God's New Bible

The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9

Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Galilee

- Chapter 81 -

The 2 temple servants search for the Lord.

When the 2 came out of the house they saw the place where the big fire had raged, and how their companions were busy gathering their treasures that were still not destroyed by the fire and bringing them to a save place.
2
One of them shouted to the scribe (a temple servant): "Are you really not worried about what belongs to you?"
3
The scribe said: "That which is possibly mine I will receive soon enough, and if nothing can be found of what is mine then I also will not grieve about that. You just continue to work for death, I will now search work for life."
4
After these words they the 2 continued their way.
5
The other Pharisees said among each other: "Did that Galilean also make our only scribe crazy?"
6
But he did not pay attention to them and went with the completely converted Pharisee to the inn and wanted to speak to Me. But I was still outside with My disciples and thus not in the inn.
7
When they the 2 saw that I was not there they asked the innkeeper - who was busy preparing the big dining table - where I was and if I had perhaps left the village.
8
The innkeeper said: "The Lord of life has still not left. He is somewhere outside with His disciples, but were, that I cannot tell you because He already left the hall before I woke up. But a few of His disciples carried traveling bags, which I still have for safekeeping, and this is a sign that the Lord has still not left this place, and I think that He will come back soon because the morning meal will soon be completely ready, which He certainly knows. But go outside and search for Him, for it is worthwhile to search for the Lord of life. I will do that myself as soon as I have set this table. My healed chief helper has already gone out."
9
The Pharisee said: "What are the 10 who were healed actually doing? Are they still here or did they already continue their trip?"
10
The innkeeper said: "Oh, they already continued their trip at daybreak. Whereto, that also the Lord will know best."
11
After these words, the 2 left immediately the hall and went on their way, hoping to find Me somewhere. They walked through the market place and asked to a few people if they perhaps had seen Me, but no one could tell them.
12
At the end of the market place they met a poor orphan child. They also asked the child if she perhaps had seen Me somewhere in the company of several men.
13
The child said: "O yes, there upon the hill in the direction of Kana are the unknown men sitting down, and One of them must be someone important because He suddenly healed my eyes. You surely know that I was completely blind since birth and how my poor mother put me every day before the gate of the market place to beg for alms."
14
The 2 gave generously to the child and let her now happily go to her mother who soon saw her child. She was very surprised, ran to her and asked her questions about everything.
15
And the 2 walked quickly to the hill and came to us right at the moment when we stood up from the ground to return to the inn.
16
When they came to us, they greeted Me most kindly and asked Me if they could stay with Me.
17
I said: "If you want you can stay. We will now take another way to the inn and will not pass through the market place, for I have made the blind girl seeing. She will now, together with her mother, tell this to everyone, and if we would go now through the market place, all the people would crowd together round us to see and to praise Me, which I want to prevent now. So let us go."
18
After these words of Mine, we soon left the hill, took a little detour and went as fast as possible to the inn.
19
When we entered the hall, the innkeeper just wanted to search for Me also because he had finished setting the table. Since we arrived before him, he asked Me to forgive him for the fact that he had been so slow. But I reassured him and said that he now could let the morning meal be set on the table, which also happened immediately. We sat down at the table and we cheerfully partook of the well-prepared meal.
20
During the meal, also the healing of the blind girl was discussed, about which the innkeeper was surprised again, and he immediately wanted to send someone to the poor girl and her mother. But I advised him not to do this for the moment because of the sensation that it would cause, but when I would be away from the village, there still would be enough time to think about the poor. And this the innkeeper did.

Footnotes