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.’
“He then left on his journey to meet with the council.
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.
“But the council did not listen to them.
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.’
“Then the chief turned to the tribal members who had opposed his appointment.
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.’”
He told them this so they would see that the good road would not come in the way they expected.
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.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came riding into the Sacred Village of Peace (Jerusalem) down Olive Mountain toward the eastern entry into Village of Peace (Jerusalem) that is called Beautiful Gate. His twelve followers encircled him and led the colt forward.
He did not fit the powerful image of a conquering ruler, for he was not riding a warhorse. Instead, he rode a small, humble donkey colt. No mighty warriors rode next to him. No dignitaries came out to meet him. It was mostly the common people who welcomed him that day.
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.”
It was a dangerous thing to call anyone a chief or ruler in front of the soldiers of the People of Iron (Romans) who were guarding the area.
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 came into the area called Gathering Place for the Nations. It was here that other nations could come to learn about the Great Spirit and his ways. The holy men were using this place to buy and sell the ceremonial animals. But it was so crowded that there was not enough room for the people from other nations who wanted to learn about Creator’s ways. They were not honoring the purpose of this holy place.
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.
The spiritual leaders looked at each other. They did not know how to answer him. All the people there kept their ears wide open to hear what the spiritual leaders would say. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood before them and quietly held his ground.
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.
“The tribal member who owned the vineyard was at the end of his rope.
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.”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to the spiritual leaders.
“What will the owner of the vineyard do?” he asked.
He waited for an answer, but no one said a word.
16Then he said, “He will return, put those dishonorable men to death and give the vineyard to others.”
The spiritual leaders were insulted by this story.
“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.”
They found a silver coin and handed it to him. He took a good long look, holding it up to the sky to see it clearly. Then he turned the face of the coin toward them.
“Whose image and words are carved into this coin?” he asked.
“The Ruler of the People of Iron (Caesar),” they answered.
He handed the coin back to them.
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
He paused to let his words sink in.
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?”
The Upright Ones (Sadducees) had no answer for him.
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.
A look of sadness came over the face of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
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.”
They looked at him with worried faces.
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. 13
But 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.
First Nations Version Page 27
