War Club Tells The Good Story The Gospel Of Mark

²³“What do you mean ‘If I am able’?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered him. “Nothing is too hard for the one with faith!”

²⁴“I do believe!” the father cried out right away. “Help my weak faith!”

²⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw that the crowd was now pushing in closer to see, so he spoke sharply to the unclean spirit.

“Spirit that makes one unable to speak or hear,” he said firmly, “I order you now to leave this boy and never enter him again!”

²⁶The spirit cried out, and the boy began to twist and turn upon the ground. The spirit then came out, and the boy became so still it looked as if he were dead.

“He must be dead!” the people said out loud.

²⁷Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took hold of the boy’s hand and stood him on his feet.

²⁸Later, when they were alone with him in the house, his followers asked him, “Why were we unable to force out the evil spirit?”

²⁹“This kind of spirit can only be forced out by prayer,15” was his answer to them.

³⁰From there, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took his followers on through Circle of Nations (Galilee) but stayed away from the crowds ³¹so he could further instruct the ones who walked the road with him.

“The True Human Being will soon be taken and handed over to men who will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life from the dead.”

³²But his followers did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask.

³³They returned again to Village of Comfort (Capernaum) and settled down into the house there.

“What were you talking about as we walked the road just now?” he asked them.

³⁴None of them would answer him, because they had been arguing about who among themselves was the greatest. ³⁵So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat down and gathered his twelve followers around him.

“The one who would be first must be the one who will serve all the others—and become last,” he told them.

³⁶He then stood a small child in front of them.

“When you represent me and welcome a child like this one, you welcome me.”

³⁷He then took the child into his arms and said, “When you welcome me, you do not welcome me alone, but also the one who sent me.”

³⁸Then He Shows Goodwill (John) said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, we saw a man forcing out evil spirits using your name. We told him to stop, because he does not walk the road with us.”

³⁹“Do not stop him,” he answered. “No one who can do works of power using my name will suddenly turn against me. ⁴⁰The ones who are not against us are for us. ⁴¹I speak from my heart, anyone who brings the gift of even a drink of water to the ones who represent me will never lose the honor that has been gained.

⁴²“But let no one cause one of these little ones who have put their trust in me to stumble away from the path. It would be better to have a great stone tied to one’s neck and to be thrown into the great waters. ⁴³If what your hand does causes you to stumble off the path, then cut it off and throw it away! It would be better to live this life with only one hand than to go with two hands into the Valley of Smoldering Fire—a fire that cannot be put out. ⁴⁵If where your foot walks causes you to stumble from the path, then cut it off and throw it away. It would be better to walk this life with only one foot than to walk with two feet right into the Valley of Smoldering Fire—a fire that cannot be put out.

⁴⁷“The same thing goes for your eye. If what it sees makes you stumble from the path, then pluck it out and throw it away. It would be better to walk Creator’s good road with only one eye than to see with two eyes and be thrown into the Valley of Smoldering Fire. ⁴⁸This Valley of Smoldering Fire is the place spoken of in the Sacred Teachings:16 ‘Where their worm does not die and the fire cannot be put out.’17

⁴⁹“All will be salted with fire,18 for all ceremonial offerings are salted before they are burned with fire.19 ⁵⁰Salt is a good thing, for it purifies, heals, and makes things taste better, but if it becomes unsalty, what will make it salty again? So make sure that you, like salt, keep your true flavor by walking with each other in the way of peace.”

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then left that place and walked to the territory of the Land of Promise (Judea) beyond the river Flowing Down (Jordan). There, as he usually did, he began to teach the crowds that had once again gathered around him.

²Like hungry wolves the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to test and accuse him.

“Does our tribal law permit a man to send his wife away?” they asked.

³“What did the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses) instruct the people about this?” he replied.

⁴“He permitted a man to send her away by giving her divorce papers,” they answered back.

⁵“It is because of your hard hearts that he permitted this,” he said to them. ⁶“But this was not always so, for from the beginning of creation ‘he made them to be male and female.’20 ⁷‘This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and together they make one flesh’21—no longer two—but the two braided together as one. ⁹So no human being should tear apart what the Maker of Life has joined together.”

¹⁰Later, back in the house, his followers asked him some more questions about this.

¹¹He then said to them, “Whoever sends his wife away, without properly divorcing her, and marries another is guilty of being unfaithful to his first wife. ¹²If she then, after being sent away, marries another man, then she is also guilty of being unfaithful.”

In those days men would sometimes send their wives away for any reason without giving them divorce papers, leaving them destitute and unable to properly remarry.

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

¹⁴When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw what his followers were doing, it made him angry, so he said to them, “Let the little children come to me! Do not turn them away. Creator’s good road belongs to the ones who are like these children. ¹⁵I speak from my heart, the only way onto Creator’s good road is to become as trusting as a little child.”

¹⁶He then took the children into his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

¹⁷As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) set out walking from there, a man ran up to him and honored him.

“Good Wisdomkeeper,” the man asked, “what path will lead me to the life of the world to come that never fades away?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” he asked the man. “There is only one who is good—the Great Spirit. ¹⁹You must know the instructions from the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses). ‘You are not to take the life of another, or be unfaithful in marriage, or take what is not yours. Never lie about or cheat a fellow human being, and always give honor and respect to your father and mother.’”22

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

²¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at the man with love and said, “Only one thing remains. Take all your possessions, invite the poor of your village to come, and have a giveaway. Then in the spirit-world above you will have many possessions waiting for you. Then leave everything behind and come, walk the road with me.”

²²The man’s heart fell to the ground. He hung his head and walked away, for he had many possessions.

²³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then looked around at the people and said to his followers, “Finding and walking the good road is a hard thing for the ones who have many possessions.”

²⁴His followers could not believe what they were hearing.

They thought having many possessions was a sign of blessing from the Great Spirit.

²⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke again to them. “Little children,” he said, “the ones who trust in their many possessions will have a hard time finding their way onto the good road. It would be easier for a moose23 to go through the eye of a needle.”

²⁶They shook their heads in wonder, looked at each other, and said, “How then can anyone walk the good road that sets all people free?”

²⁷He looked at them and said, “It is not possible for weak human beings, but with Creator’s help all things are possible.”

²⁸Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke up, “We have left all our possessions, and our relatives, to walk the road with you! What will become of us?”

²⁹“I speak from my heart,” he answered, “no one who has given up homes and families to follow me and walk my good road will go without. ³⁰In this present world they will become part of an even greater family, with many homes and lands. Even though they have been abused and mistreated, they will receive much more than they have lost.24 Then, in the world to come, they will have the life of beauty and harmony that never fades away.

³¹“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

³²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) led the way as they walked the road toward Village of Peace (Jerusalem). As they followed behind him, they began to worry about what would happen when they arrived, and fear began to cover them like a blanket.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took the twelve aside and told them once again what would happen to him.

³³“This is what you must see and understand,” he said to them. “We will soon arrive in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), where the True Human Being will be turned over to the head holy men and the scroll keepers. They will condemn him to death and then turn him over to the People of Iron (Romans). ³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, and whip him with cowhide strips. After that, they will kill him, but three days later he will come back to life again.”

³⁵After that, He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee), came up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

“Wisdomkeeper,” they said, “We want to ask you to do something for us.”

³⁶“What is it you want from me?” he replied.

³⁷“When your shining-greatness is revealed,” they said back to him, “permit us a place of honor beside you, one on your right hand the other on your left.”

³⁸“You do not understand what you are asking,” he answered. “Are you able to drink the cup of suffering that I will drink, or endure the purification ceremony25 that I will endure?”

³⁹“We are able!” they answered.

“Yes,” he said to them, “you will drink from my cup of suffering and endure my purification ceremony,^{c 40}but the place at my right and left hand is not mine to give. This honor belongs to the ones for whom it has already been prepared.”

⁴¹When the other ten message bearers heard this, they began to look down on He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John).

⁴²So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called them together and said, “Other nations have rulers, such as the People of Iron (Romans). They like to show their power over people and push them around. ⁴³But this will not be the way of the ones, like you, who walk with me. ⁴⁴The great ones among you will humble themselves and serve all the others. ⁴⁵In the same way, the True Human Being did not come to be served by others but to offer his life in the place of many lives, to set them free.”

⁴⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers walked through Moon Village (Jericho), and a large crowd followed behind them as they left the village. As the crowd passed, a blind beggar, whose name was Son of Honored One (Bartimaeus), was sitting on the side of the road.

⁴⁷When he heard that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) was there, he cried out loudly, “Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on me!”

⁴⁸Many in the crowd scolded him, telling him to be quiet, but this only made him cry out even louder, “Descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on me!”

⁴⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking, turned to the crowd, and said, “Tell him to come to me.”

So they called out to the blind man, “Have courage! He is calling for you!”

⁵⁰He jumped up, threw aside his outer garment, and walked with the help of others to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁵¹“What do you want from me?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him.

“Wisdomkeeper,” he answered, “make me see again!”

⁵²“Be on your way,” he said to him, “Your trust in me has made you whole again.”

Right then and there his eyes were opened! So he began to follow after Creator Sets Free (Jesus) as they continued on their way down the road.

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers came to the foot of Olive Mountain at House of Figs (Bethany) and House of Unripe Figs (Bethphage) near Village of Peace (Jerusalem). From there he sent out two of his followers.

²“Go on into the village just ahead of us,” he instructed them. “Right when you enter the village, you will see a donkey colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. ³If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say to them, ‘Our Wisdom- keeper is in need of this donkey and will soon return it.’”

⁴His followers went where they were told, found a colt tied by a gate near the village pathway, and untied it. ⁵Some of the people standing nearby said to them, “What are you doing untying that colt?”

⁶They answered them just as their Wisdomkeeper had instructed, so they were permitted to go. ⁷They brought the young donkey to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and laid their deer skins and Pendleton blankets on the colt, and then he sat down upon it.

⁸A crowd gathered around, and some of them laid their buffalo robes on the road, while others spread out branches with large leaves they had cut from the fields.

The people were hoping he would be a mighty warrior chief, like their ancestor Much Loved One (David), to set them free from the People of Iron (Romans). But he did not ride a warhorse on that day, as one might expect. Instead, he rode a small, humble donkey colt. He came weeping over the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), but even this could not silence the hopes of the crowd.

⁹The people encircled him, front and back.

“Hosanna! Set us free!” they shouted. ¹⁰“Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit! The good road of our ancestor Much Loved One (David) has arrived! Hosanna, to the One Above Us All!”

¹¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) rode into Village of Peace (Jerusalem) until he came to the sacred lodge. He went into the lodge and looked around at everything—then he left. It was time for the sun to set, so he returned to House of Figs (Bethany), along with his twelve followers, to the place where they were lodging.

¹²The next day, as Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was returning to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) from House of Figs (Bethany), he became hungry. ¹³He saw a fig tree with leaves on it in the distance and went to see whether he might find some figs on it. But when he came to the tree, he found only leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴He responded by speaking to the tree, “No one will eat fruit from you ever again!” And his followers heard what he said.

¹⁵They went into Village of Peace (Jerusalem) through the village gate, made their way through the crowded pathways, and went straight to Creator’s sacred lodge.

He came to the area called Gathering Place for the Nations. It was here that other nations could come to learn about the Great Spirit and his ways.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) entered the lodge and began to force out the ones who were selling and buying the ceremonial animals. He turned over the benches and tables of those who were selling the doves ¹⁶and blocked the way of the ones who were carrying trading goods through the lodge.

¹⁷“It is written in the sacred teachings,” he instructed them, “‘My lodge will be called a House of Prayer for all Nations.’”26 Then his voice rose like the sound of thunder, “‘But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!’”27

¹⁸The head holy men and the scroll keepers heard about what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had said and done. They began to counsel together about how they could kill him, for they feared his reputation among the many people who respected his teachings.

¹⁹When the sun began to set, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers left the village to return to where they were lodging.

²⁰In the morning, as they were walking on their way to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹Stands on the Rock (Peter) remembered that it was the same tree Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had spoken against.

“Wisdomkeeper!” he said. “Look, the fig tree you spoke against has dried up from the roots!”

²²“You must put all your trust in the Great Spirit,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) replied. ²³“I speak from my heart. Anyone who says to this mountain, ‘Lift up and go into the great waters,’ with a heart that believes and does not doubt that what he says will happen, then it will be done. ²⁴That is why I say that when you send your voice to the Great Spirit, believe that he has heard you and the answer will come.

²⁵“In the same way, when you stand and pray and there remember you have something against another, release them from the wrong they have done, so that your Father from above will also release you from the wrongs you have done.”28

²⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and was walking about in the sacred lodge. The head holy men and the scroll keepers came to him, along with some of the tribal elders.

²⁸“By what right do you do these things?” they challenged. “Who gave you this right?”

²⁹“I will give you one question to answer. If you answer me, then I will answer you. ³⁰The purification ceremony29 performed by Gift of Goodwill (John), was it from the spirit-world above, or did it come from human beings?”

The spiritual leaders looked at each other. They could not decide on how to answer him. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood before them and held his ground.

“Answer me!” he challenged back.

³¹So they put their heads together and talked it over. “We cannot say, ‘From the spirit-world above,’ for then he will say, ‘Why did you not listen to him?’ ³²But neither can we say, ‘From human beings,’ for the people honor Gift of Goodwill (John) as a prophet.”

³³They feared the people, so they said, “We do not know.”

“So then, I will not answer your question,” he said to them, “and tell you by what right I do these things.”

¹Once again Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to speak to them using stories:

²“A tribal member planted a large vineyard. He encircled it with a hedge, dug a hole for stomping the juice from the grapes, and built a tower for watching over it. He then rented it out to other tribal farmers for a share of the grapes. Then he traveled far away on a long journey to another land.

“When harvest time came, the tribal member who owned the vineyard sent a trusted messenger to gather his share of the grapes, ³but the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴“The vineyard owner sent another messenger; but they treated him shamefully, struck him on the head, and sent him away also.

⁵“So he sent a third messenger, and this one they killed. The same thing was done to many others he sent. They beat some and killed others.

⁶“Finally, the vineyard owner had only one more that he could send—his much-loved son. So, last of all, he sent his own son to them.

“‘They will respect my son,’ he said to himself.

⁷“But those tribal farmers said to themselves, ‘This vineyard will one day belong to this son. If we kill him, the vineyard will be ours.’

⁸“So they killed him and threw his dead body out of the vineyard.

⁹“What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the people who were listening.

He waited for an answer, but no one said a word.

Then he said, “He will return, put those dishonorable men to death, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you not read in the Sacred Teachings where it is said, ‘The tree the lodge builders threw away has become the Chief Lodgepole. ¹¹This is what the Great Spirit will do, and when we see it, we will be filled with wonder?”30

¹²The spiritual leaders wanted to take him prisoner right then and there, for they knew the story was about them. But they were afraid of what the people might do, so they left him and went away.

¹³The spiritual leaders sent some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the Friends of Looks Brave (Herodians) to trap Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in his words.

¹⁴“Wisdomkeeper,” they came and said to him, “we know you always speak the truth about the Great Spirit and represent him well, no matter what others may think or say. Tell us what is right,” they asked. “Does our tribal law permit our people to pay taxes to the government of the People of Iron (Romans)? ¹⁵Yes or no?”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) could see right through their false faces!

“Why are you putting me to the test?” he said to them. “Bring to me one of their silver coins and I will look at it.”

¹⁶So they brought one to him.

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

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

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

¹⁷“Then give this ruler the things that are his,” he told them, “but give to the Great Spirit the things that belong to the Great Spirit.”

The spiritual leaders were amazed at his words.

They could not believe it. They had failed right in front of all the people and could not use his words against him, so they walked away in silence.

¹⁸Then the Upright Ones (Sadducees), who say that there is no rising from the dead, also came to test him.

¹⁹“Wisdomkeeper,” they said to him, “Drawn From the Water (Moses) instructed us in the Sacred Teachings that if a Tribal Member should die before having children, then his brother should marry his widow and give her children. This way the man will have descendants.

²⁰“What if, in a family of seven brothers, the oldest took a wife, but died without children. ²¹Then the second brother married her, but he also died leaving no children. Then the third brother also married her and he, like the others, died with no children. ²²The same happened to all seven of them, and last of all the woman also crossed over to death. ²³So then, when they all come back to life in the time when the dead rise, whose wife would she be, since all seven brothers married her?”

²⁴“You are asking the wrong kind of question,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered back, “for you do not understand the Sacred Teachings or the power of the Great Spirit. ²⁵When men or women rise again from the dead, they will not marry, for they will be like the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above.”

And then he said, ²⁶“As for the dead rising again, do you not remember what was written in the Sacred Teachings about the time when the Great Spirit spoke to Drawn from the Water (Moses) from the burning bush? He said, ‘I am the Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), and of Heel Grabber (Jacob).’31 ²⁷He is not the Great Spirit of the dead, but of the living! So in this matter you are greatly mistaken.”

²⁸One of the scroll keepers overheard Creator Sets Free (Jesus) opposing the Upright Ones. When he heard the good answer he had given, he asked him, “Which instruction in our tribal law stands first?”

²⁹“The first and greatest instruction is this,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “‘Hear me, O tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), there is only one Great Spirit and Maker of us all. ³⁰You must love the Great Spirit with your whole being—with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart.’32

³¹“The second instruction is like the first,” he added. “You must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves. There is no other instruction greater than these.”

³²“Wisdomkeeper,” said the scroll keeper with a smile, “you have answered well and spoken the truth, for the Great Spirit is One and there is none other except him. ³³To love him with your whole being—with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart, and to love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves—is far greater than all ceremonies and offerings we make to the Great Spirit.”

³⁴When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) heard the scroll keeper’s wise answer, he said, “You are not far from Creator’s good road.”

After that, no one dared to ask him any other questions.

³⁵While Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was teaching at the sacred lodge, he asked, “How is it that the scroll keepers say the Chosen One is a descendant of Much Loved One (David), ³⁶when Much Loved One (David) himself, speaking with the voice of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Honored Chief said to my Honored Chief, “Sit down beside me at my right hand, the place of greatest honor, until I defeat and humble all your enemies”’?33

³⁷“If Much Loved One (David) called the Chosen One ‘My Honored Chief,’ how then can the Chosen One be his descendant?”34

The large crowd of people listened with glad hearts, because his wisdom was greater than the wisdom of the spiritual leaders.

³⁸During his teachings he said, “Be on the lookout for the scroll keepers who like to show off by walking around in their fancy regalia, who want to be noticed at the trading posts, ³⁹who take the best seats at the gathering houses and the places of honor at the feasts. ⁴⁰With many words they make a big show of their prayers, and trick widows into giving them their homes and possessions. They will come to a worse end than others.”

⁴¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) found a place to sit across from the storehouse of the sacred lodge. He watched as people came to put their gifts on the offering blanket. The ones with many possessions were putting down more than others. ⁴²Then he saw a poor widow come to the blanket and place two small, poorly beaded earrings35 on it, worth almost nothing.

⁴³He gathered his followers around him and told them about the widow’s gift.

“I speak from my heart,” he said, “this widow has given more than all the others. ⁴⁴What they gave was only a small part of their many possessions, but this poor widow has given all she had left to live on.”

¹As they were walking away from the sacred lodge, one of his followers said to him, “Look, Wisdomkeeper, these buildings are made from such handsomely carved logs and great stones!”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking, and as he looked around at all the buildings of the sacred ceremonial lodge, a look of sadness came over his face.

²“Do you see all these great buildings?” he replied. “They will all fall to the ground! Not one log or stone will be left standing against another.”

³Later that day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was sitting on Olive Mountain across from the sacred lodge.

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

While he was there, four of his followers—Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), He Shows Goodwill (John), and Stands with Courage (Andrew)—came to him in private.

⁴“Tell us when these things will happen,” they said with worried looks on their faces. “What sign should we be looking for?”

⁵“Stay alert or you may be led down a false path!” he told them. ⁶“Many will come representing me. ‘I am the Chosen One,’ they will claim, and many will listen to their lies.

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

⁹“You must stay ready and alert! Your own people will turn you over to the local tribal councils and beat you in their gathering houses. Because you are representing me, you will be brought before the governors and rulers of the People of Iron (Romans). You will then tell them about Creator’s good road, ¹⁰for before the end comes, the good story must first be told to all nations. ¹¹So when they put you on trial, do not worry ahead of time about what you will say. Speak what is given you at the time, for the Holy Spirit himself will give you the words to speak.

¹²“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and have them killed. ¹³And because you represent me, all will look down on you and hate you, but the ones who stand strong to the end will be set free and made whole.

¹⁴“When you see the ‘horrible thing that brings destruction’ making its stand where it does not belong—the reader will know what this means36—the ones who live in the Land of Promise (Judea) should escape to the mountains. ¹⁵The ones who are on their rooftop should not even go back into the house to take anything. ¹⁶The ones working in the field should not go back to get their outer garments. ¹⁷It will be a time of pain and sorrow for the women who are with child and the ones nursing their babies, ¹⁸so pray that it will not happen in the winter. ¹⁹A worse time of suffering and sorrow has not been seen since the Great Spirit created the world—and never will be seen again. ²⁰If those days were permitted to reach the end of the trail, then no one would survive, but, because of Creator’s Chosen Ones, those days will be cut short.

²¹“So, if in those days anyone would say to you, ‘Look, the Chosen One is over here,’ or ‘Look, he is over there,’ pay no attention. ²²For false Chosen Ones will rise up, and false prophets will appear. They will provide great signs and omens to mislead, if possible, even Creator’s Chosen Ones.

²³“I have told you all of this ahead of time, so stay on the lookout and be ready!

²⁴“Then, right after that time of trouble and sorrow, ‘the sun will no longer shine, the moon will go dark, ²⁵the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the spirit-world above will tremble.’37

²⁶“This is when they will see the True Human Being, coming with power, riding the clouds, and shining like the sun! ²⁷He will then send out his messengers to gather his Chosen Ones from the winds of the four directions—from the spirit-world above to the earth below.

²⁸“Listen to this wise story and learn the lesson of the fig tree: when its branches get soft and leaves appear, you know that summer will soon be here. ²⁹In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near—almost upon you. ³⁰I speak from my heart! All of this will happen in this generation. ³¹You can be sure of what I am saying—for the earth and sky will fade away, but my words will not!

³²“But no one knows the day or hour when these things will take place—not the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above, not even Creator’s own Son—only the Father knows.

³³“So keep both eyes open and be ready at all times, for no one knows when this time will come. ³⁴Be ready, like a chief who goes away on a long journey. He appoints the young men to watch over the village while he is gone, giving each of them responsibilities. Then he sets his warriors to guard the village gate. ³⁵They must stay awake and be ready, doing what he says, for they do not know when the chief will return. It may be when the sun is setting, or late into the night, or when the rooster crows early in the morning. ³⁶When the chief comes, he better not find them sleeping!

³⁷“I am telling all of you the same thing. So be ready and stay alert!”

¹It was now only two days before the traditional yearly Passover and Bread Without Yeast festival would be celebrated. The head holy men and the scroll keepers were scheming together about ways to have him captured and killed.

²“We should not do it during the festival,” they decided, “for that might create an uprising among the people.”

³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was in the village of House of Figs (Bethany), in the home of Hearing Man (Simon), who had a skin disease. He was leaning back, sitting on the floor at the table, when a woman with a pottery jar full of costly, sweet-smelling ointment came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), broke the pottery jar, and poured the ointment over his head.

⁴Some of his followers, who saw this, became angry and said to each other, “Why waste this costly ointment?38 ⁵It could have been traded for food and goods to give to the poor.”

So they spoke harshly to her.

⁶“Let her be!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke up. “Why are you troubling her? She has done a good thing for me! ⁷You can help the poor anytime, for they will always be among you, but I will not. ⁸This is her gift to me, to prepare me for my burial. ⁹I speak from my heart, when the good story is told all over the world, her story will also be told as a memorial.”

¹⁰It was then that Speaks Well Of (Judas), also known as Village Man (Iscariot), who was one of the twelve, left there and went to the head holy men to betray Creator Sets Free (Jesus) into their hands. ¹¹When they heard this, it pleased them, so they promised to pay him well. So Speaks Well Of (Judas) began to look for the right time to betray him.

¹²It was now the first day of Bread Without Yeast. This was when the ceremonial lamb would be killed and eaten.

“Where do you want us to go to prepare the ceremonial meal?” his followers asked their Wisdomkeeper.

¹³“Go into the village,” he instructed two of his followers, “and there you will meet a man carrying a water pouch. Follow him ¹⁴into whatever lodging-house he enters, and say to the headman of the lodging-house, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper asks: Where is the room where I can eat the ceremonial meal with my followers?’ ¹⁵He will then show you a large upper room that will be set up and ready for you. There you can prepare the ceremonial meal for us.”

¹⁶They did as he said and found everything just as he told them, so they prepared the room for the ceremonial meal.

¹⁷When the sun was setting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his twelve followers went to the room that had been prepared, ¹⁸and they all sat down around the table.

“I speak from my heart,” he said during the meal, “One of you who eats with me now will betray me.”

¹⁹Their hearts fell to the ground, and one by one they said to him, “I am not the one, am I?”

²⁰“It is one of the twelve, the one who has just dipped his bread into the bowl with me,” he said to all. ²¹“The True Human Being must walk the path chosen for him, as written in the Sacred Teachings, but it will not go well for the one who betrays him. It would be better if he had never been born.”

²²During the meal Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some of the frybread and gave thanks to the Great Spirit. He then broke it into pieces and gave some to each of his followers.

“This is my body,” he told them. “Take it and eat it.”

²³He then took a cup of wine, gave thanks to the Great Spirit, and passed the cup to all, who then drank from it.

²⁴“This is my lifeblood of the peace treaty, poured out on behalf of many people,” he said to them. ²⁵“I speak from my heart, I will not drink from the fruit of the vine again until the day when I will drink it with you in a fresh and new way, as we walk Creator’s good road together.”

²⁶They all sang a traditional song and then left to walk to Olive Mountain.

²⁷“All of you will turn away from me,” he told them as they walked along. “It was written in the Sacred Teachings, ‘Attack the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.’39 ²⁸But when I return from the world of the dead, I will go on ahead of you to Circle of Nations (Galilee).”

²⁹Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke out, “Even if they all turn away from you, I will not!”

³⁰“I speak from my heart,” he said back to him. “This very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

³¹“No!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) cried out fiercely. “Even if I must die with you, I will never turn away!”

And all the others said the same thing.

³²Creator 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.”

³³He then took with him Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), and He Shows Goodwill (John) to a place not far from the others. There he became deeply troubled and full of sorrow.

³⁴“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.”

³⁵He went a little ways from them, dropped his face to the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he would be spared from this time of suffering.

³⁶“Abba, Honored Father,” he cried out, “nothing is too hard for you. Take this bitter cup of suffering away from me. But I want only your way, not mine.”

³⁷He then returned and found his followers sleeping.

“One Who Hears (Simon),” he said to Stands on the Rock (Peter), using his family name. “Are you asleep? Could you not stay awake with me for even one hour? ³⁸Stay awake and pray so that you will be able to face the fiery trial ahead of you. The human body is weak, but the spirit is strong.”

³⁹Once again he went from them and prayed the same words. ⁴⁰He returned and again found his followers sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, and they had no answer for him.

⁴¹After praying again, he returned a third time and woke them up from their sleep.

“Do you still sleep? Have you rested enough?” he said to them. “Wake up! The time is upon us! The True Human Being has been betrayed into the hands of the ones with bad hearts. ⁴²Rise up! We must go! Look! The one who has turned against me is here!”

⁴³Right 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.

⁴⁴The betrayer had given them a sign, “Take hold of the one I greet with a kiss and arrest him, for he will be the one.”

⁴⁵Speaks Well Of (Judas), also known as Village Man (Iscariot), when he arrived, walked right up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). “Wisdomkeeper!” he said, and then kissed him.

⁴⁶They moved in and took hold of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to arrest him. ⁴⁷But then one of his followers, who had drawn his long knife from its sheath, struck and cut off the ear of the servant of the chief holy man.

⁴⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then turned to the ones who had come to take him and said, “Why do you treat me as if I were a thief by coming with clubs and long knives to take me away? ⁴⁹Did I not sit with you every day in the sacred lodge? Why did you not take me then? But now the words of the prophets have come true and found their full meaning.”

⁵⁰Then all his followers left him and ran away. ⁵¹A young man dressed only in an undercloth trailed from behind. The people tried to grab hold of him, ⁵²but his undergarments tore away, and the young man ran away naked into the night.

⁵³The ones who had arrested Creator Sets Free (Jesus) dragged him away and brought him to the chief holy man. The scroll keepers and elders of the Grand Council had gathered there to question him.

⁵⁴Stands on the Rock (Peter) followed from a safe distance and went right into the courtyard of the chief holy man. He then sat down next to the lodge guards and warmed himself by the fire.

⁵⁵The head holy men and the Grand Council kept trying to find someone who would speak against Creator Sets Free (Jesus) so they could put him to death, ⁵⁶but found none who could agree, even though many came forward and spoke lies against him.

⁵⁷Then some false witnesses came forward and said, ⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will tear down this sacred lodge made with hands and in three days I will build another not made with hands.’”

⁵⁹But even about this they could not keep their stories straight.

⁶⁰The chief holy man stood before all in the center of the room.

“Have you nothing to say to these accusations?” he said to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁶¹But he just stood there silently and gave no answer.

“Are you the Chosen One,” the chief holy man asked him, “the Son of the One Who Is Blessed?”

The room became silent, and when he spoke, every eye and ear were fixed on Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁶²“I am,” he answered, “and you will see the True Human Being sitting at the right hand of the Power when he comes riding the clouds of the spirit-world above!”

⁶³The chief holy man tore his regalia and turned to the council.

“Why do we even need witnesses?” he said to them. ⁶⁴“You have heard him speak against the Great Spirit with your own ears! What does the council have to say?”

The decision was agreed on by all—death.

⁶⁵Some began to spit on him. They covered his face and struck him, saying, “Prophesy!” Then the lodge guards took him and struck him with the backs of their hands.

⁶⁶Below the house, outside in the courtyard, one of the servant women of the chief holy man ⁶⁷saw Stands on the Rock (Peter) warming himself by the fire.

She looked closely at him and said, “You were also with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth)!”

⁶⁸“I do not know him or what you are saying!” he said to her, and as he moved away toward the outside of the courtyard, a rooster crowed.

⁶⁹The servant woman, seeing him walk away, said to some of the men there, “He is one of them!”

⁷⁰But again he denied it.

After a while, some others who were standing by said to him, “You must be one of his followers. You talk like someone from Circle of Nations (Galilee).”

⁷¹Stands on the Rock (Peter) cursed, made a sacred oath, and said, “I do not know this man you are talking about.”

⁷²Right then a rooster crowed for the second time. Stands on the Rock (Peter) remembered what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had told him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) broke down and wept.

¹As the sun began to rise, the head holy men counseled together with the tribal elders, the scroll keepers, and the Grand Council. Then with ropes they bound Creator Sets Free (Jesus) once again and took him to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate).

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) was the local governor representing the People of Iron (Romans). He had the power to decide who would live and who would die.

²“Are you the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)?” he asked Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

³“You have said it,” he answered as the head holy men kept accusing him.

⁴“Why are you silent?” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) said to him. “Do you not hear all their accusations?”

⁵But, to the amazement of the governor, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered not one word.

⁶It was a tradition during the Passover festival to release to the crowd one criminal, whomever they wanted. ⁷At that time they were holding a man in prison, a killer who had been part of an uprising against the People of Iron (Romans), whose name was Son of His Father (Barabbas). ⁸So the crowd began to ask Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) to release a prisoner.

⁹The governor raised his voice and asked the crowd, “Should I release to you the chief of your tribal nation?”

¹⁰He 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. ¹¹But the head holy men and the elders stirred the crowd into asking for Son of His Father (Barabbas) to be released instead.

¹²“What then would you have me do with the one you call chief of your tribal nation?” he asked them again.

¹³“Nail him to the cross!” they shouted with one voice.

¹⁴“Why? What wrong has he done to deserve this?” he said back to them.

But they only shouted louder and stronger, “Nail him to the cross!”

¹⁵So Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate), to satisfy the crowd, released the man of violence, Son of His Father (Barabbas), to them. He then turned over the man of peace, 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 whipped. The pieces of bone and metal would rip and tear the skin from the body, leaving the victim almost lifeless.

¹⁶The soldiers took Creator Sets Free (Jesus) away into the great hall of the governor’s lodge, and all the soldiers gathered around him. ¹⁷They wrapped a purple chief blanket around him and twisted together a headdress from a thorn bush and pressed it onto his head.

¹⁸“Honor! Honor! To the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel),” they said, mocking him ¹⁹as they bowed to the ground in front of him. Then they spit on him and beat his head over and over again with a wooden staff.

²⁰When they were finished putting on their big show, they stripped him of the purple chief blanket and dressed him in his own clothes.

The soldiers forced Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to carry a heavy wooden crossbeam on his back. He stumbled under the weight, because he was weak from the beating he had endured, too weak to bear the burden.

But they continued to march him down the road to the place where they would nail him to the cross.

²¹On the way they came across a man who was just passing by, coming in from the countryside. The man’s name was Listening Man (Simon), the father of Man Fighter (Alexander) and Red Man (Rufus). The soldiers forced him to carry the heavy crossbeam for Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

The cross was an instrument of torture and terror, used by the People of Iron (Romans) to strike fear into the hearts of any who dared to rise up against their empire. The victim’s hands and feet would be pierced with large iron nails, fastening them to the tree-pole. The victims would hang there, sometimes for days, until they were dead. This was one of the most cruel and painful ways to die ever devised by human beings.

²²They brought Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to the Place of the Skull (Golgotha). ²³There they gave him wine mixed with bitter herbs, but he would not drink it. ²⁴Then they stripped him of his clothes and nailed him to a wooden tree-pole—the cross—and gambled for his clothes by drawing straws to see who would win.

²⁵It was the third hour of the day when they nailed him to the cross. ²⁶Carved above his head onto a piece of wood was the accusation against him:

CHIEF OF THE TRIBES OF WRESTLES WITH CREATOR

²⁷They also nailed two thieves to their own crosses, one to his right, the other to his left. ²⁸And so this gave full meaning to the Sacred Teachings that said, “He will be counted among the outlaws.”40

²⁹The people passing by wagged their heads and heaped insults on him.

“Aha!” they laughed out loud. “So you can destroy the sacred lodge and build it again in three days! Can you? ³⁰Why not come down from that cross and save yourself?”

³¹The head holy men along with the scroll keepers also mocked him.

“He set others free,” they said, “but he cannot even set himself free! ³²Let the Chosen One, the Chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), come down from the cross now. Then we will believe.”

The men on crosses to his left and right also heaped insults upon him.

³³At the sixth hour of the day, when the sun was high, darkness covered the whole land like a blanket for three hours.

³⁴At the ninth hour Creator Sets Free (Jesus), speaking in his own language, cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—which means, “O Great Spirit, my Creator, why have you left me alone?”

³⁵Some of the people standing there heard him and said, “He is calling on the prophet, Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah), to help him.”

³⁶Someone then ran and soaked a cloth with bitter wine, put it on a staff, held it to his mouth, and said, “Wait, let us see if Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) will come and take him down.”

³⁷Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus), with his dying breath, lifted his voice and with a loud cry gave up his spirit.

³⁸At that very moment 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.

³⁹When the head soldier of the People of Iron (Romans), who was standing in front of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), saw how he died, he said, “This man must truly be the Son of the Great Spirit!”

⁴⁰Watching from a distance were some of the women who had walked the road with him. Among them was Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala), Brooding Tears (Mary) the mother of He Takes Charge (James) the Small One and He Increases (Joses), and Peaceful Woman (Salome). ⁴¹These were some of the women who had served Creator Sets Free (Jesus) during the times when he was at Circle of Nations (Galilee). There were also many others who had made the journey with him to Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

⁴²The sun would soon set, ending the Day of Preparation, and marking the beginning of the Day of Resting. ⁴³He Gets More (Joseph) from the tribal village of High Mountain (Arimathea), who was also looking for Creator’s good road, was a respected member of the Grand Council. He found the courage to ask Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) for the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁴⁴Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) was surprised to hear that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had already died, so he summoned the head soldier and asked how long he had been dead. ⁴⁵Once he was assured that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was truly dead, Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) released his body to He Gets More (Joseph).

⁴⁶He took the dead body down from the cross and wrapped it in a soft blanket in the traditional way. He laid the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in a burial cave freshly cut from the rock hillside and then rolled a large stone in front of the cave.

⁴⁷Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala) and Brooding Tears (Mary) the mother of He Increases (Joses) were nearby watching closely where the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had been laid.

¹After the Day of Resting was over, Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala) and Brooding Tears (Mary) the mother of He Takes Charge (James), along with Peaceful Woman (Salome), brought herbal spices to rub into the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ²So, on the first day of the week, they came to the burial cave very early in the morning just as the sun was rising.

³They were asking each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the opening of the burial cave?”

⁴But when they arrived, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled away. ⁵When they went inside the burial cave, they saw a young man, dressed in a pure white garment, sitting to the right side of the cave. This filled the women with fear that covered them like a blanket.

⁶“Do not fear!” the young man said to them, “The one you are looking for is not here! Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth), who was killed on the cross, has returned to life. See for yourselves. Here is where they laid him. ⁷Now go and tell his followers, and Stands on the Rock (Peter), that he is going ahead of them to Circle of Nations (Galilee). It is there that they will see him again—just as he told them.”

⁸Terror and amazement came upon the women, and they ran as fast as they could from the burial cave.41

⁹When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to life on the first day of the week, he showed himself first to a woman, Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala), the one he had set free from seven evil spirits. ¹⁰She went to his followers, who were still grieving and weeping, and told them what she had seen and heard. ¹¹But when they heard that she had seen Creator Sets Free (Jesus) alive, they would not believe it.

¹²On the same day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) also appeared to two of his followers as they were walking in the countryside, but in a different form, so they did not recognize him. ¹³But when they returned and told the others, no one believed them.

¹⁴Later, at another time, he showed himself to the eleven message bearers while they were sitting around a table eating a meal. He scolded them for their hard hearts and failure to believe the others who had seen him alive.

¹⁵“Go into all the world,” he instructed them, “and tell the good story about me to all of creation. ¹⁶The ones who trust in me will participate in the purification ceremony,42 setting them free from their broken ways and initiating them into my sacred family. But the ones who will not walk this road with me43 will come to a bad end.

¹⁷“Powerful signs will follow the ones who follow me. Here are some of the things they will do in my name, representing who I am: They will force out evil spirits, ¹⁸pick up and throw out snakes, and even if they drink deadly poison it will not harm them. They will speak in new languages and heal the sick by laying hands on them.”

¹⁹When he was finished speaking to them, Creator Sets Free (Jesus), our great chief and Wisdomkeeper, was taken up into the spirit-world above to sit down at the right hand of the Great Spirit—the place of greatest honor, dignity, and power.

²⁰His followers then went out from there, far and wide, telling everyone the story of Creator’s good road. Our Honored Chief through his Spirit continued to walk with them, showing his approval of their message by powerful signs.

Aho! May it be so!