The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and his adversary. Gospel of John, Chapter 9
- Chapter 198 -
The Lord asks the Pharisees what they think about Christ. The nature of man. About the triune being of God.
The people spoke in this way among themselves. The Pharisees and scribes who were present again did not hear how the people spoke about Me. But they heard that I had silenced the Sadducees. Secretly they were glad about that because they disliked the Sadducees very much. But now they took courage again to continue to try if perhaps they could catch Me in My words in one way or another.
2
A scribe came to Me and said: "Master, I am convinced that You truly are in all seriousness a rare wise Man and are an expert concerning the Scriptures. Therefore tell me: what is actually the most important commandment of the whole law?"
3
I said: "The most important and all encompassing commandment is: 'You shall love God the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul and with your whole mind'. Look, this is the most important and greatest commandment. The other is equal to it: 'You shall also love your fellowman as yourself'. That means: always do with pleasure for the one of whom you would like that he would do it for you if you would need it and it would be within his means. The whole law and all the prophets rest on these 2 commandments. Or do you perhaps know a commandment that is more important?"
4
The scribe said: "A more important commandment is not known to me. Therefore You have answered correctly."
5
There was now already a whole crowd of Pharisees and scribes around Me and they deliberated what they should ask further to catch Me, so that they could capture Me.
6
However, I said to them: "Listen, the fact that you want to ask me continuously questions of which you suspect that I will be trapped, is clear to everyone here. I already have answered a great deal of questions and have shown you that you cannot catch Me. Therefore I want to ask you a question again. If you can answer Me, you may ask Me again a few things."
7
The Pharisees said: "Good, just ask, also we will not withhold You any answer."
8
I said: "Well then, do tell me: what do you think about Christ? Whose Son will He be?"
9
The Pharisees said: "As it is written: He is a Son of David."
10
I said: "Hmm, strange, if this is so, then why does David in the spirit call Him a Lord, when he says: 'The Lord said to My Lord: sit down at My right hand until I have put Your enemies at Your feet?' If David calls Him Lord, how can He then be his Son?"
11
On this, a Pharisee said: "We know that David has spoken in the spirit like this about Christ, but who can understand what he meant with the 'Lord', who spoke to his Lord, and who is the Lord who David called 'his Lord'? Because according to the teaching of Moses we cannot accept that at the time of David they already thought and believed in two Lords of which each one would be completely God. The Lord who spoke to the Lord of David must clearly be another person than the Lord who David calls 'his Lord'. Otherwise how could David say: 'The Lord spoke to my Lord'? But who can understand this? If You understand it, then explain it to us. Then we will believe that You speak out of God's Spirit."
12
I said: "If you as so-called scribes cannot understand the way of speaking of the old Hebrews, how then do you want to understand their spirit?
13
The Lord, thus Jehovah, has certainly also been a Lord of David, thus also his Lord. And therefore, David did not express himself wrongly when he said: 'My Lord spoke to my Lord.' And when he spoke like that it is also clear that both Lords, who by way of expression are only apparently two Lords, are in fact one and the same Lord. You yourselves do also say: 'My spirit spoke to the mind of my soul.' Does the spirit of man not live in his soul and is consequently one with his soul, although it is as real life power in the soul more noble and more complete than the substantial soul itself?
14
In God there are also two distinct essential qualities and these are forming His initial substance and consequently are forming His undivided One initial Being.
15
The one distinct essential quality is love, as the eternal flame of life in God, and the other distinct essential quality is as a result of the brightest flame of life, the light of the wisdom in God.
16
If this is now so, and undeniable not different, is then the love in God not totally the same glory in God as His wisdom?
17
But when David said: 'The Lord spoke to my Lord', he only said that the endless merciful love in God penetrated its wisdom totally and said to it: 'Go and sit at My right hand, become Word and Being, become one with all My life's power, then everybody who is an enemy of the light must bow before the love life's power in the light thereof.'
18
However, what David said at that time in the spirit, stands now in a wonderful way embodied before you. Why do you close your eyes and do not want to realize that the great promise is being fulfilled and stands and speaks now before you, and is showing you the ways of the true life out and in God?"
19
When the Pharisees heard this from My mouth, a kind of fear for My wisdom came upon them, so that no one of them dared to ask Me anything further to try Me.
20
And the more moderate temple servants said secretly to the furious Pharisees: 'We already told you before with good intentions that nothing can be achieved with this Man. Because firstly in His will there is such an incomprehensible wonderful power that He can move and destroy mountains with it, secondly all the people and all the Romans are on His side, and thirdly He is so incomprehensibly wise that with all our wisdom and all our questions, no matter how smart, we can in no way catch Him to make Him suspicious in front of the people. The more questions we ask Him the more we make ourselves suspicious in front of the people who are starting to laugh at us. What benefit is it to us? It would be better if we never had anything to do with Him. But now the harm has almost been done to us. What shall we do now? We are of the opinion that it would be most wise to turn our back to this whole matter and not to involve ourselves openly any longer.
21
If ever this should possibly be a decree from God, we are resisting in vain. And if this is not the case, then it will pass of itself, so that after some time no one will remember anything about it, just like it already had been often the case. This is our opinion about this, but you can still do what you think is best, although you must be convinced that we were right."
22
A chief priest said quietly, so that the people could not hear it: "Yes, yes, you surely are right, but must we tolerate that He is humiliating us so much in the eyes of the people who are our good milking cow?"
23
A moderate man said: "This is all correct, but then think about a way to turn around our lost case, then we gladly will sustain you with everything. But we are only of the opinion that a suitable way will not easily be found, and a bad method will only make this matter more serious and make our situation worse."
24
A chief priest said: "What would you think if we ask Him if He Himself would present us before the people as what we in fact are according to Moses?"
25
A moderate man said: "This could be better than all the traps that we have thought of for Him. Let someone try that, but sincerely and in all seriousness. Maybe it is useful. As far as we can see He is in fact not a bad and revengeful person, because we have heard from everywhere that He helps poor people a lot, or else He certainly would not be in such a high esteem among the poor people."
26
Then they deliberated who would be the one to take the task upon him to talk to Me about this matter. One of the more moderate was quickly willing to do it, and one after the other agreed on it. He came to Me and wanted to present his request.
27
But I did not give him the chance to speak and said immediately in his face: "I know all too well what you want to tell Me now. Therefore, you can save the trouble to lose even one word before Me about your request. But what I have to say about you to the people and also to My disciples for and against you, this I also know. Thus you can either go or stay here to hear what I will say."
28
When the Pharisee heard this of Me, he turned around and went back to his colleagues. All of them were all ears to listen to all the things I would say to the people for and against them.