The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 18 -
The teaching of the Galilaen prophet.
Says Cyrenius: "Friend, I acknowledge your great insight and cleverness, and Herodes has raised an advocate in you for himself, who's equal cannot be found in the whole of Judea! But now you are not herodish anymore, but roman, and you do never need to represent the case of Herodes anymore, but purely ours, and this for us; therefore you can learn more about certain things which have concentrated at this point along the sea, and actually why! However, above all, just tell me what would you do, if suddenly from somewhere the great Prophet from Galilee would appear!"
2
Says Zinka: "I?! - Nothing; I would let him go his way! Of course I would like to talk to him, to see, if Johannes was right to say, that he was not worthy to loosen his shoelaces! Johannes was a highly wise prophet and had more light than all the old prophets together. Now, if Johannes gives such testimony about Jesus of Nazareth, how great, how wise and how mighty must he be!
3
You know, high friend, if I seriously wanted to arrest Jesus - even only to pretend I have -, I could have done it long ago; since most of the time I actually knew where Jesus stayed! But I truly do not wanted to do this, and said in all honesty, - I had a certain fear of this man! According to everything what I have heard about him - and this from plausible witnesses, even from Samaritans -, he must have the fullness of any sort of perfected divinity - or he must be a shrewd magician from the old Egyptian school! Under no circumstances I want anything in particular to do with him; since then I would get all the dust in my face. Verily, I only want to see and speak to him, but only under the friendliest circumstances; but not even from far away in this my henchman clothes!"
4
Now I Myself ask Zinka and say: "Dear friend, I'm also someone who knows Jesus of Nazareth as good as myself, but can tell you about Him, that He is nobodies enemy, but a benefactor of all who come to Him and looking for help from Him. He is an enemy of sin, but not of the sinner who regrets his sin and returns in humility to the good. No person has ever been judged and punished by Him, even if his sins would be more than the sand in the sea or the gras on earth.
5
His teaching consists in short therein, that man should recognizes God and loves Him above all and loves his neighbour, irrespective what and who he is, high or low, poor or rich, male or female, young or old, just as himself. Who does this all the time and avoids sin, will soon experience it in himself, that such teaching is truly from God and has not come out of the mouth of a person, but out of the mouth of God; since no person could know what he should do, to attain the everlasting life, and in what this consists. Only God knows this and in the end also him, who heard it from the mouth of God.
6
He also teaches, that all people who want to reach the eternal life, must be taught by God; those who only hear it from people what they should do, are still far away from the kingdom of God. Since they hear the words slipping from a mortal tongue; but like the tongue which gave the words, is mortal, it is the same with the word in the person who heard it. He does not pay attention to it and does not makes it alive by deeds. But the word coming from the mouth of God, is not dead but alive, moves the heart and will of a person to the deed and thereby the whole person becomes alive.
7
But once a person has become alive by the word of God, he stays alive and free for ever and will not ever feel or taste death, - even if he could die a thousand times by his body!
8
See, friend, this is in all shortness the core of the teaching of the great Prophet from Nazareth! - Tell us how you like Him, and then what you think about Him!"