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The Gospel According to Judas Iscariot

from Only Human by Sam Steffen

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Acts 1:18

lyrics

My name it is an epitaph, my tale it is too sad to tell
For I have done the hangman’s math, when I leave this earth, I’m bound for hell.
I started out a fisherman, I spent my youth beside the sea
Until one day a shepherd came, said, “Put down thy nets and come with me.”
He folded me into his flock and taught me how to serve the poor
My faith in him was like a rock, until it wasn’t anymore.
For many years I followed him, one lost sheep wandring with the rest
But alone to me he’d often said I was the one he loved the best.
And as we roamed the country fair, and preached the good news from on high
The authorities, they did declare, “He is gaining strength, and so he must die!”
And late one night I dreamed a dream, an angel came and spoke to me
He said I was the dark machine that was mentioned in the prophesy.
He told me how to play my part, said, “Altho you love him to the rind,
You must betray him in your heart, so that he can save mankind.”
And when I wakened from my spell, my faint resolve began to grow
But whether it was from God or Hell—that is something I will never know.
I sought the high-priest to inquire, “What will you give for Jesus Christ?”
He gave the sum and went no higher, “Thirty silver pieces for his life.”
At supper on the final night, he spoke and said he already knew
He’d been betrayed and he’d lose the fight, he said, “I know that it was one of you.”
Around that room, denials poured as all our faces turned to red
“It wasn’t me, I swear, my Lord,” and Jesus: “Yeah, so you have said.”
That night I brought the sentries round, and as if to add insult to my sin,
When I kissed him on the ground, they paid me right in front of him.
He went before the judge and court, was mocked and sentenced then to die,
They hung him up upon the cross where he was flogged and crucified.
And worst of all that did transpire, worse than any guilt I own
Worse than hell’s eternal fire, were his last words to me alone:
As he was tortured, stabbed and maimed, as blood from his fresh wounds did spew
He looked at me, and said, “Be not ashamed—for already I have forgiven you.”
And saying that, he hung his head, as if to pray or give a nod
And when someone cried: “Enough—he’s dead,” they knew he was the Son of God.
No trial am I made to stand, no jury aims to see me hung
But I don’t think people understand just what it is that I have done.
I didn’t do it out of hate, out of malice, greed or jealousy—
I did it cause it was his fate, and because it was my destiny.
My name, it is Iscariot, I betrayed the Savior, Jesus Christ
My conscience cannot carry it: Thirty Silver Pieces for my life.

credits

from Only Human, released March 7, 2019

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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