The Three Days in the Temple
Conversations of the twelve year old Jesus
- Chapter 29 -
The teasing question of the chief priest. The repellent answer of the Boy Jesus. Barabas' request for an explanation of Isaiah Chapter 54: 4-9, and its fulfillment through the Lord. Why the Lord is so harsh and repellent towards the temple officials.
TO this the chief priest said once again: "Tell me then, you half God, half man of a boy from Galilee, where will you now go. So that we shall for along time henceforth no more be able to see you? But I think, as you are a Nazarene, and indeed a son of the carpenter Joseph (only too well known to me,) and of his wife Mary, or as I or someone among us will certainly visit once, twice or three times every year those Galilean places, it surely might not be so difficult to see you there, as being so well known a personality; and to continue discussing with you reorganization of the temple! What do you think, young prophet from Galilee, with regard to this?"
2
I said: "If your heart had also taken part in your words that were only intended to annoy Me, I should of course still have answered you; but thus you are not worthy of any other answer, but the one already received.
3
You may come once or a thousand times to Nazareth you shall never again get to see Me, and still less discuss with Me. For I shall know a long time in advance when you will arrive; but where I shall go then in the meantime, neither you nor your temple officials will get to know!
4
I tell you that it is very difficult to search for and find Him who is Omniscient! Yea, when the time of permission from the Sprit that is within Me, shall come, then you shall find Me again! Or if all of you follow My advice, then I shall not keep you waiting, shall Myself come to you; but then only, as I have already remarked!"
5
At this utterance of Mine the chief priest no longer spoke, for he was secretly very angry that I paid no regard at all to him as the representative of the High priest. But the others did not dislike to see it, as he was for them a great domestic tyrant.
6
Thereupon Barnabas came up to Me once again and said: "Tell me, you wisest of boys! How do you understand the following texts of the 54th Chapter of the prophet Isaiah? They treat of the consolation of Zion and run thus:
7
'Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed; neither be you confounded; for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the fear of your virginity, and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood any more. (Verse 4)
8
For your maker is your husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and your redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called. (Verse 5)
9
For the Lord your God had called thee as a woman broken and grieved in Spirit, and as a young wife who has been put away, says your God. (Verse 6)
10
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. (Verse 7)
11
I hid my face a little from thee in a moment of wrath; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, says the Lord your redeemer. (Verse 8)
12
For such shall be to Me, as the waters of Noah shall no more pass over the earth. Thus have I sworn also, that I would not be angry with you nor rebuke you." (Verse 9)
13
See, these very important verses of Isaiah seem to me to sound again very favorable and consoling, in spite of your threats concerning Jerusalem and the temple! If you are able to make these texts also fit you then we shall fully believe that you are, in all seriousness, the promised Messiah; and that the whole temple shall be demolished, and a new one shall be erected on the pure mount Lebanon for all times of times."
14
I said: "What was written so far about Me, it was also possible to make you comprehend; but to make you comprehend from now onwards what concerns Me and My works will be most difficult, and even as a fact not possible at all!
15
For that 'virgin' who is not to fear being made ashamed, and who is not to be confounded so as to be put to shame, but who will no longer think of the shame of her virginity and who is to forget the reproach of widowhood, is by no means Jerusalem and its temple; for truly the figuratively corresponding term 'virgin' would for ever fit them as little as that of 'widow'!
16
The 'virgin' spoken of there, will only be created by Me; this shall be My new doctrine, for man, out of the heavens; and it is called a 'virgin' because no egotistical whoring and insolent priesthood will have previously misused it, for their vile worldly purposes.
17
This, my future doctrine, will also, for a short time, be called 'Widow' because I shall then be also taken from her through your wrath and your vengeance, but only with the permission of Him who is within Me and nowhere outside of Me. But the husband of this virgin and widow, shall of course also be I Myself, because she is formed by Me. But who is really the man who has formed the virgin and made her a widow? Just read it out of the prophets, as well as the promises given to her; for I am the Man, and the promises concern only the mysterious virgin.'
18
Much later on also, 'times' as Daniel described them, shall come, in which even of this purest doctrine great abuse shall be made, but never of the virgin herself, only of the children and the daughters of the children of the pure virgin widowed for a short time. Naturally those shall not be partners of My promises, but surely that certain 'virgin' descending from My Mouth, and her numerous pure children.
19
See, this his how the matter will continue to be, and throughout eternity it will not change! For with you and your temple I shall henceforth have no more intercourse. Verily I came to you in order to save you, but you have not recognized or accepted Me. Furthermore, you will come to Me only when you get into very great difficulties; then however I shall no more recognize nor ever accept you. Have you thoroughly understood?
20
Barnabas said: Truly, to support you with an easy mind needs very much patience; for you become more and more incomprehensible, and as a matter of fact more and more rude! But let that be as it may; we shall all the same still wait and see how these things develop! The matter always with you resembles - it seems to me - a flash of lightning which at its beginning suddenly produces a murderously strong light, and even makes the earth tremble through the thunder which always accompanies it; but then it is quickly over, and after it the darkness is greater than it was before.
21
Do you know you are in your way evidently a phenomenon that has no equal, and in spite of your obstinacy you still have given us very much pleasure. Your talent, Boy, would be useful, but you ought to get quite a different and wider education, and unite a little more humanity to your truly great and previously nonexistent qualities; then you would be, later on, a man the like of whom would not have been known in the world. But with your unchanging harshness, you will make very few friends among men on this earth. If you still increase in your strange power over nature and have of course no enemy to fear, you will surely be feared by everyone, but never either loved or honored! I however prefer to be like rather than feared by all men! Of which opinion are you yourself, or is anyone else?"
22
I said: "O yes, you would be quite right if all men were pure and good! But as men on earth greatly differ, some being good and many others bad, perjured and wicked, it would truly be a very difficult task for a just and true man to behave in a way which would make him loved by all! One would have to be wicked with the wicked, and on the other hand good with the good, and behold this is just as little possible as to be a kind of light which, at the same time, diffuses the greatest brightness, and at the same spot also the most dense darkness!
23
I tell you: The true friends of the eternally unchangeable truth of God will surely love Me, and that even above all measure; but men who trample upon the divine laws and truths, and live as if a God existed no longer, will still fear Me! For such men and worldly atheists shall then get to know that I stand absolutely no joke, and reward each one according to his works; for I alone have the eternally perfect power to do so!"
24
Barnabas said smilingly: "Boy, Boy, how can you speak of 'eternally' and yet are scarcely twelve years old?! To what height is your Messianic zeal soaring? Just remain natural, and we shall be glad to listen to you!"
25
I said: "Go! You are now already becoming loathsome to Me! Do I mean this body which has of course only existed twelve years upon the earth? Did I not already yesterday give to all of you a sufficient explanation of the eternity of that Spirit which is, and works, within Me? How is it that you reproach Me be saying that My Messianic zeal goes too far? First comprehend a thing, and then only see if you may discuss with Me, and that obviously about things that are still further off, and more unknown to you than the most distant part of the earth!"