THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 172 -
The Lord with His disciples in the fishing village near Caesarea.
A good two hours' journey below Mark's present bath house was the great bay which the fishermen also called the 'White Lake'; we steered into it. It was the shallowest part of the sea and was therefore somewhat difficult to navigate with a larger ship because one needed to know the deeper passages of water very well in order not to remain stuck on a sandbank. But our ship nonetheless completely entered the bay and did not hit ground anywhere, at which even the twelve apostles began to wonder very much, since no one controlled either the oars or the rudder. The ship was thus led by an invisible power and recognized as being led very well by all the apostles, who were well acquainted with ships.
2
We came already before midday to the site of our new designation and turned there to a poor fisherman, who accepted all of us gladly. The place had no name of its own, it was simply called 'Fisherman's village near Caesarea'. Soon a large number of the poor fishermen and women came to us and asked us what we were actually looking for here, and what we wanted to do in this extremely poor place.
3
But I calmed them down and said, "You will learn that soon enough! But first of all tell Me whether we thirteen can spend several days here in complete peace!"
4
And our host said, "As far as I am concerned, without any objection! Only I must first tell you all, dear friends, that I have indeed a good will, but no means to give you even a basic accommodation; for since the burning of Caesarea things gave been going very pitifully badly for me! The daily small sale of our fish has naturally entirely stopped, and otherwise there is no other earning for us poor inhabitants of this little village. Thus we are completely and entirely reduced to begging, have nothing to eat but our fish, and therefore can offer nothing to prepare and eat other than fish, as we have. But the preparation is extremely simple for us. The fish are simply cooked and consumed without salt or bread and without any other herbs. For to be honest, we have become the clearest beggars more than even the burnt-out Caesareans through the fire in Caesarea and do not even have enough money to be able to buy salt! Ah, now things are very miserably bad for us; if you want to suffer hunger for a few days along with me and my people, then you are heartily welcome to me!
5
But now be so good as to tell me what drove you then into this bay that is almost never visited by strangers and which is very difficult to navigate for large ships! Certainly not a storm; for in this corner, surrounded on all sides by high mountains, even that cannot enter. Or are you being persecuted, seeking asylum here until some certain danger has passed? Actually, that is all the same to me! If I can provide some service for you, then it would only give me a very particular joy. My questions are indeed somewhat cheeky, but you dear friends must forgive me! I am curious in my nature and know well who it is that I am sheltering. Your great, almost completely new ship that quite certainly cost around a hundred silver pennies shows me more than enough that you are not poor. For us it is obviously a great, surprising rarity if some strangers come to us by mistake; and whenever such luck was granted us, then there was certainly always some objection with the visitors to this very most pathetic and isolated area. Therefore will you immediately tell me, as the head of this little village of beggars, what I would like to learn most faithfully from you above all, but only quite according to the truth!"
6
I say, "Well then, if the curiosity is plaguing you so much, then know that we are Galileans just like you, and once again, that we have not been followed by anyone here at all, but instead we came here freely, firstly in order to visit this very strange area, to climb one of these high mountains and, as decently as possible, to help you in your very well-known great affliction! "If you are satisfied now, then speak!"
7
The representative says, "Quite completely; for no one would call into question whether you are Galileans or not, and thus one can give your statement full faith, which one naturally cannot do for the Greeks and Romans, because they almost always speak differently to the way they think, which we call 'lying'. Rest here under the shade of this only tree of mine for the moment and I will go into my hut and see how I can put together a considerable midday meal!"