The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives (John Chapter 8)
- Chapter 184 -
Lazarus tells the Roman about the Lord.
Said the Roman: "I see it in your faces that you speak the truth and do not lie, and our desire has increased to personally get to know the great man. If he without doubt is as you both have described him word for word, he could easily set himself up as the king of the Jews. Since the power of his will would be sufficient to throw us Romans out and also make it happen that forever no Roman comes into the country again! We Romans know it for a long time already that all Jews according to the announcements of their old prophets, are waiting for a great king. In the end their long awaited hope is fulfilled with this great man, and we Romans on a nice morning will be thrown out with lightening speed through his almighty divine will! What is your opinion about this?"
2
Said Lazarus: "This the Romans have absolutely nothing to fear from him; since firstly He is a great friend of the Romans and secondly must the prophecy of the old prophets be interpreted in such a way, that according to the old prophecies, the Messiah who now has come in all truth, does not have the slightest intention to establish a worldly kingdom on this earth, but rather a spiritual kingdom of love and true wisdom of God within all people of this earth, who accept His teaching from God, about His kingdom of heaven and about the everlasting life of the soul after the death of the body and live and act according to His revealed will. See, this is His purest and truest intention; but about an ousting of the Romans out of this country, is forever no talk with him!
3
Yes, that there are many spiritually blind Jews who believe this, I can absolutely not dispute. And if He says to them that He is the Promised, they still don't believe Him, despite all the miracles which He effectuates before their eyes, but instead accuse Him of blaspheme and call Him a desecrater of the Sabbath, and if it would be possible, they would be the first to kill Him! What I tell you here is the full truth and you not need to have the slightest fear that He ever will free the Jews from you Romans, but rather the opposite!"
4
Said the Roman: "Now, if so, he should rather move to Rome; there he surely will be carried on the hands and be idolised! What is such a great and only man doing among the well-known silly Jews, who regard themselves as children of God, but regarding their thinking and actions are more stupid than the Scythes (Skythen) of the north?!"
5
Said Lazarus: "If He wanted it out of His unfathomable deep wisdom, He long since would be in Rome! Who could block His almighty will to do so?! But He knows, why He mainly has to stay with the Jews! However, we people are all together too stupid to tell Him: 'Lord, do this or do that!'; for He is truly the only Lord of all wisdom and all power. Who could advise Him in anything?!"
6
Said the Roman: "Yes, if so, then it will be difficult to speak to or negotiate with Him! Never mind, we still will be grateful to him to the highest degree, if he only once would regard us as worthy, that we only could see him! We would be sparkling grateful to you two, if you in anyway could arrange an opportunity, that we could see him?!"
7
Said Lazarus: "That would be very careless of you! Since if I and my innkeeper would be greedy, it would not be difficult for us to persuade any person for a good payment to act as an imposter for the great Man; and if you would ask him if he really was the wonder-man, he also would be able to give you a good and true sounding answer, - since that we also could have arranged in advance. See, this would be imprudent of you and bad from us! You have to recognize Him out of yourself, without the necessity of a sparkling gratitude from your side to us, for telling you: See, it is him or him!"
8
When the Roman heard this from Lazarus, he praised him as a seldom clever and noble man.