The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

Caiaphas

When Christ arrived he found the angel waiting in the courtyard, and the two of them were shown into the high priest’s presence at once. They found him rising from prayer. He had dismissed all his advisers, saying that he needed to ponder their words; but he greeted the angel as if he were a valued counsellor.

‘This is the man,’ said the angel, indicating Christ.

‘It is very good of you to come. May I offer you some refreshment?’ said Caiaphas.

But Christ and the angel refused.

‘Better so, perhaps,’ said Caiaphas. ‘This is an unhappy business. I do not want to know your name. Your friend will have told you what we require. The guards who will arrest Jesus have been drafted in from elsewhere, and don’t know what he looks like, so we need someone who can point him out. You are willing to do this?’

‘Yes,’ said Christ. ‘But why have you had to draft in extra guards?’

‘There is considerable disagreement – I am being very frank – not only in our council, but among the people in general, and the guards are not immune to this. Those who have seen and heard Jesus are excited, volatile, unstable; some love him and some deplore him. I have to send a squad I can rely on not to argue among themselves. This is a very delicate situation.’

‘Have you yourself seen and heard him?’ said Christ.

‘Unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity. Naturally, I’ve heard full reports of his words and deeds. If times were easier I would greatly enjoy meeting him and discussing matters of common interest. But I have to maintain a very difficult balance. My overriding concern is to keep the body of the faithful together. There are factions that would like to split away entirely and join with the Zealots; there are others that would like nothing better than for me to rally all the Jews in open defiance of the Romans; there are others that urge me to maintain good relations with the governor, on the grounds that our greatest duty is to preserve the peace and the lives of our people. I have to satisfy as many of these demands as I can, while not alienating those who have to be disappointed, and above all, as I say, keeping some kind of unity. It’s hard to get the balance right. But the Lord has placed this burden on my shoulders, and I must bear it as best I can.’

‘What will the Romans do to Jesus?’

‘I… ’ Caiaphas spread his hands wide. ‘They will do what they will do. It wouldn’t be long before they picked him up themselves in any case. And that’s another of our problems; if the religious authorities don’t take steps to deal with this man, it will seem as if we’re supporting him, and that will put all the Jews in danger. I must look after my people. The governor, alas, is a brutal man. If I could save this man Jesus, if I could perform a miracle and transport him in a moment to Babylon or to Athens, I would do it at once. But we are constrained by circumstances. There is nothing else I can do.’

Christ bowed his head. He could see that Caiaphas was a good and honest man, and that his position was impossible.

The high priest turned away and picked up a little bag of money.

‘Now you must let me pay you for your trouble,’ he said.

And Christ remembered that his purse had been stolen, and that he owed money for the rent of his room. At the same time, he felt ashamed to take this money from Caiaphas. He knew that the angel saw he was hesitating, and he turned to explain.

‘My purse was-’

But the angel held up a hand in understanding. ‘No need to explain,’ he said. ‘Take the money. It’s offered in perfect honesty.’

So Christ took it, and felt sick again.

Caiaphas said goodbye to the two of them, and summoned the captain of the guard.