The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and the Priests of the Temple (John 5)
- Chapter 19 -
The purification from sin.
Says one citizen: "O Lord, all this would be quite all right if only we had never sinned in our whole life. The sins are now tormenting us in our hearts as we are before You, Who looks through our heart and kidneys and is holy throughout, whereas we are exactly the opposite. Therefore, we now find it difficult to be quite happy and cheerful."
2
Say I: "Do you think I did not know this before I accepted you? Yet I completely remitted your sins because you yourself have turned away from all sin and, no longer wanting to sin, will surely not do it. Therefore, you are no longer sinners but completely free of all sin, and so I think you should have all the more reason to be joyful with all your heart. "
3
One of the citizens said: "Lord, what happens then to the sinful spots on the soul? For we have heard that, if someone has once sinned and is released from his sins by improvement through atonement, still a black spot remains on his soul, through which it is branded so that every quite pure soul avoids it in the other life because of this spot and cannot create unity with it, and that such a marked soul cannot reach comprehension of God until it has completely lost this spot in the worst fire of Hades (Sheol)."
4
I said: "Yes, yes, the spot remains on the soul until the person has fully denied sin! But whoever has thus fully seriously denied sin because it is evil and destroys the person and turns away from God and from everything good and true, has no spot any longer on his soul and no longer needs to fear Sheol's terrible fire. But if you have such a respect for your spot of sin on your soul, how can you possibly look at Me, since you now know who is behind Me and is actually in Me?! Therefore see how weak and foolish you are still!
5
I tell you all: If you want to be My disciples, you must take off your whole old man like an old dress and put on a very new one; for I and the extremely scruffy and tattered Temple teachers of this time are no longer suitable for each other. Observe this and be sensible, noble, cheerful and full of good spirit!"
6
This lesson of Mine which was very comforting for them had a good effect on our citizens, and they now reached for the wine very energetically, became soon very cheerful and soon began to tell a number of very cheerful stories, and the Greeks began to accompany them, and so the time passed until sunset.
7
Lazarus also received many a thing to hear at this opportunity which gave him a positive shock, so that he lost all respect for the Temple and said to Me in silence: "Lord, now I am healed from the foundations, and my visits to the Temple will be constantly rarer!"
8
I said: "In that you would do very well; but do it more in your heart than with the open deed, so that you do not draw any terrible suspicion towards yourself from these foxes, because you still stand in great respect in the Temple! A sudden retreat would serve neither you nor My affairs for good and I see only the inside of people; for the outside is no good for anything."