The Juggler of the Cross

An old juggler was in Jerusalem for the Passover and heard that Jesus was in town. The juggler’s name was Isaac, which means one who laughs.

“I met Jesus once long ago,” Isaac said. “I will try to meet him again.”

But, Isaac was busy with family and relatives and a couple days passed. Then, news spread that Jesus was in trouble, so Isaac hurried to where people had last seen him.

Isaac left the city walls and could see three men on crosses on a slight hill called Golgotha. He moved to get close but it was slow going because of the crowds.

Isaac finally reached a row of guards and tried to pass, but one guard pushed him back.

“I need to see Jesus,” Isaac said. “I have a gift for him.”

He showed the guard his pack and opened it up so the guard could see his juggling equipment. Just then, the leader of the guards came up to Isaac and the guard.

“I want to give Jesus a gift,” Isaac said. “I want to juggle for him.”

The leader of the guards laughed.

“Let him through,” the leader scoffed. “This should be fun.”

Isaac moved by the guards and slowly walked across the barren land toward the cross in the center.

Isaac heard what Jesus said to one of the thieves who was on a cross next to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Isaac approached and then knelt down before Jesus.

“Lord, you will not remember me,” Isaac began. “I juggled for you when you were a baby in Bethlehem. Right after the drummer boy finished, I then juggled for you.”

“My mother told me about you when I was older,” Jesus said. “Thank you for that.”

“I am sorry for all this now,” Isaac said. “I cannot overpower the guards. I cannot bring you down from there. But, I can juggle for you to lighten your heart for just a moment.”

“That would be nice,” Jesus replied.

Isaac removed his juggling balls, clubs, and rings from his pack. He began to juggle: first three balls and then four.

The guards could be heard laughing behind him. They thought it was ridiculous for a juggler to be entertaining a dying man.

Isaac ignored them and continued with five balls. Then, he put down three of the balls and picked up a ring. He juggled so the two balls went through the ring without missing a beat. He put down the two balls and picked up two more rings. Rings flew through the air, so high that they almost went as high as Jesus’ head. The rings were set down and then the clubs twisted in the air as they were juggled.

Isaac began to cry. As he looked up to see the clubs high in the air, he could see Jesus’ face. Jesus smiled. But it made Isaac so sad. He wiped the tears from his eyes and the clubs fell to the ground. Isaac fell upon his knees. The guards came forward to drag him away.

Jesus watched Isaac leave.

“We will be together always,” Jesus said, although Isaac did not hear him. Mary found Isaac some days later and told him what Jesus said. She was also able to tell him the good news that Jesus was now alive.

From that day on, Isaac felt that Jesus was very close to him.