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 238 -
The Lord's guidance and reference to love of neighbour.
Says Julius: "I like your decision, but cannot agree with the means for carrying it into effect, as they are not grounded in truth. Of course this an instance where the goal, as well as the means you have set yourselves, cannot be fully realized with the complete truth, even whilst it is not easy to find a middle ground either. Let me think it over, perhaps I can hit upon a way which, in the end, justifies you before God and the world.
2
Your Temple oath appears of course as the greatest obstacle. How can it be circumvented? If I did not honour this on account of your fully true God, then it would cost me only a word and you should be innocent and free of your Temple yoke before God and all the world. But your most sacred oath hinders me mightily, and I must take counsel with the many wiseman relaxing at my table; then we shall see how we shall be able to extricate ourselves from this true Scylla and Charybdis!"
3
Says the young Pharisee; "Do so, and you shall do us a big favour! But be so good and tell me first who actually your guests are, enabling us to show our due respects! The elderly man must be either a Roman dignitary, or perhaps a wealthy Greek!?"
4
Says Julius: "Let's leave that for to-day, because plenty of time for such explanations shall be available tomorrow! For the present I will concern myself with the main part of your matter. Therewith the young man was happy, and Julius then turned to Me quite unabashedly in the Roman tongue, - which surely I also commanded and saying: "Lord, what shall be the right thing here? Authority on my part would set aside all Temple oaths and regulations; but therewith I should appear as a destroyer of the most sacred oat, and the braking of it shall fall upon me. I do of course, as between ourselves, regard oaths imposed for evil purposes and given only too often, not only as nothing, but deeply despise them, because God is then conjured up to vouch for deception and evil, as a witness and helper. But the Temple at Jerusalem is somewhat different!
5
On the one hand it still is as old, for all Jews a hallowed house of prayer, - sacrificial and purifying, and in that sense hallowed as such; on the other hand and most notoriously, abomination upon abomination are committed there, in a most brazen manner not easily equalled anywhere else upon beloved Earth. Just on that account I would want to tear up and destroy every oath from its foundation.
6
Tell me therefore what is the correct thing before God and mankind! For verily, if things stand the way these people have now innocently told me, then these youths grieve me much, and I would like to help them.
7
Say I: "We had just heretofore worked out how to practice love of neighbour. If they ask for it, and your heart desires it, then there you already have all your advice. You have furthermore never yourself sworn an oath that shall honour the Temple's evil vows. If therefore you are not bound to the Temple by any oath, what should stop you from doing what you think is necessary?
8
You already often exercised power against societies who were bonded to their old customs and tradition through oaths, and this was actually quite good of you; for many secret atrocities often lay in such old customs and traditions. Here you can do likewise, in accordance with your sense of justice.
9
Roman authority voids all bonding by oaths, i.e. when he who had been subject to an oath, freely realizes that the oath resulted from duress against his free will; and secondly, that its aim was a consistently evil one, and that it is sanctioned more by worldly rather than divine laws, as it stands.
10
To liberate an as-it-were oath-captive from Satan's claws, is a great, good and true work of neighbourly love, even if man of feeble cognation were still occasionally oath-bonded, - let alone in the present case, -in fullest recognition by the said young men of a most evil oath in the world. Hence do in accordance with your counsel, as seems right to you, and My friend Cyrenius is certain not to deny you his decisive help!"
11
Says Cyrenius at once: "Not only not withhold, but in order for my Julius to breathe more easily in the future, I shall institute legal proceedings upon the thirty people, and let the Temple then hold me to account!"
12
These My and Cyrenius' words relieved Julius beyond measures, and all jubilated over the fitting solution.