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 159 -
About loving your enemies.
Says the skipper: "Marvellous maiden, who gave you such wisdom? Verily, you are wiser than Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!"
2
Says Jarah: "Did I not just show you Who is He that is now among us; indisputably so, how can you still ask from where such my wisdom, or who gave it to me? Here before us stand the great, holy giver of all gifts! He alone is wise, and He alone completely good! Whoever loves Him, and in his heart believes that He out of Himself is the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth from eternity, into the heart of such He shall place His uncreated eternal light, and the whole man shall be lit up; and such man shall then be filled with divine wisdom. - If you have any understanding, then it must be plain to you as to where we all stand now!"
3
Says the skipper: "Sure, my most lovable angel! We understand it now, and it is going to be as you explained it to us; but those who last night asked us to take them to Zebulun and Chorazim will not accept this, and hence grasp it even less! We are very simple folk and hardly need a miracle to believe it; yet with them a miracle would yield even less fruit than none at all!"
4
Says Jarah: "Wherefore He shall also become awe-inspiring to them, for the winds shall carry His word over all the Earth! Let him beware who will then still reject it!"
5
Say I to the shipmates: "Now then, how do you like this My daughter's mind?"
6
Say the seamen: "Lord and Master! If you are He Who Your are, according to this most wise and dear angel of maiden, then it is no wonder that this little maiden is so wise; because He Who in Bileam's time could loosen the donkey's tongue, so the same was able to prophesy to Bileam, to Him it should be even easier to make the tongue of an eloquent fourteen year-old maiden capable of prophesying!
7
We all believe now that You are He Who this little maiden described before our eyes and ears, and no further miracle is needed! But since Your oh Lord are He, then take note of our feebleness and transform it into proper strength, so that we can defend ourselves against the constant enemies of light and truth! For it is truly sad that we Jews must now seek light and truth among the heathens. Jerusalem, instead of being a brilliant lamp to all mankind, now is a mudhole of grossest night and darkness, and a murderer's den of the ancient pure spirit of the Jews; and when we want light and truth then we have to go looking for it in Sidon and Tyre with the Greeks and Romans! Wherefore, Lord and Master, since all things are possible to You, give us light and strength, so that we see the truth and defend it against the enemies!"
8
Say I: "Peace be with you, and also among you! Let none imagine himself above another! You all are equal brethren; but he who regards himself least, wanting to be the servant of all, nevertheless is the greatest and highest! If however I desire you to be My servant, then you are in all truth also My power. An so every servant is his master's strength, - but the Lord is on that account his servant's righteousness! Love one another, do good to your enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who damn you. Return good for evil and do not lend your money to those who can pay high interest; and you shall be imbued with the fullness of God's blessing and grace! Therewith light, truth and all power and strength shall shortly be bestowed upon you; for the way you measure out, so shall you be measured out in return!"
9
Says a bosun's mate: "Lord, we see and perceive that Your doctrine is true and orthodox; but we also feel that it shall be hard to adhere to! It certainly is praiseworthy and celestially beautiful to do good to those who are perpetually trying to do us harm; but who can accommodate the often too despicable human malice with steadfast patience? And it is questionable whether one does not thereby foster human wickedness, instead of punishing them for evil deeds. If one were to even reward murderer and thieves for their misdeeds, then soon there should be few people left treading the Earth. Wherefore one has to always show the enemy a tough hide, and surround one's house with a thorny bulwark, to permanently remove the adversary's desire to do harm. This is certain to make an enemy friendlier than to even return a misdeed with a favour!"
10
Say I: "For sure, this certainly is the human reasoning, but nevertheless lacks all trace of godliness. Through punishment you shall certainly frighten the person who harmed you, so that he may not lightly try to harm you again, - yet he shall not become your friend for it! If however, at the right time, you do him a favour when he is in trouble, then he will feel convicted of the sin he committed against you, repenting it and from that hour becoming your most ardent friend!
11
And then the favour with which you returned his misdeed shall reform him for good; but punishment for it would transform him into your sixty-fold enemy!
12
If the first transgression against you consisted only in a kind of mischief or derision, then the second transgression shall be from anger and revenge; hence I say unto you again: do as I said unto you earlier, and you shall be blessed with God's grace and benediction in all fullness!
13
Since he who wants truly be blessed by Me, must indeed accept My word wherein dwells all mercy, all light, all truth and all power, otherwise it would be impossible to award him any mercy.
14
But let you all take Me as an example, for I am of a completely gentle and humble heart, and supremely patient with all! Does not the sun shine in equal measure upon the good and the bad, the righteous and unrighteous; and does not the fructifying rain fall upon the field of the sinner as the bust? Be ye therefore perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect, and you shall be overfilled with the grace and benediction from the heavens. Do you of a truth understand this?"
15
Say all: "Yes Lord, now we understand it indeed! It is all fully true, and hence in perfect order, and we shall make the greatest effort to adhere to it. Notwithstanding all this, it shall initially take much effort."
16
Say I: "Yes, My dear friends, in this day the kingdom of God requires force! They who will not take it by force shall not gain it. Every man nonetheless who takes up battle on account of God's kingdom, is a wise and clever builder. A wise and clever builder however does not build is house upon loose sand, but upon solid rock; and when the winds and floods come, it falls not, for it stands upon a rock.
17
So is the battle for the kingdom of God within man. He who once has gained it internally has brought it down to himself indestructibly for eternity. Then worldly storms of all kinds can come upon him, but they shall not prevail against him. But he who has not secured it with all his strength and boldness shall be torn down by world storms, and lose also that which he already had! - This remember well; for days are coming when you shall have much need thereof!"
18
Say the mariners: "We cannot but express sincere thanks to You for all this, oh Lord, and we see it but too clearly that man cannot give God anything out of himself that he has not previously received first from Him; but receive this our thanks nevertheless as if worthy of Your regard, and bid us what we can do, out of honour and love for You!"
19
Say I: "I have already told you; - and nothing further is required! - But now tell us what you have seen and heard this night everywhere; because mariners often see quite rare things. Be brief however, and neither add nor leave out anything you know, intentionally!