Jesus' Doings

[Luke]
Cotton Patch Version
    

Introduction

My dear Friend of God:

            A number of people have already undertaken to write a book about the events which have occurred among us, each claiming to be "just as the original eyewitnesses and participants in the cause related them to us." So it seemed wise to me to trace carefully everything from the very beginning and write it down in an orderly fashion, so that you might be absolutely sure of your information.

Yours,
Luke

5.         In the days when Ole Gene was governor of Georgia, there was a preacher by the name of Zack Harris. His wife was a very aristocratic woman named Elizabeth. They were both strict church members and were careful to observe all the rules and regulations of the Lord. They had no children, since Elizabeth was barren and by now they were both quite old.

8.         One day when it was his turn to conduct services (the ministers had worked out a schedule among themselves), Zack went into the study to meditate, while all the people waited prayerfully in the sanctuary for the hour of worship. He looked up and saw a messenger from God standing just to the right of the desk. When Zack Harris saw him, he was quite alarmed and frightened.

13.         But the messenger said, "There's no need to be afraid, Zack Harris, since your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, whom you'll call John. He will be your pride and joy, and his birth will bring gladness to many people. He'll be a great man of God. No wine or whiskey will touch his lips, but he'll be full of holy "spirit" while his mother is still carrying him. He'll turn a lot of church people toward the Lord their God. God himself will go in front of him with the spirit and power of Elijah. His job will be to turn the hearts of fathers toward their children, and to bring the stubborn around to the thinking of the devoted; in short, to get a dedicated band ready for the Lord."

18.         Zack Harris said to the messenger, "How am I to believe all this? You see, I'm an old man, and my wife is well along in years."

19.         The messenger replied, "I am Gabriel, God’s attendant. I was sent to speak to you and to break the good news of these things to you. Now listen, you'll be silent and unable to talk until the day all this happens, because you didn't believe what I told you, which will surely come to pass in due season."

21.         Now all this time the people were waiting for Reverend Harris, and they were amazed that he was staying so long in the study. When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. They recognized that he had had a vision in the study, for he was gesturing to them and remained speechless.

24.         When he had wound up his church duties, he went home. Shortly afterwards his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for the first five months she didn't go out in public. She was thinking, "The Lord did this for me, to take away the stigma of my sterility."

26.         During the sixth month of her pregnancy the messenger Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Georgia by the name of Valdosta, to a young lady named Mary. She was engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, from one of the old-line families. The messenger went in to her and said, "Hello, you blessed one. the lord is with you!" She was nearly bowled over by this, and wondered what to make of such a greeting.

30.         The messenger said to her, "Don't be so alarmed, Mary, for you have been chosen for a special favor from God. Listen, you'll become pregnant and have a baby boy, whom you'll name Jesus. He'll be a great man, and will he called ‘The Almighty's Son.’ The Lord God will set him on the throne of his father David, and he'll always be head of the faithful. His movement will never end."

34.         Mary said to the messenger, "How can this happen when I'm not even married yet?"

35.         The messenger replied, "Holy Spirit will lie upon you, and Power from the Almighty will impregnate you. For this reason the child, sired from on High, will be called ‘God's Son.’ Now listen, your cousin Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son, despite her age. And this is now the sixth month for her who was thought to be barren. God will see to it that every word of this will actually happen."

38.         So Mary said, "All right then, I am at the Lord's service. I want it to be just as you have said." At that the messenger left her.

39.         Soon after this, Mary quickly packed up and went to a town in the hills of north Georgia. She arrived at the home of Zack Harris and greeted Elizabeth. And do you know what happened? When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb gave a kick. And Elizabeth bubbled over with Holy Spirit and shouted as loud as she could, "Praise the Lord for a woman like you! And praise the Lord for your baby! How did a thing like this ever happen to me—the mother of my Lord coming to me? Because listen here, when the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the baby in my womb kicked for joy. It’s a wonderful woman who has believed that the words spoken to her from the Lord will become a reality."

And Mary said,
            "My soul exalts the Lord
            And my heart exults before God my Savior.
            For he has disregarded my humble origin,
            And from now on the ages will honor me.
            Great things the Almighty did for me,
            And Holy be his name.
            From generation to generation
            His mercy showers those who fear him.
            With his strong arm
            He scatters the big boys
            Who think they’re somebody.
            He pulls thrones from under the royalty
            And gives dignity to the lowly.
            He loads the hungry with good things
            But the rich he lets go with nothing at all.
            Mindful of mercy, he gives a lift to his people
            Just as he promised our fathers -
            Abraham our father and his many descendants."

Mary stayed with her about three months and then returned to her home.

57.         Now when Elizabeth's term was up, she gave birth to a boy. The neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had been mighty good to her, and they shared her joy. The day came for the child to he christened, and they were calling him by the name of his father, Zack Harris. But his mother said, "No, he'll be called John."

61.         They said to her, "But none of your kinfolk is named that." So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called.

63.         He asked for pencil and paper and wrote, "His name is John."
              They were all quite surprised. Then right away Reverend Harris’s tongue and mouth started working again, and he was praising God.

65.         All the neighbors were simply dumbfounded, and the story of these events was repeated time and again through the hills of north Georgia. People tucked it away in their memories, saying, "What will this child grow up to be? For the hand of God is surely on him."

67.         His father bubbled over with Holy Spirit and started preaching,

            "Praise the Lord, the God of our nation,
            Because he took notice of us, and arranged a way out for his people.
            In the house of David his child
            He raised up a bugler to sound deliverance for us,
            Just as he spoke through the mouth of the holy prophets of old -
            ‘Deliverance from our enemies
            And from the hand of all who hate us.’
            He did well by our fathers
            And honored his solemn agreement -
            The one he swore with Abraham our father -
            To give us tranquility, release from our enemies’ hands,
            And freedom to worship him
            With devotion and righteousness
            All the days of our life.

            "And you, little one, will be called the Almighty's prophet. you'll go in front of the Lord to prepare his paths, to give news of deliverance to his people, and of pardon for their crimes. Because of the tender concern of our God, Heaven’s sunrise will dawn upon us, to illuminate those groping in death’s shadows and darkness, and to train our feet for the path to peace."

80.         The little fellow grew up and matured in spirit. And he stayed on the farm until he began his public ministry in the South.

1.         It happened in those days that a proclamation went out from President Augustus that every citizen must register. This was the first registration while Quirinius was Secretary of War. So everybody went to register, each going to his own home town. Joseph too went up from south Georgia from the city of Valdosta, to his home in north Georgia, a place named Gainesville, to register with his bride Mary, who by now was heavily pregnant.

6.         While they were there, her time came, and she gave birth to her first boy. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in an apple box. (There was no room for them at the hospital.)

8.         Now there were some farmers in that section who were up late at night tending their baby chicks. And a messenger from the Lord appeared to them, and evidence of the Lord was shining all about them. It nearly scared the life out of them. And the messenger said to them, "Don't be afraid; for listen, I'm bringing you good news of a great joy in which all people will share. Today your deliverer was born in the city of David's family. He is the Leader. He is the Lord. And here’s a clue for you: you will find the baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in an apple box."

            And all of a sudden there was with the messenger a crowd of angels singing God's praises and saying,

"Glory in the highest to God,
And on Earth, peace to mankind,
The object of his favor."

15.         When the messengers went away from them into the sky, the farmers said to one another, "Let's go to Gainesville and see how all this the Lord has showed us has turned out."

16.         So they went just as fast as they could, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in an apple box. Seeing this, they related the story of what had been told them about this little fellow. The people were simply amazed as they listened to what the farmers told them. And Mary clung to all these words, turning them over and over in her memories. The farmers went back home, giving God the credit and singing his praises for all they had seen and heard, exactly as it had been described to them.

21.         And when the day came for him to be christened, they named him Jesus, as he was called by the angel before he was conceived.

22.         After they had finished carrying out the rules and regulations of the church in regard to the child, they brought him to the bishop in Atlanta to dedicate him to the Lord, just as the scripture said: "Every first baby, if it's a boy, shall be dedicated to the Lord." Also, they wanted to make a thank-offering—as the scripture said—of the equivalent of "a couple of ducks or two fryers."

25.         Now then, there was a man in Atlanta whose name was Simon. He was a sincere and devout man, and deeply concerned for the welfare of the world. Being a spirit-led man, he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Leader. Guided by the spirit, he came to the First Church. And when the parents brought in the child. Jesus for the ceremonies, Simon picked him up in his arms and praised God. He said,

            "Now let your servant, Almighty Master,
            Slip quietly away in peace, as you’ve said.
            For these eyes of mine have seen your deliverance
            Which you have made possible for all of the people,
            It’s a light to illuminate the problem of races,
            A light to bring honor to your faithful disciples."

33.         And his father and mother were really amazed at these things that were said about him. Simon congratulated them and said to Mary his mother, "Listen, this little one is put here for the downfall and uplift of many in the nation, and for a symbol of controversy–your heart, too, will be stabbed with a sword–so that the inner feelings of many hearts may be laid bare."

36.         Now Hannah, a lady minister, was there. She was from one of the best families in the South. She was quite old, having lived with her husband for seven years after getting married, and as a widow from then until her present age of eighty-four. She never left the church, worshipping there night and day with prayers and vigils. She came up to them at the same time and gave God’s approval, and started talking about the child to all those who were hoping for the nation’s deliverance.

39.         And when they got through with all the church requirements, they went back to south Georgia, to their own city of Valdosta. And the little fellow grew and became strong. He was plenty smart, and God liked him.

41.         Now each year his parents went to Atlanta for the State Conference. So when he was twelve, they went up for the Conference just as they were accustomed to. When it was over, they left for home, but the lad Jesus stayed on in Atlanta without his parents realizing it. Supposing him to be in another car, they went several hours before inquiring about him among friends and relatives. Unable to find him, they returned to Atlanta and continued their search. After a very long time they finally found him at the First Church sitting in the middle of a group of preachers, listening to them and asking them questions. All his hearers were absolutely astounded at his insight and answers. When Joseph and Mary saw this, they were flabbergasted, and his mother said to him, "Listen here, son, why did you treat us like this? Your dad and I have been worried to death looking for you."

49.         He said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you realize that I needed to be with my Father's people?"

50.         But they didn’t catch on to what he had said to them.

51.         He left with them and went back to Valdosta and accepted their guidance. His mother stored up every word in her memory. And Jesus forged ahead both mentally and physically. God liked him, and people did too.

1.         Now during the fifteenth year of Tiberius as President, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Georgia, and Herod was governor of Alabama, his brother Philip being governor of Mississippi, and Lysanias still holding out over Arkansas; while Annas and Caiaphas were co-presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, the word of God came to Zack’s boy, John, down on the farm. And he went all around in the rural areas preaching a dipping in water–a symbol of a changed way of life as the basis for getting things straightened out. This was based on a passage from the book of Isaiah the prophet:

            "A voice shouts: Make a road for the Lord in the depressed areas, and make it straight.
            Every low place shall be filled in,
            And every hill and high place shall be pushed down.
            And the curves shall be straightened out
            And the washboard road scraped smooth.
            Then every human being will share in the good things of God."

7.         Here's what he was saying to the crowds who were coming out to get dipped by him: "You sons of snakes, who put the heat on you to run from the fury about to break over your heads? You must give some proof that you've had a change of heart. And don't start patting one another on the back with that ‘we-good-white-people’ stuff, because I'm telling you that if God wants to, he can make white-folks out of this pile of rocks. Already the axe is lying at the taproot of the trees, and every tree that doesn't perform some worthwhile function is chopped down and burned up."

10.         And the crowds were asking him, "Then what shall we do about these problems?"
             He answered, "Let him who has two suits share with him who has none; and let him who has food do the same thing."
             Then the politicians came out to join up, and they asked, "Honorable Teacher, what shall we do?"
             He said to them, "Cut out your grafts and bribes."
             The service men too were asking, "Now how about us? What shall we do?"
             He told them, ""Don't ever use violence on anyone, and don't take advantage of native people–be satisfied with only your government check."

15.         Now the people were very excited, and were really searching their hearts about all that John was saying. Some were wondering if perhaps he were the long-awaited Leader. John put a stop to this, saying, "It's true I'm dipping you in water; but somebody is coming who is much stronger than I, whose shoes I'm not worthy to shine. He shall dip you in Holy Spirit and fire! He's getting ready to thresh the wheat, and he'll store the grain in the barn and burn up the chaff." With a lot of other sermons like this he was pushing his evangelistic crusade.

19.         But when John jumped on Governor Herod for marrying his brother's wife Herodias, and for all the other wicked things he was doing, the governor added even one more item to his list–he locked John up in the jail-house.

21.         So it happened that while the people were getting baptized, Jesus too was baptized. And as he prayed, the sky was split and the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove came down on him. And from the sky came a voice, saying, "You are my dear Son; I'm proud of you."

             Now when Jesus started his ministry, he was about thirty years old.¹

1.         So, on fire for God, Jesus returned from his baptism. Then in this spirit he was moved to go into the back woods for forty days, where the Confuser took some cracks at him. During that time he didn't eat anything, so he was hungry when the time was up. Then the Confuser said to him, "So you're God's man, huh? Well, then, tell this rock to become a pone of bread."
            Jesus answered back, "A man can't live on bread alone."

5.         Then the Confuser took him up and showed him, in the twinkling of an eye, all the countries of the civilized world. And he said, "Look here, all this power and glory has been turned over to me, and to anybody I want to share it with. Now if you'll just let me be boss, I'll put you in charge and turn everything over to you."
            Jesus shot back, "The scripture says, 'You shall let the Lord your God be your boss, and you shall give your loyalty to him alone.’"

9.         The Confuser then brought him into Atlanta, and put him on the steeple of the First Church, and said, "Okay, you're God's man. Now jump down from here, because you know the scripture says, 'He will give orders to his angels to keep close watch on you,' and also, 'They'll carry you along on their hands to keep you from stumping your toe on a rock.’"
            Jesus told him straight, "It also says, 'Don't make a fool out of the Lord your God.’"

13.       So when the Confuser got through giving him the works, he left him for a while. Then Jesus, spiritually invigorated, returned to south Georgia, and the news of him spread through the whole area. He was speaking in their churches, and the people respected him. But he went to Valdosta, where he had grown up, and as he was in the habit of doing, he went to church on Sunday. They invited him to preach, so he got up to read the scripture and found the place in the book of Isaiah where it says:

            "The Lord's spirit is on me;
            He has ordained me to break the good news to the poor people.
            He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the oppressed,
            And sight for the blind,
            To help those who have been grievously insulted to find dignity;
            To proclaim the Lord's new era."

20.         Then he closed the Bible, and handed it to the assistant minister. The eyes of everybody in the congregation were glued on him. He began by saying,
            "This very day this Scripture has become a reality in your presence."
            They all said, "Amen," and were amazed at the eloquent words flowing from his mouth. They whispered to one another, "Can this really be old Joe's boy?"

23.         Then he continued, "Surely some of you will cite to me the old proverb, 'Doctor, take your own medicine. Let us see you do right here in your home town all the things we heard you did in Columbus.' Well, to tell the truth, no prophet is welcome in his own home town. And I'm telling you straight, there were a lot of white widows in Georgia during the time of Elijah, when the skies were locked up for three years and six months, and there was a great drought everywhere, but Elijah didn't stay with any of them. Instead, he stayed with a Negro woman over in Terrell County. And there were a lot of sick white people during the time of the great preacher Elisha, but he didn't heal any of them–only Naaman the African."

28.         When they heard that, the whole congregation blew a gasket. They jumped up, ran him out of town, and dragged him to the top of the hill on which their city was built, with the intention of pushing him off. But he got up and walked right through the middle of the whole mob and went on his way.

31.         And he came to Macon, the county seat of Bibb County. And he was speaking there every Sunday. They were quite amazed at his teachings, because there was a note of authority in his words. One day at church there was a man who had the spirit of a filthy devil, and he bellowed out as loud as he could, "Hey, Jesus, you Valdostan squirt, what you got agin us? Have you come up here to stir up trouble for us? I know who you are, you Holy Joe."

35.         Then Jesus rebuked him and said, "Shut up and come out of that man." And the filthy spirit convulsed him right in front of everybody, but came out of him without leaving a scratch.
              A wonderment came over all, and they whispered back and forth, "Well, what do you know about that? He orders the filthy devils around as though he has a right to, and they come out!" And news dispatches about him went out to all parts of the country.

38.         So he left the church and went home with Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, so they spoke to him about her. He leaned over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up right away and started waiting on them.

40.         As the sun set, all those who had loved ones who were sick with various diseases brought them to him. He put his hands on each one of them and made them well. Even devils were coming out of a lot of them, calling and crying out, "So you're God's man, huh?" He got after them and wouldn't even let them say a word, because they really knew that he was God's man.

42.         When day came, he left and went to a remote place. But the crowds were looking for him and came to where he was. They held on to him to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I've got to spread the good news of the God Movement to a lot of other cities. This is what I've been sent to do." And he was preaching in the churches of Georgia.

5.

1.         While he was standing beside Lake Lanier, a crowd gathered around him to hear the word of God. He saw two little boats beside the lake, whose owners had left them while they washed their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to shove off a little way from the bank. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the crowds. When he had finished, he said to Simon, "Go out where it's deep, and let down your nets for a haul."
            Simon answered, "Mister, we've worked our heads off all night long and haven't caught a thing; but, if you say so, I'll put out the nets."
            They did, and caught such a slew of fish that their nets started busting. So they yelled to their buddies in the other boat to come quick and lend them a hand. They came, and they filled both little boats so full they almost sank.
            When Simon (Rock) saw it all, he got down on his knees before Jesus and said, "Don't waste your time on a bum like me, sir!" For he and his buddies were bug-eyed because of the big wad of fish they had caught. Simon's business partners, Jim and Jack Zebedee, were also amazed.
            Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't worry about it. From now on you'll fish for men." And when they got their boats back to shore, they gave up everything and started living like him.

12.        Now it happened that while he was in one of the cities, a man with bad sores saw Jesus and begged him, saying, "Sir, if you want to, you are able to heal me." Jesus reached out and touched him and said, "I do want to be healed." And right away the sores left him. Then he told the man not to go spreading the word around, but to tell only the preacher, and to make a thank-offering for his healing, as the Bible said. This would be convincing evidence for the ministers. But instead, word of him was spread all over everywhere, and big crowds came together to hear, and to be healed of their illnesses. But he would leave and go to the country to pray.

17.         It so happened on one of the days when he was teaching that there was a convention of church members and Sunday School teachers from the little towns all over Alabama and Georgia and from around Atlanta. And he felt the power of God moving in him to heal. Soon some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher, and they tried to get in to where Jesus was so they could put the man in front of him. When they couldn't get in because of the big crowd, they went up on the roof, took up some tiles and let the stretcher down just in front of Jesus. Seeing the way they had put their faith into action, he said, "Fellow, your sins are forgiven."

21.        Then the church officials and convention delegates began raising cain about it, saying, "Who is this guy that's saying such unorthodox things? Who but God alone has the right to forgive sins?"
             Jesus overheard their arguments and asked them, "Why do you allow such arguments to enter your mind? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Get up and walk'? But to make it clear to you that the son of man has the right on earth to forgive sins"–he said to the paralyzed man–"Get up, pick up your stretcher and run along home."
             Right away he got up in front of everybody, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home shouting God's praises. The crowd went into ecstasy and started shouting God's praises too. They were filled with awe, and said, "We've seen something today so wonderful we can't understand it."

27.         He left after that, and he saw a Yankee by the name of Levi, working for the Internal Revenue Service. And Jesus said to him, "Walk in this way with me." He got up, quit his job with the government, and started walking in the way with him.

29.         And Levi gave a big reception for him at his house. Now there were quite a few Yankees and others sitting around with them. And the church members and officials said to Jesus' students, "How come you all eating and socializing with Yankees and niggers?"
              Jesus picked it up and told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor–only the sick do. I haven't come to challenge the 'saved' people to a new way of walking–only the 'sinners.’"

33.         Then they said to him, "John's followers go to church every Sunday and say their prayers, just like all good church members do. But your crowd, they're acting like they enjoy their religion!"
              Jesus said to them, "Do the best men at a wedding look gloomy while they're standing beside the groom at the ceremony? But, the time will come when the groom will be parted from them. Then they will be sad on that occasion."²

36.         He also gave them this comparison: "No housewife ever uses new, unshrunk material to patch an old dress. If she does, the new will shrink and pull, and won't match the old material. And nobody ever puts new, fermenting wine in old, brittle, plastic bottles. If he does, the new wine will pop the old bottles, and the wine will be wasted and the bottles ruined. But new wine is put into new, strong bottles. And nobody who is accustomed to drinking old wine wants to try out the new, because he says, 'The old is good enough for me.’"

1.         One Sunday as he was going through a grain field, his students were picking some heads, rubbing out the grain with their hands and eating it. Some church members said, "How come you all doing what's wrong to do on a Sunday?"
            Jesus replied, "Haven't you ever read in the Bible what David did when he and those with him were hungry? How he went into the church house and got the communion bread, which legally belongs to the preachers, and ate it and shared it with those with him?"
            So he said to them, "The son of man has authority over 'Sunday.'"
            On another Sunday he went into a church to preach. And a man was there whose right hand was dried up. The deacons and members were keeping an eye on Jesus to see if he would heal on a Sunday, so they might have a charge to bring against him. Since he himself already knew their plottings, he said to the man with the dried-up hand, "Come and stand up here in front of everybody." So he came and stood. Then Jesus said to them, "Let me ask you all, is it all right to do good or to do bad on Sunday? To save a life or to destroy it?"
            He cut his eyes around on all of them, and said to the man, "stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was perfectly normal. But they pitched a fit and started conferring with each other as to what in the world they would do to Jesus.

12.         During those days he went out into a mountain to pray, and all night long he continued in prayer to God. At dawn he called up his students, and from them he selected twelve, whom he designated "ambassadors." They were: Simon (whom he also called Rock) and his brother Andy; Jim and Jack, and Phil and Barth, and Matt and Tom, and Jim Alphaeus, and Simon the Rebel, and Judas Jameson, and Judas Iscariot–who turned him in.

17.         And he came down with them and stood at the foot of the hill, along with quite a number of his students and a big crowd of people from all over Georgia and around Atlanta, and even as far away as Virginia. They came to listen to him and to be healed from their illnesses. And those who were literally swarming with filthy spirits were cured. The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power flowed out of him and he healed them one and all.

20.         Then he fastened his eyes on his students and said to them:

        "The poor are God's people, because the God Movement is yours.
        "You who are now hungering are God's people, because you will be filled.
        "You who are now weeping are God's people, because you will laugh.
        "You are God's people when others hate you and shun you and pick on you and blacklist you just because you bear the name of the son of man. Be happy at that time and jump for joy, for your spiritual pay is high. Why, their fathers did the very same things to the men of God of their day.

BUT -

        "it will he hell³ for you rich people, because you've had your fling.
        "It will be hell  for you whose bellies are full now, because you'll go hungry.
        "it will be hell  for you who are so gay now, because you will sob and weep.
        "It will be hell  for you when everybody speaks highly of you, for their fathers said the very same things about the phony preachers.

27.         "But let me tell you people something: Love your enemies, deal kindly with those who hate you, give your blessings to those who give you their cursing, pray for those insulting you. When somebody slaps you on one side of the face, offer the other side too. And if a guy takes your shirt, don't stop him from taking your undershirt. Give to every beggar, and don't ask someone who takes your stuff to bring it back. Just as you want people to act towards you, you act the same way towards them. If you love those who love you, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians love those who love them. If you are kind to those who are kind to you, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians do that. And if you lend with the hope of getting it all back, what's your advantage? Even non-Christians lend to those who'll pay it all back. But you all, love your enemies, and be kind, and lend, expecting nothing. And you'll get plenty of ‘pay’; you'll be the spittin’ image of the Almighty, who himself is friendly towards the unlovely and the mean. Be tender, just as your Father is tender. Don't blame, and you won't he blamed. Don't run others down, and they won't run you down. Free others, and you shall be freed; give, and it shall be given to you in full measure, tromped down, shaken down, running over into your heart. For it will be measured out to you in your own measuring basket."

39.         So he gave them this Comparison: "A blind man can't guide a blind man, can he? Won't they both fall in a hole? Nor is a student over the teacher. He alone who has completed school qualifies as a teacher.

41.         "Now why do you keep looking at the splinter in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How do you have the nerve to say to your brother, 'Brother, please let me pick the splinter out of your eye,' without even noticing the plank in your eye? You phony, first get the plank from your eye, and then you'll see better to pick the splinter from your brother's eye.

43.         "For a cultivated tree doesn't bear wild fruit, nor does a wild tree bear cultivated fruit. So, each tree may be known by the kind of fruit it produces. Also, people don't pick peaches from briars or grapes from a haw bush. A good man, from the good things stored in his heart, produces the good deed, while the mean person, from the mean things stored in his heart, produces the mean act. For the tongue is powered by the overflow from the heart.

46.         "Now why are you calling me 'Your honor, this,' and 'Your honor, that,' and don't carry out my orders? Anyone who comes before me and hears my orders and carries them out, I'll tell you who he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug down and went deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. At flood-time the river went ripping at that house, and it couldn't even budge it, because it was solidly built. But he who has heard my orders and hasn't done anything about them, is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river ripped at it, and right away it caved in, and there was great damage to that house."

1.         When he finished pounding his points into the ears of the crowd, he went to Columbus. Now the servant of a Jewish army captain was so sick he was about to die. The captain loved him very much, so when he heard about Jesus he sent some of the leading citizens of the city to ask Jesus to come and save his servant's life. Upon their arrival they strongly urged Jesus to come, saying, "The man asking you to do this is a mighty fine fellow. He loves our denomination, and made a very substantial gift to our church-building program." So Jesus went with them.

6.         While he was still quite a distance from the house, the army captain sent some other friends to say to Jesus, "Sir, don't put yourself out, because I'm not worthy that you should come to my house. I didn't think I was good enough even to come to you personally. So just give the order, and my dear one will be healed. For I, too, am a man with authority, having soldiers under my command, and I say to one, 'Go there' and he goes, and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

9.         When Jesus heard this he was simply amazed, and turning to the crowd following him he said, "Never have I found such faith, even among the good 'saved' church people." And when the ones who had been sent got back to the house they found the servant fully recovered.

11.         Soon after that he went to the city of Thomaston, and he was accompanied by his students and a large group of others. As he neared the outskirts of the city, he saw the funeral procession for a man who was his mother's only son-and she was a widow. Quite a number of people from the city were in the procession. When the Master saw her, he was deeply moved, and he said to her, "Please don't cry any more." Then he went over and touched the casket. The pallbearers stopped, and he said, "Young fellow, I’m telling you to get up." And the corpse sat up and started talking! Then Jesus returned him to his mother.

16.         And wonder came over everybody, and they praised God, saying, "A truly great man of God has been raised up among us," and "God has paid a visit to his people." And this news of him went out through Georgia and the surrounding states.

18.         Now John's students reported to him all that was happening, and so he called two of them and sent them to the Master with this message: "Are you the Expected One, or are we to wait for someone else?" When the men approached Jesus they said, "John the Baptizer sent us to you to inquire if you are the Expected One, or if we should wait for another?"
              At that time he was healing many people of their illnesses and plagues and mean spirits, and he was joyfully giving sight to lots of blind people.
              So he said to them, "Please go back and tell John what you've just seen and heard–tell him the blind are seeing, the crippled are walking, the lepers are getting well, the deaf are hearing, the dead are rising, and the poor are getting the good word. Tell him, too, that he is a great and good man who is not offended by my approach to things."

24.         After John's messengers left, he began talking to the group about John. "What did you expect to see when you went out to the backwoods? A bamboo blown this way and that by the wind? Really, what did you expect to see when you went out? A man dressed up in his Sunday best? Listen, people who wear expensive clothes and eat fine food are among the well-to-do. Really, now, what did you expect when you went out? A man of God? Of course! And brother, I'm telling you, what a man of God! He's the one to whom this scripture refers:

‘I’m sending my agent to precede you;
He'll get everything ready for your coming.'

              I tell you right now, there has never been a mother's son greater than John. But, the tiniest baby in the God Movement is greater than he!"

29.         Now when the whole group, including some Yankees who had been initiated into John's movement, heard what Jesus said, they agreed that this was right, before God. But the church members and the theologians, who had not joined his Movement, refused to accept this approach as God's will for themselves.

31.         "So then, with what shall I compare the people of this day, and what are they like? I know, they are like children playing in the streets, and shouting at each other, 'We put on some jazz, but you wouldn't dance; so we put on funeral music, but you wouldn't go into mourning.' For John the Baptizer offered you a harsh, rugged life, and you say, ‘The guy is nuts.’ I, the son of man, offer you laughter and joy, and you say, 'Look at that man, a gadfly and a jitter-bug, a friend of Yankees and a nigger-lover.' So, if intelligence can be judged by all that it produces, well–!"

36.         A certain church member invited him home for dinner. He accepted and went into the church member's house and sat down. Then a shady lady of the town, who had heard that Jesus was being entertained at the church member's home, bought a bottle of high-priced perfume. She sat at his feet sobbing, and her tears began to wet his feet. She dried them with her long hair and kissed his feet and dabbed on some of the perfume.
            When the church member who had invited him saw what was going on, he thought to himself, "If this fellow were a real man of God, he would recognize the kind of woman that's fondling him and know that she's a shady character."
            Then Jesus said to him, "Simon, I want to talk with you about something."
            He said, "Why sure, Doctor, go right ahead."
            "Two men were in debt to a certain banker. One owed five hundred dollars, the other fifty. When neither of them could pay up, the banker wrote off the debt of both. Which of the two would you think was the more grateful?"
            Simon scratched his head and said, "Why, I suppose it was the one who was relieved of the larger debt."
            Jesus said to him, "Right you are!" Then he turned to the lady and said to Simon, "Do you see this lady? When I came into your home, you didn't even give me water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn't even shake hands with me, but she, ever since she got here, has lovingly kissed my feet. So let me point out to you, Simon, that she has been relieved of a heavy load of sin, as evidenced by her great gratitude."
            Then he said to her, "Your sins are gone."
            And the guests at the table whispered among themselves, "Who does he think he is – forgiving sins!"
            He said to the lady, "What you've just done has been the making of you; keep it up – with my blessing."

1.         Following this, he made a trip from city to city, speaking and explaining the ideas of the God Movement. The Twelve went with him, and so did some women who had been cured of their spirits of weakness and meanness–Mary, whom everyone called "that Magdala girl," and who had been given up for lost, and Jo Ann, the wife of Kuza, Governor Herod's assistant, and Susan and quite a few others–all of whom were sharing what they had, in order to provide for the whole group.

4.         Now when a crowd of people from all over had gathered around him, he gave them a Comparison: "A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he planted, some seed fell on the path where they were walked on, and the birds came and ate them. Some seed fell on the rock, and though they sprouted, they dried up from lack of moisture. Still others landed in the middle of a briar Patch, and the briars that came up with them choked them out. And others fell on the rich dirt and grew and yielded a hundred times over." He finished by saying, "Give this careful consideration."

9.         Then his students asked him what was the meaning of the Comparison. He said, "You all have been let in on the secrets of the God Movement, but it is necessary to explain it to others with Comparisons, so that while they're looking they won't catch on, and while they're listening, they won't suspect anything.
            "But here's the meaning of the Comparison. The seed are God's ideas. The 'path' seed represent ideas that are heard by people who let the Confuser come and snatch the ideas from their hearts, without their ever acting on them and being helped. The 'rock' seed are the ideas which, when heard, are gladly received–but by people who have no deep roots. They live by them for a while, and when the time of real testing comes, they chicken out. The 'briar patch' seed are the ideas which are heard by busy people and are choked out by the distractions and money-making and pleasure-seeking of life, so the ideas just never mature. The 'rich dirt' seed are the ones which lie in the hearts of brave and good people who, when they hear the ideas, hold on to them and patiently spread them.

16.         "Nobody ever turns on a light and covers it with a pot, or slides it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a table so that people entering the room will be able to see. So, there's no one in the background now who will not be brought to the front, and no one who is insignificant who won't be recognized and brought up front. Be careful, then, how you respond. For whoever gets on the ball will be encouraged all the more, and whoever sits on his hands will have even what little he seems to have, taken away from him."

19.         Now his mother and brothers came to him but were unable to reach him because of the crowd. So somebody told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside trying to get in touch with you." His reply was, "My mother and my brothers are they who hear God's ideas and act on them."

22.         It so happened on one of those days that he and his students got in a boat, and he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." They set out, and while they were sailing, he went to sleep. A great windstorm arose on the lake, and they began shipping water and sinking. They rushed to him and roused him and said, "Captain, Captain, we're going down!" He got up quickly and told the wind and towering waves to hush. They quieted down, and it became calm. He then said to his students, "What happened to your faith?" They were seared to death and in amazement said to each other, "What a man! He orders the wind and water around, and they obey him!"

26.         They sailed on over to Gerasa County, Alabama, which is across the lake from Georgia. When he got out on land, he was met by a city man who had a "demon." For a long time he had worn no clothing and wouldn't stay in a house but in a cemetery. 'When he saw Jesus, he stood in front of him and yelled and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What you got against me, Jesus, you God's holy boy? I warn you, don't you put the screws on me." (For Jesus was telling the mean spirit to come out of the man, because it frequently convulsed him, and he had to be placed under guard, shackled and handcuffed. But he broke loose and was driven by the "demon" into the back woods.)
            So Jesus asked him, "What's your name?"
            He said, "Multitude," since a whole slew of demons had entered him.
            Then they started begging him not to order them into exile. Now, there on the hillside a large herd of hogs was being fed, so the demons begged him to let them go into them. He permitted them, and the demons rushed out of the man and into the hogs. 'When they did, the whole herd went tearing down the slope and into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran like mad and told it to both farmers and city people. Everybody flocked out to gawk, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at Jesus' feet, fully clothed and completely sane. It just seared the daylights out of them, especially when the herdsmen kept telling them how the demon-man had been cured. So all the people in that part of Alabama asked him to go away and let them alone, because they were so seared they were shaking all over.

38.         When he got into the boat to leave, the man from whom the demons had departed asked to go with him. But he turned him down and said, "Go back home and tell them about all that God has done for you." So he went through the whole city, speaking on what Jesus did for him.

40.         After Jesus got back, a crowd was waiting for him, for they had been anxiously looking for him. And there came a man by the name of Jarrell, who was pastor of the local church. He greeted Jesus, and then urged him to come home with him, because his twelve-year-old daughter–his only child–was at the point of death. As Jesus went, the crowd packed tight around him. And a lady, who had been bleeding for twelve years and hadn't been able to find anyone who could heal her, came up behind him and touched his pants leg. And right away her bleeding stopped.
            Jesus said, "Who touched me?"
            When they all denied it, Rock said, "Chief, the whole crowd is pushing and shoving you."
            But Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, because I felt power flowing out of me."
            When the lady saw that the cat was out of the bag, she came quivering and bowing low before him. She told him in front of the whole crowd why she had touched him, and how she had been cured on the spot. He said to her, "My dear daughter, your trustful action has been the saving of you. Keep it up – with my blessing."

49.         Even as he was talking, somebody came from the minister's house and said, "Your daughter has died. There's no need to trouble the teacher any further."
             When Jesus heard that, he said to Jarrell, "Don't worry; just have faith and she will be all right."

51.         Arriving at the house, he allowed no one to go in except Rock and Jack and Jim, and the father and mother of the child. Everybody was crying and carrying on, so he said, "You all quit crying; she isn't dead, she's just asleep."
              They took it as a crude joke, because they knew she was dead. He then took her by the hand and called out to her, "Young lady, get up!" And she began breathing and immediately she stood up. He then told them to give her something to cat. Her parents were astounded, but he urged them not to tell anyone what had happened.

9.

1.         Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all demon cases and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to speak on the God Movement and to heal. He said to them, "Take nothing on your trip–no sleeping bag, no suitcase, no bread, no money, not even two suits. When you are invited to a home, you may use it as a base of operations. If no one will invite you, leave that city without so much as a particle of dust from it clinging to your feet, as evidence to them that you've taken nothing of theirs."

6.         So they left, and went through all the towns, spreading the good news and healing everywhere. Word reached Governor Herod about all that was happening, and he was flabbergasted. For it was reported by some that John was raised from the dead, by others that Elijah had reappeared, and by still others that one of the old-time men of God had come back. Herod said, "John's head I chopped off, but who is this fellow I'm hearing so much about?" And he was anxious to get a good look at him.

10.         Soon the disciples returned and described to him all that they had done. He took them and left privately for a city named Griffin. The crowds found out about it, and followed him along the way. So he lot them come to him and he was explaining to them the God Movement, and curing those who were sick. As the end of the day drew near, the Twelve said to him, "Dismiss the crowd, so they can go to the neighboring cafes and motels to find food and lodging, because there's nothing around out here."
            He said to them, "You all go ahead and feed them."
            But they said, "Between all of us there's no more than five boxes of crackers and two cans of sardines. Or do you mean that we should go and buy supplies for all this crowd?" (For there were about five thousand people.)
            "Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty," he said to his students.
            They did this, and everybody sat down. He then asked for the five boxes of crackers and the two cans of sardines, and when he had given thanks, he opened them and gave them to the students to distribute to the crowd. All ate and had plenty, and there were twelve trays full, left uneaten.

18.         It so happened that while he was praying alone, his students gathered around him. He put this question to them: "Who do the people think I am?"
             They replied, "Some think you're John the Baptizer, others think you're Elijah, while still others believe that one of the old-time men of God has arisen."
             He then asked, "How about you all – who do you say I am?"
             Rock spoke up. "God's appointed Leader," he said.
             At this he told them that they absolutely must not spread this word around, "because," he said, "it is now a certainty that the son of man will suffer greatly and be scorned by the church officials and ministers and scholars, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."

23.         Then he said, so everybody could hear, "If anybody really wants to share my way of life, let him have no regard for his own welfare, and let him risk his life every day and walk the way with me. Whoever puts his own life first shall lose it. But whoever lays his life on the line for me shall come out on top. For what has a man gained if he gets the whole world, and his own life is broken or destroyed in the process? If anyone is embarrassed around me and my ideas, the son of man will be embarrassed to have him around at his 'coronation' by the Father, and the dedicated attendants. For I'm telling you a fact: there are some standing right here who won't die before they see the God Movement."

28.         About eight days after speaking these words, he took Rock and lack and Jim and went into the mountains to pray. It so happened that while he was praying, the whole appearance of his face became different, and his clothes were so white they hurt your eyes. And Io and behold, two men were carrying on a conversation with him! They were Moses and Elijah in their heavenly form and they were talking with him about his exodus–which he was soon to get into full swing in Atlanta.

32.         Now Rock and those with him were awfully sleepy, but this got them so wide awake that they saw his wondrous appearance, as well as that of the men standing beside him. And as the two were leaving Jesus, Rock said to him, "Skipper, it's wonderful for us to he here, perfectly wonderful. So let's build three chapels, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-without even realizing what he was saying.

34.         He had hardly finished talking when a cloud came up and enveloped them. They were dreadfully frightened as they entered the cloud, and then out of the cloud came a voice, saying, "This is my dear Son; do what he tells you." After the voice, no one was there but Jesus. They all kept quiet, and during those days they didn't tell a soul what they had seen.

37.         The next day they came down from the mountain and a large crowd met him. One of the men in the crowd called out for help, saying, "Doctor, please take a look at my son, my only child. He has a seizure, and all of a sudden he screams, and he writhes and foams at the mouth. He gets over it with great difficulty, and it just crushes him. I asked your students to do something, but they couldn't."
              Jesus cried out, "You distrustful and misguided people, how much longer shall I put up with you? Bring your boy here."
              Even as he was coming, the boy had another seizure and went into convulsions. Jesus quieted the abnormal spirit, and healed the lad and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the magnificence of God.

43.         Now while they were marvelling at all the things he was doing, he said to his students, "You all let these words sink into your ears: the son of man is about to be turned over to the authorities." But they didn't grasp this saying at all. Its meaning was so hidden from them that they didn't catch on, and they were afraid to ask him to explain what he had said.

46.         Then they got into a heated discussion as to which one of them was the most important. So Jesus–realizing what the motives behind the argument were–took a child and stood him in front of them and said, "Anyone in my fellowship who accepts this youngster accepts me, and anyone who accepts me, accepts him who commissioned me. Among you, the littlest one is important."

49.         Jack spoke up and said, "Skipper, we saw somebody using your name to cast out demons, and we put a stop to it, because he didn't belong to our group."
              But Jesus told him, "Don't stop him, for if someone isn't opposed to you, he is for you."

51.         Now when the days for his arrest approached, he set his heart on going to Atlanta. He sent the arrangements committee on ahead, and on the way they stopped in a black community to find accommodations. But they refused to accept Jesus' party, because there were white people in it.⁴
              When Jim and Jack saw this, they said, "Sir, do you want us to give them the 'fire-from-heaven' treatment and bump 'em off ? " But Jesus turned and scolded them, and they went on to another town.

57.         While they were going along the way, somebody said to him, "I'll live your life, regardless of where it takes me."
              Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to hang his hat."
              Then he said to another, "Share my life."
              "Okay," he said, "but let me first discharge my family obligations."⁵
              Jesus told him, "Let the people of the world care for themselves, but you, you spend your time promoting the God Movement."
              Still another said, "I will share your life, sir, but let me first work things out with my relatives."⁶
              To him Jesus replied, "No man who commits himself to a course of action, and then keeps looking for a way out of it, is fit material for the God Movement."

1.         After this, the Lord picked out seventy others and sent them in pairs to precede him into every city and place where he himself was about to go. Briefing them, he said, "There is a big harvest but few workers. Make your request to the harvest-master that he provide workers for his harvest. Now let's get on the move. Listen, I'm sending you out like sheep surrounded by a pack of wolves. Don't carry a suitcase or a wallet or shoes. And don't stop and gab with everybody you meet. When you go into a home, first greet them by wishing them peace. If a truly peaceful man is there, your peace will take root in him; if there isn't, it will bounce back on you. Stay in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide for you, for a worker is entitled to his pay. Don't change around from one home to another. And to whatever city you go–and they accept you–eat what's set before you and heal the sick in the town. And keep telling them, 'The God Movement is confronting you.' But if you go to a city and they won't accept you, go out on the main streets and say, 'We are shaking off every particle of dust from your city that's sticking to our feet. But let this be clear to you: the God Movement is here.’ I'm telling you, when that happens it will be easier on Las Vegas than on that city.

13.         "It will be hell for you, Columbus. It will be hell for you, Albany. If Berlin and London had seen as many evidences of God's activity as you have, they would have humbly changed their ways a long time ago. But Berlin and London will have it easier in the Judgment than you. And you, Savannah, do you think you'll be praised to the skies? You'll be sent to hell!"
              He who listens to you, listens to me, and who rejects you, rejects me. And who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me."

17.         So the seventy went out and later returned with joy, saying, "Sir, even the most devilish ones gave in to us when we approached them in your name."
              He said to them, "Yes, and I saw the whole satanic structure smashed like a bolt of lightning from the sky. Look here, I've given you the ability to trample on 'snakes and scorpions,' and on the power-structure of the opposition, and nothing will be able to stop you. But don't get all hepped up just because the devilish guys gave in to you; instead, you should be happy that you're enrolled in a spiritual cause."

21.         At that same time the Holy Spirit flooded him with deep joy, and he said, "I fully admit to you, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've kept these things from the egg-heads and the worldly-wise, and have let trustful 'babies' in on them. Indeed, O Father, this is the way it seemed best to you."
              Then turning to his students, he said, "My Father has left everything up to me. No one but the Father truly knows the Son, and no one but the Son and whoever else he wishes to let in on it, truly knows the Father." He privately said to his students, "You are indeed fortunate to be seeing what you see. For I'm telling you, many sincere ministers and statesmen would have given almost anything to see what you're looking at but they never saw it, and to hear what you're hearing but they never heard it."

25.         One day a teacher of an adult Bible class got up and tested him with this question: "Doctor, what does one do to be saved?"
              Jesus replied, "What does the Bible say? How do you interpret it?"
              The teacher answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your physical strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."
              "That is correct," answered Jesus. "Make a habit of this and you'll be saved."
              But the Sunday school teacher, trying to save face, asked, "But ... er ... but ... just who is my neighbor?"
              Then Jesus laid into him and said, "A man was going from Atlanta to Albany and some gangsters held him up. When they had robbed him of his wallet and brand-new suit, they beat him up and drove off in his car, leaving him unconscious on the shoulder of the highway.
              "Now it just so happened that a white preacher was going down that same highway. 'When he saw the fellow, he stepped on the gas and went scooting by.⁷
              "Shortly afterwards a white Gospel song leader came down the road, and when he saw what had happened, he too stepped on the gas.⁸
              "Then a black man traveling that way came upon the fellow, and what he saw moved him to tears. He stopped and bound up his wounds as best he could, drew some water from his water-jug to wipe away the blood and then laid him on the back seat.⁹   He drove on into Albany and took him to the hospital and said to the nurse, 'You all take good care of this white man I found on the highway. Here's the only two dollars I got, but you all keep account of what he owes, and if he can't pay it, I'll settle up with you when I make a pay-day.'
              "Now if you had been the man held up by the gangsters, which of these three-the white preacher, the white song leader, or the black man - would you consider to have been your neighbor?"
              The teacher of the adult Bible class said, "Why, of course, the nig - I mean, er ... well, er ... the one who treated me kindly."
              Jesus said, "Well, then, you get going and start living like that!"

38.         Journeying along, they came to a certain town, and a lady by the name of Martha invited him to her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down beside Jesus and listened eagerly to his ideas. All the while, Martha was rushing around trying to get everything ready. Unable to stand it any longer, she went in and said, "Sir, doesn't it make any difference to you that my sister has left all the serving up to me? Tell her to come lend me a hand!"
              Jesus answered, "Martha! Martha! You're worrying and fretting about a lot of things, when a few or even one is plenty. Now Mary has made a wise choice, which shall not be denied her."

1.         It so happened that he was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his students said to him, "Sir, teach us to pray, just as John taught his students."
            He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father, may your name be taken seriously. May your Movement spread. Sustaining bread grant us each day. And free us from our sins, even as we release everyone indebted to us. And don't let us get all tangled up.’"

5.         He went on to say, "Suppose you have a friend who comes to you in the middle of the night and says, 'Hey neighbor, how about lending me three loaves of bread. A friend of mine has just arrived at my house, and I don't have anything to serve him.' Then you'll call out from inside the house, 'Please don't disturb me! I've already locked the door and have got all the kids to sleep. I can't get up and let you have anything.' I really believe that even though you won't get up and let him have something out of friendship for him, you will crawl out and let him have whatever he needs if he keeps yelling and pounding on the door."
            "So that's why I'm telling you, start asking and it will be given to you; start looking, and you will find; start knocking, and it will be opened to you. For every asker receives, every seeker finds, and to every one who knocks the door is opened. Is there any father among you who, when his son shall ask him for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he should ask for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? Well, then, if you–sinful as you are–are capable of making good gifts to your children, how much more will the spiritual Father give the Holy Spirit to all who ask him?"

14.         And he was throwing out a mean spirit from a man who couldn't talk. When the mean spirit came out, the man was able to speak. People were simply amazed at this, yet some of them said, "He's prying loose the mean spirits in the name of Dung-King, the leader of all mean spirits." Still others taunted him and tried to get him to work a miracle. But he knew what they were up to, and said to them, "Any kingdom that's split up into opposing sides will go on the rocks, and a household so divided will bust up. All right, you say I'm throwing out mean spirits with the help of Dung-King. Then if Satan is opposing himself, how can his kingdom hold together? And further, if I am throwing out mean spirits with Dung-King's help, with whose help are your sons throwing them out? Your sons, therefore, will be the evidence that will convict you.¹⁰ 
              "But now, if I am throwing out devils with the help of God’s finger, then God's Movement is squarely confronting you."¹¹

21.         "When a man who relies on force maintains a heavy guard around his place, his property is undisturbed. But if somebody comes against him with a superior force, and conquers him, then he'll carry off all the equipment the man thought would defend him, and parcel out the loot.
              "If you're not with me, you're against me; if you don't gather with me, you scatter.

24.         "When a filthy spirit comes out of a man, it goes through dry places looking for a place to settle down. If it finds none, it says, 'I'll go back to my former home.' So he comes back and finds it all swept and orderly. Then he goes and invites in seven spirits meaner than himself, and they go in and take possession of the place. So the man is much worse off at the end than he was at the beginning."

27.         As he was saying these things, a woman in the crowd shouted out, "Praise God for the woman who bore you and at whose breasts you sucked!"
              He said, "Instead, praise God for those who listen to God's ideas and put them into practice."

29.         When attendance kept increasing, he began by saying, "This is a mean generation. It wants to see 'proof,' and no proof will be given it except Jonah's proof. For just as Jonah became a ‘proof’ to the Ninevites, even so will the son of man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will be raised up on Judgment Day as convicting evidence against the men of this generation, because she came from the ends of the earth to learn from Solomon's wisdom, and now a greater one than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will be raised up on Judgment Day as convicting evidence against this generation, because they reshaped their lives when Jonah preached to them, and now a greater one than Jonah is here.

33.         "A person never lights a lamp and puts it in a closet or under a box. Instead he puts it on a table, so as to provide light for all who come in.
              'The body's lamp is your eye. When your eyes are in focus [i.e., on a single object], your whole body is distinctly guided; but when they are crossed [i.e., with one eye on one thing, the other on another, or trying to keep an equal eye on two masters], your body is 'in the dark.' See to it, then, that your 'light' isn't ‘night.' For if your whole being is illuminated, without any part reserved for darkness, you'll be as completely lit up as when a flash of lightning shines on you."

37.         During the talk, a church member asked him to have lunch with him. When he got there, he sat right down at the table and began eating. When the church member saw that, he was stunned, because Jesus didn't observe the church rules about washing hands before eating. So the Master said to him, "Now you church members are careful to keep up the outward show, but your insides are full of greediness and meanness. You dimwits, didn't the same one who made the outside also make the inside? But dedicate your inner life as an unreserved gift, and then you are clean in every respect.

42.         "But there's hell for you church members, because you Scrupulously tithe, while by-passing God's judgment and love. You should have done the former without neglecting the latter. There's hell for you church members, because you love the platform chairs in the sanctuary, and the slap on the back at the club luncheons. Hell for you, because you are like old graves of which there is no longer any evidence, and over which people walk without being aware that anybody's buried there."

45.         One of the seminary teachers spoke up and said, "Professor, when you say things like that you insult us too."
              He said, "And for you professors, hell. Because you load people up with burdensome doctrines, but you yourselves don't lift a finger to put them into practice. There's hell for you, because you memorialize the men of God whom your predecessors killed for heresy. The fact that they murdered them and you build them monuments is evidence that you are parties to your predecessors' deeds. This is why the 'Wisdom of God' says, 'I will send them men of God and ambassadors, and they will persecute them and kill some of them.'
              "This generation will have to account for the blood of all the men of God which has been shed from the beginning of time, from Abel's blood to the blood of Zachariah, who was shot between the church and the parsonage. I repeat, this generation will have to give an account.
              "Hell for you, seminary professors, because you carry the key to spiritual wisdom, but you yourselves don't dare enter, and you even restrain others who would."

53.         When he left there, the seminary alumni and church members began to really lay into him and pick his mind, setting traps to catch him in something he said.

12.

1.         Now when a crowd gathered, so large that people actually trampled on one another, he began to say to his students:
            "First of all, be on your guard against the leaven of the church members, which is hypocrisy. For nothing is concealed that won't be revealed, and nothing secret that won't be found out. What you say in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you whisper in somebody's ear behind closed doors, will 'be broadcast from the rooftops. I want to tell you, my friends, don't fear those who kill the body and then have nothing further they can do. But I will show you whom you may well fear: fear the one who has the power not only to kill your body but to damn your soul. Yes, indeed, fear such a one.

6.         "Aren't five baby chicks sold for fifty cents? And yet God never forgets even one of them! Why, he even keeps account of all the hairs on your head! So stop fretting. You are worth more than a whole brooderful of baby chicks.

8.         "I tell you, too, if anybody will stand up for me before his fellowman, I will stand up for him before God's angels. But he who lets me down before his fellowman, shall be let down before God's angels. And anyone who speaks out openly against the son of man will be forgiven, but he who plays false with the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
            "And when they try you before church councils and courts and investigating committees, don't get all worked up inside about how you'll defend yourself and what you'll say. The Holy Spirit will give you the right word at the right time."

13.         Somebody in the crowd said to him, "Preacher, speak to my brother about dividing the inheritance with me."
              Jesus said to him, "Say, fellow, who appointed me as a judge or arbitrator between you two?"
              Then he said to them, "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions."¹²

16.         He then gave them a Comparison: "A certain rich fellow's farm produced well. And he held a meeting with himself and he said, 'What shall I do? I don't have room enough to store my crops.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my old barns and build some bigger ones in which I'll store all my wheat and produce. And I will say to myself, 'Self, you've got enough stuff stashed away to do you a long time. Recline, dine, wine, and shine!' But God said to him, 'You nitwit, at this very moment your goods are putting the screws on your soul. All these things you've grubbed for, to whom shall they really belong?' That's the way it is with a man who piles up stuff for himself without giving God a thought."

22.         He said to his students, "That's why I'm telling you not to worry about your physical life–what you'll eat–or for your body–what you'll wear. For life is much more than eating, and the body is more than clothing. Take a look at the crows. They don't plant, they don't harvest, they don't store things away in cribs or barns. Yet God cares for them. You are considerably more valuable than birds. Besides, which one of you, by fretting and fuming, can make himself one inch taller? Well, if your worrying can't change a little thing like that, why wear yourself out over anything else?

27.         "Now take a look at the lilies, how they do no knitting or sewing; yet I'm telling you that not even Solomon, in all his finery, was ever dressed up like one of them. 'Well then, if God so outfits a plant that one day is growing in the field and the next is used for fuel, he'll do even more for you, you spiritual runts. The people of the world go tearing around after all these things. But your Father knows you need them. So set your heart on his Movement, and such things will be fully supplied.

32.         "Stop being so scared, my little flock. Your Father has decided to make you responsible for the Movement. Sell what you own and give it with no strings attached. Make yourselves wallets that don't wear out, an unsurpassed spiritual treasure which thieves don't plunder, nor worms consume. For your treasure and your heart are wrapped up together.

35.         "Roll out now and put on your pants, and turn on the lights. Be on your toes, like workers expecting the boss back from lunch, and when he comes and looks around, they'll be hard at it. Lucky are those workers who, when the boss slips up on them, are on their jobs. I'm telling you, he'll praise them, lend them a hand, and even invite them to lunch with him. And suppose he comes back after hours and finds them working away, they're really top-notch workers. For you may be sure of this: if a homeowner knew what time the thief was coming, he wouldn't allow his house to be broken into. So you all, be constantly on your toes, because the son of man might come when you're not expecting it."

41.         Rock said, "Sir, are you telling this Comparison just to us, or to everybody else, too?"
              The Master said, "Well, who is the loyal and efficient employee whom his employer will put in charge of the payroll to see that everyone is promptly and accurately paid? Happy is that worker who, when the boss shows up, is doing a good job. I'm telling you a fact, he'll give him one promotion after another. But if that worker begins to say to himself, 'My boss will be late this morning,' and starts throwing his weight around and abusing those under him, then he goes out to get something to eat and a few beers, sure as everything his boss will show up just when he is least expected, and will chew him out and fire him.
              "Now that worker who understands fully what his boss wants done and doesn't get busy and do the job, will have the book thrown at him. But the worker who didn't understand, even though he did what he shouldn't have, will get off light. The more one is given, the more is expected of him; the more somebody is entrusted with, the more he must account for.

49.         "I came to kindle a fire on the earth, and what wouldn't I give if it were already roaring! I have an ordeal to go through, and how pressed I am until it comes to a head! Do you all think that I came to give the world peace? No, I tell you, not peace but conflict. From now on, if a house has five people in it, they shall be fighting–three against two and two against three. A father will be against his son, and the son against his father; a mother against her daughter, and the daughter against her mother; a mother-in-law against the bride, and the bride against her mother-in-law."

54.         He said to the crowd, "When you see a cloud blowing in from the west, right away you say, 'Here comes a rain,' and sure enough, it does rain. And when the south wind is blowing you say, 'It's gonna he hot,' and hot it is. You phonies, you are skilled at weighing scientific facts, but how is it that you can't interpret the signs of the times? And why can't you tell what's right for you? For example, when you're going to court with a man, wouldn't it be better to make an effort to settle out of court rather than having him drag you before the judge, and the judge rule against you, and deliver you into the custody of the warden, and the warden slap you into the pen? I'm telling you, you won't get out of there till you've paid through the nose."

1.         Some of the people present at that time told him about the demonstrators who were killed on their way to church.¹³
             He replied to them, "Do you suppose that these particular demonstrators were any worse than all the rest just because they suffered this fate? No, I tell you, but unless you all re-shape your lives, every last one of you will suffer a similar fate. Or those eighteen on whom the building in College Park fell and killed them, do you think this happened to them because they were worse sinners than all the other citizens of Atlanta? No, I tell you, but unless you all re-shape your lives, every last one of you will suffer a similar fate."

6.         He gave them this Comparison: "A fellow had a peach tree planted in his orchard, and one day he came looking for some fruit on it but didn't find anything. He said to the hired hand, 'Listen here, for three years I've come looking for some fruit on that peach tree and I haven't found a peach. Chop it down. Why let it take up space? But the hired hand said, 'Sir, let it stay just one more year, and I'll hoe around it and put some manure on it. If it should bear fruit then, okay; if it doesn't, chop it down.’"

10.         One Sunday he was teaching in one of the churches. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had had a weak spirit and was so bent down she couldn't look up. When Jesus saw her, he called out and said to her, "Lady, you have been freed from your weakness." He put his hands on her, and right away she was straightened up, and started praising God.
              But the pastor of the church, indignant that Jesus had healed her on a Sunday, said to the people, "There are six days in which it is all right to work. Come on one of them and get yourselves healed, but not on a Sunday."
              The Master replied, "You bunch of hypocrites! Doesn't every one of you on Sunday turn his cow or horse out of the stall so it can go drink? All right, now take this fine white lady, who had been spiritually locked up for eighteen years; don't you think she should have been released from her bondage on Sunday?"
              This kind of argument surely did shake up his enemies, but most of the people were overjoyed at the wonderful things he was doing.

18.         Then he said, "What is the God Movement like, and with what shall I compare it? It's like a mustard seed which a man plants in his garden, and it keeps growing until it becomes a big bush, and the birds in the sky make its branches their home."

20.         And again he said, "With what shall I compare the God Movement? It's like yeast which a housewife mixes in three cups of flour until it all rises."

22.         And he went through cities and villages, teaching and making his way towards Atlanta. Somebody asked him, "Sir, will only a few make the grade?"
              He said to them, "Do your best to enter the door of all-out commitment. Many, I tell you, will try to enter but just won't have the strength. It's like the owner of an eating joint who goes and locks up for the night, and all who have been standing around outside will then begin to bang on the door and say, 'Open up and let us in.' And he'll say to you, 'I don't know you guys.' Then you'll start saying, 'We're your pals. We've eaten and drunk here before, and you've met us on the streets.' And he'll answer you, 'No, I don't know you. Now go on away from here, you trouble makers.' Out there, there'll be a lot of cussing and hell-raising when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as all the faithful preachers, in the God Movement, while you are left on the outside. People will come from the east and west, from the north and south, and all will sit down together at the same table in the God Movement. And imagine it, those at the foot shall be at the head, and those at the head shall be at the foot."

31.         Just then some church members came to him and said, "You better clear out of here in a hurry, because Governor Herod wants to kill you."
              He said to them, "Go tell that sly old fox that today and tomorrow I'm casting out demons and carrying on my healing work. The day after that I'll be finished [in Galilee, Herod's province]. You know, I've got to keep going today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, because it just isn't proper for a prophet to get killed outside the state capital.

34.         "O Atlanta, Atlanta, you who crush the life out of your men of God, and ostracize those who try to show you a better way, many a time I've wanted to bring your citizens together as a hen gathers her biddies under her wings, and you would have none of it. All right, your city's future is left up to you. But I'll tell you this: you won't see me around again until you're crying out, 'Please, God, send us some dedicated leadership.’"

1.         Now it so happened one Sunday that he went home to dinner with one of the denominational leaders, who were keeping a close eye on him. And a man with dropsy was there, so Jesus asked the leaders and church officials, "Is it all right to heal on Sunday or not?" When they buttoned up their lips, he took hold of the man, healed him and sent him on his way.

5.         Again he asked them, "Suppose one of you had a child or a cow to fall in a well on a Sunday, wouldn't you try to get it out right away?" They just couldn't answer questions like that.

7.         Noting the scramble for the places of honor at the table, he gave some advice to the church leaders who had invited him. "When you are invited by someone to a banquet, don't go immediately to the head table. It might be that some big shot with a higher title than yours has been invited, too, and the person in charge of seating arrangements will have to say to you, 'Please let this gentleman have your seat.' Then with embarrassment you'll begin to step down to the lower seat. But when you're invited, take the most inconspicuous seat, and if the emcee comes in and says to you, 'Hello, my friend. Come on up here,' then you'll feel honored before all the guests. For anyone who promotes himself will be humiliated, and he who humbles himself will be promoted."

12.         He had a word, too, for his host. "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, don't invite your close friends or your family or your relatives or your rich neighbors, because they might give you a pay-back party and you'll just break even. But when you give any kind of a party, invite the poor, the disabled, the crippled and the blind. It will make you very happy, because they don't have anything with which to pay you back. Yet you'll be amply 'repaid' when the truly good are made to live."

15.         When one of those eating at the table with him heard these things, he said, "It's a great privilege to sit down and eat together in the God Movement."
              Jesus said to him, "One time a man gave a big dinner, and he sent invitations to many people. When everything was on the table, he sent his servant around to all the guests saying, 'Y'all come, it's all ready.' But one after another began to beg off. The first one said, 'I have bought a tract of land, and I've just got to go look it over. If you will, please excuse me.' And another said, 'I have bought five teams of mules, and I simply must go and try them out. If you will, please excuse me.' Another said, 'I just got married, and therefore I cannot come!' So the servant returned and told his boss what had happened. Then the boss had a fit, and said to his servant, 'Run out real quick into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the crippled.' After a while his servant announced, 'Sir, I've done what you told me, but the table still isn't full.' The boss then said to the servant, "Well, go out on the highway and sidewalks and collar them to come on in here, so I'll have a full table. Because I'm telling you a fact, not one of those guys who got an invitation will get a taste of my food.'"

25.         Quite a crowd was trailing him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone is considering joining me, and does not break his attachment for father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, indeed–for his own life–he simply cannot belong to my fellowship. Anyone who does not accept his own lynching and fall in behind me cannot belong to my fellowship.

28.         "If any of you were intending to put up a building, wouldn't you first sit down and figure out the cost, so you could see if you had enough to finish it? Otherwise, you might lay out the foundation; and because you didn't have funds to go any further, people would begin making cracks about you, saying, 'This fellow is a great hand at starting things, but he can't carry through on them.'

31.         "Or suppose a king were going out to battle against another king, wouldn't he first sit down and determine whether or not, with his ten thousand men, he could face an enemy of twenty thousand? If he figures he can't, then while there is still distance between them, he should send a delegation to seek for terms of peace.
              "So that's the way it is with you. Everyone of you who doesn't throw in his entire fortune cannot belong to my fellowship.

34.         "Salt is a good thing, but if it becomes so diluted that it is no longer salt, how can anything be seasoned with it? It's no good even for the soil or the compost heap. People just throw it away. Now remember that, will you?"

1.         Now all the "nigger-lovers" and black people were gathering around him to listen. And the white church people and Sunday school teachers were raising cain, saying, "This fellow associates with black people and eats with them." So Jesus gave them this Comparison:

3.         "Is there a man among you who, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go hunt for the lost one? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home with it. He calls over to his friends and neighbors, 'Hey, y'all, I found my lost sheep. Isn't that wonderful?' I'm telling you, in the same way there'll be more joy among the spiritually sensitive ones over a single 'outsider’ who reshapes his life than over the ninety-nine 'righteous' people who don't need to change their ways.

8.         "Or suppose a woman has ten dimes and loses one of them; won't she get the flashlight and a broom and sweep and look carefully till she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls over to her friends and neighbors and says, 'Hey, y'all, you know that dime I lost? Well, I found it. Isn't that nice?' In the same way, I tell you, there's a rejoicing on the part of God's faithful ones over a single 'outsider' who re-shapes his life."

11.         He went on to say, "A man had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Dad, give me my share of the business.' So he split up the business between them. Not so long after that the younger one packed up all his stuff and took off for a foreign land, where he threw his money away living like a fool. Soon he ran out of cash, and on top of that, the country was in a deep depression. So he was really hard up. He finally landed a job with one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed hogs! And he was hungry enough to tank up on the slop the hogs were eating. Nobody was giving him even a hand-out.
            "One day an idea bowled him over. 'A lot of my father's hired hands have more than enough bread to eat, and out here I'm starving in this depression. I'm gonna get up and go to my father and say, 'Dad, I've sinned against God and you, and am no longer fit to be called your son–just make me one of your hired hands.'
            "So he got up and came to his father. While he was some distance down the road, his father saw him and was moved to tears. He ran to him and hugged him and kissed him and kissed him.
            "The boy said, 'Dad, I've sinned against God and you, and I'm not fit to he your son any more–’ But the father said to his servants, 'You all run quick and get the best suit you can find and put it on him. Get his family ring for his hand and some dress shoes for his feet. Then I want you to bring that stall-fed steer and butcher it, and let's all eat and whoop it up, because this son of mine was given up for dead, and he's still alive; he was lost and is now found.' And they began to whoop it up.
            "But his older son was out in the field. When he came in and got almost home, he heard the music and the dancing, and he called one of the little boys and asked him what in the world was going on. The little boy said, 'Why, your brother has come home, and your daddy has butchered the stall-fed steer, because he got him back safe and sound. At this he blew his top, and wouldn't go in. His father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look here, all these years I've slaved for you, and never once went contrary to your orders. And yet, at no time have you ever given me so much as a baby goat with which to pitch a party for my friends. But when this son of yours–who has squandered the business on whores–comes home, you butcher for him the stall-fed steer.' But he said to him, 'My boy, my dear boy, you are with me all the time, and what's mine is yours. But I just can’t help getting happy and whooping it up, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive; he was lost and has been found.’"

1.         He said to his students, "Once there was a rich man who hired a manager for his business. Later he got wind that his manager was making a mess of things. So he called him in the office and said, "What's this I'm hearing about you? Let me have your accounts, so I can see if you can be manager around here any longer.'
            "The manager went out and thought it over. ‘What shall I do, seeing as how my boss is taking my job away from me? I'm not able to do physical labor, and I'm ashamed to go on welfare . . . I've got it! I'll fix it so that when I'm fired as manager they'll still welcome me into their places of business.' So he called up each one of his boss's customers and said to the first one, 'How much do you owe my boss?' He replied, 'I owe him for 900 gallons of oil.' 'All right,' said the manager, 'we'll settle the account if you'll sit right down and write us a check for 450 gallons. Okay?' Then he said to another, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'For 1000 bushels of wheat.' The manager said, 'Just write us a check for 800 in full settlement.'
            "And the boss gave the crooked manager credit for pulling such a slick trick. "You know, pagan business men are smarter than Christians in conducting their affairs. So I'm telling you, get yourselves some friends among the money boys so that when you fall flat on your face they might invite you into their plush offices (to give you some advice)!

10.         "Anybody who is honest in small matters will be honest in important affairs, and he who is crooked in small details will be crooked in larger matters. So if you don't know how to handle money matters, who'll entrust to you real wealth? And if you don't take care of what belongs to somebody else, how do you expect to have anything of your own?
              "No worker can hire out to two bosses at the same time. For either he will have contempt for one and respect for the other, or he will look up to one and down on the other. You absolutely cannot be loyal to both God and Money."

14.         Now the money-loving church members heard all this, and started booing him. He said to them, "You people make yourselves look pretty in public, but God knows your hearts. And what men praise, God abhors.

16.         "Until John, men were faced with the law and the prophets. Since then, the news of the God Movement is being circulated, and everyone is being forced to face it.
              "It's easier for land and sky to pass away than for one crossing of a 't' to fall away from the law.

18.         "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another is having illicit sex relations, and the divorced wife who remarries has illicit sex relations.

19.         "Once there was a rich man, and he put on his tux and stiff shirt, and staged a big affair every day. And there was laid at his gate a poor guy by the name of Lazarus, full of sores, and so hungry he wanted to fill up on the rich man's table scraps. On top of this, the dogs came and licked his sores.
              "It so happened that the poor fellow died, and the angels seated him at the table with Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried. And in the hereafter, the rich man, in great agony, looked up and saw from afar Abraham, and Lazarus sitting beside him at the table. So he shouted to him, 'Mr. Abraham, please take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in some water and rub it over my tongue, because I'm scorching in this heat.'
              "Abraham replied, 'Boy, you remember that while you were alive you got the good things (the good jobs, schools, streets, houses, etc.), while at the same time Lazarus got the leftovers. But now, here he's got it made, and you're scorching. And on top of all this, somebody has dug a yawning chasm between us and you, so that people trying to get through from here to you can't make it, neither can they get through from there to us.'
              "The rich man said, "Well, then, Mr. Abraham, will you please send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers; let him thoroughly warn them so they won't come to this hellish condition.'
              "Then Abraham said, 'They've got the Bible and the preachers; let them listen to them.'
              "But he said, 'No, they won't do that, Mr. Abraham. But if somebody will go to them from the dead, they'll change their ways!'
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