“Whose image and words are carved into this coin?” he asked.
“The Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar),” they replied.
17“Then give this ruler the things that are his,” he told them, “but give to the Great Spirit the things that belong to the Great Spirit.”
The spiritual leaders were amazed at his words.
They could not believe it. They had failed right in front of all the people and could not use his words against him, so they walked away in silence.
THE UPRIGHT ONES TEST HIM
18Then the Upright Ones (Sadducees), who say that there is no rising from the dead, also came to test him.
19“Wisdomkeeper,” they said to him, “Drawn From the Water (Moses) instructed us in the Sacred Teachings that if a Tribal Member should die before having children, then his brother should marry his widow and give her children. This way the man will have descendants.
20“What if, in a family of seven brothers, the oldest took a wife, but died without children. 21Then the second brother married her, but he also died leaving no children. Then the third brother also married her and he, like the others, died with no children. 22The same happened to all seven of them, and last of all the woman also crossed over to death. 23So then, when they all come back to life in the time when the dead rise, whose wife would she be, since all seven brothers married her?”
24“You are asking the wrong kind of question,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered back, “for you do not understand the Sacred Teachings or the power of the Great Spirit. 25When men or women rise again from the dead, they will not marry, for they will be like the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above.”
And then he said, 26“As for the dead rising again, do you not remember what was written in the Sacred Teachings about the time when the Great Spirit spoke to Drawn from the Water (Moses) from the burning bush? He said, ‘I am the Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), and of Heel Grabber (Jacob).’31 27He is not the Great Spirit of the dead, but of the living! So in this matter you are greatly mistaken.”
THE GREATEST INSTRUCTION OF ALL
28One of the scroll keepers overheard Creator Sets Free (Jesus) opposing the Upright Ones. When he heard the good answer he had given, he asked him, “Which instruction in our tribal law stands first?”
29“The first and greatest instruction is this,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “‘Hear me, O tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), there is only one Great Spirit and Maker of us all. 30You must love the Great Spirit with your whole being—with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart.’32
31“The second instruction is like the first,” he added. “You must love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves. There is no other instruction greater than these.”
32“Wisdomkeeper,” said the scroll keeper with a smile, “you have answered well and spoken the truth, for the Great Spirit is One and there is none other except him. 33To love him with your whole being—with the strength of your arms, the thoughts of your mind, and the courage of your heart, and to love your fellow human beings in the same way you love yourselves—is far greater than all ceremonies and offerings we make to the Great Spirit.”
34When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) heard the scroll keeper’s wise answer, he said, “You are not far from Creator’s good road.”
After that, no one dared to ask him any other questions.
A QUESTION NO ONE COULD ANSWER
35While Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was teaching at the sacred lodge, he asked, “How is it that the scroll keepers say the Chosen One is a descendant of Much Loved One (David), 36when Much Loved One (David) himself, speaking with the voice of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Honored Chief said to my Honored Chief, “Sit down beside me at my right hand, the place of greatest honor, until I defeat and humble all your enemies”’?33
37“If Much Loved One (David) called the Chosen One ‘My Honored Chief,’ how then can the Chosen One be his descendant?”34
The large crowd of people listened with glad hearts, because his wisdom was greater than the wisdom of the spiritual leaders.
FALSE SPIRITUAL LEADERS
38During his teachings he said, “Be on the lookout for the scroll keepers who like to show off by walking around in their fancy regalia, who want to be noticed at the trading posts, 39who take the best seats at the gathering houses and the places of honor at the feasts. 40With many words they make a big show of their prayers, and trick widows into giving them their homes and possessions. They will come to a worse end than others.”
A SACRIFICIAL GIFT
41Creator Sets Free (Jesus) found a place to sit across from the storehouse of the sacred lodge. He watched as people came to put their gifts on the offering blanket. The ones with many possessions were putting down more than others. 42Then he saw a poor widow come to the blanket and place two small, poorly beaded earrings35 on it, worth almost nothing.
43He gathered his followers around him and told them about the widow’s gift.
“I speak from my heart,” he said, “this widow has given more than all the others. 44What they gave was only a small part of their many possessions, but this poor widow has given all she had left to live on.”
SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE
1As they were walking away from the sacred lodge, one of his followers said to him, “Look, Wisdomkeeper, these buildings are made from such handsomely carved logs and great stones!”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stopped walking, and as he looked around at all the buildings of the sacred ceremonial lodge, a look of sadness came over his face.
2“Do you see all these great buildings?” he replied. “They will all fall to the ground! Not one log or stone will be left standing against another.”
3Later that day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was sitting on Olive Mountain across from the sacred lodge.
From there he could look across the valley and see Village of Peace (Jerusalem) and the sacred lodge.
While he was there, four of his followers—Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), He Shows Goodwill (John), and Stands with Courage (Andrew)—came to him in private.
4“Tell us when these things will happen,” they said with worried looks on their faces. “What sign should we be looking for?”
STAY ON THE LOOKOUT!
5“Stay alert or you may be led down a false path!” he told them. 6“Many will come representing me. ‘I am the Chosen One,’ they will claim, and many will listen to their lies.
THE SIGN OF WARFARE
7“When you hear of wars and stories of war breaking out, do not fear, for all of this must happen before the end will come. 8There will be tribal wars, and nations will make war against other nations. Food will be scarce, and the earth will shake in many places—but this is only the beginning of the time of sorrow, like a woman feeling the pains of birth.
THE SIGN OF TRIBAL BETRAYAL
9“You must stay ready and alert! Your own people will turn you over to the local tribal councils and beat you in their gathering houses. Because you are representing me, you will be brought before the governors and rulers of the People of Iron (Romans). You will then tell them about Creator’s good road, 10for before the end comes, the good story must first be told to all nations. 11So when they put you on trial, do not worry ahead of time about what you will say. Speak what is given you at the time, for the Holy Spirit himself will give you the words to speak.
THE SIGN OF FAMILY BETRAYAL
12“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and have them killed. 13And because you represent me, all will look down on you and hate you, but the ones who stand strong to the end will be set free and made whole.
THE SIGN OF THE COMING DESTRUCTION
14“When you see the ‘horrible thing that brings destruction’ making its stand where it does not belong—the reader will
know what this means36—the ones who live in the Land of Promise (Judea) should escape to the mountains. 15The ones who are on their rooftop should not even go back into the house to take anything. 16The ones working in the field should not go back to get their outer garments. 17It will be a time of pain and sorrow for the women who are with child and the ones nursing their babies, 18so pray that it will not happen in the winter. 19A worse time of suffering and sorrow has not been seen since the Great Spirit created the world—and never will be seen again. 20If those days were permitted to reach the end of the trail, then no one would survive, but, because of Creator’s Chosen Ones, those days will be cut short.
FALSE CHOSEN ONES AND PROPHETS
21“So, if in those days anyone would say to you, ‘Look, the Chosen One is over here,’ or ‘Look, he is over there,’ pay no attention. 22For false Chosen Ones will rise up, and false prophets will appear. They will provide great signs and omens to mislead, if possible, even Creator’s Chosen Ones.
23“I have told you all of this ahead of time, so stay on the lookout and be ready!
SIGNS IN THE WORLD ABOVE
24“Then, right after that time of trouble and sorrow, ‘the sun will no longer shine, the moon will go dark, 25the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the spirit-world above will tremble.’37
SIGN OF THE TRUE HUMAN BEING
26“This is when they will see the True Human Being, coming with power, riding the clouds, and shining like the sun! 27He will then send out his messengers to gather his Chosen Ones from the winds of the four directions—from the spirit-world above to the earth below.
A WISE STORY ABOUT THE FIG TREE
28“Listen to this wise story and learn the lesson of the fig tree: when its branches get soft and leaves appear, you know that summer will soon be here. 29In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near—almost upon you. 30I speak from my heart! All of this will happen in this generation. 31You can be sure of what I am saying—for the earth and sky will fade away, but my words will not!
32“But no one knows the day or hour when these things will take place—not the spirit-messengers from the spirit-world above, not even Creator’s own Son—only the Father knows.
ALWAYS BE READY
33“So keep both eyes open and be ready at all times, for no one knows when this time will come. 34Be ready, like a chief who goes away on a long journey. He appoints the young men to watch over the village while he is gone, giving each of them responsibilities. Then he sets his warriors to guard the village gate. 35They must stay awake and be ready, doing what he says, for they do not know when the chief will return. It may be when the sun is setting, or late into the night, or when the rooster crows early in the morning. 36When the chief comes, he better not find them sleeping!
37“I am telling all of you the same thing. So be ready and stay alert!”
PLOT TO KILL HIM
1It was now only two days before the traditional yearly Passover and Bread Without Yeast festival would be celebrated. The head holy men and the scroll keepers were scheming together about ways to have him captured and killed.
2“We should not do it during the festival,” they decided, “for that might create an uprising among the people.”
PREPARING FOR HIS BURIAL
3Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was in the village of House of Figs (Bethany), in the home of Hearing Man (Simon), who had a skin disease. He was leaning back, sitting on the floor at the table, when a woman with a pottery jar full of costly, sweet-smelling ointment came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus), broke the pottery jar, and poured the ointment over his head.
4Some of his followers, who saw this, became angry and said to each other, “Why waste this costly ointment?38 5It could have been traded for food and goods to give to the poor.”
So they spoke harshly to her.
6“Let her be!” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) spoke up. “Why are you troubling her? She has done a good thing for me! 7You can help the poor anytime, for they will always be among you, but I will not. 8This is her gift to me, to prepare me for my burial. 9I speak from my heart, when the good story is told all over the world, her story will also be told as a memorial.”
THE BETRAYAL BEGINS
10It was then that Speaks Well Of (Judas), also known as Village Man (Iscariot), who was one of the twelve, left there and went to the head holy men to betray Creator Sets Free (Jesus) into their hands. 11When they heard this, it pleased them, so they promised to pay him well. So Speaks Well Of (Judas) began to look for the right time to betray him.
PREPARATION FOR THE CEREMONIAL MEAL
12It was now the first day of Bread Without Yeast. This was when the ceremonial lamb would be killed and eaten.
“Where do you want us to go to prepare the ceremonial meal?” his followers asked their Wisdomkeeper.
13“Go into the village,” he instructed two of his followers, “and there you will meet a man carrying a water pouch. Follow him 14into whatever lodging-house he enters, and say to the headman of the lodging-house, ‘Our Wisdomkeeper asks: Where is the room where I can eat the ceremonial meal with my followers?’ 15He will then show you a large upper room that will be set up and ready for you. There you can prepare the ceremonial meal for us.”
16They did as he said and found everything just as he told them, so they prepared the room for the ceremonial meal.
THE CEREMONIAL MEAL BEGINS
17When the sun was setting, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his twelve followers went to the room that had been prepared, 18and they all sat down around the table.
“I speak from my heart,” he said during the meal, “One of you who eats with me now will betray me.”
19Their hearts fell to the ground, and one by one they said to him, “I am not the one, am I?”
20“It is one of the twelve, the one who has just dipped his bread into the bowl with me,” he said to all. 21“The True Human Being must walk the path chosen for him, as written in the Sacred Teachings, but it will not go well for the one who betrays him. It would be better if he had never been born.”
A NEW PEACE TREATY
22During the meal Creator Sets Free (Jesus) took some of the frybread and gave thanks to the Great Spirit. He then broke it into pieces and gave some to each of his followers.
“This is my body,” he told them. “Take it and eat it.”
23He then took a cup of wine, gave thanks to the Great Spirit, and passed the cup to all, who then drank from it.
24“This is my lifeblood of the peace treaty, poured out on behalf of many people,” he said to them. 25“I speak from my heart, I will not drink from the fruit of the vine again until the day when I will drink it with you in a fresh and new way, as we walk Creator’s good road together.”
ALL OF YOU WILL TURN AWAY
26They all sang a traditional song and then left to walk to Olive Mountain.
27“All of you will turn away from me,” he told them as they walked along. “It was written in the Sacred Teachings, ‘Attack the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.’39 28But when I return from the world of the dead, I will go on ahead of you to Circle of Nations (Galilee).”
29Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) spoke out, “Even if they all turn away from you, I will not!”
30“I speak from my heart,” he said back to him. “This very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
31“No!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) cried out fiercely. “Even if I must die with you, I will never turn away!”
And all the others said the same thing.
THE GARDEN WHERE HE PRAYED
32Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and his followers came to the place called Where the Olives Are Crushed (Gethsemane), a garden with many olive trees.
“Sit here,” he told his followers, “while I go over there and pray.”
33He then took with him Stands on the Rock (Peter), He Takes Over (James), and He Shows Goodwill
(John) to a place not far from the others. There he became deeply troubled and full of sorrow.
34“My heart is full of sorrow to the point of death,” he said to his three followers who were with him. “Stay here and watch over me.”
35He went a little ways from them, dropped his face to the ground, and prayed that, if possible, he would be spared from this time of suffering.
36“Abba, Honored Father,” he cried out, “nothing is too hard for you. Take this bitter cup of suffering away from me. But I want only your way, not mine.”
37He then returned and found his followers sleeping.
“One Who Hears (Simon),” he said to Stands on the Rock (Peter), using his family name. “Are you asleep? Could you not stay awake with me for even one hour? 38Stay awake and pray so that you will be able to face the fiery trial ahead of you. The human body is weak, but the spirit is strong.”
39Once again he went from them and prayed the same words. 40He returned and again found his followers sleeping, for their eyes were heavy, and they had no answer for him.
41After praying again, he returned a third time and woke them up from their sleep.
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