First Nations Version

by Terry M. Wildman

  PRAYER FOR HELP

  “O Great Father of the sky above and the earth below, of the great waters and all that is in them,” they prayed. “Hear our cry! 25Long ago your Holy Spirit spoke these words through our ancestor Much Loved One (David), who served you.

  “The Spirit said, ‘Why did the Nations, in their great anger, make empty threats? Why did the people waste their time forming useless plans? 26The war chiefs of the land took their stand, and the war councils schemed together. But who were they planning to fight? It was against the Great Spirit Chief and his Chosen One!’15

  27“The truth of this is plain to see, for right here in the Village of Peace (Jerusalem) they gathered together and took their stand against your Holy Servant, Creator Sets Free (Jesus). Chief Looks Brave (Herod) and Spear of the Great Waters (Pontius Pilate) together with the People of Iron (Romans) and the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) 28did what you, in your great wisdom, had decided long ago would be done.

  29“So we ask, O Great One, look down and see their threats against us. Help us to be brave and tell your story well 30by performing many powerful signs as we represent your Holy Servant, Creator Sets Free (Jesus).”

  31When they finished praying, the place where they had gathered began to rumble and shake. The Holy Spirit filled them with his power, and with brave and strong hearts they began to tell Creator’s Story!

  THEY SHARE THEIR POSSESSIONS

  32With one heart and mind all who trusted in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) shared their possessions with each other. No one claimed their belongings to be only for themselves. 33With great power the message bearers told the story of how their Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had defeated death and returned to life. Creator’s gift of great kindness was covering all of them like a warm blanket, 34and no one among them was in need. Those who owned houses or land sold them and brought what they had gained 35and gave it to the message bearers to share with everyone.

  36There was a man among them named Creator Adds More (Joseph), who was also given the name Son of Comfort (Barnabas) by the message bearers. He was from the tribe of Holy Men (Levites), who was born in Island of Flowers (Cyprus). 37He sold a piece of land that was his and brought the money and gave it to the message bearers.

  LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

  1-2A man named Creator Shows Kindness (Ananias), along with his wife, Stone of Beauty (Sapphira), sold some of their land. He, with his wife knowing about it, gave the money to the message bearers. They let them think they had given all, but they secretly held back some for themselves.

  3But Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to Creator Shows Kindness (Ananias), “Why did you let Accuser (Satan), that evil trickster snake, fill your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? You have kept back some of the money from the sale of your land for yourself! 4You did not have to sell your land, and even after selling it you still could do whatever you wanted. So why did you try to deceive us? You have lied not only to human beings but to the Great Spirit himself!”

  5When Creator Shows Kindness (Ananias) heard this, he fell to the ground and breathed out his last breath. Great fear and awe fell on all who heard what had happened. 6Some of the young men wrapped his body in a blanket, carried him out, and buried him.

  7About three hours later the wife of Creator Shows Kindness (Ananias) came in, but she did not know what had happened.

  8Stands on the Rock (Peter) asked her, “Was this how much you sold the land for?”

  “Yes,” she said, “That is the right amount.”

  9Stands on the Rock (Peter) then said to her, “How could both of you agree to put Creator’s Spirit to the test? Look! The ones who buried your husband are coming to do the same for you.”

  10Right then she fell down in front of him and breathed her last. The young men came in, and when they saw she had crossed over to death, they carried her away and buried her next to her husband. 11Once again great fear and awe took hold of all in the sacred family and also of all who heard what had happened.

  SIGNS AND WONDERS CONTINUE

  12The message bearers were performing many powerful signs among the people. The people were all gathering together under the entryway at the sacred lodge named after the great chief Stands in Peace (Solomon). 13The people respected them greatly, but many did not dare to join in with them. 14Even so, the crowds grew, and more and more people put their trust in Creator and his Son.

  15The people carried the sick into the village pathways and laid them on their sleeping bundles and mats so that when Stands on the Rock (Peter) walked by, his shadow might fall on them. 16The crowds came from the villages near Village of Peace (Jerusalem). They brought the sick and the ones tormented by evil spirits—and all of them were healed!

  OPPOSITION FROM THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS

  17When the chief holy man and other spiritual leaders of the Upright Ones (Sadducees) heard what was happening, the fire of jealousy burned in their bellies. 18They took hold of the message bearers and put them in the local jail. 19But a spirit-messenger from Creator came in the night and set them free.

  20“Go and stand in the sacred lodge,” the spirit-messenger instructed them, “and speak all the words of this new life to the people.”

  21They did what they were told and went to the sacred lodge, and just as the sun was rising, they began to teach the people.

  When the chief holy man arrived, along with the spiritual leaders, they called together the Grand Council and the elders of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). They sent some lodge soldiers to the local jail to have the message bearers brought before the council. 22When the lodge soldiers arrived at the jail, they could not find the prisoners, so they returned to report to the Grand Council.

  23“When we arrived at the jail,” they said to the council, “we found the jail doors locked and guarded. But when we opened the doors, there was no one to be found!”

  24The head lodge soldier and the head holy men could not believe their ears! While they were wondering about this, 25a messenger came up to them.

  “Look!” the messenger said, “the ones you put in jail are standing in the sacred lodge and teaching the people!”

  26The head lodge soldier, along with his soldiers, went to arrest the message bearers again, but not by force, for they were afraid the people might throw stones at them.

  THEY STAND BEFORE THE GRAND COUNCIL

  27So they took the message bearers to stand before the Grand Council to be questioned by the chief holy man.

  28“We clearly instructed you not to speak representing this man’s name or his teaching. Now Village of Peace (Jerusalem) has been filled with your teaching. Do you mean to bring this man’s blood upon our heads by blaming us for his death?”

  STANDING STRONG

  29Stands on the Rock (Peter) and the other message bearers answered back, “We must obey the Great Spirit instead of weak human beings. 30The Great Spirit of our ancestors has raised up Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the one you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31Creator has honored him to the highest place, at his own right hand to be our Chief, the one who will set us free and give us a new path to walk. This is how we, the people of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), will be set free from our bad hearts and broken ways. 32We have seen these things with our own eyes! The Holy Spirit also agrees with these things, the one Creator will give to those who walk in his ways.”

  WISE WORDS FROM A COUNCIL MEMBER

  33When the Grand Council heard this, the anger in them burned like a fire—they wanted to kill them. 34But then, Creator Has Honored (Gamaliel) stood up to speak. He was a highly respected council member, a Separated One (Pharisee) and a teacher of tribal law. He instructed them to remove the message bearers outside for a while.

  35Then he said to the council, “You men of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), think carefully about what you plan to do with these men. 36Remember when Flows with Water (Theudas) made himself out to be a great one, with a following of four hundre
d men? He was killed, and all his followers were scattered and came to nothing. 37After him, Speaks Well Of (Judas) from Circle of Nations (Galilee) rose up during the days of the census. He also had many follow him, but he was also killed and his followers scattered.

  38“My counsel to you is to let these men go and trouble them no longer. If what they do is a weak human idea, then it will come to nothing. 39But if Creator is with them, you will not be able to stand against them, and you may find yourselves fighting the Great Spirit!”

  THE MESSAGE BEARERS ARE RELEASED

  The Grand Council listened to his wisdom. 40They brought the message bearers back in, beat them with a whip, and instructed them to speak no longer in the name of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) or represent his teachings.

  41So the message bearers left the Grand Council. Their hearts were glad that they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the reputation of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). 42Day by day, in the sacred lodge and from house to house, they kept telling the good story about Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and showing the truth that he is the Chosen One.

  THE SACRED FAMILY GROWS

  1In those days, when the sacred family was growing in number, the Tribal Members who spoke the language of the Wisdom Seekers (Greeks) grumbled against the Tribal Members who spoke their own language. They complained to the twelve that their widows were being overlooked during the daily meals. 2So the twelve message bearers invited everyone to a council meeting.

  They said to all, “It is not a good thing for us to give so much of our time to seeing over these meals. This gives us little or no time to teach about Creator’s message. 3We want you to choose seven men of good reputation, who are filled with Creator’s Spirit and wisdom, who will serve in our place. 4Then we can give ourselves to prayer and to the teaching of Creator’s message.”

  5This seemed like a good thing to all the people, so they chose Many Feathers (Stephen), a man strong in his faith and full of the Holy Spirit. They also chose Lover of Horses (Philip), Head Singer (Prochorus), Man of Victory (Nicanor), Man of Honor (Timon), Stands Close By (Parmenas), and He Overcomes (Nicolas), an outsider from Stands Against (Antioch) who had been taken into the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). 6They stood these men before the message bearers, who then placed their hands on them and sent their voices to the Great Spirit.

  7Creator’s message was told far and wide. In Village of Peace (Jerusalem) the number of followers continued to grow, and many holy men believed and began to walk in this new way.

  MANY FEATHERS TAKEN CAPTIVE

  8Many Feathers (Stephen), who was filled with Creator’s good medicine, was performing powerful signs among the people. 9But some men, from what is called the gathering house of Men Set Free, opposed him. They were Tribal Members from Land of Power (Cyrene), Village of Defense (Alexandria), Turns Over (Cilicia), and from Land of the Rising Sun (Asia). 10Even though they stood against Many Feathers (Stephen) with strong words, they were not strong enough to defeat the wisdom given to him by the Spirit.

  11So they talked some men into telling lies about him.

  “We have heard him speak against Drawn from the Water (Moses) and against the Great Spirit!” they said to the people, elders, and scroll keepers.

  12This turned them against Many Feathers (Stephen), so they took hold of him and brought him before the Grand Council. 13Then they brought in the ones who were falsely accusing him to speak to the council.

  “This man keeps speaking against the sacred lodge and against our tribal law,” they said to the Grand Council. 14“We heard him say that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth) will bring an end to this Holy Place and change the tribal traditions given to us by Drawn from the Water (Moses).”

  15But all who were sitting in the council were staring at the face of Many Feathers (Stephen) because his face was shining like the face of a spirit-messenger.

  MANY FEATHERS ANSWERS THE COUNCIL

  1“Are these things spoken against you true?” the chief holy man asked him.

  2He said to them, “Fellow Tribal Members, my brothers and fathers, hear what I have to say! The Great Mystery, the one who shines like the sun, appeared to our ancestor Father of Many Nations (Abraham) while he was still living in Land Between Rivers (Mesopotamia), before he pitched his tipi at Mountain Where the Roads Cross (Haran).

  3“‘Leave your people and the land of your ancestors,’ Creator instructed him, ‘and go to the land that I will show to you.’16

  4“So he went out from the people of the land of Field of Spirits (Chaldeans) and pitched his tipi at Mountain Where the Roads Cross (Haran) until his father crossed over to death. Creator then moved him to the land where you now live, 5but he found no place to live there, not even a piece of ground to set his foot on. It was there that Creator promised him and his descendants a lasting home—even though he had no children.

  6“The Great Spirit told him that his descendants would be wanderers in a land of strangers, who would force them to work hard for them and mistreat them for four hundred winters. 7‘But I will decide against this nation that forced them to be slaves,’ Creator promised, ‘and when they are set free, they will honor and serve me in this land.’17

  8“Creator gave to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) the peace treaty that was sealed with the cutting of the flesh ceremony. Then Father of Many Nations (Abraham) became the father of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) and, eight days after he was born, performed the cutting of the flesh ceremony on him. He Made Us Laugh (Isaac) became the father of Heel Grabber (Jacob), and he became the father of the twelve ancestors of our nation.

  9“Our ancestors became jealous of Creator Gives More (Joseph) and sold him as a slave into Black Land (Egypt), but the Great Spirit stood with him and 10set him free from all his troubles. Creator then honored him in the eyes of Great House (Pharaoh), the ruler of Black Land (Egypt), who made him a ruler over Black Land (Egypt) and over his own family.

  11“A time of hunger came upon Black Land (Egypt) and Lowland (Canaan). It was a time of great suffering for our ancestors, for they could not find enough food. 12When Heel Grabber (Jacob) heard that there was grain in Black Land (Egypt), he sent his sons—our ancestors—there to trade for some. 13When Heel Grabber (Jacob) sent them a second time, their brother, Creator Gives More (Joseph), whom they had sold as a slave, made himself known to them. That is how Great House (Pharaoh) learned about his family. 14Then Creator Gives More (Joseph) sent a message to his father Heel Grabber (Jacob) and welcomed him and all his family—seventy-five in all—to come to Black Land (Egypt) under his protection.

  15“So Heel Grabber (Jacob) pitched his tipi in Black Land (Egypt). It was there that he and our ancestors all crossed over to death. 16Their bones were later moved to Burden Carrier (Shechem) and placed in a burial cave that Father of Many Nations (Abraham) had traded for from the sons of Red Donkey (Hamor).

  17“Many generations later, when the time had come for the Great Spirit to keep his promise to Father of Many Nations (Abraham), the number of our people in Black Land (Egypt) had grown from small clans to a great tribe. 18But a new ruler arose in Black Land (Egypt) who did not know about Creator Gives More (Joseph). 19This new ruler oppressed our people and forced them to leave their newborn children outside to die, to make our numbers smaller.

  20“It was during this time that Drawn from the Water (Moses) was born—a beautiful baby. Creator’s eye was on this one! For three moons his family fed and cared for him. 21When the time came that they had to leave him outside to die, the daughter of Great House (Pharaoh) rescued him and raised him as her own son. 22So that is how Drawn from the Water (Moses) was taught all the wisdom of the people of Black Land (Egypt) and became powerful in his words and in all that he did.

  23“When he was a full-grown man of forty winters, he decided to visit his tribal family—the descendants of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). 24When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his defense and, on fire for justice, he
struck down the man of Black Land (Egypt). 25He thought his tribal family would understand that the Great Spirit had sent him to set them free—but they did not.

  26“The following day Drawn from the Water (Moses) saw two Tribal Members fighting and tried to make peace between them.

  “‘Men!’ he said to them. ‘You are brothers. Why do you want to hurt each other?’

  27“But the one who had attacked his fellow Tribal Member pushed Drawn from the Water (Moses) away from him.

  “‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ the man said in anger. 28‘Do you want to kill me the way you killed that man of Black Land (Egypt) yesterday?’

  29“When he heard the man’s words, Drawn from the Water (Moses) ran from there as fast as he could and went to live as an outsider among the people in Land of Conflict (Midian). It was there that he had two sons.

  30“Forty winters later, in the desert wilderness near Mountain of Small Trees (Sinai), a spirit-messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning thorn bush. 31When Drawn from the Water (Moses) saw it, he wondered what it was. As he came close to see it better, he heard the voice of Creator.

  32“‘I am the Great Spirit of your ancestors. The Great Spirit of Father of Many Nations (Abraham), and of He Made Us Laugh (Isaac), and of Heel Grabber (Jacob).’18

  “Drawn from the Water (Moses) began to tremble with fear, and he dared not to even look at the bush.