AND EVERYTHING BECAME DARKNESS
2:01 pm — YERUSHALAYIM, FRIDAY, APRIL 7, AD 30
WHEN THE STORM ENDED, the spectacle around me was simply Dantesque. Naturally, all the legionaries were covered in sand. The dust had whitened the eyebrows, hair, and clothes of the soldiers, as well as the robes of the few fifty Jews who had preferred to endure the lash of the wind at Golgotha.
As for the crucified, seeing them mute and with their motionless heads lowered to their chests, which Yousef soon thought had died of asphyxiation. Longinus thought the same, for he rushed to the crosses, slapping his clothes and shaking off the accumulated earth. However, when they stopped with the convicts, they found that they were still alive. The wounds and threads of blood had absorbed an infinity of particles of earth and sand, reaching to form a plug in the deep cuts on the sides and in the laceration of the kneecap. The hair, armpit and pubic hair, as well as chest hair, were unrecognizable. They had turned into graying masses. His hair, mostly, soaked with hemorrhages, was now, with the dust, a slimy gray trinket.
Yousef was stunned to see his dusty beard and mustache and his lips, with an earthy crust that hid the mucous membranes and even the deepest wounds. The nail wounds, both of Yeshua and the zealots, had almost been covered by the storm. That infernal wind that had just attacked the thread of life that still floated high in those trees had achieved what seemed like a miracle, to stop their blood loss. The two guerrillas and Yeshua from Natsrat were passed out.
In the end, it was the best thing that could have happened to them. That's when it happened.
The Sun simply became the darkest form anyone there had ever seen supernaturally. A collective scream rose from the throats of the Jews as they saw the mysterious darkness. In seconds, the burning circle closed, giving way to a progressive obscuration of Yerushaláyim in a dilated radius in which everyone was. That interposition to the Sun took place with some slowness, but without hesitation.
The solar eclipse could be observed step by step by everyone present and in less than one hundred and twenty seconds, the star-king disappeared and, with it, the clarity, the solar radiations continued to be present, forming a luminous crown that encompassed the entire curvature. of the star in the heavens. Darkness did indeed fall over Yerushaláyim, but not with the absolute character of a dark night.
The brightness around the sun's disk was sufficient for them to be able to distinguish around it with a luminosity index very similar to that which usually follows at sunset. And so it remained for a long forty-five minutes until the fateful moment arrived.
The obscuration of the Sun began in the east.
At the consummation of the eclipse, which had only a purely local projection, many of the frightened Jews fell face down on the ground, beating their chests with both hands and screaming in terror. The Sadducees, bewildered, did not know how to proceed. Finally, most of the Hebrews fled to the Gate of Ephraim, while their leaders, still not very convinced, tried to hold them back, shouting to them that all that could only be obeyed by some incantation of the crucified one or by a celestial phenomenon.
The disturbance of the uneducated and superstitious enemies of Yeshua was such that they did not even listen to the reasons of the priests. And there stood the helpless group of judges, far more dependent on what was happening in the heavens than in the patíhuln. Those who remained on Golgotha were not out of courage, but in obedience to Kaiafa and the Council.
The Roman officer had to make a supreme effort to calm his nervousness and that of his men. If the Hebrews were afraid of that kind of phenomenon, the Romans were much more afraid, for their maximum deity was Solis Invictus.
With loud shouts, Longinus finally managed to get his soldiers to occupy the sentry posts indicated by the optio before the sandstorm.
The shouting rose beyond the wall, the confusion and fear among the pilgrims and the inhabitants of Yerushaláyim had to be extreme. While that area remained in shadow, many onlookers approached the Gate of Ephraim, intrigued and anxious to know if all this had any connection with the prodigious Rabbi of Galilee, but none had the courage to approach, except for a small group..
***
THE FAREWELL BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILDREN
2:15 pm — YERUSHALAYIM, FRIDAY, APRIL 7, AD 30
A few minutes after the onset of darkness, on the way from Yerushaláyim, about twenty people stood out. With a quick and determined step, they approached the great rock. Because of the shadows, Yousef could only make out the young apostle Yohanan ben Zebedee when he was a few meters away from where he was. With him was the other man and eighteen women, all of them hidden between their garments, but he could not recognize the figure of any of Zebedee's friends.
As he prepared to descend through the crevasse, a sudden groan from the Galilean stopped him. The Rabbi appeared to have regained consciousness. The centurion took a few steps and watched as the crucified man tried again to breathe more forcefully. The fall of his diaphragm had swollen his belly and his chest was rigid as the wood from which it hung. Despite the dust and dirt that covered it, almost like a fateful anticipation of the grave, the signs of cyanosis were increasingly visible. The few toenails that weren't bathed in blood had begun to take on a characteristic bluish tinge. The same was true of the fingertips. Tetanization of the lower limbs was rampant. The muscles in her thighs and legs continued to spasm, albeit for longer and longer. The big toes of both feet had entered into adduction, deflecting to the central plane of the Nazarene's body.
Suddenly, a hand landed on Yousef's left shoulder, it was Yohanan, the young disciple loved by the Rabbi. With his usual courage he had climbed to the top of Calvary, he came alone and did not even linger looking at the Rabbi. His eyes were buried in his face, marked by many sleepless hours and suffering, he looked like an old man.
In a trembling voice he addressed Longinus:
— My lord, I beg you, at least for a moment, allow the mother of Yeshua of Natsrat to approach the cross and bid her son farewell.
Longinus who had no idea who he was was helped by Marcellus who summed up the boy's courage in a few seconds.
Yohanan followed suit, directing his right arm to the small number of women waiting a short distance from the Sadducees.
Myriam was there!
Longinus did not have the courage to deny it, and he authorized the disciple to accompany the Rabbi 's mother to the top of the mountain, on condition that the others remained where they were and that their stay at the cross was as brief as possible.
Yohanan thanked the centurion for the humanitarian gesture and hurried back to the group. He exchanged a few words with the women, and then one of the Hebrew women began to climb among the rocks, helped by Yohanan and another man.
A few seconds later, he had the mother of the Nazarene in front of him.
The legionaries, a little more relaxed, had descended the second cliff in search of dry wood with which they could light a fire. Of course, they could not predict how long the darkness would last, and Marcellus prudently ordered the soldiers to make a good supply of fuel. It was still four hours before nightfall, and the guarding of the condemned could be long.
As Myriam reached the central cross, two of the soldiers laid bundles and branches of broom called brushes on the rock, very light and of excellent quality for their purposes. Leaning on the forearms of Yohanan and the second man who happened to be named Yehudhah, Yeshua's younger brother.
The Hebrew woman, with an extremely pale face, stopped a meter away from the wood on which her son was nailed. It wasn't very high. The head, raised towards the son, was more or less at the level of the Nazarene's knees. She was around fifty years old, although her fragile figure, a little stooped, and the wrinkles that appeared in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes made her more venerable. He wore a brown cloak over his head—of course he couldn't see his hair. The robe, similar in color to the cloak, though a little more faded, almost brushed the floor of Golgotha.
Nobody said anything.
Yohanan began to cry, clinging to the arm of the lady beside him. Longinus, moved, withdrew.
Myriam de Natsrat at that moment did not shed even a dull tear when she saw the prophecy that she had received more than thirty years ago from the Lord's envoy named Gabriel, she would never be ready to see her son in those conditions. Only the tremor of his long, calloused hands, under whose skin a network of pronounced blue veins snaked, reflected his distress.
The officer, in another gesture that said much in his favor, returned to them, carrying a torch he had just lit. When Longinus held the makeshift torch close to the crucified man's body so that his mother could see him better, the Galilean, awakened by the red glow of the fire, lifted his chin from his chest, seeing his family. His breath hitched again and his right eye opened wide. The woman, like Yohanan and Yeshua's brother, did not take their eyes off the face of the crucified man. His mouth opened slightly, trying to speak. However, the lungs, reduced in their vital capacity by the multiple injuries of the respiratory muscles and by the distressing lack of support, were facing a very serious restrictive ventilatory failure.
In spite of this, the Nazarene, in an enormous effort, contracted his abdominal muscles and, almost in unison, the exhausted muscles of his forearms and shoulders began to throb, seeking the energy needed to lift his upper body, but his son's reserves Myriam's were almost exhausted and her will didn't seem to be enough to do what she wanted at that moment.
In those dramatic moments for those who were at the cross, Yeshua arched the diaphragm a second time and stretched the flexor and extensor muscles again, making them vibrate, at the same time, his left wrist rotated an inch in the axis of the forearm. That movement of the carpus on the nail contributed decisively to the elevation of the shoulders. The Rabbi's head sank into the patibulum and his beard turned towards the sky, while the violent pain provoked by the slightest movement of the left wrist made the walls of the external jugular vein pulsate with haste, marking the supraclavicular fossa and the muscles of the neck. like I've never seen in a human being. Soon, from the half-closed wound of the left wrist, two threads of blood appeared, very thin and divergent, that ran up to the elbow. Yeshua achieved his purpose.
As he rose, his mouth opened wide and a breath of fresh air entered his lungs, while the sinking of his belly exposed the iliac crest of his right hip. The crucified man's body fell again and Yeshua, lowering his face, smiled.
Watching her son's desperate effort, Myriam lowered her face and her legs gave out. But Yohanan and Yehudhah supported her.
The Rabbi's lips, barely shadowed by the torch's light, began to tremble, and the deep circles under his eyes that accentuated his high, sharp cheekbones merged with the dark, unfathomable bitterness of eyes that, in spite of everything, retained a singular beauty.
— Women!
The son's slurred voice made Myriam and everyone else look up. And the Hebrew's countenance was lit up:
— Woman — repeated Yeshua — here you have your son!
Yohanan was wiping away his tears with the palm of his right hand, looking at the Rabbi without understanding. Then, turning his face towards the apostle, he exclaimed, almost without strength:
— My son... here you have your mother!
The Crucified's little inspiration was almost exhausted. His breath began to fall and using up the last of his strength, he ordered between gasps:
— I wish... that you would leave... this... place.
In her heart she could never do that, not after all they'd been through...
***
MOTHER AND SON STORIES
IN THE SIXTH MONTH the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Yousef, of the house of David; the virgin's name was Myriam. Approaching her, he said:
— Hail! Highly favored, the Lord is with you.
She, however, on hearing these words, was very disturbed and began to wonder what this greeting would be.
The angel said to him:
— Fear not, Myriam; for thou hast found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, whom you will call Yeshua. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Myriam asked the angel:
— How can that be, since I don't know a man?
The angel answered him:
— The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore what is to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month, for no word from God will be impossible.
Myriam said:
— Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word. And the angel withdrew.
In those days, when Myriam arose, she went in haste to the hill country, to a city in Judah, entered the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth. Only Elisabeth heard Myriam's greeting, the child leapt in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and exclaimed in a loud voice:
— Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. How does the mother of my Lord come to visit me? For as soon as the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the child leapt for joy in my womb. Blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled.
Myriam said:
— My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has set his eyes on the lowliness of his handmaid. For from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. With his arm he manifested power, he dissipated those who had proud thoughts in their hearts, he deposed the mighty from their thrones, he exalted the lowly, he filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he sent empty. He helped his servant Israel, remembering mercy (As he spoke to our fathers) To Abraham and to his posterity forever.
Myriam stayed with her for about three months, then returned to her home.
When the time came to give birth, Isabel had a son. Her neighbors and relatives, knowing the great mercy that the Lord had shown to her, shared in her rejoicing.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the boy, and they were going to name him after his father—Zechariah. But his mother said:
— No, but it will be called Yohanan.
They said to him:
— There is none among your relatives who bears this name.
They asked for nods to the father, what name he wanted them to give him. He, asking for a tablet, wrote:
Yohanan is his name.
Everyone marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosened, and he began to speak, blessing God. Fear seized all his neighbors, and the news of all these things spread throughout the hill country of Judea, and all who heard of them took them to heart, saying:
— What will this boy become, then? — For verily the hand of the Lord was with him.
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying:
— Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and raised up for us a mighty deliverer in the house of his servant David, as he promised from the beginning by the mouth of his holy prophets, to deliver us from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy to our fathers, And remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us, freed from the hand of our enemies, that we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him for all our days. Yea, and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people, in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which we he will visit the dawn from above, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet in the way of peace.
IN THE YEAR 309 of the age of Alexander, Augustus ordered everyone to be censused in his hometown. Yousef then departed and leading Myriam, his wife, came to Yerushaláyim, whence he went to Bethlehem to inscribe himself, together with his family, in the place where he had been born; when they were near a cave, Myriam told Yousef that her time had come and that she could not go to the city:
The sun was starting to set. Yousef hastened to look for a woman to assist Myriam in childbirth, and he found an old woman who came from Yerushaláyim, and, saluting her, said to her:
— Enter, you will find a woman in labor.
And after sunset, Yousef arrived with the crone and they went inside. And behold, the place was resplendent with a brightness that surpassed that of an infinity of flames, and that shone brighter than the midday sun. The child, wrapped in diapers and lying in a manger, was suckling at his mother Myriam's breast. Both were surprised by the appearance of that brightness, and the old woman said to Myriam:
— Are you the mother of this child?
When Myriam answered in the affirmative, she said to her:
— Aren't you like the daughters of Eve?
And Myriam replied:
— As among the children of men there is none that is like my son, so your mother is not matched among all women.
The old woman then said:
— Lady and mistress, I have come to receive a reward that will last forever.
And Myriam answered him:
— Put your hands on the child.
When the old woman did so, she was purified, and when she came out, she said:
From this moment on, I will be this child's servant, and I want to consecrate myself to his service all the days of my life.
Then, when the shepherds arrived and lit the fire, giving themselves up to joy, the heavenly courts appeared, praising and celebrating the Lord. The place looked like an august temple, where heavenly and earthly kings celebrated the glory and praises of God because of the nativity of Yeshua ben Yousef.
This old Hebrew woman, seeing these shining miracles, gave thanks to God, saying:
— I thank you, O God, God of Israel, because my eyes have seen the birth of the Savior of the world.
ON THE THIRD DAY after the birth of Yeshua, Myriam came out of the stable and placed the child in a manger, and an ox and a donkey worshiped him. Then what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:
— The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's manger.
These animals, having him in their midst, adored him to cease. Thus, what was spoken through the prophet Habakkuk was fulfilled:
— Thou shalt be known between the two beasts.
Yousef and Myriam stayed there with the child for three days.
When they arrived at a certain cave and wanted to rest in it, Myriam got off the pack mule and, sitting down, held Yeshua on her lap. There were three boys traveling with Yousef and a girl with Myriam. And behold, suddenly, many dragons came out of the cave.
When the boys saw them in front of them, they screamed in great fear. Then Yeshua descended from his mother's lap, and stood before the dragons. But they worshiped him, and while they worshiped, they drew back. Then what was spoken through the prophet David was fulfilled:
— You dragons of the earth, praise the Lord, you dragons and all creatures of the abyss.
Then the boy walked before them and commanded them not to harm any man. But Myriam and Yousef were very afraid that the boy might be harmed by the dragons. Yeshua said to them:
— Do not be afraid, nor consider me a child; I was always a perfect man and so am I now; it is necessary that all the wild animals of the forest be meek before me.
In the same way, lions and leopards worshiped him and accompanied them in the wilderness. Wherever Yousef and Myriam went, they preceded them; showing the way and bowing their heads, they worshiped Yeshua. However, the first time Myriam saw the lions and other types of wild animals around her, she was very frightened. The boy Yeshua, with a happy face, looked back and said:
— Don't be afraid, Mother, they didn't come running here to hurt you, but they run to obey you.
When he said that, it took the fear out of her heart. The lions traveled with them and with the oxen and the donkeys and the pack animals that carried their necessities, and they did not harm any of them while they remained. They were meek among the sheep and lambs that they had brought with them from Judea and had with them. They traveled among wolves and were not frightened; there was no harm done to each other. Then what was spoken by the prophet was fulfilled:
— Wolves will feed with the lambs, the lion and the ox will eat together.
There were two oxen and the cart, in which they loaded their necessities, which the lions guided on their journey. And it so happened that, on the third day after his departure, Myriam was tired from the excessive heat of the sun in the desert, and, seeing a palm tree, said to Yousef:
— I wish to rest a little under your shadow.
Yousef quickly led her to the palm tree and helped her off the animal. While Myriam was sitting, she looked at the top of the palm tree and saw it full of fruit.
She told Yousef:
— I wish, if possible, to eat some fruits of this palm tree.
Yousef told him:
— I am amazed that you say, when you see how tall this palm tree is, that you think of eating its fruit. I think more about water, which we already lack in water bags; now we have nothing to cool off with, not even the animals.
Then the boy Yeshua, who was resting with a smile on his face on his mother's lap, said to the palm tree:
— Bow, tree, and feed my mother with your fruits.
And immediately, at his voice, the palm tree bent its crown at Myriam's feet, and they gathered the fruits of it on which they all fed. After they had harvested all her fruit, she remained bowed, waiting to rise at the command of the one who had commanded her to bow.
Then Yeshua said to him:
— Arise, palm tree, and be strong and companion of my trees that are in my Father's Paradise. Open a watercourse that is hidden in the earth under your roots, and let water flow from it to satisfy us.
And the palm rose immediately, and springs of water, very clear and cold and sweet, began to flow through the roots. When they saw the springs of water, they rejoiced with great joy, and they and the beasts of burden were all satisfied, and gave thanks to God.
The next day they left. As the journey began, Yeshua turned to the palm tree and said:
— I give you the palm tree privilege that one of your branches be carried by my angels and planted in my Father's Paradise. I confer on you this blessing, that everyone who wins in a fight will be told: 'you have won the palm of victory'.
When he said this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared and stood above the palm tree. He took one of its branches and flew to Heaven with the branch in his hand. When they saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground and were as dead.
Yeshua spoke to them, saying:
— Why has fear taken possession of your hearts? Do you not know that this palm tree, which I ordered to take to Paradise, will be ready for all the saints in the place of delights, just as it was ready for you in this desert place.— They were filled with joy and stood up.
As they continued to travel, Yousef said to him:
— Sir, the excessive heat is cooking us, if it pleases you, let us walk by the sea, so that we can travel, resting in the riverside towns.
Yeshua said to him:
— Do not be afraid, Yousef, I will shorten your journey, so that what you would go through in the space of thirty days, you will finish in one day.
When the time for circumcision arrived, that is, the eighth day, when the newborn was to be circumcised according to the Law, they circumcised him in the house, and the old woman took the foreskin and placed it in an alabaster jar. filled with old spikenard oil.
As she had a son who sold perfumes, Myriam gave him the vase, saying:
— Be very careful not to sell this vase full of spikenard perfume, even if they offer you three hundred dinars.—
And this is the vase that Myriam bought and that she poured over Yeshua's head and feet, drying them with her hair.
When ten days had passed, they took the child to Yerushaláyim, and, at the end of the quarantine, they presented him in the temple, to the Lord, offering for him the offerings prescribed by the law of, Moshe, which says:
— Every male child that comes out of his mother will be called the Holy One of God.
Old Shim-on saw the boy Yeshua blazing with clarity like a beam of light, as Myriam, full of joy, entered with him in her arms. So Simeon, approaching quickly Myriam, and stretching out his hands to her, said to the boy:
— Now, Lord, your servant may depart in peace, according to your promise, for my eyes have seen your mercy and what you have prepared for the salvation of all nations, the light of all peoples, and the glory of your people Israel.
While the Lord was coming into the world in Bethlehem, a city in Judea, in the time of King Herod: Magi came from Eastern countries to Yerushaláyim, as Zoroaster had predicted, and they brought gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and they worshiped the child, and paid him homage with their gifts. So Myriam took one of the sashes the child was wrapped in and gave it to the mages who received it as a priceless gift. And at this very hour an angel appeared to them in the form of a star that had already served as their guide, and they set out, following its light, until they were back in their homeland.
THE KINGS AND PRINCES hurried to gather around the magi, asking them what they had seen and what they had done, how they had gone and how they had returned, and what companions they had then had during their journey. The mages showed them the sash Myriam had given them; then they held a feast, kindled a fire according to their customs, and worshiped the sash, and threw it into the flames, and the flames enveloped it. When the fire was extinguished, they removed the cloth and found that the flames had left no trace on it.
Then they began to kiss him and place him over their heads and over their eyes, saying:
— This is certainly the truth! What then is the price of this object which fire can neither consume nor damage?
And taking it, they deposited it with great veneration among their treasures.
Herod Magnus, seeing that the magi did not return to visit him, called together the priests and doctors and said to them:
— Show me where the Christ must be born.
And when they answered that it was in Bethlehem, a city in Judea, Herod began to plot in his spirit the murder of the Lord Yeshua. Then an angel appeared to Yousef ben Jacob in his sleep and said to him:
— Rise, take the child and its mother, and flee to Egypt.
And when the rooster crowed, Yousef got up and left.
WHILE THIS was being said, behold, they began to see the mountains and cities of Egypt.
Rejoicing and exulting, they came to the region of Hermopolis, and entered one of the Egyptian cities called Sotinen. As they did not know anyone from whom they could ask for hospitality, they went to the temple which was called the — Capitol of Egypt— . Three hundred and sixty-five idols had been placed in this temple, to which, on appointed days, divine honor was given in sacrilegious ceremonies.
And it came to pass, that when the most blessed Myriam, with her son, entered the temple, all the idols were thrown to the ground, and they were all crushed, convulsed, and their faces shattered. So they openly revealed that they were nothing. Then what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:
— Behold, the Lord will come in a swift cloud and enter Egypt, and all the idols made by the Egyptians will be removed from his presence.
When this had been announced to Aphrodosius, the governor of the City, he came to the temple with his entire army. When the priests of the temple saw Aphrodosius rushing into the temple with his entire army, they supposed they saw his vengeance on those for whose sake the idols were overthrown. He entered the temple, and when he saw that all the idols were prostrate on their faces, he went to Myriam and worshiped the child she carried in her bosom, and while he was worshiping him, he said to his whole army and to his friends:
— If he had not been the God of our gods, our gods would certainly not have fallen before him on their faces, nor would they lie prostrate in his presence. They thus silently confess that he is their Lord. If we all do not prudently do what we see our gods doing, we may incur their indignation and all be destroyed, just as Pharaoh, king of the Egyptians, did not believe in such wonders and was drowned in the sea with his army. whole.
Then all the people of that city believed in the Lord God through Yeshua Christ.
As he reflected on the path he should take, the dawn surprised him, the saddle strap had broken as they approached a great city, where there was an idol to which the other idols and divinities of Egypt paid homage and offered gifts, always that the devil spoke through the mouth of the idol, the priests reported what he said to the inhabitants of Egypt and its shores.
The priest had a three-year-old son who was possessed by a large number of demons; he prophesied and announced many things, and when the demons took possession of him, they tore his clothes and he ran naked through the city, throwing stones at men. The inn of this city was near this idol.
When Yousef and Myriam arrived and stayed, the inhabitants were deeply disturbed, and all the idol princes and priests gathered around this idol, asking it :
— Where does this universal agitation come from, and what is the cause of this dread that has seized our country?
And the idol replied:
— This astonishment was brought on by an unknown God who is the true God, and none but he is worthy of divine honours, for he is the true Son of God. At his approach, this region trembled; she was thrilled and amazed, and we felt a great fear because of her power.
And at that moment this idol fell and broke, like the other idols that were in the country, and its fall made all the inhabitants of Egypt run, but the priest's son, stricken with the evil that afflicted him, entered the inn insulting Yousef and Myriam, from which the others had fled, and as Myriam had washed her son's diapers and laid them out on some wood, the possessed boy took one of the diapers and placed it over his head. Immediately the demons fled, coming out of his mouth, and they were seen in the form of crows and serpents. The boy was instantly healed by the power of Yeshua, and he began to praise the Lord who had delivered him and gave him a thousand thanksgivings.
When his father saw that he had recovered his health, he exclaimed in amazement:
— My son, but what happened to you, and how were you healed?
And the son replied:
— At the moment when they were tormenting me, I entered the inn and there I found a woman of great beauty who was with a child, and she was spreading the diapers she had just washed on some wood, I took one of them and put it over my head and the demons fled immediately and abandoned me.
The father, full of joy, exclaimed:
— My son, it is possible that this child is the Son of the living God who created heaven and earth, and as soon as it passed close to us, the idol broke and the simulacra of all our gods fell, and a superior force theirs destroyed them.
Thus was fulfilled the prophecy which said:
— I called my son out of Egypt.
When Yousef and Myriam heard that this idol had been broken, they were seized with fear and amazement, and they said:
— When we were in the land of Israel, Herod wanted Yeshua to die and, with this intention, he ordered the massacre of all the children of Bethlehem and the vicinity, and it is to be feared that the Egyptians will burn us alive if they know that this idol fell out.
THEN THEY DEPARTURED, and passed in the vicinity of the den of thieves who stripped passing travelers of their clothes and belongings and, after having tied them up, dragged them through the desert. These robbers heard a loud noise, similar to that of a king who leaves his capital at the sound of musical instruments, escorted by a large army and numerous cavalry; terrified, then, they left all their booty there, and hastened to flee.
The captives, getting up, cut the ropes that bound them and, having taken up their luggage, were about to withdraw when they saw Yousef and Myriam approaching and asked them:
— Where is this king whose procession, with its noise, frightened the thieves to the point that they fled and set us free?
And Yousef replied:
— He follows us.
Then they arrived in another city where there was a demon-possessed woman, and when she went to fetch water at the well at night, the rebellious and unclean spirit took possession of her. She could not bear any clothes, nor live in a house, and whenever they bound her with ropes or chains, she broke them and fled naked to deserted places; and she stayed on the roads and near graves, and chased, stoning, those she met on her way, so that she was, to her parents, a cause of mourning.
Myriam saw her and was overcome with compassion, and immediately the demon left her and fled in the form of a young boy, saying:
— Woe to me because of your son, woman!
When this woman was freed from the cause of her torment, she looked around her and blushing at her nakedness sought out her parents, avoiding meeting people.
After putting on her clothes, she told her father and her family what had happened to her. As they were among the most distinguished inhabitants of the city, they hosted Yousef, Myriam and their son in their home, showing them great respect and admiration.
THE NEXT DAY, Yousef and Myriam continued their journey, and in the evening they arrived at a town where a wedding was being celebrated; but through the wiles of the evil spirit and the enchantments of some sorcerers, the wife had become mute, so that she could no longer speak.
When Myriam entered the city carrying her son in her arms, the one who had lost the use of the word saw him and immediately took him in her arms, hugged him and pressed him to her breast and showered him with affection. Immediately the bond that held her tongue broke and her ears were opened, and she began to glorify and thank God who had healed her. And there was great joy that night among the inhabitants of this city, for they all believed that God and his angels had descended among them.
Yousef, Myriam and Yeshua spent three days in this place, where they were received with great veneration and splendidly treated.
Armed with provisions for the journey, they departed from there and arrived in another city. As it was prosperous and its inhabitants had a good reputation, they stayed overnight there.
There was a good woman in this city, and one day when she had gone down to the river to wash herself, behold, the cursed spirit, taking the form of a serpent, had fallen upon her and girded her belly; and every night it stretched over her.
When this woman saw Myriam and the child she was holding against her breast, she begged her to allow her to hold and kiss the child. Myriam consented, and as soon as the woman touched the child the demon abandoned her and fled, and has not seen him since.
All the neighbors praised the Lord and the woman rewarded them with great generosity.
The next day, this same woman prepared fragrant water to wash the baby Yeshua and after having washed him, she kept this water. And there was a young woman there whose body was covered with white leprosy, and she washed herself with this water and was immediately healed.
The people then said:
— There is no doubt that Yousef, Myriame and this child are Gods, for they cannot be mere mortals.
As they were preparing to leave, this young woman who had been healed of leprosy approached them and begged them to allow her to accompany them.
They consented and she left with them.
THEY CAME TO A CITY where there was a castle of a mighty prince, and they went there and stayed there. The girl, approaching the prince's wife, found her sad, crying; then asked him what was the cause of that grief.
She answered him:
— Do not be surprised to see me given over to affliction; I am in the midst of a great calamity, which I dare not tell anyone.
The young woman became:
— If you confess to me what your ailment is, perhaps you will find a remedy with me.
The prince's wife said to him:
— You will not reveal this secret to anyone. I married a prince whose empire, like the empire of a king, extends over vast states, and, after having lived a long time with him, he had no descendants from me. Finally, I conceived, but brought into the world a leprous child; after he had seen him, he would not acknowledge him as his son, and said to me, 'Kill this child or hand him over to a nurse who will raise him in such a remote place that we shall never hear from him again. And take what is yours, for I will never see you again'. This is why I surrender to pain, deploring the calamity that has befallen me, and I weep for my husband and for my son.
The young woman answered him:
— Well, didn't I tell you that I have the medicine I promised you for you? — I too was stricken with leprosy, but I was healed by a grace of God, who is Yeshua, the son of Yousef and Myriam of Natsrat.
The woman then asked him where was this God she was talking about. The young woman answered him:
— He's right here, in this house.
Asked the princess:
— How can that be, where is he?
The young woman replied:
— Here are Yousef, Myriam, and the child with them is Yeshua, and it was he who cured me of my sufferings.
— And by what means — said the woman — can he heal you? Won't you tell me?
The young woman replied:
— I received from his mother the water in which he had been washed, and I then spread it over my body, and my leprosy disappeared.
The prince's wife then rose and received Yousef and Myriam, and prepared a magnificent feast for Yousef, to which many people were invited. The next day, she took perfumed water in order to wash the Lord Yeshua, and she washed her son, whom she had brought with her, with this same water, and soon he was cured of leprosy.
Then she began to sing praises to God and to give him thanks, saying to him:
— Happy is the mother who bore you, O Yeshua! The water with which your body was washed heals men who have your nature.
She offered Myriam gifts and bade her farewell, treating her with great deference.
THEN, THEY ARRIVED at another city where they were to spend the night. They went to the house of a newly married man, but who, struck by a curse, could not enjoy his wife, but after they had spent the night near the man, the spell was broken.
When day dawned, they were preparing to continue their journey, but the husband prevented them from leaving and prepared a great feast for them.
THE NEXT DAY they set out, and as they approached another city, they saw three women walking away from a tomb, shedding many tears. Myriam, having seen them, said to the girl who accompanied them:
— Ask them who they are and what misfortune has befallen them.
They did not answer but began to question her saying:
— Who are you, and where are you going? For the day is ending and the night is approaching.
And the girl replied:
— We are travelers and we are looking for an inn to spend the night.
The women responded:
— Follow us and spend the night at our house.
They followed the women, and were led to a new house, decorated and decorated with various furniture. It was winter, and the young girl, having entered these women's rooms, found them still weeping and wailing. Beside them, covered in a silk blanket, was a mule with fodder in front of it. And they fed him and kissed him.
The girl then said:
— Oh, my lady, how beautiful this mule is!
To which they responded crying:
— This mule you see is our brother who was born from our mother. Our father left us with his death great riches, and we had only this brother, for whom we tried to find a suitable marriage. However, women dominated by the spirit of envy, cast on him, without us knowing, enchantments. And one night, just before dawn, with the doors of our house closed, we found our brother transformed into a mule, just as you see him today. We gave ourselves up to grief, as we no longer had our father to comfort us; we consulted all the wise men of the world, all the magicians, the sorcerers, we tried everything, but none of them could do anything for us. That's why whenever our hearts are about to burst with sadness, we get up and go together with our mother who is here, to my father's grave and, after having cried, we return here.
Hearing such things, the young woman said:
— Have courage and stop crying, for the cure of your ills is near, it is with you very near, in your abode; I was a leper, but after having seen this woman and the child who is with her, who is called Yeshua ben Yousef, and after having poured the water with which his mother had washed it on my body, I was healed. I know he can put an end to your disgrace; arise, approach Myriam, lead him to your chambers, and then reveal to her the secret you have just told me, and beg her mercy.
Upon hearing these words uttered by the young woman, they hurried to Myriam, and took him to the room and said to her, crying:
— Myriam, have mercy on your servants, for our family is bereft of its chief and we have no father or brother to protect us. This mule you see here is our brother, and some women, with their enchantments, have reduced him to this state. We beg you, therefore, to have mercy on us.
Then Myriam, moved and crying like women, lifted the boy Yeshua and placed him on the back of the mule, saying:
— My son, heal this mule through your great power and make this man recover his reason, of which he was deprived.
No sooner had these words left Myriam's lips than the mule had resumed its human form. And he showed himself under the features of a handsome young man, and he had no deformity left.
He and his mother and sisters adored him and, lifting the boy above their heads, kissed him, saying:
— Happy is your mother, O Yeshua, Savior of the world! Happy are the eyes that enjoy the happiness of your presence.
The two sisters said to their mother:
— Our brother resumed his primitive form, thanks to the intervention of the Lord Yeshua and the good advice of this young woman, who suggested that we turn to Myriam and her son. And now, since our brother is not married, we thought it would be well for him to marry this girl.
After they had made this request to Myriam and she consented, they made splendid preparations for the wedding, and the pain turned to joy and the crying gave way to laughter. They only made them sing and rejoice, decked out in magnificent garments and precious jewels. At the same time, they sang songs of praise to God, saying:
— O Yeshua, Son of God, who turned our affliction into contentment and our wailing into cries of joy!
Yousef and Myriam stayed there for ten days, when they left, they received demonstrations of veneration from the whole family who said goodbye to them crying a lot, especially the girl, who burst into tears.
THEN THEY ARRIVED AT A WORLD, and as they had been told that it was infested with thieves, they prepared to cross it during the night. And behold, they suddenly saw two thieves sleeping, And near them many other thieves, their companions, who were also given over to sleep. These two thieves just past adolescence were called Gesta and Dimas.
The first said to the other:
— I beg you to let these travelers go in peace, so our companions won't see them.
When Dimas refused, Gesta said to him:
— I'll give you forty drachmas and keep my belt as a pledge.
And he gave him a belt and, at the same time, asked him not to raise the alarm. Myriam, seeing this thief so willing to serve them, said to him:
— May God protect you with his right hand and may he grant you the remission of your sins.
And Yeshua said to Myriam:
— Thirty years from now, O my mother, the Jews will crucify me in Yerushaláyim, and these two thieves will be placed on the cross by my side, Gesta on my left and Dimas on my right, and on this day Dimas will precede me in Paradise.
And when he had said this, his mother answered him:
— May God keep such a disgrace from you, O my son!
And then they came upon a city full of idols, and as they approached, it was turned into a heap of sand.
Then they came to a sycamore tree, which they call Matareia today, and Yeshua brought up a spring in this place where Myriam washed her robe. And the balm that this country produces comes from the sweat that flowed through Yeshua's limbs.
THEN THEY WENT TO MEPHIS, and having visited Pharaoh, they were recognized by Balthazar, one of the three wise men who came to worship him on the day he was born, and recognizing them, he told them all that had happened to them, and Pharaoh received them with immense joy and they remained in Egypt for three years, and Yeshua performed many miracles.
After three years they left Egypt and returned to Judea; but when they were near, Yousef was afraid to enter there because he had just learned that Herod was dead and that his son Archelaus had succeeded him; but the angel of God appeared to him and said to him:
— O Yousef, go to the city of Natsrat and establish your abode there.
WHEN THEY ARRIVED in Bethlehem, there was a proliferation of serious and difficult to cure diseases, which attacked the children's eyes and caused them to die. And a woman who had a son attacked by this evil, took him to Myriam, and found her bathing the child Yeshua.
And the woman said:
— Myriam, see my son suffering cruelly.
Myriam, hearing her, said to her:
— Take some of this water with which I washed my son and spread it over yours.
The woman did as Myriam had instructed her, and her son, after a strong agitation, fell asleep and when he awoke, he was completely cured. The woman, full of joy, went to Myriam, who said:
— Give thanks to God that he cured your son.
This woman had a neighbor whose son had been stricken with the same disease and whose eyes were almost closed, he was screaming and crying night and day. And the one whose son had been healed said to him:
— Why don't you take your son to Myriam as I did when mine was about to die and he was healed by Yeshua's bath water?
And the woman also went to get that water, and as soon as she poured it out on her son, he was healed. She then took her son in perfect health to Myriam, who told her to give thanks to God and not tell anyone what had happened.
THERE WERE IN THE SAME CITY two women married to the same man, and each of them had a sick child. One was called Myriam and her son Cleopas. This woman took her son to Myriam, mother of Yeshua, and offered him a beautiful towel, saying:
— Oh Myriam, take this towel from me and, in return, give me one of your diapers.
Myriam consented and Cleopas' mother made a tunic out of this diaper, with which she dressed her son. And he was healed and his rival's son died the same day, which caused deep resentment between these two women.
They took care of housework every other week, and one day when it was the turn of Myriam, the mother of Cleopas, she was busy heating the oven to bake the bread, and in need of flour, she left her son near the oven... Her rival, seeing that the child was alone, picked it up and threw it into the red-hot oven and fled. Myriam returned shortly afterwards, but what was her astonishment when she saw her son in the middle of the oven, laughing, for he had suddenly grown cold, as if he had never been heated, and she suspected that her rival had thrown him there.
He took him out and took him to Myriam, and told her what had happened. And Myriam said to him:
— Shut up, for I fear for you if you divulge such things.
Then the rival went to get water from the well, and seeing Cleopas playing, and seeing that there was no one around, took the child and threw him into the well. Some men who came to draw water saw the child sitting in the water, unharmed, and by means of ropes, pulled him out. And they were so amazed at this child that they paid him the same homage due to a God. And his mother, crying, carried him to Myriam and said to her:
— O my lady, see what my rival did to my son, and how she made him fall into the well. Oh! She will, of course, end up causing her death.
Myriam replied:
— God will punish the wrong that has been done to you.
A few days later, the rival went to fetch water from the well and her feet got tangled up in the rope, so that she fell into it, and when they ran, they found her with her head broken. She died, therefore, in a disastrous way; the word of the wise man is fulfilled in himself:
— They dug a well and threw the earth on top, but they fell into the well they had prepared.
Another woman from the same city had two children, both sick; one died and the other was dying, his mother took him in her arms and took him to Myriam, and in tears, said to her:
— O my lady, come to my aid and have mercy on me, I had two children and I have just lost one, and I see the other on the point of dying. I implore the Lord's mercy.
And he started to shout:
— Lord, you are full of mercy and compassion, you gave me two children, you took one of them, at least leave me the other.
Myriam, witness of his extreme pain, felt pity and said to him:
— Put your son in my son's bed and cover him with your clothes.
And when the child was placed on the bed beside Yeshua, his eyes, already closed by death, were opened, and calling his mother in a loud voice, he asked for bread, and when they gave him, he ate it.
Then his mother said:
— O Myriam, I know that the virtue of God dwells in you, to the point that your son heals the children who touch him.
And the child who was thus cured is Bartholomew.
THERE WAS ALSO A LEPER in the same place who came to Myriam, the mother of Yeshua, saying to her:
— O my lady, have mercy on me.
And Myriam replied:
— What help do you ask for? Do you want gold, silver or do you want to be cured of leprosy?
The woman replied:
— What can you do for me?
And Myriam said:
— Wait a while until I've bathed and put my son to bed.
The woman waited and Myriam, after laying him down, handed the woman a vase full of her son's bath water and said to her:
— Take some of this water and spread it over your body.
And as soon as the sick woman obeyed, she was cured and she thanked God.
She then departed, after remaining three days with Myriam, went to a town where a prince lived who had married the daughter of another prince; but when he saw his wife, he perceived between her eyes the marks of leprosy in the form of a star, and their marriage was declared null and void.
And this woman, seeing the princess's despair, asked her the cause of these tears, and the princess answered her:
— Do not question me, for my misfortune is so great that I cannot reveal it to anyone.
The woman, hearing the voice of this unfortunate woman, went up to the roof of her castle and saw her with her hands clasped above her head, shedding copious tears, and all those around her were desolate. And she asked if this possessed's mother was still alive. And when it was answered that her father and mother were both alive, she said:
— Bring your mother to me.
— And when he arrived, she asked him:
— And your daughter who is so possessed?
And the mother having answered yes, crying, the princess said:
— It doesn't reveal what I'm going to tell you, I was once a leper, but Myriam's son, Yeshua, healed me. If you want your daughter to have the same happiness, take her to Bethlehem and implore Myriam's help in faith, and I believe you will return full of joy, bringing your daughter healed.
Immediately the mother got up and left, went to look for Myriam and told her the condition of her daughter. Myriam, after listening to her, gave her some of the water in which she had washed her son Yeshua, and told her to pour it over the body of the possessed. Then he gave him a diaper of the baby Yeshua and said to him:
— Take this and show it to your enemy whenever you see it.
And sent them away with his blessings.
When, after leaving Myriam, they returned to their city, and when the time came when the devil used to torment her, he appeared to her in the form of a great dragon, and on seeing his appearance, the girl was seized by terrified, but his mother said to him:
— Do not be afraid, my daughter, let him come closer to you and show him this diaper that Myriam gave us, and we will see what he can do.
And when the evil spirit, which had taken the form of a dragon, was very near, the sick woman, trembling with fear, put the diaper on her head and unfolded it, and suddenly flames came out of it, which went to her head and in the eyes of the dragon, and a voice was heard shouting:
— What is between you and me, O Yeshua, son of Myriam? Where I will find a shelter that will free me from you.
And the demon fled in terror, abandoning the girl and never appeared again. She was finally healed and, grateful, gave thanks to God, as did all those who had witnessed this miracle.
There was in this same city another woman whose child was tormented by demons. His name was Yehudhah, and whenever the evil spirit took possession of him, he tried to bite everyone around him, and if he was alone, he would bite his own hands and limbs. The mother of this unfortunate man, hearing about Myriam and her son Yeshua, went with her son in her arms to Myriam.
In the meantime, Tiago and Yousef had brought the boy Yeshua out of the house so that he could play with the other children, and they were sitting outside the house and Yeshua with them. Yehudhah approached also and sat down on Yeshua's right, and when the demon began to shake him as he always did, he tried to bite Yeshua, and as he could not reach him, he punched him on the right side, so that Yeshua began to cry. But at this moment the demon came out of the child in the form of an enraged dog.
This child was from the village of Qeryoth, the same one who once betrayed Yeshua, and the side he had beaten was the one on which Longinus had pierced him with the spear.
WHEN YESHUA had completed his seventh year, he would play one day with other children of his age, for fun, they would make different images of animals, of wolves, of donkeys, of birds, with wet earth, and each one praising his own work, striving to be better than his peers.
Then Yeshua said to the children:
— I will order the figures I made to walk and they will walk.
And the children asked him if he was the son of the Creator, and Yeshua commanded the images to walk and they immediately walked. When he told them to come back, they came back. He had made pictures of birds that flew when he ordered them to fly and that stopped when he told them to stop, and when he gave them food and drink, they ate and drank. When the children left and told their parents what they had seen, they said:
— Flee, henceforth from his company, for he is a sorcerer, stop playing with him.
One day when he was playing and running with other children, Yeshua passed in front of a dry cleaner's shop called Salem. In this shop there were fabrics that belonged to a large number of the inhabitants of the city, and which Salem was preparing to dye in various colors. Having entered the store, Yeshua took all the farms and threw them into the boiler.
Salem turned around and seeing all the lost farms, he began to shout and rebuke Yeshua, saying:
— What have you done, O son of Myriam? You harmed me and my fellow citizens, each one asked for a different color, and you came along and ruined everything.
Yeshua replied:
— Any farm you want to change color, I'll change it.
And he began to take the fabrics out of the boiler, and each one was dyed the color that the dyer wanted. And the Jews, witnesses of this miracle, celebrated the power of God.
Yousef went throughout the city taking his son with him, and they called him to make doors, chests and cots, and Yeshua was always with him. And whenever Yousef's work needed to be longer or shorter, wider or narrower, Yeshua reached out, and it turned out exactly the way Father wanted, so that he didn't need to touch up anything with his own hand, because he was not very skilled in the craft of a cabinetmaker.
One day the king of Yerushaláyim sent for him and said:
— I want you, Yousef, to make me a throne according to the dimensions of the place where I usually sit.
Yousef obeyed, and setting to work, spent two years in the palace to craft this throne. And when it was placed in the place where it should have been, they noticed that on each side there were two spans missing from the fixed measure. Then the king was angry with Yousef, who, fearing the monarch's anger, could not eat and lay down fasting.
Then Yeshua asked him:
— What is the cause of your fear, father?
And he replied:
— is that the work on which I worked for two years is lost.
And the son answered him:
— Don't be afraid and don't lose heart, take this side of the throne and I'll take the other, so that we can give you the exact measure.—
And Yousef, having done what his son had asked, and pulling each one aside, the throne obeyed and was exactly the desired dimension.
The assistants, seeing this miracle, were amazed and gave thanks to God. This throne was made of wood from the time of Solomon, son of David, and which was notable for its knots representing various shapes and figures.
ANOTHER DAY, Yeshua went to the square, and seeing the children who had gathered to play, he joined them, but when they saw him, they hid, and Yeshua went to a house and asked the women who were at the door where the children had gone. And when they replied that there were none of them in the house, Yeshua said to them:
— What do you see under this arch?
They replied that they were three-year-old sheep, and Yeshua shouted:
— Come out, sheep, and come toward your shepherd.
And immediately the children came out, changed into rams, and they jumped around them, and these women having seen this, they were seized with dread. And they worshiped him saying:
— O Yeshua, son of Myriam, our Lord, you are truly the good Shepherd of Israel, have mercy on your servants who are in your presence and who do not doubt, Lord, that you came to heal, not to lose.
Then, having replied that the children of Israel were among the people like the Ethiopians, the women said:
— Lord, you know things, and nothing escapes your infinite wisdom; we ask and hope for your mercy, that you restore these children to their former form.
And Yeshua then said:
— Come, children, so we can play.
And immediately, in the presence of the women, the rams resumed the appearance of children.
IN THE MONTH OF ADAR, Yeshua gathered the children and placed himself as their king: they had spread their clothes on the ground to make him sit on them, and they had placed a wreath of flowers on his head, and, as the satellites accompanying a king, they had lined up to his right and to his left.
If anyone passed by, the children would stop by force and say to him:
— Come and worship the king, that you may have a happy journey.
At this, some men arrived carrying a child in a litter. This boy had gone to the mountain with his companions to gather firewood, and, having found a partridge's nest, he put his hand to pull out the eggs, but a snake hidden in the nest bit him, and he called his companions to help him. But when they arrived, they found him lying on the ground and almost dead; then some relatives came and took him to town.
When they arrived at the place where Yeshua was sitting on his throne like a king, with other children around him, like his court, these went to those who carried the dying man and said to them:
— Come and greet the king.
As they did not want to approach each other because of the sadness they felt, the children brought them by force. And when they were in front of Yeshua, he asked them:
— Why are you carrying this child?
They replied:
— A snake bit her.
And Yeshua said to the children:
— Let's go together and kill the snake.
The parents of the child who was about to die begged them to let them stay, but they replied:
— Did you not hear what the king said: 'Let us go and kill the serpent,' and should you not follow his orders?
And despite their opposition they returned to the mountain, carrying the litter. When they got close to the nest, Yeshua said to the children:
— Isn't this where the serpent hides?
And they answered yes, and the serpent, called by Yeshua, came out and submitted to him and said to him:
— Go and suck all the poison you've spread in this child's veins.
The serpent, crawling, sucked up all the poison it had injected, then cursed—and, fulminated, died shortly thereafter. And Yeshua touched the child with his hand, and he was healed.
And as she began to cry, the Lord Yeshua said to her:
— Don't cry, one day you will be my disciple.
This child was Shim-on, who would soon become a zealot.
ANOTHER DAY Yousef had sent his son James to gather wood, and Yeshua had joined him to help him, and when they came to the place where the wood was, James began to gather it and behold, a viper bit him, and he began to scream and cry.
Yeshua, seeing him in that state, approached and blew on the bite site, and James was immediately healed.
ONE DAY, YESHUA was playing with other children on top of a roof, and one of them fell and died instantly. The others fled and Yeshua was left alone on the roof. Then the dead man's parents arrived and said to Yeshua:
— You were the one who pushed our son off the roof.
And as he denied it, they repeated it louder:
— Our son is dead, and here is who killed him.
And Yeshua replied:
— Do not accuse me of a crime of which you have no proof; but let us ask the child himself what happened.
And Yeshua came down and placed himself close to the dead man's head and said to him in a loud voice:
— Zeinon, Zeinon, who was it that pushed you off the roof?
And the dead replied:
— Lord, it was not you who caused me to fall, but terror that made me fall.
And Yeshua having urged those present to heed these words, all who were present praised God for this miracle.
MYRIAM HAD SENT the Lord Yeshua one day to draw water from the well. And when he had done the task and placed the full pitcher on his head, he broke.
And Yeshua having spread out his mantle, he took the collected water to his mother, and she was amazed and kept in her heart all that she had seen.
ANOTHER DAY, Yeshua was playing by the river with other children, and they had dug small ditches to drain the water, thus forming small puddles. Yeshua made twelve little birds of clay and placed them around the water, three on each side. It was a Sabbath day, and the son of Hanon the Jew came and seeing them thus entertained, said to them:
— How can you make figures with mud on a Saturday?
And he set about destroying everything. And when Yeshua stretched out his hands over the birds he had molded, they went flying and singing. Then the son of Hanon the Jew approached the pool that Yeshua had dug to destroy it, but the water disappeared, and Yeshua said:
— See how this water has dried up; so it will be with your life.
And the child dried up.
ANOTHER DAY, Yeshua was returning home at night with Yousef, when a child ran in front of him and gave him such a violent blow that he almost fell, and he said to this child:
— Just as you pushed me, fall and don't get up again.
And at the same instant, the child fell to the ground and died.
Yousef, moved by the situation, said to his son:
— You know well that you shouldn't interrupt the natural cycle of life, it's just a child who can learn many good things.
The son nodded and touching the boy restored his life and helped him to his feet.
The boy smiled and started running again.
Yousef smiled proudly at his son, happy with his attitude.
THERE WAS IN YERUSHALAYIM a man named Zacchaeus, who taught the youth. And he said to Yousef:
— Yousef, why don't you send Yeshua to me so he can learn the letters?
Yousef agreed and so did Myriam. So they took the child to the teacher, and as soon as he saw him, he wrote down the alphabet and asked him to pronounce Aleph. And when he did, he asked her to tell Beth.
Yeshua said to him:
— Tell me first what Aleph means, and then I'll pronounce Beth.
And the teacher was getting ready to whip him, but Yeshua began to explain the meaning of the letters Aleph and Beth, which letters had straight lines, which were slanted, and which had a double design, which had dots, which that they didn't have and because one letter came before the other, in short, he said many things that the teacher had never heard and that he had not read in any book.
And Yeshua said to the teacher:
— Pay attention to what I say.
And he began to recite clearly and distinctly Aleph, Beth, Ghimel, Daleth, to the end of the alphabet.
The Rabbi was amazed and said:
— I believe this child was born before Noah.
And turning to Yousef, he added:
— You brought him in so that I could instruct him, a child who knows more than all doctors.
And he said to Myriam:
— Your son does not need our teachings.
They then led him to a wiser teacher, and as soon as he saw him:
— Say Aleph — he asked her.
And when he said Aleph, the professor asked him to pronounce Beth. And Yeshua answered him:
— Tell me what the letter Aleph means, and then I will pronounce Beth.
The angry Rabbi raised his hand to hit him, but his hand dried up instantly and then died.
Then Yousef said to Myriam:
— From now on, we must not let the boy out of the house any more, for anyone who opposes him is smitten with death.
YESHUA USED to take young people to the edge of the well that provided water for the entire city. And, taking the pitchers from his hands, he beat them one against the other or against the stones and then threw them into the bottom of the well. And with that those young people did not dare to enter the house in fear of their parents.
Yeshua then took pity on seeing them cry and said to them:
— Weep no more, and I will return your pitchers.
Then he gave orders to the streams of water, and they threw the intact pitchers back to the surface. Each one took his own and returned to his home telling everyone about the miracles of Yeshua.
Another day, he took them back with him and made them camp in the shade of a gigantic tree. Then he ordered her to bend her branches and climbed up and stood on top of the tree. He then ordered her to straighten up, and he rose, thus dominating the whole landscape.
Yeshua remained there for an hour, until the other youths began to shout, saying to him:
— Have the tree bend so we can climb with you.
Yeshua did so and said to them:
— Come quickly to me.
And they went up to his side full of joy. Shortly after, Yeshua commanded the tree to bend its branches again. And after everyone had descended, the tree regained its original position.
Myriam told him:
— My Son, as you are still only a child and not an older person, I fear that some misfortune will befall you.
Yeshua replied:
— Your fears, my mother, are not entirely reasonable, for I know very well everything that must happen to me.
Myriam said:
— Don't feel sorry for what I just told you, but I'm surrounded by ghosts and I don't know what to do.
Yeshua asked:
And what do you plan to do with me?
Myriam said:
— This is what worries me: we have tried our best to make you learn all the trades during your childhood, and until now you have not done anything in that direction or taken an interest in anything. And now that you're older, what do you prefer to do and how do you want to spend your life?
Upon hearing these words, Yeshua was indignant within himself and said to his mother:
— You spoke very inconsiderately. Do you not understand the signs and wonders that I do before you, so that you can see with your own eyes? You still don't believe me after so long I've been living with you? Observe my miracles, consider all that I have done, and be patient for a while, until you see all my works accomplished, for my time has not yet come. In the meantime, stay true to me.
And saying this, Yeshua hastily left the house.
YESHUA, DESIRING to show himself to the world, finds two soldiers laughing. They see him sitting quietly by a well, and one of them says to him:
— Boy, where do you come from? Where are you going? What is your name?
Yeshua replied:
— If I tell you, you won't be able to understand me.
The soldier asked him again:
— Do your father and mother still live?
Yeshua replied:
— My Father lives and is immortal.
The soldier replied:
— As? Immortal?
And Yeshua said:
— Yes, he is Immortal from the beginning, and death has no power over him.
Then the soldier said:
— Who is this that will live forever and beyond him, since death has no power, and your Father is guaranteed immortality?
Yeshua replied:
— You wouldn't be able to know him or get a rough idea of him.
The soldier said:
— Who can see him?
Yeshua replied:
— Nobody.
The soldier asked:
— Where is your Father?
Yeshua replied:
— In the sky, above the earth.
The soldier said:
— And you, how can you go with him?
Yeshua replied:
— I've been there and I'm still with you now.
The soldier replied:
— I can't understand what you're saying.
Yeshua said:
This is why it is unspeakable and inexplicable.
The soldier asked:
Then who can understand it?
Yeshua replied:
— If you ask me, I will explain.
Then the soldier said:
— Tell me, Lord, I beg you.
Next, Yeshua tells them of his divine and temporal ancestry, in the bosom of Myriam. The soldiers accept their explanations and Yeshua says goodbye to them, and ends the text.
***
SOME STAY THERE
THE ABDOMEN BECAME DEFORMED again and the head, as well as the muscles of the arms and shoulders, sagged. The men expressed their intention to turn around and leave, but Myriam, still silent, took a step toward the Crucified. He bent down very slowly and kissed Yeshua's right knee. Then, hiding her face in her hands, she left the cliff, supported by her son and Yohanan.
The centurion was impressed by the woman's strength.
The small, almost insignificant, shadow of Myriam, mother of the crucified, did not take long to fade into the twilight. Yohanan and Yehudhah accompanied her on her way back to Yerushaláyim, but the other women remained a short distance away, suspended from the dying crucified man they once called the Rabbi.
There were, among other adepts and believers, Ruth, also a sister of the Nazarene; Salome, Yohanan's mother; Miriam, wife of Cleopas and sister of Yeshua's mother; Rebeca and Myriam, the one from Magdala, better known today as Madalena.
***
A WOMAN AND HER MANY DEMONS
MYRIAM WAS BORN in the village of Magdala located in Galilee in a rich and wealthy house and at the age of fifteen she was given in marriage to a Roman official and they had a peaceful and comfortable life, but unhappy, mainly because of her husband's customs.
In the mind of the young Hebrew, the parties in honor of the god Bacchus, where the Romans had several orgies, the first time she saw it, she was horrified and vehemently refused to participate, causing her to be brutally beaten by her husband, over the years. The beautiful figure of the young woman became synonymous with anguish and unhappiness, it was then that when she fled from her husband, she was influenced by the priests to blame her for prostitution and took him to Yeshua.
YESHUA WENT TO THE MOUNT OF Olives early in the morning, he returned to the temple, and all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery, and putting her in the midst, they said to her:
— Rabbi, this woman was caught, in the act, committing adultery. — and in the law, Moshe commanded us that such should be stoned. So what do you say?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have something to accuse him of, but Yeshua, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground. And when they insisted, asking him, he straightened up and said to them:
— Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And, bending down again, he wrote in the dirt. When they heard this, they went out one by one, beginning with the oldest to the last; only Yeshua and the woman who was in the middle remained.
And when Yeshua straightened up and saw no one other than the woman, he said to her:
— Woman, where are those accusers of yours? No one condemned you?
And she said:
— No one, Lord.
And Jesus said to him:
— Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.
She abandoned everything and followed him ever since.
THEREFORE SPOKE TO THEM Yeshua again, saying:
— I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
So the Pharisees said to him,
— You testify of yourself; your testimony is not true.
Yeshua answered and said to them:
— Although I testify of myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I came from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one. And if indeed I judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone, but I and the Father who sent me. And in your law it is also written that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who testifies of myself, and the Father also testifies of me, who sent me.
So they said to him:
— Where is your Father?
Yeshua replied:
— You neither know me nor my Father, if you had known me, you would have known my Father also.
These words Jesus said in the storehouse, teaching in the temple, and no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Then Jesus said to them again:
— I go away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot go.
So the Jews said:
Will he want to kill himself, for he says: Where I go, can't you go?
And he said to them:
— You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins, because if you do not believe that I am you, you will die in your sins.
So they said to him:
— Who are you?
Yeshua said to them:
— That's what I told you from the beginning. I have much to say and judge of you, but he who sent me is true; and what I have heard of him, that I speak to the world.
But they did not understand that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them:
— When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am and that I do nothing of myself; but I speak as the Father taught me. And he that sent me is with me; the Father has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.
When he said these things, many believed him.
Yeshua therefore said to the Jews who believed in him:
— If you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
They answered him:
— We are Abraham's offspring, and we never served anyone; How do you say, Will you be free?
Yeshua answered them:
— Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a servant of sin. Now the servant does not remain at home forever; the Son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word does not enter you. I speak of what I saw with my Father, and you do what you also saw with your father.
They answered and said to him:
— Our father is Abraham.
Yeshua said to them:
— If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that he has heard from God, Abraham did not do this. Ye do the works of your father.
So they said to him:
— We are not born of prostitution, we have a Father, which is God.
So Jesus said to them:
— If God were your Father, surely you would love me, since I came from God and came; I did not come of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my language? For ye can not hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to fulfill your father's desires; he was a murderer from the beginning, and did not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he tells a lie, he speaks of his own, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you convicts me of sin? And if I tell you the truth, why don't you believe? Whoever is of God listens to the words of God; therefore you do not listen to them, because you are not of God.
So the Jews answered and said to him,
— Do we not say that you are a Samaritan and that you have a demon?
Yeshua replied:
— I don't have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. I do not seek my glory; there are those who seek it and judge it. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.
So the Jews said to him:
— Now we know you have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died; and you say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Art thou greater than Abraham our father, who died? And also the prophets died; who do you make yourself?
Yeshua replied:
— If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; who glorifies me is my Father, who you say is your God. And ye know him not, but I know him; and if I say that I do not know him, I will be a liar like you; but I know him, and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.
So the Jews said to him:
— You are not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham?
Yeshua said to them:
— Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
So they took up stones to throw at him, but Yeshua hid himself, and went out of the temple, passing through them, and thus went his way.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER Yeshua was going through the cities and villages, preaching and announcing the good news of the kingdom of God, and the twelve went with him, and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Myriam, called Magdalene, from whom they had come seven devils, Joanna, wife of Cuza, procurator of Herod, Susana and many others, who assisted him with their goods.
When a great crowd came and people from all the cities came to him, Jesus said in a parable:
— The sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some of the seed fell by the wayside; was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. Another fell on the stone; and having grown, it withered, because there was no moisture. Another fell among the thorns; The thorns grew with her, and they choked her. Another fell on the good ground, and when it grew, it yielded a hundredfold.
Saying this, he cried:
— He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
Yeshua answered them:
— It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others they are told in parables, so that when they see they do not see; and listening, do not understand. The meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, lest they be saved by believing. Those on the rock are those who, after hearing, receive the word with joy; these have no root, and they believe for a time, but in the hour of trial they turn back. The part that fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and going on their way are choked by the cares, riches, and delights of life, and their fruit does not ripen. The one that fell on the good ground, these are they who, having heard the word with an upright and good heart, retain it, and bear fruit with perseverance. No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a vase or puts it under a bed; on the contrary, he places it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest; nor a secret thing, which is not to be known and come to light. See therefore how ye hear; for whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has, will be taken away from him.
HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS came to him, and they could not approach him because of the crowd.
He was told:
— Your mother and brothers are out there and they want to see you.
He, however, replied:
— My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
One of those days he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them:
— Let's cross the lake; and left.
As they sailed, he fell asleep. A windstorm descended on the lake; the boat began to fill up, and they were in danger. Approaching, they woke him up, saying:
— Rabbi, Rabbi, we perish.
Awakened, he rebuked the wind and the fury of the water; they ceased, and there was calm.
Then he asked them:
— Where is your faith? They, terrified, marveled, saying to one another, Who is this, that commands the winds and the water, and they obey him?
They landed in the land of the Gerasenes, which borders Galilee.
After he had landed, there came to him from the city a man possessed by demons, who had not worn clothes for a long time and lived not in any house, but in the tombs.
When he saw Yeshua, he cried out, fell at his feet, and said with a loud voice:
— What have I to do with you, Yeshua, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torment me. For Yeshua had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. He had often taken hold of him; man was put under guard and bound with shackles and fetters, but he, breaking the chains, was driven by the devil into the deserts.
Yeshua asked him:
— What is your name?
He replied:
— Legion, because there were many demons that had entered it.
They begged him not to send them to the abyss. There was a large herd of swine there grazing on the hill; and they asked him to allow them to pass to them. And they were allowed. The demons, having gone out of the man, entered the pigs; the herd rushed down the slope into the lake and drowned.
When the shepherds saw what had happened, they fled and went to tell it in the city and in the fields. Then the people went out to see what had happened; and they went to Yeshua, at whose feet they found, sitting, dressed and in his right mind, the man from whom the demons had come out: and they were afraid. Those who had seen him told them how the healing of the demoniac had taken place.
All the people of the land of the Gerasenes begged him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear; Yeshua got into the boat and came back. But the man from whom the demons had come was begging him to let him accompany him. But Yeshua sent him away, saying:
— Go back to your house and tell us all that God has done for you. —
The man left, publishing throughout the city all that Yeshua had done for him.
When he returned, Yeshua was welcomed by the people; for everyone was waiting for him. There came a man named Jairus, who was the ruler of the synagogue, and falling down at the feet of Jesus, he begged him to come to his house, because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying. As he went, the crowd squeezed him.
A woman who for twelve years had been suffering from a hemorrhage, and whom no one could cure, came up behind her and touched the hem of her cloak; and immediately his bleeding ceased.
Yeshua asked:
— Who is it that touched me?
Denying it all, said Cephas:
— Rabbi, the crowd squeezes you and oppresses you.
But Yeshua said:
— Someone touched me, because I realized that a virtue had come out of me.
The woman, seeing herself perceived, came trembling and fell down before him, and declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she was immediately healed.
He told him:
— Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace.
While he was still speaking, a person came from the house of the synagogue leader, saying to him:
— Your daughter is dead, don't bother the Rabbi anymore.
When Jesus heard this, Jesus said to him:
— Fear not; only believe, and she will be saved.
Having arrived at the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Shim-on Cephas, Yohanan ben Zebedee, James, and the girl's father and mother. Everyone wept, and mourned her.
But he said:
— Do not cry; she is not dead, but sleeping.
They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. But he, taking her by the hand, said aloud:
— Girl, get up.
Her spirit returned, and she arose immediately; and he commanded that he should be given something to eat. His parents were filled with amazement; and he warned them not to tell anyone what had happened.
***
THE DEATH OF YESHUA BEN YOUSEF
2:25 pm — YERUSHALAYIM, FRIDAY, APRIL 7, AD 30
OPTIO AUTHORIZED the man who acted as rancher to distribute food among the men on the patrol, salted pork, cheese, bread, and a ration of vinegared water, known as posca. All the soldiers, with the exception of those on sentry, gathered around the fire, taking care of their food.
During those brief moments of tranquility Yousef asked the officer:
— Why the legionaries had piled so many mounds of vines at the base of each of the crosses.
Inviting him to taste the fermented wine, Longinus explained:
— It is a simple measure of grace, if necessary, if it was ordered that way or if the convicts' agony lasted too long, they would have to set fire to the wood, the smoke ends once and for all with the crucified, suffocating them in a matter of minutes.
Some of the soldiers, seeking to assuage the fear that no doubt still plagued them, began to joke at the prisoners' expense. One of them, bolder than the others, turned to Yeshua, toasting with his brass bowl:
— Health and luck to the King of the Jews!
That infected the others, who also raised their mug to Galileo's cross.
Interrupting his panting breath, Yeshua exclaimed:
— I am thirsty!
The optio consulted the centurion and he authorized him to bring the lid of the pitcher containing the vinagraded water close to Galileo. Marcellus took the lid and, after sticking it on the tip of one of the escort's spears, approached the wood, lifting the pilum so that the cork, previously impregnated with posca, touched the crucified's dusty lips.
Yeshua opened his mouth, eagerly biting the cork. The liquid cleaned the earth, but as it penetrated the wounds, the acid wounded the Nazarene's flesh again, and he soon pulled his head away.
Marcellus lowered his spear and, seeing that the prisoner had no intention of repeating the moistening of his mouth, walked away. Yeshua's lips indicated with their tremors an intensification of the feverish crisis. Longinus then took a torch and, as he brought it close to Yeshua's face, he discovered how the tetanization had begun to reduce the brightness of the tooth enamel and increase the opacity of the lens. The left eye was still closed by the bruises.
Yeshua, with his ribs tensed like bows and his arteries pulsing restlessly, drew his chin away from his chest. The right eye was beginning to show signs of a slight deviant deviation of the eyes. He frowned and with a pleading groan exclaimed again:
— I am thirsty!
Longinus repeated the maneuver, but his lips barely brushed the spongy lid of the pitcher. The centurion swung the torch to the Galilean's face, moving slowly from right to left. But the pupil, greatly dilated, did not move.
Yeshua began to lose his sight!
The officer carefully examined the Rabbi 's face. The nose, despite the bruise and the possible deviation or fracture of the bones, had begun to acquire an elongated shading. The orbital cavities were also more accentuated, registering a sinking of the fat pad of the right cheekbone. The left one was so swollen and bloody that it was impossible to detect any sign.
— This one — commented Longinus — is ready.
And he returned to his men, shaking his head with some dismay.
Fourteen hours and forty minutes, as he supposed, Galileo's vital capacity was at a critical stage and, hoisting himself up again on the nails of his wrists, he sucked in what would be his last breath. From that moment, affected by a much more aggressive tachycardia, the Galilean, aware of the few minutes of life he had left, began to recite what seemed to me passages from the Holy Scriptures.
The centurion and several legionaries approached, intrigued, but their language was almost unintelligible, the forces were running out of control and only occasionally did their words reach the ears of those present with a minimum of clarity.
Retaining some of those phrases, Yousef realized that the Rabbi was not trying to tell them anything. I was just praying. You can hear the famous catchphrase from Psalm 22 of David:
— I know that the Lord will save your anointing... or Your hand will discover all my enemies and, above all, the impressive and controversial My God, my God... why have you abandoned me?
The last breathing movements of Yeshua de Natsrat, increasingly brief and accelerated, were driven by the low amount of oxygen in the hemoglobin of the blood. However, this last and wise stimulus of human nature had its minutes numbered. Cyanosis dominated all mucous membranes and parts of the skin: fingertips and toes, tongue, lips, and even some regions of the skin.
Suddenly, the galloping heart rate increased even more, fingers clasped, it had begun its last muscular rise. The left wrist rotated a second time, but this time, the blood that came out was much more viscous and purplish. Despite that, streaks of blood ran down his forearm, dripping onto Calvary's rock as they stopped at his elbow.
The neck swelled and the intercostal muscles went into new spasms, while the face gained height, millimeter by millimeter. With his eyes and mouth wide open, Yeshua seemed to want to catch the life that was abandoning him. The rib cage, on the point of cracking, drew in enough air for Yeshua of Natsrat, with a force that turned the heads of all the legionaries, exclaimed:
— Abb, baddach efkid ruel (Father, I place My spirit in Your hands!)
At that moment His body collapsed, making all the joints creak. Hearing the Condemned One's resounding phrase, the officer ran to the base of the stipe. The voice carried, booming, Yeshua gave no cry during his final acts.
Longinus brought the beam closer to the face of the Nazarene, for him it was important to get close due to his high degree of myopia and even that mission would be one of his last in his career.
Yeshua had the eye open and the pupil dilated, the cornea of the eye had become opaque. Outwardly, all evidence of breathing had ceased. The crucified man, his chin buried in his sternum, remained with his mouth slightly open. After thirty seconds of arrhythmia, Yeshua collapsed, although the final cardiac arrest did not occur until two and a half minutes later.
The death of Yeshua of Natsrat occurred at fourteen hours, fifty-seven minutes and thirty seconds of Friday, April 7, 30. Despite the cardiac effort, the blood circulation that reached the brain was not sufficient, causing, among other effects, the aforementioned fainting or loss of consciousness, that there would be no more return.