The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
At the Sea of Galilee (John 6)
- Chapter 116 -
The owners of the raft and the Lord.
But Jored said to them: "Above all be glad that you have recovered your wood; what you here tell us, I have known for about one hour by a Foreigner who, together with His disciples, stays with me for a few days. You have to thank Him alone that you have recovered your expensive wood; for without Him your wood would be probably passed Samosata already. Since these men would have travelled day and night up to Persia and even to India, and even if you had caught up with them, it would have been of no use to you, for they, twenty-four men in number, would have outnumbered you three to one. Therefore, above all be glad that you have your wood back and thank this one Man for it; for without Him, you would never have recovered your wood!"
2
Said the rafts-men: "Yes, yes, friend, this we will do indeed and the good man surely will be content with us; but first care must be taken that these wretched rogues are handed over to the courts?!"
3
Said Jored: "Look at them on the rafts! No-one of them can leave and try to escape! Who holds them there? I say to you: only the one Man; for if He did not hold them there, they would have jumped into the water quite a while ago and as good swimmers would have reached the opposite shore, where we would not be able to follow them! However, the one Man wants it like this and thus it cannot happens otherwise, than only He wants it to be. And I say to you, that you should not touch these thieves, but leave all judgement to this one Man and you will act most appropriately!"
4
Said the rafts-men: "If so - what we completely agree with -, lead us to the strange man and we want to speak to him ourselves!"
5
Said Jored: "See, next to me, it is Him!"
6
Here the thieves crunched their teeth towards Me with a raging fury and would have liked to begin to curse Me; but I have locked their mouths before, this means to speak, and thus they resembled the mute who also cannot speak.
7
But the rafts-men bowed deeply in front of Me and said: "Friend, that you have extraordinary powers and properties we have recognized from what our friend Joreb has said about you! Who you are and how you have come to such miraculous abilities, does not concern us Lacotenians; but we have learned by the friendliness of the dear upper tax-collector Jored, that we have to thank you alone and that we should leave it in your hands only, to judge and to punish these scoundrels for what they have earned. But we ask you as always honest citizens of Lactena, to be so kind and determine what we owe you for your incalculable efforts to our great advantage and that you should surely according to your always most fair judgement, punish these evil thieves."
8
Said I: "Be calm, - what I do, I do without compensation! But you have poor people in your town; do good to them and think that also the poor people are your earthly brothers! Do not be scanty towards them and you thereby will clean and safeguard your area in the most full-proof manner from thieves and robbers! Above all let it be said to you, that also these thieves are very poor victims and that it was not so much their evil will, but only their poverty who drove them to commit this and also earlier pilferages.
9
If these people, who could be quite strong workers, could be employed by just and honest thinking employers and receive a relevant remuneration, they would be pleased to give up their current contemptible activity. But if this is not the case, they truly have no other option than to keep on doing what they enforcedly are doing now.
10
They cannot work a field, because they do not own a field; for all fields and all forests and mountains belong to you and for many miles you let it lie fallow because you cannot work and cultivate it. Why don't you give to the poor pieces of land for useful cultivation?! Thereby also these people would have something and on top of it, once the desolate fields and mountains are cultivated, could pay you a moderate tribute. Say it yourselves if this would not be better than you few rich people finally want to own everything, what can be of no use to you but only cause you a nearly unbelievable harm!
11
I will not speak one word with these twenty-four thieves because they already have fallen too deeply into thieving activity; but you have in your village and in your large and wide-stretched area still many similar people. Do to them what I have advised you to do and you will soon not have to complain about pilferages anymore!
12
Place as many guards as you want and can and you will not achieve anything by it; for you will only provoke the poverty to more rage and they will day and night make plans to cause you harm in the most sensitive manner! However, if you follow My advice, the poor people themselves cared for by you, will become your best guards."