Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story 12
12
CHIEF OF THE DAY OF RESTING
1During that time on a Day of 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?”
3He answered them, “Have you not heard about the time long ago when the great chief Much Loved One (David) was hungry? 4How he and his followers went into the sacred lodge and ate the ceremonial bread? Tribal law says that only the holy men are permitted to eat this bread.
5“Have you not read in tribal law that the holy men who perform the ceremonies in the sacred lodge are permitted to ignore the sacredness of the Day of Resting—without blame?
6“Listen to me! The one standing before you is greater than the sacred lodge! 7If you understood this saying, ‘I want kindness and compassion, not ceremonial sacrifices,’#12:7 Hosea 6:6 you would not have blamed the innocent ones. 8For the True Human Being is Chief over the Day of Resting!”
HEALING ON THE DAY OF RESTING
9Creator Sets Free (Jesus) left there and went to their gathering house. 10There he saw a man with a shriveled and useless hand.
The Separated Ones (Pharisees) had been keeping a close eye on him. Then they saw him looking at the man with the useless hand.
Trying to find a reason to accuse him, they asked, “Is it permitted to heal on the Day of Resting?”
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were scheming.
11“Is there anyone here who would not help his sheep out of a ditch it fell into, even on the Day of Resting?” he challenged them. 12“A human being has more value than a sheep! That is why it is permitted to do good on the Day of Resting!”
13Then he turned to the man and said, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and it was the same as his good hand!
14The Separated Ones (Pharisees) stormed out of there and began to scheme together about how to have Creator Sets Free (Jesus) killed. 15But he knew what they were doing, so he left that place. A large number of people went with him, and he healed all who were sick, 16but he warned them not to tell others who or where he was.
AN ANCIENT PROPHECY FULFILLED
17Another ancient prophecy of Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) had now found its full meaning:
18“Here is the one I have chosen, who does all I ask and makes my heart glad. I have made my stand with him and love him as a father loves a son. My Sacred Spirit will rest on him and give him a message that will right the wrongs done to all people. 19He will not make loud arguments on the village pathways but will speak with humble dignity. 20He will not break a bruised reed. He will not snuff out a smoldering fire. He will never give up until all wrongs have been made right again! 21All nations will hear of his reputation and put their trust and hope in him.”#12:21 Isaiah 42:1-4
THE SEPARATED ONES ACCUSE HIM
22They brought a man to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) who, tormented by an evil spirit, could not see or speak. He healed the man, who could then see and speak again. 23The large crowd was amazed and said, “Could this be the promised descendant of chief Much Loved One (David)?”
24When the Separated Ones (Pharisees) heard what the people were saying, they said, “No! His power over evil spirits comes from the Worthless Ruler (Beelzebul), the one who rules over all evil spirits.”
25Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew what they were thinking and said to them, “A nation warring against itself comes to a bad end. Villages or clans warring against each other will not survive. 26If Accuser (Satan) is warring against himself, how will he continue to rule?
27“If it is by his power that I force out evil spirits, by what power do your children do these things? So then, they are the ones who will decide against you. 28But if I force out evil spirits by Creator’s Spirit, then the good road of the Great Spirit has come close to you.
DEFEATING THE STRONGMAN
29“Who can enter the strongman’s house and take away his goods, unless he first defeats him? He will then tie him up and take what is in his house.
30“The one who is not fighting with me fights against me. The one who does not help me gather scatters and makes things worse.”
In this spiritual war there is no unclaimed territory.
31“That is why I say to you, the wrongdoings and evil speaking that human-kind has done will be forgiven them. 32Anyone who speaks against the True Human Being will be forgiven. But speaking evil of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this present world or in the one that is coming.
GOOD AND BAD FRUIT
33“You must grow a good tree to get good fruit. If you grow a bad tree, you get bad fruit. For a tree is known by its fruit.”
Then with fire in his eyes Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to the Separated Ones (Pharisees) and spoke with a voice like thunder.
34“You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil speak any good things? What is in your hearts will come out of your mouths. 35Good people speak from the good medicine stored in their hearts. Evil people speak from the bad medicine stored in their hearts. 36But I tell you, when the day comes for the final decision, human beings will have to give an answer for every worthless word spoken. 37The words that come out from your hearts will decide for or against you when you stand before the Great Spirit.”
AN UNUSUAL SIGN
38Then some of the scroll keepers and Separated Ones (Pharisees) spoke back to him.
“Wisdomkeeper,” they demanded, “show us a powerful sign to prove who you are.”
But Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned their words back on them, for they had just seen him do a powerful sign.
39“Only a bad-hearted and unfaithful generation would keep demanding signs,” he answered. “The only sign that you will be given is the sign of the prophet Wings of Dove (Jonah). 40Just as he was in the belly of a great fish for three days and nights, the True Human Being will be in the womb of the earth for three days and nights.
41“When the time comes for the final decision to be made about the people living today, the people of Village of Changed Minds (Nineveh) will stand in agreement against them. What they did will show your guilt, because they changed their hearts and minds when they heard the message of Wings of Dove (Jonah). Look! One who is greater than he stands before you now.
42“The female chief of the South will also be there as a witness against the people of this generation. Her reputation will show your guilt, for she journeyed from a land far away to listen to the wisdom of the great chief Stands in Peace (Solomon). Look! One greater than Stands in Peace (Solomon) is standing right in front of you.
43“When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry and desolate lands, looking for a place to rest. When it finds none, 44it says, ‘I will go back to the house I left.’ It returns to find the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. 45The spirit then finds seven other spirits, more evil than itself, who all go in and live there, making the person worse than before. This is how it will be for the generation of people living today.”
ALL MY RELATIVES
46While Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was speaking to the people, his mother and brothers were outside wanting to talk with him. 47Someone noticed and told him, “Your relatives are here, waiting outside to see you.”
48“Who are my relatives?” he asked the person who told him.
49Then he looked around the circle of people, lifted his hands toward his followers, and said, “Here they are! 50The ones who walk in the ways of my Father from the spirit-world above are my relatives—my mother, brothers and sisters.”
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Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story 12: FNVNT
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