On John 4:
She
said, “You surely are a holy prophet.
but our forefathers ordered long ago
that worship must occur upon this mount.
you state the need to pray in Jerusalem.”
Jesus at once replied to what she said:
“The time will come when reverence will be far
from your high peak and all Jerusalem.
Now true salvation will rise from Jewish lands;
and now the course of time is charging fast
when, armed with righteous laws, true worshippers
pray to the Holy Father, free of sin.
They will possess the Spirit and full faith;
the Father seeks such worshippers on earth.” (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus,
Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor 2.278-290, in Juvencus’ Four Books of the
Gospels: Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London:
Routledge, 2016], 60-61)
On Matt 16:13-19:
After
they skimmed the surface of the deep
and came to famous lands that Philip’s name
made glorious, Christ gathered his disciples
and asked who common talk supposed he was.
they answered that the crowds said many things:
they often heard and many men affirmed,
he was good John who cleansed crowds in the stream.
And some relayed the words of swift-winged rumor--
Elijah had returned, whom raging flames
in chariot form had placed among the stars
on its fast course through the celestial gyre.
Others said Jeremiah had appeared.
Then Christ, while smiling gently to them all,
searched his disciples to find what they thought
Firm Peter said, “You are the Son of God,
Christ—you who will the world with wondrous light.”
The Lord replied the way to steadfast Peter:
“Blessed are you, my Peter, mortal blood
and flesh that is a part of earth cannot
ever reveal such things. The father’s gift
alone can grant such firm resolve to faith.
With due strength, you uphold the name of Peter.
Upon this solid rock, I will set my house
that, with eternal walls, will always last.
the house will have a bolt of ceaseless strength,
invulnerable to the infernal gates.
I will leave you the keys of the high kingdom.
What by your judgment you leave bound on earth
in heaven will stay knotted; just the same,
what your decision loosens here on earth
will equally be loosed in heaven’s realm. (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus,
Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor 3.257-287, in Juvencus’ Four Books of the
Gospels: Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London:
Routledge, 2016], 80-81)
On Peter being called “Satan”:
Christ
answered, “Fly far, demon, far from here! (ELQ 3.300, in ibid., 81)
This shows that Peter being
called “Satan” was not simply understood as one who opposes merely, but Jesus
was referencing the Satan, if you will. For more, see:
On Matt 22 and Jesus’ response
concerning the 7 brothers:
To
them Christ said, “Obeying deviant error,
your hard souls flout the Lord’s commands and laws.
The second restoration of blessed life
does not know marriage or the world’s vain joys;
majestic strength will place them in the halls
of heaven, like the angels, light as air.
God wants to be the Lord, not the ones
who have deserved to die in gloomy death,
but of those who can receive the light of life. (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus
Juvencus, Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor 4.29-37, in Juvencus’ Four Books of
the Gospels: Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London:
Routledge, 2016], 93-94)
On Matt 23 and those who sit on
the Seat of Moses:
Then
summoning a faithful crowed, he spoke:
“Behold the haughty scribes on their high seats.
It is right that you receive and heed the things
they teach, yet scorn the sin within their lives.
they place upon your shoulders a massive weight
but do not want to even lift a finger. (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus, Evangeliorum
Libri Quattuor 4.52-57, in Juvencus’ Four Books of the Gospels: Evangeliorum
Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London: Routledge, 2016], 94)
The Institution of the Eucharist:
Passover
had arrived at break of day.
The disciples asked him where he wished to feast;
he had them call a certain unnamed man
to get his final orders from his lord.
When evening came, the Master prophesied
to the twelve disciples who reclined with him:
“See—time now closes fast when one of you
sinfully plots to hand Christ to his death.”
At once, they ask who drew the wicked poison
into his maddened heart for such a deed.
He said, “He eats with me now at this feast.
The Son of Man will in due time endure
his fated torture. Ever wretched will
he be who gives the just one up; much better
his fate had he not reached life’s light on earth!”
Gravely afflicted in his guilty mind,
Judas said, “Surely I raise no suspicion.”
The Lord replied, “I see that you say so.”
His words complete, he broke and passed out bread,
and after praying solemnly, he taught
his disciples that with it they ate his body.
The Lord then took a cup, filled it with wine,
and hallowed it with thanks; he served the drink
and taught that he had portioned out his blood.
He said, “This blood redeems the people’s sins;
drink this of mine. Believe my truthful words:
never will I taste liquid of the vine
until my Father’s kingdom lets me rise
to new wine through the gift of better life.” (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus
Juvencus, Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor 4.428-456, in Juvencus’ Four Books of
the Gospels: Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London:
Routledge, 2016], 103-4)
John 2 and the Wedding at Cana:
And
now in Cana, a wedding was prepared;
the mother of illustrious Jesus came
there with her son to celebrate the feast.
But during the event, the wine ran out.
Christ’s mother then appealed to him this way:
“Do you see that the joyous drink is gone?
My son, bless these good tables with your gifts.”
Christ, glory of the world, replied to her,
“Mother, too soon: not yet does time drive me
to grant such gifts for mankind’s sustenance.”
At this, his joyful mother called the servants
and told them to obey her son’s commands.
There were six lovely jars of hollowed stone,
each thirty gallons in capacity.
Christ gave the word to fill them from a spring.
They did as told and crowned the jars with water.
A frothy foam of water mixed with air
then spread across the rims. He ordered them
to give a state of it to the head servant.
Supping the hallowed gift, but unaware
that water freshly drawn from the clear spring
had turned to pleasing wine, he sharply blamed
the unwitting groom for serving lesser stuff
to all the guests while holding back the good.
And with these signs, Christ made the faith of his
disciples—due believers—strong and firm. (Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus,
Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor, 2.127-152, in Juvencus’ Four Books of the
Gospels: Evangeliorum Libri Quattuor [trans. Scott McGill; London:
Routledge, 2016], 57)
