The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The nocturnal discussion with Nicodemus
- Chapter 19 -
Continuation of the discussion.
But I answered as is written in the above quoted sixth verse, namely, 'You should not be at all surprised that I speak to you in this way, for behold, what comes from the flesh is again flesh, thus dead matter or an external envelopment of life, whereas what comes from the spirit is also spirit or eternal life and truth in itself.'
2
However, Nicodemus is still unable to grasp this, He shrugs his shoulders and is increasingly astonished, not so much at the matter, but at the fact that he, as a most wise Pharisee versed in all Scripture is unable to comprehend the meaning of My words, for he thought a great deal of his own wisdom and had been promoted to the office of Chief of the Jewish Council because of his great wisdom.
3
Therefore, he was all the more astonished that in Me he had now unexpectedly found a master, who offered him very strange wisdom-nuts to crack. Since he found this quite beyond him, he asked Me again, 'Well - how is this again to be understood? Can a spirit become pregnant and give birth to one of its kind?'
4
Say I to him, 'I have already told you that you should not be so astonished when I say: You must all be born over again.
5
For behold, the wind blows where it will. You hear its sound, but you still do not know where it originally comes from. It is the same with everyone who comes from the spirit and speaks to you. You do see and hear him, but since he speaks to you in his spiritual way, you do not grasp it, nor do you understand from where he received it or what he actually says and means. But because you are an honest man of wisdom, it will be given you in due course that you can grasp and understand such things.'
6
Here Nicodemus shakes his head doubtfully and says after a while, 'Then I would like to hear from you how this is possible. for what I know and understand, I do know and understand in my flesh. Once my flesh has been taken from me, I shall hardly be able to grasp and understand anything any longer. - How, oh how do I as flesh become a spirit, and how will another spirit then absorb my spirit and this be born again? - How, oh how can this be possible at all?'
7
Say I to him, 'What? You are a wise master in Israel and cannot comprehend this?! - But if you, as a master of Scripture, cannot grasp this, what shall become of the many others who hardly know from the Scripture that there have once been an Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
8
In very truth, believe Me. We, that is I and My disciples, who have come from the spirit, are here not speaking with you purely spiritually, but quite naturally, and convey to you in natural earthly pictures what we know and have seen in the spirit, and you all cannot grasp and understand it.
9
If you are already unable to grasp such an easy thing in comprehensible words, when I talk to you in the earthly way of spiritual things which thereby become as if earthly things, I would like to know how your belief would react if I talked to you of heavenly things in a purely heavenly way.
10
I tell you: Only the spirit that is spirit in and out of itself knows what constitutes spirit and what its life. The flesh, however, is only an outer bark unaware of the spirit, except the spirit reveals itself to the cover, the bark. Your spirit is still too much dominated and covered by the flesh and, therefore, not aware of itself, but the time will come when your spirit, as I already told you, will become free. Then you will comprehend and accept our testimony.'
11
Says Nicodemus, 'Dear Master, you wisest of the wise. Oh, do tell me clearly when, oh when this so ardently awaited time will come.'
12
Thereupon I answered, saying, 'My friend, you are not yet mature enough that I may tell you the time, day and hour. Look, until the new wine has not properly fermented it remains turbid, and if you pour it into a crystal cup and hold the cup against he sun, its mighty light will be unable to penetrate through the turbidity of the new wine. It is the same also with man. Not until he has properly fermented and through this process of fermentation eliminated all impurity from his within, can the light of the heavens permeate his being. But I will now tell you something; if you do understand, you will know the time. So listen.'