The Crucifixion
1The governor's soldiers agreed with the chief priests and the elders and, dragging Jmmanuel with them into the court house, they brought the entire crowd in with him.
2They undressed him and put a purple mantle on him.
3They made a wreath of thorns, placed it on his head, put a reed into his right hand and, bending their knees before him, said,
4"We greet you, great King of Wisdom of the Jews."
5And they spat on him, took the reed from his hand, and beat him on the head with it until blood ran down his face.
6When he was wretched and bleeding, Caiaphas, the high priest, asked, "How are you doing now, great King of Wisdom?"
7But Jmmanuel was quiet and said not one word.
8Then they hit him again on the head, and he moaned in pain and began to speak, "Indeed it is the truth that I am the king of wisdom of the Jews, as it is written by the old prophets. Thus, I am also the true prophet of all humankind on Earth. But in all truth, I am not the prophet of those confused Israelites who call themselves the sons and daughters of Zion.
9"Truly, I say to you, just as you beat and mock me, you shall be beaten and mocked by those whom you, since ancient times, have enslaved and whose land you and your forefathers have plundered.
10"And the time will come in five times a hundred years when you will have to atone for this, when the legitimate owners of the land, whom you have enslaved and deprived of their rights, will begin to rise up against you and fight against you on into the distant future.
11"A new man will arise in this land as a prophet, and he will legally and rightfully condemn and persecute you, and you shall pay with your blood.
12"This man will establish a new religious cult specifically for the forceful preservation of the truthful teachings and will have himself recognized as a prophet. Through these actions he will persecute you for all times.
13"Although according to your claim he will be a false prophet, just as you slanderously claim of me, he will bring you new teachings that will seem false to you. Nonetheless, he will be a true prophet, and he will have great power. He will have your people persecuted for all times.
14"His name will be Mohammed, and his name will bring horror, misery and death to your kind, just as you deserve.
15"Truly, truly, I say to you, his name will be written for you in blood, and because of your offences the hatred against your people will be endless.
16"In this way, he will be a true prophet, even though you will claim him to be a false one, and he will bring you teachings that will in part seem confusing and unintelligible to you. His emerging religious cult will eventually end when his and your followers lay the foundation for a bloody conclusion. His teachings, too, will be distorted and falsified, and will result in an evil and confused religious cult."
17And as he spoke in this manner, the chief priests and members of the council of elders seethed with rage and beat him so harshly that he collapsed and whimpered.
18Once they had beaten and mocked him, they took off his mantle, put back on him only his undergarments and led him away in order to crucify him.
19Upon his right shoulder they placed a heavy wooden cross, so that he himself would have to carry this great burden to the place of his own death.
20But the cross was heavy, and Jmmanuel groaned under the burden. His blood combined with his sweat into a vile mixture.
21Jmmanuel collapsed under the heavy burden because his strength left him.
22But when a stranger came along by the name of Simon of Cyrene, they forced him to help carry the cross.
23Soon they arrived at the place called Golgotha.
24His path there was difficult, because he was being beaten, reviled and mocked.
25They gave him wine to drink mixed with the bile from animals.
26When he tasted it, he did not want to drink it, and so they beat him to make him drink it.
27Then they forced him down on the cross while beating him, and nailed his hands and feet onto the wood. This was done for the first time and contrary to custom, because until then the crucified were tied to the cross.
28After they had nailed him upon the cross and erected it, they divided his clothing among themselves by casting lots.
29And they sat around and guarded him, so that no one would come to take him from the cross.
30Also, two murderers were crucified with him, one to his right and one to his left, so he was between them.
31Those all around him defamed, mocked and ridiculed him.
32They shouted, "Since you are the King of Wisdom, help yourself!
33"And since you are the son of a celestial son and possess great power, get down from the cross!"
34The scribes, Pharisees, chief priests and elders of the people likewise mocked him, saying,
35"You helped others, but you cannot help yourself.
36"Since you are a king of wisdom, get down from the cross and help yourself.
37"If you do that, we will believe in you and your teachings.
38"He trusted in his wisdom and in his being the son of the angel Gabriel.
39"Thus, let his wisdom or the angel Gabriel save him now if he so desires."
40Likewise, the murderers crucified to his right and left mocked and reviled him.
41Then the sky clouded over, the sun became dark, and a great storm spread across the land, which was rare at that time of year but happened now and then.
42The terrible storm raged for three hours before the sun again broke through the clouds.
43At that time Jmmanuel cried out, "I'm thirsty! Give me something to drink."
44And right away one of the chief priests ran, took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and stuck it on a lance for him to drink.
45But when the others saw that, they scolded the man, saying, "Stop! Do not give him any more to drink. Let us see how long he can bear this."
46And behold, a final powerful thunderclap broke up the storm, whereupon the entire land trembled, and the ground shook.
47Amid the tremendous thunder, Jmmanuel again cried out, but nobody understood him, because his speech was confused.
48Then his head fell forward, he slipped into a state of near-death, and they presumed he was dead.
49It came to pass that a soldier took his lance and stabbed Jmmanuel in his loin to ensure that he was dead.
50Blood mixed with water flowed from the wound as is the case when a person is dead or in a near-death state.
51Thus the soldier thought Jmmanuel was dead, and he informed the others.
52They were all astonished, because it was unusual for the crucified to die so quickly.
53But since the soldier had told them so, they believed him and departed.
54Among them were also many women and others who watched from a distance, because they were followers of Jmmanuel; they had served him and followed him from Galilee.
55Among them were Jmmanuel's mother, Mary, and Mary Magdalene, and others.
56Once the people had departed, they went to him, knelt before the cross and wept bitterly because they, too, thought Jmmanuel was dead.
57Also among them, however, was Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jmmanuel.
58After a short while he noticed that Jmmanuel was not quite dead, but he told no one.
Entombment
59He quickly went into the city, to Pilate, and asked him for the body of Jmmanuel so that he could bury him.
60Pilate ordered that he should be given to him.
Entombment
61And many people went with him and they removed Jmmanuel from the cross. Joseph wrapped the body in pure linen, which he had previously coated so as to form an image of Jmmanuel.
62Joseph of Arimathea then carried the body of Jmmanuel all the way as far as Jerusalem and placed it outside the city into his own tomb, which he had arranged to be cut into a rock for his future burial.
63And he rolled a large stone in front of the door of the tomb and went to obtain medicine so he could take care of Jmmanuel.
64The entrance of the tomb was guarded by soldiers and Jmmanuel's mother so no one could enter and steal the body.
65Joseph of Arimathea, however, sought out Jmmanuel's friends from India and returned with them to the tomb. There they entered through a secret second entrance unknown to the henchmen and soldiers, and for three days and three nights they nursed him. Soon he was in better health and again with good strength.
66The tomb was being guarded on the other side by the soldiers because the chief priests and Pharisees had gone to Pilate and said,
67"Sir, we have considered that when this crazy man was still alive, he said to the people, 'l shall return after three days and three nights and rise, because I will only be in a state of near-death.'
68"But since it was established through a soldier that he was really dead, his tomb should be guarded so that no one can come, steal the body and say, 'Behold, he has risen from the dead after all!'
69"Command therefore that the tomb be guarded up to the third day so that the last deception may not be worse than the first."
70And Pilate said to them, "Take my soldiers as guardians. Go and guard the tomb as best you can."
71And they departed, guarded the tomb, and secured the stone in front of the door with a seal.
72However, they did not realize the secret of the grave, namely, that it had two exits or entrances, Jmmanuel's helpers, therefore, could go to him to apply healing salves and herbs without being detected. On the third day he was once again strong enough to walk.