The man that clothes me

It was predominantly a dark room lit by the fire in the hearth. The shadows of the men assembled danced on the ceilings, making them appear even more surreal than the figures in the tapestry far above them. A few maids scurried here and there, carrying pitchers of water or wine.

Peter was pacing the stone floor, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. The others looked at him apprehensively, some hoping he had an answer to why they were gathered there.
The creak of the door created a sudden stir among the assembled, and Jesus of Nazareth strode in, rather slowly. His eyes moved over the twelve others gathered there, resting briefly on a man hidden in the shadows.

"Teacher!" Peter rushed forward and kissed Jesus's feet. The others suddenly seemed to have realised that this was the apt thing to do, and snapped out of their trance to do so.

Half an hour later, the twelve were sitting stunned, as the impact of what their teacher had told them sank in. It was going to change everything. Every single person knew that they were witnessing history - a legend in the making. But who was the one? Their eyes moved sideways, daring the others to doubt them. The air seemed to have turned sharp all of a sudden, as daggers were thrown from behind eyelids. Who?

"Judas Iscariot!" The man addressed so by Jesus jerked up, his eyes missing everyone but the messiah's. "Come with me. We need to talk."

Guilty as charged! The other eleven looked at the darker man with contempt and - could it be relief? Had Jesus beckoned Peter, or Bartholomew - would the feeling have been same? There was no way to find out anymore. The die had been cast. The man had been marked.

Jesus and Judas strolled along the courtyard of the temple of Solomon, their path adorned by a dazzling moonlight from above. There was a faint scent of fresh herbs in the air as the two men walked.

"We are pretty much the same, my Judas. We have both been marked. There are times when destiny weighs down on you like a mountain. There are times when death might feel lighter than a feather. That is when men confront choices."

"But there are no choices, are there?" asked Judas, his eyes reflecting the moon.

"No. Not for us." A sudden cloud of darkness seemed to have passed Jesus's face as he said the words, and Judas could sense the sadness behind those words.

"You," said Jesus, "are going to free me from the man that clothes me. You are going to free from eternity. You are going to kill me, Judas. You are going to be my salvation."

Nothing - not even the eyes - betrayed the other man's emotions as he heard the words. He kept nodding and looking - deep inside.

"Let me initiate you into the way of stars, my friend," said Jesus, looking up. "Let me tell you about the duality of things. Hear the words of the gods as you listen to the inner drum. Let me tell you about fate and chance.There are layers to the human response, and there are levels of understanding. There are colors of men and shades of evil. Listen, and let me tell you..."

The younger man did not know how long the session had lasted - but he was smiling at the end of it all. There were tears in his eyes, but he looked at the Saviour with a new-found light. He had been the doubter, but now he was the only true believer. He was the first gnostic.

He bent down to kiss the anointed one's feet. Jesus flinched from Judas.

"Not yet," said Jesus. "Not just yet."

The above short play is based on a discovery called 'The Gospel of Judas' near the Dead Sea, where the Nag Hammadi scrolls (Dead Sea Scrolls) had been discovered. The authenticity of this document is still in question but it makes for an interesting read.