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 56 -
The speculations of the Essenes on the person of Raphael.
Everyone came and said, "Friend, that is purest gold, and the whole lump must have a hardly estimably high value! And this indescribably most beautiful youth performed this simply through his will, so that out of the brown granite a just as large lump of gold was made? That cannot be done by any magician! That is therefore a pure miracle, only possible for a god "what we all considered to be a fable, it is true, but this fact tells us obviously something else. The most magnificent boy is a god and otherwise nothing more and nothing less! He must be worshipped by us and we must make sacrifices to him whatever we can, so that he will not be angry with us or even leave us!"
2
Roklus says, "He claims only to be a disciple and servant of the even more famous Nazarene in the foreground! You have also seen the force of my fall, which caused me a very strong headache, and with a gentle breath from the mouth of the boy it was literally blown away. Therefore the youth is according to his own statement only a disciple and servant of the Nazarene, indeed deserves all our respect, however no worship and no sacrifice! But since he is now undoubtedly that, let us now alone investigate the Nazarene; if we have him, we have everything!"
3
The companions say, "In the end is this boy actually the Nazarene himself?"
4
Roklus says, "No, no, he is not! Firstly his age is not right; thirty years "what are you thinking?! The boy is hardly sixteen! And secondly there is the boy's own admission! The willful boy is indeed somewhat naughty, but there is no trace of a lie with him, I guarantee you that. There is no trace of any lie with him; for I have got to know him well enough to judge this! Truly he is certainly a little naughty, which we will willingly overlook because of his youth, in addition he is such a good-looking boy, the like of which I have never seen in my life! One might even think that he is a most beautiful girl in boy's clothing; but he looks much too serious to me at times, and so I have to consider him to be something male, despite his very most female beauty. He is also much too wise to be a girl; for the beautiful girls are always somewhat foolish and may never ever reach the wisdom of a man. But there is a very curious wisdom hidden in him, with which ours cannot compete. But all that also proves that he is not the Nazarene himself, but instead a true servant of the same. He will lead us to the Nazarene!"
5
At this Roklus turns to Raphael again and says, "Listen, you dearest, although a little willful servant of the Nazarene! Both of us are finished with one another, and I and my companions beseech you now only to show us where we can find and meet the very most famous Nazarene!"
6
Raphael says, "Yes, now I can and may tell you already somewhat long-windedly that the very most famous Nazarene is here among us! The correct person, you can find yourself out of the several hundred guests with your strength of intellect! Behold, if you did not have such sharp intellect, I would have shown you the person of the Nazarene myself; but your strength of understanding prevents me! Therefore go and seek correctly and you will indeed find the right person!"
7
Roklus says, "Only jeering "it doesn't matter; my understanding still cannot be despised! Whatever it may not and cannot find, my heart will find; for that also does not exactly belong to the last of this world. Do not worry about me, my young, highly wisest friend, I will not search for long and soon I will find and have the right person!"