The Three Days in the Temple
Conversations of the twelve year old Jesus
- Chapter 14 -
The testimony of the Boy Jesus about Himself as being the real "Maher-shalal-has-baz". Joram's opinion: To wait and let time decide. Jesus' hint about the omnipotence of God, within Himself. Joram's non-committal answer.
I SAID: "Here I stand before you as the true ' a name of I the son of a prophetess in Isaiah. Yesterday we spoke of the coming Messiah. I Myself was represented to you as such, and according to these texts which are most exactly applicable to Me in the Prophet Isaiah. However the matter was dismissed by you.
2
Yesterday I spoke of Myself as of a second person only, but today I Myself stand before you without the very least fear either of you or of anyone else in the world, seeing that I am only too well aware of the eternally unconquerable strength and power within Myself, which however belong to none other but to Me and to My very Self alone. I now take up again the same theme, and ask, especially of you, Joram, what you think of it! But you too may speak without hesitation or fear, quite freely! Truly also no hair of your head shall suffer!"
3
Joram: "Yes, my very dearest and most lovely cousin (you will not be offended if I call you that now for I am really a quite close relation of your father's) it is and still remains a very delicate matter to say: 'You are the Promised One!' And such a thing would now, under the circumstances, also be too risky as yet, seeing that we already have, any examples of children who too, in their tender youth, showed so many extraordinary talents and abilities, that they frequently caused the greatest astonishment to quite a great crowd: yet in later years they became such ordinary men, that of their youthful talents and abilities no trace could any longer be discovered in them!
4
Now, such, even if not probable, must be supposed by us men as also being possible in your case, and therefore a complete acceptance of it, as if in you were hidden the promised Messiah, would be a little premature and on this point you, being a surprisingly wise boy for your youth, will not disagree with me! But, in my opinion, it will be just as senseless to deny irrefutably that you are the Promised One, considering that in accordance with your Birth, your descent, and your abilities which so far are unequalled, you can just as easily be That One as not! Therefore in my opinion, it will be as well for you as for us, to wait and see what time shall bring us! Now tell me whether I am right or not!"
5
I said: "Speaking according to earthly intelligence, you are evidently right. But there lies in the human heart a still deeper and more brilliant discrimination power! This might well tell you if I am a Boy of the kind, who, in later years will lose all his abilities. If I have power to create and to destroy according to My own discretion, how then should I wish to destroy Myself?
6
I tell you that on My inward Spirit alone the existence of all things depends, therefore I may will what I like, and what I will must be done; such was also told you of Me through the mouths of other witnesses, and not through Mine alone. But if so, how can it be imagined that I could ever lose the qualities and abilities I have manifested to you? But if I cannot do that, what am I then?"
7
Joram said: "Yes, well! This is still only an assumption but as yet no proof! The same that you say of yourself. I could also say of myself: However that being a little too bold, and something which would never in the least be like me, I should be either thoroughly laughed at, or be put under restraint as being mad! Now you are a lively boy at an irresponsible age, and seem to have had a great poetic talent already from your birth, and therefore one only smiles at such outbursts of mother wit.
8
Well, well, in other ways you are one the dearest of boys! But how can a man ever say of himself 'Through My inward Spirit all that exists has been created!' Surely only the eternal and infinite Spirit of God who, in His Being, is everywhere present, can do that! You have gone a little too far in your idea of a Messiah. Let us just remain comfortable with our feet on this earth and cultivate it with a right zeal that I may give us sufficient food, then it will be better with us than if we want to make something of ourselves that is impossible and can never be!
9
If the Messiah does sometime come to us, He will do so as a perfect man only, but never as a God! But it is the custom with you half Greek Jews, and therefore half heathen, to put a man of special talent at once among the gods. Or that you think and consider yourselves as being such. But that should not be, and it is a great sin against God's commandment which says: 'I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other Gods but Me.' But in Galilee this law does not seem to be taken too seriously, otherwise you never have dreamed of thinking of yourself as God!
10
Now, abstain from that in future, and with all your extraordinary talents and abilities, remain faithful to the ancient and only God; and let the heathen be heathen, and it will go well with you on earth! What is even the great strength of a giant against the united power of thousands of men, and if so, what then about the strength of a boy? If however David says: 'O Lord, all men are as naught in comparison with You', how can a boy take it into his head to say that he is, in his spirit, God, by whom all things have been created? Do you see now that you have exaggerated to an enormous degree?"
11
Here the chief priest said: "Well, once again we have had very good instruction coupled with rare moderation! It is right and true, because it is written of the Galileans that no prophet shall arise in their country: Those half heathens rather like to make themselves into gods! And this boy seems to possess the best natural talent for it. Yes, my dear boy Messiah, it is not so very easy to throw dust in our eyes by giving us an 'x' for a 'z'! This may do well enough for Nazareth, but it does not go down with us in Jerusalem!"