Truth be Told

by Bob Pritchard

Nicodemus, he had it all. Fame, power, and wealth, yet the man was miserable. To add to his misery, on the hottest day of the year, Nicodemus is on a mission from his wife to go to Jesus’ compound for His ‘Going Out Of Business’ sale. Jesus had the reputation as the finest carpenter in all of Judea. Yet, when Jesus refuses to sell Nicodemus even a futon, telling him all the furniture is spoken for, Nicodemus vows to get even. Truth Be Told follows the ministry of Jesus Christ as it unfolds in both historical and fictional context, under the watchful eye of Nicodemus, a Pharisee, during the time of the Christ. Nicodemus witnessed and recorded many of these events in the, ‘Gospel of Nicodemus.’ These writings supplement scripture as we observe Jesus in battle with the religious leaders of the synagogue. Moreover, we see unrest in Jesus’ own ranks, including Peter’s disobedience and Judas’ betrayal. Nicodemus tries to trip up Jesus at the Festival of the Tents. However, Jesus turns the tables on him, asking those present; “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” Later that day, Jesus physically heals Nicodemus and his wife of the ‘rash,’ along with spiritually healing their marriage. This perplexes Nicodemus; “After all I’ve done to destroy Him, why would Jesus heal us?” Later that night Nicodemus pays Jesus a visit to learn more. Throughout the book, Jesus is seen as never before. He is a rough and tumble young man in love with life; a virtual nonstop whirlwind who wants to experience everything life has to offer. He befriends Judas, who, before becoming a disciple of Jesus,’ is a zealot, obsessed with killing parasites; the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, who rule the temple. Judas’ despises theses religious leaders as much as Jesus, but for the wrong reason, revenge. His abhorrence of them stems from the trauma of watching his parents brutally murdered by the High Priest. As Jesus waits to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He and the devil debate His fate and purpose. The devil knows that if Jesus dies, harvesting souls will become much more difficult. God then allows the devil to edit select people’s version of the dream, ‘Harrowing of Hell.’ This vision, too, is documented in the Gospel of Nicodemus. The dream, seen by many, but each with a different interpretation, foretells of Jesus entering Hades to rescue the Old Testament saints who died believing Jesus to be their savior. In the end, all of Satan’s efforts to keep Jesus alive, from Barabbas to Pontius and Claudia Pilate, are for naught, since the Father would not, nor could not, be denied. As for Nicodemus, he finally finds that elusive peace and happiness which he had been looking for on his own, when he turns his life over to Jesus, the Christ, to be his Lord and Savior.

295 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2012