The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Second day in Sychar
- Chapter 68 -
At Sychar. The Roman military deputation. Dialogue about truth between the Lord and the Roman commander. Men and human cocoons. About perfection. About following the Lord.
But now the Roman war-deputation had arrived, and their leader handed Me a written entreaty from the commander-in-chief of this fort, by which he implores Me for the sake of public weal to take no notice of what occurred, and to persuade the company not to divulge what took place, because it would bring him harm whilst benefiting no one! But, that it would benefit all more than harm them if they made the Roman commander-in-chief into a friend rather than an enemy! Jairuth too ought to keep silence and be assured of being left in peace at home. But would I in any case visit him at his residence, as he has secret and important things to discuss with Me.
2
My response to the bearer of the writing was, 'Tell your master that he shall receive in accordance with his request. But I shall nevertheless not come to his residence; but that if he wants to speak to Me about secret and important things, to await Me at the entrance to this area, and I shall tell him what that is which he wants to discuss.'
3
With this the messenger goes off with his company to convey to his master all he heard of Me, and the latter with his deputies immediately heads for the gate to this place to await Me.
4
Jairuth however asks Me whether such invitation can be trusted; because he knows this chief commander's great cunning, who is a supreme commander. This one is supposed to already have dispatched many to the other world in this way.
5
Say I, 'Dear friend, I also know him, both as he was and now is. The youths have instilled lasting respect in him and he regards them as genii, and Me as a son of their god Jupiter, and he now wants to find out how much substance there is to it. But I know what I shall tell him!'
6
Jairuth is satisfied with this, even as we arrive at the gate where the commander-in-chief and his officers are awaiting us. He immediately steps forward, greeting Me amicably, and bent on pressing his concerns forthwith.
7
But I beat him to it, saying, 'Friend! My servants are not genii, and I in no way a son of your Zeus! And now you know everything you wanted to know of Me and intended asking Me.'
8
The chief is stunned by My openly telling him at once what he had only thought, yet intimated to no one.
9
Being intrigued for a while he again asks Me, 'If you are not such, then tell me who you and your servants actually are! Because you must by all means be more than ordinary men, and it would please me to accord you the proper honours.'
10
Say I, 'Any man asking sincerely and honestly is worthy of an equal answer. You have now asked Me honestly and sincerely and shall receive a like answer, and hence hearken unto Me. For a start I am that and He standing before you, namely a man! There are of a truth many on earth who look like Me, yet they nevertheless are not men but merely human shells. But the more accomplished a true man, the more power and strength in his cognition and will, prolific in action, prolific in effects.'
11
Says the chief, 'Can every man achieve a perfection like yours?'
12
Say I, 'Indeed, if he does what I teach for his perfection!'
13
Requests the chief, 'Then let me hear your teaching and I shall try to do thus.'
14
Say I, 'The teaching I could let you have for sure, but it would serve you little, since you would not live by it. Because so long as you remain that for which you are engaged by Rome, My teaching can be of no use to you, - unless you were to leave all and follow Me, or it would be impossible for you to live according to My teaching.'
15
Says the chief, 'Yes, this would be very hard! You could nevertheless give me a few basics from your teaching!? Because I have already acquired knowledge in many a thing, being quite conversant therewith; why should I not also receive some grasp of your teaching? Maybe I could still bring it to some application!?'
16
Say I, 'My friend, since My teaching consists in following Me, without which the kingdom of My perfection cannot be entered upon, how should you be able to bring it to application?!'
17
Says the chief, 'This sounds strange indeed; yet there could be something in it! Let me think about it a little!'
18
The chief ponders for a while and says, 'Do you mean by that a physical, or basically a moral following?'
19
Jesus replies, 'The much preferred following, where possible, is of course the bodily one, coupled to the moral one; but where due to a necessary vocation a personal following is not possible, there a conscientious moral one suffices. But I Myself and love towards Me and all men must be the foundation of conscience, otherwise mere moral emulation would be spiritually dead. - Do you understand that?'
20
Says the chief, 'This is vague! But if it is so, then what am I to make of all my nice gods? My ancestors believed on them; is it right for me to remain true to the faith of such ancestors, or should I start to believe in the God of the Jews?'