The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in two additional towns
- Chapter 162 -
The Lord blesses the bare region of the persisting shepherds.
The innkeeper asked Me to stay a few more days with him.
2
But I said to him: "If you believe in Me, love Me continually and live and act according to My teaching, I will always stay with you in the spirit. But I will not stay long anymore with My body on this Earth, for My time is coming to an end, and I still have many things to do in other cities and villages. Therefore, I will immediately travel on with My disciples to the south."
3
Then the innkeeper brought more new wine and fresh bread. We took some of it, stood up from the table and prepared ourselves to continue our trip.
4
When I had blessed the innkeeper and his whole family, they all thanked Me. And the innkeeper walked with us for almost 2 hours at which opportunity I still revealed many secrets of life to him by which he was greatly comforted.
5
Then he returned home and we traveled on for more than half a day to the south over very bare and desolate ground. We only met a few shepherds with their meager flocks, and they walked towards us to either ask for alms or in the worst case to force us.
6
However, My disciples, who formed all together a big group of people, threatened them and told them to withdraw, or else something evil might happen to them. On these threats, the shepherds, who gathered together and who were about 30 men, were also not very pleased, and they began to scold and rage against them. A few disciples, who knew the Arab language, understood this and they said to Me - even My John and the apostle Peter: "Lord, do You have no more flashes of lightning or fire against this miserable rabble? Let flashes of lightning and fire rain over these evil robbers like over the Sodomites."
7
I said to the disciples: "Altoran - this means: o children of thunder and wrath - should I punish these poor people even more than they already are? Do rather good to them instead of seriously threatening them, then they soon will give you a better testimony and better words!"
8
Then I let the shepherds come to Me and said to them: "Look, poor users of this bare region, gold and silver we do not have with us, and I as the Lord least of all, and even if we would give you silver and gold it would not be of much use to you in this vast desert. But I can do something else for you which will be useful to you. Look, you and your flocks have little to eat and you also have almost no water. I have the power to bless your region, and then you and also your flocks will soon no more suffer want. If this is all right with you, I will do it."
9
All the shepherds said: "Lord and Master, if You can do that, which we do not doubt because You said so, we will unspeakably prefer this than if You would change all those lumps of stone into gold and silver while among these treasures we and our flocks would suffer famine."
10
After these words of the shepherds I lifted My hands, thanked and blessed the region, and immediately the whole region had sufficient grass and also springs, and the huts of the shepherds were provided with bread and salt.
11
When the shepherds saw this, they felt down before Me and praised Me greatly and said that I was not a human being but a God, for neither Moses, whose name they knew, nor his followers would ever have been able to do this.
12
Then they brought us milk and bread and we all took some of it, continued our trip among the many praises of the shepherds, and even from afar we still heard the loud rejoicings of these happy shepherds.
13
On the way I said to My disciples: "What do you now think is best: doing good to those who want to harm you or to repay evil with evil? That is why in the future you should love your enemies and bless them, and do good to those who want to harm you. In this way you will gather glowing coals on their heads and make many friends by that.
14
Do in all things as I do, then during your trips in My name you only will come across few stumbling blocks. But woe if you threaten those who come threatening to you and you want to immediately punish them. Then you will have to suffer much trouble on Earth. Love always engenders love, but anger and punishment again anger and vengeance."
15
The disciples wrote this in their heart and they promised Me to observe this until the end of their life.
16
And I said to them: "Most of you will do that, but I also see a few among you who despite My advice will nevertheless at adverse circumstances make use of threats and punishment, but by that they will never make a good fruit completely ripe."