THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 92 -
The Pharisees' offense and anger over the joyful meal of the Lord.
Mark had heard only half of My demand for wine from a distance, but he already hurried away, just like a real innkeeper, into the cellar and with both his sons immediately brought several jugs full of the very best grape juice. Our beakers were filled to the brim; everyone drank to the well-being of the prosperity of the new religion from heaven and could not praise, vaunt und bless the quality of the wine enough.
2
That Roklus and his companions, who were also sitting at our table "even if at the newly-added parts standing at right angles "were also provided with same wine, as well as gradually all the other guests, goes without saying; we all reached very bravely for the beakers and the good bread was also not spared.
3
But this was also noticed by the table of Pharisees, which stood next to ours, at which the fifty Pharisees with their spokesman Floran and their leader Stahar from Caesarea Philippi were sitting, that I helped Myself to the wine very well just as to the bread.
4
And Stahar quite loudly made the remark to Floran, saying, "Just look over there how this prophet, supposedly filled with the spirit of God, is actually a drunkard and a positive glutton! He also seems to be no enemy of the female sex; for the certain, very charming maiden is still sitting so close to his body as the two ears on his head! If we consider on the other hand our moral statutes which come from Moses, everything that makes a man impure! If he is really filled by the spirit of the Almighty, he cannot possibly contradict the same spirit that Moses was filled with through his deeds!? Hm, hm, that makes me think a lot!
5
His teaching and deeds obviously prove that he has been given a higher capability than ever a man was given, and whoever lives according to his religion cannot get lost before God; but whoever drinks and eats as he does, will hardly enter Paradise one day according to the day of judgment of which David prophesied! For it is written: Whores and drunkards will not enter the Kingdom of God! What do you think, my ever highly respected Floran?"
6
Floran says, shrugging his shoulders, "The present positive drinking bout also seems a little strange to me! The whole thing now seems so strange that I am beginning to smell something of a sort of well hidden devilishness! It seems to not correspond to quite purely divine things! Hm, hm, look there, he has just filled his beaker again! Ah, ah, that is seriously somewhat more than strange! And now the heel of the bread after the drink! Well, well, we will see if he becomes very drunk, what he will then give as teaching for his disciples!"
7
Stahar says, "Your comment, particularly about the smell of devilishness, seemed very appropriate to me, and this whole comedy seems very strange to me now! We have indeed all allowed ourselves to be turned into his disciples; but under such circumstances it would be very much in order, in my opinion, to free ourselves from such an honor again with all our energy, for all that now seems to be a well-calculated illusion of Satan! Daniel says indeed very clearly and articulately that in time a powerful opponent of God will rise up among the people and will perform such signs through which even the chosen angels of God could be enticed away if God allowed such a thing! In the end is this now the described opponent of God!? Friends, if so, then it would be very much in order to be up and away as quickly as possible, otherwise the living Satan will catch us with neck and crop perhaps in the next hour already!"
8
With such speeches and illustrations the table of fifty Pharisees had been talking since the moment that I emptied the first beaker of wine. But Roklus and his companions noticed this, who in any case had had their fill of the Pharisees.