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 79 -
Two angels offer Josoe their services.
Here the two angels step forward, saying: "Yes, fairest boy. You have spoken rightly. This has not yet been sighted by our eyes, which had gazed throughout God's infinite space long before any sun yet made its presence known by the beams! Continue therefore constantly in the spirit now animating you in this purely divine fashion, and we shall remain brethren forever!"
2
Says Josoe: "Who might you be, that you are capable of enouncing words of such exalted wisdom? Are you not actually humans like I am one?"
3
Say the two: "Most beloved brother, in the spirit indeed we are what you are and shall become more and more so; but flesh and blood we have never borne! We are angels of the Lord to here serve Him alone and always. If however, He should once through His grace allow us akin to Himself to go the way of the flesh, then we shall be completely like you also in this respect. But for now you are considerably ahead of us. But eternity is long and endless, and all differences shall once lose themselves within it. But we now offer you our services as well. If you want anything, just command us, and we will serve you."
4
Says Josoe: "What should I command you to serve me? All of us have one God and one Lord and Father from eternity. Him alone it befits the right to command me and yourselves; we one and all created by Him, should not command one another but obligingly serve one another out of love, if one or the other of us, angel or man, should be in need of some service.
5
But I regard as imperfect even him who, regardless of how obligingly he comes to the aid of a needy brother begging him for assistance; because only such is then going to be helped who has the opportunity, courage and strength to make his need known to a brother in a position to help in one way or the other. Who is going to help someone who does not have the opportunity or courage to beg his more well provided brother for help? If I cannot lend even a requested help, how much less a commanded one?
6
Hence I say to you in the presence of Him Who is a Lord over life and death: when you see that I have need of some help then help me without my asking you for it, let alone my commanding you as if I were a lord! I could somehow serve you; otherwise I need neither your help nor service, least of all a commanded one, which is worse than none at all.
7
A better off brother in some respect should therefore diligently glance around his needy brethren for any potential need they have, and on finding such, offer his help! In that way he shall be, I think, well-pleasing to the Lord and Father Who eternally acts that way, thus justifying the holy image of God in which he was created; he however who helps his neighbour only when same has begged him for it, - oh, such helper is still far from the full image, let alone him who waits to be commanded assistance!
8
Behold my dear friends, if your wisdom should not extend beyond inviting men to command you to help them when they are in need of your help, then as a boy I would not swap places with you; if however you merely wanted to test me then I believe myself to have passed it quite well. And should you have heard anything out of my mouth that might have touched you a little hard then I beg your indulgence, for I did not open my mouth to give you instruction but only for the sake of truth, because you did not make your offer truthfully. You ought to as perfect celestial spirits have seen my inward parts sufficiently to foresee that I would surely respond to your offer in this way, and you would then have made your offer, for which I certainly cannot thank you from a different aspect!"
9
The two youths somewhat humbled step back a little saying: "Verily, this exalted, purely godly wisdom no angel would have looked for in this boy!"
10
Say I: "Yes, My beloved ones, God's eyesight is of high resolution, noting stains even in the most perfect angels, and hence even in the purest heart of a man which is like the apple of God's eye. I did not permit this on your, but on the guest's account, so that they would find out from the pure mouth of an awakened boy how much they are still lacking in their image of God. On the other hand the boy's spirit has been of an extraordinary penetration already from birth, and none of you should think that I Myself on this occasion place My Words in his heart and finally in the mouth. They grew upon his very own soil; hence he shall once become a thorough weapon of Mine."