The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
On Mount Morgenkopf near Kis
- Chapter 172 -
A worthy retort from another Pharisee - the healed Tobias. His honest testimony to Jesus and His holy teaching and deeds. About the Templer's atrocity. A curse prophesied for the Jews.
Says another, 'You are not altogether wrong, if we look at the matter from a purely worldly viewpoint; but if there is yet another life for man's soul after death, which I have never doubted yet, then all these worldly considerations and relationships are altogether worthless and then this Jesus is a sun for the night of man's spirit, showing us the right way along which we can already in our bodies catch a glimpse of the great beyond, taking from the Father's house the glorious fare for eternal life!
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And such He teaches, wanting to show blind men how without further assistance, the air can offer and has to yield bread and wine, hence food proper, as we saw upon the heights a couple of days ago, having eaten and drank therefrom!
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That the old night always has to do battle with the coming day not only human history but the entire nature of things teaches us as occurring before our eyes and unfolding; yet this is God's order, permission and will, against which no worldly power ever has prevailed.
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What do you intend doing if this Jesus, surely suffused utterly with God's power, were to seize you with His thoughts and utterly destroy you. What opposition could you offer Him?
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Hear! A man Who is instantly obeyed by wind and sea and all evil or good spirits - a man Who calls the dead back to life, healing through mere will every ever so old and stubborn illness, without medicine, surely could be somewhat more than a mere genius in magic! Have not you and I often watched and observed the magicians, how these are surrounded with all kinds of magic symbols, magic formulas, amulets and magic wands and always make the greatest fuss out of every trivia they produce.
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This Jesus however has neither amulet, nor anything pertaining to conjuring, nor any magic ointments, nor herbs or roots and is not at all secretive or mysterious, or a show-off, but a completely plain, good-natured and courteous, civil philanthropist and in Himself a man in the ultimately perfect sense.
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He is no whinger and always good-tempered and His Words flow like milk and honey; yet his plainness notwithstanding, anything He wills happens in the most miraculous fashion! I am more than convinced that He could create a new earth just through His will! I have known Him almost from birth and can tell you that as a little boy He was already performing all the things that He performs before us now as a man.
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If however a man accomplishes deeds which are possible only to God, what should hold me back from taking such a person to be God?
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I have been a Galilean from birth and am over seventy years and my eyesight has been very feeble for thirty years, having been fully blind already in one eye and of a completely blurred vision in the other. How many physicians from all parts of the world, who nearly all regarded themselves as supernatural in their vocation, who tamed snakes and wild beasts, who decapitated birds and then miraculously fused the heads back, have I not consulted and strictly followed by prescription for my dear money, but to no avail!
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Two hours ago, just after supper, He helped me through one Word in such a way that I now see probably more perfectly with both eyes than any of you!
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Look up Scripture and see whether the earth ever was trodden by a human being with such miraculous power! Moses indeed accomplished a lot through God's power, loaned him on account of his mighty faith, like the great promise made to Abraham! But how small Moses' deeds compared to those which this Jesus performs before our eyes.
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And yet you are actually consulting on how to get Him out of the way! Ugh! This is ignominious of you and you deserve everlasting punishment by God's sharpest scourge!
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Truly, in this Jesus seems the completest fulfilment of what the great prophet Isaiah prophesied of the most exalted Servant of God, when he spoke:
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Behold My Servant, Whom I have chosen; Mine elect in Whom My soul delighteth; I will put My Spirit upon Him and He shall proclaim judgment unto the heathens! He shall not cry nor quarrel nor cause His cry to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break and the smoking flax He shall not extinguish, until He accomplish judgment for victory and the heathens hope upon His name! (Isa 42:1..)
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If He were after crown and scepter, by heaven, He would be mighty to excess for that! Because if He can carry His disciples together through the air from all parts of the world in a moment through his invisible servants, what we saw with our own eyes, then He could carry together all rulers of the world and quite simply tell them: "I am the Lord and you all have ceased ruling everlastingly! If you want to be My servants, you may remain with Me; but if you do not, then depart from Me and be undone!"
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But He, Who is almighty in the truest sense of the word, threatened us even against divulging in the plain even a syllable of what took place here! He does not therefore seek honour from men in any way, but exclusively man's spiritual refinement and perfection. The kingdom He wants to establish among men is a spiritual one, to lead back to the lost Paradise them who no longer know whence they are! And for this we should want to, if it were possible, remove Him from this evil world? Never! The curse be upon him who makes way for such thought in his heart!
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The earth never has carried a greater philanthropist, nor anyone more selfless than He, - and you are going to lay hands on Him? Ask yourselves of whose spiritual children you are and Satan, resident in your breast, shall tell you and reply: "I am your father!"
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What is your Messiah to look like? Perhaps like yourselves? Or is He to make an appearance as a thousandfold Sampson and with Sampson's weapons kill millions of men, with one blow, so as to not seat Himself but you upon the seat of power, afterwards letting Himself be slavishly ruled by you and playing for you the donkey of burden, the camel, the guard dog, a lion fighting your enemies in the desert, a falcon espying from on high the approach of your enemy, so that you can consume the earth's booty in peace, fornicating with the most tender and beautiful maidens of the earth?! This would be the right Messiah for you!
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You are going to be lords and the Messiah your servant! You would have your Messiah only in this way! But that you should have to say, 'Lord' to the Messiah does not agree with you, whence you would have Him out of the way!
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Look into your hearts and ask them whether this is not exactly so and your hearts shall say yes.
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But if I have been wrong, then tell me what your Messiah is to look like and what character-traits He is to exhibit!
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Shame on us who call ourselves children of the Highest, yet the heathens, tax-collectors and sinners have a start on us in everything! The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Persians, Assyrians and nearly all heathens known to us, out of gratitude towards their idols, idolised the great wise men, because they assumed that such were given them by their gods' grace and they accorded them divine worship, building them temples, hallowing the localities of their residence. There are very few precedents of atrocities on their part against such men.
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We Jews however who call ourselves 'God's people' have stoned a large number of the prophets sent us by God and have uttered curses over them, yet still dare call ourselves 'God's children'!
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Elijah, one of the greatest and mightiest prophets, had to flee nearly to the end of the world, to save himself from the rage of 'God's children' and their neighbours!
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We are the ones who stoned God's messengers and now also want to dispatch this good Jesus from the world, if it were possible! If however this were to become possible - for God allows evil mankind the most wicked deeds, so that their measure for hell be filled - then I prophesy an everlasting curse over all Jews, that they should never again have a homeland on earth and their name, before which even the heathens have bowed down, shall be an abomination to men!
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As truly as God lives this shall take place! And such our heinous deed shall find a never-ending retribution in hell!'