The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot (7 page)

1.
They could hear him long before they could see him.

2.
Blind Bartimaeus sat begging on the same street corner every day, from the moment the sun rose until it fell.

3.
As Jesus left Jericho that morning Bartimaeus' cry differed from the one he had always uttered in the past, and Judas assumed that the Master would reject him:
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me
.

4.
Peter ran ahead of Jesus, aware that the Master had instructed the disciples not to allow anyone to call him:
Son of David
.

5.
He ordered the beggar to hold his tongue.

6.
But Bartimaeus, aware that Jesus must therefore be close at hand, cried even louder:
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me
.

7.
When Jesus heard these words, he said:
Call him
.

8.
Andrew came to Bartimaeus' side, helped him up and led the blind man to Jesus. Bartimaeus fell on his knees.

9.
Jesus looked down at the blind man and said with compassion,
What do you expect of me?

10.
Bartimaeus raised his head and said:
Lord, let me have my sight
.

11.
Jesus touched his tongue and then rubbed the spittle on Bartimaeus' eyes, saying:
Go your way, your faith has healed you
.

see
Mark 20:30–32;
Mark 10:47–52;
Luke 18:38–42

12.
Judas' heart was filled with renewed expectation. A blind beggar had called Jesus
Son of David
and the Master had not denied his words.

[xxviii]

13.
Was this at last the sign that Jesus now accepted, a short time
before they would enter the Holy City, that he was the Messiah and would make YHWH absolute ruler and King?

14.
A devout Scribe from Jerusalem left the Holy City to seek out Jesus, for he had heard some say that the son of a carpenter from Nazareth was the expected one, the Messiah.

15.
The Scribe travelled for a day and a night before he came across a large group of people who were following a man as he continued on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem.

16.
The Scribe approached Jesus and said:
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

17.
Jesus smiled at the Scribe and said:
What does the letter of the law demand?

18.
The lawyer said:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself
.

19.
Jesus said:
Then do so, and you shall live
.

20.
But who is my neighbour?
said the lawyer, thinking he might trap him.

21.
Jesus sat down on the side of the dusty road and in answer to the Scribe said:
A merchant, who was travelling on this road, was set upon by a gang of thieves, who robbed him and left him for dead
.

22.
A Pharisee, seeing the man lying in the road, passed by, because he assumed the man was dead, and were he to touch him, he would himself become impure and therefore could never hope to enter the kingdom of heaven
.

23.
Moments later a priest passed by. He also refused to go to the aid of the stricken man, as he feared that if the man was still alive and he touched the flowing blood, he too would become impure and therefore not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven
.

24.
Some time later, a Samaritan passed by and, seeing the body
lying in the road, immediately went to the merchant's aid. He cleansed and bound the man's wounds, and then lifted him up, placed him on his donkey and accompanied him to the nearest inn. He left the innkeeper with two pence to ensure that the man would be taken care of until he was fully recovered. And before the Samaritan left to continue on his journey, he said, ‘And whatever you need to spend, I will repay you when I next pass this way.'

25.
Jesus looked up at the Scribe and said:
Which of these men would you say was his neighbour?

26.
The Scribe was annoyed, because it was Jesus who had ended up trapping him into having to admit that it was a Samaritan who turned out to be the man's neighbour.

see
Luke 10:25–37

27.
Jesus rose and said:
Then go your way and do likewise
.

28.
Jesus continued on his way to Jerusalem, and his disciples followed him.

29.
Judas sought out the Scribe, as he could not understand why the Master would tell a parable depicting a Samaritan – the sworn enemies of the Jews – as more likely to show compassion for someone in distress than a Pharisee or a priest.

30.
Judas found the lawyer standing at the back of the crowd, seething with anger at his public humiliation in front of such simple people.

31.
Judas walked beside him, and began to tell the Scribe of the many good deeds he had witnessed since he had become one of Jesus' followers.

32.
The Scribe listened in silence, but it was some time before he calmed down and even began to accept it was possible that Jesus was a holy man.

33.
By the time they stopped to rest for the night, Judas hoped
he had convinced the Scribe that he should join them when they entered the Holy City the following day. The Scribe nodded, but remained silent.

34.
While they shared supper, Judas' confidence grew. He confided in the lawyer that he too had misgivings about what might happen when his Master set foot in Jerusalem.

35.
Judas admitted that he feared that Jesus might be in danger from his many enemies who would be only too happy to see him stumble in his path, even perish.

36.
The Scribe suggested: ‘Perhaps it might be wise for Jesus not to be seen in Jerusalem at the present time, but instead return to Galilee.'

37.
Judas said: ‘It is too late for that. The Master has determined his path, and will not countenance turning back. It is the time of the Passover and he believes he is carrying out the will of God.'

38.
The Scribe responded: ‘Then you must save him from himself, and to that end, you can rely on my help.'

39.
Judas listened intently to the Scribe as he suggested how Jesus might be saved.

40.
The Scribe even agreed to come to Judas' assistance at any time, should he fear that the Master was in danger.

41.
Judas slept soundly for the first time in days, confident that if Jesus faced any danger when he entered Jerusalem, he had enlisted an ally to assist him who was in a position of authority.

42.
When Judas rose the following morning, he was told that the lawyer had woken earlier and already set out on the road for Jerusalem.

43.
Judas went in search of Jesus and found him walking among his followers. The Master was encouraging them as they prepared for
the final stretch of the journey that would take them to the Holy City.

44.
Although the other disciples, even Peter, appeared to be uncertain of what might happen to them, Judas was now confident that when they reached Jerusalem, Jesus would no longer be in any danger.

1.
First they heard the horns, followed by the clamour of voices that grew louder and louder.

2.
Citizens were pouring out of the city gates and running up the hill to greet Jesus, as rumour spread that the great teacher was on his way from Bethany.

3.
As the crowds grew larger,
Jesus commanded two of his disciples to go into a nearby village. There they would find a donkey that had I never been ridden, tethered to a barn door
.

4.
Jesus said:
Unleash the animal and bring him to me. Should anyone ask with what authority you do this, you will say, the Lord has need of him, and they will release the beast
.

5.
The disciples left Jesus and entered the village, where they found a donkey tied to a barn door. When they released him, someone watching said:
Why are you unleashing the donkey?

6.
The disciples said:
The Lord has need of him
, and the man did not question them again.

7.
They brought the donkey to Jesus, and after a garment had been placed upon its back, Jesus sat upon the beast and continued his journey into Jerusalem

8.
Many removed their cloaks and spread them in front of Jesus, while others cut down branches from the trees and laid them in his path
.

9.
As Jesus approached the city gates, the citizens began waving
palms and cried out:
Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our Father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!

John 12:13

10.
Judas watched in dismay as Jesus passed through the gates and entered the Holy City on a donkey.

see
Matt 21:2–10;
Mark 11:2–10;
Luke 19:30–36
[xxix]

11.
How could the Master hope to take control of the Temple, and drive out the Romans, astride a donkey, with only an undisciplined group of enthusiastic followers for his army?

12.
Judas stared up at the bleak Antonia fortress that overlooked the city, aware that a legion of infantry was billeted inside.

13.
At the slightest sign of trouble, the great wooden gates would swing open and a phalanx of Roman soldiers would appear.

14.
But the Romans did not even bother to leave their fortress as Jesus made his slow progress towards the Temple, and the crowds, no longer believing that he could possibly be the Messiah, began to dwindle and drift away.

15.
Judas had been heartened when blind Bartimaeus had called out to Jesus,
Son of David
,
and the Master had not denied him. But Jesus' decision to enter Jerusalem on a donkey would not convince even the simple-minded that this was the Messiah who had come in triumph to finally remove the pagans from the Holy City.

16.
Judas shared his misgivings with Peter, who simply reminded him of Jesus' words:
Get behind me, Satan; this is the Lord's way, not the way of man, and we must follow God's will
.

see
Mark 8:33;
Matt 16:23

17.
Judas said: ‘But where in our ancient tradition and teaching does it record that the Messiah will enter the Holy City on a donkey?'

18.
Peter raised his eyes to heaven and, as if inspired, uttered the words of the Prophet Zechariah:

19.
When Jesus dismounted the donkey, he entered the Temple and prayed.

[xxx]

20.
As it was the evening, he returned to Bethany with some of his disciples to spend the night with Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary
.

see
John 11:1–4;
Matt 21:17

21.
Judas did not accompany his Master to Bethany, but remained in the Temple, where he sought out the Scribe who had befriended him on the road from Jericho.

22.
And when Judas found him, he went to the Scribe's home, broke bread, and they shared wine together.

23.
And the Scribe said: ‘What will he do tomorrow?'

24.
Judas answered: ‘As it is the Passover, he will return to Jerusalem and go to the Temple. He may perform miracles and cast out demons, and many will believe that he is the Messiah, and for this they will follow him.'

25.
The Scribe responded:
Your Master is a good and holy man, but if he allows his followers to indulge in false hopes, it will only end in bloodshed, and the Romans will surely destroy the whole nation
.

see
John 11:48

26.
Judas knew that the Scribe spoke the truth and, fearing for his Master's safety, decided to put his trust in this powerful interpreter of the law.

27.
Judas confessed: ‘I no longer believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but John the Baptist proclaimed that he was a man of God, and therefore we must not let him die at the hands of the Romans.'

see
John 1:32–34,
Mark 1:11

28.
The Scribe agreed, and promised to assist Judas with his plans. ‘You must spirit Jesus out of the city and, along with the other disciples, accompany him back to Galilee, where the Romans will not trouble him.'

29.
Judas agreed, and before he left, promised the Scribe that
when the time and place were right, he would inform him
.

see
Mark 14:10;
Matt 26:15;
Luke 22:6

30.
Judas left the home of the Scribe to return to Bethany.

31.
As he passed the Antonia fortress, he could hear the Roman soldiers shouting ‘Ioudaei sunt porci!', an insult that they were well aware was offensive to all Jews, especially at the time of the Passover.

32.
As he left the city and made his way back up the hill to Bethany, Judas felt a great yoke had been lifted from his shoulders, because he alone among the disciples could now save his Master, and with him the fate of Israel.