The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in the region of Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 11 -
The objections of the captain against the divinity of the Lord.
Then the captain went to sit down on his chair again and asked his 2 subordinates in the Roman language for their opinion about Me, this after all the things they had heard.
2
One of them said: "It is difficult for us to form an opinion about this. We experienced the extraordinary power of His will up there in the air, and we need no other proof that there is divine power in this Man, otherwise He certainly could not have lifted us up in the air and keep us there without any visible means. However, we all lost our faith in an almighty divine Being too much, because our gods seem to be entirely insignificant for the sense organs and for the reason of every thinking man, and now we suddenly meet a real God in the form of a man and do not know what to think of Him now. I think that this cannot be understood in one time.
3
However, we heard already many things in Bethlehem and also near Jerusalem about this Man, and we thought that He either could be a God Himself or else a rare great magician, like they originate for instance from the school of the Essenes. But what we ourselves experienced here now goes much further than our previous speculations. All magic ends here, and instead of that, there is an unmistakable divine power and almightiness.
4
Together with that, there is firstly that trustworthy story of His mother, how He bodily came into this world, and about His life, and that He never had to learn anything in some school because He already came into this world equipped with the highest wisdom. And secondly, what He claimed about Himself now. And I myself cannot help it but to consider Him in full earnest as how He represented Himself to us, even if it is for us Romans in an inconceivable manner, and also what the man, with whom you just spoke, testified about Him. This is my opinion, and I think that I am not mistaken."
5
The captain said: "I do not want to say that you are wrong in general, but in the background I still have some important objections. If that Man can solve these, then I will also share your opinion and remain with it."
6
Then the captain turned again to Me and said: "Great Lord and Master, I am now almost at the point to accept You as these who are Yours have accepted You, but I still have some considerable objections. Once these are solved then also I will be won.
7
These objections of mine are the following: thus in You lives the fullness of an only true God? If that is so, then why did You let all those numberless people wait so long for You?
8
You say that only those who are Yours, who believe in You, love You and keep Your commandments will receive the eternal life in Your Kingdom of God. If that is so, and if everything that exists is created by the power of Your eternal word, just like all men who unfortunately lived at any time without having known You - which could not be their fault - then what will happen with those people who never could have known You? What will happen to the eternal life of their soul in Your Kingdom of God? For they could not have believed in You, could not have loved You, neither could they have kept Your commandments, because they were not able to know anything about You.
9
Look, these are my well founded objections. Please solve these for me, then I also will firmly believe in You, love You more than one of those who are Yours and keep Your commandments, for I am a true Roman and not a Greek whose loyalty is not firm. But I also am someone who will not so easily accept and believe something which is not indisputably proved as a diamond-hard truth. Thus, solve my doubts."