The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
In Cana in the valley
- Chapter 219 -
Another hint about ministry. Fermenting of the emotions. Parable of the fattening bull. Blessing in affliction.
Said Ahab, after supper, 'It goes without saying that I am clear about Your nature since Jesaira, and there would have been no need for such immense signs for either myself or the likes of me, to convince us all overabundantly that You are Jehovah Himself, acting through a physical body, borrowed as it were from this earth. But I am curious about whether the five Pharisees, seemingly upright people, in all earnest do not sense Who might be He that healed their sick in a truly miraculous way. If they had but the faintest clue, they would have to be capable of grasping by hand that an ordinary human could not possibly accomplish this in all eternity. In my opinion, one should go and sniff them out a little and it should quickly transpire as to what they actually make of You.'
2
Say I, 'Friend, you will surely not doubt that I know what they think of Me; therefore I don't consider it necessary to interrupt them in their deliberations. Hence, tomorrow is another day on which a few initiatives can be taken in that respect. Let us leave them to some real fermentation overnight! Because just as cider needs fermenting to become a spiritual wine, just so every man's emotions need fermenting, if he is to transcend to the truly spiritual.
3
Behold, if a man has everything that he needs, then he feels quite snug; he cares about nothing, does no work, takes it easy and inquires little about the existence of God or life after physical death, or whether man is more than the animal, or vice versa. Mountains and valleys are the same to him, winter and summer don't concern him. For in summer he has shade and cooling baths, and in winter well-heated fire-places and warm clothing.
4
Neither does he care whether the year was plentiful or not; for he is provided firstly with all stores for ten years and secondly with plenty of money for acquiring anything he lacks.
5
Behold, such a person then enjoys the leisure of a fattening ox in the stable, prone to little more thought than the ox, and is therefore no more than a hedonistic animal in human form.
6
If you came to such a man to preach the Gospel of the heavenly kingdom, he would do to you what the ox in the stable does to the blowfly, swinging his tail over it to make it take off or be killed or at least suffer considerable harm.
7
And behold, such carefree glutton shall direct his servants, who also are no more than the carefree hedonists' fly chasing and repelling tail, to chase you away. You obviously shall quickly turn on your heels, and at a safe distance contemplate the effect of your gospelling on the glutton.
8
But I know how to give such oxen quite a different introductory sermon; I let one terrestrial accident after another overtake them; this fills them with all sorts of troubles and fears, causing them to think, seek to find out and ask how it is possible for them to now be beset by all sorts of extremities, since they had never been unjust to anyone, having always been orderly and respectable citizens.
9
This however is only on account of the necessary fermentation.
10
When such people then undergo a proper fermentation, they long for friends who could bring them comfort; go to them then to preach the Gospel, and they shall hear you and not raise their furiously swinging tail against you!
11
And behold, for this reason it is good for these guests to undergo real fermentation this night; this shall make them internally more spiritual, and your work shall be easy with them tomorrow. Do you follow this?'