Two Brothers: a Story of Beginnings

"It was the early decades of the new sect that called itself ?the Way.?
The Jewish members of this sect who lived in Jerusalem struggled
with being ostracized by the synagogue and with periodic occasions
of persecution by the country?s elite. At the same time, the country
suffered the outrageous and cruel behavior of the Roman procurators,
as well as contending with the escalating confl ict between Jewish
rebels and Rome, a confl ict that fi nally would destroy the Temple
and temple-based Judaism. These struggles found their way into
individual families. One such was the family of Neariah whose
two sons were on opposites sides of these struggles. Prior to the
destruction of Jerusalem, each brother sought and found his
individual survival."