The inconsistencies and gaps in the story of the resurrection of Jesus following his crucifixion have perplexed both theologians and historians to the present day. Whilst no-one has produced a convincing physical explanation for the disappearance of Jesus’ body from the tomb in which it was first laid – an event witnessed by Jesus’ entourage – it has to be recognised that something extraordinary happened to make Jesus’ followers believe they later encountered the risen Jesus. This was, after all, the cornerstone of the faith of both the messianic community in Jerusalem led by Jesus’ younger brother James and by the envoy Paul, who took the message to gentile communities elsewhere.
The idea that the person encountered by Mary in the tomb early on the Sunday morning – the foundation of the initial rumour that Jesus had risen – was not Jesus but someone such as a brother having a resemblance to him is not new. However, there does not seem to have been any attempt to cast such an explanation in a form that takes account of the salient landmarks in the gospel accounts. There is strong possibility that Jesus had several siblings, including brothers James, Joses, Simeon and Judas, and a sister Salome. The story presented here, Judas Thomas, makes the fourth brother, Judas, the one that Mary encountered in the tomb. He is called here Judas Thomas, or just Thomas, this name meaning ‘twin’ in Aramaic. Here it has been given to Thomas as a nickname because of his physical resemblance to his elder brother. There are references in the early literature to Jesus having a twin brother, the most well-known being the ‘Gospel of Thomas’ – one of a collection of early Christian writings unearthed at Nag Hamadi in Egypt in 1945. This text begins: ‘These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down…’ It is not known whether this Coptic gospel was based on writings of a true brother of Jesus or is attributable to Jesus’ disciple Thomas, who was one of the Twelve but most likely a different figure altogether. The former interpretation is assumed for the purpose of the story.
The location of the house in which the last supper was held – probably on the Thursday evening before Jesus’ arrest – cannot with certainty be identified with the house of John the Priest (the most likely candidate for the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’) but this must be a strong possibility. It was on the recollections of this John that John’s Gospel – attributable to another John – was based. In this gospel it is reported that he was among those who believed they had witnessed the risen Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The true fate of Mary of Magdala (in later Christian parlance Mary Magdalene) after the crucifixion of Jesus is not known, but is seems not inconsistent with James’ character that he should have taken her in when he arrived in Jerusalem to assume leadership of the messianic community there. James was to hold this position for at least two decades. He died at the hands of the high priest Ananias in 62 CE, by which time Christian communities had been established – often with the help of Paul – in various cities throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
Finally, it is not widely realised that the hillside village of Nazareth lay only three miles or so from – and in sight of – the large town of Sepphoris, the administrative capital of Galilee. Although Sepphoris is hardly mentioned in the Bible it cannot be doubted that Jesus and his family would have known it well. In this story Judas Thomas is an artisan in the town, carrying on there the business of Jesus’ family.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Murchison’s Fragment and Other Short Plays for Stage and Radio
From Higher Places
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Copyright © 2018 Roger Curtis
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