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 186 -
The Romans and the maiden honor the Lord.
But now also the Roman started to look at Me more closely and said to Me: "Friend, forgive me, that I bother you with an urge of my heart with a significant question! My earlier inquiries about the great man of this country will not have escaped you. You now have performed a miracle healing on this maiden as I have never seen something similar before. You healed her only by the power of your will. How, if in the end you would be the great man, the truest God-man himself, of which the news also reached Rome?! And if it is not you, you surely will know about him. Is this the case, then lead us to him, and the treasures I have with me, will be yours!"
2
Thereupon I said: "Since you have made the long journey from Rome with these your companions to here, I say it to you, that you already have arrived at the right town and the right place; since I am Him, who you have been looking for. What are your intentions now? Why did you searched for Me with such big sacrifices?"
3
Said the Roman totally enraptured about this My confession: "O friend, if it is You, then I and all these my companions have found our salvation; since for myself I want to learn about Your teaching and see Your great power and magnificence. But only tomorrow will we bother You further; this night however, we want to spend like old, good friends.
4
Above all now my thanks for the healing of this truly dear maiden. And you two innkeepers bring more wine; since now we have found our highest salvation, and tomorrow the poor of this city will be fed at our expenses! Fiat!"
5
Lazarus and the innkeeper went and brought more wine and it was poured into the mugs.
6
Thereupon the Roman took the full mug and said: "Heil us, and honour, love and gratitude to You, great Master! Even if the dark-stupid Jews do not recognize You, the Romans will recognize You even deeper and better!"
7
Here he emptied the mug completely and afterwards praised the wine. Thereupon all the others did the same. Only the maiden did not drank, since she feared to be overcome by her earlier state.
8
But the Roman said to her: "Listen, you lovely maiden! We Romans have an old saying which states: 'In the presence of the doctor nothing can harm you!' Here we have a doctor of all doctors and therefore to honour Him you can empty your mug!"
9
Said the maiden: "If I knew that I thereby can pay Him the right honour, by drinking the wine, I would like to empty all the tubes in the whole of Palestine and then die for Him; but I know it that by drinking the wine I do not increase His honour in the slightest. Since He is honoured in the highest degree by all powers of heaven and nature of this earth, next to such highest honour, my honouring counts as much as nothing, and therefore I will not drink the wine; but out of love for Him and also to you, dear men from Rome, I nevertheless will drink the wine! And thus this mug of wine represents the following: My heart to Him only, and my respect to you all!"
10
Upon this good salute she emptied the mug, got up from her chair, came to Me and said: "O great Master, let a most unworthy maiden touch and kiss the hemline of Your dress, so that it can give my heart a little relief!"
11
Hereupon she knelt down, took the hemline of My dress and kissed it many times, wetted it with her tears and could not separate from the hemline of the dress.
12
Some of the disciples grumbled and said: "But Lord, turn her away from You; she dirties Your good dress!"
13
Said I: "What does it concern you! If it is right for Me, why not for you?! She was a sinner, is now a right penitent and is therefore much dearer to Me than many righteous who never needed atonement.
14
See, there once was a man, who had one-hundred sheep! And it happened that on the large pasture one sheep got lost in the bushes. When he counted his sheep in the evening, he noticed that one sheep had gone missing. He did not thought long, left the ninety-nine sheep behind and quickly went to look for the one lost sheep. And when he found it after a long zealous search, he put it with great joy on his shoulders and carried it home. When he was back at the ninety-nine, he had more joy about the fortunate found one than about the ninety-nine who never got lost.
15
And see, also in heaven there will be more joy about a sinner who really does atonement, than about ninety-nine righteous, who never needed atonement!
16
There also was a woman which lost a groschen from her money. She grieved a lot about the lost groschen, soon ignited a light and looked for the one groschen for as long as she has found it. When she had found the groschen, she invited the neighbours over to her and gave a meal so that also they shared her joy.
17
See, the same it will be in heaven about one sinner who, through the right atonement, could be found! For the angels always look at His face, observe the actions of the people and have an exceedingly great joy about a person, who voluntarily abstains from sin and with all his actions turns to God.
18
And as such also I have now a lot of joy about this sinner, who now has turned away from her sins forever; and also she is joyful, since she has found her true salvation. Therefore leave her her joy!"
19
Thereupon the somewhat jealous disciples were quiet, emptied their mugs and immediately refilled them again.