The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 200 -
Raphael convinces the moors of the divinity of the Lord.
Thereupon I call the angel and say to him loudly for the sake of the table companions: "Raphael, Oubratouvishar has now returned to the right point with his companions again, and you can stop the quarrel with one blow! They are now well prepared, to accept his opinion and insight about Me, if he can proof it to them, that the stone really was brought by you from Nouabia to here. Go then and bring to each one from his hut what he wants, and the whole quarrel issue will be completely resolved!
2
Since these firm willed, but otherwise difficult understanding people, must be converted by a miracle, because the word possesses too little persuasive power for them. These people are also not harmed too much by a miracle like you and especially some Jews; since they, as people of nature, can perform considerable miracles themselves by their firm believe and by their unbending will, what they of course regard as quite a natural thing. Of this we will be convinced later. A great miracle is regarded by them only as half, and therefore they can without any harm be prepared by miracles. Therefore go to them! What you have to say and to do, lies already in you."
3
With these instructions now known to us all, the angel goes to the table where the blacks, becoming even more lively by the enjoyment of the wine, are holding their quite loud dispute. Once there, he says with a penetrating loud voice: "Why do you accuse this your greatest friend and benefactor, to whom you owe everything good, as if he wanted to deceive you and force a false faith onto you?! Why are you distrusting the miracle which I have performed on instructions of the Lord to convince him, as if I was ordered by him as a crook, to assist him, to deceive you! What proofs do you want, which are sufficient to fight the doubt-addiction in you, to convince you? Must I bring something from your huts to here? Ask and I will do it!"
4
Upon this short and energetic speech they became absolutely quiet and out of fear did not know what to do.
5
But the leader said: "This is God's help! It will justify me before your already quite strong accusations! Ask and convince yourself; since nothing else can break your great foolishness!"
6
Thereupon the one who doubted him most, got up and said: "In my hut is a hidden treasure; except for me and my wife, who is here, nobody knows about it. Bring it here and I will fully believe you!"
7
Said the angel: "How long should it take that I bring the treasure to here, which you have wrapped in linen and reeds and have buried in a corner of your hut towards sunrise, two shoes deep in the sand, at a place where outside the hut a large palm tree is standing? It consists of a thirty pound heavy and absolutely pure lump of gold. Tell me the time!"
8
Here the sceptic's eyes widened and he said: "But in all heavens name, how possibly could you, dearest boy, know this so precisely? Already with that you have destroyed my doubt; now everything is clear to me, whatever our leader and elder has said about this young man over there! But with all this, this matter becomes terribly strange! If beyond all doubt the fullness of the primordial everlasting spirit of God resides in this Man, how can we survive in front of Him! Our doubt must have offended Him to the highest degree? O, o we are all lost!"
9
Says the angel: "O certainly not, you are all saved now! But now determine the time, in which I should bring the treasure here!"
10
Says the sceptic: "O loveliest, - this is not necessary anymore for the sake of my disbelieve; but if you miraculously want to bring it here, take it easy! If it has a particular value for someone here, he can have it in exchange for some other useful tools; since it is of no use to me anyhow! It is beautiful and has places which are shining brightly in the sun; and if you look at it very carefully, it consists of all kinds of signs, which are visible on the surface. Some are dark and without shine, but some are shining brightly in the sun. Therein lies for me the actual value of the considerable large and very compact lump. If you, loveliest, most beautiful youth, wants to bring it here, you do not have to rush with all your wondrous strength!"
11
Says the angel: "Look at me! In this moment I fetch your treasure; count the moments I will require to go there and back again!"
12
The sceptic and his colleagues are observing the angel with sharp eyes, to see, when he will leave and when he will return.
13
However, the angel does not leave but instead asks the sceptic: "Now, did you noticed my absence?"
14
Says the sceptic: "No; since until now you are still standing like rock at the same place!"
15
Says the angel: "O, certainly not; just look down at your feet where your treasure is lying completely undamaged!"
16
The sceptic looks under the table and his recognizable treasure is lying in its unscathed wrapping at his feet! The sceptic is frightened so much about it, that his otherwise red lips are getting white and he starts to tremble.
17
Also the others are making strangely affected faces about this appearance and shout: "But for the sake of the Lord's power! What is this , how can this be?! You loveliest did not leave your place for one shortest moment! How is this possible?"
18
Says the angel: "With God everything is possible, and you can deduce from this, how God as Lord, although He is present here like any other person, guides, rules and maintains with His most infinitive will-power the whole of infinity, and that there forever can never be anything hidden from His omni seeing eyes, about which He does not know about in the greatest detail!
19
That the everlasting spirit of God has taken on the flesh on this earth and personally Himself has become a person, is the result of His exceedingly great love for you people on this earth, and thereby also for the people of all the countless other world-earths, to be a feelable, lookable and speakable God and Father in all love for all everlasting times! Since He as God is the mightiest and purest love, no person and no angel can approach Him in any other manner, except through love only.
20
If you want to come to Him, you must first love Him above all and among each other as true brothers and faithful sisters; without such love any true approach to Him is as good as impossible! But now, frightened hare, pick up your treasure and place it on the table and look at it if it is the right one!"