He had many names: Bottadio, Cartafilus, Budedeo, Isaac Lacedem. However, Ahasuerus was established - by this name we know the person who once struck Christ and was punished for this by Jesus with eternal life.
The Legend of Agasfera
“The road to Calvary was long and hard. Sweat and blood flowing from under the crown of thorns flooded his face. A heavy cross pressed on the shoulders. The Pharisees were walking around, shouting insults and spitting at him. Jesus stopped at a house and leaned his hand against the wall. “Nothing, nothing! Go where you were going! - The owner of the house pushed Christ away from the wall and, amid laughter from those around him, hit him in the back with a shoe stock. “Okay, - Christ unclenched his parched lips, - I will go, but you will wait for my return.”
And since then, the Jerusalem shoemaker has wandered around the world, he has neither family nor home. And everywhere he is pursued by the story of a fool who drove an unfortunate man from his home. And wherever he comes, everywhere he asks, has anyone seen a man with the Cross? After all, only the second coming of Christ will save him from physical and moral torment."
This is the legend of the eternal wanderer Ahasfera, known since ancient times, although you will not find a mention of it in any New Testament text. This oral tradition would have long been forgotten, erased from memory, if from time to time in different parts of Europe the eternal wanderer, the Eternal Jew Agasfer, did not appear, leaving numerous evidences of his existence.
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Punished with eternal life
The first written mention of Agasfera we find in the work of John Moshas "Leimonarion" (VI century AD). Among others in this collection of stories there is a story about a meeting of a certain monk with a beggar Ethiopian, who claimed that he was the one who once struck Christ.
In 1228, the Archbishop of Armenia, who visited England, spoke of a meeting with a certain Joseph. He claimed that he saw Christ, talked with him and drove him away from his home, for which he was punished with eternal wanderings. Joseph said that at the time of his misdemeanor he was 30 years old and since then he has not been able to die. Every time he reaches the age of 100, he experiences terrible torment that lasts for several days. At the end of them, he becomes 30 again. The story of the Bishop of Armenia remained on the pages of the "Big Chronicle" Matthew of Paris (1230).
In 1242, this man appeared in France, in 1505 in Bohemia, there is evidence that later he was seen in the Arab East, and in 1547 Agasfer appeared in Hamburg, where Pul von Eitzen met him, who later became the doctor of theology, Bishop of Schleswig and leaving memories of the meeting.
From the notes of Paul von Eitzen
“Once, while preaching, I noticed a tall man in shabby clothes and with long hair. He looked about 50 years old. After the sermon, I went up to him and asked who he was and where he came from. The stranger introduced himself as a Jew from Jerusalem, thereby preventing Jesus from resting at his home when he went to execution. Hagasfer said that he followed Christ and saw the death of the Son of God. Over the centuries of wandering, the unfortunate man, through rage, despair and anger, passed to the realization of his guilt.
Now he is waiting for the second coming of the Savior in the hope that he will forgive him, because he committed his sin out of ignorance. Then Ahasfer, like many of his fellow tribesmen, considered Christ a false prophet, worthy of execution and considered the terrible sentence to be just.
I tried to inquire about this man, and found out that he behaves modestly, is moderate in food and drink, never laughs, speaks little, has no property, keeps only a little of his gifts, and distributes everything else to the poor."
The subsequent wanderings of Ahasuerus
With the advent of typography, there is much more evidence of the eternal wanderer. During the XVI-XVII centuries, Agasfer was noted in Madrid, Vienna, Lubeck, Paris, Hamburg, Brussels, Leipzig. Chroniclers, burgomasters, papal legates, bishops, who left notes about it, talked with him. In 1658, he ended up in England, where Oxford professors, trying to expose a swindler in him, gave the wanderer a kind of exam. Agasfer, who had traveled all over the earth for many years, struck them with his knowledge of ancient history, geography and the ability to communicate freely in all languages known to professors.
In the 19th century, Agasfer mostly "toured" the Scandinavian Peninsula - most of the reports of meetings with him are in Denmark and Sweden. All witnesses described Ahasfera as a tall and stooped man with long hair in rags or shabby clothes, noted his knowledge of many languages and absolute indifference to earthly goods.
But in the XX century, Ahasfer disappeared. Either people became callous and ceased to be interested in a tramp in rags, or he himself did not want it, because it is known that Ahasuerus never spoke first, but only answered questions. It is possible that the eternal wanderer did not disappear, but still wanders around in dreams and intensely looks out for a person carrying a cross.
Klim Podkova