“Well wait for you at the house,” he called over his shoulder as he and Nicodemus walked away, leaving me alone with the only living witness to whatever might have taken place in Joseph’s garden before dawn on that most mysterious of nights.

“Your name,” I began hesitantly, “is most uncommon.”

He spoke with dignity and fluency, articulating his words without the usual guttural quality common to Aramaic. “I was named after Shobi, the son of an Ammonite king who was instrumental in providing David and his troops with food and other supplies during his terrible battles with Absalom, his son. Without Shobi’s assistance, Israel would have lost its greatest patriot and leader.”

“How long were you a Temple guard?”

“For ten years. Caiaphas recruited me personally, during his second year in the office of high priest.”

“Did you enjoy serving in the Temple?”

“Very much. During my eighth year I was promoted to the position of captain with more than thirty guards under my supervision. Since I had been raised as an orphan, in nearby Bethpage, I was very proud of the rank I had attained through hard work and devotion to duty. Who could ask for more than to spend one’s days, and sometimes nights, in the house of God? Despite the difficulty in preserving peace there on occasions, I soon earned a good reputation for the manner is which I trained my guards to handle the large crowds in the courtyard.”

“How did you feel when Caiaphas called upon you to guard a dead man in his tomb?”

He smiled ruefully. “At first it was a great struggle on my part to keep from laughing in his excellency’s face. Then he explained that Jesus had told his followers, many times, that he would be crucified for his beliefs but would rise from the dead on the third day. Caiaphas was afraid that some of the disciples might come and steal the body and hide it, after which they would claim that Jesus had risen as he said he would. Convinced of the importance of my mission, I selected three of my most experienced men to watch over the tomb with me.”

“When did you and your guards arrive at the garden near Golgotha?”

“At sundown, the end of our Sabbath.”

“Everything was in order? The stone was in place, covering the mouth of the sepulchre?”

“It was. We then proceeded to seal the tomb, as the high priest had ordered.”

“How was that done?”

“We placed thin strips of ribbon across the stone and sealed their ends, with wax, against the side of the tomb. After we were finished, no one could have moved the great stone without breaking the seals.”

“Then what did you do?”