Judas the Apostle, page 14
Suddenly the top of the jar burst into flames. The group gasped collectively, and just as immediately, within a split second of the combustion, some sort of fire retardant spray smothered the fire. All were left staring in shock at the box, which was now filled with smoke and fumes.
“What the hell?” roared Dr. Harrell. Cloe and the others moved closer to the box, trying to see what had happened.
The tech looked up. “Dr. H, the seal of the jar is apparently highly combustible, but the auto–flame extinguisher system has prevented any damage. The laser’s not going to work. We will have to use old-fashioned mechanical means to cut the seal.”
Everyone calmed down somewhat at the news that no harm had been done.
Cloe said coolly, “By all means, let’s move on.”
The tech picked up another utensil, somewhat resembling a small jigsaw, and began to work on the top of the seal. The mouth of the jar was wide, maybe six to eight inches across, and the seal was like a plug inserted in the entrance to the jar. There was little resistance to the saw at the edge of the plug, but whenever the saw drifted toward the center, it sounded as if it was catching wood. After a few tense minutes, the tech had circumnavigated the top of the jar. The whole exercise was much like opening a can of peas with a high-tech can opener—except that this can of peas was unique to the world and had an inestimable value.
“Now what?” asked Cloe.
“We pop the cork,” said Dr. Harrell. “Actually, we will clamp the top of the seal around its edge and try to remove it from the jar.”
The tech selected a pincer-like gadget and carefully fixed it on both edges of the plug that had sealed the jar. It slipped a couple of times, but finally he developed a fast grip. He tried to pull the plug out, but nothing happened. The plug would not give.
Sweat had broken out on Dr. Harrell’s forehead. “Be damned careful, David,” he said to the tech. “The jar itself may be fragile.”
The tech began to work the plug in place to try to loosen it. It moved a bit. Everyone inhaled, and no one seemed to exhale. It moved a little more. The tech’s face expressed both intense concentration and signs of increasing confidence. Slowly, he eased the plug from the jar until, finally, it separated completely. The mouth of the jar was open.
All heaved a collective sigh of relief, and Cloe could see the stress lines in the faces of her colleagues beginning to relax.
Dean Broussard said, “The plug seems to be made of some type of wood.” It had a tapered, cylindrical appearance and had obviously been prepared to fit precisely into the wide neck of the jar. “Isn’t that unusual for vessels of this type?”
“Quite so,” said Cloe. “From my experience with ancient documents, many of the people of that time used fabric like a heavy canvas to seal these types of vessels, which might hold wine, oil, or other commodities. They did the same for manuscripts. Whoever prepared this jar went well beyond the norm to preserve it for as long as possible.”
The tech had put the wooden plug down and was now preparing to use the illuminated probe and camera to look into the jar. All eyes turned to the monitor as the probe mounted the edge of the jar and entered it.
“My God, that looks like a small book in there!” exclaimed Father Al.
“No, not a book,” responded Cloe immediately, “but a bound codex of some sort.” Her heart was racing with excitement.
The tech attached the probe to a clip on the mechanical arm and reached into the jar. Fastening the pinchers on the arm to the object, which was about six inches wide and nine inches tall, he slowly began to extricate it from the mouth of the jar. It was about halfway out when Cloe saw the writing on the monitor. She recognized the now-familiar words and quickly translated them in her mind. There can be no doubt, she thought to herself.
Amazed and excited, she said, “Gentlemen, I give you what appears to be a fully intact codex containing the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, one that does not seem to be in tatters like the Coptic version.”
CHAPTER 26
Cloe knew that many relics were in the possession of various religious organizations and that scientific research into them was mired in hopeless and obscure bureaucracy. The Shroud of Turin itself had been withheld from proper scientific inquiry for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. That would not happen to the new Judas manuscript. They had decided to refer to it as a manuscript rather than a codex to avoid confusion with the Coptic codex. On direct order of Dr. Harrell, with Cloe concurring, the tech snipped a minute scrap of fabric from the edge of one of the interior pages of the manuscript in order to carbon-date it. Thanks to Mike the supercomputer, this analysis would happen far faster than in prior years. Still, it would take some hours to complete the study and date the manuscript.
Also, Cloe recognized that it was necessary to humidify the document before removing it from its climate-controlled box. Without the humidification process, there was a danger the individual pages of the manuscript would be so dry that they might crumble upon examination. The way it had been packed added to this concern.
This was only the second document by or about Judas that had ever been discovered. And considering that she had never heard of the Coptic version, she had to think it had not been that earth shaking. What about this one? Cloe wondered. Might it be a complete dead end? Or a portal of new knowledge through which I might be drawn? Energized by the monumental strides they had made this morning, and suddenly acutely aware of all that she did not know about the possible significance of the manuscript, Cloe turned on the monsignor and spoke forcefully.
“Monsignor, it’s time that we finish our talk. We’ve been spoon-fed the background that you wanted us to hear when you wanted us to hear it. Last night’s conversation was just enough to keep us intrigued but not enough to let us know what’s really going on. We need some answers, and we want them now.”
J.E. rounded on the monsignor and said simply, “Yeah, you haven’t been completely on the up-and-up with us.”
Father Al, Dr. Harrell, and Dean Broussard looked expectantly at the cleric. There was a long pause as the storm clouds among the team members began to gather.
The monsignor accepted this turn of events with equanimity and turned to the dean. “Perhaps you have somewhere where we can chat?”
“Certainly,” responded the dean. He exited the mechanical lab and led them, along with their Swiss Guard protectors, to a small conference room just off the corridor. As they were being seated, one of the dean’s assistants offered French roast coffee and beignets. Everyone but J.E. accepted the hospitality, and soon they were all somewhat refreshed. It had been an intense and suspenseful morning, and the comfort food helped focus and reenergize them.
“All right, Monsignor, the good, the bad, and the ugly if you please,” said J.E., all business.
The monsignor paused as if to catch his breath and organize his thoughts. He looked off into the distance for a bit and then started. “You know I have explained the first two theories that scholars postulate regarding the role of Judas in the Christ story. The first is the conventional view where Judas is the arch villain who betrayed Christ for money—the thirty pieces of silver. The second is the theory that Judas and Jesus were the closest of friends and confidants. After all, as we have previously demonstrated, both were Judeans …the only two in the group.”
“That’s right. Even though he was often referred to as the ‘Nazarene,’ Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem in Judea, due to the census,” interjected J.E.
“Quite so,” said the monsignor. “Another link with Judas. Indeed, this interpretation holds that Christ imparted unto Judas information that he did not tell the other disciples. Under this explanation Judas knew his role, as did Christ, and both performed their parts in the saving of humanity. In effect, the Christ role was played by partners, themselves reflecting the duality of man’s nature.”
“And if I’m following this correctly, Christ’s death and resurrection was the ultimate victory of man over his dark side,” chimed in J.E.
“Yes,” replied the monsignor, simply.
“I am, and have been, an agnostic pretty much since I came to university,” said Dr. Harrell, “but I’m extremely well read, and I have never even heard of this alternative explanation of Judas’s role.” He seemed confounded by this summary of what he had missed from last night’s discussions.
“Dr. Harrell, there is not a great deal written about what I am saying to you today. Much of it was suppressed by the heresy hunters in the early centuries of the Church,” responded the monsignor.
“Heresy hunters?” queried J.E.
“Yes, there will be more about them, but I must finish this part of the background. It is only from there that we can begin to fully understand what is happening,” said the monsignor. “There are other explanations for Judas’s role in the Gospels. The third and least popular is that Judas was, some scholars have suggested, Christ’s pawn. He was not a partner but a dupe. He was simply an unwitting accomplice in the condemnation and death of Jesus so that scripture could be fulfilled. All four Gospels literally refute this and suggest other motivations for Judas. Moreover, the moral implications are profound.”
“It’s the end justifying the means, plain and simple,” said Cloe. “That sort of expediency hardly seems to be what Christ came to teach us.” Cloe was shocked to hear that responsible theologians could even postulate this as a possible explanation of Judas’s role. But she knew scholars put forward many hypotheses in which they did not believe in an effort to be thorough. A theory had to be posited to be rejected.
Father Al looked to the monsignor and said, “Albert, I know you wish to be complete, but such an explanation is very secular in character and nature, and I wonder if all of our lives and efforts have not been in vain if such a thing could be true.” The old priest spoke with a grimness that caught everyone’s attention. Cloe felt the thin veil of reality tilt a bit as she watched the priest and considered the implications.
“Quite so, Aloysius,” responded the monsignor. “The last explanation may be the most secular of all but perhaps not in the way you mean it. It’s just this. Judas was a revolutionary. Remember, from our prior discussions, one of the two sources of the etymology of the name ‘Iscariot’ suggests that Judas was of, or a member of, the ‘Sicarii,’ which roughly translates as ‘assassins.’”
“Yes, they were dedicated to the overthrow of the Roman overlords by any means necessary, including violence. But could Judas possibly have been a member of the Sicarii?” asked Cloe.
“Perhaps, Signorina,” replied the monsignor. “Some scholars believe the time of the Sicarii and of Judas could well have overlapped. In some ways, this is the most plausible explanation of all. Judas was not a Galilean, as were all the other members of the Twelve. As an educated person, he may have had strong opinions on the events of the times. Without doubt, he saw something in Jesus. Judas may have come to know Christ as early as Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. This would make Judas one of Jesus’s earliest followers.”
Cloe began to think that she was in religion class again, but she had been convinced of the value of this information. She just wished they could get to the end of this, begin work on the manuscript, and find her father’s killer.
“We all know the Jews believed that a David-like king would come to establish a kingdom on earth,” continued the monsignor. “If what we speculate about Judas is true, he believed Jesus was God sent to save the Jews from the Romans, but not in a spiritual way. He thought the Messiah would raise a great Jewish army, overthrow the Romans, and establish a dominant Jewish state.”
“Imagine his frustration,” said Father Al reflectively. “He had followed the man for three years, and still the people suffered under the boot of the Romans. Yet he believed Jesus was heaven-sent to bring the people out of their bondage.”
“A frustrated true believer, a zealot,” agreed the monsignor. “To add to the prior three years’ disappointment, Jesus, on Palm Sunday, had ridden triumphantly into Jerusalem during the festival time when thousands of Jews were there. The masses were seething with rebellion against the Romans. Judas must have thought that one little spark would set off the conflagration that he desired to free his people. But Jesus actually had a calming effect on the crowds.”
“And then there was that incident in the temple,” said Father Al. “Remember, during Holy Week, Jesus went to the great temple in Jerusalem, saw the corruption, and with a whip drove the money changers out, overturning their tables and wreaking general havoc. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Jews were there, and Judas must have desperately hoped that this would ignite the fuse.”
“He must have thought, ‘Now is the moment,’” remarked Cloe, beginning to understand how the revolutionary Judas might have felt and starting to see with new eyes the importance of what they were doing. She thought briefly about the implications of all this on her career.
“But remember, Jesus had a soothing effect on the crowds, just the opposite of what Judas was seeking,” said the monsignor. “No matter how great the provocation, the message of Jesus Christ was still peace and love. It was not violence. One could speculate that Judas may have made up his mind to put events in motion where Christ would have no alternative but to accept his destiny and lead the Jewish people.”
“So,” J.E. said, “you are saying Judas went to the people who hated Jesus and wanted him dead and arranged their arrest of Jesus. In response to this, he may have thought, the followers of Jesus would have no alternative but to rise up to save him, thus provoking the kingdom on earth.”
“Precisely, or at least that’s the interpretation,” replied the monsignor. “If true, Judas plainly had no clear understanding of the true message of Christ. But there is some Gospel support for this explanation. The Gospel of Matthew states that when Judas learned that Jesus had been condemned, he was filled with remorse and took the money back to the priests and elders with whom he had made the deal to turn Jesus over. He tried to reverse what he had done, telling them that he had betrayed innocent blood. Of course, they did not care as they had what they wanted.”
“The language indicates that the thing got out of hand and that Judas did not intend for Jesus to be condemned,” added Father Al. “He thought the people would rise up and save Jesus. He repents when it is clear his scheme has gone terribly awry.” The old priest slowly shook his head and said, “Could there have been a more desperate soul when he saw what he had wrought?”
For a moment the assembly contemplated the tragic circumstances underlying this explanation. The fate of the savior of mankind possibly had hung on the misunderstanding of his message by one of his disciples. Cloe understood how Christ could have shed tears of blood.
“Well,” added Dean Broussard, “there is a prayer that says something to the effect that I pray God to save me from the good intentions of my meddling friends.”
“Close enough,” said the monsignor with a trace of a smile on his face.
J.E. brushed aside the attempt at levity. “You are saying the most significant event in human history may have resulted from Judas having faulty intel about the true mission of Jesus Christ.”
The monsignor gazed into the distance as if his thoughts were far away and replied, “That’s certainly the interpretation of some scholars. But that’s not at all what the Coptic version of the Gospel of Judas Iscariot translated by scholars in 2006 says.”
CHAPTER 27
One of the young scientists entered the conference room and passed a note to Dr. Harrell. After briefly studying the message, Dr. Harrell announced, “The carbon-dating results, according to Mike, place the age of the papyrus in the new Judas manuscript at the late first century or early to mid-second century AD, give or take.”
“Give or take what?” asked J.E. “How statistically significant are those dates? Can we rely on them?”
“Absolutely,” said Dr. Harrell, seating himself at the table. “Except, please understand that Mike has simulated a carbon-14 dating process. A true carbon-dating test will take much longer to run—and will be run—but I’m confident such a test will only verify Mike’s findings. Mike has taken values from the papyrus and simulated the test much as modern medical science can simulate what would otherwise be very invasive procedures. But the simulated tests have proven to be quite accurate.”
“If true, this range of dates would be highly significant,” remarked the monsignor, looking directly at Dr. Harrell. “The Coptic version of the Gospel of Judas Iscariot that was made known to the religious and antiquities community around 2006 was carbon-dated to the third to fourth century AD. In the biblical world, the closer the proximity of the writing to the time of Christ, all other things being equal, the more reliable the document may be deemed to be.”
“Why is that?” asked Dean Broussard.
Cloe looked at J.E. and saw that although her patience for these seemingly endless tutorials was short, J.E. was nevertheless fascinated.
“It’s a simple thing, really,” said Father Al. “The closer to the time of Christ that a writing about Christ originated, the more likely that there would have been living people who could have corroborated or refuted what the writing said.”
“Just so, Dean,” confirmed the monsignor, who rose from his seat and walked to the sideboard to pour more coffee. “People of the time never would have accepted material they knew to be false, particularly on such an important subject. This is one reason why the Acts of the Apostles, the synoptic Gospels, and the Gospel of John have all been accepted by the Church as the most reliable. This is why they form the doctrinal core of the Catholic religion.”
