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 155 -
Self-inflicted diseases and accidents and those occurring through no fault of one's own.
When we were settled on the hill, Lazarus said: "Truly, it is forever a pity for this great and beautiful city, that it at one stage will be totally destroyed! But who can help if its evil inhabitants wants it like that?"
2
Said I: "You now have spoken well; since to him who wants something still so evil for himself, in eternity no injustice occurs to him. I already was often there and tried to collect them under the wings of My protection, just like a hen collects her chicks underneath her wings; but until now all endeavours were in vain, and as such they alone are responsible for all hardship coming over them.
3
Nevertheless, I therefore will not neglect all kinds of teachings and sharp admonitions, so that still some can be saved. And what I Myself will do now, even easier you will do the same after Me, because My last and greatest sign which will be performed by Me in Jerusalem, will enable you for it. Who will hear you, will also hear Me - since you will only speak what My spirit will place in your mouth -, and he will be helped; but those who want to remain in the old stubbornness, should also harvest its fruit.
4
Because water just as fire gives death to man when either falling in deep water or being seized by fire during a large fire, should I therefore ban all water and fire from earth? Oh, certainly not! Therefore man has received reason, strength and a free will. He knows the good and bad properties of water as well as fire. He should use both with reason and both elements will be useful to him; if he either intentionally or out of great carelessness falls into a deep water or jumps into a lime kiln, then he is apparently - voluntary or often still involuntary - responsible himself that he loses his earthly life. The truly responsible and carefully clever person will not likely meet such accident - and those who walk according to My teaching, not at all!"
5
Said one of the Jew-Greek: "Lord, but everywhere the human reason and its prudence is still not enough! One just looks at this example: Because of some urgent business I had to travel by ship over the great sea to Rome. However, in the middle of the sea a storm comes up. The ships perishes because of an underwater rock and sinks with all hands. Who is guilty about my misfortune? Certainly not me and also not the ship's captain; since how could he know that a sudden storm will be coming up and how could I have known about it?"
6
Said I: "My friend, if something like this happens, it is most certainly a well justified permission from above, and it is more or less the same, if somebody dies due to any illness, because the illness was bad and incurable. For no person on the whole earth stays alive physically forever, and therefore a person can completely blamelessly die just as well in water as in fire. I think that we should not loose another single word about this. And therefore lets go over to something else much more important!"