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 179 -
A small gospel for the Damascenes.
The spokesman still asked Me specially how he could reward Me, since I had spoken out such an effective verdict in favor of them, because they took Me now for a true judge of this place.
2
But I said to the spokesman: "I never take a reward from anybody for My teaching and for My verdict. But I am telling you now that - apart from the fact that justice had been administered to you here - in future you also will be reasonable and righteous with everybody with whom you will have dealings, because being unreasonable and unjust among the people on Earth is the greatest evil in the world that reaps discord among the brothers and sisters and is causing enmity. And once these are present, there is no more welfare among the people, but only envy, hate, robbery, manslaughter, murder and war.
3
Soon My disciples will come to you. Receive them and accept what they will teach you. Act accordingly. Whatever you will do for them, I will consider it as if you have done it for Me. That is the reward that I desire for My righteous verdict. Did you understand Me well?"
4
The spokesman said: "Yes sure, sure, righteous Judge, we have understood You, because as businessmen and merchants since former times we are dealing with our good products with almost all people of the known Earth and therefore we also understand all languages of the Earth, although we mean now especially the meaning of Your words. And if Your disciples will visit us in Damascus, we ask You here now only for the distinctive feature, so that eventually we would not receive false ones instead of the real ones."
5
I said, while I was pointing to My disciples of that moment: "There they are, look at them. One of them will come to you and announce to you the teaching of the salvation for your souls. And a few years later I will call an apostle for the gentiles in your city to show you the full truth. Yet, before that time, he will be an enemy of My light, but after that calling he will have the greatest zeal for it. However, before him, still a few others will come to you whom he will persecute. Receive them well, then your reward will not be considered little.
6
For whoever will faithfully receive a prophet in My name will also reap the reward of a prophet. My disciples and apostles will be true prophets and thus servants of God the Lord by whom I also have been sent to this world for the salvation of all people who believe in Me and live and act according to My teaching. Did you also understand this?"
7
The spokesman said: "Yes sure, sure, wise and extremely righteous Judge. But as we have casually understood extremely well from Your words, You are not only an extremely wise righteous Judge but also a true Prophet of the Jews. And for this we feel sorry for You with all our heart because the Jews, as they are now, became by their insatiable greed the greatest enemies of the old and even more of the new prophets. The shepherds (Pharisees), elders (priests) and scribes must, according to the prescriptions of Moses, possess nothing, but they only must live of the tithes and the offerings. But these Pharisees, elders and scribes now simply want to call the whole country as their own, and as such they also want to maintain and use it. And all the people must work for them alone, and besides, for the still greater honor for God they may possess nothing and be hungry and thirsty until they become desperate.
8
Well, we Damascenes were, and partly still are, very good and true Jews. But no apostle may come from Jerusalem to make us vote for this bad and deceitful city. Whoever wants to do that, must better not come to us, for if ever such a one comes to us, then he will be put out of the city at once, from where he can then run away. But when prophets and judges, like You are one, will come to us, we will receive them always gladly, even if most of us are Greeks, old Syrians and Babylonians. Because from the true prophets anyone can learn something that is true, and thus also something that is good. And so also, everyone who will be sent by You to us as Your true disciples will be well received by us."
9
I said: "Since you still have the time, you still can stay here. Then you will hear and see many things. Here is still bread, fish and wine. Take a seat and eat and drink, because in this inn they certainly will not ask you a 100 pieces of silver for it."
10
Then the merchants, a few of them, took a seat and started to eat and drink cheerfully. And they were full of praise because of the quality of the wine, the bread and the well-prepared fish.