The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot (6 page)

1.
When the sun rose the following morning, Jesus and his growing band continued on their journey south to Jerusalem.

2.
As they entered the city of Aenon, they were met by a large crowd who wanted to join Jesus on his triumphal march.

3.
Among those who gathered around him was a rich young man who owned several leagues of land, reared vast flocks and commanded a large household of servants.

4.
Judas made himself known to him.

5.
The rich young man made it clear that if Jesus were to assure him of some important position once he had established himself as the King of Israel, he would willingly sacrifice his entire wealth to follow him.

6.
Judas, aware of how the rich young man could assist their purpose, took him directly to the Master, who welcomed him with open arms.

7.
The young man, encouraged by Jesus' gesture, said:
Good Rabbi, are you going to establish God's kingdom in Israel?

8.
Jesus smiled.
Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone
.

Mark 10:18;
Luke 18:19

9.
Judas was delighted by the Master's response because, as a devout Jew, he did not, as some Greeks did, wish to make Jesus a God. This was not the way of a true son of Israel. There was only one God,
YHWH, and the Messiah was the expected messenger of God, but not God himself.

10.
The young man, heartened by this reply, enquired boldly if he might join Jesus as one of his disciples.

11.
Jesus said:
Yes, but first you must obey the commandments of God
.

12.
And what are they?

13.
Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honour your father and your mother
.

14.
The rich young man was perplexed, for he had been taught to believe that Moses had handed down ten commandments.
Teacher, I have observed all the commandments from the time I was a small child
.

15.
Jesus smiled and aware that he was a devout man, agreed that he could become a disciple.

16.
The young man was overwhelmed, and assured Judas that he was willing to give up everything to follow the Master.

17.
Jesus, on hearing these words, said:
Go and sell all that you have, and give it to the poor. Once you have done that, you will have treasure enough in heaven, and come take up the cross and follow me
.

see
Mark 10:21;
Matt 19:21;
Luke 18:22

18.
Judas became distressed, aware that if Jesus hoped to establish himself as the expected Son of David, the Messiah and King of Israel, he could not hope to do so as a wandering prophet who rejected such a generous offer. Worse, he had commanded the rich young man to sell everything he possessed and distribute his wealth among the poor, which was not in keeping with the best traditions of Israel.

19.
Throughout Israel's history, God's glory had always been measured by the wealth and success of the nation.

20.
When David was King, the Jews occupied many lands, produced abundant crops and their flocks were ever bountiful. This was only true while the city was ruled over by a powerful king, who
was respected and feared by those who lived in the surrounding countries.

21.
Judas had been taught to believe that during that time Israel was in true communion with God. He hoped and expected Jesus would restore that enviable position.

22.
Had not Solomon sung in tribute to a great king:

23.
Judas was in despair as the rich young man walked away.

24.
The rich young man's only response:
You have chosen to follow a dangerous man, who will lead to the fall of many in Israel
.

see
Luke 2:34

1.
As Jesus' bedraggled band of followers drifted south towards Jericho, Judas warned Peter that the coffers were running low and that the Master should be informed.

2.
Peter refused to pass on such bad news and told Judas to carry out the Master's bidding without question.

3.
Although Judas was in despair his spirits were raised once again when Jesus was approached by a generous and devout Scribe, skilled in the interpretation of the laws of Israel. He said to Jesus:
Master, I will follow you wherever you go
.

4.
But Jesus said:
Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head
.

see
Matt 8:19–20;
Luke 9:57–58

5.
The Scribe was not able to comprehend what Jesus meant by this reference to the ‘Son of Man', and departed that place.

6.
Another came to Jesus and said:
I wish to follow you, but first I must return to Galilee and bury my father
.

7.
Judas was astonished when the Master said:
Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead
.

see
Matt 8:21–22

8.
Everyone who heard these words knew that it was a sacred duty for any son of Israel to bury his father, as the family is the centre of Jewish life and the father its head.

9.
The man left Jesus and departed for Galilee.

10.
Judas demanded of Peter: ‘Did not Moses include among the
Ten Commandments passed down by God at Sinai:
Honour your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that YHWH your God is giving you
?'

Exo 20:12

11.
But Peter ignored him, and continued to remind his fellow disciples of the true meaning of Jesus' warning,
Get behind me, Satan
,
which only made Judas more fearful.

12.
Jesus, aware of what was passing through their minds, gathered the disciples together and said:
Why are you afraid? You are people of little faith
.

see
Matt 8:26;
see
Mark 4:40–41;
Luke 8:25

13.
Judas could not understand why Jesus was challenging them in this manner; had they not proved their commitment a thousand-fold? Had they ever questioned his authority?

14.
By the evening of the third day, Jesus and his followers had reached the slopes of Mount Tabor, and were preparing to rest before nightfall.

[xxiv]

15.
Judas was distributing food and blankets in preparation for the cold night ahead, when he saw Jesus take Peter, James and John to one side.

see
Matt 17:1

16.
Without explanation, the four of them began to ascend the long, steep slope up the mountain.

17.
Judas and the other disciples fell asleep, and did not wake again until dawn, when they found Jesus walking among them. He said:
Let us rest a little longer, before we set out on the next part of our journey
.

see
Mark 6:31

18.
Judas observed that Peter, James and John were whispering among themselves.

19.
He approached Peter and said: ‘What took place when you were with Jesus on the mountain?'

20.
Peter was unable to hide his joy, and although the Master had instructed them not to reveal what had happened on the mountain,
he hesitated only for a moment:

I saw a powerful light, and before me appeared figures from Israel's past, and they spoke to Jesus, and the skies opened and a voice said, ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to his words.'

21.
Peter went on to tell Judas: ‘I understand what awaits us when we travel to Jerusalem, and I now accept that Jesus will rise from the dead.'

see
Mark 9:9–13;
Matt 17:9–13

22.
Judas left him for he was inconsolable. If Jesus was the expected Davidic Messiah, the King of Israel, why would he enter Jerusalem only to be slain, and then to rise again from the dead three days later? There was nothing written or spoken in Jewish tradition that suggested such a happening would take place.

23.
But it was clear to Judas that the thought of Jesus' death no longer alarmed Peter, James or John, who had clearly been overwhelmed by what they had seen on the mountain during the night.

24.
For the first time, Judas began to doubt that Jesus, in whom he had placed so much faith and commitment, was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.

25.
Judas withdrew from his fellow disciples and kept his own counsel.

26.
When the sun reached its zenith, Jesus stopped to rest and gathered around him all his followers. He addressed them with these words:
The Son of Man will be given into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But God will not abandon him. He will live again with you on the other side of death
.

see
Mark 9:31;
Matt 17:22–23;
Luke 9:44
[xxv]

27.
Judas loved the Master above all men, and after John the Baptist had commanded:
There goes a man of God, follow him
,
he had become wholly committed to Jesus' ministry.

see
John 1:34–36

28.
But Judas was also a devout son of Israel, who looked to Jesus
to fulfil the prophecies of Israel's sages, and now feared that this Son of Man had no intention of entering Jerusalem with authority to reclaim the Davidic throne of Israel for the Jewish people.

29.
Judas felt a deep pain in his heart while he pondered these matters, aware that if Jesus were to continue on this course, then all would be lost. Once again the Romans must triumph and the very survival of Israel might be threatened.

1.
Jesus and his disciples were approaching the end of their journey to Jerusalem.

2.
They planned to spend nightfall in Jericho before ascending the slopes of Judea and finally entering the Holy City.

3.
They passed through the gates of Jericho during the early evening, to find the vendors in the market place closing their booths, while the labourers who had been toiling in the fields were wending their way home.

4.
As Jesus walked through the streets, the local people gathered around him, curious to set eyes on the stranger from Galilee.

[xxvi]

5.
Rumours of a new prophet, possibly even the Messiah, had reached Jericho some time before Jesus appeared. Like so many devout Jews, the citizens of Jericho lived in hope that someone had finally come to rescue them from the tyranny of Rome.

6.
As Jesus progressed through the streets, some simply stopped to gaze at the man from Nazareth,
while others greeted him with cries of Master, Rabbi, even Messiah, but Jesus continued on his way without responding to the exhortations of the noisy crowd
.

7.
Judas left his Master to go in search of lodgings where Jesus and the other disciples might lay their heads for the night. He searched in vain, as there were no longer enough coins left in the common purse to cover such an expense, if he were also to purchase sufficient
food so that they might eat.

8.
Judas returned empty-handed, to find Jesus surrounded by many new followers, as he continued his slow progress through the streets of Jericho.

9.
Suddenly, without warning, Jesus stopped. He looked up into a sycamore tree and saw, perched in its branches, Zacchaeus, the city's chief tax collector.

10.
Zacchaeus, a corrupt man in the pay of the Romans,
was despised by his fellow Jews, not only for being a sinner, but also because of his tiny stature
.

11.
The startled man peered down at Jesus. A hush fell upon the crowd as they waited for Jesus to mock him. After all, the tax collector had made his fortune as a Roman lackey and was now surrounded by a hostile crowd, allowing him no visible means of escape.

12.
The crowd began to jeer, and only fell silent again when Jesus raised his hands in greeting and said:
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for I must abide in your home tonight
.

13.
Zacchaeus scrambled down from the branches of the tree and joined Jesus as he stood among the crowd.

14.
Judas looked on in disbelief as Jesus embraced a man who had been shunned by his fellow Jews, and worse, he now intended to spend the night under the man's roof.

15.
Zacchaeus was so overcome by Jesus' compassion that he declared to a startled crowd:
Behold, Lord, the half of my possessions I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any man, I will return it to him, fourfold
.

16.
The local people greeted this offer with loud acclamation. They then allowed Zacchaeus to run on ahead to his house so that he could warn his servants that Jesus and his disciples would be
guests in his home that night.

17.
Judas could not understand why his Master had commanded the rich young man to part with all his goods and distribute his wealth among the poor, while allowing Zacchaeus to retain half of his wealth.

18.
Peter could offer no explanation, and was also puzzled as to why Jesus was willing to rest his head in the home of a man who had been banned from the Synagogue for his public sins.

19.
The crowd that engulfed Jesus was equally bemused. The majority looked on in silence, while some burst out laughing and others turned their backs on him.

20.
Jesus left them to make his way to the home of Zacchaeus, while Judas and the other disciples followed reluctantly in his wake.

21.
When Jesus first entered the tax collector's home, he addressed the startled servants with the words:
Today salvation has come to this house, since he is also a son of Abraham
.

Luke 19:2–9

22.
Judas was outraged that his Master could mention Abraham and Zacchaeus in the same breath. Was not one the father of the nation, while the other remained a despised sinner?

23.
After they had broken bread, Jesus spoke to his disciples. He warned them yet again that his time was nigh, for he was about to return to his Father, but after three days he would rise again from the dead and once more come among them.

see
Matt 26:1;
John 13:1

24.
Judas was disheartened by Jesus' speaking of his own death, but did not at that time press the Master for an explanation.

25.
Judas was unable to sleep that night while he remained under the roof of an impure man who owed his wealth and position to a race of disbelievers.

26.
While others slept, Judas wrestled with the multitude of problems Jesus had revisited.

27.
Since they had descended from Mount Tabor, the Master's actions had not been those of a messianic leader intent on entering Jerusalem in triumph to claim the Davidic throne of Israel.

28.
Without an army to support him, Judas was fearful of what might happen to the Master when he finally entered the Holy City.

29.
So many of Jesus' enemies, among them the Elders and Pharisees, would be looking for the slightest excuse to discredit him, even destroy him.

30.
Judas recalled the exhilaration he had felt when he had first joined Jesus' band of followers. He had been overwhelmed by the authority of the Master's teaching and proud to be numbered among the chosen twelve.

31.
But would he now have to accept that Jesus was no more than a prophet, and that the rich young man might turn out to be right when he had warned:
You have chosen to follow a dangerous man, who will lead to the fall of many in Israel?

see
Luke 2:34
[xxvii]