Epilogue

For the Curious

Now then, what in this novel do I have actual evidence for, and what have I made up? The physical size of Andrew (and any of the characters) is my imagination, as is the rivalry between Andrew and Simon. (By the way, there is no evidence that Simon was the older brother.) I wanted this book to be about envy, and so I had to make Andrew envious. While I was at it, I wanted to show how envy was often disguised as a search for justice, and to reveal the fallacies of that quest.

The first chapter, then, is fiction, except for the fact that the Zebedees and Andrew's family were partners, which is in

Luke 5. In Chapter 2, that John learned to read is an inference from the fact that he wrote the Gospel and Reveilation. (He could have dictated the first, but for various reasons, had actually to have written Revelation. The "first letter" is almost certainly, in my mind, a sermon he delivered very late in life; it seems to be the product of an old, old man. The fact that the Zebedee family knew Annas is based on John's report that he was able to get into Annas's palace when Jesus was captured (and as able to "smuggle" Simon in also). The accident with Samuel is fiction (Samuel himself is fiction, based on John's calling Thomas "the twin").

In Chapter 3, the trip to Jerusalem was a way to get John, Andrew, and Simon into the city without their other relatives, so that what John relates in his Gospel about John the "bather" would be plausible. Of course, everything that happened with the lawyers (as well as what went on in the High Priest's palace) is fiction. John's knowing Mary and Jesus from earlier (e.g. Jesus's building John's boat) is fiction. In Chapter 4, the episode with John the Bather is in all the Synoptics (Mark, Luke, and Matthew-yes, written in that order), as well as the thunder's speaking; and the encounter with the Pharisees is from John 1.

In Chapter 5, Jesus's relating what he could not have heard is fiction. In Chapter 6, Jesus's calling Simon "Rock" is from John 1. The miraculous catch of fish is from Luke, though it is mentioned in the other Synoptics, but the accident with Zebedee in Chapters 6 and 7 is fiction, to make it plausible that he would let the business be disrupted so drastically. There is no evidence that Philip had anything to do with it. Judas's presence at John's bath is fiction. His speculation about why Jesus did not appear for more than a month turns out to have been accurate, based on what we know from Luke and Matthew (and what is hinted at in Mark). Judas's being a priest and having read Plotinus and the Greeks is my imagination. What happened with Philip and Nathanael is from John 1. Ezra is fictional, as is the rest of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9.

In Chapter 10, the preparations for the wedding feast are all fiction, as is the speculation in Chapter 11 about how the Reign of God was to be introduced. The wedding itself, and Mary's role in it, is from John 2, as is the cleansing of the Temple in Chapter 12 (which is also related by the Synoptics, though as if it occurred at the end of Jesus's life). Nicodemus is also spoken of by John 3. The Garden of Gethsemani, however, is only mentioned (by all the evangelists) at the end of Jesus's life. Jesus's students' bathing the people and the nervousness of the Pharisees is from John 4.

In Chapter 13, the episode at Sychar is from John 4, while the episode in Nazareth is from Luke. Matthew's being there and also being the one alluded to by the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is fiction. The call of Matthew is from Matthew, but, in Chapter 14, that he had something to do with Pontius Pilate is fiction. See the Matthew novel.

In Chapter 15, the incident of the paralyzed boy being let down through the roof is in all the Synoptics. Judas's interpretations are what a rational thinker might theorize about Jesus. He is tragically wrong, of course. Andrew's discussion with Jesus about fairness is obviously fiction.

Chapter 16 mentions my own speculation that Jesus intended, if he was accepted as King, to restore the state before the fall of Adam, into a world without suffering or death. The episode of the son of the Widow of Nain is from Luke 7, though everything else about David is fictional.

In Chapter 17, what happened at the feast Matthew gave, except that there was a feast, and that people complained about Jesus consorting with sinners, is fictional, especially the episode of the dogs. Joseph's death is an inference from the fact that he is not mentioned in the Gospels, though Mary is. The episode of the military officer's son is from the end of John 4. Of course, the "fact" that his assistant had any connection with Matthew is fiction. The Sermon on the Mount is in both Luke and Matthew; I used Luke's version, since it was probably closer to what Jesus actually said (Matthew edited Luke's version, I think, based on what he knew from other incidents that Jesus meant). The reaction is what I imagined it must have been; it is hinted at in the Gospels. The discussion among the followers is mainly my own musings on the subject.

In Chapter 18, Jesus's choosing pairs of students to go out is in the Synoptics, though who is paired with whom is not specified. What happened with the demon was made up. The rich young man is also in all the Synoptics. The declaring of Simon as the Rock is in the Synoptics, and is alluded to in the beginning of John; the first prediction of the Passion follows this in the Synoptics.

In Chapter 19, Matthew's return and David's strange behavior is fiction. The trip to Judea and the episode at the pool is in John; much of it is almost a verbatim quote. Judas's reaction is what I think a "rational" follower of Jesus would believe. The visit to Martha and Lazarus is not in the Gospels, but is hinted at (though there is no indication that Mary was not there; her being Mary Magdalene is the result of my fevered brain). I put the story of the rich man and Lazarus there to give an added twist to it.

In Chapter 20, the boy with the demon is in all the Synoptics, though of course there is no mention of Nathanael as the one who could not cure him (Nathanael is only mentioned by John; the others, in the list of the Twelve, refer to Bartholomew, which is a patronymic, and scholars assume it is the same person as Nathanael). The event on Mount Tabor is not described, because only the Rock, James, and John witnessed it; it is mentioned in all the Synoptics, and alluded to in the Second Letter of the Rock.

In Chapter 21, Jesus's being asleep in the boat is in all the Synoptics, as is the episode with Legion. The woman with seven devils is alluded to by Luke, and the episode of the woman drying her tears from Jesus's feet is also from Luke (I made them the same woman, and also Mary Magdalene, and also Mary of Bethany; see the Mary novel). This carries over into Chapter 22 and Chapter 23; the story of the Prodigal Son is also from Luke, though it in the Gospels it is not in this context. The discussion about the various offices is in the Synoptics. The woman with the hemorrhage is in the Synoptics, as is the episode with Jairus. (Of course, who her daughter was is my imagination). The story of the workers in the vineyard is from Matthew.

In Chapter 24, the incident of the "mistake" of offering wine to Thomas is fiction, as is John's looking at Mary; but James's mother requesting favors for James and John is in Mark and Matthew. The "seventy times seven" is in Luke and Matthew.

In Chapter 25, Andrew is concerned with the workers in the vineyard, which is, as I said, from Matthew. In Chapter 26, Judas's interpretation of Jesus as mad is my imagination, of course. But the feeding of the five thousand and the walking on the water (Chapter 27) is in all of the Gospels, including John; in fact, I used John's version.

In Chapter 27, the Bread of Life speech is almost verbatim from John. In Chapter 28, what happened between John and Ezra is my imagination, though Jesus's meeting with his relatives through his mother is in all the Synoptics. I fused this with John's mention of Jesus's relatives exhorting him to go to Judea.

In Chapter 29, the tarantula was my imagination, as is John' struggle with Judas. The tribute to Caesar is in all the Synoptics, and the woman caught in adultery is in John only. "You will die in your sins" is also from John, as is what Jesus said about Abraham and I AM.

In Chapter 30, Judas's revealing to Andrew John's attraction is my imagination. The man who had been born blind is from John. (Doctor Nothing by the way, is John of the Cross). The episode with Martha and Mary is from Luke. What Ezra said about Thomas's father is my imagination, as is his description of his fight with Judas.

In Chapter 31, the Feast of Dedication is in John, as is the death and resurrection of Lazarus. In Chapter 32, where the group is is in John, but the preparations for the feast at Lazarus's house is my imagination, though what happened there, including the washing of the feet with nard, and Judas's reacion is from John; and it is there in John that we learn that Judas had been embezzling the group's money. Of course, what happened with Judith afterwards is my imagination. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem is in all the Gospels; I followed John, mainly.

In Chapter 33, the episode with the Greek-speakers is from John. How Jesus prepared for the Passover is in the Synoptics, who act as if it was the Passover dinner, though John makess it clear that the Passover dinner was the next evening. The episode of washing the feet is from John, as is Jesus's informing John who the traitor was. That John (and Andrew) tried to stop Judas is my imagination. The rest of Jesus's words that night are from John.

In Chaptere 34, the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus is not in John, though it was alluded to much earlier in his Gospel; it is in the other three Gospels and the First Letter to the Corinthians. The agony in the garden is also not in John and in the three Synoptics; when Judas arrives, I follow John mainly. The Rock's betrayal is alluded to here; it is in all the Gospels. What happened on the "Pavement" is in John, but not Pilate's washing his hands; that is in Matthew. The falls on the Way of the Cross are tradition, but Simon the Cyrenian's carrying the cross for Jesus is in the Synoptics. The meeting of the mother and the women is in Luke. John, Clopas's Mary, Mary Magdalene and Jesus's mother at the cross is fro John, as is the playing of dice for what he wore. The darkness is from the Synoptics.

In Chapter 35, the removal of Jesus is in the four Gospels, though Andrew's part in it is my imagination. Nicodemus's part, however, is mentioned by John. What Chusa's Joanna did and said is made up, as is the discussion on Saturday, as well as the reason for Thomas's absence.

In Chapter 36, the women's leaving to give Jesus a decent burial is in John and the Synoptics, and the return of John and the Rock is alluded to in John. What the women said is from the Synoptics, and Mary Magdalene tells what John narrates about her at the tomb. Samuel's appearing is based on Matthew's statement that many dead people appeared after Jesus's death. Jesus's appearance, of course, is in all four Gospels. The episode in Galilee is from John. Note that in the Greek, different words for "love" are used; I tried to show this by making the English words different.