The Gospel of Barnabas · Chapter 68
The Ungrateful Man Healed by the King
'Thou askest me to tell thee what God will give us in paradise. Verily I say unto you, that those who think of the wages love not the master. A shepherd who hath a flock of sheep, when he seeth the wolf coming, prepareth to defend them; contrariwise, the hireling when he seeth the wolf leaveth the sheep and fleeth. As God liveth, in whose presence I stand, if the God of our fathers were your God ye would not have thought of saying: "What will God give me?" But ye would have said, as did David his prophet: "What shall I give unto God for all that he hath given unto me?"
'I will speak to you by a parable that ye may understand. There was a king who found by the wayside a man stripped by thieves, who had wounded him unto death. And he had compassion on him, and commanded his slaves to bear that man to the city and tend him; and this they did with all diligence. And the king conceived a great love for the sick man, so that he gave him his own daughter in marriage, and made him his heir. Now assuredly this king was most merciful; but the man beat the slaves, despised the medicines, abused his wife, spake evil of the king, and caused his vassals to rebel against him. And when the king required any service, he was wont to say: "What will the king give me as reward?" Now when the king heard this, what did he do to so impious a man?'
They all replied: 'Woe to him, for the king deprived him of all, and cruelly punished him.' Then said Jesus: 'O priests, and scribes, and Pharisees, and thou high-priest that hearest my voice, I proclaim to you what God hath said to you by his prophet Isaiah: "I have nourished slaves and exalted them, but they have despised me." The king is our God, who found Israel in this world full of miseries, and gave him therefore to his servants Joseph, Moses and Aaron, who tended him. And our God conceived such love for him that for the sake of the people of Israel he smote Egypt, drowned Pharaoh, and discomfited an hundred and twenty kings of the Canaanites and Madianites; he gave him his laws, making him heir of all that land wherein our people dwelleth.
'But how doth Israel bear himself? How many prophets hath he slain; how many prophecies hath he contaminated; how hath he violated the law of God: how many for that cause have departed from God and gone to serve idols, through your offence, O priests! And how do ye dishonor God with your manner of life! And now ye ask me: "What will God give us in paradise?" Ye ought to have asked me: What will be the punishment that God will give you in hell; and then what ye ought to do for true penitence in order that God may have mercy on you: for this I can tell you, and to this end am I sent to you.'
'You ask me to tell you what God will give us in paradise. Truly, I tell you that those who think only of wages do not love their master. When a shepherd who owns a flock sees a wolf approaching, he prepares to defend the sheep; by contrast, a hired servant sees the wolf, abandons the sheep, and flees. As God lives, in whose presence I stand, if the God of our fathers were truly your God, you would not have thought to ask, "What will God give me?" Instead, you would have said, as his prophet David did, "What shall I give to God for everything he has given me?"'
'I will speak to you in a parable so that you may understand. A king found beside the road a man whom thieves had stripped and wounded nearly to death. He had compassion on him and ordered his slaves to carry him to the city and care for him, which they did with all diligence. The king came to love the sick man so greatly that he gave him his own daughter in marriage and made him his heir. Surely this king was exceedingly merciful. Yet the man beat the slaves, despised the medicines, abused his wife, spoke evil of the king, and caused the king’s subjects to rebel against him. Whenever the king required any service, the man would say: "What reward will the king give me?" When the king heard this, what did he do to so impious a man?'
They all replied: 'Woe to him, for the king deprived him of everything and punished him severely.' Jesus then said: 'O priests, scribes, and Pharisees—and you, high priest, who hear my voice—I proclaim to you what God said through the prophet Isaiah: "I have nourished slaves and exalted them, but they have despised me." The king is our God, who found Israel in this world full of misery and entrusted him to his slaves Joseph, Moses, and Aaron, who cared for him. Our God loved him so greatly that, for the sake of the people of Israel, he struck Egypt, drowned Pharaoh, and defeated one hundred and twenty kings of the Canaanites and Midianites. He gave Israel his laws and made him heir to all the land in which our people dwell.'
'But how has Israel conducted himself? How many prophets has he killed, how many prophecies has he corrupted, and how has he violated the law of God! How many people have departed from God and gone to serve idols because of your offense, O priests! How greatly you dishonor God by your manner of life! Yet now you ask me: "What will God give us in paradise?" You should instead have asked: "What punishment will God give us in hell, and what must we do in true repentance so that God may have mercy upon us?" This I can tell you, and for this purpose I was sent to you.'
'Thou askest me to tell thee what God will give us in paradise. Verily I say unto you, that those who think of the wages love not the master. A shepherd who hath a flock of sheep, when he seeth the wolf coming, prepareth to defend them; contrariwise, the hireling when he seeth the wolf leaveth the sheep and fleeth. As God liveth, in whose presence I stand, if the God of our fathers were your God ye would not have thought of saying: "What will God give me?" But ye would have said, as did David his prophet: "What shall I give unto God for all that he hath given unto me?"
'I will speak to you by a parable that ye may understand. There was a king who found by the wayside a man stripped by thieves, who had wounded him unto death. And he had compassion on him, and commanded his slaves to bear that man to the city and tend him; and this they did with all diligence. And the king conceived a great love for the sick man, so that he gave him his own daughter in marriage, and made him his heir. Now assuredly this king was most merciful; but the man beat the slaves, despised the medicines, abused his wife, spake evil of the king, and caused his vassals to rebel against him. And when the king required any service, he was wont to say: "What will the king give me as reward?" Now when the king heard this, what did he do to so impious a man?'
They all replied: 'Woe to him, for the king deprived him of all, and cruelly punished him.' Then said Jesus: 'O priests, and scribes, and Pharisees, and thou high-priest that hearest my voice, I proclaim to you what God hath said to you by his prophet Isaiah: "I have nourished slaves and exalted them, but they have despised me." The king is our God, who found Israel in this world full of miseries, and gave him therefore to his servants Joseph, Moses and Aaron, who tended him. And our God conceived such love for him that for the sake of the people of Israel he smote Egypt, drowned Pharaoh, and discomfited an hundred and twenty kings of the Canaanites and Madianites; he gave him his laws, making him heir of all that land wherein our people dwelleth.
'But how doth Israel bear himself? How many prophets hath he slain; how many prophecies hath he contaminated; how hath he violated the law of God: how many for that cause have departed from God and gone to serve idols, through your offence, O priests! And how do ye dishonor God with your manner of life! And now ye ask me: "What will God give us in paradise?" Ye ought to have asked me: What will be the punishment that God will give you in hell; and then what ye ought to do for true penitence in order that God may have mercy on you: for this I can tell you, and to this end am I sent to you.'