The personal sin
of the participants
(Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone.
In
Hell there grew a Judas tree
Where
Judas hanged and died
Because
he could not bear to see
His
Master crucified
Our
Lord descended into Hell
And
found his Judas there
Forever
hanging on the tree
Grown
from his own despair
So
Jesus cut his Judas down
And
took him in his arms
It was for this I came, he said
And not to do you harm
My Father gave me twelve good men
And all of them I kept
Though one betrayed and one denied
Some fled and others wept
In three days’ time I must return
To make the others glad
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had
My tree will grow in place of yours
Its roots lie here as well
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell
So
when we all condemned him
As
of every traitor worst
Remember
that of all his men
Our
Lord forgave him first
--Ruth Etchells, The Judas Tree
Image source: Giotto, Kiss
of Judas (1304-1306), Scrovegni
Chapel, Padua, Italy
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