It
was about noontime. Together with a multitude of pilgrims from Galilee
and neighbors from Jerusalem, all crammed into the space in front of
the Antonia Fortress, we continued shouting, demanding freedom for Jesus…
Centurion: If they don’t stop, I’ll order my lancers to pierce them
like they do the dogs!
The cenutrion’s threat was futile. Not even the rain, persistently dropping
over the city of David, drenching everything and soaking us to the bones,
succeeded in stopping us... The sky was completely sealed, as well as
the windows and doors of the Roman fortress, where Pontius Pilate, the
Governor, shielded himself.
Centurion: Governor, the people are getting more agitated.
Pilate: You need not tell me, centurion. I can hear them from
here.
Centurion: Shall I disperse them, Governor?
Pilate: Yes, and never let them assemble again! They’re like
a plague of mosquitoes. You kill one, and a hundred more come. You kill
a hundred, and a thousand follow!… Stubborn fools!… I’m sick and tired
of these people. For seven years, I’ve been nailing them on crosses, silencing their lips with soil and stones, but
to no avail: Damn these people!
Centurion: Shall I disperse them, Governor…?
Pilate: What the hell is happening here? I already released one
prisoner, whom they clamored for…. What more do they want?
Centurion: The same thing, Governor. Those behind are demanding
freedom for this guy from Nazareth. Those in front want him dead.
Pilate: Well, let them agree, so they can leave me in peace.
Deliver the prisoner to them. Let them do what they want with him.
At that same hour, in a little hut in Barrio Ophel, Judas, from Iscariot,
was arguing with one of the zealot leaders…
Judas: That’s what you promised me, and you can’t backtrack
now!
Zealot: But Judas, comrade, try to understand. Fifty of our men
have been hurt in front of Herod’s palace. They even slashed the hands
of a little boy. I saw it myself.
Judas: I don’t care what you’ve seen, you promised me…
Zealot: The city was not like it is today. Jerusalem now is like
a garrison. There are more soldiers now than ever before. Much more
than those who, from the towers of Siloh, had taken to the streets.
Once you move….
Judas: Right now, in front of the Antonia Tower there are thousands
protesting. All they need are weapons. Where are they? Now’s the time
to do something!
Zealot: Now is the time to keep cool, Judas, and wait for the
holidays to pass.
Judas: Damn it, you yourselves had said we had to take the opportunity!
Zealot: That’s right, but you see, we’ve changed our plans, buddy….
We’ve got to be realistic.
Judas: Realistic?… cowards! That’s what you are, a bunch of
cowards and traitors. You betrayed me… I gave away my chief, because
it was necessary to awaken the people… What shall I do now? What shall
I do now?!
Zealot: Easy now, Judas. Of course you did what you could…. so
did we. But politics is like gambling, you know. Sometimes you win,
other times you lose.
Judas: And this game has cost the life of a man, do you hear?
Zealot: I’m sorry, believe me, my friend. I’m really sorry, Jesus
was a good man, that’s right, but now… but now, we can’t do anything
for him….
Judas: Damn all of you! If you can’t do anything, then I will
do something, and you’ll see...!
Zealot: Wait, buddy, wait...!
Governor Pilate slammed the door and hurriedly descended the stairs
of the fortress. He headed for the paved courtyard, where we had been
shouting outrageously for quite some time…. The Governor was also furious...
The uproar heightened as we saw him come…
A
Man: Freedom for Jesus! Freedom for the prisoners!
John: Pilate will have to give in!
Magdalene: Or else his ears will explode with so much screaming.
Damn, they’ll have to release the Moreno!… Mary, stop weeping and shout
with us, c’mon!
John: Don’t despair, Mary. They can’t do anything to Jesus…
that’s why we’re here!
More and more people joined us in front of the gates of the Antonia
Fortress… Mary, Jesus’ mother, and the other Mary, the Magdalene, were
with us, one on each side… We tried to move forward, from among that
sea of faces, but the hired group of the priests and the soldiers’ barricade
prevented us from advancing…
Magdalene: Demons, how much do you think these dirty slobs were
paid?
John: Let them scream, Magdalene. We are the majority! Pilate
will have to listen to us!
A
Man: Hey, friend, they say the Governor has ordered the release
of the Nazarene!
Magdalene: Really, countryman?
Man: That’s right, I think they’re bringing him out!
Magdalene: We told you, Mary. The stone has finally melted…!
John:
Look, look, they’re opening the door…!
We still didn’t know that Jesus had been tortured and subjected to lashings.
That’s why, when the little door facing the dungeons of the tower was
opened and we saw him appear, we covered our faces in horror… I shall
never forget that moment… Mary, who was beside me, became livid and
held on to my arm firmly to avoid falling… No, that almost lifeless
being could never have been Jesus… Two soldiers dragged him along, supporting
him beneath his arms… leaving him in the middle of the patio. Everyone
kept silent before that bent figure with a crown of thorns on his head,
and a red cloak over his naked and bloodstained body… Jesus, who could
hardly stand, tried to look up, in vain… Pontius Pilate approached him
and with the tip of his sword held close to his chin, lifted his head
for everyone to see the prisoner….
Pilate: This is the man!… You can have him, he’s all yours… Do
whatever you wish with this trash and bother me no more!
Then he pushed Jesus brutally toward the mob that was crowding the huge
iron doors… A loud, deafening cry was heard…. We, from the back, tried
to break away from the soldiers’ barricade, shouting and raising our
fists, finding our way to rescue him… But it was all futile… The hired
group from the first row, like enraged beasts at the smell of blood,
lunged at Jesus, pushing him back again toward the Tilings…
Hired
Group: Crucify him, crucify him!!
Jesus slid through the wet tiles of the patio, and fell on the floor.
He was like a beaten dog, his back showing a mass of raw flesh, even
some of his ribs sticking out….
Hired
Group: Crucify him, crucify him!
As the tumult heightened, the Roman troops tightened their shields and
lifted their lances, as they awaited orders from the Governor…
Judas: They’re going to kill Jesus… but only after I cut off
the heads of a dozen of these swine…!
Shortly after leaving the hut of the zealot leader, Judas, trembling
with rage, rushed toward the palace of the high priest Caiphas, in search
of the commandant of the Temple guards.
Commandant: We were waiting for you, little parrot. What? Do you
need the other thirty pieces of silver?
Judas: I came to return these…
Judas threw the pieces of silver and drew a knife from underneath his
robe…
Judas: …and to kill all of you!
He attacked the commandant of the guards… He was driven mad and he did
not know what he was doing… After some moments of struggling, the commandant
seized the knife from him and kicked him out the door….
Commandant: Get out of here, imbecile!… Are you having regrets?…
The bird is now in his cage… and the rest… that’s your own problem!
The Roman soldiers, armed with lances and clubs, were able to control
the avalanche of people as we tried to push from behind to enter the
paved patio... Pontius Pilate went from one end of the tribunal to the
other, getting more and more irritated with the situation… Those in
front, who were paid by the priests and the magistrates, came face to
face with the Governor…
A
Man: This man is blasphemous, he ought to die!
Hired
Group: Crucify him, crucify him!
A
Woman: He made a mockery of the Temple!
Another
Man: He calls himself king of the Jews!
Pilate: If he is your king, then take him away and leave me in
peace!
A
Woman: Our king is Caesar in Rome! If you release him, you might
find yourself in trouble with Rome!
Hired
Group: Crucify him, crucify him!
Pilate: I’ve had enough, you sons of bitches, enough!!
Governor Pilate violently folded the whip in his hands and furiously
faced the mob…
Pilate: He will be crucified, yes, he will be crucified, and
may the fires of hell gobble him up and all of you!
Amid shouts and curses of the crowd, Pontius Pilate ascended the platform
and sat in the tribunal chair, on whose high back the figure of the
Roman eagle, golden and resplendent, spread its wings…
Pilate: Scribe, bring the small board immediately!
The scribe gave it to him. The Governor marked it with the seal of his
ring and gave it back. Then the scribe signalled the town crier, who
read the sentence aloud, atop a small stone bench…
Town
Crier: “The Governor of Judea, representative in this province
of the Emperor, Tiberius, condemns to death this rebel called Jesus,
for the serious crime of conspiracy against the Roman authority. I,
Pontius Pilate, do affix my signature, in this city of Jerusalem, this
day, Friday, the 14th month of Nissan.”
Judas learned about the sentence while running toward the Antonia Fortress.
He was told that Jesus was beaten to a pulp. He felt the earth opening
up beneath his feet… He dared not proceed to the fortress… He ran through
the wet streets and out of the city, crossing the Cedron bridge… Breathlessly,
he reached the garden where a few hours before, he had seen Jesus for
the last time, after which he had delivered him to the Temple guards….
Judas: How did it turn out like this?… Why?… Jesus, my comrade,
forgive me… Forgive me and let me be gone before you…
Nobody saw the tears of Judas. No one was there with him when he pulled
out from his waist the rope he used to adorn his robe; when he climbed
an olive tree, tied the robe to one of its twisted branches and, after
making a knot, passed it through his neck…
Judas: God!… Oh God!… If you are a Father, as Jesus used to
say, you will understand me…!
He said no more. He leaped and hanged himself… He was still wearing
the yellow scarf around his neck, a present for a grandson of one of
the Maccabees…
Meanwhile, in the Antonia Fortress…
Claudia: But Pontius, for gods’ sake, what have you done?
Pilate: What I ought to have done. Condemn him to death.
Claudia: I told you not to stain your hands with the blood of
this man.
Pilate: Don’t you tell me that. Go and tell it yourself to the
SCREAMING people outside.
Claudia: Have you signed other sentences?
Pilate: Yes, two more. One for a certain Gestas, a conspirator.
And the other one was for Dimas, who was involved in politics. Plus
that of the Nazarene, that makes three all in all.
Claudia: You shouldn’t have done that to the Nazarene… Wait here,
Pontius, please, and don’t move…
Claudia Proculus, the wife of the Roman Governor, hurriedly got a jar
of water and an earthen bowl…
Pilate: What’s that for?
Claudia: To stave off the blood… Come, wash your hands… and may
the gods protect us!
Pilate: To hell with the gods and your fears!
Claudia: Blood brings bad luck, Pontius.
Pilate: No, Claudia. Blood brings blood… and more blood. That’s
all.
Down the patio, a row of soldiers pushed us back, those who continued
protesting and cursing the Governor. Upon orders of the centurion, the
others condemned, Dimas and Gestas, came up from the pits. They were
two young zealots who were also to be crucified that morning. The executioners
had already prepared the three crosses for the final torment.