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 137 -
The visit in the temple of wisdom.
Now the Captain together with the toll collector came to Me and excused his short absence due to the necessary fulfilment of his office- and state duties. The same did also the toll collector but thereupon he invited us to the morning meal at his house and since the Captain wanted to be his guest for the day, I agreed to it and we went to the spacious house of the toll collector, from which the trade caravan, arriving the evening before, departed an hour earlier. There we consumed the well prepared morning meal and afterwards the disciples taught the priests My teaching and showed them the very reason, why I actually have come to this world.
2
I Myself taught the Captain and his son, who accepted everything which they heard, with the greatest joy and most firm faith. And as such also this day passed with good conversations and works and I again advised the priests to visit Chotinodora, which they solemnly promised. Thereupon we went to bed and departed early the next morning by sea to the considerable old town Serrhe, accompanied by the Captain and his healed son and under many greetings of the toll collector.
3
On arrival the Captain quickly lead us to his family who stayed at the house of a colonel whom they visited and who was a close relative of him. How big the joy was of the wife of the Captain when seeing her son completely healed whom she already believed dead, everybody can easily think for himself and it requires no closer description.
4
Since we arrived in this town when it was already late in the evening, the arrival of a large group went almost unnoticed. We accepted the most friendly offered inn by the colonel where we stayed, with everything well provided for, for five days.
5
Not far from this town on a moderate high hill stood a temple which was dedicated to wisdom only. In this temple there was no idol set up, but on a altar were lying all kinds of books and ancient scriptures. In the books all kinds of wise proverbs were written and some prophecies from ancient times.
6
On the fourth day we visited this temple and its three old priests. We were about four-hundred people, since many from the town have followed us. In town we healed great many illnesses, made the blind seeing and the deaf hearing again, and many accepted the teaching and subsequently followed its life's principles.
7
When we arrived at the temple and the three priests saw the Roman colonel, they came out of the mostly locked temple and asked the colonel with the deepest reverence, what it was he wanted at this unusual time.
8
The colonel however, pointed to Me and said: "This First and Highest of all first and highest has come and want to see your temple of wisdom and look at your scriptures. Therefore open the door and let us enter its holy halls!"
9
Said the priest: "This your request is very untimely for us, however, since you insist, we will do it; however you must take the responsibility on yourself, even towards the strict and relentless gods!"
10
Said the colonel: "Yes, yes, this I do without hesitation; since I myself must convince myself, if it is written in your ancient books of wisdom like this most wise and with all powers of the gods gifted Man has told me."
11
Only now the three priests agreed completely and after a few bows opened the gate in front of the temple, which was one of the biggest. We now entered and the priests pulled an old book from beneath the altar, which was written in an old Indian language; only one of them could read it and only partially understood it."
12
I Myself showed him the place which he should read and then translate it.
13
He looked for some time at the place, read it and then translated it: "From the mountains where the jackdaws (Kauka) nests in large crowds, a stream originates, which mightily flows, wide and far. At its shores I saw cities large and small and on its wide back it carries the load of many. However, see there, I saw a load swimming on its back, - there was a heavy night in the whole, wide vicinity from the beginning of the stream up to where it ends in the great world sea. But the load carried a person, whose face shone brighter than the sun, and from his mouth shot flaming arrows and swords. At the shores were lying many dead, and those who were hit by the arrows from his mouth, started to stir, became alive and it was fully daylight around them. But the load still carried other people who lived and also had a light in them and shone like the full moon. Also from their mouth came a light, which resembled the light of the morning star, and those who were touched by the light, although being dead before, became alive again and afterwards walked like during daylight. This had the effect that soon afterwards the whole stream became light. When the whole stream shone, it became cheerful on its shores and many rushed to it and washed their faces and see, all shone who climbed into the river and cleaned themselves in its bright shining floods!
14
Later I saw the stream again and saw no light anymore, and again the heaviest night sitting on its back, and I looked at it for a long time but no light appeared! And I heard a voice like the rushing of many winds through dry brush wood and the voice spoke: "Woe you, bringer of night, if I will return! My judgement will hit you twice; since you were light and again became night! I say it to you and you say it again to your worms! This is the will of the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega!"
15
Hereupon the priest bowed deep before his book and placed it, wrapped in finest linen, back at its original place.
16
Then the colonel said to him: "Do you also understand what you have read quite well?"
17
Said the priest: "Lord, if I understood this, I would be sitting in Delphi on Pythia's tripod!"
18
Said the colonel: "See, what you don't understand, I understand quite well as a soldier and can explain it to you! Look, here this Man who has come from the heavens to us people and now spreads the light from Melitene up to Serrhe! Listen to Him and you dead will become alive and see in the brightest light your salvation! Those other men who came with him, are the same whose faces shone like the full moon. Their words are a true life morning star and who accepts their light will shine in their souls full of life just like the words in your book which are indicated under the picture of the morning star. Do you now understand what time is it now!"
19
The priests now were astonished about the wisdom of the colonel and asked him with great reverence, who I was and from where I was coming.
20
Said the colonel: "I already have told you from where this God person is coming from; if you know that you anyway know what you have to do. Make sure that also you are made alive so that also you can shine in front of all people who will come to you to obtain from you the right wisdom of life of the soul!"
21
Thereupon one of the priests came to Me and said: "High Lord from the high heavens, give us the right wisdom!"
22
Said I: "There are standing My disciples, turn to them and they will show you the way on which you have to walk and to act to attain the right and true wisdom, - however not here in this temple but in the house of the colonel in town! Go there and let yourself be taught!"
23
Said the priest: "O High, this is for us a very difficult thing since according to our rules, we actually should never leave this wisdom height and go down to the valley! For symbolically seen, wisdom only resides on the pure heights and never sinks to the dirty depths, just like the mind of each person resides on the highest part of his body."
24
Said I: "If this would be right, then I would not have left the bright and highest wisdom heights of heaven! But if I have done this out of love for you people, also you can leave for once in your life this your trifle wisdom height for the sake of a higher wisdom; because to attain the highest it is worth the effort to leave such a hill. From now on everyone has to climb down into his own depth of humility, if he wants to attain the true life wisdom."
25
When the Priest heard this from Me, he went to his two fellow priests and said what he heard from Me. Initially they made doubtful faces, - but after a thorough consideration they nevertheless agreed, then went to the colonel and ask him to be allowed to enter his house because I wanted it this way.
26
And the colonel said: "This makes me very happy! Just come immediately with me - because we will straight away go back -, and be today and tomorrow my guests, since this high Man of all men of the whole earth, will most mercifully stay with me until tomorrow!"
27
Thereupon the priests thanked him and immediately accompanied us; just before leaving however, they gave their wives and children the instructions what they had to do in the meantime and what they had to say if a wisdom seeker would come during that time when they were away.