The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 57 -
The Lord promises both to call their attention to the Saviour.
But now Mark comes to tell us that the midday meal is ready and that we should go to the table.
2
Suetal says to Mark, "Listen, my good old friend! You see, we twelve are totally poor and have nothing with which we could pay our bill; but look, this young disciple of the great Master of Nazareth who is staying somewhere in your house has conjured up for us through his miracle powers one of the most noble fish of surely almost one hundred pounds and afterwards this donkey! Take these two animals into your possession instead of our unpaid debt; for what should we do with the donkey and the fish? We have already found out what they say symbolically to us as a reprimand! For a fish and a donkey, as far as we know, were never used as symbols of wisdom, rather always as symbols of stupidity! Therefore be so good and take both the animals which are certainly worth something, instead of our unpaid debt!"
3
Mark says, "I will gladly do that, although you do not owe me anything; for everything that you have consumed here and that you will consume in the future, has already been paid more than a hundred times over! But now just look around for a table; for the midday meals will be brought along immediately!"
4
Suetal says, "Friend, tell us who has so magnanimously paid the bill for us in advance, so that we can give him our owed thanks!"
5
Mark says, "I am not allowed to say that; so just content yourself with what I have said to you now!" With these words Mark moves away at My secret wink, takes the donkey at the same time and gives it to one of his sons to look after it for the time being.
6
After Mark has gone, Suetal says to Me, "Friend, is the old man not a wonderful person?! You see, there are very few such honest people to meet in this world! But what do you think then who might have paid the bill so superhumanly magnanimously for us?"
7
I say, "Who else, but the great Master of Nazareth?! For he never demands anything for free. Whoever does something for him is repaid ten-fold, and whoever does ten things for him is repaid one hundred-fold!"
8
Suetal says, "Yes, but we have neither done one thing nor ten things for him, and nevertheless he has already paid a thousand for us!"
9
I say, "But this Master is also all-knowing and therefore knows that you will yet do something for him, and thus he pays you for it in advance!"
10
Suetal says, "We will allow this and will be prepared to repay such goodness of his with our diligence and great enthusiasm, if we will only find out what service he wants from us!"
11
I say, "Yes, you see, in the end it will be necessary to enter into a closer acquaintanceship with him! In the end he might even take you to be his disciples?!"
12
Suetal says to Ribar, "That would be something! In the end we might also soon be able to bring about something like this fine young person here!? Truly, under such circumstances I would like now, if it is easily possible, to make his personal acquaintance!"
13
Ribar says, "Me too, and actually all of us as well! But the first meeting will probably be much more terrible than my former meeting with the desperate fish."
14
Suetal says, "Who knows? The apprentice often hammers much harder on the anvil than the master, in order to show that he also knows how to use a hammer. If there is a suitable opportunity during the midday meal, perhaps this good Greek friend of ours could draw our attention to him through a hint!?"
15
I say, "Oh yes, I can easily do this favor for you; but when you have recognized him, you must behave very calmly and not make a fuss, for he doesn't like that! He looks only at the heart and is completely contented when a correct, living homage is paid to him quite silently in it!"
16
Suetal says, "Oh, we can do that, and it is also much more intelligent and wiser; therefore, dearest friend, just be so good and draw our attention to him at a suitable opportunity during the midday meal!"
17
I say, "Very well, very well; that will happen! But now the dishes have already been placed on the tables; so let us go there and occupy the nearest one! You see, there under the great lime tree there are two tables! I must take My place at the long table for the sake of the high Romans; but you sit right at the next table and then we will be able to converse with each other quite easily!"
18
"Yes, yes," says Suetal, "that is the best thing to do! But I am now truly extremely eager to get to know the great man, the true Messiah of the Jews, personally for the first time."
19
I say, "Very good, but now let"s go to the tables!" I go forward and the twelve follow Me; and Raphael walks beside Suetal, which makes him feel uncomfortable, so that he asks him whether he wouldn't be willing to sit at their table.
20
And Raphael agrees to this with the greatest friendliness in the world, which doesn't suit Suetal too well however, because he still has an immensely great respect for the all-power of the angel. But because Raphael speaks in such a friendly way with him, he gradually begins to become fonder of him and the presence of the latter doesn't disturb him nearly as much anymore.