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 188 -
The healed ones and their skippers.
Then the 2 left their tables, walked to the lake and related all their experiences to the skippers who were still present.
2
Also the skippers from near Tiberias were surprised and said that they also heard a lot about the great Savior of Nazareth, but had never seen Him, and that is why they also could not directly accept what they heard from other people about the great Savior. But since they saw now an unmistakable proof before their eyes, they could and also wanted to believe all the rest of what they heard about Him, as well as to praise God above everything who had given such power to a human being, for this never happened since time immemorial.
3
Then a healed person said: "According to your perception and knowledge you really are completely right about that, but we looked at it somewhat differently in ourselves, and I do not think that we are mistaken. That Man - according to your opinion - to whom God has given such great power, for which you want to praise Him as your God, seems to be the Lord Himself in His house. And with His power he can entirely decide as He wants. And the God, whom you want to glorify and praise for the sake of this Man, seems to fully live in Him. For based on what we have heard from the 2 disciples who were sent to Joppe, He absolutely does not speak to the people in the manner of the former different prophets. For these always said: 'Listen, people', or 'Listen, king', or 'you', or 'you', 'this is what the Lord says', and only after that, the Spirit of the Lord spoke from the mouth of the prophet. But He says: 'I Myself say to you, and I want it.'
4
Well now, friends, when someone talks in this manner, and God does not visibly punish him before everyone for this presumption which is very sinful to everyone, then such person must have the fullness of God Himself within him and must thus also be entirely the Lord Himself, for otherwise he truly would never succeed to command all the spirits, creatures and elements. And everything obeys the infinite power of His will, for this is what we know from the mouth of His disciples who witnessed a lot of signs and miraculous deeds.
5
So we have the impression that in that great Savior of Nazareth we directly are dealing with God Himself and no more with a prophet, no matter how great he may be."
6
A skipper, who was very well acquainted with the Scripture, said on this: "You are from Joppe, a city where are now living more gentiles than real, true Jews. And therefore, you yourselves are more like gentiles than Jews. What difference does it make for the gentiles if they add again another new complete or half god to their all together at least 10.000 gods?
7
But with us, real and still true Jews, there is written already in the 1st commandment of Moses: 'I alone am your God and Lord, you will therefore only believe in Me as the one, only true God, and you will have, nor worship, strange gods beside Me that were invented by men.'
8
Look, this is the law for us Jews, forever and always. Now if this is so, then how could we accept that miraculous Savior as a 2nd and thus new God, and give Him honor which we only owe to the one, only true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
9
Despite all this, we feel great joy on that miraculous Savior of Nazareth, because God gave Him - a human being like us, and most certainly because of His great piousness - a great power as has never happened before. And therefore we only praise the one, only true God, but not that man who is abundantly gifted with divine power.
10
If you were true Jews, you would do the same. But since you are more like gentiles than Jews, you can do what you want, for you do not have to give account of your faith to the Pharisees in the temple at Jerusalem."