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Confrontation in
Capharsalama
CHAPTER 4
Yeshua rescues a man named
Ephres who is being beaten by three men who claim they are doing
so because they believe he is a homosexual and they are
fulfilling the will of God. -Yeshua explains the principles of
God and how God is more concerned with
the virtues of ones character and the faithfulness of their
devotion than the choices of their affections. Though
there are those who may be scorned by the ignorant, they are
loved by God.
1 And it came to pass that the family of Yochanan remained in
Bethany at the house of Martha’s parents, but under the
stewardship of her brother Lazarus, while Yochanan bid them
farewell and made a journey to Gimron.
2 And Yeshua and Miriam began a journey with their two children
to Nazareth that they might see again the family of Yeshua.
3 Their farewells to their family and friends in Bethany were
prolonged, causing them to depart late in the morning. A donkey
carried their belongings and they traveled slowly by foot
because of the children. After a short first days journey they
set a camp some distance from the road, on the north side of the
village of Capharsalama.
4 As Miriam was preparing the evening meal of bread from
Bethany and salad from greens they had picked along their route,
they saw a man running along the road being pursued by three
other men who caught up with him as they watched, and began to
beat him with short sticks.
5 “Stay here with the children,” Yeshua bid. And then without
another word he ran toward the altercation.
6 As he came upon the men they did not even notice him,
so intent were they upon beating the hapless fellow on the
ground, who was looking up at the stars and calling out in a
weak voice, “God is great. Help me O Lord.”
7 Coming beside them unnoticed, Yeshua said in a loud voice
of exceeding power, “In the name of Elohim, cease this instant
your cowardly deed!”
8 Hearing a voice of thunder coming as seemed to them from the
very air around them caused all three of the attackers such
fright that they let go of their sticks as if they were hot
irons and dropped to the ground trembling in fear.
9 Ignoring them, Yeshua went to assist the man they had been
beating. Blood flowed freely from his head and his body and he
moaned softly with his eyes closed. Yeshua knelt beside him and
touching his wounded head lightly, the bleeding stopped.
10 Yeshua looked up at his attackers saying, “As his clothes
show, this man is poor, so you do not beat him to steal his
money. But you have nearly taken his life. For what cause
think you to take the authority of God into your hands?”
11 The three men rose up, and seeing Yeshua alone and
weaponless their courage began to return. The largest pointed a
finger at the stricken man and said, “He is not from our village
and we have seen that he has unnatural affections for men, which
thing we cannot abide.
12 It was only last week that our Rabbi exhorted us that it is
an abomination for a man to lie with another and such should be
put to death. We are devout men, not just in word, but also in
deed, and we are here to fulfill the will of God.”
13 Yeshua stood up, and in his height he was taller than the
largest of the attackers, and he said unto them, “Has this man
sinned against you?” And the three denied that he had. And
Yeshua said, “Has he sinned against your family?” And again,
they denied that he had. And Yeshua asked once more, “Then how
is it that you say he has sinned?”
14 And the middle of the three became flustered and speaking
quickly said, “He was found sleeping in a stable under a cloak
with another man. The other ran faster than we could catch, but
this one we have. Therefore, leave us be and we will finish
what we have begun.”
15 “And they were naked beneath the cloak”? Yeshua inquired.
And the men replied that they had been clothed. “Then was it
that they were showing affection one for another?” Yeshua
continued. But again the men said they did not see such.
16 And Yeshua said unto them, “Then perhaps they were merely
drawing closer to share warmth on a cold night and are not after
all as you assume them to be.
17 As you judge so shall you be judged by Elohim.
18 If you take a life, especially from a false judgment, it is
you who will stand condemned before God and pay for your sins,
not just with your life, but with your eternity. Are you so
sure of your judgment then that you will risk your eternal
reward?
19 And the men looked upon the ground and shuffled about
sheepishly, mumbling to one another at the words Yeshua had
said.
20 And Yeshua said unto them, “Return now to your homes and
leave this man; for you know neither the will nor the power of
Elohim. I will return to Capharsalama in the morning and will
speak to your Rabbi. Let him know that Yeshua of Nazareth will
call upon him after the morning meal.”
21 Then the men backed away from Yeshua and turning about
hurried back to their village to speak of all that had
transpired.
22 And Yeshua squatted down and putting his arms beneath the
limp body of the man he easily lifted him and carried him to
where Miriam and the children waited.
23 Miriam tended to his wounds with water and herbs while
Yeshua explained that even though their first day had been a
short journey, their second day would be even shorter, as they
must return to Capharsalama in the morning that he might speak
to the Rabbi.
24 They had no campfire, but there was a bright moon that
night. After the children fell into sleep, Miriam applied
crushed herbs to the man’s wounds and Yeshua came to him
touching him lightly at each spot of his injuries, saying, “As
you love God, may your wounds so be healed.”
25 The man slept soundly through the night and awakened upon
the sunrise, startled to see he was still alive, laying with a
family about him and his attackers no where to be seen. “What
miracle has occurred that I am here?” He asked in amazement.
26 Yeshua came to him and putting his hand upon his shoulder
said, “I am Yeshua of Nazareth and this is my wife Miriam, and
our children Uriel and Dara. Yesterday was not your day to die
and your greatness is still before you.”
27 Then Yeshua told him of all that had befallen him from the
moment he was hit on the head and fell asleep until the moment
he had just now awakened.
28 And the man shook his head dejectedly saying, “I am Ephres,
and I have no greatness before me. I have nothing. I am
nothing; except miserable. In truth, I am guilty of what my
attackers accused me of, so leave me; I am grateful for your
help, but now you know the truth, so do not waste your time.”
29 Despite his words, Yeshua did not move, and he said unto
him, “I have always known the truth. And Elohim is more
concerned with the virtues of your character and the
faithfulness of your devotion than the choices of your
affections. Though you may be scorned by the ignorant, you are
loved by God.”
30 The words of Yeshua were like unto the greatest balm of
healing. A smile of wonder came upon the face of Ephres and he
glowed with serenity from within his heart. He looked upon
Yeshua with awe and said unto him, “If only all men felt as you
do I could lead a normal life.”
31 “There is no other way a man who loves and gives true
devotion to Elohim could feel”, Yeshua answered. “I go now to
speak with the Rabbi and the people of Capharsalama that they
may have no confusion on this. If you are well enough I would
like you to come with me and my family.”
32 “Of course!” Ephres said in eagerness standing up quickly,
to his own surprise. “You are my savior, and even now go to
defend me. I would be less than an ant if I did not stand
beside you.”
33 After Ephres had eaten a little bread with honey and olive
oil, he stood thumping his chest and exclaimed, “I feel like a
new man. In truth I do not even have bruises upon my body. How
can this be?”
34 And Yeshua said unto him, “In your darkest hour you did not
call upon men for mercy, but upon God for strength. Even as you
have asked, so it has been done, because of your faith.”
35 Shortly thereafter, Yeshua, Miriam, their children and Ephres returned to Capharsalama.
36 As they walked toward the village they did not have to seek
out the Rabbi, for their approach had been noted by the
villagers and the Rabbi and several of the men from the village
stood upon the road awaiting them.
37 As they approached, the Rabbi raised his hand saying, “Stop
there. You may not enter this village if you walk with this
wretch of a man, or with a brazen woman who is not covered, for
God has said that it is an abomination for a man to lie with
another and a shame for a women to be uncovered among men.”
38 Despite the bravado of the Rabbi and the courage instilled
by their numbers, the gathered men still seemed somewhat in awe
of Yeshua, for his presence, even without speaking, was powerful
and unusual. Because of his height, all upon the road looked up
to him; and his hair, though not long, was longer than usually
seen among the men of Judea.
39 Because of the influence of the Greeks and Romans, many men
his age removed their facial hair; but he wore a full beard
which was a little longer than the current fashion, and slightly
parted in the middle in a style seldom seen. Lastly, his eyes
were a most piercing blue, a rare color in Palestine and
unnerving to many who looked upon him.
40 Facing the men, Yeshua held out his arms to his sides, at
waist height with his palms forward, saying, “Rabbi, by what law
do you bar our passage, condemn this man, and vilify my wife?”
41 And the Rabbi answered, “By the Code of Moses”.
42 Taking a moment to look individually at each man in the
group, which had a diverse appearance, Yeshua further inquired,
“The same code that says that men should not cut their hair or
beard?”
43 The Rabbi seemed irritated by the question, answering,
“There is only one Code of Moses, but there are degrees of
graveness; whether ones hair is short or long, whether one has a
beard or not, is not comparable with sexual transgressions.”
44 Now Yeshua spoke calmly and quietly, but with great power in
his voice saying, “And I declare unto you that the Code of Moses
is only in small part from Moses, and more from men who knew not
God.
45 And by this you may know the truth: if a law teaches to
honor and respect Elohim and to honor and respect yourself, and
to honor and respect your fellow brothers and sisters of spirit
upon this Earth, and to honor and respect all creatures over
which you are stewards, then you may know with a certainty that
it is from God.
46 But if it teaches to not honor and respect Elohim, or to not
honor and respect yourself, or to not honor and respect your
fellow brothers and sisters of spirit, or to not honor and
respect life entrusted to your stewardship, then you may know
with certainty that it is of man, and any who obey it do so to
appease man, not God.”
47 And the crowd stood unable to move; shocked that any man
could say such things. And the Rabbi, after his gaping mouth
closed, began to sputter in a most angry manner saying, “This is
blasphemy of the highest order. How dare you speak such
horrible words? God shall surely strike you where you stand.”
48 With a smile, Yeshua looked about him to the sky, as if
waiting for a thunderbolt to come from heaven. And he said unto
them, “If I were speaking that which was not true, then surely I
could not stand before you, and would suffer the wrath of
heaven. But here I still stand, and I say unto you that the
spirit of God is in me, and I speak unto you the truth.
Therefore, open your ears that you may hear.”
49 Now the Rabbi was still sorely vexed at the words of Yeshua
and was about to respond with a condemnation when Yeshua
interjected, saying, “Prove me now good men of Capharsalama. If
I can show you that the Code of Moses is more a code of men than
of God, will you then consider that the words which are written
concerning women and men may not be after all, the truth as you
have always been taught?”
50 And the Rabbi practically screamed, “Sacrilege! The Code of
Moses was given by the word of God. To say it is not perfect in
every way is to say God is not perfect.”
51 And Yeshua answered, “If all the words which are written
came from Elohim through Moses, then you would be correct as
would your judgments upon us. But are you so afraid of truth
that you will not even allow me to prove to you that the words
you hold sacred are often the greatest sacrilege?”
52 “We will not listen to such nonsense,” the Rabbi proclaimed.
53 But one of the men of the village stepped forward and said,
“Let us hear the words of the stranger, for he speaks as one who
has authority. If we judge his words to be in error, then we are
no worse off and he will be exposed as an affront to God. But
if we judge his words to be wise, then we will have gained
something of importance on this day.”
54 And the Rabbi began to speak in anger again, but seeing the
crowd in agreement with the words of the villager, he said unto
Yeshua, “Very well, speak as you will, but know that your very
words will be your condemnation.”
55 And Yeshua looked one by one into the eyes of each man
before him, and then said unto them, “If the Code of Moses were
actually written by Moses as given unto him by Elohim, then it
could contain no errors of substance.
56 If it were written only by Moses and no others, there could
be no confusion. If it were written by a Prophet of God it
would only contain that which leads men to honor and respect God
and the creations which God has made.
57 To prove that some of the laws are of man I will first show
that many of the words written in the books of Moses are from
unnamed men other than Moses; for if they fall, so fall the
erroneous laws which they contain.
58 Good Rabbi, can you tell me, was Moses a humble man?”
59 And the Rabbi frowned, answering, “The word of God says, 'the
man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the
face of the earth.’”
60 “And Yeshua said unto him, “And in his humility he wrote
these words about himself?”
61 “Perhaps a later writer added that little tribute,” the
Rabbi admitted.
62 “And what think you men of Capharsalama,” Yeshua continued,
“the Torah also says, there arose not a prophet since like
unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. Did Moses in
his humility, write his own eulogy?”
63 And the men of Capharsalama murmured that these were indeed
questions.
64 But the Rabbi said, “These are trivial things. You speak of
nothing of substance.”
65 “Then perhaps you will consider the covenant with Abraham
significant, as there are different accounts of this blessing
from which all the children of Israel claim their birthright.
66 Or perhaps the name of God, which Moses would surely know,
but which is said differently in different parts of the Torah,
as is the important account of the revelation at Beth-el to
Jacob from which the children of Israel claim the land of their
forefathers.
67 And what of the Commandments of Sinai; are they so complex
that Moses must write them twice and differently each time?
68 And what of women; are they chattel or servants or merely
comely beasts to be used as man sees fit? The books of Moses
give a record of Lot, a man so righteous that God spared him, but
destroyed all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.
69 Yet according to the sacred books, just shortly before, Lot
offered his two virgin daughters to be raped by an unsavory
group of townspeople rather than let them speak to the men who
were visiting his house.
70 And what of the recordings of genocide; those places where
the Books of Moses record God commanding that every man, woman
and child of an enemy should be killed?
71 O men of Capharsalama, consider the feelings in your heart,
even as your mind considers my words. Would you give your
daughters up to strangers to be raped? Do you think Elohim, the
true God of Heaven and Earth, would ask you to do such a thing?
72 And if you were in an army that came upon a village of
innocent women and children, even babes upon their mother’s
breast, could you strike them down as they fled or pleaded for
mercy, and kill them? Do you think that Elohim, the true God of
Heaven and Earth, would ever ask you to do such a thing?
73 Think not that I speak only of the errors of the Books of
Moses, for many are the errors of men in the books that came
after Moses.
74 Is it not written in the law that you shall not suffer a
witch to live? Yet is it not also written that King Saul sought
council of the witch of Endor, and that she made manifest the
dead Prophet Samuel that the king might speak with him when
neither God nor the prophets in his kingdom would? Or has that
part been kept from you in the readings of the sacred books?
75 Know you not, that if this were so, it would make a
witch greater than a Prophet of God? Verily, it would make a
witch greater than God, for God would not come to Saul in
dreams, and the prophets of God spoke to him not. Yet it is
written that by the power of the witch, Samuel was made manifest,
and by the power of the witch, the Prophet of God spoke.
76 O men of Capharsalama, these are not the words or actions of
Elohim, they are the abominations of men seduced by familiar
spirits to write that which is contrary to the very nature of
God.
77 Therefore, O men of Capharsalama, consider the words that I
have spoken of all these things that are contained within the
Books of Moses.
78 I say unto you that these writings are the evil desires and
commandments of men.
79 They are not possible for a God of infinite love and
fairness, and they are not worthy of you.”
80 “It is you who speaks sly abominations upon that which is
sacred” the Rabbi said. “These are weighty matters which confuse
those not well versed in the law and cannot be properly
addressed by a handful of common men on a village road during
the heat of the midday. These are fine points fit only for
those trained in the law to comprehend. In any case, the main
messages of the law and the sacred books are indisputable, even
if there were discrepancies, which I do not say is true.”
81 And Yeshua said unto him, “The true words of Elohim are
simple and clear to all men and need not the interpretation of
priests, for God would ask nothing of man that could not be
easily understood by all, lest man error because of
misunderstanding and not through willful disobedience.
82 The true laws of Elohim are meant to be a freedom to man, to
establish simple, clear paths of righteousness by which man may
prosper when he walks the path.
83 The unrighteous laws of men, both those given by Caesar, and
those given by priests, are intended to be an enslavement to
man, to compel him to give of his time and substance to sustain
those in power, to put fear of punishments into his heart, that
he can be controlled and will obey dictates of the unrighteous
laws, which his spirit would otherwise give no concern to, or
value.
84 Therefore, what man has perverted, let me make clear, and in
this listen to the spirit of God that resides within each of
you, within every man and woman ever born; for this quiet voice
will always testify to you of truth if you will open your heart
and mind to receive it.”
85 “Of this man,” he said pointing to Ephres, “think you that
it matters to Elohim to whom he directs the affections of his
heart as long as he gives his first devotion to God?
86 And if he gives his first devotion to God, it must follow as
night to day that he also does good to all men, for a man
devoted to Elohim has only peace and love in his heart.
87 To give sincere devotion to God and to give good in your
words and actions to your brothers and sisters of spirit is all
that God asks of anyone. Any law that demands other than this
speaks not from God, but from man.”
88 And think you it is a shame that my wife is uncovered?
Would you also cover the glory of the sun or the moon or the
stars? For they too are God’s creations.
89 Woman was made to stand beside man, not behind him; equal to
him, not less than him; thus have they been made by Elohim.”
90 At this the Rabbi could not contain himself, saying,
“Numerous are the places in the Law where a woman’s place is
given. She is clearly under the direction of her husband.
91 And no man of worth wants to see another man lusting after his
wife, so it must be that she is well covered when in public.
This is just common sense if nothing else.”
92 Yeshua took a step toward the Rabbi saying, “Verily I say
unto you, any man who would make a woman less than a man, or
subject to the will of a man, will find desolation in the world
to come.
93 Elohim has made them equal in this life and the life to
come. Look you to the Books of Moses, which you love, and the
story of creation; when Adam and Eve were given the Garden of
Eden, God did not give dominion of all the Earth only to man,
but to both man and woman equally.
94 And thus it is so: man and woman are equal in the sight of
God and whosoever would have dominion over woman in this life,
acts from an evil heart, and not the true light of God.”
95 The mouth of the Rabbi gaped again as he prepared to speak,
but before he could speak his mind, Yeshua said unto all of the
men, “I have said what I have said. I have given you the true
light of God. How then will you now act? What does your heart
feel? What is the truth that whispers in your mind despite all
you have been taught before?
96 Here we will leave you, for my family journeys north. But I
say unto you that this man, Ephres, is a good and righteous man
who is devoted to God and does only good to his fellow man.
Will you let him pass your town in peace?”
97 And the Rabbi blustered, “Nothing you have said has changed
anything. Good riddance to you and take that man with you if
you do not desire him to meet a worse fate.”
98 But the villager who had spoken before stepped forth again
saying, “The Rabbi does not speak for all of us. My heart and
the hearts of my friends have been touched by the words you have
said. You have given us much to consider.
99 We are not changed from who we were to who you would have us
be in these short moments, but we have changed enough to give
more thought to the words you have spoken.
100 Therefore, go your way in peace and forgive us the
disrespect to your wife. The man Ephres may come in peace to
our village. None will harm him.”
101 At those words, the Rabbi turned in disgust and walked back
toward the village.
102 And Yeshua came forward and put his hand upon the shoulder
of the villager who had spoken, asking, “What is your name,
friend?”
103 “I am called Gimiel,” he replied. “I am a simple man with
flocks of sheep.”
104 And Yeshua said unto him, “Your humility has not hidden
your courage, nor your simpleness, the sharpness of your mind. I
return to my home in Galilee and the time will soon come when
you shall hear of me again. If you know then what you know not
now, come to me, and you shall learn the mysteries of the
Kingdom of God.”
105 And Gimiel bowed his head to Yeshua and said unto him,
“Teacher, you have opened our eyes today, but now you depart and
we will have no one to give us further knowledge. Lest we soon
fall back into our old ways, how then are we to know that which
is true from that which is false when we are confronted with a
choice?”
106 And Yeshua said unto them, “When you see a fine carpet from
the masters of Tarsus, you have no doubt of its authenticity
because of the tightness of the weave, the brightness of the
colors, the purity of the wool, the subtle highlights of the
silk and the beauty of the design.
107 If a man were to come to you and offer to sell you a carpet
he said was from Tarsus, it would take you but a moment of
examination to know whether the carpet merchant spoke truth.
108 So it is with the words of God as spoken by prophets and
prophetesses through all time, and the corruption of the words of
men upon the sacred.
109 Like the carpets of Tarsus, the true words of God are built
upon a foundation that marks them undeniably as to their
source.
110 In this you have a most easy test. You do not have to get
into great theological contemplations, for the ways of God are
pure and simple; distinct and easy to know.
111 The Commandments of Sinai have been given to you and they
are easy to live. The very first words of God as recorded
spoken to Adam and Eve are in innocent purity, as yet undiluted
by the machinations of men.
112 Therefore, if the commandments say not to kill, but in
other places in the sacred books it records the people of God
being commanded to kill every man, woman and child, is this not
a contradiction of the foundation of truth?
113 If Elohim told Adam and Eve that every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed would be meat for
them, but later the sacred books record God saying to eat the
flesh of animals, is this not a contradiction of the foundation
of truth, in both the Commandments of Sinai and the word of
Elohim spoken to Adam and Eve?
114 Do you think that Elohim is a changeable God who gives
contradicting commandments or conforms to the desires of men?
Verily, I say no! Elohim is the same yesterday, today and
forever.
115 Seek to understand the heart and essence of Elohim and you
will hold the foundation of good by which you may know the truth
of all things of light.
116 Here then is the key to understand the foundation of
Elohim, whereby you may know the truth of all things of God:
Verily, the basis of all goodness and godliness is to love and
respect God, the giver of all life and the creator of all things;
117 And to love and respect your neighbors, for every injury to
them is an injury to you, and every blessing to them is a
blessing to you;
118 And to love and respect yourself by treating the body you
have been given as a temple, and the hours of your life as a
stewardship from Elohim.
119 Any law that is contrary to this is a law of man, not God.
Any man or Rabbi, priest or Caesar who teaches other than this,
teaches from a place of darkness, not of light.
120 Therefore, I say unto you, even as you know at a glance a
true carpet of Tarsus, know also the truth of Elohim by the firm
and simple foundation that has been given.
121 Once you have weighed all things in the balance, and the
truth you hold does not seem wanting, seek out Elohim in quiet
prayer and ask in humility to know of a certainty that which you
feel is true.
122 If you ask with a sincere heart and a repentant life, you
will feel the power of God move within your heart to confirm
that which your mind has found.”
123 “Surely these are enlightened words;” Gimiel said as the
others nodded in agreement.
124 And Yeshua said unto them, “You now hold the candle of
truth. Hold it high that others may see the light.”
125 And turning to Ephres, Yeshua said, “Keep your devotion to
God and remember my words; your greatness is still before you.”
126 Then bidding farewell to all the men, Yeshua and his family
turned and continued their journey north.
127 And Ephres and the other men stood upon the road looking
after them until they were no more to be seen.
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