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 268 -
The healing of the man who was bitten by a venomous snake. The miracle wine.
But when we were in front of the unfortunate neighbor, his wife and children came out and asked us for help.
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But I said, "Just go inside to him; for I have already helped him!"
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Then the wife and children hurried in to their father who already came towards them quite healthily. He had made his way barefoot through some bush land beforehand and had been bitten by an evil adder, immediately swelled up very much and was in danger of losing his life. But I came and healed him.
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But when he came out to thank Me, I said, "A second time do not forget your shoes if you have something to do in the shrubs! But from now on no such adders shall crawl in this area! Amen."
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Then we went home, where the midday meal was waiting for us along with the disciples. The midday meal was this time very richly prepared, only the wine looked somewhat sparse; therefore the host asked Me whether he should bring out the forest fruit juice again.
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But I said to him, "Do today just like last night, and we will also have no lack of wine!"
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Then he had the several great jugs filled with water and I willed it "and it became wine.
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But since this time some neighbors had been invited to Barnabe' table and were taking the midday meal with us, a neighbor remarked on this, saying, "I believe that the forest wine, which is very good and powerful with you, would be better for such rare guests than pure water!"
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The host said, "But, dear neighbor, I know that as well as any of you; but I also know that you all have been discussing with the disciples since the morning, certainly also who this Master of all masters is actually, and that nothing is impossible for Him! And so you must all have learnt how He not only here yesterday evening but also in several other places in Galilee has changed the water into the very best wine simply through His blessed will and then the astonished guests got always the very best wine to drink. At least to me one of the disciples trusted yesterday secretly how their Lord and Master has often done the same thing before, and I now know about it. Did the disciples not tell you anything about it?"
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The neighbor who was somewhat worried about the wine said, "Yes, the disciples have indeed told us several things about it; but exactly because we know only too well who this Lord and Master is, so we as sinners did not dare to speak to the holy Jehovah about it; but we are now already completely convinced of it, that the water brought"let's say "has been transformed into the best wine. Therefore this time consider that my somewhat too precocious concern about the forest wine was meant well this time!"
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The innkeeper said, "Everything is good again; eat and drink now according to your hunger and thirst!"
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At this we ate and drank very cheerfully and at this meal much was spoken about various good things, as had been the case in other places as well at such occasions.
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But when we sat at the table for about two hours, a somewhat more distant neighbor came, who had not yet learnt anything about My presence, with a very desperate expression into the house of the representative and said, "Barnabe, Barnabe, we are as good as lost! How it happened I do not know; but it is actually true: Our only and most necessary path to Nahim no longer exists! We come to a type of walled parapet; over it we see a great drop which frightens everyone! Only a bird can get across it, but it is no longer possible for a person! But I do not know any other way, since this range has nothing but extremely steep cliffs in all directions. What will we do now if we need salt? My advice has run out and yours will too; what then? Who could have done that to us?"
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The innkeeper said, "Do not be so worried about it! If you also have not found a better way, there are nonetheless other people here who know a much more comfortable path, and we will also walk along it in future. For you see here foreign guests with me; they are very wonderful people, they know already about a better path and will show it to us. But we will from now on not have to travel too often since the Master, this great Master of all Masters of the world, will show us in these mountains of ours an even better salt will than what is in Nahim. But now sit down here and eat and drink with us!"
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The neighbor did not need to be told twice, immediately sat down at the table and ate and drank with us and could not wonder enough at the good wine; he asked the innkeeper where he had got the wine from.
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But the innkeeper said, "Look over there! The Master of masters, who is sitting there with us at the table, and He, as you can see, has also healed my daughter Elisa simply through His all-powerful word in an instant, as you see her sitting here at my side, has also created this now most magnificent wine from water and will certainly make sure in the same way that we will have our own salt. Tell me now whether you are still worried about it, because this true Lord and Master has purely through His all-powerful word closed the always very dangerous path for all time and at the same time showed us a hidden and comfortable one, on which we can even lead our necessary domestic animals up and down without danger! Do you agree with this?"
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The far neighbor said, "Yes, if that is so, as I now do not doubt in the least, then it is certainly very good for us; for I was in a great fear for a long time that the people of Nahim would in the end destroy us and reveal us to the Romans or the Jerusalem Jews, which would not give us any luck. But we can still enjoy the blessings of this rare mountain valley, without having to give the rude extravagant people a tribute of it. But now I would like to learn something more about this extraordinary miracle worker! Be so good and tell me something!"
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The innkeeper said, "Just leave that be! This divine Master will spend a longer time in our midst with His disciples and then there will be enough time to be able to make His closer acquaintance!"