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.
Before they knew what was happening, the net became heavy. They struggled with the weight of it and began to pull it in.
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
Tribal law instructed that a person healed of a skin disease must be pronounced ceremonially clean by a holy man.
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’?”
The room became quiet as he waited for an answer.
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.
Tribal tax collectors were often Tribal Members who were given the right to collect taxes for the People of Iron (Romans). They could force their own people, under the threat of violence, to pay them. To make a living, they would take more than the People of Iron (Romans) required. But many of them became greedy and took even more than they were permitted. They were hated and looked down on by the people.
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).
The Separated Ones (Pharisees) called certain people outcasts. They used their strict interpretation of their tribal law as a way to point them out. These outcasts were not permitted to enter the gathering houses. They were looked down on and despised by the Separated Ones (Pharisees). Outcasts included tribal tax collectors, prostitutes, people who ate and drank too much, ones with diseases that made them ceremonially unclean, and anyone who was not a member of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).
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?”
A gentle smile came across the face of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), and with a sigh he responded.
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.”
He said this to show that the old ways of the spiritual leaders did not reflect the beauty of the new way he was bringing.
CHIEF OF THE DAY OF RESTING
1On another Day o
f 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.”
He paused to let them think about his words.
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?”
They just looked at him and said nothing. At first there was fire in his eyes! But his anger turned to sorrow when he saw their hearts of stone.
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
The crowds were growing larger. The task of healing and helping this great number of people was too much for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to do alone. He knew that he needed help from the ones who were walking the road with him.
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.
Here are the names of the ones he chose:
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 to 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).”
First Nations Version Page 21
