The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 204 -
Roklus sends the rich to the Lord.
Roklus said: "Look, friends, I am a human being who is quite as weak and powerless as you yourselves, and I also have never possessed the power and might to awaken a person, who was already completely dead, to life again, or to give a new body to a soul who has lost his body. This is only possible to God or to a prophet who is filled with God's Spirit in order to show to the people again the lost way to the eternal life of the soul.
2
But if God Himself commands to leave the deceased ones in the rest which is determined by Him, and not to give the living any useless hope and unfounded joy by all kinds of magic arts, then you will also understand that we Essenes have to obey God, for He has revealed and shown Himself to us. And only now we realize that He is as He is and what His intentions are for us human beings. Thus, we cannot involve ourselves anymore with that old magic which has not any value, but only with the one and only true and almighty God, through our love for Him and our fellowmen, and by entirely fulfilling His will, which He has revealed to us. And that is why we cannot and may not do anymore what He has forbidden to us. But ask Him, the eternal great Master of life. Whatever He will do for you, will truly be good."
3
Another good speaker from the group of 30 said: "But master and chief of the mighty brothers, you surely have healed all those disabled people in one time, and even given back the lost hands of someone, and some even their eyes, noses and ears, only by the laying on of your hands and by the words that you spoke. This seems to me more than the awakening of a dead child - who still has completely all of his limbs - from the sleep of death. If you were able to do that, it is hardly believable to us that you cannot bring our children back to live in the same manner, if you only want it."
4
Roklus, now being a bit embarrassed, said: "Friends, I do not want to leave you any longer in uncertainty, but tell and show you frankly the full, pure truth. Look, you just have spoken out openly your conclusion that you want to travel to Galilee to the new, great prophet of the Jews if you would not find any help here. And I tell you that this would be very good for you, if this would be necessary. You do not know the prophet, but I know Him and I tell you that He is endlessly much more than a prophet. He is namely the One of whom all prophets have prophesied that He would come into this world in the flesh. And those who would believe in Him and would love Him above all as the only Lord of Heaven and Earth and all life, He will set free from the slavery of the ancient sin, the devil and eternal death.
5
Look, that is the prophet to whom you want to go. He could of course awaken your dead children again, for only to Him nothing is impossible. And, listen further: only in and by His name, which is more than holy, I have at His command helped the disabled ones. That is why those who are healed have praised only Him and not me. Do you now understand this supreme wonderful matter?"
6
Now the 30 looked very surprised, and the speaker asked Roklus immediately: "Then where, where is He, the almighty, so that we can go to Him and give Him the honor which only He deserves?"
7
Roklus said: "Listen, friends, when someone is standing unexpectedly close to a great event and cannot see with his reason and oftentimes also not with his eyes and ears, that which is great and special and is already very close to him, man has a peculiar sense organ in his heart, which is called intuition. When something - without man knowing it - is extremely good and brings happiness and blessing and is close to him, the heart becomes by that very joyful and cheerful, but in the opposite case sad and depressed. Now ask your inner intuition. How is it disposed? What is your heart feeling?"
8
The speaker said: "At least mine feels happy as if the most High and most Holy One is somewhere near - even in this inn. That is why I feel a special happiness in me, although my heart as well as that of all my companions has actually no special reason to be in a happy mood, for as far as I am concerned I have - mark you - already brought 4 dead children on the long way to this place in the hope that they would be awakened to life again, and have waited in vain for 2 full months. This is certainly a circumstance, which for very understandable reasons cannot make the heart happy and cheerful. And still, we are today already since the early morning quite remarkably very cheerful and joyful and can no more imagine that we were sad before. Yes, in my heart I even have the feeling as if someone gives me the assurance that I will bring back my 4 children alive to Cairo."
9
Then also the others said: "Also we are feeling the same thing, and it seems to us that it will indeed be so and not otherwise. But our heart has now enflamed into a joyful longing. So do not leave us, o master, any longer in uncertainty and tell us where the Most High personally is now. In the spirit He is present everywhere, just as we old Jews still know about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He sees everything, hears everything, knows everything, creates everything and maintains everything. But since He Himself is now, according to the old promises, living among the people of this Earth in a human form and showing great kindness to them, we also would like to see the old Creator and Father of men with our physical eyes and hear His Fatherly voice with our soiled ears - of course, unfortunately still as being great sinners in God's eyes - so that we will be able to say to everyone at home: 'We have seen God and have spoken to Him, and have heard His will from His own mouth according to which all men should act and live.' Tell us, great master and chief of this institution of wonders, which is famous of old, where He is now - maybe even close to us - He whose name no human tongue nor the tongues of all angels can speak out."