The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 140 -
A messenger's report of the revolt in Caesarea.
Cyrenius is amazed about the high Pharisee's wisdom and says to Mathael, "Friend, it is very difficult to talk to him! For you just get everything thrown back at you! He is filled with all sorts of knowledge in secret, and how splendidly he knows how to justify his situation! Ah, that has never been seen before! One cannot finally be angry with him! But now at least those from the city must be almost here, and then we?ll see what they will bring to light."
2
Mathael says smiling, "Nothing at all, I tell you that; for these arch--- are too slippery and find loopholes everywhere to escape through! In short, in order to trap these people in some way we need more than just human strength and human knowledge! I trust myself to heal hundreds of Greeks and Romans in a day from their foolishness; for whatever I say will be new to them, and they will even accept it with grateful curiosity. But there is nothing new that one can give these people; they are mostly indoctrinated in all knowledge and know how to represent their cause in such a crafty way that it is difficult to contradict them.
3
Therefore I also think that the Lord Himself drew back a little because He already saw in advance that it is not easy to deal and talk with the Zealots! And so I also believe that the prosecutors and witnesses from the city will also achieve as little as we."
4
Cyrenius says, "Well, then there is a very notable hearing for the moment which under such circumstances does probably not occur twice on Earth! If only the vice-governor would appear soon!"
5
At this a messenger arrives out of breath and says to the whole company, without paying attention to where Cyrenius was, "Friends, hurry up and get out of here; for a terrible revolt has broken out! Everyone is looking for the rascals who fled, the arch-Jews and Pharisees, and the Romans and Greeks are butchering everyone that even half looks like a Jew! I am a poor Greek, today I put a Jewish tunic over my naked body out of necessity, and I barely escaped with my life!"
6
Cyrenius says, "Boy, I am the supreme governor! Explain yourself more exactly! How and why did a revolt break out?"
7
The messenger says somewhat embarrassed about the unexpected presence of the supreme governor, "High and almighty lord! Things are as simple as this: When the sun or some other light apparition illuminated the evening yesterday a few hours longer than is usually the case, and afterwards suddenly disappeared from the firmament - a rare but not unknown event on this great and wide Earth - the Jewish priests, who saw this thing certainly just as much as we did out of the basis of human experience and human knowledge, began, instead of offering the people of their religion the complete truth, to announce this event to the blind, superstitious people as an enormous judgment by God from their mystical books of the prophets. Thereby a fearful howling went up among the foolish Jews; their priests as supposed friends and servants of God were now sworn to convince God, for every sacrifice demanded, to mercifully remove His punishing justice.
8
When the smart Jews heard such support only too clearly and truly, they answered in the priestly mystical pathos: If you want to have God's severest judgment on the world turned away from you, you must now bring all the gold, silver, jewels and pearls that you possess as a sacrifice, as well as your best fattened oxen, the cows that are richest in milk and the fattest calves, so that we can then sacrifice them to God in a worthy fashion!
9
The Jewish rogues of priests had hardly said this when a positive cloudburst of sacrifices appeared! Our not so stupid priest also saw this and sought to persuade their people through a lucky shot to give generous sacrifices. They also found something from the old religion which served them well for the purpose of sacrifices. They let the good Apollo fall for a new Daphne and pay her a dirty visit. His enemy, Mr. Pluto, immediately noticed this and swiped the sun; and Gaia, Apollo and his new beauty now found themselves in a terrible pickle! Every Greek and Roman could see that a most terrible war of the gods would occur from this! Perhaps, if powerful Zeus was targeted with sacrifices and pleas, he could avoid this most dangerous situation! This invention brought much gain to our priests, but not nearly as much as what the Jewish priests were brought by their judgment by God announced to their sheep.
10
A very wise Greek having heart and head in the right place taught some sober thinkers and these taught the oppressed Greeks and Romans about the natural event, as far as was only possible in the great confusion, and showed then very nicely tangibly the crafty profit-seeking priest casts, who might well lose the desire to demand and take sacrifices if only one true word hung on their ominous announcements. They should compare both announcements, namely the positively conjured up Jewish one and the Greek and Roman one, with one another, and they would then soon see that both could not be real! For either what the Jewish priests had said or what the Greeks had said must have happened! But the gods would not be so foolish and cook up a separate benefit to every individual nation when they otherwise usually distribute their gifts from heaven among all believers and nonbelievers alike!
11
Such instruction and similar things brought the people to their senses. Those who were known to be better Jews were also given similar instructions; but it was a futile attempt. These calves of God on the contrary gave threats and accused the paganism of being the cause of the evil occurrence!
12
Such things soon led to assaults and the Greeks and Romans inflamed a final judgment over the heads of the foolish Jews and demanded from the priests the return of the sacrifices which had been blackmailed from them in need in the most unjust way. When this was not granted, they came with force to the Jewish priests who well did escape the violence and took to their heels through the smoke of the city burning in all the Jewish corners.
13
The wise Roman city governor however had made important extensive investigations on the Jewish arch-villains of priests and then showed the people how they alone were the reason for such an imminent catastrophe. Then the revolt rose on the part of the Jews and became a very dreadful business; for the Jews are being massacred indiscriminately now, and in the city there is almost more blood than milk and wine.
14
As it seems to me, the Jewish priests who escaped are standing over there under the great Cypress tree! Well, hello, things will go badly for them if they do not take to their heels immediately, which I will certainly not advise the villains to do! I will knock a few down with this spear which was thrown at me when I was fleeing here in the belief that I am a Jew, but which luckily did not hit me! The two riders met me at the city gates and will have a job trying to reach the governor! Lord, lord, now you know everything; and what I said to you is the pure and naked truth, for which I would pay you with my life!"
15
Cyrenius says, "I am very grateful for his news; you did things very well! But now remain here, and if you are hungry and thirsty, take bread and wine! I will send a few cohorts to the city in the meantime to put down the uprising; then you will serve me as a good witness against those Jewish priests!"
16
The messenger takes this request willingly, since he was already very hungry and thirsty; and Cyrenius only made a sign to Julius and he already knew what had to happen there, since he had listened to the whole announcement by the messenger himself.