This morning, reporters from the Jerusalem Times met with Jesus, the Teacher who was crucified and, three days later, rose from the dead. We found him walking among gardens just outside the city, speaking quietly with those who had once fled from him in fear.
He agreed to a brief conversation. Here is what he told us.
Jerusalem Times: What would you have us understand about what has happened?
"Love has not been defeated. What you thought was an ending was only the breaking of a seed. The life you seek is already within and among you — waiting to rise."
Jerusalem Times: The world feels torn apart. People are afraid, angry, divided. What do we do now?
"Fear feeds on itself. It blinds. It closes the hand that was meant to open. Listen instead to the quiet voice that does not shout. It is there in your neighbor, in your enemy, in the stranger you pass by. The kingdom is not won through conquest. It grows wherever you choose trust over suspicion, forgiveness over revenge, welcome over walls."
Jerusalem Times: Why must you leave again so soon?
"If you hold onto me as one person, you miss the deeper gift. I go so the Spirit can come alive within each of you — not as a memory, but as a living force. You are not called to be worshipers of my image. You are called to be my body in the world."
As the sun climbed higher, Jesus rose and blessed the gathered crowd. He then walked toward the Mount of Olives, leaving behind no throne, no army — only a current of hope, set loose in a divided world.
He is risen. He is leaving. He is everywhere.