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 80 -
Raphael as a big eater.
At this speech by Roklus everyone now heads to the tables designated for them, bow three times before the high company, and Raphael immediately shows everyone his place and sits down in the end as the fourteenth of them at the new table. Roklus spies before him exactly the dish that was his favorite; it was roast lamb with a garnish consisting of the very best and perfectly ripe bitter oranges. He could not wonder enough how one could possibly have guessed his taste in cooking so exactly. But he soon composed himself and considered in whose company he now was, and that explained everything to him. Likewise every one of the thirteen guests got exactly what he named as his favorite dish and justifiably so; only Raphael had eight large and very well-prepared fish before him on a large plate, which he, as mentioned before, made short work of, which struck the thirteen very much.
2
And Roklus could not restrain from asking the mentioned youth in a very friendly way indeed, but nonetheless with great wonder, how it was possible for him to consume eight such great fish so swiftly and so quickly, and whether he could still eat something more.
3
And Raphael answered laughing in just as friendly a way, "Oh, just give me ten times as much and I will be finished with them very easily and without any effort; but I am now very well and perfectly satisfied with these!"
4
Roklus says, "Your stomach must have been overfilled in your childhood, otherwise I could not possibly explain that! Can you perhaps also help me to consume my lamb? For look, I have had more than enough after even an eighth part!"
5
Raphael says, "Just pass it here, I will be finished with the seven eighths very easily!"
6
Roklus, who took only one leg of lamb to consume, gave everything else to Raphael, who was finished with meat and bones in an instant.
7
Now this was a little too extraordinary for Roklus, and he said with a very dumbfounded face, "No, my otherwise very most blessed and very wisest boy, that is not at all possible with natural means! I did not want to say anything basically about the consummation of the meat; but that you were faster even than a wolf with the bones, which otherwise no human enjoys "you know, that is just beyond me, and you must now explain this thing more clearly for me!"
8
Raphael says, "Well, give me a stone, and you shall then see your miracle!"
9
Roklus quickly lifted a very sizeable stone from the ground and gave it to Raphael.
10
But he said, "Just look here and I will consume this stone as well like the very best piece of bread!"
11
At this Raphael took the stone, brought it to his mouth, and when the stone came into contact with Raphael's mouth, it disappeared from its earthly existence!
12
When Roklus and his companions saw this, they were terrified, and Roklus said, "No, young friend, it is not good to be a guest with you; for in the end you could even start on your fellow guests! Allow me the very tender remark, through which I do not want to tell you anything other than this: If you want to eat us too, do it rather very quickly, so that we do not have to wait very long in anxiety for our downfall! No, I didn't want to say anything about the great size of the eight fish which Galilee's sea contains, nor anything about my seven eighths of lamb along with their bones, although just that - if you allow me "is a very terrible abnormality in eating; but the consummation of the stone of at least ten pounds weight is something which must capture us with fully justified terror! Where should this story lead us then? It is true, it concerns us little or not at all; but, although you can consume all the mountains of the Earth in the name of all the gods, we would nevertheless rather not be witnesses of your enormous gluttony! Understood, my dear young glutton?"