The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives (John Chapter 8)
- Chapter 202 -
Workers visit the Lord on the Mount of Olives.
Thereupon all went to the Oil Mountain where I, the disciples and also the thirty Romans were just busy having lunch. When they (the seventy) arrived they asked one of the servants of the inn if I would be there. And the servant affirmed the question. When the thirty men received this for them very good news, they rejoiced and asked the servant that he should go into the room and ask Me if they could join Me.
2
The servant then came to Me and asked Me.
3
And I said to him: "Go outside and say to those who have send you: Who is hungry should come and eat until he is satisfied and who is thirsty, should come and drink! Since who is fed by Me, will forever not become hungry anymore, and who has drank from My wine, will never be thirsty again; for from his loins there will be flowing brooks of living water. - Go now outside and tell them this!"
4
The servant went outside and said it word for word to the men.
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When they heard this, they did not know what to do and asked each other if I wanted to give them a free meal, for which they regarded themselves as too unworthy.
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Therefore they said to the servant: "Be so good and go inside once more and say it to the good Master and Lord, that we not have come to drink and to eat, but only for himself, to learn from him the words of light and life!"
7
Thereupon the servant again went into the room.
8
However I Myself went to meet him halfway and said to him: "I already know what you want to tell Me. Go now and do your work. I will talk to them Myself!"
9
Thereupon the servant left and I went outside to the men and said: "Who has ears should listen and understand it and who has eyes should see and comprehend it! For which you have come here, is the true food and the true drink what I want to give to you. The food of the body does not promotes the everlasting life of the soul, but only My word and your faith and your actions according to My word. My word is the right food and your faith and your actions is the right drink. Therefore all of you who are labouriously and laden should come to Me; since I want to refresh you all!"
10
Said the men: "O Lord, how good and wise are You! If You allow us, we want to go into the room and wait there for such Your spiritual food, until it pleases You, o Lord and Master, to strengthen and enliven us with a few words. But look, in our midst is she who today in the temple was snatched away from the insolence of the pharisees by Your great wisdom and also her poor spouse! They came with us to once more thank You for the benefaction you rendered to them! If You want to, they can also come with us into the room."
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Said I: "Therefore I have come into this world, that all should come to Me, who are labouriously and laden. Since I am a true doctor who goes to the sick to help them and not to the healthy who never required a doctor. Therefore come all into the room!"
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I now went back into the room and all followed Me.
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The innkeeper already set up a large wedding table on which the seventy men together with the woman found sufficient room. When all sat at the table, the innkeeper asked them if they wanted something to eat and to drink.
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Said one: "Friend, we are all more or less poor and do not have a lot of money, that we also could order wine; therefore bring us bread and a few jugs of water and we will be content with it! We are all day labourers and live off the work of our hands. These ten feast days are the worst for us, because we are not allowed to work. If however there is no work, we also earn nothing and therefore no money with which we could afford anything else beyond the daily bread, since our little savings are anyway used up."
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Said the innkeeper: "But you surely have wives and children! From what do they live if already you men are on the edge?"
16
Said the man who spoke earlier: "O friend, this luck, except for the one whose wife is with him present here, is not granted to us! Wives are only for the rich on this earth; we poor cannot take a wife, and even less so to maintain her. See, we are single and do not have to provide for any wives and children! During these worst of times we nearly can't survive ourselves; how would we cope with wife and children? Thank the Lord Jehovah that we are single!"
17
Here said Lazarus: "But, my dear friends, if Jerusalem becomes to scarcely for you, why did you not come to Bethania to me? There you would have found a lot of work! And with me nobody can complain that he is not provided for sufficiently."
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Said the man: "We know this quite well; but we also know that everyone from far away goes to you and looks for work and compensation, and as such we did not dared to ever bother you. But in future we will make use of this your offer."
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Hereupon Lazarus ordered the innkeeper to provide all these people with bread and wine in abundance. The innkeeper went with his many servants and brought bread and wine in sufficient quantities.
20
When these guests also saw the wine, they thanked him and one said to Lazarus: "Lord, we will drink the wine, but will not be able to pay for it! However after the feast days we will loyally work for you to pay the bill."
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Said Lazarus: "Eat and drink without worries; since what you eat here is already paid for!"
22
Then all asked, who has paid already for everything; since they wanted to know this so that they could thank their benefactor worthily.
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But Lazarus said: "Do not ask about it, but eat and drink; for the benefactor is already fully content with your good intentions!"
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Here all stood up and said: "We hereby offer our fullest thanks to the benefactor who wants to stay anonymous!"
25
Thereupon they sat down again and started to eat and to drink.