The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Galilee
- Chapter 69 -
The value of the temple rules.
The innkeeper said to Me: "O Lord and Master, as we are sitting here quietly together and do not have to be afraid of being disturbed by anyone, and since it is also not so late in the evening, I ask You to name me a few things which are necessary to attain the true salvation of the soul."
2
I said: "Believe in God without doubting, keep His command-ments, love Him above all as much as you can, and your fellowmen as yourself, and believe that I am the promised Messiah who have come now Myself in a body to this world as the eternal Truth, the Light and the Life, so that all who believe in Him and live according to My teaching, will have the eternal life. If you believe all that and act accordingly, you will obtain and keep for eternity the true, living salvation for your soul.
3
Look, only this is completely sufficient to attain to the Kingdom of God in yourself. All the rest is useless and has with regard to the benefit of the soul no value before God. If I as the Lord of all life am saying this to you, you also can believe it is so and not otherwise."
4
The innkeeper said: "O Lord and Master, I believe this now firmly and without any doubt. However, Moses gave still a lot more rules and precepts. For instance that a Jew may eat only certain foods, must wash his body frequently, must fast, must do penance in sack and ashes, must carry a cloak made of hairs, and still a lot of other things which are difficult to remember and therefore still more difficult to keep, by which you then also live constantly in fear of being full of sins which you unknowingly might have committed. How should we actually behave concerning these things? Is the strict observance of all precepts, which Moses and also the other prophets have given, an absolute condition to attain to the satisfaction of God?"
5
I said: "If you keep what I have told you just now, you have by that fulfilled everything that is written in Moses and all the prophets where it says what you have to do. Man must eat and drink to keep him physically alive, and the foods and drinks should be clean and fresh. Likewise it is also good and healthy for the body to keep it clean as much as possible, and so also to be pure, moderate and sober in all things. Thus, these kinds of precepts are not only good and beneficial for the Jews, but for all men, because also the soul cannot raise himself so easily in a sick body unto that which can benefit his salvation and strengthen him for eternal life.
6
Look, for this reason God prescribed through Moses and also through the other prophets that which is good for the body during the time of the earthly life, and it is to the benefit of man to keep these rules.
7
However, the one who does what I have just told you, will be guided by the spirit of the Kingdom of God in his own heart, and this will show him also the rules for the benefit of his body. And so already everything is contained in what I have told you. Have you understood all this now?"
8
While the healed helper agreed on that very thankfully, the innkeeper said: "O Lord and Master, we thank You from the deepest of our soul, with all our heart and with all the strength of our life for Your very wise and truthful lesson which has kindled a total different light in us compared to the long preachings of the Pharisees who say that the whole salvation of men depends only on the fact of keeping strictly those many outer things and rules, but keeping God's commandments by which the soul is purified and made stronger for the eternal life they attach almost no importance and say that man must make offerings instead, which are more useful for him than when he rigidly and troublesomely would keep the commandments.
9
And so you can see the people who often lay down big offerings before the doors of the Pharisees, but now you hardly can find anyone who strictly observes the commandments of Moses, because the people say: 'if offerings are the same for God, and we can still be more purified of our sins than when we troublesomely observe the commandments, then offerings are much easier, and our conscious is lighter, because according to the words of the Pharisees the offerings will atone everything before God, but the keeping of the commandments only insofar as someone was capable to observe strictly and conscientiously one or the other commandment.'
10
Well now, if we compare that teaching with what You, o Lord and Master, have advised and very clearly explained to me, then there is an infinite great difference. With You everything is the fullest and living truth, and with the Pharisees it is a dirty, dead lie by which truly not one soul can attain to eternal life. Lord, what should we do now regarding the Pharisees?"
11
I said: "Listen to what they announce as the pure word from Moses and the prophets, and act according to that pure word, but do not keep their own rules, for in God's eyes they are an abomination.
12
For it is also written: 'See, this people honors Me with the lips, but their heart is far away from Me.' However, I say to you all: the end of those who preach a human teaching has come near. That is why I, who am the Truth, the Way and the Life, have come to you, and I will wipe away the lie and its evil works. Although I will soon leave this world, and during the time that I will be absent visibly, the lie and its false and evil things will still be rampant for some time among the people on Earth, but then at the right time I will come back to you people with all might and power and will make an end to the dominion of the lie and deceit.
13
Already now I prepare in the hearts of men the ground for it, and I am building a new temple and a new city of God. Let us finish its construction as soon as possible, so that the old temple and the city of lie, deceit and all evil will be destroyed forever.
14
This you surely cannot understand now in all its purity, but when you will be permeated with My Spirit, then also that will be very clear, and then you will remember what I have told you beforehand."
15
These words of Mine were also for de disciples not completely clear, and therefore they said among each other (the disciples): "He already spoke a few times about a 2nd coming on this Earth, but always in a rather vague manner, like the prophets do. Just let us ask Him now straightly, maybe this time He will tell us more, and more specific."