The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 177 -
On the purpose and nature of sensuality.
Says I: "Friend and brother, why are you concerned about the flesh and what happens in it?! If I had not implanted such property in the flesh, would ever a man take a wife and awaken a living fruit in her?!
2
If I had not put the desire into the stomach to eat, would ever someone consume any food? In what other manner could nature-specific-spirits enter the blood and other fluids of the body, from there into the nerve-ether and, in such manner purified, become soul-substance? Through My wills power, certainly, among the primitive order; but what would then become of the everlasting continuance ability? By no other means than by a hard, continuing judgement; but what would then become of the independence and future spiritual freedom of life?!
3
See, if just one point in My once arranged order is moved, - and an all independent life with the fullest freedom becomes forever an impossibility. Have I not given the eyes the ability to see and the ears the ability to hear, the tongue the ability to speak and to taste and the nose the ability to smell?!
4
Are you therefore a sinner because from time to time you are getting hungry and thirsty? Do you sin, if you are seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling? All these senses are given to you to perceive the form of things, to listen to the wise meaning of speeches and to perceive good and bad and harmful spirits of the still unfermented and raw matter!
5
Of course, you can also sin with the eyes, ears, nose, the palate and the tongue, if you do not use these senses according to order, if you only direct your eyes into the direction, where the flesh is given an account, if you with preferably and desirously only listens to sacrileges, invective and scurrilous speeches, if you only smell stinking things for pleasure, which impurifies the flesh and make it ill and incapable to work. You are also sinning with the palate and the tongue, if you do not curtail the too big lasciviousness for the most expensive delicacies; since why should your palate be tickled with the most expensive and gormandising things, while alongside you many poor must perish because of hunger and thirst?! If you are hungry and thirsty, satisfy yourself with simple and freshly prepared food; but if you are engaging in gluttony and overindulgence, you are clearly sinning against all order of God.
6
Now see, all this is not the case with you; to the contrary, you already have achieved some quite glorious victories over your flesh by yourself! You also have been moderately in all things and acted soberly in your desires. What was more or less evil in you, consisted in your disbelief regarding the scriptures, which you earlier could not understand; but your disbelief was passable, while the disbelief of Gaby was of a real pharisee-like, impassable nature. You, however, did not rejected the scriptures; you only wanted light and illumination and therefore also studied all Egyptian and Greek world wises. But it nevertheless did not give you light; outwardly you stayed a pharisee, but according to the inner you were always a diligent researcher for the truth. And since I knew this, I have awakened you, and have opened for you as well as all the others, the gates to the clearest truth.
7
Now you can never get into the night again and therefore you should become a promoter for My kingdom of the spirit on this earth! Through you the heathens in Persia should get a lot of light! Now eat and drink again; since you are still hungry and thirsty and you have eaten only half of your fish and your mug is not empty yet! Therefore just help yourself, My young brother Simon!"
8
Simon is still touched to tears, sits and eats bit by bit his fish with bread and wine.