The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in the mountain town of Pella
- Chapter 45 -
The objections of the subofficer.
A subofficer, who was also an educated Roman, said after some deep reflection: "Lord and Master, although I can see the truth of the wise advice that You have given us, but I still would like to make a small objection.
2
If at the spreading of Your teaching we cannot make a sensation of Your signs and deeds that can only be done by a God, then You are in the eyes of the usually natural thinking man a very wise teacher of the people who draws out of the best intelligent basics and gives the best teaching to his fellowmen, but by that You still will not be a God. For with all the nations that we know, especially those from ancient times, there have been wise teachers who instructed men in all kinds of useful things and who also educated them in the perception of a God, which became however very distorted in the course of time.
3
Those teachers were for their office surely also instructed by Your Spirit, but by that they were not directly You Yourself. And so it was quite possible that their teachings were not considered as a living word of God but were only seen as a wise human word that came from the experience and attentive observation of nature and its changing phenomena of many men in many ages, which was used in various ways in practical life for the benefit of men.
4
The miner learned about the metals and how to work with them, the farmer grew grain on the fields, the gardener pruned the fruit trees, the grapevines and still other fruits and medicinal herbs, the shepherd took care of his flock in an ordered manner, they built better houses and finally big cities, and man also clothed himself more and more efficiently.
5
All these useful things for life, and still much more, came thanks to several very wise teachers, and surely, we ourselves still owe them many thanks, for otherwise, without them, we still would be like the extremely rude and very barbaric hordes of the Scythes who live with their wild herds in the holes of the Earth and in old, hollow trees, who do not really have a language but howl like the animals in the forest and have not any idea of a divinity, neither have they any other kind of development.
6
A wise teacher did certainly never arise among these people. And that is why they are still in a condition that is little different from that of the wild animals. Once one or more wise teachers will arise among them, they also will gradually reach a higher human level of development. But no matter what kind of wise principals of life such teacher will set up for his people, bringing his people to a higher level, will he by that be an only true God like You? And will he be capable to heal the sick only by his will and by his living word, fill empty wine sacks with the best of wine and the tanks with fish in one moment?
7
So there is an enormous difference between the people being taught about everything by an awakened human teacher or - as this is here now very obvious and unmistakably the case - directly by God Himself.
8
That is why, according to my human intellectual opinion, men should not only receive Your very wise and true teaching but also know that this teaching did not come as in ancient times through the mouth of a wise person, but directly from the mouth of God, who according to His eternal decree has physically assumed the human nature and form. And also that these deeds, which can only be performed by God and of which thousands of witnesses can testify, have very clearly proven that He is not a human being, but according to the full and undisputable truth the only true God Himself.
9
In order to let the blind people understand and make it clear to them about the actual truth of life, of which they still by far do not have the least of notion, Your miracles cannot and should not be kept secret, but one should proclaim them faithfully and truthfully as to how, where and by which occasion they were performed by You, and be proclaimed to the people together with the teaching of salvation.
10
I do not want to directly assert that one should pass on to people absolutely everything that You performed in the many places where Your divine feet have walked and that You have visited, but the most important deeds should not be forgotten.
11
Whether the people who will live much later will entirely consider them as pious historical myths, will in my opinion not be very harmful to the truth of Your teaching. Because to those who will discover the divinity of Your personality in the teaching, Your deeds will also be true and very understandable. But those who will not accept Your teaching because of the deeds that You performed in our presence, because they will seem perhaps too incredible to them, will also without knowing Your deeds find as little the truth of life in Your teaching as up till now the temple servants in Jerusalem and the Pharisees in other places. Lord and Master, am I right or not?"