Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 147 Jericho Jerusalem
Jerusalem, a thousand years ago, was conquered by King David, who placed the Ark of the Covenant here. His son, King Solomon, then built the Temple here. A thousand years later, Herod the Great, the father of the current King Herod, expanded the Temple, making it the most prosperous capital of the Jewish kingdom.

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

"clatter……"

The donkey beneath him walked along the road, making a soft clattering sound, while Hannah, riding on the donkey, looked up at the Jewish holy site before him, this magnificent and wealthy royal city. However, in the present day, this former royal city of the Jewish kingdom had become the capital of the Roman Empire in the province of Judea.

How can a royal city be called a royal city if there is no king in it?
“Lord, is this Jerusalem…”

Beside Hamna, Peter stared at the great city before him, speechless with astonishment. He was originally a fisherman of humble birth, one of the earliest disciples of Hamna, and had been preaching in the countryside. He had never seen such a magnificent city before.

"It was indeed Yelü Salem."

Hamna nodded. He had practiced medicine in the Kingdom of Judah for many years and had also been to Jerusalem before, so he was not very shocked. He then looked at the disciples beside him, whose expressions varied, some were surprised and some were speechless. Judas, on the other hand, was the quickest to react among the disciples.

"Lord, we will surely gain a lot from this journey!"

He excitedly spoke to Hanna in front of him.

Their arrival in Jerusalem was, in a sense, inevitable, as it was a summons by the Jewish priests to "Joshua, the Son of God." At this time, the various legends surrounding Joshua, the Son of God, were already circulating widely throughout the Jewish kingdom, with people saying that the "King of Judah" had arrived.

In Judaism, the Messiah who saves the world is regarded as the King of Judaism. King David was the King of Judaism, the King of Israel was also the King of Judaism, and now, the Son of God, Joshua, has also been elevated to the position of King of Judaism.

Now that these Jewish priests have gained power, they will naturally try to find out who this "Messiah" really is and whether he is of any benefit or harm to them.

In Judas's view, this was a great opportunity. Although he had missed the opportunity with John the Baptist before, the Lord was indeed protected by God, and soon another great opportunity came. This time, Hamna did not refuse again, but agreed to Judas's suggestion.

However, Judas, caught up in his excitement, failed to notice that Hamna's face didn't show much of a smile; she simply nodded noncommittally.

Turning his head, he looked at the great city in front of him and knew in his heart that all his efforts over the past few years depended on whether he could get through this hurdle.

That year, Hannah… no, Joshua was thirty years old.

……

Inside the magnificent temple, before me stood numerous Jewish priests clad in white robes. They varied in age, but most were elderly. Yet these men nearing the end of their lives were the true masters of the entire Jewish province.

Neither Herod nor the Roman governor could have ruled the Jewish kingdom peacefully without their support. At this moment, these old men were all looking at Joshua, the man who called himself the King of Judah and the Son of God.

Before these people, the twelve disciples could only stand beside Joshua, but Joshua remained unusually calm.

The senior Jewish priest, who was at the head of the group, looked at Joshua in front of him and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"You claim to be 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 say much, his words were sharp and incisive. The elderly priest directly questioned Joshua's identity and status, leaving him no room to maneuver.

Judas, who was standing nearby, was immediately relieved upon hearing this. He understood what the old priest meant. These Jewish priests didn't actually care about Joshua's identity; they only wanted to know if they could gain some benefits through Joshua and control him.

Next, if Joshua were to yield slightly, these Jewish priests could then legitimately stand in for God and, as God's priests, testify to Joshua's messianic identity. In this way, through these priests who held the power of discourse, Joshua's messianic identity would be made legitimate.

"Lord, please remember what we agreed on before we set off."

He prayed silently in his heart.

Before setting off, he had already anticipated this situation for Joshua and prepared a set of words in advance so that as long as Joshua did not forget, he could continue to tell this beautiful religious story.

but……

"And where does your authority come from?"

His voice was calm, but his tone was incredibly sharp, showing no sign of backing down. The priests before him stared in disbelief, the disciples behind him turned pale, and Judah's face was filled with deep fear.

No, no, no... Lord, please don't say that, saying that will ruin everything.

The old high priest in front of him showed a hint of anger on his face, but 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 sharp religious debates, to which Joshua responded one by one. Years of preaching had honed his eloquence; he was quick-witted and eloquent, and he did not back down even in the face of numerous accusations.

Ultimately, all the arguments came back to one fundamental question...

“The scriptures say that God gave Canaan to the Jews and will give us salvation in the last days, but I have heard your words and you do not believe it.”

The sharp-eyed high priest stared directly at Joshua before him.

The Jews, the chosen people—this is the most important tenet of Judaism, and almost no principle is greater than this. However, Joshua never talked about this when he preached, but instead proclaimed that everyone has the opportunity to be saved.

The chief priest did not care about what Joshua had said in the past; he only cared about how Joshua would respond in this time and place, in front of so many Jewish priests. His answer would determine whether the two sides were enemies or friends.

In a sense, this was their final showdown.

If Joshua stops talking about his previous ideas, then the church he established will still be a branch of Judaism, which means that their authority must still be acknowledged.

However, facing the many sharp, piercing gazes before him, Joshua simply answered calmly.

"If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins; but if you do not forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins either."

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who was settling accounts with his servant. While he was doing so, a man was brought in who owed ten million denarii. Since he had nothing to repay the debt, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children, and all that he owned be sold to pay the debt. The servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, ‘Lord, be patient with me, for I will repay everything.’ So his master had mercy on him, released him, and forgave his debt.”

“Then the servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him ten denarii. So he seized him and grabbed him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me back what you owe!’ His fellow servant knelt down and begged him, ‘Have mercy on me! I will pay it back.’ But he refused and went and put him in prison until he paid the debt.”

“When his fellow servants saw what he had done, they were very distressed and went and told their master everything. Then the master called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debts because you begged me. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servants as I had on you?’”

"The master was furious and handed him over to the executioners until he paid off his debt. So it will be the same for each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

"..."

As with his usual sermons, Joshua made no attempt to use metaphors to explain what he wanted to say.

But as soon as these words were uttered, a roar erupted among the priests.

Upon hearing this, Judas, utterly despondent, closed his eyes.

"It's over."

The essence of this kind of talk is to take away the power to enter the Kingdom of Heaven from God's hands. It is not about choosing who enters the Kingdom of Heaven according to God's will, but about choosing who enters the Kingdom of Heaven according to human behavior. Once this is said, what is the status of the Jewish people, the chosen people of God? What is the majesty of God?
"Heretical...heretical...heretical!"

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

However, Joshua did not shy away from the hostile gazes he faced; he simply accepted them calmly.

(End of this chapter)