PARTICIPANTS

Judas
Satan
Caiaphas
Jesus
Peter


PROLOGUE


In the temple. Satan is leaning on a column. Judas and Peter enter. They don’t notice Satan / he is dressed just like Judas/.
Judas: But why did he say that I would betray him?
Peter: Calm down, Judas. Jesus is out of his reason today.
Judas: But he looked at me and I…
Peter: Come on, calm down! What kind of a man are you? Just because of a glance…
Judas: It’s not because of a glance but…
Peter: Well then, not just a glance, but a few words also…
Judas: And a dipped piece of bread…
Peter: What piece?
Judas: See now! You haven’t even heard his words! Only I heard them because they were meant for me…
Peter: And what did he tell you?
Jesus: That the one, who dipped his piece of bread with him together, would betray him.
Peter: I heard that. And therefore I put down the piece I had in my hand! By the way, so did the others…
Judas: But not me. When Jesus said the words and looked at me, my hand trembled and I dropped the piece, and it fell just at the moment when Jesus...
Peter: Dipped his, I got it. And what of that? It was by chance. And how can you be sure that he said exactly that? Have you ever thought over how obscure he is sometimes? He points at something, begins to talk about it as for something else, and in the end it happens so, that he involves himself in the whole story. And then it really becomes a mess in my head! And I feel as if somebody has dipped his piece of bread in it.
Judas: But these are the parables, Peter. They are allegoric. And Jesus talks in parables mainly.
Peter: Wonderful! Then tell me why you are so frightened if what he said may also have been a parable.
Judas: But…
Peter: But what? Here, it’s become clear to you how…
Judas /interrupting him/: No, it wasn’t a parable…
Peter: Wasn’t it? Well, what did Jesus say, do you remember?
Judas: That one of us will betray him!
Peter: That I do know! Next! That the piece of bread…
Judas:…is his body and the wine – his blood.
Peter: Well…Or it could have been that his body is bread and his blood – wine. And what does that mean?
Judas: I don’t know.
Peter: You see now! It was also a parable… Moreover, he told us to eat his body and drink his blood…
Judas: No, no! He said “the bread and wine”.
Peter: Stop confusing me!…Yes… And that’s what you did – dipped a piece of his body into the bowl…
Judas: The piece of bread.
Peter: That’s what you say. According to Jesus you dipped a piece of his body and drank his blood.
Judas: And that means that I betrayed him!
Peter: That’s what you say. And according to Jesus you betrayed the bread and wine in your stomach, namely that you have eaten and drunk a little.
Judas: Why do you talk nonsense?
Peter: I want to prove that all that happens is so confusing and ambiguous, that… Sometimes I just sit and wonder why I’m in this group of disciples of someone who…
Judas: One of us will betray him…
Peter: … of someone who on top of all claims to be God…
Judas: One of us will betray him.
Peter: It won’t be me, no matter what I speak. The very first moment I always doubt his words, but next I remember that it’s a parable and then all doubts disappear…
Judas: And after the parable you are even more confused… But about him being God doesn’t sound as a parable to me.
Peter: It is a parable. Otherwise I cannot understand it.
Judas: Yes, one of us will betray him.
Peter: It won’t be me. I couldn’t. He picked me out of the mob, saved me from poverty. An ordinary fisherman, nobody respected me… They respected the fish more than me! And now everybody welcomes me, gives us food and the teacher washes my feet…
Judas: Yes! Then why did he do that some time ago? Is that also a parable?
Peter: I suppose so. Who knows? That’s why I tell you not to take things into your head… He also told me that I would deny him, I would disown him three times! But that’s absurd, Judas! Absurd!
Judas: No, he looked at me and said “ One of you will betray me!”
Peter: Ugh!/ He waves away and leaves without Judas noticing him/
Judas: That’s right, Peter. He pointed at me but you were eating and drinking… I felt being … being betrayed! As if Jesus had betrayed me by choosing me for the traitor, Peter! / He turns and sees that Peter is no longer there. To himself./ And there is one thing more terrible! Why didn’t I dare tell it to Peter? Jesus looked at me and said “ One of you will betray me” and whispered “And the one who will betray me the… /very quietly, almost unheard/ …the one… is obsessed with Satan!
Satan /who has been listening and watching/: Up! At last!/Judas starts./ What is it, boy? Are you frightened?/ Judas doesn’t answer./ Be stronger, braver… Your soul is very fragile, isn’t it?/Judas turns and is about to leave/ Wait!… Wait!/ Satan holds his arm./ Don’t run, Judas. You can’t escape from me.
Judas: Let me go!
Satan: Oh, you’ve become braver! That’s it! I want you that way, boy!
Judas: Let me go!
Satan: All right, all right, I’ll let you. / He lets hold of his arm. Judas tries again to leave and Satan again grasps him./ Well, you are very unmanageable! Let’s talk for a while.
Judas: I don’t know you.
Satan: You do.
Judas: I don’t know you.
Satan: You do.
Judas: No.
Satan: Yes.
Judas: What do you want?
Satan: That’s why I’m here! To find out what you want.
Judas: I don’t want anything.
Satan: You do.
Judas: I don’t!
Satan: I’m telling the truth, you do!
Judas: You talk like Jesus.
Satan: And I would say he talks like me!
Judas: But who are you?
Satan: Ah! You’ve come to the point at last! Who am I…
Judas: Who are you?
Satan: I am… Satan.
Judas: God!
Satan: No, I’m not God. I’m Satan.
Judas: Let me go!/ He starts to pull back frantically but Satan holds him by the arm./ All right, we’ll talk, but let me go! / Satan begins to laugh. Judas is silent, then starts pulling back again and after that is still again./
Satan: You are still a child! How he tries to play tricks!/ Then seriously./ Judas, I’m Satan who is implanted in you and even if you wish, you wouldn’t be able to escape from me. That’s the truth, I tell you!/ He lets Judas go and sits on a stone. Judas remains still./ Are you dumbfounded? Haven’t you heard me? Or don’t you believe me?
Judas: I don’t believe you!
Satan: You do.
Judas: No.
Satan: Yes.
Judas: No.
Satan: Look deep into yourself and you’ll see that I’m right. Look at yourself!
Judas: But you are in front of me! How can you have implanted yourself in me and be in front of me?
Satan: Why should I implant myself in you if we are one entity?
Judas: We are not one.
Satan: We are.
Judas: No, we aren’t…
Satan: You’ll see!
Judas: I’ll see nothing! I’m leaving.
Satan /not moving/: You’ll make three steps and will come back, be sure.
Judas: I won’t be back! /Leaves. The sound of three quick steps, then silence, again three steps but slow and Judas enters. Satan is smiling./ Why are you here?
Satan: Because here is my place./He stands up, puts his hand over Judas’ shoulders and makes him sit on the stone./ You yourself said that someone told you that he would be betrayed by someone obsessed with Satan…
Judas: Jesus said that.
Satan: Yes./Pauses./
Judas: So it’s me who will betray him…
Satan: It looks like that. The question is how much you believe. And how much you could believe.
Judas: It’s absurd!
Satan: What is absurd? To believe Jesus?
Judas: No! No… That I’ll betray him! That’s absurd!
Satan: Why do you repeat Peter’s words? He also says  that it’s absurd that he himself will disown Jesus…
Judas: How do you know about Peter?
Satan: If Jesus hears the “absurds” of both of you, I’ll forfeit my head that he will be very… hurt and dissatisfied…
Judas: How do you know!…
Satan: …Because that proves how weak your faith is! You remember – only the one who strongly believes will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven? Through a needle’s eye!
Judas: I asked you how do you know!
Satan: That’s it! Fly into rage, rebel! That’s what you must be and not a spineless creature as at the moment! You must be a shark, not a slobbery mussel! You must be the food, not the junk…/Judas jumps to his feet./ Junk! You are junk! /Judas hardly keeps himself under control./ Miserable junk! Why are you gaping at me and grinding your teeth? Come here and beat your Satan! Grip his throat and make him shut up! Or can you only grip a bottle tightly and make a bitch only… /Judas jumps to his feet and grips his throat./ keep her mouth shut… a bitch… /Satan is laughing while Judas is trying to strangle him. He strokes his head, then pushes him away. Judas falls down and gives a moan./ Don’t moan! Well done! I want you that way, boy! /He helps him to his feet./ No weakness! /Judas sits on the stone and buries his head in his hands./ Ah! You are not going to cry now! Oh, Mummy! /Judas is crying./ See what a man… Jesus has turned you into women! You pansy! /Satan shouts./ He-goat! Billy-goat! Ram! /Judas is crying./ Stop crying! What are you… /Satan stammers with rage./ are… are you… /Satan is writhing and kicks Judas with great force and the latter bends double and collapses./
Judas /Jumps up ferocious, flings himself at Satan, knocks him down and they roll over together./ :Freak! /He beats Satan./
Satan /laughing while being beaten/ : That’s right! Come on!
Judas: Freak!
Satan: Well-done! You have broken at last… /Fight./ Let me go!
Judas / freezes, drops his arms, stupefied/ : God, what have I done… What happened to me, God…
Satan: Nothing happened to you. It’s just that I’m inside you already. / Heavy steps are heard./ Who is coming? /He casts a glance./ Oh, Caiaphas. At last.
Judas: Caiaphas? The high priest! He hates us! He despises Jesus!
Satan: That’s right. Now you are going to talk to him.
Judas: Hide somewhere! Please, hide away. I can’t… can’t…
Satan: What can’t you? /He laughs./ Calm down, boy. He can’t see me! I’m invisible to anybody but you! To anybody… /Caiaphas enters./ I’m inside you, have you forgotten?
Caiaphas: I was told that here a disciple of that one… has entered. /Judas remains silent./ I see nobody but you… / Judas keeps silent./ And maybe they’ve made a mistake and he himself is here… He often enters the temple to talk. /Judas doesn’t speak./ Are you the disciple of Jesus?
Judas: That’s what you say.
Caiaphas: Hm, you are not deaf. Me neither and I’ve heard what I’ve said… /Judas keeps silent./ By the way, as far as I know, he himself answers in that way. You ask about something in particular and he replies “That’s what you say!”… just like you. Or maybe you are Jesus?
Judas: I’m not Jesus.
Caiaphas: You are.
Judas: I’m not.
Caiaphas: I heard it. There’s no need to repeat… But you are his disciple, aren’t you?
Satan: Speak, boy.
Judas: I won’t speak!
Caiaphas: I don’t want you to talk. I simply want to tell you some things… What’s your name?
Judas: Judas.
Caiaphas: All right, Judas, have you been his disciple for a long time?
Judas: Yes.
Caiaphas: Much better.
Satan: Don’t be obstinate, boy.
Judas: Leave me alone, Satan!
Caiaphas: What are you talking to yourself? Isn’t it a spell? Is that what Jesus teaches you – spells?
Judas: Not spells, unmasking.
Caiaphas: I see… And who do you unmask?
Judas: Everything hypocritical. Everybody whose face is day and his soul – night. We’ve been summoned and chosen to disperse darkness and put the candle into the stick.
Caiaphas: I see… Have you or has rather Jesus been chosen?
Judas: Everyone who was born on God’s land has been chosen by him to obey and bring light. And those who turn their faces away from the light will be summoned in Hell by Satan…
Satan: You talk nonsense.
Caiaphas: I see… And who has summoned the light bringers?
Judas: God.
Caiaphas: Which God?
Judas: Which God? You, Pharisee, who are his servant, are asking who he is!
Caiaphas: I’m asking because I’ve heard that Jesus refers to himself as the Son of God.
Judas: That’s what you say.
Caiaphas: No, I was told. By other people who heard it with their ears. Is that what Jesus claims?
Judas: Yes.
Caiaphas: I see… So that means that I must also serve him?
Judas: All of us will serve him.
Caiaphas: Where?
Judas: In God’s kingdom.
Caiaphas: I see… In his much talked about kingdom of God with which he lures people.
Judas: Frightens Satan in people!
Caiaphas: So the sheep have Satan in themselves and you, the shepherds, drive him away? /Judas doesn’t reply./ Why don’t you answer?
Satan: Have you now fallen into the trap?
Judas: Go away, Satan!
Caiaphas: Now I’ve become Satan! They say that with Jesus it’s difficult to get the upper hand in words, that he never loses control, but as I see that does not apply to his disciples.
Judas: Woe to you, teachers and Pharisees, you  hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces! You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to…
Caiaphas: If Jesus is God, how could I stand in his way?
Judas: Woe to you, blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
Caiaphas: That’s interesting.
Satan: Interesting!
Judas: Woe to you teachers and Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!
Caiaphas: But if we don’t clean the cup from the outside, how could it remain clean inside?
Judas: Woe to you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones.
Caiaphas: But is it better to be blackened outside and be full of living people’s bones inside? Is that what Jesus offers you? Eh?
Satan: Come on, Judas! Don’t give up!
Caiaphas: Why are you silent? And how did these things come to your head suddenly? Or maybe you have remembered some of the lessons of your teacher? It seems so.
Judas: He is everybody’s teacher.
Caiaphas: I see… But you, Judas, you obviously are not everybody’s disciple. And you should be. You must think before you decide to say something. And if you say it, be sure that you thought it out. Otherwise a surprise may sprout from somewhere and you be brought into discredit.
Satan: It seems that Jesus is a poor pedagogue!
Judas /to Satan/: You don’t know Jesus!
Caiaphas: That’s true. But I already know one of his disciples. And let me tell you I’ve outlived many Jesuses, many messiahs, God-anointed and prophets and they’ve been the same…
Judas: Nobody is a prophet in his own country.
Caiaphas: …but their disciples… In them you see the teachers… In them you’ll know the teacher.
Judas: Once a man was not at home. Then his wife said “He’s blond”, his mother said “He’s dark-haired” and his sister said “He’s auburn”. Only his daughter said nothing. The three women had a heated discussion, in the end they started a fight and gouged each other’s eyes. Then the man came back, saw what had happened, took his daughter in his arms and said “ I may be blond or dark-haired or auburn but only the one who doesn’t wonder what I am is really seeing.”
Caiaphas: I see… There’s one thing I like about Jesus. He always tells interesting parables. But parables are insidious, Judas! Don’t forget that only the one who has eyes can be mistaken about what he sees! And the one who keeps silent, only he shows that he doesn’t have an opinion of his own. If you compare yourself to the daughter, I'd rather be the mother, the wife and sister because they knew the man longer. They created him and accompanied him, so that they, more than anybody else, can judge and pass judgment upon him.
Satan: A wonderful man this Caiaphas! You should have become his disciple, not Jesus’s, Judas.
Judas: I didn’t choose Jesus for my teacher, he chose me.
Caiaphas: Of course. Jesus can hardly afford anything else. He shouldn’t drive the wolf in the pen, otherwise he may discover that the chosen one can expose him.
Satan: Ask him “expose as what”! /Judas jerks his head./ Ask him! You’ll hear interesting things.
Judas: As what… I can’t!
Caiaphas and Satan : What can’t you?
Judas: Expose him as what?
Caiaphas: That’s right. Listen, Judas if you have ears for it. Let me, the teacher, judge about your teacher and not you, the disciple, convince me that… Isn’t it the hunchback who says “Look at the hunch of that one there!” ? Or isn’t it the thief who shouts “Stop the thief”? Tell me.
Judas: Yes.
Caiaphas: I’ll put it pointblank – your teacher is a future tyrant! Don’t look at me surprised. He is a man struggling for power, one who wants to rule and hold the reins and have them tight or slack according to his will. Such a man wants to hear his own words in other people’s mouths, to see his own deeds in other people’s. Jesus is a tyrant, a dangerous one I would say! Because by now no other tyrant has pronounced himself a king before the moment he is on the throne.
Judas: He is a king but his kingdom is not on the Earth.
Caiaphas: Oh! Of course. At this stage he can’t claim different. At this stage of his strategy for upsurge.
Satan: Listen, Judas, that will be very interesting.
Judas: I won’t listen!
Caiaphas: Why? To own a coin, it must have head and tail. You can’t avoid that, Judas. Now listen what his strategy is like. And, please, save me the outbursts of a disciple in the form of a lesson learnt by heart. /Judas sits down./ Who must a tyrant win over at first in order to succeed?
Satan: The crowd.
Caiaphas: The poor, the outcasts, those who like an avalanche can run over everybody if you incite them. And why the poor? Because they are the masses, the multitude. Jesus needs the crowd.
Satan: Here, you see! I knew that.
Caiaphas: Jesus is clever and he knows that. Therefore he cleverly works along these lines, he gathers people and preaches to them. To preach to somebody means that you present your senses for his own and then you convince him that you are right. And what did Jesus say? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But he doesn’t specify what “poor in spirit” means and leaves the crowd with their own thoughts. Is there anybody among us who would admit that he is poorer in spirit than somebody else? No. And having said that Jesus integrates all of them because the crowd consider themselves more elevated in spirit and hence heaven is in the bag… What else does Jesus say? That “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Is there anybody among us who would admit that he is not thirsty for righteousness, who would admit that he prefers to stab in the back rather than slap in the face? No. And, of course, the crowd is again convinced that they will be in the kingdom of heaven. And this kingdom, that is possible to enter through a needle’s eye, is an exclusive hit of Jesus. Why? Well, because if you offer something to many people, that something must be a myth, a lure to conquer imagination but leave the stomach empty. Jesus doesn’t say how he will feed so many people in heaven, but invites them. And on whose behalf? God’s? Note, Judas! After Jesus has proclaimed himself a king, that is, something that the crowd has a notion of, he also proclaims himself God. The only reason is to be in unison with his promise. In a broad sweep Jesus becomes the leader of the Jews, of the people in heaven and of all! But he doesn’t forget to leave the clouds for a while, so that his followers wouldn’t consider him a daydreamer. And Jesus says “You are the salt of the earth” and begins to charm the crowd tickling them under the chin with different magnifications. Then “the salt of the earth” are excited to rebellion, rise and are ready to salt the wounds of the earth. That’s what Jesus is looking for – someone who would make our kingdom roar with pain and then the question of the nest of government  will be topical. Towards that nest is he flying, that’s his very aim. Oh, Jesus… Jesus… Jesus is extremely clever! When he comes to making the crowd bristle and rise to rebellion, he stops and in a different voice announces “Love your enemies, do not resist an evil person, get on with him” and so on! He takes the part of a peacemaker so that his motives couldn’t be revealed. But isn’t it possible that there are hidden motives in that as well? Isn’t it brilliant tactics? When a man is struck on the right and the left cheek, doesn’t he gain advantage over his enemy? For it is much easier to defeat an enemy who thinks that you are weak and irresolute than a one who is afraid of you. And this is the drift of Jesus’s speeches… But he is no fool and therefore doesn’t keep this conciliatory attitude long. No, Jesus knits his brows quickly and starts shouting “Woe to you…” whoever they are. And that is what you have learnt very well, Judas! His demonstrative anger pours over first at us, the chief priests, then over the rich men. Because these are the greatest barriers before him! We are the ones who can fight his ambitions for power. He knows that and doesn’t save us anything. Am I right?
Satan: You are!
Caiaphas: Because Jesus uses his mind faster and shatters our plans easily into crumbs to satisfy the appetite of the crowd. Spectacles, spectacles, that’s what the crowd needs! Jesus is the craftsman in that respect! He doesn’t stop even when the crowd is mostly yielding, that’s to say after the spectacles, the emotions and shouting. Then and only then Jesus strikes his best! He penetrates the soul /that’s what he has been seeking for/. He knows that if he conquers the soul of the crowd, that means that he has conquered the body; if he manipulates the thoughts, he will have power over the gestures. And Jesus rushes forward bravely! He gives orders that he calls “divine” and talks about right-wing groups who won’t know what the left will do…
Satan: That’s curious…
Caiaphas : … for if his plot proves discredited because of someone’s weakness, he will right away prevent the defeat – he’ll cut off the right hand and the whole will not suffer as the left has been isolated from the very beginning.
Satan: Well-done, Caiaphas!
Caiaphas: And as a proof that Jesus has just that in mind, I’ll quote him. “ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away!” Jesus is cruel, Judas. Don’t you think so?
Satan: Hm.
Caiaphas: And at the final end he closes their eyes with a kind of meaningless phrase like “Ask and it will be given to you…
Satan: Who will be the one to give nowadays, brother?
Caiaphas: …seek and you will find” – that’s what gives the crowd headaches and Jesus goes away leaving them stupid and exalted. And then, and only then, Judas, Jesus plays his last trump-card! Guess what he does, what he simulates!
Satan: What?
Caiaphas: You, Judas, have you ever been the witness of any of his so called miracles?
Judas: No, I…
Caiaphas: No, no, don’t justify yourself. Thank you for the frank answer. That’s what I thought! Well, Judas, that’s the last trump-card of Jesus – he has fabricated his usual miracle with men of straw and invented situations, so the crowd is finally at his feet./A long pause. Very long…/
Satan: Oh, that’s true!
Judas: It’s not true!
Caiaphas and Satan: Why not?
Judas: Mmm… Miracles are signs for divinity!
Caiaphas: That’s right in case they are true. Everybody thinks like you but do they ask themselves what all these miracles are the result of. / A pause./ Because according to me, Judas, with no intention of offending your choice of teacher… Jesus is a… a… charlatan. It’s true that he is first class, but he still is a charlatan. Like every future tyrant! / No answer./ Are you reasoning, Judas? /No answer./ All right, I’ll leave you alone. Think about it, think over… /No answer./ You can even call… /Leaving/ We can both make a deal, who knows. /He leaves slowly, smiling. Satan is looking after Caiaphas./
Judas: It looks as if Caiaphas has… has reproduced…
Satan: What?
Judas: … one of Jesus’s … parables.
Satan: Has he?
Judas: But he has turned everything upside down! /Satan turns to Judas./
Satan: And how can you be sure that Jesus is not the upside down… Tell me!
Judas: No… no… And why did Caiaphas keep silent when he mentioned the miracles and signs of Jesus? At the beginning he was so extensive, but… Because he has nothing to oppose them!
Satan: On the contrary! Caiaphas used the word “fabricated” in this connection!
Judas: He is mistaken!
Satan: You, Judas, have you seen a miracle?
Judas: Caiaphas has already asked me and…
Satan: And you said “No”! Then how can you claim that his signs are sober facts?
Judas: You hear the people – the blind receive sight, the dumb can talk, the crippled - walk, the deaf…
Satan: O-o-oh, the people! To fool them is the easiest!
Judas: Well, yes, but…
Satan: No “buts”! These are men of straw! A little money given to a poor man will make him though crippled not only walk but become a woman also.
Judas: Jesus is not that kind of man!
Satan: He doesn’t pretend to be! Which speculator will blare forth that his goods are not worth a bean? And that’s what Jesus is  - a speculator and a fraud.
Judas: You repeat Caiaphas!
Satan: I repeat Caiaphas’ thoughts! And he thinks realistically, no supernatural phantasmagorias!
Judas: What about Lazarus?
Satan: The one who has risen from the dead? Well, he is an old friend of Jesus’s who wouldn’t betray him. Whom else would Jesus give the part /And what a part it is!/ of the one who has risen from the dead? Lazarus would rather die than reveal the fraud. And if he dies, will your teacher be able to raise him again? How do you think?
Judas: What about the people fed with two fish and five loaves? Are they also old friends of his?
Satan: Is it so difficult to hide a heap of loaves and fish and then play some show? And how can you be sure that each man who came to the lake hadn’t taken with himself two fish and five loaves? And the rumours then might have changed the circumstances completely?
Judas: Peter said so.
Satan: Peter?
Judas: Yes. Moreover Peter was the one who saw Jesus walk on the water. Peter himself had a narrow escape having walked towards Jesus. He got frightened and because he had little faith he began to sink…
Satan: So Jesus and Peter arrive wet through and tell you the unbelievable story about how they walked on the lake, how Peter sank and you take it at its face value! /Starts laughing./
Judas: Stop laughing! Peter was also on the mountain when Jesus stood before his disciples in his divine image…
Satan: I see… So it’s Peter ! Now everything is clear! Peter, my boy , is the first plotter of Jesus! The man who supports all his fables!…
Judas: Absurd!
Satan: How can it be absurd? You heard what Peter himself said a little while ago, didn’t you? He doesn’t understand Jesus but will never betray him. Ask him why and he will shrug his shoulders. And it is fairly clear why – a conspiracy. Peter is one of Jesus’s warriors – he will probably kill for him! Yes! Brilliant tactics, as Caiaphas said! A clever fraud, this teacher of yours.
Judas: Everything comes from the parables! Nobody understands them and you draw wrong conclusions!
Satan: We do understand them but Jesus interprets them wrongly. If you accuse him of doing it, however, he’ll easily shirk! His charlatan talent has got wind of the double-dealing of the parables. I’ll prove that, Judas. Take for example the parable of the talents. A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another - two talents, and to the third - one talent. When he came back he found out that the first servant had put his money to work and gained five more. The one with the two talents had gained two more, but the third had hidden his only talent and gave it back to his master. Instead of suspecting the other two, he seized the third, sent him to jail and gave him a thrashing. You see how inhumanly he acted but Jesus claims that the master was right. Where is the rightness? The man is honest, he knows that what does not belong to you, moreover, it belongs to your master, is inviolable and he doesn’t have the right to risk it. He would risk himself but not the master! Because if he loses, he’ll lose his life. But what do the other two do? Exactly that – they risk and rely on their master’s good will. And why doesn’t Jesus say that at least one of them has lost the money? Then we could see how the master would react. Because it’s not advantageous! But is it logical that servants always win? And does anybody really know if they haven’t gained three times more and not twice? Because in that case it turns out that the first two servants have cheated their master and only the third hasn’t! And he bears the brunt!
Judas: But why are you interpreting the parable wrongly?
Satan: I told you – Jesus interprets it wrongly!
Judas: But… why… why should he…
Satan: Because he is a hypocrite! He prefers to be the master so that he would be given double the money not only what he has invested. Jesus is a typical speculator! / Pauses./
Judas: When Mary was spreading  ointment on him, I asked him “Why this waste? Let’s give it to the poor.”
Satan: An excellent example! And what did he say?
Judas: That the poor we will always have with us, but we would not always have him.
Satan: Egoist! At that impertinent! Old Caiaphas has correctly smelled the tyrant in Jesus! /Pauses./ Judas! /Judas is silent./ Judas!
Judas: Yes.
Satan: Do you remember the question you often ask yourself…
Judas: Which?
Satan: … when you listen to Jesus talking that he is the Saviour of humanity, that he will redeem their sins?
Judas: Which?
Satan: The question what sins the boys had, who Herod killed wanting to kill Jesus also?
Judas: Who will redeem this sin committed because of Jesus? Is it possible to be Jesus? In what did the boys sin to be killed?
Satan: Because of Jesus! Well-done, boy, I already have a liking for you!
Judas: But now I don’t understand one more thing! If it is the way you say, why should Jesus point me out as the traitor? Why should he interfere with his own plans? What if I really betray him and they arrest him, how will he take the power? That’s where Caiaphas and you contradict yourselves!
Satan: Listen, Judas! Jesus is a skilful puppeteer. Don’t you think that he controls the situation? If he provoked you in that way, he did it with a certain intention.
Judas: What?
Satan: Hm… I’ll tell you. Jesus is searching for a victim. He needs it, so that it would excite to rebellion and bring chaos! Jesus pronounces himself the victim, but don’t believe him! Because… Because you are the victim, Judas! He is trying to find a way to involve you in his underhand dealings, so that you’ll find yourself at once in the epicenter, so that you’ll be done for and then Jesus will have the grounds to lead the crowd and make his own wish theirs! You will be the grounds, Judas!
Judas: It’s impossible! Jesus is not that kind of man!
Satan: Everything is possible, boy. That’s a crafty move which… I must admit… I can’t exactly decode, either. /A pause. Satan puts his hand over Judas’ shoulders./
Judas: I don’t know.
Satan: Me neither, but do you know what? Let’s go and look for Caiaphas. He is a wise man, besides, with very, very much experience… And aren’t you also interested what deal he was going to offer you? /Judas doesn’t make a move. Satan kisses his cheek./ Come on, come on. Come along with me!
Judas: All right. /They leave./



EPILOGUE


The garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is alone. Caiaphas appears but Jesus doesn’t see him.
Jesus: Nor Peter, nor Jacob… nor anybody else… The disciples are sleeping, the teacher’s awake… They couldn’t take it anymore… /Caiaphas clears his throat./ And it is little left, just a little…
Caiaphas: Excuse me for interrupting your rest.
Jesus: Never mind.
Caiaphas: A little unmannerly, but I overheard involuntarily that you were talking about disciples. Your disciples?
Jesus: Ours.
Caiaphas: I see… I’m a teacher also…
Jesus: I know.
Caiaphas: So you know me?
Jesus: Yes.
Caiaphas: I’m sorry but your face is unfamiliar to me… Don’t you work in Jerusalem?
Jesus: I’m everywhere.
Caiaphas: Everywhere… In that case you should have many disciples.
Jesus: They are many, but one short.
Caiaphas: It’s interesting… Mine are fewer but about to become with one more.
Jesus: I know.
Caiaphas: Who are you?
Jesus: Nobody.
Caiaphas: You can’t be nobody! It’s impossible for a teacher to be nobody…
Jesus: I’m everybody and nobody.
Caiaphas: I see… You keep it a secret for me who you are, but that’s none of my business.
Jesus: I don’t, but the moment hasn’t come yet.
Caiaphas: The moment hasn’t come yet… Forgive me for insulting you eventually, but do you talk in that… indistinct way to your disciples also?
Jesus: Those who have ears will hear, of course.
Caiaphas: I see… Since Jesus appeared, everybody has started talking like him – “I tell you the truth, he who has ears, will hear, let him hear” and so on. Is it fashion, I can’t understand?
Jesus: It’s word.
Caiaphas: Ah, yes. In the beginning it’s always the word. But the important thing is what it concerns and whom it refers to…
Jesus: That’s right.
Caiaphas: For us teachers that means that disciples are those who matter. Right?
Jesus: That’s what you say.
Caiaphas: Oh! That also is Jesus’s way! For him it’s always somebody else who says it! I won’t be surprised if it turns out that you talk to your disciples in parables…
Jesus: That’s right.
Caiaphas: Oh, my God, Jesus has troubled the minds of all teachers. No wonder you complain of your students.
Jesus: Why?
Caiaphas: Because parables lead there! They are disastrous for any disciple. They dilute the concepts.
Jesus: They give freedom of choice.
Caiaphas: Freedom? No freedom should be given! It makes the psychic unstable and choice leads to infirmity of purpose! I don’t know about you, but I drive this into my disciples’ heads – be firm, stable, undeviating…
Jesus: Without senses.
Caiaphas: Without senses and souls if necessary! There shouldn’t be anything which can bend them and make them yield. They have only one choice – the choice of purpose that they will follow. There should be only one aim before their eyes and they should use all their power to achieve it.
Jesus: The hunter doesn’t hesitate when he is after the beast.
Caiaphas: That’s right. I see that you understand me. They must be hunters. Hunters of purposes. If they don’t manage to kill the beast, they will themselves become beasts who will sooner or later be killed by another hunter.
Jesus: So everybody must be either a hunter or a beast. The dead is not our enemy, why should the living be?
Caiaphas: Because we were born on the road! The road that everybody treads. All do what they want – either stay at that place, rush forward or start back. For my disciples I have chosen people who will only rush forward by all possible means and resources.
Jesus: That road leads towards its beginning – again towards man. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Caiaphas: Because that speck will some day be a plank and it will fall not just anywhere but on our head!
Jesus: That’s why we should pay attention to our eye first and when everybody does that…
Caiaphas /interrupting him/ :Don’t be naive! Nobody will do that! Or maybe just a fool or two, who believe in Jesus… Everybody should be distrustful, believe no people around him and not a single thing because a minute of neglect will cost his life… And on the road where we were born there is no place for such minutes. The road… the road… But that’s the road to power! We were born with that aim and for it we’ll die! That’s how I teach my students – to be capable of fighting and take possession of power! Power will justify all means by which they got hold on it…
Jesus: People must be capable of ruling, use power, but not fight to achieve it. For no one will keep the power if he doesn’t know how to use it.
Caiaphas: So that’s what you teach your disciples? And at that in parables!
Jesus: Yes. In order to be capable of thinking, they must be left by themselves, to their own virtues. And for this they need the proper food, the parables, for example.
Caiaphas: Virtues must be cultivated in them, in-built!
Jesus: Alas! Virtues should be acquired.
Caiaphas: No time for such waste.
Jesus: There’s time for anything.
Caiaphas: I see… We both will never reach an agreement! We stand on quite different grounds, so our places will always be different… That’s why… While I would… would betray somebody slapping his face, you surely will betray him with…
Jesus: With a kiss.
Caiaphas: That’s it! /Jesus is leaving./ Are you leaving? It was a pleasure after all!
Jesus: See you soon. /Leaves./
Caiaphas: It’s your will! /Looks around./ Why is Judas still long? /He pauses./ He doesn’t have the right to betray me just now! Oh, if I had more time! I wouldn’t be shaking about whether he will come or not… /He keeps quiet./ But that’s how he has been sucked by Jesus – he sucked parables and grew up hesitating./ Judas enters./ Oh! You’ve come at last!
Judas: Yes. I’ve come all the same.
Caiaphas: All the same! Don’t make me lose my control, boy! Show me who Jesus is.
Judas: I don’t know.
Caiaphas: You don’t know!
Judas: I don’t know who Jesus is… /He looks around./ I don’t know who you are… /Looks around./
Caiaphas: There is nobody around. Go and find Jesus.
Judas: I don’t know who I am either.
Caiaphas: Have you gone off your head? Are you looking for it? Or for Jesus?
Judas /Looking around? : I’m not looking for my head… Nor for Jesus…
Caiaphas: What the Hell are you looking for then?!
Judas /freezes/ : What… /He sees Satan enter./
Satan: You’ve mislead me well, Judas, but you can’t escape! No way! Answer that man who you are looking for!
Judas: You!
Caiaphas: Me? Well… Judas, boy, did you have a hard night? Or has something shaken your opinions…
Satan: Jelly-fish! Are you a woman again?
Judas: I’m not a woman.
Caiaphas / hugs Judas/: Boy, I can see that you are tired… Come on, show Jesus to me and I’ll help you so that everybody will leave you at peace…
Judas: I can’t…
Caiaphas and Satan: But you could yesterday! /Judas crouches on the ground hiding his head in his hands./
Satan: You can, Judas. Brace your energies.
Caiaphas: Brace up, Judas. You can. / Judas is quiet. Caiaphas and Satan / squat next to him/ : Have you forgotten, boy, what we talked yesterday about? And after all you looked for me, not I for you. Didn’t you? I just pointed out the charlatanism of that man to you and you yourself offered to help us get rid of him. Have you forgotten?
Satan: Get to your feet, man! Get up!
Caiaphas: Judas, Jesus is dangerous. He is peril to the kingdom. We can’t shrug off.
Satan: Get up! /He kicks Judas. Judas jumps up./
Caiaphas : All right, calm down. You have a nervous disorder, it will pass. Just pull yourself up, find Jesus and show him to me and everything will be all right.
Judas: Why?
Caiaphas: Because… But we talked about this yesterday, didn’t we? I have nothing against Jesus, boy, absolutely nothing! On the contrary, I respect his virtues. But I can’t leave the kingdom in danger, I can’t keep calm when I see how a future tyrant is raising his head. I can’t look at this with indifference. I must do something, at least capture him and he may become quiet… with our help…
Judas: But Jesus is not alone! Having captured the commander, you don’t have the army in your hands!
Caiaphas: No, but we’ll make them defenseless. Then we’ll show real leaders to them and they’ll follow the right way.
Judas: But why must it be Jesus himself?
Caiaphas: Because usually one suffers for all! A whole people may be to blame, but one man becomes the scapegoat! One expiates the sins of all because all are sinful but they can’t all die! In that way the scapegoat saves the rest and becomes their saviour! That’s why we need Jesus! Am I clear at last?
Judas /rising/ : But that’s what Jesus says himself!
Caiaphas: Says! He will say! I’ve told you, I respect Jesus and that’s why I want to talk to him. Will you point him out to me? Have you made up your mind, Judas?
Satan: Yes.
Judas: I don’t know.
Satan: Don’t play the devil, Judas! Answer!
Judas: I won’t answer!
Caiaphas: What is it that you say?
Satan: Tell him: “I’ll betray him!”
Judas: I won’t!
Satan: Tell him!
Judas: I won’t.
Satan: Tell him!
Judas: I won’t.
Caiaphas: What “won’t “? Won’t you betray him?
Satan: Say : “I won’t betray him!”
Judas: I will!
Satan/bursts out in laughter/: At last!
Caiaphas: At last! All right, Judas, I’ll bring the soldiers, you find Jesus and wait for me here! Have you heard? Let’s do it! /He leaves./
Judas: You’ve tricked me!
Satan: Oh, no! You tricked me! I got the headache because of your contrary answers, I didn’t know what to talk anymore…
Judas: You’ve tricked me!
Satan: Well, you should have thought what to talk and how not to drift along! It’s not my fault!
Judas: You’ve tricked me! You forced me!
Satan: It’s you, you, who forced me, Judas! You are Satan himself!
Judas: You are Satan!
Satan: You are!
Judas: You!
Satan: You!
Judas: You!
Satan: I am!
Judas: I… You are!
Satan: I am!
Judas: You are!
Satan: Well, all right! That’s what I say! /laughing loudly/ That’s what I say.
Judas: Lord! He makes me lose my senses… Why have you left me?
Satan: Come on, come on! Go find Jesus!/laughing. Jesus appears right at that moment. Satan’s laughter stops and he runs away in panic./
Jesus: Judas. /Judas starts./ There’s no need to look for me, I’m here.
Judas: Jesus! /He kneels down./
Jesus: Stand up, Judas and be the one you are.
Judas:/stands up./ Who am I, Jesus?
Jesus: You are Judas, the one who will betray the Son of God.
Judas: And who is the Son of God?
Jesus: The one who is before your eyes.
Judas: And how will you prove that it’s you?
Jesus: With the faith that is missing in you…
Judas: I can’t understand you… Won’t you ask Peter here…, your… man?
Jesus: If I ask Peter here, I’ll ask for faith, but I don’t need it now because you are an unbeliever.
Judas: I don’t understand…
Jesus: You do but you’re playing tricks. You were my disciple and Peter is my disciple.
Judas: You have always preferred Peter!
Jesus: No, I’ve treated everyone equally but differently. Each one of you has a different soul and to be possible for you to understand, I had to attune myself to it. You, for example, were never deficient in intellect, but have always been with weak faith. Doubt comes before trust in you, that’s why I fought against your doubt, I worked for your faith… With Peter it’s the reverse – he has faith in abundance but he is not sensible enough to see things the way I want.
Judas: I don’t understand you.
Jesus: Stop it, Judas, no need to pretend before me. Nobody can have secrets from me!
Judas: All right, Jesus, let’s talk frankly! People think that you are a fraud and charlatan…
Jesus: Not people but Caiaphas and Pharisees. And that’s normal because they are the men of the day. Nobody will give up his place by the fire if that will doom him to freezing.
Judas: These are the exact words of Caiaphas who says that you are a future tyrant!
Jesus: That’s normal, too. Everybody is sensitive to what he is. The hunchback notices the hunch, the pickpocket sees the tricks and dexterity of a trickster, the thief shouts: “Stop the thief!” and the tyrant finds himself in everything – what is around him is what threatens power. The one who threatens his power is the one who aims at it. And the one who aims at it, is the one who will be the future tyrant. That’s the skeleton of the Pharisee thought.
Judas: But the flesh, Jesus, the flesh of this skeleton is passable! Caiaphas very successfully misinterprets all that you preach.
Jesus: This flesh, Judas, stinks. And Caiaphas knows that. That’s why he pushes it not to whoever it is, but to the one who knows how to use it.
Judas: So, you accuse Caiaphas of fraudulence also!
Jesus: That’s what you say, not me. I accuse nobody. Everybody is what he is and that’s why I can neither accuse you.
Judas: But you accuse Peter of frivolity!
Jesus: Peter is my child and a parent must bring up his children.
Judas: But you didn’t try to bring me up!
Jesus: You didn’t need it, you needed faith and it is not brought up.
Judas: But I am not in want of faith, Jesus, that’s your great error!
Jesus: You’re right, you’re not in want of faith, but your faith is not real. You, Judas, trust only yourself. You, Judas, have no trust in God.
Judas: That’s right, Jesus, I don’t trust God. How then do you want me to have trust in you?
Jesus: That’s what I say, I have never tried to inspire that in you. You are a godless person.
Judas: I’m a man, that’s why I’m godless! You know that God was created by people! God is a robe that people created for warmth so that they wouldn’t writhe in cosmic cold.
Jesus: You are wrong, God is in front of you. Judas: No, God is inside me! I agree that there is a force above us, that guards us while we sleep, but this force is inside me and it is due to my abilities, to my virtues!
Jesus: You are wrong, Judas, I am God.
Judas: No, I am God! Everyone is God! Why should you come and claim to be God? Are you something more than other people? Are you more than me?
Jesus: Yes, I am God
Judas: That’s what has always irritated me! You are an intelligent person, Jesus, moreover you are more intelligent than me, but you don’t excel me in intellect! No! You excel me in experience! You’re mature, Jesus and I am a greenhorn! I don’t know where you have taken your teaching from, maybe you have thought it out yourself! But I don’t accept somebody to place himself higher than me even when he excels me! Especially then! Because in that way he underestimates me, he neglects me, pats my cheek smiling and I can’t bear that! I hate being looked down on! I could… before I met you… crush everyone with words! But I met you, Jesus! I met you! And I was wasted away because you treated me like an equal, respected me and it would have been easier if you had looked down on me! Oh, God, how I wanted and expected a patronizing gesture to confront you directly! And only in direct confrontation does a man show his power! We would have measured our strength, Jesus! And seen who the winner would have been then – you, the mature one, who pronounces himself God, or I, the greenhorn, who doesn’t believe in God? Oh, how I was thrilled with the thought for that battle in the beginning! But you, Jesus, acted cruelly! You didn’t accept the duel and left me to fry in my own grease, pretending that you accepted me as one of your disciples! And I burnt!… As time passed I got more and more frightened, I doubted my strength more and grew weaker, I lost the sharpness of my wit… Here, it was yesterday when I talked to an enemy of yours. And he crushed me. I tried to make my brain work, but my mouth pronounced your words. I tried to give birth to something of my own, but my wit produced only a naive childish mumble! And Caiaphas did me in! He said that you surely are a wise man but your disciples are worthless! And that, Jesus, he said about me… He called my words “a lesson learnt by heart”! /Judas paces to and fro./ But then I was… a little…embarrassed. I wasn’t… quite myself…/A pause./ One way, Jesus, or another, you are the reason for this! You made me your barrel-organ because you behaved as if you didn’t notice my illness. How I was furious, how I wanted to throw you in fire, in the sea, from the cliff, but…
Jesus: Why didn’t you try?
Judas: And why didn’t you put me out of your way? Why did you accept me among your disciples?
Jesus: You yourself decided to stay.
Judas: You are cruel, Jesus! You are cruel even now! I stayed, it’s true, but because you let me! You knew that it would humble me, make me obey your will…
Jesus: Time heals everything.
Judas: But time causes all the wounds! Oh, why didn’t I leave, why did I give up…
Jesus: I needed you to betray me, Judas. I’m at the end of my strength. Now I’m thirty-three and will soon be old, my mind will be weaker and I won’t be able to do what I’m called upon… And my Father is calling me.
Judas: Don’t act a show with me, Jesus! What father, what son, what Holy Spirit?! You want to die young, die at the top in order to create your legend. You are a myth, Jesus and you know how to work your myth. You have done your job – you have offered your teaching, managed to summon masses of people and now you’re programming your death already! Oh, why are you cleverer than me, Jesus, why couldn’t I make it out earlier and go into the duel?
Jesus: Why do you want to stand in my way, Judas?
Judas: Because nobody can place himself above the others for we have one mother… Oh, I beg your pardon, I forgot that you come from the Holy Spirit! So, you have thought about everything, Jesus! For birth and miracles also…
Jesus: Why did you close your eyes and run away when I produced signs?
Judas: Jesus, did you produce miracles?
Jesus: You didn’t want to spoil your idea for the duel you had to have with me.
Judas: Tell me, Jesus, please, did you produce miracles?
Jesus: Even if I tell you, you have no faith to believe. And even if you believe, would you later keep the belief that you trusted me?
Judas: Did you produce miracles?
Jesus: I produced signs.
Judas: Why didn’t you take me by surprise and make me see one of your miracles? You know that I would have believed then! But before I see, nobody is capable of convincing me in the unthinkable!
Jesus: That’s why I didn’t do it. But I didn’t come to save you, Judas.
Judas: But I am a man, too! If you don’t save me, you couldn’t save humanity, as you claim, because I’m a link of the whole human race!
Jesus: I can’t save only those who are obsessed with Satan…
Judas/starts/ : Satan…That’s right, Satan! Where is he?
Jesus: Does he exist?
Judas: Yes! He appeared before me after you said that I was obsessed with him!
Jesus: I said that the one who would betray me was obsessed with him.
Judas: You betrayed me, Jesus, you betrayed me! You betrayed me to Satan!
Jesus: The one who will betray me is one entity with Satan. When you had decided to betray me, then you saw Satan.
Judas: But where is he? He has been pursuing me since yesterday!
Jesus: Do you see, Judas, what unbelief leads to? You don’t want to believe in God and the unthinkable, but you do believe in Satan.
Judas: But I saw him! He has been pursuing me since yesterday!
Jesus: And why didn’t anybody else see him?
Judas: Because he is invisible for the rest!
Jesus: My Father is also invisible for the rest, but when I say that he does exist, you doubt. And now…
Judas: But I saw him!
Jesus : I do believe you. That’s what I excel you in, Judas, in faith. I believe you that you saw Satan.
Judas: But where is he?
Jesus: I believe you because I know him.
Judas: Stop it, Jesus, I have had enough of your words…
Jesus: Just as you like. But don’t look for him. While I’m with you, he won’t appear!
Judas: Oh!/freezes with his mouth open./
Jesus:  Yes, Judas, Satan ran away the moment he saw me… /Pauses./ It’s a pity that you had no faith in me, boy. It’s late already. Now you’ll stay dumbfounded till they take me away from here. Here comes Peter… And don’t forget it, Judas! When Caiaphas comes in a minute you will kiss me to betray me to him. And then you’ll see a sign. God will send it for you, Judas! /Peter enters./
Peter: Jesus, Jesus, the garden is full of soldiers! Your disciples have disappeared somewhere! What’s the matter, Jesus?
Jesus: They’ve come for me.
Peter: For you? Oh… Judas?
Jesus: Judas is dumbfounded, Peter.
Peter: Dumbfounded? Oh, God, what’s the matter?
Jesus: Nothing. My time has come.
Peter: I won’t leave you to the soldiers! /He takes out a sword./ I’ll die if necessary, but…
Jesus: No, you needn’t die, Peter. Put the sword back in the sheath and the anger back into your soul.
Peter: Absurd!
Jesus: Put sense into yourself, Peter! Listen to me! You needn’t die! If you die, so will I!
Peter: How… What are you talking, Teacher? What will I be worth without you?
Jesus: You are  a jewel and if you let them sack you, you’ll be dead even if alive.
Peter: I can’t betray you, Jesus!
Jesus: If you die now, that means that you will have betrayed me. Your jewel is your soul, but without your body it will volatilize. Listen to me!
Peter: No! I don’t want to listen! I don’t understand your parables! I’m like a dog – tell me “at them” and I’ll sink my teeth into them and will let nobody go!
Jesus: Your devotion is exactly what the future needs, Peter! It’s time for you to turn from a dog-warden of the herd into a shepherd! Listen to me! I have little left to live in this world. I’ll leave it, but I’ll come back to help you. You and the other disciples! You will be the apostles, Peter, my apostles and you’ll lie in the foundations of the edifice that centuries will build here from now on. Do you believe, Peter?
Peter: I do, Teacher.
Jesus: Do you believe me, Peter?
Peter: I do, Teacher.
Jesus: Do you believe me, Peter?
Peter: I do, Teacher. /Caiaphas appears./
Jesus: Keep your faith! /Caiaphas is standing at the end, Judas in the middle, Jesus and Peter are looking at Caiaphas./ Judas. Do your job, Judas.
Peter: What job?
Jesus: That is to be done. Keep quiet. /Judas approaches Jesus laboriously and kisses him./
Caiaphas: Aha… So I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting you… Teacher!
Jesus: Carry on, Caiaphas. Your time is passing.
Caiaphas: Hm. You’re an easy-going man, Jesus. I suppose that you wouldn’t make me call the soldiers to take you with me.
Jesus: No. Take me.
Peter /springs to his feet/ : How is that to take you? Caiaphas? They will kill you, Jesus!
Jesus: Keep silent, Peter.
Peter: Oh, no! /Takes out his sword./
Jesus: Peter! /Peter rushes for Caiaphas and before he can understand what is happening, cuts his ear off. Caiaphas shrieks and bends double./
Jesus: He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword, Peter! I didn’t believe that you would do it!
Peter: Run, Teacher!
Jesus: No. It wasn’t destined that. /Steps forward, takes the ear of Caiaphas from the ground and addresses Judas./ Look, Judas. That’s the sign that you waited for! /Puts the ear in its place./ You are whole again, Caiaphas. /Caiaphas touches his ear and runs away./ Run, Peter! And see that they don’t catch you.
Peter: Teacher, come with me!
Jesus: No.
Peter: Jesus, if you don’t come with me, I will no longer know you!
Jesus: No.
Peter: I will no longer know you if you don’t run away with me!
Jesus: No.
Peter: Do you hear me? I will no longer know you if…
Jesus: Here, I told you that you would deny me three times after they had caught me… Run! /Caiaphas enters./
Caiaphas /waving at somebody/ : There he is! /He points at Peter./ That one! Arrest him!
Peter: But why, Jesus… /Runs away. The sound of running feet dies away slowly./
Jesus: Take me, Caiaphas. /Jesus leaves, Caiaphas hesitates for a moment and goes after him. Judas comes out of his stiffness and falls down. Satan enters on tiptoe. He smiles at Judas./
Judas /fatigued/ : Oh, here you are… Help me to stand up.
Satan: With pleasure.
Judas /gets to his feet./ So you ran away…
Satan: Oh, no, I had some business to do…
Judas: So it’s business…
Satan: And how did you spend the time while I wasn’t here? Did you have a delightful or tedious time? When I look at your bored face it must have been the second!
Judas: So, the second…
Satan: Stop with that “so, so”!
Judas: Do you want us to play? Do you?
Satan: To compete in playing?
Judas: Call it as you like.
Satan: Well… Hm… No. No, I don’t want.
Judas: You do.
Satan: I don’t.
Judas: You do, you do…
Satan: No, I positively don’t…
Judas: So, you mean you positively don’t.
Satan: I don’t mean! /Starts laughing. Judas attacks him, tries to strangle him, Satan screams, wriggles and manages to escape. Judas grasps him again. They fight, roll down./ Was that… /manages to escape. Both of them are panting for breath./ Was that… the game…
Judas: No… it is in store for us…
Satan: Well, I’m leaving!…
Judas: You can’t… /He pauses./
Satan: And where… did you get so much… strength from… Yesterday you were weak  as a… a chicken…
Judas: And yesterday… you fought like a lion… Now you run as a mouse! Why did you run away when Jesus appeared?
Satan: And when did Jesus appear? Was he here? Dash it! It’s a pity… I could never manage to see that man!
Judas: You monkey about, don’t you? Don’t torture your mind to invent nonsense! I know why you ran away.
Satan: Why?
Judas: Because you can’t look into God’s eyes!
Satan: That’s it! Has Jesus now become God for you? Look what changes in your way of thinking! Yesterday you were convinced that Jesus was a fraud and hypocrite, today you nearly ruined us before Caiaphas...
Judas: Stop referring to me and you as to one whole.
Satan: All right, I beg your pardon, your honour! Will you let me finish at least?
Judas: So, to let you…
Satan: That’s right, so… Today you made a fool of yourself before Caiaphas and now you confidently declare that Jesus is God!
Judas: You are Satan, aren’t you?
Satan: You said it.
Judas: And you are invisible to everybody, aren’t you?
Satan: But you.
Judas: And you ran away from Jesus, didn’t you?
Satan: No-o-o…
Judas /smiling/: Did you say “no”?… There’s no need to confess, that will not spoil the game…
Satan: What game?
Judas: The one in which I intend to outplay you.
Satan: You grow enigmatic…
Judas : I don’t. Purely and simply I intend to get rid of you.
Satan: Ah… Oh, there’s no way, boy! No way…
Judas: Don’t call me “boy”! I’m no longer a boy!
Satan: Oh, yes! You have changed… Since Jesus is God already! That puzzles me, however, do you know, Judas? You obviously talk seriously… Has Jesus appeared before you in a divine image also as with Peter?
Judas: Jesus produced a sign.
Satan: Really? Well, everything comes into its place then! For, pardon me, there is no sense of you believing in Jesus right now after you betrayed him and have nothing in common with him!
Judas: Yes. Jesus produced a sign right when I had already turned away from him…
Satan: And what was it, may I ask?
Judas: He restored Caiaphas’s cut ear.
Satan: What? Caiaphas with a cut ear! And who cut it off? You?
Judas: No. Peter.
Satan: Peter! Was he also here? So I missed the whole fight!
Judas: Yes, you missed everything.
Satan: And what else happened here? Come on, tell me!
Judas: Nothing… We talked a little with Jesus, then Peter came frightened, then Caiaphas appeared to take away Jesus. Peter cut his ear, Jesus healed him, Peter ran away and Caiaphas took Jesus. That’s all.
Satan: Oh, how you told it to me! Put some pepper/spice in your story! What a story… /Pauses./ That’s it. So Jesus’s tale is told. The Pharisees will by no means miss the chance to fix your teacher.
Judas: And now I intend to fix you. I intend to kill you. /He unties the rope which is round his waist./
Satan /grinning/ : By hanging me?
Judas: No, by hanging myself.
Satan: What?
Judas: I’m obsessed with you the way I was obsessed with Jesus. I tore free from Jesus, to be more exact, he overthrew me and now I intend to get rid of you.
Satan: By hanging yourself!
Judas: Yes. In that way I’ll kill myself but you also. At least I’ll have a clear conscience and I’ll die with the pleasant thought that I have freed the world from you!
Satan: And you think that I will die?
Judas: Of course, if we are one whole.
Satan: We are, but only at the moment. The moment your lips turn blue I’ll leave you.
Judas: No! You can’t!
Satan: I can. Nobody is Satan’s master! I myself decide when to come and when to leave. Do you really think that you’ll kill me if you hang yourself?
Judas: Yes!
Satan: Yes but alas! You are very naive, boy! Have you forgotten that I’m not a man?
Judas: You are me and I’m you and when I die, you will die, too.
Satan: Really? /laughing/
Judas: You can’t play tricks to me again!
Satan: It’s you that play tricks to yourself! Was that the game in which you intended to outplay me?
Judas: You’ve guessed right!
Satan: You are very, very stupid, Judas… Well, come on! Hang yourself. Let’s see how this job will be done!
Judas /having thrown the rope on a branch of a tree, puts his neck into the loop./ Let’s see!
Satan: Mummy! What a fool you are, Judas! You’ll hang yourself for a delusion, believe me!…
Judas: We’ll see…
Satan: How will you see when you will have kicked the bucket?… Don’t hang yourself, boy! Believe me, the moment you stop breathing, I’ll run away… Judas! /Judas hangs down the tree. He goes into convulsions. Satan also. After the last convulsion of Judas Satan rises calmly./ A fool! A great fool! Look how foolish people turn out to be… /Approaches and swings the body./ And how easy it is to cheat them! A little dust in their eyes and… they come to the halter! Farewell, Judas. On my black list you’ll be at the top/the leader/. When I see your name I’ll remember a very well… really very well done job of Satan! Great lies I lied, a great outwitting it was! At least you hung yourself with a pleasant thought in your head wishing the death of Satan. It’s a pity. It’s a pity that you’re not alive to hear my last words! /Swings the body again./ Listen very carefully, Judas: you’ve hung yourself and I… I will be crucified! /Starts laughing and leaves slowly. At that moment Judas grasps the rope and ferociously tries to free himself. He succeeds and jumps on the ground./
Judas: Ouch… /He massages his neck and hardly manages to breathe./ Just… just a little more… if he had stay… stayed… I would have… would have really die! Ah!… /Pauses. He calms down, stretches and takes the rope down./ A great outwitting, eh?… I was na?ve, the boy, eh? First I got free from the power of Jesus and now - from the grasp of Satan and I was the na?ve one, really? /Judas ties the rope round his waist./ There can be many Jesuses and many Satans  but Judas is one and only! He stretches his shoulders, moans./ He will be crucified, hm. /Pauses./ Well, all right! I betrayed the Son of God… And now I’ll betray Satan also! /Leaves./


                            7-15 XII 1997
                                             Varna, Bulgaria