My Name is Judas Didymus Thomas
Chapter 1: A Birth in Bethlehem The night was cold, but the sky blazed with stars, not the usual faint specks you see on a winter night, but a sky alive, like heaven itself was leaning close to watch. In a rough little stable, its walls patched with stone and straw, a young woman labored. Miryam of Nazareth gripped the edge of the feeding trough, gasping for breath, sweat on her brow. Yosef knelt beside her, his strong hands shaking, whispering prayers under his breath, part fear, part wonder. Almost no one in the world knew what was happening here, in this forgotten corner of Bethlehem. Even fewer knew the deeper truth: Miryam wasn’t giving birth to just one child, but two, twin brothers whose lives would echo across centuries. The first came just as the angel had promised, his cries sharp and clear in the still night. “Yeshua,” Miryam whispered, Jesus, meaning “God saves”, tears of relief and joy running down her face. She held him to her chest, feeling his tiny heartbeat against her...