The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 86 -
The witness of Marcus about the Lord.
The Roman Marcus walked up to him now and said in the Greek language, which was better known to them than the language of the Romans: "My friends, you do not have to be embarrassed because in our presence you have spoken so openly that you gladly would like to be liberated from our sovereignty, and also that you would like to consider the One as the true Messiah who would make you again a free, great and mighty people on Earth. Because, look, we surely are used to such remarks from your side already since long, and we do not bother about this in the least. Our saying remains: leo non capit muscas , because we still consider ourselves to be really strong and mighty enough for that.
2
But you have now admitted to the Lord and Master that you for yourself really want to and will believe in Him, even if this most true Messiah - not only of the Jews, but also of all other people on Earth - will not change the earthly conditions. This was very well said of you and we forgive you therefore also this not so flattering remark of yours. But it only really surprises us a great deal that you who are very well knowledgeable in your Scripture, are only now beginning to understand a very little of what we Romans have partly already for a long time seen and clearly recognized as the irrefutable truth.
3
Look, this Jesus of Nazareth, who according to your chronology is born in Bethlehem in the year 4151 after the existence of Adam, and more precisely at midnight on the 7th day of the month of January, is what concerns His external birth a Jew just like you.
4
But we are already since a long time informed about everything that happened during His birth and also later from time to time about the wonderful things that happened with Him, and we have never neglected to have good informers and also have never thoughtlessly lost track of His highest remarkable personality as you did, for we received information about Him through Cyrenius and Cornelius, and since we all are men of already 50 to 65 years old, you also will understand that we already have come to know a lot of things.
5
We gentiles, who are called blind by you, have nevertheless already for a long time thought by ourselves that there must be something hidden extremely uncommon behind this wonderful Nazarene, and this all the more because we have thoroughly studied your laws and prophets, and that possibly He even could be the Messiah who according to the prophets was promised to all people. But now we have - although this is for the moment only as far as we are concerned - no more doubt about it that He is completely truthfully the One whom we did suspect already for a long time.
6
But if we, blind gentiles, can perceive now that He is the great Messiah of the world and are also praising Him above all rulers on Earth - although He outwardly is, as already mentioned, only a Jew who as such does with us not receive any special respect - then what was it that held you back to immediately recognize this countryman of yours who is so great and endlessly exalted, as the One who He undoubtedly is? Is it also not an honor for you that we, who in earthly respect are mighty Romans, recognize and praise Him - who as far as His external birth is concerned is a Jew - as Lord and Master over all lords of the world? For this reason we indeed acknowledge faithfully, openly and truthfully that He has completely conquered us Romans in the spirit of all truth, and for this confession we will never be ashamed, because it is our greatest honor that He has also accepted us as His children under His almighty and fatherly scepter. And you Jews, in your pride and your great blindness are only keeping one deliberation after another to know how you can catch and even kill Him, the almighty Lord of all glory. Now tell us, gentiles, how this can be imaginable."
7
After this fervent speech of the Roman Marcus, the Pharisees became still more timid and did not know what they could answer him.
8
But the Roman insisted in order to know from them what they still could not or did not want to say, and nothing would be taken as an offence, for free and honest people are always allowed to speak out freely and honestly without reserve before God.