Hello! It’s been a while, but after a couple of big life changes I’m back!! And I’m catching up on the requests that I was given too (woohoo! Praise God!!)
I was initially working on a Judas x Reader and that’s probably gonna be what I continue first (that or pick up another pending request to give some more inspo for it, as I had gotten a little stumped). I may also be a little rusty with writing but I want to do it again!
What would you think if The Chosen had Judas not immediately die from the hanging? Instead, he was taken down and rejoices when he hears rumors of Jesus resurrection before soon dying of his neck injury.
So l actually decided to take out my Bible for this one and pray on it - Judas unfortunately dies before Jesus is even crucified!
To show you what the Lord had me reference, there are two direct accounts of Judas's death
— one in Matthew 27, and another in Acts 1. The one in Matthew 27 is the most detailed, coming right after Peter's denial:
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
[...] Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
Matthew 27: 1-5, 11 NIV
That word 'Meanwhile' in the last verse is really what convinces me that the occurrence in the temple happens while Jesus is before Pilate. As well as this, there's no mention of a gap in time between Judas throwing the money into the temple and him hanging himself. We're then able to infer that Judas had to of done this while Jesus was before Pilate the first time (as He was technically in front of Pilate twice) and, as a result, would have been dead a couple of days before Jesus's crucifixion.
With that in mind, and as the show has stated that it does not want to conflict with Scripture, I don't think the show will have that moment for him to hear Jesus's resurrection, as Jesus is not yet dead by the time the he hangs 😕. It's sad to think about and sometimes I wonder what would've happened if he had just waited. It would be nice to think of him having that moment and knowing, like Peter, that his betrayal could've been forgiven, as Jesus's death covers every past, present, and future sin as we put our trust in Him.
Hey friend, I'd love to request something!
I'd love to see a platonic Atticus X Reader where she lives on the streets, steals his purse and almost gets away with it, but he still catches her. Instead of getting her arrested, he is impressed with her technique and offers her a position amongst his informants. After all, beggars make for the best spies, since no one truly pays attention to them... Apart from Jesus, Whom she has a brief interaction with in the end.
Feel free to make additions or leave out parts you don't like!
Thank you in advance and God bless! 🫶
Jesus // Olive Branches // Platonic
Requested by @the-chosen-fanfiction
Author's Note: So this ended up being a bit different from what was requested! Both Atticus and Jesus are present, but Jesus ended up having more time dedicated to Him. As a result, this is labeled as a platonic Jesus x Reader. It's also been a while since I've written anything, so I'm not sure if the tone remains consistent. I prayed while writing though, so hopefully it's good! Enjoy!
Word Count: 2293
//
Ok, this guy’s lighter on his feet than he looks.
It was supposed to be a routine thing for you: look for an unsuspecting passerby — ideally a tourist, or at least someone that seems easy to distract — wait for your cue and grab their money. Your ‘partner-in-crime’ (read: your little brother, Yativ, who continued to call himself that no matter how much you rolled your eyes) would grab the attention of your target for enough time that you could escape unnoticed with a couple shekels or drachmas.
Granted, this last attempt was on a young man who was traveling with some famous Rabbi that everyone had been buzzing about. Risky? Yes. But Adonai had long given up on you, so you gave up on Him. Besides, popular preachers received plenty of offerings. He could afford to spare a few coins.
One of His disciples had brought his satchel with him. He was distracted, poorly concealing his emotions as he listened to the sermon being shared in the Temple court.
You had smirked to yourself. Only a fool would let their keeper of the purse carry their money so openly. This would be easy.
Everything had gone according to plan up till that point— your brother jumping in front of your target, “SIR!!! I like your tunic!!” The man nearly jumped a cubit into the air, how own curly smacking his face in the process.
“It’s olive green, yes? Did you know that olive green is my favorite color???! Because it reminds me of olives???!? DID YOU DYE YOUR TUNIC WITH OLIVES!?!”
As the guy attempted to handle your menace of a younger brother, you crept in closer. Your hand was right on the bag, nearly grabbing—
“Father, glorify your name!”
The earth seems to tremble at that moment. The skies roar like a lion.
"I HAVE GLORIFIED IT, AND I WILL GLORIFY IT AGAIN."
Was that thunder?? Why did it speak? And why did it feel so familiar? You turn to where both voices came from, and He meets your eyes.
His eyes glint with something - recognition. Your spirit does the same.
In your panic you ended up yanking the whole purse off the man's shoulder.
"Wh- HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THAT’S MY BAG!!”
Oh oops.
Worst of all, this guy's screech caught the ear of a couple Roman soldiers standing nearby.
And you, Y/N bat No One, decided to take your leave. The idea of getting arrested for stealing a man purse was a low blow to your pride.
“MEET ME AT THE SPOT YATIV!”
Chaos and clanging metal chase you as you bolt out the temple courts into the streets of Jerusalem, distancing yourself from the strange man who can speak to the sky.
//
Now, back to the present.
You had lost most of your pursuers early on, but there was still somebody following you. It irked you — you couldn’t see him now, and you don’t even know if he had been at the Temple prior, but you felt him. Could practically see the glint in his eye as he watched you from the shadows. He looked like an old man, so how was he able to keep up with you so easily?!!
No matter. This battle would be all instinct, but you had to win. The capital city of Judea were cruel, and Yativ needed you. Getting caught was not an option.
You had craftily evaded capture up to this point — all you needed to do was get out of sight and you’d be fine.
Slipping to the left, you scamper to the end of a small alleyway. Dust flies as you leap onto a canopy and pull yourself over the wall. Another alley greets you — completely abandoned. You have no idea where you are.
Oh well. You needed a break anyways.
The sounds of the busy streets fade into the distance as you lean against the wall, gasping desperately for air. Your vision blurs: ringing overwhelms your ears. You shouldn’t be exerting yourself like this on an empty stomach.
Undoing the latch, you open the leather purse to find two loose shekels in-between sheets of papyrus. Many words seem to be written on each piece.
Your initial assumption was incorrect, it seems. This is the bag of a scribe, not a coin keeper.
Your eyes catch on phrases like "the Son of Man,” and “bread of life,” and your curiosity gets the better of you. Dusting your hands off as well as you could on your worn-down tunic, you pull out a page that seemed more recent.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
You lower the page, heart racing within your chest.
You didn’t need to continue reading to know what happened next — it was all that anyone at the temple had been talking about lately. Everyone knew about the Ghost of Bethany. But to have an eyewitness account?
And, on top of that, with everything that you saw earlier? With everything that your entire being is convicting you with right now???
...
You couldn't keep this - you had to give it back.
You stare off into space — so overwhelmed by what you’ve read that you completely miss the growing sound of footsteps.
“Ah, here you are. John has quite the way with words, no?”
You gasp — How did He get here?!
The Man from earlier stands before you. Nothing from His appearance suggested anything out of the ordinary, but something within you knew better. Knew Him.
“Y-you ….. Y-You’re —“
He nods, and something cracks in you. Your face turns bitter. Angry.
“Where have you been? Why did You st-stop answering my prayers?” You don’t bother to hide your face as tears flood freely. “Y-Yativ and I — we needed you. Abba and Eema died, but when I asked You why You didn’t answer me. You didn’t help us when I asked you to! Why didn't you?!”
His eyes fill with sorrow as He cups your face. In spite of yourself, you lean into it.
“B-But the worst part?” You choke back a sob as He embraces you. “I-I …. I-I couldn’t hate You. I-I still can’t hate You. You mean too much to me”
“I know.” You know He knew, so why did He do nothing?
He inhales, pulling back slightly to look you into the eye, “I know you’ve had to go through so much.” His voice is raw as He kisses your forehead, letting you weep freely into His shoulder, “You may not understand now why it had to be this way, but I have never stopped loving you.”
Minutes pass, with the Son of God holding you through your grief.
Then again, He always has, hasn’t He? You would soon understand that His hand had never left you. That, even when you cursed His name, He never took His eyes off of you. You would see Him at His lowest, and your heart would know His. You felt the ache in your chest go away as His presence envelopes you. Everything will be ok.
Lifting your head, you wipe at your eyes, “So, now that you’re here … what do I do? I don’t even know where Yativ is, much less how we’re going to survive living like this.”
“Oh, him?” Jesus chuckles, not unkindly, as He helps you to your feet, “Don’t worry, he’s safe. He’s with my disciples right now, and my Eema’s made it her mission to spoil him rotten.”
You bark out a laugh, “I’m not even going to ask how that works, but ok. I trust you. Also—“ you gingerly hand Him the stolen purse, a sheepish smile on your face, “Your disciple — John, was it? I think he might want this back. Tell him that he is a very good writer when you give it to him. That I- well, that it just really feels like you’re there when you read it.”
This time He’s the one laughing, “Why thank you. Yes, He is very anxious to receive these back — though, I know for sure that he’ll appreciate the compliment.” There’s a teasing in His eyes that you don’t pick up on, but you’ll find out soon enough. “You can tell him so yourself, if you'd like.”
You brighten at that.
“I can?”
“Of course! He's there with your brother, after all.”
With a new burst of energy you go to follow Him. Weirdly enough, however, He stops walking and turns towards you.
“Not yet though.”
You blink, “… Why not?”
Jesus smiles knowingly at your confused expression, “The Father would just like to do something for you first. Go back the way you came and you’ll see what I mean.”
There’s a glimmer in His eye — the one that only shows up when He’s up to something. You raise your eyebrow at Him and His smile widens. He gives you a shrug as He exits the alley, whistling a hymn.
“But Jesus- Hey WAIT! When will I see you again??!”
“Soon!” He calls back, keeping stride.
//
You jump back over the wall as soon as He’s out of sight, your body thrumming with anticipation and glee.
Your excitement quickly fades, however, when the last person you want to see right now is leaning against the wall, holding a half-eaten fig in his hand.
“So," he starts, "Are we finished pretending that I couldn’t find you?” He states this nonchalantly, though his demeanor betrays some level of impatience and sarcasm.
You look up at the sky for a brief second. Geez, Adonai. This couldn’t wait?
“Look,” you start slowly, holding back some choice words that you’re aching to throw at this guy, “I’m sorry for taking that bag; it was wrong. I gave it back already to the honor — well,” you pause, “At least, someone who will give it back to them.”
“A-and nothing in there was taken out — I made sure of it. B-but I-I know that things need to be squared away accordingly and it’s ok if you need to arrest me or take me t—“
He lifts a hand to stop your ramble, and you’re shocked that it worked. “Please. If I was going to arrest you I would’ve done so already.”
“Ok so then…” You process what he said before your eyes widen slightly.
“Wait — hold on, you’re not detaining me?”
“Nope, unfortunately.”
“Why not?”
”Because,” he sighs, pushing himself off the way, “You escaped my men in a matter of minutes. No one escapes my men — but you did, and you did so easily. And right now, that’s extremely useful.”
The hand that he had used to point at you opens up, inviting yours into a handshake, “Atticus Aemilius Pulcher, Cohorte Urbanae. I rarely find myself this impressed.”
You stare at his hand for a second, still reeling from this whole situation, before slowly returning the gesture with a dry expression. “Y/N bat Josiah, Jewish beggar. So how am I exactly useful to you?”
“I need information, but I don’t need people to know that I need it, if you catch my drift.”
You nod slowly, gesturing with your hand for him to continue, “So….”
He groans, “Look — I need informants. A Pharisee has been able to have someone watching what’s been going on with this Jesus character since day one, and none of my men have come close to giving me the information I need." He barely attempts to veil his frustration. "I can’t do the job myself all the time but not one of my trained soldiers has proven to me that they could handle this sort of thing.”
You mull over his words, “... And that’s where I come in.”
“And that’s where you come in.”
“Hm….” You fold your hands across your chest, tilting your head.
“You said Jesus, yes? I think I can get close. What did you want to know?”
“Anything you can find out, but especially background information on Him. Rome isn’t very happy with how frantic the people are getting around this Man — but they don’t necessarily want any executions. The more we know about Him, the more we can dispute any claims that would cause civil unrest.”
You shudder at the mention of the death penalty, but Something tells you that you wouldn’t betray Him by taking this offer.
“Ok, I’ll bite. But what’s in it for me? I have mouths to feed.” Ignoring the unintended pun, you muster up some gusto to see if that’ll help your case.
That same Something from earlier internally calls you out for that, telling you that it isn’t necessary. Your bold pose turns a bit sheepish at that. You’re practically being offered payment for hanging out with the Messiah, so any amount would do.
The Cohorte doesn’t seem to notice. “It’s not much, but,” he glances to the slide, making sure no one is looking, before leaning in.
You gape. Vaguely, you recall hearing something along the lines of the cattle on a thousand hills.
Are you kidding??! ‘Not much’ my tzitzit.
Gaming your face once more, you look directly at the man in front of you.
“You know what Atticus, I think this is the beginning of a long, fruitful relationship. When do I start?”
