The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Abila
- Chapter 62 -
The noise before the house of the Jews.
While we were all sitting at the table, there was a noise outside in the street. Several workers returned home from their daily work, saw the house well illuminated - which was otherwise with these poor Jews almost never the case - and wanted to see what had happened in that ruin. So they called the Jews, whom they knew, that they should come out to tell them what had happened, because the rooms that were in a bad shape were brightly and festively illuminated.
2
But I said to the captain: "You go outside now to the noise makers. They will recognize you immediately and realize at once why the house is now so illuminated. Then they will immediately behave quietly, go home and not ask anymore why this house of the Jews is now so illuminated."
3
This is what the captain did, escorted by one of his subordinates.
4
When he came to the noise makers, he said very loud and in full seriousness (the captain): "What do you want from the poor Jews while I and a still much greater Ruler are busy with them? Should I perhaps not let the house inside be illuminated for me at this hour of the night for your sake?"
5
When the workers heard this from the captain, whom they recognized immediately, they apologized that they did not know, asked to forgive them and went then very quietly home. But they told their family immediately what they had seen and heard, and on this, they thought about many things and asked to and fro and guessed what it could mean that the captain with a still much greater ruler had taken residence in the miserable house of the Jews. But no one dared to go out of the city to the house of the Jews and see what was happening there, and so we had our rest throughout the whole night.
6
When the captain with his subordinate came back to us, he related how he had done it, and that it worked well. Only, he was afraid that he would be run over early in the morning by the very complaining Greeks, and he wished that it could be prevented as much as possible.
7
I said: "Do not worry about that. Also tomorrow we will find a way to keep the nosy ones far away from the house. But since it is now already quite late at night, we will go to rest. I will stay here and rest at the table. However, let the one who wants a bed go to the many bedrooms. There he will find a great number of resting beds."
8
All those who sat at My table preferred to stay just like Me at the table until the morning. Only the Jews did not stay at their table but went to their old rooms that were now however also completely changed. We let the lamps burn throughout the whole night to illuminate the rooms, so that a few nosy ones who still dared to go very quietly at night to the house of the Jews to listen at some distance what was happening in the house, would be scared. And when they saw the lights, they did not dare to come near to the house from fear to be discovered by the captain or even by one of his subordinates and then be punished.