(3) Jesus said unto his disciples: "Rejoice and exult, for your sins are forgiven and your iniquities blotted out, and ye are reckoned with the kingdom of my father." And when he said this, the disciples rejoiced in great joy.

(8) It came to pass then thereafter that Jesus gave command: "Let all the powers of the Left go to their regions." And Jesus with his disciples remained on the Mount of Galilee. The disciples continued and besought him: "For how long then hast thou not let our sins which we have committed, and our iniquities be forgiven and made us worthy of the kingdom of thy father? And Jesus said unto them: "Amēn, I say

(9) unto you: Not only will I purify your sins, but I will make you worthy of the kingdom of my father. And I will give you the mystery of the forgiveness of sins, in order that to him whom ye shall forgive on earth, it will be forgiven in heaven, and he whom ye shall bind on earth, will be bound in heaven. I will give you the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, in order that ye your-selves may perform them [ sc. the mysteries] for men."

(2) When then the Saviour had said this unto his disciples, he said unto them: "Understand ye in what manner I speak with you?" The Saviour answered and said unto Mary in the midst of the disciples: "If to-day a king who is a man of the world, giveth a gift to men of his like, and also forgiveth murderers and those who have intercourse with males, and the rest of the very grievous sins which are deserving of death,--if it becometh him who is a man of the world, to have done this, much more then have the Ineffable and the First Mystery, who are the lords of the universe, the authority to act in all things as it pleaseth them, that they forgive every one who shall receive mysteries. "Or if on the other hand a king to-day investeth a soldier with a royal vesture and sendeth him into foreign regions, and he committeth murders and other grievous sins which are deserving of death, then they will not impute them to him, and are not able to do him any evil because he is invested with the royal vesture,--how much more then those who wear the mysteries of the vestures of the Ineffable and those of the First Mystery, who are lords over all those of the height and all those of the depth!"

(3) "The mystery of the raising of the dead and of the healing of the sick, on the other hand, give unto no one nor give instruction in it, for that mystery belongeth to the rulers, it and all its namings. For this cause, therefore, give it unto no one, nor give instruction in it until ye establish the faith in the whole world, in order that, if ye come into cities or into countries, and they do not receive you unto themselves, and do not have faith, and do not hearken unto your words, ye may raise the dead in those regions and heal the lame and the blind and manifold of sicknesses in those regions. And through all such they will have faith in you, that ye herald the God of the universe, and will have faith in all the words of you. For this cause, therefore, have I given unto you that mystery, until ye establish the faith in the whole world." When then the Saviour had said this, he continued again in the discourse and said unto Mary: "Now, therefore, hearken, Mary, concerning the word on which thou hast questioned me: Who constraineth the man until he sinneth? Now, therefore, hearken: