The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 58 -
Raphael as an avid eater of fish.
People are now coming from all sides to the tables, which through the hard work of old Mark and his two sons, also trained in carpentry, have increased by four; for Mark had quite a store of boards of oak wood because of building his fishing boats, and in a moment Raphael increased them significantly for him with My permission, and so it was easy for Mark to set up a quantity of dinner tables along with benches in his orchard.
2
Raphael sits down between Suetal and Ribar. But at My table, however, at which we had sat in the same order as the day before, Mathael and his four companions were also allowed and they had to sit between Julius and Cyrenius. On My right sat Jarah again, beside her Josoe, then Ebahl and after Ebahl My disciples, respectively the apostles.
3
At the other tables of course were those who were in Cyrenius" and Julius" entourage; and the thirty young Pharisees under the leadership of their speaker, Hebram, had a long table behind My back, so that they could see My table and the twelve at the small table.
4
A suitable amount of the best-prepared fish was brought out everywhere, and there was no lack of the best bread and wine. We began to eat, and the twelve could not praise the fish enough and tucked in heartily; but Raphael consumed the most. He more or less swallowed one fish after the other, which began to surprise Suetal very much, and he didn't know what he should make of it.
5
But as Raphael lifted the last fish from the dish and laid it on his board, began to divide it into pieces and then began to push one piece after the other into his mouth with a certain haste, this was too much for Suetal and Ribar, and Suetal said to Raphael quite courteously, "Oh, dear, finest young friend, what sort of an enormous stomach must you have then that you have room in it for such a quantity of fish and so much bread?! There were certainly almost twenty fish in our large bowl; we have only eaten twelve, and you have tackled the eight largest all on your own! Such a young man and so much food?! That cannot possibly be healthy! Well, it"s fine by me, and God bless you for it! Does it belong to the teaching of the great Master then, that one should eat so much to achieve wisdom and omnipotence?"
6
Raphael says, laughing, "Of course not! But if I like it and it is there, why should I not eat as much as I like?! Look at the temple in Jerusalem, how many of all sorts of sacrifices are consumed daily in the name of God! Could one not ask more justifiably and say: But Jehovah is a true glutton; every day He consumes a quantity of oxen, cows, calves, sheep, lambs, hens and doves and fish and goats and many great loaves of bread and many gulps of wine and after all this powerful consumption He still has a greed for gold, silver, pearls and all sorts of valuable stones!?
7
Have you ever asked whether God is really such a glutton?! No, you have never done that; for you knew that only the servants of God are the gluttons! What are my eight fish in comparison with the hundred oxen, cows, and calves and so on?! If the servants of God in the temple can have the unpunished right to consume such an enormous amount in the name of God, why should I fast then, when I am surely more of a servant of God than the gluttons in the temple?!"
8
Suetal says, "Yes, yes, you are quite right; I was only very surprised how you, as a very tender youth, have overtaken us by far in eating and took no consideration at all of us and whether we might also have liked some of the good fish!"
9
Raphael says, "Have you even experienced the servants of God in the temple taking any consideration of whether those sacrificing have something left to eat at home? They take their sacrifices and their tithes without any consideration of whether those sacrificing might die of hunger in the next hour! And you see, they want to be servants of God, and that is what they are in the eyes of the blind nation! But you have never taken these servants of God to one side even quite secretly in your home and asked them: why are you taking so much care of my health when I have actually proven that I am a genuine servant of God?!"
10
Ribar says, "Friend Suetal, it doesn't seem good to exchange words with him! The youth sounds like Mathael and could tell us our whole life"s story to our faces just like that!"
11
Raphael says, "You don't need to speak so quietly, otherwise I have difficulty understanding you, and clearly Suetal even more so!"
12
Ribar says, "Yes, yes, I just spoke too loudly!"
13
Raphael: "And you didn't want to be understood by me! You see, I hear and see your thoughts; how should I not hear your words then?! Look, that animal that I placed beside you earlier has so many similarities with you! But I tell you, if you do not first become as humble as that grey animal, you will never find the tiny door to true wisdom!"
14
Ribar says, "But tell me, friend, why did you embarrass me so much in front of so many people!?"
15
Raphael says, "I have just told you clearly that you are still so blind in your souls that you cannot see the wood for all the trees. And as blind as you were, you are still so blind now, that"s why you ate too few fish! But if you want more fish, just say so, and there will surely be abundance more in the sea!"