“Then Jeschu ordered the law to be done away with, for it is said in the Psalm, It is time for thee, Lord, to lay too thine hand, for they have destroyed thy law. Now, said he, is the right time come to tear up the law, for the thousandth generation has come since David said, He hath promised to keep his word to a thousand generations (Ps. cviii. 8).
“Therefore they arose and desecrated the Sabbath.
“When now the elders and wise men heard of what was done, they came to the King and consulted him and his council. Then answered Judas, son of Zachar,[126] I am the first of the King's princes; I will go myself and see if it be true what is said, that this man blasphemeth.
“Therefore Judas went and put on other clothes like the men of Ai, and spake to Jeschu and said, I also will learn your doctrine. Then Jeschu had his head shaved in a ring and washed with the water Boleth.
“After that they went into the wilderness, for they feared the King lest he should take them if they tarried at Ai. And they lost their way; and in the wilderness they lighted on a shepherd who lay on the ground. Then Jeschu asked [pg 106]him the right way, and how far it was to shelter. The shepherd answered, The way lies straight before you; and he pointed it out with his foot.
“They went a little further, and they found a shepherd maiden, and Jeschu asked her which way they must go. Then the maiden led them to a stone which served as a sign-post. And Peter said to Jeschu, Bless this maiden who has led us hither! And he blessed her, and wished for her that she might become the wife of the shepherd they had met on the road.
“Then said Peter, Wherefore didst thou so bless the maiden? He answered, The man is slow, but she is lively. If he were left without her activity, it would fare ill with him. For I am a God of mercy, and make marriages as is best for man.”
This is a German story. There are many such of Jesus and St. Peter to be found in all collections of German household tales. They go together on a journey, and various adventures befal them, and the Lord orders things very differently from what Peter expects. To this follows another story, familiar to English school-boys. The apostles come with their Master to an inn, and ask for food. The innkeeper has a goose, and it is decided that he shall have the goose who dreams the best dream that night. When all are asleep, Judas gets up, plucks, roasts and eats the goose. Next morning they tell their dreams. Judas says, “Mine was the best of all, for I dreamt that in the night I ate the goose; and, lo! the goose is gone this morning. I think the dream must have been a reality.” Among English school-boys, the story is told of an Englishman, and Scotchman, and an Irishman. The latter, of course, takes the place of Judas.
Some equally ridiculous stories follow, inserted for the purpose of making our blessed Lord and his apostles [pg 107] contemptible, but not taken, like the two just mentioned, from German folk-lore.
“After that Judas went to Jerusalem, but Jeschu and Peter tarried awaiting him (at Laish), for they trusted him. Now when Judas was come to Jerusalem, he related to the King and the elders the words and deeds of Jeschu, and how, through the power of the incommunicable Name, he had wrought such wonders that the people of Ai believed in him, and how that he had taken to wife the daughter of Karkamus, chief ruler of Ai.