He Shows Goodwill Tells the Good Story 7
7
FESTIVAL OF SHELTERS
1Creator Sets Free (Jesus) left the Land of Promise (Judea) because the Tribal Members there wanted to put him to death. To avoid conflict with them, he had been staying in the territory of Circle of Nations (Galilee), going from village to village. 2But now it was almost time for the Festival of Shelters in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), which all the tribes participated in.
This festival was celebrated at the end of the harvest. The tribes were instructed to make temporary shelters from tree branches. In this way they remembered the time after they had been set free from their captivity in Black Land (Egypt), when their ancestors migrated in the desert wilderness under the care of the lawgiver, Drawn from the Water (Moses).
3The brothers from the family of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came to him and said, “You should leave here and go back to the Land of Promise (Judea) for the festival. This way more of your followers will see the powerful signs you can do. 4Why not show everyone who you are? The ones who want to be well known do not hide in secret. You should show all the world who you are.”
5Even his own brothers did not believe that he was the Chosen One.
6-7Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered them, “You are free to go anytime you want, for the people there do not hate you. But they do hate me, because I show them their bent and crooked ways. 8You can go to the festival, but I am not going now—it is not my time yet.”
9After he said this, he stayed behind in Circle of Nations (Galilee) 10until his family left. Then he went to the festival, not openly, but in secret.
LOOKING FOR HIM AT THE FESTIVAL
Tribal Members from all directions came to the festival. Village of Peace (Jerusalem) was crowded and overflowing with thousands of people walking, donkeys pulling carts, and merchants selling their crafts.
11Many were looking for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) at the festival. The people who had gathered there were whispering and wondering about him.
“Where is he?” they asked.
12Some of them said, “He is a true human being with a good heart.”
But others were saying, “No! He is leading the crowds down a false path.”
13No one was saying these things out in the open, because they feared what the tribal leaders might do to them.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME?
14Creator Sets Free (Jesus) came secretly to the festival and stayed away from the crowds. He waited until the midpoint of the festival, went to the sacred lodge, and began to teach.
15The tribal leaders were amazed at his teaching.
“Where did he get this wisdom and understanding?” they asked. “He has not studied under our wisdomkeepers or attended our learning houses.”
16Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered them, “The wisdom I share is not my own but comes from the one who sent me. 17The ones who desire to walk in the ways of the Great Spirit will understand my wisdom comes from him. 18The one who represents himself is seeking his own honor. The one who represents the one who sent him is true and upright, and there is nothing false in him.
19“Drawn from the Water (Moses) gave you the law, but none of you keep it. Why do you want to kill me?”
20“You must have an evil spirit!” they answered back. “Why else would you think we are trying to kill you?”
21He answered them, “I did one work. I healed a man. You were amazed to see such power, but you were offended because this was done on the Day of Resting.
22“Do you not see? Drawn from the Water (Moses) gave you the cutting of the flesh ceremony, handed down to him from the ancestors. Sometimes this ceremony is performed for a baby boy on the Day of Resting. 23If this is permitted on the Day of Resting, then why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on that day? 24Do not decide things by their outward appearance. Instead, make your decisions in a good way, looking beyond what you see with your eyes.”
HOW COULD HE BE THE CHOSEN ONE?
25Some of the people who lived in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) began to say, “Is this not the one they are seeking to put to death? 26Look, he speaks boldly to all, and they have nothing to say to him. Does our tribal council think he truly is the Chosen One? 27But how could this be? When the Chosen One comes, no one will know where he comes from, but we know where this man is from.”
28-29Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then lifted up his voice in the sacred lodge and cried out, “You may think you know me and where I am from, but I know where I am truly from—the Father. He is the one who sent me. You do not know who I am or where I am from, because you do not know him.”
SOLDIERS SENT TO ARREST HIM
30The tribal leaders were looking for a way to arrest him, but no one could even lay a hand on him, for it was not yet his time. 31Many of the people chose to trust in him.
They said, “When the Chosen One comes, will he do more powerful signs than this man has done?”
32When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and the head holy men heard what the crowds were saying about him, they sent the lodge soldiers to arrest him.
33“I will be gone soon,” he said to them. “I am returning to the one who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will not find me. Where I am going you cannot follow.”
35The Tribal Members began to grumble, “Where will he go that we cannot find him? Will he go to where the Tribal Members live among the Wisdom Seekers (Greeks)? 36Will he teach them there? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will look for me, but will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow’?”
SOURCE OF LIVING WATER
37It was now the last and greatest day of the Festival of Shelters.
It has been said that on this day, by ancient tradition, a holy man would be chosen to take a golden pot to the Waters of Sending Village (Pool of Siloam) and fill it with water. He would then bring the water to the sacred lodge for a special ceremony and celebration. The holy man would take the water to the great altar, and then at the sound of the ram’s horn, called the shofar, he would pour out the water on the altar. They would recite the words of the prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah), “With glad hearts we will draw from the wells, water that will set us free.” # 7:37 Isaiah 12:3
After the ceremony Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood before the people and cried out with a loud voice, “The ones who thirst must come to me and drink! 38Put your hope and trust in me. I am the one the Sacred Teachings spoke of when they said, ‘Rivers of living water will flow out from inside him.’#7:38 Jeremiah 2:13”
39He was saying this about the Spirit, who would soon be given to the ones who believed in him. The Spirit had not yet been poured out, for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) had not yet risen to his place of honor, power, and beauty.
CONFLICT ABOUT WHO HE IS
40When they heard these words, some of the people gathered there were saying, “This must be the Prophet, the one of whom it was foretold would come.”
41Others were saying, “No! He is the Chosen One.”
Still others did not agree and said, “How can this be? Will the Chosen One come from Circle of Nations (Galilee)? 42Do not the Sacred Teachings tell us that the Chosen One will be a descendant of Chief Much Loved One (David) and come from House of Bread (Bethlehem), the village where he was born?”
43So the people could not agree about him. 44The lodge soldiers were amazed by his words and could not bring themselves to arrest him. 45They returned to the head holy men and the Separated Ones (Pharisees), who asked them, “Where is he? Why did you not arrest him?”
46The soldiers answered, “No one has ever spoken like this man!”
47“Has he turned you from the path also?” they said. 48“Does even one tribal leader or Separated One (Pharisee) believe in him? 49These people are ignorant of the Sacred Teachings given by Drawn from the Water (Moses). They are under a curse!”
50Conquers the People (Nicodemus), the same one who came to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in secret at night, was one of the Separated Ones (Pharisees). 51He boldly said to the other tribal leaders, “Our tribal law does not permit us to decide against a man without giving him a chance to stand before the council and give an answer for what he does.”
52The other tribal leaders scorned him and said, “Are you also from Circle of Nations (Galilee)? Look into the Sacred Teachings for yourself. You will see that no prophet comes from Circle of Nations (Galilee).”
53 The Festival of Shelters was over, and the people all returned to the peace and safety of their own homes.
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He Shows Goodwill Tells the Good Story 7: FNVNT
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