The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Second Journey of the Lord: Nazareth - Cave at Bethabara (First Feeding of the People) - Mountain of Prayer - Walking on the Sea of Galilee (Peter's test of faith) - By ship to Genneseret in the bay with the same name
- Chapter 123 -
The Lord and the Chief
Thereafter the Chief steps up to Me, asking: (Matt. 15:1) "Master, who are they at table with You?"
2
Say I: "They are My disciples!"
3
Continues to ask the Chief: "Why do these your disciples break the Elders' ordinances? They wash not their hands when eating bread!" (Matt. 15:2)
4
Only here do I rise, abruptly facing the Chief and asking him with a serious voice: "Why do you break God's Commandments on account of your ordinance? (Matt. 15:3) God Commanded: 'Honour thy father and thy mother. But who ever curses father or mother shall die!' (Matt. 15:4) You however teach son and daughter to say to their parents: 'If I make offerings in the Temple for your father or mother, it is of greater benefit to you than if I honour you as of old.' And to such son or daughter you say: 'It is well done so!' (Matt. 15:5) What however are the consequences? Behold, therewith no one honours their father and mother anymore! You have therefore abolished God's Commandment for the sake of your ordinances! (Matt. 15:6) Who gave you the authority thereto? Having never believed in God, you are well able to do so; for he who is spiritually dead has a conscience no more!"
5
Here the Centurion takes the stage again, saying: "Ah, to this has it come? Oh this I must mark well! Such servants of God are you? For this reason you are incapable of recognizing the godliness of our Master and Saviour?! Your god therefore is firstly your paunches and hence your gold and silver satchels! Well well, now I precisely recognize you; carry on now!"
6
Says the Chief: "We are servants of God in the order of Aaron!"
7
Say I: "Oh you miserable hypocrites! Isaiah indeed has written and prophesied of you: (Matt. 15:7) 'This people draweth close to Me with their mouths, honours Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, while teaching the people such doctrines which are nothing else than commandments of men." (Matt. 15:8-9)
8
Says the Chief: "Because of our ordinances, which are also for mans' benefit, we do not abolish God's commandments!"
9
Say I: "I have already shown you so with one of God's Commandments; do you want to also hear how you tread all the other Commandments of God into the dust, putting your own ordinances shy-high above them?"
10
Says the Chief: "Leave it alone because of the people, of whom many are here!"
11
Says the Centurion: "In this way you only testify before the people how our Master keeps God's Commandments to the fullest degree!"
12
Says the Chief: "We cannot do this now; this can be effected only by the Temple through the ordained High Pries!"
13
Says the Centurion to that: "We Romans put it this way: Ars longa, vita brevis! (Long on art, short on life) (the ed.), or: one intends to put the thing on the back burner for as long as possible to avoid doing anything. But I tell you straight out before the people: even your best testimony to a Master like Jesus of Nazareth would be too miserable and evil! Should you dare to in the Temple at home cast even one aspersion on Jesus before your colleagues, then I shall on the spot despatch a report to the Emperor in Rome, and with the dot over the I and hundred witnesses in minutest detail describe how you and your colleagues, on your instigation carried out the infamous taxation-robbery! Then reckon hardly another year and your infernal nest will be so destroyed that it shall be hard to tell where it once stood! Mark it well! For a Roman keeps what he has spoken, even if heaven and earth should perish therefrom. 'Peret mundus, fiat jus!' (may the word perish, but justice be done! - the ed.) - Have you understood me?"