The world-devouring dragon

Jerusalem, thousands of years ago, King David conquered here and placed the Ark of the Covenant here, and his son King Solomon built the temple here. Thousands of years later, King Herod the Great, the father of the current King Herod, Then he expanded the temple and made it the most prosperous capital of the Jewish kingdom.

And now, another group of people came to this famous city.

"clatter……"

The donkey beneath him was walking on the road, making a tinkling sound, while Hana, who was riding on the donkey, raised his head and looked up at the Jewish Holy Land in front of him, this majestic and wealthy royal city. But now, this former city The royal city of the Jewish kings had become the capital of the Roman Empire in the province of Judea.

If there is no king in a royal city, how can it be called a royal city?

"Lord, is this Jerusalem..."

Beside Hama, Peter looked at the big city in front of him and said dumbfounded. He was originally a fisherman with a humble background. He was considered the earliest disciple to follow Hamna. He had been preaching in the countryside. How had he seen such a majestic city?

"Jerusalem indeed."

Hana nodded. He had been practicing medicine in the Kingdom of Judea for many years and had been to Jerusalem before. He was not shocked at all. He looked at the disciples beside him, with different expressions, either surprised or surprised. It was shocking, but Judas was the fastest among the disciples to react.

"Lord, our trip will be fruitful!"

He said excitedly to Hana in front of him.

It can be said that they had to come to Jerusalem this time because it was a summons from the Jewish priests to "Joshua, the Son of God." At this moment, various legends about Joshua, the son of God, have already spread throughout the Kingdom of Judea, and people are saying that the "King of Judea" has arrived.

In Judaism, the Messiah who saves the world is regarded as the Jewish king. King David is the Jewish king, and the King of Israel is also the Jewish king. Now, Joshua, the son of God, has also been elevated to the position of Jewish king.

Now, these Jewish priests who have gained power will naturally try to see who this "Messiah" is and whether it is beneficial or harmful to them.

In Judas' view, this was a great opportunity. Although he had lost the good opportunity of John the Baptist before, the Lord was indeed protected by God. Not long after, another great opportunity came to him, and this time Hamna also Instead of refusing, he agreed to Judas’ suggestion.

However, Judah, who was in the excitement, did not notice that there was not much smile on Han Na's face, and he just nodded noncommittally.

Turning his head, he looked at the big city in front of him, knowing in his heart that his efforts in the past few years depended on whether he could pass this level.

This year, Hamna... no, Joshua was thirty years old.

…

In the glorious temple, there are many Jewish priests in white robes in front of them. They are of different ages, but most of them are old. However, these aging people are the real masters of the entire Jewish province.

Whether it was King Herod or the Roman governor, without their support, it would be impossible to rule the Jewish Kingdom stably. At this moment, these old men were all looking at Joshua in front of them, the man who claimed to be the King of Judea and the Son of God.

In front of these people, the twelve disciples could only stand beside Joshua, but Joshua acted unusually calm.

The leading Jewish old chief priest looked at Joshua in front of him and said slowly.

"You say you are the Messiah, the Son of God. Who can prove it? Who can prove it? What authority do you have? And who gave you the authority to preach in this world?"

Although he didn't speak much, he spoke with heart-breaking words. The old priest directly questioned Joshua's identity and status, leaving no room for maneuver for Joshua.

When Judah heard the words, he immediately felt relieved. He understood the meaning of the old priest's words. In fact, these Jewish priests didn't care about Joshua's identity at all. They just wanted to know whether they could get some benefits through Joshua. Can it be controlled in the palm of your hand?

Next, as long as Joshua relents a little, these Jewish priests can naturally replace God and prove Joshua's Messiah status as God's priests. In this way, through these, they have the right to speak. priests, Joshua’s identity as the Messiah was justified.

"Lord, you must remember what we said before we set off."

He prayed secretly in his heart.

Before setting off, he had already anticipated such a situation for Joshua and prepared a set of rhetoric in advance. As long as Joshua did not forget it, he could continue to interpret this beautiful religious story.

but……

"Where does your authority come from?"

Although his voice was calm, his words were extremely sharp and showed no intention of giving in.

The priests in front of him were stunned, the disciples behind him turned pale, and Judas had a look of deep fear on his face.

No, no, no... Lord, don't say that, that's it.

A bit of anger appeared on the face of the old priest in front of him, but he still suppressed his anger and said.

"Our authority naturally comes from God."

"Then my authority naturally comes from my Father in heaven."

…

What followed was a series of tit-for-tat religious arguments, and Joshua responded to them one by one. Years of preaching had given him a good eloquence. He was quick-thinking and eloquent, even in the face of numerous accusations. Show weakness.

In the end, all the arguments came back to the most fundamental question...

"The Bible says that God gave Canaan to the Jews and gave us salvation in the last days, but I have heard your rumors and you don't think so."

The old chief priest with sharp eyes looked directly at Joshua in front of him.

The Jews, the chosen people, this is the most important purpose in Judaism. There is almost no principle greater than this. However, Joshua never talked about this when he preached, but preached that everyone has opportunities. Get salvation.

The chief priests did not care about what Joshua had said in the past. He only cared about how Joshua would answer here and now in front of so many Jewish priests. His answer would determine whether the two parties were enemies or friends. .

In a sense, this is the final showdown between them.

If Joshua no longer talks about his previous ideas, then the church founded by Joshua will still be a branch of Judaism, which means that they still have to recognize their authority.

However, facing the sharp arrow-like eyes of many people in front of him, Joshua just replied calmly.

"If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses; if you do not forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will not forgive your trespasses."

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who was settling accounts with his servants. And while they were settling accounts, someone brought him a man who owed ten million dinars. Since he had nothing to repay, his master commanded him, his wife, his children, and everything he had. He sold them all to repay him. The servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, 'Lord, have mercy on me, and I will pay you back.' So the master of the servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him his debt. .”

"When the servant came out, he found one of his companions who owed him ten dinars. He seized him, grabbed him by the throat, and said, 'Pay me what you owe me!' And his companion fell down and begged him, ' Have mercy on me! I will pay you back.' But he refused, and went and had him thrown into prison until he could pay back his debt."

"When all his companions saw what he had done, they were very sad and went and told their master all about it. Then his master called him and said to him, 'You evil slave! You begged me, and I will give you what you owe me. All are spared. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow man as I have mercy on you?'"

"Then his master was very angry and handed him over to the executioners until he paid his debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, if each one of you does not forgive your brother from your heart."

"..."

As usual in his sermons, Joshua still did not shy away from using various metaphors to explain what he wanted to say.

But as soon as such remarks were uttered, there was an immediate roar among the priests.

Beside him, Judas heard the words and closed his eyes in despair.

"It's over."

The essence of this kind of statement is to take away the power to enter the kingdom of heaven from God. It is not based on God’s will to choose who to enter the kingdom of heaven, but to choose who to let into the kingdom of heaven based on human behavior. As soon as this statement came out, the Jews What is the status of God’s chosen people? Where is the majesty of God?

"Here... heresy... heresy!"

A Jewish priest couldn't help but stretched out his hand, pointed at Joshua in front of him, and said in a trembling voice.

However, facing the many hostile eyes in front of him, Joshua did not shy away, but accepted them calmly.