THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 218 -
Importance of peace of mind.
I say, "Yes, yes, you have spoken quite correctly and perfectly well; Peace, the true, inner peace of mind is for every man the most necessary spiritual element, without which he is unable to grasp anything that is of an inner nature and great in a spiritual sense, and so I gladly grant you your wish.
2
Yet such a quietness, in which the body and its limbs are deprived of action, is not a repose but rather consists in a great inner activity of the soul that is striving to become more and more at one with its spirit which it has begun to perceive. Happy you as everybody else, if you have a longing for such a quietness. Only after regularly practicing such inner rest or rather soul-activity once a day, will you begin to feel what a great, true benefit you have gained for your life.
3
But now you may all retire to your huts, which are now improved somewhat along with this previously desert land and take a look at everything that has happened for your good. Then come back again towards evening!
4
I, however, will occupy Myself with what has been set out for Me by My Father who lives in heaven and is fully one with and in Me. But whoever wants to spend the day here with Me can do that indeed; for there is no obligation that someone should leave this place, but instead only whoever wants to, and the one as well as the other will be of great use to him. And now do whatever your will desires!"
5
At this everyone except Hiram and Epiphan rise and hurry full of curiosity into their huts to find out everything that has happened in their houses and everything that has changed. And when they reach their home, they cannot be amazed enough and wonder at the very note-worthy houses, which now take the places of their previous, most miserable huts, and at the many fruit trees, vineyards, fields and pastures, and they praise God the Father, of whom I gave them the information that He has given a person of the Earth such a power.
6
Epiphan, however, controls himself and says, "Oh Lord and Master of all masters! But I prefer nonetheless to remain here; I too, will have obtained what the others have been given through Your goodness and divine power, a benevolence for which we all and our children's children will never be in a position to thank You enough and to worship and praise You.
7
But as immeasurably great this benevolence of Yours shown to us is, it is nonetheless in no way comparable to what has become part of our souls through Your teaching. For only through that have we, as previously quite wild human animals, become actual real people. You have just shown us the correct life and taught us to know its value.
8
Before we had only love for death, but now we have a true and great love for life, which is capable of an extremely great perfection in all directions, while death remains death eternally and never can permit any gradual perfection. And exactly for that reason do I now prefer to remain with You, oh Lord and Master, so that I miss out on nothing that Your "let's say "most truly holy mouth will announce further."
9
I say, "What the others did is good; but what you are doing is better. For every word that comes from My mouth is light, truth and life; if you seal My words in your hearts and act accordingly, you will receive with the words heard already also the true, eternal life.
10
But if someone hears My words but then does not do and act accordingly, he will not gain life through My word but only judgment and death. This is not My will but only God's eternal order; yet then I cannot help him because he is meant to help himself.
11
For if food is given to a starving man and he does not eat it, but only observes it, then the giver is not to blame if the hungry man dies of starvation, but obviously the starving man himself because he did not want to eat any food. And it is just the same with he to whom I give My word as the truest bread from heaven but who simply hears it and does not want to become active accordingly. Therefore no one should be a pure listener, but instead an actor of My word, and he will be most truly filled with the bread from heaven in his soul and will never see, feel and taste death in the future, since he has become himself quite life from God. Do you grasp that?"