Friends and Heroes: Unwilling Guests

POVZETEK

Stung by his humiliation at Macky’s hands, Toadie convinces General Tiberius to allow him to take hostages from the nearby villages. These hostages will be executed if Macky doesn’t turn himself in. One of the hostages is Macky’s friend Isaac.

Unsure what to do, Macky heads for Jerusalem, but on the way, he saves the life of Marcus, a thuggish Roman soldier. When Sarah asks him why he would do such a thing, Macky tells her how David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but chose not to.

Later, Marcus decides to return the favor by helping Isaac escape, but Isaac refuses to go; he knows that the Romans will retaliate against Marcus. He tells Marcus about the time Paul was in jail during an earthquake, and Paul refused to leave because it would have meant the end of his jailer’s life.

Macky eventually decides to turn himself over to the Romans, but before he can, Portia realizes that the perennially corrupt Toadie let bribes determine who he would and wouldn’t take as hostages. She tells Tiberius, and, seeking to avoid further enflaming the locals against the Romans, Tiberius releases the hostages.