New Story for a Famous Title: JUDE THE OBSCURE

The true story of Jesus's jealous brother is discovered

In modern day, archaeologists find some ancient scrolls and turn them over to a translator of Ancient Greek. When she translates one of them, she excitedly calls in a Biblical scholar and shows it to him. It’s entitled “The Second Epistle of Jude,” and purports to be the work of Jesus’s brother Judas. This man preferred to be called Jude or Judah because, after Jesus’s death, people were always mistaking him for Judas Iscariot and beating him up.

The author writes that he was one of several children, male and female, of Joseph and his wife Mary, who continued to be called “the virgin” even after becoming a mother. Jude was his dad’s favorite child, and the boy was heartbroken when Joseph died, leaving him to never feel special again.

Jesus, the eldest, and rumored not to be Joseph’s child but rather the product of an affair, was the most popular, and Jude was jealous of him. Jude would tease Jesus that he wasn’t really of the ancient House of David, and Jesus would use his magic powers to turn Jude into a pig or frog. When they were young adults, Jude made Jesus so upset that the elder brother ran away into the desert for forty days.

As Jesus gained an ever higher profile and a following of people, Jude became more jealous and hated being in his brother’s shadow. But there was one bright spot for him: his deep love of the beautiful Mary Magdalene. This young woman was terribly troubled, and she was diagnosed as being possessed by seven demons. She was devastated, but Jude remained loyal to his love. Just when it appeared they would commit to each other, Jesus drove the demons out of Mary, and she became enamored of him. Jude was crushed.

Later, on a particular Passover weekend, Jude accidentally overheard Judas Iscariot plotting with the Jewish priests to have Jesus arrested and executed. He ran back to tell Jesus about it, but, just as he was about to, his jealousy clammed him up. After Jesus’s death, Jude felt incredibly guilty. When Jesus arose from the dead, Jude was overjoyed and became one of his brother’s greatest cheerleaders.

Eventually, he wrote “The Epistle of Jude,” but, when it turned out to be a publishing dud, ending up on remainder tables, he got very depressed. Desperately, he wrote “The Second Epistle of Jude,” determined that everyone know his true story. He ended it by stating he was certain it would be a best-seller.

After reading the scroll, the Biblical scholar says he is going to lock it away where no one can find it. He insists that the translator tell no one of its existence. Thus, Judas the brother of Jesus would remain Jude the Obscure.

#fiction #writing