King Misdaeus, the ruler of Tamilakam, was enraged by the preaching of the Gospel by St Thomas the Apostle and decided to have him killed. The Acts of Thomas records the Apostle being brought before the king, questioned, and sentenced as follows:
When he entered the prison, he heard the guards quarrelling. “Why is this magician trying to open these doors with his magic and release the prisoners? What wrong have we done to him? Let us go and tell King Misdaeus about this.” When the chief guard said this, Judas remained silent and simply listened attentively. They rose in the morning and went before the king and said: “Our lord and king, either release this magician or transfer him to another prison. We are unable to keep him under guard. Twice he has been fortunate in guarding the prisoners. Otherwise, they would all have escaped. We had locked the doors. Your wife and son and others are always with him.” Hearing this, King Misdaeus immediately went to examine the seal placed on the prison door and found it exactly as he had left it. He said to the prison guards: “Why did you lie to me? The seals on the doors are still intact. How then can you say that Tertia and Mygdonia came there?” The guards replied: “We have told you the truth.”
King Misdaeus went and sat on his judgment seat. Then he sent for Judas. They seized him, stripped him of his clothes, wrapped a loincloth around him, and brought him before Misdaeus. Misdaeus asked him, “Are you a slave or a free man?” Judas replied, “I am a slave, but you have no authority over me.” Misdaeus asked him, “How did you come here and take refuge in this country?” Judas said to him, “I came here to give life to many through the Holy Scriptures. But now I shall have to leave this world at your hands.” Misdaeus asked, “Who is your master? What is his name? Which country do you belong to?” Judas replied, “My King is also your Master. He is the Master of the whole world and the Lord of all its lands.” Misdaeus asked again, “What is his name?” Judas answered, “At this moment, you are not able to comprehend his true name. Yet the name given to him is Jesus Christ.” Misdaeus said to him, “I was in no hurry to destroy you. I showed you mercy. Yet you continue to increase your evil deeds. The whole country is talking about your magic. If I do anything to you, it will be in such a way that your deeds will follow you. Thus, our kingdom will be freed from them.” Judas replied, “None of these magical practices that you say will follow me will ever disappear from this world.”
As he said all this, King Misdaeus bound him and was considering what order he should give for his execution. However, he was afraid of the crowd gathered there. Many, including the king’s officials, had come to believe in the Lord. King Misdaeus took Judas outside the city, accompanied by a group of soldiers carrying weapons. The crowd thought that King Misdaeus was trying to learn something from Judas. Therefore, they remained there and watched them as they went. After travelling about half a mile, King Misdaeus handed Judas over to one of the nobles who was with him and to a group of soldiers, saying, “Go to the top of this mountain and kill him.”
