The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the Vicinity of Caesara Philippi (Matthew 16)
- Chapter 206 -
Josoe excuses himself.
Says Josoe:"Oh, Lord, my opinion on this is bound to be shaky! I have indeed in outline understood what is to be comprehended therewith, and I cannot say that I understood it deficiently; but I feel far too feeble to make vivid reflections on it. Hence it would be good if our fairest Jarah could substitute for me here as well. Because even if I were to seemingly speak ever so wisely, there shall in the end be something capable of contradicting! And hence I would much rather listen than speak myself. Ah, if someone presented something that were wrong and untrue, I surely would become more assertive; but I feel too feeble to unfold truths above my threshold, - and so I rather stay unassumingly quiet, gladly letting the wiser ones speak in my stead, listening as someone quietly marvelling, as exalted words stream from a wiser emotion, Lucent as the beams of sunrise. Besides, I find it myself quite superficial to make further reflections on something of solar clarity already. Who is going to light a lamp at mid-day in order to augment the sun's light? But whoever has some doubts about the most lucent words that have streamed from Your holy mouth, well, let him say so, and he shall be guided unto the right path without trouble!
2
Well do I know that one should obey You blindly so-to-say, when You have asked something of someone; but here, on account of my humble heart, I have to prove disobedient! Because Your request, oh Lord, could easily be some kind of testing of me - whether I am going to allow my born overestimation of myself to grab hold of me, that I might emerge from my incidentally not too good night-lamp in order to perhaps make the sun more shiny than it already is! But here fortunately my comforted heart tells me: "vain, conceited boy, take care for the Lord is testing you! See to it that you remain in His grace!" - When I hear this oh, then I know what to do and stay humbly put! -Am I right in behaving so?"
3
Say I: "My dear Josoe, right and yet not right; when I ask something of you then I am certain to know why! And if you want to get ahead in things then you must comply with Me, be it whatever. And were I to even seek your physical life, then you need to relinquish it joyfully; for I shall never seek someone's physical life to the disadvantage of him who relinquishes if for Me.
4
But know what has somewhat paralysed your tongue. Behold, you were heretofore somewhat boastful in asserting that you stood only for the truth! But I showed you that you were still far from knowing the truth; and because Jarah, a harmless maiden from Genezareth, obviously afterwards embarrassed you a little because she answered My question in brilliant fashion: you thereafter lost courage a little. But behold, this small lack of courage is basically not so much a proper modesty but rather and under lying vanity of feelings! And behold, this is a kind of side-effect of your reluctance to speak! But I want you now to completely conquer such side-effect within you; for it is better for a somewhat vain disposition to be laughed at than, along the path of triumphal successes to always feel oneself admired and flattered! Hence just go ahead and speak when I require you to speak about something. - And as such just give us any sure opinion about My explanation of slavery!"