed
To be the son of David and unblamed.
The son of David who takes Decalogue
As rule of thumb and fortune in the bog
Of worldly wandering, I take for mine,
And drink a toast to him with homely wine.
Beloved, no other kings need I below
The lunar calendar that churns the slow
Return to David’s promises and glow.
I wait the true reward, turn from the show.

38 Two robbers were strung to abuse
With him, one on the right and one
On his left. 39 Those passing the fun
Blasphemed him shaking their heads won,
40 And saying ”You who once tore down
The temple and built its renown
In three days, if you’re God’s son now
Come down from the cross anyhow!”
41 And in the same way, the chief priests
With scribes and elders’ mocking feasts,
Said 42 ”He saved others; He is not
Able to save himself from plot.
If He is the King of Israel,
Let Him come down now from the fell
Cross, and we will believe him well.”
43 ”He trusted in God. Let Him come
And rescue Him now, if the bum
Is one that He desires. For he
Said, ’I’m the son of God’, freely.”
44 The robbers also crucified
With him cursed the same at his side.
45 And from the sixth hour it was dark
All over the land till the bark
Of the ninth hour. 46 And at that time
Jesus cried out aloud in rhyme,
Saying ”Eli, Eli lama
Sabachthani, that is in straw
My God, my God, why did You then
Forsake me here before all men?”

When Jesus sang Psalm twenty-two aloud
Upon the cross or torture stake the crowd
Heard him sing in the targum Aramaic
Instead of in the Psalms of the Hebraic.
Today hardly a man comes near reciting
The Aramaic Psalms for two things righting.
The first is that the Hebrew’s taken over,
And that may be a grace in blooming clover.
The second is that siddur and the plot
Of mass and dua nowdays hit the spot.
Despite the fact the son of David sings
In the unknown tongue of the later wings,
I here declare return to David’s own
Tongue and submission to his covered throne.

47 Some standing there heard that and said
”This one calls Elijah instead.”
48 At once, one of them running took
A sponge filled with vinegar’s crook
And put it on a reed and gave
The drink to him before the grave.
49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone,
Let’s see if Elijah will come
To save him.” 50 And crying again
With a loud voice, Jesus died then.

Today as then the crew of working men
Who keep establishment running again
Are loyal to the church and state, and yet
Cannot even recognize on the set
The words of Psalm and Scripture when they’re met.
They hear instead the name Elijah or
Some other star and braggart of their lore.
No use to cry the truth aloud or sing
The Scriptures in the street or on the wing
Of crosses, for the people down below
Will never hear a word of heavenly glow.
There’s hardly any Bible-readers know
This was the title of the Psalm he sang.
They think it’s just a sentence with a twang.

51 And see the temple veil was torn
In two from above to adorn
Down to the floor. and the earth quaked
And the rocks were thrown out unbaked.
52 The tombs were opened, and many
Bodies of the saints were raised free
Who had long slept in dark degree.
53 They came out of the tombs when he
Was resurrected and went in
The city and appeared to win
To many there in the city.

This tale is hard for gullible like me
Even to take with salt not to say tea.
And yet who knows what truth’s behind the door.
The news I hear today’s like to ignore
Important things and merely propagate
The propaganda useful to the state.
It is no argument we should have heard
If such a resurrection had occurred.
It could happen today, and none be stirred
Unless it were a chance to make a buck,
For my own credibility’s unstuck.
If You want none on earth to believe You,
Beloved, then go on telling what is true,
And see how fast Your word’s ignored on cue.

54 But the centurion and those
With him guarding Jesus disclose,
Saw the earthquake and what arose,
And they were greatly in fear’s throes,
Saying “Truly this one was he,
The son of God and mightily.”

Whatever pagans like these mean when they
Say son of God I hesitate to say.
It’s more likely they want to turn a rake
At some Horus or Dionysian stake.
The aptitude is found in their grandsons
Today within the Catholic church in tons,
The Roman will to believe every tale
That conquered peoples bring out without fail.
The Trinties are crime a dozen here,
And everywhere I can think to appear.
The missionary zeal of these last five
Centuries leave hardly a man alive.
Beloved, I see the evidence awake
Above the altar piece for the sun’s sake.

55 Many women were there to see
Afar off, those who wandered free
After Jesus from Galilee,
Serving him there and tenderly,
56 Among them Mary Magdalene,
And Mary the mother serene
Of James and Joses, and the mum
Of the sons of Zebedee come.

It’s not that women were courageous then,
Or more courageous than the Saviour’s men.
They came and stood far off while the men chose
To run and hide behind the doors that close.
The likelihood of crucifying those
Women was less than for men in last throes.
Because of her dose of curiosity,
Mary the Magdalene has been set free
As spouse of Jesus to offend the eye
Of Christian-like ascetics by and by.
If three girls stand here in sight of the tree,
Then four in all of spouses have not come.
He might have had up to four like a bum
Of today’s Muslim crowd, and still chew gum.

57 When evening came, a rich man from
Arimathaea, who was called
Joseph and also was installed
Disciple to Jesus, came in
To Pilate asking for his bin
The body of Jesus to win.
Then Pilate ordered that the body
Be given. 59 And he took the body,
And Joseph wrapped him in clean cloth,
60 And laid it in his new tomb’s wrath,
Which he had cut out in the rock.
And rolling a great stone in stock
At the door of the tomb, he left.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene
And the other Mary was seen,
Sitting beside the grave bereft.

What did I say about the Muslim score?
Now here is proof, if any here need more.
The man is caught for burial like those
Today in linen come to crowd their toes.
The spices and the washings that arose
Around him are a reminiscence fair
Of what the Muslims do for their own share.
If Jesus gets the burial of such,
Then why not four wives for his divine touch?
If he was tempted in all points as we,
Then he must have had a full family,
For that is where the great temptation lies,
Not in the politics of others’ eyes.
Four can be survived. Not every man dies.

62 And in the morning which had come
After the Preparation’s hum,
The chief priests and the Pharisees
Assembled by Pilate to please,
63 Saying “Sir, we’ve recalled how that
Deceiver while living out flat
Said, 'After three days I will rise.’
64 “So order that the grave in guise
Be secured till the third day rise,
So his disciples might not come
By night and steal away the bum
And tell the people 'He is raised
From the dead,’ and so the last crazed
Deception be worse than the first.”
65 And Pilate said to them, “You’ve got
A guard, so go away in plot
And make it as tight as you’ve sought.”
66 And going along with the guard,
They made the grave secure and hard,
And sealed it with the stone in shard.

It seems the enemies of Jesus minded
His words better than his own friends unblinded.
His foes expected resurrection’s plot,
While his own people and family forgot.
The same is true today, what you may say
To friend and disciple carries no sway,
And none learn from a master in the trick
Of living through the bin and through the slick.
But let a foe overhear any word
And he will twist it from what had occurred
And use it to show with the glee of turd
How wrong a man may be and where to stick
The knife in back or chest, or give a kick.
Beloved, how many times it goes unpurred!

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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