Judas In Jerusalem

By Joseph Lewis Heil

Description:

Well known to Christians and many non-Christians are the four Gospel accounts of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, now referred to as Palm Sunday. These narratives also tell of the following Thursday when Jesus celebrated his last Passover Supper with his apostle friends. Judas In Jerusalem explores the four ominous days that led Judas to betray Jesus.
In the Prologue, two thirteen year old cousins, John and Jesus, roam the hill country near Jerusalem. They talk of everything they know and dream. Their mothers want them to master the carpentry trade, but the boys reject that.
John, now mature, lives alone in the desert. A weakened man, Judas, collapses near his camp. John rescues him and encourages him to seek Jesus. Near Jericho, Judas encounters Jesus who asks him to join his band of followers.
Word comes that Jesus’ cousin, John, has been arrested. Despite the danger, Jesus travels to Jerusalem where his radical teachings are opposed by many members of the Sanhedrin. He enters the Holy City to welcoming crowds. A wealthy follower, Joseph of Arimathea, invites Jesus and one of his friends to dine with him that evening. Jesus asks Judas.
Thereafter begins the moral degeneration of Judas, leading to his so-called betrayal of Jesus. Lust, greed, anger, and pride enter his mind and heart, which lead tragically to a senseless, condemning act. Finding himself trapped by men far more clever than himself, Judas is presented with a life or death alternative.
Is Judas guilty of a betrayal? Or is he betrayed? The four evangelists tell us little.
This novel reveals the life and death of Judas In Jerusalem.

Book Takeaway:

Never doubt the love, mercy and forgiveness of God.

Why the author wrote this book:

I often wondered what moral decay did Judas experience that he would betray his friend Jesus. Did Judas really want to see Jesus put to death? I doubted that. He didn't want "blood money." What circumstances, I wondered, led Judas to do what he did? So I wrote an explanation.