The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
At the Sea of Galilee (John 6)
- Chapter 135 -
The personality of God. The will of God and the will of man. The power of the will.
Said I: "If so or so, this does not belong here, since if so or so, this must be announced by your heart! If I Myself would tell you, that I am this or that, you would not attain any spiritual advantage for your souls. That I am, just like you, just a person, you can see with your own eyes and touch with your hands; however, that also God is a most perfect man, otherwise man could not have been His image, you can also imagine.
2
However, every person can also totally resemble God in every aspect, if he makes the recognized will of God completely his own. Until now you did not know this; but I do not only prove this to you by words, but rather a lot more by actions which I perform before your eyes.
3
You now think by yourself, I only speak like this, as if also somebody else could do the same; however, for that I can not give you any other rebutting proof than only this, that I will now call one of My older disciples and tell him to also perform some signs."
4
Said the Captain: "Yes, I do not doubt this in the least that every of your disciples can perform the same for our eyes which you yourself can do; however, the disciple will pronounce it, and you will want it, and it surely will happen what he pronounced."
5
Said I: "O no, there you are immensely mistaken! He only will unite his will with the will of God in the same manner as I'm doing the same, and from such combined will the already accomplished deed will take place.
6
I tell you: If you fully recognizes the one, true God and loves Him above all and makes His well recognized will your own, and in addition also fully believes and not doubting, you can say to those mountains there: 'Lift, and throw yourselves into the sea!', and it will immediately take place what you together with God wanted!"
7
Said the Captain: "Yes, yes, this can be so indeed; but the question remains if God wants it and will allow it, what in this moment I want, even if I otherwise have fully subjected my will to the divine will, - for something silly God forever cannot want. The destruction of those mountains, however, if I wanted it, would be in every case something very stupid and exceedingly evil, and God would not combine His will with mine! - Am I right or not?"
8
Said I: "This time not in particular, since I told you this only as an example. For it goes without saying that he who for once has united his will fully with the will of God, also adopted the divine wisdom - at least partially. Such a person will then also recognize if that what he wants, is also good and wise. If he sees this, he also only wants to do with God what is right and what he then wants, will also take place, if the person does not doubt; for if a person doubts, this doubt is a result of the still not full unification of his will with the will of God. - But now ask from one of My disciples an arbitrary sign; it only has to be logically possible and reasonable!"
9
Said the Captain: "So, you call one of them; since you know there abilities the best!"
10
Said I: "Peter, come, if you have sufficient faith and listen what the friend wants!"
11
Here Peter quickly went to the Captain and said: "Friend, what is it you want me to do for you?"
12
Said the Captain: "If you are also able to do something, look at the opposite shore of the river! There is a wild undergrowth grown around an ungainly rock. Therein many bad and very poisonous snakes occur and not seldomly bother people and animals in a wide surrounding; get rid of them for me by the power of your and God's will combined, and also destroy the loose brood of these animals!"
13
Thereupon the disciple stretched his hands towards the indicated locality and in one moment it disappeared from existence.
14
When the Captain saw such, he said: "Lord and Master, if such your disciples can learn from you, then I myself want to follow you and also be your disciple; because this is a thousand times thousand times more than ten-thousand times ten-thousand Roman soldier legions! Equipped with such ability the whole world belongs to me and I better it by wise laws."
15
Said I: "This I could do Myself, if it would be good for all people in this moment! But then the wisdom of God says: They are still not ripe for it; therefore I also go here only to such places, of which I know, that their citizens are ripe for it, to accept a higher revelation. - But now the sun has come quite close to the horizon and it will be good if we retreat to the house."
16
Said the innkeeper who of course was also with us: "Lord and Master, I'm very sorry that I can not have the mercy to accommodate you all in my house! However, at least some of your disciples should also be my guests."
17
Said the Captain: "Friend, not today, since today you are also my guest; but tomorrow we all will be your guests and the day after tomorrow, if these wondrous people could not at all be persuaded to stay, we will accompany them to Serrhe! But now let us go; for I hope that at my place the ordered supper is already prepared!"
18
Thereupon we got up and went back to the house of the Captain, where supper was already waiting for us. The innkeeper still visited his house but soon came back to us.
19
It was entirely a Roman meal and some disciples did not really dared to reach for the bowls.
20
But I noticed this and said: "What I eat, also you can eat without worries!"
21
They then took courage and ate and drank the Roman wine. Soon all became cheerful and we stayed up for the whole night, in which to all present the main principles of My teaching was made known.