The Last Voyage of the Emir Read online

  Luke and Saul (now Paul) had become close friends over the ensuing months. They had many long discussions, each admiring and respecting the wisdom and logical nature of the other. Through their discussions, Luke learned more of the early days of the Church in Jerusalem. He peppered him with questions about Jesus, wanting more details about his life than just what he taught.

  “I really want to know more about Jesus, His life, and the things He did. Where was he born? Where did he live? What about his family? All of it! If I am to follow this Way, I need to learn. Any suggestions?”

  “Well, all of the information we have has been passed on to us by oral tradition. Aside from his teachings that we have been sharing, we know of some of His miracles of healing and of course of His resurrection. The details on his life are not as widely known. We don’t have a written record at this time.”

  “I think it is very important to have this in writing. I’m sure there are many others who want to know this information other than me. Oral traditions are great, but we all know that over time there can be changes in how the details are communicated. This is too vital to trust to imperfect memories!”

  Paul considered this. “You are right. It would be helpful to commit this to parchment so all can be given the same information.” He thought about this for a moment. “I know many of the Twelve are still in Jerusalem. They walked with Him and listened to His teaching in person. They would be the logical ones to give this information. His brother, James, is even leading the church there now.”

  Luke became excited by this. “His brother?! You are kidding! Can you imagine the stories he may be able to share? I would love to travel there and interview these men face-to-face! It would be amazing to meet people who were actually in His presence. They would have so much to tell us!”

  “Wait, that’s not really what I meant,” Paul said. “I just meant if they would send us their written memories of Jesus we could learn more from them.”

  Luke had already latched onto the idea of researching and writing this biography of Jesus and was already planning his strategy. He started making arrangements with another physician to be available for those who needed care and arranging travel. He asked Paul for letters of introduction to the Jerusalem church. He could scarcely contain his excitement at the idea of meeting them and learning more about the Lord.

  Over the next few years, Luke made several trips to Jerusalem. The initial discussions with the Apostles were amazing. Luke was in awe of being in their presence, knowing that they were friends of Jesus. They were able to provide so many details of his life and ministry. When Luke’s questions stumped them, they usually knew of others who could provide answers. Eventually, he even had the glorious opportunity to interview Mary, Jesus’ mother. What an amazing discussion they had! He made copious notes and then began organizing them as he considered how to write this life story of the Good News of Jesus.

  As he was doing this, Paul and Barnabas began to travel around the region. They preached in the cities throughout Asia and Macedonia and Greece, establishing churches and teaching them about Jesus. Luke was able to joint them on some of these missionary travels. As they traveled by ship, he became more familiar with the seaports and the various medical needs common among the sailing crews. He began to work with the captains and gained a reputation as a good doctor to have on board for their voyages.

  Now, with Paul’s imprisonment for the past two years, the future of the church was hard to see. It seemed that Paul would surely be released. He was not guilty of the crime of which they had accused him, but Roman politics seemed to conspire against him. He was interviewed by the governor and the Jewish high priest, and then his sentence was extended until the new governor decided to question him. Finally, Paul took the bold step of appealing to Caesar, and as a Roman citizen, this could not be denied him. That led to their current situation on board this Egyptian grain ship, making slow, slow progress toward Rome.

  —————

  As Luke approached the group of prisoners and passengers, one of them seated at the edge of the crowd looked up and smiled.

  “Hello, Dr. Luke!” he said quietly, so as not to disturb the others. “Have you been out torturing the sick and injured again?”

  Luke laughed. “Aristarchus, you know I reserve that treatment only for ungrateful prisoners like you! At least I am making myself useful!”

  Aristarchus grinned in return. “Hey, my job is very important. Someone has to keep this box from blowing away,” he said pointing to his seat. “Besides, Paul might need me to explain some of the finer points of our faith if someone asks him a tough question he can’t answer!”

  At this, both men had a good chuckle. They well knew that everything they had come to know about Jesus and the Christian Way had been taught to them by Paul. His knowledge and depth of insight into God’s kingdom and topics of discipleship were unfathomable. They knew there was nothing they could teach him on these subjects.

  Aristarchus was one of Paul’s traveling companions on his most recent missionary journey. He was almost always in a good mood, and as his faith had grown, he had learned to trust God in all situations. Even when the rioting crowd seized him in Ephesus, he was reminded of Paul’s view of the various hardships and dangers they faced as light and momentary. He was quick with a smile and he and Luke had become good friends. Now, he was numbered among the prisoners, having been caught up in the persecution of the church. He was arrested and held in the same prison as Paul in Caesarea. It was providential that he was now traveling with Paul to Rome on their current voyage.

  “What is the topic today?” Luke asked him.

  “So many things! One topic raises questions that lead to other topics. Some of the group believe, but there are some who are here just to pass the time or to try to challenge what he is teaching. Of course they are no match for Paul!”

  They turned their attention to what was being said. Paul was recounting his conversion story on the road to Damascus. Even though Luke and Aristarchus had heard this many times, it still amazed them to think that Jesus had actually spoken to Paul, setting him apart for this ministry to Gentiles that had reached them and forever changed their hearts.

  Chapter Six

  As he stood at the edge of the crowd surrounding Paul, Luke glanced around at the various people scattered about the ship. Earlier, when the group had first gathered, he thought he had seen one of the younger crew members looking directly at him. He was wearing a head scarf and had a startled expression on his face, but he turned quickly to his work and did not look back. He was puzzled by this but thought it must be his imagination. Now he was not so sure. Something in the man’s bearing seemed vaguely familiar. As he looked around now, though, he could not see him anywhere. He shrugged and turned back to Paul.

  Suddenly, someone cried out and pointed to the mast. Luke turned to see a group rushing toward the base of the mast and the sight of someone lying on the deck unmoving.

  He quickly made his way there and pushed through the crowd.

  “What happened?” he asked the men standing nearby.

  One of the crew said, “We had been up on the mast attending to the sails. We were climbing down, and when he was close, he tried to turn and answer me when he slipped! I’m afraid it is my fault! Will he be ok?”

  “I’ll do my best to help him. Let me take a look,” Luke responded.

  As he knelt down by his side, the man began to moan and move his head. Those standing around let out a sigh of relief at these signs of life.

  “Wait!” Luke said to the man. “Don’t move yet. Let me make sure you are ok.” Turning to the man he had just talked to, Luke asked, “What is his name?”

  “We call him Sabbi. I don’t know his real name. He is new and I have just begun to get to know him,” the man replied, still with a worried look on his face.

  Luke gently felt the man’s head and neck. There was no bleeding and he did not feel any shifting of the bones of the skull. His neck seemed
to be ok. He quickly assessed his extremities. It was immediately obvious to Luke that his right shoulder was not properly aligned. As his fingers probed around the joint, the man, Sabbi, cried out and tried to withdraw.

  “Sorry,” Luke said. “I think you may have dislocated your shoulder. I need to check it and see if we can get it back in proper position before everything begins to tighten up.”

  He gently lifted the man’s arm and rotated it to see how well his range of motion was. The exam confirmed his suspicions.

  “Sabbi,” he said to the man lying on the deck. “Can you hear me?”

  The man tried to nod his head but immediately grimaced in pain.

  “It’s ok, don’t try to move. Your shoulder was dislocated when you fell. I need to get it back into the socket before everything gets more stiff and tight. It may hurt a bit, but just try to relax and I will do all the work.” He patted his other shoulder reassuringly.

  As Sabbi lay on the deck, Luke gently straightened his arm and began to lift it slowly above his head as he placed his other hand on the front of the shoulder. He felt the upper arm bone under the skin and was relieved when he felt it clunk back into proper position. Sabbi gave a whimper and then relaxed as the shoulder pain quickly felt better. Luke put his arm back down by his side.

  “We need to put your arm in a sling for a few days to allow it to heal fully. Let me use your head scarf,” he said as he reached to remove it from the man’s head.

  Sabbi tried to stop him, raising his other arm and turning his head, but again he felt the ship begin to spin around him and had to lie back on the deck again. “No, please don’t,” he said.

  By that time, however, Luke already had removed the head scarf and was placing it around the man’s neck to support the right arm. As he did so, he saw the reason the man tried to stop him from removing the scarf. The left ear was partially deformed and the side of the head was scarred, appearing to have been burned.

  Immediately, Luke recognized his patient. “I know you!” he said. “I helped to treat you the night you were burned! That was at least a year ago, wasn’t it?”

  The man called Sabbi tried to respond, but as he turned toward Luke, he immediately groaned and laid back. He felt sick and took some deep breaths to calm his stomach.

  “Take it slowly!” Luke instructed. “You must have hit your head pretty hard. Don’t worry about talking. There will be time enough for that later. Let’s get you to a more comfortable place.”

  He asked the men standing nearby to help carry Sabbi to his sleeping quarters.

  “Slowly! Be gentle!” he instructed them. “Try to keep from jostling him too much.”

  They made it to the area designated for Luke, as the ship’s doctor, and placed him on the pallet. Then Luke sent them out, telling them his patient needed rest.

  About that time, Aristarchus came to the door to check on him. “Where did you go?” he said. “I turned around to talk to you and you had disappeared. The crew said someone had fallen, so I assumed you were there somewhere to help!”

  Luke stepped outside and spoke quietly. He told him of the fall and the injury.

  “Now, he needs to rest. He hit his head pretty hard so it may be a few days before he can do much.” He paused. “Aristarchus, it is pretty amazing but I know this boy! I recognized the scars on the head from the night we met!”

  Aristarchus started to tease him about his poor treatment leaving permanent scars, but let it pass. He could tell this was troubling to Luke. “Tell me about what happened,” he prompted.

  Luke related the tale of finding him by the road and treating his burns. As he talked, he began to recall more details. It was near Ephesus, and the man’s father was involved in the temple worship somehow in Ephesus. His family had perished in a fire and he recalled the sadness and anger he displayed.

  “I tried to gently point the way toward God but he was very opposed to any discussion of religion. I had planned to resume that discussion after he recovered, but one morning after I had gone to get some supplies, I came back to the inn and he was gone. No one could tell me where he went.”

  Aristarchus considered this. “You said he spoke of Ephesus and the temple and then of fires. This was a couple of years ago? That was about the time of the riots, where I was seized by the crowd. Do you think this could have something to do with that mess?” he said, intrigued.

  “That might be!” Luke said. “It would sure fit the circumstances. I wish I could remember his name. It will come to me.”

  They considered this silently for a moment.

  “Maybe we should tell Paul. He can pray for him and lay hands on him,” Aristarchus suggested.

  “That is a good idea,” Luke said. “He surely needs to know Jesus and the healing he can bring to his life. I’m just afraid he is not quite ready to hear that. I’ll need to see if he indicates any openness to such a discussion now. First, I need to let his body heal. I’ll get him something for his pain when he wakes up.”

  “Well, he seems to be in good hands,” Aristarchus said.

  “I’m shocked!” Luke said, acting surprised. “I think that may be the closest thing to a compliment I have ever heard from you!”

  Aristarchus chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself!” he said, a broad grin spreading across his face. “I was talking about me. I’ll be watching closely to be sure you don’t make his injuries worse!”

  Luke laughed. “I knew it was too good to be true!” he said. “Let’s go back to the deck and let him rest. I’ll check on him again later.”

  Temeros heard them walk away. He laid on the makeshift bed, his shoulder aching, his head throbbing, and tears in his eyes as he thought about the conversation he had overheard. His emotions were conflicted. These men seemed to have a genuine concern for him. He longed for the kind of friendship they seemed to have with each other. At the same time, they spoke of Paul. That name brought a flood of memories accompanied by anger, hatred, fear, and loneliness as he felt anew the grief over losing his family.

  —————

  Memories of the night that left his life so scarred came rushing back uninvited. He clearly recalled his father, Demetrius, railing against this man, Paul, who had disrupted the city of Ephesus along with the rest of the region. He had become enraged by the fact that his business was decimated as people turned to this Jesus that Paul taught about. They no longer were buying the silver shrines to Artemis that had been his main source of income. He had been in the city center all day, stirring up the other silversmiths and artisans into a frenzy. The crowd became an unruly mob, rioting in the theater. Temeros had been at the edge of the crowd watching the excitement as some of the men who had traveled and worked with Paul were seized. The crowd was demanding justice, calling for Paul to be punished, but he was nowhere to be found.

  After several hours his father returned home, still seething with anger. He was fuming about Paul and about Jesus and how they had ruined his life. As he was going on about Jesus and the problems from this “cult” of his followers, Temeros’ mother had said something to defend Paul and Jesus which caused his father to become even more irate, now that anger targeted at her.

  When it was revealed that his own wife had become a follower of this Jesus, it had pushed him over the edge. Even the memory now, a few years later, caused Temeros to feel anew the fear mixed with anger as his father shouted at his mother. There had been other fights, but this was the worst and it became physical. He grabbed her and shook her violently and even went so far as to slap her across the face. Temeros tried to intervene but then he became a target of his father’s wrath as well, being knocked to the ground.

  There was no way to reason with him and they tried to get away, running together to the small storage room and closing the door. The barricades were not strong but were enough to keep him from reaching them.

  But then, in his blinding fury, he must have thrown a lighted lamp at the door. The oil in the lamp splashed across the door and the walls, i
gniting. The fire quickly spread.

  His father was screaming maniacally, saying “Where is this Jesus now? Let’s see if He will save you from this! You will never be my wife again! Go to this precious Paul that you seem so devoted to!”

  They could hear him on the other side of the door throwing more items against the wall, and then his voice faded as the roar of the fire increased.

  The smell of fire and billowing smoke began to spread under the door. In his terror, Temeros began frantically searching the room for anything that may help save them. It was a small room barely larger than a closet. There were no windows to crawl through. He could barely see but as he felt along the wall opposite the door, he bumped into the shelf where the food was stored. He knew that was not going to help, but as he searched through the items on the shelf, he felt cloth, evidently aprons that his mother wore when cooking.

  He grabbed two of them and tried to squeeze some of the fruit onto it, anything to wet it. It wasn’t much but it was all they had. He gave one to his mother, and they both wrapped the aprons around their head and shoulders.

  He knew the door was their only way out. The fear of facing his father was still very strong but the fire was a more immediate threat. They had no choice. He quickly cleared the barricade from the door and yanked on the handle to open it, but it would not budge. He tried again, but then the horrible truth became clear. They were trapped. His father must have latched the door from the other side!

  At this news, his mother began to cry, apologizing to him.

  “Now is not the time, mother!!” he said in response. “We have to get that door open or we won’t survive!”

  She mumbled something then, and moved back to the far wall. Temeros’ attention was focused on the door. It was made of thick pieces of wood and he was not sure how to get it open. He rattled the handle, beginning to feel some warmth on this side of the door. He pushed forcefully on the middle of the door and thought he could feel it give slightly.