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 157 -
True repentance and penance.
Whoever says to Me: 'Lord, Lord', is still far away from the true Kingdom of God. However, the one who believes in Me and does what I have taught him to do, will achieve what has been promised and shown to him. And only by the action he will perceive within himself that the words I have spoken are not words of a man but truly divine words, because My words are in itself love, light, power and life. My words are telling you clearly what My will is. Whoever accepts My will within him and acts according to it, will have eternal life within him and will continue to live, even if he has - if that would be possible - died physically many hundreds of times.
2
If you are then so serious about reaching at least to the first degree of inner life perfection, then go home, distribute your superfluous great treasures among the many poor, and then come here and follow Me. Then you will shorten your still very long way to God's Kingdom a great deal. If you will follow Me, you should however be dressed as simple as you can see with Me and My true disciples. You do not need a stick and no pockets in your skirt and cloak. But all you need is a willing and open heart. For all the rest the Father in Heaven will take care."
3
Upon this advice the two Pharisees and also the two Levites began to look noticeably sour, and the one Pharisee said: "Lord and Master, I can clearly see that You have spoken correctly and truly, but bear in mind that we have a wife and children for whom we first have to make some arrangement and have to give the highest necessities. As soon as we have done that as fast as possible, we will distribute our abundance among the poor and then we will follow You with a joyful heart."
4
I said: "Are your wives and children then better than all the widows and orphans from who you have taken away all their belongings and thrown them into the greatest need and misery? Now, if these have to work hard every day to earn their meager bread while your wives and children are bathing into the unrighteous received wealth, and moreover out of pride not knowing what to do, and are spitting in a despising way in the direction of a poor widow who with her half-naked and by hunger starving children has to work for a scanty salary and whose possessions were taken into property by you in the most unrighteous and loveless way, then it surely will not be unrighteous if your proud, arrogant wives and children would some time also suffer hunger, and in this way come to realize - what would be very beneficial for their souls - how pleasant it really was for the poor widows and orphans, but at whom they have so often spat, and who they have called ragged rabble for who it was hardly worth to let the sun shine on them.
5
But I do not want that you in one way or the other would feel obliged to do that, because your will is as free as Mine, but because you have asked Me for advice to know what you should do in order to reach your inner life perfection more speedily, I have given you also a completely correct and true advice.
6
I already told you beforehand that it is much easier to give a promise than keeping it. And moreover I add to this: 'whoever is not able to leave house, field, wife and child for the sake of My name, is by far still not worthy of Me. And whoever will put his hands to the plow of God's Kingdom but thereby still looks back to the things of the world, is by far still not fit for the Kingdom of God.' This you do know now, do whatever you want."
7
The Pharisee said: "But Lord and Master, look now at Lazarus who is a real friend of You and also Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, they surely are still much richer people than we. Why do You not ask from them what You are demanding from us?"
8
I said: "Between their and your possessions is a great and sky-high difference. Their goods are a complete righteous possession. They are the righteous possessions of their family. And the truly, royal great treasures that they are containing are the result of true and still very unselfish diligence and blessing from Heaven. Likewise, the three named men are now as good as the only supporters of the many thousands who have become poor and miserable by your ungodly actions and attitudes. So they are still the real executives of God on Earth over the entrusted earthly goods, and they also consider their goods not differently than what they really are, a gift from above that they have to manage and arrange for the care of the many poor.
9
Is this perhaps also the case with your robbed goods? Such men should possess even much more, and that would also be possible for God in a most just and pleasing way, if you would not have taken away more than half of it with all kinds of tricks and deceit and also with force. You have fattened yourselves with it and because of this, they had to distribute less to many poor people. Was that perhaps also an action from you that was pleasing to God, and could God ever bless your possessions? Yes, the blessing of Hell is resting upon it, but certainly not God's blessing, because if God's blessing would be resting upon it, then I surely could tell you this.
10
Then do not compare yourselves with these three and also not with these highly ranked Romans there, who are also very rich, but their riches are justified. And also they are benefactors to the many thousands, and they have an abundance of blessing from above, although they are gentiles, but they are immensely closer to God than you as Jews.
11
Concerning such worldly rich men like you are, I say in My full divine power and might the same as I have said to a rich man who very much was like you: 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for such a rich man to enter God's Kingdom'. Did you hear this now?"
12
Then the Pharisees said: "O Lord and Master, we realize now all too well the truth of Your words, and out of ourselves we have already decided to follow Your advice precisely, but we are asking You to give us the necessary strength and the true courage. Because only now we are beginning to fully realize how difficult it is for a soul who once has been caught by the power of Hell to free itself out of its might. If You, o almighty Lord and Master, do not help a prisoner, then he will stay imprisoned forever."
13
I said: "Yes, sure, that you have well said, that is why you should refund every penny to the one you have cheated. Because if you do not do that, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, and just like you, also no one else can.
14
But because you impossibly can no more refund the inflicted damage to a lot of them whom you have cheated, you can distribute all that you are possessing, with a good will and a good heart, among the poor. And by that, be not afraid of the world. Then many of your sins will be forgiven, and then you may come and follow Me. Where I will be, you easily will be able to know, if ever you are serious to follow Me. Of course, it will take you a lot of fighting, but whoever is fighting justly and cleverly, will also surely overcome, and a sure victory is still always worth the fight.
15
Now I have told you all you have to do and you can never excuse yourselves by saying that you did not know it. From now on it will depend on your will and your wisdom."