The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the Vicinity of Caesara Philippi (Matthew 16)
- Chapter 193 -
Dealing with the wrong doers and possessed.
Here Cyrenius praised Julius, but said quite rightly and wisely: "Dearest Julius, you know that I highly esteem you and that your lucid intellect always well-pleased me; however, what you have spoken just now does not appear to have sprung up from your own ground and soil. This you too have absorbed in your heart from that particular One!"
2
Says Julius: "For sure; for truth is not in the fire but only in its gentle light; wherefore I have also become much more gentle and forgiving since getting to know Him. Ah, if only I could meet up with Him somewhere one further time in my life!"
3
Says also Jarah, standing adjacently and taking it all in: "Oh, this is also my one and only wish!"
4
In the course of this conversation, I had come up behind Julius unnoticed. Only Cyrenius noticed Me, saying to Julius upon My prompting: "Look around you a little! Someone stands there as if wanting to talk to you!"
5
Julius quickly looks around and nearly faints for joy at seeing Me here, and Jarah shrieks for rapture, falling like dead against My chest; and I had to let her rest like that for nearly a half hour, before she came out of her blissful stupor.
6
Since it was getting close to evening however I said to old Marcus: "You are going to take care of a dinner for us again; let there be no shortage of fish, bread and wine!"
7
Says Marcus: "Lord, what are we going to do with the criminals nonetheless, tied to posts over there at the sea and guarded by soldiers, probably awaiting their sentence with great trepidation?"
8
Say I: "These we shall allow to grieve sevenfold today, on account of the many evil spirits that possess them, and no one is to hand them food or drink, otherwise they shall not be curable! But you, Julius, pass sentence on them still today, in accord with which they shall suffer a most painful death tomorrow by slow burning throughout the day! Only tomorrow shall they then be pardoned, and I shall then see whether they can be released. Their exceeding fear shall make their evil inhabitants crumble, and they shall take their leave gradually. But bind them to the posts firmly, or they shall give you much trouble!
9
Let the political stirrers off somewhat more lightly, since they have not sinned in any substantial manner; pronounce them a severe punishment and then pass them some bread and water! It shall transpire in the morning whether their punishment can be reduced or not!"
10
After these word, Cyrenius says to Julius: "Go therefore and break the rod and pronounce what they are to except tomorrow!"
11
Julius rises and goes over to the shore, some five hundred paces from Marcus' dwelling taking some deputies with him. Coming to where the criminals are tied to strand-posts, he commands the soldiers to tie them up more firmly. Only after the soldiers had done so with ropes and chains did Julius pronounce to the five robber-murderers what they are to await the next day, starting with morning; also pronouncing their severe punishment to the seven political prisoners.
12
On hearing such sentence the five robbers-murderers shout panic-stricken for immediate execution, as they would not be able to stand the pain. But Julius leaves at once, ignoring the dreadful yelling of the robber-murderers and the other seven criminals.
13
Coming back to us, Julius says: "This is certainly no small thing! The wailing and desperate faces and behaviour would shock an animal! I am glad to get away from them! It is incredible, - Medusa's face could hardly look more inhuman! I am curious what faces these fellows shall cut in the morning!"
14
"You see," - I say to Julius - "this is effected by the wicked spirits in them! These shall hardly be able to bear the fear till morning, and shall as I said, mostly depart, and tomorrow we shall have easy work releasing the people."
15
Asks Cyrenius: "But what shall then have to be done with them? Shall we be able to fully free them, or keep them locked up for a while?"
16
Say I: "Certainly, for under no circumstances can they be freed without abundant counselling! Neither the other seven, for no man rids himself of sin as quickly as he fell into it! For the five, a year shall hardly be sufficient, and a half year for the other seven. - And so we can now look forward to supper."