The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Der Herr in der Stadt am Nebo
- Chapter 189 -
The difficulty of being a teacher.
While we were still together at the table, taking bread and wine, Barnabas, a Pharisee as you know, said: "Lord and Master, if You also would consider me worthy to spread Your teaching among the people, I would not leave out one word of Your teaching, neither add one."
2
I said: "You are a Jew, and by your great wealth you were able to become a Pharisee, since you could proof that you belong to the tribe of Levi, but you were raised among the Greeks and by that you acquired much of the Greek stubbornness, and in the course of time you will not get along well with another of My disciples, but I will say something to you all. Thus listen to Me.
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A true spreader of My teaching must be like a very experienced, compliant and highly skilful doctor.
4
For instance, a doctor comes into a village where he is called to many sick people who suffer from gout and all kinds of feverish sicknesses. Now the doctor thinks to himself: 'I already treated many such sick people and helped them with this and that medicine, and these sick people suffer from the same illness. So I will give them the same medicines, then they will become healthy.' The doctor does this, and look, the sick people get worse by his medicines instead of better. They loose their confidence in him and look for another doctor. The doctor gets angry about this and says to himself: 'These medicines of mine have helped already so many people, then why not them?' He is offended and goes home.
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Soon came the second one who was called. He was wiser than the first one and took information as to how the sick person had lived, what kind of food he had taken and by which sicknesses he had been tormented since his youth. And so he took information on more things about which a wise doctor should inform. And based on these he adjusted his medicines - for this sick person this and for another one something very different. And look, that doctor, who took the trouble, soon healed the sick people in the whole village because he knew the art to adjust his medicines according to the different characters and qualities of his patients.
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And as a doctor can accomplish fortunate healings in this manner - if it really is not too late - so can a true soul-doctor do it also with the many soul-sick people in this world where one soul is credulous, the other one little inclined to believe, again another one proud, or misery, selfish and many more of such things. Now if the soul-doctor comes to such different sick people and will directly in a stone-hard manner proclaim the teaching that he received from Me, it will not be very useful.
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The one who cannot weep with those who weep, laugh with those who laugh, be cheerful with those who are cheerful, and serious with those who are serious, is still not fit to spread My Kingdom on Earth and looks in this respect like a countryman who, when he plows a field, puts his hand to the plow but always looks behind him to see how the furrows are, forgetting by that the plow is slanting because of too little attention of the plower, and he can do nothing else except to draw the plow back to the spot where he was still going straight and start plowing again.
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It is the same with the teachers who want to teach something to everyone in one and the same manner, regardless of what kind of character and what kind of natural qualities they may have. A few of them will grasp something of that teaching because the teaching was precisely fit for their capabilities. The others however will leave the teacher, being more ignorant and unqualified than before.
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And so also when you spread My teaching, you will have to be very attentive as to what kind of character those people have to whom you proclaim My teaching. Otherwise it will not be very useful.
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A credulous person will soon believe anything, especially when you confirm the teaching with a miracle. But remember by that: the one who accepts something new too easily, will also quite as easily let it go, especially when he is pressured by a temptation. You will have more work to do with someone who does not easily believe something, but once you win him, he will also stay with what he accepted. That is why you should make more effort for them than for credulous people. Do not trust them when they so gladly and without difficulty have accepted your teaching. For when you will come back to them again, perhaps hardly half of them will still keep your teaching, and the other half went back to their old, impure belief or followed one of the false prophets.
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So agree completely for what concerns My teaching. But for what concerns the lecture, you should first look as to what kind of children of the spirit they are, and only after that you can proclaim My gospel to them, and then you will accomplish good work everywhere.
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Think also about the ancient Roman proverb according to which no deity can be formed out of a bulky and rotten chunk of wood and that a meek, fearful dove never brooded an eagle from its eggs. So, as I told you oftentimes, be clever as serpents but still full of meekness as doves.
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The office of a teacher is one of the most difficult professions, but blessed is the one who knows how to efficiently manage such office."
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On this, Barnabas said: "O Lord and Master, now You very openly spoke the purest truth, for I also was a teacher before and experienced how difficult it is to deal with various people. Therefore, above all I will also take this advice of Yours to heart and transform it into deeds."
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I said: "This you will do, but you also will be one of the first who will come into great conflict with one of My chosen disciples, and then you will separate from each other for a long time. I do not say when, at which opportunity or with which disciple, but when it happens, you will remember what I just told you now."
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Barnabas said on this: "Lord and Master, since You know this beforehand, it should be possible for You to put the right obstacle in the way before such unpleasant event happens."
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I said: "The most free men on the whole Earth are you, My disciples, and precisely you I do not want to chain in the least by My almightiness. For if I send you into the world to free other people in My name from their chains of the hard bondage under the law, then how can I send you as chained helpers? If I would do that, things would look bad for the people for what concerns their liberation and salvation, for in that case a new, heavier joke than the old one would be put on them, and My coming down here would be useless.
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But I awaken you as apostles and prophets of the new and not anymore of the old covenant, and by that I make you the first liberated ones on this Earth, so that through you My salvation will pass over to all people, in the right way and manner and in the perfect order of My eternal love, wisdom and power. Did you, Barnabas, understand this?"
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Barnabas said that he well understood it, and all of them said the same.
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I said to them: "Stay in Me, then I will stay with you till the end of times, and I will awaken each one of you in My Kingdom on his youngest day."