The Untold Story of Judas Iscariot
Chapter Two: Jerusalem
Jesus and his Apostles had entered Jerusalem the day before the beginning of the Passover and, much to the chagrin of the Sanhedrin, had arrived to cheers and much celebration. It seemd all of Jerusalem was rejoicing. All but the Sanhedrin... and Judas.
Judas was still upset by Jesus' reprimand in Bethany while they were in the house of Simon. It wasn't fair. Jesus had condemned Judas for his concern for the welfare of the Jews, while blessing a whore for wasting money on expensive perfume.
The joyful yelling of the crowd grated on Judas' nerves. The other Apostles had all tried to lift his spirits on the journey from Bethany, but nothing had worked. They'd all given up on him. Judas was deeply moody at times, but they knew from experience that he would snap out of it soon.
Judas stood aside from the celebration, leaning against a building, watching the excitement through lowered eyelids. The noise was getting over-loud, and Judas knew the priests would consider it unseemly on the eve of the Passover. There would be trouble with the Sanhedrin, no doubt. He shook his head. When he'd first begun following Jesus, there had been no such problems. They traveled, and Jesus taught and performed miracles, and no one was bothered. It had been much more peaceful...
~*~Three years earlier...~*~
Judas had come for Kariyoth to the house of Anaias to visit his fianceé, Rebekah. Rebekah was the youngest of nine children, and the only daughter. So naturally, Anaias and his sons were all very protective of her. Judas was lucky indeed, for Anaias liked him, and had allowed him to woo Rebekah.
They had been engaged for a few weeks now, and Judas was hoping they could be married in a few more. So he'd come today to arrange a date for the wedding. Of course, he and Rebekah had ended up doing more kissing in the garden than wedding date planning... And had nearly gotten caught by her youngest brother Josiah. Luckily they'd heard him coming in time.
"Rebekah, Judas... there's a rabbi from Galilee who is going to speak in town today. We're going to listen to him. Do you want to come with us?" Josiah asked. Judas and Rebekah looked at one another. Rebekah shrugged.
"Why not?" Judas said finally. "Who is this rabbi, Josiah?"
Josiah shrugged. "I'd never heard of him. A Nazarene... Jesus, son of Joseph..."
***
Judas had never been so moved by a sermon in his life. This Jesus had an amazing way with words. He used stories to illustrate his message. And he spoke of the freedom of the Jews. That was what most drew Judas' attention. All his life, Judas had lived under Roman rule. His people were subject to slavers worse than the Egyptians, in his opinion. The Egyptians, at least, had not come *into* the land of the Israelites and taken them hostage.
Rebekah seemed to have fallen under the spell of the rabbi's words as well. She was sitting next to Judas, her hand in his, her head lying on his shoulder, listening raptly to the Nazarene.
After the sermon, Judas was one of many, many listeners who went up to the man to speak to him. To Judas' great surprise, Jesus spoke to each and every one who approached him, listening to stories, answering questions, and unburdening people of their sorrows. When it came Judas' turn to speak to the great man, he found that it was difficult to form words.
The entire week Jesus was in Jerusalem, Judas went back to listen to him every day. And when it came time for Jesus to leave, Judas felt drawn to the man. He hated to leave Rebekah, but it seemed the will of God that he travel with Jesus.
Heh... this was mostly background on how Judas came to follow Jesus... real addition to the story will be up as soon as possible.
Chapter Two: Jerusalem
Jesus and his Apostles had entered Jerusalem the day before the beginning of the Passover and, much to the chagrin of the Sanhedrin, had arrived to cheers and much celebration. It seemd all of Jerusalem was rejoicing. All but the Sanhedrin... and Judas.
Judas was still upset by Jesus' reprimand in Bethany while they were in the house of Simon. It wasn't fair. Jesus had condemned Judas for his concern for the welfare of the Jews, while blessing a whore for wasting money on expensive perfume.
The joyful yelling of the crowd grated on Judas' nerves. The other Apostles had all tried to lift his spirits on the journey from Bethany, but nothing had worked. They'd all given up on him. Judas was deeply moody at times, but they knew from experience that he would snap out of it soon.
Judas stood aside from the celebration, leaning against a building, watching the excitement through lowered eyelids. The noise was getting over-loud, and Judas knew the priests would consider it unseemly on the eve of the Passover. There would be trouble with the Sanhedrin, no doubt. He shook his head. When he'd first begun following Jesus, there had been no such problems. They traveled, and Jesus taught and performed miracles, and no one was bothered. It had been much more peaceful...
~*~Three years earlier...~*~
Judas had come for Kariyoth to the house of Anaias to visit his fianceé, Rebekah. Rebekah was the youngest of nine children, and the only daughter. So naturally, Anaias and his sons were all very protective of her. Judas was lucky indeed, for Anaias liked him, and had allowed him to woo Rebekah.
They had been engaged for a few weeks now, and Judas was hoping they could be married in a few more. So he'd come today to arrange a date for the wedding. Of course, he and Rebekah had ended up doing more kissing in the garden than wedding date planning... And had nearly gotten caught by her youngest brother Josiah. Luckily they'd heard him coming in time.
"Rebekah, Judas... there's a rabbi from Galilee who is going to speak in town today. We're going to listen to him. Do you want to come with us?" Josiah asked. Judas and Rebekah looked at one another. Rebekah shrugged.
"Why not?" Judas said finally. "Who is this rabbi, Josiah?"
Josiah shrugged. "I'd never heard of him. A Nazarene... Jesus, son of Joseph..."
***
Judas had never been so moved by a sermon in his life. This Jesus had an amazing way with words. He used stories to illustrate his message. And he spoke of the freedom of the Jews. That was what most drew Judas' attention. All his life, Judas had lived under Roman rule. His people were subject to slavers worse than the Egyptians, in his opinion. The Egyptians, at least, had not come *into* the land of the Israelites and taken them hostage.
Rebekah seemed to have fallen under the spell of the rabbi's words as well. She was sitting next to Judas, her hand in his, her head lying on his shoulder, listening raptly to the Nazarene.
After the sermon, Judas was one of many, many listeners who went up to the man to speak to him. To Judas' great surprise, Jesus spoke to each and every one who approached him, listening to stories, answering questions, and unburdening people of their sorrows. When it came Judas' turn to speak to the great man, he found that it was difficult to form words.
The entire week Jesus was in Jerusalem, Judas went back to listen to him every day. And when it came time for Jesus to leave, Judas felt drawn to the man. He hated to leave Rebekah, but it seemed the will of God that he travel with Jesus.
Heh... this was mostly background on how Judas came to follow Jesus... real addition to the story will be up as soon as possible.