The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 42 -
The Arrival In Ostracine
CYRENIUS ALSO EXPERIENCED such a feeling of great joy that he affirmed, 'Man in my greatest esteem - I now feel just as I did when I held the Baby in my arms!
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Are you then of the same nature with Him? Or how is it that I now feel the same blessing?'
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And Joseph replied, 'Noble friend, such power does not come from me, but only from the Lord of heaven and earth!
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It only streams through me on such an occasion, that it might thereupon flow over to you with its blessing - but I myself will never have such power, for God alone is all in all.
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Therefore honor this one and only true God constantly in your heart, and the fullness of this His blessing will never depart from you!'
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Joseph continued, 'And now, friend, look, we have reached this shore with the almighty help of the Lord, but it seems to me that we are still a long way from Ostracine.
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In which direction does it lie, so we might go there? See, the day is waning. What are we going to do? Will we go on or remain here until tomorrow?'
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And Cyrenius replied, 'See, we are at the entrance to the great bay, in whose innermost angle on our right lies Ostracine as a rich city of commerce.
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If we go ashore here we can easily reach it in three hours - but if we arrive there at night we will have difficulty in finding a lodging. So I suggest that we spend the night here on board and go there tomorrow.'
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But Joseph said, 'Oh friend, if it is only three hours away then there is no reason for spending the night here. It is well for your ship to remain here, so you will attract no attention in this city - but I shall secretly go to my destination.
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For if the Roman garrison there were to discover the ship of a governor from Rome, they would have to receive you with great honors,
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and then I as your friend would have to share your honors with you whether I wanted to or not, which would certainly be most inopportune for me.
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I am therefore quite anxious to continue the journey right away. See, my pack animals are now well rested and can very easily take us to Ostracine in a short time.
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My sons are strong and nimble afoot; they can walk, and you with your needed servants can use these five pack animals and we can easily travel the road to the not-far city.'
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Cyrenius accepted Joseph's advice and turned the ship over to the faithful care of the ship's company, then took along four servants, whereupon 'they mounted Joseph's pack animals and promptly traveled with Joseph to the city,
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which was reached in two hours. As they entered the city, the guard at the gate requested letters of safe-conduct.
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Cyrenius then revealed his identity to the captain of the guard who immediately had the soldiers salute him and then made arrangements for lodging.
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Thus the party of travelers was received in this city without the least delay and was lodged in the best possible quarters.