The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the way to Bethsaida
- Chapter 124 -
The Lord asks about the Messiah.
I streched out My hand to the innkeeper and said: "Friend, such faith and such pure thoughts I did not find in the whole of Israel. That is why it will also happen that the light of the Jews will be taken away and given to the gentiles.
2
You and your neighbors are already entirely on the right way, and I came to you to increase, to you and in you, the blessings of God, and also to let you see that your faith and faithfulness were completely good, true and righteous in God's eyes. But we will leave this to rest for now, for we will continue this conversation today and tomorrow.
3
But did you not yet hear, My dear friend, that the Jews are waiting for their promised Messiah, and when He will come?"
4
The innkeeper said: "The old man in Bethsaida read many things to me about this from the prophets, and he also explained it whenever necessary. But I think that the Messiah, who will be no less than God the Lord Himself, will probably not come to the Jews that can now especially be found in Jerusalem and also in many other places. And their heart is no more attached to God but only to the treasures and the goods of this world. And even if He would come, then they would not recognize Him anyway, for He certainly will not come with worldly splendor, but in all humility, love and patience - the way of life He wants from all people in this world - and then the very haughty Jews, especially the prominent priests, who have plenty of gold and noble stones, will certainly not accept Him as the true Messiah.
5
But we already have our true Messiah in our hearts, and those who do not have Him there, will probably vainly wait for Him in their garments that are bordered with gold."
6
I said: "You are again very right, and so it is indeed. But look, there are your 3 sons coming, heavily loaded with fishes. Send a few neighbors to meet them to lighten their burden."
7
A few present neighbors heard this and ran to them at once. They soon met each other to the great joy of the whole village, and no one could understand why they caught so many fish, and they glorified and praised God for it.
8
And the innkeeper said: "See now how God has clearly blessed us. Therefore all honor goes to Him."
9
After this emotional scene they immediately took care of the fish.
10
The innkeeper was the only one in the village who possessed a spring and a small pond that formerly had been cut out in the stony ground. It received its water from the spring and served to give water to the small flocks of this village.
11
When the fishermen brought living fishes home from the lake of Galilee, they were put in the pond, but when this was not the case - especially in the summer - the fishes were immediately cut, cleansed, well salted and then directly hung above their own fireplace in which they made a little fire and let it burn for the whole night. The good thing for this village was that there was a well maintained little cypress and myrtle forest close by that provided the necessary wood for the village, and so the inhabitants could dry their fishes and also other meet in their own good manner and keep it for a longer time till they ate it.
12
But this time that work was not necessary because there was not one dead fish while the trip lasted for the whole day and the fishes had to be brought home in sacks and not in containers.
13
They all were very surprised about that, and they brought the fishes to the little pond, and they soon swam around in it cheerfully. The innkeeper held a small portion at home in order to prepare for our evening meal.
14
As the evening was becoming already quite chilly, we entered the house of the innkeeper who had a room that was sufficiently spacious for all of us.