1Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then left that place and walked to the territory of the Land of Promise (Judea) beyond the river Flowing Down (Jordan). There, as he usually did, he began to teach the crowds that had once again gathered around him.
TESTED ABOUT DIVORCE
2Like hungry wolves the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to test and accuse him.
“Does our tribal law permit a man to send his wife away?” they asked.
3“What did the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses) instruct the people about this?” he replied.
4“He permitted a man to send her away by giving her divorce papers,” they answered back.
5“It is because of your hard hearts that he permitted this,” he said to them. 6“But this was not always so, for from the beginning of creation ‘he made them to be male and female.’20 7‘This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8and together they make one flesh’21—no longer two—but the two braided together as one. 9So no human being should tear apart what the Maker of Life has joined together.”
10Later, back in the house, his followers asked him some more questions about this.
11He then said to them, “Whoever sends his wife away, without properly divorcing her, and marries another is guilty of being unfaithful to his first wife. 12If she then, after being sent away, marries another man, then she is also guilty of being unfaithful.”
In those days men would sometimes send their wives away for any reason without giving them divorce papers, leaving them destitute and unable to properly remarry.
LITTLE CHILDREN AND THE GOOD ROAD
13The people were bringing their little children to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) so he would lay his hands on them and bless them, but his followers spoke harsh words to the ones bringing them.
14When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw what his followers were doing, it made him angry, so he said to them, “Let the little children come to me! Do not turn them away. Creator’s good road belongs to the ones who are like these children. 15I speak from my heart, the only way onto Creator’s good road is to become as trusting as a little child.”
16He then took the children into his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
POSSESSIONS AND THE GREAT SPIRIT
17As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) set out walking from there, a man ran up to him and honored him.
“Good Wisdomkeeper,” the man asked, “what path will lead me to the life of the world to come that never fades away?”
18“Why do you call me good?” he asked the man. “There is only one who is good—the Great Spirit. 19You must know the instructions from the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses). ‘You are not to take the life of another, or be unfaithful in marriage, or take what is not yours. Never lie about or cheat a fellow human being, and always give honor and respect to your father and mother.’”22
20“Wisdomkeeper,” the man answered, “from my youth I have followed all of these instructions.”
21Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at the man with love and said, “Only one thing remains. Take all your possessions, invite the poor of your village to come, and have a giveaway. Then in the spirit-world above you will have many possessions waiting for you. Then leave everything behind and come, walk the road with me.”
22The man’s heart fell to the ground. He hung his head and walked away, for he had many possessions.
POSSESSIONS AND THE GOOD ROAD
23Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then looked around at the people and said to his followers, “Finding and walking the good road is a hard thing for the ones who have many possessions.”
24His followers could not believe what they were hearing.
They thought having many possessions was a sign of blessing from the Great Spirit.
25Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke again to them. “Little children,” he said, “the ones who trust in their many possessions will have a hard time finding their way onto the good road. It would be easier for a moose23 to go through the eye of a needle.”
26They shook their heads in wonder, looked at each other, and said, “How then can anyone walk the good road that sets all people free?”
27He looked at them and said, “It is not possible for weak human beings, but with Creator’s help all things are possible.”
28Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke up, “We have left all our possessions, and our relatives, to walk the road with you! What will become of us?”
29“I speak from my heart,” he answered, “no one who has given up homes and families to follow me and walk my good road will go without. 30In this present world they will become part of an even greater family, with many homes and lands. Even though they have been abused and mistreated, they will receive much more than they have lost.24 Then, in the world to come, they will have the life of beauty and harmony that never fades away.
31“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
HE FORETELLS HIS DEATH AND RISING
32Creator Sets Free (Jesus) led the way as they walked the road toward Village of Peace (Jerusalem). As they followed behind him, they began to worry about what would happen when they arrived, and fear began to cover them like a blanket.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took the twelve aside and told them once again what would happen to him.
33“This is what you must see and understand,” he said to them. “We will soon arrive in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), where the True Human Being will be turned over to the head holy men and the scroll keepers. They will condemn him to death and then turn him over to the People of Iron (Romans). 34They will mock him, spit on him, and whip him with cowhide strips. After that, they will kill him, but three days later he will come back to life again.”
A PLACE OF HONOR?
35After that, He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee), came up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
“Wisdomkeeper,” they said, “We want to ask you to do something for us.”
36“What is it you want from me?” he replied.
37“When your shining-greatness is revealed,” they said back to him, “permit us a place of honor beside you, one on your right hand the other on your left.”
38“You do not understand what you are asking,” he answered. “Are you able to drink the cup of suffering that I will drink, or endure the purification ceremony25 that I will endure?”
39“We are able!” they answered.
“Yes,” he said to them, “you will drink from my cup of suffering and endure my purification ceremony,c 40but the place at my right and left hand is not mine to give. This honor belongs to the ones for whom it has already been prepared.”
41When the other ten message bearers heard this, they began to look down on He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John).
THE GOOD ROAD IS ABOUT SERVING OTHERS
42So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called them together and said, “Other nations have rulers, such as the People of Iron (Romans). They like to show their power over people and push them around. 43But this will not be the way of the ones, like you, who walk with me. 44The great ones among you will humble themselves and serve all the others. 45In the same way, the True Human Being did not come to be served by others but to offer his life in the place of many lives, to set them free.”
MOON VILLAGE HEALING
46Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers walked through Moon Village (Jericho), and a large crowd followed behind them as they left the village. As the crowd passed, a blind beggar, whose name was Son of Honored One (Bartimaeus), was sitting on the side of the road.
47When he heard that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) was there, he cried out loudly, “Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on me!”
48Many in the crowd scolded him, telling him to be quiet, but this only made him cry out even louder, “Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on me!”
49Creat
or Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking, turned to the crowd, and said, “Tell him to come to me.”
So they called out to the blind man, “Have courage! He is calling for you!”
50He jumped up, threw aside his outer garment, and walked with the help of others to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
51“What do you want from me?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him.
“Wisdomkeeper,” he answered, “make me see again!”
52“Be on your way,” he said to him, “Your trust in me has made you whole again.”
Right then and there his eyes were opened! So he began to follow after Creator Sets Free (Jesus) as they continued on their way down the road.
PREPARATION FOR HIS GRAND ENTRY
1Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers came to the foot of Olive Mountain at House of Figs (Bethany) and House of Unripe Figs (Bethphage) near Village of Peace (Jerusalem). From there he sent out two of his followers.
2“Go on into the village just ahead of us,” he instructed them. “Right when you enter the village, you will see a donkey colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. 3If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say to them, ‘Our Wisdom- keeper is in need of this donkey and will soon return it.’”
4His followers went where they were told, found a colt tied by a gate near the village pathway, and untied it. 5Some of the people standing nearby said to them, “What are you doing untying that colt?”
6They answered them just as their Wisdomkeeper had instructed, so they were permitted to go. 7They brought the young donkey to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and laid their deer skins and Pendleton blankets on the colt, and then he sat down upon it.
GRAND ENTRY
8A crowd gathered around, and some of them laid their buffalo robes on the road, while others spread out branches with large leaves they had cut from the fields.
The people were hoping he would be a mighty warrior chief, like their ancestor Much Loved One (David), to set them free from the People of Iron (Romans). But he did not ride a warhorse on that day, as one might expect. Instead, he rode a small, humble donkey colt. He came weeping over the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), but even this could not silence the hopes of the crowd.
9The people encircled him, front and back.
“Hosanna! Set us free!” they shouted. 10“Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit! The good road of our ancestor Much Loved One (David) has arrived! Hosanna, to the One Above Us All!”
11Creator Sets Free (Jesus) rode into Village of Peace (Jerusalem) until he came to the sacred lodge. He went into the lodge and looked around at everything—then he left. It was time for the sun to set, so he returned to House of Figs (Bethany), along with his twelve followers, to the place where they were lodging.
THE FIG TREE WITHOUT FRUIT
12The next day, as Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was returning to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) from House of Figs (Bethany), he became hungry. 13He saw a fig tree with leaves on it in the distance and went to see whether he might find some figs on it. But when he came to the tree, he found only leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14He responded by speaking to the tree, “No one will eat fruit from you ever again!” And his followers heard what he said.
SACRED LODGE KEEPER
15They went into Village of Peace (Jerusalem) through the village gate, made their way through the crowded pathways, and went straight to Creator’s sacred lodge.
He came to the area called Gathering Place for the Nations. It was here that other nations could come to learn about the Great Spirit and his ways.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) entered the lodge and began to force out the ones who were selling and buying the ceremonial animals. He turned over the benches and tables of those who were selling the doves 16and blocked the way of the ones who were carrying trading goods through the lodge.
17“It is written in the sacred teachings,” he instructed them, “‘My lodge will be called a House of Prayer for all Nations.’”26 Then his voice rose like the sound of thunder, “‘But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!’”27
18The head holy men and the scroll keepers heard about what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had said and done. They began to counsel together about how they could kill him, for they feared his reputation among the many people who respected his teachings.
19When the sun began to set, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers left the village to return to where they were lodging.
20In the morning, as they were walking on their way to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21Stands on the Rock (Peter) remembered that it was the same tree Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had spoken against.
“Wisdomkeeper!” he said. “Look, the fig tree you spoke against has dried up from the roots!”
22“You must put all your trust in the Great Spirit,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) replied. 23“I speak from my heart. Anyone who says to this mountain, ‘Lift up and go into the great waters,’ with a heart that believes and does not doubt that what he says will happen, then it will be done. 24That is why I say that when you send your voice to the Great Spirit, believe that he has heard you and the answer will come.
25“In the same way, when you stand and pray and there remember you have something against another, release them from the wrong they have done, so that your Father from above will also release you from the wrongs you have done.”28
SPIRITUAL LEADERS CHALLENGE HIM
27Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and was walking about in the sacred lodge. The head holy men and the scroll keepers came to him, along with some of the tribal elders.
28“By what right do you do these things?” they challenged. “Who gave you this right?”
29“I will give you one question to answer. If you answer me, then I will answer you. 30The purification ceremony29 performed by Gift of Goodwill (John), was it from the spirit-world above, or did it come from human beings?”
The spiritual leaders looked at each other. They could not decide on how to answer him. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood before them and held his ground.
“Answer me!” he challenged back.
31So they put their heads together and talked it over. “We cannot say, ‘From the spirit-world above,’ for then he will say, ‘Why did you not listen to him?’ 32But neither can we say, ‘From human beings,’ for the people honor Gift of Goodwill (John) as a prophet.”
33They feared the people, so they said, “We do not know.”
“So then, I will not answer your question,” he said to them, “and tell you by what right I do these things.”
1Once again Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to speak to them using stories:
STORY ABOUT THE VINEYARD
2“A tribal member planted a large vineyard. He encircled it with a hedge, dug a hole for stomping the juice from the grapes, and built a tower for watching over it. He then rented it out to other tribal farmers for a share of the grapes. Then he traveled far away on a long journey to another land.
“When harvest time came, the tribal member who owned the vineyard sent a trusted messenger to gather his share of the grapes, 3but the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4“The vineyard owner sent another messenger; but they treated him shamefully, struck him on the head, and sent him away also.
5“So he sent a third messenger, and this one they killed. The same thing was done to many others he sent. They beat some and killed others.
6“Finally, the vineyard owner had only one more that he could send—his much-loved son. So, last of all, he sent his own son to them.
“‘They will respect my son,’ he said to himself.
7“But those tribal farmers said to themselves, ‘This vineyard will one day belong to this son. If we kill him, the vineyard will be ours.’
8“So they killed him and threw his dead body out of the vineyard.
9“What do y
ou think the owner of the vineyard will do?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the people who were listening.
He waited for an answer, but no one said a word.
Then he said, “He will return, put those dishonorable men to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10Have you not read in the Sacred Teachings where it is said, ‘The tree the lodge builders threw away has become the Chief Lodgepole. 11This is what the Great Spirit will do, and when we see it, we will be filled with wonder?”30
12The spiritual leaders wanted to take him prisoner right then and there, for they knew the story was about them. But they were afraid of what the people might do, so they left him and went away.
THEY SET A TRAP FOR HIM
13The spiritual leaders sent some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the Friends of Looks Brave (Herodians) to trap Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in his words.
14“Wisdomkeeper,” they came and said to him, “we know you always speak the truth about the Great Spirit and represent him well, no matter what others may think or say. Tell us what is right,” they asked. “Does our tribal law permit our people to pay taxes to the government of the People of Iron (Romans)? 15Yes or no?”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) could see right through their false faces!
“Why are you putting me to the test?” he said to them. “Bring to me one of their silver coins and I will look at it.”
16So they brought one to him.
He took a good long look at it, holding it up to the sky to see it clearly. Then he turned the face of the coin for them to see.
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