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 221 -
Epiphan's suggestions to avoid the death of the Lord.
1
(The Lord) "Oh friend, I tell you this: If it were possible to push the cup of suffering to the side, it would also immediately happen; but such a thing is unfortunately impossible, and thus let's leave it now! You now know that such a thing will happen and also why, and nothing else is necessary indeed. But when I have risen again, only then will I Myself baptize you all with the Holy Spirit from Me, and it will then lead you all in all wisdom and power, and you will then, if you remain in My religion, be able to do everything as My true children that I can now do. And now tell Me again how you like this proposal and this promise!"
2
Epiphan says, "According to what we and all good people have to expect from Your words, it of course pleases me very well; but what You, oh Lord and Master, have to expect from the incorrigible foolishness and evil according to Your words, that does not please me at all! But if it is not possible in any other way once and for all, then let it happen all the same according to Your will!
3
It is now only too clear to me that You will not die in Your true, inner being; for who should awaken You from the death of the body apart from You Yourself with the power of God that is in You?! This is thus indestructible; what is the importance then of the death of a body which You can awake again whenever You want?! But this great suffering connected obviously with the killing of Your body is nonetheless not very pleasant for me!"
4
But You are the Lord, full of the highest wisdom, power and love, and You know best what to advise and how to help, and so everything will happen all the same only according to Your advanced advice and will, as it is also Your will that we people on this Earth have to bear often a burning hot summer and an ice-cold winter, which is not something pleasant and at the end of this earthly life often a very painful, bitter death, and we cannot change anything about it, since that is Your will. And so I believe that it is also Your will even less as far as Your very highest being is concerned, to change anything about us weak worms of the Earth! And so let it be and happen as You want!
5
But what the likes of us could do nonetheless to prevent You suffering as You have just told me in advance would be that for example I, Aziona and Hiram could go to Jerusalem to the Templers and would as eloquent Gentiles teach the obscurants to know better about You with very chosen words, and they would certainly set aside their anger towards You; and if this happened, You could in this way indeed push aside the mentioned cup of suffering."
6
I say, "Yes, My friend, there is nothing else for Me to do but to alone accept your good will for the work; for you see, as little as you are capable of bending an old cedar, just as little will such a great Pharisee or even a high priest accept any teaching from you! But what he will do, I can tell you quite exactly:
7
He would listen to you obligingly and with the kindliest face and greatest friendliness encourage you to tell him every minute detail about Me. He would even oppose you by raising minor objections and seeming doubts, - but only for the purpose of making you more talkative, and as soon as he would see that this was all the information obtainable he would present a different face to you. At a secret sign masked men in great number would appear and apprehend you, and you would hardly ever see the light of day again. Such a high priest would then, combined with Herod, promptly dispatch a whole army, promise great rewards for My capture and on My account persecute the whole Jewish population all over Galilee, wherever I had been received with My disciples.
8
You see, that would truly not be what we all could see as desirable! That you can see, and it is thus better so: one effectively for all, than all for one without effect! Do you now see that?"
9
Epiphan says, "Yes, Lord, now everything is very clear to me! But now the food is prepared and we want to break off from this and then fill the time with something else!"
10
I say, "Yes, that is good too; but go over and wake My disciples from sleep!"