The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the way to Bethsaida
- Chapter 136 -
The innkeeper tells the guests about the changed land.
When the innkeeper heard this from Me, he went immediately with his neighbors to his house and welcomed the 3 arrivals.
3
The innkeeper said: "If it were only I who would tell you that it was by a true miracle of God that this village turned into such cultivated condition, you hardly would believe me, but there are all my neighbors and there are my children and my wife, and they can all confirm it as witnesses. This probably must have happened extremely seldom among people on this Earth, and probably never in this manner. But there was also never a time like this on Earth in which the promised Messiah came really Himself as a human being of flesh and blood to us men.
4
It is true that the great promise was only given to the Jews, but besides that, also to all the people on the whole Earth, and therefore also to us gentiles who already for a long time have the same belief as you have as Jews.
5
See and listen: this Messiah who came now from the highest Heavens to this world, and who truly is God and man at the same time, also came to us and took care of our spiritual and besides that also our physical poverty. He blessed our desert and changed it by His almighty will into a fertile piece of land.
6
He also richly provided us with everything that man needs to feed and to strengthen his body. Besides that, He also informed us, in a visible and for the mind very understandable manner, about the nature of our Earth and the phenomena in it and on its surface and in the air nearby, and also about the whole starry sky. And in this manner He freed us from the old, dark superstition of the gentiles and the Jews.
7
But we cannot talk about this subject with you, because within your Jews there is still a lot of old superstition. But at a next opportunity we will be able to talk further with you about this.
8
With this I truthfully told you now in which manner this little region of ours had suddenly become abundantly flourishing. And here you have sufficient witnesses standing before you. If you want to ask them, they will tell you the same."
9
One of the Jews, who was an elder and scribe in Bethsaida, and who had spoken already several times with our innkeeper, said: "Yes, we must indeed believe from you that your village and piece of land was brought into cultivation the way you just told us because this could impossibly have happened in a natural way, considering the infertility of the soil. Because from where could you have taken the fertile soil to cover for the greatest part this bare, rocky piece of land which, as far as your part is concerned, must measure more than a 1.000 mornings, and from where could you have taken the great number of fruit trees of all kinds, and how could you have planted them here so that they are now big and full of fruits as if they were planted here 30 years ago?
10
So this is undoubtedly a perfect miracle of God, and therefore we want to believe that the Man who did this unheard-of miracle for you here must certainly be the promised Messiah Himself or at least a great prophet. But when was He with you and how long did He need to bless this part of land of yours, and where did He leave you?"
11
The innkeeper said: "Friends, He came here with His disciples yesterday close to the evening. He sent out most of His disciples to proclaim His teaching. He Himself is still here with 3 of His disciples and He will stay here for another 7 days. With this, I told you more than what you wanted to know from me.
12
He directly will appear Himself. Then You can discuss and talk with Him yourselves about all the rest."