THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Beyond the Jordan at the Sea of Galilee. Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 19
- Chapter 253 -
The healing of the blind-born youth and other sick people.
Hardly had Peter said this than immediately a respected innkeeper came to him and said, "Turn to my house; for I have indeed the largest accommodation in the whole village and I am not an expensive host, although I am a Greek! You are Jews to all appearances, but that does not matter at all; for several Pharisees from Jerusalem have also been living here for a number of days already who are collecting the tithe from the Jews."
2
Peter said, "That is not really very pleasant for us! In any case it depends purely on our Master; whatever He wants will happen!"
3
The host said, "Who of you is then the Master, that I can go to him and talk to him myself?"
4
Peter pointed to Me and said, "This is He!"
5
Then the innkeeper came up to Me with a deep bow and said, "Do you want to take up accommodation with your people with me? My house is large and very spacious and has many chambers; in addition I am one of the very cheapest innkeepers in the whole, not insignificant village."
6
I said, "You are indeed "but we have nothing to pay you with; therefore we will prefer to spend this night on our ship! In addition you have sick people in the house and also a doctor who cannot help your sick, although you have had him come from Jerusalem and he costs you much money. And look, as one says, it is not good to take accommodation in a house which is beset with all sorts of evil diseases!"
7
When the host heard this from Me, he was positively shocked and asked Me very amazed how I could know that as a stranger in this place.
8
I said, "I could tell you many other things too which would make you even more hostile; but now nothing further about it!"
9
Here the innkeeper became very embarrassed and began to beg Me to nonetheless stay with him for the sun had already reached the horizon and the evening was waiting at the door.
10
At this I said, "Then go and bring Me your blind son and we will see if I will be able to heal him!"
11
At this the innkeeper quickly left the bank, hurried home and brought the fourteen-year old totally blind son, placed him before Me and said, "Here, dear friend, is my blind son! He was born as blind as he now stands before you. All doctors and conjurors have already tried their craft on him; but everything was completely in vain! Now, as you have already noticed, a positive miracle doctor from Jerusalem is with me in the house; but he can also do as much as the previous ones! Now it depends on you, dear friend! Truly, if you heal him, half my fortune belongs to you!"
12
Then I said, "If you can believe that I can make this blind son of yours see, then he will see!"
13
And the innkeeper looked at Me steadily and said, "Yes, friend, I can believe you! There is something so decided in your eyes that they tell me: Through your mouth has never come a false word! And so I believe now firmly that you will heal my son."
14
I said, "The other doctors have their ointments and the magicians have their magic wands "but I have neither an ointment nor even less any magic wand; My will is everything and so I now will that your son shall immediately see!"
15
When I had said such a thing, the blind instantly became perfectly seeing and cried out loudly in joy, since he now saw the people, the sea, the area and everything that was there.
16
But the innkeeper came right up to Me and said, "Oh, you great and truest savior, how should I now thank you enough for such truest mercy from you? For truly, whoever can do what you can, can alone spread mercy; for what use are a thousand mercies and benevolent deeds to a blind man on the part of the great authorities of this Earth if they cannot give him the light for the eyes with all their other power and goodness!? But you have given him the light for the eyes with some inner power which is quite incomprehensible for me and thereby shown me and my dearest son an unspeakably great mercy. But as reward for that, what I previously promised you is much too little! Oh, just say what I now owe you, and I will fulfill your desire with all love and joy!"
17
I said, "Today give us accommodation, do good to the poor and thus make good again what you have often done badly to them!"
18
The innkeeper promised to observe everything most strictly and to do and asked Me most fervently to follow him into his house. And I and the disciples and also the two deck hands of Peter's went now with the innkeeper, and all the people who had been witness to the healing of the blind boy followed us on foot.
19
But on the way many of the people cried out, "Oh, you truest savior, heal our sick too, of whom we have many! For behold, whoever becomes sick among us never again becomes healthy; he is deteriorating in health very slowly to the grave! This is the very evil character of this otherwise beautiful area. Oh, you dear savior, show us poor people also such a mercy of healing, as you have shown to the blind son of the innkeeper! Your will be done!"
20
And I said, "Now good then, thus let it be according to your desires and faith! But now go to your sick and convince yourselves whether there is any sick person left in your houses and camps!" (Matt. 19:2)
21
At these words of Mine all but few who had no sick, hurried away to find out at home whether their sick had truly been healed. When they arrived at their houses, already almost evening, they found no sick, but instead everyone, whatever sickness and illness they had had, were so healed as if they had never suffered from any sickness.
22
The sick however did not know what had happened, that they all at once had become healthy, and immediately asked after the cause of such an unheard-of event. Then their family told them about Me, and how I had made the blind son of the rich innkeeper see on the bank of the sea, and how now also surely all other sick of the innkeeper had been made healthy.
23
When the healed had heard this, they hurried out of the houses and came in front of the innkeeper's house. Then they demanded in request to see Me and to give Me their thanks.
24
Then I went among them and said to them, "Go home now and sin no more; for if you fall back again to your sinful ways, you will thereby also fall back into your old sickness! Keep the commandments that Moses gave you and you will remain far from all evil."
25
At this I let them all go and our innkeeper, who was now extremely cheerful and joyful, since all his other sick had also been healed, did not know at all what he should do for us for the benevolence we had shown him.