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 92 -
The Christian as a businessman. On protective duty and slave-holding. The behavior toward the priests of the idols.
1
(The Lord:) "If however in later times My successors will allow themselves to be paid for their teachings and prayers with money and all kinds of other things like the pharisees, then the Father in heaven will not listen to their requests anymore and will let them sink into all kind of sins and great evil. I give you all kinds of gifts free of charge and as such you should give it to other people also free of charge. But as doctor you can take money from the rich, - but not from the poor!
2
If occasionally you give My teaching to someone, it should be your payment that he accepts the teaching with a joyful heart and lives accordingly. If for once someone has accepted the teaching, he will in anyway become your friend and will say: 'What is mine is also yours and you should not lack anything!'
3
I say to you: What the people will do and give to you voluntarily with a joyful heart for the sake of My teaching, accept it and use it in the best manner for yourself and your fellow-men! But if you would demand a remuneration for it, irrespective of whatever kind, the mercy of God would be immediately taken away from you, just like the mercy has been taken away from the pharisees and the stubborn Jews and will be given to the heathens. Also this remember and act accordingly and you will gather for yourselves great treasures of mercy of all kinds out of the heavens, which will be of greater use to you than all the treasures of the world! - Do you understand this?"
4
Said Jored: "Master, this we understand quite well; but what about my tax collecting business on water and on land? There is very little about any neighbourly love in this! But one cannot abolish it all together because it is a governmental matter; for if I let go of it, someone else will continue with it, who perhaps might be even harder on the travelling traders and especially the foreigners than I am, who already have allowed quite a lot of poor people to pass the customs barriers for free. What would be Your will in this regard?"
5
Said I: "What you are, stay with it! But be reasonable towards the poor; and in stead the rich can give a little more!
6
Customs are good for a country, since otherwise large caravans with all kinds of goods will soon flood your country and would soon endanger the country's own food stocks. Therefore you should tax the many foreign merchants even more, so that they loose their appetite to come too often to this country with their goods. But be even more reasonable instead with the locals! Now you also know what you should do in this regard.
7
Also your inn is good; but observe the same rules here as well! Be reasonable towards your fellow-men and be just towards strangers! From the locals ask what the matter is worth and from the foreigners a fair profit!
8
If a foreigner comes and does not have anything to pay you with, condone his bill, and if he would accept My teaching, provide him with some travel money on to of it, and the Father in heaven will reward you copiously! The same every merchant should do and be just in measure and weight; for the measure people use to measure, with the same measure they will be rewarded with!"
9
Said the tax collector: "But now another question, Lord and Master! You know that we mainly live here together with Greeks and conduct all kind of trade, among others unfortunately even with people, as this is commonly done among the heathens since long ago. Yes, I had to buy all my wives! At first they were only my slaves; but since they were diligent and looked after my interests, I gave them their freedom and took them as wives. Half of my servants and workers are still slaves. Should this continue like this or should it also be changed?"
10
Said I: "What exists by the laws of the state, you cannot change, and thus it should remain until the state itself will change it. But you should also be good, reasonable and fair towards the slaves; since also they are people and children of one and the same Father in heaven. Should you again visit a slave market, then buy as many as you can and keep them and make of them free, God-devoted people, and you will prepare for yourself a large treasure in heaven! But you should never ever sell one again; for to sell people is a horror before God! However, wherever My teaching is shooting roots, soon such contemptible slave trade will stop by itself. - There you again have something which you can observe!
11
But you still have another question in your soul, according to which you do not know what to do with the pagan idol priests, who are also to a large extend your guests and love to visit your place. I say to you: for the time being let them be as they are! They themselves believe even to a lesser degree in their idols than you yourself have believed in them before; but they have, regarding what they are representing, their office and bread and will therefore not that easily abstain from what they are. However, in time you can tell the one or the other something about My teaching, and they will not be too many a problem for you. In time also the idol temples will fall. But I nevertheless do not instruct you to destroy them; for it is sufficient that they are destroyed in your hearts.
12
But if such a priest should try to make someone believe in his idols by force and demands of him to bring it sacrifices, then tell him the full truth! If he does not want to comply, then call on Me in the spirit and perform a sign in My name before his eyes! If he sees it, he most probably will believe, if there is some sense of truth in his disposition; but if he does not believe, let him go - and you stay with the truth of My teaching! Since like now the governors of Rome think and act, the people are completely free in their knowledge, thinking and faith.
13
However, if such a priest accepts your light faith, then support him as a member of the new society of God on earth, if he requires support then provide for his earthly needs; if he is not in need of anything, then he should be your friend!
14
Now, also this is taken care of, that you easily and clearly know what to do in every case if something obstructive gets into the way of My teaching! And since we now have nothing to discuss anymore, we can go outside. We might find something which gives us the opportunity to consider it in a deeper way!"
15
All were agreed with this suggestion and we went outside.