The Three Days in the Temple
Conversations of the twelve year old Jesus
- Chapter 31 -
The speech of the Roman judge closing the session, and acknowledging the Boy Jesus. The Roman's question about the staying away of the parents of Jesus, and His information concerning them.
BUT now the Roman Judge rubbed his forehead, and said with a very loud voice: "Listen now again to me! From all that I have now remarked concerning this Boy, what I have heard and seen of Him by means of keen observation during the last three days, there results most clearly, in a way that could be easily understood by the simplest mind, that He is most certainly a different being from us, poor, exceedingly feeble and mortal men of this earth.
2
As for His earthly birth, He belongs to the nation of Jews, that is true, and thus stands partly under the laws of the temple, and also partly as equal of each Jew under ours. But I have taken note that the spirit of this Boy really is the foundation of all laws as well as of each state, each social and national order, and still further also of all the laws in the great nature of all matter of all spirits, laws that can never be manifested to us! He is at the same time a deeply wise and most just judge, and there is in His being nothing, no, not even one atom of even apparent wickedness. How then shall our laws have any further application to Him seeing that He is most evidently a Lord over all laws!
3
I therefore place Him free and heaven high exalted above all our Roman laws, and just as free of all your surely insignificant temple laws, and also declare therewith most solemnly that this temple is much too unworthy of the reception of His holy personality; and as often as He may deign to visit wicked Jerusalem He shall find a most kindly reception in my palace which is obviously purer, along with the greatest honors that mortals can give an Immortal and Almighty God!
4
And when you condescend to come to me, I shall call out aloud: 'Listen you peoples! The greatest and highest salvation has come to my house and to the governor of Rome'!
5
He shall take the salvation from you Jews, and give it to us heathen, and you shall be trodden under our heavy heels even in this His time, and dust and ashes shall we throw upon this place where you allow yourselves to be praised, yea formerly even adored as gods by the infatuated people.
6
I have now spoken out of my most inward conviction, and am now of the authoritative opinion that we will now raise this session, as you truly sinister temple officials cannot be brought to any better mind. For why waste such holy words on completely deaf ears and hearts of stone?"
7
I said: "Yet a few moments until those arrive who have been searching for Me now for three days. They will hear where I am in the inn 'Nazareth' which belongs to the temple, and will come here to look for Me; I shall then go again to Nazareth with them. For as to the body I must stay with those whom I have Myself truly and faithfully chosen for that purpose."
8
The Roman said: "But how did it happen that you could get lost to your physical parents? In my opinion, they surely must have had to accompany you there, and I even remember now that I noticed at the entrance of the examination hall of the temple, an old and venerable man and a very pious looking woman, at your side? The little tax having been paid, it is true that they went out of the temple with many others, after which I saw them no more; but then they must still have known that you could not have been elsewhere, but only here?"
9
I said: "Dearest friend, see, that is quite simple. I wished it to be thus, because this lay in My will and in My eternal order! For I tell you: this scene had been planned within Me already from eternity. Therefore could this take place quite naturally.
10
My physical parents expected Me as did the others, in the recognized inn, knowing well that I could not miss them; but as my foster father Joseph had to get a smith from Damascus to make a few new tools for him, and knew beforehand that these would not be ready so quickly, and as for the sake of helping to carry them, my physically strong mother also accompanied him, he therefore gave to several relations and otherwise well known Nazarenes the order that, in case he should return too late with Mary, they should take Me with them just as far as the next station; because, in case of a delay with the aforesaid smith, neither of them would then need to return to Jerusalem which was much out of their way.
11
Thus it was arranged and also carried out. Both of them stayed rather long and when they came to the station mentioned, they met there of course a number of well known persons, and also relations out of Nazareth, but I was not among them; and they thought that perhaps I had gone with a company that had started sooner, to reach the distant inn for the night. My parents had no difficulty in believing this, and went quite at their ease with the others. However they only arrived after midnight, and I was not there either.
12
Early in the morning they started for an inn still considerably farther off; but also there they heard nothing about Me. From there they returned here, have already arrived at our inn, and to their great consolation have discovered Me by making inquiries, and soon now they will find Me there and give Me a little reprimand."
13
The Roman said: "O they must not give you any reprimand! I will very soon enter a protest against that"
14
I said: "O let everything happen that has been foretold by the prophets, you just wait, and I will then say what I think and this will be very good for them as human beings."
15
Here the chief priest wanted to say something further, but the Roman and our Simon did not permit it, and declared once more that the session was raised.