shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Perhaps he has not heard of the Prophet," Andrew said to Simon. He
turned to the slave and said, "God has sent a Prophet to warn us to turn
back to God."

"What will your god do for you?" asked the other.

Andrew spoke sternly to him. "God is not our servant! We are his
servants! We obey him."

"John the Baptizer says God will soon set up his Kingdom," added John.

"I must say the Zealots make better sense to me," interrupted Simon.
"After all, you have to make some effort yourself. You can't just sit
and wait."

"Who are the Zealots?" asked the gentile.

"They are warlike patriots who are always staging riots against the
Romans," explained Simon.

"While I was at Sidon, the Romans were busy hunting down bands of these
people," observed the gentile.

"Many brave men have been killed by Rome. We seem to be defeated in
every rebellion." Simon turned to his brother. "Do you remember Judah
the Galilean?" Andrew nodded.

"Judah was a Zealot," continued Simon. "He gathered a group of brave
young Jews and raided one of Herod's forts. They took swords, spears,
and money to buy food. At the Feast of the Passover, they came out of
their hiding places in the northern hills." He pointed toward the
mountains where the snowy crest of Mount Hermon shone in the morning
light. "They hid swords under their robes and joined the crowds going to
Jerusalem. I was only a child but my parents took me to Jerusalem that
year.

"The Zealots knew the Temple would be guarded by Roman soldiers, so they
surrounded it. The Roman commander saw men with swords in the crowd of
pilgrims filling the Temple and thought they were going to attack his
men, so he ordered his soldiers to attack first.

"The Zealots were taken by surprise and the Romans gained the upper
hand. Then Judah saw his chance. He rallied his men, and they climbed on
the roof of the wooden buildings which surround the Temple courtyard.
From there they threw spears down on the Romans. It looked then as
though they had a chance to win.

"To drive the Jews off these buildings, the Romans set them afire. They
were dry as tinder and burned fiercely. The Zealots had to get down.
Some killed themselves rather than surrender. Others leaped among the
Romans and died fighting. Those that escaped to the country hid in the
hills around Jerusalem. There Judah gathered together as many of his men
as were still alive.

"The Roman general sent b