The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in the region of Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 155 -
The Greeks have questions about the omniscience of the Lord.
Only after a while, one of them spoke as follows: "O extremely wise Master, as You have explained, very truly and correctly, we came to know many things during those miserable 20 years, but even the most trustworthy oracles did not know anything about our youth, and just as less about our way of living. But You, whom we have come to meet so very unexpectedly for the first time of our life, have explained our way of living so completely truthfully as if You were with us already since our youth. But how is that possible to You? Did You read that from our faces? How, how was that possible to You?"
2
I said: "Do not worry about that now, for even if I would tell you directly, then you would not understand it. However, when you will become more awake in your spirit, you will understand in yourself how it is very easy for Me to tell every person openly what on each moment he has thought, said, wanted to do and did do since his birth. For no one can hide himself before Me. But we will not further talk about this for the moment, and you may continue to speak."
3
Then said one of the Greeks: "Extremely wise Master, we visited many schools. We have been in all of Egypt, and with our money we let them show us everything in the cities. We also let them initiate us in a lot of old mysteries of ancient wisdom, but in no school we have found a master who could completely truthfully say about himself what You have said just now about Yourself. And yet, considering Your outer appearance, You are also only a man, who only learned his wisdom and secret art in a school before.
4
But where in the world is that school? And if there is no such school on the whole Earth, then You unmistakably must be a god, who alone can do the things that You mentioned, as we know by the different religions about the capabilities and qualities of the existing gods.
5
But for a man to know from someone, whom he has never seen before and from whom he also cannot know what his name is and in which city, or on which island, or in which part of the mainland he was born, and to say who he is, what he has, how he has lived and acted, that is endlessly much more then the magic that was no matter how secretly hidden. Do You perhaps also know our names, our place of birth and our women and children?"
6
I said: "If I know the one thing, I certainly also know the other. But if I would have told you your names and places of birth, and also your women and children, then you would have thought by that: 'Yes, that He easily can know from our traveling papers, which we had to show at our arrival in order to be accepted in this institution, because everything is strictly arranged according to the laws of Rome.'
7
But what I told you is not stated in your traveling papers, and so this is more memorable than when I immediately would have greeted you as citizens of Melita with your names Polycarp and Eolit. And if I moreover would have told you that your women, who are still alive, are from Athens, and that you, Polycarp, have 8 children, 3 boys and 5 girls, and Eolit 12, 5 boys and 7 girls, this is stated in your traveling papers which I possibly could have read. But what I told you is not stated in your traveling papers, and therefore I also could not have known it from your papers. And I still know a lot more, which however I do not wish to tell you yet.
8
However, the school where I could have learned it - this according to your way of thinking - exists nowhere on the whole world, for I Myself am the Master and the School.
9
The one who learns it from Me and who comes with Me in the school of life, by believing in the one, only true God and by the love for Him, and through that by the love for fellowman, and who will then live and act according to My teaching, is a good disciple of My school. It is the only real and true school of life for everyone who wants to join that school and who wants therein to persevere unshakably until the end of his earthly life. Only in this school he will find the eternal life of the soul in the beyond, and death and judgment of matter will leave him.
10
The one who joins this school, and acts according to its teaching, will then also experience in himself how and why only I am the Master and the School Myself.
11
However, in this school, one cannot be half in and half out, but before anything else he should strive only for the Kingdom of God and for its justice, which is all inside of man and nowhere else with some splendor outside of man. And do not worry about the things and treasures of this world, while they have no value for the life of the soul of man, because they are quite as perishable as the most beautiful shining dewdrop that is blown away already by a breeze. For that which a true disciple of My school needs for his timely livelihood, will moreover be given to him as a free gift.
12
Look at the birds in the sky, the animals in the forest and those in the water. They do not sow and do not reap, and still they are all provided with everything they need. And if God takes care of the animals, then He certainly will take care even much more of men who believe in Him and love Him above all.
13
So you also - to give you an example - can look at the grass and the many flowers in the field. Truly, they are more beautifully decorated and dressed than king Salomon has ever been in his greatest splendor.
14
And if God - who is the only true Father of all men - takes care in this manner for the plants in the field, that are still there today, but the following day are mowed, dried and are then partly burned in the ovens and partly fed to the domestic animals, then He all the more will take care of His children, so that they do not have to walk naked on the Earth. Because someone, who is a real disciple of My school, will certainly be better than all the grass and all other plants on the whole Earth.
15
Therefore, a true disciple of My school should not worry about the next day, about what he will eat and drink, and with what he will clothe his body. Because that is what the heathens do, who are no disciples of My school. My true disciples will surely be taken care of, for what they need most of all.
16
Now you know out of which school I have taken My wisdom. But around Me you can already see a considerable number of My disciples. They also can tell you that this is how it is concerning My Mastership and School, and that it is not different from what I have now pointed out to you."
17
Now the 2 Greeks made big eyes, turned to one of My disciples, more precisely to John who seemed the most friendly to them, asking if it was indeed so concerning these things which were still not very clear to them.