An encounter with an intense, conspiratorial character

Do you want trouble? Keep your voice down. This city is full of spies.

Follow me; don’t say anything until I tell you it’s safe to speak. We go across the square and down that alley in the corner. Carry that sack with you; they will assume you are a delivery man.

Wait until that patrol has passed.

Right, not too close. Look as though you know where you are going and no-one will stop you. Don’t stop and don’t speak to anyone.

Now, quickly, through the door while the alley is empty.

Good, wait until I get the lamp lit, then we’ll go into the room there.

We’re safe here – the door we came in is the only entrance to the place, and you would hardly notice it unless you were looking.

Right, I’ll tell you why I wanted to see you. I have a plan and I wanted to see what you thought of it.

We have waited years for freedom in this country, decades, generations even, and where has it got us? Enemy troops on our streets, enemy taxes on our people, enemy justice in our country, that’s where the years of patience and prayer have got us.

It’s time to act. I know, I know, we have had endless crackpot revolutionaries who have stirred up their own rebellions and have paid a nasty price for it, but this time is different, this time there really is going to be a change.

Why is it different? My friend, you have the attitude of our enemies if you cannot see what a time of opportunity this is. It is our enemies who would wish to keep things as they are; it is our enemies who would try to make us think that nothing will ever change. Don’t let’s have defeatist talk.

We have waited years for the right person, someone who could both carry the crowds and take on the politicians; someone with charisma, someone who could make our people believe in themselves. You’ve seen this man at work, you’ve seen him stand and speak and hold thousands in the palm of his hand, and you’ve seen the stuff he can do. He can do things I’ve never seen before.

This is our opportunity. You saw the crowds last Sunday, one word from him and our nation would be free. But he seems to have taken cold feet; he’s spending his time teaching instead of rallying the people.

We must get him to act, if necessary we must force him to act; an opportunity like this is never going to come again. Let him go and our hope of a revolution is lost.

We have to create a situation where he is forced to act, a situation where he will emerge as our leader.

I have a plan. The politicians want a chance to get at him, so I am going to give them that chance. I’m going to act as a catalyst. Let them arrest him and then let them see what this man can do. We are going to use Jesus of Nazareth for our own cause, force him into bringing us freedom.

People for generations to come will remember the name of Judas Iscariot. They will remember the moment I hand over this man.