When everyone else had left, the young master of the house, at whose wedding I had turned water into wine, came and said, ‘Lord, those who followed us from Judea and Jerusalem and have now refreshed themselves with food and drink out in the large guest room would like another word with You. As far as I can see, several intend to set out for home and look after their households there. If You would permit it, I would let them know.’
I say, ‘I think that is unnecessary. Whoever is with Me and remains is truly in his real home. But whoever does not acquire this only true and everlasting home will continually wander through a desolate foreign land like a wild animal that has been scared away, seeking food and a home in the wilderness, finding neither, and finally fainting away from hunger, thirst and cold, until in the end it becomes the prey of ravenous animals whose home is the empty wilderness.
But who has lacked anything with Me? Has not everyone been fed daily from the heavens, in body and in spirit? Has anyone suffered hunger and thirst, or has anyone been prosecuted by a worldly court for traveling with Me? I tell you: whoever wants to go, let him go; whoever wants to stay, let him stay! For I do not need people, but people need Me. Whoever leaves Me will also be left by Me; and whoever does not seek Me, I too will not seek with great zeal. Go out now and tell them this!’
The host says, ‘Lord, this is hard for me. Then You will also be displeased with these citizens of Cana for having gone to rest in their houses?’
I say, ‘You have not understood Me! You see, these citizens have already received Me fully into their hearts, and My teaching has become sacred to them. But these Jews do not find My teaching, which I gave in Sychar, acceptable in its fullness; they long for their leaven again more than for their households, and that is why they now wish to go home. For the sake of appearances, however, they would like to offer Me thanks so that you will not regard them as crude, uncouth blockheads. So just go out and tell them openly everything I have now said to you!’
At this they are all greatly taken aback, for one after another felt deeply struck. Some are annoyed by it, but others take it to heart; they reflect on it in their hearts and say, ‘He has struck home, and unfortunately it is so. May He forgive us; we will stay!’
But those offended by it say, ‘We will go! True, we have lacked nothing with him, but we are now tired of this idle Scythian life. Besides, with him one must always be on guard against making a mistake with some little word. For then the judgment is immediately stuck to one’s back, and one must see how to get back on a good footing with one’s skin intact. There is no question of any leniency with him! Once he says something, he will not allow a single iota of bargaining over it. That is why we will remain with him no longer.’
The repentant say, ‘That is certainly true. The priests in Jerusalem are quite willing to bargain, especially if the offerings satisfy them sufficiently. But He will not bargain over a hair’s breadth, even if one could offer Him the whole earth. So it is admittedly somewhat hard and difficult to get along with Him. Yet He cannot possibly be anything other than, at the very least, a greatest prophet. Examined closely, every one of His words is full of truth, power and life, and nature, however mute, obeys His beckoning. What else should we do but stay, as long as He Himself does not send us away? For no person before Him has ever performed the deeds He has performed before our eyes; therefore we will remain with Him at any cost!’
But the offended say, ‘Do as you please; we are going. If we owe the host anything, let him give us the bill!’
But the host says, ‘I do not keep an inn for strangers, but for the native children of Jacob, and they incur no bill with me, as everywhere in Canaan, the land where milk and honey flow in streams.’
After this reply they rose, set out on the road, and hurry away. But when they are already several hours’ journey from Cana and can no longer lift their feet from exhaustion, they fall down on the road and there, several hundred in number, take their night’s rest.
But a strong legion of Roman soldiers comes down the same road from Jerusalem and encounters this caravan. Since the weary people cannot be awakened, their hands are bound. And since they cannot produce legitimate travel permits, every one of them is taken as a prisoner before the court in Jerusalem and questioned there for a week, until, having been established as Jews, they are released on payment of fines.
Some of these Roman soldiers also come to Cana that same morning. When they search our house and we show our travel permit from Jerusalem, they raise no further objection and move on to Capernaum. First, however, the colonel of this legion, having recognized Me, spoke with Me about various matters and also told Me that he would now reside in Capernaum for some time. He said his family had gone there a couple of days earlier, and he would meet them there. He also invites Me to come to Capernaum and call on him, which I promise to do after a few days.
At the same time he asks Me whether I know who the large caravan might have been that he encountered during the night, lying in deep sleep on the road to Jerusalem.
I tell him who they were, and with a friendly smile he replies to Me, ‘I thought at once that I had met the sort of fellows who, in the ground of the ground, are nothing but Pharisaic spies. I would be very surprised if You had not recognized them as such at first sight!’
I replied to him, ‘You are not entirely wrong to regard them as such. But when they followed Me from Jerusalem and Judea, they were not yet that; now, however, some of them can and will become so, to their own greatest disadvantage. For the temple brood loves betrayal, but fears the betrayer more than the betrayed enemy, and therefore lets no betrayer remain free. Almost everyone is given the accursed water to drink, and scarcely one in ten escapes with his life. Those who burst apart are then usually accused of false betrayal and buried in the accursed earth in Jehoshaphat, where a place is accursed. That will also be the fate of some who will betray Me to the temple brood! For My time has not yet come.’