The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives. (cont.) Gospel of John, Chapter 8
- Chapter 143 -
On the hill near Emmaus.
Lazarus asked Me what I would do next.
2
I said: "We will all go outside now and will stay on the hill that is located in the direction of the morning. There, even today we will witness and experience things, which for us people of this Earth are extraordinary."
3
With this answer all were completely satisfied, except Nicodemus, because he knew that two Pharisees would visit him in the afternoon.
4
That is why he turned to Me and said: "Lord and Master, You can see in my heart and know how intensely I would like to be part of it and would like to be a witness with my eyes and my ears. When You now will go on the hill, which is still my property - that means, as long as I live - then I gladly would like to go with You, but now I have to stay home because of the two announced Pharisees, and have to suffer a great loss for my soul. Lord, what can be done about this now? On the one hand I find it good that You withdraw Yourself from the sight of these black people, but the fact that my eyes can see You no more and my ears can hear You no more for the salvation of my soul, that is really not good for me at all.
5
For this, I am asking again, what can be done about this in a good way? Maybe I should not wait at all for those two Pharisees and go with You on the hill, or must I stay here in order to know the reason for their coming? However, the latter seems not necessary to me because to You, o Lord, everything is known anyway, and thus You know also what is driving those two Pharisees to me this afternoon. If it would be something unimportant, then I surely would let those two Pharisees come and let them go home again. If however, it is something that is in relation to You, then again, it would be good to stay home. What do You say, o Lord and Master, about this?"
6
I said: "You are coming with us. Those two Pharisees will surely discover where we went and will immediately come after us. On the site they will experience how it is concerning the things that are in relation to Me, because I want it exactly that way, so that they will see all the things that will be happening outside on the hill, and their lips will be sealed in a very special manner. I Myself will do there little or nothing, and I only will work on them through the to them well-known Romans, through Raphael and through the 7 men from Upper-Egypt, and the two will be silent like a wall. Me however, they will not recognize and they will also not inquire a lot about Me, because among a couple of hundred people one cannot be so easily recognized.
7
You do not have to leave a note behind at home in your house to let them know where you went to. They will hear that soon enough in this village from the children, the helpers and the girls to tell them where you went to, and they will soon be on your heels. But be totally without any fear because of them. They will not betray you. Those who will speak and act in My place will be inspired what they have to say and what they have to do. And so, be now without any fear and worry, and go now with us with courage to the beautiful hill which I have indicated now."
8
When Nicodemus heard that from Me, he became cheerful and he ordered his men to bring, after about 3 hours, a proper quantity of bread and wine upon the hill.
9
Lazarus asked what had to be done in the mean time with the young men.
10
I said: "They also should go with us to the hill, because I want that those young men will now also experience higher things. So they should follow us in an orderly manner."
11
Now everything was prepared for our departure and we stood up and went outside, only being noticed by a few children, and went to the specific place that we reached quite soon because it was not far away from the village.
12
The hill was in total only about 30 man-heights higher than the village Emmaus, but had on top a big open space which was richly grown with grass, and to the north it was somewhat forested. Close to the middle of the open space above the hill rose a group of rocks on the grassy plain, and those rocks were 1 to 2 man-lengths high and were easy to climb up on all sides. On this group of rocks Nicodemus build a big lodge that was, compared to the taste of that time and that place, very pretty and spacious. And just like on the Mount of Olives, one could enjoy a very beautiful panorama.
13
Very soon, I went together with some of My disciples into the mentioned lodge that gave a free view in all directions. All the others stayed around the group of rocks and were closely watching everything, to see what could happen next, or what I eventually should do or say.
14
After a short while, when all those present were more and more organizing themselves around the group of rocks, I called Nicodemus to Me and said to him: "Be attentive now because the two arch-Pharisees escorted by two Levites will now also be soon with us. What you, Lazarus, the Romans, Raphael and the 7 men from Upper-Egypt have to say and do, will be laid into your mouth and into the mind of your heart, but for the moment tell those blind men nothing about Me."
15
After that, Nicodemus went back again to his place that he was sharing with Joseph of Arimathea, Lazarus, the Romans, Raphael and the 7 men from Upper-Egypt, and waited for the announced people to come, who arrived in a grumpy mood on the flat part of the hill.