The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1

Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching

First mission of the messengers. Great teaching mission

- Chapter 138 -

A proper question: What if the harvest from sowing heavenly seed, full of love-peace, yields discord? 'Do not be concerned about Satan defending himself.' More objections from Judas. The Lord's exhortation to trust and to fearless spreading of the Gospel.

Says Simon of Cana, 'Lord, I would like to raise a question, which seems important at least to myself, which you may be inclined to answer for us before we go out, - for our instruction and peace of mind. I beg that You would hear me.'

Say I, 'I can read your question from your heart more precisely than you can formulate it; but let not this stop you from voicing it for your brethren's sake! For the question is of truly great import and worthy of a true and unspoiled Jew. Hence bring out into the open by all means what makes you heavy breasted!'

Says Simon of Cana, 'Very well! If it be Your will that I too speak, then let you all hear me! The question is this:

We shall presently be going to those who have need of us. We shall be preaching what You taught upon the Mount. This Your Sermon on the Mount is of a purely divine nature and therefore of a heavenly goodness beyond all measure. But this teaching is for the most part in strict opposition to the old Mosaic one.

I am familiar with all the localities along the extensive Galilean sea coast, as also many times no less so with its inhabitants. There are indeed many among them who have thrown Moses overboard for Pythagoras; yet it is not these who would pose too much of a threat for your teaching. But there are among them also many families, who so to say live and die for Moses and actually more still for the Temple, - and the parents generally more so than the children, although the reverse is not seldom the case. If therefore the children of some ultra orthodox Jews receive Your in many ways anti-Templeric teaching, but not their parents, what shall be the result?

The parents shall reproach the children for disobedience according to Moses and curse them, - a phenomenon none too rare among fanatically orthodox Jews!

If this undoubtedly shall be taking place in front of our eyes, what shall have to be our response? Because it can doubtlessly be taken for granted that such parents shall persecute and curse us without limit.

In the alternative case however it would be much easier of course, since by mere virtue of political law itself, the children cannot be lords over the parents. Besides blessings therefore, we shall be casting the seeds also of discord, quarrelling, rage, hate and revenge and shall be hated, persecuted and totally cursed by thousands! Who shall make good such damage and remove the thousandfold curse from our loins!'

Say I, 'Do not let this overly concern you! Behold, there comes down from heaven not only the mild, all enlivening sun beam of spring, but storm, hail, lightning and thunder as well.

Everyone praises the sunbeam indeed, but nobody wants to praise the hail, storm, lightning and thunder; and winter comes too soon for all, - yet winter is more beneficial to all than spring; and storm, hail, lightning and thunder are as necessary as the sunset's mild beams!

I say into you: it shall come and must come that, for My name's sake, one brother shall deliver another to death and thus a father the son; and the children shall be outraged at their parents and help them towards death! (Matt. 10:1) And you have to yourselves be hated by everyone of the world as it now actually is, for My name's sake!

Whosoever among you shall not be offended thereby, but perseveres until the end, shall gain beatitude [Matt. 10:]; for Satan's paw does not easily let go of his prey! Have you understood Me?'

Says Judas, 'It's getting better all the time! If this sending has to draw everybody's hatred upon us, then God help such undertaking! Good luck, those who will hate us are going to look after us and keep us like summer does with the snow. Lord, if this is Your full earnest, then I as a simple but nevertheless quite experienced man say to You: Let You nicely stay home with us, because this seed shall not sprout and bring forth fruit! - Hear! If we shall have reached the stage where after our sermon we shall be hated of everyone like death itself, what shall be left us to do; shall we allow ourselves to also be killed on the quiet side? If that too - who will then spread Your Word? Hey, think of what You are asking! Do You not for the sake of the most luminescent heaven see You make Yourself sheer impossible, being therewith Your own greatest enemy and persecutor? Where, where in the whole wide world is he who, hating me beyond death, will listen to my sermon that is going to fill his house with discord, hate, rage and deadly revenge? Speak, - what is to be done in such unavoidable circumstance?'

Say I, 'You talk the way you understand it, but we talk the way we do. You understand everything in the terrestrially crude way, whilst the discussion here is from the heavens, spiritual.

If however you or anyone else should be so scared of men, then flee from a town where they persecute you, to another! Because, verily I say unto you: you shall not have preached in all the cities of Israel by the time I already, as the Son of Man, come to you again (Matt. 10:3) as One Who shall kindle judgment for everyone - a ruinous fire in his heart, arousing the evil worm in the evildoer's breast and the fire shall not go out and the worm not die; you yourselves however shall be justified for, let all those beware once who persecuted and laid hands upon you!'

Speaks Judas once again, 'Yes, once we shall have been killed, You shall follow us indeed! If however you have now given us the authority over evil spirits and the power to heal all sickness, why do You not also at the same time provide us with the power to call forth fire out of the earth, under the feet of those who persecute us, and we shall in a short time convert the whole world for You!'

Say I, 'And would you be more than is your Master and Lord? I say unto you all however - the disciple is not above his teacher and the servant not above his lord (Matt. 10:4). It is enough for the disciple to be like his master and for the servant to be like his lord.

If however your Master does not avail Himself of extraordinary power in order to force men into His teaching, why should His disciples and servants want this?

Since they have called Me - as the Lord and Master of the house from eternity Beelzebub, how much more shall they call you of My household so! (Matt. 10:5)

Since it cannot however remain hidden to Me what they intend to or do to you, you can also count on My help at all times! Does the lioness abandon her young, or in times of danger not hazard her life for every cub that would be taken from her? So, surely, I too shall know how to protect you with My life in times of danger!

Hence do not fear worldly men! What I taught you at night, that speak before them by day; and what I said to one or the other of you in the ear of your heart secretly, that proclaim from the rooftops (Matt. 10:7) and hence fear none of all those who indeed can kill man's body, but cannot kill the soul, which alone lives and has life and which they are unable to damage in any way!

If however you have to fear, then fear Him Who is a Lord also over your souls and can judge same unto hell, when He will. (Matt. 10:8). And Him you know now, for it is He Who is telling you this now!

Look there before us: a roofed barn! Behold the sparrows frolicking thereon; they fly up, then literally fall down from the roof! At the market, two are bought for a penny; how little is their worth! And yet not one falls from the roof without the will of the Father in heaven. (Matt. 10:9)

But I say unto you: the hairs of your head are counted (Matt. 10:30), yet none comes off your head without the Father's knowledge and will! If however the Father cares for things seeming so exceedingly trivial to you, will He leave unprovided those of you who spread His Word and grace?

Hence yours is a vain fear and you should never fear; for you surely are better than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:31)

Therefore, go ye out without fear and confess Me before men! Verily, he who shall confess Me before men, him also will I confess before the Father in heaven! (Matt. 10:3) But whoever among you shall deny Me before men out of vain fear, him I too shall deny once before the Father in heaven.' (Matt. 10:33)

Here Judas takes the word again, saying, 'This all is spoken wisely and nicely and certainly is also quite true; but of what use is all this. The teaching certainly is wondrously glorious, pure and true - we certainly don't want to argue any part, - whilst your deeds, for those of us assembled here, more than testify of Him Who basically carries them out. But by prevalent norms, the teaching together with the deeds not only shall hardly ever find general acceptance but, as the main cause for strife in every household to which it is introduced, it shall be either most ardently persecuted, or even totally proscribed by the state, making us impossibilities. What then? When, as the spreaders of Your teaching and deeds on earth, we shall have certainly soon expired through stoning or the sword, by fire or indeed on the cross or the lion's den, who shall step in our place and carry on for us?'

Footnotes

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