The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Nahim in Judea
- Chapter 44 -
The right way to worship the Lord.
On this, the Greek asked Me: "O Lord and Master, since we all have received the eternal invaluable luck to know You Yourself now in Your divine personality, and have heard from Your mouth the words of life, I am of the opinion - at least as far as we Greeks are concerned - that we should build a house for You where we can come together once a week to discuss Your teaching and to read Moses and the prophets, because on other days each one of us is working more or less anyway, one time here, then at another place, and then it is not so easy to talk with each other about Your teaching and deeds and to encourage each other to be active according to Your will. O Lord and Master, please tell us if that would be pleasing to You."
2
I said: "Why would you build a separate house while you have houses anyway in which you live, wherein you also can come together in My name to discuss about My teaching and to tell about the experiences which everyone will certainly have when they live according to God's will? It is also not necessary to introduce a certain feast day for that which you would call - like for instance the Pharisees call the Sabbath - 'the day of the Lord'. Because every day is a day of the Lord, and so on every day just as many good works can be done, because God does not look at a day and still less at a house that is build to honor and worship Him, but God looks only at the heart and the will of man. If the heart is pure and the will is good, and when these will make the whole man active, then this is already the true, real house of God's Spirit in man, and so his always good and active will according to the known will of God is the true and thus also the always real day of the Lord.
3
Look, this is the truth, and you should continuously stay with that. All the rest is useless and has no value for God.
4
In later times men will built certain houses for Me, and in them they will - just like the Pharisees in the temple in Jerusalem and the gentile priests in their pagan temples of idols - perform a certain religious service on a certain day of the week, to which they will still add other great and high-days in the year. But when this will become a general custom among the people, contrary to My advice and My will, the signs that were discussed before concerning My living presence with, in and amidst men will completely disappear, because in temples, which carry the phrase 'to the greater honor of God' which are build by human hands, I will be as less present as now in the temple in Jerusalem.
5
But if in a community you want to build a house out of love for Me, let this then be a school for your children, and give them teachers according to My teaching. You also can build a house for the poor, the sick and the disabled. Provide such a house of everything that is necessary to take care of the people who live there, then you always will be able to rejoice in My pleasure. All the rest and that which is in addition is evil and has, as already said, no value for God.
6
In a well-arranged school building you also can keep your gatherings and discussions in My name, and it is not necessary to build another 3rd house for that purpose.
7
However, as to how God should be worshipped unceasingly in the spirit and in truth I have made clear in well understandable words to all of you, and therefore I do not have to add anything further to that. I have shown you the way along which you can gradually come to all truth and wisdom, and that was necessary for you at first. But act and live now in this manner, and seek God's Kingdom especially in yourself. All the rest will be given to you in addition."
8
After I had said that, all those who were present bowed and thanked Me with all their heart also for this lesson. Also the widow with her son came once more standing before Me and they both thanked Me for the love that had been given to them. Then I blessed them all and we quickly continued our way.
9
When we were traveling through the little city, many of who saw what I had done to the son of the widow the day before walked towards us and called out loud: 'Hail You, great prophet of the Lord. Through You, God has visited His people again in his great desolation. Thank and honor to Him, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, now and in all eternity. O great prophet, who are so much filled with God's Spirit, would You not allow some of us to travel with You to hear Your teaching and then to announce it to us? Because yesterday we have concluded from Your few words that You are full of divine wisdom, and we would like to hear more of that."
10
I said: "This you do not need now. However, if you want to live and act according to My teaching, then keep God's commandments whom Moses has given, then already in this manner you will live entirely according to My teaching, for I have not come into this world to abolish Moses and the prophets, but to confirm and to fulfill all that which is written in their books.
11
If you want to know more about Myself, then go to the widow where also the Greeks are still staying. They will surely tell you what they have heard from My mouth."
12
After these words of Mine, the obtrusive people left us and went to the widow.