The healed Roman judge converts his friends (22/85)

1. One of Marcus' servants came to us with a message for the Roman from his several friends in the big bath and cure resort. They were concerned and took information about him, because according to them he stayed too long outside of the bath resort, since they thought that he was not yet healed.

2. Upon this, the Roman asked Me what he had to do now, for he did not want to make Me known to the other guests in the cure resort.

3. But I said to him: "You can talk in confidence with your friends about Me, and tell them how you were physically healed.

4. If they will believe, then they also will improve, but if they will not believe completely, they will not improve. If they personally want to see Me and speak to Me, then try to dissuade them, in which the servant of Marcus will support you. If despite that, they still want to speak to Me, then let them come here, but do not tell them anything where the Jews, Pharisees and other priests are present.

5. Now you can go with the servant to the cure resort, so that your long absence will not attract too much attention."

6. After these words of Mine, the Roman stood up and went with the servant to the cure resort.

7. Arriving there, his friends and acquaintances saw him immediately, ran to him and assailed him with a thousand questions.

8. But he (the healed Roman) said: "Just give me some time, and look at me first a little more attentively, and tell me then what you think of me."

9. Then they all looked at him very attentively, and a Roman, who also came from Tyre, said: "But by Zeus, you look perfectly healthy. How were you healed outside while you health condition yesterday could in no way expect such fast and complete healing?

10. Did you perhaps find a better doctor in Marcus' house than the 3 doctors of the cure resort, or did you find a new healing spring that was maybe kept secret until now? Tell us in detail, so that we also can go outside and be healed just like you."

11. Then the Roman told them everything he had heard, seen and experienced.

12. When his friends heard all that, they shrugged their shoulders, and one of them said: "Friend, these are things that are almost more difficult to believe than our mythical idolism.

13. I heard already many things from the mouth of trustworthy witnesses about the exceptional deeds and works of your new God, who however is born, just like we all, from a woman and who is a man from flesh and blood, and who will die, just like we. But the old conviction that I received from the books about all those many great, famous men was confirmed again - also concerning this God-Man of yours.

14. Deifying a great man, who is famous in one or the other field, is so very old that its origin cannot be determined anymore. And it became already an old proverb among us that there can be no great, famous man without God having breathed upon him. And this is certainly exactly the same for your new God of whom they said that He is a Galilean.

15. He is a Man with undoubtedly exceptional talents and powers which He developed in one or the other ancient famous school, and now He performs fabulous things which are miraculous to us laymen, and all honor is due to Him for that. But if for this reason He represents Himself before us human beings as a God, just like the sages from the ancient times, is a vain matter. No one with a natural sound reasoning will ever completely accept this. I very gladly would like to let myself be healed by Him and give Him also the reward that He desires for that, but to immediately accept and honor Him as the one, only true God for that healing, that, friend, cannot penetrate in me, despite His teaching which is truly very pure.

16. If someone can believe what you told us here about Him, accepting it as a certain truth, good, let him believe it and live and die as happy as possible in his faith. As far as I am concerned I probably will never share that happiness with him."

17. The Roman judge said: "You all are, just like me, men who are awake and with much experience, and thus you could be more open to the truth of all truths than you are now.

18. There are people everywhere who believe in one or also several divine beings, but no one can claim to have ever seen such divine being at work among the people, or personally experienced in an undeceived manner what I have experienced here.

19. If you cannot believe from me now that such a man, to whom all powers and elements obey and whom the geniuses from the Heavens miraculously serve, is a God and must also infallibly be, then it is only now that I understand how difficult it will be for His pure divine teaching to be accepted by the people of the Earth.

20. Have you perhaps ever seen a more real God, so that you can say now that He - of whom I told you in details about all the things He Himself is saying and doing - is not a real God? In short, you may believe now whatever you want, but I will stay with my belief for my whole life. And through this, I will receive the eternal life of my soul all the more truly because I feel it now deeply in myself and will feel it even more clearly in myself in the future.

21. Who will and can be a true God first: an invented god about whom unfortunately we have numerous ones who are all dead and about whom we men never experienced any miraculous action, or a living Man for whose almighty word and will all the powers of the Heavens and this Earth are bowing in total obedience?

22. I think that the one is God of who was prophesied by all Jewish sages that are not unknown to us, saying that He would come as the Lord in flesh and blood in this time to the people, and give them back what they have lost because of their laziness, love for the world and lust for power.

23. And now this God-Man is here, and He teaches and works completely according to the old promises. Why actually would I, just to please you, not believe the greatest salvation of my life, which you cannot believe for very shallow reasons? I truly pity everyone whose eyes of faith cannot be opened now."

24. After these words of the judge, the others did not know what to reply, for he was enlightened by Me in his heart and always presented to them the most convincing evidence to the contrary.

25. Only on the 3rd day he succeeded to make them believe, after which he then took them at noon to Me, and I also healed them. Then they were filled with faith, and they praised the efforts of the judge that he brought them also to the greatest salvation of life. The whole 4th day they and the judge stayed with Me and let themselves be instructed in everything, by which our Raphael was again very busy.

26. The 5th day they traveled in the morning after the morning meal full of gratitude and faith and with a complete healthy body back to their families - some of them to Tyre and others to Sidon.