Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

The traveler erects a small tent and sets three places for a meal. A second camel rider approaches. His appearance and dress indicate that he is from India (Hindostan). A third traveler arrives, and the trio begin their meal. Before eating, the three say grace and marvel that they have each been divinely inspired to travel to this exact spot at this exact moment.

The three men introduce themselves to one another. The third traveler names himself Gaspar, son of Cleanthes the Athenian. He has been a student of Greek philosophy and a seeker of divine truth. Among the many schools of Greek thought, he has focused upon one which teaches a doctrine of an immortal soul in every human and another holding that there is a single God “infinitely just.”

Eventually despairing of reason’s ability to bring him knowledge of divine truth, Gaspar leaves Athens and goes to reside as a hermit in a mountainside cave. One day, in his hermitage, Gaspar rescues a Jewish castaway who teaches Gaspar of his history and law. Gaspar decides that the Jewish God is the one which he has been striving to know. The castaway also tells Gaspar that the Messiah will soon reveal himself in Jerusalem.

The castaway tells Gaspar that the Messiah’s revelation is for Jewish people alone, but Gaspar does not accept this. Upon further questioning, the Jewish man admits that the Jews were selected to keep knowledge of the Truth alive but that the whole world might eventually be saved by it. Gaspar prays that he might be blessed to see the Messiah. His prayers are answered when a star approaches the door of his cave, and a voice tells Gaspar that he has been chosen to see the Messiah. He has followed the star to the other two men.

The man from India introduces himself as Melchior and asserts the excellence and ancient nature of Indian philosophy and learning. However, he has rejected them as dead-ends in which Indian thought has been spinning its wheels. Melchior points to the existence in Southeast religions of a supreme God, virtue and good works, and the soul, noting that the Indian material well predates the Greek.

Melchior relates how, when it was time for him to leave his studies and assume a “householder” life, he refused, desiring to seek God instead. He begins to minister to the weak, the dying, and the outcast. He is prompted to preach a doctrine of selfless love, regardless of caste or other consideration. For decrying caste, Melchior is chased and stoned. Melchior takes himself to a more remote location high in the Himalayas to pray, fast, and wait for death. There, he receives a vision essentially the same as Gaspar’s.

The Egyptian man introduces himself as Balthasar and asserts that history began with Egypt; they were the first to make historical records. Balthasar claims that the ancestor of the Egyptians, Mizraim, brought knowledge of the one true God to Egypt after the Flood but that admixture with others caused a proliferation of gods and a corruption of Mizraim’s religion. Balthasar claims that all the wisdom and history of the Egyptians has been committed to memory except for a single episode—the story of Exodus. Gaspar has heard the same story from the Jewish castaway.

Balthasar claims that Egypt has always had two religions: a public, polytheistic one and a monotheistic one secretly practiced by the priests. Balthasar rebels against keeping divine truth for the priests alone and begins to preach in Alexandria. The city dwellers mock him, but he finds a flock to minister in a simple village instead. Balthasar uses his wealth to relieve the suffering of his followers until there is a large community of his believers scattered up and down the Nile.

Balthasar is troubled that his ministry will not outlive him. He sees that human industry is insufficient to birth a church and redeem the world. Balthasar instead decides that God himself must come to Earth in the flesh and make his power manifest for the world to accept his revelation. After despairing that the Messiah will never come, Balthasar received a vision just like those given to Gaspar and Melchior. When Balthasar has finished his tale, the three rejoice and break camp. The trio depart to follow the guiding star to the Messiah.

The chapter begins with a brief sketch of some of Jerusalem’s topography and the information that it is four years before the start of the Christian Era (AD). Wallace provides an extended description of the liveliness of the market before the Bethlehem Gate.

This chapter consists of an extended description of various denizens of Jerusalem, including Roman soldiers, Nazarenes and Samaritans, Greeks, Arab horse-dealers, and Pharisees. The intended effect is to give the impression that Jerusalem has become a cosmopolitan and secularized city by the time of Christ.

A young man and a woman seated on a donkey approach the city gates. Samuel, a rabbi, greets the traveler as Joseph of Nazareth. Joseph tells Samuel that they are traveling to Bethlehem to be counted for taxation according to an order from Caesar. Samuel solicits Joseph’s opinion about the Zealots (anti-Roman Jews) in Galilee, but Joseph declines to give it. Joseph introduces the woman seated on the donkey as his wife, Mary. Samuel departs in religious fervor, and a bystander explains to Joseph that the rabbi is a Zealot. Bethlehem is crowded, and Joseph worries that he will not be able to find accommodation for himself and Mary.

The “inn” in Bethlehem is a khan, a fenced enclosure, which serves many purposes besides accommodation for strangers. A man by the gate confirms to Joseph that the khan is full. Joseph still hopes that he might find room and speaks with the steward. The steward insists repeatedly that the khan is full and that all the houses of the village have already been engaged. Joseph is persistent, repeatedly mentioning that his wife cannot survive in the open air. When Joseph tells the steward who Mary’s parents are, the steward changes his tone and promises to find a safe place for them. A bit later, the steward leads them to a cave which has been used as a barn, and they settle down for the night.

A commotion arises in Bethlehem as the residents spot a shaft of light from the heavens illuminating the nearest mountain south of the village. The denizens debate the meaning of the light. Most people have mundane explanations, but one insists that it comes from Heaven.

A mile or two outside of Bethlehem, a group of simple but pious shepherds gather around a fire. Their watchman notices the mountaintop illuminated by the holy light and believes it is on fire. The shepherds are greatly troubled until a voice is heard saying, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (41). Before them is an angel who tells them that the Messiah, Christ, will be born in Bethlehem that night. The shepherds debate what to do and eventually decide to find Christ and worship him. They make their way to Joseph and Mary and rejoice when they see the baby. They spread the news, and a good number of people come to see the child over the next few days, but most only come in mockery instead of sincere belief.

On the 11th day after the birth of Christ, the three wise men—Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar—approach Jerusalem. They ask after the Messiah and explain that they have followed his star and have come to worship him. When they arrive at the gates of Jerusalem, they ask the Roman guard the same question. He is confused and tells them to inquire in the city. The three men enter the city but do not stay because, according to Balthasar, their purpose and presence will be widely known in the city shortly. They continue onward to the khan at Bethlehem.

A group of women washing clothes in Jerusalem discuss the prospect of the Messiah. The women are skeptical that the Messiah has been born. One of the women will only believe once she has seen Christ. Another woman will only believe if he raises the dead. A third woman will only believe if he heals a single person with leprosy.

The scene shifts to a meeting of the learned in Jerusalem. Herod has tasked them with determining where the Christ is to be born. They tell him that Christ is to be found in Bethlehem and are dismissed. Herod summons the wise men and lightly interrogates them. When Herod asks them if there is a King of the Jews besides him, Balthasar answers that there is and that he is newly born but that they do not know where he is. Herod asks the wise men how they came to hear of Christ; they tell him that there is a single almighty God who commanded them to come and worship Christ. Herod concludes that they “are the heralds of Christ” (53) and offers them gifts. Before they go, Herod tells them that the learned say that the Christ will be born in Bethlehem, and they set out for the village.

The star guiding the wise men moves over Bethlehem, bathing it in divine light, and the wise men follow shortly behind. They ask the steward of the khan if a child has recently been born in the village. The steward brings the wise men to Mary and the infant Christ. The wise men fall to their knees in worship when Mary confirms that the child is hers. After a short time, the wise men return to their camels to bring the child’s gifts to him.