THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Capernaum. Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 17
- Chapter 242 -
The Lord talks about His imminent suffering.
When we had come to the end of our journey through northern Galilee, the disciples asked Me and said, "Lord, we have now moved around upper Galilee for a few moons from place to place and almost from house to house, and have preached Your teaching, and many have accepted it with much love and faith and have thus converted from paganism to Judaism. We are now almost finished with Galilee; what should or will we do now? Should we move to Judea, Iturea, Trachonitis or to Palestine, which are so hostile to You and to us?"
2
I said, "If you teach the people My word, your speech is good and wise; but when you say such things and the most foolish things of the world to Me, then you are just like quite ordinary people and think and speak like they do! When My time of My suffering predicted already many times to you all comes, it will be there without fail; but as long as it is not, we can go to Jerusalem and Bethlehem a hundred times and no one will lay a hand on us! Have you understood Me?"
3
Peter said, "Yes, Lord; for You have now spoken again very clearly! But now tell us for once very exactly what Your suffering will consist of!"
4
I said, I told you all already with the old Roman, Mark, and again among the poor fishermen and also even earlier, when we went to Caesarea, what will happen to Me in a few years from now in Jerusalem. Why do you ask then again? Yes, you have a great fear of it, and so you ask for the sake of your fear; but so that your soul get used to it, I will tell you all once again:
5
In that future time it will happen that I, but only as a son of man, am going to be delivered into the hands of man. (Matt. 17:22) They will indeed kill in Me what is of the son of man; but on the third day the killed son of man will "let's say "rise again with skin and hair and go forth from the grave more living than now as an eternal victor over death and hell, and you will have Me again in your midst as now. (Matt. 17:23) But no hair on your heads will be harmed! Understand once and for all how things will be!"
6
Everyone said, "Yes, Lord, from now on we understand it and see also more or less, and it seems to us as if we heard words saying in us: One must first even have a mortal body if one can open the eyes of the very mortal, blind and evil people to life in the fullest way."
7
And I said in addition, "Amen, so is it; for whoever is not spiritually alive through and through himself, cannot secure the full eternal life of another one! But I came to this world in order to do that in word and deed, and so this must also happen. For also My body is now still as mortal as yours; but it will become immortal, and henceforth I shall be able to fully secure eternal life in its fullness for you." Have you understood that now?"
8
Now the disciples understood better and became calmer.