The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 132 -
The death of the crucified murderer robbers.
1
(Mathael:) "Within half an hour we were back at Golgotha and except for guards nobody else was there. But the seven presented a sight of the deepest terror. I do not want to talk to much here about the awful appearance of the seven half corpses, but rather about their souls which were still not detached from their bodies, but made every effort to destroy and tear their bodies. Theses black and dark red bloody striped tigers attacked their own bodies and bit into them; but for that they had to feel a painful response from their still nerve-alive bodies. Since after each bite into their bodies, they made a painful furious face and immediately put their paws onto the place where they had bitten into their half-dead bodies.
2
This manoeuvring we watched for about an hour, and I had to tell my father what I observed at the seven. But the roman guard superintendent noticed this, who also watched my unsteady eyes for quite some time with the greatest attention. He came to us and asked us in the roman tongue, what we saw at the seven, since we, especially I, observed with great attention and had to report to my father. We should do this in his tongue, otherwise he would be forced to asked us to leave.
3
My father talked to him in Greek, which he was more comfortable with than Latin, although both of us understood Latin quite well; since in Jerusalem even as a child one had to know three languages if one wanted to converse with the many foreigners. My father explained to him, the guard superintendent, that he was a doctor and that he with his son and at the same time also scholar, conducted medical diagnosis and psychological observations, and that he encouraged me to describe all the symptoms in great detail; alongside he was also explaining to me this and that according to the teachings of Hippocrates.
4
But the guard superintendent, a knowledge thirsty person, liked this, and requested my father to make his explanations in the Greek tongue, so that he also could profit from it. Now we were caught! Since that my father explained something to me, was only a feint to put the guard superintendent at ease, because it was only me making a report about the psychological scene to my father, which was certainly of such nature that the guard superintendent would have laughed into our faces, if he would listen to it. What should we do now? Both of us were helpless!
5
But now I saw a spirit, standing in the air on a cloud descending, and in his right hand he carried a big, shiny sword. 'What will he do here?' I thought by myself. But the superintendent saw my fixed researching eyes and immediately asked me if I could see anything unusual. And I answered him in my way very brief and a little gruffly: 'Certainly, - but if I told you, you still would not believe me!'
6
The guard superintendent wanted to know more from me; but at that time it was already getting late and from Cornelius an order arrived to break the legs at the feet with axes according to the custom of the Romans, and if anyone was still alive, to put an end to him with a blow to the head and on the chest, so our guard superintendent had strict orders to carry out and we could continue our observations unhindered.
7
I now looked at the great spirit, who was dressed in a dark sky-blue pleated garment, and what he would be doing at this scene. Listen! As the leg breakers waited for the command to smash the legs of the seven and to end the life of those who are still alive with the said blows, the mighty spirit lifted the sword and cut the strings by which the black tiger souls were attached to their bodies.
8
When those awful souls were relieved from their bodies, they suddenly became a little more human appearance, walked on their hind legs, but absolutely silent and with a very sad and sorrowful expression, and the spirt said in a sharp voice to them: 'Go to the place of your evil love; it will attract you! As your deeds, so is your reward!' But the seven souls shouted: 'If we are doomed there would be sufficient time for it! Why was it necessary to torture us, if the everlasting damnation awaits us here?!'
9
Said the big, mighty spirit: 'Everything depended and still depends on your love! Change this according to the order of Jehovah known to you, and you will be your own saviours; except for yourselves nobody in the whole of infinity of God can save you! The life is yours, and the love is yours; if you can change your love, then this will transform your whole life and being! And now leave!'
10
Upon these sharp words of the great and mighty spirit, the seven, under a horrible howling, quickly ran away; however, I was so perky to asked the great spirit, what will finally become of the seven.
11
And the spirit rose again and said nothing else than: 'Their very own will! With them it was not a lack of upbringing, not a lack of recognition, and they were not possessed - accept by their own evil will. The vermin you saw escaping when they were exposed and when flagellated, were no foreign daemons, but all of them products and creations of their own evil will. Therefore the judgement is fair; since it had to deal with seven perfect devils, for whom in this world existed no teaching, no word and no improvement! But here with us, where everything is revealed, their destiny will be as they want it to be out of their love. The opportunities, even if only in appearance, will be plentiful to tempt themselves to more evil or also to betterment. Understand this, youth, and also explain this to your father, to whom is not given the sight for this!'
12
With these meaningful words the big and mighty spirit disappeared, and the leg breakers began with their work. With five no blood came out of the wide open wounds; but with the last two there was still some blood. They immediately received the ending blows, which, however, was a complete futile work and exercise; since when the good or evil soul for once has left the body, the body is for certain completely dead.
13
After this rather not too inviting nice action, the henchmen went home and the corpses were handed over to the undertaker and his servants for further disposal. The way of disposal, however, was different and still does, with the only restriction that they were not allowed to be buried. Normally they were burnt with the cursed wood or dehydrated in the cursed water and only afterwards thrown to the wild animals as food. But the wild and tearing beasts who ate from it, normally perished, which was the reason for the undertaker to simply cook the corpses in the cursed water and sold it then rather well for quite a lot of money to people who wanted to kill wolves, hyenas, bears and foxes.
14
This, o Lord, is now once more a little history which I have experienced during my youth, of which everything is clear to me, except the appearance of the souls, which were without any human form, and the previously countless many despicable vermin leaving the criminals as bats and small dragons. The big spirit did indeed gave me some explanation, that these were only products of the evil will; but how, - this is entirely a different question, which, except for You, o Lord, nobody can answer and solve! Those two, o Lord, You could solve for us, if it pleases Your most holy will!"