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 199 -
The rescue of the chief.
When the ship came close to our shore, like jumping up and down on the waves, I said to those present: "If one of you wants to go to the shore now, he will see the reason for this storm, which will then immediately lie down. 4 ships with 130 soldiers were swallowed up by the lake. Only the one shielded ship, which carries the chief with his subordinates and 10 soldiers, will come here, and they truly will not be able to do anything to us."
2
When I had said that, several of My disciples stood up. Especially John's disciples who were with Me and who were very interested to know the reason for the storm. They went immediately to the shore and saw the ship that was already quite close and waggling to the shore.
3
It did not take long before the ship was thrown quite violently on the shore by a high wave, and those who were in it cried out for help.
4
Then Kisjona's ship workers came out of their cabin with a torch, and fastened the ship with ropes to a strong mooring, and then they said to those who were in the ship: "Stepping out of the ship on the dry land you can do yourself, if you want."
5
Then the chief asked: "Well, the terrible storm confused us all completely. Do tell us where we are now and if we can find here an inn for the night. For despite its tight and good shielding the ship caught some water in the inner deck, and we cannot spend the night in it until it has completely dried during the day."
6
A chief skipper of Kisjona said: "For what is concerned the first, you are in the cure resort of the old Roman Marcus. For what is concerned the inn for the night, he himself is the lord of that. We are not at home here ourselves and do not know the rules of that house."
7
On this, the chief said: "But are there no house servants present here?"
8
One of Marcus' servants who was already present said: "You first have to show where you come from, who you are and what the purpose of your trip to this place is. Or will you continue your trip tomorrow to another place? If you do not want or cannot give any clearness about this, then for the whole night you can stay in your ship, no matter how wet it is inside. And our Roman night guards will take care that none of you will come out of the ship."
9
The chief said: "Now listen, you rather brutal servant of your lord. I am a chief of Herod and have several subordinates and 10 soldiers with me. We actually come from Jerusalem, but the latest we come from the city of Tiberias, and the purpose of our trip lies in the fact that we must obey the will of our king."
10
The servant said: "I surely know that the proud and greedy Herod has also rented this part of the country from Rome, but this place with all that belongs to it is an exception. This is a guesthouse to exist for all times on its own according to Roman decree, and Herod has nothing to search and still less to do or to command here, except if he, as a sick person, and against payment he wants to make use of this bath resort for the healing of his body, which is available to him as well as to anyone else. For the rest, we do not listen at all to him, and he is even not permitted to step on the ground. If he wants to do that with force, we will know how to respond with force. So your obedience to the will of your lord and commander is of no concern to us here, but if you perhaps want to travel on through our place to another place, where your commander rules, then I will call our guards to receive you here and guide you on the territory of our lord."
11
The chief said: "No my friend, in this case this is not necessary, for we actually came here for the bath resort, and we would have arrived here already several hours ago if we did not have to go through such terrible adversity with that heavy storm. So just take us in. We will not give you any trouble."
12
The servant said: "Do you carry any battle weapons? If so, you first must give them in consignation until you travel on, for only Romans may carry weapons here."
13
The chief said: "Of course we carry weapons, for we are of the class of warriors, but if there is such law in this place we will not resist it. So you can take our weapons in consignation, but then you should take care that we can receive accommodation for the night."
14
Then the servant called immediately a considerable number of well-armed night guards, and when they arrived, he said to the chief: "Now you can go on land."
15
Then the Herodians went immediately on land, gave their weapons and were brought to a newly constructed dormitory-inn where there was a table, sufficient benches and also very suitable, clean resting beds. On their request to receive something to eat and to drink, the servant said: "Only bread and wine against direct payment. There is no more provision of other food."
16
The chief said: "Then bring us sufficient bread and wine, for we all are very hungry and thirsty. No one should worry about the payment."
17
Then a light was brought into the dormitory and at the same time plenty of bread and wine. The chief paid everything immediately, after which the servant and his helpers left the dormitory, and left the Herodians alone who grabbed the food and the wine, and in a short time they ate a considerable quantity.