The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
In Cana in the valley
- Chapter 228 -
Jairus and the physicians at his daughter Sarah's death bed. Borus of Nazareth tells him the truth. The Pharisees' threat. Borus' retort and blunt question to Jairus.
Having climbed the considerable hill that rose above the bay, at whose foot the aforementioned inn was built and across which the main road to Jerusalem led, we saw from a great distance how the Capernaumian ship was battling the waves and as the wind began to trouble it more, it raised its rudders and let itself be driven in a straight line for Capernaum.
2
It speaks for itself what face Jairus would have cut, on receiving My communication from the messengers he dispatched to Me.
3
Jairus immediately had all the physicians from the surrounds called in, including the Nazarene one; for the latter stood in good repute as also a disciple of Mine, with miraculous healing capacity, by having actually cured even the seriously ill instantly by the mere laying on of hands.
4
But when same arrived at Capernaum and looked at the sick daughter, he shrugged his shoulders, saying to all the physicians surrounding the sick bed, 'Only He Who created her can help her! Behold, the girl at some feast had consumed some cold drink and contracting a lung disease (pneumonia?); her time will be and has to be up, in another seven days at the most. We cannot create a new lung for her, and hence cannot help her for all the world.'
5
Says Jairus, 'What do you think? Could the divinely renown Jesus, who once already awakened this my daughter from real death and who awakened also the centurion Cornelius' daughter from death, where my daughter contracted the disease a few days ago, not heal her either?'
6
Says the Nazarene physician, 'Oh yes, He indeed, if He wanted to. But you have already dispatched messengers there, I think to Kis, where He is now staying, mainly at Jonah's; but He has quite rightly given you a negative answer, only following which we have been summoned here, and we can achieve nothing more.'
7
Says Jairus, 'But I had begged Him in all civility and He as the One Who preached only love, and how one should do good even to one's enemies, answers my dispatched messengers like that?'
8
Says the Nazarene doctor, 'None other than you all deserve, who call yourselves servants of the Most High. Tell me, what kind of person could still be your friend after such behavior on your part? Verily, God Himself could not bestow greater favours on you than this purely divine Jesus has done upon you in fullest measure. But how did you return His favour? You persecuted Him like a most hideous criminal, and had you been able to apprehend Him, you would have already killed Him long since, but because God's hand obviously protected Him, you still did everything evil you could do to Him.
9
What did His poor, exceedingly pious and God-fearing mother Mary do to you, that you had to take her tiny house and the two little gardens from her, and then drive her away, together with Joseph's children, publicly disgracing her as if she were a common criminal?
10
Why, I ask, have you done this?'
11
Says Jairus, 'Because he casts suspicion on us, and denigrated the priests and God's Temple. This surely is cause enough?'
12
Says the Nazarene doctor, by the name of Borus, who was born a Greek, 'Ah, hince ergo illae lacrimae?! (Whence his tears?). Hearken, as You all know, I am a Greek by birth, and therefore have nothing to do with your theology, although I am not ignorant of it. Far be it from me to belittle your Moses and your prophets, who were mistreated by your forebears one and all; for their teaching and admonitions were no different from those my most sincere friend Jesus has dressed you down with, and are therefore full of truth and of God's spirit.
13
Alongside that, look at your current theology and your most miserable Temple regulations, beyond all lambasting, together with the commendable Temple set up itself, and you shall yourselves have to exclaim; Quam mutatus ab illo! (What a difference)
14
Just read the prophet Isaiah with unshakable faith, according to which Jehovah, Moses and the prophets of a truth should appear as considerably more than a welcome fable for your selfish and hedonistic aims, and you shall step back with a shudder at the sheer heinousness with which you carry on upon the holy precincts.
15
If, now, the godly Jesus upbraids you in the manner of Isaiah on account of your monumental transgressions, desiring as a true friend to lead you back to the God from Whom you have distanced yourselves beyond all measure: question: does He earn such treatment from you?
16
Verily! Were I imbued with His truly godly - I should say omnipotence - then we should have been squared off a long time hence, just as the ten ships are now squared off upon the cliffs of Sibarah, which you had launched out after Him and His most harmless disciples from sheer altruism. Probably, on this occasion for once, He ran out of even His godly patience.
17
I repeat: If imbued with His factual omnipotence, I should have a long time since emptied the entire sea of Galilee over you, to drown you like mice and rats!'
18
Over this Borus' forthright address, several of the attending Pharisees were infuriated, saying to him, 'Bridle your loose Greek tongue. For this you were not summoned here from Nazareth. Fear us, for we have plenty of power to ruin you.'
19
Says Borus, 'Oh, this I believe you with all my heart, for your notorious philanthropy attests that to me. But there happens to be a big 'but', in consequence of which Borus the Nazarene does not fear you in the least.
20
Borus is certainly not omnipotent like a godly Jesus; yet he possesses sufficient secret power to ruin you all in a moment, without being, as a physician, accountable to anyone. Have you understood me? Jesus however is a God, and I only human, whence also He has more patience than I. But let you not take it much further, or my patience runs out.'
21
Here Borus pulls out a tiny bottle from his pocket, showing it to the vitriolic Pharisees, with telling words, 'Behold, this weapon has more power than ten legions; I know how to protect my own person, but upon opening it, you are all dead instantly. And behold, over this tiny bottle too, the big portent 'but' is written. If you want to have a go at me, we shall be square soon.'
22
The Pharisees take terrible fright at the sight of this deadly little bottle which contained exceedingly noxious and rapidly spreading poison fumes, instantly numbing and killing whosoever's nostrils it reached.
23
This poison however was an extract which subsequently suffered extinction; it had been extracted from a shrub that occurs sporadically in the remote parts of India, destroying all life within a wide radius of its growth. The Pharisees know of this, making them mute with fear, and Jairus asks Borus to pocket the bottle.
24
Borus does so indeed, but says to Jairus, 'Friend, how can one let a Jesus, Who did you an unheard of favour, be so shamefully persecuted? Tell me, do you actually not realise that He is right in every one of His holy Words, or do you in all earnest intend not to see this?'