The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 49 -
Explanation of the outer occurrences with Moses.
Mathael, standing nearby, says at the demand by Julius, who didn't know how to respond to Suetal with anything special, "Who told you then whether you are worthy to set foot on this place, or whether you are not worthy? In which book of wisdom is it written then that any sick man is not worthy of his doctor? You know, such an assumption by you comes from the woolly wisdom of the temple which allows to be burned on the fire the hands of he who reaches with an unordained hand for the threshold which leads to the Holiest of Holies! But if the high Pharisees secretly lead the foreigners there every day for a good payment and show them everything and explain cleverly, the hands of the foreigners will certainly not be burnt on the fire!
2
What did God actually want to say to Moses in that he called him to take off his shoes?
3
You see, God said to Moses: Take off your material and sensual elements, cleave from yourself the old flesh-Adam through your will and stand as a purely spiritual person before Me, otherwise you cannot understand My voice and I cannot make you the leader of My people!
4
But what does the ascension of the mountain imply?
5
You see, Moses was fleeing from the persecution of Pharaoh because of the murder of a high official of the king, an official who was as good as a son to the king.
6
Moses also meant a lot to Pharaoh, so that it was still very doubtful whether he would not someday receive the reign over Egypt like Joseph and so would lift up his people.
7
God showed him such ambition in the desert through the ascension of the mountain, whose peak, however, he was not allowed to reach; for he was prevented in it by the burning bush.
8
And further it was said according to our linguistic understanding: You will become the savior of My people, but not in the way you believe, but as I, your God and your Lord, will describe to you!
9
You shall not become king of Egypt and make My people, who I have raised in humility before Me, sensual, self-loving and haughty, instead the people must leave this land and move into the desert with you! I will give the people laws and I Myself will be the Lord and leader of these people; and if they prove themselves true to Me, I will give them the land of Salem, in whose streams flow milk and honey!
10
You see, with such sense in the picture language of that time God did not want to say to Moses that he should really take off his footwear, but the old Adam or the greed of an externally sensual person, which fulfils the same function to an actual man of life as the shoes to the foot of a person which are the lowest, most outer, last and most dispensable clothing.
11
But the place which God calls holy is only a humble state of the soul, without which in respect of eternal love, which is the truest fire of the element of life, it cannot exist.
12
But the thorn bush which is burning there is a sign that the way of a prophet will be a very thorny one; but his great love for God and for his brothers, which shows itself in flames over and through the whole thorn bush, will scorch the thorns of the bush and in the end will consume the whole thorn bush and make a thorn less path.
13
You see, that is the sense of what you mentioned before! But if it is unmistakably so, how can you then consider any earthly place to be more or less holy?
14
If you also fully take off your worldly shoes and humble yourselves in all aspects of life, you will also stand here as worthy as all the rest of us; for we as people are all quite equal here before God and the One who is here, and no-one has an advantage over the others!"
15
When Suetal hears such a speech from Mathael, he says, "Yes, once one is filled with such an abundance of all wisdom, one can then easily be without fear; for a seeing person can easily move forwards, but a blind man must constantly feel beforehand whether his next step will be a safe one, and despite all care and faithfully investigating caution one nonetheless always collides with something. But if one has a guide such as you are, dear brother Mathael, even as a blind man one can still move forwards! Oh, now we will remain and are exceptionally excited about getting to know what you have given such a great witness of for tangible, clear reasons!"
16
Julius, with a friendly grip of Mathael"s hand in a most friendly way, says, "Eternal thanks to the Lord, who has powerfully healed you and your four brothers! I have learnt so much from you, and it was only so clear and easy to understand, and I notice that it is beginning to dawn in my soul; and if that continues I hope to walk in your footsteps very soon!"
17
Mathael says, "It cannot be otherwise! For there is only one God, one life, one light, one love and only one eternal truth; our present life on Earth is the path to it. We have proceeded out of love and out of light through the will of the eternal love in God in order to become an independent love and an independent light; we can do it, we must do it!
18
But how? You see, high brother, alone through love for God and through its never-resting able activity! For our love for God is the love of God itself in us and directs our soul to the constantly rising activity of the true, eternal life, which is in itself the fullest truth and the brightest light. If accordingly it begins to dawn in a human soul, then it is already very near to the eternal goal of life and can impossibly do anything other than to achieve the goal of eternal life, which is all in all what the completed life in all freedom and in the fullest independence can ever achieve eternally!
19
Therefore be glad and cheerful, high brother, soon your soul will also get to see what mine now sees in ever clearer light! On the full day of your soul you will understand the greatness of Him whom you with some shyness still call the "Savior of Nazareth".
20
As a person He is probably the same as you or I - but His spirit! It penetrates eternal infinity with His power and His light! Have you, high brother, understood me well?"
21
Julius says, quite moved to tears, "Yes, dear brother, you really stand much higher than I; truly, I could just squeeze you to death out of love, and I can now no longer look at the Savior Jesus of Nazareth without tears of love, and I understand only now the great love of the maiden who can actually no longer be led from His side!"
22
Suetal says, "Praise the Lord, now he will no longer be difficult to recognize for us! We must only see at whose side this certain maiden walks; and it will be he!" - And so they paid attention.