Jesus replied without hesitating. "The Lord your God is one God and you must love him with your whole heart, your whole soul; your whole mind, and your whole strength. And the second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. No commands are greater than these."
"I think you are right, Rabbi," answered the scribe thoughtfully. "It is much more important to love God and one's neighbor sincerely than to make many sacrifices in the Temple."
The disciples were suspicious; what new trick was this? But Jesus answered the scribe warmly. "You are not far from the Kingdom of God!"
Andrew came through the crowd toward Peter. "Have you seen Judas?"
"We were talking just a minute ago." Both the men searched among the people. "He must have gone!" The fishermen were puzzled. "He did not want the officials to see him with us," remarked Peter.
Later in the afternoon the people began to leave the Temple court. The disciples became anxious. With hardly anyone around, the Romans could easily arrest Jesus! In a few more minutes there would be almost no one in the Temple. But still Jesus talked to a few persons who needed him. When they left the men sighed with relief. "Where is Judas?" asked Jesus. Not one of the disciples knew.
Judas had not left the Temple, as Peter supposed. At that very moment he was only a few yards away from them. After talking to Peter, he had walked through the inner court to the council chamber of the high priest. His knock interrupted a secret meeting.
A priest opened the door. "What do you want here?"
"I want to talk with the high priest." Inside he saw the rulers of the Temple.