I Appeal To Caesar!

Inside the Royal Portico

* * * * * The four anxious men reach the Temple with their dying friend; Elias lies helpless and in pain on the litter set momentarily on the ground. They arrive from the south and now stand before the base of the awesome southwest corner of the Temple Mount. A monumental stairway soars upward some eighty feet, granting entry to the Royal Porch or Stoa. The sight is overwhelming, for it was common knowledge that only fit, healthy people could climb right up to this gate. Four young men gaze with sinking hearts at the formidable sight. Jonathon, however, glances upward without faltering! He lives for such challenges as this, and he has been up and down these stairs many times. He is fit and ready to go, strong as an ox!

Bending over the helpless man, Jonathan looks into Elias’ eyes and whispers words of faith: “Elias, my mother was