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 99 -
Floran admonishes the Pharisees for their loveless criticism of the Lord.
Roklus says, "That is certain; for you have presented everything so tangibly clearly to me so that I have never heard anything in my whole life more clearly! But now I am annoyed even more about those Pharisees over there who are becoming again the old ordinary Pharisees, the more often they see the Lord take the beaker into His hand and the more comfortably the Lord discusses with Cyrenius and Cornelius! Don't you see and hear how everything is becoming an abomination for these black fellows now whatever the Lord only does or says?! Yet they have seen all these signs from Him, are now eating at His table and worship and praise Him with the tongue of snakes! Yes, what do you say to that then?"
2
Raphael says, "Just take it easy; for believe me, nothing escapes the Lord! He Himself will reprimand them very properly at the right time, and a reprimand coming from the Lord is always particularly bitter for those who deserve it. Look, Cyrenius and Cornelius and Julius and Faustus have also noticed what you noticed, and I noticed it a long time ago! But the will of the Lord has secretly warned me to keep patience, and so I am also acting as if I had not noticed what the fifty are doing among one another. But they will now soon reach the place where they will be opposed! Therefore just be perfectly calm for a very short time!"
3
Roklus became silent and waited to see what would come. But the fifty Pharisees did not wait, but instead they continued their deliberation.
4
Floran, their familiar spokesman, did not agree however with the very obscene opinions of the leader and said, "The eating and drinking of the Master does not give me any proof against His divinity! His whole behavior seems more like a silent question of whether we will not waver in our faith if we notice this or that about Him.
5
If He is the Messiah Jehovah Zebaoth, sung about by David so magnificently, then He can do whatever He wants and it will always be done rightly; for how should we poor powerless mortal people try to enjoin the rules of behavior on Him "since it depends only on Him that we exist and live "He who made heaven and earth and created, set up and gave to all animals and people their limbs and various organs of life! There you, Stahar, and all of you are completely on the very filthiest and even life threatening path!
6
What business of ours is it if He drinks more wine or eats more bread?! He is the Creator of both! Truly, that does not mislead me in the least; on the contrary I am quite glad that He, as the very highest and very wisest, moves in our human ways!
7
I must openly admit that it is most extremely unwise of you all to act thus in the presence of the highest lords of the world, as if their salvation depends on your benevolence! What and who are we then? Nothing but poor, crawling earthworms before the power of such a person who commands the elements "and these obey His will!
8
The wine has heated your tempers and fogged up your reason; therefore you are now bringing such judgments to light which I would like to call classic because of their super foolishness. What do you hope to achieve with it? Or can you prove through Moses that every now and then somewhat richer drinking of wine is forbidden? Can you claim that Noah sinned when he took a little too much of the juice of the grape? Yes, the son sinned and was made worthy of the curse for making fun of his father; but the son that covered the fathers shame was full of blessing!
9
Therefore I say to you all: whatever the Lord does is always and eternally done rightly! And even if He took several skins of wine here, that should not concern us; and if a thousand virgins lay around Him, whatever status and reputation they might have, that should not concern us in the least; for He is their Creator and guardian just as He is of us! What business can that then be of ours if He nears His own created works and heals what is shameful and sick in them?! Be for Jehovah's sake fair and gratefully modest in your judgments!"