“What happened next?”

“By dawn the women had recovered enough to bring me food. Peter was still in a faint, his skin as hot as fire to our touch. Again and again I wiped his body with water and aloe juice, also splashing much of it on my own face in order to remain awake. Then, later in the day, perhaps the seventh hour, I heard terrible screams and wailing from below and rushed down the stairs to see what was wrong, almost colliding with the mother of our Lord, who was standing on the first step. She fell into my arms and I could feel her body trembling, until she took my face in her hands and said quietly, ‘I was coming for you. Word has just arrived that my son has been taken to Golgotha by the Romans to be crucified. I must be with him, John. Please take me to my boy. Mark and his mother will watch over Peter until we return.’ ”

John paused and covered his face with his hands. I could see his chest rising and falling as if he, too, was having difficulty breathing. Then he wiped his eyes and continued.

“I began to sob and soon the Lord’s mother was consoling me, wiping away my tears, until I felt nothing but shame for my weakness when I should have been providing her with sympathy and comfort. Soon, Mary Magdalene and my mother, Salome, and Mary, the mother of James and Joses, joined us in the courtyard, and the five of us went out the city gate and walked on the road outside the wall until we finally arrived at the place of execution, a small hill northwest of the city.”

“Was Jesus already on the cross by the time you arrived?”

“Yes, as were two others, one on each side of him. His body was so covered with blood and bruises that not even his mother recognized him until one of the women pointed to the sign over his head that said ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ ”

“Was there a large crowd on hand?”

“No. Only the soldiers and some priests from the Temple and a few pilgrims who had come up from the road out of curiosity. I wanted to keep the women back as far as possible, to spare them, but the Lord’s mother would have none of it. She insisted that I bring her as close to the cross as the soldiers would allow.”

“Was Jesus in any condition to recognize you?”