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 42 -
The disciples travel across the sea to Capernaum
John paid good attention to this. However, since he was mostly concerned with the spiritual correspondences and keen to learn the cause, effect and purpose of everything, he also asked Me why I had worked this sign.
2
And I told him: "You are meant above all to grasp the secret of the Kingdom of God particularly deeply, and so quickly pay attention: These people are the world, which has eaten up its whole supply of spiritual food. Only in a simple boy was there still a pure, unspoilt heart and some childlike faith, wherefore he had a supply of five loaves of barley bread and two fishes.
3
The five loaves of bread signify that his five senses are still pure and unspoilt and, therefore, also his heart and his soul, which became instantly obvious by the fact that he very gladly did My bidding. Yet the two fishes, like the goodness of love and the truth of faith, or like the living warmth of love, like a fire and a living wisdom-light, indicated his childlike faith, his trust and his love. At the same time his singleness and personal insignificance demonstrated how weakly and how little the good and true out of the heavens is currently present among the worldly people.
4
The five loaves still signify My teaching to men. It seems to be far from sufficient for all the people of the earth, but it will multiply like these loaves. Nevertheless, even the wisest who are taught and satiated by Me in spirit will have endless scope left to keep finding out more and ever deeper truths for the whole of eternity. For the twelve baskets correspond to the twelve tribes of Israel and they, in turn, to the unattainable divine perfection in everything, taken collectively.
5
This, My dear John, is the corresponding significance of this sign, and the intention of these people to proclaim Me a worldly king is their evil and very corrupt worldly inclination, because they want to be a very mighty and feared nation and knock all their imagined enemies over the head, and this would be diametrically opposed to the spirit of My teaching. And so I will quickly disappear. Yet you do what I told you to do."
6
At this I hid Myself behind the crowd of disciples in a bush and pushed through it quickly up to the full height of the mountain; for a magical path soon opened up before Me - but not for those wanting to follow Me. Hereupon the people turned to the disciples and wanted to hold them in a harsh manner responsible for letting Me get away from them.
7
Then John stepped forward and said: "You are indeed more than we are! Why then could you not stop Him yourselves? Stop the storm and the lightning! Command the waves of the sea when they threaten to swallow you up! And I, only a disciple, can tell you: It is easier and more effective for you to command stillness to the raging elements than to change the will of the Man of God! Let this be a lesson to you, and do not be of such a foolish mind! How did you want to make Him a vain worldly king over the Jews, He, whose spirit is an eternal lord over everything in heaven and on earth! You were able to clearly see that from the many signs that He performed before your eyes. He only needs to want, and it will be just as He desires. But His omni-vision and His will reach also to here, as well as endlessly further; therefore do not be foolish and be calm, so that nothing unpleasant will happen to you!"
8
At this speech by John, many went to rest; but some grumbled and wanted to go and find Me at any cost on the mountain. But they soon came across such unpassable obstacles that it was the purest impossibility to get over them, soon came back from their fruitless efforts quite exhausted and could now not understand how I had climbed over the most terrible cliffs. But I also could not have gone down at all, since all the possible paths down from this resting place had been occupied by them and they would have seen Me somewhere. In short, they saw that they were not in a position to do anything, and then began to ask one another what was to be done. Some of them asked the disciples what they should now do without the master, or whether he would come back again.
9
But the disciples said: "What should we do other than to go back to our homeland towards Capernaum! There He indeed will come to us again, however and whenever He wants to."
10
Then the worst of them began to leave; but many still waited and wanted to see first what the disciples would do. But when it began to become evening, the disciples rose and hurried down to the sea (John 6:16), where a great ship was waiting for them already - as I had said to them before - which they quickly boarded and left even before the many people coming down from the mountain could reach them; for the way down was somewhat difficult and could only be covered with quite a lot effort and care by the unpracticed mountain climbers. From there they went on to the city of Tiberias, and many rented ships there to Capernaum. Some left immediately, others waited to see whether I would not come down from the mountain and then travel with them to Capernaum. However, since I did not come into sight anywhere, they only left in the morning.
11
But the disciples quickly sailed across the sea in the direction of Capernaum with a good wind. (John 6:17) But the disciples thought that I was following them with another ship and would catch up with them; for the distance was rather far and so it had become already quite dark when they still had quite a long stretch to sail and to row to Capernaum, because they had to fight against a counter-wind for some time. They constantly looked around to see whether and from where I would come to them; but I was still nowhere to be seen and had thus not yet come to them despite their great longing. Then they became sad and said to one another, I will certainly come to them only in the morning.
12
As they were thinking this, a strong wind suddenly picked up and the sea began to throw up great waves. (John 6:18)
13
The sailors then said: "Pull down the sails completely and everyone seize the oars strongly, otherwise we will have an accident if we do not reach the harbour soon!"
14
Then everyone grabbed the oars. And when they had rowed about 25 to 30 field-lengths, they saw Me coming on the very rough sea to their ship; but despite the fact that they had seen such a thing form Me once before in a similar situation, they were nonetheless seized by a great fear. (John 6:19)
15
Since I was quite well aware it, I spoke to them all and said: "Why are you all afraid? Do you not see that it is Me?" (John 6:20)
16
Then the disciples wanted to take Me onto the ship, since it was still a long stretch to the land; but as they desired this, behold, the ship was already right at the land in the same moment! (John 6:21)
17
But this made an extremely great commotion among the new disciples who had not yet experienced or seen such. The sailors also were quite beside themselves and still thought that I had died somewhere and was now walking as a ghost visibly about, perhaps cursed by a conjurer, or I was one Myself and had commanded the spirits of the waves to carry Me across the sea. For the sailors were Greeks and therefore also heathens, and could naturally not judge otherwise, since they knew only very little and indeed nothing at all about the true, spiritual Judaism and therefore they were left to their own opinion for now.
18
But we soon headed for a well-known inn, where before I healed an arthritis-suffering person who had been let down through an opening in the roof into the room to be healed by Me. There we were accepted well and also immediately served in the best way.