Ignoring the curious soldiers immediately above our heads, Joseph said, “Note the smoothness of the walls’ outer surface, Matthias, constructed so as to prevent any uninvited guests from ascending its steep sides. The old palace of Herod, inside the wall, is three stories high and surrounds spacious parade grounds paved entirely with stone. There is, as you can see, a tower above each of the four corners of the outer wall, and the base of this one nearest to us actually encroaches into the Temple courtyard, with passageways leading directly to the Court of the Gentiles for easy access by the soldiers in the event of trouble. Antonia has become, without question, a Roman fortress of the highest rating, capable of sustaining a full legion, if necessary. It has its own cisterns for water storage, a large granary, hospital, baths, and countless rows of barracks on the north side of the grounds. Pilate and his officers are always quartered in the south wing, whenever he is in the city, and fortunately for us he has only just recently arrived for our Feast of Tabernacles, which commences next week. The procurator always makes it his duty to be here in Jerusalem for each of our three great holidays, usually bringing with him an additional cohort of soldiers from his headquarters in Caesarea to assist in controlling the crowds and maintaining peace.”

The old man gripped my arm as we passed beneath the thick wall’s arched gateway, guiding me to the right along a wide dirt path that separated wall and fortress until we arrived at a heavy bronze door already being held open for us by a smiling legionary approximately my age.

“Greetings, Centurion Cornelius,” Joseph said.

“Welcome, Joseph. It has been a long time. The procurator is awaiting you in his quarters. Come, follow me.”

As we were being led through a damp passageway illuminated by small hanging oil lamps, I tapped Joseph’s shoulder and whispered, “He is expecting us?”

“It is the very least I can do to assist you in your quest, Matthias. After all, this is already your fourth day here, and you did announce to the world that a week was all you needed to discover the truth about Jesus. My gold may be tainted by commerce but it does open many doors.”

I pointed to the centurion walking ahead. “How is it that you know him?”

“It is a long story, Matthias. Later, perhaps.”