[The sections of this entry correspond to the chapters in the King James Bible as follows: 14 = 17; 15 = 18; 16 = 19; 17 = 20; 18 = 21; 19 = 22; 20 = 23.]
14
And Jesus said: “If a man repents after offending you, forgive him. Even if he does so seven times in a day: always forgive.”
Then some Christians demanded him to tell when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered: “The kingdom of God comes not with observation; neither shall anyone say ‘Here it is!’ or ‘Over there!’ for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
15
Now a certain mogul came and said to Jesus: “Good Lord, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said: “Why do you call me ‘Good Lord’? No one is good but God, and there is only one LORD – that is: Yahweh. But, to answer your question, ‘How shall a man be saved?’ Well, you have heard the divine instructions: Do not kill, etc. – Follow those; that is all. No need for blood sacrifice, or to have faith in any redeemer. Simply do the word of God. And if you fail, he forgives; that is the very meaning of mercy: the Volcano is your savior.”
And the mogul said: “All these commandments I have kept from my youth up.”
Now when Jesus heard this, he replied: “Ah, but you clearly lack one thing: Sell all that you have, and distribute your wealth to the poor; then you shall have treasure in heaven. Come now, follow me.”
But this answer made the mogul sad, for he was very rich.
Then, seeing how the mogul was so saddened by the idea of giving away his fortune, Jesus exclaimed: “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
And Jesus turned to the crowd that had gathered; and he addressed them, saying: “Anyone who relinquishes wealth and power for the sake of the kingdom of God shall receive, in this present time, manifold recompense; and, in the world to come, life everlasting.”
16
Now it came to pass, when Jesus entered the border of the Big City, that he turned to his travel companions and said: “Go and ask if anyone is willing to give us some donkeys. For it is a long distance from here to the temple, which is my destination.”
So, after his companions had fetched a few young donkeys, they rode to the temple, in the midst of the Big City.
Jesus entered the temple, and he began to cast out all those who were buying and selling. As he did so, he said: “God called this place a house of meditation, but you have made it a den of robbers!”
And every day Jesus gave fiery speeches in the temple. He held rallies there, where he interacted with the public, answering questions and telling stories. His statements were so provocative that the established powers felt threatened: Therefore, the creditors among the leadership of church and state sought a way to destroy Jesus.
17
Now it came to pass, on one of those days when Jesus was rabble-rousing in the temple, that the religious leaders came and said to him: “Tell us, on what authority do you act? Who granted you this power?”
Jesus said: “I will answer you, if you answer me: Concerning the baptism of John the Dipper, was it divine or mortal?”
Then the religious leaders reasoned among themselves, saying: “If we answer ‘divine,’ he will say: ‘Then why do you not accept his endorsement of me?’ But if we answer ‘mortal,’ then the people will oust us from power; for they believe that John was a prophet.”
So the religious leaders admitted to Jesus that they could not tell the fount of the Dipper’s baptism.
And Jesus replied: “Neither shall I name the source of my own authority.”
§
Then Jesus turned to the crowd and spoke this parable:
“Lord Yahweh established a caravan; then he went into a far country for a long time.
“While the Lord was gone, certain creditors rose up within the congregation and declared themselves religious leaders.
“After a season, Lord Yahweh sent a prophet to the caravan, to cultivate the good fruits of its actions: but the creditors beat this prophet, and cast him away.
“Again, Yahweh sent another prophet: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and cast him away.
“So Lord Yahweh sent a third: and they wounded him also, and threw him out.
“Then said the Lord of the caravan, ‘What shall I do? Perhaps if I send my friendliest prophet, John the Dipper, they will be kind to him.’
“But when the creditors saw John, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This must be the heir: come, let us kill him, that the caravan may be ours.’
“So they cast him out, and beheaded him. What therefore should the Lord of the caravan do unto them?
“He shall come and destroy these creditors and their leadership. God shall return the caravansary to itself.”
Hearing this, the creditors among the leadership of church and state were more determined than ever to put a stop to Jesus’ movement. So they sent forth spies as undercover agents among his followers. And to lure him to make a self-incriminating statement, they asked Jesus in public: “Sir, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and that you respect no tradition of men but only adhere to the word of God; therefore, tell us truly: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus perceived their trickery, and he said: “Show me a coin. Whose likeness and image appears upon it?”
They answered: “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said: “And in whose likeness and image was Caesar fashioned?”
They answered: “God’s.”
So Jesus concluded: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”
The spies then marveled at this answer, and held their peace, because its implications confused them. They thought to themselves: “Does Jesus mean that we should pay our taxes, because the coins belong to Caesar; or is he saying that we should instead give the money away freely to whoever is in need, because all men including Caesar belong to God, whose prime desire is social harmony?”
18
So, from sunup to sundown, every day, Jesus spent contending in the temple, and he spent his nights in a hill nearby.
And multitudes gathered early each morning at the temple to hear him.
19
Now the Easter holiday drew near. And the creditors among the leadership of the church and state kept searching for ways to liquidate Jesus, because they feared his influence over the people. Then, learning that he spent his nights at the hill nearby, they went there and arrested Jesus.
And when they apprehended him, Jesus said: “So, after all that intellectual contending, you finally decided just to come out with brute force, wielding swords, and shackle my wrists like a common thief?”
§
Then they took Jesus to the house of one of the creditors, who held a high rank in the normative religion. After the officers guarding Jesus mocked him and beat him, they brought him before a council of many creditors who were leaders of church and state. And they subjected Jesus to a show trial, where they concluded that he was a blasphemous traitor.
20
Then they brought Jesus to a man named Pilate, who was a governor in the Empire. But Pilate found the whole matter distasteful; so, since it was traditional during the celebration of Easter to release one prisoner of the people’s choice, Pilate stood before the masses that had gathered, and he said: “Shall I pardon this Nazarene Jesus for the holiday?”
But the creditors in the crowd yelled in answer: “Down with Jesus; release Barabbas.” For, among the prisoners was a murderer named Barabbas, an agent of the creditors, whom they were as eager to free as they were to kill Jesus.
Pilate, however, thinking it wiser to release Jesus, replied: “Are you sure? Then what should I do with this fellow Jesus?”
And the creditors chanted repeatedly: “Crucify him!”
Therefore, Pilate washed his hands of the matter; and they crucified Jesus.
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