Gift From Creator Tells The Good Story The Gospel Of Matthew

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

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

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.

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?”

²⁶“From others,” Stands on the Rock (Peter) answered.

“So then,” he said back to him, “the family members do not have to pay, ²⁷but, to keep from insulting them, we will pay. Go to the lake and open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a silver coin. Use that to pay the dues for both of us.”

¹The ones who walked the road with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came to him. “Who is the greatest one on Creator’s good road from above?” they asked.

²He had a small child come to him and stood the child in front of them.

³“I speak from my heart,” he said to them, “unless you become like a little child, you will not find the pathway onto the good road. ⁴The ones who humble themselves, like this little child, will become great ones in the Land of Creator’s good road.”

He then lifted up the child into his arms.

⁵“The ones representing me who welcome a little child like this one welcome me.”

Then he spoke in a more serious manner.

⁶“But for the ones who put a stumbling stone in the path of one of these little ones who trust in me, it would be better for them to have a great stone tied to their necks and be drowned in the deep waters! ⁷This world of sorrow and pain will make many stumble, but how terrible it will be for the ones who go along with it!

⁸“So, if what your hand or foot does makes you stumble from the path, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to walk this life without a hand or foot than to be thrown into the fire that burns on and on.

⁹“If what your eye sees makes you stumble on the path, then gouge it out and throw it away! It is better for you to walk this life with only one eye than to be thrown into the Valley of Smoldering Fire.

¹⁰“So do not look down on even one of these little ones, for their spirit-messengers in the spirit-world above always look upon the face of my Father, the one who is above us all. ¹¹For the True Human Being has come to find the lost ones and set them free.”54

¹²“How do you see it?” he asked them. “If a man has one hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountainside to go and find the lost one? ¹³If he finds that lost one, I speak from my heart, he will find more joy for that one than for the ninety-nine that were not lost. ¹⁴In the same way your Father from the spirit-world above does not want to lose even one of these little ones.

¹⁵“If a tribal family member wrongs you, go to him alone and tell him. If he listens, then you have won him back. ¹⁶If he cannot see the wrong, then go to him with one or two others who have seen the wrong, so he can hear them. ¹⁷If he still will not listen, take him before the sacred family council. If he will not hear the council, then he will be the same to you as an outsider or a tribal tax collector.

¹⁸“I speak from my heart, what has been decided in the spirit-world above is what you will decide on earth. ^19-20From my heart I will say it again this way: When two or three have gathered together on earth to represent me, I will be there in spirit to guide you. Then, under my guidance, whatever two or more of you agree upon and ask for will be done by my Father from above.”

²¹Stands on the Rock (Peter) came close to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). “Wisdomkeeper,” he asked, “how many times must I forgive a brother or sister who does wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”

²²“Not just seven times,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered, “but seventy times seven.”

To help them see more clearly into the ways of forgiveness, he told them a story.

²³“So then, Creator’s good road is like a ruler who wanted to collect the debt owed to him by his hired servants. ²⁴The first one brought to him owed ten thousand horses.55 ²⁵The man could not repay him, so the ruler ordered that the man, his family, and all he owned be sold to pay for the debt.

²⁶“The servant fell to his knees before him and said, ‘Ruler, give me time and I will repay all that I owe!’

²⁷“The ruler felt sorry for the servant, set him free, and released him from his debt.

²⁸“But that same servant went to one of his fellow servants who owed him only a small horse blanket.56 He took hold of the man’s throat and said, ‘Pay me all that you owe!’

²⁹“The man humbled himself, bowed down, and pleaded, ‘Please, give me more time and I will repay you!’

³⁰“But he would not even listen and threw the man into prison until he could pay all that he owed. ³¹When his fellow servants saw this, it made their hearts fall to the ground. They went to the ruler and told him the sad story.

³²“The ruler had the man brought to him and said, ‘You worthless servant! How could your heart be so cold? I forgave you all your debt because you begged me to. ³³Why would you not do the same for your fellow servant?’

³⁴“The ruler was angry with him and put him in prison to be punished until his debt was paid in full.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked deep into the eyes of the ones who walked the road with him.

³⁵“My Father from above is warning you that the same thing will happen to you unless, from your heart, you each forgive your fellow human beings.”

¹After Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had finished speaking in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee), he left there and went to the territory of the Land of Promise (Judea) beyond the river Flowing Down (Jordan). ²Once again large crowds came to him there, and he healed them.

Like hungry wolves, the Separated Ones (Pharisees) began to come in packs and test him with questions about tribal law, hoping to trap him. They knew that among the spiritual leaders there was much disagreement about how to interpret the instructions about marriage and divorce.

³Some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to him. “Does our tribal law permit a man to put away his wife for any and every reason?” they asked.

⁴“Have you not read in the Sacred Teachings,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked them, “that, in the beginning of creation, from one human being the Great Spirit made two—one male and one female? ⁵This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. Together they become one flesh, ⁶no longer two, but one body joined together.57 No human being should tear apart what Creator has put together.”

Like sly coyotes they smiled at each other. They were sure that he could not answer their next question.

⁷“Why then,” they asked him, “does Drawn from the Water (Moses), in the Law, instruct that a man give his wife divorce papers before sending her away?”

⁸“It is because of your cold hearts of stone that Drawn from the Water (Moses) permitted this,” he answered, “but this was not the Great Spirit’s original plan for men and women.

⁹“But here is how I will answer you,” he told them. “Any man who sends his wife away and marries another is guilty of being unfaithful to her, unless she was the one who was not faithful.”

¹⁰The ones who walked the road with him shook their heads and said, “If this is so, between husband and wife, then it must be better not to marry.”

¹¹“Not many can hold to this teaching,” he answered them, “but only those to whom it has been gifted. There are many reasons for not getting married. ¹²Some are born with no desire or ability for marriage. Some have lost their ability from what has been done to them. Others choose not to marry so they can put all their strength into walking the good road from above. The ones who have this gift are able to walk in this wisdom.”

¹³The people were bringing their little children to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) so he would lay his hands on them and pray, but his followers spoke harsh words to the ones bringing them.

¹⁴“Let the little children come to me!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers. “Do not turn them away. Creator’s good road from above belongs to the ones who are like these children.”

¹⁵He then took the children into his arms, laid his hands on them, blessed them, and then went on his way.

¹⁶As he was walking on down the road, a man came to him. “Wisdomkeeper,” he asked, “what good must I do to find the life of the world to come that never fades away?”

¹⁷“Why do you ask me about what is good?” he asked the man. “There is only one who is good—the Great Spirit. If you want this life, then follow the instructions given in our tribal law.”

¹⁸“Which instructions?” the young headman asked.

“You already know them,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “Do not take away the life of another, do not be unfaithful in marriage, and do not take what is not yours. Be honest in all you say and do, and never cheat a fellow human being. ¹⁹Give honor and respect to your father and mother, and love your fellow human beings as much as you love yourself.”

²⁰“Wisdomkeeper,” the man answered, “from my youth I have followed all of these instructions. What have I left undone?”

²¹“Only one thing remains,” he answered. “Take all of your possessions and give them to the ones who have none, and then you will have great possessions in the spirit-world above.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then gave the man the same invitation that he gave to his message bearers.

“Come,” he said to the man, “and walk the road with me.”

²²But when the young man heard this, his heart fell to the ground. He hung his head and walked away, for he had many possessions.

²³“I speak from my heart,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then said to his followers, “Finding the way onto the good road from above is a hard thing for the ones who have many possessions. ²⁴It would be easier for a moose58 to squeeze through the eye of a beading needle.”

²⁵His followers could not believe what they were hearing. “How then can anyone find and walk the good road?” they asked.

²⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) set his eyes firmly on them and said, “With two-leggeds this is impossible, but all things are possible with the help of the Great Spirit. Nothing is impossible for him.”

²⁷Then Stands 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?”

²⁸“I speak to you from my heart,” he answered. “When the new age has been birthed, the True Human Being will sit in his seat of honor, and you who have walked the road with me will sit in twelve places of honor, deciding what is good and right for the twelve tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).

²⁹“All who have given up their homes and families because they represent me will receive back much more59 than they have lost, and the life of the world to come that never fades away will be theirs.”

For they now belong to Creator’s sacred family, which will care for them.

³⁰“But remember, many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

To help them to better understand what he was saying, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told them another story about Creator’s good road.

¹“Creator’s good road from above is like this tribal member who managed a large vineyard. He went out early in the morning to find people to harvest the grapes. ²After they agreed with him on the amount for a full day’s pay, he sent them to work.

³“A few hours later he went to the trading post and saw people there doing nothing.

⁴“He told them, ‘If you will join the workers in my field, I will pay you well.’

⁵“So they went to work. Then, about midday, and again at midafternoon, he went out and found others and did the same. ⁶Finally, when the day was nearly done, he found a few more people doing nothing.

“‘Why are you not working?’ he asked them.

⁷“‘No one has hired us,’ they answered. He agreed to pay them fairly and sent them to work.

⁸“At the end of the day, the headman said to his manager, ‘Bring the workers in from the field and pay them, beginning from last to first.’

⁹“He paid the workers hired at the end of the day a full day’s wage. ¹⁰When the workers who were hired at the start of the day were paid, they expected to receive more but were paid the same amount.

¹¹“‘We have worked all day in the scorching heat,’ they complained to the manager. ¹²‘Why should we be paid the same as the ones who worked only one hour?’

¹³“‘I am not being unfair with you, my friend,’ he said to one of them. ‘Did we not agree on the amount of a full day’s wages? ¹⁴Take your pay and go in peace. If I want to pay these men the same, what is that to you? ¹⁵Am I not permitted to be generous with what is mine? Or are you jealous because I have done a good thing?’”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) let his followers think about the story for a moment.

¹⁶“That is why I told you before,” he reminded them, “the last will be first and the first will be last.”

¹⁷As they journeyed on toward the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), he stopped on the way and gathered his followers around him.

¹⁸“We are on our way up to the Village of Peace (Jerusalem),” he reminded them. “There the True Human Being will be handed over to the head holy men and scroll keepers, who will put him to death. ¹⁹They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the People of Iron (Romans).60 They will treat him shamefully, whip him with cords of braided cowhide, and kill him by nailing him to a tree-pole —the cross.

“But remember,” he added, “on the third day he will defeat death and live again.”

²⁰The mother of He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee), came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), along with her sons, and humbled herself before him to make a request.

²¹“What do you want from me?” he asked.

“Promise me,” she said, “that my two sons will have an honored place when your good road comes—one on your right hand, the other on your left.”

²²“You do not know what you are asking,” he said to her.

He turned to her sons and asked them, “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I will drink, or endure my purification ceremony?”61

“We are able!” they answered.

²³“Yes, you will drink from my cup of suffering,” he said to them, “but the place of honor on my right and left hand is not mine to give. My Father will give this honor to the ones he has chosen.”

²⁴When the other ten message bearers heard this, they began to look down on the two brothers.

²⁵So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called them together and said, “Other nations, like the People of Iron (Romans), have rulers. They like to show their power over people and push them around. ²⁶But this will not be the way of the ones who walk with me. The ones among you who would be great must humble themselves and serve all the others. ²⁷And the ones who want to be first must become the household slave of all. ²⁸In 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.”

The road to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) took them through Moon Village (Jericho).

²⁹As they walked out from Moon Village (Jericho), a large crowd of people trailed after them. ³⁰Not far from the village there were two blind men sitting on the side of the road.

When the blind men heard that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was passing by, they cried out to him, “Honored One! Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on us!”

³¹The people in the crowd scolded them and said, “Be quiet!”

That only made them cry out louder, “Honored One! Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on us!”

³²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking and called out to them, “What do you want from me?”

³³“Honored One,” they said, “open our eyes, that we may see.”

³⁴He felt pity for them, so he touched their eyes, and right then their eyes were opened and they could see! So they went with him down the road.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and the ones who walked the road with him were coming to the end of their journey. As they neared Village of Peace (Jerusalem), he began to make preparations for what would be his final week with his followers. It was now time to complete the work the Great Spirit had sent him to do.

¹They came to House of Unripe Figs (Bethphage) at the foot of Olive Mountain, near Village of Peace (Jerusalem). There he sent two of his followers ahead of him.

²“Go into the village ahead of us,” he instructed them. “As soon as you enter, you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone asks you what you are doing, say to them, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper has need of them,’ and the owner will release them to you.”

⁴This took place to show the full meaning of the ancient prophecy, ⁵“Speak these words to the daughter of Strong Mountain (Zion): ‘Behold, your Chief is coming to you, in a humble way, riding upon a donkey—a colt still with its mother.’”62

⁶His followers did as they were told. When they arrived at the village, they found everything just as he had said. ⁷They brought the donkey colt to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and laid their outer garments on the colt, and he sat down on them.

⁸From the large crowd many began to cut branches from nearby trees and spread their outer garments on the road in front of him. ⁹The crowd circled around him, front and back, and began to shout:

“Hosanna!63 To the descendant of Much Loved One (David)!

“Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit!

“Hosanna^b to the highest one!”

This humble Chief did not fit the image of a conquering ruler. Instead of a warhorse, he rode on a donkey colt. No mighty warriors rode next to him. No dignitaries came out to meet him. It was mostly the common people who welcomed him that day.

¹⁰When he rode through the gate entering the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), the whole village was in an uproar!

“Who is this?” they asked.

¹¹“He is Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the prophet from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) in Circle of Nations (Galilee),” the crowd answered.

¹²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) rode into the village and to the sacred lodge. He entered the lodge and began to force out the ones who were selling and buying the ceremonial animals. He then tipped over the tables of the money handlers and the seats of the ones who were selling the ceremonial doves.

¹³“It is written from the words of the prophets,” he cried out, “‘My lodge will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!’64”

The ancient prophecies had now found their full meaning, for this was the area of 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. The holy men were keeping the Outside Nations who wanted to learn of Creator’s ways from entering into this Holy Place. They were stealing the ways of the Great Spirit from the nations.

¹⁴After that, people who could not see or walk came to him at the lodge, and he healed them. ¹⁵The children came to him there, shouting for joy, “Hosanna65 to the descendant of Much Loved One (David)!”

The children then made a circle around him and laughed, danced, and sang songs.

But when the head holy men and the scroll keepers saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children shouting and singing, they burned with anger ¹⁶and said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?”

“I hear them,” he answered, “but have you not heard what the ancient Sacred Teachings say? ‘From the mouths of little children and nursing babies you have created praise.’66”

¹⁷Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) left Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and returned to House of Figs (Bethany), where he was lodging.

¹⁸The next morning, as he was returning to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), he became hungry. ¹⁹He saw a fig tree on the side of the road and went to it, but when he came to the tree, he found only leaves.

He spoke to the tree, “You will never again grow fruit!” and the fig tree began to wither away right then and there.

²⁰When the ones who walked the road with him saw the tree withering, they were amazed.

“How did it dry up and wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹“I speak from my heart, if you put all your trust in the Great Spirit and do not doubt that the Knower of Hearts hears you,” he answered them, “not only will you do what was done with this fig tree, but even if you speak to this mountain and say, ‘Be lifted up and go into the great waters,’ it will happen. ²²So when you send your prayers to the Great Spirit, believe that he hears you, and whatever you ask for will be yours.”

²³When he arrived at the lodge, the head holy men were waiting for him. They and the ruling elders of the people came to him.

“By what right do you do these things?” they challenged. “Who gave you this right?”

²⁴“First you must answer one question from me,” he challenged back, “and then I will tell you what gives me the right. ²⁵The purification ceremony67 performed by Gift of Goodwill (John), was it from the spirit-world above, or did it come from human beings?”

They put their heads together and talked it over. “If we say it is from the spirit-world above, he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say it is from human beings, we fear what this crowd would do, for they are sure Gift of Goodwill (John) was a prophet.”

²⁷So they answered him, “We do not know.”

“So then,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “neither will I tell you what gives me the right to do these things.”

Then, since they would not answer him, he told them the answer to his own question about Gift of Goodwill (John)—with a story.

²⁸“How do you see it?” he asked them. “A man with two sons came to one of his sons and said, ‘Son, will you work in my vineyard today?’ ²⁹At first the son told him ‘No,’ but later changed his mind and went to work.

³⁰“Then the man went to his other son and asked him the same. He told his father, ‘Yes, I will,’ but never went.”

³¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked right at the spiritual leaders and asked, “Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?”

They said to him, “The first one.”

“I speak truth from my heart,” he said to them, “tribal tax collectors and those who sell sexual favors will find their way onto Creator’s good road ahead of you! ³²Gift of Goodwill (John) came to show the good way, but you refused to hear him. You saw how the tribal tax collectors and those who sell sexual favors put their trust in him, but not even this changed your mind to believe him.

³³“Hear me,” he said to them, “and I will tell you another story.

“There was a tribal member who planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a pit to crush the grapes, and built a treehouse from which to watch over all the vines. He then rented the vineyard out to other tribal members for a share of the grapes. Then he traveled far away to another land.

³⁴“When harvest time came, the tribal member who owned the vineyard sent trusted messengers to gather his share of the grapes, ³⁵but the renters took hold of the messengers. They fiercely beat one, killed another, and even threw stones to kill another.

³⁶“Then the vineyard owner sent even more messengers than at first, but they did the same to them.

³⁷“Finally he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁸“But when they saw that he had sent his son, they said to each other, ‘This vineyard will one day belong to this son. If we kill him, we can take the vineyard for ourselves.’

³⁹“So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to face the spiritual leaders.

⁴⁰“When he returns, what will the owner of this vineyard do?” he asked them.

⁴¹They answered him, “He will bring those bad-hearted ones to a bad end and then rent out the vineyard to others who will be honorable and give him the share of the harvest he deserves.”

⁴²“Are you blind to the Sacred Teachings?” he said to them. “Have you not read this: ‘The tree the lodge builders threw away has become the Chief Lodgepole. This is what the Great Spirit has done, and it will fill us with wonder’68?

⁴³“So I say to you that Creator’s good road will be torn from you and given to a people who will bring its fruit to a full harvest. For the ones who stumble over this Chief Lodgepole will be broken into pieces, ⁴⁴and when it falls on them, they will be crushed and scattered like dust in the wind.”

⁴⁵When the head holy men and the Separated Ones (Pharisees) heard his stories, they realized they were about them. ⁴⁶They wanted to arrest Creator Sets Free (Jesus) but feared the people, since they considered him a prophet.

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) continued to speak to them using stories such as this one:

²“Creator’s good road from above is like a chief who prepared a wedding feast for his son. ³When the feast was ready, he sent out trusted messengers to gather the ones who had been invited, but no one came.

⁴“So he sent out others with this message: ‘I am serving my best meat fresh from the herd. So come, the wedding feast for my son has been prepared!’

⁵“But some ignored the messengers and returned to their work, ⁶while others mistreated them and even killed them.

⁷“When the chief found out what they had done, he was filled with rage and sent his warriors to kill those murderers and burn their village to the ground.

⁸“Then the chief told his messengers, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but the ones invited have proved they have no honor. ⁹Waste no time, go out into the village pathways, and invite all you find to come to the feast.’

¹⁰“So they went and did as they were told and gathered as many as they could find, whether honorable or bad-hearted. So the lodge was filled with many wedding guests for his son.

¹¹“When the chief came in to see the guests, he saw someone who was not wearing the proper regalia that was provided for the guests at the wedding feast. ¹²He said to the guest, ‘How did you get in here without the proper regalia? Why have you dishonored my son by not wearing the outfit provided for you?’

“There was nothing the man could say.

¹³“The chief called his warriors and said to them, ‘Bind him with leather straps from head to foot and throw him outside into the darkness, to weep and grind his teeth in anger.’

¹⁴“So you can see,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said, “many are invited, but few accept his invitation.”69

¹⁵The Separated Ones (Pharisees) began to scheme against Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ¹⁶They sent their followers along with some of the Friends of Looks Brave (Herodians) to spy on him.

“Wisdomkeeper,” they said to him, “we know you always speak the truth about the Great Spirit and represent him well. You show respect to human beings and treat them all the same. ¹⁷Tell us what is right, should our tribal members pay taxes to the Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar)? Yes or no?”

¹⁸He could see right through them and knew what they were up to!

“Why are you putting me to the test? I can see behind your false faces!” he answered. ¹⁹“Show me one of their silver coins used to pay the tax and let me take a close look at it.”

They found a silver coin and handed it to him.

He took a good long look, holding it up to the sky to see it clearly. Then he turned the face of the coin toward them.

²⁰“Whose image and words are carved into this coin?” he asked.

²¹“The Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar),” they answered.

He handed the coin back to them and said, “Then give to this ruler the things that are his, and give to the Great Spirit the things that belong to the Great Spirit.”

²²When they heard his answer, they were amazed at his wisdom and hung their heads in silence as they walked away.

²³Later that same day some of the Upright Ones (Sadducees), who say that the dead do not rise again, came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to question him also.

²⁴“Wisdomkeeper,” they said, “in our tribal law, Drawn From the Water (Moses) gave us these instructions: ‘If a Tribal Member should die before having children, then his brother should marry his widow and give her children to carry on his brother’s name.’

²⁵“In a family of seven brothers,” they continued, “the oldest took a wife but died without children. ²⁶The next brother married her, but he also died with no children. A third brother married her, and like his other brothers, he died with no children. The same happened to all seven of them, ²⁷and, last of all, the woman also crossed over to death. ²⁸So, when they all come back to life in the new world, whose wife will she be, since all seven brothers married her?”

²⁹“You are asking the wrong question,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered back. “You do not understand the Sacred Teachings or the power of the Great Spirit. ³⁰When the dead rise to life, there will be no marriage, for they will be like the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above.”

³¹Then he added, “You say you do not believe the dead will rise again. But have you not read what was told by the Maker of Life: ³²‘I am the Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), and of Heel Grabber (Jacob)’70?

“He is not the Great Spirit of the dead but of the living.”

³³All the people who heard him were amazed by his teaching.

³⁴When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) heard how he silenced the Upright Ones (Sadducees), they put their heads together and came up with a plan. ³⁵One of them, who was an expert in tribal law, would put him to the test.

³⁶The expert came to him. “Wisdomkeeper,” he asked, “which instruction in our tribal law stands first?”

³⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered him, “‘You must love the Great Spirit from deep within, with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart.’71 ³⁸This is the first and greatest instruction.

³⁹“The second is like the first,” he added. “‘You must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves.’72 ⁴⁰The Law and the words of the prophets all find their full meaning in these two instructions.”

⁴¹While the Separated Ones (Pharisees) were still gathered near him, he asked them this question, ⁴²“How do you see the Chosen One? Who is he descended from?”

“He is the son who is descended from Much Loved One (David),” they answered.

⁴³“How can the scroll keepers call him the descendant of Much Loved One (David),” he asked, “when Much Loved One (David) himself, speaking by the power of the Spirit, called the Chosen One his Honored Chief? ⁴⁴For in the book of Sacred Songs he said, ‘The Honored Chief said to my Honored Chief, “Sit down beside me at my right hand, my place of greatest honor, until I defeat and humble all your enemies”73’?”

He paused to let them think about his words.

⁴⁵Then he said, “If Much Loved One (David) calls the Chosen One, ‘My Honored Chief,’ how can the Chosen One be his descendant?”

⁴⁶None of the spiritual leaders could answer him. From that time on, no one dared to challenge him with another question.

His great wisdom had silenced the ones who were against him.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) cared deeply about the people, so he began to warn the people and his followers about the bad-hearted spiritual leaders.

^1-2“The Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers are leading you down the wrong path!” he said to the people and his followers. “When they speak, they represent the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses), ³so listen when they speak the truth and do what they say but do not walk in their ways. They fail to do the things they demand of others ⁴and tie heavy spiritual burdens on their backs, too much for them to carry, but will not lift even one finger to help them.

⁵“They want to look important to others, so to look spiritual they wear large and fancy medicine pouches and long fringes on their outfits. ⁶They love to dress up in fine regalia, sit in the seats of honor at the gathering houses, ⁷and have people call them ‘wisdomkeeper’ at the trading posts.”

Then he turned to instruct the ones who walked the road with him.

^8-10“Titles such as ‘wisdomkeeper,’ ‘chief,’ and ‘spiritual guide’ are not for you. There is only one true Wisdomkeeper, Chief, and Spiritual Guide—the Chosen One—and you all belong to his family. So call no one on earth by the title ‘father,’ for only the Great Spirit is truly the Father of us all. ¹¹The great ones among you will be servant of all. ¹²The ones who put themselves above others will be brought down low. The ones who humble themselves will be lifted up.”

He then turned again and began to boldly confront the bad spiritual leaders.

¹³“Sorrow and trouble is waiting for you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees), for you have hidden from the people the way onto the good road from above. You have failed to walk the good road yourselves, and, even worse, you have barred the way for others who were trying to find the way.

¹⁴“Sorrow and trouble will come your way, you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees), for with many words you make long empty prayers and trick widows into giving you their homes and possessions. You will come to a bad end when your fate is decided.74

¹⁵“Sorrow and trouble await you blind guides with false faces, for you journey far and wide, across the great waters, to find one person who will change to your ways. When you have won him over, he becomes twice as bad as you are, a true son of the Valley of Smoldering Fire.

¹⁶“And to the blind guides who say, ‘A promise made outside the lodge can be broken, but one made inside must be kept,’ ¹⁷you are so foolish and blind! It is not the lodge that makes the promise good, but it is the Great Spirit over the lodge who sees and hears all promises.

¹⁸“Or you say, ‘A promise made before a ceremony can be broken, but one made during a ceremony must be kept.’ ¹⁹Are you so blind? Can you not see that the Great Spirit sees and hears all promises and expects you to keep them?

^20-22“It matters not whether a promise is made inside or outside the lodge, or before or during a sacred ceremony. All promises on the earth below or in the spirit-world above are made before the eyes of the Great Spirit, who sees and hears everything.

²³“Sorrow and trouble wait for you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees). With false faces you are careful to do what tribal law says by giving a tenth of each little herb in your garden, but you ignore the more important instructions such as justice, kindness, and honesty. ²⁴You are spiritually blind guides, for you strain out a small flea from your water pouch, but swallow a whole moose.75

²⁵“Sorrow and trouble will be your end, you scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees), for you wash the outside of your cups and bowls, but on the inside your hearts are full of greed and selfish ways. ²⁶You blind Separated Ones (Pharisees)! First clean the inside of your cup, and then the outside of the cup will become clean also.

²⁷“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you Separated Ones (Pharisees) and scroll keepers who hide behind false faces. You are like burial caves that have been painted white to look good on the outside, but on the inside you are full of dead men’s bones and rotting things. ²⁸You may look good to others, but you are full of falsehood and worthless ways.

²⁹“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you Separated Ones (Pharisees) and scroll keepers who hide behind false faces. You put great decorated stones on the burial grounds of the prophets and the ones who walked upright—the ones your ancestors killed.

³⁰“You say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them when they shed the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹But you are speaking against yourselves, for you are admitting that you are the descendants of the ones who killed them, ³²and you will finish what your ancestors started! ³³You nest of poisonous snakes! How will you escape the bad end of the Valley of Smoldering Fire?

³⁴“That is why I am sending to you prophets, wisdomkeepers, and scroll keepers. You will whip some of them in your gathering houses. Others you will nail to a cross. You will threaten them and pursue them from village to village until you shed their blood. ³⁵Then you will be guilty of shedding the innocent blood of all who have lived on the earth from His Breath Goes Up (Abel), who was killed by his brother,76 to Creator Will Remember (Zechariah), the son of He Will Be Blessed (Barachiah), who was put to death in the courtyard of the sacred lodge.77

³⁶“I speak truth from my heart, all these things will happen to the people of this generation.”

A dark cloud cast a shadow over Creator Sets Free (Jesus), and a look of pain and sorrow came upon his face.

³⁷“Jerusalem, O Village of Peace!” he cried out loud for all to hear. “You who kill the prophets and stone to death the ones sent to you! How I have longed to gather your children together, like an eagle gathers her young under her wings, but you would not have it. ³⁸Look! Your house has fallen and will be left in ruins! ³⁹I speak from my heart, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit!’”

¹As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) made his way out of the sacred lodge, his followers began to point out to him all the buildings that surrounded the sacred lodge.

As he stopped and looked around at the lodge and all its buildings, a look of great sadness came over his face.

²“Take a good long look, for I speak truth from my heart—all of these will fall to the ground. Not one log or stone will be left standing against another.”

³Later that day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat down to rest on the side of Olive Mountain.

From there he could look across the valley past the walls of Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and see the sacred lodge.

Some of his followers came to him privately. “Wisdomkeeper,” they asked with worried faces, “when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming that will bring an end to this age we live in?”

⁴“Beware of those who would lead you down a false path,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) warned them, ⁵“for many will come falsely representing who I am and say, ‘I am the Chosen One,’ and many will follow them to a bad end.

⁶“When you hear of wars and stories of war breaking out, do not fear, for all of this must happen, but the end will not come all at once. ⁷There will be tribal wars, and nations will make war against other nations. Food will be scarce, and the earth will shake in many places— ⁸but this is only the beginning of the time of sorrow, like a woman feeling the pains of birth.

⁹“Because you represent me, you will be looked down on by all the nations. They will hunt you down and kill you, all because you follow me. ¹⁰When this happens, many will stumble on the path and even hate and betray each other.

¹¹“Then many false prophets will rise up and lead many down false paths. ¹²Because evildoers will grow strong, the love in many hearts will grow cold—¹³but the ones who stand firm in their faith to the end will be set free and made whole.

¹⁴“The good story about Creator’s good road will be told in truth for all the nations of this world to hear. Then the end will come.

¹⁵“When you see the ‘horrible thing that destroys,’ that the prophet Creator Will Decide (Daniel) told about,78 making its stand against the place that is holy—the reader will understand the meaning— ¹⁶you will then know it is time for those who live in the Land of Promise (Judea) to escape to the mountains. ¹⁷If you are on your rooftop, go, without taking time to get anything from your house. ¹⁸Workers in the fields should not even go back to get their outer garments. ¹⁹It will be a terrible time for women who are pregnant or nursing their babies. ²⁰Pray that it will not happen in winter or on a Day of Resting.

²¹“It will be a time of trouble and sorrow like no other. A worse time has not been seen since the world was created—and there will never be a time like this again. ²²If that terrible time were allowed to reach the end of the trail, no one would survive, but for the sake of Creator’s Chosen Ones those days will be cut short.

²³“In those days if anyone says to you, ‘Look, the Chosen One is over here,’ or ‘Look, he is over there,’ pay no attention to him, ²⁴for false Chosen Ones will rise up and false prophets will appear. They will provide great signs and omens to mislead the people. Even Creator’s Chosen Ones will be tempted to believe them.

²⁵“Remember that I have warned you ahead of time! ²⁶So if they say, ‘The Chosen One is in the desert wilderness,’ do not go with them there. Or if they say, ‘The Chosen One is hidden in a secret place,’ do not believe them. ²⁷For when the sign of 79 the True Human Being appears, it will be like lightning when it flashes across the sky from the east to the west.

²⁸“In the same way that gathering vultures80 are a sign of dead bodies, so these things are a sign of the end.

²⁹“Then, right after that time of trouble and sorrow, ‘the sun will no longer shine, the moon will go dark, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the spirit-world above will tremble.’81

³⁰“This is when the sign of the True Human Being will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the land will weep in anguish when they see the True Human Being riding on the clouds and coming with power and shining-greatness. ³¹Then he will send out his spirit-messengers, who will blow the eagle bone whistle82 to gather his Chosen Ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

³²“Listen to this fig tree and hear what it is saying to you: when its branches get soft and leaves appear, you know that summer will soon be here. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is almost here. ³⁴I speak from my heart! All of this will happen to this generation, during the lifetime of the people who live today. ³⁵The earth and sky, as we know them, will fade away, but my words will never fade!

³⁶“But no one knows the day or hour that these things will take place. Not the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above, not even Creator’s own Son, but only the Great Spirit, who is our Father from above, knows.

^37-38“When the True Human Being comes, it will be like it was in the days before the great flood in the time of One Who Rests (Noah). In those days the people were eating and drinking and getting married until the day that One Who Rests (Noah) entered the great wooden canoe. ³⁹No one knew what was happening until the floodwaters came, washed them away, and drowned them all. It will be the same when the True Human Being appears.

⁴⁰“During that time two men will be working in the field. One will be taken away and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be husking corn. One will be taken away and the other left. ⁴²So be on the lookout, because you never know when your Honored Chief will arrive.

⁴³“But know this: If the elder of a family had known at what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and stopped the thief from breaking in. ⁴⁴Just like this elder, you must be ready, for the True Human Being will not come at the time you expect him to.

⁴⁵“Who will be the wise one, worthy of trust? Will it be the uncle who was told to feed and care for the family while the elder is away? ⁴⁶A great blessing will come to that uncle when the elder returns and finds him doing so. ⁴⁷I speak from my heart, he will invite that uncle to live with the family and share everything.

⁴⁸“But what if the uncle says to himself, ‘It will be a long time before he returns,’ ⁴⁹then begins to abuse the family and invites the local drunks to eat and drink with him?”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) paused to let his followers think about the answer and then continued.

⁵⁰“The elder will return at a time the uncle does not expect. ⁵¹He will then put him out of the family to share the fate of the ones who wear false faces. There the uncle will weep with them as they grind their teeth together in anger and frustration.

¹“When that time comes, the ones who are walking Creator’s good road from above will be like ten young, unmarried women who took their ceremonial torches and went out to welcome the groom. ²Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ^3-4The wise women took an extra clay pot of oil along for their torches, but the foolish ones did not bother to bring any.

⁵“The groom did not come when expected, and they all fell asleep as they waited. ⁶Then suddenly, in the dark of the night, someone cried out, ‘Look! The groom is coming, let us go welcome him!’

⁷“All the women woke up to prepare their torches, but the oil in the torches had run out.

⁸“The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil so our torches will not go out.’

⁹“The wise ones answered back, ‘There is not enough for all of us. Hurry, go to the village and trade for some more.’

¹⁰“They hurried away to get more oil. But while they were gone, the groom came and all the guests went into the lodge for the wedding feast, and the gate was closed.

¹¹“A while later the other women came to the gate and said to the gatekeeper, ‘Honored one, O honored one, open the door and let us come in.’

¹²“But he said to them, ‘I truly do not even know who you are—why should I let you in?’”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) finished the story with these words of wisdom.

¹³“Here is what I am saying to you: be prepared like the wise women in this story and always be ready, for you do not know the time of day or night that the True Human Being will appear.”

¹⁴“Here is another way to see how the Creator’s good road from above will come: It is like a tribal headman preparing for a long journey. He gathered three trusted tribal members together to give them charge of his goods during his journey.

¹⁵“He gave five herds of horses83 to one, two herds to another, and one herd to the third man, giving each one according to his ability to make a good trade. After that he left on his journey.

¹⁶“The man with five herds of horses went to work right away, traded well, and earned five more herds. ¹⁷In the same way the one with two herds used them to gain two more. ¹⁸But the one who had only one kept the herd well hidden and safe from thieves.

¹⁹“Many moons passed before the headman returned from his journey. He gathered the trusted tribal members together to see how well they had traded.

²⁰“The one given five herds came forward and said, ‘Look, I have gained five more!’

²¹“‘You have served me well, my good and trusted friend,’ the headman said, ‘You have done well with a small amount, now I will give you much more. Come and live with my family and enjoy all I have.’

²²“Then the man to whom he gave two herds came forward and said, ‘You gave me two herds, but I have four to give back to you.’ ²³The headman honored him and did the same for him as the one with ten.

²⁴“Then the man to whom he had given one herd came to him and said, ‘Headman, I know you have a reputation of being a harsh man, taking what you did not plant and gathering what is not yours. ²⁵I was afraid, so I hid the herd away to keep them safe for you. Here they are!’

²⁶“The headman said to him, ‘You have broken the trust I gave you and have proven you are lazy and no good. If you knew I was a harsh man, ²⁷why did you not ask the trading post to trade for them so there would be something to show for them when I returned?’

²⁸“So he told them to take the herd from him and give it to the one who had ten ²⁹and said, ‘The ones who do well with what they are given will be given more, but the ones who do nothing with it will lose even what they have been given.’ ³⁰Then he had the man thrown out of his house into the darkness outside, the place where they weep and grind their teeth together in anger and frustration.

³¹“When the True Human Being comes in all of his power and shining-greatness, along with all of his spirit-messengers, he will sit down in his seat of honor. ³²All nations will be gathered and come before him. He will choose between them like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right side and the goats to his left.

³⁴“Then the Chief will say to the sheep on his right, ‘The blessing of my Father rests upon you. Come into the Land of Creator’s good road that has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. ³⁵For I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was hungry and you fed me. I was a stranger and you gave me lodging. ³⁶When I needed clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in prison, you visited me.’

^37-39“‘When did we do all these things for you?’ the good-hearted ones asked.

⁴⁰“‘I speak from my heart,’ he answered them, ‘whatever you did for the least important of my fellow human beings84 who needed help, you did for me.’

⁴¹“Then the Chief will say to the goats on his left, ‘Go away from me, you who have bad hearts,85 into the fire that burns everything up, made for the evil trickster snake and his messengers. ⁴²For when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me no drink, ⁴³and when I was a stranger, you turned me away. When I needed clothes, you gave me nothing to wear, and when I was sick and in prison, you failed to visit me.’

⁴⁴“‘Honored One,’ they questioned, ‘when was it that we saw you like this and did nothing?’

⁴⁵“‘I speak from my heart,’ he answered back, ‘when you did not help the ones who needed it most, you failed to help me.’

⁴⁶“Then the goats will go away to the punishment of the world to come that never fades away, and the sheep will enter the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony.”

¹After he had finished speaking about these things, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the ones who walked the road with him, ²“As you know, the Passover festival will begin after two days. It is during this time that the True Human Being will be taken captive and then killed on a tree-pole—the cross.”

³At that time the head holy men and the elders of the people gathered in the lodge of Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), the chief holy man. ⁴They schemed together to take Creator Sets Free (Jesus) captive on the sly and then kill him.

⁵“We should not do this during the festival,” they said, “or there could be an uprising among the people.”

⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went to House of Figs (Bethany) to the home of Hearing Man (Simon), who had suffered from a skin disease. ⁷While there, a woman with a pottery jar full of costly, sweet-smelling ointment came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and poured it over his head as he sat on the floor near the table.

⁸His followers, when they saw this, became angry and said to each other, “Why waste this costly ointment? ⁹It could have been traded for food and goods to give to the ones who have none.”

¹⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) heard them and said, “Why are you troubling this woman? She has done a good thing for me. ¹¹You can help the poor any time, for they will always be with you, but I will not. ¹²By pouring this sweet-smelling ointment on my body, she has performed a preparation ceremony for my burial. ¹³I speak from my heart, when the good story is told all over the world, her story will also be told to remember what she has done.”

¹⁴It was then that Speaks Well Of (Judas) son of Village Man (Iscariot), one of the twelve, left and went to the head holy men. ¹⁵“How much is he worth to you,” he asked them. “What price will you pay if I turn him over to you?”

They agreed on thirty pieces of silver and paid him. ¹⁶So from then on he looked for a good time to betray Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

¹⁷It was now the first day of the Festival of Bread Without Yeast. His followers came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and asked, “Where do you want us to go to prepare for the eating of the ceremonial Passover meal?”

¹⁸“Go into the village,” he instructed them, “and there you will meet a certain man and say to him, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper says, “My time has now come. I will eat the Passover meal with my followers here in your home.”’”

¹⁹They did as he said and made everything ready for the ceremonial meal.

²⁰As the sun was setting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat down around the table with his twelve followers. ²¹During the meal he spoke out, “I speak from my heart, one of you will turn against me.”

²²They were all worried and troubled by this and began to ask him one by one, “Wisdomkeeper, am I the one?”

²³“It is the one who dipped his hand into the dish with me who will turn against me,” he said with a look of sorrow. ²⁴“The True Human Being must walk the path chosen for him, as the Sacred Teachings have said, but it will not go well for the one who betrays him. It would be better if that one had never been born.”

²⁵Speaks Well Of (Judas), the betrayer, looked at Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and asked, “Wisdomkeeper, you do not think I am the one, do you?”

“You have said it with your own words,” he answered back.

²⁶Then, during the meal, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some of the frybread, lifted it up, and gave thanks. He broke it into pieces, gave some to each of his followers, and said, “This is my body. Take it and eat it.”

²⁷Then he took a cup of wine, lifted it up, and gave thanks. He gave it to his followers and said, “Drink from this cup, all of you, ²⁸for this is my lifeblood of the new peace treaty, poured out to release many people from their broken ways.

²⁹“I tell you now, I will not drink from the fruit of this vine again until I drink it with you in a fresh and new way when we walk together on my Father’s good road.”

³⁰Then, after they sang a ceremonial song together, they walked to Olive Mountain.

As they walked to Olive Mountain, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to warn his followers about what they would face in the night ahead.

³¹“This very night all of you will stumble on the path and turn away because of what will happen to me. The Sacred Teachings have made it clear, ‘Attack the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.’86 ³²But after I have risen from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Circle of Nations (Galilee).”

³³Stands on the Rock (Peter) answered him, “Even if all others stumble and turn away, I will not!”

³⁴“I speak from my heart,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said back to him, “before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵“Not so, my Wisdomkeeper!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) replied. “Even if I must die with you, I will never turn away!”

Then all of his followers said the same thing.

³⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers came to the place called Where the Olives Are Crushed (Gethsemane), a garden with many olive trees.

“Sit here,” he told his followers, “while I go over there and pray.”

³⁷He then took with him Stands on the Rock (Peter) and He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the two sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee), to a place not far from the others.

As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to send his voice to the Great Spirit, he became deeply troubled and full of sorrow.

³⁸“My heart is full of sorrow to the point of death,” he said to his three followers who were with him. “Stay here and watch over me.”

³⁹He went a little ways from them, dropped his face to the ground, and prayed. “O Great Father,” he cried out, “is there a way to take this cup of bitter suffering away from me? But I want only your way, not mine.”

⁴⁰He then got up and found his followers sleeping.

“Could you not stay awake with me for even one hour?” he said to Stands on the Rock (Peter). ⁴¹“Stay awake and pray so that you will be able to face the rough trail ahead of you. Your human body is weak, but your spirit is strong.”

⁴²Once again he went from them and prayed, “My Father, if this is the only way, then, as you desire, I will drink deeply of this bitter cup.”

The night was silent and cold as Creator Sets Free (Jesus) trembled and prayed. The powers of darkness were pressing in hard. After a while he returned to the three followers, who were supposed to be praying.

⁴³He found them and saw that their eyes were heavy with sleep, ⁴⁴so he went away from them a third time and prayed the same words.

⁴⁵He then returned to his followers and said to them, “Why are you still sleeping? The time is upon us! The True Human Being has been betrayed into the hands of the ones with bad hearts. ⁴⁶Rise up! We must go! Look! The one who has turned against me is here!”

⁴⁷Right then, while Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was speaking, a crowd of people stormed into the garden. Speaks Well Of (Judas), one of the twelve, was leading the way. Along with the betrayer came the large crowd, sent from the head holy men and elders of the tribal council, carrying clubs and long knives.

The air was filled with the smell of burning torches as the crowd pushed their way forward.

⁴⁸The betrayer had given them a sign. “Take hold of the one I greet with a kiss, and arrest him.”

⁴⁹Speaks Well Of (Judas) walked right up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

“Greetings, Wisdomkeeper,” he said and then kissed him.

⁵⁰“My friend,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his face, “Do what you came to do.”

The crowd moved in and took hold of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to arrest him. ⁵¹But then one of his followers drew his long knife from its sheath and cut off the ear of the servant of the chief holy man.

⁵²“Put away your long knife,” he said to his follower, “for all who take up weapons will also die by them! ⁵³Do you not know that if I called out to my Father, he would send to me many thousands87 of spirit-messengers? ⁵⁴But if I did, how would the ancient prophecies that foretold this find their full meaning?”

⁵⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then turned to the ones who had come to take him and said, “Why do you come at me with clubs and long knives as if I were a thief? Did I not sit with you every day in the sacred lodge? Why did you not take me then? ⁵⁶But now the words of the prophets have come true and found their full meaning.”

After hearing him say this, all his followers turned and ran away.

⁵⁷The ones who had arrested him dragged him away and brought him to Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), the chief holy man. The scroll keepers and elders of the Grand Council had gathered there to question him.

⁵⁸Stands on the Rock (Peter) followed from a safe distance until they came to the courtyard of the chief holy man. He then went inside through the gate, sat down next to the lodge guards, and waited to see what would happen.

⁵⁹The head holy men and the Grand Council kept trying to find someone who would speak against Creator Sets Free (Jesus) falsely so they could put him to death, ⁶⁰but found none who could agree, even though many came forward and spoke lies against him.

Finally two men came forward ⁶¹and said, “We heard him say, ‘I can tear down Creator’s sacred lodge and build it again in three days.’”

⁶²The chief holy man stood up before all. He said to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), “Have you no answer to these accusations?”

⁶³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) remained silent before all and said nothing to defend himself.

Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas) was frustrated! His face became red with anger, and his voice thundered.

“On your honor before the living Creator I call on you to speak the truth!” he demanded. “Tell us whether you are the Chosen One, the Son of the Great Spirit!”

The room became silent. Time seemed to stand still. The air was filled with tension as they waited for his answer. When he spoke, every ear and eye in the room were fixed on him, for he must now answer.

⁶⁴“What you have said is right!” he answered them. “But listen to this: from now on you will see the True Human Being sitting at the right hand of the Great Power when he comes riding the clouds of the spirit-world above!”88

⁶⁵They could not believe their ears! The chief holy man tore his outer garments and cried out, “He is guilty! His words have insulted the Great Spirit!”

He turned to the council of elders and said, “You have heard it with your own ears! Why do we even need witnesses? ⁶⁶What does the council have to say?”

With one voice the council answered, “Death is what he deserves!”

⁶⁷Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists, and others slapped him with the back of their hands. ⁶⁸“Prophesy to us, Chosen One,” they taunted him. “Tell us who struck you!”

⁶⁹Stands on the Rock (Peter) was still outside sitting in the courtyard.

A servant girl looked at him and said, “I saw you when you were with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in Circle of Nations (Galilee).”

⁷⁰“What!” he denied before them all. “I do not know what you are talking about.”

⁷¹Then he went toward the gate, and another servant woman saw him and said out loud to all, “This man was with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth).”

⁷²“I swear to you,” he denied with a sacred oath, “I do not know this man!”

⁷³A short time later some of the men came up to him. “You must be one of his followers,” they said. “The way you speak gives you away.”

⁷⁴Stands on the Rock (Peter) cursed and swore out loud, “What are you all saying? I do not know this man you are talking about.”

Right then a rooster began to crow, ⁷⁵and then he remembered what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had told him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Stands on the Rock (Peter) ran out of the gate and wept bitter tears as he stumbled down the road.

¹As the sun began to rise, the head holy men and council elders laid out their plans to kill Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ²They tied him up again and dragged him away to turn him over to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate), the governor from the People of Iron (Romans).

³When Speaks Well Of (Judas), the one who betrayed Creator Sets Free (Jesus), saw they had decided to have him killed, he was overcome with sorrow. He changed his mind and took the thirty pieces of silver back to the head holy men and the elders.

⁴“I have done wrong!” he told them. “I have betrayed the blood of an innocent man.”

“What do we care?” they said back to him. “You did this to yourself.”

⁵He threw the thirty pieces of silver on the floor of the sacred lodge and ran away in sorrow. He then left them and hanged himself.

As the light of the sunrise grew brighter on the horizon, his lifeless body could be seen hanging from the branch of a tree. He could not live with what he had done.

The head holy men did not know what to do with the pieces of silver.

⁶They picked the silver pieces up from the floor and said, “It is not permitted to put them in the storehouse of the sacred lodge, for it is blood money.”

⁷So they counseled together and used the silver to purchase a clay field that had been used for making pottery to use as a burial ground for outsiders. ⁸From that time on it has been called the Field of Blood.

⁹This gave full meaning to the words of the prophet Lifted by Creator (Jeremiah), “He was sold out for thirty pieces of silver by the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). This is how much they thought his life was worth. ¹⁰With the silver they bought a field of clay, as instructed by the Great Spirit.”89

¹¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) now stood before the governor of the People of Iron (Romans) for questioning.

“Are you the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)?” the governor asked him.

“It is as you say,” he answered.

¹²Then the head holy men began to accuse him, but he gave them no answer.

¹³“Why are you silent?” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) asked him, “Do you not hear their accusations?”

¹⁴But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered not one word, which amazed the governor.

¹⁵It was a tradition during the Passover festival to release to the crowd one criminal, whomever they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they were holding a prisoner with a deadly reputation whose name was Son of His Father (Barabbas).

¹⁷“Which one shall I release?” the governor raised his voice to the crowd. “Son of His Father (Barabbas) or Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is called the Chosen One?”

¹⁸Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) said this because he knew the head holy men and elders had handed over Creator Sets Free (Jesus) because they were jealous of his reputation with the people.

When the governor of the People of Iron (Romans) would make his final decision about the guilt and fate of a person, he would sit on a great rock carved into a seat. This seat was called the Stone of Deciding.

¹⁹While he was sitting there, a messenger came from his wife with these words: “Do no harm to this innocent man, for today I had a dream about him that troubles me greatly.”

²⁰But the head holy men and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Son of His Father (Barabbas) to be released and to have Creator Sets Free (Jesus) put to death.

²¹Once more the governor asked the crowd, “Whom do you want me to release?”

“Son of His Father (Barabbas)!” the crowd roared back.

²²“Then what would you have me do with Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is called the Chosen One?” he asked them.

With one voice they shouted, “Nail him to the cross!”

²³“But what wrong has he done to deserve this?” he asked them again.

But their voices grew louder and louder, “Nail him to the cross!”

²⁴Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) could see that their minds would not be changed. He was worried that the crowd might turn violent, so he decided to give them what they wanted. He washed his hands in a vessel of water in front of all the people and said, “This man’s blood is not on my hands. It is on yours!”

²⁵“Let his blood be on us and on our descendants!” they answered him back.

²⁶So the governor released Son of His Father (Barabbas) to them. He then turned over Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to the soldiers to be whipped with cowhide strips and then nailed to a tree-pole—the cross.

The People of Iron (Romans) used a whip with many strips of leather, each braided together with bone and metal. The victim would be tied to a large rock, exposing his bare back, and then lashed. The pieces of bone and metal would rip and tear the skin from the body, leaving the victim almost lifeless.

²⁷The governor’s soldiers dragged Creator Sets Free (Jesus) into the great hall of the governor’s lodge, and all the soldiers there gathered around him. ²⁸They stripped off his clothes, wrapped a fancy purple-and-red chief blanket around him, ²⁹and twisted together a headdress from a thorn bush and pressed it onto his head. Then they put a chief’s staff in his right hand and began to bow down before him.

“Honor to the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)!” they mocked him, making a big show of it, insulting him with cruel words and twisted faces.

³⁰They spat on him and took his chief’s staff and clubbed him with it. Then they took turns beating him on his head, over and over again. ³¹When they were done, they stripped him of the chief blanket, put his own garment back on him, and took him away to nail him to a tree-pole—the cross.

The People of Iron (Romans) used a wooden pole, with a crossbeam attached, to punish criminals and anyone who dared to rise up against their empire. The cross was used as an instrument of terror and torture to keep the people in fear of the People of Iron (Romans). It was one of the most painful and cruel ways to die ever created by human beings. The crucified person’s feet were fastened with iron nails to the tree-pole and their hands to a crossbeam attached to the pole—where they remained until dead.

The soldiers then put a heavy crossbeam on the back of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). But he stumbled under the weight, because he was weak from the beating he had endured, too weak to bear the burden.

³²On the way they came across Listening Man (Simon), from Land of Power (Cyrene) in northern Africa. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross for Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

³³They came to Place of the Skull (Golgotha) ³⁴and gave him wine mixed with bitter herbs to drink, but after tasting it, he would not drink it. ³⁵They stripped him of his garments and, after they nailed his hands and feet to the cross, they gambled for his clothes. ³⁶The soldiers then sat down and kept watch over him.

³⁷Above his head on the crossbeam, carved into a piece of wood, was the accusation against him:

THIS IS CREATOR SETS FREE CHIEF OF THE TRIBES OF WRESTLES WITH CREATOR

³⁸Then they also nailed two outlaws to their crosses, one on his right side, the other on his left.

³⁹As people walked by and saw him, they spoke arrogantly to him, wagged their heads, ⁴⁰and said, “You who thought you could tear down the sacred lodge and rebuild it in three days—can you even save yourself? If you are the Son of the Great Spirit, then come down off that cross!”

⁴¹The head holy men, the scroll keepers, and the elders all joined in.

⁴²“He set others free,” they said, “but he cannot even free himself. So he is the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), is he? Let him come down from the cross now, and then we will believe in him! ⁴³He said, ‘I am the Son of the Great Spirit,’ so let the one he has put his trust in come and rescue him now—if he wants him.”

⁴⁴Even the thieves who were dying next to him joined in with the others and threw insults at him.

⁴⁵At the sixth hour of the day clouds moved in and covered the land with darkness until the ninth hour.90

⁴⁶That is when Creator Sets Free (Jesus), speaking in his native language, cried out loud, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”—which means, “O Great Spirit, my Creator, why have you left me alone?”91

⁴⁷Some of the people standing there heard him and said, “He is calling on the prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) to help him.”

⁴⁸One of them ran and soaked a cloth with the bitter wine, put it on a staff, and put it to his mouth. ⁴⁹But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) will come and save him.”

⁵⁰But right then Creator Sets Free (Jesus), with his dying breath, lifted his voice one last time and with a loud cry gave up his spirit.

⁵¹Suddenly the earth began to quake. Large rocks cracked and shattered. Then in the sacred lodge the great heavy blanket that hung over the entry to the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom.

For the first time the inner chamber, where only the chief holy man could go, was open to all.

^52-53The burial caves opened as the stones that covered them broke into pieces. After Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to life from the dead, many of the bodies of the holy ancestors were raised to life from their sleep of death. They came out from their burial caves and appeared to many in the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

⁵⁴When the head soldier of the People of Iron (Romans) and his soldiers who were guarding Creator Sets Free (Jesus) felt the earth shake and saw what was happening all around them, they trembled with fear and said, “This man must truly be the Son of the Great Spirit!”

⁵⁵Many of the honored women who had walked the road with him from the time he was in Circle of Nations (Galilee) were there, watching from a distance. These were some of the women who had served him during his journeys. ⁵⁶Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala) and Brooding Tears (Mary), the mother of He Takes Charge (James) and He Increases (Joses), were among them, and also the mother of the two sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee).

⁵⁷A while before sunset, He Gets More (Joseph), a man of many possessions from the tribal village of High Mountain (Arimathea), who was also one who followed Creator Sets Free (Jesus), ⁵⁸went to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate). He asked for the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) so he could prepare it properly for burial. The governor then gave him permission to take the body.

⁵⁹He took the body and ceremonially wrapped it in a traditional way using a clean, soft blanket. ⁶⁰He then laid the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in his own burial cave freshly cut from the rock hillside. He rolled a large stone in front of the cave and left.

⁶¹Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala) and Brooding Tears (Mary) were also there sitting across the garden from the tomb.

⁶²The next day, which was after the Day of Preparing, the head holy men and the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate).

⁶³“Honored One,” they said to him, “When he was still alive, that trickster Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said, ‘On the third day I will come back from the dead.’ ⁶⁴We must put an end to his lies or his followers could take his body away and tell the people he has come back from the dead, making things worse for all of us. So we are asking that you order your soldiers to guard the burial cave.”

⁶⁵He said to them, “Take with you a good number of my soldiers and set them to guard the burial cave securely.”

⁶⁶So they went and placed a seal over the great stone and set the guards to watch.

¹Then, on the first day of the week following the Day of Resting, as the sun began to rise, Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala) and Brooding Tears (Mary) went to see the burial cave.

²Suddenly the earth began to shake, and a spirit-messenger from the spirit-world above came down from the sky, walked to the burial cave, rolled the stone away—and sat down on it! ³He was shining as bright as a flash of lightning, and his regalia was pure white like freshly fallen snow.

⁴The soldiers staggered back, trembling with fear, and fell to the ground like dead men.

^5-6“Do not fear!” the spirit-messenger said to the women. “The one you are looking for is not here. Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who was killed on the cross, has come back to life again—just as he said. Look! Here is where they laid him. ⁷Now hurry and go tell his followers that he has risen from the dead. Tell them he is going ahead of them to Circle of Nations (Galilee), and they will see him there. Now remember what I have told you!”

⁸The women ran from the burial cave to bring the good news to his followers. Their hearts were trembling with fear and great joy. ⁹Suddenly, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was standing in front of them.

“It is a good morning!” he smiled and said to them.

They came close, held tightly to his feet, and gave great honor to him.

¹⁰“Do not fear!” he told them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Circle of Nations (Galilee), and there they will see me.”

¹¹After the women had left the burial cave, some of the soldiers who were guarding the place went to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and reported everything to the head holy men. ¹²So they gathered a council together to make a plan.

They decided to pay the soldiers well to make up a story. ¹³“Tell the people that his followers came and stole his body while you were sleeping,” they said. ¹⁴“Do not worry about the governor hearing of this. We will pay him whatever it takes to keep you from trouble.”

Normally the People of Iron (Romans) would have put to death any soldiers who would have let someone steal a body they had been ordered to guard.

¹⁵So the soldiers took the money and did as they were told, and even to this day their story has been told far and wide among all the tribes.

It was now time for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to return to the spirit-world above. It had now been forty days since he had come back to life again. So he gathered his followers, one last time, to give them their final instructions.

¹⁶The remaining eleven of his followers journeyed to Circle of Nations (Galilee). There, at the mountain where Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had told them to go, they met with him. ¹⁷When they saw him, they gave to him the honor he deserved—but there were some who still doubted.

¹⁸“All the authority of the spirit-world above and the earth below has been given to me,” he told them. ¹⁹“So now I am sending you into all nations to teach them how to walk the road with me. You will represent me as you perform the purification ceremony92 with them, initiating them into the life of beauty and harmony represented in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ²⁰You will then teach them all the ways that I have instructed you to walk in.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then looked into their faces with love and great affection. He lifted his hands toward them and spoke these final blessing words over them.

“Never forget,” he said as he began to rise up into the spirit-world above. “I will always be with you, your invisible guide, walking beside you, until the new age has fully come.”

Aho! May it be so!