THE GOOD STORY BEGINS

¹This is the good story about the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is the Son of the Great Spirit. This story began long ago and was foretold in the Sacred Teachings by the ancient prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah).

²“Behold!” Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) said, as he spoke the words of the Great Spirit. “I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way. ³He will be a voice howling in the desert wilderness, ‘Clear away the stones and make a straight path for the coming of the Honored One!’”1

PURIFICATION CEREMONY

⁴The prophesied messenger appeared in the desert wilderness. He came to tell everyone to turn from their wrong ways of thinking and return to the ways of the Great Spirit. The messenger’s name was Gift of Goodwill (John). He came to perform the purification ceremony2 to show people that they had been released from their broken ways.

⁵From the surrounding territory of the Land of Promise (Judea) and from Village of Peace (Jerusalem), all the people came to him to participate in his purification ceremony^b performed in the river Flowing Down (Jordan). As they came, they were admitting to their bad hearts and broken ways.

PREPARING THE WAY

⁶Gift of Goodwill (John) came wearing buffalo-skin3 garments, with a cowhide sash around his waist. The food he ate was grasshoppers and wild honey.

⁷“I am preparing the way for the one who is greater and more powerful than I,” he announced to all. “I am not even worthy to bend down and untie his moccasins. ⁸I perform the purification ceremony^c with water, but he will perform the purification ceremony^b with the Holy Spirit!”

CREATOR SETS FREE COMES FORWARD

⁹It was in those days that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came from his home in Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee), to have Gift of Goodwill (John) perform for him the purification ceremony.^b

¹⁰As soon as Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came up from the water, he saw the sky open. The Spirit of Creator came down like a dove and rested on him. ¹¹Then a voice from the sky spoke like distant thunder, “This is my much-loved Son who makes my heart glad!”

HIS VISION QUEST

¹²Right then and there the Spirit drove Creator Sets Free (Jesus) into the desert wilderness. ¹³For forty days and nights he remained there, surrounded by wild animals and being tested by Accuser (Satan)—the ancient trickster snake. Spirit-messengers also came to give him strength and comfort.

THE MESSAGE OF THE GOOD ROAD

¹⁴Then later, after Gift of Goodwill (John) was arrested, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) traveled to the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee) to tell the good story.

¹⁵“The time has now come!” he said to the people. “Creator’s good road is right in front of you. It is time to return to the right ways of thinking and doing! Put your trust in this good story I am bringing to you.”

HIS FIRST FOLLOWERS

¹⁶As he walked along the shore of the Lake of Circle of Nations (Sea of Galilee), he saw two men, One Who Hears (Simon) and Stands with Courage (Andrew), throwing their nets into the lake, for they were fishermen.

¹⁷“Come! Walk the road with me,” he called out to them, “and I will teach you how to net two-leggeds instead of fish!”

¹⁸Right then and there they dropped their nets and began to walk the road with him.

¹⁹He walked a little farther down the shore and saw two more men, the brothers He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the two sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee). They were sitting in their canoe and mending their nets. ²⁰Right away he called out for them to walk the road with him. They dropped their nets, left their father behind with the hired help, and also became followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

NEW TEACHING FOR NEW MEDICINE

²¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took his new followers and went to Village of Comfort (Capernaum). When the next Day of Resting came, he went to the gathering house and began to teach the people. ²²They were amazed at his manner of speaking, for, unlike the scroll keepers, he spoke clearly and boldly as one with authority.

²³Suddenly, a man controlled by an unclean spirit cried out loud, ²⁴“Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from the Seed Planter Village (Nazareth), what are you doing here? Have you come to put an end to us? I know who you are! You are the Holy One from the Great Spirit!”

²⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke sharply to the spirit. “Be silent!” he said. “Come out of him!”

²⁶The unclean spirit shook the man, threw him to the ground, and, howling with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷The people were dumbfounded and began to ask each other, “What is this teaching? What new medicine is this? He even tells the unclean spirits what to do—and they do it!”

²⁸His reputation spread like wildfire into the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee) and to all the surrounding territories.

POWER OVER SICKNESS

²⁹As soon as they left the gathering house, they went to the home of One Who Hears (Simon) and his brother Stands with Courage (Andrew). He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John) were with them.

³⁰The wife of One Who Hears (Simon) was there. Her mother was sick in bed with a bad fever, so they asked Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to help her. ³¹He went and stood by her, took her by the hand, and lifted her up. The fever left her and she was healed. Then with a glad heart she went to prepare a meal for them.

³²Later that day, when the sun was going down, many sick people were brought to him, along with those who were tormented by evil spirits. ³³The whole village had gathered outside the door.

³⁴He healed many with different illnesses and set others free from evil spirits, but he did not permit the spirits to speak, for they knew who he was.

³⁵Early the next morning, before the sunrise, he left and found a quiet, out-of-the-way place to be alone and pray. ³⁶One Who Hears (Simon) and the others ³⁷found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you!”

³⁸“It’s time to go to the other villages and tell them the good story,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “for that is what I came to do.”

³⁹So he traveled about all the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). He taught in their gathering houses and forced out many evil spirits.

HE HEALS A MAN WITH SKIN DISEASE

⁴⁰While in one of the villages, a man with a skin disease all over his body came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He humbled himself, bowed down, and pleaded with him, “Honored One! If you want to, you can heal and cleanse me.”

⁴¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus), stirred with compassion, reached out and touched the man. “I want to!” he said. “Be cleansed!”

⁴²Right away the disease left him, and he was made clean.

⁴³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sent him away at once with a warning. ⁴⁴“Tell no one!” he instructed. “Go and show yourself to a holy man, so he can see with his own eyes. Have him perform the cleansing ceremony given to us by the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses).”

⁴⁵Instead, he spread the news about his healing far and wide. Soon Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was unable to show his face in the local villages, so he stayed away from them. But the people continued to come to him from all directions.

HEALING AT VILLAGE OF COMFORT

¹After many days Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went back to Village of Comfort (Capernaum), but word got out that he had returned home. ²So many people had gathered in the house that there was no more room. Even the entrance was blocked. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to teach the people there ³when four men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat, ⁴but they could not get past the crowd. In their desperation, they climbed up to the rooftop and broke through the roof right above Creator Sets Free (Jesus). They lowered the paralyzed man down, sleeping bundle and all.

⁵When he saw their faith in him, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, you are released from your broken ways and the things in your heart that are not true to Creator’s good road.”

WHO CAN FORGIVE BROKEN WAYS?

⁶There were some scroll keepers there who began to wonder in their hearts, ⁷“Who is this man to speak against the Great Spirit with such disrespect? Who but the Maker of Life can release a man from his wrongdoings?”

⁸In his spirit, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew right away what they were thinking and said to them, “Why are your hearts full of these thoughts? ⁹Is it easier to tell a paralyzed man, ‘Get up and walk,’ or to say to him, ‘You are released from your wrongdoings’?”

¹⁰“This is how you will know that the True Human Being has the right to forgive bad hearts and broken ways on this earth.”

¹¹He turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Get up, roll up your sleeping bundle, and walk home.”

¹²Right away the man stood up, and, in front of them all, he rolled up his sleeping bundle and walked out.

Great amazement filled the hearts of all who were in the house as they gave praise to Creator.

“Who has ever seen this kind of mysterious and powerful medicine?” they asked.

EATING WITH OUTCASTS

¹³After this, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went once again to walk by the lake shore. A large crowd followed him there, so he was teaching them. ¹⁴As he walked the shore, he saw a tribal tax collector named He Brings Together (Levi), the son of First to Change (Alphaeus) sitting at his tax booth.

“Come,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him, “and walk the road with me.”

He Brings Together (Levi) got up from his tax booth, left that life behind him, and became a follower of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

¹⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went to a feast at the home of He Brings Together (Levi) and sat down to eat with the guests. There were many other tribal tax collectors and other outcasts also sitting with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his close followers, for many outcasts had become his followers.

¹⁶When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus) eating with outcasts, they complained to his close followers, saying, “Why does your wisdomkeeper keep company with tribal tax collectors and other outcasts?”

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) overheard them and said, “People who are well do not need medicine. I have not come to the ones who are already walking the good road, but to help the bad-hearted and broken ones find the way back home.”

NEW WAYS FOR OLD

¹⁸Some of the followers of Gift of Goodwill (John) and the Separated Ones (Pharisees) were ceremonially going without food, so they came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

“Why do your followers feast,” they questioned him, “instead of going without food and praying often like we do?”

¹⁹“Do you expect wedding guests to be sad and go without eating when the groom is hosting a feast?” he answered. “No! As long as the groom is there with them, they will feast! ²⁰But the time will come when he is taken from them. Then they will be sad and go without eating.”

²¹“No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch an old garment, for it would shrink and make the tear worse. ²²No one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the new wine would burst the skins. New and fresh wineskins are what is needed.”

CHIEF OVER THE DAY OF RESTING

²³On a Day of Resting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers were walking through a field of grain. The men were hungry, so as they walked, they plucked some grain to eat.

²⁴When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) saw what they were doing, they said to him, “Why do your followers do what is not permitted on the Day of Resting?”

²⁵He answered them, “Have you not heard about the time long ago when the great chief Much Loved One (David) was hungry? ²⁶How he and his followers went into Creator’s ceremonial lodge, when Father of Plenty (Abiathar) was the chief holy man, and ate the ceremonial bread? Only the holy men are permitted to eat this bread.

²⁷“Human beings were not made for the Day of Resting. Instead, the Day of Resting was made for human beings. ²⁸So then, the True Human Being is Chief over the Day of Resting!”

DOING GOOD ON THE DAY OF RESTING

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then went to their gathering house to teach. A man was there with a shriveled and useless hand. ²The Separated Ones (Pharisees) kept a close eye on Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to see whether he would heal the man on the Day of Resting, so they could accuse him.

³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the man with the useless hand, “Stand up and come forward.”

⁴Then he turned to the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and asked, “On the Day of Resting, is it permitted to help or to harm, to rescue life or destroy it?”

They just glared at him and said nothing.

⁵There was fire in his eyes as he looked around the room. His anger turned to sorrow when he saw their hearts of stone. He turned to the man and said, “Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and it was the same as his good hand!

⁶The Separated Ones (Pharisees) stormed out right away and went straight to the Friends of Looks Brave (Herodians) to conspire with them about how to do away with Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

CREATOR’S CHOSEN SERVANT

⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and the ones who walked the road with him left that place and went to the lake. ⁸Word about him drew large crowds from Circle of Nations (Galilee), Land of Promise (Judea), and Village of Peace (Jerusalem). They also came from Red Land (Idumea), from the territory beyond the river Flowing Down (Jordan), from Rock Land (Tyre) and Hunting Grounds (Sidon).

⁹He asked his followers to keep a canoe close by, in case the crowd pressed in too close and crushed him. ¹⁰His reputation as a healer had made the sick desperate to reach out and touch him.

¹¹When the ones with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down at his feet and wail, “You are the Son of the Great Spirit!”

¹²But he warned them over and over again not to tell anyone who he was.

TWELVE MESSAGE BEARERS

¹³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went up the mountain and gathered to himself some of his followers. ^14-15He chose twelve of them to learn his ways by being with him, so he could send them out to tell the good story and to have the power to force out evil spirits. He called them his message bearers.

¹⁶Here are the names of the twelve he chose:

Stands on the Rock (Peter), the name he gave to One Who Hears (Simon); ¹⁷He Takes Over (James) the son of Gift of Creator (Zebedee) and his brother He Shows Goodwill (John), whom he also called Sons of Thunder; ¹⁸Stands with Courage (Andrew); Friend of Horses (Philip); Son of Ground Digger (Bartholomew); Gift from Creator (Matthew); Looks Like His Brother (Thomas); He Takes Charge (James) the son of First to Change (Alphaeus); Strong of Heart (Thaddaeus); One Who Listens (Simon) the Firebrand (Zealot); ¹⁹and Speaks Well Of (Judas), the one who would betray him.

HE HAS LOST HIS MIND

²⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then returned to his house in Village of Comfort (Capernaum). Just like before, a large crowd gathered there—so many that he and his followers were not even able to eat. ²¹When his relatives heard about this, they tried to take him away from there, because the people were saying, “He has lost his mind!”

ACCUSED BY THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS

²²The scroll keepers from Village of Peace (Jerusalem) were there also.

“He stands with Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul),” they accused him, “for his power to force out evil spirits comes from the one who rules over them.”

²³So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) gathered them around himself and spoke to them with wise sayings such as these:

“How can Accuser (Satan), that evil trickster, force out evil spirits? Can he defeat himself? ²⁴If a nation wars against itself, that nation cannot stand. ²⁵A family that fights against itself will fall. ²⁶In the same way, if Accuser (Satan) rises up against himself, then how will he continue to rule?

²⁷“No one can enter the house of a strongman and take away his goods, unless he first defeats him. Then he can take away his goods.

²⁸“I speak from my heart, humankind will be released from all their wrongdoing and evil speaking, ²⁹but whoever speaks evil of the Holy Spirit will not be released. This wrongdoing will follow them into the world to come and to the end of all days.”

³⁰He said this because they were saying of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), “He has an evil spirit.”

ALL MY RELATIVES

³¹Then his mother and brothers came to him outside the house and sent word to him to come out to them. ³²The crowd that was sitting in a circle around him said, “Look, your relatives are outside looking for you.”

³³“Who are my relatives?” he asked them ³⁴as he looked around at the circle of people. “Here they are! ³⁵The ones who walk in the ways of the Great Spirit are all my relatives—my mother, my brothers and my sisters.”

SEED PLANTER STORY

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to the lakeshore and once again a very large crowd gathered around him. They pressed in so close that he got into a canoe and pushed out a little way from shore, while the people stayed at the shoreline. ²He then began to tell them stories to teach them about the ways of Creator’s good road.

³“Listen!” he said. “A seed planter went to plant some seeds and began to scatter them about on the ground.

⁴“Some seeds fell on the village pathway, but people walked on them, and the winged ones pecked at the seeds and ate them all.

⁵“Some of the seeds fell on the rocks where there was only a little dirt. The plants sprouted up quickly, ⁶but when the sun came out, they dried up because the roots were not deep enough.

⁷“Other seeds fell into the weeds, and thistles sprouted around the seeds and choked the life out of them. None of these plants grew for a harvest.

⁸“But some seeds fell on good ground, grew strong, and gave a harvest of thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times as much.”

⁹Then he said, “Let the one who has ears hear the meaning of this story.”

THE REASON FOR STORIES

¹⁰Later, when the twelve message bearers and other followers were alone with him, they asked why he taught with stories.

¹¹He answered them, “To my close followers the honor has been given to understand about the mysterious ways of Creator’s good road. This honor is not given to those who are not my close followers. The stories are to help them, ¹²because, ‘When they look, they cannot see clearly what is in front of them. When they hear, they do not understand the meaning. If they did, then they would return to Creator and be released from their broken ways.’4

MEANING OF THE SEED PLANTER STORY

¹³“If you do not understand this story, then how will you understand any of my stories?” he answered.

¹⁴“The seed in this story is the message about Creator’s good road.

¹⁵“The village pathway represents the ones who hear but do not understand the message. Accuser (Satan), the evil trickster snake, sneaks up and snatches it away from them.

¹⁶“The rocky ground represents the ones who hear and receive the message with a glad heart, ¹⁷but because they have no roots, their faith is shallow and does not last. As soon as the message brings them trouble or opposition, they stumble and lose their way.

¹⁸“The weeds and thistles represent the ones who have heard the message, ¹⁹but they are too busy worrying about their earthly existence. This makes them stray away from the good road, wanting more and more possessions, thinking this will make them happy. The message is choked, and their faith stops growing.

²⁰“The good ground represents the ones with good and pure hearts. When they hear and understand the message, they hold on tightly to it until it grows into a harvest—thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times as great!

LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

²¹“No one hides a torch behind a blanket or under a sleeping bundle. No! A torch belongs up high on a pole, where it can give light to everyone. ²²Nothing that has been hidden can stay a secret, and what has been covered up in darkness will be exposed by the light. ²³The ones who have ears—hear this!”

²⁴Then he added, “You must listen with an open heart. ²⁵The ones who do so will gain wisdom and be ready for more—much more. But the ones who close their hearts to my teaching, even what little they have will be taken away.

MORE STORIES ABOUT THE GOOD ROAD

²⁶“Here is another way to see Creator’s good road,” he said. “It is like a man who plants seed into the earth. ²⁷Day or night, awake or asleep, the seed grows without the man knowing how or doing anything. ²⁸The earth makes the seed grow without any help. First the stem, then the head, and finally the grain appears. ²⁹Once it is ripe, the time has come, and right away it is harvested.

³⁰“What is Creator’s good road like?” he asked. “What can I compare it to? What story will help us see its meaning?

MUSTARD SEED WISDOM

^31-32“It is like a single grain of mustard seed,5 one of the smallest of seeds. But when planted in a garden, it grows larger than all the other plants and takes over the garden. It becomes a great tree with many branches, large enough for the winged ones who soar in the sky to find lodging in its shade.”

³³So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) taught the people with many stories like these. He would tell them as much as they were able to hear. ³⁴He would only use stories to teach the crowds, but then in private he would tell the full meaning to the ones who walked the road with him.

POWER OVER STORMS

³⁵On that same day, as the sun began to set, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”

³⁶So they left the crowd and climbed into the canoe with him and pushed off from shore along with some other canoes. ³⁷A storm was moving in, and a fierce wind drove the waves into the canoe and threatened to swamp it.

³⁸But Creator Sets Free (Jesus), weary from a long, hard day, was in the back of the canoe—sleeping on a soft blanket! They shook him awake and cried out loud, “Wisdomkeeper! Do you not care that we are fighting for our lives?”

³⁹He stood up and spoke sharply to the wind and said to the raging waters, “Calm down and be still!”

Right then and there the wind died down, and a great peace fell upon the surface of the water.

⁴⁰He then turned to his followers and said to them, “Why have you given yourselves over to fear? Where is your faith?”

⁴¹They all began to tremble with fear. They shook their heads with wonder and whispered to each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves do what he says!”

TERRITORY OF MANY SPIRITS

¹When they finished crossing the lake, they came to the territory of Many Spirits (Gerasenes). ²As soon as Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stepped from the canoe, a man who was tormented by an unclean spirit came up to him. ³This man had been living at the local burial grounds, and no one could bind him, not even with iron chains.

⁴The people of the village had tried to capture the man and tie him down, but he would tear their ropes and break their chains. No one was strong enough to overpower him. ⁵Day and night he wandered about the burial grounds and into the mountains. He would never stop wailing and cutting himself with sharp stones. ⁶When the man saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from a distance, he ran up to him and fell down before him.

⁷“Creator Sets Free (Jesus), Son of the One Above Us All, what are you going to do with us?” the unclean spirits cried out through the man. “Promise me by the Great Spirit that you will not torment us.”

⁸The unclean spirits said this because Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had said to the man, “Come out of him, you unclean spirit!”

⁹Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked, “What is the name of the spirit you represent?”

“Our name is Many Soldiers,”6 the evil spirits answered, “for our numbers are great.”

A HERD OF PIGS

¹⁰They kept begging him not to send them out of the territory. ¹¹There was a large herd of about two thousand pigs feeding nearby on the side of a mountain.

¹²“Send us to those pigs over there,” they begged, “so we can enter into them.”

¹³So he gave them permission. The unclean spirits then came out of the man and entered into the herd of about two thousand pigs. Then the whole herd stampeded down the mountainside headlong into the lake and drowned in the deep water, making a frightful scene.

¹⁴The local ones who were watching over the pigs rushed away, shaken and afraid. They went to the nearby village and told everyone all that happened. As word spread, people came from the villages and the countryside to see for themselves.

SET FREE AND MADE WHOLE

¹⁵There they found the man who had been tormented by the unclean spirits, sitting quietly at the feet of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He was clothed and in his right mind. The people trembled with fear ¹⁶as they listened to the story of how the man was set free and to the story about the pigs. ¹⁷So they begged Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to go away from their land.

¹⁸As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was climbing into his canoe to leave, the man who had been set free from the evil spirits begged him to take him along.

¹⁹But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would not permit it and said to the man, “Return home to your family and friends. Tell them all the good and kind things the Great Spirit has done for you.”

²⁰The man went his way and told the story far and wide in all the territory of the Ten Villages (Decapolis) of what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had done for him—and all who heard were amazed.

A DESPERATE REQUEST

²¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers canoed back to the other side of the lake. As soon as he arrived, a great crowd began to gather around him at the lakeshore.

²²A man named He Gives Light (Jairus), a headman of the local gathering house, pushed his way through the crowd and fell down on his knees in front of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

²³“My little girl is almost dead!” he begged him urgently. “She is my only daughter. Please come and lay your hands on her that she may be healed and live!”

²⁴So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went with him. The crowd also trailed along, pressing in around him from all sides.

WHO TOUCHED ME?

²⁵There was a woman in the crowd who had been bleeding for more than twelve winters. ²⁶She had spent all she had, putting up with medicine men who were not able to heal her, and she was getting worse.

²⁷When she heard about Creator Sets Free (Jesus), she pressed through the crowd and came up close behind him. She reached out her hand and touched his outer garment, ²⁸for she had said to herself, “If I can only touch his clothes, I know I will be healed.”

²⁹She touched him, and right away the blood stopped flowing and she felt in her body that she was healed.

³⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped suddenly, turned, looked around the crowd, and said, “Who touched my clothes?” For he was aware that power had gone out from him.

³¹His followers looked around, shrugged their shoulders, and said to him, “You can see that the crowds are pushing and shoving you. How can you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

³²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) continued to look around to see who had touched him. ³³The woman knew she could hide no longer, so she came forward trembling with fear, fell to the ground in front of him, and told the whole truth.

³⁴“Daughter,” he said to her with great loving kindness in his eyes, “your trust in me has made you well. Now go in peace, for you have been healed of your disease.”

POWER OVER DEATH

³⁵While Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was still speaking, some messengers came from the home of the headman of the gathering house.

“Your little girl has crossed over to death,” they said with sad faces. “Why trouble the Wisdomkeeper any longer?”

³⁶But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) paid no attention to what was said.

“Do not fear!” he said to the headman. “Trust in me alone, and all will be well.”

³⁷He would not permit any to go with him except Stands on the Rock (Peter) and He Takes Over (James) along with his brother He Shows Goodwill (John)—his most trusted message bearers.

³⁸As they came near the house of the headman, they saw and heard an uproar! People were weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹When he entered into the house, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Why are you making such a noise? Do not weep. The child is not dead. She only sleeps.”

⁴⁰But they only scorned and laughed at him, for they knew she was dead.

WAKE UP!

So he put them all out of the house except his most trusted message bearers and the father and mother. He went with them into where the girl lay, ⁴¹took hold of her hand, and said in his native language, “Talitha cumi,” meaning, “Little girl, wake up!”

⁴²She stood up right away and began to walk, for she was twelve winters old. Her father and mother stood there, amazed beyond words, weeping for joy, for their little girl was alive!

⁴³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had them give her some food to eat and then firmly told them not to tell anyone what had happened.

HIS OWN VILLAGE REJECTS HIM

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers left there and went to Seed Planter Village (Nazareth), where he grew up as a boy. ²On the following Day of Resting at the local gathering house, he began to teach the people. When they heard him, they were amazed and wondered at his words.

“Where did he learn about these things?” they asked with contempt in their voices. “Who gave him this wisdom and ability to perform such powerful medicine? ³Is he not the wood carver, son of Bitter Tears (Mary) and brother to He Leads the Way (James), He Gives More (Joseph), Strong of Heart (Jude), and He Hears (Simon)? Look, his sisters are also here with us!”

And so they were offended and turned their faces away from him.

⁴“A prophet is given much honor,” he said to them, “except in his own village, among his own clan and relatives, and even in his own family.”

⁵Because of this he could do no great miracles among them, except to touch and heal a few sick people. ⁶He was troubled by their lack of trust in him. So he left his boyhood village and went about teaching in other villages.

HE SENDS HIS MESSAGE BEARERS

⁷He then gathered his twelve message bearers together, gave them power over unclean evil spirits, and began to send them out two by two. ⁸He told them to take nothing with them except a walking stick—no traveling bundle, food, or money pouches. ⁹They were to wear only one outer garment and have one pair of moccasins for their feet.

¹⁰“When you come to a village, stay in one home until you leave. ¹¹If no one in that village welcomes you or will listen to your message, then go from there and shake the dust from your moccasins as a sign against them.”

¹²So the twelve went out traveling two by two, and everywhere they went, they told people to return to Creator’s right ways. ¹³They forced out evil spirits and poured herbal oils on many who were sick and healed them.

LOOKS BRAVE WONDERS ABOUT HIM

¹⁴The reputation of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) reached the ears of Chief Looks Brave (Herod). Some told him, “Gift of Goodwill (John) has come back from the world of the dead. That is why he can work so much power!”

¹⁵At the same time others said, “He must be Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah),” and still others said, “He is a prophet! Just like one of the ancient prophets.”

¹⁶But Looks Brave (Herod), after hearing all this, said, “Gift of Goodwill (John), the one whose head I cut off, has come back from the dead to haunt me.”

^17-18He said this because he was the one who had Gift of Goodwill (John) arrested and put in prison. Gift of Goodwill (John) had spoken out against Looks Brave (Herod) for marrying the wife of his brother Friend of Horses (Philip).

“It is not permitted in the Sacred Teachings for you to be with your brother’s wife!” he told Looks Brave (Herod).

¹⁹So Daring Woman (Herodias) held this against Gift of Goodwill (John) and wanted to kill him. ²⁰But Looks Brave (Herod) knew he was a man who walked in an upright and holy manner, so he was afraid and protected him. From time to time Looks Brave (Herod) liked to sit and listen to Gift of Goodwill (John), even though his words troubled him.

A DAY OF SORROW

²¹Daring Woman (Herodias) was waiting for a chance to have him killed. This chance came on the birthday of Looks Brave (Herod). He had a great feast prepared to celebrate his birthday and invited government officials, head soldiers, and important dignitaries from Circle of Nations (Galilee).

^22-23The daughter of Daring Woman (Herodias) came in and danced before them, pleasing Looks Brave (Herod) and all the guests.

“Ask anything from me and I will give it to you,” he said to her, making a solemn promise, “up to half of all that I rule over.”

²⁴So she went out to her mother and said, “What shall I ask for?”

“Ask for the head of Gift of Goodwill (John), the one who performs the purification ceremony,”7 she replied with a sly grin on her face.

²⁵Right away she hurried back to the feast, went right up to the chief, and said, “Give to me, here and now, the head of Gift of Goodwill (John) in a basket!”

²⁶The heart of Chief Looks Brave (Herod) fell to the ground, but because he had made a solemn promise in front of his guests, he could not refuse her request. ²⁷So right then he ordered a soldier to bring him the head of Gift of Goodwill (John). So the soldier went to where he was in prison and cut off his head. ²⁸He brought his head to the young girl in a basket, and she gave it to her mother.

²⁹Now, when the followers of Gift of Goodwill (John) heard about his tragic death, they came for his body and buried it properly.

THE MESSAGE BEARERS RETURN

³⁰The message bearers returned from their journeys and with full hearts told Creator Sets Free (Jesus) about all that they had done and taught. ³¹There were so many people coming and going all around them that they did not even have time to eat.

So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Come with me, and we will find a quiet place in the wilderness to rest for a while.”

³²Then they left in a canoe to go to an out-of-the-way place to be alone and rest. ³³But the people saw where they were going and ran ahead of them. They came from all the surrounding villages and were waiting for them when they arrived.

³⁴As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) climbed out of the canoe, he saw the great crowd of people, and his heart went out to them again. He saw that they were like sheep with no shepherd to watch over them. He stayed there with them and began to teach and tell them stories about Creator’s good road.

A MEAL FOR FIVE THOUSAND

³⁵It was late in the day, so his followers said to him, “This is a deserted place, and the day is almost over. ³⁶We should send the people away to the villages in the countryside so they can find food to eat.”

³⁷“You feed them!” he said to them.

“It would take over eight moons’ worth of gathered food to feed all these,” they answered him. “Do you want us to go and trade for that much?”

³⁸Then he said to them, “Go and see how many pieces of frybread we have.”

After looking around they said, “We have five pieces of frybread and two fish.”

³⁹Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) instructed the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So the people gathered up their traveling bundles and their children and sat down, some in groups of one hundred and some in groups of fifty.

⁴¹Then he took the five pieces of frybread and two fish and held them up to the sky. He looked up into the spirit-world above and spoke words of blessing over them. He broke the frybread into smaller pieces and gave them to his followers to give to the people. Then he did the same with the fish.

⁴²Everyone ate until they could eat no more. ⁴³When they gathered up the leftovers, there were twelve baskets full. ⁴⁴The number of men fed in this great gathering of people was about five thousand!

⁴⁵Right away Creator Sets Free (Jesus) urged his followers to get into their canoe and sent them ahead to the other side of the lake toward House of Fishing (Bethsaida), while he sent the crowd on their way. ⁴⁶He then left them and went up by himself into the mountainside to send his voice to the Great Spirit.

HE WALKS ON WATER

⁴⁷As the sun was setting, his followers were still in the canoe out in the middle of the lake, while Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was alone on the land. ⁴⁸He could see them paddling hard against the wind. Then, early in the morning, just before sunrise, he walked out on the lake and was going to pass right past them.

⁴⁹His followers looked out in the dim light and saw him walking on the lake. Thinking he was a ghost, ⁵⁰they wailed and cried out loud as fear took hold of them.

Right away Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called out to them, “Do not fear. Take heart. It is I!”

⁵¹He then came to them and climbed into the canoe as the wind calmed down. His followers were amazed beyond words, for their hearts were still too hard. ⁵²Even the miracle of the frybread and fishes did not open their eyes to see who Creator Sets Free (Jesus) truly was.

⁵³They came to shore at the village of Chief Garden (Gennesaret) and tied their canoe to a rock. ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of their canoe, the people recognized Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ⁵⁵So they ran to all the nearby villages, gathered up the sick on their sleeping bundles, and brought them to Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁵⁶Wherever he would go—into villages, camps, or in the countryside—they would take the sick, lay them in front of the trading posts, and beg him to let them touch the fringes of his clothes. And all who touched him were healed.

TRADITIONS MADE BY MEN

¹The Separated Ones (Pharisees) and some of the scroll keepers had come from Village of Peace (Jerusalem). Like hungry wolves they gathered around Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

²They noticed that some of his followers had not ceremonially washed their hands before eating the food.

³The Separated Ones (Pharisees) and many of the tribal people will not eat until they ceremonially wash their hands, following the traditions of the elders. ⁴They will not eat the food offered at the trading posts unless it is first purified by washing. They also follow many other traditions, such as the washing of drinking cups, bowls, and even the benches they sit on.

⁵So the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers asked him, “Why do your followers not walk in the traditions of the elders and ceremonially wash their hands before eating?”

⁶“Your false faces do not fool me,” he answered back, “The prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) was talking about you when he said in the Sacred Teachings: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. ⁷Their prayers are empty words and their ceremonies are for show. Their teachings are nothing but rules made up by weak human beings.’8”

⁸Then he said to them, “You ignore the instructions given by the Great Spirit and use your traditions to make yourselves look good to others. ⁹You are as sly as a coyote in the way you set aside Creator’s instructions and replace them with your traditions.

¹⁰“The lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses) said, ‘Give honor to your father and mother,’9 and, ‘The ones who dishonor them should be put to death.’10 ¹¹But your tradition says, ‘If someone says to their father or mother, “I have given to the Great Spirit the things that were meant to honor and take care of you,” ¹²then they no longer have to honor and care for their parents.’ ¹³This is only one of the many ways you use your traditions to do away with the words of the Great Spirit.”

WHAT MAKES ONE IMPURE?

¹⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then gathered the people around him and said, “Listen with your hearts and understand what I tell you. ¹⁵There is nothing you can take into your mouth that will make you impure. It is what comes out of your mouth that makes you impure.”11

¹⁷Later when they entered a house away from the crowds, the ones who walked the road with him asked the meaning of his wise saying.

^18-19“Why do you also not understand?” he answered. “When food enters the mouth, it goes into the stomach, not the heart, and then out of the body.”

In saying this, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) declared that nothing you eat can make you impure.

²⁰“It is what comes out of a person, from within, that makes one impure. ²¹From people’s bad hearts and broken ways come worthless plans, sexual impurity, stealing, killing, ²²unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, evil doings, forked tongues, uncontrolled desires, selfish ways, speaking evil of others, boastful talk, and foolish ways. ²³It is things like this that make a person impure, not failing to wash one’s hands.”

HE HEALS THE DAUGHTER OF AN OUTSIDER

²⁴From there Creator Sets Free (Jesus) journeyed into the territory of Rock Land (Tyre) and Hunting Grounds (Sidon). He wanted to keep away from the crowds, so he found a house to stay out of sight but was unable to stay hidden.

^25-26A woman came to him who had a daughter with an unclean spirit in her. As soon as she heard about Creator Sets Free (Jesus), she came and humbled herself before him. She was an Outsider12 from the territory along the coastline of the Great Middle Sea (Mediterranean).13 She begged Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to force the evil spirit out of her daughter.

²⁷“The children should be fed first,” he said. “It is not right to take the children’s portion and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸“But Wisdomkeeper,” she answered back, “even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹“Because your words are well chosen,” he replied, “you may return home. You will find that the evil spirit has left your daughter.”

³⁰The woman went home and found her daughter resting on her sleeping mat—the evil spirit had left her.

A POWERFUL HEALING

³¹From the territory of Rock Land (Tyre) Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went through Hunting Grounds (Sidon) to the Lake of Circle of Nations (Sea of Galilee) in the territory of the Ten Villages (Decapolis).

³²The people who lived there brought a man who could not hear or speak right. They begged Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to lay his hands on him. ³³So he took the man away from the crowd. When he was alone with him, he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then spit and touched the man’s tongue.

³⁴He then looked up into the spirit-world above, let out a deep breath, and said in his native language, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened.”

³⁵Right then the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released. He could now hear and speak clearly! ³⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then instructed the people to tell no one. But the more he told them not to, the more they told the story to others. ³⁷The people were amazed beyond belief and full of wonder.

“He does all things well!” they told everyone. “He even heals the ones who cannot hear or speak!”

FOUR THOUSAND HUNGRY PEOPLE

¹On another one of those days a great crowd had gathered, and, like the time before, they were hungry with nothing to eat.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) called his followers to his side and said to them, ²“I am concerned for all these people, for they have been with us for three days with no food. ³Some of them have come from a great distance, and if I send them away hungry, they might lose their strength and faint.”

⁴“This is a desolate and out-of-the-way place,” they answered him. “Where could we find enough food to feed all these people?”

⁵“How much frybread do we have?” he asked.

“We have seven pieces of frybread,” they answered.

⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) instructed all the people to sit down on the ground. He then took the seven pieces of frybread, gave thanks, and broke them into smaller pieces. He gave them to his followers, and they gave them out to the people.

⁷They also had a few small fish, so he prayed a blessing over them and told them to give them out as well.

⁸Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and when they were done eating, his followers gathered up the leftovers—seven baskets full! ⁹They had fed about four thousand men and also women and children. He then sent the crowd on their way.

¹⁰Right away he climbed into the canoe with his twelve followers and went to the territory of Slow Burning Coals (Dalmanutha).

NO SIGN WILL BE GIVEN

¹¹While they were there, the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to argue with him. They asked from him a sign from the spirit-world above to prove who he was.

¹²“Why do the people of this generation need a sign?” he asked as he breathed out a sigh from his spirit. “I tell you from my heart, this generation will not be given a sign—not today!”

¹³He then climbed back into his canoe and launched out toward the other side of the lake.

THE YEAST OF THE SEPARATED ONES

¹⁴They had only one piece of frybread with them because his followers had forgotten to bring more.

¹⁵“Be on the lookout for the yeast of the Separated Ones (Pharisees),” he told them firmly, “and also of the Friends of Looks Brave (Herodians).”

¹⁶His followers tried to figure out why he said this. They said to each other, “Is it because we forgot to bring more frybread?”

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) could hear what they were saying.

“Why are you thinking like this?” he said. “Why are you worried that you forgot to bring frybread? How is it that you do not understand? Are your hearts still hard? ¹⁸Have you no eyes to see with and no ears to hear with?”

“Have you forgotten so soon?” he asked. ¹⁹“When I broke the five pieces of frybread to feed five thousand, how many baskets of broken pieces were left over?”

“Twelve,” they answered.

²⁰“When I broke the seven pieces of frybread to feed four thousand, how many baskets of broken pieces did you gather?”

“Seven,” they said.

²¹“So, do you still not understand?” he said.

HE HEALS A MAN BORN BLIND

²²They walked on to the village of House of Fishing (Bethsaida). The people there brought a blind man to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. He rubbed some of his spit into the man’s eyes and then laid his hands on him.

“What do you see?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the man.

²⁴He looked around and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) put his hands over the man’s eyes again. His sight returned, and he could see everything clearly.

²⁶He then sent the man to his home and said to him, “Do not go back into the village.”

YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE

²⁷They journeyed on and came into the villages of the territory of Ruler of the Horsemen (Caesarea Philippi).

“What are the people saying about me?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked his followers as they walked along the road. “Who do they think I am?”

²⁸“Some say you are Gift of Goodwill (John) who performed the purification ceremony,”14 they answered. “Others say you are Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) or one of the other prophets.”

²⁹“But who do you say I am?” he asked.

“You are the Chosen One!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) answered.

³⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then sternly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

THE ROAD OF SUFFERING LIES AHEAD

³¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then began to instruct his followers that the True Human Being must suffer many things. The council of elders, the head holy men, and the scroll keepers would turn their faces from him. He would then be killed, and after three days he would return from the world of the dead. He said this openly to all his followers.

³²Stands on the Rock (Peter) pulled him aside from the others and spoke sharply to him.

³³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned and looked to his followers and then spoke sharply to Stands on the Rock (Peter), “Out of my way, Accuser (Satan)! These are not the thoughts of the Great Spirit, but of a weak human being.”

CARRYING THE CROSS

³⁴He then gathered his followers and the crowd around him and said, “Any who want to walk the road with me must turn away from their own path and carry their own cross as they follow me to the place of ultimate sacrifice.

³⁵“The ones who hold on to their lives will not find life, but the ones who are willing to let go of their lives, for me and for the good story I bring, will find the true life. ³⁶How will it help you to get everything you want in this world but lose the true life? ³⁷Is there anything in this world worth trading for it?

³⁸“There are bad-hearted and unfaithful people living today, in this generation, who are ashamed of me and my message. So, when the True Human Being comes to show the power and shining-greatness of his Father along with his holy spirit-messengers, he will also be ashamed of these people.”

THE ANCESTORS SPEAK WITH HIM

^2-3Six days later Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took his three closest followers—Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), and He Shows Goodwill (John)—and led them up a high mountain to be alone and pray.

Right before their eyes his appearance began to change. His clothes became shining white, whiter than anyone on earth could make them. ⁴Two ancestors appeared before them also, the prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) and the ancient lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses). They were both talking with Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁵Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke out, “Wisdomkeeper, this is a good place to be! We should set up three tipis—one for you, one for Drawn from the Water (Moses), and one for Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah).”

⁶He said this without thinking because they were all afraid and did not know what to say.

⁷Then, from above, a bright cloud came down around them and a voice spoke out from the cloud, “This is my Son, my Much Loved One. He is the one who speaks for me now. Listen to him!”

⁸Right then the cloud lifted. They looked around to see their ancestors, but they were gone, and standing alone before them was Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

GREAT SPIRIT IS CREATOR

⁹As they walked down the mountainside, he instructed them to tell no one what they had seen until after the True Human Being had come back to life from the dead. ¹⁰So they told no one, but wondered what this “coming back to life from the dead” meant.

¹¹During the long walk down the mountain, they asked him, “Why do the scroll keepers say that Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) must be the first to come?”

^12-13“It is true,” he answered, “Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) comes first to prepare the way for all things to be restored. And I tell you that he has already come—but none recognized him—and they did whatever they wanted to him, just as the Sacred Teachings foretold. But do you know that it has also been foretold that the True Human Being will suffer many things and be treated with scorn and disrespect?”

HIS FOLLOWERS FAIL TO FORCE OUT A SPIRIT

¹⁴When they had finished coming down the mountain to join with the other followers, they found a large crowd around them. The scroll keepers were there arguing with them about something. ¹⁵As soon as the crowd saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus), they were filled with awe and ran to greet him.

¹⁶“What are you arguing with my followers about?” he asked them.

¹⁷Before they could answer, someone stepped out from the crowd and said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, I came and brought my son to you. He has a spirit that keeps him from speaking. ¹⁸The evil spirit will take hold of him and throw him to the ground. He then becomes stiff and grinds his teeth together, and foam comes from his mouth. I asked your followers to force out this spirit, and they tried but failed.”

¹⁹“This is a generation with no faith!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them all. “How much longer will I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought the boy to him, and right when the spirit saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus), it took hold of the boy, who then fell to the ground. He began to roll around on the ground, and foam came from his mouth.

²¹“How long has he been this way?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the father.

“From the time he was a child,” the father answered. ²²“The evil spirit has many times thrown him into a fire to burn him or into water to drown him. If you are able to do anything, have pity and help us!”

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.

HE AGAIN FORETELLS HIS DEATH

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.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

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.”

THE ONES NOT AGAINST US ARE FOR US

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.

STUMBLING STONES

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.

VALLEY OF SMOLDERING FIRE

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.”

TESTED ABOUT DIVORCE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LITTLE CHILDREN AND THE GOOD ROAD

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

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

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

POSSESSIONS AND THE GREAT SPIRIT

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSSESSIONS AND THE GOOD ROAD

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

²⁴His followers could not believe what they were hearing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HE FORETELLS HIS DEATH AND RISING

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

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

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

A PLACE OF HONOR?

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

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

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

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

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

³⁹“We are able!” they answered.

“Yes,” he said to them, “you will drink from my cup of suffering and endure my purification ceremony,^{c 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).

THE GOOD ROAD IS ABOUT SERVING OTHERS

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

MOON VILLAGE HEALING

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

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

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

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.

PREPARATION FOR HIS GRAND ENTRY

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

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

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

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

GRAND ENTRY

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

⁹The people encircled him, front and back.

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

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

THE FIG TREE WITHOUT FRUIT

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

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

SACRED LODGE KEEPER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPIRITUAL LEADERS CHALLENGE HIM

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

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

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

“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.”

STORY ABOUT THE VINEYARD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THEY SET A TRAP FOR HIM

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

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

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

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

¹⁶So they brought one to him.

“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.

THE UPRIGHT ONES TEST HIM

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.”

THE GREATEST INSTRUCTION OF ALL

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.

A QUESTION NO ONE COULD ANSWER

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.

FALSE 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.”

A SACRIFICIAL GIFT

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.”

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE

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!”

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.

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?”

STAY ON THE LOOKOUT!

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.

THE SIGN OF WARFARE

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.

THE SIGN OF TRIBAL BETRAYAL

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.

THE SIGN OF FAMILY BETRAYAL

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.

THE SIGN OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION

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.

FALSE CHOSEN ONES AND PROPHETS

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!

SIGNS IN THE WORLD ABOVE

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

SIGN OF THE TRUE HUMAN BEING

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.

A WISE STORY ABOUT THE FIG TREE

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.

ALWAYS BE READY

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!”

PLOT TO KILL HIM

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.”

PREPARING FOR HIS BURIAL

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.”

THE BETRAYAL BEGINS

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.

PREPARATION FOR THE CEREMONIAL MEAL

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.

THE CEREMONIAL MEAL BEGINS

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.”

A NEW PEACE TREATY

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.”

ALL OF YOU WILL TURN AWAY

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.

THE GARDEN WHERE HE PRAYED

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!”

BETRAYED WITH A KISS

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.

QUESTIONED BY THE CHIEF HOLY MAN

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?”

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.

STANDS ON THE ROCK DENIES HIM

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.

TAKEN TO THE PEOPLE OF IRON

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).

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.

WHO SHOULD BE RELEASED?

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!”

CONDEMNED TO DIE

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.

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.

HIS TRAIL OF TEARS

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

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).

NAILED TO THE CROSS

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:

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

MOCKED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE

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.

HE CRIES OUT IN SORROW

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.”

HE BREATHES HIS LAST

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.

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!”

THE WOMEN WHO WALKED WITH HIM

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).

PREPARING FOR HIS BURIAL

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.

THE BURIAL CAVE

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?”

SPIRIT-MESSENGERS

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

HE SHOWS HIMSELF

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.

HIS LAST INSTRUCTIONS

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.”

HE GOES BACK TO THE FATHER ABOVE

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.