34They came to shore at Lake of Chief Garden (Gennesaret). 35When the people there recognized him, they sent messengers to all the surrounding villages, and the people brought to him all who were sick. 36They begged him to let them touch the fringe on his outer garment—and all who touched it were healed.
CONFLICT OVER TRADITIONS
The teachings of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were becoming a great concern to the spiritual leaders in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). So messengers were sent to spy on him to try to find ways to accuse him and make him look bad in the eyes of the people.
1Some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and scroll keepers came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Village of Peace (Jerusalem).
2“Why do your followers not keep the traditions given by the elders and wash their hands before they eat?” they accused him.
3Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked them, “How is it that you use your traditions to ignore the instructions given by the Great Spirit? 4For he said, ‘Give honor to your father and your mother,’43 and, ‘The ones who speak evil against them must die.’44 5But your tradition says, ‘If you give to the Great Spirit the gifts that were meant for your father and mother, 6you no longer have to honor them.’ This is only one of the many ways you use your traditions to do away with the instructions given by the Great Spirit.”
He paused and let them think about what he had said. Then with fire in his eyes he raised his voice and spoke sharply to them.
7“Your false faces do not fool me!” he said loud enough for all to hear. “The prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) was talking about you when he said, 8‘These people honor me with their lips but their hard, cold hearts are far away from me. 9Their prayers are empty words and their ceremonies are for show. The things they tell others to do are only rules made up by weak human beings.’”45
10Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then gathered the people around him and said, “Listen with your hearts and understand what I tell you. 11There is nothing you can take into your mouth that will make you impure. It is what comes out of your mouth that makes you impure.”
12Then his followers came to him and said, “Do you know that what you said insulted the Separated Ones (Pharisees)?”
13“Every plant that has not been planted by my Father from above will be pulled out by the roots,” he answered. 14Then he warned them, “The Separated Ones (Pharisees) are blind guides. The ones who follow them are also blind, and they will both fall into a ditch. You will do well to stay away from them.”
15Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to him, “Tell us the meaning of the wise saying about what is pure and impure.”
16“Do you still not understand,” he answered, 17“that when food enters the mouth it goes into the stomach, not the heart, and then out of the body? 18It is what comes out from the mouth, from deep inside, that makes people impure. 19It is from the heart that come things such as the taking of lives, unfaithful marriages, uncontrolled sexual desires, stealing, lying, and speaking against the Great Spirit. 20It is things such as these that make you impure, not failing to wash your hands when you eat.”
A LOWLAND WOMAN
21From there Creator Sets Free (Jesus) journeyed into the territory of Rock Land (Tyre) and Hunting Grounds (Sidon) along the coast of the Great Middle Sea (Mediterranean) north of Circle of Nations (Galilee).
22A Lowlander (Canaanite) woman from that territory came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
“Honored One! Descendant of Much Loved One (David),” she cried out to him. “Have pity on me, for my daughter is tormented by an evil spirit.”
23Creator Sets Free (Jesus) gave no answer to the woman.
His followers came to him and begged him, “Send her away, for she is bothering us with her loud crying.”
24He then said to the woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).”
25She came close and humbled herself before him. “Honored One,” she begged him, “help me.”
26“The children’s food should not be given to the dogs,” he said to her.
27“That is true, Honored One,” she answered, “but even the dogs can feed on the crumbs from the table of their Honored One.”
28“Dear woman,” he answered back, “your answer shows how great your faith is! What you have asked for will be yours.” Her daughter was healed from that time forward.
THE GREAT HEALER
29Creator Sets Free (Jesus) journeyed from there past Lake of Circle of Nations (Sea of Galilee) to a mountainside, where he sat down to rest.
30Once again great crowds of people came, bringing to him the lame, the blind, the ones who could not walk or speak, and many more. They laid them down at the feet of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), and he healed them all. 31When they saw the healings, the crowds were filled with wonder and amazement and gave honor and thanks to the Great Spirit of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
HE FEEDS FOUR THOUSAND
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spent the next three days healing the sick and injured. People came from the Ten Villages (Decapolis) and surrounding area, where many people from Outside Nations lived. The number of people had grown to over four thousand.
32Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called his followers to his side and said to them, “I have pity in my heart for all these people, for they have been with us for three days with no food. Some of them have come from a great distance, and if I send them away hungry, they might lose their strength and faint.”
33“This is a lonely and desolate place,” they answered him. “Where could we find enough food to feed all these people?”
34“How much food do we have?” he asked.
“We have seven pieces of frybread and a few small fish,” they answered.
35Creator Sets Free (Jesus) instructed all the people to sit down on the ground. 36He then took the seven pieces of frybread and the two fish, gave thanks, and broke them into small pieces. He gave them to his followers, and they gave them out to the people.
37Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and when they were done eating, his followers gathered up the leftovers—seven baskets full! 38They had fed four thousand men, besides women and children.
39After sending the crowds away to their homes, he climbed into the canoe with his twelve followers and went to the territory of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala).
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
1The Separated Ones (Pharisees) and Upright Ones (Sadducees) came again to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to put him to the test and find something to accuse him with.
“Show us a powerful sign from the spirit-world above,” they demanded, “to prove to us who you are.”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was growing weary of their ongoing attacks, but as always he was able to answer them with great wisdom.
2He looked to the west. “When the sun is setting you say, ‘The sky is red. It will be a good day tomorrow.’” He then turned to the east. 3“At the sunrise you say, ‘The sky is dark and red. There will be a storm today.’”
Then he turned to look into the faces of the spiritual leaders.
“You understand what the earth and sky are saying, but you are blind to the message of the season you live in. 4It is the bad-hearted and unfaithful people of today who look for signs, but the only sign they will be given is the sign of the prophet Wings of Dove (Jonah).”46
After saying this, he left them and went on his way.
CONFUSION ABOUT THE FRYBREAD
He and his followers took their canoe to cross again to the other side of the lake.
5When they came to shore, his followers realized that they had forgotten to bring frybread with them.
6Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Be on the lookout for the yeast of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the Upright Ones (Sadducees).”
7His followers tried to understand why he said this. They said to each other, “Is it because we forgot to bring more frybread?”
8When Creator Sets Free (Jesu
s) heard them, he said, “Why are you talking like this? Why are you worried that you forgot to bring frybread? Is your faith so small? 9Do you have no understanding? Have you forgotten so soon how many baskets of broken pieces were left over when I fed the five thousand with five pieces of frybread? 10How about the seven basketsful left over when I fed the four thousand?”
11“How do you not understand that I was not talking about frybread? Beware of the yeast of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the Upright Ones (Sadducees)!”
12They finally understood he was talking about the teachings of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the Upright Ones (Sadducees), not about yeast in frybread.
YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE!
They journeyed on and came into the territory of Ruler of the Horsemen (Caesarea Philippi).
This territory was ruled by Chief Looks Brave (Herod) under the authority of the Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar). There was a cave and a deep, bottomless pit there that was called by the local people “The Gate of the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades).” This was a place of bad medicine and lying spirits.
13When they came into this place, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the ones who were walking the road with him, “Who do the people think the True Human Being is? What are they saying?”
His followers looked around at each other and then back to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
14“Some say Gift of Goodwill (John) who performed the purification ceremony,”47 they answered. “Others say Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah), or even Lifted by Creator (Jeremiah), or one of the other prophets.”
He then lowered his voice and spoke in a more serious tone.
15“So tell me,” he asked them, “How do you see me? Who do you say that I am?”
Silent faces stared back at him. They began to look at each other, and some looked down to the ground. The moment of truth had come, but no one dared to speak. Then suddenly a voice pierced through the silence.
16“You are the Chosen One,” One Who Hears, also called Stands on the Rock (Simon/Peter), answered, “the Son of the living Creator!”
17Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled at him and said, “One Who Hears (Simon), Son of Wings of Dove (Bar-Jonah), Creator’s blessing rests on you, for flesh and blood did not help you see, but my Father from above opened your eyes. 18For this reason I have given you the name Stands on the Rock (Peter),48 and upon this great rock49 I will make my sacred family stand strong. And the powers50 of the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades) will not stand against them.
19“I am giving you the authority51 of Creator’s good road from above. The things you do not permit on earth will be what Creator has not permitted in the spirit-world above. The things that you permit on earth will be what Creator has permitted in the spirit-world above.”
20He then instructed his followers not to tell anyone that he was the Chosen One.
ACCUSER TESTS HIM AGAIN
21Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then began to tell his followers that he must go to the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), where the elders, the head holy men, and the keepers of the scrolls would make him suffer many things and then kill him, and that on the third day he would return from the dead.
22But Stands on the Rock (Peter) pulled him away from the others and spoke sharply to him, “Wisdomkeeper, do not even think this way! This must never happen to you!”
23“Get out of my way, Accuser (Satan), you evil trickster!” he said to Stands on the Rock (Peter). “You have become a stone to trip over and make me stumble on my path. Your thoughts are against the Great Spirit, for his ways are not the ways of human beings.”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew that his follower’s thinking was being affected by Accuser (Satan).
WALKING THE ROAD OF THE CROSS
24“To walk the road with me,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, “you must turn away from your own path, and always be ready to carry your cross with me to the place of ultimate sacrifice. 25The ones who hold on to their lives will not find life, but the ones who are willing to let go of their lives, for me and my message, will find the true life. 26How will it help you to get everything you want but lose this life? Is there anything in this world worth trading for your life?
27“When the True Human Being comes, along with his spirit-messengers, after being honored by his Father, he will then give to everyone the honor they deserve for what they have done.
28“I speak from my heart, there are some of you standing here today who, before you die, will see the True Human Being coming and bringing with him the power of his good road.”
HE TALKS TO THE ANCESTORS
1Six days later, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took only Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), and his brother He Shows Goodwill (John) up on a great high mountain. 2Right there before them his appearance began to change. His clothes turned bright white, and his face began to shine like the sun.
3Then before their eyes two ancestors appeared—the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses) and the ancient prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah). They were talking with Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
They all stared in wide-eyed wonder, not knowing what to say. Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) found his voice.
4“Wisdomkeeper,” he said out loud, “this is a good place to stay. If you want, I will put up three tipis—one for you, one for Drawn from the Water (Moses), and one for Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah).”
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice spoke from the cloud, saying, “This is my much-loved Son, the one who makes my heart glad. Listen to him!”
6They all fell on their faces in fear, 7but Creator Sets Free (Jesus) laid his hands on them and said, “Do not fear! Stand to your feet.”
8When they looked around, the cloud was gone, the men were gone, and all they could see was Creator Sets Free (Jesus) standing alone in front of them.
9As they walked down the mountainside, he instructed them to tell no one what they had seen until after the True Human Being had come back to life from the dead.
During the long walk down the mountain, the three followers had a lot to think about. Perhaps they were wondering about the ancient prophecies and how they related to what they had just seen.
10They asked him, “Why do the scroll keepers say that Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) must be first to come?”
11“It is true,” he answered, “Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) is the first to come to return all things to their original purpose, 12but I am telling you that he has already come, and no one recognized him. They did whatever they wanted with him, just as the Sacred Teachings foretold. It is also foretold that they will treat the True Human Being in the same way. They will look down on him and turn their faces away from him.”
13Then his followers understood he was talking about Gift of Goodwill (John) who performed the purification ceremony.52
A GENERATION WITH NO FAITH
They continued down the mountain to rejoin the other followers. When they arrived, there was a crowd of people there waiting for them.
14From the crowd of people a man came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and humbled himself before him.
15“Wisdomkeeper!” the man said with desperation in his voice. “Take pity on my son. An evil spirit has taken hold of him and makes him suffer greatly. He often falls into the fire or the water. 16I brought him to your followers, but they failed to heal him.”
17“The people of this generation are bent and twisted with no faith! How much longer will I have to put up with you?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) cried out. Then he said, “Bring the boy to me.”
18He spoke sharply to the evil spirit, and it left the boy, and right then he was healed.
19Later, when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was alone with his followers, they asked him, “Why could we not force the evil spirit out of him?”
20“It is because of your weak faith,” he answered and then said to them, “I speak from my heart, if you had faith like a mustard seed
, you could tell this mountain to move from here to there and it would do what you say. Nothing would be too hard for you. 21But it takes praying and going without food to make you ready to force out a spirit of this kind.”53
THE ROAD AHEAD
22While they were in Circle of Nations (Galilee), Creator Sets Free (Jesus) gathered his followers together.
“The True Human Being will soon be taken and handed over to men 23who will kill him,” he told them, “but on the third day he will come back to life from the dead.”
This filled his followers with sorrow and dread.
DUES FOR THE SACRED LODGE
From there he and his followers walked to Village of Comfort (Capernaum), where Stands on the Rock (Peter) and his brother Stands with Courage (Andrew) lived.
24When they came into Village of Comfort (Capernaum), some of the men who collected the money for the ceremonial lodge that was in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) came to Stands on the Rock (Peter).
“Does your wisdomkeeper pay his dues for the lodge?” they asked.
25“Yes, he does,” he answered them.
When he returned to his house, before he could say a word about what happened, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him, using his family name, “Tell me, One Who Hears (Simon), do the rulers of the land collect taxes or dues from their own family members, or from others? How do you see it?”
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