The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord's journey through Samaria
- Chapter 60 -
The reason why the inhabitants are blessed.
After hearing this, the elder went directly to Me and said: "Listen, Lord and Master of these men, who have satiated themselves with the fruits of our trees. Why did You actually not also want to satiate Yourself with the ripe fruits of our trees together with those who certainly are Your disciples and servants?"
2
I said: "Because I did not so much desire to eat those sweet fruits of the trees, but rather I desired the much sweeter fruits of your heart and good will, for if someone does to one of My true disciples and servants a true, unselfish service of love, I accept this as if he did it for Me.
3
I am with God and God is with Me, and those who are with Me are thus also with God, and God is with them. God is also with everyone who really believes in Him, keeps His commandments and loves Him above all and his fellowman as himself. If someone does not love his fellowman without payment - no matter if he is someone from his own country or a stranger - and does not help him out of one or the other distress while he can see him as one that looks like him as an image of God, how can he love God whom he does not see?
4
That is why true, unselfish love for fellowman is one with the love for God, and God rewards his love already in this world and will once on the other side in His eternal Kingdom reward it even more with eternal life. Truly, not even 1 drink of water that you have given with a good heart to a thirsty person will remain unrewarded to you."
5
The elder said: "Lord and Master, from Your words I conclude that You are really a Lord and Master. We refreshed the travelers already a lot of times, for we have a common spring that contains very fresh water. We also often would have liked to refresh a tired traveler with a cup of wine, if we would have that, but our region is meager and the vineyard grows not well here. To buy wine we have neither money nor flocks of the quantity that is required for that, and thus we only can assist the many poor, tired travelers with what we scantily have. May therefore the dear, great and almighty Father in Heaven accept our will as the work itself."
6
I said: "That is also what He has done for an already long time, and that is why you have never known exceptional distress. And in the future He will, in a still more remarkable way, care for your present well being and even more for the salvation of your souls. You can be absolutely sure about that, because whoever, like you, trusts Him, He will never leave. Even if He often does not help him right away and clearly visibly, He nevertheless will not let him go down completely.
7
Because God tries everyone first, before He will clearly help him. If after all his trials, he has kept his faithfulness and love for Him, then comes suddenly, before anyone can notice it, the always-clear help from God, and then His blessing remains always with His faithful ones. Remember this, all of you, and keep in mind: God has tested you to the salvation of your souls. You have well endured the test, and therefore He came now to you with an abundance of His rewarding blessings, and His blessings will become your permanent possession.
8
You do not know Me and you do not know who I am, but the time will come, and is actually already there, that you will shout: 'Hail to the Son of David, who has come to us in the name of the Lord!' Have you not heard what happened 2 years ago in Samaria?"
9
The elder said: "Lord and Master - and as You are saying Yourself now, lineal descendant of the great king of the Jews - we come only seldom into the city of Samaria, which is more than 1/2 day of travel away from here, and that is also why we know little of what is happening and what is going on there. However, from travelers we have heard that during the time that You mentioned, unbelievable and miraculous things must have happened by a newly arisen great prophet. They say that He gave the Samaritans also all kinds of comforting teachings, but some priests and also other worldly people took offence at Him. If this was well founded or, which is more probable, unfounded, we could in our simplicity not evaluate, and we could not make up an opinion of a matter that is unknown to us.
10
But recently there was something else that happened to us, which we all witnessed - like the miraculous multiplication of the fruit trees today - and that was the following: around noon, only 2 men came to us. According to their clothing and language they were from Jerusalem, and they asked us some bread and also a few ripe fruits of our trees, which we also gladly gave them according to our capability. When they were strengthened by it, I also took the liberty to ask them who they were, from where they came, whereto they wanted to travel further, where their homeland was and what kind of work they were doing.
11
And they said: 'Not so long ago we were very simple and mostly severely suppressed servants and helpers, and now and then, when we did not have any fixed job, we also were only badly rewarded day laborers in Jerusalem. But then a Man from Galilee, full of godly power, might and wisdom came to Jerusalem, who taught the whole people with powerful words and who performed great and never heard-of signs. And a lot of people began to believe in Him, to great vexation of the Pharisees and scribes whose evil attempts to deceive the people were revealed by Him without any shyness, and He sharply called them to account as someone who has power.
12
This Man who was sent by God into the world, who had also continuously a mighty archangel as companion, accepted also us as His disciples because we believed in Him completely. He gave us wisdom and all kinds of power to heal the sick of body and soul, and to drive out evil spirits from men, and poison or poisonous animals cannot harm us, even if we would be forced to walk over scorpions and vipers with bare feet.
13
Our most important task and activity is that we as His messengers will proclaim in name of the God-Man that was sent by God, the coming of the Kingdom of God on Earth among the people, whether they are Jews or gentiles, and that we should tell them that He personally as the Messiah, who was announced by the prophets, has now come into this world to save them from the old and extremely hard yoke of sin, the lie and the deceit, which are the judgment and the eternal death.'
14
I asked those 2 of what that new teaching consisted, by which the Kingdom of God would come on Earth among the people. And look, then they talked just like You and also as one of Your disciples has now talked to us. And we were of the opinion that they were telling the truth, and we believed their words completely."