Tag: greed

Episode NT28 – The Last Supper

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 22 and John chapter 13

The Last Supper

As the Passover celebration drew closer, the Chief Priests and teachers of the Law tried to find a plan to murder Jesus away from the eyes of the crowd. For if the crowd saw them acting against Jesus, they were terrified it would start a riot!

It was at this time that Satan, the devil, entered into Judas Iscariot who was one of Jesus’ disciples. It was Judas who’d objected to Mary pouring the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet because he’d wanted to sell it and steal the money for himself. And so Judas, knowing that the chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted Jesus out of the way when the crowd wasn’t around, went to discuss with them the best way to betray Jesus. The chief Priests were delighted to find that one of Jesus’ inner circle, one of His closest friends, was ready to help them and promised him a reward. So Judas began watching for an opportunity to betray Jesus and have Him arrested when the crowds weren’t around.

And so the Passover festival arrived and Jesus sent Peter and John on ahead to make preparations for their celebrations saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together’.

‘What’re we supposed to do?’ they asked. ‘Where do you want us to go?’

‘As soon as you enter the city, you’ll see something unusual,’ Jesus told them, ‘A man carrying a water jar on his head (it was normally a woman’s job to carry water). This man will say hello to you. Follow him to the house he goes to. When you get there, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, ‘Where’s the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ The owner of the house will show you a large upstairs room already set up. That’s the place for our celebration – go ahead and prepare the meal there.’ So Peter and John did what Jesus asked and found everything exactly as He said.

When the time arrived for the meal, Jesus and His disciples reclined together at the table. Jesus already knew that the Father had put everything under His authority, and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He did something that surprised and even shocked His disciples. As they watched, Jesus got up from the table, took off His outer robe and wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and then wipe them with the towel! This was the job of the lowest servant in a house – to wash the feet of guests! No self-respecting man would do such a job – it was degrading slaves’ work! The roads at that time were dusty and dirty and because people only wore sandals, when a traveller came to your house their feet would be dirty from the road, and so the least important servant or slave would be expected to wash the visitors’ feet. And now Jesus, their Master, their Lord, was washing their feet! It wouldn’t have entered their heads to even think about washing someone else’s feet, and yet here was Jesus doing the work of a lowly slave! They couldn’t believe their eyes!

So when Peter’s turn came he said, ‘Lord! Are you going to wash my feet as well?’

As Jesus knelt down to wash Peter’s feet He said, ‘You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but later you’ll understand.’

‘No way!’ said Peter, unable to cope with the thought of Jesus, His Lord – the Messiah, doing the work of a slave. ‘You’ll never wash my feet!’

‘If I don’t wash you Peter,’ Jesus said, patiently kneeling by Peter’s feet, ‘Then you won’t belong to me.’

Still Peter struggled to understand. ‘Then Lord,’ he exclaimed, ‘Wash my hands and head as well, not just my feet.’

Jesus looked up at Peter, ‘A person who’s already had a bath doesn’t need to wash all over again, he only needs to wash his feet to be entirely clean. And you are clean, although that isn’t true of everyone here.’ Jesus already knew that Judas was going to betray Him.

After washing their feet, Jesus put His robe back on and asked, ‘Do you understand what I’ve just done? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and that’s right because it’s true. But now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I’ve given you an example to follow, so do as I have done to you. (P) Don’t you understand that a servant isn’t greater than his Master? Nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. So now you know these things make sure you do them, because that is the path to blessing.’ (PAUSE)

‘I have longed and longed for this hour to come,’ He continued. ‘I have been anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. Because you see, I won’t eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the Kingdom of God.’

Then Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after thanking God for it, He broke it into pieces and gave it to His disciples. ‘This is my body, given for you. Break bread together to remember me,’ He said.

After that He took a cup of wine, thanked God for it and said, ‘Take this wine and share it among you. This is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out to forgive the sins of many. I won’t drink wine again until the Kingdom of God comes.’ (PAUSE)

After this Jesus was greatly troubled and exclaimed, ‘One of you will betray me!’

The disciples didn’t know what to say and started looking at each other, wondering who Jesus was talking about. Then Simon Peter motioned to John who was reclining at Jesus’ side to find out who Jesus meant. Leaning towards Jesus, John asked, ‘Lord, who’re you talking about?’

‘It’s the one who I give this piece of bread dipped in sauce too,’ Jesus replied. And taking a piece of bread, He dipped it in some sauce and gave it to Judas Iscariot and said to him, ‘What you’re planning to do, go and do it quickly.’ No one else at the table understood what Jesus meant, thinking perhaps that Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or something. But after Jesus had said this, Judas got up and left, and it was night!

Episode 14 – Jacob the liar

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 27 verses 1 – 41

Jacob the liar

It wasn’t long before the whole family knew what’d happened between Esau and Jacob, how Jacob had tricked Esau out of his birthright for a bowl of red lentil stew! But it didn’t change the way their parents felt. Isaac still wanted his favourite Esau, the great hunter, to be head of the family – for no other reason than that he liked the food Esau caught. And Rebekah wanted her favourite, Jacob to be the head. Things weren’t looking good; they were a family at war!

A while later, when Isaac was older and his eyesight had almost failed, he decided it was time to pass on the blessing of God to his children. Normally, the head of the family would have called a gathering of family members, and with them all present to witness the event, he would have publicly blessed his children for all to see… kind of like reading your will – but before you’ve died.

But you see – Isaac knew all about the prophecy Rebekah’d had when she’d asked the Lord about her pregnancy… he knew that the Lord had said the older son would serve the younger son. He also knew of the time Jacob had tricked Esau out of his birthright for a bowl of red lentil stew… that Esau had given up his birthright with a solemn promise. And yet, even though Isaac knew all these things, he was still determined to do what he wanted and pass the blessing onto Esau. So, without calling a family meeting, in fact, without telling anyone at all what he intended to do, he called Esau in for a private chat.

But even as he made his plans, he couldn’t get his mind off his stomach! ‘Now Esau,’ he started. ‘ I’m getting to be an old man, I could die any day! So I want you to do something for me. I want you to get your bow and arrows and go out and catch something for me to eat. Bring it back and prepare a meal for me – just the way I like it. And then, when you’ve done all that and I’ve had my meal, I’ll give you my blessing, the blessing that belongs to my first born son.’

Isaac was trying to go directly against what God had said! Not only that, he was also trying to ignore the solemn promise Esau had given – that the birthright would belong to Jacob! And Esau was no better! Ignoring his own promise to Jacob, he ran off to get his bow and arrows, anxious to take the blessing for himself!

But what they didn’t realise as they hatched their little plot together, was that Rebekah had overheard the whole thing! And she had no intention of letting it happen. (P) As soon as Esau left for the hunt she ran to find Jacob. ‘Jacob, I overheard your father talking to Esau. He’s sent him off to catch some wild animal to make him a tasty meal. After that, he plans to bless Esau in the Lord’s presence before he dies! Now listen and do exactly as I tell you. Go to the flock of goats and bring me two fine young goats. When you’ve done that, I’ll prepare a meal – just the way your father likes it. Your father can’t see very well, so when you take the food to him, pretending to be Esau, he’ll bless you instead of Esau.’

Oh dear, Isaac was planning to do something he shouldn’t with Esau agreeing to his evil plan, and now Rebekah and Jacob were planning to trick Isaac! Why no one talked to the Lord about it all and asked Him for help we’ll never know. And one thing you can be sure of when people try to trick each other is that no good’ll come of it!

However, Jacob had seen a flaw in his mother’s plan. ‘But mum,’ he said. ‘What if dad touches me for some reason? I’m not all hairy like Esau, and when he finds out that I’m trying to deceive him, he’ll curse me instead of blessing me!’

‘Let the curse fall on me, my son.’ Rebekah said, ‘just go and get the goats (P) quickly.’

While the goat stew was cooking, Rebekah took some strips of goatskin and made a hairy covering for Jacobs’s arms and hands. She also took another strip and put it around his neck. Then she made Jacob put on some of Esau’s clothes. Her plan was almost ready. So when she’d prepared the stew, with a rich mouth-watering smell, along with some freshly baked bread, she gave them to Jacob to take to his father. The deception was complete!

‘Father,’ said Jacob, trying to sound as much like Esau as he could.

‘Yes,’ said Isaac. ‘Who is it – Esau or Jacob?’

‘It’s me, Esau, your eldest son,’ he lied, ‘I’ve been hunting and made you some stew, just the way you like. Sit up and eat, then you can give me your blessing.’

‘But how were you able to catch an animal so fast son?’ Isaac asked.

‘Oh, the Lord your God put it right in my path father – I couldn’t miss it!’ Jacob lied – again.

‘Come here Esau,’ Isaac said, a little suspiciously. ‘I want to touch you so that I can be sure it’s really you.’ So Jacob went to his father who touched the goatskin on Jacob’s arm. ‘Well,’ he said to himself. ‘The voice’s Jacob’s, but the hands are all hairy like Esau’s!’ Then out loud he said, ‘Are you really Esau?’

‘Yes of course I am,’ lied Jacob.

And then, because he could think of nothing else except the lovely meal prepared for him, Isaac said. ‘Ok, bring me my meal (licks lips) and after I’ve eaten it I’ll give you my blessing. (Smacks lips)’

So Jacob took the meal over to his father and waited while he watched the old man greedily eat up his meal without even realising that it wasn’t made from wild animal at all, but from goats! However, Isaac was still a little unsure if the person in the room with him was really Esau and not Jacob, so after he’d finished eating he called him over again. ‘Come here boy and give your old father a kiss.’ As Jacob came across, Isaac caught the smell of Esau’s clothes that Jacob was wearing. It was enough to finally convince him. ‘That’s a good smell,’ he said. ‘The smell of the open fields that the Lord God has blessed.’ And then he started to bless his son.

‘May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and a good harvest of grain and wine.’

‘May many nations become your servants.’

‘May you be master of your brothers, and may all your mother’s sons bow low before you.’

 ‘All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed.’

It was a close-run thing. Because as Jacob left his father, having received the blessing, Esau returned. Thankfully he didn’t see Jacob and got on preparing the meal for his father. When he’d finished he strode into his father’s tent. ‘Right, here I am with this wonderful wild game stew you wanted. Sit up and eat so that you can give me your blessing.’

Isaac was spooked. ‘Who are you?’ He asked in a quavering voice.

‘It’s me of course, Esau, your eldest son. Who else would it be?’

Isaac began trembling uncontrollably. ‘Then who was just in here serving me food? I’ve eaten already and I blessed that person with a blessing that can never be undone!’

It took a while for Esau to realise what’d happened. But when he realised that Jacob had tricked him again, he began to cry out loud. ‘Oh Father, bless me too!’

 ‘Your brother’s tricked me. He’s taken away your blessing,’ said Isaac.

Esau: ‘No wonder his name’s Jacob – the deceiver. He’s deceived me twice. Once when he tricked me into selling my birthright and – and now he’s stolen my blessing. (P) Oh father, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?’

But Isaac knew that he’d been beaten, and he also knew that it was what the Lord’d said would happen all those years ago when Rebekah went to talk to him about the children in her womb. ‘I – I have made Jacob your master. I have made all his brothers his servants and I have blessed him with grain and wine… what else is there left to bless you with?’

‘Oh please father, please – there must be some blessing for me too?’ Then Esau fell to his knees crying bitterly.

‘All I can say is this,’ Isaac continued. ‘You will live off the land and what it gives. And you will live by the sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will make yourself free.’

After that, Esau hated his brother Jacob and waited for an opportunity to murder him.

Episode 2 – The fall – How it all went wrong

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – Old Testament

Based on Genesis chapter 3

How it all went wrong

God had finished His work of creation, He’d made the grass and trees, the birds and animals and the insects and fish. But most important of all, he’d made people, the first man Adam, and the first woman Eve.

Adam & Eve’s job was to look after the world that God had made. It was all so good and perfect, every day God Himself would come and walk and talk with Adam and Eve in a garden that He’d planted for them – the Garden of Eden. And when they heard Him in the garden they’d run to be with Him. And they loved to be with God and talk with Him about all that they were doing. Everything was perfect, everything was just how it was supposed to be (P) but it wasn’t going to last.

In the Garden of Eden, God had planted a tree, called ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. And He told Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit from that tree they would – die!

It seemed strange to them, the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ was fine to look at and its fruit was as good as any other, and yet they were forbidden to even try it?

And anyway, what was – death? Adam and his wife couldn’t really understand properly – because there was no death in the world. They just knew it wasn’t what God wanted and so – they left it alone. Anyway, there were plenty of other trees in the garden, apples and pears, bananas and oranges to name just a few – so it wasn’t hard to leave the tree alone. If God had said not to touch it, He must have a good reason (P) they may not understand but they knew they could trust God. (PAUSE)

God had put that tree in the garden because He wanted to know if the man and the woman really loved Him. (P) If they obeyed Him by not eating the forbidden fruit then He would know that they did love Him. But, if they disobeyed Him and ate the fruit, then He’d know that He wasn’t as important to them as He should be.

It was all so simple. Leave the fruit alone and all would be well. (P) But temptation often comes when you know something’s wrong!

Now, into the Garden of Eden, where the man and the women were living and working, there came an enemy of God. And disguising himself as a snake, he hid by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, whose fruit Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat. The enemy of God hated God and wanted to destroy all the good works God had done. He wanted to spoil God’s perfect creation, and had planned just how to do it! (PAUSE)

God knew what the enemy wanted to do, but He didn’t stop him being near the tree. He didn’t even stop the enemy from talking to the man and woman, because He wanted the man and woman to love Him by choosing to obey His simple command and not eat the fruit – no matter what anybody said to them! (P) All heaven waited to see what the man and woman would do. (PAUSE)

One day, as they worked in the garden, Adam and Eve came near to the place where the enemy, disguised as a snake, was waiting. As the woman was nearest to it, the snake started talking to her.

‘Hello,’ he said.

‘Hello,’ she replied.

‘This is a very beautiful garden you live in,’ continued the snake.

‘Thank you,’ replied the woman, ‘God planted it for us and asked us to look after it.’

 Then the crafty snake asked a question that started to twist what God had said. ‘Tell me, did God really say that you aren’t allowed to eat any of the fruit in the garden?’

‘Of course we can eat it,’ replied the woman. Then she pointed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ‘It’s only the fruit from that tree that we aren’t allowed to eat. God said that we shouldn’t eat it, or even touch it, or else we will – die!’

‘You won’t die,’ lied the snake. ‘God said you weren’t allowed to eat that fruit because He knows that when you do you’ll be able to understand everything and become as wise and as powerful as He is.’

‘Ooh’, said the woman. And as she looked up at the glistening fruit hanging temptingly on the tree, she saw how ripe it looked and thought how good it must be to eat. And as she stared at it, a longing came up inside her, and she could see herself, wise like God, powerful and majestic. Almost without noticing she was touching the fruit – and then she decided. She wanted to be like God. She wanted wisdom and power. And she was going to have it. The fruit pulled easily from the branch, she lifted it to her mouth and deliberately bit deeply into the ripe flesh. And then, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a cold triumphant look on her face, she walked over to where her husband, Adam, had been watching.

Why hadn’t he stopped her? Why hadn’t he just taken her by the hand and led her away, or reminded her once again of what God had told them?

But now it was too late for the woman, there she stood before him, with an expression on her face that he’d never seen before. In her hand she held the fruit, and her lips were stained from the juices. Adam watched wide-eyed as she raised her hand to him, offering him the remainder of the stolen fruit.

If only he’d said no! If only he’d been stronger. If only he’d remembered what God had said and – and – just run away. But like a fool, he took the ripe fruit and without hesitation bit deeply into it, dreaming of how he too might become wise and powerful, majestic and mighty like God Himself. (P)

At that very moment their minds and their hearts were changed. Up until then everything had been simple, but now, things were somehow different. The enemy disguised as a snake was laughing at them. How easy it had been to trick them, and now they would no longer be God’s friends, but his slaves!

And now, everything seemed complicated! They were naked! Why hadn’t that bothered them before? How could they possibly face God naked! How embarrassing! In a hurry they found some leaves and tried to make something to cover themselves up with, but before they’d managed to make it work properly, and to their horror, they heard God walking in the garden. What were they going to do? How could they face God now?

In their fear and confusion Adam and Eve hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden, unwilling to go near the one they’d always previously longed to be with. Instead of running to greet Him at the sound of His voice, they ran away in their shame – and hid! Oh how things had changed! (PAUSE)

So God called out to the man and woman, ‘Where are you?’

The man called back, ‘I heard you in the garden, and … and … well … I’m naked! I can’t come to you like this, it’s so embarrassing and you might be angry with me!’

‘Who told you that you were naked?’ asked God. ‘Have you eaten the fruit from the tree I told you not to eat from?’

‘Yes,’ admitted the man as they slowly came out from their hiding places. ‘But it wasn’t really my fault,’ he lied. ‘It was her fault,’ He pointed at the woman. ‘She gave it to me.’

God looked at the woman. ‘How could you do such a thing after I told you not to?’

‘It’s not really my fault,’ she lied. ‘The snake tricked me into eating it.’ (PAUSE)

Adam and Eve regretted that day for the rest of their lives, wishing that they’d listened to God and never disobeyed Him. But it was too late now, death had come into the world and it couldn’t be undone by anyone!

So what was the point in continuing? Why didn’t God end it all then? His own creation had chosen to reject Him. (P) But even before He’d made the world, He’d known that Adam and Eve would disobey Him. But He still loved them – that’s why He called out to them instead of destroying them. And, He was already working on His own plan, a plan made before the world had begun, that one day He would destroy the power of the enemy – death itself – so we could not only be His friends again, but His children.