ceivest thou not the fragrance of paradise filling the place? knowest thou not who it was? The thief that was on the cross is become heir of paradise: verily, verily, I say unto you, that it is his alone until the great day come. John said: Make me worthy to see him.
3 Then suddenly the thief appeared and John fell to the earth: for he was now like a king in great might, clad with the cross. And a voice of a multitude was heard: Thou art come into the place of paradise prepared for thee: we are appointed to serve thee by him that sent thee until the great day. After that both the thief and I, Joseph, vanished, and I was found in my own house, and I saw Jesus no more.
All this I saw and have written, that all might believe on Jesus and no longer serve Moses' law, but believe in the signs and wonders of Christ; and believing obtain eternal life and be found in the kingdom of heaven.
For His is glory, might, praise, and majesty, world without end. Amen.
There is a certain amount of inventiveness in this: none of the picturesque detail, however, can be called antique, and several phrases betray the influence of the same workshop that produced the Letters of Herod to Pilate. The ignorance of Jewish customs which it betrays is colossal.
