If you knew why I'd do it ...
"You, Judas, who once called yourself our brother, are the most evil of men," the Apostles had declared in the Garden of Gethsemane, watching as Christ was seized by the soldiers and led away.
"I have done what was necessary, do you understand?" Judas had cried in return. "We have lost sight of our calling - you have lost sight of it."
"You betrayed our Master!" they had shouted in anger. "For three years you lied and called yourself a loyal servant! But you are nothing but a vile traitor!"
Their words cut Judas through the heart.
"I have always been loyal," he said softly. "I will always remain loyal. But not to Christ, who is but a man, and a teacher. No, I am loyal to that which he has taught us to stand for, to be good and kind to our brothers, and to trust in our Lord. Can you not see? All of this is bigger than us, bigger than him."
"And so you would sell him to the priests and pharisees?"
"No harm will come to him," Judas had answered, although his faith in his own words was shaky. "They will imprison him until the furor has died down, the balance of power restored. They are threatened by his following, and as long as they view him - and us - as dangerous, we cannot continue our work."
"If you were truly our brother, you would have stood by our Lord," Simon called Peter said sharply, the others chorusing their affirmation.
"You are one to speak," Judas answered harshly. "Is it not you whom our Master decreed will deny him thrice?"
"Do not try to turn this against me, Judas the Betrayer," Simon called Peter spat. "I have not denied our Lord yet."
"But you will, or do you not believe him to be as powerful as you would say? " Judas countered, disgust and disappointment edging into his voice. "Knowing you, it will be to save yourself from the whip and sword they will hold at your throat when they question where your allegiances supposedly lie. Do not question my loyalty until you have examined your own. Look at you, turned against your own brother so quickly. I do not claim to have done a good thing, and only time and God above will tell if my actions were right. But I do claim to be loyal to our Lord and Teacher - and more importantly, his lessons - until my last breath. Nothing will ever change that. I am willing to suffer - to die - for our cause, as is he whom you worship so. But are you?"
With that, Judas, now known as the Traitor, turned his back on those who had already turned against him, and ran out of the garden, never to return.
"I have done what was necessary, do you understand?" Judas had cried in return. "We have lost sight of our calling - you have lost sight of it."
"You betrayed our Master!" they had shouted in anger. "For three years you lied and called yourself a loyal servant! But you are nothing but a vile traitor!"
Their words cut Judas through the heart.
"I have always been loyal," he said softly. "I will always remain loyal. But not to Christ, who is but a man, and a teacher. No, I am loyal to that which he has taught us to stand for, to be good and kind to our brothers, and to trust in our Lord. Can you not see? All of this is bigger than us, bigger than him."
"And so you would sell him to the priests and pharisees?"
"No harm will come to him," Judas had answered, although his faith in his own words was shaky. "They will imprison him until the furor has died down, the balance of power restored. They are threatened by his following, and as long as they view him - and us - as dangerous, we cannot continue our work."
"If you were truly our brother, you would have stood by our Lord," Simon called Peter said sharply, the others chorusing their affirmation.
"You are one to speak," Judas answered harshly. "Is it not you whom our Master decreed will deny him thrice?"
"Do not try to turn this against me, Judas the Betrayer," Simon called Peter spat. "I have not denied our Lord yet."
"But you will, or do you not believe him to be as powerful as you would say? " Judas countered, disgust and disappointment edging into his voice. "Knowing you, it will be to save yourself from the whip and sword they will hold at your throat when they question where your allegiances supposedly lie. Do not question my loyalty until you have examined your own. Look at you, turned against your own brother so quickly. I do not claim to have done a good thing, and only time and God above will tell if my actions were right. But I do claim to be loyal to our Lord and Teacher - and more importantly, his lessons - until my last breath. Nothing will ever change that. I am willing to suffer - to die - for our cause, as is he whom you worship so. But are you?"
With that, Judas, now known as the Traitor, turned his back on those who had already turned against him, and ran out of the garden, never to return.