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 153 -
The reconciliation of the Pharisees.
But instead of giving the two Pharisees a direct answer to their question concerning Me, Raphael was first calling Lazarus and Nicodemus at his side, and only then he said to the two Pharisees: "Do you know this man, who was mostly persecuted by you, because he finally could not and did not want to pay anymore all what you were demanding of him?"
2
The two Pharisees said: "Oh, the very rich Lazarus we know very well, and we also know what we have done wrong to him. Whatever we can repay him, we also will repay him as soon as possible from our personal possessions. But we have called out a curse over his inn on the Mount of Olives that was set firmly in the temple. This we can only wipe out from the black book with substantial ransom money. But we will give dear Lazarus the money from our own possessions, with which he surely will be able to blot out that heavy curse."
3
Raphael said to Lazarus: "Are you satisfied with this proposal?"
4
Lazarus said: "With this I am completely satisfied, although, I even want to accept the sincere will for the deed. And thus I want to be and will be also for you a good friend. Besides, my dear friends, I have to confess honestly that your curse has brought me more advantage than disadvantage, because all foreigners were particularly flowing to my inn as soon as they heard by the tax collectors that it was forbidden by the temple. Because the foreigners were reasoning like this: 'Probably the innkeepers from the city have accomplished that, for who the best and cheapest known inn on the mountain has been already since a long time ago like a thorn in their side, and they were, with all kinds of offerings on one side and all kinds of lying insinuations on the other side, looking for the support of the temple that is very greedy for offerings. Now for sure, we will only go to the inn on the mountain and we will give our money there for certainly the cheapest and best service.'
5
And so you see, dear friends, that by the curse you not only have not harmed me but have particularly helped me, and thus I really do not have any reason to be mad at you. It is thus totally not necessary to blot out the curse from the book, because it is to my inn clearly a great advantage.
6
Besides, you also have to realize that the same thing can happen to me what has already happened to many: they paid off the curse, but after 1 year, and often even sooner, the temple finds again a reason to call out a curse over their inn, and those who have been disadvantaged by it had to pay a double ransom money if they wanted to have it taken away from their business. Because it is written in your precepts: 'If the first curse has been paid off, but the temple has called out again for certain reasons a curse for the same case, then the new curse makes the old one valid again, and so now two curses have to be paid off. And in this manner it can go up unto the tenth curse.'
7
In order to avoid these very unnecessary expenses, we will leave the first curse. Especially when it gives more benefit to someone than disadvantage and one can become a permanent citizen of Rome. And the temple can then look into the black book from time to time and count and look at the amount, and think how good it would be for the offering box if someone would pay it.
8
You, who are now my dear friends, must, instead of giving the ransom money to me from your own possessions, do good to the shy poor people, because I really can use the temple curse very well. This you also can do with the money that you want to give me for the damage that you added to me, because I have - the Lord be praised - already long ago received compensation for more than a 1,000 times. And so, if you want to do earnestly what you have promised to this young friend, we always will stay best friends."
9
One Pharisee said: "That we will do, because we have experienced things here that we have found extraordinary amazing, and which are in all aspects thoroughly the purest truth, while on the other hand the behavior of our temple is already completely only satanic. Therefore, as soon as possible we will turn completely our backs to the temple, as already so many have done that, and we will then live completely according to our inner conviction.
10
You can say to this young friend, who looks like God, for whom also our most inner thoughts are not safe, that we firmly as a rock have decided for that. But before we will exchange the temporary for the eternal, we only would like to see and speak to the famous Man from Galilee, and receive out of His mouth some instructions about what we still must do in order to attain to one of the least degrees of the inner life perfection."
11
Lazarus said: "But the young friend, who is a true servant of the Lord, has already shown you everything and told you what you must do to attain to the inner life perfection. More than that the Lord Himself will also not tell you."
12
The Pharisee said: "Friend, you are right, because there can only be one truth. But even seeing this great Man of God must, for the one who is starting to believe in Him, stir up a still greater trust, compared to when he only speaks to His servants and disciples. With us it is not just an idle curiosity to see Him and to speak to Him, but because we have heard all this about Him and now also what we have seen of Him, a great mighty love has been stirred up in us for Him. And that is the reason why we would like to see Him somewhere and speak to Him. The young friend, who is filled with God will surely know where He, the sanctified of God, is at this moment. If He should be somewhere in Galilee, then we will follow after Him immediately, search for Him and ask for instruction and advice."
13
Lazarus said: "He has taught the people already many times in the temple. Did you not see Him there or maybe even speak to Him?"
14
The Pharisees said: "You surely know that the so-called High Counsel almost never comes into the part of the temple that is meant for the people, because it has nothing to do there, and so we certainly have heard that He was in the temple and also that He has performed great signs, but having seen Him or spoken to Him, that we did not. And therefore, we now would like to search for Him, see Him, and if possible, speak to Him."
15
Lazarus said: "But I know that many Pharisees, scribes and elders in the temple have seen Him and have spoken to Him, and were also so hostile against Him because He showed them their injustices and deceit where the people were present. Then it is ever so remarkable that you in the High Counsel were only concerned about how you could capture the Lord in one way or another, in order to kill Him right away. And you, who are the most important rulers after the high priest, did until now really not see Him nor speak to Him? Really, this sounds a little strange after all."
16
The Pharisees said: "Indeed, and still, it is so. I even tell you now that the great Man of salvation could even be among you and that we surely would not recognize Him if He would not make Himself known to us Himself. Secretly we were already thinking that this true second Samuel would be the one. Only we find him a little too young, because we have heard that the great Man of salvation is already something like 30 years old, of what however, we also are not sure. But we only desire now very much to see Him personally and speak to Him. Do tell us therefore where we can see Him and speak to Him."
17
On this, Lazarus gave no answer, because he noticed that I Myself stepped out of the hut and came down to them.