Good Friday #3 - by Don Neuendorf
It's all over. The crowds are dispersing. All three of the criminals executed are dead now, their legs having been broken so that they died of suffocation, unable to lift themselves up to exhale. Except for one. They didn't break the legs of the one in the center. Evidently he was already dead when they came for him.
A couple of his friends are there now...
...He died an hour ago. And when he died they stood around for awhile, crying, talking to each other. Then one of them, a rich guy by the look of him, went into the city and came back after a bit with orders from Pilate that the body should be turned over to him.
It's sad, isn't it? This guy had people all over the city who believed he was the next big thing. They were all cheering for him last Sunday. Now look at him. I wonder where all those people are now. The crowds broke up pretty fast. His enemies all left, looking smug. His friends wandered away looking dazed - confused.
In just a little while the Sabbath will start - as soon as the first star is visible in the sky. I wonder what they'll talk about tonight.