The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and the Priests of the Temple (John 5)
- Chapter 35 -
Judas Iscariot at Kisjonah's house.
Everyone was already of the very cheerful opinion that this disciple would not come back again, because he had not been seen by anyone of us for half the winter. But behold, all at once he surprised us while we were having a quite cheerful midday meal. He greeted us all in a very friendly manner and Kisjonah immediately invited him to the table, which the disciples also immediately accepted with all thanks and all friendliness.
2
Kisjonah, an extremely friendly and honest man towards any person, then asked our disciple what he had been doing all this time at home, and how things were going for him and his family.
3
The disciple then began to talk profusely about the advantages that he had achieved during this short period of time for his house through his particular hard work in his art, how he had to produce excellent pottery for kitchen and table for this or that great lord, and how he had been extremely well paid for it and that his household and his family had been looked after in the best way for at least a few years. And so he told us several other things, bordering at the unbelievable.
4
Then the other disciples lost patience, and even our Peter, who otherwise did not easily speak, finally said to him: "Listen, if even the half of all that is true - which I very much doubt - then you are now almost as wealthy as our friend Kisjonah here, and I do not see at all how you could have decided to come back to us now and to travel on with us! Would it not be much cleverer for you to also stay at home now and become even more prosperous through your hard work?"
5
Judas Iscariot said: "You don't understand that! Indeed I enjoy being hard-working once I am at it; but I cannot get around the fact that despite all my efforts, the memory of everything that I have seen and heard, once more drives me away from work and leads me back to you all, in order to see and hear even more. For I am not as spiritless as you brothers consider me to be! And if I were, then I would certainly not be among you all! But I already desired very much to come back to you all, and naturally most of all to our Lord, and so I had to go, as if pulled by an invisible power, and now I am here. But if I am nonetheless unpleasant for you and stand in your way somehow, you only have to say it and particularly the Lord, and I will go home again to where I came form and we will still remain good friends despite it!"
6
Peter said: "Oh no, we would never do that, and you can be with us as you were and how you want; what I am chastising you for is only that you can lie about your great gain to our faces so boldly and cheekily without any consideration for the Lord's often proven omniscience, while you should know as well as we do from the Lord that an untrue word should never pass our lips. If that is not unknown to you, why then such lies from your mouth, since you have been chosen to be an apostle of the Lord like us?"
7
Judas Iscariot said: "How can you then prove to me that I have lied?"
8
Peter said: "Very easily! For firstly the Lord has illuminated my innards through His mercy to such an degree that I know and can know exactly whether someone lies or tells the truth; in addition, another more tangible proof will soon appear, as has just been made known to me through the mercy of the Lord, from which everyone who has now heard you, will learn only too clearly, how much you have just lied to all of us, which truly was not very praise-worthy of you! We indeed neither gain nor loose anything by your very empty boasting; but just consider yourself whether it is appropriate among us and particularly in the presence of the Lord, in whom you, like all of us, claim to believe and hope!"
9
Here our disciple became very embarrassed and did not know what he should say to Peter, since he felt very stung.
10
But it did not take long before some came to Kisjonah's house and asked for alms and Kisjonah had them enter the room in his usual way. When they entered the room, they were four already quite grown-up children, clothed in most needy rags. When Judas Iscariot caught sight of them, he turned his face away in order not to be recognized by them; for they were his four older children, a girl and three boys.
11
Kisjonah however asked them who they were and from where they came from, who their father was and what he was called.
12
But the children told him everything and gave no particularly good report about their father.
13
Kisjonah remarked, however, that he had heard that their father had received a lot of money through his hard work during half the winter.
14
But the children denied this and said: "Father had indeed prepared something for the market - but when he came to the market, there was a great fight between Jewish and Greek traders, and all father's pots and plates were broken, and we returned home as sheer beggars, upon which father became very sad and left us with the words: 'Children, I cannot do anything more for you! Go to compassionate people and you will soon find support! But I will go to the wonderful Master, about whom I have told you very much; perhaps I can move Him to help at least you and your poor mother, if I should no longer be helped! Then he left sadly and we also left, as we are here, to seek alms for us, for our mother and for our younger brothers and sisters, but until now we have achieved very little. Therefore we beg you too to take pity on us!"
15
At this Kisjonah said: "How long is it now since your father left you?"
16
And the children said that it was already eight days since they had seen their father.
17
At this Kisjonah led the children into another room, had them given other clothes and be washed and then gave them something to eat and to drink. When the four had thus been looked after, they visibly let it be seen that they felt pity for the misery of their father, for which reason also their poor mother at home was also very sad, since no-one knew where he had gone.
18
Then Kisjonah comforted them, so that they should no longer worry about it, that their father was being looked after quite well with him for the moment and they would soon see him again.
19
Thereupon the children became extremely glad and remained in their chambers very calmly.
20
But Kisjonah came out, went up to Judas Iscariot and said: "Friend, far be it from me to criticize you as a chosen disciple of the Lord for your boasting, but since you hopefully know me as well as everyone who is poor knows me all around, why did you not come to me immediately and why did you not admit to me your very regrettable situation? Look, your children are much more honest than you are and are very concerned about you, and you turned your face away from them as they entered, looking for you in sadness, so as not to be recognized! I at least find that a little strange of you! What do you now say yourself about all that?"
21
Judas Iscariot said, sighing deeply: "Oh friend, I only wanted to numb my very broken heart by my certainly very inopportune boasting! But it has borne me bad fruit; for punishment followed my evil against myself like a poisonous adder against the heel, and now I stand here revealed and ashamed before everyone's eyes. Go and let me go to my children, comfort them and cry out my pain with them!"
22
Then I said: "Not yet! Eat and drink now, and in future do not lie any longer, otherwise something even worse will befall you!"
23
Then Judas Iscariot remained and began to eat and drink again and everyone spoke with him in a very friendly manner again, and Kisjonah promised him to care for the poor children, because they were quite innocent of his misfortune, however he as their father was in some way responsible for theirs.
24
So this episode was set aside very calmly and well, and has only been retold here in order to describe the disciple in a little more detail, what sort of a person he was.