THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 147 -
The argument with the Pharisees.
Here Roklus stepped up and said, "High ruler, allow me to say something to these fiends and pixies in their ears; for my institute has also been very terribly attacked in this letter, which I as a representative cannot possibly allow to happen! I must ask them how and when the evil prophet from Nazareth, so rumored and most reprobate by them, learned the magical arts from us with which he now captivates and misleads the people! By God, if they do not make this colossal slander good again for me on this spot, I will lay hands on them myself and wring their necks, as the Lord God certainly will help me!"
2
At this one of the two Pharisees steps forward and says, "What can we do then about the fact that the whole issue seems to be only an evil fabrication?! We did not write it and even less create it! Just look at these people who sent us; we, as only the messengers, certainly do not owe anyone an account! We simply expect a true answer which we have to bring back to those who sent us here. That, I believe, should be the long and the short of it!"
3
Roklus, urged on by Raphael, says, "Fine; but what should then happen if we can prove to you tangibly that only you yourselves are the creators of your evil letter, and that you, if this is possible for you, have to keep the reward of a thousand pounds of gold AD PERSONAM from the great gold chest of the temple?"
4
The Pharisee says, screaming, "Who can accuse us of such shamefulness? The letter has been signed by Herod!"
5
At this Roklus calls Zinka and says, "Like no other in the world you know your ruler's handwriting. Tell us, is that his signature?"
6
Zinka looks at the letter and says, "Not in the slightest! For Herod can actually not write, but instead in a pinch only read Greek. He has a type of seal to sign his name which he presses on the documents; therefore this signature must have been falsified! You have my oath on whatever you wish!"
7
Then Roklus says, "Well, you wise man of God and very truest Pharisee in the name of Moses and Aaron, how do you feel now? I'm sure you would now prefer to be sitting at home with a fat meal than here among such glorious auspices! Yes, yes, there is no other way: If a person is not satisfied with what the Lord God has provided him, he must then give in to fate and its perfidies!
8
Yes, yes, you do not like the wicked prophet from Nazareth at all, because He threatens to make you a very strong impression through His holiest teaching of truth! That is the crux of the matter! But things have now become so and will never be otherwise, even if it ever pleased Him to show you all through a favor to allow you to kill Him, at least PRO FORMA, for He, as life itself from eternity, can impossibly ever be killed. I have now spoken; now it is your turn! What do you say now to all that?"
9
The Pharisee now stood there as if turned to stone, and none of the messengers dared any longer to utter even a syllable.
10
After a few moments Cyrenius, who secretly received a wink from Me, called both the arch Pharisees to him in the very craftiest way and said to them, "Calm yourselves now! The storm has passed; do not beat yourselves against our initial very smooth Roman seriousness! Now the second phase of discussion is coming, in which I do not want to hear any fiction with false signatures from you, but instead the pure, full truth. Only through the truth can you be freed from my otherwise merciless power "otherwise prison, the cross and the axe are unmistakably your fate, as certain as I am the supreme governor of all Asiatic provinces of Rome.
11
But if you speak the truth, whatever it may be, and whatever sense it may have, you may count upon my Roman fullest word of honor, that I will let you go quite freely and unhindered. Now choose what you will! If you want to persist with this lie, you have now heard from my mouth what unmistakably awaits you; for here in Asia I am a completely unlimited ruler in the name of the emperor, and two hundred and sixty thousand warriors wait every hour for my orders. If that was previously unknown to you, so know it now how things stand. Who will call me to account if I simply have all the Jews executed by the sword at my whim?! I have no lack of power and force! "Where can one instigate a conspiracy in all of Asia that I would not hear about within fourteen days?! But then the most terrible pains to the rebels!
12
If even a little mutiny was still spread secretly according to your statements, I would truly know about it, and my many informers would immediately have much to do about it. Therefore your denouncement here to me is a terrible lie, just like Herod's signature, through which you would have used me, if I had been blind, to quite other purposes. Alone, you hopefully now have a very appropriate conviction of the fact that such things do not go down well with me and will never. Therefore now out with the truth, so that I will see very clearly on what ground I stand with you! But only note well: Look, as purely as the sun is now rising over the mountains on the other side of the sea, just as purely the truth must be that you now tell me "and then I will also keep my word to you! Speak now!"
13
Here both the Pharisees, as well as the false Romans, who also were half Pharisees and half Herodians, pulled very terribly desperate faces; for nothing seems less desirable to a person than accusing himself and openly admitting his very worst evil intentions. And so it was now with the Pharisees. But what were they going to do? Cyrenius' lack of mercy, as well as his strictest justice was well known, and there was nothing else left to do obviously than to admit the full truth.