The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in the region of Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 160 -
The experiences of the Greek doctor and his testimony about the Lord.
While we partook of the midday meal with Marcus, the 2 Greeks spoke with their companions, for when these saw very quickly that their 2 companions had entered the resort completely healthy, they asked what had happened to them by which they had become so healthy.
2
The 2 could however, with the best of will, not keep completely silent about all the things that happened to them in the morning. So they made me known before their companions, but very discreet and reserved, for they thought about what I said to them.
3
They described Me as a very great wise Man of the Jews who also possessed an extremely great power to completely heal, only by his will, all sicknesses, in such a way that a sick person would become suddenly as healthy as he hardly ever was in his childhood.
4
When their companions heard this, as well as other things about My wisdom, they wanted to go to Me and ask for the health of their body, but the 2 Greeks prevented them by telling them that I would maybe visit the cure resort this same afternoon. The companions of the 2 Greeks were satisfied with this for the moment, but they still wanted only to talk about Me.
5
One of them, who was a very respected doctor in his own village, and after he heard more about Me from his 2 companions, made the following remark: "I remember now something about that special Savior and wise Man of the Jews. He most probably will be the same about whom I heard many things in Tyre and Sidon. Also many of you must have heard more about Him.
6
They say that He is a Galilean from Nazareth and the son of a carpenter who gave up the profession of carpenter completely when He was around 30 years. He drew disciples unto Himself and then started the work as teacher and healer. However, the priests of the Jews persecute Him because the whole people go to Him and believe in Him, for He confirms His teaching with great miracles and other great signs.
7
Some think that He is a great prophet, others think that he is a new king of the Jews who will drive out the Romans from the Jewish land, which however would not be His plan since He must be a much greater friend of the gentiles than of the Jews who care little about their God. Again others think that He is a pure Son of God, and some think that He is the ancient Jehovah Himself who clothed Himself with the flesh of men in order to instruct them about everything and to deliver them from the long night of all their errors.
8
But no matter how it may be, when He will come to us, we certainly will know Him better, on condition that He is indeed the One about who I - as said - have heard already many things."
9
Now also the others said: "Yes, you have spoken truly and correctly. We also have heard already many times the strangest things about that Galilean, which sounded of course even more unbelievable than the myths of our gods. That is why we said: If this is true about Him, then He clearly and truly is a God in whom also we Greeks and Romans will believe."
10
The 2 Greeks who were already healed said: "You are right, and you have drawn our attention that lately we also heard about this a couple of times when we - as you know - were searching for the truth. But in His presence we did not think about that, although He hinted at it. Maybe He Himself did not want it, so that we could not remember what we sometimes have heard. That also should be talked about when He will come to the cure resort, although not for our sake but for your sake."
11
Their companions said: "That, my dear friends, will become apparent if in His presence there will be a good opportunity for that, and if He will allow us to ask Him. We will be glad and most grateful if He will heal our bodies, and especially our inward parts that have become already so weak because of old age, and have become completely unsuitable for the vital service of our limbs.
12
It is true that I am a doctor and I have relieved the pain of already many suffering people, but the weaknesses of old age, that we have indeed inflicted for the greatest part on ourselves, cannot be completely healed through our herbs, oils or healing baths like both of you by that Man of wonders.
13
Someone who can do that, only by his will, is clearly more than numberless masses of people who by their will cannot even break the weakest thread of a spider, let alone heal the blood and the inward parts of an old and weak man. So someone who can do that, is compared to other people a god, and this for the very logical reason that he is capable of doing things that can only be expected from the high gods who were never seen by any mortal being.
14
Although they say that the gods work only invisibly before us men and that numberless many powers of nature and serving spirits are at their disposal, but this is what the people must believe. Nevertheless, no one has ever looked behind the veil of the threatening Isis. But our Man does divine things before our eyes, and speaks, teaches and even accepts disciples who learn from Him the art to become equal to gods, and maybe also to become as immortal as they are. That is why such Man deserves unarguably to be preferred above all gods who never existed before the eye of man, nor have given him even a half true testimony of their existence and their works.
15
But this Man exists, and gives a very true testimony before the eyes of all men of the fact that He is a real, living and truly existing God. And this we do not even have to believe blindly, for we can convince ourselves of it with all our sense organs. Thus, already for this reason, I declare Him to be an only true God, and I send all the other idols, who existed only in the fantasy and the imagination of men, to the kingdom of the vague and empty fables, for He has made both of you healthy, only by His will, in such a way that, as far as I know, you have never been healthier before. Therefore, I want to give Him in advance all the honor that is due to a God. Despite my old aches of the stomach and liver, I rejoice to see Him and to walk to Him with a great love and deep respect. Maybe He will also find me worthy for a complete healing, which is very easy for Him."