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 129 -
The healing of the Captain's son who was ill with fever.
When the captain was finished and the soldiers and supervisors had left, he spotted us and hurried towards us. When he was with us he immediately enquired from the toll collector who and wherefrom we were and what we wanted to do here.
2
The toll collector explained this to him and when the very serious looking captain heard that I was a Saviour of all Saviours of the world, he came immediately to Me and said: "If you are what the chairperson is saying about you, then heal my son! He suffers from a bad fever, lies already for four years in his sick bed and looks more than corpse than a living person. From all places I have let come the best doctors; however, nobody could help him. If you can help him, a kings reward will be given to you!"
3
Said I:"Guide Me to your sick son and we will see in what state he is!"
4
The captain immediately lead us to the sick son in his house. When I arrived there, various pagan god statues were standing in the room around his bed, who, according to the advice of the priests were supposed to help him.
5
But I said to the captain: "You are a reasonable and highly experienced man must self recognize, that these statues made by the hands of man, cannot help the sick, and still did you bought them from the deceitful priests for a considerable amount of money or actually you rented them! I say now to you: Let the deceitful priests come here! In front of them I will destroy these statues and then will heal your son with great certainty."
6
The captain, who did not held anything on the priests an even less so on the idol statues, immediately called upon the priests, of which their were seven. They soon arrived and the captain immediately introduced Me as a doctor with special knowledge.
7
The priests however said: "Friend, as a person you live in large phantasy, if you think that you can help a sick whom even the gods cannot help anymore, since they recognize, that for every person at one stage the time has come to die!"
8
Said I: "However, you stoics since birth, how do you want to make somebody else believe what you yourself never have believed in the very slightest sense?"
9
Said the priests: "Who can say that we do not believe what we teach?"
10
Said I: "I can tell you this because the power for this resides in Me!"
11
Said the priests: "What power? What are you talking about power?! Never did anybody has any power here accept the captain and we, and in the least any foreigner who must be glad that we let him live!"
12
Said I: "That also I have power here, you will be convinced of straight away! See, these your metallic and stony totally dead idols with no power and strength whatsoever, I will totally destroy by just one word because otherwise I do not want to help the sick! And therefore I say: Away with your dead idols!"
13
In this moment all the statues were completely destroyed and in the whole room not the slightest remnant could be seen. They then searched the whole house and also in all the rooms everything was destroyed what had the appearance of an idol.
14
Thereafter the priests hit themselves on the chest and shouted: "O you foreign magician, we recognize your incomprehensible power; however, watch out how you will get along with the true gods of heaven!"
15
Said I: "I am a Jew from Galilee and as such never had any fear about your dead idols and will never have it. Wherever I go I truly help the people, physically and spiritually. However, the idols must give way and the only one true, living, everlasting God must take their place; because without Him there is no salvation for the people on this earth. Since your idols are gone now, I also will help this sick person! And as such I say to you: Get up and walk!"
16
Here the bad fever immediately left the sick and he got up, was totally healed and asked for food because he was hungry.
17
And I said to the captain: "Give him now bread and wine, but not too much at once, and he will stand there as if he never had been ill!"
18
This took place and the son was standing there as if he never had been ill.
19
Here the captain came with a friendly face to Me and said: "O you unbelievable, above all our gods elevated Saviour! What is now my duty towards you? What are demanding from me?"
20
Said I: "You cannot reward Me with anything physically; because I never accept any payment form anybody. However I will give you through these My disciples a new teaching about God and about the life of the soul also after death; you and your whole house should live accordingly to this teaching. If you want to learn more from Me, go in the near future to Chotinodora; there you will learn more about Me. However, I also will stay for tomorrow here and we can make each others closer acquaintance."
21
The captain was now beyond all measure enraptured and said: "Lord and Master and truest Saviour of all Saviours! Everything, everything which you want will take place; but only for today I ask you to be my guest together with your disciples; see, my house is spacious and has many rooms! It would be too much of an ingratitude on my behalf to leave you in the inn of the toll collector, which most likely will be fully occupied today by the arriving large Persian caravan."
22
Said the still present toll collector: "Your wish, Captain, I cannot oppose, - otherwise I would have done everything serve such a guest without any payment in the best possible manner; only this allow me, that I at least am allowed to stay in your company!"
23
Said the Captain: "By that you will give me the biggest joy. I am only terribly sorry that my other family is not here at the moment, but in Serrhe, from where they only will return within a few days. But I still have many people and you will not short on anything."
24
Said one of the priests: "Lord, are we also allowed to stay in your company?"
25
Said the Captain: "This our great Saviour has to determine; since you did not receive him that he can be joyful about you."