EYEWITNESSES

^1-3O most honored Friend of Creator (Theophilus), many have told this story, given to them from those who saw these things with their own eyes, the ones who first walked out this message to hand it down to us.

Having searched out this story from the first, it seemed like a good thing for me to retell it from beginning to end. ⁴In this way you will know for yourself the truth about the things you were taught.

CREATOR REMEMBERS HIS PROMISE

⁵It was in the time of the bad-hearted Chief Looks Brave (Herod), who ruled the territory of the Land of Promise (Judea), that Creator chose to send a powerful spirit-messenger to Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem), to a holy man whose name was Creator Will Remember (Zechariah).

He and his wife, Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth), were both descended from the tribe the ceremonial holy people are chosen from. ⁶They were in good standing in the eyes of the Great Spirit, and with good and pure hearts they walked a straight path, staying true to the tribal ways and traditions given them by the Great Spirit.

⁷But Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth) was unable to have children, and both were growing old.

⁸Creator Will Remember (Zechariah) belonged to the clan of He Is My Father (Abijah), which shared the responsibility of prayers and ceremonies in the Great Spirit’s ceremonial lodge that was in Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

⁹He was chosen in the traditional way to be the one to enter the sacred lodge and perform the sweet-smelling smoke ceremony for the evening prayer.

¹⁰A large number of people gathered outside to pray while he went inside.

¹¹As the smoke went up with his prayers, suddenly a spirit-messenger from the Great Spirit appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of sweet-smelling smoke. ¹²Creator Will Remember (Zechariah) was troubled when he saw the spirit-messenger. He trembled with fear that covered him like a blanket.

¹³“Do not fear!” the messenger said to him. “Your prayers have been heard. The Maker of Life will give you and your wife a son. You will give him the name Gift of Goodwill (John). ¹⁴He will bring great joy to you, and many people will be glad that he has been born.”

¹⁵“He will be great and honorable in Creator’s sight and will not drink wine or any strong drink, but will drink deeply of the Holy Spirit even in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶Because of him many of the children of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) will find the good road and return to the Great Spirit and his ways.”

¹⁷“He will prepare the way for the Chosen One, walking in the same spiritual powers of the prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah). He will turn the hearts of many fathers back toward their children, and many rebellious children will again honor the wisdom of their elders, so that people will be ready to participate in Creator’s plan.”1

¹⁸Then he questioned the messenger, “We are too old to have children. How can I believe you?”

¹⁹The spirit-messenger answered, “My name is Creator’s Mighty One (Gabriel), his chief messenger. I stand close to the Great Spirit! These good words I have spoken to you will come to pass, ²⁰but since you did not believe my words, you will not be able to speak until they are fulfilled.”

²¹The people who were praying outside began to wonder why it was taking so long for Creator Will Remember (Zechariah) to come out of the lodge. ²²When he finally came out, unable to speak and making signs with his hands, they understood that he had seen a vision.

²³When his traditional ceremonies were finished, he returned to his home in the hill country. ²⁴Soon afterward, Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth) was with child. She stayed at home and for five moons did not show herself to anyone.

²⁵She said in her heart, “The Giver of Breath has looked upon me with kindness and has taken away my shame. Now I will have respect in the eyes of my people.”

BITTER TEARS

²⁶When six moons had passed, the Great Spirit sent the same spirit-messenger, Creator’s Mighty One (Gabriel), to another small, out-of-the-way place in the hill country called Seed Planter Village (Nazareth). ²⁷There he appeared to a young virgin woman named Bitter Tears (Mary), who was promised in marriage to a man named He Gives Sons (Joseph), a descendant of the great chief Much Loved One (David).

²⁸Creator’s Mighty One (Gabriel) said to her, “Greetings, highly favored one! You are close to the Great Spirit and greatly honored among women.”

²⁹Bitter Tears (Mary) was deeply troubled by this greeting and wondered what the spirit-messenger would say.

³⁰“Do not fear,” he comforted her, “for you have found goodwill in the eyes of the Great Mystery. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son. You will name him Creator Sets Free (Jesus).”

³²“He will be greatly honored, the Son of the One Above Us All. He will be a great chief like his ancestor Much Loved One (David) and will sit in his seat of honor. ³³He will always be chief over the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). His chiefly guidance will never end.”

³⁴She asked, “How will this be, since I have never been with a man?”

³⁵Creator’s Mighty One (Gabriel) answered, “The Holy Spirit will spread his wings over you, and his great power from above will overshadow you. This holy child born to you will be the Son of the One Above Us All.”

Then, to encourage her, ³⁶he said, “Your cousin Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth), who was called barren one, is six moons with child. ³⁷See! There is nothing too hard for the Great Spirit.”

³⁸“I am Creator’s servant,” she said with boldness. “Let it be for me just as you have said.”

Then Creator’s chief spirit-messenger left her.

COUSINS

³⁹Bitter Tears (Mary) quickly put together a traveling bundle and went to visit her cousin Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth), who lived in a nearby village in the hill country of the Land of Promise (Judea) ⁴⁰When she entered the home of her relatives, she greeted her cousin.

⁴¹When Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth) heard Bitter Tears’s (Mary’s) greeting, she felt her child jump inside her. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and with a loud cry she lifted her voice and spoke these blessing words to Bitter Tears (Mary).

“The Most Holy One has honored you more than any other woman,” she laughed. “The child you carry inside you will bring great blessings to all people. ⁴³Why is Creator being so kind to me, sending the mother of the Great Chief to visit my home? ⁴⁴As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby jumped for joy inside me! ⁴⁵You have been chosen by the Maker of Life for a great honor, because you believed his words to you.”

THE SONG OF BITTER TEARS

^46-47“From deep in my heart I dance with joy to honor the Great Spirit. ⁴⁸Even though I am small and weak, he noticed me. Now I will be looked up to by all. ⁴⁹The Mighty One has lifted me up! His name is sacred. He is the Great and Holy One.”

⁵⁰“He shows kindness and pity to both children and elders who respect him. ⁵¹His strong arm has brought low the ones who think they are better than others. ⁵²He counts coup2 with arrogant warrior chiefs but puts a headdress of honor on the ones with humble hearts.”

⁵³“He prepares a great feast for the ones who are hungry, but sends the fat ones home with empty bellies. ^54-55He has been kind to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) who walk in his ways, for he has remembered the ancient promises he made to our ancestors—to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) and his descendants.”

⁵⁶For three moons Bitter Tears (Mary) stayed in the home of her cousin and then returned home to her own village.

A PROMISE FULFILLED

⁵⁷When her time came, Creator Is My Promise (Elizabeth) gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸When her relatives and close friends heard the good news that the Great Spirit had been so kind to her, they were glad and rejoiced! ⁵⁹Then, eight days later at his naming ceremony, all the relatives wanted to name him after his father, Creator Will Remember (Zechariah).

⁶⁰“No,” she said to everyone’s surprise. “His name will be Gift of Goodwill (John)!”

⁶¹But they said to her, “No one in your family has that name.” ⁶²They made signs with their hands to Creator Will Remember (Zechariah) to see what he wanted to name him.

⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and to their surprise wrote, “His name is Gift of Goodwill (John).” ⁶⁴Suddenly he could speak again, and when he opened his mouth, he began to give praise to the Great Spirit.

⁶⁵All the people who heard about this trembled with wonder. Throughout the hills and valleys of the Land of Promise (Judea), they began to tell others what they had seen and heard. ⁶⁶All who listened began to wonder and say to themselves, “This child must have been born for some great thing.” For it was clear that the hand of the Great Spirit was upon him in a powerful and good way.

⁶⁷Then, with a glad heart, Creator Will Remember (Zechariah) spoke these words the Holy Spirit was giving him to say.

⁶⁸“All blessings to the Great Spirit of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)! For he has come to rescue his people from a great captivity. ^69-70Just as the prophets foretold long ago in the land of our ancestor Much Loved One (David), he has lifted up his coup stick3 to show his great power to help us, ⁷¹to rescue us from the arrows of our enemies and all who look down upon us with hate.”

^72-73“He has given to us the same pity he has shown our ancestors and remembered the promise he made in the great peace treaty with Father of Many Nations (Abraham). ^74-75He has come to free us from the fear of our enemies, so we can walk all our days in his sacred and right ways.”

⁷⁶“And you, my son, will be a prophet from the One Above Us All. You will make a clear path for the coming of the Great Chief, ⁷⁷to show his people that he will heal our broken ways by cleansing us from our bad hearts and releasing us from our wrongdoings. ⁷⁸Because Creator is kind and gentle, he will come to us as the sunrise from above, ⁷⁹to shine on the ones who sit in darkness and in the land of death’s shadow, to guide our feet on the good path of peace.”

⁸⁰Gift of Goodwill (John) grew strong in body and spirit and stayed in the desert, waiting until the time was right to show himself to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).

HUMBLE BIRTH

^1-2When the time drew close for Bitter Tears (Mary) to have her child, the government of the People of Iron (Romans) ordered that the people be numbered and put on government rolls. This happened during the time that Powerful Protector (Quirinius) was the governor of Bright Sun (Syria). ³All the Tribal Members were required to travel to their own ancestral village to register.

^4-5He Gives Sons (Joseph) and Bitter Tears (Mary) set out on a long journey from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) in Circle of Nations (Galilee), to House of Bread (Bethlehem) in the Land of Promise (Judea), the village of their ancestor, the great chief Much Loved One (David).

⁶The time for Bitter Tears (Mary) to have her child was upon her! ⁷But no place could be found in the lodging house, so He Gives Sons (Joseph) found a sheep cave where it was warm and dry. There she gave birth to her son. They wrapped him in a soft, warm blanket and laid him on a baby board. Then they placed him on a bed of straw in a feeding trough.

⁸That night, in the fields nearby, shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep. ⁹Suddenly a great light from above was shining all around them. A spirit-messenger from Creator appeared to them. They shook with fear and trembled ¹⁰as the messenger said to them, “Do not fear! I bring you the good story that will be told to all nations. ¹¹Today in the village of Much Loved One (David) an Honored Chief has been born who will set his people free. He is the Chosen One!”

¹²The spirit-messenger continued, “This is how you will know him—you will find the child wrapped in a blanket and lying in a feeding trough.”

¹³Suddenly, next to the messenger, a great number of spirit-warriors from the spirit-world above appeared giving thanks to Creator, saying, ¹⁴“All honor to the One Above Us All, and let peace and good will follow all who walk upon the earth.”

¹⁵When the messengers returned to the spirit-world above, the shepherds said to each other, “Let us go and see this great thing Creator has told to us.” ¹⁶So they hurried to the village of Chief Much Loved One (David) and found Bitter Tears (Mary), He Gives Sons (Joseph), and the child, who, just as they were told, was lying in a feeding trough!

¹⁷The shepherds began to tell everyone what they had seen and heard about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard their story were amazed.

¹⁹Bitter Tears (Mary) kept these things hidden in her heart and wondered what all this would mean. ²⁰The shepherds returned to their fields, giving thanks to the Great Spirit for the wonders they had seen and heard.

KEEPING THE TRADITIONS

²¹Eight days after the birth of their son, in keeping with the traditional cutting of the flesh ceremony,4 they named him Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the name given them by the spirit-messenger before the child was born.

^22-23Then, about one moon later, the time came for them to present their child to the Great Spirit in the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem). This was for their cleansing ceremony, an ancient tradition from the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses), who said, “Every male child who is first to open the womb will be holy in the Great Spirit’s sight. ²⁴Bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to be burned with fire as a sweet-smelling smoke offering.”

²⁵When they arrived at the sacred lodge in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), they were welcomed by Creator Hears (Simeon), a respected elder who did what was right in the Great Spirit’s sight, and waited patiently for him to fulfill his promises to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). ²⁶The Holy Spirit rested on him and told him he would not die until he saw Creator’s Chosen One with his own eyes.

²⁷As Creator Hears (Simeon) followed the guidance of the Spirit, he arrived at the sacred lodge just in time to see He Gives Sons (Joseph) and Bitter Tears (Mary) bringing their child for the traditional ceremony given in their tribal law. ²⁸Creator Hears (Simeon) took the child into his arms and spoke words of blessing over him.

^29-32“O Great Father,” he prayed, “I now see with my own eyes the one you have prepared for all Nations, the one who will heal our broken ways and set us free. He will make a clear path for all people to see and bring honor to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). Now, just as you have said, I can cross over in peace.”

³³The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said. ³⁴So Creator Hears (Simeon) spoke blessing words over them also.

“This child has been chosen for the fall and rising of many in the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). He will be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵exposing the thoughts of many.”

He said to her, “Even your own spirit will be pierced through like a sharp arrow.”

^36-37As they pondered his words, a holy woman named Woman of Goodwill (Anna) welcomed them. She was an elder from the tribe of Walks with a Glad Heart (Asher) and the daughter of Face of Creator (Phanuel). She had married at a young age and lived with her husband for seven winters, but had now been a widow for eighty-four winters. She served the Great Spirit at his sacred lodge night and day with fasting and many prayers. ³⁸When she saw the child, she gave thanks to Creator and began telling about the child to all who were waiting for Creator to fulfill the promises he made to the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

³⁹After they performed all the ceremonies that Creator’s Law required, they returned to Circle of Nations (Galilee), to their home in Seed Planter Village (Nazareth). ⁴⁰In this village the child grew strong in his spirit and was filled with wisdom, for the blessing of the Great Spirit was resting on him.

COMING OF AGE

⁴¹By traditional law it was a custom for all the families of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) to journey to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to participate in the ancient Passover festival.

⁴²When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was twelve winters old, his family traveled together to celebrate this traditional feast.

⁴³When the festival was over, his parents began their journey home. Without telling his parents, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stayed behind in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). ⁴⁴They thought he was with the other relatives and friends traveling with them. After a long day’s journey, they began to look for him but were unable to find him, ⁴⁵so they returned to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to look for him there.

⁴⁶After searching for three days, they found him at Creator’s ceremonial lodge. He was sitting with the elders, listening to them and asking questions. ⁴⁷All who heard his answers were amazed at his wisdom and understanding of the spiritual ways.

⁴⁸His parents were surprised and at a loss for words, but then his mother scolded him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Your father and I were worried and our hearts were heavy as we looked everywhere for you!”

⁴⁹“Why were you looking everywhere for me?” he asked. “I thought you would know to look for me here, in my Father’s lodge, doing what he sent me to do.”

⁵⁰But they did not understand the meaning of what he was saying to them. ⁵¹He then returned to Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) with them and continued to be a respectful son following the guidance of his parents. But his mother hid these words in her heart.

⁵²Creator Sets Free (Jesus), as a young man, grew in wisdom and strength, and had respect in the eyes of the people and the Great Spirit.

GIFT OF GOODWILL COMES FORWARD

¹It was now the fifteenth year of the rule of Son of the Great River (Tiberius Caesar). Under him was Spear of the Great Waters (Pontius Pilate), the governor ruling over the Land of Promise (Judea).

The bad-hearted Chief Looks Brave (Herod) had been chosen by the People of Iron (Romans) to rule over the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). His brother Friend of Horses (Philip) ruled over the nearby territory of Guarded Mountains (Iturea) and Place of Stones (Trachonitis), and End of Sorrow (Lysanias) ruled the territory of the Ten Villages from its chief village Many Meadows (Abilene).

²Walks Humbly (Annas) was still the chief holy man, along with Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), who would soon replace him.

It was during this time that Creator’s message came down from above like a burden basket5 and rested on Gift of Goodwill (John), the son of Creator Will Remember (Zechariah), while he was praying in the desert wilderness.

³Gift of Goodwill (John) began to walk the territory around the river Flowing Down (Jordan). His message was for all to return to Creator’s right ways of thinking and come to the river to perform the purification ceremony6 to be released from their bad hearts and broken ways.

⁴The prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) told about him long ago, “He will be a voice howling in the desert, ‘Clear the pathways! Make a straight path for the coming of the Honored One! ⁵The valleys will be filled in. The mountains and hills will be brought down low. The crooked places will be made straight and the rough road smooth. ⁶Then all people will clearly see the good road that sets them free.’7”

PREPARING THE WAY

⁷Large crowds of people were coming out to hear his message and have him perform the purification ceremony.8 He noticed some of the spiritual leaders in the crowd and warned them, “You nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to run and hide from the coming storm? ⁸Prove to others by the way you live that you have returned to the good road. Do not think you can say, ‘Father of Many Nations (Abraham) is our ancestor.’ Do you not know that the Great Spirit can make these stones into his children? ⁹The tomahawk is at the root of the trees. The ones that have no good fruit will be cut down and tossed into the fire.”

¹⁰When the crowds heard his words, they were afraid and asked, “What should we do?”

¹¹He answered, “If you have two blankets, give one to someone who has none, and the one with food should share it.”

¹²There were tribal tax collectors who came to participate in the ceremony who asked him, “Wisdomkeeper, what should we do?”

¹³“Collect no more taxes than the People of Iron (Romans) permit,” he answered. “To take more is to steal from the people and dishonor the Great Spirit.”

¹⁴When the lodge soldiers heard this, they said, “What about us? What can we do?”

“Do not use fear or violence to force money from people or accuse them falsely,” he answered, “and be satisfied with your pay.”

¹⁵When the people heard these words, they began to have hope. They were pondering in their hearts, “Could Gift of Goodwill (John) be the Chosen One?”

¹⁶He gave them this answer, “I perform the purification ceremony9 with water, but there is one coming who is greater and more powerful than I.”

Then he said, “I am not even worthy to bend low and untie his moccasins.”

“He is the one who will perform the purification ceremony^a with the fire of the Holy Spirit! ¹⁷He will separate the grain from the husks. His harvest basket is in his hands. He will store the good grain in his barn, but the husks he will burn away with a fire no one can put out.”

¹⁸With many more words Gift of Goodwill (John) warned and encouraged the people with the good story of Creator’s good road.

¹⁹Gift of Goodwill (John) warned Chief Looks Brave (Herod) about stealing his own brother’s wife and his many other bad-hearted ways. ²⁰So Looks Brave (Herod) had him put in prison, adding this to his many evil deeds.

CREATOR SETS FREE COMES FORWARD

²¹While the people were coming to Gift of Goodwill (John) for the ceremony, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came also. Then the ceremony was performed for him, and while he was praying, the sky opened up ²²and the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and rested on him. A voice from the spirit-world above spoke like distant thunder, “You are my much-loved Son who makes my heart glad!”

HIS FAMILY TREE

²³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was about thirty winters old when he began his great work. He was the son, so it was thought, of He Gives Sons (Joseph), the son of One Above Us (Heli), ²⁴son of Gift of the Great Spirit (Matthat), son of He Brings Together (Levi), son of My Chief (Melchi), son of He Grows Strong (Jannai), son of He Gathers Much (Joseph), ²⁵son of Gift from Above (Mattathias), son of Burden Bearer (Amos), son of He Gives Comfort (Nahum), son of Protected One (Esli), son of Light Bringer (Naggai), ²⁶son of Small One (Maath), son of Gift from Above (Mattathias), son of He Listens (Semein), son of He Gathers Much (Joseph), son of Gives Honor (Judah), ²⁷son of Shows Goodwill (Joanan), son of Walks Friendly (Rhesa), son of Born in Village of Confusion (Zerubbabel), son of Ask Creator (Shealtiel), son of Burning Light (Neri), ²⁸son of My Chief (Melchi), son of Clothed in Beauty (Addi), son of Talks to Spirits (Cosam), son of Love Beyond Measure (Elmadam), son of He Looks Around (Er), ²⁹son of Creator Gives Freedom (Joshua), son of Creator Helps Him (Eliezer), son of Honored by Creator (Jorim), son of Gift of the Great Spirit (Matthat), son of He Brings Together (Levi), ³⁰son of Creator Hears (Simeon), son of Give Him Praise (Judah), son of He Gathers Much (Joseph), son of Creator Shows Goodwill (Jonam), son of He Builds Up (Eliakim), ³¹son of He Makes Full (Melea), son of He Is Ready (Menna), son of Gift Giver (Mattatha), son of He Will Give (Nathan), son of Much Loved One (David), ³²son of Original Man (Jesse), son of He Works Hard (Obed), son of Moves with Strength (Boaz), son of He Makes Peace (Salmon), son of Talks with Snakes (Nahshon), ³³son of Noble Relative (Amminadab), son of He Is Lifted Up (Admin), son of Lifted Up High (Arni), son of Circle of Tipis (Hezron), son of He Breaks Through (Perez), son of Give Him Praise (Judah), ³⁴son of Heel Grabber (Jacob), son of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), son of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), son of He Made Them Wait (Terah), son of Snorting Buffalo (Nahor), ³⁵son of Growing Stem (Serug), son of Faithful Friend (Reu), son of Where the Water Divides (Peleg), son of Over the River (Eber), son of Shooting Arrow (Shelah), ³⁶son of Made Straight (Cainan), son of Son of His Mother (Arphaxad), son of His Name Is Known (Shem), son of One Who Rests (Noah), son of Strong Wild Man (Lamech), ³⁷son of Long Arrow (Methuselah), son of Walks with Creator (Enoch), son of He Came Down (Jared), son of Full of Praise (Mahalaleel), son of Made Straight (Cainan), ³⁸son of Weak Human Being (Enos), son of Drinks Too Much (Seth), son of Red Clay (Adam), son of the Great Spirit.

VISION QUEST

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was now filled with the Holy Spirit. From the river Flowing Down (Jordan), the Spirit guided him into the desert wilderness, a dry and lonely place filled with wild animals and many other dangers. ²There, for forty days, he would be put to the test by Accuser (Satan), the evil trickster snake.

For forty days and nights Creator Sets Free (Jesus) ate nothing. His body became weak, and his hunger grew strong.

³“Are you the Son of the Great Spirit?” he hissed. “Prove it by turning these stones into frybread.”

⁴“It is written in the Sacred Teachings,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said, “‘frybread is not the only food for two-leggeds.’10”

⁵Once more Accuser (Satan) took him up to a high mountain and, in a moment of time, showed him all the great nations of the world. ⁶“All of their power and beauty can be yours!” the snake said smoothly. “They were given over to me, and I can give them to anyone I choose. ⁷If you will bow down to me and my ways, they will all be yours!”

⁸“Go away from me, you evil trickster!” he answered. “For it also says in the Sacred Teachings, ‘The Great Spirit is the only one to bow down to and walk in his ways.’11”

⁹The evil snake took him to the Great Spirit’s sacred lodge in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). He took him to the very top of the lodge, high above the village. “Prove you are the Son of the Great Spirit and jump down from here!” the snake taunted him. ¹⁰“Do not the Sacred Teachings also say, ‘His spirit-messengers will watch over you to keep you from harm. ¹¹They will not even let your foot hit a stone’12?”

¹²“Yes,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said back to him, “but they also say, ‘Do not put the Great Spirit to a foolish test.’13”

¹³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had passed every test. The evil snake could think of nothing more, so he slithered away to wait for another time.

HIS OWN VILLAGE REJECTS HIM

¹⁴The power of the Spirit was now resting on Creator Sets Free (Jesus), so he returned to the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). News about him began to spread like wildfire throughout the villages, ¹⁵for he was teaching in their gathering houses, and the people gave him much honor.

¹⁶On one of these Days of Resting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to his boyhood home in Seed Planter Village (Nazareth). As was his tradition, he entered the gathering house and stood up to read from the ancient Sacred Teachings. ¹⁷The headman handed him the scroll with the words from the prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah). He opened the scroll and began to read.

¹⁸“The Spirit of Creator has come to rest on me. He has chosen me to tell the good story to the ones who are poor. He has sent me to mend broken hearts, to tell prisoners they have been set free, to make the blind see again, and to lift up the ones who have been pushed down— ¹⁹to make it known that Creator’s Year of Setting Free14 has come at last!”15

²⁰He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the headman, and sat down. All eyes were fixed on him, wondering what he would say.

He looked around at them and spoke clearly, with a strong voice, ²¹“Today these words you have heard have found their full meaning.”

²²At first they were amazed at the power and beauty of his words.

“Is this not the son of Bitter Tears (Mary) and He Gives Sons (Joseph), the wood carver?”

²³So he said to them, “I am sure you will tell me this wise saying, ‘Healer, use your medicine on yourself.’ And you will say, ‘We want to see you do here in your own village the powerful signs you did in Village of Comfort (Capernaum).’ ²⁴But the truth is, a prophet is given much honor except in his own village, among his own clan, and in his own house.”

²⁵“I speak from my heart,” he said to them. “There were many widows in the land of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) during the days of the prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah). It was a time of great hunger, and food was hard to find. It had not rained for more than three winters. ²⁶But Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) was not sent to any of these widows. Instead, he was sent to Refining Fire Woman (Zarephath), a widow in the territory of Hunting Grounds (Sidon), an Outside Nation.16 ²⁷And there were many with a skin disease in the days of the prophet Creator Saves Us (Elisha), but none were healed and cleansed except for Looks Handsome (Naaman), an outsider from Bright Sun (Syria), the head soldier of the enemy’s army.”17

²⁸The people in the gathering house were insulted and furious at his words. ²⁹Together they herded him out to the village hillside to throw him off the cliff, ³⁰but he slipped through the crowd and went on his way.

VILLAGE OF COMFORT

³¹From there he went to Village of Comfort (Capernaum) in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee). On the Day of Resting ³²he was teaching in their gathering house and the people were amazed at his manner of speaking, for he spoke boldly with authority, not like the other spiritual leaders.

³³There was a man that day in this gathering house who had an unclean evil spirit. Suddenly, the man wailed out loud, ³⁴“AAAIIIEEE! Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from 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!”

³⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke sharply to him, “Be silent! Leave this man now!” The evil spirit shook the man, threw him to the ground, and came out without hurting him.

³⁶The people were in awe and began to ask each other, “What is he teaching? What new medicine is this? He even tells the unclean spirits what to do—and they do it!”

³⁷Because of this, his reputation spread like wildfire throughout the Circle of Nations (Galilee) and to all the surrounding territories.

HOME OF ONE WHO HEARS

³⁸After he left the gathering house, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went to the home of One Who Hears (Simon). The 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. ³⁹He went and stood over her and told the fever to go, and it left! With a glad heart she got up and went to prepare a meal for them.

⁴⁰Later that day, when the sun was going down, many sick people were brought to him. He touched them all and healed them. ⁴¹Many were set free from evil spirits. As the spirits left them, they howled with loud voices, saying, “You are the Chosen One, Creator’s own Son!” But he spoke sharply to them and did not let them speak, for they knew who he was.

⁴²The next day, before the sunrise, he found a quiet, out-of-the-way place to be alone and pray. But the crowds found him again and would not let him go. ⁴³He said to them, “I was sent to tell you the good story about Creator’s good road. You must let me go to other villages, so they can also hear.”

⁴⁴So he continued to teach and tell his stories in the gathering houses of the Land of Promise (Judea).

FISHING FOR TWO-LEGGEDS

¹As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was teaching at Lake of Chief Garden (Gennesaret), a great number of people pressed in close to hear him speak the words of the Great Spirit. ²He was standing on the shore and saw two fishing canoes, but the fishermen had left their canoes and were washing their nets. ³He climbed into the canoe belonging to One Who Hears (Simon) and asked him to push out a little from the shore. He then sat in the canoe and taught the large gathering of people.

⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to One Who Hears (Simon), “Push out farther into the deep water and throw in your nets for a catch.”

⁵“Wisdomkeeper,” he answered, “we have been fishing all night and caught nothing, but because it is you who ask, I will do it.”

⁶They threw the net out into the water.

But the net was so full of fish it began to tear. ⁷They called out to the other canoe for help. The men came and began to pull in the nets. Fish of every size poured into the two canoes until they were so full they began to sink.

^8-10When One Who Hears (Simon), along with his fishing partners—He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John), the sons of Gift of Creator (Zebedee)—saw what happened, they were filled with wonder and awe at the great catch of fish.

One Who Hears (Simon) fell to his knees in front of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). “Wisdomkeeper!” he groaned. “Go away from me! For I am a bad-hearted and unholy man.”

“Do not fear!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told him. “From now on your nets will catch two-leggeds.”

¹¹When they returned to the shore, they left everything and began to walk the road with him.

SKIN DISEASE CLEANSED

¹²While he was in one of these 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!” he cried. “If you want to, you can heal and cleanse me.”

¹³Creator Sets Free (Jesus), stirred with compassion, reached out and touched the man. “I want to!” he said. “Be cleansed!” And right away the disease left him and he was healed.

¹⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sent him away at once. “Tell no one!” he said. “Go and show yourself to a holy man and have him perform the cleansing ceremony given to us by the lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses), to show the holy man what the Great Spirit has done for you.”18

¹⁵The reputation of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to grow among the people as word about him spread. The crowds came from everywhere to hear him speak and be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶But he often left the crowds and went out into the desert wilderness to pray.

SPIRITUAL LEADERS OFFENDED

¹⁷On another day he was teaching at a house in Village of Comfort (Capernaum). The Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers had come from the surrounding villages of Circle of Nations (Galilee) and from as far as the Land of Promise (Judea) and Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to hear him speak.

The healing power of the Great Spirit was there, resting on Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

¹⁸Several men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat to bring him to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), ¹⁹but they could not get past the crowd. In their desperation, they climbed up to the rooftop and broke through the roof tiles. They lowered the paralyzed man down, sleeping mat and all, right in front of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ²⁰When he saw their trust in him, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, you are released from your broken ways and wrongdoings.”

²¹The scroll keepers and the Separated Ones (Pharisees) began to grumble among themselves, “Who is this man to speak lies against the Great Spirit with such disrespect? Who but the Maker of Life can release a man from his wrongdoings?”

²²In his spirit, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Why are your hearts full of dark thoughts and questions? ²³Is it easier to tell a paralyzed man, ‘Get up and walk,’ or to say to him, ‘You are released from your wrongdoings’?”

²⁴When no one answered, he said to them, “This is how you will know the True Human Being has the right to forgive bad hearts and wrongdoings on this earth.” He turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Get up, and when you have rolled up your sleeping bundle, walk to your home.” ²⁵Right away the man stood up in front of them and did what he said, giving thanks to the Great Spirit for his healing.

²⁶Great respect and awe filled the hearts of all who were in the house. They gave honor to Creator, saying, “Today we have seen how mysterious the ways of the Great Spirit can be.”

EATING WITH OUTCASTS

²⁷After this he taught again by the lakeshore. As he walked by, he saw a tribal tax collector sitting at his tax booth.

The name of this tribal tax collector was He Brings Together (Levi).19 Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went to him and said, “Come, walk the road with me.” ²⁸He got up from his booth, left it all behind, and began to walk the road with him.

²⁹He Brings Together (Levi) hosted a great feast for Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He invited all his friends to come. Tribal tax collectors, along with other outcasts, were all sitting around the table with Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

³⁰When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus) eating with outcasts, they complained to his followers, saying, “Why does your wisdomkeeper keep company with tribal tax collectors and outcasts?”

³¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) overheard them and said, “People who are well do not need medicine. ³²I have not come for the ones with good hearts. No! I have come to help the outcasts find the path back home again.”

FRESH SKINS FOR NEW WINE

³³Then they asked Creator Sets Free (Jesus) another question. “The followers of Gift of Goodwill (John) often go without eating to pray, and so do the followers of the Separated Ones (Pharisees). So why do your followers feast and eat so much?”

³⁴“Do you expect wedding guests to be sad and go without eating when the groom is hosting a feast?” he asked. ³⁵“The time will come when he is gone. Then they will be sad and go without eating.”

They still did not understand, ³⁶so he told them this wise saying, “No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch an old garment, for it would shrink and make the tear worse. ³⁷No one puts new wine into an old wineskin, for the new wine would burst the skins. ^38-39New and fresh wineskins are what is needed, but the ones who have a taste for the old do not want the new.”

CHIEF OF THE DAY OF RESTING

¹On another Day of Resting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers were walking through a field of grain. The men were hungry, so they plucked some grain, rubbed the husks off in their hands, and began to eat. ²When 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?”

^3-4He answered them, “Have you not heard about the time long ago when the great chief Much Loved One (David) was hungry? How he and his followers went into Creator’s sacred lodge and ate the ceremonial bread? Only the holy men are permitted to eat this bread.”

⁵And then he added, “The True Human Being is Chief over the Day of Resting!”

HEALING ON THE DAY OF RESTING

⁶On another Day of Resting Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went into a gathering house and began to teach the people. A man was there with a shriveled and useless hand. ⁷The scroll keepers and the Separated Ones (Pharisees) kept a close eye on Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to see whether he would heal the man, so they could accuse him of not honoring the Day of Resting.

⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were scheming, so he said to the man, “Come, stand here, where every-one can see you.” So the man did what he said. ⁹Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked them, “On the Day of Resting, is it permitted to help or to harm, to rescue or destroy?”

¹⁰He looked around the room and then turned to the man and said, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was the same as his good hand!

¹¹The Separated Ones (Pharisees) stormed out in a fit of rage and began to counsel together about what could be done with Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

TWELVE MESSAGE BEARERS

¹²He went by himself to a mountain, where he prayed all night to the Great Spirit. ¹³In the morning, on the mountainside, he gathered the ones who had been walking the road with him. He chose twelve of them to be his message bearers.

¹⁴First there was One Who Hears (Simon), whom he named Stands on the Rock (Peter), and his brother Stands with Courage (Andrew). Then he chose two brothers whom he called Sons of Thunder—He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John).

Next there was Friend of Horses (Philip) and Son of Ground Digger (Bartholomew) ¹⁵along with He Brings Together (Levi)20 and Looks Like His Brother (Thomas).

Then he chose He Takes Charge (James), son of First to Change (Alphaeus), along with One Who Listens (Simon) the Firebrand (Zealot) ¹⁶and Speaks Well Of (Judas) the son of He Takes Hold (James). And last of all he chose Speaks Well Of (Judas), who later betrayed him.

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus), along with his twelve message bearers and a large number of his followers, went down from the mountain to where the ground is flat. A great number of people came to hear him speak and to be healed. They came from all over the Land of Promise (Judea), from Village of Peace (Jerusalem), and from the coast of Rock Land (Tyre) and Hunting Grounds (Sidon).

¹⁸The ones tormented by unclean spirits were being set free. ¹⁹All the people were trying to touch him, for great power was flowing out from him to heal them all!

WAYS OF BLESSING OR SORROW

²⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked out over the crowd of his followers and began to teach them about the ways of Creator’s good road.

“Creator’s blessing rests on you who are poor and in need. The good road is yours to walk.

²¹“Creator’s blessing rests on you who hunger now, for you will be filled to the full.

“Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who weep now, for your sorrow will turn into laughter.

²²“Creator’s blessing rests on you when you are hated and rejected, looked down on and treated as worthless, all because you have chosen to walk the good road with the True Human Being.

²³“When this happens, let your hearts be glad and jump for joy! The spirit-world above will honor you, for this is the same way your ancestors treated the prophets of their day. You are walking in their moccasins now!”

Here is what he said to the privileged among the people:

²⁴“Sorrow and trouble will be the end of you who store up possessions for yourselves, for you have already had a life of ease.

²⁵“Sorrow and trouble will be the end of you who eat your fill now. You will go hungry later.

“Sorrow and trouble will be the end of you who are laughing about this now, for your own trail of tears is coming.

²⁶“Sorrow and trouble will be your end, when others say only good things about you, for that is what our ancestors said about the prophets who told lies.

THE WAY TO TREAT YOUR ENEMIES

²⁷“Hear me, you who are listening now, I am telling you to love your enemies, do good to the ones who look down on you, ²⁸return blessing for cursing, and send up good prayers for the ones who give you trouble and pain.

²⁹“If someone slaps you on the side of your face, show the strength of your heart and offer the other side. In the same way, if a thief takes your coat, offer your shirt also.

³⁰“When someone in need asks, do not hold back. Do what you can to help. If someone takes what is yours, let them keep it.”

“Here is another way to see what I am saying: ³¹Help others in the same way you would want them to help you.

^32-34“Where is the honor in only showing love to the ones who do the same for you? Why should you be given respect for doing good to the ones who do you good, or for lending only to the ones who can repay you? Even tribal tax collectors and outcasts do these things.

³⁵“Instead, show love and respect to your enemies, help them when they are in need without asking them to repay you. This will show that you are children of your Father from above, for he is kind and takes pity on the ones with bad hearts, even when they do not thank him for it. ³⁶So then, show kindness to others in the same way as your Father the Great Spirit.

BLIND GUIDES

³⁷“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. When you release others from their wrongdoings, you will be released from yours. ³⁸The amount you measure out to others is the amount that comes back, like a basket that has been filled to the top, shaken down, and packed together, until it overflows. What you give out will come back to you—full circle.”

³⁹He gave them a wise saying, “How can a blind person guide another who is blind? Will they not both stumble and fall? ⁴⁰The one guided cannot rise above his guide but will be just like him—blind.

“Think of it this way, ⁴¹how can you see the speck of wood in someone else’s eye when you cannot even see the log in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say, ‘Here, let me help you,’ when you cannot see that you are the one who needs help? Stop pretending to be something you are not!

GOOD AND BAD TREES

⁴³“Healthy trees give good fruit and rotten trees give bad fruit. ⁴⁴Do grapes come from a thorn bush or figs from thistles?

⁴⁵“The human heart is like a medicine pouch. Good-hearted people speak from the good medicine stored in their hearts. Bad-hearted people speak from the bad medicine stored in their hearts. For the mouth will speak what the heart is filled with.

⁴⁶“How is it that you call me ‘Great Chief’ but do not walk in my ways? ⁴⁷The ones who listen to me and walk in these ways are like a man who built a lodge. ⁴⁸He dug deep to find solid ground to build on. When a flood came, the waters beat against the lodge, but it stood strong. Nothing could shake it, for it was built on solid ground.

⁴⁹“The ones who hear my words but do not walk in these ways are like another man, who built his lodge on soft ground. When the flood came against it, the lodge crashed to the ground, and all that was in it was lost.”

A SOLDIER FROM THE PEOPLE OF IRON

¹When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was finished speaking to the people, he went to Village of Comfort (Capernaum).

²A head soldier of the People of Iron (Romans) had a servant he cared deeply about who was sick and near death. ³When the head soldier heard about Creator Sets Free (Jesus), he asked some elders from the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) to go to him and ask him to heal the servant.

^4-5The elders found Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and begged him to help the head soldier. “He is a man of honor who loves our nation and has built a gathering house for us. He is worth helping.”

⁶So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) followed them. They were not far from the house when the head soldier sent some messengers to say to him, “Honored One, I do not want you to bring trouble on yourself by coming into my house. ⁷That’s why I did not think it wise to come to you myself. If you will only speak a word, my servant will be healed. ⁸I too am a man under orders and have many soldiers under me. I say to this one ‘go,’ and he goes, and to another ‘come,’ and he comes. My servants do what I say.”

⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was amazed at this answer. He turned to the large crowd that was with him and said, “I have never seen such great faith, not even among the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).”

¹⁰When the elders returned to the head soldier, they found the servant well.

THE SON OF A WIDOW

¹¹Not long after this, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and the ones who walked the road with him went to Village of Harmony (Nain). A large crowd of people trailed behind him. ¹²As he came near the village gate, a man who had crossed over was being carried, wrapped in a blanket, to a burial site. He was the only son of his mother, a widow. A crowd of people from the village were walking with her. ¹³When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw her, he felt pity for her and said, “Do not weep. The Great Spirit has seen your tears.”

¹⁴He walked up, opened the blanket, and laid his hands on the young man. The ones carrying it stopped and waited to see what he would do. “Young man,” he said out loud, “rise up!” ¹⁵To the amazement of all, he sat up and began to talk. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶Great fear and trembling fell on the crowd. They gave honor to the Great Spirit and said, “A great prophet has been sent to us! The Giver of Breath has come to visit his people!” ¹⁷News about this traveled far and wide throughout the Land of Promise (Judea) and into the surrounding villages and territories.

ARE YOU THE ONE?

¹⁸Followers of Gift of Goodwill (John), who performed the purification ceremony,21 told him what Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had done. ¹⁹He sent two of his followers to ask the Wisdomkeeper a question. ²⁰When they found Creator Sets Free (Jesus), they asked him the question from Gift of Goodwill (John), “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?”

²¹The messengers watched as he healed many who were sick and tormented by evil spirits, and gave sight to the ones who were blind.

²²He told them, “Go back to Gift of Goodwill (John) and tell him about the things you have seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears. The blind can see again, the lame can walk, the ones with skin disease have been healed and ceremonially cleansed! Ears that cannot hear have been opened and the poor have been told the good story! Even the dead have come back to life again!”

²³“Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who do not stumble and leave the path because of me.”

A TRUE PROPHET

²⁴When the messengers left, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke to the people about Gift of Goodwill (John). “What were you looking for in the desert wilderness? A frail reed blowing in the wind? ²⁵Did you see a man in costly garments? No! The ones who wear costly clothes and buy whatever they want live in grand houses. ²⁶Were you looking for a true prophet? Yes! He is a true prophet but also much more! ²⁷He is the one spoken of in the Sacred Teachings, ‘Look! I am sending my messenger ahead of you. He will make a clear path.’22

²⁸“Listen closely, no one born of a woman has ever been greater, but now the smallest one who walks Creator’s good road is greater than he is.”

²⁹When the people and tribal tax collectors heard this, they agreed that the ways of the Great Spirit were true and right, for they had received the purification ceremony23 of Gift of Goodwill (John). ³⁰But the scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees) turned away from the Great Spirit’s plan for them, for they had refused the ceremony of Gift of Goodwill (John).

³¹“This generation, what can I compare them to?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told the crowd. ³²“They are like children at a trading post, teasing each other, saying, ‘You did not dance when we played the drum! You did not cry when we played a sad flute song.’

³³“Gift of Goodwill (John) did not feast or drink wine, but you say, ‘He has an evil spirit.’ ³⁴The True Human Being comes feasting and drinking and you say, ‘He eats too much and is a drunk, a friend of tribal tax collectors and outcasts with broken ways!’ ³⁵But wisdom is proved right through the behavior of her children.”

A MEAL WITH A SPIRITUAL LEADER

³⁶A spiritual leader from the Separated Ones (Pharisees), named Man Who Listens (Simon), invited Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to a meal. So he went to his house and joined the guests at the table.

³⁷There was a woman in the village, an outcast with broken ways, who heard that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was eating with the spiritual leader. So she went to the house and brought with her a small pottery jar of sweet-smelling ointment. ³⁸She came up behind Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and began to weep at his feet. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them with her hair. Then she kissed his feet and rubbed the ointment on them.

³⁹When the spiritual leader saw this, he thought to himself, “If this man were a true prophet he would know who is touching him. He would see what kind of woman this is—an outcast!”

⁴⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what he was thinking and said to him, “Man Who Listens (Simon), I have something to say to you.”

“Wisdomkeeper,” he answered, “say what you will.”

⁴¹“Two men were in debt to the same person. One owed him five hundred horses, the other two buffalo hides. ⁴²Neither of them had enough to pay him back, so he released them from their debt. Which one do you think will love him the most?”

⁴³“I suppose it would be the one who owed him the most.”

“You have answered well,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told him.

⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Man Who Listens (Simon), “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not welcome me with a kiss, but this woman is still kissing my feet. ⁴⁶You did not put oil on my head, but she has rubbed sweet-smelling ointment on my feet. ⁴⁷I tell you, she is forgiven and set free from her broken ways because of her great love. But small is the love of one who has been forgiven only for small things.”

⁴⁸“You are forgiven!” he said to her.

⁴⁹The other guests at the table began to grumble to each other and say, “Who is this man who thinks he can forgive wrongdoings?”

⁵⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith in me has healed your broken ways. Go in peace.”

WOMEN OF HONOR

¹After this, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to walk from one village to another telling stories about Creator’s good road. The twelve he had chosen were with him ²and also some women who had been healed and set free from evil spirits. One was Strong Tears (Mary) from the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala), who had been set free from seven evil spirits. ³Another was Woman of His Goodwill (Joanna), the wife of Vision Seer (Chuza), the headman of the household of Chief Looks Brave (Herod). And then there was Water Flower (Susanna). These women and many others helped out with their own goods.

FOUR KINDS OF SOIL

⁴The people began to gather in crowds as they came from village after village to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). As the crowds gathered, he told them a story.

“Listen!” he said. ⁵“A seed planter went to plant some seeds and began to scatter them about on the ground.

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

⁶“Some of the seeds fell on the rocks, where there was only a little dirt. The plants grew, but they dried up because they had no water.

⁷“Other seeds fell into the weeds, and thistles sprouted around the seeds and choked the life out of them.

⁸“But some seeds fell on good ground, grew strong, and gave a harvest of one hundred times what was planted. If you have ears to hear, you will understand this story.”

BLIND EYES AND DEAF EARS

⁹But his followers did not understand, so they asked him for the meaning of the story.

¹⁰He answered them, “To you the honor has been given to understand the mysterious ways of Creator’s good road. This honor is not given to those who are not ready for it. I speak to them in stories because ‘even though they have eyes to see, they do not see, and even though they have ears to hear, they fail to understand.’24

MEANING OF FOUR KINDS OF SOIL

¹¹“This is what the story means,” he told them. “The seed in this story is the teaching from the Great Spirit about his good road.

¹²“The village pathway represents the ones who hear, but then Accuser (Satan), the evil snake, sneaks up and steals the words out of their hearts to keep them from believing the teaching and being set free.

¹³“The rocky ground represents the ones who hear and receive the teaching with glad hearts, but because they have no roots, their faith is shallow and does not last. As soon as the teaching brings them trouble or opposition, they stumble and fall away.

¹⁴“The weeds and thistles represent the ones who have heard the teaching, but they are too busy worrying about their earthly possessions, so the teaching is choked and their faith stops growing good fruit.

¹⁵“The good ground represents the ones who hear the teaching with good and pure hearts, hold on tightly to it, and never let go until it grows good fruit in their lives.

¹⁶“No one after lighting a lamp hangs a blanket in front of it. Instead, they would put it on a table so everyone can see. ¹⁷The ones who have ears to hear will understand this teaching.

¹⁸“But they must listen carefully, for the ones who understand will gain wisdom and be ready for more—much more. But the ones who do not listen wisely will lose even the little they think they understand.”

ALL MY RELATIVES

¹⁹The mother of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his brothers came to see him. They were unable to get to him because of the great number of people gathered there. ²⁰Someone told him, “Your relatives are here, waiting to see you.”

²¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled and told the messenger, “The ones who listen to the teachings of the Great Spirit and walk in his ways are all my relatives—my mother, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters.”

POWER OVER VIOLENT STORMS

²²On another day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” They climbed into a large canoe and pushed off from the shore.

Tired from a long day, ²³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) fell into a deep sleep.

Soon the storm overtook them and threatened to sink the canoes. ²⁴In desperation they woke him from his sleep and cried out, “Wisdomkeeper! Wisdomkeeper! We are all going to drown.”

He woke up from his sleep, stood up, and spoke sharply to the wind and the raging water. At his words the wind stopped blowing and the waves calmed down. Great peace fell upon the surface of the waters. ²⁵He turned to his followers and said to them, “Where is your faith?”

Amazed and afraid, they shook their heads and whispered to each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves listen to him!”

POWER OVER EVIL SPIRITS

²⁶When they finished crossing, they came to the territory of the people of Honored in the End (Gadarenes), across the Lake of Circle of Nations (Sea of Galilee). ²⁷As soon as he stepped from the canoe, a man from the village was there. This man had been tormented with evil spirits for a long time. His clothes had worn off him, and he was homeless, so he lived in the local burial grounds.

²⁸When the man saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus), he fell to the ground in front of him. The evil spirit cried out through the man, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus), Son of the One Above Us All, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torment me!” ²⁹He said this because Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had ordered the evil spirit to leave the man.

In the past this evil spirit had often taken hold of the man, so the villagers had kept the man bound with chains and under close watch. But the man had broken the chains, and the evil spirit had forced him out into the desert.

³⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked, “What is your name?”

“Many Soldiers,”25 he answered, because thousands of spirits had entered into him. ³¹They begged him not to send them into the deep dark pit of the world below.26

³²There was a large herd of pigs feeding on a nearby mountainside, so the spirits begged him to permit them to enter the pigs. ³³When he gave them permission, the evil spirits left the man and entered into the herd of pigs. Then the whole herd stampeded down the mountainside headlong into the lake and drowned.

³⁴The ones who were watching over the pigs were scared to death and ran away. They went to the nearby village and told them everything that had happened. ³⁵As word spread, people came from the villages and the countryside to see for themselves. There they found the man whom the evil spirits had come out of, sitting quietly at the feet of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He was clothed and in his right mind. This filled the hearts of the people there with awe and fear.

³⁶The ones who had seen what happened told the people how the man with evil spirits had been set free. ³⁷Then the people from the territory of Honored in the End (Gadarenes) begged Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to go away from their land.

³⁸As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) entered the canoe to return to the other side, the man who had been set free from the evil spirits begged him to take him along. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would not permit it and said to the man, ³⁹“Return home to your family and friends.” He told the man, “Tell them all the powerful things the Great Spirit has done for you.”

The man went his way and told his story in the villages, telling everyone the great things Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had done for him.

A DESPERATE REQUEST

⁴⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) canoed back to the other side of the lake. A great crowd, waiting for him at the lakeshore, welcomed him with glad hearts. ⁴¹A man named He Gives Light (Jairus), the 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) and begged him to come to his house. ⁴²He had an only daughter, about twelve winters old, who was dying.

As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) went with the man, the crowd also trailed along, pressing in around him from all sides.

WHO TOUCHED ME?

⁴³There was a woman in the crowd who had been bleeding in an unusual way for more than twelve winters.

She spent all she had on medicine men who were not able to heal her. ⁴⁴She came up close behind him, reached out her hand, and touched the fringe of his outfit, and right away the blood stopped flowing.

⁴⁵“Who touched me?” he asked.

The ones who heard him shrugged their shoulders and began to look around also.

When no one came forward, Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, the crowds are pushing, shoving, and touching you, what do you mean?”

⁴⁶“Someone touched me,” he said again. “I felt power go out from my body.”

⁴⁷The woman knew she could hide no longer. She came forward, trembling with fear, and fell down before him. In front of all the people she told the story of why she touched him and how she was healed right then.

⁴⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at her with kindness in his eyes and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

POWER OVER DEATH

⁴⁹As they continued on, a messenger from the home of the headman of the gathering house came. With sadness on his face he said to He Gives Light (Jairus), “There is no need to trouble the Wisdomkeeper any longer. Your little girl has died.”

⁵⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) overheard and quickly said to him, “Do not fear, simply trust me and all will be well.”

⁵¹When they came to the house, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) did not permit anyone to go in with him except the child’s parents and his most trusted followers—Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Shows Goodwill (John), and He Takes Over (James).

⁵²All the people there were crying for the little girl. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Do not cry. The child is not dead. She only sleeps.”

⁵³They mocked him and laughed, for they knew she was dead. ⁵⁴So he sent them outside, and then, taking the little girl by the hand, he said, “Little girl, stand up!” She drew in a deep breath as ⁵⁵her spirit returned to her body, and she stood up. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had them give her some food.

⁵⁶Her father and mother stood there, amazed beyond words, weeping for joy. Their little girl was alive! Then he firmly told them not to tell anyone what had happened.

MESSAGE BEARERS SENT OUT

¹He then gathered his twelve message bearers together. He gave them the authority over all evil spirits and the power to heal all kinds of sickness and disease. ²He then sent them out to tell the story of Creator’s good road and heal the sick.

³“Take nothing with you,” he instructed them, “not even walking sticks for your journey. Take no coins for your money pouches, no food for your traveling bundle, and only one outer garment for warmth.

⁴“When people welcome you into their home, stay there until you move on. ⁵If no one in that village welcomes you, when you go from there, shake the dust from your moccasins to warn them that you have done all that you can do.”

⁶The twelve went out to represent Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to all the villages, telling all who would listen about the good story and healing the sick everywhere they went.

HIS REPUTATION GROWS

⁷The reputation of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had spread far and wide, until it finally reached Chief Looks Brave (Herod). He was troubled because some were saying that Gift of Goodwill (John) had come back to life from the dead. ⁸Others were saying that the ancient prophet, Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah), had been seen again, and some said that one of the prophets of old had come back to life from the dead.

⁹Chief Looks Brave (Herod) wondered about this and said, “I cut off the head of Gift of Goodwill (John), but who is this one I am hearing about?” So he began to look for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to see for himself who he was.

¹⁰The twelve message bearers returned from their journeys and told Creator Sets Free (Jesus) all the things they had done. He then took them to a deserted place near House of Fishing (Bethsaida) to be alone. ¹¹The crowd of people saw where they were going and followed him.

When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw the great crowd of people, his heart went out to them again. He welcomed them and took the time to tell stories and help them understand many things about Creator’s good road. He also healed the ones among them who were sick.

HE FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND

¹²It was becoming late in the day, so his message bearers said to him, “This is a deserted place. Let us send the people away to the villages in the countryside so they can find food to eat.”

¹³“You feed them!” he said with a smile on his face.

“We have only five pieces of frybread and two small fish—unless you want us to go and buy food for this many people.” ¹⁴For there were about five thousand men there, and also women and children.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Have the people gather together in groups of fifty and sit down on the grass.” ¹⁵So they did what he asked.

¹⁶He took the five pieces of frybread with the two fishes and held them up to the sky. He looked up, spoke words of blessing over them, broke them into smaller pieces, and gave them to his message bearers to give to the people. ¹⁷Everyone ate until they were full!

When they gathered up the leftovers, it took twelve baskets to hold them all.

WHO DO THE PEOPLE SAY I AM?

One morning, ¹⁸after praying alone with his followers, he asked them, “Who do all the crowds say that I am?”

They looked around at each other and said, ¹⁹“Some say you are Gift of Goodwill (John) who performed the purification ceremony.27 Others say you might be Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah), or one of the prophets of old come back to life from the dead.”

²⁰“So tell me,” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

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

²¹He then warned them all not to tell anyone that he was the Chosen One ²²and said to them, “The True Human Being must enter a time of much suffering. The elders, the head holy men, and the scroll keepers will turn their faces from me. They will have me killed, but I will come back to life on the third day.

²³“If you want to walk the road with me, each day you must also be ready to give up your own life and carry your own crossbeam with me ²⁴to the place of ultimate sacrifice. The ones who hold on to their lives will lose them, but the ones who are willing to lay down their lives for me and my message will live. ²⁵How will it help you to get everything you want but lose what it means to be who Creator made you to be? Is there anything in this world worth trading for that?

²⁶“If anyone is ashamed of me and my teaching, then the True Human Being will be ashamed of them when he comes in his bright-shining greatness, to be honored by the Father above and all of his Holy Spirit-messengers.

²⁷“I speak from my heart, there are some of you standing here with me today who, before you cross over to death, will see Creator’s good road.”

THE MOUNTAIN WHERE HE SHINED

²⁸About eight days later Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), and He Shows Goodwill (John) up on a mountain to be alone and pray. ²⁹As he was sending his voice to the Great Spirit, the appearance of his face began to change, and his clothes turned white as snow.

³⁰Two men appeared and began to talk with him. One was the prophet of old, Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah), and the other the ancient lawgiver Drawn from the Water (Moses). ³¹They were shining like the sun and were talking to him about his crossing over from this life to the next, which would take place in Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

³²Stands on the Rock (Peter) and the others were deep asleep, but they woke up and shook the sleep from their eyes. They saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus) with his face and clothes shining. They also saw the two men standing with him. ³³As the men with him turned to go, Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke without thinking. “Wisdomkeeper!” he said. “This is a good place to stay. Let us make three tipis—one for you, one for Drawn from the Water (Moses), and one for Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah).”

³⁴While he was saying this, a bright cloud from above began to fall on them. Their knees shook as the cloud surrounded them. ³⁵A voice spoke from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the one I have chosen. Listen to him!”

³⁶When the voice finished speaking, they saw Creator Sets Free (Jesus) standing there alone in front of them. After this they kept silent and told no one at that time what they had seen.

A GENERATION WITH NO FAITH

³⁷The next day, when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) finished coming down from the mountain, a large crowd was there. ³⁸A man called out from the crowd, “Wisdomkeeper!” he said with desperation in his voice. “I beg you, have pity on my son, my only child! ³⁹A spirit takes hold of him, making him scream out loud, then foam comes from his mouth. It seldom stops tormenting him—leaving him beaten and bruised. ⁴⁰I asked your followers to force this spirit to go from him, and they tried but failed.”

⁴¹“Your generation is bent and twisted—with no faith,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said. “How much longer will I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son to me.”

⁴²As they were bringing the boy to him, the evil spirit took hold of him and threw the boy to the ground. But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke sharply to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³Everyone there stood in awe at Creator’s great power.

While the crowd stood there in amazement, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to his followers and said to them, ⁴⁴“Let these words sink deep into your ears: The True Human Being will soon be betrayed and turned over to others.”

⁴⁵But still they did not understand. The meaning was hidden from them. Their hearts would not let them believe what they heard with their ears. His words filled them with sorrow and dread, and they were afraid to ask him what it all meant.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

⁴⁶The ones who walked the road with Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to argue with each other over which one of them was the most important. When they got back to the house, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked them, “What were you arguing about as we walked on the road?”

⁴⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew the thoughts of their hearts, so he had a small child come and sit next to him. ⁴⁸“The ones representing me who welcome this little child are welcoming me. When you welcome me, you are not only welcoming me but also the one who sent me. That is what I meant when I said, ‘The lowest among you will become the greatest of all.’”

⁴⁹He Shows Goodwill (John) came close to him and said, “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.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told them. “The ones who are not against us are for us.”

THE WRONG SPIRIT TO FOLLOW

⁵¹His work on earth was coming to an end, and Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would soon be returning to the spirit-world above. So he drew strength from deep within and made up his mind to go to the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and finish what his Father sent him to do.

⁵²He sent some other messengers ahead to High Place (Samaria) to find lodging, ⁵³but the people of High Place (Samaria) would not welcome him, for they knew he was on his way to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), and they wanted nothing to do with the people there.

⁵⁴When He Takes Over (James) and He Shows Goodwill (John) found out he was not welcome there, they said, “Wisdomkeeper, do you want us to call down fire from the spirit-world above to burn them up, like the prophet Great Spirit Is Creator (Elijah) did?”

⁵⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke sharply to them, “You do not know what spirit you are listening to, ⁵⁶for the True Human Being came to help people, not hurt them.”

After that, they walked silently with him toward another village.

WALK THE ROAD WITH ME

⁵⁷As they traveled on, a man walked up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). “Honored One,” he said, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸He answered the man, “The foxes live in their holes, the winged ones who fly above us live in their nests, but the True Human Being has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to another man and said, “Come, walk the road with me.”

“Honored One,” he said, “let me first go home to my father until it is time to bury him.”

⁶⁰“Let the ones who are dead bury their own dead,” he said to the man. “You are alive, go and tell others about Creator’s good road.”

⁶¹Another said to him, “Honored One, I will walk the road with you, but first let me go home and prepare my family.”

⁶²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told him, “No one who begins a journey and then turns back is ready to walk Creator’s good road.”

THE GREAT HARVEST

¹After this, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) chose seventy men from the ones who walked the road with him. He sent them out, two by two, to prepare the way for him in the villages he was about to visit on his way to the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem).

²He said to them, “There is a great harvest before us, but there are not enough helpers. Pray to the Harvest Chief, so he will send more helpers. Go and represent me. ³You will be like lambs walking among wolves. ⁴Take no money pouch or traveling bundle with you—not even a second pair of moccasins. Waste no time greeting others on the way.

⁵“When you lodge with someone, say to them first, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶If people of peace live there, you will be welcomed. If not, your blessing of peace will return to you as you leave. ⁷Stay with the ones who welcome you. There is no need to move around from house to house. Share their food and drink with them, for the ones who work hard are worth feeding.

⁸“In any village that welcomes you, eat whatever they set before you. ⁹Offer healing prayers for any who are sick and say to them, ‘Creator’s good road has come close to you.’

¹⁰“If you enter a village and no one welcomes you, go into the village pathways and say, ¹¹‘We must wipe the dust of your village from our clothes as a sign against you, for Creator’s good road has come close to you, but you would not welcome it.’ ¹²I speak from my heart, that village will face a worse end than Village of Bad Spirits (Sodom).”

¹³“Sorrow and trouble will come to you, Village of Secrets (Chorazin), and the same for you, House of Fishing (Bethsaida). If the ancient villages of Rock Land (Tyre) and Hunting Grounds (Sidon) had seen the powerful signs you have seen, they would have thrown dirt and ashes on their heads and turned their hearts back to Creator’s ways. ¹⁴It will be worse for you in the day when you face your end.

¹⁵“As for you, Village of Comfort (Capernaum), do you think you will be lifted up to the spirit-world above? No! You will be brought down low, to the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades).”

Then he turned to his followers and said, ¹⁶“The ones who welcome you welcome me. The ones who send you away are sending me away. The ones who send me away send away the one who sent me.”

THE HARVESTERS REPORT BACK

¹⁷The seventy who were sent out by Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned. Their hearts were overflowing with joy as they reported back to him. “Wisdomkeeper!” they said. “Even the evil spirits did what we said when we spoke to them in your name, representing you.”

¹⁸Then he said to them, “With my own eyes I have seen Accuser (Satan) fall down like lightning from the spirit-world above. ¹⁹Look and see! I have given you authority over snakes and spiders and over all the power of this enemy. Nothing will be able to harm you.”

²⁰“Yes, the spirits must listen to you, but do not be too happy about this. Instead, let your hearts be glad that your names are carved into the rock cliffs of the spirit-world above.”

²¹The Holy Spirit filled the heart of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) with joy. “O Great Father, maker of the earth and sky,” he prayed, “you have hidden these things from the ones who are wise in their own eyes but have shown them to the humble of heart. Yes, my Father, it has made your heart glad to see this day come.”

²²He then turned to the seventy who walked the road with him and said, “My Father has put everything into my hands. Only the Father knows the Son, and only the Son knows the Father. No one can truly know the Father in his fullness unless the Son makes him known.”

²³Then he turned to his twelve message bearers and whispered to them, “You have been given a great honor to see these things. ²⁴There were many prophets and chiefs who wanted to see and hear the things you have but did not.”

A SLY SCROLL KEEPER SETS A TRAP

²⁵A scroll keeper, one who was skilled in his knowledge of tribal law, came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to test him and trap him in his words.

“Wisdomkeeper,” he said. “What path must I walk to have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony?”

²⁶He answered him, “What is written in our tribal law about this? Tell me, how do you see it?”

²⁷The scroll keeper spoke from the words of the law, “You must love the Great Spirit from deep within, with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart,28 and you must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves.”29

²⁸“You have answered well,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said back to him. “If you walk this path you will live.”

²⁹But the scroll keeper, wanting to look good to others, asked him, “Who are my fellow human beings?”

HE TURNS THE TRAP WITH A STORY

³⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered him with a story.

“There was a man walking the road from Village of Peace (Jerusalem) to Moon Village (Jericho). On the way he was attacked by thieves, who beat him, stripped him of his clothes, and left him bleeding to death.

³¹“Now it happened that a holy man was on the same road, not far behind. When he saw the man, he went around him on the other side of the road. ³²Not far behind him was another man, also from the tribe holy men are chosen from. When he saw the wounded man, he did the same thing as the holy man.

³³“Then a man from High Place (Samaria),30 who was also walking the road, saw the wounded man. Even though he was not a Tribal Member but a mixed blood despised by the tribal people, he felt pity for the man. ³⁴He helped him by pouring good medicine on his wounds and wrapping them in a cloth. He put the man on his own animal and took him to a lodging house to care for him.

³⁵“The next day, when the man of High Place (Samaria) was leaving, he gave from his own money pouch to the keeper of the lodging house. ‘Use this to care for him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will give you anything more that is needed.’”

³⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then looked at the scroll keeper and said, “Which one of these three acted as a fellow human being to the man who was attacked by the thieves?”

³⁷The scroll keeper answered, “The one who had pity on him.”

“Go,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said, “and walk in the same way.”

CHOOSING THE BEST PART

³⁸As they journeyed on, they went to a village where a woman named Head Woman (Martha) gave them lodging at her house. ³⁹Her sister Healing Tears (Mary), who lived with her, sat next to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) on the floor, listening to his teaching.

⁴⁰Head Woman (Martha) was distracted, trying to get the meal ready for the honored guests. When she saw Healing Tears (Mary) sitting down, she walked up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and said, “Wisdomkeeper, do you not care that my sister has left me to work alone? Tell her to help me.”

⁴¹“Head Woman (Martha), O Head Woman (Martha),” he said, “I know many things worry and trouble you. ⁴²But you must set your heart on the one thing that matters. That is what Healing Tears (Mary) has done, and I will not take it from her.”

HE GIVES HIS FOLLOWERS A PRAYER

¹Another time, after Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had finished praying, one of his followers said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, teach us how to pray in the same way Gift of Goodwill (John) taught his followers.”

²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled and said to them, “When you send your voice to the Great Spirit, here is how you should pray:

“O Great Spirit, our Father from above, your name is sacred and holy.

“Bring your good road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the spirit-world above is reflected in the earth below.

³“Provide for us day by day—the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon. The corn, the squash, and the wild rice. All the good things we need for each day.

⁴“Release us from the things we have done wrong in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us.

And guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your good road.”

MORE WISDOM ABOUT PRAYING

⁵Then he added, “Suppose you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, ‘I need three pieces of frybread! ⁶A relative of mine has come from a long way to see me, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ ⁷But he says to you, ‘Quit bothering me! I cannot help you. My children and I are all in bed.’ ⁸Do not give up! If your friendship is not enough, then he will do it just because you will not give up asking.

⁹“So, keep dancing your prayers, and the way will open before you. Search for the ancient pathways, and you will find them. Keep sending up your prayers, and they will be heard.

¹⁰“Answers will come to the ones who ask, good things will be found by the ones who search for them, and the way will open before the ones who keep dancing their prayers.

¹¹“What kind of father, if his son wanted a fish, would give him a rattlesnake, ¹²or, if he asked for an egg, would give him a deadly spider? ¹³If even fathers with bad hearts will give good gifts to their children, how much more will the Creator, who is your Father from the spirit-world above, give the Holy Spirit to all who ask!”

SPIRITUAL LEADERS ACCUSE HIM

¹⁴One day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was setting a man free from a spirit that kept him from speaking. When the spirit left the man, he could speak again, and the crowd was amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, “His power over evil spirits comes from the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul),31 the one who rules over all evil spirits.”

¹⁶And others were putting him to a test, asking him for a sign from the spirit-world above.

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were thinking and said, “Any nation warring against itself comes to a bad end. ¹⁸A village or clan warring against each other will not survive. If Accuser (Satan) is against himself, how will he continue to rule? I say this because you have accused me of forcing out evil spirits by the power of the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul).

¹⁹“If my power over evil spirits comes from the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul), then by what power do your children do these things? They are the ones who will decide against you. ²⁰If I force out evil spirits by the finger of the Great Spirit, then Creator’s good road has come close to you.

²¹“When a strong warrior, who is dressed for war, guards his own belongings, they are safe. ²²But when someone who is stronger attacks and defeats him, he will strip him of his war garments that he trusted in, take away all his goods, and give them away to others.

²³“In this spiritual battle there is no unclaimed territory. The one who is not fighting with me fights against me. The one who does not help me gather scatters and makes things worse.

²⁴“When an evil spirit goes out of someone, it wanders through dry wastelands, looking for a place to rest. When it finds none, it says, ‘I will go back to the house I left.’ ²⁵It returns to find the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. ²⁶The spirit then finds seven other spirits, more evil than itself, who all go in and live there, making the person worse than before.”

²⁷As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was speaking, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Creator’s blessing is on the womb that birthed you and the breasts that nursed you!”

“That may be,” ²⁸he answered her, “but a greater blessing belongs to the ones who listen to the words of the Great Spirit and walk in his ways.”

THE SIGN OF WINGS OF DOVE

²⁹More and more people came to hear Creator Sets Free (Jesus), so he said to them, “This is a generation of bad-hearted people, looking only for powerful signs. The only sign you will be given is the sign of Wings of Dove (Jonah).” ³⁰In the same way he was a sign to the people of Village of Changed Minds (Nineveh), the True Human Being will be to the people living today.

³¹“The reputation of the female chief of the south will speak against the people of today. What she did will show your guilt, for she journeyed from a land far away to listen to the wisdom of the great chief Stands in Peace (Solomon). Look! A greater one is standing right in front of you.

³²“When Creator decides the fate of the people living today, the reputation of people of Village of Changed Minds (Nineveh) will speak against them. What they did will show your guilt, because they changed their minds when they heard the message of Wings of Dove (Jonah). Look! One who is greater than he stands before you now.

THE WAY TO SEE POSSESSIONS

^33-34“No one, after lighting a lamp, hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead it will be lifted up high on a pole so all who enter can see it.”

So he said to them, ³⁵“Light shines into the body through the eyes. If your eyes are clear, your whole being is full of light. ³⁶But, if your eyes are bad, then your whole being is full of darkness. Make sure your eyes are full of light and not darkness, and then you will clearly see the path you walk, like a torch in the night.”

HE CONFRONTS THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS

³⁷When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) finished speaking, one of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) invited him to a meal, so Creator Sets Free (Jesus) sat with him at his table. ³⁸The Separated One (Pharisee) was upset that he did not ceremonially wash his hands before eating.

³⁹“You Separated Ones (Pharisees) always wash the outside of your cups and bowls, but on the inside your hearts are full of greed and worthless ways. ⁴⁰How can you be so foolish? The one who made the outside also made the inside! ⁴¹If you will give food to the hungry from the inside of you, from the pity in your heart, then all things will be clean for you.

⁴²“Sorrow and trouble await you Separated Ones (Pharisees)! For you are careful to do what tribal law says by giving a tenth of each little herb in your garden, as you should without ignoring the more important instructions, such as treating others equally and walking in the love of the Great Spirit.

⁴³“Sorrow and trouble await you Separated Ones (Pharisees)! For you love to sit in the seats of honor at the gathering houses and to be noticed at the trading posts.

⁴⁴“Sorrow and trouble will be waiting at the end of the trail for you, for you are like unmarked burial grounds that others walk over without even noticing.”

⁴⁵A scroll keeper, one who was an expert in tribal law, spoke up. “Wisdomkeeper,” he complained, “when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) did not hold back. “Sorrow and trouble is coming your way,” he warned the scroll keeper, “for you put heavy spiritual loads on the backs of others, too much for them to carry, but will not lift even one finger to help them.

⁴⁷“Sorrow and trouble are waiting for you, for you carve statues on the burial grounds of the prophets of old to honor them, but it was your ancestors who murdered them. ⁴⁸Your actions show you are walking in their moccasins, for they killed the prophets, and you decorate their burial grounds.

⁴⁹“But here is what the Great Spirit in his wisdom says to you, ‘I will send to you prophets and message bearers. Some you will murder, and others you will track down and torture.’

⁵⁰“The people living today will have to give an answer for shedding the blood of all the prophets who have lived since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹from the blood of His Breath Goes Up (Abel) to the blood of Creator Will Remember (Zechariah), who was murdered in the courtyard of the sacred lodge.

⁵²“Sorrow and trouble await you experts in tribal law, for you have taken for yourselves the secrets of wisdom and understanding. You have failed to walk in them, and even worse, you have stood in the way of others who were trying to get in.”

⁵³As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to leave, the scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees) grew fierce in their anger toward him. ⁵⁴They began to attack him with sharp questions, trying to trap him in his words.

CREATOR SEES ALL

¹Many thousands of people were now crowding around Creator Sets Free (Jesus), so many that they were trampling on each other. Before he spoke to the crowd, he first said to his followers, “Be on the lookout for the teachings32 of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) who put on a false face. ²Remember, nothing can be hidden from Creator’s eyes. He will uncover all secrets. ³What is spoken in darkness will be heard in the light, and what is whispered in secret will be shouted from the rooftops.

⁴“Hear me, my friends, do not fear the ones who can kill only the body. For there is nothing more they can do. ⁵You should fear the one who, after you have been killed, has the right to throw you into the Valley of Smoldering Fire. This is what should make you tremble.

⁶“Five small winged ones could be traded for two stones, yet Creator cares for each of them. ⁷He even knows the number of hairs on your head. Do not fear. Are you not worth more to him than many small winged ones?

⁸“Listen! When you represent me before others, the True Human Being will represent you before Creator’s spirit-messengers. ⁹But the ones who disown me will be disowned before them.

¹⁰“Anyone who speaks against the True Human Being can be forgiven, but speaking evil of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹“When they drag you into their gathering houses and before government rulers, do not worry how to defend yourselves or what to say. ¹²When that time comes, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak.”

LOOK OUT FOR GREED

¹³Someone from the crowd pushed forward and said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, tell my brother to give me my part of what our father left to us.”

¹⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him, “Who made me the one to decide this between you and your brother? ¹⁵Watch your step, or greed will make you stumble. Remember, one’s life is not made up of many possessions.”

There were many people in the crowd who heard what he said about possessions, ¹⁶so he told this story to help them see more clearly.

“A man with many possessions had a field that was growing a great harvest of food. ¹⁷‘What will I do with all this food?’ he said to himself. ‘I have no room in my storage barns for this great harvest.’

“The man thought about it and then said to himself again, ¹⁸‘I know what I will do, I will tear down my old storage barns and build larger ones. ¹⁹I will have enough to last me many winters. Then I will take my rest, eat, drink, and celebrate.’

²⁰“But the Great Spirit said to him, ‘Why are you being so foolish? This is the day you will cross over to death and give an answer for your life. Now who will get the goods you have stored up for yourself?’”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) let the people think about the story, and then he said, ²¹“This is how it will be for the ones who make themselves rich but forget about Creator’s true riches.”

FEAR NOT, LITTLE FLOCK

²²Then he said to the ones who walked the road with him, “This is why I am telling you not to be troubled about getting enough to eat or drink, or what to wear. Is eating, drinking, and clothing yourself all there is? ²³Does your life not have more meaning?

²⁴“Look to the ravens, the winged ones who fly above us. Do they plant seeds and gather the harvest into a storehouse? No! But the Great Spirit gives them plenty to eat. Do you not know he cares even more for you? ²⁵Will worrying about these things help you live one hour longer? ²⁶If you cannot do such a small thing, why worry about other things?

²⁷“Have you seen how the wildflowers grow in the plains and meadows? Do you think they work hard and long to clothe themselves? No! I tell you, not even the great chieftain Stands in Peace (Solomon), wearing his finest regalia, was dressed as well as even one of these.

²⁸“If the Great Spirit covers the wild grass in the plains with such beauty, which is here today and gathered for tomorrow’s fire, will he not take even better care of you? Why is your faith so small? ²⁹Why worry so much about what to eat or drink? ³⁰This is what the Nations of the world, who have lost their way, have given their hearts to, but your Father from above knows you need these things.

³¹“If you will make Creator’s good road your first aim, he will make sure you have all you need for each day. ³²Do not fear, for even though you are a small flock, it makes your Father’s heart glad to give you the good road!

³³“Share your possessions with the ones in need, and you will have money pouches that never wear out, filled with possessions from the spirit-world above. ³⁴For where you store your possessions is where your heart will be.

³⁵“Be ready at all times, with your torches burning bright. ³⁶Be like the ones who, waiting for their chief to return from a distant wedding feast, are watching and ready to welcome him. ³⁷When he returns and finds them ready, he will take off his chiefly garments, dress himself in servant’s clothes, sit them at his own table, and serve them a great feast. ³⁸He will do this whether he returns late in the night or early in the morning.

³⁹“Here is another way to see what I am saying. If the elder of a family had known what night the thieves were coming, he would not have let them break in. ⁴⁰In the same way you must always be ready, for the True Human Being will return at a time you do not expect.”

WHO IS THIS STORY FOR?

⁴¹Hearing this, Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, is this story for us, or for all people?”

⁴²“You tell me,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered, “who is the wise one, worthy of trust? The uncle who feeds and cares for the family while the elder is away? ^43-44Yes, and when the elder returns, he will honor that uncle, take him into his home, and share everything with him.

⁴⁵“But what if the uncle says to himself, ‘It will be a long time before he returns,’ then begins to abuse the family, eat all the best food, and get drunk on the wine? ⁴⁶I will tell you what will happen,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) continued. “The elder will return at an unexpected time and find the uncle abusing his family. He will then put him out of the family and send him away to live with the other outcasts.

“Who is the story for?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked his followers. ⁴⁷“Like the bad-hearted uncle, it is for the ones who know Creator’s right ways but fail to walk in them. They will be given the greatest punishment, ⁴⁸for more is required from the ones who are given and trusted with more. As for the ones who do not know but still fail to do what is right, their punishment will not be as great.”

MY MESSAGE WILL BRING DIVISION

⁴⁹“I came down from above to ignite a fire on this land, and how I long for it to burn!” he said to his followers. ⁵⁰“I have a purification ceremony33 with fire to accomplish—and I am desperate to finish it!

⁵¹“Do you look for me to bring peace to this land? No! I tell you, first there will be great conflict. ⁵²The message I bring will pierce like the blade of a long knife. It will even separate family members. A family of five will take sides, three against two and two against three. ⁵³Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, uncles and nephews, aunties and nieces. They will all fight like enemies, all because of me and my message.”34

⁵⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then said to the crowd, “When a cloud rises in the west, you say, ‘It will rain soon,’ and so it does. ⁵⁵The wind blows from the south and you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and so it is.”

Then he spoke to the spiritual leaders, ⁵⁶“You who wear false faces! You understand what the earth, wind, and sky are saying, but you are blind to the message of the season you live in.

^57-58“If someone has a complaint against you, why not work things out on the way to tribal council? Can you not decide on your own what is right and come to an agreement? The council may decide against you and turn you over to ones who have the power to banish you ⁵⁹where there is no way back until honor is restored.”

TAKE A NEW PATH

¹Then some of the people there told Creator Sets Free (Jesus) about the people from Circle of Nations (Galilee) whom Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) had put to death and mixed their blood with their own ceremonial offerings.

²He said to them, “Do you think it was because of their bad hearts and wrongdoings that they suffered? Do you think their hearts were worse than all the others in Circle of Nations (Galilee)? ³No, I say to you! But if you, the people of Village of Peace (Jerusalem), do not change your ways of thinking and take a new path, you will all die in the same way.

⁴“What about the eighteen people on whom the tower in Sending Village (Siloam) fell? Do you think they were worse than all others living in Village of Peace (Jerusalem)? ⁵No, I say to you! But if you, the people of the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem), do not change your ways of thinking and take a new path, you will all die in the same way.”

⁶So he told them this story, “There was a man who planted a fig tree in his garden, but when he came to find fruit, there was none. ⁷He said to the keeper of the garden, ‘I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three seasons and have found none. Cut the tree down! Why waste good dirt on it?’

⁸“But the garden keeper answered the man, ‘Give me another season. I will dig around the tree and fertilize it. ⁹If it has no fruit after that, then cut it down.’”

CONFLICT ABOUT THE DAY OF RESTING

¹⁰On another Day of Resting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was teaching at a gathering house. ¹¹There was a woman there who had a spirit of weakness for eighteen winters. Her back was bent and twisted, so she could not stand up straight.

¹²When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw her, he told her to come to him and said, “Honored woman, you are set free from your weakness.” ¹³He put his hands on her, and right away she stood up straight and gave thanks to the Great Spirit.

¹⁴The headman of the gathering house was offended because Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had healed on the Day of Resting. He stood up and told the people, “Are there not six other days to do your work? Come on one of those days to be healed, not on the Day of Resting.”

¹⁵“You who wear false faces!” he said to the headman. “Is there anyone who would not untie his horse on the Day of Resting and take it to a watering hole? ¹⁶This woman is a daughter of Father of Many Nations (Abraham). Accuser (Satan), that evil trickster, has kept her this way for eighteen winters. Why should she not be set free on the Day of Resting?”

¹⁷The enemies of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were put to shame by his words, but the hearts of the people jumped for joy because of the wonderful things he was doing.

THE GOOD ROAD WILL FILL THE EARTH

¹⁸“What is Creator’s good road like? What can I compare it to?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked. ¹⁹“It is like a man who planted in his garden a single grain of mustard seed,35 where it grew into a great tree, large enough for the winged ones who soar in the sky to find lodging in its branches.

²⁰“Again, think of Creator’s good road ²¹like the yeast a grandmother uses when she makes frybread dough. She mixes a little yeast into a large amount of flour, then the yeast spreads throughout all of the dough.”

WILL ONLY A FEW FIND THE GOOD ROAD?

²²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) continued to travel on to Village of Peace (Jerusalem). As he passed through the villages on the way, he would stop and teach the people. ²³At one of these villages a man asked him, “Wisdomkeeper, will only a few find their way onto the good road and be set free?”

²⁴“Yes,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the man, “so make it your aim to enter in by the narrow way that I have taught you. There will be many who try to enter some other way but will not be able.

²⁵“Once the elder of a home has closed the door, others will come pound on the door and say to him, ‘Elder! Elder! Open the door for us!’

“But the elder will tell them, ‘I do not know who you are.’

²⁶“‘But did we not eat and drink with you?’ they will argue. ‘Did you not teach on our village pathways?’

²⁷“‘No!’ he will say to them, ‘I do not know where you are from. Go away from me, you bad-hearted trouble makers!’

²⁸“For there will be much weeping and grinding of teeth in anger when you see Father of Many Nations (Abraham), He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), Heel Grabber (Jacob), and all the prophets of old, feasting in the Land of Creator’s good road, but you are on the outside looking in! ²⁹People will come from many Nations, from the east, south, west, and north, and sit down to join in the feast.

“So you see,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the man, ³⁰“some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.”

NO PEACE IN VILLAGE OF PEACE

³¹At that time some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) came to him and said, “You should leave this place! Looks Brave (Herod) is looking for you—to put you to death.”

³²He answered them, “You can tell that sly coyote to look out! I am forcing out evil spirits and healing the sick today and tomorrow. On the third day I will finish the work I came to do. ³³That is why I will go from this place today, tomorrow and the day after. For a prophet cannot be put to death this far from Village of Peace (Jerusalem)!

³⁴“O Village of Peace (Jerusalem), you who kill the prophets and stone to death the ones sent to you! How I have longed to gather your children together, like the eagle gathers her young under her wings, but you would not have it. ³⁵Look! Your house has fallen and will be left in ruins!

“I speak from my heart, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes representing the Great Spirit!’”36

HEALING AGAIN ON THE DAY OF RESTING

¹On a Day of Resting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was invited to the house of a headman of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) for a meal. All were keeping their eyes on him.

²A man with a sickness that made parts of his body swell up came and stood in front of him. ³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers, who are experts in tribal law, “Is it permitted to heal on the Day of Resting? Yes or no?”

⁴The spiritual leaders glared at him in silence. ⁵So he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

He then turned to the spiritual leaders and said, “If your child, or even a horse, fell into a watering hole, would you not pull it out on the Day of Resting?”

⁶The spiritual leaders had no answer for him.

HUMILITY INSTEAD OF SELF-IMPORTANCE

⁷He noticed how the invited guests had chosen the best seats at the table, so he gave them some wise counsel.

⁸“If you are invited to a wedding feast, do not sit in the best seats, for someone with greater honor may be invited. ⁹Then the host will come to you and say, ‘Give your seat to this person.’ Then, hanging your head, you will have to take the lowest seat.

¹⁰“Instead, take the lowest seat and the host may say to you, ‘Friend, come and sit in the seat of honor.’ You will then be honored in the eyes of all the guests.”

¹¹He said to them, “The ones who put themselves above others will be brought down, but all who humble themselves will be lifted up.”

¹²Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then turned to the headman who had invited him and said, “When you have a feast, do not invite only your friends, relatives, and the ones with many possessions, who can repay you. ¹³Instead, invite the poor, the blind, and the crippled, who cannot repay you. ¹⁴Then you will be honored when the good-hearted ones are brought back to life again.”

¹⁵One of the guests at the feast said to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), “Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who will feast at the table in the Land of Creator’s good road!”

STORY OF THE GREAT FEAST

¹⁶“There was a man who prepared a great feast and invited many people. ¹⁷When the feast was ready, he sent a messenger to tell the ones he had invited, ‘Come to the table, the feast is ready!’ ¹⁸But one by one they all began to make excuses.

“One said, ‘I must go and tend to my new field. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹“Another said, ‘Please excuse me also, for I must try out the horses37 I just traded for.’

²⁰“And another, ‘I cannot come, for I have just been married.’

²¹“When the messenger told the man their answer, he became angry and said, ‘Waste no time! Go out into the village pathways and invite the ones who are poor, crippled, blind and lame.’

²²“When the messenger returned, he told the man, ‘I have done what you said, but there is still room for more.’

²³“So he told the messenger, ‘Go out to the mountain trails, look behind all the bushes, and urge them to come, so that my house may be filled with people. ²⁴None of the ones I first invited will even taste of this feast!’”

COUNTING THE COST

²⁵Large crowds were following him, so he turned to them and said, ²⁶“The ones who come to me must put me first, above all others. To walk the road with me, they must love and respect me above their own fathers and mothers, wives and children, and aunties and uncles. They must love me even more than their own lives. ²⁷Only the ones who are willing to follow me and carry their own crossbeam are ready to walk the road with me and learn my ways.

²⁸“Who would build a great lodge without first making sure he had enough trees to finish it? ²⁹If he only built the floor and then ran out of trees, others would laugh at him and say, ³⁰‘How will you finish what you started?’

³¹“Would a chief go to war against another chief if he only had half as many warriors? ³²No! He would send messengers ahead to make a peace treaty!

³³“You must count the cost of following me, for all who are not willing to give up all they have are not ready to walk the road with me and learn my ways.”

³⁴Then he added, “Salt is a good thing, but if it loses its saltiness, how will it get its flavor back? ³⁵That kind of salt is thrown away. It is no good for the garden or the manure pile.

“Let the ones who have ears hear what I am saying!”

THE WORTH OF THE LOST ONES

¹Tribal tax collectors and other outcasts would often gather around Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to listen to him tell his stories. ²But the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the scroll keepers would complain about this. They would say things like, “This man welcomes outcasts to join him at the table and eat with him.”

³On one of those occasions Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered them with a story.

⁴“Who among you, if you were caring for one hundred sheep and one of the lambs wandered away, would not leave the ninety-nine and search for that lost lamb until you found it? ⁵Would you not put that lamb on your shoulders, hurry home, ⁶and invite your friends to a celebration, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost lamb!’?

⁷“In the same way, the spirit-world above will celebrate even more over one outcast who finds the way back home than for ninety-nine who are already safely there.

⁸“Let me say it another way,” he explained. “What man who has ten eagle feathers38 and loses one would not light a torch, sweep the house clean, and look everywhere until he found it? ⁹Then, after he finds it, would he not gather his friends together for a celebration? ¹⁰In the same way, Creator’s spirit-messengers will celebrate when even one outcast finds the way back home.”

A STORY ABOUT TWO SONS

¹¹“There was a man with two sons. ¹²The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me now my share of what is coming to me.’”

“But the Father, who was good-hearted and loved his sons, divided all he had with his two sons anyway.

¹³“Not many days later, the younger son took his share and went far away to another land. He began to spend it all on wild living and soon had nothing left. ¹⁴The time came when there was not enough food in the land for everyone, and he found himself poor and hungry. ¹⁵So he went to work for a rancher, who sent him out to feed the pigs. ¹⁶He became so hungry that he wanted to eat the husks he was feeding the pigs, but no one would even give him a meal.

¹⁷“Soon the younger son came back to his right mind and said to himself, ‘Look, here I am naked and starving, but the servants who work for my father are well fed! ¹⁸I am going back to humble myself to my father. I will tell him that I have dishonored both him and the spirit-world above, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called his son. I will ask him just to let me be a hired servant to work in his fields.’

²⁰“He then made up his mind and began to go home. While he was still far away, his father saw him walking. The father’s heart opened wide and he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him.

²¹“The son said, ‘Father, I have failed the spirit-world above and you. I am not worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father ignored his son’s words, turned to his servants, and said, ‘Go! Find my best regalia and put it on him. Give him a headdress of feathers for his head and new moccasins for his feet! ²³Go get the fattest calf and prepare a great feast for a celebration. ²⁴This is my son! He was lost, but I have found him. He was dead to me, but now he is alive!’ Then they all began to feast, sing, and dance.

²⁵“Now, the older son was just returning from a hard day’s work in the field. He heard the music and dancing, ²⁶so he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come home and your father has prepared a great feast for him, because he is alive and well.’

²⁸“Hearing this, the older brother became very angry and refused to go into the lodge. The father saw him brooding outside, so he went to him and urged him to come in.

²⁹“The older son said to his father, ‘Why can you not see? I have worked hard for you all my life, and done all that you have asked of me, but you have not even given me one small goat to have a feast with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours, who wasted all you gave him on sexual favors with women, comes home, you kill the fattest calf for him.’

³¹“‘My son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always close to my heart, and everything I have is yours. ³²But it is a good thing for us to celebrate with glad hearts, for your brother was dead but now is alive. He was lost, but now we have found him!’”

POSSESSIONS AND THE GOOD ROAD

¹He then told the ones who walked the road with him another story:

“There was a man with so many possessions, he had to have someone to oversee them all. The rich man was told that his overseer was mishandling his possessions. ²He sent for the man and said to him, ‘Why am I hearing these things about you? Give me an account of all I possess, for I can no longer trust you to oversee my belongings.’

³“The man said to himself, ‘What will I do? I am too old to dig ditches and too proud to beg from others.’

“Then an idea came to his mind. ⁴‘I know what to do so that others will help me and give me a place to live.’ ⁵He went to each person who was in debt to the rich man.

“He said to the first one, ‘How much do you owe?’ ⁶‘One hundred containers of oil,’ the man answered. ‘Make it to be fifty,’ the overseer told him.

⁷“He then said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ ‘One hundred baskets of wheat,’ he answered. ‘Make it to be eighty,’ the overseer said back to him.

⁸“When the rich man found out what the dishonest overseer had done, he shook his head but admired the man’s craftiness.

“Do you see what this means?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked. “The children of darkness are sometimes wiser in the ways of this world than the children of light are in the ways of the spirit-world above.

⁹“So then, use the possessions of this world to help others in need, who will become your friends. Then when possessions run out, these new friends of Creator’s good road will always welcome you into their homes.

^10-12“If Creator cannot trust you with the possessions of this world, then how will he trust you with the treasures of the spirit-world above? But if you do well with the small things of this world, you will do well with the great things of the spirit-world above.

¹³“No one can be loyal to two rival chiefs. He will have to choose between them, for either he will hate one chief and love the other, or he will honor one and resent the other. You cannot be loyal to the Great Provider and to possessions at the same time.”

¹⁴When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) heard him, they shrugged their shoulders and rolled their eyes, for they loved their many possessions.

¹⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “You always make yourselves look good to others, but the Great Spirit sees your heart. What many see as valuable he sees as worthless.

NOTHING IN TRIBAL LAW WILL FAIL

¹⁶“Tribal Law and the Prophets spoke until Gift of Goodwill (John) came. From his time until now, the good story about Creator’s good road has been told, but people are trying to force their way upon it. ¹⁷Not one thing the Law or the Prophets have said will fail to come to pass. Their words are as sure as the sky above and the earth below.”

ABOUT DIVORCE

¹⁸“Whoever sends his wife away, without properly divorcing her, and marries another is guilty of being unfaithful to his first wife. Anyone who then marries her is guilty of marrying another man’s wife.

THE RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR

¹⁹“There was once a man with many possessions who always dressed in the best clothes, had more than enough to eat, and lived a life of ease. ²⁰Every day a beggar named Creator Helps Him (Lazarus) was laid at the gate of his lodge. ²¹Dogs would come and lick the sores that covered his body as he begged for crumbs from the rich man’s table.

²²“When the time came for the beggar to cross over to the world of the dead, spirit-messengers carried him into the welcoming arms of his ancestor, Father of Many Nations (Abraham).

“At the same time the rich man also crossed over to death, and his body was buried. ²³In the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades) he was suffering and in pain. He looked up and saw his ancestor, Father of Many Nations (Abraham), far off in the distance. He could see Creator Helps Him (Lazarus) being comforted in his arms.

²⁴“He cried out in his pain, ‘Father of Many Nations (Abraham), my ancestor, have pity on me. Send Creator Helps Him (Lazarus) to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my thirsty tongue. Help me, for I am suffering in this flame.’

²⁵“Father of Many Nations (Abraham) said to him, ‘My son, do you not remember? All your days were filled with good things, but the days of Creator Helps Him (Lazarus) were filled with sorrow and pain. It is now his time for comfort, but it is your time for sorrow and pain. ²⁶Look! There is a great canyon between us, so wide that none can make the journey from here to there.’

²⁷“The rich man hung his head and said, ‘Please, my ancestor, send him back to the lodge ²⁸of my father and my five brothers. He can warn them of this place of suffering and pain, so they will not have to come here also.’

²⁹“Father of Many Nations (Abraham) said to him, ‘They have the words of Drawn from the Water (Moses) and the words of the prophets. Let your family listen to them.’

³⁰“‘No!’ the rich man cried out. ‘If someone goes back to them from the world of the dead, they will turn their hearts back to Creator.’

³¹“Father of Many Nations (Abraham) shook his head and said, ‘If your family will not listen to Drawn from the Water (Moses) and the prophets, then they will not listen even to one who comes back to life from the dead.’”

TROUBLE WILL COME

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to the ones who walked the road with him, “This world of sorrow and pain will make many stumble, but how terrible it will be for the ones who go along with it. ²It would be better to be thrown into the deep waters with a great stone tied to your neck than to cause even one of these little ones, who trust in me, to stumble on the path.

“When you are wronged, ^3-4look first at what is in your own heart. If one of your brothers or sisters in the sacred family has wronged you, then tell them face to face. If they turn around and ask forgiveness, then release them—even if they do this seven times in one day.”

⁵“Wisdomkeeper,” his message bearers said, “help our weak faith!”

⁶“If you had faith as small as a mustard seed,” he replied, “you could also say to this mulberry tree, ‘Come out by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would do what you say.

DOING ONLY WHAT IS EXPECTED

⁷“Would an elder who sent a young man out to hunt for a deer, when the young man returned, say to him, ‘Sit down while I skin the deer and cook the meal for you’? ⁸No, but he would say, ‘Now skin the deer, then clean up and cook for me, then when I am finished, you can eat.’

⁹“The young man is only doing what is expected and deserves no special thanks. ¹⁰In the same way, when you have done everything the Great Spirit expects of you, serve him as you would an elder and do not expect to be honored for doing only what you should do.”

HONOR FROM AN OUTSIDER

¹¹On his way to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took the path following the border between High Place (Samaria) and Circle of Nations (Galilee). ¹²He went into a small village where ten men with a skin disease came across his path. ¹³They kept a respectful distance from him and called loudly, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus)! Honored One!” They pleaded, “Have pity on us!”

¹⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at them and said, “Go to the holy men and show yourselves to them.”40

They did what he said, and as they were on the way, they were healed. ¹⁵One of the ten men, when he saw he was healed, returned to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), giving loud praise to the Great Spirit. ¹⁶He then bowed down to honor Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and offered him thanks. This man was from High Place (Samaria).

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to those who were watching, “Were not ten men healed? Where then are the other nine? ¹⁸Was the only one who returned to give thanks and honor to the Great Spirit an outsider from High Place (Samaria)?”

¹⁹Then he said to the man, “Stand up and be on your way. Your trust in me has healed you.”

THE GOOD ROAD HAS COME

²⁰Another time the Separated Ones (Pharisees) asked him, “When will we see the Land of Creator’s good road?”

He said to them, “Creator’s good road is not what you expect. It does not come with the outward signs you are looking for. You will need new eyes to see it. ²¹No one will say, ‘Here it is! I found it!’ or ‘Look! It is over there!’ For Creator’s good road is already here—in me, as I walk among you.”

SIGNS OF TROUBLED TIMES

²²He then said to his message bearers, “In the time of trouble ahead, you will long for the days when the True Human Being walked among you. Those days will be no more. ²³People will say, ‘Look! He is over there or over here!’ Do not listen to them, ²⁴for when the day of the True Human Being comes, it will be like lightning when it flashes and lights the whole sky. ²⁵But first he will suffer many terrible things and be turned away by the people living today.

²⁶“The days of the True Human Being will be the same as it was in the days of One Who Rests (Noah), before the great flood. ²⁷The people were eating and drinking and getting married until the day that One Who Rests (Noah) entered the great wooden canoe. No one believed what was coming until the floodwaters came, washed them away, and drowned them all.

²⁸“It will be the same as it was in the days of Covers His Head (Lot). The people were eating and drinking, trading goods, planting seeds, and building their lodges ²⁹until the day came that Covers His Head (Lot) left Village of Bad Spirits (Sodom). Then rocks burning with fire fell from the sky and destroyed them all. ³⁰This is how it will be when the True Human Being is revealed.

³¹“When that day comes, the ones on their rooftops should flee, not even taking the time to get their belongings from inside their house. The ones who are working in the field should not take time to go home. ³²Remember what happened to the wife of Covers His Head (Lot).”

³³“The ones who cling to their life’s belongings will lose their own lives, but whoever is willing to leave everything behind will survive.

³⁴“During that night two people will be asleep in bed. One will be taken away and the other left. ³⁵Two women will be husking grain. One will be taken away and the other left.”

^36-37“Taken where?” his followers asked him.

“To the place where the dead bodies lie and the eagles41 gather over them,” he answered.

NEVER GIVE UP PRAYING

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told them a story to show that they should pray at all times and never lose heart.

²“Listen!” he said. “There was a village that had a tribal council chief who did not fear the Great Spirit or respect his fellow human beings. ³A woman of that village, who had lost her husband, kept bothering him. She would say to him, ‘Stand up for me against the one who has done me wrong!’

^4-5“The tribal council chief ignored her at first, but the woman kept demanding that he help her. The council chief grew weary, changed his thinking, and said, ‘This woman really troubles me. If I do not help her and right this wrong, she will never stop bothering me! I will see that she gets justice, not because I respect her or even fear the Great Spirit, but only because she will not give up until I help her.’”

⁶Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then said, “Can you hear the words of this bad-hearted tribal council chief? ⁷If a council chief like that will do what is right, how much more will the Great Spirit right the wrongs done to the ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he ignore their cries? No! ⁸I tell you, he will not be slow to bring justice to them. But when the True Human Being comes, will he find this kind of faith anywhere in this land?”

ARROGANCE AND HUMILITY

⁹He then told a story to warn the ones who trusted in themselves and thought they were better than others.

¹⁰“Two men, a Separated One (Pharisee) and a tribal tax collector, went to the Great Spirit’s sacred lodge to send up their prayers.

¹¹“The Separated One (Pharisee) kept his distance from the tribal tax collector and prayed out loud, ‘Creator, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humankind—like the ones who use force to get from others what they want, or who are not faithful in marriage, or who have no understanding of right or wrong. I thank you also that I am not like this tribal tax collector standing here! ¹²I go without food twice a week for spiritual reasons, and I give a tenth of all my gain.’

¹³“Now the tribal tax collector hung his head down and would not even lift his face to the spirit-world above. He beat his hands against his chest and cried out, ‘Creator! Be kind and have pity on me. I am a pitiful man, full of bad thoughts and wrongdoings!’

¹⁴“Can you not see?” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said. “The tribal tax collector returned home in good standing with Creator, but the Separated One (Pharisee) did not! The ones who think too highly of themselves will be brought down low. The ones who humble themselves will be lifted up.”

LITTLE CHILDREN AND THE GOOD ROAD

¹⁵The 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.

¹⁶So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) 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. ¹⁷I speak from my heart, unless you welcome Creator’s good road in the way a little child does, you will never walk it.”

POSSESSIONS OR THE GREAT SPIRIT?

¹⁸A spiritual leader came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus). “Good Wisdomkeeper,” he asked, “what must I do to have the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony?”

¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” he asked the man. “Only the Great Spirit is good. ²⁰You know the sacred instructions from tribal law: Do not be unfaithful in marriage, do not take the life of another, or take anything that is not yours. Do not lie about others, and always give honor and respect to your parents.”42

²¹“Wisdomkeeper,” the man answered, “from my youth I have followed all of these instructions.”

²²“Then only one thing remains,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told him, “Take all of your possessions and give them to the ones who have none. Then you will have great possessions in the spirit-world above. And then come, walk the good road with me.”

²³The young man’s heart fell to the ground, and he hung his head, for he had many possessions.

^24-25A great sadness came to the face of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) as he looked at the man. And then he said, “Walking the good road is a hard thing for the ones who have many possessions. It would be easier for a moose43 to squeeze through the eye of a beading needle.”

²⁶After hearing this, they asked him, “How then can anyone walk the good road that sets all people free?”

²⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at them and said, “This is only possible with the help of the Great Spirit.”

²⁸Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke up. “Can you see that we have left all our possessions and our relatives to walk the road with you?”

²⁹“I speak from my heart,” he said to them, “No one who has left homes and families to walk Creator’s good road will go without. ³⁰For in this world they will gain an even greater family with many homes, and in the world to come, the life of beauty and harmony will be theirs.”

THE ROAD AHEAD

³¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took the twelve aside and told them again about what was coming on the road ahead.

“Consider closely what I am telling you,” he reminded them. “We are on our way to the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem), where all the words of the prophets about the True Human Being will come to pass. ³²He will be handed over to the People of Iron (Romans).44 They will treat him shamefully, spit on him, ³³and put him to death, but on the third day he will come back to life.”

³⁴But his twelve message bearers did not understand what he was saying. The meaning was hidden from their eyes.

A BLIND MAN HEALED

³⁵As they walked the road toward Village of Peace (Jerusalem), they came to Moon Village (Jericho). A blind man was sitting by the road begging for food. ³⁶When he heard the sound of the passing crowd, he asked what was happening. ³⁷He was told that Creator Sets Free (Jesus), from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth), was passing by.

³⁸The blind man cried out in a loud voice, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus), descendant of Much Loved One (David), have pity on me!”

³⁹The people in the front of the crowd scolded him and said, “Be quiet!”

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

⁴⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking and told them to bring the man to him. When the man was close, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked him, ⁴¹“What do you want from me?”

“Wisdomkeeper,” he said, “heal my eyes, so I can see again.”

⁴²“Open your eyes and look around,” he told the man. “Your trust in me has healed you.”

⁴³As soon as he said this, the man could see!

Right then the man began to walk the road with Creator Sets Free (Jesus), giving honor to the Great Spirit. And all the people who saw this also sang songs to thank the Great Spirit.

RESTORING PURE OF HEART

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was walking through Moon Village (Jericho). ²There, a man named Pure of Heart (Zacchaeus), who was a head tribal tax collector with many possessions, ³was trying to see who was coming but was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed up a tall tree to get a better view.

⁵When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came to the tree, he looked up and said, “Pure of Heart (Zacchaeus), come down from there and take me to your house, for I need a place to rest.”

⁶He quickly climbed down the tree and with a glad heart welcomed him into his house. ⁷But when the people saw this, they shook their heads. “What is he doing?” they grumbled out loud. “Why would he go into the house of an outcast?”

⁸Pure of Heart (Zacchaeus) stood up to the crowd and said to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), “Hear me, Wisdomkeeper. I will give half my possessions to the ones who have none. If I have cheated anyone, I will give them back four times as much.”

⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) smiled and said, “This is a good day, because this man and his family have finally been set free. For he also is a descendant of Father of Many Nations (Abraham) who had lost his way. ¹⁰The True Human Being has come to find the ones who have lost their way and guide them back again to the good road.”

REJECTING THE NEW CHIEF

¹¹Since they were now close to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), and his followers thought that Creator’s good road would appear as soon as they arrived, he decided it was time to tell them another story.

¹²“There was a man who was born to be chief of a large tribal nation. The time had come for him to take his place as chief. But first he had to take a long journey to another land, to meet with a council of many nations, to be approved.

¹³“Before he left, he called together ten trusted tribal members who worked for him. He gave each one a woven blanket of great value. ‘Go,’ he told them, ‘and trade well until I return.’

¹⁴“But many of his own people despised him, so they sent some messengers ahead of him to speak with the council. ‘We do not want this man to be our chief,’ they said.

¹⁵“Much later, after being appointed as chief, he returned to his own tribal nation. He called together the trusted tribal members to whom he had given the woven blankets, to see how well they had traded.

¹⁶“The first to come to him said, ‘Honored chief, look, I now have ten blankets to return to you.’

¹⁷“‘You have done well!’ the chief replied, ‘Since you did well with this small thing, you will now represent me in ten villages.’

¹⁸“The second man came to him, and said, ‘Look, my chief, your one blanket is now five.’

¹⁹“‘Well done. You will now represent me in five villages,’ the chief told him.

²⁰“Another came to him and said, ‘See, my chief, I have returned to you the blanket you gave me. I folded it and hid it safely away. ²¹I dared not trade with it, for I know you to be a harsh man and I was afraid. You take from others what is not yours and harvest food you did not plant.’

²²“‘You have betrayed my trust,’ he said to the man. ‘Your own words will decide your fate! If you thought I was this way, ²³why did you not give your blanket to the trading post and at least have something to show for it when I returned?’

²⁴“Then the newly appointed chief turned to the ones who stood close by and said, ‘Take the blanket from him and give it to the one who has ten.’

²⁵“They were confused by this. ‘But, honored chief,’ they said, ‘he already has ten blankets!’

²⁶“The chief said to them, ‘The ones who do well with what they have will be given more. But for the ones who do nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

²⁷“‘Now bring to me the ones who opposed me before the council,’ he said with authority. ‘They will now have to die, while I watch, because they have made themselves my enemies.’”

HIS GRAND ENTRY

²⁸After he told this story, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) walked on ahead of his followers to Village of Peace (Jerusalem). ^29-30When he came to House of Figs (Bethany) at the foot of Olive Mountain, he said to two of his followers, “Go to House of Unripe Figs (Bethphage) on the other side of the mountain. When you come into the village, you will see a young donkey colt tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. ³¹If anyone asks what you are doing, say this to them, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper is in need of it.’”

³²His followers did as they were told. When they arrived at the village, they found everything just as he had said. ³³When they started untying the colt, the owners asked them, “What are you doing?” ³⁴They answered the owners just as they had been instructed, so they were permitted to go.

³⁵They brought the young donkey colt to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and laid their deer skins and tribal blankets on the donkey colt. He then mounted the colt and began his ride.

³⁶As he rode forward, some of the people began to spread their buffalo robes on the road in front of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ³⁷When he reached the foot of Olive Mountain, the whole village was in an uproar. His followers began to sing to Creator and shout out loud, praising him for the powerful signs they had seen.

³⁸“Blessed is the Grand Chief who comes representing the Great Spirit! Peace to the spirit-world above and honor and shining-greatness to the One Above Us All!”45

³⁹Some of the Separated Ones (Pharisees) who were in the crowd spoke up. “Wisdomkeeper!” they cried out, “Warn your followers to watch what they are saying.”

⁴⁰“I will tell you this,” he said to them. “If they were silenced, the very stones and rocks we are walking on would lift their voices and cry out!”

THE TRAIL WHERE HE CRIED

⁴¹As he rode forward, he could see the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem), and tears began to run down his face.

He could taste the salt from his tears as he opened his mouth in anguish.

⁴²“Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, you are the Sacred Village of Peace,” he wept out loud. “Of all people, you should be the ones who would know the way of peace, but on this sacred day, the way of peace is hidden from your eyes.

⁴³“In the days ahead your enemies will encircle you and close in on you from every side. You will be crushed and trampled down, along with all your children. ⁴⁴Every lodge will fall, and not even one pole, log, or stone will be left standing against another. All of this will happen because you did not know it was your time for the Great Spirit to visit you.”

⁴⁵Then he rode through the Beautiful Gate, into the village and up to the sacred lodge.

He entered the lodge and began to force out the ones who were buying and selling the ceremonial animals. ⁴⁶“It is written in the Sacred Teachings,” he cried out, “‘my lodge will be a house of prayer; but you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!’46”

⁴⁷In the days that followed, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came each day to the sacred lodge to teach and tell his stories. The head holy men, the scroll keepers, and the spiritual leaders took counsel together to plan new ways to have him killed. ⁴⁸But they could not figure out what to do, for the people had great respect for him and held on to every word he said.

THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS CHALLENGE HIM

¹One day that week when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was telling the good story at the sacred lodge, the head holy men and the scroll keepers came to him, along with the elders. ²“By what right do you do these things?” they challenged. “Who gave you this right?”

³“I will answer your question,” he said to them, “but first you must answer mine.

⁴“The purification ceremony47 performed by Gift of Goodwill (John), was it from the spirit-world above, or did it come from human beings?” he asked them.

⁵They put their heads together and talked it over. “If we say it is from the spirit-world above, he will ask us why we did not listen to him. ⁶If we say it is from human beings, the people would stone us to death, for they think Gift of Goodwill (John) is a great prophet.”

⁷So they said to him, “We do not know.”

⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked straight at them and said, “Then I will not answer your question either.”

STORY OF THE VINEYARD

⁹Then he turned again to the people and began to tell them this story.

“A tribal member planted a large vineyard and rented it out to other tribal members for a share of the grapes. Then he traveled far away to another land to stay for a long time.

¹⁰“When harvest time came, the tribal member who owned the vineyard sent a trusted messenger to gather his share of the grapes; but the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹The vineyard owner sent another messenger, but they treated him shamefully, beat him, and sent him away also. ¹²So he sent a third messenger, but they did the same things to him.

¹³“‘What can I do?’ he wondered. ‘I know,’ he said to himself, ‘I will send my much-loved son. They will have to respect him.’

¹⁴“When they saw that he had sent his son, they put their heads together and came up with an evil plan. ‘This vineyard will one day belong to this son,’ they schemed. ‘If we kill him, the vineyard will be ours.’

¹⁵“So they dragged him out to the edge of the vineyard, murdered him, and left his dead body there.”

“What will the owner of the vineyard do?” he asked.

¹⁶Then he said, “He will return, put those dishonorable men to death and give the vineyard to others.”

“That must never happen!” they said.

¹⁷Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at the spiritual leaders and said, “Then what do the Sacred Teachings mean when they say, ‘The tree the lodge builders threw away has become the Chief Lodgepole’? ¹⁸The ones who stumble over this pole will be broken into pieces, and when it falls on them, they will be crushed and scattered like dust in the wind.”48

THE SEPARATED ONES ATTACK

¹⁹When the head holy men and the scroll keepers realized that this story was about them, they looked for a way to arrest him, but they could not, for they were afraid of what the people might do. ²⁰They kept an eye on him and sent spies who pretended to be good-hearted to trap him in his words, so they would have a reason to turn him over to the power of the governor of People of Iron (Romans).

²¹“Wisdomkeeper,” the spies said to him. “We know you always speak the truth about the Great Spirit and represent him well. ²²Tell us what is permitted, should our tribal members pay taxes to the Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar)? Yes or no?”

²³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) could see right through them. ²⁴“Show me one of their silver coins.”

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

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

²⁵“Then give to this ruler the things that are his,” he said, “and give to the Great Spirit the things that belong to the Great Spirit.”

²⁶The spiritual leaders had failed, right in front of the people, and could not use his words against him. They were amazed at his wisdom and hung their heads in silence.

THE UPRIGHT ONES ATTACK

²⁷Then some of the Upright Ones (Sadducees), who say there is no rising again from death, came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) ²⁸to question him also.

“Wisdomkeeper,” they said, “in the law Drawn from the Water (Moses) gave us these instructions: ‘If a Tribal Member should die before having children, then his brother should marry his widow and give her children. This way the man will have descendants.’49

²⁹“In a family of seven brothers, the oldest took a wife, but died without children. ³⁰The next brother married her, but he also died with no children. ³¹A third brother married her, and, like his other brothers, he died with no children. The same happened to all seven of them, ³²and, last of all, the woman also crossed over to death. ³³When they all come back to life in the new world, whose wife would she be, since all seven men married her?”

³⁴“Marriage belongs to this present world and to the ones who live in it,” he answered. ³⁵“The ones who are chosen to rise to life in that world will not marry, for they will be like the spirit-messengers. ³⁶They will never die, for they are the children of the Great Spirit who raises them again to new life.”

³⁷And then he said, “As to the dead rising again, listen to what the Sacred Teachings tell us that Drawn from the Water (Moses) said when he saw the burning bush. He calls Creator the ‘Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), and Heel Grabber (Jacob).’50

³⁸“He is not the Great Spirit of the dead, but of the living. To him all are alive.”

³⁹Hearing this, some of the scroll keepers said to him, “Wisdomkeeper, you have answered well.”

⁴⁰After that none of the Upright Ones (Sadducees) dared to ask him any more questions.

⁴¹So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked them a question, “How is it that you call the Chosen One the descendant of Much Loved One (David), ⁴²when Much Loved One (David) in the Sacred Songs (Psalms) says, ‘The Great Chief said to my Great Chief, ‘Sit down beside me at my right hand, my place of greatest honor, ⁴³until I defeat your enemies and humble them before you’?”51

⁴⁴“If Much Loved One (David) calls the Chosen One, ‘My Great Chief,’” he asked them, “then how can the Chosen One be his descendant?”

⁴⁵Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, loud enough for all to hear, ⁴⁶“Beware of the scroll keepers, who walk about dressed up in fancy regalia, who love to be noticed at the trading posts, who take the seats of honor at the gathering houses and the best seats at the feasts. ⁴⁷With many words they make long, empty prayers to trick widows into giving them their homes and possessions, but they will all come to a worse end than others.”

A SACRIFICIAL GIFT

¹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked up and saw people with many possessions bringing their gifts to the giveaway at the sacred lodge. ²He then saw a poor widow walk up and place two poorly beaded earrings on the blanket, worth almost nothing.

³“I speak from my heart,” he said to his followers, “this widow’s gift is better than all the others. ⁴When they put their gifts on the blanket, they gave only a small part of their many possessions, but this poor widow has given all she had.”

SIGNS AND WARNINGS

⁵Some of his followers began to point out to him the beauty of the great lodge with its handsomely carved logs, its large stones, and ceremonial gifts.

⁶“Take a good long look,” he said, “for in the days ahead, all of this will fall to the ground. Not one log or stone will be left standing against another.”

⁷“Wisdomkeeper, when will this happen?” they asked. “What will be the sign?”

⁸“Make sure no one leads you down the wrong path,” he warned them, “for many will falsely represent me and say, ‘I am the Chosen One, follow me, there is no time left!’ Do not follow after them.

⁹“When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not fear, for these things will come first—but the end is not yet. ¹⁰Tribal wars will break out, and nations will war against nations. ¹¹There will be great earthquakes, food will be scarce, sickness will spread everywhere, and bad signs will appear in the sky.

¹²“Before all of this happens, you will be betrayed by your own people. They will hunt you down, drag you into their gathering houses, and put you in jail. They will hand you over to the government and officials of the People of Iron (Romans). All of this they will do to you because of me and my name. ¹³But remember, this will be your chance to represent me and tell them the good story. ¹⁴Do not worry about what to say ahead of time to defend yourselves, ¹⁵for I will give you the mouth of a wisdomkeeper, and no enemy will be able to answer you or prove you wrong.

¹⁶“You will be betrayed by your own family members and friends. They will even have some of you killed. ¹⁷They will all hate you because you are representing me and my teachings.

¹⁸“But none of these things can truly harm you,52 ¹⁹so you must stand up strong and never give up trusting in me, for my life inside you will help you walk with firm steps.”

THE DAY OF SORROW AND DESTRUCTION

²⁰“When you see Village of Peace (Jerusalem) surrounded and encamped about by the armies of the People of Iron (Romans), you will know that the time of her destruction has come.53 ²¹The people of the Land of Promise (Judea) should run to the mountains for safety, and the ones who are inside the walls of Village of Peace (Jerusalem) must get out, and the ones outside should not go in. ²²For this is the time when Creator will let justice have its way, to bring about the bad end spoken of in the Sacred Teachings.

²³“It will be hard for women who are pregnant or nursing their babies, for great sorrow and trouble will come like an angry storm upon the land and against this people. ²⁴The great Village of Peace (Jerusalem) will be cut down by the long knives. The people will be taken captive and scattered into all the nations. The Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem) will then be trampled down by the Outside Nations until their time has come to an end.

²⁵“There will also be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth the nations will tremble with fear. Panic and confusion will grow strong when they hear the sea roar and see the waves swell. ²⁶The people will shake with fear, and hearts will fall to the ground when they see what is happening to the world around them. Even the powers of the spirit-world above will tremble and shake.

²⁷“Then they will look up and see the True Human Being coming with power, riding on the clouds, and showing his shining-greatness!54

²⁸“When you see all these things begin to happen, stand strong, my followers. Lift up your heads! For the time of your captivity will soon come to an end!”

STORY ABOUT THE FIG TREE

²⁹Then he told them a wisdom-story: “Look at this fig tree or any tree, and see what it is saying to you. ³⁰When the branches of a tree grow soft and buds appear, you know that it is nearly summer. ³¹In the same way when you see these things happening, you will know that Creator’s good road is about to come into full bloom.

³²“I speak from my heart! All of this will happen to this generation, during the lifetime of the people who live today. ³³What I have told you is sure, for my words will last longer than the sky above and the earth below.

³⁴“So keep your eyes straight. Do not let your hearts fall to the ground. Do not give yourselves to drinking or worrying about your life’s possessions, or that day will take you by surprise. ³⁵For it will come without warning, to all who live on the land, like a beaver that is snared in a trap. ³⁶So stay on guard, praying that you will find a safe path through this time and stand strong before the True Human Being.”

³⁷During the day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would teach and tell his stories at the sacred lodge. Then at night he would go to where he was lodging on Olive Mountain. ³⁸Then, in the morning, all the people would gather again at the lodge to listen to him.

THE BETRAYER MAKES HIS MOVE

¹It was time once again for the traditional feast of Bread Without Yeast, called Passover. ²The head holy men and the scroll keepers were looking for a way to capture Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and have him put to death, for they feared his influence over the people.

³During that time, Accuser (Satan) wrapped himself around the heart of Speaks Well Of (Judas), also called Village Man (Iscariot), who was one of the twelve followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

⁴He went to the head holy men and the lodge guards and told them of his plan to turn against Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ⁵With glad hearts they agreed to pay him. ⁶He agreed to the amount and began to wait for the right time to betray Creator Sets Free (Jesus) when there were no crowds around him.

PREPARING FOR THE CEREMONIAL MEAL

⁷It was now the day of Bread Without Yeast, when the ceremonial Passover lamb would be sacrificed and eaten.

⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) chose Stands on the Rock (Peter) and He Shows Goodwill (John). “Go and prepare a place for us to eat the ceremonial meal,” he instructed them.

⁹“Where should we go?” they asked him.

¹⁰“Go into the village,” he instructed them, “and look for a man carrying a pouch of water. He will take you to a lodge. Go in with him ¹¹and say to the headman of the house, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper wants to know where the room is to eat the Passover meal with his followers.’ ¹²He will then take you to a large upper room that will be ready for you. There you can prepare the meal.”

¹³They did as he said and found everything was just as he told them, so they prepared the ceremonial meal.

THE CEREMONIAL MEAL BEGINS

¹⁴When it was time for the ceremonial meal to begin, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his twelve message bearers sat down around a table.

¹⁵“How I have longed to sit and eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer,” he said.

^16-18He then lifted up a cup of wine, gave thanks for it, and said, “Take this and share it with one another.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to them, “Listen to me closely, I will not drink from the fruit of this vine again until it finds its full meaning in the Land of Creator’s good road.”

During the meal ¹⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some of the frybread, lifted it up, and gave thanks. He broke it into pieces, gave some to each of his followers, and said, “This is my body, my gift to you. Take it and eat it. Do this to remember me.”

²⁰In the same way, after the meal was over, he took a cup of wine, lifted it up, and gave thanks. He gave it to his followers and said, “This cup of wine is for the new peace treaty. It is my lifeblood poured out for you.”

²¹“But look and see!” he said to the surprise of all. “The one who has turned against me is sitting at this table. ²²The True Human Being will walk the path that has been chosen for him, but it will not go well for the one who betrays him.”

²³His message bearers looked around at one another, asking who among them would do such a thing.

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

²⁴This led to an argument about which one of them was to be seen as the first and greatest among them.

²⁵So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) reminded them, “Rulers from the Nations show their power by forcing their way upon people and then call it ‘helping them.’ ²⁶This will not be the way of the ones who walk my road. The greatest among you will be least, like a child, and the rulers will be like household servants.”

²⁷“Who is the greater one?” he asked. “The one who is being served, or the one who serves?”

“Is it not the one being served?” he responded. “But here I am serving you.”

²⁸“You have stood with me even in my time of sorrow and testing. ²⁹My Father has made me the Chief of the good road. As Chief, I give you the right to walk this road with me ³⁰and share my table. There you will sit in twelve council seats and decide all things for the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).”

ALL OF YOU WILL TURN AWAY

³¹“One Who Hears (Simon), hear me!” he said. “Accuser (Satan) has asked to put you all to the test, like one who separates the grain from the husks. ³²But I have prayed for you that your failure will not turn you from the good road. When you turn back once again, then help the others to do the same.”

³³But One Who Hears (Simon) could not hear, so he said, “Wisdomkeeper, I am ready to go with you to both prison and death!”

³⁴Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at him with sad eyes and said, “Stands on the Rock (Peter), listen to me! Before the rooster crows, this very night, you will deny that you know who I am. Not once, not twice, but three times.”

TROUBLE AHEAD

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew that trouble was coming, ³⁵so he said, “When I sent you out to tell the good story to the villages, you took no money pouch, no traveling bundle, not even extra moccasins. Did you need anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶“That is good,” he said, “but now take your money pouch and your traveling bundle with you.”

“Also, if you have no long knife, then trade your outer garment for one, ³⁷for there is another prophecy in the Sacred Teachings that tells what will happen to me. It says, ‘He was numbered with the rebels.’55 This also must find its full meaning and come to an end in me.”

³⁸“Wisdomkeeper!” they said, “Look, here are two long knives.”

“That will be enough,” he answered.

PRAYER OF SUFFERING

³⁹Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers left from there and went to the place where he often prayed at Olive Mountain. ⁴⁰When they arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you will have the strength to face this time of testing ahead of you.”

^41-42He went from them about as far as one can throw a stone. He lowered himself to the ground, fell on his face, and sent his voice to Creator, “If you want, my Father, you can take this bitter road of pain and sorrow away from me, but even so I want to walk your path, not my own.”

⁴³While he prayed, a spirit-messenger from the spirit-world above appeared, giving him strength. ⁴⁴In great agony he prayed with renewed strength, until his sweat began to fall like great drops of blood watering the ground.

⁴⁵When he had finished sending his voice to the Great Spirit, he got up and found his followers sleeping. ⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked. “Wake up and pray for strength to face this time of testing!”

THE FIERY TRIAL BEGINS

⁴⁷While Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was speaking, suddenly a crowd stormed in led by Speaks Well Of (Judas), one of the twelve. He walked up to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to greet him.

⁴⁸“Will you betray the True Human Being with a kiss?” he said to him.

⁴⁹When his followers saw what was happening, they said, “Wisdomkeeper, should we strike with our long knives?”

⁵⁰Before he could answer them, one of them drew his long knife from its sheath and cut off the right ear of the servant of the chief holy man.

⁵¹“Stop! No more fighting!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) cried out. Then he touched the man’s ear and healed it. ⁵²He then turned to the head holy men, the lodge soldiers, and the council elders, who had come to take him.

“Why do you come at me with clubs and long knives as if I were a thief?” he asked them. ⁵³“Did I not sit with you every day in the sacred lodge? Why did you not take me then? This is your time, and you have given the powers of darkness their day.”

⁵⁴The lodge soldiers grabbed hold of him, dragged him away, and took him to the house of the chief holy man. Watching from a distance, Stands on the Rock (Peter) followed them.

STANDS ON THE ROCK DENIES HIM

⁵⁵Some of the men built a fire in the courtyard and sat down to warm themselves. Stands on the Rock (Peter) sat down with them. ⁵⁶When a servant girl noticed him sitting by the fire, she looked closely into his face and said, “This man was with Creator Sets Free (Jesus)!”

⁵⁷“Woman,” he denied, “I do not know the man.”

⁵⁸A short time later someone else noticed him, and said, “You are one of his followers.”

“I am not!” he argued back.

⁵⁹About one hour later another man accused him, “He must be one of his followers, for he is also from Circle of Nations (Galilee).”

⁶⁰“Man!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) defended himself, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Before he could get the words out of his mouth, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned and looked at him from a distance.

Stands on the Rock (Peter) remembered what he had been told earlier, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

⁶²Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) ran out of the gate, at the first light of dawn, and wept bitter tears as he stumbled down the road.

THE GRAND COUNCIL QUESTIONS HIM

⁶³The soldiers who were guarding Creator Sets Free (Jesus) began to mock and beat him with their fists. ⁶⁴They put a blindfold over his eyes. “Prophesy to us! Tell us who struck you!” ⁶⁵they laughed, insulting him with cruel words and twisted faces.

⁶⁶As the sun began to rise, the Grand Council56 of elders, along with the head holy men and the scroll keepers, all came together. They brought Creator Sets Free (Jesus) into the council house.

⁶⁷“If you are the Chosen One, then tell us!” they demanded.

“If I say that I am, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸and if I ask for your answer, you will not tell me.” ⁶⁹And then he said, “But from now on the True Human Being will be seated at the right hand of the Great Power.”57

⁷⁰Then with one voice they asked, “Are you then the Son of the Great Spirit?”

“You have said it,” he answered them. “I am.”

⁷¹“Why question any more witnesses?” the council ruled. “We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth.”

QUESTIONED BY THE PEOPLE OF IRON

¹When they were done, they tied ropes around him again. All the ones who had gathered there got up and followed as they took Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate), the governor of the People of Iron (Romans).

²So they began to accuse him, “We caught this man misleading our nation and telling people not to pay taxes to the government of the People of Iron (Romans). He tells the people that he is the Chosen One, a Great Chief.”

³Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) turned to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and asked him, “Do you say that you are chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)?”

“It is you who have said it,” he replied.

⁴Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) turned to the head holy men and said in front of all the people, “I see no reason to find this man guilty.”

⁵But they kept accusing him and saying, “He is making trouble with the people of the Land of Promise (Judea), spreading his teachings from Circle of Nations (Galilee) to Village of Peace (Jerusalem).”

⁶After hearing this and finding out Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was from Circle of Nations (Galilee), ⁷he decided to send him to Looks Brave (Herod), who was in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) for the festival, for Looks Brave (Herod) was chief of the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee).

QUESTIONED BY CHIEF LOOKS BRAVE

⁸Chief Looks Brave (Herod) was happy to see him. He had waited a long time for this, for he had heard much about Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He was hoping to see some powerful medicine come from him.

^9-10The head holy men and scroll keepers made strong accusations against him, so Looks Brave (Herod) dug deep with many questions.

But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood silent and gave no answer.

¹¹Chief Looks Brave (Herod) mocked him along with his soldiers. They dressed him in a fancy robe and sent him back to the People of Iron (Romans). ¹²Looks Brave (Herod) and Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) had been enemies, but on that day they became friends.

BACK TO THE PEOPLE OF IRON

¹³When they brought Creator Sets Free (Jesus) back to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate), he then gathered the head holy men, the spiritual leaders, and the people together ¹⁴and said to them, “You told me this man was a troublemaker, but I questioned him and found him not guilty of your accusations. ¹⁵Looks Brave (Herod), one of your own people, also questioned him and found nothing wrong with him. Can you not see that this man has done nothing that deserves death? ¹⁶I will have him whipped and release him.”

¹⁷By tradition the People of Iron (Romans) would release one criminal during the festival. ¹⁸But they all shouted, “No! Not Creator Sets Free (Jesus)! Instead release Son of His Father (Barabbas)!” ¹⁹Now this man was a troublemaker who had caused an uprising and had been imprisoned for murder.

²⁰Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) wanted to release Creator Sets Free (Jesus), so he asked again what they wanted to do with Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ²¹The crowd began to roar, “Death! Death on the cross!”

²²Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) quieted the crowd and a third time said, “Why! What evil has he done? I have not found him guilty or worthy of death. I will have him beaten and then set him free.”

²³The crowd would not back down. Louder and louder they demanded his death on the cross again and again, ²⁴until Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) finally gave them what they wanted. He made his official decision, ²⁵released Son of His Father (Barabbas), a man of violence, guilty of uprising and murder, and he turned Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the man of peace, over to what the people wanted.

NAILED TO THE CROSS

²⁶The soldiers then marched Creator Sets Free (Jesus) away. A man named Listening Man (Simon), from Land of Power (Cyrene) in northern Africa, was just entering Village of Peace (Jerusalem). The soldiers forced him to walk behind Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and carry the crossbeam for him.

²⁷A large crowd of people trailed behind. Some of the women were wailing and crying out loud. ²⁸Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to them and said, “Daughters of Village of Peace (Jerusalem), weep not for me but for yourselves and your children.

²⁹“The time is coming soon when people will say, ‘It is better for the women who have borne no children, for they will not have to watch them die.’ ³⁰People will say to the mountains and the hills, ‘Fall on us and cover us over.’58

³¹“If they do this to a green tree, what will they do to the trees that are dead and dry?”

³²Two other men, both of them criminals, were also walking the road with him to be put to death.

³³When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they nailed the hands and feet of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to a tree-pole—the cross. They did the same for the two criminals, putting one on each side of him.

³⁴“Father, forgive them!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) cried out. “They do not know what they are doing.”

The soldiers divided up his garments and gambled for them by drawing straws.59

³⁵The people watched as the spiritual leaders mocked him. “He set others free,” they said, “why can he not free himself, if he is Creator’s Chosen One?”

³⁶The soldiers offered Creator Sets Free (Jesus) wine mixed with bitter herbs ³⁷and mocked him. “If you are the Great Chief of the tribes,” they laughed, “then set yourself free.”

³⁸Above his head, carved above the crossbeam, were these words in three languages:

³⁹One of the thieves next to him spewed out angry words, “If you are the Chosen One, save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰Then the other thief spoke up and said, “Have you no fear or respect for the Great Spirit? ⁴¹We are guilty and suffering for our own wrongdoings, but this man has done nothing wrong!”

⁴²The man turned to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and said to him, “Honored One, remember me when you come into the power of your good road.”

⁴³Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked at the man and said, “Listen closely, before the sun sets today, you will walk with me in the beautiful garden.”60

⁴⁴It was now midday, for the sun had reached the center of the sky.61 A great shadow of darkness covered the land like a blanket, and the sky remained dark until midafternoon.62 ⁴⁵The light of the sun grew dim, and the great heavy blanket that hung over the entry to the Most Holy Place in the sacred lodge was torn in two down the middle.

⁴⁶At the same time Creator Sets Free (Jesus) cried out with his last breath, “O Great Father, my spirit is in your hands!”63

⁴⁷One of the head soldiers of the People of Iron (Romans), who saw all these things, honored the Great Spirit by saying, “He must have been an upright man, not deserving death.”

⁴⁸When the large crowd that had gathered to watch saw and heard all that was happening, they began to wail and beat their fists against their chests as they walked home.

⁴⁹Many friends of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood watching from a distance, along with the women who had walked the road with him from Circle of Nations (Galilee).

PREPARATION FOR HIS BURIAL

^50-51A man named He Gets More (Joseph) sat on the Grand Council of elders but had not agreed with the decision to put Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to death. He was a good-hearted and upright man from the tribal village of High Mountain (Arimathea), one who looked for Creator’s good road.

⁵²He went to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) and asked for the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). ⁵³He then took it down from the cross and ceremonially wrapped his body with soft cloths. Then he laid the body in a newly carved burial cave that had never been used.

⁵⁴It was still the Day of Preparation for the Passover, and the Day of Resting would soon begin. ⁵⁵After the women who had walked the road with him from Circle of Nations (Galilee) saw where they put his body, ⁵⁶they left and went to prepare herbal spices and sweet-smelling ointments. Then they settled into their homes and followed the instructions for Day of Resting.

DEATH DEFEATED

¹It was now sunrise on the first day of the week. The women who had prepared the spices and oils were on their way to the burial cave. ²When they arrived, they saw that the large stone in front of the cave had been rolled away. ³They went inside, only to find the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was gone!

⁴They were standing there in amazement and wonder when suddenly two men appeared beside them dressed in shining white outfits. ⁵The women, trembling with fear, fell down to the ground on their faces.

The men said, “Why do you look for the living in the place of the dead? ⁶He is not here. He has returned to life. Do you not remember what he told you in Circle of Nations (Galilee)? ⁷That the True Human Being would be turned over to the ones with bad hearts. They would put him to death on the cross, but he would come back to life on the third day.”

⁸Then the women remembered what he had said. ⁹They hurried back to tell the eleven message bearers and the others what they had seen and heard. ¹⁰There was Strong Tears (Mary) of the village of Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala), Woman of His Goodwill (Joanna), and Brooding Tears (Mary) the mother of He Takes Charge (James), and other women with them.

These women told the message bearers and the others what they saw with their own eyes. ¹¹But the men did not believe the women, thinking it was only empty talk.

¹²But Stands on the Rock (Peter) ran to the burial cave. He bent down to look inside and saw strips of cloth lying there, but no sign of the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). He then walked away wondering what had happened.

THE ROAD TO WARM SPRINGS

¹³On the same day, two of the followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were walking to Village of Warm Springs (Emmaus), seven miles out from Village of Peace (Jerusalem). ¹⁴As they walked along, they were talking about all that had happened. ¹⁵Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came alongside them as they walked, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from seeing who he was.

¹⁷He said to them, “What are you talking about?”

They stopped walking and a look of sadness fell over their faces. ¹⁸One of the men, Honored by His Father (Cleopas), answered him, “How can you not know about the things that have happened in Village of Peace (Jerusalem)? You must be coming from far away.”

¹⁹“What things are you talking about?” he asked.

“About Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth). He was a prophet from the Great Spirit, with powerful medicine, who did many good things among all the people. ²⁰The head holy men and other leaders handed him over to the People of Iron (Romans) to be put to death on the cross. ²¹We had hoped that he would free the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) from the People of Iron (Romans). It is now the third day since they killed him on the cross, ^22-23but today some women told us an amazing story. Early this morning they went to his burial cave and found that his body was not there. They told us about visions of spirit-messengers who told them he was alive! ²⁴Some of our men went to see with their own eyes and found the empty cave, but they did not see Creator Sets Free (Jesus).”

²⁵“Why are your hearts so slow to believe the words of the prophets?” he said. ²⁶“It should be clear to you that the Chosen One would suffer first before he would be lifted up and honored above all.”

²⁷So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told them his story, beginning with Drawn from the Water (Moses) and all the prophets. He showed them how all the ancient Sacred Teachings were written about the Chosen One and pointed the way to him.

²⁸As they entered the village, he walked on as if to go farther. ²⁹They said to him, “Please, stay with us. It is late, and the sun will soon set.”

So he went into the lodging house with them. ³⁰When they sat down to eat a meal together, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some frybread into his hands. He gave thanks and broke it, giving each of them a piece. ³¹Suddenly, their eyes were opened and they knew who he was, but he vanished right in front of them.

³²The men looked at each other in wide-eyed wonder and said, “It felt like our hearts were on fire when he was talking with us on the road, showing us the meaning of the Sacred Teachings!”

³³They got up without finishing their meal and walked back to Village of Peace (Jerusalem) as fast as they could, for the sun was setting. They found where the eleven had gathered together with the others.

³⁴They were saying, “Our Wisdomkeeper is alive! He has shown himself to One Who Hears (Simon).”

³⁵So the two men told them what happened on the road and how their eyes were opened when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) broke the frybread into pieces.

THE MESSAGE BEARERS SEE HIM

³⁶Before the men finished speaking, suddenly Creator Sets Free (Jesus) himself was standing there among them. “Peace be with you!” he said to them.

³⁷Filled with fear, they all moved back from him, thinking he was a ghost. ³⁸“Why are you trembling?” he asked. “Why do you doubt what your eyes see? ³⁹Look at my hands and feet. Touch me. A spirit does not have flesh and bone, as you can see I have.”

⁴⁰Then he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹They still could not believe their eyes, and with glad but fearful hearts they could only stare at him.

Then he said to them, “Give me something to eat.” ⁴²They gave him some cooked fish ⁴³and he ate it in front of them. ⁴⁴As he ate, he said this to them, “When I was with you before, I told you that all the words of Drawn from the Water (Moses), the Prophets, and the Sacred Book of Songs (Psalms) must find their full meaning in me.”

⁴⁵He then opened their minds so they could see the full meaning of the Sacred Teachings ⁴⁶and said to them, “The Sacred Teachings foretold long ago that the Chosen One would walk a path of suffering. He would then die and rise to life on the third day.

⁴⁷“It was also foretold that, beginning in the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem), the good story would be told to all nations. This story will change hearts and minds and release people from their bad hearts and broken ways.

⁴⁸“You, my message bearers, have seen these things with your own eyes so that you can go and tell others. ⁴⁹But first you must wait in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) until I send to you the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. He will dress you in my regalia, with power coming down from the spirit-world above.”

HE RETURNS TO THE WORLD ABOVE

⁵⁰Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then walked with them to House of Figs (Bethany). He lifted his hands and spoke blessing words over them, ⁵¹and as he spoke, he was taken up into the spirit-world above.

⁵²As he went up, his followers bowed down to honor him, and then with glad hearts they returned to the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem). ⁵³Day by day they gathered at the sacred lodge, praying and giving thanks to the Great Spirit.