The Fisherman's Testament

The Fisherman's Testament, by Cesar Vidal

This was a good read. It was simple and was not a daunting length. Mr. Vidal wrote it in Spanish and it was translated into English quite well. In fact, despite its simplicity, I found several words (in English) whose definitions I did not know. It brought back memories of 4th grade, when every book I read became vocabulary homework. This was one of the several ways in which I found the book edifying.

The basic premise of the book is that the main character, Vitalis, is a Roman soldier at the end of his life, and is telling a story about an event that occurred shortly before his retirement. The event was Emperor Nero's interrogation of a Jew named Simon, with the Greek name Petros and the Jewish nickname Kephas. Anyone know who that is?? Yep, Simon Peter.

The story itself, as a courtroom drama, is engaging and exciting. Because our knowledge of Peter is based on things found in the Bible and other sources, it is often Peter's testimony TO the non-believers, rather than THEIR reactions to what he is saying. I found the book fascinating because I got to understand how a first century Roman would have reacted to the story. Jesus emphasized compassion for the poor, a "strange" fascination for females, and a kingdom in which the rulers are not motivated by greed but by servanthood. It was completely backwards, and furthermore, by being backwards (and not motivated by greed) it did not threaten the Roman empire in the least. (Nero still found it enough of a threat to instigate a wave of persecution against Christians).

Another enlightening aspect of the book is a look into Roman culture. I have already alluded to the treatment of underclass people. The old or sick were left to die, or ostracized to prevent the spread of disease. They were never healed, so Jesus' miraculous healings were that much more amazing to them. The story of Jesus healing Jairus' ten year old daughter was amusing to me, because the Romans could not believe why He would have healed a female child. Women were seen as a burden to society, so a family would never have more than one female child. If another was born, it was left on the roadside, in a ditch, or otherwise disposed of. It was also pointed out that when Jesus alluded to his death, the only follower that "got it" was a woman, the only people that followed Jesus to the cross to see him to the end were women, the only ones to venture out of doors (being unafraid to be recognized in the streets as a follower of Jesus) to go to the tomb were women, and subsequently, they were the first to see evidence of his resurrection. This emphasis on women in and of itself was enough to astonish the Romans listening to the court proceedings.

Overall, I thought it was a nice change of perspective. Instead of seeing the traditional Jewish perspective, or Roman-centurion-serving-in-Judea perspective, we get to see the customs and court proceedings in Rome- the capital of the world in Jesus' day- as well as an internal perspective on how the message of Jesus would have been received. There is even a "surprise revelation" like in all courtroom dramas, which is unusual for me. One would think that having spent the majority of my life studying the Bible and reading Bible studies and commentaries, and spending practically every Sunday listening to a sermon, there would be no more surprises for me. But no, it appears that there is always a new way of seeing every story.

I highly recommend this book, especially for someone who is curious about the person of Jesus (who IS he?) or someone who loves ancient history.