The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The nocturnal discussion with Nicodemus
- Chapter 17 -
Healing miracles and late guests at the inn.
That after the cleansing of the temple I spent some time at a small inn outside the city together with all those who had followed Me has already been mentioned in the previous chapter. But everybody might come up with the question:
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"What were You doing there, Lord; for You surely did not spend that time in idleness?"
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That that I say, 'Of course not! For a great number of people from all walk of life came to Me from the city by day and night. The poor came usually by day, the great, distinguished and rich mostly by night, for they did not want to appear weak and treacherous to their own kind.
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But since they - motivated partly by their curiosity, partly by a kind of credulous feeling for the possibility that I might after all really be the Messiah - were prompted to get better acquainted with me, their visits which took place during the night usually ended with considerable sulking on their part. For these distinguished, great and rich were greatly annoyed that I did not treat them at least as gently and well as many of the poor who had no end of praise for My kindness and friendliness.
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Besides, I worked many a miracle for the poor as a physician, freed the possessed from their tormentors, made the lame walk, the palsied straight, the leprous clean, the dumb hear and speak, the blind see, and all this mostly through the Word.
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Those who came to Me by night knew of all that and wanted similar signs from me to which I always remarked, 'The day has twelve hours and so has the night. The day is meant for work, but the night for rest. Who works during the day does not knock against objects, but this easily happens to the one who works at night, for he does not see where he sets his foot.'
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But some asked Me by what might and power I performed such miracles. The quite short answer was this, 'Out of My very own, and I do not need anybody's help for it.'
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Again they asked My why I did not take quarters in the city, as such great deeds required a large place and not just a small, insignificant village which, although close to the great city, is quite ignored by it.
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Thereupon I again said, 'I do not care to stay in a place where at the gates of its self-conceited citizens soldiers are keeping watch, admitting only the distinguished, but mercilessly refusing admittance to the poor and where a person, if his face is not familiar and his attire not sufficiently magnificent, is stopped at least seven times in every street and interrogated as to who he is, where he is from and what he is doing there. Besides, I only like what is small and despised by the world, for it is written: "What is great before the world is an abomination before God."
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And they asked saying, 'Is not the temple wherein Jehovah dwells great and magnificent?' - Say I, 'He is supposed to dwell therein, but since you desecrated the temple He left it and does not dwell there any more, and the Ark of the Covenant is empty and dead.'
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Say the night-visitors, 'What is this sacrilegious nonsense you are talking about? Don't you know what God has spoken to David and Solomon? Can what God has spoken ever become untrue? Who are you that you dare to speak before us like that?'
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Say I, 'Just as I have within and out of Myself the might and power to heal all the sick who come to Me solely through My will and My Word, I have also the might and power and the fullest right to speak to you of the temple as I did. And I tell you once more that now also your temple is an abomination in the eyes of God.'
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Here some began to grumble, but others said, 'This is obviously a prophet and these have always spoken unfavourably of the temple. Let us leave him alone!' And so the night-visitors left again.