The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
First journey of the Lord: Kis - landing place at Sibarah - Nazareth
- Chapter 3 -
Correct application of miracular- and healing powers.
Shortly thereafter comes Kisjonah, greeting us most tenderly and amicably and saying, "My most endlessly beloved friend Jesus! - This I call you only officially for You know what and Who You are in my heart. - You alone I have to thank for all this! A mere 5,000 pounds in all of poor Cana citizen's debts I had gladly crossed off the books, yet You have in return let 50,000 pounds come my way, not to mention the inestimable worth of the other treasures which perhaps are worth that much again! But with all my immeasurable love for You I promise that I shall use all this most effectively for the poor and the oppressed, and this Satanic filth, shall yet be turned into gold for God's heavens!
2
To be sure, I shall not be putting the gold and silver into the people's hands, for it then is poison for men's weak terrestrial hearts; but I shall provide the roofless and landless with roof and tax-free land and procure cattle, bread and clothing for them. But everyone I provide for shall have Your Word preached and your name made known to them, to make them vividly aware of Whom to thank for everything and that I am myself no more than a bad and lazy servant! You, oh Lord however strengthen me whenever I shall be serving in Your name! If however, I should have a mind of diverting even one of my senses to the world then cause all my powers to weaken, to make me aware of being a feeble human, not capable of accomplishing anything out of my own strength!"
3
Thereupon I place My hand upon his heart, saying, "Friend and brother! Keep Me in there, and you shall not ever be lacking in power for carrying out noble deeds! From living faith and fullness of pure love for Me, and minded to do good to men in My name, you shall indeed command the elements and they shall obey you. Your call to the winds shall not go uncomprehended and the sea shall know your mind. And to one or the other mountain you shall be able to say "Arise and cast thyself into the sea", and it shall be as you commanded.
4
If however, someone asks for signs, that he may believe then let no sign be given him who asked. He who does not want to recognise truth for truth's sake, and for whom same is not a sufficient sign, for him it is better to stay blind; for if he is forced to accept the truth through a sign but does not then act in accordance with the teaching, then the sign is a double judgement for him, He firstly is forced to accept the truth as truth regardless of whether or not he recognises it in his blindness, due to the sign, and he secondly must obviously plunge into still deeper judgement within himself on account of divine order if not acting in accordance with the truth forced on him, regardless of whether he fully recognises the truth as such or not; for the success of the sign has provided him with binding testimony. And this is already enough; here, comprehension or non-comprehension justifies nobody.
5
For if someone asks for a sign as evidence of a truth heard, saying: "Notwithstanding my non-comprehension of the basis of truth from your talk, if a sign is given me as evidence for the truth of your statement, then I intend to accept such teaching as full truth." Well then, a sign is given to the applicant, and he can no longer avoid the truth of the teaching, whether he comprehends it from its foundation or not; for now the sign stands there as an indisputable witness.
6
Since it is however impossible for his blindness to fathom the truth and considering the keeping of the truth-teaching as potentially most cumbersome, he thinks to himself: "There could indeed be something to it, otherwise the sign would not have been possible; yet I still can't probe its basis and by following same would demand dreadful self-denial. Hence I shall not do so, and keep to my habitual life-style which, lacking extraordinary signs indeed, nevertheless is fairly palatable!"
7
Behold, in this very thing already lies the punishing judgement, which the sign-applicant has brought upon himself through the sign in response to his request, which has delivered him the incontrovertible proof; against which he can set up no counter-proof. Yet through his misguided life-style he nonetheless in effect fronts up as an antagonist of eternal truth, actually widely dismissing it, notwithstanding the fact of his incapacity to negate the success of the testifying sign as non-existent. Hence it is incomparably better to not work a sign as testimony of the truth!
8
However, for the usefulness and other human benefit without being requested, you may work signs in secrecy as much as you like, and this shall then not be counted as sin to anyone and even less as judgement. But if you have worked signs for human benefit in advance, then you can also afterwards provide the people concerned with a doctrine, provided they desire it; if they have no such desire then warn them against sin forcefully. Let yourself not be drawn into further instruction, as you shall then be regarded by those you helped merely as a doctor of magic, and the sign shall have no further coercive, judgmental effect on them.
9
All who were given power to work signs in an emergency shall however keep this My counsel, if desirous to effect the truly good.
10
Let all beware however of working signs from a kind of outburst or anger. Because a sign should be worked only out of purest love and gentleness; if worked out of rage and fury however, which also is quite possible, then hell has already a part in it, and such sign then not only brings no blessing, but a curse.
11
Since however I have already on several occasions taught you to bless even those who would curse you, how much less should you prepare a curse for the blind in spirit - those who do not confront you with a curse but merely a blindness of heart!
12
Consider this well and act accordingly, and you shall be spreading blessing everywhere, even if not exclusively spiritually but nevertheless physically, as I Myself have done and am still constantly doing. For after a merely physical favour can have a greater effect on the heart and spirit of a wretched than a hundred lessons on virtue, and if its therefore also proper when spreading the Gospel, to forge a way to the wretch's heart with physical benevolence and only afterwards preach the Gospel to the wholesome hearts, rather than precede with the Gospel and afterwards through a sign dump the wretched listeners into a manifestly judgement and hence into greater wretchedness than was the first, which affected only the body.
13
When called to someone sick, then lay your hands upon him before the sermon, so that he may get better. If he then asks you, "Friend, how was this possible to you"? then, only say, "Through a living faith in the name of Him Who was sent by God from heaven for the true blissfullness of all men!" - If he then further asks you about the name, then give him introductory instruction commensurate with his capacity to grasp, so that he would begin to understand the possibility of such a phenomenon.
14
If he has advanced to that stage, then continue to give him more information in the right measure. If you find the heart of the hearer gradually animating, then tell him everything, and he is certain to accept it and believe everyone of your words. If however you give him too much at once, it shall crush him and confuse his feelings, and then he shall be hard work for you.
15
Just as one does not give the newborn infants a mature man's fare which would kill them, one must even less give the child in spirit the fare of an advanced spirit, but only food that is most suitable for such children, otherwise it would give them death, and it would be extremely difficult to reanimate them in spirit. - Have all of you now properly grasped and understood this?"
16
Moved deeply, all say thereto, "Yes Lord! This is now as clear to us as the midday sun, and we shall faithfully abide by it."
17
Say I, "Very well, let us proceed to the cave where the Pharisees had hidden their treasures; for there is another cave within the cave and we intend to look through it. But take sufficient number of flares, as well as wine and bread for there we shall encounter very hungry beings."