Tag: Jesus

Episode NT6 – Water at a Wedding!

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on John chapter 1 verse 29 to chapter 2 verse 11

Water at a Wedding!

‘Look’, said John as Jesus walked towards him. ‘There’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I didn’t know He was the One, but my work of baptising people was to point to Him! You see, God told me that when I saw the Holy Spirit come down and rest upon someone, that person would be the One I was waiting for. I didn’t know it was Jesus until I saw it happen – the Spirit of God came down and rested on Him! He’s the One you’re looking for. He’s the One who’ll baptise with the Holy Spirit – I saw this happen to Jesus, so I can say with absolute certainty that He is the Son of God,’

Next day as John stood with two of his followers, Jesus walked by. ‘Look,’ said John. ‘The Lamb of God!’ At this, the two followers turned and started to follow Jesus. When Jesus looked round and saw them he asked, ‘What do you want?’

‘Teacher,’ they replied, ‘where’re you staying?’

‘Come and see,’ He replied. And they stayed with Him for the rest of the day. (PAUSE)

One of those two followers was a man named names Andrew who had a brother called Simon Peter. As soon as he could Andrew rushed off to find his brother. ‘Guess what?’ he said. ‘We’ve found the Messiah! Come on, come and meet Him.’ So Andrew took Simon to meet Jesus who looked closely at him. ‘You’re names Simon, son of John,’ He said. ‘But you will be called Peter.’

Next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and as he prepared to go He found Philip. ‘Come on,’ He said. ‘Come and be my disciple.’ And then, just like Andrew had before, Philip rushed off to find his friend Nathanael. ‘We’ve found the person Moses and all the prophets wrote about long long ago.’ He said, ‘His name’s Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth!’

‘Nazareth!’ Nathanael answered. ‘Nazareth? Surely nothing good can come from that place?’

‘Come and see for yourself,’ Philip answered, and took Nathanael to Jesus. And as they approached Jesus He looked at Nathanael and said, ‘Now here’s an honest man – a true son of Israel.’

This took Nathanael by surprise. ‘But you don’t know me.’ He replied.

‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip came to you.’ Jesus replied.

This was mind-blowing for Nathanael. How could Jesus have known about him if He wasn’t who Philip had just said He was, and so he spluttered out. ‘T-T- Teacher, you really are the Son of God – the king of Israel!’

Jesus smiled. ‘You believe that just because I told you I saw under the fig tree? Well, you’re going to see far greater things than that!’ He said. ‘One day you’ll see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man.’ (PAUSE)

Not long after this Jesus and His close followers, called His disciples, were invited to a wedding celebration in the small village of Cana. Mary, Jesus’ mother, was also there as a guest. Now, in those days wedding feasts could last anything up to a week – so they had to be planned well in advance – so the host didn’t run out of food and wine for his guests. To run out of things would be a great embarrassment to the bridegroom who’d find it hard to live down –a very bad start to your married life! Now, maybe they hadn’t counted on Jesus and His disciples turning up, or maybe they’d just made a terrible mistake! But whatever the cause, the wine supply began to run low and was in danger of running out completely!

And as it ran out, Mary called Jesus to one side for a chat. ‘Son, they’ve run out of wine!’

‘How does that concern you and me?’ He asked. ‘ My time hasn’t come yet.’ (P)

Mary new her son, and she knew that He could help. But Jesus wanted Mary to understand that the power God had given Him wasn’t simply to get His own family out of trouble. It was given to show people who He was and how much God loves them. But instead of getting cross and upset at His reply, Mary understood that she should leave it with Jesus and trust Him to do whatever was best and right. And so turning to the servants she said. ‘Whatever He tells you do, just go ahead and do it.’ And at that, she left.

Now, it was customary in those days for the people at the wedding feast to wash their hands before they ate. To do this properly, special stone jars, each capable of holding anything from 75 litres of water upwards, were made available to the guests. As there were lots of guests at the celebration, there were six of these stone jars standing close by. ‘Fill those jars with water.’ Jesus told the servants. And just as Mary had told them, the servants did as He asked, filling each to the brim.

When the jars had been filled Jesus called one of the servants over and said. ‘Now fill a cup from one of those jars and take it to the master of ceremonies.’

The servant wasn’t at all sure about this – he was going to give the most important person at the celebration – a cup of water! But because Mary had said to do it, and because there wasn’t anything else to serve, the servant dipped the cup into the filled stone jar and took it to the master of ceremonies.

‘Thank you,’ said the man as he took the cup. ‘I was wondering where all the wine had gone!’ (P) The servant didn’t say a word but stood there staring at the man as he put the cup to his lips and began to drink. And as he tasted the liquid, a look of surprise came over his face and then looking first at the servant and then at the contents of the cup, and then at the bridegroom, he called him over for a chat. ‘A word in year friend.’ He called.

When the bridegroom’d come over the master of ceremonies took him to one side. ‘Usually,’ he began. ‘A host will serve the best wine first – when it matters when everyone’s able to appreciate the taste. And then, when most people have had a few drinks and aren’t so able to notice the difference, the host brings out the cheaper wine. But not you! For reasons best known only to yourself you keep the finest wine until now!’

The servant could hardly believe his ears. The water that had been put into the stone jars had become wine! And not just any old wine, but the finest of all wines! And as Jesus’ disciples learned of this, they believed even more strongly that He was the Son of God.

Episode NT5 – Baptised and Tempted

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 3 verses 1 – 20 & Matthew chapter 3 verse 13 to chapter 4 verse 11

Baptised and Tempted

‘Who warned you – you brood of snakes? Who warned you about the coming judgement?’

Did he know who he was talking to? Had John gone completely out of his mind? He was calling the people of Israel – Jews – descendants of Abraham – a bunch of evil snakes!  This prophet, this man of the wilderness was certainly causing a stir! (PAUSE)

Just the look of John was enough to worry most people. His clothes were made of woven camel hair with a big leather belt around it all to hold it together! And he came out of the wilderness preaching … the Kingdom of Heaven was near.

‘Turn away from your evil deeds,’ he shouted. ‘And turn back to God before it’s too late! The Kingdom of Heaven is near.’

Just a short while before, this unusual man who had lived in the wilderness, eating locust and wild honey, had received a message from God. It was to time for him to start to warn the people to turn away from their evil ways and be baptised! But only non-Jews were baptised – to show that they had changed and wanted to become part of the Jewish people, Jews were already the people of God, weren’t they? Surely they didn’t need to be baptised?

‘Who warned you – you brood of snakes?’ John continued. ‘Who warned you of the coming judgement? Don’t just pretend to be holy, prove that you really are children of God by the way you live your lives. Show by your words and deeds that you have turned away from sin and turned back to God. And don’t think that you’re safe just because you happen to be Jews – descendants of Abraham! God could change these stones into children of Abraham if He wanted – just being born a Jew won’t keep you safe! For even now the axe of God’s judgement is poised, ready to blow, to cut at your roots! Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.’ When he talked about trees he was using it as an example of what would happen to the people, everyone who didn’t turn to God and live a good life would have to face terrible punishment!

As John preached, the people realised that something new was happening. Many years before a prophet called Isaiah had talked about John and written about him saying, ‘He is a voice shouting in the wilderness; ‘Prepare a pathway for the Lord’s coming! Make a straight road for Him!’’

So who was John? Could he be the Messiah himself? Was he the one they’d all been waiting for?

‘All those who turn away from their past self-centred lives and decide to live lives that please God, I baptise with water,’ John shouted. ‘But there is another person coming. And He is so much greater than me I’m not even worthy to be His slave. I baptise with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate out those who are truly children of God and those who only seem to be. Like a farmer separating the grains of wheat from the chaff they grew in, so He will separate those who love God and those who don’t. The one He will gather to Himself, but the other – like chaff – will be burnt with everlasting fire.’ So John was just a messenger – preparing the people for the coming Messiah. (PAUSE)

 One day as John was preaching, Jesus arrived to see him – and asked to be baptised! ‘Surely not!’ said John. ‘Surely you should be the one baptising me? You don’t need to be baptised, you haven’t committed any sin?’

But Jesus looked at John and said, ‘John, it must be done. I must do everything that’s right.’

Shaking his head in amazement, John took hold of Jesus and lowered Him down into the water and then back out again. And as He came up out of the water the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God, in the shape of a dove, descended and settled on Him. And as this happened so a voice from Heaven – the voice of God – thundered, ‘This is my beloved Son, I am fully pleased with Him.’ (PAUSE)

As all these wonderful things happened, the devil, or Satan – for that’s his name, listened and watched. He heard the words of God – that Jesus was His Son and that He was fully pleased with Him. And thought about how to attack Jesus and ruin God’s plans.

No sooner was Jesus out of the water, filled with the Holy Spirit and with His ears ringing with those amazing words of God, than the Holy Spirit led Him out alone into the wilderness. For now, He was to be tested – and Satan was waiting. (PAUSE)

For 40 day and 40 nights, Jesus ate nothing until he was very hungry. And it was at this point when Jesus must have been longing for food that the devil started his attack.

 ‘So you’re the Son of God are you?’ Started the devil. ‘You must be very hungry after those 40 days and 40 nights without food. Tell you what, why don’t you prove you’re the Son of God by turning those rocks over there into bread?’

It was very clever, Jesus was hungry and he surely wanted some bread to eat, but if He turned the rocks into bread, then He’d have stopped trusting God. Trusting – that no matter how hard things got, God was still in control and would look after Him. And so Jesus answered Satan with some words from the Bible. ‘No, I won’t do that!’ He said, ‘Because the Bible says, ‘People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.’

But the devil hadn’t finished. Taking Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem he used words from the Bible for his next attack! ‘If you are the Son of God, then jump off into the valley below – because the Bible says. ‘He will order His angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.’

Again very clever! Satan was trying to make Jesus do something to prove He was the Son of God. Because – if Jesus did jump He’d have proved that He didn’t believe the words that God had clearly spoken to Him just 40 days before. ‘This is my beloved Son…’

But Jesus did believe God and felt no need to put it to the test, because when you believe something you don’t need to test it! And so He answered the devil with another verse from the Bible. ‘The Bible also says,’ He told him, ‘Don’t put the Lord your God to the test!’

Lastly, the devil took Jesus to the peak of a high mountain and showed him the glory of the world and the nations. ‘This is mine,’ he said. ‘And I will give it all to you – all I ask is that you kneel down and worship me.’

The devil was offering Him a shortcut! An easy way out! Jesus could kind-of fulfil what He’d come to do in one simple step. There wouldn’t be any need to face pain, rejection and death. He could be Lord of the whole world with this one simple shortcut – just bow down and worship Satan. But even though it might seem to be an easy answer, the cost would be far too high, it would cost Him His relationship with His Father in heaven – and that was a price He would not pay. So for the third time, Jesus answered the devil with words from the Bible.

‘Get out of here, Satan!’ He said, ‘For the Bible says, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’

At this the devil left, waiting for another chance to attack Jesus.

Episode NT4 – Wise Men & Mortal Danger

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Matthew chapter 2

Wise Men & Mortal Danger

Many miles from Israel, in a land where people didn’t really know God properly, men gazed into the skies – trying to find meaning and guidance from the stars. In their ignorance of God they looked to the stars to find out His plans, and, even though God wouldn’t want us to do the same thing today, He was to have mercy of these ‘wise men’ of the eastern lands.

And as they turned their eyes to the heavens something new appeared in the night sky, a star they had never seen before. These men were men of learning and wisdom and spent many long hours trying to discover what this new star could mean. And as they tried to find out, so God Himself started to reveal to them what almost no one else knew. This star was a sign from God to guide these men, from a far away land, to find – a King! A newborn King. THE – newborn King of the Jews. Just how God revealed all this to them we don’t know, it was a miracle. God was leading men from far away, people who weren’t Jews and who some thought had no right to even know about the King of the Jews – to seek out and find Him!

Overjoyed with their discovery and certain that everyone in Israel must know about Him already, the wise men loaded their camels and set out to find the newborn King of the Jews. It was easy, all they had to do was follow the star. But as the men came to Israel, the star that had so clearly lead them this far – disappeared! What were they to do? Well, to them it was obvious, go and see the rulers in Jerusalem and ask them where He was and how they could find Him.

Meanwhile, without any knowledge of the newborn King, the present king of Israel, Herod, sat on his throne. Old and ill this evil man ruled with a rod of iron – no matter who came against him, even if it were his own sons, they were shown no mercy! His fear of losing his kingdom would make him fight to his last breath to hold on to what he’d taken – no matter how many lives it cost.

But as the wise men arrived and started to ask their questions, at first they were shocked that no one in Jerusalem knew anything about the newborn King! Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, why didn’t anyone know anything about this wonderful news? Why were they so ignorant? And so the wise men asked more and more people how they could find the newborn King. (P) Instantly Jerusalem was in uproar and it took no time at all for king Herod to hear of the strangers’ questions! And when he did, the evil old king was deeply troubled – who was this baby that would challenge him as king? (PAUSE) Could they be talking about the long-awaited Messiah? Quickly, he called his religious advisers and demanded that they tell him where the Messiah would be born.

‘Bethlehem,’ came the reply. ‘The prophet wrote many years ago; ‘O Bethlehem of Judah,

you aren’t just a lowly village, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ (PAUSE) So it was Bethlehem! Bethlehem, just a short journey south from Jerusalem would be where the baby King could be found.

With this information in hand, Herod hatched his plot. He called the wise men to a secret meeting and with all his evil cunning – he fixed a holy and sincere look on his face. ‘This is such wonderful news,’ he lied, ‘My people have been waiting so many years for the Messiah to be born, and I too wish to go and worship him. Tell me, how long ago did this star first appear in the sky?’ (P)

The wise men could never have known the pain that their answer was to bring. ‘The star first appeared 2 years ago,’ they replied.

Then Herod continued, ‘The birthplace of the Messiah is Bethlehem. Go there and make a careful search for the child. And when you’ve found Him, come back here and tell me where He is – so that I too can go and worship.’ His face and voice may have sounded sincere, but there was murder in Herod’s heart!

With this news, the wise men set off for Bethlehem – alone! All Jerusalem had been stirred by their enquires, and yet no one travelled to the next town to see the newborn Messiah. These wise men were truly wise, for they had travelled such a distance to seek the King of kings, and even though the star had disappeared, God had put it in their hearts to carry on looking – until they found Him. And as the wise men travelled, to their joy, the star that had led them before reappeared in the sky. Overjoyed at the return of the star, they followed it until it led them to the very house where the child was.

What must they have thought as they came to see the King of the Jews? The star had led them to the kind of house only poor people live in – this was no palace! But God makes no mistakes; He had sent the star to lead these men, men from a far off country – to find His Son. And even though He was found in a poor house, they knew God could be trusted. And so they entered the house where Mary and Jesus were and fell down and worshipped Him – worshipped the Messiah, the Saviour – the King of the Jews!

How God revealed so much to these men we’ll never know, for having worshipped the child, they opened their treasure chests and presented Him with three wonderful gifts. Gold – the gift for a King! Frankincense – burnt with a sweet smell to worship God. And Myrrh – used for burying the dead! For Jesus, God the Son – was the King who would one day die for us all. (P)

But by their very presence in Bethlehem, the wise men had put the child and His family in mortal danger! Herod had no intension of worshipping Jesus – he wanted Jesus dead! Herod had only one way of dealing with potential rivals – murder! And the wise men were due to return to Herod the very next day and tell him exactly where he could find the child! But that night as the wise men slept, God revealed to them in a dream that they mustn’t go back to Herod, but travel home by another road.

As soon as the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. ‘Hurry, get up and escape to Egypt with the child and His mother, for Herod is going to try and kill the child! Stay there until I tell you to return.’ So that very night they packed up what they could and hurried away to Egypt, staying there until Herod died!

When Herod realised he’d been outsmarted by the wise men he flew into a rage and ordered soldiers to go to Bethlehem at once and murder every baby boy aged 2 years and below – any child born since the time the star had first appeared! (P) What terrible pain his wicked cruelty caused. (PAUSE)

It wasn’t too long until the evil king Herod died, and when he had, the angel came once again to Joseph and said, ‘Go back to Israel with the child and His mother, the one who wanted to kill Him is now dead.’ So Joseph returned to Israel, but when he realised that Herod’s son Archelaus was now king he was badly frightened. And after another dream warning him to go to Galilee, the family settled in the small village of Nazareth.

Episode NT3 – The Shepherds & the Angels

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 2 verses 1 – 20

The Shepherds & the Angels

The last couple of days had been the most uncomfortable of Mary’s life. Not only was she heavily pregnant with the baby due any moment, but she’d also been forced to go on a long journey to Bethlehem with Joseph. The Emperor of Rome no less, had commanded that everyone return to their family home to be counted. Joseph was a descendent of the great king David, who originally came from Bethlehem, so, as the Roman Emperor had commanded – Mary and Joseph obeyed and travelled to Bethlehem!

It hadn’t helped that when they’d arrived at Bethlehem all the inns were full! Mercifully, one kind innkeeper let them stay in his stable out the back. It was a far from ideal place to have your first baby, but Mary wasn’t in any condition to argue!

Because no sooner had they arrived than the baby was born. Mary wrapped Him in strips of cloth, and laid Him down to sleep in the safest place she could think of – the animal’s feeding trough.

To be honest it was all pretty unremarkable. (P) But that all changed when later that night they had visitors with incredible stories of Angels! (PAUSE)

Out on the cold hills around Bethlehem the shepherds kept watch over their sheep. It wasn’t a very popular job being a shepherd. In fact most people looked down on shepherds these days, as they were about as low on the social scale as you could get! But they weren’t thinking about that as Zebedee told the other shepherds another one of his tall tales.

But just as Zebedee finished his story and lent forwards to throw another stick on the fire, suddenly an incredible and frightening light (if ever there was such a thing) shone all around them. The stick fell from Zebedee’s hand, and a look of sheer terror swept across his face.

The other shepherds saw his terror and turned to see what he was looking at. As they looked, they too froze in horror, for right before them stood a terrifying Angel. Frightening thoughts flashed through their minds and fear gripped at their hearts. But then the Angel spoke. ‘Don’t be afraid! For I bring wonderful and joyful news for you and for everyone. – The Saviour – yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born this very night in Bethlehem, the city of David!’

The Saviour? The Messiah? The people of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of year, and now this Angel was telling them, mere shepherds, that the Messiah had come! But how were they going to find Him in Bethlehem? Before they could ask, the Angel spoke again. ‘And this is how you will know who He is.’ They lent forward, not wanting to miss a word. ‘You will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth… and lying in an animal’s feeding trough.’

WHAT! In an animal’s feeding trough? Was he serious? Kings slept in royal palaces with royal beds and the finest quality sheets – they didn’t live with animals, get wrapped up in strips of clothe like poor people wrap their babies up with – and have an animals feeding trough as their bed! But how could they argue with this angel? Who could hear him and not believe every word he said?

And before they’d had time to think any more about it, an incredible sight opened before their eyes as 10 000 times 10 000 Angels – the armies of Heaven – filled the skies. Unable to hold back their joy any longer, the Angels sang in their delight, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to all those the Lord God favours.

It was incredible, wonderful, frightening and … and even more incredible. (P) But all too soon the Angels returned to heaven. (PAUSE) No one wanted to break the wonder of the moment, but after a while Zebedee said, ‘Come on then. Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this child, this wonderful thing the Lord’s told us about.’

And then, it was almost like a race – as they charged down to Bethlehem to see if what the Angel had said was true. And sure enough, there was the baby exactly as the Angel had said.

After seeing the baby, the shepherds told everyone they met about the incredible things that had happened that night, and what the angel had said about the child. Everyone who heard their story was amazed at what the shepherds had said. And as for the shepherds, they returned to their flocks, praising God for what the angel had told them and because they’d seen the baby for themselves. (P) And Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart, thinking about them often.

Episode NT2 – Jesus’ Birth Fortold

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 1 verses 26 – 80

Jesus Birth Foretold

What was she to think? This news was incredible! Amazing! Frightening! But how could it happen? She wasn’t even married and had never ‘been’ with any man? How could she have a baby? Gathering herself together, Mary spluttered out her question to the enormous and frightening angel who had just spoken to her. ‘But how can I have a baby? I’m not even married – I’m a virgin!’ (PAUSE)

In just a few moments – Mary’s life had been turned on its head. Just minuets before she’d been thinking about her engagement to Joseph and all they had to look forward too together. Joseph was a fine man, a carpenter who seemed to be doing very well, and although she was still young, Mary felt sure that all would be well. But now this – this angel – who suddenly appeared from nowhere, had changed everything! 

As Mary had been going about her normal jobs for the day, suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared. When Mary saw him, she didn’t know what to do or think! Terrified by his appearance, she watched opened mouth as he began to speak! ‘Greetings most favoured of women, the Lord is with you!’

What on earth did that mean? Why was he speaking to her? A no one from the backwater village of Nazareth in Galilee! Why was she favoured? Mary simply couldn’t understand! And then Gabriel spoke again. ‘”Don’t be frightened, Mary,” he said, “God’s decided to bless you! You’re going to become pregnant and have a son, and you’re to call him Jesus. He will be very great and called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over Israel forever – for his Kingdom will never end!”

And so Mary had asked her question, ‘But how can I have a baby? I’m not even married – I’m a virgin!’ And that’s also when Mary discovered just how special this baby was to be. As Gabriel explained, she realised that this child would not be like a normal baby who’s a completely new person, a mixture of their mum and dad. Nor was He to be some kind of terrible mixture of Mary and God (what a horrible thought that is)! (P) No, (P) this baby was to be no less than God Himself. But coming to be with us as a human being, just like you and me. The power of God the Father was going to overshadow her, God the Holy Spirit was going to rest upon her and the child that would be formed inside her was to be God the Son – the Son who had existed from eternity and who would continue to exist for ever and ever!

And not only that, this child would be the long awaited Messiah, the Saviour! No wonder the angel Gabriel had said she was the most favoured of women. Every Israelite woman who had every lived had hoped to be the mother of the Messiah, and now, completely unexpectedly, she was told that she was to be the one – the mother of the Messiah!

And, as if he couldn’t hold himself back, Gabriel continued with more wonderful news, this time about Elizabeth, Mary’s relative! ‘What’s more,’ He continued, ‘Elizabeth is now pregnant – in her old age! People used to say she was barren, that she couldn’t have children, but now she’s already six months pregnant! For with God, nothing is impossible.” (PAUSE)

This was the second time Gabriel had come to tell people about special babies, the first time was when he spoke to Zechariah about the birth of his son John. Zechariah hadn’t believed Gabriel, and, as punishment for not believing what the angel was telling him, he was made unable to hear or speak a word until all that the angel had promised came about. (P) So how would Mary respond? Would she believe him or not? (PAUSE)

Still shaken by all she’d seen, and almost overwhelmed by what the angel had said, Mary opened her mouth to speak. (P) ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ she started, ‘and I ‘m willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you’ve said – come true.’  – At that, the angel left.

Elizabeth lived some distance away in the hill country to the south, so Mary made her plans, and as soon as she could she arranged to go and see Elizabeth. A few days later Mary found herself at the door of Elizabeth’s house, and entering the house she called Elizabeth’s name. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s call, the baby inside Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in a loud voice she called out to Mary, ‘You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. What an honour, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! When you came in and called my name, the baby inside of me jumped for joy! You are blessed, and especially so because you believed that the Lord would do everything He said.” (P) Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months and then left just before Elizabeth’s baby was born. (PAUSE)

When everybody heard that the Lord had given Elizabeth a baby son in her old age, they rejoiced at how good the Lord was. (P) Now, the Jewish custom with baby boys is that when they’re 8 days old they have a special ceremony where the boy’s circumcised and given his name. Although people were rejoicing with Elizabeth over the birth of her son, many still felt sorry for her because of Zechariah’s problem – not being able to speak and hear. However, the ceremony went ahead as usual, except, that when the time came for the baby to be given his new name Elizabeth stopped them! The men present wanted to call the boy Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth wouldn’t let them, saying, ‘No! Don’t call him that! His name’s John!’ This didn’t please the men who felt it wasn’t proper for a woman to be deciding the name of her son. So they went over to Zechariah and made signs to him to ask him what the name of his son should be. Zechariah made signs back indicating that he wanted a writing table, and then, to everyone’s surprise he wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Instantly Zechariah could hear and speak again and began worshiping and praising God.

News of all that had happened in Zechariah’s household spread like wildfire around the whole region, and everyone who heard about it spent time thinking. ‘I wonder what this lad will become? He’s bound to become something important because the hand of the Lord’s on him in a special way.’

And so John grew up, becoming strong in spirit. And he lived out in the wilderness until the time came for him to start his public ministry.

‘As I look’ – a song

This felt like the right place to share.

Simon Faulks and I were at Moorlands College together way back when… And during that time we wrote and performed some songs together. Well, during this time of lockdown and restriction, we’ve reconnected to see if we can’t do some level of music from our separate locations and this is the first song.

It’s called ‘As I Look’ and imagines looking up at Jesus on the cross and catching His eye… I hope you enjoy it. More will follow – like it or not!

Oh, and if you want to understand the name ‘spellt ronge’ you’ll need to look at the website Simon has set up for the music as it helps explain it all! https://spellt-ronge.notashamed.co.uk/’

7 Sayings From the Cross

A story told from the perspective of the Roman soldier who crucified Jesus and saw Him die.

Music: ‘Bats’ by Phil Syonds – Partners in Rhyme, Inc From SmartSound

Photo by Francesco Alberti on Unsplash

 Full script and notes:

Seven Saying from the Cross – The Centurions Story

‘I’d seen men die before – lots of them coz it’s me job, I execute the ‘enemies of the state’. ‘Corse, ‘enemies of the state’s a cover all – a phrase to mean we execute anyone and everyone we don’t like. Rome rules – and seeing our power displayed in the bodies of the dead – tends to keep people in line.

But this one was different. The other two were just like everyone else we’d crucified. Pleading, panicking, promising, cursing and threatening as we nailed ‘em in place. But not this man Jesus.

When ‘e was passed on to us to crucify ‘ – already ‘e was in a bad state. ‘is back was more jelly than flesh ‘caz of the whipping the others ‘ad given ‘im and ‘e’d lost a lot of blood. They’d also rammed a crown on thick thorns on ‘is ‘ed which ‘ad the blood flowing down ‘is face. Honestly? It was pretty much a miracle ‘e was still alive for us to nail up there – but that said, ‘e was alive, ‘e knew what was ‘appening and spent the next 6 hours being the kind of person – I’d never met or seen before in all my life.

As I said, usually when we nail ‘em in place there’s screaming, crying, panicking, pleading – you know that kind of thing, but not this Jesus. Instead through the stress of it all, ‘e looks up at us and at the hate filled faces all-around – of people ‘ow seem to be loving every moment of ‘is suffering – and instead of cursing us all – ‘e calls out to ‘is ‘Father’! He calls, ‘Father, forgive ‘em because they don’t know what they’re doing.’

It took a moment to sink in, but then I realized that this ‘Father’ ‘e was talking to – was God. ‘e was pleading to God for God to forgive us! I’d never heard anything like it – forgiveness and no hate. I shook my head in wonder – and got on with ‘me job.

One of the ‘perks’ of the job is that whatever the ones we’re to crucify ‘av when they get to us, we get to keep. So ‘aving stripped them we got down to divide up their clothes between us – probably worth a few pennies. But this Jesus ‘ad a really nice garment, woven all in one piece and we didn’t see the point of running its value by ripping it up to share between ourselves, so we threw dice to see who’d get it. I guess it was my lucky day!

As I was smiling to myself at my good fortune I noticed Jesus once again. ‘e couldn’t care less about ‘is clothes, instead ‘e’s looking towards some people in the crowd. I turned to see who ‘e was looking at and there in the crowd were some people whose sadness seemed to flow from their faces. I guess it must ‘ave been ‘is family – some women and a man.

Now, once you’re on one of them crosses life aint to easy caz they’re designed to give maximum pain. You breath in ok, but to breath out you’ve got to push down on your feet – feet nailed in place. So breathing’s a bit of an issue – which also means speaking’s pretty tough. But Jesus sees these people and looks with such love towards one of the women – it didn’t take a genius to realise it was probably ‘is mother – and ‘e says. ‘Dear woman,’ then he indicates with ‘is head to the man standing near her and carries on. ‘here is your son’. Then ‘e turns ‘is eyes to the man – and with a knowing look ‘e says, ‘Here is your mother’. At that, the man moved next to the woman. Even as ‘e was dying, this Jesus was still looking after ‘is family!

Honestly, the next thing that happened ‘ad me shaking my ‘ed in disbelief. You see the level of hatred towards this Jesus bloke was off the chart – all kinds of well to do people kept coming by to shout all kinds of stuff at ‘im. Even the criminals on the other two crosses mocked ‘im – at least at first. But then one of those criminals quickly stopped ‘is mocking. Maybe ‘e heard what Jesus said to us and to ‘is mother, or maybe it was the hatred of the leaders – I don’t know, it’s beyond me. But for a while this other criminal just watched and listened then, ‘e seemed to just snap. The first criminal had been using ‘is energy up throwing hate at Jesus along with all the others. But then this second criminal takes a breath, pushes down on ‘is feet: – and almost as if ‘e doesn’t feel it ‘e shouts at the first criminal. ‘Don’t you fear God? We’ve been condemned the same as Him but we deserve it for all the things we’ve done. But this man’s innocent!’ That shut the other one up for a while. Then, this criminal turned as best ‘e could towards Jesus and pushing down once again so ‘e could speak ‘e asks, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’.

Kingdom? What Kingdom? ‘e seemed to think this Jesus was some kind of King? Maybe it was the sign the governor ‘ad ‘ad nailed on the cross above Jesus ’ed which read, ‘King of the Jews’. It was all a bit beyond me and I just snorted. Anyway, I knew what this man was like – scum, an’ ‘e was right, ‘e did deserve to be on that cross and there was no way I could see Jesus wanting to talk to the likes of ‘im.

But again, Jesus didn’t follow the rules. Instead, taking a breath and pushing down on ‘is own feet Jesus turned as best ‘e could towards that criminal and said, ‘I tell you the truth. Today you will be with me in the garden of delights.’

I stood there shaking my head – something was going on that was beyond my understanding. And, a change came over that criminal – or maybe I should say – something changed … intangible but real. But what really scared me was that I found I didn’t doubt what Jesus said.

Strange things happened from about midday. It was as if the sun didn’t want to shine anymore and darkness covered … everywhere from what I could tell. The hours ticked by with the three on their crosses unable to do much more than survive. But at about 3 in the afternoon the silence of slow death was suddenly shattered. Jesus cried out in a way that seemed impossible – and ‘e cried out in words that were in a language I didn’t know, but they were words from so deep inside ‘im it was as if the whole of Jesus sobbed them out – words of a broken heart. He cried out, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ Which I later found out meant, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’

Things were moving fast for Jesus, you could tell the end was close. Now, from hours of bleeding and dying on the cross, gently he said, ‘I’m thristy’. And someone lifted a sponge up to ‘im to take a drink.

When people die from crucifixion, usually it’s a quite affair as they expire – but as I said before, Jesus wasn’t following the rules because after ‘ed ‘ad a drink – it was as if there was a change. Moments before, it was as if ‘is heart was broken but then, with a power, a strength the likes of while ‘e shouldn’t really of ‘ad ‘e cries out. ‘It … is … FINSIHED’.

I didn’t know what was finished – but there was a new strength in ‘im – a joy of some kind – somehow whatever ‘e’d done or … or finished ‘ad changed … everything. Then once again in a loud voice – not a moan or a murmur like the other died. Clearly and for all to hear – ‘e cries out. ‘Father, into your hands I commend My Spirit’. Then it was as if ‘e dismissed ‘is spirit – and then ‘e was dead.

I saw it – I saw it all. And when ‘e died, a death the likes I’ve never seen before – I praised the God ‘e talked to – the God He called Father – and said, ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God.’

© Story Copyright Andrew Devis – June 13th 2016 – all rights reserved

NOTES: Here is a list of the sayings and where they can be found

While they were nailing his hands and feet to the cross, or a little later, when they were putting up the cross, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Touched by the repentant attitude and the faith of one of the thieves crucified with him, Jesus turned towards him and declared, “ I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Even while dying, Jesus was preoccupied with others. He thought of his mother, among others, and made arrangements to ensure that she would not lack anything. “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:2627)

After five and a half hours of agony, at the peak of his pain, the Lord cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

As he was on the point of dying, Jesus, with parched lips, cried out “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)

Just before giving up his spirit, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Usually a crucified person at the point of death did not have the strength to cry out but rendered his spirit with a moan. Jesus gave out a loud cry. His cry was not a cry of death but a cry of victory.

At the moment of rendering his spirit, Jesus opened his mouth again and cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) This prayer is an expression of total trust in God.

Music: ‘Bats’ by Phil Syonds – Partners in Rhyme, Inc From SmartSound

Photo by Francesco Alberti on Unsplash

The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus

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