God's New Bible

The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9

Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Kis at the Sea of Galilee

- Chapter 117 -

Temple servants from Jerusalem in search of the Lord.

Then a servant came into the hall and said to Kisjona: "A few temple servants from Jerusalem have arrived here and they ask for accommodation. What must we do?"
2
When our Kisjona heard this, he was unwilling and said: "Ah, you are never at peace, day nor night, because of those people who are extremely disturbing to me. They have nothing else to do except to travel from one place to another to annoy people with their pride, overconfidence and by their insatiable greed, often in an unbearable manner. Lord and Master, do You not have a terrible windstorm that can chase these annoying guests to another place?"
3
I said: "Do not worry about those 5 temple servants, and you can just accommodate them. If they want to come here to us, then do not refuse them, for I, and we all, are not afraid of them. Give them what they will ask you, so that they will have no reason to speak evil of us. They do not know Me, and we soon will discuss a few things with them about Me. They must hear the truth."
4
When Kisjona heard what I said, he became more willing and told the servant to let them in, give them accommodation and serve them according to their wish.
5
Then the servant went outside and said to them what his lord told him.
6
Hearing that, the temple servants became grumpy and asked the servant what kind of important thing the innkeeper had to do in his house to forget what he owed to the priests of God.
7
The servant said: "There are already a considerable number of guests in the inn, among whom are Greeks, and the innkeeper must give honor to those who came first, and he cannot wait for those he does not know if they will come. In short, since the innkeeper is a Roman citizen he does not make any difference between the guests. He who does not like that, can look for another inn. But if you want to stay here, you will be reasonably served according to your needs."
8
Then a Pharisee said very grumpy: "Well, well, sympathizer of Romans and servant of your Roman lord of a tollhouse-inn, just bring us to the big guestroom."
9
Then the servant brought them to us in the big guest room, where a table was set for them at the other side of the room.
10
When they came into the guestroom, Kisjona stood up anyway, greeted them and brought them to the table that was set for them.
11
After they were seated they asked our friend who we actually were.
12
Kisjona said: "I am doing the Roman police work here. It is sufficient for me to know the guests, and regarding the Romans I must guarantee their honesty. But if you wish to get acquainted with these good guests of mine, then direct yourselves to them."
13
When the temple servants heard that kind of answer from Kisjona, they did not ask anything anymore and let them give bread, wine and fishes, for they were already hungry and thirsty because they traveled on a Sabbath, and since sunrise they did not eat or drink anything because of the people. At home however, the New Moon Sabbath would not have worried them at all.
14
Here Mary said to Me with a certain worry: "My beloved son Jesus, I hope that those greatest enemies of Yours will not recognize You, for in Nazareth I had to endure many evil words and judgments from the local chief because of You, and I especially came to this lonely place to be left alone by the chief and his followers. These over there certainly travel in our country to inquire information about You and Your works. 2 of them seem very familiar to me, and I have seen them in Nazareth a few times because of You."
15
I said: "Do not worry at all whether they will personally recognize Me or not. This kind will only recognize Me in spirit when I will carry out a judgment over them. But then their recognition will come too late and will bring about their complete downfall. But let us now also eat and drink, for we still have many fishes, bread and wine."
16
With this, Mary was reassured again and took some more food and drink.
17
When the temple servants had filled their thick bellies, the 2 Pharisees left their table and came very insolently to us.
18
One of them, who was a chief and also scribe, said to us: "You surely will approve that we, servants of God, have come to you according to the old custom, in order to hear some news from you. Everyone of you can of course see right away who and what we are, but we also would like to know from where you came and what you have to do and accomplish here."
19
Now I said: "Although your request to us is extremely arrogant, which puts aside all good manners, we still want to comply with it if you first tell us what has forced you to undertake a trip, even on a New Moon Sabbath, since you would have accounted that as a great, barely forgivable sin to every other Jew if he would not have bought an exemption from you for a great amount of money. What kind of enormous important reason do you have to break the Sabbath? Tell this first to us, then we will also tell you something more about us."
20
The scribe who was somehow touched in his feelings, said: "Friend, we are priests, and according to the divine decree we also on a Sabbath have the fullest right to act in the name of the temple in Jerusalem, because we ourselves are actually the living law of Moses. Besides, it will not be unknown to you concerning that certain Nazarene, who claims to be the promised Messiah and who thereby persecutes the temple, has established for already some time a new sect, and by His signs He deceives the people, great and small, and turns them away from us. We have again received a report that He performs once here then there, and He teaches, does very exceptional signs, and everywhere He sets the people against the temple. And that is why we had to use the Sabbath, according to the divine decree in the temple, to know where that seducer of the people is staying and what He is doing. Now you know why we undertook a trip also on a Sabbath, and thus you can also tell us now from where you came and what reason you have for your trip. Because you obviously are also travelers, which we can tell from your tanned faces and hands."
21
I said: "And what must you do with the Nazarene if you find Him somewhere?"
22
The scribe said: "What we must do? First observe Him, then grab Him and then hand Him over to justice."
23
Kisjona said: "So, and further nothing? Do you actually know that the Nazarene is also a Friend of the Romans, and that also the gentiles believe in Him? Do you know that He heals all sick people by the power of His will, that He commands the elements and awakens the dead? If all the people recognize in Him the promised Messiah and love Him and honor Him, then why not you? Are you perhaps wiser than Him and mightier than His will?"
24
The scribe said: "Are you perhaps also already enchanted by that Nazarene?"
25
Kisjona said: "Certainly not me, for I became only wise by Him, because only by Him I came to know the truth and the life. But you are enchanted by your insatiable greed and imperiousness, and you are blind and deaf. That is why you do not recognize the Nazarene, and in your powerlessness you persecute the One who is all-powerful.
26
Although He is most patient and tolerant, and He can bear a lot of things from you, but only a very short time span is remaining before His patience with you will have an end. That time will very soon be over, and then, woe to you, stubborn persecutors of the greatest Friend of men. Then judgment will brake loose over you, of which some time ago you have seen the most undeceiving signs at night at the firmament. I, Kisjona, now a Roman, who is not afraid of you, am telling you this very straightly."
27
Then the 2 Pharisees were very surprised, and the scribe said: "Well now, you may be right. You can easily talk about the value, the dignity and the character of the Nazarene, because you definitely know Him personally and you probably were in contact with Him several times. But we do not know Him at all, and until now we have not been in contact with Him. What we know about Him, we only know through the spies who were sent to Him, and from everywhere the reports are exactly the same about the fact that He always was very hostile regarding the temple. But let us know where we can find Him, then we will speak with Him ourselves, test Him and see what kind of person He is."
28
Kisjona said: "You lie when you say that you do not know Him personally, for I myself know for sure that He repeatedly taught the people in Jerusalem, and also confirmed His teaching by purely divine signs. At that time, gentiles were converted, but you temple servants picked up stones and wanted to stone Him. If this is so, then how can you say that you do not know him personally?"
29
The 2 said: "We surely heard about it when we came home from Damascus where we had work to do, but that is why we never had the opportunity to know the so famous, but in the temple extremely infamous, Nazarene personally. But because our trips certainly made us more world travelers and more clever compared to all those who are constantly sitting in the temple, the big council in the temple quickly chose us as the most suitable spies to inquire about the Nazarene - in return of a good reward - and to send immediately a report to the temple regarding where He is staying and His activities. Under these surely difficult circumstances we were sent out already several times by the temple. We even came a few times in Nazareth and knew there His mother and brothers, but the One whom we sought we have not seen until now. So we did not tell an untruth when we said that we do not know Him personally and were never able to be in contact with Him.
30
So tell us where we can meet, hear and watch Him, then we will be able to tell according to our own experience to what extent the great accusations of the temple against Him are true or false and maliciously invented. We are scribes and know everything that is written in the prophets about the coming Messiah. Therefore, we do not accept of course so easily a new teaching like the people who are mostly inexperienced in the Scripture and who are already very badly spoiled by the gentiles."
31
Now I said again: "But whose fault is it that the people are so badly instructed in the Scripture? Look, this is your own fault. You withhold the Word of God from the people, and instead of that you torment them with your rules that the people have to accept as God's word. Is it then surprising that the people seek and also find protection from you with the gentiles?
32
Now if God has fulfilled His promise, and His anointed One teaches now again the pure word and does miracles by its power, like the prophets did, is that against the temple - if the temple would be the way it has to be according to the rules? If you are scribes, then determine for yourselves how far the temple has drawn away from the pure word of God through its actions.
33
I say to you: the gentiles are now much closer to God's throne than the temple with its extremely selfish and imperious rules. Where is now the old Ark of the Covenant, where the always green staff of Aaron, where the manna, and where the show breads that are eaten away by the moths already a long time ago?
34
Although you still show such things to the people and keep long speeches about it, but your inner self tells you aloud: 'We are deceiving the people and are forced to deceive them, so that it would not rise, overtake us and destroy us.'
35
Look, this is then also the most important reason why you persecute with glowing zeal the One who is sent into this world by God, and you fear and hate Him even more than death, which will not spare you."

Footnotes