The Childhood of Jesus
The Gospel of James
Biographical Gospel of the Lord
- Chapter 71 -
Vengeance Belongs To The Lord Alone
AFTER THIS declaration of Cyrenius, Joseph again went over to him and said:
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'Cyrenius, my highly esteemed friend and brother! I think that you should leave the punishment of these three idolatrous priests, who are apparently creatures of ill-will, to the Lord!
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Believe me, no one performs an agreeable service to the Lord, the almighty God of heaven and earth, by taking a life, not even when he has the greatest malefactor executed.
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Do therefore without any qualms leave the just chastisement of these three to the Almighty, and the Lord will bless you by means of the punishment which He will very surely visit upon these three, unless they undertake a very great penance and make a complete about face!'
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But if, within themselves, they adopt true penitence and return to the only true God, they can still also become noble men!
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These words of Joseph caused Cyrenius to consider just what he should actually do.
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After a while he decided to at least expose the three to a strong fear of death in reprisal for the fear which they caused the poor young people.
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He therefore said to Joseph, 'My closest and highly honored friend and brother! I have well weighed your counsel and shall also heed it!
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But at the present moment I just cannot do that. I must follow through by breaking the threatened staff before these wicked servants and condemn them to a most painful death.
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Once they have suffered a twenty-four-hour-long fear of death, then do you loudly entreat me before all the people at this execution site for mercy and the lifting of the death penalty,
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and I shall manifestly grant your request and then after the order of the law let these three rascals off with their lives!
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I believe that is best, for I just cannot pardon them right away because I have discerned them to be gross offenders against the law of the priests.
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According to the law they must hear the death sentence. Once that is done, then only in extraordinary cases can the pardon take the place of the execution of the sentence.
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And now I shall fulfill this task at once!'
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Joseph agreed to this, and Cyrenius immediately called the judges, the carriers of the staves (lictores) and the jailers over and declared,
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'Bring three iron crosses and chains! Set the crosses firmly into the ground and maintain a fire around the erected crosses for twenty-four hours!
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Once these have reached the proper red-heat, I shall arrive and have the three blasphemers hoisted upon the red-hot crosses! Fiat!'
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Thereupon Cyrenius took a staff, broke it, threw it under the feet of the three and asserted,
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'Now you have heard your sentence. So make yourselves ready, for you deserve such a death! Fiat!'
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This sentence had the effect of a thousand bolts of lightning on the three. They immediately began to weep and wail and to call upon all the gods for help.
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Then they were promptly put under close guard, and the jailers went directly to the jail and brought the designated instruments of torture. And Cyrenius, Joseph and Maronius promptly returned to the villa.