Gospel  

"Even if thou wouldst deny the miracles of the New Testament, still thou canst not deny that the victory of that Evangel was in itself a miracle. A little troop of unprotected men pressed into the great Roman world, defying both its satellites and its sages, and triumphed by the Word alone. But what a Word! Dry and crumbling heathenism shook and was shattered by the words and voice of these foreign men and women, who announced a new kingdom of heaven, and feared nothing in the old world, not the claws of wild beasts, nor the wrath of wilder men, nor fire or sword — for they themselves were the fire and sword -- sword and fire, of God."--"The Gods in Exile" (1853) by Heinrich Heine

"Theologians seized on it eagerly, and sought to reconcile it as far as possible with the Gospel narrative. Some tried to prove that the Wandering Jew was Malchus, whose ear Peter cut off in the garden; others did not hesitate to maintain that he was the impenitent thief, who was receiving his punishment in this world, whilst his penitent companion was seated at the right hand of Christ in the heavenly Jerusalem ; others again supposed him to be Pilate himself. It was not until the year 1228 that a detailed account of this remarkable personage was received in Europe from a reliable authority."--Wandering Jew (Gustave Doré)