The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 116 -
The chief and the innkeeper recognize the Lord.
But while I was talking to Agricola, the captain, his 2 companions who were at his service, and also the innkeeper were listening very attentively, and after the words of Agricola, the captain said: "Lord and Master and wonderful Savior, as You have spoken now, I have never heard any man speak. I have the impression - and very strongly - that there is someone quite different hiding behind what You in Your innocence seem to be. You certainly must be that great Man from Galilee about who Cornelius and a few other Romans have told me. And if You are indeed the One, then everything is clear to me now, and I already know for myself with whom we have to deal with, this to our highest bliss. But be not angry at me because I have said this here."
2
I said: "Oh, not at all, but it is really wonderful that the gentiles can see the light sooner than the many Jews who were after all called to the light from the very beginning. But so be it. Therefore, I have already determined that the light will be taken away now from many Jews and given to the gentiles. They have been blind for a long time and have fervently desired to have the light, and because they have desired to have the light, they have also found it. But the Jews boasted about it that they were the only ones to have the light. However, now they have become so blind that it is difficult to make them seeing again.
3
My words are the light and the life, and My deeds witness that My words are alive, because the Spirit that is in it is not a dead, but an eternal living and above all mighty Spirit, because before anything was ever created, there was the Word which you are hearing now. The Word was with God, and God Himself was the Word, but the Word has now become flesh and lives now among you. I came in My property to those who are Mine, and they did not recognize Me.
4
Oh that great blindness of the Jews, and namely of those who are sitting in the temple and the synagogues and put themselves in front. When I call them, they do not hear anything, and when I show them the great light, then they do not look at it. Therefore, woe to them on the day of judgment that will come over Jerusalem. But now, nothing more about it."
5
Then the innkeeper said: "O Lord and Master, You seem to be somehow displeased because of me because I did not recognize You immediately and deeper like the Romans have recognized You, but I think that this is not my fault. Lord and Master, say it straightforward that the fullness of God is bodily living within You, then I and my whole house will believe it. Because the signs that You do, can indeed only be done by God - and man when for a few moments he is pervaded and seized by the Spirit of God - for no man could bear the too much and too endless might and power of God's Spirit in himself and by that remain alive.
6
But who thus, just like You, contains and carries the fullness of God's Spirit bodily within himself and in this manner also continuously lives and acts, he is as good as God Himself. For if God's Spirit was able by His word and will to create and give for us men a body with a living soul, then why should He not be able to give Himself - if this would please Him - an extremely pure body according to the order of His love and wisdom?
7
From this, o Lord and Master, You can almost endlessly more clearly conclude than I, that I do not belong to the Jews who are slow to understand, but I can believe quickly and easily what I recognize as an unmistakable truth. Therefore, please be not angry with me because the captain as a gentile has recognized You sooner than I who am a Jew."
8
I said: "If I could become angry with you, I would not have come to you. I have however known for a long time what would happen to you today, and for this reason I have come here to you with these friends to help you. And now that I have done this, I surely am not angry with you, but actually a dear and great Friend of yours. But what I have said now refers to all Jews and all nations on Earth and also for those who live on the stars.
9
But now I want to tell you something else, and then you will understand all the more clearly why I now have come to you as dear and true Friend.
10
Look, close to the city, rather in front and not far from the road, there is a cave that still today serves as sheepfold. When the emperor August prescribed the first census in the land of the Jews, I was born there around midnight from a young woman who never had known a man. As a sign of recognition for men, so that they would become aware who was the One who came there in the flesh of men, great signs were happening in the sky and also on the Earth, which was seen first by your shepherds.
11
You, at that time still a shepherd on that large pasture land which is nowadays still your common possession, were one of the first who came to the cave and greeted the newly born King of the Jews and gave Him honor.
12
And when you heard the choirs of the angels, you said to a few shepherds who came to the cave: 'Look, just look. The face of that little Boy shines like the morning sun, and in the cave it is so bright as during the daytime. There is more than only a newly born King of the Jews. This is the promised Messiah. This is the One about who was prophesied by all prophets. He will bring us the salvation and that is why we must worship Him.'
13
It was also you who song the following short psalm to the other shepherds: 'May God be merciful to us and bless us. He makes His face to shine over us - sela - so that we on Earth should know His way and His salvation among all gentiles. You, God, the nations are thanking, all nations thank You. The nations are happy and rejoice, so that You will direct the people justly and rule the people on Earth. You, God, the nations are thanking, all nations thank You. The land gives its crops. God, our God, bless us. God bless us and may the whole world fear Him.'
14
Look, driven by your inner spirit, you referred this psalm to Me, and later, after you father, when you became the owner of this estate, you let a nice hewn stone be placed not far from here, and with your own hands you wrote the psalm on it, so that it is easy for everyone to read and to recognize it since you did it with indelible paint in the Hebrew, Greek and Romans script and have also written it into those 3 languages.
15
From this you can surely conclude that I know you very well and that I am not angry with you as you thought, for you were indeed one of the first who recognized Me already at the time of My birth and gave Me the right honor, and so you surely will not be the last one to now recognize Me again."
16
On this, the innkeeper was moved to tears and said: "God, Lord and Master. As soon as I saw You, it came to me in spirit that this would be so, but I did not dare to speak it out loudly. But since you now were so merciful to bring it into my memory again, it is surely above all doubt that You are the same for whom only already 32 years ago my favorite psalm was meant. O, what an endlessly great salvation has now come over my house. O Lord, o God. What psalm will I now sing for You?"
17
I said: "We will abide with the song that you have song for Me the first time, for it contains indeed everything that is according to the eternal truth, and I am satisfied with that."
18
Then the innkeeper asked Me if He could not tell in his house to his wife, his healed mother, his children and also his healed helper what kind of salvation has come now over them all.
19
I said: "We will do that only after the midday meal which will not take much longer now. Until then we will however discuss something else."