The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
In the fisherman's house at Bethabara
- Chapter 115 -
The surging crowd in front of Mary's house at Nazareth. The people's intention to proclaim Jesus king. A spokesman for the people explains to the maid that Jesus is the Promised One. The people seek and find Jesus. The commander Cornelius' timely assistance.
The following morning however there was much excitement in front of the house, because by daybreak already a great many people were streaming in from all sides and there was also no shortage of bread and milk vendors. And thus a very great commotion got under way, daunting all those within the house.
2
But I said, 'Let us partake of our morning meal and then move to a house of My acquaintance, a few furlongs beyond Capernaum, so that this thing would not arouse too great a sensation in Nazareth!'
3
Even whilst still announcing this to the disciples, Judas enters, saying, 'Brethren, I am staying with you for good! My business is finished - I terminated it already today instead of tomorrow, on your account, but, to change the subject; the crowd around here, swollen to several thousand, wants to do nothing less than proclaim the good Master Jesus king! And this I would call quite risky, given the strong Roman presence! Because it may be rather hard to trust the otherwise humane Romans under these conditions, nor the High Priests, Pharisees and scribes of our people!'
4
Say I, 'Now then, bring in the morning meal quickly! It also is Sabbath and more folk could arrive; hence we shall get away from here quickly!'
5
There was a well-fenced garden to both sides of our house, which could be reached only through a small back door to the house. We therefore used this door and got away from the thousands of curious eyes, so to say, of whom more than three quarters were driven there by idle curiosity, to gape at miraculous happenings there.
6
After the one hundred-odd of us got away from the great crowd unseen, even whilst they were still waiting for Me and My disciples to come out in order to work some miracle or make a speech, with their then being able, as planned by many, to proclaim Me king of the Jews, one maid of My house stepped out to the crowd, asking a man who especially appealed to her, what the great crowd was after. And the man spoke, 'We are here to make Jesus, the mightiest of the mighty and wisest of the wise, our King! Because we were witnesses of how the sea and the winds obeyed Him and how the worst devils and men and spirits must flee before Him! He irrefutably is the Promised Anointed of God, to redeem the people of God from the hard yoke and tyranny of Rome! It hence is time to elevate Him to king of the people of God, recognised and worshipped universally by all Jews! - Behold, that's why we are here! - What is He doing inside the house that long, not even coming out to see us?!'
7
Says the maid, 'Here you are waiting in vain, because he already left early for the district of Capernaum, maybe for someone sick and together with all His disciples. Hence, as said, you are waiting in vain.'
8
The man asks her whether she knew the house I went to. But the maid is sorry that neither she nor anyone else in the house knew. Because I had confided it to no one as to which house I had gone.
9
In order to convince himself of the maid's statement, the man goes to check out the house, and not finding anyone there other than the few people helping Mary clean the cooking and table crockery, he goes back outside to inform all that I had headed in the general direction of Capernaum to heal a sick.
10
When the crowd found that out, they took off, yelling, 'Let's be off to Capernaum! There we shall find out the house He went to!'
11
All but a few Nazarenes head for the road to Capernaum and My house is free of the huge public encampment.
12
But the Capernaumers in turn are startled on seeing this outsize crowd moving on the city. The Roman chief at once dispatches orderlies to find out the reason for such numbers moving into Capernaum, particularly on a Sabbath, whose keeping it is the chief's lot to uphold.
13
Say the asked ones, 'We are seeking Jesus of Nazareth, having heard of His presence here.'
14
And the chief notifies them that Jesus is to be found not in Capernaum, but in the vicinity of Bethabara, where He had moved two hours earlier.
15
Hearing this, the multitude quickly moves toward Bethabara. But on the way between these two localities along the Galilean Sea, the ringleaders spot another multitude surrounding a house, and inquiring there are told that I was within.
16
The house is thereupon beleaguered on all sides and the people are figuring out how to make Me king. But here the commander does Me a favour, by dispatching a whole legion from Capernaum, who are to oversee the multitude. And the host holds back from their undertaking.
17
This commotion however was, because of Myself, attracting to this house several Jereusalemite Pharisees and scribes, detained at Capernaum at the time, as well as some from Nazareth and the surroundings, as they had heard from Jairus how I had awoken his daughter from sheer death. For these the crowd was making way to enter the house.
18
No sooner do they locate Me in the house when they start regaling Me with a host of questions. But I refer them to My disciples, saying, 'These here are My witnesses; they know about it all, ask them!'
19
And the Pharisees and scribes then storm the disciples and these give them well-measured answers.