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Places - Jerusalem Temple

Theme: Jewish religion, castes, rites and festivals at the time of Christ · Page 3 of 4

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Aa

GRM 68.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

68.1 I see Jesus entering the enclosure of the Temple with Judas beside Him. After going through the first terrace, He stops in a porch on the side of a wide yard, paved with multicoloured marble. The place is beautiful and crowded.

GRM 71

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus speaks to Judas. They are waiting for Simon the Zealot and John of Zebedee, who are to join him. Jesus reveals that John is his first disciple, and Judas is hurt, but he says nothing to the Master. The Master, who knows the heart, asks the Iscariot why he doesn't tell him what he thinks. Then he asks him if his father loved him, and Judas speaks of his sire with emotion. The Lord then assures him that, if his father raised him as Judas tells him, he was certainly a righteous man, and that he will rejoice to know him a disciple of the Messiah. But Judas must see in Jesus the father he had lost, and hide nothing from him. Judas declares that he will become good if Christ loves him that much. He confesses that he was hurt not to have been the first disciple, but Jesus assures him that He makes no difference in His heart between the first and the last.

Simon and John arrive in the meantime. The former leper greets his Savior with a shout of joy, and Jesus blesses him for the evangelistic work he has already accomplished. Simon takes the opportunity to mention Lazarus, and Jesus promises to visit him. Then the introductions between the disciples take place. Jesus sends John with Judas, and he asks Simon to be lenient with this man, whom Simon-Peter and others will not appreciate. Simon agrees, and with these words they go off to evangelize the people at the Temple.

GRM 85

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus goes up to the Temple in Jerusalem with Simon the Zealot to pray to the Father. He has no intention of preaching there. Slight reference to the Shepherds of Bethlehem. Jesus plans what they're going to do: go to Jonah, go to Nazareth, then to Capernaum. They will also meet up with the other disciples. They talk about the soul, then about beautiful Galilee, Nazareth and Mary. Judas preaches to men in the Temple. Simon repents for thinking badly of him in EMV 83. The two men then go to meet John at the Olive grove in Gethsemane. There, he has met Annalia's mother, Elise, and encouraged her to come and see Jesus, as her daughter is very ill.

GRM 115

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem. He is praying. But Alexander, the Roman soldier he has met before, appears. His horse has wounded a child, who is in agony, so he comes looking for the Master, who he is sure can save this innocent. His arrival causes a scandal, because a pagan in the Temple is very serious in the eyes of the Pharisees. So Jesus goes straight to him and heals the boy. The doctors of the Law then reproached him for all the commotion he was causing in the holy place...

GRM 194.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

They are now climbing a very steep hill, because they have left the dusty crowded main road and have taken this short cut through woods. And when they reach the summit, they can distinctly see in the distance a huge bright light shining above an agglomeration, perhaps whitewashed houses.

«Jabez» calls Jesus «come here. Can you see that golden spot? It is the House of the Lord. There you will swear to obey the Law. »

GRM 195.3-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Peter’s attention is completely diverted by the apparition of the Holy City, which is now near and is visible in all the beauty of hills, olive-groves, houses, and above all of the Temple, a sight which must always have been a source of emotion and pride for Israelites. The warm April sun of Judaea has soon dried up the slabstones of the consular road. Puddles of water have disappeared completely. The apostles are tidying themselves on the side of the road, they let down the tunics which they had pulled up, they wash their muddy feet in a clear stream, they tidy their hair and drape their mantles. Also Jesus does that. I see them all doing it.

195.4

The entrance into Jerusalem must have been an important matter. To present oneself at the walls on these feast-days was like presenting oneself to a sovereign. The Holy City was the «real» queen of Israelites. I realise that this year, because I can notice the crowds and their behaviour on the consular road. The processions of the various families form here, the women in one group, the men in another, the children in either, but all very serious and serene at the same time. Some fold up their old mantles and pull out a new one from their travelling bags, or change sandals. Their gait then becomes solemn, it is already hieratic. In each group there is a soloist who gives the tone, and the hymns, the glorious old hymns of David, are intoned. And people look at one another more lovingly, as if they had been pacified by the sight of the House of the Lord and they look at the Holy House, a huge cube of marble surmounted by golden domes, placed like a pearl in the centre of the imposing enclosure of the Temple.

The apostolic procession is formed as follows: Jesus and Peter in front, with the boy between them; behind them Simon, the Iscariot and John; then Andrew, who has forced John of Endor to stay between him and James of Zebedee; in the fourth row the two cousins of the Lord and Matthew; last Thomas, Philip and Bartholomew. It is Jesus Who intones in His beautiful powerful voice of a light baritone, a mellow voice with refined tenor vibrations, and Judas Iscariot, a pure tenor, answers together with John, with his limpid voice typical of young people, the two baritone voices of Jesus’ cousins and the almost bass voice of Thomas, whose baritone voice is so deep that it can hardly be classifed as such. The others, who are not gifted with such beautiful voices, follow the chorus of the virtuosi singing in low voices. (The psalms are the known ones, called gradual psalms[3]). Little Jabez, the voice of an angel among the strong voices of men, sings very well, probably because he knows Psalm 121 better than the others: «How I rejoiced when they said to me: “We shall go to the house of the Lord”.» His little face, which only a few days ago was so sad, is now bright with joy.

The walls are now close at hand. Here is the Gate of the Fish. And the overcrowded streets.

They go straight to the Temple to say the first prayer. And then peace in the peace of Gethsemane, then supper and rest.

The journey towards Jerusalem is over.

Detail

Peter is distracted by the appearance of the Holy City.

Annotation

The psalms are the well-known psalms, known as graduals. These are Ps 120 to 134, also known as "canticles of ascent", according to the new numbering. Ps 121, quoted below, has become Ps 122.

Additional note from maria-valtorta.org:

THE 15 GRADUALS: are Psalms 119 (Hebrew 120) to 133 (Hebrew 134), also known as CANTIQUES DES MONTÉES. They were sung on the three pilgrimage feasts by pilgrims or priests on the fifteen steps leading up to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Little Yabeç, with his angelic voice amidst the robust voices of men, sings Psalm 121 very well - because he perhaps knows it better than the others: "I rejoiced because it was said to me, 'We will go to the house of the Lord. " Psalm 121 (Hebrew 122): 'How glad I was when it was said to me, "We will go to the house of the Lord!" ...

This is the Pisces Gate. North of Jerusalem, right next to the Temple.