First Nations Version
Page 30
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked deep into his eyes and said, “You are One Who Hears (Simon), son of Gift of Kindness (John). I will give you the name Stands on the Rock (Peter).”
THE GREAT LADDER
43The next morning Creator Sets Free (Jesus) walked to the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). There he found a man named Friend of Horses (Philip) and said to him, “Come, and from now on walk the road with me.”
44Friend of Horses (Philip) was from House of Fishing (Bethsaida), the same village where Stands with Courage (Andrew) and Stands on the Rock (Peter) also lived. 45Friend of Horses (Philip) looked for his friend Creator Gives (Nathanael) and found him sitting under a fig tree.
“We have found him!” he said as he ran up to him. “The one the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses) told us about, the one foretold by the prophets of old. He is Creator Sets Free (Jesus), son of He Gives Sons (Joseph), from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth).”
46Creator Gives (Nathanael) crossed his arms and, shaking his head, said to him, “How can anything good come from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth)?”
“Come,” he said, “and you will see!”
47When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw Creator Gives (Nathanael) walking toward him, he said, “Look, a true descendant of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)! There is nothing false in him.”
48Creator Gives (Nathanael) asked him, “How do you know me?”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled and said, “Before Friend of Horses (Philip) found you, I saw you under a fig tree.”
49“Wisdomkeeper!” Creator Gives (Nathanael) answered. “You are the Son of the Great Spirit and the Chieftain of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)!”
50“You believe me because I said I saw you under the fig tree?” he said to him. “I speak truth from my heart. You will see much more than this! 51You will see the sky open wide and the spirit-messengers from Creator climbing up and down a great ladder.6 On the True Human Being they will climb from the spirit-world above to the earth below and back again.”
HIS FIRST SIGN
1Three days later there was a wedding in Village of Reeds (Cana), in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). Bitter Tears (Mary), the mother of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), was there. 2Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and the ones who walked the road with him were invited as guests to the wedding.
3During the celebration, they ran out of wine.
This would have been a great embarrassment to the groom and his family.
So the mother of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him, “Son, they have no more wine.”
4“Honored woman,” he said to her. “Why are you telling me? Is this our concern? It is not yet my time to show who I am.”
5But his mother turned to the helpers and said, “Do whatever he says.”
They looked to him and waited for his instructions.
6There were six traditional stone water pots, used for purification ceremonies, that could hold large amounts of water.
7-8“Fill them to the top,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told them, “and take some to the headman of the feast.”
They filled the pots until they could hold no more and did what he said.
9-10The water had turned into wine. The headman did not know where it had come from, but the helpers who were serving the wine knew.
The headman took a drink and called to the groom, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and after the guests have had enough to drink, they bring out the watered-down wine. But even though you served good wine at first, you have saved the best wine for last.”
11This was the first of the signs through which Creator Sets Free (Jesus) displayed his power. When his new followers saw this, their trust in him grew stronger. All of this happened in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee) at Village of Reeds (Cana). 12After this he went with his mother, his brothers, and his followers to Village of Comfort (Capernaum), where he stayed for a few days.
PASSOVER FESTIVAL
It was a custom for all the families of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) to journey to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to participate in an ancient festival called Passover. This festival celebrated the time when the lawgiver, Drawn from the Water (Moses), had set them free from captivity to the powerful nation of Black Land (Egypt). He did this by using the great power Creator gave him to perform many signs and wonders.
13The time of the year had come for the ancient Passover festival. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) made his way to the Great Spirit’s lodge in Village of Peace (Jerusalem).
This was the custom for all the families of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
He came into the area in the lodge called Gathering Place for the Nations. It was here that other nations could come to learn about the Great Spirit and his ways.
14As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) entered the lodge, he saw people sitting at money tables. There were also others who were trading, buying, and selling the cattle, sheep, and doves for the ceremonies—inside the lodge!
SACRED LODGE KEEPER
It was so crowded that there was no room for the people from other nations who had come to learn about the Great Spirit. They were not honoring the purpose of this holy place.
15So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some leather straps and made a whip. He cracked the whip to startle and move the animals, and to drive all the people from the lodge. He tipped over the tables, which scattered their money on the floor. 16He then turned to speak to the ones who were selling the ceremonial doves.
“Go!” he roared at them. “Take these things out from here. Do not make my Father’s sacred lodge into a trading post!”
17The ones who walked the road with him listened and remembered the ancient prophecy, “My desire to honor your sacred lodge burns like a fire in my belly.”7
18“What gives you the right to do these things?” the tribal leaders said to him. “Prove yourself and show us a sign!”
19“Tear down this sacred lodge,” he answered, “and in three days I will raise it up again.”
20The people shook their heads and said to him, “It took forty-six winters to build this great lodge. How could you raise it up in three days?”
21They did not understand that he was speaking about the lodge of his own body. 22After he was raised up from the dead, his followers remembered what he said and then believed the ancient Sacred Teachings and the words he spoke to them.
23During the Passover festival many people began to believe in him because they saw the powerful miracles he was performing. 24But he did not trust himself to them, for he could see right through them. 25He did not need anyone to tell him about human beings, for he knew the hearts of humankind.
BORN FROM ABOVE
1-2A man named Conquers the People (Nicodemus) came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in secret at night. He was one of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and a headman of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) who sat in the Great Council.
Out of the shadows he whispered, “Wisdomkeeper, we know the Great Spirit sent you to teach us. No one can perform powerful signs like these unless the Maker of Life walks with him.”
3“I speak from my heart,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered, “Only one who has been born from above can see Creator’s good road.”
4Conquers the People (Nicodemus) was surprised by this strange answer, so he asked, “Can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb to be born a second time?”
5“Listen closely,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “One must be born of both water and spirit to walk Creator’s good road. 6The human body only gives birth to natural life, but it takes the Spirit of Creator to give birth to spiritual life.8 7Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8Everyone born in this way is like the wind that blows wherever it wants. You can hear its sound, but no one knows where it comes from or where it goes.”
9“How can these things be?” Conquers the People (Nicodemus) a
sked.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked gently but firmly into his eyes and continued.
10“How can it be that a wisdomkeeper and spiritual leader of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) does not understand these things? 11-12Listen closely, for you fail to hear what we are talking about. We are speaking about things we know to be true, but if you do not believe me when I talk about things on earth, how will you believe me when I talk about the things from the spirit-world above? 13For there is only one who has gone up and come down from the world above—the True Human Being.
14-15“Do you not remember when Drawn from the Water (Moses) lifted up a pole with a snake on it in the desert wilderness?9 This is what will happen to the True Human Being, so people will put their trust in him and have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.”
Long ago, when the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) were wandering in the desert, they did not listen to the Great Spirit. Poisonous snakes came and bit them, and many were dying. Drawn from the Water (Moses) prayed for them, so Creator told him to put a snake on a pole and lift it up so the people could see it. When they looked at it, they were healed and did not die.
Conquers the People (Nicodemus) remained silent, listening to the words of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
16“The Great Spirit loves this world of human beings so deeply he gave us his Son—the only Son who fully represents him. All who trust in him and his way will not come to a bad end, but will have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. 17Creator did not send his Son to decide against the people of this world, but to set them free from the worthless ways of the world.
18“The ones who trust in him are released from their guilt, but, for the ones who turn away from him to follow the ways of this world, their guilt remains. This is because they are turning away from the life of beauty and harmony the Great Spirit offers through his Son.
19“This is what decides for or against them. My light has shined into this dark world, but because of their worthless ways people loved the dark path more than the light. 20When they choose the dark path, they do not want others to see, so they hide in the darkness and hate the light. 21But the ones who are true and do what is right are walking in the daylight so others can clearly see they are walking with Creator.”
GIFT OF GOODWILL STEPS BACK
22Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and the ones who walked the road with him went to the nearby countryside in the Land of Promise (Judea). They stayed there and began to perform the purification ceremony10 as the people came to the river.
23About a two-day walk to the north, Gift of Goodwill (John) was also performing the purification ceremony,11 at Spring of Water (Aenon), near Peaceful Village (Salem), where there was much water. 24This was before Gift of Goodwill (John) had been put in prison.
25Some of the followers of Gift of Goodwill (John) began to argue with a local Tribal Member about the purification ceremony.a 26They took their argument to Gift of Goodwill (John).
“Wisdomkeeper,” they said to him, “the one you told us about at the river Flowing Down (Jordan) is performing the purification ceremony.a All of the people are going to him now.”
27“No one has anything,” Gift of Goodwill (John) answered, “unless it is gifted from the spirit-world above. 28You heard me say, ‘I am not the Chosen One.’ I was sent to clear the way for him. 29The bride at a wedding belongs to the groom, and like the best man, a friend who stands with the groom, I am glad to hear his voice. 30But it is time for me to step back and for him to come forward into his place of honor. My part is fading away.
31-32“The one who is greater than all speaks from the spirit-world above. The one who is from the earth speaks only about earthly things. The one from above speaks about the things he has seen and heard, but who believes him? 33But I am one who receives his words, and I know for sure that the Great Spirit approves of all he says and does.
34“The one whom Creator sent is the one who has all the fullness of Creator’s Spirit and clearly speaks his words. 35The Father above loves his Son and gives him all things.
36“The ones who trust in his Son have the life of the world that never fades away, but the ones who do not walk in his ways will not have this life. Instead, they will remain under the power of death, which reveals Creator’s great anger.”
LIVING WATER
Many people were now coming to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) at the river Flowing Down (Jordan) for the purification ceremony.
1-3Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was gathering more followers for the purification ceremony12 than Gift of Goodwill (John), although it was not he but his followers who were performing the ceremony. When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) found out that the Separated Ones (Pharisees) knew of this, 4he left the Land of Promise (Judea) to return to Circle of Nations (Galilee). On the way he had to journey through the territory of High Place (Samaria).
Many of the people from High Place (Samaria) were mixed bloods and despised by the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). They had their own sacred lodge and ceremonies, and did not respect the Tribal Members or consider Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to be a holy place. Both of them would go out of their way to keep from having contact with the other.
The sun was beating down from high above the head of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) as he journeyed through High Place (Samaria).
5There he came to a place called Burial Site (Sychar), which was near a piece of land Heel Grabber (Jacob) had passed down to his son Creator Gives More (Joseph).
6-8Weary from his journey, about the sixth hour of the day, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat down to rest at the ancient watering hole of Heel Grabber (Jacob), while the ones who walked the road with him went to the nearby village to find some food.
A WOMAN FROM HIGH PLACE
The sun had reached midpoint in the sky. It was now the time of day when no one would normally come to the watering hole.
A woman from High Place (Samaria) came to the well to draw water. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw the woman and said to her, “Would you give me some water to drink?”
This surprised the woman, because a traditional man would not speak to a woman in public.
9She found her voice and asked, “Why would you, a man from the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), ask me for a drink, seeing I am a woman from High Place (Samaria)?”
She said this because the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) have no dealings with the people from High Place (Samaria).
10“If you only knew about Creator’s good gift,” he answered, “and who it is who asks you for a drink, you would ask him for living water and he would give it to you.”
11She said to him, “Honored One, this watering hole is deep, and you have no way to draw out the water. Where will you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Heel Grabber (Jacob), who gave us this well and was first to drink from it with his children and animals?”
13“The ones who drink from this well will thirst again,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. 14“But the ones who drink the water I give will never thirst, for this water will become a river flowing from inside them, giving them the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.”
15“Honored One, please give me this water,” she said to him, “so I will never thirst again or need to walk this long path to get a drink.”
16He said to her, “Go to your husband and bring him here.”
17“I have no husband,” she answered.
“Yes, that is true,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said. 18“You have had five husbands, and the man you are with now is not your husband.”
Her eyes grew wide as she lifted a trembling hand to her mouth.
19“Oh! I see. You are a prophet!” she said back to him. 20“Our ancestors honored and served the Great Spirit on this mountain. But your people say the only place to make our prayers and perform our ceremonies is in Village of Peace
(Jerusalem).”
This was a very old argument between the people of High Place (Samaria) and the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
21-23“Honored woman, trust my words,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to her. “Your people honor and serve him, but in ways they do not fully understand. We honor and serve him with understanding, for the good road that sets us free has been entrusted to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
SPIRIT AND TRUTH
“But the time is coming when all who honor and serve the Great Mystery will not need to do so in this mountain, nor in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). The Father is looking for the ones who will honor him in spirit and truth—and the day for this has now come. 24The One Above Us All is spirit, and all who honor and serve the Great Spirit must do so in spirit and truth.”
25“I know the Chosen One will come,” she said, “and when he comes, he will make all things clear to us.”
26Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to her, “I am the Chosen One, the one who is speaking to you now.”
27Just then his followers returned. They wondered why he was talking to a woman, but no one said to her, “What do you want?” or to him, “Why are you talking to her?”
THE HARVEST IS NOW
28The woman left her water pouch, went to the village, and told the people, 29“Come and see this man who knows everything about me. Could he be the Chosen One?”