As an old cheat, coughing, smiling fawningly, bowing incessantly,Judas Iscariot the Traitor appeared before the Sanhedrin. It was theday after the murder of Jesus, about mid-day. There they were all,His judges and murderers: the aged Annas with his sons, exact anddisgusting likenesses of their father, and his son-in-law Caiaphas,devoured by ambition, and all the other members of the Sanhedrin,whose names have been snatched from the memory of mankind--rich anddistinguished Sadducees, proud in their power and knowledge of the Law.
In silence they received the Traitor, their haughty faces remainingmotionless, as though no one had entered. And even the very least,and most insignificant among them, to whom the others paid noattention, lifted up his bird-like face and looked as though no onehad entered.
Judas bowed and bowed and bowed, and they looked on in silence: asthough it were not a human being that had entered, but only anunclean insect that had crept in, and which they had not observed.But Judas Iscariot was not the man to be perturbed: they keptsilence, and he kept on bowing, and thought that if it was necessaryto go on bowing till evening, he could do so.
At length Caiaphas inquired impatiently:
"What do you want?"
Judas bowed once more, and said in a loud voice--
"It is I, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed to you Jesus of Nazareth."
"Well, what of that? You have received your due. Go away!" orderedAnnas; but Judas appeared unconscious of the command, and continuedbowing. Glancing at him, Caiaphas asked Annas:
"How much did you give?"
"Thirty pieces of silver."
Caiaphas laughed, and even the grey-bearded Annas laughed, too, andover all their proud faces there crept a smile of enjoyment; and eventhe one with the bird-like face laughed. Judas, perceptiblyblanching, hastily interrupted with the words:
"That's right! Certainly it was very little; but is Judasdiscontented, does Judas call out that he has been robbed? He issatisfied. Has he not contributed to a holy cause--yes, a holy? Donot the most sage people now listen to Judas, and think: He is oneof us, this Judas Iscariot; he is our brother, our friend, this JudasIscariot, the Traitor! Does not Annas want to kneel down and kissthe hand of Judas? Only Judas will not allow it; he is a coward, heis afraid they will bite him."
Caiaphas said:
"Drive the dog out! What's he barking about?"
"Get along with you. We have no time to listen to your babbling,"said Annas imperturbably.
Judas drew himself up and closed his eyes. The hypocrisy, which hehad carried so lightly all his life, suddenly became an insupportableburden, and with one movement of his eyelashes he cast it from him.And when he looked at Annas again, his glance was simple, direct, andterrible in its naked truthfulness. But they paid no attention tothis either.
"You want to be driven out with sticks!" cried Caiaphas.
Panting under the weight of the terrible words, which he was liftinghigher and higher, in order to hurl them hence upon the heads of thejudges, Judas hoarsely asked:
"But you know... you know... who He was... He, whom you condemnedyesterday and crucified?"
"We know. Go away!"
With one word he would straightway rend that thin film which wasspread over their eyes, and all the earth would stagger beneath theweight of the merciless truth! They had a soul, they should bedeprived of it; they had a life, they should lose their life; theyhad light before their eyes, eternal darkness and horror should coverthem. Hosanna! Hosanna!
And these words, these terrible words, were tearing his throatasunder--
"He was no deceiver. He was innocent and pure. Do you hear? Judasdeceived you. He betrayed to you an innocent man."
He waits. He hears the aged, unconcerned voice of Annas, saying:
"And is that all you want to say?"
"You do not seem to have understood me," says Judas, with dignity,turning pale. "Judas deceived you. He was innocent. You have slainthe innocent."
He of the bird-like face smiles; but Annas is indifferent, Annasyawns. And Caiaphas yawns, too, and says wearily:
"What did they mean by talking to me about the intellect of JudasIscariot? He is simply a fool, and a bore, too."
"What?" cries Judas, all suffused with dark madness. "But who areyou, the clever ones! Judas deceived you--hear! It was not He thathe betrayed--but you--you wiseacres, you, the powerful, you hebetrayed to a shameful death, which will not end, throughout theages. Thirty pieces of silver! Well, well. But that is the priceof YOUR blood--blood filthy as the dish-water which the women throwout of the gates of their houses. Oh! Annas, old, grey, stupid Annas,chock-full of the Law, why did you not give one silver piece, justone obolus more? At this price you will go down through the ages!"
"Be off!" cries Caiaphas, growing purple in the face. But Annasstops him with a motion of the hand, and asks Judas as unconcernedlyas ever:
"Is that all?"
"Verily, if I were to go into the desert, and cry to the wildbeasts: 'Wild beasts, have ye heard the price at which men valuedtheir Jesus?'--what would the wild beasts do? They would creep outof the lairs, they would howl with anger, they would forget theirfear of mankind, and would all come here to devour you! If I were tosay to the sea: 'Sea, knowest thou the price at which men valuedtheir Jesus?' If I were to say to the mountains: 'Mountains, knowye the price at which men valued their Jesus?' Then the sea and themountains would leave their places, assigned to them for ages, andwould come here and fall upon your heads!"
"Does Judas wish to become a prophet? He speaks so loud!" mockinglyremarks he of the bird-like face, with an ingratiating glance atCaiaphas.
"To-day I saw a pale sun. It was looking at the earth, and saying:'Where is the Man?' To-day I saw a scorpion. It was sitting upon astone and laughingly said: 'Where is the Man?' I went near andlooked into its eyes. And it laughed and said: 'Where is the Man?I do not see Him!' Where is the Man? I ask you, I do not see Him--or is Judas become blind, poor Judas Iscariot!"
And Iscariot begins to weep aloud.
He was, during those moments, like a man out of his mind, andCaiaphas turned away, making a contemptuous gesture with his hand.But Annas considered for a time, and then said:
"I perceive, Judas, that you really have received but little, andthat disturbs you. Here is some more money; take it and give it toyour children."
He threw something, which rang shrilly. The sound had not diedaway, before another, like it, strangely prolonged the clinking.
Judas had hastily flung the pieces of silver and the oboles into thefaces of the high priest and of the judges, returning the price paidfor Jesus. The pieces of money flew in a curved shower, falling ontheir faces, and on the table, and rolling about the floor.
Some of the judges closed their hands with the palms outwards;others leapt from their places, and shouted and scolded. Judas,trying to hit Annas, threw the last coin, after which his tremblinghand had long been fumbling in his wallet, spat in anger, and went out.
"Well, well," he mumbled, as he passed swiftly through the streets,scaring the children. "It seems that thou didst weep, Judas? WasCaiaphas really right when he said that Judas Iscariot was a fool?He who weeps in the day of his great revenge is not worthy of it--know'st thou that, Judas? Let not thine eyes deceive thee; let notthine heart lie to thee; flood not the fire with tears, JudasIscariot!"
The disciples were sitting in mournful silence, listening to whatwas going on without. There was still danger that the vengeance ofJesus' enemies might not confine itself to Him, and so they were allexpecting a visit from the guard, and perhaps more executions. Nearto John, to whom, as the beloved disciple, the death of Jesus wasespecially grievous, sat Mary Magdalene, and Matthew trying tocomfort him in an undertone. Mary, whose face was swollen withweeping, softly stroked his luxurious curling hair with her hand,while Matthew said didactically, in the words of Solomon:
"'The long suffering is better than a hero; and he that ruleth hisown spirit than one who taketh a city.'"
At this moment Judas knocked loudly at the door, and entered. Allstarted up in terror, and at first were not sure who it was; but whenthey recognised the hated countenance, the red-haired, bulbous head,they uttered a simultaneous cry.
Peter raised both hands and shouted:
"Get out of here, Traitor! Get out, or I will kill you."
But the others looked more carefully at the face and eyes of theTraitor, and said nothing, merely whispering in terror:
"Leave him alone, leave him alone! He is possessed with a devil."
Judas waited until they had quite done, and then cried out in a loudvoice:
"Hail, ye eyes of Judas Iscariot! Ye have just seen the cold-bloodedmurderers. Lo! Where is Jesus? I ask you, where is Jesus?"
There was something compelling in the hoarse voice of Judas, andThomas replied obediently--
"You know yourself, Judas, that our Master was crucified yesterday."
"But how came you to permit it? Where was your love? Thou, BelovedDisciple, and thou, Rock, where were you all when they werecrucifying your Friend on the tree?"
"What could we do, judge thou?" said Thomas, with a gesture ofprotest.
"Thou asketh that, Thomas? Very well!" and Judas threw his headback, and fell upon him angrily. "He who loves does not ask what canbe done--he goes and does it--he weeps, he bites, he throttles theenemy, and breaks his bones! He, that is, who loves! If your sonwere drowning would you go into the city and inquire of the passersby: 'What must I do? My son is drowning!' No, you would ratherthrow yourself into the water and drown with him. One who lovedwould!"
Peter replied grimly to the violent speech of Judas:
"I drew a sword, but He Himself forbade."
"Forbade? And you obeyed!" jeered Judas. "Peter, Peter, how couldyou listen to Him? Does He know anything of men, and of fighting?"
"He who does not submit to Him goes to hell fire."
"Then why did you not go, Peter? Hell fire! What's that? Now,supposing you had gone--what good's your soul to you, if you dare notthrow it into the fire, if you want to?"
"Silence!" cried John, rising. "He Himself willed this sacrifice.His sacrifice is beautiful!"
"Is a sacrifice ever beautiful, Beloved Disciple? Wherever there isa sacrifice, then there is an executioner, and there traitors!Sacrifice--that is suffering for one and disgrace for all the others!Traitors, traitors, what have ye done with the world? Now they lookat it from above and below, and laugh and cry: 'Look at that world,upon it they crucified Jesus!' And they spit on it--as I do!"
Judas angrily spat on the ground.
"He took upon Him the sin of all mankind. His sacrifice isbeautiful," John insisted.
"No! you have taken all sin upon yourselves. You, Beloved Disciple,will not a race of traitors take their beginning from you, apusillanimous and lying breed? O blind men, what have ye done withthe earth? You have done your best to destroy it, ye will soon bekissing the cross on which ye crucified Jesus! Yes, yes, Judas givesye his word that ye will kiss the cross!"
"Judas, don't revile!" roared Peter, pushing. "How could we slayall His enemies? They are so many!"
"And thou, Peter!" exclaimed John in anger, "dost thou not perceivethat he is possessed of Satan? Leave us, Tempter! Thou'rt full oflies. The Teacher forbade us to kill."
"But did He forbid you to die? Why are you alive, when He is dead?Why do your feet walk, why does your tongue talk trash, why do youreyes blink, when He is dead, motionless, speechless? How do yourcheeks dare to be red, John, when His are pale? How can you dare toshout, Peter, when He is silent? What could you do? You ask Judas?And Judas answers you, the magnificent, bold Judas Iscariot replies:'Die!' You ought to have fallen on the road, to have seized thesoldiers by the sword, by the hands, and drowned them in a sea ofyour own blood--yes, die, die! Better had it been, that His Fathershould have cause to cry out with horror, when you all enter there!"
Judas ceased with raised head. Suddenly he noticed the remains of ameal upon the table. With strange surprise, curiously, as though forthe first time in his life he looked on food, he examined it, andslowly asked:
"What is this? You have been eating? Perhaps you have also beensleeping?"
Peter, who had begun to feel Judas to be some one, who could commandobedience, drooping his head, tersely replied: "I slept, I slept andate!"
Thomas said, resolutely and firmly:
"This is all untrue, Judas. Just consider: if we had all died, whowould have told the story of Jesus? Who would have conveyed Histeaching to mankind if we had all died, Peter and John and I?"
"But what is the truth itself in the mouths of traitors? Does itnot become a lie? Thomas, Thomas, dost thou not understand, thatthou art now only a sentinel at the grave of dead Truth? Thesentinel falls asleep, and the thief cometh and carries away thetruth; say, where is the truth? Cursed be thou, Thomas! Fruitless,and a beggar shalt thou be throughout the ages, and all you with him,accursed ones!"
"Accursed be thou thyself, Satan!" cried John, and James and Matthewand all the other disciples repeated his cry; only Peter held hispeace.
"I am going to Him," said Judas, stretching his powerful hand onhigh. "Who will follow Iscariot to Jesus?"
"I--I also go with thee," cried Peter, rising.
But John and the others stopped him in horror, saying:
"Madman! Thou hast forgotten, that he betrayed the Master into thehands of His enemies."
Peter began to lament bitterly, striking his breast with his fist:
"Whither, then, shall I go? O Lord! whither shall I go?"
. . . . . . . .
Judas had long ago, during his solitary walks, marked the placewhere he intended to make an end of himself after the death of Jesus.
It was upon a hill high above Jerusalem. There stood but one tree,bent and twisted by the wind, which had torn it on all sides, halfwithered. One of its broken, crooked branches stretched out towardsJerusalem, as though in blessing or in threat, and this one Judas hadchosen on which to hang a noose.
But the walk to the tree was long and tedious, and Judas Iscariotwas very weary. The small, sharp stones, scattered under his feet,seemed continually to drag him backwards, and the hill was high,stern, and malign, exposed to the wind. Judas was obliged to sitdown several times to rest, and panted heavily, while behind him,through the clefts of the rock, the mountain breathed cold upon hisback.
"Thou too art against me, accursed one!" said Judas contemptuously,as he breathed with difficulty, and swayed his heavy head, in whichall the thoughts were now petrifying.
Then he raised it suddenly, and opening wide his now fixed eyes,angrily muttered:
"No, they were too bad for Judas. Thou hearest Jesus? Wilt Thoutrust me now? I am coming to Thee. Meet me kindly, I am weary--veryweary. Then Thou and I, embracing like brothers, shall return toearth. Shall we not?"
Again he swayed his petrifying head, and again he opened his eyes,mumbling:
"But maybe Thou wilt be angry with Judas when he arrives? And Thouwilt not trust him? And wilt send him to hell? Well! What then! Iwill go to hell. And in Thy hell fire I will weld iron, and weldiron, and demolish Thy heaven. Dost approve? Then Thou wilt believein me. Then Thou wilt come back with me to earth, wilt Thou not,Jesus?"
Eventually Judas reached the summit and the crooked tree, and therethe wind began to torment him. And when Judas rebuked it, it beganto blow soft and low, and took leave and flew away.
"Right! But as for them, they are curs!" said Judas, making aslip-knot. And since the rope might fail him and break, he hung itover a precipice, so that if it broke, he would be sure to meet hisdeath upon the stones. And before he shoved himself off the brinkwith his foot, and hanged himself, Judas Iscariot once more anxiouslyprepared Jesus for his coming:
"Yes, meet me kindly, Jesus. I am very weary."
He leapt. The rope strained, but held. His neck stretched, but hishands and feet were crossed, and hung down as though damp.
He died. Thus, in the course of two days, one after another, Jesusof Nazareth and Judas Iscariot, the Traitor, left the world.
All the night through, like some monstrous fruit, Judas swayed overJerusalem, and the wind kept turning his face now to the city, andnow to the desert--as though it wished to exhibit Judas to both cityand desert. But in whichever direction his face, distorted by death,was turned, his red eyes suffused with blood, and now as like oneanother as two brothers, incessantly looked towards the sky. In themorning some sharp-sighted person perceived Judas hanging above thecity, and cried out in horror.
People came and took him down, and knowing who he was, threw himinto a deep ravine, into which they were in the habit of throwingdead horses and cats and other carrion.
The same evening all the believers knew of the terrible death of theTraitor, and the next day it was known to all Jerusalem. StonyJudaea knew of it and green Galilee; and from one sea to the other,distant as it was, the news flew of the death of the Traitor.
Neither faster nor slower, but with equal pace with Time itself, itwent, and as there is no end to Time so will there be no end to thestories about the Traitor Judas and his terrible death.
And all--both good and bad--will equally anathematise his shamefulmemory; and among all peoples, past and present, will he remain alonein his cruel destiny--Judas Iscariot, the Traitor.