The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 2 -
The request of the Pharisees for a safe escort.
When Lazarus went outside, he greeted the temple servants according to the custom and asked them what their request was to him.
2
The one Pharisee said: "At first a bad spirit brought us here, and this was actually which we wanted to ask you - absolutely nothing that was good. The words of this more than intelligent and wise young man and the exceptional power of these 7 men who are still standing around us, have made us change our mind and we soon realized how vain and foolish our evil intention was, and because it was unfounded we then also desisted from it.
3
Now we are asking you however as friends to allow us to visit you in Bethany, where we would like to speak with you in private about a lot of things. Then also, we are asking you to give us a safe escort over the mountain to the city, because there, a little down on the road are lying 3 lions that certainly belong to the 7 men because they appeared immediately upon their call. These malicious animals will probably be well tamed and will serve the 7 men to protect them on their trips instead of dogs, which apparently happened oftentimes. But despite their tameness they cannot be trusted. Even the most malicious dog knows his master of the house also during the night, but he will grab and tear to pieces a stranger, and this could be expected all the more from these 3 lions. Therefore we ask you to arrange that the 7 men would take care of those 3 animals so that they would leave again."
4
Then Lazarus said: "If your inner intention is the same as your words, and if you want to repair the damage as much as possible which you have inflicted on a lot of poor people, widows and orphans, then you can walk very calmly beside these lions, and not one will look back at you. But if you are of another opinion in your heart than the sound of your words, then it would not be very safe for you to approach the lions. Therefore, examine your heart and say openly and honestly in what condition it is.
5
Also to Bethany and my house you will not have any access as long as your heart has other feelings than appears from your words, because such watchers, like those three down there, are also watching over my house. He who comes to me with honest intentions has nothing to fear. However, he who approaches my house with dishonest and evil intentions will be bad of."
6
The Pharisee who was the spokesman said: "You can believe me that all of us are now thinking as I am speaking, and also we will do, if ever we have inflicted any damage, our utmost best to repair the evil as much as possible, but we dare not go alone beside those 3 animals. Therefore, please give us a safe escort."
7
Lazarus said: "The 7 men will escort you in the safest way if your intentions are honest. But now, still one more question to all of you: tell me, for what reason do you not believe that Jesus of Nazareth alone is fully the true Messiah? You must have read the Scripture, and have also heard His teaching and seen the signs that He is performing. Then how is it possible that you still have such a hardened opinion? Thousands of Jews and gentiles believe in Him, and many gentiles come from all directions of the Earth, bow down before Him, accept His Word and believe that He is the Lord. Only you, who should be an example for the whole people, are resisting against it, worse than hard mountains against the storms.
8
The Lord came in the flesh as a human being on this Earth, just like He Himself has revealed it through the mouth of the prophets, and now He also does the works, about which the seers have sang centuries ago - which you as scribes should be the first to recognize - and still, as said, you do not believe in Him. What can be the reason for that?"
9
The Pharisee said: "That, dear friend, we very clearly would like to discuss with you in Bethany. However, here I can already tell you that it is now a very difficult matter to be a human being in the temple. One is indeed a priest, but therefore not necessarily a human being. Everyone is an enemy of the other and tries to inflict damage upon him in order to take advantage for oneself, and thus, as a human being, where one would like to howl, he is forced to howl together with the wolves, so that he should not be torn apart by them. But let it still be for a short time as it is now, then all the doings of the temple will know a drastic change, because finally, one cannot stay there.
10
Now you also know how we in fact think about it. Therefore, be so kind to tell those 7 men to escort us safe and sound from this mountain to the city."
11
Only now, Raphael said to the Pharisees: "Why are you actually in such a hurry to return to the city? If you have truthfully good and honest intentions and are also saying now that you want to believe in the Messiah, then you are safer with us here than in the city. You have come up here as an enemy with the intention to know where the Messiah is staying. Right? If you have changed your mind concerning Him, then why do you not want to inform as His friend where He is staying, so that you can look Him up and show yourselves to Him as men who are believing in Him?"
12
The Pharisee said: "Dear wise young man, if we would do that, then it could be charged to us in an unfavorable way, and maybe it would be explained in such a way that we are pretending to be nicer than we really are, in order to still know now from you where the Messiah might be staying. Truly, it is not important for us anymore to know where He is staying. For truly, we are no more His enemies. However, to present ourselves to Him now as repented friends we still feel too bad for this and we are not worthy of Him. And so, it surely is understandable that we cannot and do not want to inform now to know His eventual place of abode, and therefore we want to be in our houses to deliberate further in order to know what we have to do in the future to join with Him completely. Besides, we also have to inform the temple about the failure of our mission, so that they should not send out other spies before they have received news from us, and in this way would cause unrest in the whole city and the whole environment. We think that we have explained sufficiently all our motives that are forcing us to return as soon as possible to the temple and our houses. Therefore, do allow us a safe retreat."
13
Now Raphael said: "I can assure you that in the temple they will wait for your notice until tomorrow, and therefore they will not send out new spies. And Lazarus has also enough rooms available in which you can deliberate, and he has food and the best wine in abundance, so that you can strengthen yourselves. Now that you are here, I would like to advice you to stay here at least until midnight and only then go to the city with a safe escort. But if you definitely want to leave now, then we will not retain you any longer. The lions - as you clearly can see - are already gone, and there in the neighboring tent are your Greek coats. Do now whatever you want."