The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
First journey of the Lord: Kis - landing place at Sibarah - Nazareth
- Chapter 24 -
Cyrenius" comments on the Nazarenes.
Cyrenius said thereto: "Lord and Master, as far as I can with these, stupidity rather than malevolence is the case. For the Nazarenes, except for a few, are notorious as fools, and a fool is always hard to enlighten. Little schooling, no experience, mostly poor, little trade and travel. They subsist mostly from moderate farming and some cattle breeding, and are known not to get to Jerusalem but once a year perhaps, where they not only gain no spiritual education but always rather lose it. Whence should they therefore obtain a better intellect to judge your godly doctrine and godly deeds? On top of that these foolish people are usually jealous; and what I noticed annoyed them most was that their sons, whom they sent to all kinds of schools, are so infinitely behind You in wisdom, knowledge and the most energetic drive! I would not ascribe evil but rather barest stupidity to them which of course can sometimes turn into evil, but naturally not in the most harmful variety, for a foolish person necessarily is too stupid in perpetrating serious damage to anyone. Hence we ought to let them go!
2
Should someone try to attack You physically, then that would worry me the least. For a start You undisputably possess enough godly power to put an entire well-armed legion to flight - let alone these barest fools, and secondly You have us highest Roman rulers over all Asia fully on Your side, and hence You should never lack proper protection! Should You find persecution here, well, then You know where Sidon and Tyre are situated. Come there and You are safe against whatever kind of persecution.
3
That these Nazarene townsfolk are almost without any education was shown by the fact that they all streamed into the school more like gapers than humans, out of animalistic curiosity, attested by the fact that they greeted neither myself nor any other ranking lords and governors with any gesture whatsoever! Like donkeys, oxen and stupid sheep they stormed in acting as if they alone were the lords of the world! I cannot even count it to these people as a sin, as they are too crude, stupid and uneducated, and I believe that You oh Lord, Who knows them a thousand times better, shall not count it to show as sin either."
4
Say I: "There you are quite right. But it is most important that they recognise Me in their heart as what I really am, for their eternal life depends wholly on this. If they do not recognise Me, they cannot possibly recognise the One who sent Me into the world - and even less the fact that I and the One who sent Me are one and the same Being. As long as their heart does not recognise that, they do not have Me within them and thus also not eternal life and are spiritually dead. For I Myself am eternal life and through My teaching the way to it.
5
Therefore, who does not accept Me and My teaching does not accept eternal life either and, consequently reap eternal death.
6
However, I may still not force anyone to believe because any compulsion would be a judgement of the spirit which would give it death just as would the unbelief. Therefore it is even for God difficult to work in such a way that man's soul is not harmed. If there is any compulsion through an ever so hidden force, he is under judgement. And if there is absolutely no compulsion, he remains an unbeliever, doubts everything and thereby proves that his spirit is completely dead. Who or what shall then enliven his spirit?
7
He does not accept My life-giving word - and thus also not Me as the sole source of all life in the whole of infinity. Now ask yourself, where else could he obtain the life that I brought and want to give to all men?"
8
Says Cyrenius: "Yes, indeed I see this clearly now and also have to do so, as I have known for thirty years Who You are; but let us now keep going and see where we can get lunch. It is quite late in the afternoon." We now left the school and town and went to My house, where a good meal already awaited us. We ate and drank cheerfully and were in good spirits the whole day.