Notes for this theme

The Pharisees

Page 15 of 16

Reading comfort

GRM 201.2-3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Master, we are here!» shouts Thomas, who is on the other side of the Gate with Philip and Bartholomew.
«Is Judas not here?», «Why are you here?» ask many.
«No. We came here at daybreak, because we were afraid that You might come earlier. But we have not seen him. I met him yesterday, he was with Sadoc, the scribe, you know, Joseph? The old, very lean man, with a wart under his eye. And there were other people with him… young people. I shouted to him: “Hallo, Judas”. But he did not reply, pretending he did not know me. I said: “But what’s the matter with him?” and I followed him for a few yards. He left Sadoc, in whose company he looked like a Levite, and went with the other men of his own age… who were certainly not Levites… And now he is not here… And he knew that we had decided to come here!»
Philip does not say anything. Bartholomew tightens his lips so much that they can no longer be seen, in an effort to stifle his opinion, which is rising from his heart.
«Very well! Let us go just the same! I will certainly not weep because of his absence» says Peter.
«Let us wait for a little while. He may have been held up» says Jesus seriously.
They lean against the wall, on its shady side, the women in one group, the men in another.
They are all wearing their best clothes. Peter, especially, is really magnificent. He is showing off brand new snow-white headgear, adorned with a galloon embroidered in red and gold. He is wearing his best tunic, a very dark garnet-red, adorned with a new belt identical in style with the decoration of his headgear. A knife, like a dagger, with an engraved hilt and an open-work brass sheath, through which the blade shines, hangs from his belt. The others are also armed more or less in the same fashion. Only Jesus is without a weapon. He is wearing a pure white linen tunic and a fleur-de-lis blue mantle, which Mary has certainly woven for Him during the winter months. Marjiam’s dress is pale red with a festoon in a darker shade around the neck, cuffs and hem. A similar galloon is embroidered around the waist and the hem of the mantle, which the boy is carrying on his arm and caresses happily. Now and again he raises his head and his little face looks half smiling and half worried… Also Peter has a little parcel in his hand and he holds it very carefully.
201.3
Some time goes by… but there is no sign of Judas.
«He did not deign…» grumbles Peter, and perhaps he would say something else, but John, the apostle, says: «Perhaps he is waiting for us at the Golden Gate…»
They go to the Temple. But Judas is not there.
Joseph of Arimathea loses patience. He says: «Let us go.»

Keywords

GRM 204.1-2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«What do You want, Mother?»
«My Son, some Gentiles have come with some ladies. They say that they heard from Johanna that You were here. They also said that they have been waiting for You all these past days near the Antonia…»
«Ah! I know! I will come at once. Where are they?»
«At Lazarus’ house, in his garden. He is loved by the Romans and does not feel the repugnance towards them that we do. He let them go into the large garden with their carts, so that no one would be scandalised…»
«All right, Mother.
204.2
They are Roman soldiers and ladies. I know.»
«And what do they want from You?»
«What many in Israel do not want: light.»
«But how and what do they believe You are? God perhaps?»
«Yes, in their way of thinking. It is easier for them to accept the idea of the incarnation of a god in mortal flesh, than it is for us.»
«So they believe in Your faith…»
«Not yet, Mother. I must destroy theirs, first. For the time being they consider Me a wise man, a philosopher, as they say. But both their desire to become acquainted with philosophical doctrines and their inclination to believe the incarnation of a god as possible, are of great help to Me in leading them to the true Faith. Believe Me, they are more ingenuous in their way of thinking, than many Israelites.»
«But are they sincere? It is rumoured that the Baptist…»
«No. Had it been for them, John would be free and safe. Non-rebellious people are left in peace. On the contrary I can assure You that for them to be a prophet – they say a philosopher because the loftiness of supernatural wisdom is still philosophy to them – is a guarantee of respect. Do not worry, Mother. No harm will come to Me from that end…»
«But the Pharisees… if they find out, what will they say also about Lazarus? You are You… and You are to bring the Word to the world. But Lazarus!… They already offend him so much…»
«But they cannot touch him. They know that he is protected by Rome.»
«I leave You, Son. Here is Maximinus, he will take You to the Gentiles» and Mary, Who had walked beside Jesus all the time, withdraws quickly, and goes towards the Zealot’s house. Jesus on the other hand, goes through a little iron door in the garden wall, into a distant part of the garden, where it actually becomes an orchard and precisely near the place where Lazarus will be buried later.

Keywords

GRM 204.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«May Light come to you all.»
«Hail, Master!» greets Quintilian, who is wearing civilian clothes.
The ladies stand up to greet Jesus. They are Plautina, Valeria and Lydia; there is also another elderly woman, but I do not know who she is or whether she is of the same rank as the others. They are all wearing very plain clothes without any sign of distinction.
«We were anxious to hear You, but You never came. I was on duty when You arrived. But I never saw You.»
«Neither have I seen at the Gate of the Fish a soldier, who was a friend of Mine. His name was Alexander…»
«Alexander? I am not sure whether he is the one I am thinking of. I know that some time ago, in order to calm the Jews, we had to remove a soldier who was guilty of… speaking to You. He is now at Antioch. But perhaps he will come here again. How boring they are… they want to rule even now that they are subject! One has to be clever to avoid greater trouble… They make life difficult for us, believe me… But You are good and wise. Will You speak to us? I may be leaving Palestine soon, and I would like to have something to remind me of You.»
«Yes, I will speak to you. I never disappoint anyone. What do you wish to know?»

Detail

Some Romans came to talk to Jesus.

Keywords

GRM 206.15-17 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Lazarus congratulates Jesus. He says: «Oh! I am sorry to see You go away. But I am happier than I would have been, had I seen You go away the day before yesterday!»
«Why, Lazarus?»
«Because You looked so tired and sad… You did not speak, and You hardly ever smiled… Yesterday and today You have become once again my kind holy Master, and that makes me so happy…»
«I was so even if I was quiet…»
«You were. But You are serenity and word. That is what we want from You. We drink our strength at those sources. And now those sources seemed to be dried up. Our thirst was painful… You see that also the Gentiles are amazed, and they have come looking for them…»
The Iscariot, whom John of Zebedee had approached, dares to speak: «Of course, they also inquired of me… Because I was very often at the Antonia, hoping to see You.»
«You knew where I was» replies Jesus briefly.
«I did. But I was hoping You would not disappoint those who were expecting You. Also the Romans were disappointed. I do not know why You behaved like that…»
«And you are asking Me? Are you not aware of the humours of the Sanhedrin, of the Pharisees, and of others as well, with regards to Me?»
«What? Were You afraid?»
«I was disgusted.
206.16
Last year, when I was alone — all by Myself against the whole world, which did not even know whether I was a prophet — I bore evidence that I was not afraid. And you were a conquest of that audacity of Mine. I spoke openly against a whole world of howlers; I caused the voice of God to be heard by a people who had forgotten it; I cleansed the House of God of the material filth in it, without any hope of purifying it of the more serious moral filth nesting in it, because I am not unaware of the future of men. But I had to do My duty, because of My zeal for the House of the Eternal Lord, which had been converted into a place where swindlers, usurers and thieves bawled, and I did it to arouse from their torpor those whom centuries of priests’ carelessness had caused to fall into spiritual lethargy. It was a cry to gather My people and take them to God… This year I have come back… And I saw that the Temple is still the same… it is even worse. It is no longer a den of thieves, but a place of conspiracy, it will later become the centre of Crime, then a brothel and finally it will be destroyed by a power greater than Samson’s, crushing a caste unworthy of being called holy. It is useless to speak in that place, where, I would remind you, I was forbidden to speak. Faithless people, whose poisoned leaders dare to forbid the Word of God to speak in His House! I was forbidden. I was silent for the sake of the least ones. It is not yet time to kill Me. Too many people are in need of Me, and My apostles are not yet strong enough to take on their arms My off-spring: the World. Do not weep, Mother, forgive, good Mother, Your Son’s need to tell those, who wish to or may deceive themselves, the truth that I know… I will be silent… But woe to those who cause God to be silent!… Mother, Marjiam, do not weep!… Please. Let no one weep.»
But in actual fact they are all weeping more or less bitterly.
Judas, as white as death in his striped red and yellow robe, dares still to speak, in a moaning ridiculous voice: «Believe me, Master, that I am amazed and grieved… I do not know what You mean… I know nothing… It is true that I have not seen anyone of the Temple. I have broken off contacts with everybody… But if You say so it must be true…»
«Judas!… You have not seen Sadoc either?»
Judas bends his head grumbling: «He is a friend. I met him as such, not as one of the Temple…»
Jesus does not reply to him. He turns to Isaac and John of Endor, to whom He gives more advice concerning their work.
Meanwhile the women comfort Mary Who is weeping and the boy who is weeping seeing Mary weep.

Keywords

GRM 207.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Everything was chaste, intimate, waiting… For You, Son! The earth perceived Your arrival… And also the people of Bethlehem would have perceived You, because they are not bad, even if you do not believe so. They could not give us hospitality… The good honest homes in Bethlehem were crowded with insensitive proud people, who are always arrogant, and are so nowadays as well, and they could not perceive You… How many Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, scribes, Essenes there were! Oh! Their being dull at present is a consequence of their being hard-hearted then. They closed their hearts to love for their poor sister that night… and they remained and still are in darkness. They rejected God then, by rejecting love for their neighbour.

Detail

Mary speaks of the Nativity of Jesus.

Keywords

GRM 208.1-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«We shall almost certainly find them if we go back on to the Hebron road for a little while. Please go in pairs looking for them on the mountain paths. From here to Solomon’s Pools and thence to Bethzur. We will follow you. This is their pasture area» says the Lord to the Twelve and I understand that He is speaking of the shepherds.
The apostles are getting ready to go, each with his favourite companion and only the inseparable couple of John and Andrew do not get together because they both go to the Iscariot saying: «I will come with you» and Judas replies: «Yes, come, Andrew. It is better thus, John. You and I already know the shepherds. So it is better if you go with someone else.»
«Come with me, then, boy» says Peter leaving James of Zebedee, who without protesting goes with Thomas, while the Zealot joins Judas Thaddeus, James of Alphaeus goes with Matthew and the two inseparable Philip and Bartholomew remain together. The boy remains with Jesus and the Maries.
The road is cool and comfortable and runs among completely green mountains covered with forests and meadows. They meet herds going towards pastures in the faint light of dawn.
At the sound of every cattle-bell Jesus stops speaking and looks around, He then asks the shepherds whether Elias, the Bethlehemite shepherd, is in that area. I understand that by now Elias is called «the Bethlehemite». Even if other shepherds are from Bethlehem, he is by right or by mockery «the Bethlehemite». But no one knows where he is. They answer stopping their herds and ceasing to play their rustic flutes.
Almost every young man has one of those primeval cane flutes, which cause Marjiam to be thrown into ecstasies, until a good old man gives him his nephew’s saying: «He will make himself another one», and Marjiam goes away happily with the instrument across his back, even if he does not know how to play it, at least for the time being.
208.2
«I would like so much to meet them!» exclaims Mary.
«We will certainly find them. In this season they are always near Hebron.»
The boy is interested in those shepherds who saw the Child Jesus and he asks Mary many questions and She explains everything patiently and kindly.
«But why did they punish them? They had done nothing but good!» asks the boy after hearing the story of their misfortunes.
«Because very often man makes mistakes, accusing innocent people of evil deeds that in actual fact were done by someone else. But as they have been good and have forgiven, Jesus loves them so much. We must always be able to forgive.»
«But all the children who were slaughtered, how could they have forgiven Herod?»
«They are little Martyrs, Marjiam, and martyrs are saints. They not only forgive their executioners, but they love them, because they open Heaven to them.»
«But are they in Heaven?»
«No, not just now. But they are in Limbo where they are the joy of Patriarchs and of the just.»
«Why?»
«Because when they arrived with their souls purple with blood, they said: “Here we are, we are the heralds of Christ the Saviour. Rejoice, you who are waiting, because He is already on the earth”. And everybody loves them because they are the bearers of these good tidings.»
«My father told me that also Jesus’ Word is good tidings. So when my father goes to Limbo after repeating it on the earth, and I also go there, will we be loved as well?»
«You will not go to Limbo, My dear little one.»
«Why?»
«Because Jesus will have already gone back to Heaven and will have opened it and all good people will go straight to Heaven when they die.»
«I will be good, I promise. And Simon of Jonah? He too, eh? Because I do not want to become an orphan a second time.»
«He will be there as well, you may be sure, but there are no orphans in Heaven. We have God. And God is everything. We are not orphans here either. Because the Father is always with us.»
«But Jesus in that lovely prayer, which You teach me by day and my mother at night, says: “Our Father Who are in Heaven”. We are not in Heaven yet. Therefore, how can we be with Him?»
«Because God is everywhere, son. He watches over the baby that is born and over the old man who is dying. The child who is born this moment, in the most remote part of the world, has God’s love and eye with him and will have them until he dies.»
«Even if he is as bad as Doras?»
«Yes.»
«But can God, Who is so good, love Doras who is so bad and makes my old father weep?»
«He looks at him with disdain and sorrow. But if he should repent. He would say to him what the father of the parable said to his repentant son.
208.3
You should pray that he may repent and…»
«Oh! no, Mother! I will pray that he may die!!!» says the child impetuously. Although his remark is not very… angelical, his impetuosity is so sincere that no one can help laughing.
Mary then resumes the sweet seriousness of a Teacher: «No, My dear. You must not do that to a sinner. God would not listen to you and would look sternly at you as well. We must wish our neighbour the greatest welfare, even if our neighbour is very bad. Life is a good thing because it gives man the possibility of gaining merits in the eyes of God.»
«But if one is bad, one gains sins.»
«We pray that he may become good.»
The boy is pensive… but he does not like this sublime lesson and he concludes: «Doras will not become good even if I pray for him. He is too bad. Even if all the baby martyrs of Bethlehem should pray with me, he would not become good. You do not know… You do not know that one day he struck my old father with an iron rod, because he found him sitting during working hours? He was not able to stand because he was not feeling well… and he beat him and left him half dead, and then kicked him on his face… I saw him because I was hiding behind a hedge… I had gone there because no one had brought me any bread for two days and I was hungry… I had to run away so that he might not hear me, because I was crying seeing my father like that, with blood on his beard, lying on the ground, as if he were dead… I was weeping when I went to beg some bread… but that bread is still lying here… and it tastes of the blood and tears of my father and mine, and of all those who are tortured and who cannot love those who torture them. I would like to strike Doras that he may feel what a blow is, and I would like to leave him without any bread, that he may learn what it is to be hungry, and I would make him work in the sun, in mud, under the threats of the overseer, without food, that he may know what he gives the poor… I cannot love him because… because he kills my holy father, and I… if I had not found you, to whom would I have belonged ?»
The child, in a fit of pain, shouts and cries, trembling, deranged, striking with his closed fists the air, as he cannot strike the slave-driver. The women are amazed and touched and they endeavour to calm him. But he is really in a fit of grief and does not hear anything. He shouts: «I cannot, I cannot love and forgive him. I hate him, I hate him on behalf of everybody, I hate him, I hate him!…» He is in a pitiful and frightful state.
208.4
It is the reaction of a creature who has suffered too much.
And Jesus says so: «That is Doras’ gravest felony: to drive an innocent child to hate…» He then takes the child in His arms and speaks to him: «Listen, Marjiam. Do you want to go one day with your mummy, your daddy, your little brother and the old father?»
«Yes…»
«Then you must not hate anybody. He who hates does not go to Heaven. You cannot pray for Doras just now? Well, do not pray, but do not hate. Do you know what you must do? You must never look back to think of the past…»
«But my father who suffers is not past…»
«That is true. But look, Marjiam, try and pray like this: “Our Father Who are in Heaven, please see to what is my wish…”. You will see that the Father will listen to you in the best possible way. Even if you killed Doras, what would you do? You would lose the love of God, Heaven, the company of your father and mother and you would not relieve of his troubles the old man whom you love. You are too little to be able to do it. But God can. Tell Him. Say to Him: “You know how much I love my old father and how I love all those who are unhappy. Will You please see to this matter, because You can do everything”. What? Do you not want to preach the Gospel? But the Gospel teaches love and forgiveness! How can you say to one: “Do not hate. Forgive” if you cannot love and forgive? Leave things to good God and you will see how well He can arrange matters. Will you do that?»
«Yes, I will, because I love You.»
Jesus kisses the boy and puts him down.
The incident is over as well as their journey.

Annotation

It's better this way, Jean. You and I would be the two who already know the shepherds. Cf. EMV 75.2 and EMV 75.6.

Every time the clarinet is tinkled, Jesus stops speaking. Clarine: a bell placed around the neck of cattle.

In that beautiful prayer you and my mother taught me, she at night and you during the day: cf. EMV 206.14.

If he repented, he would tell him what the father in the parable said to his repentant son. In the parable of the prodigal son(EMV 205.5).

Keywords

GRM 211.1-2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

They are all sitting in a circle in a thicket near Hebron and they are eating while speaking to one another. Judas, who is now sure that Mary will go to his mother’s, is in the best of spirits and endeavours to erase the memory of his bad humour with his companions and the women, by showering his attention on them. He must have gone to the village to do the shopping and he says that he has found a great difference in it since last year. «The news of Jesus’ preaching and miracles has reached this place. And the people have begun to ponder many things. Do You know, Master, that Doras has some property in this part of the country? Also Chuza’s wife has some land on these mountains and a castle of her own, as a marriage settlement. Obviously the ground has been prepared both by her and by Doras’ peasants, because some of his men from Esdraelon must be here. He… Doras told them to be quiet. But they!… I don’t think they would be silent even if he tortured them. The death of the old Pharisee greatly surprised everybody, You know? And the very good health of Johanna, who came here before Passover. Ah! Also Aglae’s lover has served You. You know that she ran away shortly after we came here. And he played havoc among many innocent people to avenge himself. So that the people concluded by thinking of You as an avenger of the oppressed and they are now expecting You. I mean the better ones…»
«Avenger of the oppressed! I really am. But in a supernatural way. None of those who see Me with sceptre and axe in My hands as king and executioner according to the spirit of the earth, is right. I certainly came to free people from oppression. From the oppression of sin, which is the most serious, of illness, of desolation; from ignorance and selfishness. Many will learn that it is not fair to oppress people, simply because one has been placed by fate in a high position, and that, on the contrary, a high position should be used to raise up those who are down at the bottom.»
«Lazarus does that, also Johanna. But they are only two against hundreds…» says Philip disconsolately.
«Rivers are not as wide at their sources as they are at their estuaries. A few drops, a trickle of water, but later… There are rivers that look like seas at their mouths.»
«The Nile, eh? Your Mother told me of the time You went to Egypt.She always said to me: “A sea, believe Me, a green-blue sea. To see it in flood is a dream!” and She told me of the plants that seem to spring from the water and of all the greenery that seemed to be left by the receding water…» says Mary of Alphaeus.
«Well, I tell you that, as the Nile at its source is a trickle of water and then becomes the giant it is, so the tiny trickle of great people who for the time being bend with love and out of love over the least of their brothers, will become a multitude later. For the time being Johanna, Lazarus, Martha, but how many, how many!» Jesus seems to be seeing those who will be merciful to their brothers and He smiles, enraptured in His vision.
211.2
Judas confides that the head of the synagogue wanted to come with him, but he did not dare to make a decision by himself: «Do you remember, John, how he drove us away[1] last year?»
«I remember… But let us ask the Master.»
And when Jesus is questioned He says that they will go into Hebron. If the people want them, they will call them and they will stop; otherwise they will pass without pausing.
«So we shall also see the Baptist’s house. To whom does it belong now?»
«To whoever wants it, I think. Shammai went away and never came back. He took away servants and furniture. The citizens to avenge themselves of his abuse of power, knocked the enclosure wall down, and the house now belongs to anybody. At least the garden does. They gather there to venerate their Baptist. They say that Shammai was murdered. I do not know why… apparently because of women…»
«Certainly some filthy plot at court!…» whispers Nathanael through his beard.

Annotation

Judas, now that he's sure Mary will go to her mother, has returned to a better frame of mind. Judas, in fact, was in a foul mood in theEMV 210.

Even Kouza's wife has land and a castle here on these mountains that belong to her personally, part of her dowry. Probably Béther's castle.

The old Pharisee's death struck people with astonishment, you know? Cf. the dramatic death of Doras in EMV 126.10.

Just like Jeanne's excellent health. Cf. Jeanne de Kouza's healing in EMV 102.7.

Judas confides that the head of the synagogue wanted to come with him, but didn't dare make the decision on his own: "Do you remember, John, how he drove us out last year?" Cf. EMV 77.8.

Keywords

GRM 211.7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Now, we also have idols, no more saints, in the ranks of the Lord. That is why Evil can rise against Good. The evil that soils with excrement the intellects and hearts of those who are no longer saints, and nestles among the false robes of goodness.
They can no longer speak the words of God. Of course! Their tongue is made by man and they speak the words of man, when they do not speak Satan’s. And they can only foolishly reproach the innocent and the poor, but they are silent where they see the corruption of powerful people. Because they are all corrupt and they cannot accuse one another of the same crimes. They are greedy, not for the Lord, but for Mammon, and they work accepting the gold of lust and crime, bartering it, stealing it, seized with immoderate desire exceeding every limit and imagination. They are covered with dust, which rots on them and if they show clean faces, God sees their filthy hearts. They are corroded by the rust of hatred and the worm of sin and they cannot react to save themselves. They brandish maledictions as if they were sceptres and axes, but they do not know that they are cursed. Isolated in their thoughts and their hatred, like corpses in a sepulchre or prisoners in jail, they remain there, clinging to the bars lest somebody might take them away from there, because those dead people are still something: mummies, nothing else but mummies looking like human beings, while their bodies have turned into dry wood, and outside they would be old-fashioned articles in a world seeking Life, in need of Life as a child needs a mother’s breast, a world that wants one who can give it Life and not the stench of death.
They do live in the Temple and the smoke of the lamps, that is of honours, blackens them, but no light descends upon them; and all passions nestle in them like birds and cats, while the fire of their mission does not give them the mystical torture of being burnt by the fire of God. They are refractory to Love. The fire of Charity does not inflame them, as Charity does not clothe them with its golden brightness. The dual Charity in shape and source: charity of God and of neighbour, the form; charity from God and from man, the source. Because God withdraws from a man who does not love, and thus the former source ceases; and man withdraws from a wicked man, and also the latter source ceases. Charity deprives a loveless man of everything. They allow themselves to be bought at a cursed price, and to be led where it suits profit and power.
No. It is not right! No money can buy a conscience, particularly the conscience of a priest or a teacher. It is not right to acquiesce in the mighty things of the earth when they induce acts contrary to God’s commandments. That is spiritual inability and it states[3]: “A eunuch is not to be admitted to the assembly of the Lord”. Thus, if a man, impotent by nature, cannot belong to the people of God, can a spiritually impotent man be His minister? Because I solemnly tell you that many priests and masters are suffering from guilty spiritual barrenness, as they lack spiritual virility. Many. Too many!

Detail

About priests who lose sight of their mission, forget charity and become corrupt.

Annotation

It says: "The eunuch shall not enter the assembly of the Lord. "In Deuteronomy 23.2.

Book of Deuteronomy 23, 2

Deut 23.2: He whose testicles have been crushed or whose urethra has been cut off shall not enter the assembly of Yahweh.

Keywords

GRM 217.1-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

We are still in the same place, but the setting sun is more bearable.
«We must go and reach that house» says Jesus.
They set out and reach it. They ask for bread and refreshment. But the farmer drives them away rudely.
«Race of Philistines! Vipers! They are always the same! They were born of that stock and bear poisonous fruit» grumble the tired and hungry disciples. «May you be given tit for tat.»
«Why do you lack charity? The time of the law of retaliation is over. Come forward. It is not yet night and you are not dying of hunger. Offer this little sacrifice so that these souls may become hungry for Me» says Jesus exhorting them.
But the disciples go into a field and begin to pick the ears of corn, they rub them on the palms of their hands and eat them. I think they do it more out of spite than to satisfy their hunger.
«They are good, Master» shouts Peter. «Are You not having any? And they have a double flavour… I would like to eat up the whole field.»
«You are right! So they would repent for not giving us any bread» say the others while walking through the corn and eating with relish.
Jesus is walking alone on the dusty road. The Zealot and Bartholomew are five or six yards behind Him, speaking to each other.
217.2
There is another crossroads, where a secondary road crosses the main one, and a group of sulky Pharisees is standing there. They must be coming back from the Sabbath celebration in the village that can be seen at the end of the secondary road, a large flat town, which looks like a huge animal lying in its den.
Jesus sees the Pharisees, looks at them and smiling kindly greets them: «Peace be with you.»
Instead of replying to His greetings, one of the them asks arrogantly: «Who are You?»
«Jesus of Nazareth.»
«See, I told you it was Him» says another.
In the meantime Nathanael and Simon have come close to the Master, whereas the other apostles are coming towards the road, walking along the furrows. They are still chewing and have some corn in their hands.
The Pharisee who had spoken first, probably because he is the most important one, carries on speaking to Jesus, Who has stopped waiting to hear what they have to say: «Ah! So You are the famous Jesus of Nazareth? Why have You come so far?»
«Because there are souls to be saved here also.»
«We are quite sufficient for that. We know how to save our souls and those of our subjects.»
«If it is so, you are doing the right thing. But I have been sent to evengelize and save.»
«Sent! Sent! Who can prove it to us? Not Your deeds certainly!»
«Why do you say that? Are you not interested in your Life?»
«Of course! You are the one who administers death to those who do not adore You. So You want to kill the whole sacerdotal and Pharisaic classes, and the class of scribes and many more, because they do not worship You and they never will. Never, do You understand? We, the chosen ones in Israel, will never worship You. Neither shall we love You.»
«I do not compel you to love Me and I say to you: “Worship God”because…»
«That is, You, because You are God, are You not? But we are not the horrible people of Galilee nor the foolish people of Judah who follow You forgetting our rabbis…»
«Do not be upset, man. I am not asking for anything. I am fulfilling My mission, I teach people to love God and I repeat the Decalogue to them, because it has been forgotten, and what is worse, it is badly applied. I want to give Life. Eternal Life. I do not wish anybody a bodily death and much less a spiritual one. The Life in which I asked you whether you were interested, is the life of your soul, because I love your soul, even if your soul does not love Me. And it grieves Me to see that you are killing it by offending the Lord and despising His Messiah.»
The Pharisee becomes so excited that he seems to have fallen into a fit of convulsions: he disarranges his clothes, he tears his fringes, he takes off his headgear, he ruffles his hair and shouts: «Listen! Listen! Hear what He says to me, to Jonathan of Uziel, a direct descendant of Simon the Just. That I offend the Lord! I don’t know who keeps me from cursing You, but…»
«It is fear that keeps you. But you may do it. You will not be burnt to ashes just the same. But you will be in due course, and then you will invoke Me. But between you and Me, there will then be a red stream: My Blood.»
«All right.
217.3
But in the meantime, since You say that You are a saint, why do You allow certain things? Since You say that You are a Master, why do You not teach Your apostles before anybody else? Look at them, behind You!… They still have in their hands the instrument of their sin! Can You see them? They have picked corn and this is the Sabbath. They have picked ears of corn, which do not belong to them. They have infringed the Sabbath and they have stolen.»
«They were hungry. In the village where we arrived yesterday evening, we asked for bread and lodgings. They drove us away. Only an old woman gave us some of her bread and a handful of olives. May God give her one hundredfold, because she gave us everything she had, and she only asked for a blessing. We walked for a mile and then we stopped, complying with the law, and we drank the water of a stream. Then, at sunset, we went to that house… They rejected us. You can see that we were willing to obey the Law», Peter replies.
«But you did not. It is not legal to do manual work on Sabbaths and it is never legal to take what belongs to other people. My friends and I are scandalised.»
«But I am not. Have you not read[1] how David at Nob took the consecrated bread of the Proposition for himself and his companions? The sacred loaves belonged to God, in His house, and by a perpetual order were to be kept for the priests. It is written[2]: “They will belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place, because they are a most holy thing”. And yet David took them for himself and his companions, because he was hungry. If, therefore, the holy king entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Proposition on a Sabbath, although it was not legal for him to eat it, and yet it was not imputed to him as a sin, because also after that event God continued to love him, how can you say that we have sinned it we pick on the soil of God the ears of corn that have grown and ripened through His will, the ears that belong also to birds, and you deny that men, the sons of the Father, may eat?»
«They asked for those loaves, they did not take them without asking. And that makes the difference. In any case it is not true that God did not impute that sin to David. God struck him very hard!»
«Not because of that. It was because of his lewdness, of the census, not because…»
«Oh! That’s enough. It is not legal, and that is all. You have no right to do it and you shall not do it.
217.4
Go away. We do not want you on our land. We do not need you. We do not know what to do with you.»
«We shall go.»
«And forever, remember that. Let Jonathan of Uziel never find you again in his presence. Go!»
«Yes, we will go. But we will meet again. And then it will be Jonathan who wants to see Me to repeat his judgement, and to rid the world of Me forever. But then it will be Heaven that will say to you: “It is not legal for you to do it”, and that “it is not legal” will resound in your heart like the sound of a bugle-horn throughout your life and beyond. As on Sabbaths the priests in the Temple infringe the Sabbath rest but do not commit sin, so we, servants of the Lord, can attain love and help from the Most Holy Father, without thus committing sin, since man denies us his love. There is One here Who is by far greater than the Temple and can take anything He wants of what exists in creation, because God has made everything a footstool for the Word. And I take and give. And that applies both to the ears of corn of the Father, laid on the immense table of the Earth, and to the Word. I take and give. Both to the good and to the wicked. Because I am Mercy. But you do not know what is Mercy. If you knew what My being Mercy means, you would also know that I want nothing but mercy. If you knew what Mercy is, you would not have condemned innocent people. But you do not know. You do not even know that I do not condemn you, you do not know that I will forgive you and, more than that, I will ask the Father to forgive you. Because I want mercy and not punishment. But you do not know. You do not want to know. And that is a greater sin than the one you impute to Me, it is greater than the one you say these innocent men have committed. You must know that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath and that the Son of man is also master of the Sabbath. Goodbye…»
He turns to His disciples: «Come. Let us go and look for a place where to lie down among the sands that are now near. The stars will keep us company and dew will refresh us. God, Who sent manna to Israel, will provide nourishment also for us, His poor faithful servants.» And Jesus leaves the rancorous group and goes away with His disciples, while night is falling with its first violet shadows…
They find at last a hedge of Indian figs, on the top leaves of which, bristling with thorns, is some fruit which is beginning to ripen. Anything is good when one is hungry. And stinging themselves, they pick the ripest ones and proceed thus until the fields become sandy dunes. The noise of the sea can be heard in the distance.
«Let us rest here. The sand is soft and warm. Tomorrow we will go to Ashkelon» says Jesus and tired as they are, they all lie down at the foot of a high dune.

Detail

The apostles were hungry and began to pick ears of wheat from the fields when the locals did not provide them with food (EMV 217.1). Jesus then encounters a group of Pharisees, including Jonathas ben Ouziel, a member of the Sanhedrin. He is hostile toward Jesus and reproaches the Master for the disciples’ behavior.

Jesus gives him a first prophecy in 217.2 and a second in 217.4.

Only Simon Peter and Jude speak in this episode (EMV 217.3), but the other disciples are present.

Annotation

You Philistines! Vipers! Always the same! They’re all cut from the same cloth and bear poisonous fruit, grumble the hungry and weary disciples. May you receive back what you give! The land of the Philistines, including Ashqelôn (Ascalon), stretches from the present-day Gaza Strip to Jaffa. A great enmity reigned between the Philistines and the Jews. It dates back to the wars that pitted them against one another, the most famous episode of which is David versus Goliath. This land was still identified as such in the 2nd century B.C. See 1 Maccabees (Book of the Martyrs of Israel) 3:24: Judas pursued him down the slope of Beth-horon to the plain; eight hundred of their men were killed, and the rest fled to the land of the Philistines.

Have you never read how David, at Nob, took the consecrated bread to feed himself and his companions? The consecrated bread belonged to God, in His house, set aside by an eternal decree for the priests. It is written: “They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place, for it is a most holy thing.” Cf. 1 Samuel 21:1–4 and Leviticus 24:9.

God punished David severely for his lust and for his census: regarding his lust, see 2 Samuel 12:9–14 (see also 94.7). For the census, see 2 Samuel 24:1–17 and 1 Chronicles 21:1–17.

To the good as well as to the wicked, for I am Mercy. But you do not know what mercy is. If you knew what it means, you would also understand that I desire nothing but it. Cf . Hosea 6:6, also quoted in Matthew 9:13.

They finally come upon a hedge of prickly pears, at the tops of which, bristling with thorns, figs are beginning to ripen. This mention is intriguing: the prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is said to have been imported from Mexico by Christopher Columbus. Is this a glaring anachronism or a rare piece of knowledge on Maria Valtorta’s part? See the commentary.

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Leviticus 24:9

Lev 24:9: They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place; for it is a most holy thing to them among the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute.

First Book of Samuel 21:1–7

1 Sam 1–7: David got up and left, and Jonathan returned to the city. David went to Nob, to the high priest Ahimelech; and Ahimelech came running out to meet David in fear and said to him, “ ‘Why are you alone, and is there no one with you?’” David replied to the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me an order and said, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you, and I have given you an order.’ I have appointed a meeting place for my men. Now, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you have.” ” The priest replied to David, saying, “I have no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread—provided your men have abstained from women.” ” David replied to the priest and said, “We have abstained from women for the three days since I set out, and the vessels of my men are holy; and even if the journey is profane, is not the vessel itself sanctified?” ” Then the priest gave him consecrated bread, for there was no other bread there except the showbread, which had been removed from before the Lord and replaced with fresh bread at the time it was taken away.

2 Samuel 12:9–14

2 Sam. 12:9–14: “Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife to be your own, and you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. And now the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife. Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring disaster upon you from within your own house; I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you acted in secret, but I will do this in the sight of all Israel and in broad daylight.”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord has forgiven your sin; you will not die. But because by this deed you have caused the Lord to be despised by his enemies, the son born to you will die.”

2 Samuel 24:1–17

2 Sam. 24:1–17: The anger of the Lord was kindled again against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.” ” The king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba; take a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” ” Joab said to the king, “May Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it! But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this? ” But the king’s command prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army; so Joab and the commanders of the army set out from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

After crossing the Jordan, they camped at Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and then at Jazer. They came to Gilead and to the land of Tachthim-Hodsi; then they came to Dan-Jaan and to the vicinity of Sidon. They went to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and they reached the Negev of Judah, at Beersheba. When they had thus surveyed the entire land, they returned to Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days. Joab presented the king with the census report: there were eight hundred thousand men of war in Israel who could wield a sword, and five hundred thousand in Judah. David’s heart was troubled after he had counted the people, and David said to the LORD: “I have committed a great sin in what I have done! Now, O Yahweh, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

The next day, when David arose, the word of the LORD came to Gad, the prophet, David’s seer, saying: “Go and tell David: Thus says the LORD: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” ” Gad came to David and told him the word of the Lord, saying: “Shall there be a famine of seven years in your land, or shall you flee for three months before your enemies who will pursue you, or shall there be a plague for three days in your land? Now consider and see what I should answer the one who sent me.” ” David replied to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hands of men! ” And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning of that day until the appointed time; and seventy thousand men of the people died, from Dan to Beersheba. The angel was stretching out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it. But the Lord relented from this disaster and said to the angel who was striking down the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to Yahweh: “Behold, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who is guilty. But these sheep—what have they done? Let your hand fall on me and on my father’s house!”

That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went up, as Gad had said, just as the Lord had commanded. When Araunah looked up, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him; Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground, saying, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David replied: “To buy this threshing floor from you so that I may build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be lifted from the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take the threshing floor and offer whatever sacrifice he deems fit! Here are the oxen for the burnt offering, along with the sleds and the ox yokes for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said further to the king, “May the Lord your God be gracious to you!” ” But the king said to Areuna, “No! I want to buy it from you for a price in silver, and I will not offer to Yahweh, my God, burnt offerings that cost me nothing. ” And David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25And David built an altar to Yahweh there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Thus the Lord was appeased toward the land, and the plague was lifted from Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:1–17

1 Chr 21:1–17: Satan stood against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. And David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and report the number to me, so that I may know how many there are.” ” Joab replied, “May Yahweh add to his people a hundred times as many as there are! O king, my lord, are they not all servants of my lord? Why then does my lord ask this? Why bring sin upon Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. Joab set out and traveled throughout all Israel, and he returned to Jerusalem. And Joab presented to David the results of the census of the people: there were in all Israel eleven hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, and in Judah four hundred seventy thousand men who could handle a sword. He did not count the Levites and the Benjamites among them, for Joab was reluctant to carry out the king’s command.

God was displeased with this matter, and He struck Israel. Then David said to God, “I have committed a great sin in doing this. Now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” ” Yahweh spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying: “Go and speak to David, saying: Thus says Yahweh: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” Gad came to David and said to him: “Thus says Yahweh: Choose either three years of famine, or three months during which you will be swept away before your adversaries and struck down by the sword of your enemies, or three days during which the sword of the LORD and the plague will be in the land, and the angel of the LORD will bring destruction throughout the territory of Israel. Now see what I should answer the one who sent me.” David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, that I might fall into the hands of the Lord—for his mercy is very great—rather than into the hands of men!”

And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men in Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as the angel was destroying it, the Lord saw what was happening and relented from this disaster, and He said to the angel who was destroying it, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand, pointed toward Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded that the people be counted? It is I who have sinned and done wrong; but these—these sheep—what have they done? Yahweh, my God, let your hand be upon me and upon my father’s house, but not upon your people to bring ruin upon them.”

Book of Hosea 6:6

Hos 6:6: She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhama (that is, ‘Not Loved’), for I no longer love the house of Israel and will no longer forgive them.”

Gospel of Matthew 9:13

Mt 9:13: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Gospel of Matthew 12:1–8

Mt 12:1–8: At that time, on a Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the grain fields; his disciples were hungry, so they began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him: “Look, your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath!” But he said to them: “Have you not read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence; yet neither he nor those with him were permitted to eat it, but only the priests. Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath rest without being guilty of a sin? But I tell you: there is one here who is greater than the temple. If you had understood what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned those who have committed no offense. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Mark 2:23–28

Mk 2:23–28: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the grain fields; and as they went along, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look what they are doing on the Sabbath! That is not permitted.” And Jesus said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, both he and those with him? During the time of the high priest Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which no one is allowed to eat except the priests, and he also gave some to those who were with him. ” He also said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Luke 6:1–5

Luke 6:1–5: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the fields; his disciples were plucking heads of grain and eating them after rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees then said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into the house of God, took the bread of the Presence, ate it, and gave some to those who were with him—even though only the priests are allowed to eat it.” He also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”