[Thomas]
I find it extremely difficult to understand the meaning behind Jesus’ actions. Previously, He told a wealthy young leader to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor, causing the man to leave. Yet, here in Jericho, Jesus is willing to stay at the house of a rich tax collector. A young and virtuous leader like the former could have been a great asset to Jesus, earning Him love from the people, which would have been especially helpful given the increasingly negative perception of Jesus. However, this short tax collector is different. Among the twelve disciples, there is Matthew, a former tax collector, but he merely sat at the customs post collecting tolls without exploiting others for personal gain. In contrast, this tax collector is notorious for extorting taxes under his own authority, which is a serious issue. It is no wonder the Jews dislike and scorn tax collectors, as they not only pay taxes to Rome but also take more than required to enrich themselves.
I still remember the murmurs of the people when Jesus decided to stay at Zacchaeus’s house: “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner”. They must have been truly shocked to say such a thing. I wonder why Jesus continues to act in ways that only earn Him more hatred. Why is He acting this way when He is supposed to become king so soon? Associating with the poor and marginalized is commendable, but befriending a wealthy tax collector like Zacchaeus seems incomprehensible.
A sigh escapes me as I see Jesus speaking with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. Jericho was the first city we Israelites encountered after crossing into Canaan from Egypt. Even then, its ancient walls stood strong—a testament to how long this famous city had endured.
Today, Jericho remains one of the most beautiful and affluent cities in Israel, its legacy enduring through the ages. Before Roman rule, I remember hearing how Herod and his son Archelaus built magnificent winter palaces, theaters, amphitheaters, and lush gardens here, making the city a true spectacle to behold. The city is surrounded by palm trees and balsam trees, which is why people call it the “City of Palms” and the “City of Fragrance.”
As many Jews, myself included, often pass through Jericho to avoid Samaria, this city has become a place where a significant amount of tax revenue is collected. Now, the city’s chief tax collector was laughing and talking with Jesus. I watched as this short man, who had climbed a sycamore tree just to see Jesus, now had a face transformed from worry to joy. Seeing this, I felt my resentment begin to fade ever so slightly. It seemed unreasonable to dislike anyone who loved Jesus this much. As I watched them together, I found myself recalling the parable of the unjust steward that Jesus had told us recently.
“There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions. He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’ Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’ He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents. He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”
Zacchaeus, that man, could be likened to the unjust steward in the parable. He had accumulated wealth wickedly, but today he is using that unrighteous wealth to serve Jesus. Although he was evil in the past, if he can be good from now on, can I condemn him outright? Since he was faithful with the unrighteous wealth of the world, perhaps he can now be entrusted with true riches.
As if to confirm Thomas’s expectations, Zacchaeus stood up from his seat and spoke to Jesus.
“Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
Jesus looked at him with a warm smile.
“Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
At that moment, it became clear that Jesus was teaching: even those who had once been wicked could be saved if they repented.
Thomas began to acknowledge his own mistakes and listened intently to the teachings of Jesus that followed.
“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called ten servants of his and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’ When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’ So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’ He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down and reaping that which I didn’t sow. Then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?’ He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to him who has the ten minas.’ They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him. But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
Jesus spoke these words to those who thought that God’s kingdom would appear at any moment as they approached Jerusalem. A mina was worth nearly a hundred denarii—a sum that would require a laborer to work for almost a hundred days to earn. It was an amount that could be considered either large or small, depending on one’s perspective. Everyone was given the same opportunity and command; no one received more than the others. Yet some chose to act, while others did nothing. Their beginnings were the same, but in the end, their outcomes would be completely different depending on what they did.
* * *
[Judas Iscariot]
A small cry escaped my lips:
“Ah!”
I had just been rebuked by Jesus, and now I was outside, kicking at stones to vent my anger. The darkness made it impossible to tell pebbles from larger rocks, and I ended up hurting myself—a fitting end to such a miserable evening. But this pain was nothing compared to the turmoil inside me. My mind was completely occupied with the humiliation of being scolded by Jesus in front of everyone.
Oh, I’m so angry! It’s all because of that woman. What was Mary thinking, pouring that expensive perfume on Jesus and causing all this trouble?
Thinking back to what happened earlier, I feel my anger rising once again.
Jesus and our group of disciples had left Jericho and arrived in Bethany, near Jerusalem, six days before the Passover. We stayed at the house of Simon, who had been healed of leprosy, and a feast was held with many people from Bethany attending. Martha served as usual, and Lazarus sat at the table, eating with us. Everything was fine until Mary, the youngest of the siblings, caused a problem.
She came in and broke open a jar of perfume, pouring it on Jesus’ head and using the rest to anoint His feet. She then wiped His feet with her hair. The fragrance filled the entire house, clearly the expensive nard perfume extracted from the spikenard plant, which grew far to the east. The amount she used was worth nearly a year’s wages for a laborer, so I spoke up:
“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
Was there really anything wrong with what I said? Jesus never asked anything from the wealthy people who came to Him; He only taught us to help the poor. As the keeper of the money bag, I was always struggling because of this, and I thought it would be better if Mary gave the perfume to me so I could use it well. That way, I could invest the money and use it for good.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought this way, as other disciples also made similar comments. But Jesus alone spoke unexpectedly:
“Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you don’t always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying. Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
Jesus rebuked me, and the atmosphere became tense again. People started watching Jesus nervously. Feeling wronged and angry, I pretended to have a stomachache and stepped outside. It was frustrating enough, but now my feet hurt too. I couldn’t understand why Mary had done such a thing, causing all this trouble. Could she really believe that Jesus would die and rise again? Even we, the twelve disciples, didn’t believe that. Jesus’ words must have been just another parable, but He didn’t explain what it meant.
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify him. On the third day he will be raised up.”
If this isn’t a parable, what is it?
“Ah?”
Wait a minute, hasn’t Jesus already said those words three times?
If Jesus’ words contained some truth and He was indeed going to be handed over to the high priests and teachers of the law, this could be an opportunity. Right now, all the disciples were striving to secure high positions in His kingdom. The likes of James and John had even brought their mother to beg for places at Jesus’ right and left hands, and although the other disciples hadn’t acted on it, their hearts were similar. Thomas’s words the other time were likely for the same reason.
When they heard that Lazarus had died, the disciples, including myself, had tried to stop Jesus from going to Bethany. We argued that the people who had just tried to stone Him would still be there, so why go to such a dangerous place? Initially, Jesus seemed to listen to our concerns, but two days later, He suddenly decided to go to Bethany.
“Lazarus is dead. I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”
At that moment, Thomas stepped forward, saying, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.” I think he said that hoping to impress Jesus by expressing his willingness to die with Him. Everyone is scrambling for power, so I need to do something too. Since Peter received great praise for speaking up first about something everyone knew, now it’s my turn. If I can be the first to understand and act on these words, I will play a crucial role in establishing Jesus’ kingdom. Therefore, there’s no need to hesitate. All I have to do is wait for the right moment to hand Jesus over to the high priest. If that is the path Jesus is meant to take, then I will fulfill that role. And surely Jesus won’t really die? With so many followers, Jesus will certainly be rescued during the Passover.
Throughout history, festivals have been the starting point for many rebellions, so if the Sadducees or Pharisees see any sign of this, they will quickly release Jesus. Maybe Jesus’ words about dying and rising again don’t actually mean He will die, but rather that He will be shut away for three days, as if He were dead, and then released. After all, Jonah was trapped in the belly of the fish for three days—not dead, but completely cut off from the world, as good as dead in everyone’s eyes. Isn’t it possible that Jesus is speaking in the same way, not of literal death, but of being hidden away and then returning to us? And if things go well, this could even become a real rebellion, saving Jesus and sparking a war for independence. Yes, if things unfold this way, all of Jesus’ words will become reality. Who else but myself could understand such a thing? Ha ha ha. If Jesus’ kingdom were to come to this earth in this way, I would surely receive great praise and recognition for my actions.
Judas was completely unaware that even if he acted within God’s plan, being used for an evil role would lead to another kind of judgment, just like Caiaphas.
The passages from Matthew 20:18-19, Mark 14:6-9, Luke 16:1-13, 19:7-27, John 11:14-16, 12:5-8 quoted in this narrative are taken directly from the World English Bible (WEB) translation. Of the parallel passages, I have combined them into a single version that includes all the content.
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