THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Beyond the Jordan at the Sea of Galilee. Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19
- Chapter 263 -
Barnabe recalls the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple.
At this Elisa went to her father, who pressed her to his heart with many tears of thanks, then showed her a place between him and his wife and gave her to eat and drink of everything that there was; but particularly she liked My wine made from water.
2
When the daughter now ate and drank so healthily, the host asked Me with all respect, "Lord and Master of all Masters! It is indeed very foolish of me to ask you how you can know that I am called Barnabe, and that this daughter of mine is called Elisa; for if such things are possible for you, given by God, why should it not then be just as easily possible for you to know how I and all the others as well are called by name? But I just thought to myself that you might have seen and recognized me from Jerusalem on some occasion. And if that was an easily possible case, then it would be of doubled interest for me!"
3
Said I: "Tell Me, what has brought you to this thought!"
4
The host said, "Forgive me now in advance, if I should express myself somehow unworthily "for I have now enjoyed some wine, and it has perhaps loosened my tongue somewhat; but I will nonetheless pull myself together as much as I can so that my tongue will not cause me any too great shame!
5
Behold, about twenty years ago I was still a Levite in Jerusalem and actually a future Pharisee (VARIZAR = shepherd, also shepherd director). There one day "as never before or after "it happened that at the usual test of the twelve year-old boys a boy called Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee was brought before us. This boy knew then already more than all the templars together and was actually the main reason why I soon left the temple for all time.
6
But in addition I must admit openly here that you, Master of Masters, have a very extraordinary similarity to that truest miracle youth namely in the face. But I do not want to claim at all with this that you as a man now have grown from that youth, which would not exactly be something impossible; but only I wanted to mention with that that it is namely highly strange how similar great spirits are very often in their faces if they follow one and the same tendency.
7
For three days that extraordinary boy at the temple kept proving to us in every detail that he was himself the promised Messiah. Then for various reasons I decided to leave the temple in exchange for this solitude. I never returned to it nor did I go anywhere else; therefore, I do not know what may have become of that boy. At the time I was his enemy; yet it did not take long before I could see the truth in that boy's assertions more and more clearly, whereas the temple kept becoming more disagreeable and offensive to me every day.
8
Indeed, the words of that boy were my salvation from the truly hellish temple. And now I want you to tell me what might have become of that boy. What incensed me most against the old arrant templars was the fact that they promised a reward to the one who would kill him at some good opportunity. This did not happen while I was with the temple. However, since I have been here for almost twenty years, who knows what the temple might have perpetrated later on against that boy. You, Master of masters, surely know all that, and so I am asking you to enlighten me on this."
9
I say, "Behold, exactly for that reason I have now come to you; for I Myself am that boy who then pressed hard against the elders, the Pharisees and doctors of the law in the temple! And because you now know that, it will also now become clearer to you why I said to you right after My arrival: Peace be with you and your house! The kingdom of God has come close! But only tomorrow morning will we have a further discussion about it! But today have a good bed prepared for us so that we can shake off our tiredness and tomorrow stand strong for action again!"
10
At this the host Barnabe ordered his servants to prepare us a good bed immediately and they did what they were commanded.
11
When we stood up from the table, the healed daughter came up to Me once again and thanked Me most heartfelt for the healing of her suffering, and also the host, his wife and his other children did the same; for the beautiful and cheerful Elisa was very dear to them all and they were so overjoyed that they now had their Elisa very fresh and healthy again before them. I gave them all My blessing and then headed with My disciples quickly to rest.