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 55 -
Raphael's miracle work requested by Roklus.
Roklus says, laughing, "Oh, you great braggart! If you have never yet told an untruth, you have certainly done it just now! The young rascal allows me to describe very clearly the magnificent Nazarene and now says that he has already been in his service for some time. Not bad, not bad at all! Before he knew as well as nothing about him, and now he is even his servant! No, now I demand that you prove it to me, otherwise I will make your blond locks stand on end! Have you understood me?! So now out with the proof!"
2
Raphael says, "Yes, my friend, you do not frighten me with this challenge of yours, and I will be in a position to do everything that you ever demand from me, as long as you demand something reasonable and conceivably possible; for I possess no power or strength for something foolish and impossible. Quickly set me the task of proving it to you, and I will set it just as quickly in motion!"
3
At this Roklus looked Raphael sharply in the face and said, "Well then, my dear young friend, I have lifted a five-pound heavy stone from the ground. It is brown granite which has no relationship to any metal known to me. Make it into gold, but of the same weight!"
4
Raphael says, "Short-sighted man, if gold is made out of this, the lump will become three times heavier! The weight can therefore not remain the same, if nothing about the form and the size can be changed! What do you want now to be changed?"
5
Roklus says, "Then let's leave the form and the shape, and we'll change the weight for the sake of the miracle!"
6
Raphael says, "Then hold onto the stone firmly so that a three times heavier lump of gold will not fall out of your hand; for the sudden increase in weight is always almost the same as if a ten pound heavier stone would fall out of the air onto your hands! You could very easily fall over with the whole lump of gold!"
7
Roklus says, "This misfortune will probably not happen to me!"
8
Roklus said this only from a type of doubt in the success of the proof. But at the same moment Raphael wants to turn the stone into gold. The stone also becomes complete gold in an instant and throws Roklus to the ground through the sudden increase in weight, and indeed in a very hefty way, so that Roklus hurt himself very much and could hardly catch enough breath to stand up again.
9
When he (Roklus) was on his feet again, he began to find fault with Raphael's good will and said, "Listen, you wonderful, willful boy, ten such lumps of gold are not worth having such pain happen to you for its sake! Could you not have said to me then: Now the metamorphosis will happen!? I hit my hands and head so strongly on the ground as if I had fallen from a high tree! My head still hurts very much! Oh, you willful miraculous boy, heal me now of my very strong headache for even greater proof of the truth of your statement!"
10
At this Raphael blew on Roklus and in an instant Roklus felt no sensation of pain any longer, and Raphael said to him, "Lift the lump of gold from the ground and examine it to see whether it is quite completely gold!"
11
Roklus did that, but also immediately called his eleven companions and said, "Look here and judge yourself!"