God's New Bible

The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9

Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord's journey through Samaria

- Chapter 58 -

Following the Lord.

I said: "That which you have now asked Me, I have already done now, and therefore you will be able to continue your way easily, because for whom My life of light shines will on his way not easily stumble upon a stone anymore and he will know how to avoid the thorns. The one who walks with Me, will have a well passable way everywhere. However, the one who walks without Me to the Kingdom of God, which is the inner kingdom of life and all truth, will have a long, narrow and very thorny way to go through, as this was the case with many old wise men of all people on Earth, and which will also be and remain the case in the future.
2
From now on it will be easy for you, as well as for a lot of those who saw and heard Me and who completely believe in Me. But their descendants will attain to the Kingdom of God only by their faith. Whoever sees and hears Me, believes easily and can also live and act easily according to My word. But he who in the future will not see Me anymore physically will have it more difficult to attain to the true, living Kingdom of God, for he must believe what the messengers who are send out will tell him about Me.
3
However, if he willingly accepts what he hears in his believing heart, and will feel true joy because of the truth that he heard, then soon the baptism of the Spirit from Me will come over him, and then he will see the opened gate to God's Kingdom. From that point on, also for those who were no witness of My presence now, the way to God's Kingdom will be easy.
4
But rejoice, now that you know all that - about the fact that God determined it already from the first beginning. And when you will relate to the people about Me and My Kingdom, then tell them what I have told you now, but above all, make them understand that My Kingdom is not of this world, but that it is the inner Kingdom of all truth and all life in the deepest inner-self of man. Whoever has found it in himself and has entered into it through his living faith and active love, has conquered the world, the judgment and death, and will constantly have eternal life.
5
Although human reasoning thinks that the things that I have told you now are foolishness, nevertheless it is the highest wisdom of all life in God. It will be good for the one who will not be offended by it.
6
No one can know all the things that lie hidden in man and that are necessary for his life, except the spirit that is and abides in the deepest inner self of man. And so, not any worldly wise man knows who God Himself is and what is in Him, but only God's Spirit that penetrates all His depths.
7
However, when the spirit in man is not awakened as the true light of life, it is dark in man and he does not know himself, but when through faith in Me and through the love for Me and fellowman the spirit in man is awakened and enlightened to a bright light, the spirit thoroughly penetrates the whole man, and then man can see what is in him and he knows himself. And he who knows himself, knows God also, because the true and eternal spirit of life in man is not a human spirit, but a godly Spirit in man, otherwise man would not be an image of God.
8
If you have well understood this, we will now, after having been strengthened in body and spirit, leave our table and begin our trip to Galilee."
9
They all assured Me that they well understood it and they thanked Me for this lesson.
10
Yet, the innkeeper was asking if I would not prefer to stay in his house until noon.
11
But I said to him: "Look, everything in this world has its time, thus also to come, to stay and to go. And I know where still today a big work is waiting for Me, and therefore I must go to the place where that work is waiting for Me. Besides, in 1 hour a big caravan of businessmen from Jericho will come in to your place, and then you will have much to do. The businessmen will be able to tell you many things about Me. Tell them also that I was here, but do not tell them which way I took."
12
The innkeeper assured Me once more that he strictly would observe everything what he had recognized as My will and thanked Me once more for the good things I did for him. And I gave a sign to the disciple to break up.
13
Then we really stood up and went on our way. The innkeeper and his healed son escorted Me for more than 1.000 paces and then they returned back home with full of good memories.

Footnotes