The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot (4 page)

1.
Jesus and his disciples came down from the hills and made their way towards the Sea of Galilee.

2.
By the time they reached the plain, word had spread that Jesus and his disciples had been resting in the hills and they were met by a large crowd who had gathered to await them.

3.
Although Jesus had not yet set foot in the holy city of Jerusalem, on hearing the good news of his teaching and the many miracles he had performed, citizens came from that city and all parts of Judea to seek him out.

4.
Others had travelled from the gentile coastal towns of Tyre and Sidon, while some had come from as far afield as the Decapolis on the other side of the Jordan.

5.
Many came to hear him preach, while others, sick with infirmities, hoped to be cured of their ills.

6.
Jesus walked among the vast crowd and made whole several who were troubled by unclean spirits.

7.
Many others waited patiently, hoping simply to touch his robe, as it had become clear for all to see that power and goodness came forth from Jesus and that he transmitted healing and strength to all those with whom he came into contact.

8.
One of those in the crowd was a woman who had been afflicted with a continuous flow of blood for more than twelve years. She
believed that
if only she could touch his robe, she would be cured. As the crowd surrounded Jesus, she leant forward and touched the hem of his garment. Immediately she was cured of her disease
.

9.
Jesus stopped and said:
Who touched me?
The disciples could not understand what he meant, and reminded Jesus that he was surrounded by people on all sides.

10.
Jesus again said:
Who touched me?

11.
The woman stepped forward because she feared Jesus would be angry that she had rendered him impure by her touch.

12.
She fell on her knees, bowed her head and told him that it was she who had touched him.

13.
Jesus said:
Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease
.

see
Mark 5:25–34;
Matt 9:20–22;
Luke 8:43–48

14.
This caused even more people to press in on him. When Jesus could no longer move, he gathered his disciples around him and, lifting his eyes to the heavens, began to address the vast multitude that had assembled to hear him preach.

15.
Jesus said to them:

Luke 6:20–22

16.
As Jesus delivered these promises, a great uproar broke out among the throng, who began to believe that the long-awaited Messiah was among them.

17.
Jesus waited for calm to return. He gazed into the crowd and became aware that a few among them were trying to stir the people into dissent, for they believed that such promises could only be
made by God and not by someone they regarded as a sinner and a blasphemer. But they were outnumbered.

18.
When a hush eventually fell over the gathering, Jesus continued to tell them of God's promises:

Woe to you who are rich, for you have already enjoyed your consolation
.

Woe to you who have more than enough to eat, for the time is coming when you will experience hunger
.

Woe to you who simply live for pleasure, for you will soon mourn and weep
.

Woe to you of whom everyone must speak well, because this only throws up false prophets
.

[xvi]

19.
These words caused an even greater division among the crowd and Judas watched as several people walked away in protest.

20.
Jesus waited until the clamour had died down before he asked his disciples to gather around him all those who still wished to hear his words.

21.
Jesus sat on the ground and, showing an abundance of compassion and understanding, continued to explain the good news of the forthcoming reign of God in Israel.

see
Mark 1:14–15;
Matt 4:12–17

22.
Judas wept when Jesus told the multitude:
It is always easy to love those who love you, but it is far more difficult to bring compassion and unity where there is division. Be merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful
.

see
Luke 6:33–36;
Matt 5:46–48

23.
Jesus then went on to tell the people that they should never condemn their fellow men, as there was no one among them who was not guilty of some offence:
Who are we to set ourselves up to judge others?

24.
As Jesus spoke, Judas repeated his words for he wished to pass them on to those who had not been present to hear the Master.
Why do you only see the speck in your brother's eye, while being unaware of the splinter that is lodged in yours? Beware of hypocrisy. For first you must remove the splinter from your own eye, before you can see clearly enough to assist your brother and sister in removing the speck that is in theirs
.

see
Luke 6:41;
Matt 7:3

25.
All those who had remained were visibly moved by such wise and compassionate words, showing how good and full of authority Jesus' ministry was.

26.
Jesus then spoke another parable:
A good tree does not produce corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree produce good fruit. So it is with us. Out of the heart of a good person will come good deeds, while out of the heart of an evil person will come only evil
.

see
Luke 6:43–45;
Matt 12:33–35

27.
Judas, on hearing these words, whispered to his fellow disciples: ‘From this man comes only goodness and mercy for those who reach out and touch him. We are fortunate to have found our Rabbi, and Master.'

28.
When Jesus heard Judas' words, he turned to the other disciples and said:
Be wary of calling me Master until you fully understand my purpose and are able to live by its true meaning. Any one of you who fulfils this will be like a man who builds his house on a foundation of rock. When violent storms rage, the house will remain safely in place. But if you call me Master, and do not live by the words I have taught you, then you will be building your house on sand. So that when the storms come, as they surely will, your house will collapse to the ground. Consider carefully the meaning of these words, otherwise your hopes may end in disappointment. Be therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect
.

see
Luke 6:46–49;
Matt 5:48

29.
After Jesus had delivered these words, he stood up and walked among the crowd, blessing those who had remained to hear him, before telling them to disperse and go home.

30.
As they did so, Jesus continued on his journey beside the Sea of Galilee.

31.
Judas, along with the rest of the disciples, followed the Master.

32.
After they had walked a short distance, Judas boldly asked: ‘Who is your Father?'

33.
Jesus answered:
My Father is in heaven
.

34.
Judas said: ‘Were you speaking to your Father when you were praying in the hills?'

35.
Jesus turned to face Judas, and said: ‘Yes, I was praying to my Father in heaven.'

see
Luke 11:1–2

36.
‘Master, will you therefore teach us to pray as you pray to your Father?'

37.
Jesus smiled and, on turning to the rest of the disciples, said:
Whenever you pray, speak these words:

38.
The disciples repeated these words, hour upon hour, day after day, in order that the prayer taught by Jesus might be passed on from generation to generation.

1.
After Jesus had taught his disciples how to pray, they continued on their way to Capernaum.

2.
As the Master entered the city, Judas was surprised and fearful when he saw a centurion standing in his path.

3.
He said:
My servant has fallen sick. He is bedridden and unable to move
.

4.
Jesus answered:
I will come to your home and make him well again
.

5.
The centurion said:
It will be enough for you to say, your servant is healed, for I am a man used to giving and taking orders. I say to a soldier go, and he goes, and if a superior officer says to me come, I come. So my servant will be healed if you so command
.

6.
Jesus said:
Return to your home and you will find your servant is well again
.

And at that time, the servant rose from his bed
.

7.
Jesus turned to his disciples and said:
I have not seen such faith, no, not in the whole of Israel
.

see
Matt 8:5–13;
Luke 7:1–10

8.
Although Jesus had instructed the waiting crowd to disperse and go home, wherever he turned, the multitude had increased in numbers.

9.
While those around him were clearly tired and hungry, Jesus continued to walk among the crowd, showing compassion and concern. He turned to Peter and said:
Give them something to eat
.

Mark 6:37;
Matt 14:16;
Luke 9:13

10.
Judas wanted to tell the Master that they had sufficient food for his immediate followers, and that as they were surrounded on all sides, with only the Sea of Galilee behind them, he should instruct them once again to return home.

11.
Peter also could not understand his Master's request, and warned Jesus:
We only have five loaves and two fishes
.

12.
Then Jesus said to his disciples:
I feel compassion for these people. They have followed me all day, and I fear that they have had nothing to eat. If I send them away, many will collapse, and some may not even survive the journey. Do not forget that those who have travelled from Tyre, Sidon and the Decapolis are a long way from their homes
.

see
Mark 8:1–3;
Matt 15:32

13.
The celebration of the Passover was at hand, and it was that time of the year when there was much green grass upon the ground.

14.
Jesus instructed his disciples to organize the crowd in the manner Moses had done when he prepared Israel for their march from the slavery of Egypt at the time of the first Passover.

Exod 18:21–25;
Num 31:14;
Deut 1:15

15.
The crowd numbered about five thousand, and they gathered around Jesus to await his instructions.

16.
Judas recalled that the masses awaiting the coming of the Messiah at Khirbet Qumran had been assembled as the chosen people of God into groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty and ten.

Community Rule
[1Qs] 2:21–23;
Rule of the
Congregation
[1QSa]
1:14–15, 28–29;
2:1;
The War Scroll
[1QM] 4:1–5,
16–17
[xviii]

17.
Judas was aware of the time-honoured custom of the sectarians of Qumran, and began to organize the crowd as Jesus had commanded.

18.
Once the task had been carried out, Jesus picked up the loaves and, raising his eyes to heaven, gave thanks.

19.
He then instructed his disciples to take the loaves and distribute them among the multitude.

20.
As Judas and his fellow disciples passed through the ordered lines, everyone was fed according to their needs, and when they returned to distribute the fish, no one was left hungry.

21.
When they had all eaten, Jesus instructed Peter:
Have the disciples gather up the fragments that are left over
.

see
John 6:12;
Mark 6:43; 8:8;
Luke 9:17

22.
The disciples carried out his order, and between them filled twelve baskets.

23.
Judas counted the baskets a second time, because he could not believe they had fed five thousand people and still had so much left over.

24.
While the disciples continued to collect the food, Judas reminded Peter of an ancient promise God had made to Moses:
I will raise up a prophet from among you
.

Deut 18:18

25.
Peter passed on this good news to the other disciples, and they in turn began to tell those around them that the long-awaited prophet, promised by Moses, was here present.

26.
Jesus' miraculous gift of loaves and fishes, enough to feed all those assembled on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, gave hope to the many pious Jews who had been awaiting the fulfilment of Moses' promise:
And it came to pass at that selfsame time the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they will eat of it during those years, because these are they who have come to the consummation of time
.

2 Baruch 29:8
[xix]

27.
Many who had come only in the hope of witnessing another miracle were beginning to believe that God's promises were being fulfilled in Jesus.

28.
As the disciples passed on the message, a murmuring began to spread throughout the crowd that quickly grew into a loud acclamation as it was transferred from mouth to mouth, and then from group
to group, for many believed:
This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. Let us support him, and make him our King
.

see
John 6:14–15

29.
But as Judas witnessed each new acclamation, he became more and more fearful. He reminded his fellow disciples that the Romans had orders to kill anyone the people of Israel claimed was a prophet.

30.
He suggested that Jesus should tell the crowd to disperse, for he did not believe that this was either the time or the place for them to establish a messianic King.

31.
When such figures as Theudas had risen in Galilee, the Romans had killed the messianic pretender, along with many of his followers.

see
Acts 5:36–37

32.
But Jesus' compassion appeared to be limitless, as was shown by his next command:
Distribute the twelve baskets of food among the crowd, so that they may return to their homes without fear of feeling hunger or fainting whilst on the journey
.

see
Mark 8:1–3;
Matt 15:32

33.
After the disciples had carried out these orders, Peter advised the Master that the time had come for them to continue on their way.

34.
They travelled north but did not enter any towns as they feared that Jesus would attract large gatherings that would only impede his progress.

35.
As they walked along the dusty roads, the disciples talked among themselves about the miracle of the loaves and fishes, which Judas was convinced proved the fulfilment of God's promises.

36.
Moreover, Peter and the other disciples now believed that they were the chosen ones, and the moment was upon them.

37.
But Jesus continued to tell his disciples not to address him as Master and never to refer to him as the Messiah.