,transcriber's ,note3         ,extensive
 research did not uncover any evidence  
that the        copyright on this       
publication was renewed4                
,illustration                           
,the ,king nobody wanted                
,by ,,norman ,f4 ,,langford             
,illustrated by ,john ,lear             
,,the ,,westminster ,,press             
,,philadelphia                          
,,copyright1 ,,mcmxlviii1 ,,by ,w4 ,l4  
,,jenkins         99       99       99  
99       99     ,,contents   #a         
,waiting  #b     ,a ,king ,is ,born  #c 
,growing  #d     ,jesus ,goes to ,work  
#e     ,a ,busy ,time  #f     ,friends  
and ,foes  #g     ,slow to ,understand  
#h     ,jesus ,is ,strong  #i           
,refusing a ,crown  #aj    ,the ,way to 
,jerusalem  #aa    ,nearing the ,city   
#ab    ,in ,jerusalem  #ac    ,the ,last
 ,night  #ad    ,the ,last ,day  #ae    
,the ,victorious ,king         99       
99       99       99       99           
,,about ,,this ,,book   ,in a very real 

and interesting way1 ,,the ,,king       
,,nobody ,,wanted tells the story of    
,jesus4 ,where the actual words of the  
,bible are used1 they are from the ,king
 ,james ,version4 ,but the greater part 
of the story is told in the words of    
every day4  ,since you will certainly   
want to look up these stories in your   
own ,bible1 the references are given on 
pages #aia and #aib4 ,you will discover 
that often more than one ,gospel tells  
the same story about ,jesus1 but in a   
slightly different way4 ,in ,,the ,,king
 ,,nobody ,,wanted1 the stories from the
 ,gospels have been put together so that
 there is just one story for you to read
 and understand and enjoy4              
,illustration     #a4 ,waiting   ,two   
thousand years ago1 in the land of      
,palestine1 the ,jewish people were     
waiting for something to happen--or1    
really1 were waiting for someone to     
come4  ,when will he come8 was the      
question they were always asking one    
another4 ,will he come in five years8   

next year8 ,or is he already on his way8
  ,they were waiting for someone1 and   
when he came they would call him the    
,messiah4 ,if they spoke the ,greek     
language1 they would call him ,christ4  
,the people thought he would be a great 
king4  ,they had one king already4 ,his 
name was ,herod the ,great4 ,but ,herod 
was not the kind of king they wanted4   
,herod was hard and cruel4 ,he poisoned 
and beheaded those who made him angry4  
,he was not a ,jew by birth4 ,the       
,messiah1 when he came1 would be a good 
king4 ,he would be a ,jew himself1 and a
 friend to all the ,jewish people4 ,one 
of the prophets said he would be like   
the shepherds of ,palestine1 who watched
 their sheep night and day1 and carried 
the small lambs in their arms4  ,but the
 most important thing about the ,messiah
 was that he would drive ,caesar and his
 armies out of the country4 ,caesar6    
,how they hated his very name6 ,for     
,caesar was the emperor of the ,romans4 
,some years before1 the ,romans had     

occupied the country and begun to rule  
it4 ,herod was still king of the ,jews1 
but now he took his orders from ,caesar4
 ,everybody had to take orders from     
,caesar4 ,the ,jews were not a free     
people any more4  ,it used to be so     
different1 the older people sighed1     
before the ,romans came4  ,everywhere in
 ,palestine ,roman armies went marching4
 ,their shields flashed in the sunlight1
 and when they were on the march they   
carried golden eagles which stood for   
,caesar's power4  ,the ,romans tried to 
rule the country well4 ,they said that  
everybody would get justice and fair    
play4 ,but the ,jews could not see the  
fairness in having to pay taxes to a    
foreign king who did not even worship   
,god4 ,they did not like to see ,roman  
soldiers whipping people with long      
leather whips called scourges1 into     
which bits of glass and lead and iron   
were fastened to make them bite more    
deeply into some poor ,jew's back4 ,they
 were sick at heart when the ,romans    

began to punish criminals by nailing    
them up by their hands and feet to big  
wooden crosses1 and leaving them to hang
 there until they died4  ,illustration  
,well1 the ,messiah would take care of  
the ,romans4 ,he would gather an army   
from east and west and north and south4 
,then there would be a great day for the
 ,jewish people1 a great day for the    
nation that was called by the glorious  
name of ,israel6 ,from all over the     
country the men of ,israel would rise   
up4 ,they would come when their king    
called them1 and he would lead them to  
victory against ,caesar4 ,the ,romans   
would go back where they came from1 and 
,israel would be free and peaceful and  
rich and happy again4 ,the ,messiah     
would make ,israel into a great kingdom1
 bigger and more powerful than the      
,roman ,empire ever was4 ,the ,jews     
would rule the world4 ,everyone1        
everywhere1 would worship the ,god of   
,israel1 and the ,messiah would be ,king
 of all the nations of the earth4 ,if   

only he would come6  ,illustration  ,it 
was hard to wait so long4 ,they had     
waited for him a long time1 and their   
fathers and grandfathers had waited for 
him too4 ,sometimes word would go around
 that he had finally arrived1 and in    
great excitement some of the ,jews would
 get ready to drive the ,romans out of  
,palestine4 ,but always it turned out to
 be a mistake1 and the ,jews would be   
disappointed1 and shake their heads1 and
 say1 ,will he ever come8  ,but when    
they grew discouraged1 they would       
remember what was written in their ,holy
 ,scriptures4 ,for it was surely written
 there that the ,messiah would come     
someday4 ,there could be no mistake     
about it4 ,someday he would come6       
,illustration  ,and so it went on1 month
 after month1 year after year4 ,the     
people worked1 and dreamed1 and hoped1  
and prayed4 ,the rains would fall in    
,october and soften the hard1 dry ground
 after the heat of summer1 so that the  
farmer could do his plowing4 ,and as he 

plowed the land1 the farmer thought     
about the ,messiah1 and wondered if he  
would come before the harvest in the    
spring4 ,then spring would come1 and the
 wheat and barley would be growing up in
 the smiling fields1 and all down the   
hillside the grapevines and the olive   
trees would be full of fruit4 ,the      
,romans were still marching through the 
country1 and still there was no         
,messiah4 ,but the farmer thought that  
maybe he would come before the next fall
 rains4  ,the fisherman would go sailing
 across the deep-blue ,sea of ,galilee1 
and while he waited for the fish to come
 into his net1 he thought of how long   
,israel had waited for the ,messiah to  
come4 ,the beggars in the city streets1 
who were deaf1 or blind1 or crippled1   
would sit at the corners and ask for    
money to buy food4 ,they were wondering 
too if the ,messiah would ever come and 
help the poor folk of ,israel4  ,the    
shepherds1 out on the rocky hills where 
nothing would grow but grass for sheep  

and goats and cattle1 were also thinking
 of the ,messiah4 ,in good weather and  
bad they were there1 keeping an eye on  
their sheep1 and they had plenty of time
 to think4 ,when the rain and the snow  
were in their faces1 the shepherds were 
thinking1 ,when will he come8 ,and when 
the hot sun climbed overhead1 and the   
heat was like a furnace1 or when the    
east wind came and blew dust in their   
faces1 then too the shepherds thought1  
,when will he come and save us8         
,illustration  ,farmers1 fishermen1     
shepherds--these were not the only      
people who were thinking of the         
,messiah4 ,sometimes along the hot1     
lonely roads of ,palestine1 where       
robbers and wild animals were hiding1 a 
traveler would have dreams4 ,or the     
dream might come to someone in sunny    
,galilee1 where camel caravans crossed  
with their loads of spices and jewels   
and precious things from ,far ,eastern  
lands4 ,but it was most likely to come  
to a man when he was standing in the    

great1 white1 gleaming ,temple at       
,jerusalem1 where all good ,jews went to
 worship ,god4  ,and the dream would be 
that the sky opened1 and a great light  
blazed down from heaven4 ,an army came  
marching down out of the sky1 led by a  
shining warrior whose face was bright as
 lightning4 ,from his eyes shot flames  
of fire4 ,his arms and feet shone like  
polished brass or gold1 and when he     
spoke his voice was like the shouting of
 ten thousand men4 ,it was ,king        
,messiah6 ,destroy the ,romans6 he would
 cry4 ,burn up their armies6 ,let not a 
single one escape6 ,fire would pour down
 from the skies when he gave the order1 
and the ,romans would melt away to      
nothing1 as though they had never been4 
,illustration  ,illustration  ,then the 
dream would fade away4 ,the dreamer     
would just be trudging along the dusty  
road1 or watching the camel caravans go 
by1 or standing in the ,temple with the 
crowds of unhappy people pushing all    
around him4  ,it was just a dream4 ,the 

,romans were still there4 ,there was no 
,messiah anywhere to be seen4  ,if only 
the ,king would come6  ,illustration    
#b4 ,a ,king ,is ,born   ,nobody saw the
 lions in the daytime1 for they were    
sleeping in their caves4 ,but at night  
they might come out to prowl around the 
rocky hills1 looking for a fat sheep to 
eat4 ,after dark the hyenas and jackals 
began to howl4 ,robbers might be        
somewhere in the darkness too4 ,in the  
night1 when other folk were fast asleep1
 a good shepherd needed to be awake and 
on the watch1 to see that no harm came  
to his sheep and lambs4  ,one night when
 winter was in the air1 some shepherds  
were huddled together on a stony field  
not far from the town of ,bethlehem4    
,not many miles to the north lay        
,jerusalem1 the capital city of         
,palestine4 ,but here in the fields it  
was quiet1 and lonely1 and cold4  ,the  
shepherds sat upon the rocks1 or stood  
leaning upon their staves4 ,now and     
again one of them would see something   

move1 or hear a little rustling sound4  
,he would raise his eyes and peer out   
anxiously into the darkness to make sure
 that all was well4  ,suddenly1 without 
any warning1 the sky was flooded with   
light from beyond the clouds4           
,everything had been dark a minute      
before1 but now every stone and tree and
 hillock in the field showed up bright  
as day4  ,the shepherds jumped to their 
feet4 ,some were too frightened to      
speak1 and others cried out in terror4  
,what is it8  ,what can it be8  ,it's   
the glory of the ,lord1 one called out4 
,lord1 have mercy upon us6  ,suddenly   
they heard a loud1 clear voice4         
,shepherds6  ,silence fell upon the     
group4  ,shepherds1 do not be afraid4 ,i
 bring you the good news which all the  
,jews have waited so long to hear4 ,this
 very day1 ,christ your ,saviour has    
been born in the city of ,david4 ,and   
this is how you will know him3 you will 
find him as a baby1 wrapped in swaddling
 clothes1 and lying in a manger4        

,illustration  ,the voice broke off1 and
 a great chorus began to sing4 ,the sky 
rang with the music1 and these were the 
words of the song3  ,glory to ,god in   
the highest1 ,and on earth peace1 good  
will toward men4  ,as quickly as they   
had come1 the light and the singing were
 gone4 ,there was just the darkness     
again1 and the far-off howling of wild  
beasts4 ,everything was the same as     
before1 except that the shepherds' eyes 
were still blinded by the light1 and    
their ears were full of the music4      
,illustration  ,their excited voices    
broke the spell as they all talked at   
once4  ,he's come at last--the          
,messiah's come6  ,where did the angel  
say8  ,the city of ,david--that means   
,bethlehem4  ,why are we waiting here8  
,let's go to ,bethlehem4  ,yes1 let's go
 to ,bethlehem at once1 and find out    
what has happened there4  ,for the first
 time in their lives1 the shepherds left
 their sheep to look after themselves4  
,across the hills and the stone fences  

and the rocky fields the shepherds      
scrambled1 and hardly stopped for breath
 till they reached the edge of the town4
 ,everything in ,bethlehem was dark as  
night can be4 ,but no--not everything4  
,one tiny speck of light was flickering 
in the blackness4  ,he must be where the
 light is1 said one of the shepherds4   
,down the street they ran1 and in       
through a door4  ,they were standing in 
a stable4 ,there were no angels there4  
,instead of that1 the shepherds saw cows
 and donkeys eating hay4 ,a cold draft  
of air was blowing in around the cracks 
of the door and over the dirt floor4    
,beside one of the mangers they saw a   
man standing4 ,a young woman was resting
 close by4 ,she was watching a baby who 
lay in the straw4  ,we came to see the  
,messiah1 one of the shepherds          
stammered4  ,the baby cried4 ,the       
animals munched their food4  ,there was 
some explaining to do4 ,the shepherds   
told the story of what had happened in  
the field4  ,the young man beside the   

manger did not have anything very       
exciting to tell the shepherds4  ,my    
name1 he said1 is ,joseph4 ,this is my  
wife ,mary4 ,we used to live here in    
,bethlehem1 but no one remembers us now4
 ,i've been working in ,galilee for     
years4 ,i have a carpenter shop there4  
,the only reason we came back to        
,bethlehem was to have our names entered
 in the government records4  ,we got    
here only yesterday4 ,we tried to get a 
room in the inn1 but there wasn't any   
room for us with all the important      
people here4 ,they said we could sleep  
in the stable4 ,the baby came tonight4  
,here he is1 if you would like to see   
him4  ,the shepherds looked at the baby4
 ,they hoped that they would see        
something unusual about him1 but he     
looked just like any other baby4  ,then 
they remembered the angels' song4       
,outside again1 the shepherds looked up 
and saw a faint gray light streaking the
 blackness in the east4 ,morning was    
coming4 ,soon the people of the         

countryside would be getting up4  ,what 
a story the shepherds were going to tell
 them6 ,who would have thought of       
looking for the ,messiah in a manger6   
,the shepherds were the first to learn  
the secret4 ,as they walked back to     
their flocks they prayed and gave thanks
 to ,god4  ,illustration  ,meanwhile1   
the little family in the stable were    
gathered in silence around the manger4  
,mary1 the mother1 said never a word1   
but her thoughts were busy with the tale
 the shepherds had told about her little
 child4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the shepherds were not the
 only people to see strange lights in   
the sky4 ,many miles away1 three men saw
 a new star4 ,they were ,wise ,men1 and 
they knew all the stars1 but this one   
they had never seen before4  ,it was not
 only a new star1 but a moving star4    
,like a bright fingertip in the heavens1
 it seemed to beckon them on4 ,the ,wise
 ,men were rich and important1 and      
thought nothing of a journey4 ,at once  

they made ready and set out to see where
 the star would lead them4 ,for many    
days they traveled across the desert1   
and at last they came to ,jerusalem4    
,although they were not ,jews1 they had 
heard that a ,messiah was expected      
someday in ,palestine4 ,when they saw   
that the star had brought them to       
,jerusalem1 they decided that the       
,messiah must have come4  ,we are       
strangers here1 they said to each other4
 ,we had better ask our way4  ,king     
,herod was in ,jerusalem just then1 and 
the ,wise ,men went to his palace4      
,since they were rich and famous1 they  
had no trouble getting in to see the    
king4  ,they bowed down respectfully    
before the king1 and ,herod received    
them with courtesy4 ,then the ,wise ,men
 asked3  ,illustration  ,where is the   
newborn ,king of the ,jews8 ,we have    
seen his star in the east4 ,we have come
 to worship him1 but we do not know     
where he is4  ,herod was surprised1 and 
then he was angry4 ,a new king of the   

,jews8 ,why1 ,herod himself was the king
 of the ,jews6 ,however1 he hid his     
feelings1 and answered1  ,i will find   
out what you want to know4  ,he left the
 ,wise ,men1 and hurried off to consult 
with his advisers4  ,the ,messiah6 he   
shouted4 ,where do they say the ,messiah
 will be born8  ,solemnly he was told3  
,in ,bethlehem4 ,an ancient book of the 
,holy ,scriptures tells us that out of  
,bethlehem shall come a governor to rule
 the people of ,israel4  ,fear and      
jealousy boiled up in ,herod4 ,but a    
king must control his feelings1 and     
,herod was old and wise4 ,when he had   
called his three visitors to him1 he was
 as smooth and polite as ever4 ,he told 
them that they would find the child in  
,bethlehem4  ,go there1 ,herod said1 and
 look for him carefully4 ,and when you  
have found him come and tell me1 for ,i 
too want to go and worship him4  ,the   
,wise ,men thanked the king1 and set out
 for ,bethlehem4 ,soon they arrived at  
the place where ,joseph and ,mary were  

staying with the baby4 ,it was very     
different from ,herod's palace4  ,there 
the three ,wise ,men fell down on their 
knees as they would before a king4 ,they
 opened their treasures and put their   
gifts in front of the baby4 ,one brought
 gold4 ,the others brought              
sweet-smelling ointments1 frankincense  
and myrrh4  ,hail1 ,messiah6 they       
murmured in adoration4 ,hail1 ,christ6  
,hail1 ,king of the ,jews6  ,when they  
were once more outside on the road1 one 
of them spoke3  ,i think1 he said1 that 
it would be well for us not to see      
anything of ,herod again4 ,i had a      
dream4444  ,the others agreed with him  
quickly4 ,they had had a dream too4     
,god sent that dream to warn us that    
,herod is dangerous1 they said4 ,herod  
means to harm the child4 ,let us find   
some other road back home4              
,illustration  ,illustration            
,illustration  ,the days went by1 and   
soon the baby was given his name4 ,he   
was to be called ,jesus4  ,one day1 when

 ,jesus was about six weeks old1 ,joseph
 said to ,mary3  ,now that we have a    
child1 we must go up to the ,temple in  
,jerusalem and give an offering to the  
,lord4 ,we cannot afford a lamb4 ,but we
 can at least take pigeons or a pair of 
turtledoves4  ,so ,joseph and ,mary left
 ,bethlehem1 and carried ,jesus with    
them to ,jerusalem1 five miles away4    
,an old man came up to them in the      
,temple4  ,my name is ,simeon1 he said4 
,i have been waiting for you a long     
time4 ,all my life ,i have been waiting 
to see the ,messiah4 ,and now the day   
has come4  ,he took ,jesus from his     
mother's arms1 and as he held the baby  
he began to pray4  ,lord1 let me now die
 in peace1 he prayed4 ,for ,i have seen 
the ,messiah1 the ,saviour of all       
nations and the glory of the ,jewish    
people4  ,simeon turned back to ,joseph 
and ,mary1 who were looking at him in   
wonder4  ,mary1 he said1 this child of  
yours is going to break your heart4 ,he 
will make enemies1 and cause great      

trouble in this country4 ,he will       
suffer1 and others will suffer too1     
because of him4 ,but also he will give  
joy1 and bring many people to ,god4 ,god
 bless you now4  ,with these words the  
old man handed the baby back to ,mary1  
and turned away4 ,joseph and ,mary never
 saw him again1 but they remembered his 
words forever after4  ,they took ,jesus1
 and started on their walk back to      
,bethlehem4 ,there was so much for them 
to think about4  ,first there was the   
story of the shepherds4 ,then the ,wise 
,men had come with their wonderful      
gifts4 ,and now there was this old man  
with his strange words of blessing and  
warning4  ,everything seemed to tell    
them that ,jesus was the ,messiah4 ,they
 should be happier than anyone in the   
world4 ,and yet they were not happy4    
,there was trouble in the air4 ,their   
baby was going to be ,king of the ,jews4
 ,why should there be any trouble about 
it8 ,they could not understand4         
,trouble was not long in coming4 ,one   

night ,joseph had a dream4 ,when he     
awoke he called to his wife1 and told   
her that they must leave ,bethlehem at  
once4 ,god had sent the dream as a      
warning for them to get out of the      
country4 ,they did not dare to stay     
there any longer4 ,so ,joseph and ,mary 
packed up their belongings1 and set out 
for the far country of ,egypt where they
 would be safe4  ,they left ,bethlehem  
none too soon4 ,for ,herod was          
exceedingly angry when the ,wise ,men   
did not come back4 ,now he was sure that
 the ,messiah really had been born6 ,he 
was afraid that soon there would be a   
new king in ,palestine to take his      
throne away from him4  ,when ,herod was 
afraid1 he never wasted any time4       
,somewhere in ,bethlehem was a child    
whom he feared1 and somehow that child  
must be killed4 ,but he did not know    
which child it was4 ,how could he be    
sure to find the right one8 ,he thought 
of a simple plan4  ,he called his army  
officers together1 and gave them their  

orders4  ,send your soldiers to         
,bethlehem1 he told them1 and have them 
kill every boy in the place who is two  
years old or younger4  ,the officers    
sent their men to ,bethlehem1 and all   
the little boys they could find there   
were put to death4 ,no matter who they  
were they had to die4 ,it did not take  
the soldiers very long4  ,in a few hours
 they were back in ,jerusalem4 ,herod   
breathed more easily4  ,that's a good   
thing1 he thought4 ,if every little boy 
in ,bethlehem is dead1 the ,messiah must
 be dead along with the rest4  ,herod   
did not know that the baby whom he      
feared was gone from ,bethlehem before  
the soldiers got there4 ,while the      
fathers and mothers of ,bethlehem were  
crying because their little ones were   
dead1 ,joseph and ,mary and ,jesus were 
safely on their way to ,egypt4  ,herod  
did not live long enough to find out his
 mistake4 ,after he died1 the little    
family in ,egypt learned that it was    
safe to go home again4  ,but this time  

they did not go back to ,bethlehem4     
,they went straight to the town of      
,nazareth in ,galilee1 where ,joseph had
 worked before ,jesus was born4 ,there  
they settled down as though nothing     
unusual had happened4  ,in ,galilee     
nobody knew that anything strange had   
happened at all4 ,nobody there had heard
 of the shepherds and the ,wise ,men1   
and nobody knew what ,simeon had said in
 the ,temple4 ,nobody knew why it was   
that so many babies in ,bethlehem had   
been murdered4 ,nobody in ,nazareth     
thought that the ,messiah had come4     
,illustration  ,in ,nazareth people only
 said1 ,i hear the carpenter has a son4 
,when ,jesus began to walk perhaps they 
said1 ,joseph's son is strong for his   
age4 ,and later they said1 ,the         
carpenter's lad is doing well at school4
  ,but there were more interesting      
things to talk about in ,nazareth than  
the carpenter's family4 ,there was the  
,messiah to talk about4 ,when will he   
come8 the people asked each other4      

,nobody in ,nazareth had heard the      
angels sing4  ,illustration     #c4     
,growing   ,when boys in ,nazareth were 
about six years old1 it was time for    
them to go to school4 ,no girls were    
there1 for the girls stayed home with   
their mothers4 ,but every day except the
 ,sabbath1 the boys went to the school  
and sat on the floor with their legs    
crossed1 and there the teacher taught   
them many things that every ,jewish boy 
would need to know4  ,he taught them    
their ,a ,b ,c's in the ,hebrew         
language4 ,instead of ,a1 he showed them
 how to make a mark like this3 ,hebrew3 
a4 ,instead of ,b1 they learned to make 
this letter3 ,hebrew3 b2 and so on1     
through all the alphabet4 ,then when    
they knew their letters1 they could     
learn to read4 ,and every ,jewish boy   
had first of all to read the            
,scriptures4  ,the teacher taught them  
what was in the ,scriptures4 ,over and  
over they said their lessons aloud1     
talking all at once1 until they knew    

everything they were supposed to know by
 heart4  ,the teacher taught them psalms
 which had been sung for many years in  
the ,temple of ,jerusalem4  ,he taught  
them also about the prophets4 ,the      
prophets were preachers whose words had 
long ago been written down in the sacred
 ,scriptures4 ,these books were long    
pieces of skin1 which were kept rolled  
up when no one was reading them4 ,there 
were many prophets--,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 
,ezekiel1 ,amos1 ,malachi1 and many     
others4 ,little by little the boys began
 to discover what these preachers had   
said4  ,illustration  ,the teacher also 
made sure that they knew about that part
 of the ,scriptures called the ,law4    
,the ,ten ,commandments were in the     
,law1 and many other sayings which told 
people what they must do and what they  
must not do in order to please ,god4    
,the boys learned how ,god gave the     
,commandments to ,moses1 while lightning
 flashed and thunder crashed1 at the    
far-off mountain of ,sinai4  ,the       

teacher told them stories of all that   
had happened to the ,jewish people in   
the years gone by4 ,but the most        
important was the story of the          
,passover4 ,this story explained why    
their parents went to ,jerusalem each   
spring4  ,now this was what every       
,jewish boy had to learn about the      
,passover1 and remember always3  ,once  
there was a time1 hundreds of years     
before1 when the ,jews did not live in  
,palestine4 ,they lived in ,egypt1 where
 they were slaves4 ,they wanted to      
escape1 so that they might have a       
country of their own where they could be
 free4  ,one spring night ,god sent a   
disease into ,egypt1 and thousands died 
of it4 ,there was not an ,egyptian home 
where the oldest child in the family did
 not die4 ,but none of the ,jews died4  
,therefore1 they said that ,god passed  
over their doors that night4  ,then     
there was a great uproar and clamor in  
,egypt1 with the ,egyptians weeping1 and
 nursing their sick1 and burying their  

dead4 ,the time had come for the ,jews  
to get away4 ,under their leader1       
,moses1 they began their long journey   
toward ,palestine4  ,the ,jewish people 
never forgot what ,god did for them in  
,egypt4 ,so in the spring of each year  
was held the ,feast of the ,passover1 to
 give thanks to ,god for the help he had
 given them long ago4 ,they gathered    
together and sang3  ,illustration       
,o give thanks unto the ,lord1 for he is
 good3 ,for his mercy      endureth for 
ever4  ,to the ,passover feast every    
family brought a lamb to be killed as a 
sacrifice to ,god4 ,only the best could 
be given to ,god4 ,they chose a lamb    
that was white1 and pure1 and fine1 and 
precious4 ,then they roasted the lamb1  
and ate it4 ,what a feast they had1 so  
solemn and so joyful1 as they remembered
 all that ,god had done6  ,everyone knew
 the best place to hold the ,passover   
feast was at ,jerusalem4 ,therefore1    
every year1 when spring came round1 the 
people said to one another1 ,it is      

,passover time1 and as many as could    
leave their homes went up to the great  
city4  ,when the boys heard the story1  
they understood why their parents went  
there in the spring4  ,when ,jewish boys
 were twelve years old1 and could read  
the ,hebrew language1 and knew the      
psalms1 and understood the prophets1 and
 were learning to obey the ,law--then   
they were practically grown up4 ,at this
 age a boy could be called a son of the 
,law4 ,he could go along with his       
parents to ,jerusalem when it was       
,passover time4  ,each year ,joseph and 
,mary liked to be in ,jerusalem for the 
,passover4 ,when ,jesus was twelve years
 old1 he was a son of the ,law1 like    
other boys his age1 and for the first   
time he went with them4 ,many friends   
and relatives kept them company as they 
started on the road4  ,now from         
,nazareth it was more than eighty miles 
to ,jerusalem1 and eighty miles is a    
long way to walk4  ,it would have been  
easier to ride in a cart2 but nobody    

traveled that way in ,palestine4 ,the   
roads were too rough and narrow for     
anything but walking4 ,donkeys and      
horses might carry the heavy luggage1   
but the people went on foot4 ,there were
 no bridges1 and so the only way to get 
from one side of a river to the other   
was to find a shallow place and wade    
across4  ,it would take two or three    
days to go from ,nazareth to ,jerusalem4
 ,when the travelers were tired at      
night1 there was not likely to be any   
place to sleep along the road1 except   
under the open sky and the stars4       
,there were three stages to their       
journey4 ,the first was the pleasant    
part1 through ,galilee4 ,when the       
travelers left ,nazareth that day1 the  
sky was clear and the air was fresh4    
,the fields lay lovely in the sunlight4 
,the roads were full of people from many
 countries4 ,there were always merchants
 on the road traveling from the ,east to
 ,greece and ,egypt1 and back to the    
,east again4 ,galilee was beautiful1 and

 ,galilee was busy4  ,sooner or later   
the time must come to leave pleasant    
,galilee behind4 ,but which way would   
they go from there8 ,should they go     
straight south through ,samaria8 ,that  
would have been the shortest and the    
easiest way4 ,the only thing against it 
was that the people of ,samaria were not
 friendly to ,jews4 ,long years before1 
,samaria had been the home of many of   
the ,jewish people4 ,but foreigners came
 and settled among them4 ,then their    
ways became so different that the people
 of ,jerusalem said they were not       
,jewish any more4 ,they were bitter     
rivals of the ,jews1 and it was hardly  
safe to go among them4  ,so the         
travelers chose1 for the second stage of
 their journey1 the long road down the  
valley of the river ,jordan4 ,but they  
did not find this very pleasant1 either4
 ,high above the river stood the banks1 
and it seemed as though the river itself
 were at the bottom of a great1 deep    
ditch4 ,and down there was the road they

 had to take4 ,in some places they came 
to slime and mud1 and dead trees and    
twisted roots4 ,but sometimes there were
 farms and villages4 ,it was hot at the 
north end of the ,jordan1 when first    
they came to it2 and the farther south  
the travelers went1 the hotter grew the 
weather4  ,very hot1 very tired1 and    
very thirsty1 they finally reached the  
last stretch of the journey--across     
country from the ,jordan to ,jerusalem4 
,they were nearly there4 ,but the last  
part of the trip was the hardest of all4
 ,around them stretched a dreary desert4
 ,there were bleak hills1 and ugly      
rocks1 and hardly a drop of water       
anywhere to drink4 ,no wonder nobody    
went to ,jerusalem1 except ,jews and    
,roman soldiers6 ,there were no gay     
caravans of ,eastern merchants here4    
,galilee seemed very far away4  ,up one 
side of a hill1 and down another1 and   
then another higher hill to climb6 ,up  
and up1 over stones and bare earth and  
bushes and thorns1 until they were high 

above the ,jordan--that was the road to 
,jerusalem4 ,would they ever get there8 
,what they would have given just to sit 
down and wash the sand off their hot1   
tired feet6  ,then all at once they saw 
it4 ,from the top of the hill they saw  
it1 walls and roofs and towers gleaming 
in the morning sun4 ,a shout of joy went
 up4 ,every man and woman and child     
joined in the shouting4 ,jerusalem1 the 
city of ,david6 ,king ,david built that 
city1 a thousand years ago4 ,the enemies
 of ,god had come and burned it to the  
ground1 but the ,jews built it up again4
 ,they were sure that it could never be 
destroyed4 ,it would always be there1   
for ever and ever4 ,someday the ,messiah
 would come1 and all the peoples and    
nations of the world would come to see  
,jerusalem1 as these poor folk from     
,galilee were doing now4  ,illustration 
,the travelers began to march again1 but
 faster this time2 forgotten were the   
weary miles behind4 ,they marched1 and  
as they marched they sang4 ,they sang   

one of the psalms that the boys had     
learned at school4 ,everyone took up the
 song3      ',i was glad when they said 
unto me1     ,let us go into the house  
of the ,lord4     ,our feet shall stand 
within thy gates1 ,o ,jerusalem4444     
,pray for the peace of ,jerusalem3      
,they shall prosper that love thee4'    
,there were so many visitors in         
,jerusalem that they could not all find 
a place to stay in the city4 ,some of   
them stayed in the villages near by1 and
 others slept in tents out in the open  
air4 ,at an ordinary time of the year1  
there would be only about thirty        
thousand people living in ,jerusalem4   
,but at the ,passover there might be    
twice that1 or even more4  ,even the    
,roman governor was in ,jerusalem at    
,passover time4 ,he lived in another    
city1 but he always came to ,jerusalem  
for the great feast4 ,it was not that he
 cared about the ,passover4 ,it was     
because he was afraid that with such    
great crowds in ,jerusalem there might  

be trouble unless his ,roman soldiers   
were on guard4 ,it would be especially  
bad if anyone showed up claiming to be  
the ,messiah4 ,all the people might make
 him king1 and rebel against ,rome1 and 
great numbers would be killed4  ,with   
such crowds in the city1 it was hard for
 the people from ,nazareth to get       
through the narrow streets4 ,all along  
the streets they saw shops4 ,some of the
 shopkeepers were selling goods that had
 been brought down from ,galilee--fish  
and oil and wine and fruit4 ,besides the
 merchants there were shoemakers1       
butchers1 carpenters1 tailors4 ,on the  
side streets gold-smiths and jewelers   
were making things for the rich people4 
,here and there was a merchant selling  
fine silks which had been brought from  
the ,far ,east4 ,a man could buy almost 
anything he wanted in ,jerusalem1       
provided that he had the money4         
,illustration  ,the travelers from      
,galilee pushed their way through the   
crowded streets1 and on up to the       

,temple on the hill4 ,here was ,god's   
own house6 ,how large it was6 ,herod the
 ,great had built this ,temple4 ,ten    
thousand men had worked many years to   
build it1 and it was not quite finished 
yet4 ,eight gates led into the beautiful
 building with the white walls and the  
golden towers4 ,inside there was room   
for many thousands of people4  ,what a  
clatter and a clamor and a tumult there 
was6 ,it seemed as though all the world 
were there4 ,doves and cattle1 as well  
as lambs1 were offered in the ,temple as
 a sacrifice to ,god4 ,you could hear   
the poor creatures calling out--the cows
 lowing1 the lambs bleating1 the doves  
singing their sweet1 sad song4 ,money   
was clinking on the tables4 ,only one   
kind of coin could be used as an        
offering1 and travelers had to exchange 
those they were carrying for ,jewish    
money4 ,the men who made the exchange   
often cheated the visitors4  ,the people
 from ,galilee separated when they came 
to the ,court of the ,women4 ,the women 

and girls could go no farther1 but the  
men and boys went up some steps into the
 ,court of ,israel4 ,there they watched 
the priests of the ,temple taking the   
doves and lambs and cattle that the     
worshipers had brought1 and offering    
them up as a sacrifice4 ,the priests    
killed the animals1 and let the blood   
drip on the altar where the sacrifices  
were given to ,god4  ,the ,court of     
,israel was as far as anyone could go1  
unless he were a priest4 ,there was     
another room called the ,holy ,place1   
which only priests could enter4 ,to the 
people it was a place of great mystery4 
,then farther on was a still more       
mysterious room called the ,holy of     
,holies4 ,even a priest did not dare to 
step inside that door4 ,that was the    
secret place of ,god4 ,only the high    
priest1 who was head of all the priests1
 could enter there4 ,and he could go in 
only once a year4  ,the visitors from   
,nazareth saw a priest coming toward    
them4 ,anyone could tell from his       

clothes that he was wealthy4 ,he came   
from one of the families that were known
 as the ,sadducees4 ,the ,sadducees were
 the only people who were at all        
friendly with the ,romans4 ,the reason  
for this was that they were better off  
than most other people and              
well-satisfied with things as they were4
 ,they thought it wise to stay on good  
terms with ,caesar4 ,nobody liked the   
,sadducees very well1 but everyone had  
to admit that they were certainly very  
important4 ,they sat in a high council  
and governed everything that went on    
around the ,temple4  ,and here was a    
,pharisee1 looking very well pleased    
with himself6 ,jesus had seen ,pharisees
 before1 around ,nazareth1 and they     
always seemed to have that look4 ,the   
word ,pharisee meant someone who is     
different4 ,what made the ,pharisees    
different was that they were always     
talking about the ,law1 and claiming    
that they obeyed it better than anyone  
else4 ,they were kindly folk1 on the    

whole1 and very well respected1 but they
 did not have any official position1    
like the ,sadducees4 ,all they did was  
study the ,law and tell other people    
about it4 ,the ,pharisee whom the       
visitors were watching began to pray so 
that everyone could see him4 ,it seemed 
as if he were saying1 ,o ,lord1 ,i thank
 thee that ,i am better than these other
 people here6  ,most of the great throng
 crowding the ,temple were not priests1 
or ,sadducees1 or ,pharisees4 ,they were
 plain people who had come to bring     
their sacrifices1 or to talk about the  
,scriptures1 or simply to be in the     
,temple because they loved ,god's house4
  ,nobody was paying much attention to  
,jesus4 ,he was just a young boy1 lost  
in the crowd4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,the days went by1
 and the lambs were killed and eaten4   
,the prayers were said and the hymns    
were sung4 ,it was all over at last1 and
 the time had come to go home4  ,joseph 
and ,mary did not see ,jesus the morning

 they all were supposed to leave4 ,they 
did not wait to find him1 for the other 
travelers from ,nazareth were anxious to
 get started on the long journey back to
 ,galilee4  ,joseph and ,mary said to   
each other3  ,jesus is safe enough4     
,there are so many of us from ,nazareth 
that he can't get lost4 ,no doubt he is 
somewhere in the party4  ,the ,nazareth 
people said good-by to the ,temple for  
another year1 and started off for home4 
,out through the city gates they went1  
and back into the desert through which  
they had come4 ,they walked a whole day1
 and still ,joseph and ,mary saw no sign
 of ,jesus4 ,this was beginning to seem 
strange4 ,surely they would see him     
somewhere6  ,at last it dawned upon     
them4 ,he wasn't there at all6  ,they   
were frightened now4 ,what could have   
happened to ,jesus8 ,what would become  
of him in ,jerusalem8 ,there was nothing
 to do but to leave the party1 and turn 
back alone to the city4 ,but ,jerusalem 
was a big place1 and they hardly knew   

where to hunt for ,jesus4 ,how would    
they ever find one boy among all those  
thousands of people8  ,illustration     
,they went to the ,temple4 ,but even if 
he were here1 it would not be easy to   
find him quickly4 ,walking through one  
of the courts1 they noticed a group of  
people gathered around a rabbi4 ,there  
was nothing unusual about that4 ,there  
were a great many teachers in the       
,temple1 and a visitor often saw groups 
gathered around them to listen to their 
teaching4  ,but there was something     
different about this group4 ,most of the
 men in it were ,pharisees who were     
themselves rabbis4 ,and the strange     
thing was that they were not doing all  
the talking as they usually did4 ,they  
were listening too4 ,and they were not  
listening to a rabbi1 but to the voice  
of a boy4  ,joseph and ,mary moved      
closer4 ,there could be no mistake about
 it--it was ,jesus who was talking6 ,he 
was asking questions2 he was answering  
questions4 ,the long-bearded rabbis were

 standing there1 their mouths open in   
astonishment4 ,jesus was not just a boy 
in the crowd any longer4 ,men old enough
 to be his grand-father were listening  
to what he had to say4  ,mary's surprise
 turned to anger4 ,she pushed her way   
through the crowd and took ,jesus by the
 arm4  ,why did you do this8 she cried4 
,your father and ,i have been looking   
for you everywhere4  ,jesus stood just  
where he was4 ,it was as though he      
belonged there4 ,he said3  ,why did you 
come to look for me8 ,don't you know    
that ,i must be looking after my        
,father's business8  ,joseph and ,mary  
stood there too1 not knowing what to    
make of their boy or of what he said4   
,they waited to see what he would do4   
,and then1 in a minute1 ,jesus turned   
and went with them4 ,they did not have  
to ask him again4 ,the three of them    
went home to ,nazareth4  ,jesus knew    
that someday he would go back to the    
,temple4 ,but he was not ready for that 
yet4 ,he must do his duty to his        

parents4 ,he must obey ,god at home4    
,then he would always know how to obey  
,god in the wide world beyond ,nazareth4
  ,the lambs went quietly to the ,temple
 when they were taken there to be       
offered to the ,god of ,israel4 ,jesus  
must be obedient like a ,lamb of ,god4  
#d4 ,jesus ,goes to ,work  ,illustration
   ,when ,jesus was thirty years old1   
people began to talk about the great man
 who had come to ,palestine4  ,this man 
is so great1 they said1 that he may be  
the ,messiah4  ,but it was not ,jesus   
they were talking about4 ,it was his    
cousin1 ,john4  ,john was a preacher4   
,he was afraid of no one1 and as a      
result everyone was a bit afraid of him4
 ,john was a rough1 strong man4 ,next to
 his skin he wore leather1 and over that
 he wore a cloak of camel's hair4 ,honey
 and locusts were his food4  ,every day 
,john preached down by the river        
,jordan4 ,the people flocked out from   
,jerusalem and from all the countryside 
round about to hear him preach4 ,it was 

a wild and dreary place to come to1 but 
when ,john preached everybody wanted to 
be there4  ,this was how he preached3   
,give up your sins1 and begin a new life
 at once1 for ,god is coming to rule    
over men6 ,i am a voice crying in the   
wilderness4 ,i tell you--prepare for the
 ,lord6  ,and when the people heard him1
 they were afraid4 ,many of them cried  
out1 ,we have sinned6 and came forward  
out of the crowd4 ,john led them down   
the bank into the river and baptized    
them as a sign that they wanted to be   
cleansed of their sins and begin a new  
life4 ,thus ,john came to be known as   
,john the ,baptist4  ,but when ,john    
thought that a man was not in earnest1  
then he refused to baptize him4 ,some of
 the ,pharisees and the ,sadducees came 
to be baptized1 and ,john would have    
nothing to do with them4 ,they might be 
great men in ,jerusalem1 but ,john      
called them snakes in the grass4 ,he    
told them3  ,i've seen the snakes out   
here in the wilderness1 wriggling for   

dear life to get out of the way when the
 grass catches fire4 ,that's what you   
remind me of4 ,you're scared4 ,you think
 that something terrible is going to    
happen1 and so you're pretending to be  
good people so that it won't go so hard 
with you4 ,you will have to show me that
 you want to be something different from
 what you are6 ,and don't think that you
 amount to anything just because you are
 ,jews4 ,god could make as good ,jews as
 you are out of these stones4  ,that is 
how ,john the ,baptist talked to some of
 the great men of ,jerusalem4 ,it made  
people think more than ever that he     
might be the ,messiah4 ,who except the  
,messiah would dare to talk that way to 
,pharisees and ,sadducees8  ,but others 
shook their heads and said1 ,no--this   
couldn't be the ,messiah6 ,for they     
thought that when the ,messiah came he  
would drive the ,romans out of the      
country2 and many people said that the  
only way to do that would be to get an  
army together4 ,some men were meantime  

killing all the ,romans they could4     
,they were called ,zealots1 because they
 were so much filled with zeal about    
killing off the ,romans4 ,a few even    
carried daggers with them1 and stuck the
 daggers into ,romans whenever they got 
a chance4  ,the ,romans will not be     
overthrown1 they said1 just by          
preaching4 ,you will have to get out and
 kill the ,romans4  ,john himself said  
that he was not the ,messiah4           
,illustration  ,illustration  ,there is 
someone coming who is greater than ,i1  
he told the people4 ,someone is coming  
whose shoe-laces ,i am not worthy to    
stoop down and untie4 ,compared to him1 
,i am nobody4 ,i am just preparing the  
way for the ,messiah4  ,one day there   
was a great crowd1 as usual1 down by the
 ,jordan1 and ,john was busy baptizing  
the people as fast as they came to the  
water4 ,one after another they came4 ,it
 went on for hours4  ,illustration      
,john had just baptized one man and     
helped him to the bank4 ,the next one   

was coming forward4 ,john looked up to  
see who it was4 ,he was looking into the
 face of ,jesus of ,nazareth4  ,you6    
,not you6 ,john spoke in a hoarse       
whisper4 ,no6 ,i can't baptize you4 ,you
 must baptize me instead6  ,before      
anyone could notice that anything was   
wrong1 ,jesus stepped to the water's    
edge4  ,don't say anything about it1    
,john1 he said softly4 ,treat me just   
like the rest of them4 ,we shall all be 
baptized together into a new life4      
,jesus went forward into the river and  
,john baptized him4 ,in a moment ,jesus 
was up the bank and lost in the crowd4  
,the next man was coming forward4  ,john
 stared after the vanishing figure of   
,jesus4 ,the crowd made way for ,jesus1 
thinking1 ,there goes another man who   
came to be cleansed of his sins4  ,but  
,john said3 ,when ,i baptized him1 ,i   
saw the ,spirit of ,god come down out of
 heaven like a dove1 and light upon him4
 ,jesus is the ,son of ,god4 ,i am      
nothing4 ,he is everything4 ,he is the  

,messiah4 ,he is the ,lamb of ,god6     
,the next man was coming down the bank  
toward ,john4 ,john stood peering into  
the crowd4 ,jesus was nowhere to be     
seen4  ,jesus had gone away to be alone1
 as ,god wanted him to do4 ,he went into
 the loneliest part of the desert1 where
 there were only the wild animals to    
keep him company4  ,i am the ,messiah1  
he thought4 ,there is no doubt that ,i  
am the ,messiah4 ,i must save my people4
 ,how should ,i begin8  ,there was      
nothing to eat in the wilderness1 and   
,jesus grew hungry4 ,he looked around   
him1 and saw that the stones were shaped
 like loaves of bread4  ,there seemed to
 be a voice inside him which was not his
 own4 ,the voice said3  ,if you really  
are the ,messiah1 you oughtn't to be    
hungry4 ,if you really are the ,messiah1
 you would just have to say the word and
 these stones would be turned into      
bread4 ,then you would have plenty to   
eat for yourself1 and1 besides1 you     
could go and give bread to all the      

hungry folk out there who are waiting   
for you to help them4  ,it was very     
quiet in the wilderness4 ,the voice     
spoke up again4  ,but maybe you are     
afraid to try4 ,suppose you said to the 
stones1 ',stones1 become bread6' and    
then nothing happened6 ,that would prove
 that you weren't the ,messiah1 wouldn't
 it8  ,jesus shook his head1 to get rid 
of the thought4 ,some words from the    
,scriptures came into his mind4 ,man    
shall not live by bread alone1 but by   
every word that proceedeth out of the   
mouth of ,god4 ,no1 it would not do to  
try playing tricks with stones4 ,it     
would not matter if he did turn them    
into bread4 ,bread was not the most     
important thing in the world4 ,people   
might think that there was nothing so   
important as eating1 but there were     
bigger things in life than that4 ,people
 might think that what the ,messiah     
ought to do was to make the country     
prosperous1 but that would not help them
 so much as they thought4 ,that was not 

the kind of ,messiah he was going to be4
  ,but what was the best way to prove   
that he was the ,messiah8 ,the tempting 
voice inside tried again4  ,maybe the   
best idea1 it said1 is to go to         
,jerusalem and climb up on the tower and
 jump down6 ,everyone says that the     
,messiah is going to come suddenly out  
of heaven4 ,you would come down suddenly
 enough that way6 ,and nothing would    
happen to you4 ,it says in the          
,scriptures that ,god will send his     
angels to hold you up and keep you from 
being hurt4 ,surprise the whole city by 
jumping off the ,temple1 and everybody  
will worship you at once6  ,again ,jesus
 shook the thought away1 and again he   
thought of what the ,scriptures said4   
,thou shalt not tempt the ,lord thy     
,god4 ,i can't go and put ,god to the   
test1 to see whether he will keep me    
from being hurt4 ,and it won't make me  
the ,messiah just to cause a big        
sensation in ,jerusalem4 ,that's what   
everyone is expecting1 but that is not  

the right way at all4 ,there must be    
some other way4  ,and the voice spoke up
 again4  ,illustration  ,there is       
something else you could do4 ,what the  
world needs is a ruler like you4        
,everybody says that the ,messiah is    
going to be a world ruler1 great and    
good4 ,don't let the people down6 ,you  
are a great man4 ,you could be anything 
you wanted to be--a general1 a governor1
 a king4  ,jesus thought1 ,that's ,satan
 tempting me1 that's the devil himself  
talking6  ,he spoke out loud3  ,go away 
from me1 ,satan6 ,for the ,scriptures   
say1 ',thou shall worship the ,lord thy 
,god1 and him only shalt thou serve6'   
,the voice said no more4 ,a great       
quietness came over ,jesus4 ,there was  
no great thing that he needed to do     
right away4 ,he was the ,messiah1 but he
 did not need to make the country       
wealthy4 ,he did not need to jump from  
the ,temple1 and he did not need to     
command an army or rule an empire4      
,there was one thing that he would have 

to do1 but he could not tell anybody    
about it yet4 ,it was going to be his   
secret for a while4 ,but someday        
everybody would see what he was doing4  
,someday it would be understood4  ,and  
now it was time to be on his way4 ,he   
had been in the wilderness forty days1  
and that was long enough4 ,he found the 
trail back to the outside world1 and    
soon he was on the road to ,galilee4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,jesus got home to ,galilee1 he   
began to preach to people in the        
streets4 ,what he said at first was very
 much like what ,john the ,baptist said3
  ,give up your sins1 and begin to live 
a new life1 for ,god has come to rule   
over you6  ,but the crowds that heard   
,jesus were not so large as those that  
went to the ,jordan to hear ,john4      
,jesus needed some followers now who    
would be with him all the time1 and     
learn everything he had to tell them4   
,john the ,baptist had his followers2   
disciples was what they were called4    

,jesus began to look for disciples of   
his own4  ,one morning he went down to  
the shore of the ,sea of ,galilee4 ,when
 he came back to the town1 he had four  
disciples with him4  ,two of them were  
brothers named ,simon and ,andrew4      
,andrew remembered ,jesus1 for he had   
once been a disciple of ,john the       
,baptist4 ,he had seen ,john point to   
,jesus1 and heard him say1 ,he is the   
,lamb of ,god6 ,andrew had told ,simon  
all about it4  ,when ,jesus came to them
 along the shore of the ,sea of         
,galilee1 he found them putting a net   
into the water1 for ,andrew and ,simon  
were fishermen4  ,jesus said to them1   
,come and follow me1 and ,i will make   
you fishers of men4  ,fishing was good  
business1 but ,simon and ,andrew were   
ready to give it up to follow the man   
,john had called the ,lamb of ,god4     
,they came away with him at once4       
,illustration  ,illustration  ,farther  
along the shore was another pair of     
brothers4 ,one of them had also been    

with ,john the ,baptist4 ,their names   
were ,james and ,john1 and they were    
with their father1 ,zebedee4 ,they had  
done so well at fishing that they could 
afford to have servants to help them4   
,but when ,jesus called them they also  
came at once1 and left their father and 
the servants behind4  ,that was four to 
start with1 and soon he had eight       
others4 ,but no one of them was a very  
important person1 and people said that  
one of them was wicked4 ,that was ,levi1
 who was also called ,matthew4 ,the     
trouble with ,levi was that he was a    
taxgatherer4 ,everybody hated           
taxgatherers4 ,they were called         
publicans1 and it was thought that no   
one could be much lower than a publican4
  ,the publicans worked for the ,roman  
government4 ,they were not ,romans      
themselves1 but ,jews1 which made it all
 the worse4 ,they were looked upon as   
traitors1 for they collected the taxes  
for the hated ,romans1 and made a       
fortune for themselves by cheating the  

people4  ,levi's job was to collect the 
fee for traveling along the road1 and   
what he could collect over and above the
 amount he ought to have charged1 he    
kept for himself4 ,then ,levi heard     
,jesus preaching4 ,he heard him say that
 he ought to give up his sins1 and begin
 to live a new life4 ,when ,jesus came  
to ,levi's table one day1 and said1     
,follow me1 just as he had said it to   
the honest fishermen by the lake shore1 
,levi was ready to come away4 ,without a
 word ,levi got up and left his         
taxgathering behind1 and all his        
fortune4 ,levi became a disciple like   
the other eleven1 and was treated like  
the rest4  ,but other people were       
shocked when they saw a publican with   
,jesus1 and tongues began to wag4 ,no   
one seemed to notice that ,levi had     
stopped collecting taxes4 ,he had been a
 publican once1 and no one except ,jesus
 was ready to give him a second chance4 
,other publicans sometimes came to have 
dinner with ,jesus and his disciples1   

along with many people who were looked  
down upon in the community4  ,the       
,pharisees in particular were angry when
 they saw the company that ,jesus kept4 
,one day they came to one of these      
dinner parties1 and told the disciples  
that they did not care for ,jesus'      
choice of friends4  ,how is it1 they    
asked1 that your master eats and drinks 
with publicans and sinners8  ,jesus     
heard them1 and replied3  ,it is not    
well people who need a doctor1 but the  
sick4 ,i didn't come here for the sake  
of the good people1 such as you think   
that you are1 but for the sake of       
sinners--to lead them into a new life4  
,but the ,pharisees still objected4     
,they said3  ,look at ,john the         
,baptist4 ,john is a good man4 ,his     
disciples are so religious that they    
sometimes go without their meals4 ,your 
disciples always seem to be eating6     
,why shouldn't they eat and feast and be
 merry8 ,jesus answered4 ,they are like 
the friends of a man who is being       

married4 ,when someone is to be married1
 his friends have a great feast4 ,they  
are joyful because the bridegroom is    
with them4 ,in the same way my disciples
 are joyful because they have me with   
them4  ,jesus meant that they were      
joyful because he was the ,messiah1 and 
his disciples were glad to be with him4 
,but he did not say that he was the     
,messiah1 and no one knew what he was   
talking about4 ,the ,pharisees would    
have had more respect for him if he had 
had a better class of friends4          
,fishermen might do1 but not publicans  
and sinners of that sort6 ,if only      
,jesus were more like ,john the         
,baptist6  ,they never once thought that
 ,jesus might be the ,messiah4 ,when    
they saw the kind of friends he had1    
they wondered if he was even a good man4
  ,illustration  ,illustration     #e4  
,a ,busy ,time   ,the ,pharisees may not
 have liked ,jesus1 but no one could    
deny that he knew how to preach4 ,the   
crowds that came to hear him were       

growing larger4 ,often ,jesus stood at  
the foot of a hill and preached to the  
crowd that had gathered on the hillside4
  ,now everyone who heard ,jesus preach 
was likely to be surprised4 ,for he did 
not say the things that people expected 
to hear4 ,often he said the very        
opposite of what they wanted him to say4
  ,he did not believe in giving people a
 good opinion of themselves4 ,he told   
them what was wrong with them4 ,he did  
not say that it was easy to be good4 ,he
 said that it was much harder than      
anybody thought4 ,he did not try to     
preach sermons that would make him      
popular1 for he was not thinking of     
himself4 ,he was thinking of what ,god  
had to say to the people1 and so he told
 them plainly what they ought to know   
and what they ought to do4  ,jesus knew 
that his listeners found it easier to   
hate other people than to love them4    
,and so he stood one day at the foot of 
the hill and said3  ,you have all heard 
the saying1 ,love your friend and hate  

your enemy4 ,but that is not what ,i    
say4 ,i say1 ,love your enemies1 bless  
those who curse you1 and pray for those 
who use you badly4 ,that is what ,god   
does4 ,he makes the sun rise on         
everybody1 good or bad4 ,he sends the   
rain to fall on everyone1 no matter who 
he is4  ,if you love only those who love
 you1 you don't deserve any credit for  
that4 ,that's what everybody does4 ,be  
like ,god4 ,he is merciful1 and you     
ought to be merciful too4 ,forgive those
 who do you a wrong1 or you cannot      
expect ,god to forgive you4             
,illustration  ,all the people thought  
that they were at least doing the right 
thing in hating the ,romans4 ,how could 
anyone help hating those rough ,roman   
soldiers1 who often came along and made 
,jews carry their packs for them8 ,but  
,jesus said1  ,if a ,roman soldier makes
 you carry his pack for a mile1 carry it
 another mile as well1 to show that you 
love him4  ,another thing that ,jesus   
knew about his listeners was that many  

of them were worried about money1 and   
food and clothes4 ,it was hard to blame 
them for that2 for some of the people   
were very poor1 and were never sure that
 they were going to get enough to eat4  
,jesus was poor enough himself4 ,his    
disciples were also poor1 and they got  
no richer by following him4 ,turning to 
the disciples1 ,jesus said to them1     
,blessed are you who have nothing you   
can call your own4  ,the disciples      
pricked up their ears4 ,blessed--that   
meant to be fortunate1 or well off4     
,what was good about having nothing8    
,jesus went on3  ,blessed are you who   
have nothing1 for yours is the kingdom  
of heaven4  ,blessed are you who often  
go hungry1 you shall be fed later on4   
,blessed are you who are sad1 the time  
will come when you will be joyful4      
,blessed are you1 when other people hate
 you1 and will have nothing to do with  
you1 because you are my disciples4 ,be  
glad when that happens1 because that is 
what has happened to all ,god's         

servants4 ,god will reward you for      
everything you suffer for my sake4      
,there was silence4 ,jesus looked out   
over the crowd and spoke again1  ,woe to
 you who are rich6  ,again the disciples
 were amazed4 ,the rich people would not
 like that6 ,the disciples were poor    
themselves1 but they wondered what was  
wrong with being rich4  ,jesus thought  
of a rich man whom he knew1 who wore    
fine purple clothes and ate the best    
food in the land4 ,and he thought of a  
poor beggar who sat all day long outside
 the rich man's house4 ,his body was    
covered with sores1 and he was so hungry
 that he would have been glad to get the
 crumbs that fell from the rich man's   
table4 ,but the only friends he had were
 the dogs that came and licked his      
sores4  ,jesus continued1 in a stern    
voice3  ,woe to you who are rich6 ,for  
you have already had everything you are 
ever going to have6 ,woe to you who are 
well-fed6 ,the time is coming when you  
will go hungry4 ,woe to you who are     

enjoying yourselves all the time6       
,someday you will weep4 ,woe to you when
 everyone speaks well of you6 ,it is    
easy to be popular if you aren't        
faithful to ,god4 ,that's the way it has
 always been4  ,jesus knew that all of  
them were too much interested in the    
things that money could buy4 ,they      
wanted the ,messiah to come so that he  
would make them all rich4 ,and so ,jesus
 said1 to show them where they were     
wrong3  ,don't be always thinking about 
what you are going to eat and drink and 
wear4 ,why1 that's the kind of thing the
 ,romans worry about4 ,there is more to 
life than food and clothing4  ,he paused
 for a moment4 ,it was a warm summer    
day4 ,the birds were flying overhead1   
and singing2 and up the hillside the    
wild flowers made patches of color in   
the grass4 ,jesus spoke again3          
,illustration  ,illustration  ,look at  
the birds of the air4 ,they never plant 
crops1 or reap harvests1 or gather the  
grain into barns4 ,yet your ,heavenly   

,father feeds them4 ,are you not more   
important than birds8 ,think of the     
lilies of the field1 how they grow4     
,they never yet made any clothes for    
themselves1 and yet the great ,king     
,solomon in all his glory was not so    
beautifully clothed as one of these     
little flowers4 ,you people who have so 
little faith in ,god--think6 ,if ,god   
clothes the flowers of the field1 which 
are here today and gone tomorrow1 will  
he not clothe you8 ,seek the ,kingdom of
 ,god first of all1 and you will be     
given all the food and clothes you need4
 ,never worry about tomorrow4 ,tomorrow 
will look after itself when it comes4   
,think about how you ought to live      
today4  ,there was another weakness that
 ,jesus had seen in people1 especially  
in the ,pharisees4 ,they loved to show  
off their good deeds4 ,he had to speak  
about this too4  ,when you give         
something to the poor1 he said1 don't   
make a great noise about it1 like some  
people ,i could mention1 who want to    

impress everybody with how generous they
 are4 ,if you give anything1 keep quiet 
about it4 ,god will know what you have  
done1 and that's enough4  ,it's the same
 with prayer1 ,jesus continued4 ,don't  
stand praying on the street corners     
where everyone can see you4 ,there are  
many people who do that4 ,when you pray1
 go into your own room and pray with the
 door closed4 ,god will hear you1 and he
 is the only one who needs to hear4     
,illustration  ,jesus had his admirers4 
,some people admired him so much that   
they began to call him ,master and      
,lord4 ,but ,jesus did not think that   
they were all in earnest4 ,he spoke     
plainly about this also4  ,it won't do  
you any good to come saying1 ',lord1    
,lord1' he said1 unless you do the      
things ,god expects of you4 ,someday1 ,i
 suppose you will come and tell me of   
all the wonderful things you have done  
in my name4 ,and then ,i will have to   
say to you3 ',i don't even know who you 
are4 ,go away6'  ,if anyone hears my    

teachings1 and does what ,i tell him to 
do1 he will be like a man who builds his
 house upon a rock4 ,the rain comes down
 and the wind blows1 and the house keeps
 on standing there1 because it is built 
upon a rock4 ,you will be strong like   
that house1 if you do as ,i say4 ,but   
anyone who hears my teachings and pays  
no attention to them is like a man who  
builds his house upon the sand4 ,when   
the rains and the floods and the winds  
come1 the house will fall down and that 
will be the end of it4 ,you will be weak
 like that house1 if you do not obey my 
words4  ,illustration  ,illustration    
,now when the people heard how ,jesus   
preached1 they were amazed4 ,they       
wondered who this was who spoke to them 
as though he were ,god himself4 ,that   
was not how other preachers taught4     
,they were always quoting somebody else1
 as though they were afraid to speak for
 themselves4  ,but ,jesus simply said1  
,i am telling you4 ,he said1 ,listen to 
me4         99       99       99        

99       99  ,every ,friday evening at  
sunset the ,sabbath began1 and there    
could be no more work until sunset on   
the following day4 ,saturday morning all
 the ,jewish people went to attend the  
service in the synagogue4 ,the people   
would come in and take their places1    
with the most important people up in    
front4 ,at the beginning of the service1
 everyone stood and faced in the        
direction of ,jerusalem1 and recited    
some verses from the ,scriptures4 ,these
 were always the same4 ,they began3     
,hear1 ,o ,israel3 ,the ,lord our ,god  
is one ,lord3 ,and thou shalt love the  
,lord thy ,god with all thine heart1 and
 with all thy soul1 and with all thy    
might4  ,after this there was prayer4   
,then the minister opened a cabinet and 
brought out the ,scriptures1 which were 
written on long pieces of skin made into
 a kind of paper4 ,the pieces were kept 
rolled up when they were not in use4    
,the minister brought two of the rolls  
and laid them on the reading desk4      

,someone read the ,scripture lessons    
then1 and after that anyone in the      
congregation who wished could go up to  
the front and explain what the lesson   
meant4  ,like all the other ,jews1      
,jesus went to the synagogue on         
,saturday mornings4 ,one ,saturday when 
he and his disciples were in the town of
 ,capernaum they went to the service as 
usual4 ,when the time came to explain   
the lesson1 ,jesus went up to the front4
 ,he surprised the people as he always  
did2 but something else happened which  
surprised them even more4  ,there was   
suddenly a great commotion at the back  
of the synagogue4 ,a man began to cry   
out4 ,there seemed to be some evil thing
 inside him1 which made him hate the    
very sight of ,jesus4 ,the people said  
that he had an unclean spirit4          
,strange1 wild words came pouring out of
 the man's mouth4  ,let me alone6 he    
cried4 ,what have ,i to do with you1    
,jesus of ,nazareth8 ,have you come to  
destroy me8 ,i know who you are4 ,you   

are the ,holy ,one of ,god6  ,jesus     
stood his ground1 and spoke to the evil 
thing in the man4  ,illustration  ,be   
quiet1 ,jesus said1 and come out of that
 man4  ,there was another wild shriek   
and then silence4 ,the man looked around
 him as though he wondered where he was4
 ,he was in his right mind again4  ,the 
people were amazed by what they had seen
 and heard4 ,on the way home from the   
synagogue they asked each other1  ,what 
kind of preaching is this1 which makes a
 madman well again8  ,before the day was
 over1 word of what ,jesus had done had 
gone all over town4  ,after the service1
 ,jesus went to ,simon's house1 and     
there he found more trouble waiting for 
him4 ,simon's wife's mother was sick in 
bed4 ,jesus went to her bed-side1 and   
took her hand1 and helped her to her    
feet4 ,all at once the sickness left    
her1 and she was able to prepare the    
meal4  ,jesus could rest in the         
afternoon1 but when the sun went down in
 the evening he had to go to work again4

 ,everyone had heard of how he cured    
people who were out of their minds1 and 
of how he was able to heal the sick4 ,as
 long as the ,sabbath lasted1 the people
 had to stay quietly at home4 ,but once 
the sun had set the ,sabbath was over1  
and they could do as they pleased4 ,it  
seemed as though the whole town wanted  
to do only one thing1 and that was to go
 to see ,jesus4  ,a great throng of sick
 people were soon gathered outside the  
door of the house1 with everyone else in
 ,capernaum looking on4 ,jesus came out 
to heal the sick4 ,darkness fell1 and   
night came on1 and still the people     
pressed around ,jesus to have him touch 
them and make them well4 ,hour after    
hour he worked with them1 until it was  
too late to do anything more that night4
  ,yet ,jesus was out of bed in the     
morning before the sun was up4 ,it had  
been a busy ,sabbath1 and he needed to  
go off by himself and rest4 ,and what he
 needed more than anything else was to  
pray4 ,he wanted to be alone for a while

 with his ,father4 ,so many people to   
preach to6 ,so many men who had begun to
 hate him6 ,jesus needed strength for it
 all1 and he knew that praying would    
make him strong4  ,while everyone else  
was sleeping1 and the darkness still lay
 upon the land1 ,jesus silently slipped 
away from the house4 ,he found a lonely 
place1 where no one would disturb him4  
,but when ,simon and the other disciples
 woke up1 they could not wait for him to
 come back4 ,they went at once to look  
for him4 ,and when they had found him1  
they said1  ,everyone is looking for    
you4  ,it was quiet out there in the    
hills4 ,jesus would have liked to stay  
there for the whole day4 ,all day long  
he could have rested and prayed4 ,but   
then he thought of the people who were  
waiting for him4 ,he thought of the     
people who needed him4 ,he thought of   
the places he had not yet visited4      
,there was so much to do1 and there was 
so little time4  ,illustration  ,he rose
 to his feet4  ,let us go1 then1 he     

said4 ,let us go to the next towns1 so  
that ,i can preach in them too4 ,after  
all1 that is why ,i came into the       
world--to tell men the good news from   
,god6  ,he left the quiet countryside1  
and went back to the towns4 ,the people 
who loved him were there4 ,the people   
who needed him were there4 ,and the     
people who were afraid of him1 and the  
people who had begun to hate him--they  
too were there4  ,jesus returned to the 
towns1 where his friends and his foes   
were waiting4  ,illustration            
,illustration     #f4 ,friends and ,foes
   ,jesus thought the time had come to  
visit ,nazareth4 ,before he had gone    
away1 there was nobody who thought that 
he was a person of any great importance4
 ,but he had become a famous man4 ,the  
whole of ,galilee was talking about him4
 ,and now he was at home with his       
friends and family again4  ,on the      
,sabbath morning he went to the old     
familiar synagogue4 ,there was a full   
congregation that day1 for everyone     

supposed that ,jesus would preach4 ,he  
had never preached in ,nazareth before4 
,when the time came to read the         
,scripture lesson1 ,jesus walked up to  
the front4 ,he took the roll from the   
minister1 and found the place he wanted4
 ,it was in the book of the ,prophet    
,isaiah4 ,he began to read3  ,the       
,spirit of the ,lord is upon me1 because
 he has anointed me to preach good news 
to the poor2 he has sent me to heal the 
broken-hearted1 to preach liberty to the
 prisoners and recovering of sight to   
the blind1 to set free those who suffer1
 and to say that ,god will be good to   
his people4  ,jesus stopped reading and 
handed the roll back to the minister4   
,he sat down in the seat from which     
,jewish preachers always spoke to the   
people in the synagogue4  ,the whole    
congregation was very still1 waiting to 
hear what ,jesus had to say4 ,that was  
an exciting lesson he had read from the 
,scriptures4 ,it made the people think  
of the ,messiah4 ,someday a preacher    

would be able to say1 ,this has all come
 true6 ,and that would mean that the    
,messiah had come4  ,jesus looked around
 at the faces he knew so well4 ,thirty  
years he had lived among these people4  
,now he was back to tell them something 
that they had never known before4  ,he  
began to speak4  ,today1 he said1 you   
are seeing this ,scripture lesson come  
true4  ,illustration  ,a thrill ran     
through the audience4 ,the ,scripture   
had come true8 ,the ,messiah was really 
here8 ,could he mean that he was the    
,messiah8 ,the people gasped4 ,some     
laughed4 ,others were angry4 ,they      
started to talk among themselves4  ,the 
,messiah8 ,him8 ,why1 that's only       
,jesus6 ,the carpenter's son6           
,everybody knows who ,jesus is6 ,lived  
down the street since ,i don't know     
when6  ,who does he think he is8  ,jesus
 again raised his voice above the       
others'3  ,i know what you are going to 
say4 ,you are going to quote that old   
saying1 ',doctor1 cure yourself4' ,you  

are going to tell me to start doing the 
things ,i am supposed to have done in   
,capernaum4 ,i'm not surprised4 ,a      
servant of ,god never gets any honor    
among his own people4 ,the same thing   
happened to the prophets long ago4      
,don't expect me to do anything         
wonderful here in ,nazareth4 ,you       
wouldn't believe it if you saw it4 ,why 
do you think you ought to get any       
special favors from ,god8  ,a great roar
 went up from the congregation4 ,all his
 old friends got up from their seats and
 rushed to the front of the synagogue4  
,they took hold of ,jesus and dragged   
him out of the building4 ,at the edge of
 the town there was a high cliff1 and   
they took him there to throw him down on
 the rocks below4 ,but ,jesus slipped   
out of their hands1 and turned around4  
,calmly he walked through the crowd4    
,nobody had the courage to touch him    
again4  ,jesus never went back to       
,nazareth any more4 ,once1 when he was  
preaching in another town1 someone came 

and told him that his mother and his    
brothers had come to take him home4     
,they thought that he ought to stop this
 nonsense of pretending to be the       
,messiah4  ,but ,jesus would not go home
 with them1 for they did not believe in 
him4 ,it was better to stay with his    
disciples4 ,he was at home with those   
who trusted him4  ,my mother8 he said4  
,my brothers8  ,he looked around at his 
disciples1 and said3 ,these are my      
mother and brothers--my own disciples4  
,anybody who obeys the will of ,god is  
my brother and my sister and my mother1 
all in one4 ,that's the kind of family  
,i want6         99       99       99   
99       99  ,back in ,nazareth nobody  
thought that ,jesus was of much account4
 ,but in other places he meant          
everything to people who needed help4   
,the ,pharisees were often glad to see  
him go away4 ,but the poor and the sick 
could never see enough of him4  ,once   
there came to ,jesus a man who was sick 
with the dreaded leprosy4 ,a leper's    

skin was deathly white1 and his flesh   
was rotting1 and he was sure to die of  
the disease4 ,nobody needed help more   
than a leper did1 but no one would even 
touch him4  ,the people back in         
,nazareth were too proud to admit that  
the carpenter's son from down the street
 might be the ,messiah4 ,but a leper did
 not have any pride4 ,this leper came to
 ,jesus1 and fell on his face before    
him1 crying out1 ,lord1 if you will do  
it1 you can make me clean from this     
disease6  ,illustration  ,then ,jesus   
did what everybody else was afraid to   
do4 ,he reached down and put his hand on
 the sick man1 and said3  ,i will4 ,be  
clean4  ,at once the man was healed of  
his leprosy4 ,jesus told him to go and  
give thanks to ,god1 and not to tell    
anyone what had happened4 ,but the leper
 could not help telling4 ,jesus became  
still more famous as the man who healed 
the sick4  ,another time he made a blind
 man see again4 ,the ,pharisees tried to
 get this man to say that the person who

 cured him had not been sent from ,god4 
,but the man who had been blind knew    
better4 ,when the ,pharisees tried to   
threaten him1 he did not give an inch4  
,he said3  ,who ever heard of anyone    
opening the eyes of the blind since the 
world began8 ,but this man did it4 ,how 
could he have made me see1 if he hadn't 
come from ,god8  ,when ,jesus heard of  
this1 he went and found the man who had 
been blind1 and asked him1  ,do you     
believe that ,i am the ,son of ,god8    
,the man answered1  ,yes1 ,lord1 ,i     
believe4  ,the blind man had found his  
,messiah4  ,then there was a man who was
 paralyzed so that he could not move4   
,his friends wanted to bring him to     
,jesus1 but there were so many people   
standing around the house where ,jesus  
was teaching that they could not get    
near him4 ,but somehow or other they    
must get the sick man there4  ,like many
 of the houses in ,palestine1 this house
 had a flat roof1 with a stairway       
leading up to it4 ,they placed their    

friend on a mat1 carried him up the     
stairs1 and cut a hole in the roof4     
,after fastening a rope to each corner  
of the mat1 they gently lowered it to   
the floor1 right at ,jesus' feet4       
,jesus was glad when he saw the faith   
they had in him4 ,he looked at the      
helpless man1 and said1  ,man1 your sins
 are forgiven you4  ,there were scribes 
and ,pharisees standing there1 waiting1 
as usual1 to find fault with ,jesus4    
,they began to talk among themselves4   
,they said3  ,who is this who is talking
 as if he were ,god8 ,such blasphemy6   
,who can forgive sins1 except ,god      
himself8  ,but ,jesus knew what they    
were saying1 and he answered them3      
,which do you think is easier--to say1  
',your sins are forgiven you1' or to say
 to this man1 ',pick up your mat and    
walk away'8 ,i will show you that ,i can
 do one as well as the other6  ,he      
turned to the paralyzed man and said1   
,pick up your mat1 and go on back to    
your house4  ,the sick man got up from  

the floor1 rolled up the mat and put it 
under his arm1 and went home4 ,as he    
walked1 there was a song of praise to   
,god in his heart4 ,and many of the     
people who saw what had happened were so
 surprised that they did not know       
whether to be glad or to be afraid4 ,but
 they all agreed on one thing4 ,they    
said1  ,we have seen strange things     
today6  ,illustration  ,nothing that    
,jesus did seemed to please the         
,pharisees4 ,but there was one thing    
that made them especially angry4 ,he was
 not so careful as they thought he ought
 to be about keeping the ,law4  ,now the
 ,law meant everything to the           
,pharisees4 ,they were so much in       
earnest about keeping ,god's ,law that  
they were not satisfied with what was in
 the ,scriptures4 ,they followed many   
rules which had been made up since the  
,scriptures were written4 ,unless a man 
kept all these rules1 it did not matter 
to the ,pharisees how much good he did4 
,jesus was always getting into trouble  

with them about the ,sabbath4 ,the      
,pharisees had a list of thirty-nine    
different kinds of work that nobody was 
allowed to do on the ,sabbath ,day4     
,this list included so much that unless 
a ,jew was careful1 he would be likely  
to break the ,sabbath without even      
knowing it4  ,if he tied a knot that    
could be untied with one hand1 that was 
all right2 but if he took two hands to  
untie it1 then he had broken the        
,sabbath4 ,he even had to be careful    
about sitting in a chair1 for if he     
happened to drag his chair across the   
dirt floor the ,pharisees said that he  
was plowing1 which was a great sin on   
the ,sabbath ,day4 ,it was forbidden to 
make a fire on the ,sabbath4 ,and so1 if
 a woman wanted hot food1 she had to    
cook it the day before1 and keep it     
warm4 ,but that did not mean that she   
could set it on a stove4 ,for the stove 
might get hotter than it was1 and make  
the food hotter1 and that was just the  
same as making a fire4 ,the only safe   

way to keep a meal hot was to wrap the  
dishes in cloth or pigeon feathers4     
,jesus did not think that rules like    
this were what the ,scriptures meant    
when they said1 ,remember the sabbath   
day1 to keep it holy4 ,he did not think 
that this was the way to honor ,god4    
,and because ,jesus did not agree with  
them about the ,sabbath1 the ,pharisees 
were always watching for a chance to put
 him in the wrong4  ,once1 when ,jesus  
and his disciples were walking through a
 field of grain on the ,sabbath ,day1   
the ,pharisees saw that the disciples   
were eating some of the grain4 ,there   
was nothing wrong with eating it1 if    
they were hungry4 ,but the trouble was  
that in order to get the grain they had 
to pluck the ears4 ,that1 said the      
,pharisees1 was harvesting6 ,moreover1  
they had to take the ripe ears and rub  
them in their hands to get rid of the   
chaff4 ,the ,pharisees thought that that
 was just the same as threshing6 ,such  
things to do on the ,sabbath ,day6 ,the 

,pharisees stopped the disciples1 and   
demanded to know why they were doing    
something that was against the ,law4    
,illustration  ,it was really ,jesus    
with whom they wanted to pick a quarrel1
 and so ,jesus answered for the         
disciples3  ,why1 you must have read in 
the ,scriptures that ,king ,david and   
his soldiers once went into the ,temple 
and ate some of the holy bread which    
only a priest is allowed to eat4 ,surely
 if ,david could do a thing like that1  
my disciples can pick a few ears of     
grain in a field6  ,you don't understand
 what the ,sabbath is for1 ,jesus went  
on4 ,we aren't supposed to be slaves to 
the ,sabbath2 this day is meant to do us
 good4 ,the ,sabbath was made for man2  
man was not made for the ,sabbath4      
,then he added something else1 which    
took the ,pharisees by surprise3  ,the  
,son of man is ,lord also of the        
,sabbath4  ,they were puzzled4 ,jesus   
was talking again as though he was the  
,messiah4 ,so far as the ,pharisees     

could see1 ,jesus was just a preacher   
who broke the ,law4  ,the ,pharisees    
began to watch him still more carefully4
 ,they found another chance to get him  
into trouble soon after this4 ,jesus had
 gone into the synagogue to teach1 and  
in the synagogue was a man whose hand   
was withered and useless4 ,on any other 
day there was no doubt that ,jesus would
 heal this man4 ,but this was the       
,sabbath1 and it was against the ,law to
 heal anybody on that day unless he were
 in danger of dying4 ,a man with a      
withered hand could wait another day4   
,surely even ,jesus would not dare to   
break the rules again6  ,jesus knew that
 they were watching to see what he would
 do4 ,they would never forgive him if he
 made a move to heal this man4  ,he     
called out to the man1  ,stand up--up   
here1 in front of everybody6  ,when the 
man had come to the front1 ,jesus turned
 to the ,pharisees4  ,i am going to ask 
you something1 he said4 ,if any one of  
you owned a sheep1 and it fell into a   

pit on the ,sabbath1 wouldn't you lift  
it out8 ,and don't you think that a man 
is worth more than a sheep8 ,you say    
that it is against the ,law to heal a   
man on the ,sabbath4 ,i say that it is  
always right to do good to somebody1 on 
the ,sabbath just the same as any other 
day6  ,he looked around at the whole    
crowd4 ,he was angry now4 ,would they   
actually let a man suffer one day more  
than was necessary8 ,he turned back to  
the man with the useless hand4  ,stretch
 out your hand6 he commanded4  ,and when
 he spoke1 the withered hand was healed1
 and made as good as the other one4     
,the ,pharisees went out of the         
synagogue1 and their faces were hard    
with anger4  ,he has gone too far6 they 
said to one another4  ,he is breaking   
all our good rules4 ,it is not safe for 
the country to have him around4 ,he     
ought to die6  ,illustration  ,they     
really meant it4 ,they thought they were
 doing the right thing4 ,they were      
afraid of what ,jesus would do4 ,the    

,pharisees even called in some of their 
enemies to ask their advice about the   
best way to get rid of ,jesus4          
,meanwhile ,jesus had gone out of the   
city to be alone again4 ,on a lonely    
mountain1 under the moon-light1 he      
prayed to his ,father all night long4   
,back in the city men were planning to  
take his life4 ,and out on the mountain 
,jesus prayed for power to do good to   
men4  ,illustration  ,illustration      
#g4 ,slow to ,understand   ,not all the 
,pharisees treated ,jesus as an enemy4  
,there was one of them1 named ,simon1   
who decided to have ,jesus come to his  
house for dinner4  ,perhaps ,simon      
thought that the other ,pharisees were  
too hard on ,jesus4 ,perhaps he thought 
that he might show ,jesus where he was  
wrong4 ,or perhaps he was just curious4 
,jesus had become very well known1 and  
many people called him ,rabbi or        
,teacher4 ,it would be interesting to   
talk with the famous rabbi all          
afternoon4  ,whatever the reason was1   

,simon asked ,jesus to come and have a  
meal with him and his friends4  ,while  
they were eating their dinner1 a woman  
stole in quietly through the open door4 
,she had not been invited4 ,simon would 
never have dreamed of inviting her into 
his house1 for everyone in town gave her
 a bad name4 ,she's not a good          
woman--not a nice woman at all1 people  
said4 ,they turned their eyes away when 
they met her on the street4  ,at any    
other time the woman would not have     
wanted to come to ,simon's home1 for no 
one likes to be stared at coldly and be 
put out of the house4 ,but today was    
different4 ,jesus was there4  ,she      
brought with her a box of ointment4     
,ointment was the gift that ,jewish     
people brought1 when they wanted to     
honor an important person or some dear  
friend4  ,clutching her box of ointment1
 the woman crept across the room to     
where ,jesus was sitting4 ,she began to 
cry4 ,the tears rolled down her cheeks  
and dropped on ,jesus' hot1 dusty feet4 

,then she wiped his feet with her hair  
and kissed them4 ,she opened her        
precious box and began to rub his feet  
with the soft white salve4  ,no one     
spoke or moved4 ,simon was angry and    
disappointed with ,jesus4 ,the other    
,pharisees were right after all6  ,so   
this is the great new prophet1 sent from
 ,god6 he thought to himself4 ,if ,jesus
 were a prophet1 we shouldn't be looking
 at a scene like this4 ,he would know   
what kind of woman that is who is       
touching him4 ,why1 everybody knows how 
bad she is6  ,jesus did not need to be  
told what ,simon was thinking4 ,still   
sitting there1 while the woman clung to 
his feet1 ,jesus spoke4  ,simon1 ,i have
 something to say to you4  ,yes1 ,rabbi8
 ,simon replied4 ,what is it8  ,let me  
tell you a story1 ,jesus said4 ,there   
was once a moneylender who had two men  
owing him money4 ,one of them owed him  
five hundred dollars1 the other owed him
 fifty4 ,neither of them had anything   
with which to pay him back1 so the      

moneylender told them both to forget    
about the debt--that they didn't need to
 pay4 ,now tell me--which of those two  
men will love the moneylender most8     
,simon answered1  ,why1 ,i suppose the  
man who owed him the most4  ,that's     
right1 ,jesus replied4 ,now1 ,simon1 he 
went on1 look at this woman4 ,when ,i   
came to your house today1 you didn't    
even give me any water to wash the sand 
off my feet1 though that is what is done
 in friendly homes4 ,but this woman has 
washed my feet with her own tears1 and  
dried them with the hair of her head4   
,you have scarcely been polite to me2   
but this woman has done nothing but kiss
 my feet4 ,you never thought of putting 
ordinary olive oil on my head2 but this 
woman has put precious ointment on my   
feet4  ,you think this woman is a great 
sinner1 ,jesus continued1 and so she is4
 ,she has done many things that are     
wrong4 ,but her sins have been forgiven 
her4 ,i have brought her to a new life1 
and she doesn't have to worry any more  

about the sins of the past4 ,that is why
 she loves me so much4 ,but1 of course1 
a person who hasn't had his sins        
forgiven isn't going to know much about 
love4  ,jesus turned away from ,simon4  
,he might have added3  ,a cold ,pharisee
 like you1 so sure that nothing is wrong
 with you1 is a great deal worse off    
than this poor1 sinful woman4 ,you have 
got all your sins still to worry about1 
and you don't even know it6  ,but ,jesus
 did not say it4 ,he left ,simon to     
think that out for himself4 ,instead1 he
 spoke to the woman1  ,your sins are    
forgiven4  ,the other people in the room
 began to mutter to themselves3  ,there 
he goes--forgiving sins again6 ,what    
right has he to forgive anybody's sins8 
,but ,jesus paid no attention4 ,he spoke
 once more to the woman at his feet3    
,your faith in me has saved you1 he     
said4 ,everything is all right now4 ,go 
in peace4  ,that was the end of the     
dinner party at ,simon's house4 ,but it 
was not the end of the talk and gossip  

about the kind of friends that ,jesus   
made4 ,some thought he must be bad      
himself because he had so much to do    
with people to whom the ,pharisees would
 not even speak4 ,everywhere he went1   
there was the same complaint4  ,time and
 time again ,jesus tried to explain why 
he was more interested in sinners than  
in anyone else4 ,why1 the people that   
the ,pharisees despised were the very   
people who needed his love the most6    
,what could be better than to save      
somebody from an evil life8  ,jesus told
 story after story1 to show the         
,pharisees what he meant4 ,one time he  
said3  ,suppose a shepherd had a hundred
 sheep1 and one sheep strayed away from 
the others and got lost4 ,would he not  
leave the other ninety-nine1 and go     
after the lost sheep until he found it8 
,and when he did find it1 he would pick 
it up and carry it joyfully home4 ,then 
he would go around and tell all his     
friends and neighbors4 ,he would say3   
',rejoice with me6 ,for ,i have found my

 sheep that was lost4'  ,or suppose a   
woman had ten silver coins1 and dropped 
one of them on the floor4 ,wouldn't she 
light a candle and sweep the floor and  
look everywhere until she found it8     
,then she would say to her friends and  
neighbors3 ',rejoice with me6 ,for ,i   
have found the coin that ,i lost6'  ,in 
the same way1 ,jesus said1 ,god is more 
pleased over one sinful person who stops
 sinning than over all the others who   
think they have never sinned4  ,the     
,pharisees still did not get the point4 
,so ,jesus tried again with another     
story4 ,he said3  ,a certain man had two
 sons4 ,one day the younger son said1   
',father1 give me my share of the       
property which is coming to me1' ,so the
 father gave each of the sons his share4
  ,then the younger son packed up his   
belongings1 and went away to a far      
country4 ,there he spent all his money  
foolishly4 ,after his money was gone1   
this young man had nothing left to live 
on4 ,he went to work for a farmer1 who  

sent him out to feed the pigs4 ,he was  
so hungry that he would have been glad  
to eat the pigs' food1 but no one gave  
him anything4  ,then one day he said to 
himself3 ',what a fool ,i am6 ,why am ,i
 staying here8' ,he thought of how even 
the servants at home had plenty to eat1 
while he was starving to death4 ,he     
said3 ',i will go back to my father1 and
 tell him that ,i have sinned against   
him and against ,god4 ,i will tell him  
that ,i am not worthy to be his son1 and
 ask him to give me work as one of his  
servants4'  ,so he went home4 ,but      
before he reached the house1 his father 
saw him coming1 and ran out to welcome  
him4 ,the young man started to say1 ',i 
have sinned1 and ,i am not worthy to be 
your son4' ,but his father called out to
 a servant3 ',bring the best clothes in 
the house1 and shoes for my boy's feet4 
,then kill the fattest calf we have1 and
 get a feast ready4 ,my son is back1 and
 we are going to celebrate6'            
,meanwhile1 the older brother was out in

 the field4 ,when he came home1 he heard
 music and dancing in the house4 ,he    
asked a servant why they were having a  
party4 ,when he was told1 he became very
 angry4 ,he would not even go into the  
house4 ,when his father came out to ask 
him to join the party1 the older brother
 said3 ',all these years ,i have stayed 
at home and helped you6 ,i did          
everything you told me to4 ,in all that 
time you never once gave me a party4    
,but when my brother comes back from    
spending your money--why1 nothing is too
 good for him6'  ,but the father        
answered him kindly4 ',son1' he said1   
'you are always with me1 and everything 
,i have is yours4 ,it is right that we  
should celebrate1 and be happy4 ,for it 
is as if your brother had been dead1 and
 now he is alive again4 ,he was lost1   
and now he is found4'  ,illustration    
,illustration  ,the days went by4 ,some 
days were good1 and some were bad4 ,once
 in a while ,jesus would find somebody  
who seemed to understand him and believe

 in him4 ,then again it would seem that 
he was failing in what he tried to do4  
,the time he healed the ,roman officer's
 servant was one of the good days4      
,jesus was just coming back to          
,capernaum after preaching out in the   
country1 when this officer approached   
him4 ,although he was a ,roman1 and the 
captain of a company of ,roman soldiers1
 this man was well liked in ,capernaum4 
,for he had built the ,jews a synagogue1
 and everyone knew that he loved the    
,jewish people4  ,he came to ,jesus1 and
 said1 ,lord1 my servant is lying at    
home1 very sick and suffering greatly4  
,jesus replied at once1 ,i will come and
 heal him4  ,but the officer shook his  
head4  ,lord1 he said1 ,i am not worthy 
that you should come into my house4     
,just speak a word1 standing here1 and  
that will heal my servant4 ,you see1 ,i 
have an army under me4 ,i say to a      
soldier1 ',come here1' and he comes4 ,i 
tell my servant to do something1 and he 
does it right away4 ,you have that kind 

of power too4 ,you just have to say that
 my servant shall be healed1 and he will
 be healed4  ,jesus was joyful when he  
heard these words4 ,to those who were   
standing around he said3  ,i tell you1  
,i have not found among the ,jewish     
people anyone who believes in me so much
 as this ,roman does6 ,and ,i tell you  
this too3 ,when you talk about the      
,kingdom of ,god you shouldn't think    
that ,god has no place in it for anyone 
except ,jews4 ,god is going to bring    
together people from every country1     
everybody who has faith like this       
officer's faith4 ,and some of the ,jews 
may find themselves outside the ,kingdom
 looking in6  ,then he turned to the    
officer and said3  ,go back to your     
house4 ,you have had faith in me1 and ,i
 will give you what you ask4  ,when the 
officer went home1 he found that his    
servant had recovered from his illness  
while ,jesus was speaking4  ,that was   
one of the good days1 when ,jesus found 
a new believer4 ,but a bad day came1    

when ,jesus found that his oldest friend
 had begun to lose faith in him4 ,john  
the ,baptist was not sure any longer    
that ,jesus was the ,messiah4  ,and     
,john was in trouble4 ,he had preached  
against ,king ,herod1 the son of the    
king who had died when ,jesus was a     
baby4 ,herod married another man's wife1
 and ,john the ,baptist said that this  
was a sin4 ,herod threw ,john into jail4
  ,as ,john lay in his prison cell day  
after day1 he began to wonder about     
,jesus4 ,had he been wrong in thinking  
that ,jesus was the ,messiah8 ,jesus did
 not seem to have done very much as yet4
 ,the ,romans were still in the country4
 ,the rich people were as bad as they   
had always been1 and the poor were just 
as poor4  ,at last ,john could not stand
 it any longer4 ,when two of his        
followers visited him in jail1 he sent  
them to ask ,jesus who he really was4   
,ask him1 said ,john1 ',are you or are  
you not the ,messiah8'  ,john's         
followers found ,jesus busy healing the 

sick4 ,they drew him aside1 and told him
 what ,john wanted to know4  ,are you   
the ,one who was to come1 they asked1 or
 must we look for somebody else8  ,so   
even ,john the ,baptist had his doubts6 
,john1 the man who had said that he was 
not worthy to baptize ,jesus2 the same  
,john who once called ,jesus the ,lamb  
of ,god6  ,illustration  ,jesus pointed 
to the crowd of people whom he had been 
healing1 and he said to ,john's         
disciples3  ,go back and tell ,john what
 you have seen and heard here4 ,tell him
 ,i am doing what ,i can4 ,tell him how 
the blind are getting back their sight4 
,tell him too1 how the lame are learning
 to walk1 and how the lepers are being  
cured4 ,tell him that ,i am preaching to
 the poor4 ,tell him all about what ,i  
am doing1 and let him decide for himself
 whether or not ,i am the ,messiah4 ,and
 tell him this3 ,blessed is anyone who  
believes in me1 and takes me just as ,i 
am6  ,jesus never heard what ,john      
thought of this message4 ,for ,john did 

not live much longer4 ,one night ,king  
,herod gave a birthday party1 and a     
pretty girl danced so well that the king
 offered to give her anything she asked4
 ,the girl went to her mother1 to find  
out what she ought to say4 ,her mother  
hated ,john the ,baptist because he had 
spoken the truth1 and so she told her   
daughter3  ,ask for the head of ,john   
the ,baptist to be brought in here on a 
platter6  ,illustration  ,the girl went 
to the king1 and asked for ,john's head4
 ,the king was sorry then that he had   
made that promise1 for he was half      
afraid of ,john4 ,however1 he had to    
keep his word4 ,and so he sent servants 
to the prison1 and they cut off the head
 of ,john the ,baptist with a sword1 and
 brought it back to the palace on a     
platter4  ,when ,jesus heard what had   
happened1 he felt very sad4 ,he said1   
,let us go out to some quiet place1 and 
rest awhile4  ,illustration  ,things    
were not going very well4 ,john the     
,baptist was dead1 and ,herod might be  

planning to kill ,jesus next4 ,some men1
 in fact1 came one day to warn him to   
get out of ,herod's kingdom4  ,go and   
tell that fox1 he said1 that ,i am busy 
curing the sick and conquering evil1 and
 neither ,herod nor anybody else is     
going to stop me until ,i have finished 
my work6  ,but things were going badly1 
just the same4 ,jesus saw that there    
were not many of the people who         
understood his message or knew who he   
was4 ,a few believed in him1 but others 
soon lost interest in him1 if they ever 
cared at all4 ,only once in a long while
 did he see any results from all his    
work4  ,he explained this in one of his 
stories when he said3  ,a farmer went   
out to sow his seed4 ,as he sowed1 some 
of the seed fell in the pathway1 and    
people walked on it1 or the birds ate it
 up4 ,some fell on a rock1 and this seed
 began to grow2 but no sooner had it    
sprung up than it died1 because it did  
not have deep roots4 ,some fell among   
thornbushes2 and the thorns grew faster 

than the seed1 and choked it4 ,but some 
of the seed fell on good ground1 and    
there it grew into a good harvest4      
,when the disciples were alone with him1
 they asked ,jesus to tell them what    
this story meant4 ,he said that the seed
 stood for the words that he spoke to   
them4 ,some people heard him1 but they  
soon forgot what he said4 ,that was like
 seed falling on the pathway4  ,others  
were very excited about what he said    
when they first heard it1 but when it   
was hard to do what he told them they   
soon gave up trying4 ,that was like seed
 falling on a rock1 where there was no  
soil or water to give it root4  ,then   
there were some who cared more about    
money and pleasure than they cared about
 ,god4 ,that was like seed being choked 
by thorns4  ,but some people heard      
,jesus preach2 and they believed in him1
 with good and honest hearts1 and they  
were faithful4 ,that was when his       
preaching brought results1 and it was   
like seed falling on good rich earth4   

,unless people have faith in me1 said   
,jesus1 they will never understand ,god4
 ,they will see the things ,i do1 and   
never even know what they are looking   
at4 ,they will listen to me1 and never  
know what they are hearing4 ,i can do   
nothing with them4 ,but you--my         
disciples--you have faith in me4 ,you   
will understand everything someday4     
,the disciples were going to be good    
ground for the seed that ,jesus sowed4  
,illustration  ,illustration            
,illustration     #h4 ,jesus ,is ,strong
   ,that night ,jesus said to the       
disciples1 ,let us go across the lake4  
,simon and ,andrew and ,james and ,john 
were fishermen4 ,they knew where to get 
a boat1 and they knew how to sail it    
too4  ,all twelve disciples1 along with 
,jesus1 climbed into a boat and pushed  
away from shore4  ,the ,sea of ,galilee 
was a lovely blue lake in the daytime1  
when the sunlight sparkled on the water4
 ,in the evening it was lovely too1 when
 the waves were lapping peacefully      

against the side of a boat1 and the     
stars came out twinkling overhead4  ,but
 the ,sea of ,galilee was not always so 
lovely or so peaceful4 ,sometimes the   
wind came roaring down the steep banks  
around the lake1 and the water grew     
white and angry4  ,then again everything
 might be calm and quiet when a boat    
left the land4 ,but before it had gone  
very far a storm might be howling all   
around4 ,it would toss the boat around  
like driftwood1 and then it would be too
 late to turn back to shore4  ,some of  
the disciples were fishermen1 and they  
had fished here all their lives4 ,they  
knew what the sudden storms were like4  
,it was no surprise to them when the    
stars disappeared as though the rising  
wind had blown them out4 ,they knew what
 was coming now4 ,the night would grow  
black as ink1 and the great foaming     
waves would smash against the ship and  
fill it up with water4 ,there was       
nothing anyone could do about it4       
,nobody could sail or row or steer the  

boat any longer4 ,only ,god himself     
could bring the poor sailors safe to    
shore4  ,the sea was rough already1 and 
getting rougher every minute4 ,they were
 afraid4 ,they were always afraid of the
 sea when storms began to blow4 ,it was 
so big and dangerous and terrible1 and  
men were so small and weak6 ,it was like
 a frightful monster1 tossing them up   
and down before it swallowed them alive4
  ,if only they had stayed on the good1 
safe land6 ,they had been so worried and
 so tired that night2 so discouraged    
about ,jesus and his work4 ,and now     
there was this storm on top of          
everything6 ,it looked as if none of    
them would live to see another day4     
,they had left their homes and families 
behind1 to follow ,jesus4 ,what was the 
use of following ,jesus if they were all
 to be drowned8  ,now the boat was full 
of water4 ,they tried to bail it out1   
but the fishermen knew that nothing they
 could do would be of any use4  ,in the 
dark they could hardly see one another's

 faces4 ,where was ,jesus8 ,no one had  
heard a word from him since the storm   
began to blow4  ,they found him at the  
back of the boat1 just where he was when
 they left the shore4 ,he was stretched 
out on a seat1 resting on a pillow4 ,and
 he was fast asleep6  ,the disciples    
were angry4 ,any minute now the boat was
 going to turn over1 and there was      
,jesus sleeping as though nothing in the
 world were wrong6  ,one of the men took
 ,jesus by the shoulders1 and shook him 
awake4 ,they shouted at him1 ,master1   
doesn't it matter to you if we are all  
drowned8  ,jesus rose to his feet in the
 tossing boat4 ,the wind blew in his    
face1 and he seemed to be answering it4 
,the sea smashed against the boat again1
 and ,jesus cried out1 ,peace1 be still6
  ,all at once the wind began to die    
away4 ,the waves tossed for a minute or 
two longer1 but not so strongly now4    
,everything was growing quiet4 ,the     
stars began to shine again1 and soon    
there was no sound but the water lapping

 gently against the boat4  ,jesus spoke 
to the disciples3  ,why were you so     
frightened8 ,how is it that you still   
haven't any faith in me8  ,but the      
disciples scarcely noticed what he was  
saying4 ,they were more afraid than     
ever4 ,this time it was not the sea that
 frightened them4 ,they were afraid of  
,jesus4 ,they said to one another3      
,what kind of man is this8 ,when he     
speaks1 even the wind and the sea obey  
him6  ,illustration  ,in the morning    
they brought their little boat to land  
on the other side of the lake4 ,over    
here in the country of the ,gadarenes1  
,galilee seemed very far away4  ,a high 
cliff rose above the sea4 ,jesus and the
 disciples climbed up and looked around4
 ,there was nothing much to see except  
some men feeding a herd of pigs4 ,in the
 distance was a graveyard4  ,suddenly a 
man came running out of the graveyard4  
,he was naked1 and his body was covered 
with cuts and bruises4 ,the man was out 
of his mind1 and he lived by himself in 

the graveyard1 and wandered through the 
mountains4 ,other people had often tried
 to chain him up1 but he was so strong  
that he broke the chains as if they were
 made of string4 ,he could be heard     
crying out1 day and night1 and he was   
always cutting himself with sharp       
stones4 ,no one dared to go near him4   
,the madman ran toward ,jesus1 shouting 
at him4 ,his words were like those of   
the other madman who had interrupted    
,jesus in the synagogue service4  ,what 
have ,i to do with you1 ,jesus8 ,what   
have ,i to do with the ,son of the most 
high ,god8 ,don't torment me6  ,jesus   
said to him1 ,what is your name8  ,the  
man answered3 ,my name is ,legion4      
,there's a whole legion of devils inside
 me6  ,the disciples were meanwhile     
listening in horror4 ,there was         
something evil in this man1 something as
 dreadful as the storm of the night     
before4 ,they heard ,jesus say3 ,come   
out of the man6 ,then they seemed to    
hear many ,voices crying out1 and       

calling to ,jesus1 and pleading with    
him4 ,and they heard ,jesus say1 ,go6   
,the wild look left the man's eyes4 ,and
 at that very moment the pigs went wild4
 ,the man was in his right mind now1 but
 it seemed as though the pigs had gone  
crazy4 ,with a great snorting and       
squealing they ran to the cliff and     
plunged into the sea4  ,after that      
everything was quiet4 ,it was as quiet  
as it had been when ,jesus stilled the  
storm4 ,the evil thing was gone4 ,the   
morning sun was shining brightly on a   
peaceful countryside4 ,there was nothing
 dreadful any more4  ,but what they had 
seen was too much for the men who had   
been feeding the pigs4 ,as fast as their
 legs would take them they ran to the   
nearest town and told everybody what had
 happened4 ,the people came flocking out
 of the town to see for themselves4     
,when they came they found the madman   
sitting there talking to ,jesus4 ,he had
 put on his clothes1 and he was just as 
sensible as anybody else4  ,the people  

had been terribly afraid of the madman1 
but now they were afraid of ,jesus4     
,they had tied this man up with chains1 
and still they could not hold him4 ,yet 
here was a stranger from ,galilee who   
cured the madman with a few words4 ,what
 kind of man is this8 they thought4     
,what kind of power does he have8       
,illustration  ,they were so worried    
about what ,jesus might do next that    
they asked him to leave the country4    
,without a word ,jesus took his         
disciples back to the boat4 ,the man who
 had been out of his mind followed him1 
and asked if he might go along4 ,but    
,jesus told him3  ,no1 you have work to 
do here4 ,go back home to your friends4 
,tell them what the ,lord has done for  
you4  ,the man went back to the city1   
and began to tell his story4 ,the story 
went abroad through that whole country1 
and everyone who heard it was amazed4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,for the disciples it had been a night  
and day of wonders4 ,but as they sailed 

home across the lake they did not know  
that an even greater triumph was waiting
 for ,jesus on the other side4  ,as     
their boat drew near to land1 they saw a
 crowd standing on the shore4 ,everyone 
had been watching anxiously1 waiting for
 ,jesus to come4  ,when ,jesus stepped  
ashore1 the waiting crowd made way for a
 man who was well known in the town4    
,his name was ,jairus1 and he was the   
chief officer of the synagogue4  ,jairus
 fell down at ,jesus' feet and began to 
plead with him to come to his house at  
once3  ,my little girl is dying4 ,please
 come and put your hands on her1 and    
heal her1 and make her live6            
,illustration  ,jesus went with ,jairus1
 and the whole crowd followed to see    
what he was going to do4 ,as they walked
 along the street1 with people pressing 
in on them from every side1 ,jesus      
suddenly stopped and said1  ,who touched
 my clothes8  ,the disciples could not  
imagine what he was talking about4 ,they
 said to him3  ,why1 don't you see the  

crowd8 ,everybody is touching you6 ,what
 do you mean by asking1 ',who touched my
 clothes8'  ,but ,jesus answered3       
,there's someone in particular who      
touched me4 ,i felt power going out of  
me4  ,with that1 a poor woman came out  
of the crowd and fell down in front of  
,jesus4 ,she was trembling with fear4   
,she told him her whole story4 ,for     
twelve years she had been sick4 ,she had
 spent all her money on doctors1 and she
 never got any better4 ,she thought that
 if only she could touch his clothes1   
without anyone seeing her1 she would be 
made well4  ,jesus looked at her kindly1
 and said3  ,your faith has made you    
well4 ,go in peace4  ,meanwhile ,jairus 
was waiting impatiently for ,jesus to   
come along4 ,soon it might be too late6 
,at that very moment a message came from
 ,jairus' house4 ,the worst had         
happened4 ,the little girl had died1 and
 there was no use troubling ,jesus4     
,already it was too late4  ,but before  
,jairus could speak1 ,jesus took him by 

the arm and said3  ,don't be afraid4    
,just keep on believing4  ,he sent the  
crowd away1 and told the disciples that 
none of them could come with him except 
,simon and ,james and ,john4  ,jairus   
led the way to his house4 ,when they got
 there they found that the bad news was 
true4 ,the little girl had really died4 
,already the flute players1 who played  
at funerals in ,palestine1 had arrived4 
,everyone was mourning and weeping4     
,jesus spoke sharply to the mourners4   
,why are you making all this fuss8 he   
asked4 ,the little girl isn't dead4 ,she
 is only sleeping4  ,everyone laughed at
 him1 as though he were a fool4 ,so he  
doesn't know the difference between     
being asleep and being dead1 they said  
to themselves4 ,but ,jesus told them to 
get out of the house4 ,when they were   
gone he took ,jairus and his wife1 and  
the three disciples1 and went into the  
little girl's room4  ,there could be no 
doubt about it--the girl was dead4 ,she 
was lying white and cold and still4 ,no 

doctor in the world could ever help her 
again4  ,jesus bent over the still body1
 and opened his mouth to speak4 ,simon  
and ,james and ,john held their breath4 
,not many hours before1 they had heard  
him say to the sea1 ,peace1 be still4   
,when he spoke1 the sea obeyed him4     
,they heard him speak to a madman1 and  
after he spoke the man was in his right 
mind again4 ,but what use would it be to
 speak to someone who was dead8 ,the    
dead could not hear him6  ,or could they
 hear him8 ,had ,jesus not once told    
them1 ,the dead hear my voice8          
,illustration  ,the little girl did not 
know anything4 ,she did not hear        
anything4 ,she could not know or hear   
anything1 for she was dead4  ,then a    
voice came through the silence4 ,the    
little girl began to hear someone       
talking4 ,it was a man's voice1 and it  
was saying the very words her mother    
used each morning to wake her up from   
sleep4  ,little girl1 get up6 she heard4
  ,she opened her eyes4 ,she looked into

 the face of ,jesus4 ,he took her hand1 
and helped her to her feet4 ,her parents
 were there too4 ,she went to them4     
,give her something to eat1 said ,jesus4
 ,and say nothing about what has        
happened4  ,but no one could keep a     
secret like that4 ,soon everyone had    
heard the story4 ,everybody heard how   
,jesus spoke and brought the dead back  
to life4  ,illustration     #i4         
,refusing a ,crown   ,up until this     
time1 ,jesus had done all the preaching1
 and the disciples had listened4 ,jesus 
had healed the sick1 and the disciples  
had watched4 ,now1 however1 ,jesus told 
the disciples that it was time for them 
to work also4 ,he called the twelve     
together1 and said3  ,i am going to send
 you out in my place4 ,you are to divide
 up into pairs4 ,each pair will go and  
preach in the towns and villages4 ,you  
will tell the people what you have heard
 me say--that ,god has come to the earth
 to rule over men's hearts4 ,when you   
see people who are sick or out of their 

minds1 you are to make them well1 just  
as you have seen me do4  ,illustration  
,he told them plainly what they were to 
do4  ,don't take any money with you1    
,jesus said1 and don't ask for money    
from anybody4 ,don't take many clothes1 
either2 you are to travel quickly1 and  
attend to your work1 without worrying   
about money or clothes4 ,you will be    
taken care of4  ,when you go into a city
 or a village1 find some family that    
will welcome a preacher2 and stay in    
that home until you go to the next      
place4 ,if nobody will listen to you1 go
 somewhere else4 ,but before you go1    
warn the people in the place which you  
are leaving that they have sinned by not
 paying attention to ,god's message4    
,so the disciples went out and preached 
as ,jesus told them4 ,they healed the   
sick1 as ,jesus did4  ,illustration     
,the trip was a great success4 ,after   
many days the disciples began to come   
back home1 with many stories about their
 experiences4 ,when they were all with  

,jesus again1 they sat down and told him
 everything they had said and done4     
,jesus listened to their stories1 and   
then he said3  ,it is time for you to   
take a rest4 ,come with me to some      
lonely place where nobody will disturb  
us for a while4  ,they got into their   
boat1 and sailed up to a quiet place    
they knew of1 near the town of          
,bethsaida4 ,but they got no chance to  
rest after all1 for the people at       
,capernaum saw them leaving4  ,there go 
,jesus and his disciples6 somebody said4
 ,they're heading for ,bethsaida6  ,a   
crowd of people began to walk around the
 shore of the lake4 ,as they went1      
others joined them from the towns and   
countryside round about4 ,jesus was the 
most popular man in ,galilee just then4 
,wherever he went1 he might be sure that
 a crowd would follow him4  ,the people 
walked and ran1 and by hurrying they    
reached the quiet spot near ,bethsaida  
as soon as ,jesus did4 ,when he stepped 
out of the boat1 thousands of people    

were waiting for him on the shore4      
,jesus had gone away for a rest1 but    
when he saw the people he felt sorry for
 them4  ,they are like a flock of sheep1
 he thought--a flock of sheep with no   
shepherd to look after them4  ,they had 
spoiled his holiday1 but ,jesus spoke to
 the people and said that he was glad to
 see them4 ,then he began to teach1 just
 as he did in the cities and towns4 ,all
 day long he taught1 and if there were  
any who were sick1 he healed them4  ,the
 day wore on1 and evening was drawing   
near4 ,one or two of the disciples      
pulled ,jesus' sleeve1 and said to him3 
,master1 it is getting late4 ,hadn't you
 better send them away to find something
 to eat in the towns near by8 ,there is 
nothing for them out here in the        
country4  ,jesus answered3 ,there is no 
need for them to go away4 ,give them    
something to eat right here6  ,the      
disciples looked at him as if they did  
not know whether he was serious or not4 
,they said3 ,do you mean that you want  

us to go and buy food for all these     
people8 ,where would we get enough money
 for that8  ,andrew said3 ,there's a boy
 here with five loaves of bread and a   
couple of fishes4 ,but how far will that
 go among five thousand people8  ,jesus 
only answered1 ,tell them to sit down on
 the grass4  ,the disciples went among  
the crowd1 and had the people sit down  
in groups1 fifty in each group4  ,jesus 
took the five loaves and the two fishes1
 and as he held them1 he said a prayer  
of thanks to ,god4 ,then he broke the   
loaves1 and gave the bread and the fish 
to the disciples and told them to pass  
the food around among the crowd4 ,they  
passed it here and they passed it there1
 but they never ran out of food4 ,nobody
 could tell where it was coming from1   
but there was enough for everyone and   
some left over4  ,the people were hungry
 after their long walk and the hours of 
standing in the sun4 ,they ate heartily4
 ,as they finished their meal1 they     
began to think about what had happened4 

,where did all this food come from8 they
 began to ask themselves4 ,where did    
,jesus get all that food8 ,there were   
but five loaves and a couple of fishes  
and yet we have all had enough and to   
spare6  ,illustration  ,the crowd began 
to talk in excited voices4 ,jesus gave  
us this food4 ,a wonderful thing6 ,he   
gave us food to eat1 when there wasn't  
anything here6 ,why1 this is just the   
man we have been looking for6 ,there's  
the man to make the ,jews strong and    
rich--he makes food out of nothing6     
,the people were rising to their feet4  
,make him a king6 they started to cry4  
,jesus is the man to be king of the     
,jews6 they shouted4 ,we want our king6 
,but ,jesus was not there any longer4   
,jesus had gone2 he had slipped away    
through the crowd and disappeared4 ,even
 the disciples did not know where he    
was4 ,he stayed alone in the mountains  
until long after dark4  ,those foolish  
people6 ,that foolish1 foolish crowd6   
,they did not understand him at all4    

,did they never think of anything except
 their stomachs8  ,jesus remembered how 
the devil had once tempted him in the   
wilderness4 ,what was it that the devil 
had said8 ,if you are the ,messiah1 make
 these stones into bread4  ,yes1 all the
 people would be for him so long as he  
gave them something to eat4 ,they would 
even make him a king1 if they thought he
 was the man to get rid of the ,romans  
and make the country free and rich and  
great4 ,why1 they had offered to make   
,jesus a king that very day6 ,they said 
that he was just the man they had been  
waiting for6  ,but that was not what    
,jesus had come to do4 ,he did not want 
to be that kind of king4  ,it was soon  
to be ,passover time4 ,many years ago1  
at ,passover time1 ,jesus had been a boy
 at the ,temple in ,jerusalem1 watching 
as the lambs were killed for a          
sacrifice4 ,a year from now it would be 
,passover again4 ,and then it would be  
time to go to ,jerusalem once more4 ,he 
would go to ,jerusalem1 and he would be 

the ,king of the ,jews4 ,then he would  
do what he always knew that he would    
have to do someday4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,when ,jesus came 
back to ,capernaum1 he gathered his band
 of disciples together and took them    
away again4 ,this time he took them so  
far away that no one would follow them4 
,no one wanted very much to follow1     
anyway1 for the people were hurt and    
angry because ,jesus would not be their 
king4  ,jesus led the disciples away to 
the north1 into the country near        
,caesarea ,philippi4 ,here one of the   
rivers that flowed into the ,jordan came
 springing out of a cave in a hill4     
,here too the ,greek people round about 
had built temples for their heathen     
gods4  ,jesus wanted to be alone with   
his disciples1 for the time had come to 
have an important talk4 ,he said to     
them3 ,who do people say that ,i am8    
,the disciples answered3 ,some people   
say that you are ,john the ,baptist1    
come back from the dead4 ,others say    

that you are ,elijah1 or ,jeremiah1 or  
one of the other prophets come back to  
earth4 ,everyone thinks that you are a  
great man4  ,illustration  ,but who do  
you say that ,i am8 ,jesus asked4       
,there was silence4 ,then ,simon spoke  
up3 ,you are the ,messiah--the          
,christ--the ,son of the living ,god6   
,that was it6 ,that was what ,jesus was 
waiting for6 ,his face lighted up in    
joy4 ,he turned to ,simon1 and          
exclaimed3 ,that is the best thing that 
could happen to you1 ,simon1 to find out
 who ,i am6 ,and no human being could   
have told you6 ,only ,god himself can   
have shown you that ,i really am the    
,messiah1 when nobody else believes it4 
,and now you are going to have a new    
name1 ,simon4 ,i am going to call you   
',peter' from now on1 for the name      
',peter' means ',the ,rock4' ,you have  
faith in me1 and your faith is like a   
rock4 ,i am going to build my ,church on
 faith like yours1 and nothing shall    
ever conquer it4 ,it will be the        

strongest thing in all the world4  ,and 
now--,jesus began to speak more         
quietly--and now that you know who ,i   
really am1 ,i have many things to tell  
you4 ,in the first place1 you must not  
say anything about my being the         
,messiah--not just yet4 ,and this is    
more important3 ,i am not going to be   
very popular any more4 ,i am going up to
 ,jerusalem1 and when ,i get there1 my  
enemies will plot against me and put me 
to death4  ,peter thought that this was 
nonsense4 ,everyone knew that the       
,messiah would not be killed like that1 
but would instead be a great warrior and
 a triumphant king4 ,in a bold voice    
,peter spoke up again3 ,don't be        
foolish4 ,nothing of that sort is going 
to happen6  ,jesus turned on ,peter4    
,this time he was not joyful2 he was    
angry4 ,he talked to ,peter in the same 
way he had once talked to the devil in  
the wilderness4  ,he said3 ,get behind  
me1 ,satan6 ,the devil has got into you1
 ,peter6 ,god didn't have anything to do

 with what you said to me just now4     
,you're talking like everybody else4    
,you're weak4 ,a man who tries to save  
his own life is sure to lose it4 ,but if
 a man gives up his life because of     
me--ah1 that man will really know what  
it means to live6  ,but ,jesus saw that 
the disciples did not understand4 ,even 
,peter was losing his faith again4      
,somehow he must make them believe in   
him and trust in him4  ,so six days     
later he took ,peter and ,james and     
,john1 to whom he showed the most secret
 things1 up into a high mountain4 ,and  
there the disciples saw a marvelous     
vision4 ,jesus' face became bright as   
the sun1 and his clothes shone like the 
morning light4 ,they said afterward that
 ,moses and ,elijah1 who were great     
among the ,jews in the days of long ago1
 came down and talked with ,jesus4      
,peter spoke timidly this time1 for he  
did not know what to say4  ,lord1 he    
said1 it is good for us to be here4 ,let
 us build three tabernacles here1 one   

for you1 and one for ,moses1 and one for
 ,elijah4  ,then a great cloud came1    
like a shadow1 over the mountain4 ,they 
heard a voice from the cloud1 like the  
voice of ,god1 saying3 ,this is my      
beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well        
pleased4 ,hear him6  ,the disciples fell
 down to the ground1 and there they lay 
until ,jesus came and touched them4 ,at 
his touch they looked up1 and there was 
no one to be seen but ,jesus standing   
there alone4  ,come away1 said ,jesus1  
and tell nobody what you have seen4     
,they followed him down the mountain1   
back to where other people were4  ,long 
afterward1 they spoke of what had       
happened4 ,they told of the brightness1 
and the beauty1 and the visitors from   
olden days1 and the voice which said    
that ,jesus was the ,son of ,god4 ,but  
in those days they never said a word4   
,they knew that on the mountaintop they 
had been with ,god4     #aj4 ,the ,way  
to ,jerusalem   ,jesus had made up his  
mind that he would go to ,jerusalem for 

the ,passover next year4 ,he knew that  
if he did he would get into trouble4    
,the disciples knew it too1 for he had  
told them so4 ,there was a hard time    
ahead for them all4  ,there was hardly  
anyone whom ,jesus could count on any   
more4 ,often even the disciples did not 
understand him4 ,once in a while other  
people would offer to come along and be 
disciples too4 ,but few actually came1  
after ,jesus explained how much he      
expected his disciples to give up for   
his sake4  ,there was one man who came  
to ,jesus1 and said bravely1 ,lord1 ,i  
will follow you wherever you go6  ,jesus
 replied3 ,even the foxes have holes in 
the ground to sleep in at night4 ,the   
birds of the air have their nests4 ,but 
,i travel across the country without a  
home that ,i can call my own4  ,the man 
thought of his own comfortable house1   
and decided he did not want to follow   
,jesus after all4  ,another time ,jesus 
invited a man to join him4 ,this man    
said that he would be glad to come1 but 

that his father had just died1 and he   
must first look after the funeral4 ,that
 would take a long time1 for the ,jews  
loved their customs1 and when anybody   
died they held ceremonies which lasted  
for many days4 ,jesus could not wait for
 this man1 so he answered3              
,illustration  ,let people who don't    
believe in me look after things like    
that4 ,you have something more important
 to do4 ,your job is to go out and      
preach1 right away4 ,that's what you    
would do if you really believed in me4  
,still another man was willing to come1 
if only he could first go home and say  
good-by to his family4 ,jesus saw that  
this man too had not really decided to  
give up everything for ,god4 ,he told   
him3  ,you're like a farmer who starts  
to plow a field1 and then turns around  
and wonders if he shouldn't be doing    
something back at the house4 ,unless you
 put your whole heart into following me1
 ,i'm afraid you will never be of much  
use4  ,even some of those who used to   

call themselves followers of ,jesus were
 going away4 ,jesus said to the twelve1 
who had been with him from the          
beginning3  ,are you going to leave me  
too8  ,peter answered3 ,lord1 where     
would we go8 ,we should die if we did   
not hear your words4 ,we believe that   
you are the ,christ4  ,jesus said1 ,yes1
 you are the men ,i have chosen to be   
with me--though there is one of you who 
will come to a bad end4  ,he was        
speaking of a disciple named ,judas     
,iscariot1 though the others did not    
know it4 ,jesus knew that ,judas was not
 to be trusted4  ,in those difficult    
days ,jesus spent much of his time in   
prayer4 ,the disciples felt that they   
also needed strength and help from ,god4
 ,once1 when ,jesus had finished        
praying1 they said to him1  ,lord1 teach
 us to pray1 just as ,john the ,baptist 
used to teach his disciples4  ,so ,jesus
 taught them a prayer1 and this is how  
it went3  ,our ,father1 which art in    
heaven1 hallowed be thy name4 ,thy      

kingdom come4 ,thy will be done on earth
 as it is in heaven4 ,give us this day  
our daily bread4 ,and forgive us our    
debts1 as we forgive our debtors4 ,and  
lead us not into temptation1 but deliver
 us from evil2 for thine is the kingdom1
 and the power1 and the glory1 for ever4
 ,amen4  ,then ,jesus looked at his     
disciples1 and told them that they ought
 to pray more than they did4  ,suppose1 
he said1 one of you went to a friend's  
house at midnight1 and called through   
the window1 ',lend me some bread1 for   
company has come unexpectedly and ,i    
haven't anything in my house4' ,your    
friend might not want to get up out of  
bed1 but if you kept on pleading with   
him1 he would give you what you asked   
for4 ,in the same way1 keep on praying  
to ,god6 ,prayer is like knocking on a  
door4 ,knock1 and the door will be      
opened4  ,jesus knew1 better than the   
disciples did themselves1 how much they 
were going to need ,god's help4         
99       99       99       99       99  

,jesus ran into a great many trying     
people in the next few months4 ,one day 
there was a lawyer who thought that he  
knew more than ,jesus did4 ,he wanted an
 argument which would give him a chance 
to show how much he knew1 so he came and
 asked ,jesus1  ,what should ,i do to   
have eternal life8  ,jesus answered1    
,what does it say in the ,law8  ,the    
lawyer replied1 ,it says1 ',thou shalt  
love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy    
heart1 and with all thy soul1 and with  
all thy strength1 and with all thy mind2
 and thy neighbor as thyself4'  ,jesus  
said3 ,that is right4 ,those are the    
things you ought to do4  ,it sounded to 
the lawyer as though ,jesus were saying1
 ,if you knew all along1 why did you    
need to ask me in the first place8 ,the 
lawyer thought that he would get the    
better of ,jesus1 so he replied1  ,well1
 just who is the neighbor that ,i am    
supposed to love8  ,illustration  ,jesus
 answered with a story3  ,a man was     
traveling on the lonely road between    

,jerusalem and ,jericho4 ,as so often   
happens there1 some thieves jumped out  
of a hiding place1 and robbed him and   
beat him4 ,he was lying there half dead1
 when a priest from the ,temple in      
,jerusalem came along4 ,he took one look
 at the wounded man1 and kept on going  
along the other side of the road4 ,then 
somebody else from the ,temple1 who was 
supposed to be a very religious sort of 
person1 passed by1 and the same thing   
happened4  ,finally a ,samaritan came   
along4 ,i don't need to tell you how    
,samaritans and ,jews hate each other6  
,but this ,samaritan was sorry for the  
wounded man4 ,he put bandages on his    
wounds1 and took him to an inn4 ,before 
he left next morning1 the ,samaritan    
went to the innkeeper4 ,he paid the bill
 for the man who had been robbed4 ,then 
he told the innkeeper to take care of   
the man1 and the ,samaritan said he     
would pay for anything more that was    
needed the next time he came4  ,now1    
think of those three men who passed     

along the road4 ,which of them was a    
real neighbor to the man who was robbed8
  ,the lawyer said1 ,why1 the one who   
helped him1 of course4  ,then1 said     
,jesus1 go and do the same4  ,what      
,jesus wanted the lawyer to understand  
was3  ,you really know what a good      
neighbor should be1 because ,god has    
been good to you4 ,but you are not much 
interested in being a neighbor to people
 who need your help4  ,but if the lawyer
 did not see that for himself1 there was
 no use telling him4 ,he would be too   
proud to understand4  ,another day there
 was a man who came to ,jesus and said3 
,master1 ,i wish you would speak to my  
brother4 ,our father died a little while
 ago1 and my brother is keeping all the 
property for himself4 ,make him give me 
my share of it4  ,jesus would have      
nothing to do with the quarrel4 ,he told
 this man3  ,you ought to think of      
something besides money and property4   
,there is more to life than owning      
things4 ,let me tell you a story4       

,there was a farmer whose crops were so 
good that he had no place to put all the
 harvest4 ,he said to himself3 ',i will 
pull down my old barns1 and build bigger
 ones1 and put my crops in them4 ,then  
,i will take life easy1 for ,i have     
enough money to last me for many years4'
  ,but do you know what happened8 ,that 
very night ,god said to him1 ',you fool1
 you are going to die tonight2 and what 
good are your crops and your money going
 to be to you then8' ,that's what       
becomes of people who keep all their    
money for their own selfish use1 and    
never think about ,god4  ,there was     
another man who was a great             
disappointment to ,jesus4 ,he was a     
young man--rich1 and a leader in the    
community4 ,he came and kneeled before  
,jesus1 and said1  ,good ,master1 what  
should ,i do in order to have eternal   
life8  ,this was like the lawyer's      
question1 but this man asked it in a    
different spirit4 ,he really wanted to  
know4  ,jesus answered3  ,do you know   

what you are saying when you call me    
',good ,master'8 ,no one is good except 
,god4  ,jesus was wondering if the rich 
young man knew that he was talking to   
the ,messiah1 or if he thought that     
,jesus was just a man who was a little  
better than others4 ,however1 he went   
on3  ,if you want to have eternal life1 
keep ,god's commandments4 ,you know what
 they are3 ,do not kill1 do not steal1  
live a pure life1 do not tell lies1     
honor your father and mother1 and love  
your neighbor as yourself4              
,illustration  ,the young man exclaimed3
 ,but ,i have kept all those            
commandments ever since ,i was a boy6   
,what is it that is wrong with me8      
,when ,jesus saw that the young man was 
in earnest1 he loved him4 ,he replied3  
,there is indeed something wrong with   
you4 ,it is the way you love your money4
 ,give it away to the poor1 and you will
 be rewarded in heaven4 ,give up        
everything you have1 and come and follow
 me4  ,the young man got slowly to his  

feet4 ,no6 ,that was asking too much6   
,how could he live without his money8   
,he needed his money4 ,how did he know  
that ,god would look after him if he did
 not take care of himself8 ,without     
another word he went away4  ,how hard it
 is1 ,jesus said1 for rich people to    
obey ,god6  ,the disciples were amazed4 
,they had always thought that the reason
 why some people were rich was that ,god
 was pleased with the good lives they   
had been living4 ,they said1 ,if there  
isn't any hope even for rich people1 is 
there any hope for anybody8  ,no1 ,jesus
 replied1 there isn't any hope for      
anybody4 ,no one is good enough4 ,but   
,god can help and save sinners1 whether 
they are rich or poor4 ,god is          
everybody's hope4  ,peter spoke for the 
rest of the disciples4 ,he said1 ,well1 
we have given up everything to follow   
you4  ,jesus answered1 ,if you have     
given up anything for my sake you will  
never have reason to be sorry for it1   
either in this life or after you die4   

99       99       99       99       99  
,the months were going by1 and it was   
time to be getting on toward ,jerusalem4
 ,jesus took his disciples and crossed  
to the east side of the river ,jordan4  
,they traveled south1 and then crossed  
the ,jordan once again and came to the  
city of ,jericho4  ,in the rich earth   
around ,jericho beautiful gardens grew1 
and the palm trees stood tall4          
,travelers who came from the swamps of  
the ,jordan loved to stop at ,jericho   
before they took the hard and lonely    
road that led to ,jerusalem4 ,there were
 desert lands and hills ahead1 but at   
,jericho there was water to drink1 and  
good food to eat1 and a place to stay in
 comfort4 ,but ,jesus could not stay    
long in ,jericho4 ,it was to ,jerusalem 
that he was going1 and nothing could    
hold him back4  ,the people at ,jericho 
heard that ,jesus was passing through   
their city1 and a crowd gathered in the 
streets to catch a glimpse of him as he 
went by4 ,there was a man named         

,zacchaeus there4 ,he was shorter than  
most other men1 and he could not see    
,jesus because of the crowd around him4 
,there was no use asking anyone to help 
him1 for no one liked ,zacchaeus4 ,he   
was a taxgatherer1 as ,matthew once had 
been1 and had grown rich collecting     
taxes4 ,but he had grown unpopular too4 
,the ,jews thought him a traitor1 for   
although he was a ,jew he worked for the
 ,romans1 and made his fortune out of   
cheating his fellow ,jews4  ,but        
,zacchaeus was determined not to miss   
seeing ,jesus4 ,running on ahead of the 
crowd1 he climbed a sycamore tree4 ,high
 above the street1 he could look down at
 ,jesus1 but there was no reason to     
think that ,jesus would look up at him4 
,however1 when ,jesus reached the place 
where ,zacchaeus was hiding in the      
branches1 he stopped1 looked up1 and saw
 him4 ,he knew who this man was4 ,jesus 
called out3  ,hurry and come down out of
 that tree1 ,zacchaeus4 ,i am coming to 
stay at your house today6  ,illustration

  ,surprised but happy1 ,zacchaeus      
scrambled down the tree and led ,jesus  
to his house4 ,the other people also    
were surprised1 but not so happy4 ,they 
muttered to themselves1 as many people  
had done before4 ,they said1  ,he's gone
 to be the guest of that miserable1     
cheating traitor of a taxgatherer6  ,but
 ,zacchaeus became a changed man that   
day4 ,he said to ,jesus3  ,i am going to
 give half my money to the poor4 ,and if
 ,i have cheated anybody ,i shall give  
back four times as much as ,i took4     
,then ,jesus was glad that he had called
 ,zacchaeus down from the tree4  ,you   
have been saved from your sins today1   
,zacchaeus1 he said4  ,jesus was glad   
that he had found at least one rich man 
who did not love his money more than he 
loved ,god4 ,zacchaeus had not been a   
good man4 ,he was not like the rich     
young man who had kept all ,god's       
commandments since he was a boy4 ,but   
when he heard ,jesus speak to him1 he   
knew that he had been in the wrong4 ,he 

was ready to do what he could to show   
that he knew how he had sinned4  ,this  
is what ,i came for1 ,jesus said1 to    
look for sinners like this man and to   
save them4  ,when ,jesus got to         
,jerusalem1 it was going to cost him a  
great deal to help men find a new life4 
,but whatever it might cost him1 it     
would be worth the price4     #aa4      
,nearing the ,city  ,illustration       
,passover time had almost come1 so      
,jesus had to be on his way4 ,jericho   
was left behind1 and ,jesus and the     
disciples pushed across the hills and   
desert land that lay east of ,jerusalem4
  ,this was the country ,jesus had      
crossed the first time he went to the   
,passover feast4 ,that was twenty years 
ago1 when he was a boy of twelve1 and   
,joseph and ,mary had taken him to the  
feast in the great city4 ,the stones    
were just as hard now as they had been  
then4 ,the land was as dreary to see as 
it had ever been1 and the desert as dry4
 ,and yet there were just as many       

pilgrims from all parts of ,palestine   
traveling up to ,jerusalem1 going1 as   
their fathers did before them1 to keep  
the ,passover in the holy city of the   
,jews4 ,in a little while a shout would 
go up1 and many a party would burst into
 song4 ,they would sing3  ,illustration 
',i was glad when they said unto me1    
,let us go into the house of the        
,lord4444     ,pray for the peace of    
,jerusalem3     ,they shall prosper that
 love thee4'  ,a few days more1 and they
 would sacrifice their lambs in the     
,temple4 ,they would pray ,god to be    
good to the ,jews1 and to save them from
 their enemies4 ,a few nights more1 and 
they would sit down to eat the roasted  
flesh of the lambs at the ,passover     
feast2 and when they had eaten they     
would sing3      ',o give thanks unto   
the ,lord1 for he is good3     ,for his 
mercy endureth for ever4'  ,jesus and   
the disciples came out of the desert1   
and paused among the olive groves near  
the village of ,bethany4 ,now only the  

,mount of ,olives and the brook called  
,kidron stood between ,jesus and        
,jerusalem4 ,already the ,passover      
pilgrims were pouring through the gates 
of the city and up to the ,temple4 ,it  
was hard for all the pilgrims to find   
places to stay during the week of the   
,passover4 ,here at ,bethany1 ,jesus had
 friends who loved him1 and here he     
found a place in which to stay4  ,a man 
named ,simon1 whom ,jesus once cured of 
the dreaded leprosy1 had a house in     
,bethany where ,jesus was welcome4      
,there also was a woman in ,bethany     
whose name was ,mary4 ,she thought that 
nothing was too much to give to ,jesus4 
,like another woman who once made the   
,pharisees angry1 she came to ,jesus    
when he sat at dinner in ,simon's house 
and poured precious ointment on his     
head4  ,but this time it was not the    
,pharisees who were angry1 for there    
were no ,pharisees in the house4 ,it was
 ,jesus' own disciples1 especially      
,judas ,iscariot1 who said that it was  

wrong to waste anything that cost as    
much as the ointment4 ,judas spoke up   
and said1 ,why was not this ointment    
sold1 and the money given to the poor8  
,judas did not really care about the    
poor4 ,he looked after the money for    
,jesus and the disciples1 and when he   
wanted any1 he secretly helped himself  
out of what belonged to all of them4 ,he
 thought that if the precious ointment  
had been sold1 there would have been    
more money in the purse he carried4     
,when ,jesus heard the disciples        
complaining about ,mary's gift1 he said3
 ,let her alone4 ,this is a good thing  
that she has done4 ,there will always be
 poor people1 and you can give them all 
you like after ,i am gone4 ,but you will
 not have me always4 ,you know your     
custom is that when your loved ones die 
you put ointment on their bodies before 
you bury them4 ,well1 ,mary has come to 
get me ready to be buried1 before ,i am 
even dead4 ,i tell you1 this woman's    
name will be remembered all over the    

world because of what she did for me    
today6  ,the disciples begrudged ,jesus 
the ointment that a loving woman pured  
upon his head6 ,that was a bad sign4    
,many times in these last few months    
,jesus had had to speak sharply to his  
disciples4 ,the longer they were with   
him1 the less they seemed to understand 
the things that he had taught them4     
,jesus was growing lonelier every day1  
and the hardest task was still ahead4   
,one time1 when they were on the road1  
,john came to ,jesus1 feeling very proud
 of himself4  ,master1 he said1 we saw a
 man curing people who were out of their
 minds and he was using your name to do 
it6 ,naturally we told him he would have
 to stop4 ,he didn't have any right to  
use your name1 when he wasn't one of us6
  ,jesus answered3 ,you shouldn't have  
stopped him4 ,if he wasn't doing us any 
harm1 then he was on our side6  ,then   
there was a terrible scene one day1 when
 ,jesus found the disciples quarreling  
about which of them would be the most   

important when ,jesus became king4 ,each
 thought that he ought to have a higher 
position than the rest4  ,you aren't    
supposed to be looking out for          
yourselves1 ,jesus told them4 ,that's   
what the ,romans do4 ,they want to be   
kings1 and order other people about4    
,but the greatest one of you will be the
 one who does the most to help others1  
no matter what it costs him4 ,which     
would you rather do--sit down to a      
dinner and have your food brought to    
you1 or bring the food for somebody     
else8 ,you'd rather sit down and let a  
servant wait on you1 of course4 ,but ,i 
am content to be a servant among you1   
the servant of everyone4  ,the disciples
 could not get over thinking that some  
people were more important than others1 
and that they themselves counted for    
more than anyone else4 ,once some       
mothers brought their little children to
 ,jesus1 hoping that he would put his   
hands on them and bless them4 ,the      
disciples did not think that the        

children counted for anything1 and they 
were going to send them away4 ,they told
 the mothers that they ought not to come
 where they were not wanted4  ,but      
,jesus called the little children to    
him1 and said3 ,let the little children 
come to me1 and don't stand in their    
way4 ,god's ,kingdom is made up of      
people like these children4 ,god hasn't 
any place for a person who thinks       
himself important4 ,these children      
aren't pushing themselves forward4 ,they
 are humble1 and it would be better if  
you were more like them6  ,with these   
words ,jesus laid his hands upon the    
children and gave them his blessing1 as 
the mothers wanted him to do4  ,another 
thing that ,jesus said1 which the       
disciples could not understand1 was that
 they ought to forgive anyone who did   
them an injury4 ,one day ,peter came to 
him and asked3 ,lord1 if somebody keeps 
on doing wrong to me1 how many times    
should ,i forgive him8 ,seven times1    
perhaps8  ,peter thought that seven     

times would be doing very well4 ,but    
,jesus answered3 ,seven times6 ,multiply
 that by seventy6 ,forgive him until you
 have lost count of the times6  ,when   
the disciples heard that1 they knew that
 ,jesus meant they should never stop    
forgiving anyone who wronged them4 ,this
 seemed to them to be more than they    
could do unless ,god helped them4 ,they 
would need more faith in ,god4 ,so they 
said1 ,lord1 give us more faith than we 
have4  ,then ,jesus had to tell them    
that they really did not have any faith 
at all4 ,he said3 ,if your faith were   
only as big as a mustard seed--the      
smallest seed there is--you could say to
 that tree over there1 ',be pulled up   
and be planted in the sea1' and it would
 be done4  ,no1 the disciples did not   
have much faith4 ,they did not          
understand ,jesus4 ,they were jealous of
 one another4 ,they thought that ,jesus 
ought to be a king1 and each of them    
thought that he ought to be the king's  
right-hand man4 ,the disciples were     

afraid4 ,if ,jesus went up to           
,jerusalem1 they could not tell what    
would happen4 ,sometimes they thought it
 would be best if ,jesus would stay out 
of sight where his enemies could not    
find him4  ,worst of all1 there was one 
of the disciples who was not            
loyal--,judas ,iscariot4 ,judas was     
planning something so terrible that no  
one except ,jesus knew what it was4     
,jesus could not wait until his         
disciples understood4 ,he could not wait
 until they were brave enough1 or strong
 enough or good enough4 ,if he did1 he  
would wait forever4 ,and there was very 
little time4  ,there was something that 
he had to do now--the thing he had      
planned to do all along4 ,back in the   
days when he was all alone in the       
wilderness1 after ,john baptized him in 
the ,jordan1 he knew that this was what 
he would have to do someday4 ,now the   
time had come4 ,he must go back to the  
,temple1 where he had stood and watched 
the ,passover lambs being killed when he

 was a boy of twelve4 ,he must go and   
get ready for the ,passover4            
,illustration  ,jerusalem was about two 
miles away4 ,he could not stay on in    
,bethany4 ,he must go to ,jerusalem at  
once4  ,he called two of his disciples  
and gave his orders4  ,go into the      
village1 and there you will find a young
 donkey tied4 ,no one has ever ridden   
it4 ,untie it and bring it here4 ,if the
 owner questions you1 tell him1 ',the   
,lord needs this donkey4' ,he will let  
you have it at once4  ,the disciples    
went to do as they were told1 and they  
did not need to be told twice4 ,they    
knew what ,jesus meant1 for they knew   
the ,scriptures4 ,if this was the way   
,jesus was going to ,jerusalem1 there   
was nothing to be afraid of6  ,for it   
said in the ,scriptures that the        
,messiah would come into ,jerusalem     
riding upon a donkey4 ,how did the words
 go8       ,rejoice greatly1 ,o daughter
 of ,zion2 shout1 ,o daughter of        
,jerusalem3 behold1 thy ,king cometh    

unto thee3 he is just1      and having  
salvation2 lowly1 and riding upon an    
ass1 and      upon a colt the foal of an
 ass4  ,jesus was going to do it6 ,he   
was going to ride into ,jerusalem as the
 ,messiah6 ,everyone would know who he  
was at last1 for it said in the         
,scriptures that this was how the       
,messiah would come to the city6 ,let   
the ,jews get ready to receive the ,king
 they had waited for so long6  ,they    
would have to wait no longer4           
,messiah--,king ,messiah--was marching  
toward his throne4     #ab4 ,in         
,jerusalem  ,illustration   ,the        
disciples went to the village1 as ,jesus
 told them1 and there they found the    
donkey4 ,they untied it1 and led it     
away4 ,some of them put their clothes on
 the donkey's back1 for a king must ride
 in comfort4 ,others spread their       
clothes out on the street1 for a king   
should ride in state4  ,jesus got on the
 donkey1 and started for ,jerusalem4    
,the disciples walked ahead4 ,when they 

had almost reached the city1 the        
disciples began to shout4 ,jesus used to
 say that they must not tell anyone that
 he was the ,messiah4 ,but now they     
could tell the whole world1 for ,jesus  
wanted everyone to know4 ,they were glad
 that they did not have to be quiet any 
longer4  ,they shouted1 ,hosanna6 ,it   
meant1 ,save us1 and was a cry of       
welcome4 ,they shouted the words of a   
psalm3 ',hosanna to the son of ,david3  
,blessed is he that cometh in the name  
of the ,lord2 ,hosanna in the highest4' 
,the city was crowded with travelers    
from all over ,palestine1 and from      
foreign countries too4 ,they were the   
pilgrims who had come for the ,passover 
feast4  ,the crowds saw the procession  
coming4 ,they saw the donkey1 and they  
remembered what the ,scriptures said4   
,they remembered that that was how the  
,messiah would come riding in4 ,they    
heard the shouting1 and they understood 
the words4 ,they knew that that was what
 people would sing when the ,messiah    

came4  ,some of the crowds began to     
shout with the disciples4 ,a great cry  
of ,hosanna6 went ringing down the      
street4 ,everyone seemed to be saying   
it4 ,blessed is he that cometh in the   
name of the ,lord4 ,some cut branches   
from the trees1 and waved them before   
the ,messiah4 ,it was a royal welcome4  
,only the priests and the rulers and the
 ,pharisees were sorry to see ,jesus    
come4  ,what is there we can do8 they   
said to one another4 ,look1 the whole   
world has gone after him6  ,illustration
  ,illustration  ,the excitement spread 
through the city4 ,there were strangers 
there who had never heard of ,jesus4    
,who is this8 they asked4  ,others who  
knew him answered1 ,why1 this is ,jesus1
 the prophet from ,nazareth in ,galilee4
  ,jesus went into the ,temple and      
looked about at the crowds which        
thronged it4 ,this was his ,father's    
house and his house4 ,these were his    
,father's people and his people4  ,the  
king for whom the ,jews had been waiting

 had come at last to reign4  ,in the    
evening1 ,jesus and the disciples       
returned to ,bethany to sleep4          
,illustration  ,the next day ,jesus     
returned to ,jerusalem and again went to
 the ,temple4 ,this time he carried a   
whip4  ,in the ,court of the ,gentiles  
the money was clinking as it had done   
when ,jesus was a boy4 ,at tables sat   
the men who grew rich by exchanging the 
money of visitors for coins used in     
,jerusalem4 ,others were selling doves  
for sacrifice4 ,the poor had to pay     
heavily to worship ,god in his own      
house4  ,jesus strode down the room with
 the whip in his hand1 and upset the    
tables where the money was4 ,when the   
men jumped up from their chairs1 he     
drove them out of the ,temple4 ,then he 
drove the sheep and the cattle out after
 the men4  ,it is written in the        
,scriptures3 ,god's house shall be a    
house of prayer4 ,but you have made it  
into a den of thieves and robbers6 he   
cried4  ,this was too much for the      

priests of the temple1 and all the      
important men who ruled ,jerusalem4 ,the
 next day some of the rulers came to    
,jesus and said3  ,what right have you  
to do these things8 ,who told you that  
you could act like this8  ,so far1      
,jesus had never said that he was the   
,messiah4 ,he had only acted as if he   
was the ,messiah4 ,the rulers hoped that
 he would say something they could      
punish him for4 ,but ,jesus was too     
quick for them4 ,he said3  ,i'll answer 
your question if you answer a question  
of mine4 ,when ,john the ,baptist used  
to preach to you and baptize people1 who
 gave him the right to do that8  ,then  
the rulers did not know what to say4    
,they thought to themselves3  ,now if we
 say that ,john was sent by ,god to     
preach1 he will say1 ,why didn't you    
listen to him1 then8  ,if we say that   
,john didn't have any right to preach1  
the people will be angry and will likely
 kill us2 for everyone still thinks that
 ,john the ,baptist was a great prophet 

sent by ,god himself4  ,so all they said
 was1 ,we don't know--we can't tell4    
,very well1 ,jesus retorted1 neither am 
,i going to tell you what right ,i have 
to do these things6  ,every day that    
week1 ,jesus came and taught in the     
,temple4 ,several times his enemies     
tried to trick him into saying something
 that would turn the people against him1
 but ,jesus always had an answer which  
silenced them4 ,once they came and      
asked1 ,should we pay taxes to the      
,romans8  ,that was a hard question4    
,all the ,jews hated the ,romans1 and if
 ,jesus said that it was their duty to  
pay the taxes1 everybody would hate him 
too4 ,but if he said they should not pay
 the taxes--well1 they could count on   
the ,roman governor to settle with      
,jesus then4  ,show me a penny1 ,jesus  
replied4  ,illustration  ,someone handed
 him a piece of ,roman money4 ,there was
 a man's picture stamped on one side of 
it4 ,jesus said1 ,whose picture is that8
  ,why1 they answered1 that is a picture

 of ,caesar1 the emperor of ,rome4  ,all
 right1 said ,jesus1 do whatever your   
duty is to ,caesar and his government4  
,you will have to decide about that for 
yourselves4 ,and also do your duty to   
,god6  ,it was such a clever answer that
 no one had a word to say4 ,and ,jesus  
still had not said anything that he     
could be punished for4  ,but he said a  
great deal to make his enemies angry4   
,about the ,pharisees he spoke the      
hardest words he ever said4  ,watch out 
for the scribes and the ,pharisees1 he  
told the people1 and don't be like them4
 ,they love to walk around in their long
 white robes1 and to have everybody bow 
to them in the street1 and to sit in the
 best seats in the synagogues and at    
dinners4 ,all the time they are taking  
money from poor widows and they try to  
cover it up by making long prayers4     
,turning to the ,pharisees themselves1  
he went on3  ,woe to you ,pharisees6    
,you are like graves with rotting bodies
 in them1 which people walk over without

 knowing what is underneath4 ,nobody    
knows how bad you are4 ,you snakes6 ,how
 can you escape the punishment which    
,god is bringing upon you8  ,he left the
 ,pharisees and went into the ,temple1  
where people were making their gifts to 
,god4 ,many rich men came in1 and put   
large sums of money in the money box4   
,then came a poor widow who put two     
small coins into the box4  ,jesus called
 his disciples to him1 and said3  ,i    
tell you1 this poor widow has given more
 than all these rich people are giving4 
,for the rich have plenty of money1 and 
it doesn't cost them anything to give   
what they do4 ,but this poor woman needs
 her money1 and she has given all she   
has4  ,with many words and stories he   
taught the people who thronged around   
him on the days of that week4 ,and this 
was the last story he ever told3        
,someday ,i shall sit upon my throne1   
and judge all the nations of the earth4 
,to some people ,i will say3  ',come--my
 ,heavenly ,father loves you4 ,take the 

reward he has planned for you to have4  
,for ,i was hungry1 and you gave me     
food4 ,i was thirsty1 and you gave me   
something to drink4 ,i was a stranger1  
and you took me into your homes4 ,i had 
nothing to wear1 and you gave me        
clothes4 ,i was sick1 and in prison1 and
 you came to visit me6'  ,then these    
people will be surprised1 and say1      
',lord when did we ever do anything for 
you8'  ,and ,i will say3 ',you were kind
 to the poor and the sick and the       
hungry1 who did not count for anything  
on earth4 ,you did not know it at the   
time1 but when you did a kindness to    
them1 it was to me you really did it4'  
,then ,i will say to others3 ',go away4 
,god wants nothing to do with you6 ,for 
,i was hungry1 and thirsty1 and naked1  
and sick1 and in prison1 and you did    
nothing at all for me4'  ,these people  
will also be surprised4 ,they will say3 
',lord1 when did we ever see you hungry1
 or thirsty1 or naked1 or sick1 or in   
prison8 ,if we had seen you needing     

anything1 we would have helped you6'    
,and ,i will say3 ',many poor people    
needed your help1 and you did not help  
them4 ,when you failed them1 you failed 
me4 ,and now it is too late6'         99
       99       99       99       99    
,the priests and the rulers did not know
 what to do about ,jesus4 ,the ,messiah1
 indeed6 they thought4 ,they hated him1 
and they were afraid of him4 ,they were 
afraid of the ,romans too4 ,what would  
the ,roman governor say if he heard that
 there was someone in ,jerusalem        
pretending to be ,king of the ,jews8    
,the priests and the rulers wanted to   
kill ,jesus4 ,that was all they talked  
about4 ,but they did not know how it was
 to be done4 ,for whenever ,jesus came  
to ,jerusalem1 great crowds gathered    
around him4 ,none of the priests dared  
to lay a finger on him in the open4 ,the
 crowds would never let them4 ,it seemed
 to the people as if the ,messiah might 
have come at last4  ,but something had  
to be done1 the priests and the rulers  

said4 ,the week was going by4 ,the      
,feast of the ,passover was nearly      
there4  ,we shall have to do away with  
,jesus quietly1 someone said4  ,yes1 the
 others agreed1 we can't wait till the  
day of the ,passover4 ,if we should do  
anything to him on that day1 there would
 be a riot4  ,they were at their wits'  
end to know how to get rid of ,jesus4   
,the craftiest men in ,jerusalem could  
not think what to do4  ,there was a     
knock at the door4 ,it was one of       
,jesus' twelve disciples1 who had come  
to see the priests and rulers4  ,his    
name8 ,his name was ,judas ,iscariot4   
,what will you give me1 ,judas said1 if 
,i turn ,jesus over to you8  ,the       
priests and rulers could hardly believe 
their ears4  ,thirty pieces of silver   
you shall have1 they cried1 if you give 
us ,jesus6  ,so for thirty pieces of    
silver ,judas agreed to show them where 
,jesus was1 at some time when there was 
no one around but the twelve disciples4 
,send soldiers when ,i tell you1 ,judas 

said4 ,the other disciples will all be  
there1 and the soldiers won't know which
 man to take4 ,but ,i will go up to     
,jesus and kiss him4 ,the man ,i kiss   
will be the one you want4  ,some dark   
night soon1 a quiet place with no one   
around to see--and nobody would have to 
worry about ,jesus of ,nazareth any     
more6  ,illustration     #ac4 ,the ,last
 ,night   ,it was ,thursday4 ,on ,friday
 afternoon the lambs would be killed for
 the ,passover1 and on ,friday evening  
all good ,jews would sit down to eat the
 lambs at the ,passover feast4 ,the     
disciples wondered where ,jesus was     
planning to celebrate the feast with    
them4  ,but ,jesus did not wait until   
,friday to have a meal with all his     
disciples4 ,on ,thursday he sent two of 
them into ,jerusalem from ,bethany4 ,he 
told them the name of the man to whom   
they were to go4  ,go to this man1 said 
,jesus1 and tell him that ,i said the   
time has come4 ,he will show you where  
we are going to have supper tonight4    

,then you can get the supper ready4     
,that evening ,jesus and the twelve     
disciples met together at the house in  
,jerusalem4 ,on the second floor there  
was a room1 where food was spread upon  
the table4  ,as they were eating supper1
 ,jesus suddenly spoke4  ,one of you is 
a traitor6  ,illustration  ,everyone    
stopped eating4 ,and each one of the    
twelve disciples thought of his own     
sins4 ,each one wondered if he were     
loyal enough to ,jesus4 ,each one cried 
out3  ,master1 is it ,i8  ,jesus only   
answered3  ,it is one of you twelve men1
 eating with me now4 ,it would have been
 better for that traitor if he had never
 been born6  ,a moment later ,judas     
,iscariot slipped quietly out of the    
door4 ,the other disciples did not know 
where he had gone4  ,jesus spoke again3 
,i wanted so much to eat the ,passover  
feast with you this year1 before ,i     
suffer4 ,but ,i shall not eat it again  
with you until a better day1 when we    
shall all be together once more4  ,he   

took up a piece of bread1 and said a    
prayer of thanks to ,god4 ,then he broke
 the bread1 and passed the pieces among 
the disciples--only eleven of them now4 
,he said words that they did not        
understand4  ,take and eat this4 ,this  
is my body4  ,he took a cup of wine1 and
 once more he gave thanks4 ,then he     
passed the cup among the disciples1     
saying3  ,drink--all of you--drink of   
this wine4 ,it is my blood1 which ,i am 
going to shed so that the sins of many  
people may be forgiven4 ,and in the days
 to come1 do this same thing often1     
always remembering me4  ,then they sang 
a hymn together and walked out into the 
night air and went up the ,mount of     
,olives4  ,as they walked1 ,jesus said  
to the disciples3  ,you will all desert 
me tonight4 ,for it is written in the   
,scriptures that when something happens 
to the shepherd the sheep will go away  
in all directions4 ,however1 ,i shall   
meet you again4  ,peter spoke up1 and   
said bravely1  ,even if everyone else   

deserts you1 ,i will not6  ,jesus       
answered3 ,before the rooster crows at  
sunrise to tell you that morning has    
come1 you will have said three times    
that you do not even know me4  ,but     
,peter cried out that even if he died   
for it he would be true to ,jesus4 ,and 
all the other disciples said the same4  
,presently they came to a grove called  
,gethsemane4 ,it was late4 ,jesus said  
to the disciples1  ,sit here1 while ,i  
go and pray4  ,illustration  ,he took   
only ,peter and ,james and ,john with   
him1 and went a little way apart from   
the rest4 ,to the three disciples he    
said3  ,i am greatly troubled4 ,i do not
 know how ,i can bear it any longer4    
,wait here1 and stay awake with me4     
,going a few steps farther on1 ,jesus   
fell on his knees and began to pray     
aloud3  ,o my ,father1 if it is         
possible1 take this cup away2 do not let
 these things happen to me6 ,yet not my 
will1 but thine1 be done4  ,when he had 
prayed this way1 he came back to ,peter 

and ,james and ,john4 ,all three were   
fast asleep4 ,jesus woke ,peter up1 and 
said3  ,what6 ,couldn't you stay with me
 for one short hour8 ,stay awake and    
pray4 ,pray for yourselves4 ,you are    
going to need strength4 ,you are not so 
strong as you want to be4  ,he left them
 again1 and once more he fell on his    
knees and prayed1  ,o my ,father1 if ,i 
must suffer these things1 thy will be   
done4  ,when he returned1 the disciples 
again were sleeping4 ,they were too     
tired to stay awake4  ,a third time he  
went apart from them and prayed4 ,he    
prayed in the same words he had used    
before4 ,and suddenly he began to feel  
stronger4 ,he rose from his knees at    
last1 and came back to the disciples4   
,his voice broke in upon their sleep3   
,are you still sleeping8 ,well1 you've  
slept long enough6 ,my time is up4 ,i am
 going to be turned over to sinners now6
 ,get up6 ,look1 the traitor is coming6 
,while he was still speaking1 a crowd of
 soldiers carrying swords and clubs     

burst into the grove4 ,judas ,iscariot  
was leading them4 ,judas ran to ,jesus  
and kissed him1 saying1  ,hail1 ,master6
  ,jesus answered1 ,well1 friend--what  
have you come to do8  ,then a band of   
men laid their hands on ,jesus1 and held
 him so that he could not escape4       
,peter was wide-awake by now4 ,he had   
brought a sword with him4 ,pulling it   
out1 he cut off the ear of a man in the 
crowd4  ,jesus said to ,peter3 ,put your
 sword away4 ,my ,father gave me these  
things to suffer4 ,he would save me now 
if ,i asked him4 ,but that is not the   
way it is to be4  ,then ,jesus turned to
 the crowd of soldiers1 and said3  ,have
 you come to arrest me with swords and  
clubs1 as though ,i were a robber8      
,every day ,i was in the ,temple        
teaching1 and you could have taken me   
then1 but you never laid a hand on me4  
,but this is what the ,scriptures said  
would happen to the ,messiah4  ,the     
disciples could stand no more4 ,they    
left ,jesus standing there1 and in      

terror they fled away4  ,illustration   
,illustration     #ad4 ,the ,last ,day  
,the soldiers bound ,jesus and led him  
back to ,jerusalem4 ,they took him to   
the palace of the high priest4 ,all the 
chief priests and rulers were gathered  
there in a council meeting4  ,the       
council had already decided that ,jesus 
would have to die1 but it was hard to   
find a reason for killing him4 ,they had
 to prove that ,jesus had said or done  
something for which he could be put to  
death4 ,they found a great many people  
who came and told lies about ,jesus1 but
 no two of them told the same story4    
,at last the high priest1 whose name was
 ,caiaphas1 stood up and said to ,jesus3
  ,you hear all the things that are     
being said about you4 ,aren't you going 
to defend yourself8  ,jesus did not say 
a word4  ,the high priest spoke again3  
,in the name of the living ,god ,i ask  
you3 ,are you the ,christ--the          
,messiah--the ,son of ,god8  ,jesus     
answered3  ,you have said it4  ,that was

 all the council wanted to hear4        
,caiaphas tore his own clothes in anger1
 and shouted3  ,why do we need any more 
witnesses8 ,you have heard him say it   
with his own mouth4 ,he says he's ,god6 
,what do you think about it8  ,and the  
whole council answered1  ,he ought to be
 put to death4  ,then some of them spat 
in his face4 ,they covered his eyes1 and
 slapped him1 and shouted3  ,if you were
 the ,messiah1 you would know who hit   
you6 ,tell us1 you ,messiah you--tell us
 who hit you6  ,meanwhile1 in another   
room of the palace1 there stood a       
disciple who was losing whatever faith  
he had once had4 ,it was ,peter4 ,one of
 the other disciples1 who knew the high 
priest1 had gone ahead1 and he had told 
the maid to let ,peter in4  ,the maid   
looked at ,peter and said1 ,you were    
with ,jesus1 weren't you8  ,i don't know
 what you're talking about1 said ,peter4
  ,the night was cool1 and the servants 
of the high priest were standing around 
a fire they had made to keep themselves 

warm4 ,peter went over and began to warm
 himself too4 ,somebody else said to    
him1  ,you are one of ,jesus' disciples4
  ,peter's faith was all gone4  ,man1 he
 said1 ,i certainly am not6  ,but after 
a while another person spoke up and     
said3  ,of course you are one of ,jesus'
 disciples4 ,you are from ,galilee4 ,we 
can tell from the way you talk4  ,peter 
began to curse and swear1 saying1 ,i    
don't even know this ,jesus that you are
 talking about6  ,at that moment the    
rooster began to crow4 ,at the same time
 ,jesus passed by the doorway1 and      
looked at ,peter4  ,peter remembered    
what ,jesus had said1 ,before the       
rooster crows1 you will three times say 
that you do not know me4  ,peter went   
out of the palace1 and wept bitterly4   
,the great council of the ,jews might   
say that a man deserved to die1 but they
 could not put anyone to death4 ,only   
the ,roman governor could do that4  ,the
 ,roman governor1 whose name was        
,pontius ,pilate1 was in ,jerusalem for 

the ,passover4 ,as soon as it was       
daylight1 the council took ,jesus over  
to ,pilate's palace4  ,when ,judas      
,iscariot saw what was happening1 he    
suddenly realized what he had done4 ,he 
came to the chief priests1 and brought  
them back the thirty pieces of silver   
they had given him for turning traitor4 
,he cried out3  ,i have sinned6 ,i      
betrayed a man who never did any wrong6 
,the chief priests shrugged their       
shoulders4  ,that's nothing to us1 they 
said4 ,take your money and go6  ,but    
,judas threw the money down on the floor
 and ran out4 ,he took a rope1 and found
 a tree1 and hanged himself1 for1 after 
betraying ,jesus1 he could not bear to  
live4  ,meanwhile ,jesus was standing   
before ,pilate4 ,the council had told   
,pilate that ,jesus was claiming to be  
the ,king of the ,jews4 ,they said that 
he was stirring up the whole country    
against ,caesar4 ,they thought that     
,pilate would put him to death for that1
 because the ,romans would be afraid    

that ,jesus would lead a revolt against 
the ,roman government4  ,pilate said to 
,jesus1  ,well1 are you the ,king of the
 ,jews8  ,jesus answered simply1  ,you  
have said it4  ,then the priests and    
rulers burst out with all kinds of evil 
stories about ,jesus4  ,pilate spoke to 
,jesus again1 and said3  ,aren't you    
going to say anything8 ,listen to what  
they are saying about you6  ,but ,jesus 
did not speak4 ,pilate was astonished4  
,he could see that the only reason the  
council had brought ,jesus to him was   
that they were jealous of ,jesus and    
hated him4  ,by now a large crowd had   
gathered to watch the trial4 ,many of   
the people in it had been ,jesus'       
followers1 but they followed him no     
longer4 ,when they saw ,jesus being     
tried like a criminal they decided that 
their priests and rulers had been right 
all along4 ,they began to talk against  
,jesus1 among themselves4  ,pilate      
wondered how he could let ,jesus go4    
,suddenly he remembered a ,jewish       

custom3 every ,passover a prisoner was  
set free4  ,illustration  ,pilate said3 
,every year at this time ,i set a       
prisoner free4 ,now you can have your   
choice4 ,you know we have a man named   
,barabbas in jail--he's the fellow that 
started a rebellion a little while ago4 
,we were going to crucify him4 ,and now 
here is ,jesus4 ,which one shall ,i let 
go8 ,barabbas the murderer or ,jesus who
 is called the ,christ8  ,a great shout 
went up1  ,barabbas6  ,pilate did not   
know what to do now4 ,he spoke again to 
the crowd1  ,well1 what shall ,i do to  
,jesus who is called the ,christ8       
,again there was a great shout3         
,crucify him6 ,hang him up on a cross   
till he is dead6  ,everyone seemed to be
 against ,jesus now4 ,however1 ,pilate  
tried once more4  ,but1 he protested1 ,i
 can't find that he has been guilty of  
any crime6  ,the ,jewish rulers replied1
 ,we have a law which says he ought to  
die because he pretends to be the ,son  
of ,god4  ,pilate was worried now4 ,he  

spoke to ,jesus again1 and again ,jesus 
did not answer4  ,aren't you going to   
speak to me8 ,pilate asked4 ,don't you  
know that ,i can crucify you or let you 
go8  ,jesus answered1 ,you wouldn't have
 any power over me unless ,god had given
 it to you4  ,pilate1 when he heard     
this1 tried once more to save ,jesus4   
,but the crowd was bigger1 and louder1  
and more bloodthirsty than ever4        
,everyone was shouting3  ,crucify6      
,crucify6  ,shall ,i crucify your king8 
asked ,pilate4  ,the chief priests of   
the ,jews1 who hated ,caesar1 answered1 
,we have no king except ,caesar6        
,pilate was too weak to hold out any    
longer4 ,he was beginning to wonder what
 ,caesar would say if he heard that     
,pilate refused to crucify a man who    
claimed to be king of the ,jews4  ,take 
him1 ,pilate said4 ,take him1 and       
crucify him4  ,but before the           
crucifixion came the scourging4 ,jesus  
was bound and beaten with long leather  
thongs which had cruel pieces of glass  

and lead fastened to them so that they  
would hurt all the more4 ,when that was 
over1 and his back was covered with cuts
 and bruises1 the ,roman soldiers who   
had scourged him wanted some more sport4
 ,they dressed ,jesus in a purple robe4 
,they made a wreath1 like the one that  
the ,roman emperor wore--only this one  
was made of thorns1 which stuck into    
,jesus' head so that the blood ran down 
his face4 ,some of the soldiers spat on 
him2 others made fun of him1 bowing down
 and saying1  ,hail1 king of the ,jews6 
,then the soldiers stripped the purple  
clothes off ,jesus1 and put his own     
clothes back on him1 and led him outside
 the city to be crucified4 ,he was too  
worn out to carry his own cross1 as     
those who were to be crucified usually  
did1 so the soldiers forced a man of    
,cyrene named ,simon to carry it for    
him4  ,illustration  ,when they reached 
a hill called ,calvary1 they laid the   
cross down on the ground1 and stripped  
,jesus of his clothes4 ,they put ,jesus 

on the cross1 and stretched out his     
arms4 ,they drove a nail through each   
hand1 and one through his feet1         
fastening him to the cross4 ,then they  
stood the cross upright1 and let ,jesus 
hang there4 ,on the top of it was       
written3 ,this is the ,king of the      
,jews4 ,there was a cross on either side
 of him1 with a thief hanging on each   
one4  ,jesus said1 ,father1 forgive     
them2 for they know not what they do4   
,the soldiers took his clothes1 and     
divided them up among themselves4 ,his  
coat was too good to tear up1 so they   
threw dice to see which one of them     
would get it4  ,jesus was offered a     
drink which would have made the pain    
easier to bear1 but he would not take   
it4 ,people passed to and fro in front  
of the cross1 shouting insults4  ,he    
saved others1 but he can't save himself4
 ,one of the thieves turned his head and
 called out to him angrily1  ,if you are
 the ,christ1 save yourself and us too6 
,but the other thief spoke out of his   

pain3  ,don't you fear ,god1 seeing that
 we are all going to die8 ,aren't you   
afraid to talk that way8 ,we deserve to 
die2 but this man never did anything    
wrong4  ,then1 turning to ,jesus1 he    
said1 ,lord1 remember me when you come  
to your ,kingdom4  ,jesus said to him1  
,i tell you1 today you will be with me  
in heaven4  ,near the cross stood       
,jesus' mother and other women who loved
 him4 ,john the disciple was also there4
 ,jesus called to his mother and ,john1 
and said3  ,mother1 from now on ,john   
will be your son4 ,john1 this is your   
mother4  ,john took ,jesus' mother to   
his own house4  ,the hours passed by4   
,it was about time for the ,passover    
lambs to be killed in the city4 ,clouds 
were beginning to cover the sun1 and it 
was growing dark although it was not yet
 night4  ,jesus cried out1  ,my ,god1 my
 ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8       
,there was a stir of interest in the    
crowd4 ,let's see what will happen now1 
they thought4  ,jesus was becoming      

weaker4 ,he said1 ,i am thirsty4  ,a    
soldier dipped a sponge in vinegar1 and 
held it up on a stick to ,jesus' lips so
 that he could drink4  ,jesus cried out 
once more3  ,it is finished4 ,father1   
into thy hands ,i give my spirit4  ,his 
head sank down upon his chest4 ,there   
was a loud sound like a clap of thunder1
 and the earth shook4  ,in the silence  
that followed1 a ,roman soldier spoke4  
,this man-- he said1 this man was indeed
 the ,son of ,god4  ,but ,jesus did not 
hear him4 ,for ,jesus was dead4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,when evening came1 a man named ,joseph 
of ,arimathaea went to see ,pilate4     
,joseph was a rich man1 and much        
respected2 and he had believed in       
,jesus4 ,he went secretly to ,pilate1   
for he was afraid of the ,jews4 ,he     
asked ,pilate if he might have ,jesus'  
body1 and ,pilate gave permission4      
,joseph came then to the cross1 and took
 down ,jesus' body4 ,he wrapped it in a 
white linen cloth1 and had it carried   

away to a tomb which had been dug out of
 the rock4 ,not until after the ,sabbath
 could ,jesus' family and friends come  
to put spices on the body of him whom   
they loved4  ,jesus' body was laid      
inside the tomb1 and a great stone was  
rolled against the door4  ,standing     
there was a woman named ,mary ,magdalene
 with ,mary the mother of ,jesus4 ,they 
watched while the body of ,jesus1 so    
dear to them1 was laid away to rest4    
,illustration     #ae4 ,the ,victorious 
,king   ,at sunrise the day following   
the ,sabbath1 three women came to the   
garden where ,jesus was buried4 ,they   
came1 as the custom was1 to put         
ointments and spices on the body of     
,jesus4  ,on the way they remembered    
that a great stone had been rolled      
against the door of the tomb4 ,they     
wondered how they would get in4  ,who   
will roll the stone away8 they asked    
each other4  ,but when they reached the 
tomb1 they found that the stone had been
 rolled back4 ,someone had been there   

before them2 the door was open4  ,the   
women went through the door of the tomb4
 ,a young man in white clothes was      
sitting on one side4 ,seeing their      
amazement1 the young man spoke3  ,do not
 be surprised4 ,you are looking for     
,jesus of ,nazareth1 who was crucified4 
,he is not here4 ,he is risen from the  
dead4 ,look6 ,there is the place where  
he was6  ,they looked1 and they saw that
 his body was no longer there4  ,the    
young man went on1 ,go quickly1 and tell
 this to his disciples3 ',jesus is      
alive4'  ,the women ran out of the tomb1
 trembling with fright and with         
surprise4 ,one of the women was ,mary   
,magdalene4 ,as she ran1 she saw two of 
the disciples coming1 ,john and ,peter4 
,she cried out to them3  ,someone has   
taken ,jesus' body out of the tomb4 ,we 
don't know where they have put it6      
,john and ,peter began to run toward the
 tomb4 ,john ran faster1 and got there  
first4 ,he looked through the door1 and 
there he saw the white cloths that      

,jesus' body had been wrapped in1 but   
there was no body in them any longer4   
,peter caught up to ,john1 and ran right
 into the tomb4 ,he too saw the folded  
cloths4 ,john and ,peter went away to   
their homes1 not knowing what to think4 
,meanwhile ,mary ,magdalene had come    
back4 ,she stood in the garden near the 
tomb1 weeping as though her heart would 
break4 ,she turned around1 and saw that 
a man was standing near her4 ,he spoke  
to her1 and said3  ,why are you crying8 
,for whom are you looking8  ,mary       
thought that the man must be the        
gardener4 ,through her tears she said3  
,sir1 if you have carried away the body 
of my ,lord1 tell me where you have laid
 him1 and ,i will go and take him away4 
,the man said softly1  ,mary6  ,she     
looked again4 ,she knew that voice4 ,it 
was ,jesus--,jesus calling her name6    
,she cried out1  ,master6  ,she moved as
 though to take hold of him4 ,jesus     
spoke again4 ,it was really he4  ,do not
 try to hold me here4 ,i am going to my 

,father in heaven4 ,but now go and tell 
that to the disciples4 ,tell them that  
,i am going to my ,father4  ,and ,mary  
went and told the disciples1  ,i have   
seen the ,lord6         99       99     
99       99       99  ,afterward1 no one
 could ever remember clearly all that   
happened on that day4 ,no one knew what 
to make of it all4 ,no one knew whether 
to believe that ,jesus was really alive4
  ,late that afternoon1 two disciples   
were walking along the road from        
,jerusalem to the village of ,emmaus4   
,they talked of what had happened on    
,friday1 and now on ,sunday4 ,as they   
were talking1 a stranger joined them4   
,the stranger said1  ,what is it that   
you are talking about8  ,illustration   
,the disciples stopped4 ,they were      
almost too sad to speak any more1 but   
one of them answered1  ,are you the only
 visitor to ,jerusalem who doesn't know 
the things that have been happening     
there these last few days8  ,what       
things8 the stranger asked4             

,illustration  ,the disciples replied3  
,why1 all about ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,he
 was a great prophet and teacher4 ,the  
chief priests and the rulers had him    
crucified4 ,we had hoped that he was the
 ,messiah1 who was going to save the    
,jewish people4 ,but now it is two days 
since he was put to death1 and nothing  
has happened--though there were some    
women who went to the tomb and came away
 saying that he was risen from the dead4
  ,the stranger said3  ,o you foolish   
men--so slow to believe what it says in 
the ,prophets6 ,don't you see that the  
,messiah had to suffer this way in order
 to be ,king8  ,then he explained       
everything in the ,scriptures about the 
,messiah4 ,he spoke to them of how the  
,prophet ,isaiah had said long ago3     
,he was despised and cast out by men2 a 
man of sorrows and      full of grief2  
and no one would look at him4 ,he was   
hurt1      because we were so sinful4   
,he suffered for our sakes4 ,he was     
killed like a lamb1 and he did not try  

to defend himself4  ,the stranger       
explained that ,isaiah was talking about
 the ,messiah4 ,the ,messiah was to be  
humble1 and sacrifice himself1 like one 
of the lambs at the ,passover feast4    
,isaiah meant that the only one who     
could help others was the one who was   
willing to suffer for others4 ,the      
,messiah never wanted to be a king like 
other kings4 ,he did not want to lord it
 over others4 ,he wanted to love them1  
and to give his life for them4  ,and so1
 the stranger went on1 you ought not to 
be sad1 thinking that ,jesus is not the 
,messiah after all4 ,jesus has lived and
 died as the ,scriptures said the       
,messiah would4 ,his love and his       
sufferings prove that he really is the  
,messiah4 ,and if his believers love one
 another1 as he has loved them1 and     
sacrifice themselves as he has done1    
they will have peace and joy4  ,as the  
three walked on1 the stranger talked4   
,when they reached ,emmaus1 they came to
 the home of one of the disciples4 ,they

 said to the stranger3  ,come in and    
stay with us4 ,it is evening4 ,the day  
is nearly over4  ,they went into the    
house4 ,someone lighted the lamps1 and  
food was placed before them4  ,the      
stranger took some bread1 and said a    
prayer of thanks1 and broke the bread4  
,the disciples had seen something like  
that before--breaking bread4 ,they      
looked up quickly4  ,why6 ,this man was 
not a stranger at all4 ,it was ,jesus4  
,they knew him as they looked into his  
face4 ,and as they looked1 he vanished  
out of their sight1 and they were alone 
again4  ,they said to each other1       
,didn't you have a strange feeling1 as  
he talked to us along the road and      
explained the ,scriptures8  ,although it
 was now night1 they returned to        
,jerusalem at once4 ,they found the     
other disciples and told their story4   
,the ,lord is indeed alive6 they said4  
,we knew him the moment he broke the    
bread6  ,illustration  ,while they were 
speaking1 ,jesus was suddenly among them

 once again4 ,jesus said1  ,peace be    
with you4  ,they were frightened then1  
but ,jesus spoke again4  ,do not be     
afraid1 he said4 ,i am not a spirit4    
,they still could hardly believe it4 ,it
 seemed too good to be true4 ,and while 
they stood there1 not daring to believe 
that ,jesus was alive1 he said1  ,have  
you anything here to eat8  ,they set a  
piece of broiled fish before him1 and   
,jesus sat down to supper4              
,illustration  ,illustration  ,one of   
the disciples was not there when ,jesus 
appeared to the others4 ,his name was   
,thomas4 ,and no matter what the others 
said1 ,thomas could not believe that    
,jesus was alive again4  ,unless1 he    
said1 ,i see in his hands the marks that
 the nails made when they crucified him1
 and unless ,i put my finger into those 
marks1 ,i will not believe4  ,eight days
 later the disciples were all together4 
,this time ,thomas was with the others4 
,the doors were shut4  ,suddenly ,jesus 
appeared again1 and said as he had said 

before1  ,peace be with you4  ,then     
,jesus turned to ,thomas1 and said1     
,put your finger into the nail holes in 
my hand1 and doubt no more1 but believe 
in me6  ,thomas fell down on his knees4 
,he cried out1 ,my ,lord and my ,god6   
,jesus said to him3  ,you believe in me 
because you have seen me with your own  
eyes4 ,it is still better when people   
believe even though they have not seen  
me4  ,after this the disciples saw      
,jesus many times and at many places4   
,but a day came at last after which they
 did not see him on earth again4  ,on   
this day ,jesus appeared to them outside
 ,jerusalem1 and said3  ,all power has  
been given to me in heaven and earth4 ,i
 am ,lord and ,king of all men4 ,go and 
tell people of every nation about me1 so
 that they will believe in me4 ,baptize 
everybody in my name4 ,teach them       
everything that ,i have taught you4 ,you
 will not be alone1 for although you do 
not see me1 ,i shall be with you always4
  ,then ,jesus said to them3 ,wait a    

little while4 ,wait in ,jerusalem1 and  
someday soon you will know that the time
 has come to go out and preach4 ,god    
will give you the power to make other   
people believe in me as their ,saviour4 
,you shall tell about me in ,jerusalem1 
and in the country all around2 in       
,samaria1 and in the farthest parts of  
the earth4  ,he lifted up his hands1 and
 blessed them4 ,and as he blessed them1 
a cloud covered him1 and they did not   
see him any more4  ,jesus had gone home 
to his ,father4  ,illustration          
,illustration  ,they stared up into the 
sky1 where he seemed to have gone4 ,as  
they looked1 they heard voices saying3  
,you men of ,galilee1 why do you stand  
looking up into the sky8 ,the ,lord     
,jesus will come again6  ,then they     
remembered that they had work to do     
before they again would see ,jesus4     
,they had to go and preach1 as ,jesus   
had told them4 ,they had to tell about  
him to all people everywhere4  ,they    
walked back into ,jerusalem4 ,they had  

to wait2 but now they were not waiting  
for ,christ the ,saviour to come4 ,they 
were waiting only for the sign that     
would tell them it was time to go out   
and preach that ,christ had already     
come4         99       99       99      
99       99  ,the ,passover was finished
 for another year1 and the farmers of   
,palestine had work to do4 ,the warm    
spring weather spread over the land1 and
 the wheat was growing in the fields and
 on the hillsides4 ,farmers reaped their
 crops1 and gathered in the grain1 and  
got ready for another feast at          
,jerusalem4 ,for when the wheat was     
gathered1 it was time to go and give    
thanks to ,god for the harvest1 at the  
,feast of ,pentecost4  ,the disciples   
waited while the weeks of spring went   
by4 ,every day they went to the ,temple 
and praised ,god for his goodness1      
because they knew that ,christ had come4
  ,seven weeks passed by4 ,the hot sun  
ripened the crops1 and the farmers cut  
their grain4 ,the ,day of ,pentecost    

came around1 and the streets of         
,jerusalem were thronged again4 ,there  
were men there from near and far1 from  
every country of which anyone had ever  
heard4 ,the harvest was over1 and the   
feast was on6  ,that morning the        
disciples were all together when they   
heard the sound4 ,it was a sound like   
the rushing wind1 bringing messages from
 ,god4 ,they saw a vision too1 and what 
they saw seemed like tongues of fire1   
coming down to each one of them so that 
all could speak what ,god wanted them to
 say4  ,the disciples went out and began
 to speak4 ,everyone who heard them     
understood what they were saying4       
,excitement went through the city4      
,this is strange6 the people said4 ,we  
have come from near and far4 ,we speak  
many different languages4 ,yet when     
these men tell us about the wonderful   
things that ,god has done1 we understand
 what they are telling us4 ,what is it  
that has happened8  ,peter stood up     
beside the other disciples1 and boldly  

raised his voice3  ,listen to me1       
everyone who is here at ,jerusalem6 ,you
 have read in the ,scriptures how ,god  
said that he would send his ,holy       
,spirit to his people4 ,that is what has
 happened6 ,the time has come to preach 
to you6 ,therefore1 listen to my words4 
,god sent ,jesus of ,nazareth to you1   
and he did many wonderful things among  
you1 which you saw for yourselves4 ,god 
let you take him and put him to death   
with your own wicked hands4 ,but it was 
not possible for him to be held forever 
by death4 ,god has raised him up from   
the dead1 and we have seen it6 ,he is   
,king2 and he has given us the power to 
tell you about him1 and you can hear    
what we are telling you4 ,let everybody 
know this for a fact3 this very ,jesus  
whom you crucified is ,lord and ,christ6
  ,and when the people heard these      
words1 they were greatly troubled4      
,what shall we do8 they cried4  ,peter  
answered3  ,repent6 ,give up your sins1 
and begin a new life6 ,believe in ,jesus

 ,christ1 and let us baptize you in his 
name4 ,then your sins will be forgiven1 
and he will send his ,holy ,spirit to   
change you6  ,many were glad when they  
heard this1 and they were baptized in   
,jesus' name4 ,that very day about three
 thousand people became believers and   
followers of ,christ4 ,they joined with 
those who had been disciples before1    
praying together1 and sharing with each 
other everything they had4 ,jesus had a 
,church1 which believed that he was     
,christ the ,saviour4  ,every day many  
more were added to the ,church4 ,every  
day the ,church of ,jesus ,christ grew  
stronger4  ,it grew like the grainfields
 in the spring4  ,illustration          
99       99       99       99       99  
,,scripture ,,references   ,page        
,,chapter #b #ag             ,luke      
#b3a-bj #bb             ,matt4 #b3a-ab  
#bf             ,luke #b3ba-ce #bh      
,matt4 #b3ac-bc  ,,chapter #c #cd       
,ex4 #ab3a-db #ce             ,ps4      
#aah3bi #ce             ,deut4 #af3a-g  

#cf             ,luke #b3da1 #db #ci    
,ps4 #abb3a1 #b1 #f #dc                 
,luke #ah3aj1 #aa #dd             ,luke 
#b3da-eb  ,,chapter #d #dg              
,matt4 #c3a-i #di             ,john     
#a3ai-bg #ea             ,matt4 #c3ac-ae
 #eb             ,john #a3bi-cd #ec     
,matt4 #d3a-aa #ef             ,matt4   
#d3ag #eg             ,john #a3ce-da #eg
             ,matt4 #d3ah-bb #ei        
,mark #b3ac-ag #ei             ,matt4   
#i3i-ac #fj             ,mark #b3ae-ai  
,,chapter #e #fb             ,matt4     
#e3dc-dh #fc             ,matt4 #f3ae   
#fc             ,matt4 #e3da #fd        
,luke #f3bj-bc #fe             ,matt4   
#e3aa1 #ab #fe             ,luke        
#af3ai-ba #ff             ,luke #f3bd-bf
 #ff             ,matt4 #f3bd-cd #fh    
,matt4 #f3a-f #fi             ,matt4    
#g3ba-bc #fi             ,matt4 #g3bd-bi
 #gb             ,mark #a3ba-bh #gc     
,mark #a3bi-cd #gd             ,mark    
#a3ce-ci  ,,chapter #f #gg              
,luke #d3af-cj #ha             ,matt4   

#ab3df-ej #ha             ,mark #a3dj-de
 #hc             ,john #i3a-da #hc      
,mark #b3a-ab #hf             ,mark     
#b3bc-bh #hg             ,matt4 #ab3i-ad
 #hg             ,luke #f3f-ab          
,,chapter #g #ia             ,luke      
#g3cf-ej #ie             ,luke #ae3a-aj 
#ie             ,luke #ae3aa-cb #ih     
,matt4 #h3e-ac #ih             ,luke    
#g3b-aj #ajj            ,matt4 #ad3c1 #d
 #ajj            ,matt4 #aa3a-f #ajb    
,mark #f3ba-cb #ajd            ,luke    
#ac3ca1 #cb #ajd            ,luke       
#h3d-ae  ,,chapter #h #ajg              
,mark #d3ce-da #aaj            ,mark    
#e3a-bj #aac            ,mark #e3ba-dj  
#aaf            ,john #e3be #aag        
,mark #e3da-dc  ,,chapter #i #aah       
,matt4 #aj3a-ae #aai            ,luke   
#i3aj-ag #aai            ,john #f3a-ac  
#abc            ,john #f3ae-ea #abe     
,matt4 #af3ac-ai #abg            ,matt4 
#af3bj-be #abg            ,mark #i3b-i  
,,chapter #aj #abi            ,luke     
#i3eg-fb #acj            ,john #f3ff-ga 

#aca            ,luke #aa3a-d #aca      
,matt4 #f3i-ac #aca            ,luke    
#aa3e-aj #acb            ,luke #aj3be-cg
 #acd            ,luke #ab3ac-ba #ace   
,matt4 #ai3af-bb #ace            ,luke  
#ah3ah-bc #acg            ,luke         
#ah3bd-cj #acg            ,luke #ai3a-aj
  ,,chapter #aa #ada            ,ps4    
#abb3a1 #f #ada            ,ps4 #ajf3a;b
 #adb            ,matt4 #bf3f-ac #adb   
,john #ab3a-h #adc            ,luke     
#i3di1 #ej #add            ,mark        
#i3cc-ce #add            ,luke #bb3     
#bd-bg #add            ,matt4 #ai3ac-ae 
#ade            ,matt4 #ah3ba1 #bb #ade 
,luke #ag3e1 #f #adg            ,mark   
#aa3a-c #adg            ,zech4 #i3i     
,,chapter #ab #adh            ,mark     
#aa3d-aa #adh            ,matt4 #ba3f-aa
 #aeb            ,mark #aa3ae-ag #aeb   
,john #b3ae #aec            ,mark       
#aa3bg-cc #aed            ,mark         
#ab3ac-ag #aee            ,mark         
#ab3ch-dj #aee            ,matt4        
#bc3bg-cc #aee            ,mark         

#ab3da-dd #aef            ,matt4        
#be3ca-df #aeg            ,matt4 #bf3c-e
 #aei            ,matt4 #bf3ad-af       
,,chapter #ac #afj            ,mark     
#ad3ab-ae #afj            ,john #ac3a   
#afj            ,mark #ad3ag-ba #afa    
,luke #bb3ae-bj #afa            ,mark   
#ad3bb-bf #afa            ,i ,cor4      
#aa3bc-be #afb            ,mark         
#ad3bg-ca #afb            ,matt4        
#bf3cf-df #afd            ,matt4        
#bf3dg-ef  ,,chapter #ad #afe           
,matt4 #bf3eg-fh #aff            ,matt4 
#bf3fi-ge #aff            ,luke         
#bb3ef-fb #afg            ,matt4 #bg3a-e
 #afh            ,mark #ae3a-ac #afh    
,matt4 #bg3aa-ah1 #bj-bb #agj           
,john #ai3d-af #aga            ,mark    
#ae3ae-ba #agb            ,matt4        
#bg3cc-dc #agb            ,luke         
#bc3cc-ch #agc            ,luke         
#bc3ci-dc #agc            ,john #ai3bf1 
#bg #agc            ,matt4 #bg3de-ed    
#agc            ,luke #bc3dd-di #agc    
,john #ai3bh-cj #agd            ,mark   

#ae3db-dg  ,,chapter #ae #age           
,mark #af3a-g #age            ,matt4    
#bh3a-g #agf            ,john #bj3a-aj  
#agf            ,john #bj3aa-ah #agg    
,luke #bd3ac-cb #aha            ,luke   
#bd3cc-dc #ahd            ,john         
#bj3bd-bi #ahe            ,matt4        
#bh3af-bj #ahe            ,luke         
#bd3di-ea #ahe            ,acts #a3h1 #i
 #ahg            ,acts #a3aj-ab #ahh    
,acts #b3a-dg         99       99       
99       99       99