It
was dawn of Friday, the 14th of Nissan. Jerusalem was sleeping, reeking
of lamb’s blood and drunk with wine and the holidays. We were also asleep,
sprawled among the olive trees of Gethsemane, dreaming of going back
to Galilee as soon as possible, where we could hide ourselves in our
own province…. Only Jesus remained awake. His head bowed down and buried
in his calloused hands, he saw the hours pass and he prayed…
Jesus: Let not their will but yours be done, Father… Not their
will… but yours…. Let not the powerful win, but you, the God of the
poor...
Then a voice, most familiar to us, resounded in the middle of the night...
Judas: Jesus!… Jesus! Are you there?!… Jesus!…
Jesus suddenly stood up and went toward us…
Jesus: Wake up!… Do you hear that?… People are coming… Peter!…
John!…
Peter: What’s the matter… what?
Jesus: Psst!… Quiet…
Jesus was in front of me, he was very pale, and his eyes were glowing
with fear...
Judas: Jesus!!… Where are you?
Peter: Dammit, John, that’s Judas’ voice!… What does the Iscariot
want…?
John: Psst!… Quiet and be ready…. Inform the others….
Peter called Philip who woke Nathanael up. Thomas and Andrew soon followed,
despite too much wine during supper… Each one shook his companion beside
him and in a few seconds the eleven of us plus Jesus were all wide awake
and crouching among the rocks of the garden….
Judas: Jesus!… Hey, what’s the matter, where are all of you?!…
Judas’ voice was getting closer and closer…. James and Simon had their
hands held fast on the knives they were hiding inside their robes. Peter
and I quietly unsheathed the swords we brought along from Mark’s house…
We held our breath and waited….
Judas: Jesus!… This is Judas…. I’ve got to tell you something…
Where are you?
Judas was talking in the dark. Suddenly, a few olive branches moved
and the Iscariot came out into a small clearing, just a little distance
away from where we were hiding. His figure, tall and strong, with the
usual scarf tied around his neck, stood out amid that great mass of
light from the moon….
Judas: Jesus!… Are you there?… Come out for a while! I need
to talk to you…
Jesus, who was beside me, took a deep breath, as if mustering enough
strength before undertaking a long and difficult task….
Jesus: I’m coming out, John…
John: What? Are you crazy? That’s a trap, Moreno, I’m sure…
Jesus: It doesn’t matter, John. I’m coming out.
John: No, don’t do it….
But Jesus freed himself from us and slowly walked toward the open space
where Judas was….
Judas: At last you show yourself… I imagined you were here…
so I came to look for you….
Face to face with one another, Judas and Jesus, remained in silence
momentarily… The Paschal moon, round and aglow, watched over the night
like the eye of a sentinel…. Jesus moved a little closer…
Jesus: Judas, why did you fail us?
Judas: Everything will be all right, Jesus. I can’t explain
it now, but things will turn out fine. Trust me, Moreno.
Judas advanced toward Jesus and kissed him. That was the signal agreed
upon with the commandant of the Temple guards… Suddenly, two soldiers
appeared from among the bushes, carrying ropes and chains…
A
Soldier: You are the so-called Jesus, aren’t you?
Jesus: Yes, I am. What’s wrong?
Soldier: You’re under arrest.
Jesus: For what reason, may I know?
Soldier: We’ve got orders from our superiors. Come with us.
The soldiers approached Jesus and they began tying up his hands….
Peter: Dammit, John, shall we just stay here and do nothing…?
Peter held his sword firmly, gritted his teeth and like an arrow, hurled
himself at the soldiers to attack…
It was a matter of seconds. Peter flung the steel object at the head
of one of the soldiers, who parried the attack, but injured one of his
ears. James and I attacked the other soldier, pushing him to the ground
placing the knife at his throat. Seeing this, the rest came out of their
hiding place to assist us…
All: Good work, Peter!… Very good!…
Commandant: Everybody, freeze!… You’re all surrounded!
The commandant’s order made us all still. We had fallen into a trap...
Then we saw coming out from the shadows a number of soldiers armed with
swords and clubs… Some of them lighted their torches to see us better…
The troop was closing a circle around us…
Commandant: I told you to freeze!
Peter: And you too! One false move and this guard is dead!
James: And this one too!
Peter held one of the soldiers, blood flowing from his ear. Peter’s
sword was pressed deeply into where the soldier’s kidneys were… James
and I held the other soldier on the ground face up, but with the knife’s
edge pressed against him.
Peter: Don’t come close!… Jesus, run, escape through the back
of the hut! To hell with you, Moreno, I told you run! Go away! We’ll
hold them back until you’re gone…!
Jesus: But what are you saying, Peter? How can I go, leaving
you here?
Peter: It’s you they’re after, Moreno. Don’t you understand?
Jesus: They’re after all of us, Peter. And somebody has to face
them. C’mon, hurry, put back your swords and go away. Now we must gain
some time.
Peter: What about you, Jesus? How…?
Jesus: Don’t worry about me, Peter. God will help me get out
of this. Go away now and try to do something…. Go on, beat it!
Jesus retrieved the sword from Peter’s hands and threw it farther away,
on the ground. The bloodied steel glowed by the moonlight….
Jesus: Now, who is it you’re looking for?
Commandant: We’re looking for this man called Jesus of Nazareth.
I’ve got a warrant of arrest for him.
Jesus: I am Jesus of Nazareth. I’m not armed. I won’t resist
arrest….
Jesus walked toward the chief guard his hands over his head…. Then he
stopped.
Jesus: If you are after me, then please let the others go. They’ve
got nothing to do with this. Peter,
James, John… leave this place right away…. We’ll see each other later.
Peter: But, Moreno…
Jesus: Go, I’m telling you! Inform my mother and the women.
Peter, please, talk to Judas and find out what happened.
Judas was no longer in the garden. He disappeared among the olive trees.
We left hurriedly through the back of the little hut where Mark kept
his oil press… Jesus was left alone before the soldiers…
Jesus: You came looking for me with swords and clubs, like you
were looking for a thief. You’re all wrong. The thieves are your bosses.
They work in the dark because they are afraid of the light.
Commandant: Hurry up! Tie him and let’s keep on moving!
They tied his hands behind his back, and with another rope tied around
his waist, they dragged him….
Commandant: Mission accomplished. Move on, men!… To the palace of
Caiphas!
They dragged Jesus up the foot of the mountain…. Mark, Peter’s friend,
who had seen everything from his little hut where he was sleeping, followed
the soldiers. He wore nothing but a sheet…
Soldier: Hey, man, what’s the matter with you?!
Commandant: He looks suspicious! Get him!
Terrified, Mark threw away the sheet and began to run naked through
the olive trees…
Andrew: Mary!… Mary!
Mary: My God, man, what’s wrong?!… What happened?
Andrew: They grabbed him, Mary.
Mary: Whom?
Andrew: Jesus. They arrested him.
Mary: Oh no, oh, my son!… That can’t be… oh, no!
Magdalene: Damn, what’s happened? Speak up!
James: Now easy, easy.
Andrew: Only one should speak. Tell them, James.
James: They took us by surprise in the garden. It was a trap.
Judas squealed.
Magdalene: Of course, he came here first… Oh, Iscariot, wait till
I get hold of you…!
James: A troop of soldiers came, surrounded us, and arrested
Jesus.
Magdalene: And you were all so terrified, you didn’t even defend
him!
Andrew: We did, Magdalene! Peter even had cut off the ear of
a guard, but…
Magdalene: Ear or no ear! You’re all a bunch of cowards! Now, where’s
Jesus? Where did they take him? Tell me where, so I can go and tear
out the eyes of the whole army, if need be. Should they touch even a
strand of hair of the Moreno, they will have to deal with me! I swear
by the bones of my mother, these scoundrels will not hear the end of
it! And you, gang of cowards, worthless bunch, and then you will say
that women… if only I had been there…!
James: Shut up, Magdalene!… It was Jesus who didn’t want to
flee.
Andrew: That’s right. We did what we could, but…
Mary: Oh, James, my son. What will they do to him? Tell me.
James: Nothing, Mary. They simply want to terrify us. I’m sure
they’ll set him free after the holidays….
Andrew: Jesus will know how to defend himself before the tribunal.
Magdalene: I’ll blow my nose on their faces! In this country, the
judges are just like my colleagues in the business: they want money
and nothing else.
James: It’s up to you, Magdalene, but these days, they can’t
do anything to him. There are a lot of people in Jerusalem. If they
lay a hand on Jesus, the entire city will all rise in protest!
Magdalene: They already did, and you “his trusted men,” came out
running like scared chickens! Damn, where did they bring him? That’s
what I want to know now!
Andrew: Maybe he was brought to Caiphas.
Magdalene: My goodness, what are we all doing here? Let’s go…
While the women and the other groups ran through the dark, small and
solitary streets of Jerusalem toward the palace of the High Priest,
Peter and I, after going back and forth several times, and having talked
to the servant of the palace who was a friend of mine, met Judas in
one of the huts of the barrio of Ophel…
Peter: Damn you, Iscariot, we wanted to grab you!
Judas: Men, what’s all the matter with you, huh? Haven’t you
understood yet?
John: Yeah, we realize what a treacherous dog you are.
Judas: I promised not to say this before, but now I can. Everything
was planned by the movement, do you understand? If they take Jesus as
prisoner, people will take to the streets! Barabbas is organizing the
uprising. In a few hours, Jerusalem will turn into a nest in turmoil.
We’ll free Jesus! And Israel too!
John: Do you know what you’re talking about, Judas?
Judas: Everything is all set. Barabbas and the men from Perea
are going to assault the arsenal of….
John: Fool!
Judas: Yes, John, it’s true. I know I should have told you before,
but….
John: Fool! Barabbas is also a prisoner.
Judas: What did you say?
John: They made a round up of these people and they caught
him, Dismas and several men from the movement. Everything is under their
control. No one can do anything, Judas. No one.
Judas: That’s a lie… that’s a lie… it can’t be…
John: That’s right, Judas. A friend of mine working for Caiphas
has just told me.
Judas: No! That can’t be… that can’t be… noooo!!
And Judas of Iscariot fell down on the earthen floor of the little hut,
weeping and beating his face with his fists….