Judas Iscariot, His Life and Times

Over 50,000 words take you into the world of first-century Palestine when Jesus of Nazareth and Judas Iscariot enjoy their childhoods. For Judas, he learns a trade and falls in love with numbers. He forms a friendship bond with his four closest friends that remains with them throughout young adulthood. Exposed to the outside world, they learn the harshness of their reality. Being sent to the Moses' Camp teaches them skills needed to survive in a world of Roman abuse. Too young, they learn the rule an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Then, at just the right moment, a Zealot prophet enters their lives, teaching them the history of the Zealot Freedom Fighters Movement and the concept of 'holy war'.

Judas Iscariot's younger days are exciting, challenging, filled with friendships, and learning from intelligent teachers who fill his mind with possibilities. His parents, Simon and Damaris, love him dearly. However, his older brother, Haman, thinks he is a pain, his older sister—Maai—thinks he is adorable, and Eunice, with the younger siblings, Orpah and Chelluh, ignores Judas as much as he ignores them. Still children (by our standards), Judas and his friends become assistants to Shepherd Darda, with whom they spend a year caring for the village's sheep and goats. Their learnings from Darda and the shepherding trade ready them for their adulthood responsibilities. When they return, the new schoolhouse awaits. Judas loves his sefer, the art of writing, and figuring out the mystery of numbers. Judas enjoys celebrations and feasts with his friends and neighbors throughout the years, like their sheep-shearing gathering and the long-anticipated wealthy wedding in Hebron. Food, drink, dancing, singing, contests—ten days of pure happiness. But no joy lasts long. The people are in debt and losing their homes. Flocks diminish in size due to Roman and Temple taxes. Robbers roam freely, without consequences, while fake messiahs proclaim salvation from these troubling times. Worst of all is when Judas' mother and sister Maai attend a wedding in Maon, a small village not far from Kerioth. The wedding is very poor, a stark difference from Hebron. But the people are happy—that is, until the Roman soldiers appear. What happened is a true story. At age ten, Judas and his friends begin their Freedom Fighters training. Fraught with difficulty, confusion, fear, immense learning about field survival, test after test by their Wilderness Scout Master, the boys grow into young adulthood. From a Zealot Prophet, who lives in a cave, the boys learn details about the Zealot Sect and its Freedom Fighters founders who readily become their heroes. Notably, the prophet teaches the concept of righteous fighting in a 'holy war'. As the language of the day, Biblical Hebrew is essential to the story and is used sparingly. Also, Point of Interest offers a wealth of exciting information to the reader.

MEET YOUR AUTHOR, BC CROTHERS When 21 years old, I first read the New Testament. I both loved the story and felt confused by it, for there were questions. I thrive on facts, people and place names, dates, and answers to the "why". The Gospels pay little attention to external trivia. They concentrate instead on the main topic: Jesus's teachings and how they can change our lives. They changed mine, and these messages keep me going as they renew themselves each day. But the "why" remains with me still. God, Creator of the Cosmos, is a compassionate, forgiving, loving Father of All Souls who ever lived or will live. So likewise, Jesus, our Lord, is a compassionate, forgiving, loving companion who saves us from our sins through His teachings. One "please forgive me," and God not only forgives us—we receive a clean slate by our God! One "forgive me, Lord" and Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more" and "forgive others as you seek forgiveness for yourself". I believe these statements to be factual. Yet, they bring me to the Judas Iscariot "why". Why is there no statement on Judas's sorrow over his betrayal? No mention of his seeking forgiveness at the end of his life? Are we to understand that he never begged for forgiveness from the God to whom he prayed every day? Judas never cried out in prayer to Jesus, his friend who had shown him another way to live? Are we to believe that, for Judas Iscariot, there was no redemption—from the Cornerstones of our Faith who have given us the purest example of how to turn divine love into human love? These questions drive me to know more about Judas's life and times. Maybe this series will offer an answer. I hope so, for questions drove me to earn a degree of Master in Theological Studies from the Virginia Theological Seminary. I live in Florida with Jack, my husband, who endorses this driving writing career. Luckily for me, Jack also serves as the listener to ideas and finder of terms. Judas took five years of research and writing. Information from the end of BCE to the first century CE is overwhelming. Palestine's history is fascinating, complex, and often horrifying. Its history was hard to study, and I do not enjoy writing about horrible happenings. Nevertheless, I am proud of this historical novel. My prayer is that this work is pleasing in the eyes of God and to my readers. As a lover of God, family, friends, country, democracy, thinking people, and the educational process throughout life, I am intrigued by people's spiritual journeys. My primary objective is to help people find strength in faith through my writings. In this regard, a decade or so ago, I authored Art of Loving God, Church-Filling Techniques for Building Community, both books long out of print. The What Jesus Heard-Biblical Hebrew for the Bible Reader needs to be revised, but this project is on hold until the end of this Judas series. I live by two mottos: Living is for Now. Eternity is Forever. Power is in the Pen. Supreme Power is in the Sharing.