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 66 -
About magicians and fortunetellers.
From here on Cyrenius starts speaking on his own, saying: "Lord, it is fully true that You certainly are He as Whom we have recognised You for a long time, and none from among us can question this; yet I must openly admit to You that in this Your explanation about magicians interpreters of signs and fortunetellers, I sensed hardly anything of that well-known mercy and love I am accustomed in You! Under such conditions and terms does not all this depend on Yourself in the end, - since it is Yourself Who inflicts mighty blows upon mankind that are extremely hurtful; yet let the beaten man beware if he starts lamenting under the mighty blows. But I hardly think that's right!
2
Behold, the men of the earth surely are generally blind and foolish, and hence evil. But I ask what is to blame, and how the evil comes about. And the way I'm asking now, hundreds of thousand of Romans, by no means immature, are asking the same question.
3
One can definitely not assume that man in the beginning went forth from Your hand in an evil condition, no more than a child is born into the world as a devil. If the first man was good, how did the second and third become evil? Was this Your will, or that of him who begot him afterwards? Everything that is therefore had to come in accordance with Your will. If Your will wanted it that way, why then this heavy condemnation of people who wanted to basically only save mankind from certain despair because You had not wanted to reveal Yourself after their calling upon You? I beg You to be righteous rather than harsh; because the creature has no weapon against its creator, - it can only beg, tolerate, suffer and despair!"
4
Say I: "But friend Cyrenius! Have you already forgotten everything that you have heard, both from Myself as well as from the two angels? Did you not just a few days ago want to immediately punish the Pharisees for wanting to stone Me, and I did not let you. And now it seems that you want to almost take their side. Or do you better understand how to position man so that from such vantage point he must become a child of God if he so desires? See how weak you are still!
5
Are you so well versed in the most general history of mankind that you have reason to reproach Me for only now responding to those calling and seeking, but never in former times?
6
Did not the first men constantly associate with Me, Who was, beginning with Noah until Moses, the high priest at Salem, called Melchisedek, who dwelt at Salem also as a real king of kings? Who was the Spirit in the ark of the covenant? And since the Spirit from the ark entered Me, - question: Who am now !?
7
Those calling did, to be sure, expect Me to descend to them from the stars since, when I was among them, I was too common and not sufficiently divine as I did not want to shine like the stars.
8
Behold, that which inspired you just now was wrong from its foundation, and Satan, having noticed a little of your harbouring of his secret, tried you out a little, and you were ready at once to quarrel with Me! Consider therefore whether you can be right with your talk?
9
Am I capable of ever being hard or unjust towards anyone? Or am I wrong in offering you the real purest gold for the fake manufactured ones: Or should I leave you to your evil and useless superstition? Did not I as the Lord, have more right to ruin the evil, stubborn Pharisees than you? Did I sentence them? They would indeed also have fallen prey to their own judge if I had not rescued them miraculously!
10
See how short sighted you still are. I mean that all those things you have heard and seen should surely have made you a little more far-sighted!"
11
Cyrenius asks My forgiveness, as well as all the others, and they realise their false notions; I comfort them all saying: "Oh, you all shall meet with much tougher tests yet; do not then forget this happening and this My instruction to you, otherwise you could be led into still greater temptation in spite of you having all seen and spoken to Me and then easily fall away from Me into all the world going over into its lies and deceptions and completely resemble those you think had sought and called upon Me after which, in order to more easily condemn them, I am to have sent them magicians and interpreters of signs in My stead?" All ask My forgiveness once more, and I bless them all.