The Wandering Jew

The legends of the Wandering Jew are numerous and varied; but the germs out of which they have all been developed are the words of the gospel, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom" (Matt. xvi. 28; Mark ix. 1).

One of these has been conjectured to be the disciple John, of whom Christ said to Peter, on another occasion, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" and others, as Elias, Enoch, and our Jew, have been named as among the number of those who should not die until He came again. The earliest mention of the Wandering Jew is to be found in the book of the chronicles of the Abbey of St. Alban's, which was copied by Matthew Paris.

He records that in the year 1228--

"A certain archbishop of Armenia Major came on a pilgrimage to England, to see the relics of the saints, and visit the sacred places in the kingdom, as he had done in others: he also produced letters of recommendation from his Holiness the Pope, to the religious men and prelates of the churches, in which they were enjoined to receive and entertain him with due reverence and honor. On his arrival he went to St. Alban's, where he was received with all respect by the abbot and monks: at this place, being fatigued with his journey, he remained some days, to rest himself and his followers; and a conversation was commenced between him and the inhabitants of the convent, by means of their interpreters, during which he made many inquiries concerning the religion and religious observances of this country, and related many strange things concerning Eastern countries.

"In the course of conversation, he was asked whether he had ever seen or heard any thing of Joseph, a man of whom there was much talk in the world, who, when our Lord suffered, was present, and spoke to Him, and who is still alive, in evidence of the Christian faith: in reply to which, a knight in his retinue, who was his interpreter, replied, speaking in French, 'My lord well knows that man; and a little before he took his way to the Western countries, the said Joseph ate at the table of my lord the archbishop in Armenia; and he had often seen, and held converse with, him.' He was then asked about what had passed between Christ and the same Joseph, to which he replied, 'At the time of the suffering of Jesus Christ, He was seized by the Jews, and led into the hall of judgment before Pilate, the governor, that He might be judged by him on the accusation of the Jews; and Pilate, finding no cause for adjudging Him to death, said to them, "Take Him, and judge Him according to your law:" the shouts of the Jews, however, increasing, he, at their request, released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus to them to be crucified. When, therefore, the Jews were dragging Jesus forth, and had reached the door, Cartaphilus, a porter of the hall, in Pilate's service, as Jesus was going out of the door, impiously struck Him on the back with his hand, and said in mockery, "Go quicker, Jesus, go quicker: why do you loiter?" and Jesus, looking back on him with a severe countenance, said to him, "I am going, and you will wait till I return." And, according as our Lord said, this Cartaphilus is still awaiting His return. At the time of our Lord's suffering he was thirty years old, and when he attains the age of a hundred years he always returns to the same age as he was when our Lord suffered. After Christ's death, when the Catholic faith gained ground, this Cartaphilus was baptized by Ananias (who also baptized the apostle Paul), and was called Joseph. He often dwells in both divisions of Armenia, and other Eastern countries, passing his time amidst the bishops and other prelates of the Church: he is a man of holy conversation, and religious; a man of few words, and circumspect in his behavior; for he does not speak at all, unless when questioned by the bishops and religious men; and then he tells of the events of old times, and of the events which occurred at the suffering and resurrection of our Lord, and of the witnesses of the resurrection, namely, those who rose with Christ, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto men. He tells of the creed of the apostles, and of their separation and preaching. And all this he relates without smiling, or levity of conversation, as one who is well practised in sorrow and the fear of God, always looking forward with fear to the coming of Jesus Christ, lest at the last judgment he should find Him in anger, whom, when on His way to death, he had provoked to just vengeance. Numbers came to him from different parts of the world, enjoying his society and conversation; and to them, if they are men of authority, he explains all doubts on the matters on which he is questioned. He refuses all gifts that are offered to him, being content with slight food and clothing. He places his hope of salvation on the fact that he sinned through ignorance; for the Lord, when suffering, prayed for His enemies in these words: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'"

Three centuries later, 1547, the same version of the legend appeared in Germany, with only the name Cartaphilus changed to Ahasuerus. In 1575 he appeared in Spain, and was vouched for by persons in high authority. In 1599 he was seen at Vienna: in 1601 this Ahasuerus was at Lubeck, also in the same year was seen in Revel in Livonia, and in Cracow in Poland. In Moscow he was seen and spoken to by many persons. In 1604 he appeared in Paris; in 1633 he was again in Hamburg; in 1640, in Brussels; in 1642 he is reported to have visited Leipzig. On the 22d of July, 1721, he appeared at the gates of the city of Munich. Some impostors, claiming to be the mysterious Wandering Jew, appeared in England as late as 1818, 1824, 1830. But the last appearance of such a personage as seemed to have some claim upon the credulity of the people was in 1774, when he passed through Brussels into Brabant.

Gustave Dore, in his wonderful illustrations of the Wandering Jew, has, perhaps, done more than chronicler or poet to foster the belief that it is not impossible with God to preserve a living witness upon the earth of His death and resurrection until His coming again.

At any rate, it is impossible to linger over those noble woodcuts, and fail to learn something new each time: they are picture-poems, which only a master-hand, guided by a master-mind, could develop and execute.