<< Go Back

Judas In Jerusalem

By Joseph Lewis Heil

Order Now!

The Sun at its zenith scorched the desert floor. Heated,
layered air shimmered above the baking sand. In this
Judean wilderness west of the Dead Sea, John, cousin of
Jesus, lived in a crude camp pitched against a high, sheltering
ridge. Now, shielding his eyes while gazing toward
the distant south, John saw a cloaked and hooded man no
more than fifty paces from his camp. The man staggered,
then fell.
John ran to him, wondering if the man had died.
A twitching arm revealed he had not.
John carried the unconscious man to his camp, laying
him on a mat beneath the tent roof. John palmed the
bearded face’s burning brow; he grasped the wayfarer’s
thin arms and legs.
For three days John cared for the emaciated man who
slipped in and out of consciousness until his fever finally
broke.
“Friend, who are you?” John asked. “What’s your
name?”
Joseph Lewis Heil
8
“Water . . . more water. . . .”
The man drank then slumped back onto the mat.
Again John asked, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Judas.”
After eating several times, Judas slowly regained his
strength. Next day, he rose and walked about. That evening,
their last together, they ate and conversed.
“Where do you come from, Judas?”
“I grew up in Kerioth, a town in southern Judea.”
“So, you are a man from Kerioth, or, as the Greeks
would say, Judas Iscariot.”
“I wouldn’t know that. I don’t know Greek.”
“Why did you leave Kerioth?”
“I left because my father was dead, and my mother no
longer wanted me.”
“Why was that?”
Judas paused, uncomfortable with the question. John,
curious to know, urged him to answer. A cooling, desert
breeze wafted through the camp. “Tell me about yourself,
Judas.”
After several moments, he said, “We were poor. Our
house was a shack. My clothes were shabbier than other
boy’s. People didn’t think much of us, and girls made fun
of me. Oftentimes my father got drunk. He didn’t work,
not like other men. My mother took in laundry to get by.
“At night my father came home late, reeking of wine.
My mother hated it. She called him ugly names; then he’d
Judas In Jerusalem
9
beat her. When I was little I couldn’t protect, but when
I got older I tried. Then he’d beat me. We ran from the
house. We’d wait a long while, hoping he’d fall asleep.
That’s usually what happened.”
“That’s terrible, Judas. That’s no way for a family to
live.”
“No, but then something wonderful happened.”
“What?” John asked.
“My father died. People said too much wine poisoned
his blood. We believed it.”
“Were your lives better then?”
“Yes . . . until my mother took in another man.”
“Did he take her as his wife?”
Judas laughed contemptuously. “He took her as his
whore.”
“You shouldn’t say that about your mother.”
“Why not? It’s true. I hated her for it.”
“That’s sad. You and your mother are to be pitied.”
“I don’t want pity. She didn’t love me, at least not as
much as that guy.”
“What was he like—not a drunkard, I hope?”
“No, but after a few weeks, he turned on me. At first
it was okay, but then, when my mother wasn’t there, he
got mean. My father wasn’t mean, except when he got
drunk, but even then it was different. This man was cruel;
slapped my head, told me I was stupid, told me he didn’t
want me in the house. He even claimed my mother didn’t
Joseph Lewis Heil
10
want me when I was born. Believe me, I grew to hate him
very quickly.”
“Was he the reason you left Kerioth?”
“One of them. Eventually, he convinced my mother
I had to leave, said I was too old and our shack too small
for two grown men. I was only fifteen. He said he’d only
support her. She told me I had to go, so I left.”
“How did you live?”
“I worked planting and harvesting. I fed goats and
oxen and shoveled dung. Often I had to beg.” Pain tainted
Judas’s voice. “For God’s sake, I was always hungry; I had
no decent place to sleep. I was dirty, my clothes were filthy
rags. Everybody shunned me.”
John shook his head. “Terrible, just terrible.”
Judas closed his eyes. A deep sadness marked his face.
Shame at what he was about to reveal dwelt in his heart.
“Boys and even some townspeople called me Stupid
Judas. I hated it. That’s why I left.”
“Why did they call you that?”
“Because I can’t read or write. My parents didn’t take
me to synagogue; I never had a teacher. Most Jews in Kerioth
took their children, but my parents were too stupid,
too poor. The little money we had, my father wasted on
wine. He couldn’t read either.”
Both men fell silent. John, troubled by the wretchedness
of Judas’s early life, stood and went outside. The desert
air was pleasant under a sky white with stars.
Judas In Jerusalem
11
Coming back into the dimly lit tent, John noticed
Judas’s eyes scanning John’s meager possessions. He asked
Judas what he was looking for.
“Nothing—you have so little,” Judas said.
Then John asked where Judas was headed when he
rescued him from a certain desert death.
“I’m on my way to Jerusalem. I’ll fare better there.”
“A young man who can’t read will not meet with any
success in Jerusalem. It’s a very learned city. What skills
do you have?”
“I’m a beggar. I have no skills.” Judas did not want to
reveal any more about himself, especially his most proficient
skill, so he asked, “Can I stay here, at least for a
while?”
“No,” John answered. “I prefer to be alone.”
“Why? Why would you want to live like that?” Judas
knew how hard it was.
“Because in this desert silence, and my solitude, I am
better able to hear the voice of God.”
Amazed, but skeptical, Judas asked, “Does he really
speak to you?”
“Yes, I believe he does.”
“What does he say?”
“He urges me to warn people to repent their sins and,
if they do, I am to baptize them.”
“What do you mean . . . baptize?”
“Crowds gather at the Jordan. I baptize those who truly
Joseph Lewis Heil
12
repent. To baptize means to immerse in water, thus to
purify that which sin has soiled. It’s an action that affirms
repentance and symbolizes cleanliness.”
Judas said, “I wouldn’t do that, and besides, I have no
sins.”
“We all have sinned, Judas, even you, though you
might not realize it.”
Judas felt uneasy with John’s remarks. The prospect of
being fully immersed, of actually being placed underwater,
frightened him. And he was sure he hadn’t committed
serious sin, though oftentimes he had to steal to eat.
But, in his mind, that was no sin at all, because he knew
God wouldn’t want him to die of mere hunger. And, to
his self-proclaimed credit, he never stole from the poor,
though they really had nothing worth stealing.
He had checked John’s things, utensils and such, but
saw nothing of any use to himself save, perhaps, one. Judas
felt no strong need to steal from the baptizer who generously
offered meals of bread, wild honey, and fruit. Yet, as
always was the case, if an opportunity came, temptation
would invade his heart. And after he fell, it was his poverty
that always justified the sin.
John began again. “I have an idea, Judas. My cousin is
a teacher who travels throughout Galilee and Judea with
a band of followers. Before you go to Jerusalem, seek him
out. He won’t be difficult to find, just ask anyone you come
across. His name is Jesus, from the town of Nazareth.
Judas In Jerusalem
13
Most people in Galilee have heard of him; he’s a teacher
of great knowledge and wisdom. I believe Jesus would be
willing to teach you to read, especially if you tell him I
sent you for that reason. Perhaps, Judas, you can even join
Jesus’ followers.”
John’s suggestion immediately interested Judas. “I’m a
good counter. I can summate in my head.”
“Then perhaps my cousin will have need for you, as he
and his friends have to eat, find shelter, and replace worn
out clothes and sandals. So, if you can help him collect
funds, Jesus might be happy to have you and teach you as
well.”
With that proposal, Judas experienced something he
hadn’t felt in his young life: a simple hope to actually learn
and do something worthwhile. “Yes, I’ll seek your cousin.”
Then after a pause, “Can I sleep here tonight? I promise
I’ll leave in the morning.”
“Yes, but only tonight. Tomorrow, after we break our
fast, you must leave.”
Judas Iscariot fell asleep contentedly, something he
hadn’t experienced since his earliest childhood.
In the morning, John wished Judas peace and good
luck and bid him farewell.
After Judas was out of sight, John prepared to go to the
Jordan for water. He hung his water bags from nails in a
tent post. He had six including a fine, leather bag that an
admirer whom he baptized had given him. But now the
Joseph Lewis Heil
14
bag was not at its appointed nail. In its place was a shabby,
tattered bag.
“Ah,” John sighed. To the desert wind he said aloud,
“As I suspected, Judas Iscariot, you are a thief.”

Order Now!

<< Go Back