Of course it wasn’t what I wanted, how could you think such a thing? It isn’t a pleasure at
all, you know, but I’m a leader, and sometimes leaders have to take
responsibility and do the things that nobody wants to do. It’s part of the
heavy burden of responsibility we leaders have to carry, the burden of office
that weighs us down so heavily. We don’t please ourselves, we do what is best
for everyone. That’s why we have to be careful to look after ourselves so
vigilantly, what would happen if we were too sick, too tired, too weighed down
with the petty, bothersome details of daily life to have the energy to do what
has to be done when the crisis comes? Oh, don’t look at me like that, you know
it would be chaos for Israel if we didn’t step in and do the hard stuff! I
didn’t do it for myself, I did it for us; sacrificing this Jesus was one of the
most sacrificial things I have ever done. I risked getting my hands dirty for
the good of the nation. It truly was expedient that one man should die for the
people – look how many lives I saved.
The trouble began up in Galilee, where most such troubles
start. You know as well as I do that nothing good ever comes from there.
Anyway, the Pharisees heard the rumours and went bustling up there to see if
their precious law was being broken. Healing on the Sabbath? They didn’t seem
to get that the important thing was that people were getting excited about him
healing on the Sabbath. That’s what we have to avoid: excitement, popular
movements, anything that destabilises the balance of power. Rome doesn’t like
that, and Rome is the one we must placate. We can’t afford any Messiahs, once
it goes to their heads they’re not the only ones who end up on crosses, so do a
significant number of their followers, and then Rome starts tightening the
screws a little more ... You have no idea how much delicate negotiating we have
to do just to keep the peace. So, of course it’s expedient that one man should
die ...
Sorry, I’m repeating myself. Where was I? Oh yes, we started
keeping an eye on him after that – but he was a slippery customer. Our scholars
would spend ages thinking up clever questions to trap him and show him up to
the people, so that they’d forget about him, and every single time he’d manage
to come up with an answer that slid him safely out again. It was infuriating!
Someone must have schooled him well. Oh no, the wisdom couldn’t have come from
him, he was just a peasant from Nazareth, and you know what they say about that
place! And there were rumours that his mother ... you know ... it wasn’t nine
months after the wedding ... no better than she should be ...
In the end we had a lucky break, one of his followers came
to do a deal with us. Do you think I enjoyed dealing with a low life like him
though? The things we leaders have to dirty our hands with to keep the people
safe! And this Judas was an idiot! After it was all over he came snivelling
back to us and wanted to hand back the blood money! As if we’d want it! And
what did he think we were going to do? Give his “Master” a nice little
talking-to? Hardly! We had him where we wanted him, and we were going to crush
that problem once and for all!
What’s that you say? Oh yes, I’ve heard those rumours, but
they can’t possibly be true. Dead is dead. We Sadducees know that the dead
don’t rise at all, let alone in this world! No, the only power we have to worry
about is Rome, and that’s why we priests are so careful to guard our own power.
We do it all for you.
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