The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Second day in Sychar
- Chapter 88 -
The Lord's discussion with Cornelius about the Temple brood and the Lord's cleansing of the Temple.
Says the chief commander, by the name of Cornelius, who was also a brother of the emperor Augustus, 'Well, serves them right! Because I cannot tell you how I abhor this Temple brood! I tell You, dearest and most exalted friend, the most evil of all evils on the entire earth is a Jewish temple cleric! Our quasi-Egyptian priests are bad, but occasionally they still display hallmarks of humanity; not much is heard there about atrocities, whilst their business with very few exceptions is to exhort mankind to humanness and to martial chivalry.
2
But these fellows are hypocrites through and through! Outwardly they act as strictly and piously as if carrying bagfulls of living gods; inwardly however they are too evil even for our lowermost mythical hell. Verily, if our three main mythical furies, before whose heinousness everything is supposed to turn to stone in terror, were to catch sight of such Jerusalemite Temple-churl, then they would themselves have to turn to diamond from trepidation! I tell You, for the ultimate unfurling of this most supremely malevolent, depraved Temple and priest knot, same must soon be put to the sharpest sword of the Macedonian king, or the entire earth should shortly be entangled in it! - O friend! I could tell you things about these churls that through this alone the entire earth would turn feverish! But let this suffice You for now; after you come over we shall have much to discuss!'
3
Say I, 'O let be. I know this brood from the lowest root-fibrils! But I have already selected a 'Macedonian king' from your Roman race; to him shall be granted the hewing in twain with red-hot sword of this most solid knot! I nevertheless shall prior to this be doing everything possible towards the reformation of some of them!'
4
Says the chief, 'Do not do it. Because they shall know how to kill You, for as long as there is human mortality-potential in You, even if You are a true Son of God! For I tell You, not even a God is safe with them! - Believe Me, dearest young friend!'
5
Say I, 'Let's leave that! What the Father wants shall be! It would take only one breath from My mouth and they should be no more! But this is not the Father's will, and so we shall let them be for a while!'
6
Says the chief, 'If these churls should carry on for another ten years, not many people should survive in Judea. If it was not for one moderate at their top then soon after Your most courageous cleansing of the Temple of its vermin, there would already have been immense trouble! But a truly upright man by the name of Nicodemus knew how to make these churls, who are now nearly as numerous as the grass of the earth, keep their distance. It was really funny how with great cunning he was able to make it clear that this Temple-cleansing was permitted by God only so that His servants should acquire much gold, as it was precisely those merchants, money-changers and sellers of pigeons who never, apart from their small stall's fees, ever laid offerings into the Temple offertories, even whilst being considered the wealthiest in all of Jerusalem! With this most of them agreed, and some said, 'Well, let's hope this one comes also to the next feast with his magic power - he comes in handy!' But some, who secretly had through confidential agents also participated in the money-changing, were of course not so happy. But notwithstanding this I guarantee You that, upon a repeated cleansing at the next feast, not a hair shall be bent upon Your head, since you had helped them to a considerable sum at the last one. But should You again go to Jerusalem for a similar affair then sneak in most secretly, or You should find the Temple cleansed by itself, as these hawkers, money-changers and livestock traders have sent out spies after You everywhere, who are to watch all Your paths, similarly to those notorious Temple-servants. Most of those I had arrested belonged to these chaps, and there would hardly have been two honest ones among them!'
7
Say I, 'Well, this favour I could of course do them again, but be assured that no such money-changers or vendors shall set up business in the Temple after that! - Upon My final move into Jerusalem I shall get to cleansing the Temple again the way I did recently!'
8
Following this assurance a troop-commander came to report the troop's readiness for march-off to the chief. The chief takes leave of Me, reminding Me to be sure to drop in on him at Capernaum! - Thereafter the host serves up a good morning meal, at which all take part.