Volume 11 · Chapter 74

CRUCIFIXION, DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS THE temple seemed to have won and wanted the death sentence that was pronounced to be carried out as soon as possible.

[GGJ.11_74,2] What will follow now will not be a detailed description of all the tortures that My body had to endure, for these are things which the soul of no human being can understand. Only in a free, spiritual condition will it once be possible to understand to what extent that torment of death served to completely spiritualize My body and therefore also to contribute to the salvation of matter, although that torture was not necessarily needed.

[GGJ.11_74,3] Only a few errors will be corrected here and make a few things clear so that in accordance with the gospels, which, regarding to My physical death are quite accurate, a clear picture can be given of the last hours of the Son of man.

[GGJ.11_74,4] Firstly we have to consider the carrying of the cross. It was a custom with the Romans that every criminal who was sentenced to death had to carry his wood of death himself to the place of execution, and often, when the strength left him to do this, he was very cruelly tortured to make him carry out that punishment. Of course I was also not spared of this, and the strength of My extremely exhausted body left Me very soon so that I fell to the ground several times.

[GGJ.11_74,5] Simon of Cyrene, who adhered to My teaching and as such well- known to the priests, met the procession, and being horrified he watched My pitiful condition with compassion.

[GGJ.11_74,6] Then one of the temple servants shouted at him scornfully: “Look there at your great Master who cannot help Himself. Now His deceit comes miserably into light.”

[GGJ.11_74,7] Being disgusted, Simon answered him with a prophesying spirit: “The time will come when you will curse the hour that you all have done such thing. But I wish to serve my Master so that the way of suffering may become lighter for Him.”

[GGJ.11_74,8] “That you will!” shouted several priests angrily. “Because since you dare to scorn the actions of the temple, we impose a penance on you and you will carry the cross of your Master!” When Simon heard that, he joyfully rushed to help, took the heavy cross on his strong shoulders and since I was lying on the ground, he also offered Me his hand so that I might find support. I took it, and Simons’ physical power was so much strengthened that it became easy for him to carry this heavy load.

[GGJ.11_74,9] All My closest friends, who were not able to come near the courthouse during the sentencing, followed now. And a lot of people, who were at first frightened and stood at a distance when the adherers of the temple shouted ‘crucify Him’, came closer now. They immediately showed a threatening attitude when the procession came near the gate where a large square made it possible to form a big gathering of people. But the Pharisees were afraid that this would happen and had therefore asked for a big group of Roman soldiers, and these waited for the procession at the gate towards Golgotha to keep order.

[GGJ.11_74,10] When those who were well-disposed towards Me saw now that I was irrevocably lost and a possible violent rescue out of the hands of the servants of justice was impossible, a loud wailing was raised, mainly by women.

[GGJ.11_74,11] Therefore, I turned to those who stood closest to Me and said to them: “Weep not for Me but for you and your children, for worse things will come over them than what you see happening to Me now. I go in to My Father but they will not know where they will be going.”

[GGJ.11_74,12] In the tradition of the church it is said that the maid Veronica offered Me a cloth to dry My sweat. This is true, for she stood in the first rows of the mourners. But the imprint of My face in this cloth is a legend that came up later, and it also should be said here that there was never a Jew Ahasverus in My time who drove Me away from his house. Both are myths that originated later from stories of pious minds trying to beautify My physical death with all possible miracles which also slipped into the gospels.

[GGJ.11_74,13] If all those things had happened while the body hang on the cross, as it is reported – the big earthquake, the darkening of the sun, the appearance of spirits and many other things – in that case, forced by those mighty signs, Jerusalem would have done penance in sackcloth and ashes even the same day and would not have looked at My resurrection with doubt but with joy and as a sign of forgiveness of all sins. But at the time that the body died, nothing happened that was so exceptional that it necessarily had to be related to My death. There was also no other possibility since the free will may not be affected, and if this main principle did not have to be maintained it would have been possible already earlier to use force by such miracles anyway. Everything happened in such a way that they also could have happened without My physical death, and therefore we will view more closely what those things were.

[GGJ.11_74,14] Now when I was taken to Golgotha – at that time the usual place of execution in Jerusalem – Judas Iscariot came rushing, and being totally desperate he tried to break through the circle that the temple guards had formed around the place. He was violently pushed back. And standing close by he watched with starring eyes, still hoping for something extraordinary to happen that would free Me. He always was near the place when My condemnation took place, and as it became more and more clear to him that My power had either disappeared here or that I did not use it, he became more and more afraid.

[GGJ.11_74,15] Finally he rushed back to the High Council and wanted to give the money back while he said that he betrayed innocent blood and seriously accused himself. Of course he was scornfully turned down with the remark that he had to see himself how he can work it out. In full despair he threw the money into the case of alms of the temple and ran outside, still clinging unto the weak hope that I would free Myself before the worst would happen. When he saw now that My body was thrown to the ground and put on the cross, when he heard the blows of the hammer that drove the nails through My flesh into the wood, he cried out loudly and rushed away from the place. Without looking behind him he ran to a 287 solitary place where he hanged himself on a fig tree with his belt.

[GGJ.11_74,16] He dearly paid for his mistake, his lust for money and selfishness. About what happened to him after this will once be reported1.

[GGJ.11_74,17] It was only several days after his death that his corpse was found. It had fallen down from the belt and it was gnawed by dogs and jackasses. He was hastily buried in that same spot.

[GGJ.11_74,18] It is now reported that a darkness set in when My body hung on the cross. Yes, a big inner darkness came over Jerusalem, but no outer one. It was an inner one by which everyone had the feeling as if he had lost something without knowing what it was. And even the high priests, scribes, Pharisees and temple Jews who longed for My death did not find any satisfaction and felt no joy at their action.

[GGJ.11_74,19] This is also the reason why the temple did not make any attempts against My disciples and nearest relatives, also not against Nicodemus, Josef of Arimathea or Lazarus who all made a pilgrimage to My cross and were present in My last hour of life. It was especially thanks to the reputation of Nicodemus as member of the High Council that My followers received permission to stay very close by while the place was otherwise bordered by soldiers and no one was allowed to come through. At his recommendation an exception was made. My closest disciples however, with the exception of John, were not present, as I often predicted before. The Shepherd was slain, and so the sheep scattered. After My arrest some of them fled to Lazarus and the others went to hide away with friends, and they were hidden by them.

[GGJ.11_74,20] Only John dared to show himself openly to be a support and encouragement to Mary, the mother of My body.

[GGJ.11_74,21] Peter, who after his fall was deeply seized by remorse, secretly followed the procession that brought Me through the streets of Jerusalem from the one ruler to the other, but he stayed far away from all the brothers because his soul felt the urge to be alone and it was only now that he gained full clarity regarding My actions to which end especially the training in Ephraim was very useful to him. He perceived the essence and the purpose of My earthly death and was also firmly convinced of its necessity as well as of My predicted resurrection in which he firmly trusted but without saying a word about it.

[GGJ.11_74,22] Regarding My last hours, the most important has already been said earlier, and whoever wants to recall them, may read: ‘The 7 Words of Christ on the Cross’1, then he will be sufficiently informed about My last hours.

[GGJ.11_74,23] When My soul separated from My body, there was indeed an earthquake, but this was again a phenomenon that did not attract too much attention because in that region in My time the subterranean powers of the Jordan Valley were far more perceptible than now. This is why earthquakes were not that rare. That this phenomenon was indeed related to My death did of course not come up in the minds of the hard Jews.

[GGJ.11_74,24] It is also correct that the curtain in the temple was torn as an outer sign that there was now no more obstacle to reach the most holy place of the heart of the Father. Yes, that everyone could go there to receive eternal life. Nevertheless, also this phenomenon, no matter how astonishing, did not cause any sensation. The priests on duty hung up the curtain again, and with that the matter was solved.

[GGJ.11_74,25] It is further reported that the sun lost its shine. It was already mentioned that no darkness had set in, but everyone knows that earthquakes in warm countries are often announced by a strong cloudiness in the atmosphere by which the sun loses its glance. And this is what happened also here in a similar manner. However, that the sun lost its glance had another reason from the usual one, although the phenomenon was the same.

[GGJ.11_74,26] It is also reported that the dead came out of their graves and appeared to many. This message has to be understood in the right. way, and everyone will understand it better when he considers the following. [GGJ.11_1 See The Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, received by Anthonie Grossheim]

[GGJ.11_74,27] When My body had died and the big group of enemies had completely cooled down their vengeance, the people soon spread out because an inner terrifying feeling – the already mentioned inner darkness – made everyone to seek protection in his own house where, according to their statutes, the Jews had to prepare for the Sabbath that came near at sunset.

[GGJ.11_74,28] My followers came now more and more close to the place of execution so that the group of those who were in favor of Me became quite big. Josef of Arimathea had gone already earlier to Pilate, asking for My body – a favor that was not always granted.

[GGJ.11_74,29] But Pilate gladly granted this to him because he wanted to annoy the Jews with this, as well as by the inscription on top of the cross in 3 languages which stated that I was the king of the Jews.

[GGJ.11_74,30] My friends took the body immediately from the cross, cleaned it and anointed it, and carried it very carefully to a rock grave that belonged to Josef of Arimathea, on a piece of land that he had bought from Nicodemus in order to use it as his own last resting place in the future.

[GGJ.11_74,31] Although Golgotha was a rocky hill, it was located close by a densely populated exclusive residential area where many rich Romans and Jews had bought land and built beautiful country houses. This explains the proximity of the garden.

[GGJ.11_74,32] They laid the body in the grave and protected it well from fear that the Jews would in their evilness also harm the corpse.

[GGJ.11_74,33] But these were in turn afraid that My followers wanted to steal the corpse and then possibly claim that I was resurrected, for they heard and knew very well that the word about My predicted death and also about My resurrection was spread among the people. For this reason they asked Pilate for guards and he also granted this to them, even if it was only out of curiosity to see if something miraculous would happen as was generally expected by friends and feared by enemies. Thus guards were appointed – Roman soldiers – who had to guard the grave for 5 days long.