Iscariot - Tosca Lee

Published by Howard Books: New York, NY, 2013.

This novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

Author Lee portrays Judas not as a out-and-out traitor, but more someone that just doesn't get what Jesus is all about. He is somewhat sympathetic - much is made of the fact that in Matthew 26:50 Jesus calls Judas "friend" - and even the betrayal itself is reinterpreted as an attempt by Judas to save Jesus rather than condemn Him. This doesn't entirely align with the Judas we see in Scripture, although technically all the 'beats' of Judas that we get in the gospels are covered. As one example, Lee softens Judas's thieving from the moneybag - it does happen but only for reasons that Judas deems as important to Jesus.

So, with a main character that doesn't quite match the historical figure, Iscariot is an odd beast of a novel. In some ways I found myself struggling to 'buy in' to the story as I found the character so different from reality, and possibly would have enjoyed a similar story if it hadn't tried to have Judas himself in the protagonist role. However, there were other moments that did jump out at me.

The Judas of the novel is a faithful Jew, and as such he really notices everything that Jesus does that is out of character for a rabbi. For example, when they travel to the region of the Gerasenes, Judas highlights that pigs are unclean, Samaritans are unclean and graves are unclean, and is shocked by Jesus choosing to enter the region and deliver the demoniac.

The Judas of the novel is also hoping that Jesus will begin an uprising against Rome, and notices very early on that Peter carries a sword, implying he has similar hopes. The fact that Peter carries a sword in John 18:10 is something I've always been aware of, but Lee's suggestion that this means Peter had always been armed intrigued me.

So that's about where I sit with Iscariot. It's not something I consider to be 100% faithful to the gospel accounts (and not a book I'm likely to read again), and yet at times it did challenge an assumption or point out a new way of looking at a particular passage.

And so, it was a good way to start off the new year overall.

Completed 3 January 2022.



(Alphabet Soup Books)

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