The Three Days in the Temple
Conversations of the twelve year old Jesus
- Chapter 13 -
The continuation of the session. The question of the Boy Jesus to the temple officials: "What would you do, if I were the Messiah in spite of everything?The cautious answer of Joram, the Talmudist, concerning the Messiah.
AT this energetic opposition by the Roman judge, all of them with evident reluctance, returned to their places, and for a while remained silent. As no question was put to Me,
2
I stepped among them and said: "Listen, as you no longer deign to put a question to Me, I shall take the liberty of putting a little question to you: Tell Me - but quite openly - what would you do if I were in all seriousness, the promised Messiah on whom the chief discussion has turned?"
3
An older morose chief temple zealot said: "Boy, boy! Take care about the temple of Jehovah, what you dispute and talk in this holy place! Take care of too great an outrage!"
4
I answered him: "Rather should you and all of you take care that you do not make the House of the Lord into a den of murderers! But in no wise do I desecrate the temple by asking what you would do, supposing that I really was the promised Messiah, seeing that anyone, without sin or fear, may put such a question to you! And you may just as well give Me a conditional answer, as I have only put to you a conditional question!"
5
Here the old Talmudist and great Cabalist, call Joram, stood up and said: "With God all things are possible; but we men must be very careful to accept such a promise, important above all else, as being true only when all circumstances, by which the fulfillment of the promise must be accompanied in the manner mentioned, stand quite clearly and evidently before the astonished gaze of every one.
6
Well, my fine lad, as regards your birth, you have in a few verses in Isaiah something that is half way on your side; but how much else did this prophet prophesy regarding the promised Messiah-to-be, which fits you as little as it does me, although I too am a descendant of David, and also a distant relation of your father Joseph, and I also contributed mostly to the fact that the temple pupil Mary became his wife.
7
Now, for more than eleven years I have not seen this worthy couple again, and you yourself, the first born of Joseph's second marriage, not at all. Therefore I know of you just as much as I learned yesterday from your own mouth, and from our Levite Barnabas, who is also from Nazareth.
8
Well, your special abilities, which far surpass, according to authentic information, everything that ever was done as an open miracle through never so perfected a power of will and faith, would certainly be of the kind that one would feel obliged to pay special attention to them, as well as to the possessor of them; but it can well be understood that, for a long time yet, there cannot be any talk of what is their exact significance, although I have said, as a clear thinking man and priest, one cannot leave them unnoticed.
9
In any case, the Messiah will also be a man like us; only His qualities and abilities will be of divine nature. Well, as for your qualities, already now in your childhood, they are of course of the kind that lead us to expect something enormous of your manhood later on; but behold, I am already a very old man, and have had much experience, and already often I too have discovered, in the most tender youth, rare abilities and qualities that told me; 'In this or that child, Jehovah had evidently raised up for us again a great prophet!' However when such children have grown older, all their brilliant qualities vanished completely, as if they had never existed, and the person was just an ordinary one like myself, who only know what I have learned and experienced with great pains and much zeal in the course of many years!
10
With me as well as with innumerable other men the verse of the Scripture has thus been fulfilled: 'In the sweat of your brow shall You eat your bread!' And the same will perhaps happen in your case, my loveliest cousin - but perhaps also not - such a thing we men can never decide beforehand as definitely settled. Man indeed thinks many things, but God directs! Now, my dear loveliest young cousin, you may again make your remarks, and I will very gladly answer you!"
11
I said: "I certainly like you best of all your colleagues, and this night you also spoke for Me a good and a clean word to the High priest, through which his eyes were opened a little about the personality of Satan, so that he at least - and truly for the first time in his life - got an idea of the most important doctrine of correspondences, and by it began to comprehend that deeds like Mine cannot possibly be brought about by the aid of an evil force and power.
12
You will see from this, that not even what you discussed so quietly and secretly with the chief priest is hidden from Me, and thus you will of course also understand that I know perfectly well what the same chief priest, who is now very much embarrassed, is thinking. He is in great fear of being betrayed by me in something disagreeable to him; however this fear of his is futile.
13
Yes, if I were to execute My deeds with the help of Beelzebub, the chief priest would already have been betrayed, and also judged, long ago but as I do all My deeds only through the power and might of God within Me, who in all eternity wills only the good and never anything bad, the chief priest need have no fear; as far as I am concerned, not a hair of his shall be hurt!
14
But now we have spent time talking about many very useless things, and have quite left aside the chief subject in its further development."
15
Here Joram asked: "Then in what will this actually consist? Just speak quite openly, and we shall be just in our judgment, having discovered very much justice also in you."