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 190 -
The priest of Apollo inquires about the Lord.
When I had said that, the priest of Apollo let the innkeeper know via a messenger that he and 2 other pagan priests would come to see how the God of the Jews looked like and who was apparently staying under his roof.
2
We told the messenger that this is a public inn and that everyone was free to come in.
3
This Apollo priest and his 2 subordinates heard from the servants of the innkeeper that a God of the Jews was staying with the innkeeper, and who did many unheard off miracles that were never performed before.
4
The messenger went immediately outside and told the 3 pagan priests that they could freely enter if they wanted.
5
Then the priests did not hesitate long and came soon to us in the guestroom.
6
The Apollo priest went immediate to the supreme judicial city officer and said: "Supreme judicial city officer, enlightened by my god Apollo, tell me who of these many Jews who sit at the table is the miracle working God of the Jews, so that also I can bow down before Him and show Him honor, for we priests of the gods of Egypt, Greece and Rome also honor the gods of other nations as they deserve it."
7
The supreme judicial city officer looked at Me somehow questioning whether or not he should answer this imaginary chief priest.
8
But I gave him a sign that he first should offer him a full cup of wine, telling him that it was the water from the cistern of the innkeeper.
9
The supreme judicial city officer understood My sign and said to the Apollo priest, who looked unusually silly: "Here beside us is still a small empty table. Sit down. And here are also 3 cups, filled with the water from the cistern of the innkeeper, so that you first can quench your thirst with this best water of our whole city."
11
When the Apollo priest had emptied his cup, he said in full amazement: "What? Is that water from the cellar of the innkeeper? This is one of the best wines of the island of Cyprus. When did a cistern ever have such water? That is not possible, you are joking with me."
12
The supreme judicial city officer said: "Then let the innkeeper himself take you outside to his cistern and scoop it out yourself and drink it. Then come back and tell us if someone is joking with you. But you surely will not think that the innkeeper is so foolish and silly to let a few hundred sacks of the best wine come from Cyprus for a huge amount of money to pour them out of the sacks into his cistern."
13
Then the Apollo priest stood immediately up, and the innkeeper escorted him with his 2 subordinate priests to the cistern. He put the pail into the hand of the chief priest and said: "scoop the water out yourself and taste it."
14
The Apollo priest did so at once and he discovered that it was not water but excellent wine. His 2 subordinate priests did likewise and discovered the same. They advised the innkeeper not to leave such valuable water in the cistern but to fill many wine sacks and to keep them for special guests who would gladly like to pay a lot for it.
15
The innkeeper said: "I did not receive any order or authority from the One who changed the water in my cistern into the most delicious wine, and therefore it has to stay as it is."
16
The priests could not oppose to that, and together with the innkeeper they came back to us in the guestroom.
17
When they took their seat again, the Apollo priest said with a certain sadness to the supreme judicial city officer: "We never heard about this kind of thing from all our gods, starting from Jupiter to the smallest well nymph. We dealt with already hundreds of the most important magicians, and they were able to accomplish many wondrous things, but to change water into wine, this did not yet come up in any of them. Therefore I ask you to show me now the One from this rather big company to whom I have to show my greatest esteem and respect."
18
On this, the supreme judicial city officer said with My permission: "The one who sits at my right hand is the Lord of all glory, the Master of all masters and the God of all gods."
19
When the Apollo priest heard that, he said: "Then of all the gods He must be the unfathomable fatum of which they themselves are dependent, just like the sun, the moon and all the stars and the whole Earth with everything on and in it. And I think that it is also written in an old Egyptian book that this unfathomable deity - namely that fatum - will once reveal Himself more closely to the gods and also to the people of this Earth.
20
Today, at sunrise as usual, I gave my morning salutation for all the people to the god Apollo, but by that I was very surprised when I saw 2 suns rising one after the other. And I was even more surprised when above and under the second sun I noticed very clearly written words which I could however not read because they were written in Hebrew letters, and therefore I could even less understand their meaning.
21
But I thought by myself that this must have a very exceptional meaning. And when I later took information everywhere whether anyone else besides me had seen this special sunrise, I came to the people of this inn, and they told me that the God of the Jews, escorted by several servants, took really accommodation here yesterday close to the evening and that He was still staying here. If You, o Lord, Master and God, are the One, forgive me that I also show you here my fullest esteem and reverence - although I am a pagan priest - and ask for Your divine permission to build a temple for You in our city on the highest top in order to always highly glorify you therein.