"Then the servants and others told that they had filled the six water pots with water to the brim, at the command of Jesus the Prophet, and that when they drew out, behold it flowed forth wine instead of water! Upon this there was a general exclamation of surprise, and the governor of the feast, crying out, 'A great prophet indeed hath been among us, and we knew it not!' rose to approach and do honor to Jesus; but he had already conveyed himself away, at once rising and passing out through the door, and seeking the solitude of the gardens."
The rumor of the miracle at Cana has reached Jerusalem since I began this letter, and I hear that it has produced no little excitement in the market-places and courts of the Temple. Rabbi Amos, on his return from sacrifice, a few minutes ago, said that he saw, in the court of the Temple, more than thirty priests with rolls of the Prophets in their hands, engaged in looking up the prophecies of the Christ.
Your affectionate daughter,
Adina.
[LETTER XIV.]
My Dear Father:
You will not require the testimony of my letters to enable you to appreciate the fame of the wonderful young man of Nazareth, Jesus, of whose works you must have heard ere this. His fame for wisdom, for knowledge of the Scriptures, for power to teach, and for miracles, has gone abroad through all Syria, so that they bring to him sick persons, both rich and poor, even from Damascus, to be healed of him; and he heals all who are brought unto him, whether possessed of devils, lunatic, or having the palsy. While I now write, a company is passing the open window, bearing upon beds two wealthy men of Jerusalem, given over by their physicians, who are going to him to be cured.
"So great is the multitude which everywhere follows Jesus," writes John to Mary, "that he is often compelled to withdraw from them by stealth, to get to some by-place of quiet where he can refresh his wearied strength for a few days. At such times we, who are his immediate followers, have the benefit of his teaching and private instructions. But he cannot remain long away from the people. They soon penetrate his retirement. How wonderful is he who thus holds in his hands divine power! The authority of kings is nothing before that which he possesses in his voice; yet he is serene, humble, oh, how humble! to our shame; and always calm and gentle. He spends much time in private prayer to God, whom he always addresses as his Father. Never was such a man on earth. We, who know him most intimately, stand most in awe of him; yet with our deep reverence for his holy character is combined the purest affection. In one and the same breath I feel that I adore him as my Lord, and love him even as my brother. So we all feel toward him."
Such, my dear father, is the tenor of all John's letters. When we shall see Jesus at Jerusalem, I shall be able from personal observation to write to you more particularly concerning his doctrines and miracles. What is also of importance, it has been proven by the results of the examination made by some of the scribes of the Temple, that he was truly born in Bethlehem, and that both his mother Mary, and Joseph her husband, are lineal descendants of the house of David. Moreover Phineas, the venerable priest, whom you know, hath borne testimony to the fact that when Jesus was an infant, during the reign of the elder Herod, there arrived in Jerusalem three eminent princes, men of wisdom and learning. One of these came from Persia, one from the Grecian province of Media, and one from Arabia, and brought with them gifts of gold and spices, and were attended by retinues. These three princes reached Jerusalem the same day by three different ways, and entered by three different gates, each unknowing to the other's presence or object, till they met in the city before Herod's palace. One represented himself descended from Shem, another from Japhet, the third from Ham. And they mysteriously, it is said, typified all the races of the earth who by them recognized and adored the Savior of men in the child Jesus. The king, hearing that these three strangers had arrived in Jerusalem, sent to know wherefore they had honored his kingdom with a visit. "They answered," says Phineas, "that they came to do homage to the young prince, who was born king of the Jews." And when Herod asked what prince they spoke of, they answered, "We have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him."