The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
At the house of Matthew, the tax collector
- Chapter 121 -
The Pharisees' conversation about Joseph, Mary and Jesus. A complaint of Joseph's and his doubters about Jesus. John the Gospeller's hints to the Pharisees.
It shall be realised that such instruction of the company, although not understood by all, nevertheless went down well and with gratitude. Even the Scribes and Pharisees were astonished at My wisdom, asking among themselves how such wisdom came My way. Because they had known Me and Joseph, Mary and Joseph's children, saying to the disciples, 'It truly is incomprehensible! His father was indeed a highly competent craftsman in his own sphere and exceedingly faithful, fair and honest and a strict Jew as well, who concerned himself with Moses and the prophets to the best of his knowledge of same; yet there never was any special wisdom about him, and his four other, actual sons who had been engaged by us several times, are as far removed from any trace of wisdom as the sun, moon and stars from the earth.
2
The good mother Mary herself, a woman still pretty, hard-working and virtuous, on whom none can cast aspersions, was indeed, as we were informed, brought up in the Temple; but we know all about such training, knowing only too well how much wisdom is expected therefrom, particularly for girls. And he cannot have absorbed much wisdom from his mother. And he has to our knowledge never attended any school either!'
3
'On the contrary', says one Scribe, a good acquaintance of Joseph's, 'Joseph has more than once told me about the problem with his boy, complaining and saying, 'I don't know what to do with this boy! His purportedly very peculiar birth, seemingly closely intertwined with those appearances, from which one should have expected the Divine Being Itself to manifest Itself through such a child on earth, to which several most extraordinary appearances in his earliest childhood clearly attest, as well as his sayings of the most exalted wisdom, had truly filled me with the greatest expectation, the more so on account of my most direct descendancy from David. Yet in this very time when the child should be learning something, nothing can be accomplished with him and there can be no mention of any learning. Even if I place him with a teacher, same can't get anywhere with him; the boy knows and understands everything much better and if a teacher is about to get strict with him, that's the end of it!
4
What has remained with him from his earliest youth is a most incomprehensibly unbending willpower, with which, where he deems it necessary, he can work most obvious miracles. But precisely on account of this very trait, nothing is to be done with him. He otherwise is pious, obedient, well-behaved, gentle and as unassuming as his mother; only he must not be confronted with learning!'
5
Behold, this is how the old Joseph complained to me not once but several times and hence it is even more certain that he has never, besides his carpentry, in his life learnt anything, - neither reading and still less writing; hence an excusable question - where does this wisdom come from?' [see 'The Childhood of Jesus', No. 9, New Salem Scriptures, - the publisher].
6
Says the Gospeller John, 'Friends, I know it only too well and feel easy about it; but the time for telling you this is still far off. But the time shall come for you to hear it from His own mouth. Until then however, let His works and wisdom suffice you.' The Pharisees and Scribes tried indeed to get more out of John, but he would not be moved. But now several taxation employees and officials went back to work, creating room at the big table.