Tag: Peter

Episode NT48 – Peter in Prison

Story 48 – Peter in Prison

Based on Acts chapter 12

Sometimes terrible things happen and we don’t know why, we just have to trust God that He knows, the situation isn’t out of His control and we can trust Him no matter how bad things get. And things were pretty bad.

You see, for some reason, King Herod Agrippa, the grandson of that awful King Herod the Great who’d wanted to kill the infant Jesus when he’d heard the ‘King of the Jews’ had been born in Bethlehem, got it into his head to follow his evil grandfather’s ways. He began to persecute the church, arresting some of the believers and causing them harm.

What we found particularly hard was what he did to James, John’s brother. Herod Agrippa had James killed with a sword, cutting off his head. It was one of those times when we just had to say to the Lord, ‘We don’t understand, but we do trust You’, as we mourned his death. But our enemies, the Jewish leaders, and many of the Jewish people who’d refused to accept that Jesus is the Messiah, were delighted when they heard that Herod had killed one of the apostles; one of those who’d lived with Jesus, walked and talked with Him and seen all the amazing things He’d done and heard all the wonderful words He’d spoken. A man, no less, who’d met the risen Lord Jesus and was a witness to His resurrection.

And, when Herod realised the Jews were happy that he’d had James killed, and because he needed the Jews to like him because of some political trouble he was having with Rome, he decided to do more terrible things to the church, to fight against it, just like Saul had done. So, he had me, Peter, arrested. He didn’t plan to give me a fair trial or allow me to put my own case forward. No, what he planned was a nice little show trial before I was to be publicly executed, no doubt to the delight of the Jews – because pleasing the Jews meant Rome was happy.

You’d have thought I’d have been terrified by the prospect of death as I lay chained to, not one, but two soldiers who slept in the cell with me – while more soldiers stayed on guard outside my cell. In fact, Herod had ordered four sets of four soldiers to guard me, to make sure no one could rescue me and that I couldn’t escape. But I had no plans to try and escape; in fact, I wasn’t terrified at all. You see Jesus Himself had told me that I would die a death that was anything but natural and maybe this was it? So, I had no need to worry, He was in control. And what made me even more certain was that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the church was praying for me, praying that the Lord would do … well, whatever the Lord felt was right. (PAUSE)

One of the things about being able to trust the Lord no matter how bad the situation is that you don’t have much problem going to sleep. So, the night before I was to be paraded before my enemies and put to death, I fell asleep knowing that, whatever happened, God was in control. There I was, sound asleep and chained between two guards, when I felt a sharp prod on my side. I opened my eyes to see what was happening. There was a really bright light in the cell and standing beside me was an angel from the Lord. Now, I ought to make it clear that I’d been so fast asleep, that I didn’t think I’d woken up properly! I thought it wasn’t real and must be some kind of vision from the Lord. Anyway, then the angel said to me, ‘Quick, get up!’ So I started to sit up, feeling extremely dopey. And, as I sat up, the chains that were holding me to my captors just fell off while they stayed sound asleep! And then the angel, with great patience, started to organise me. ‘Now get dressed,’ he said, and I got dressed. ‘Put your sandals on,’ he said, and I put my sandals on. ‘Now put your coat on.’ he continued. So I picked up my coat and put it on, and then he said, ‘Follow me.’ So I started to follow him, still not sure if I was dreaming!

Well, we walked straight out of the cell, past the first set of guards and then past the second set until we came to the iron gate leading to the street. Even though we’d passed all those people, no one said a word. Maybe they were fast asleep, I don’t know. But, whatever the reason, they just didn’t stop us. Anyway, when we reached the iron gate that led to the street, it just opened – all by itself! So we went through and started walking down an alley, with me still thinking it was all a vision when, as suddenly as he’d arrived, the angel left me!

It took a moment or two for it to all sink in … but then I realised that it wasn’t a dream, I even said it out loud – ‘It’s really true! The Lord’s sent His angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jews were hoping to do to me!’ Then I stopped for a moment to think. What should I do, where should I go? Well, the obvious place to go was where many of us had met and, quite possibly, the place where they’d be meeting again, at Marys, John Mark’s mother’s house. So, keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen, I made my way to the house and started knocking as gently as I could, all the while calling out quietly for someone to answer. As I’d thought, the house was full of people who’d gathered to pray for me, so it was Rhoda, a servant girl, who came to see who was knocking at the door and calling out quietly at that time of night.

Bless her! Rhoda knew me quite well and so the first thing she did as she came to the door was recognise my voice! I’m not quite sure what came over her; maybe it was because of the intensity of the prayer that was going on for me, or the shock of hearing my voice but, whatever it was, instead of actually opening the door and letting me in, Rhoda rushed into the middle of the prayer meeting and told everyone, ‘Peter’s here, he’s standing outside at the gate!’

And then, from what they told me later, this group of believers who were all praying for my release from prison and looked for God to do a miracle, didn’t believe Rhoda when she told them that God had actually done the miracle they were praying for – and set me free. Instead they told her she was out of her mind! But, when she carried on insisting it was me, while I was still standing outside the door trying to get in, instead of opening the door, they started to say it was my guardian angel or something. And, while all this was happening and they were having their discussions about whether I was really me or an angel, I just stood there gently knocking on the door, hoping that eventually someone, anyone, would let me in!

Thankfully, after their theological debate, it occurred to someone to actually open the door and settle the issue once and for all. And there I was! They were all amazed and started to express it a little too loudly for my liking. ‘Sssh!’ I said, motioning with my hands to quieten them down. I didn’t want to wake the neighbours and get them all suspicious and find myself back in prison again! I told them all that had happened to me and how the Lord had let me out of prison. And then I added, ‘Be sure you tell James, the brother of Jesus,’ (who was the head of the church in Jerusalem at that time) ‘and the other disciples what’s happened.’ And, with that, I went away and found a far safer hiding place. (PAUSE)

Well, you can imagine what happened at the prison the following morning, when the guards woke up from what was probably a very, very deep sleep to find that I’d gone. Herod Agrippa was furious and ordered a thorough search to be made for me and, of course, they didn’t find me. After that, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death! (PAUSE)

No doubt, after all this kerfuffle, Herod felt like he needed a break because, soon after, he went up north to stay at Caesarea for a while.

As it happened, Herod was having a nasty dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But it wasn’t in their interests to have Herod angry at them because their cities were dependent upon the area Herod ruled for their food supply. So they came up with a plan to win over Herod’s favour. Making friends with Blastus who was Herod’s personal assistant, they managed to get an appointment to see the man himself.

When the day for their audience with Herod arrived, Herod sat on his throne wearing his special royal robes and started to tell them exactly what he thought about the situation. As I said before, the people from Tyre and Sidon HAD to make peace with Herod whether they liked it or not. After all, they couldn’t live without food. So, when Herod finished his speech, the people stood up together and clapped enthusiastically, shouting, ‘This is the voice of a god, not a man!’

Of course, Herod should have told the people not to be silly, that he was a man just like them. But, instead, Herod simply smiled to himself and said nothing at all! Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a terrible sickness because he accepted the worship of the people instead of giving the glory to God. So, God punished this man who would not give glory to God and he was consumed with worms and died.

But, even after all the trouble Herod’d had caused, God continued to show He was in control as the Good News spread rapidly, and there were many new believers.

Episode NT46 – Peter and Cornelius

Story 46 – Peter and Cornelius

Based on Acts chapter 10 verses 1 to chapter 11 verse 18

In Caesarea, a Roman officer called Cornelius, a captain in the Italian Regiment, knelt in prayer. He and all his family feared God and tried to live good lives. He regularly gave to those in need and prayed to God. But today, as he knelt to pray at the usual time of three in the afternoon, suddenly, he saw a vision of an angel, sent from God. Filled with terror, Cornelius listened as the angel delivered his message!

‘Cornelius,’ the angel said.

Hardly able to breathe, Cornelius replied, ‘Yes, sir, what do you want?’

‘Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! Now, send some men down to Joppa to find a man there called Simon who is also known as Peter. This man is staying with Simon the tanner who lives near the sea. When the men get there, tell them to ask Peter to come and visit you.’

No sooner had the angel gone than Cornelius was up on his feet rushing to find his servants. ‘Quick!’ he called to two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his personal attendants. ‘You must come and hear what’s just happened – it’s incredible!’ Then he told them about the angel and the message he’d been given and the precise instructions about who to ask for and where they’d find him. ‘Now, go and do what the angel said,’ Cornelius instructed, ‘and ask this Peter to come back here and tell us whatever it is God wants us to know.’

The three of them hurriedly got together all they’d need for the two day journey to Joppa and set off, not really knowing what to expect! (PAUSE)

The next day, as the three men approached Joppa and started to ask directions to Simon the tanner’s house down by the shore, Peter, without knowing anything about the people looking for him, went up onto the flat roof of the house to spend some time in prayer.

Now, it was about midday when Peter went up to the roof to pray, and he realised he was hungry! So, after asking for some food, Peter sat waiting for it to be prepared and fell into a trance. And, while in this trance, something started to happen. What appeared to be a very large sheet was lowered down from heaven by its four corners. And, as Peter looked inside the sheet, he saw that it was filled with all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds! And then, a voice spoke to him. ‘Peter,’ it said, ‘get up and kill and eat them!’

Peter couldn’t believe what he was hearing! The most important thing to a Jew was to remain ceremonially clean – to not mix or even associate with Gentiles (who are people who aren’t Jews) and especially not to eat animals that the Jewish law said were unclean (even though Jesus Himself had said that it wasn’t food that made a man unclean but his own evil thoughts and desires). So Peter replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! In all my life I haven’t eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish law!’

But then the voice spoke again, a note of rebuke in it, ‘If God says something’s clean, don’t call it unclean!’

Three times the vision was repeated and then the sheet was pulled up once again into heaven.

What on earth was all that about? As Peter sat there puzzling over what it all meant, the three men sent by Cornelius arrived at the gate of the house and asked if this was the place where Simon who was also known as Peter was staying. As they asked, and as Peter continued to try and understand this strange vision, the Holy Spirit spoke to him. ‘Three men have come looking for you,’ He said. ‘I have sent these men, so don’t hesitate to go with them.’

At that, Peter got up, went downstairs and found the three men. ‘I’m the man you’re looking for,’ he told them. ‘But what’s this all about? Why’ve you come looking for me?’

‘We’ve been sent by Cornelius, the Roman officer,’ they replied. ‘He is a righteous, God-fearing man who’s respected by all the Jews. And we’ve come looking for you because a holy angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that you could give him a message.’

Now what was Peter to do? It was too late to start their journey straight away and so these men needed a place to stay for the night. But these men weren’t Jews, they were Gentiles – even if God-fearing ones! And to mix with Gentiles would make him unclean! But he’d already started to realise that God’s ways were different from the normal Jewish ways, as he himself had seen with the Samaritans and by the fact that he was staying with a tanner who worked with dead animals! Jews thought these people where unclean but Peter had accepted the invitation to stay with Simon the tanner. However, the difference this time was that the people standing at the door weren’t Jewish in any way while the Samaritans were a mixture – part Jew you could say, although considered unclean by the Jews. As for Simon the tanner, he was still a Jew… But, Peter couldn’t ignore that the Holy Spirit had said that He’d sent these men to Peter! And God had just shown him the vision and told him not to call anything He’d made ‘unclean’. So Peter did something … well, unheard of for a Jew… he invited the men into the house to stay as his guests for the night. (PAUSE)

The next morning they set off for Caesarea. Six other Jewish disciples went with Peter and the three men Cornelius had sent, and they all arrived at Cornelius’ house later on the following day. But that had been enough time for Peter to start to understand what God had been saying to him – to see that the vision wasn’t really about animals but about people, people who would become followers of Jesus. He began to understand that maybe, perhaps, God was going to call not just Jews to become His Holy people. So far it had been only Jews and the half-Jew Samaritans who’d become disciples, but could it be that He was going to call Gentiles as well? People who had no Jewish background or ancestry at all?

When they arrived, Peter found Cornelius waiting for him, together with all his relatives and close friends. And then Peter did something he’d never done before – he entered the house of a Gentile. But no sooner had he done so than Cornelius fell to the floor at his feet to worship him!

‘Get up!’ Peter said, grabbing Cornelius by the arm and hastily pulling him back to his feet. ‘I’m just a human being like you!’ So Cornelius got up and they went in to find a crowd of people waiting for them.

When he saw the crowd, Peter said, ‘You all know it’s against the Jewish law for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as unclean or impure. So, when I was sent for, I came without raising any objections. Now, please will you tell me why you sent for me?’ So Cornelius told Peter all that had happened four days ago when he’d seen the vision of the angel and about the message he’d been given.

Then Peter replied, ‘I can see very clearly that God hasn’t got favourites. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what’s right. You will have heard about the Good News for the Jewish people that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all. And you know all that’s happened beginning in Galilee after John the Baptist began preaching and how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went around doing good and healing all those who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.’

‘Well, we, His apostles, are witnesses of all He did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. How they put Him to death on a tree, how God raised Him to life on the third day after His death and allowed Him to be seen, not by everyone, but by witnesses that God had already chosen. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach everywhere and testify that Jesus is the One God’s chosen to be judge of all – both the living and the dead. He’s the One all the prophets spoke about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.’

While Peter was still speaking to them, the Holy Spirit fell upon everyone who heard the message. The Jewish believers couldn’t believe what was happening – that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on those who weren’t Jews! But it was true, as they heard these Gentiles speaking in tongues and praising God just like they’d done on the day of Pentecost!

Peter looked around at the wonderful sight before him and, seeing that God had moved to save and anoint these Gentiles with the Holy Spirit and so bring them into church, he said, ‘Can anyone object to these people being baptised now that they’ve received the Holy Spirit in just the same way we did?’ Without waiting for a reply he ordered that they should all be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. And afterwards, to prove that Peter really had understood that salvation was for everyone, not just Jews, and that he must not call anyone unclean, when Cornelius asked him to stay with them, Peter happily stayed in that Gentile household for several days. (PAUSE)

Of course, the news of what’d happened spread like wildfire! And what Peter had done – actually inviting Gentiles into a house as his guests and then, even worse, going into the house of a Gentile – was reported to the other believers in Judea and, when he arrived back in Jerusalem, some of the Jewish believers criticised his behaviour. ‘You actually went into the home of Gentiles and even shared a meal with them!’ they protested.

So Peter told them exactly what’d happened to him and how it’d all come to pass. ‘I was in Joppa and, one day as I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. When I looked inside the sheet, it was full of all sorts of small animals, wild animals, reptiles and birds that we aren’t allowed to eat! Then, I heard a voice speaking to me. It said, ‘Peter, get up; kill and eat!’’

‘I was horrified! So I replied, ‘Never, Lord! I’ve never eaten anything forbidden by the Jewish law!’’

‘But the voice from heaven replied to me, ‘If God says something’s clean, don’t call it unclean!’ This happened three times before the sheet was taken back up into heaven. Just then, three men arrived at the house. As they arrived, the Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry about them being Gentiles. These six brothers came with me and we soon arrived at the home of the man who’d sent for us. Well, he told us how an angel had appeared to him and told him to send messengers to Joppa to find me, saying, ‘He will tell you how you and all your household will be saved!’’

‘So I began telling them the Good News but, as I was telling them, the Holy Spirit fell on them just like He fell on us at the beginning. It was at this point that I thought about the Lord’s words when He said, ‘John baptised with water, but you’re going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ Anyway, since God had given these Gentiles the same gift He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to argue about it?’

When they heard all that Peter had to say, there were no more objections as all their questions were answered. In fact, their concern turned to worship and praise of God as they said, ‘Wow, God’s even given the Gentiles the privilege of turning from their sins and receiving eternal life.’

Episode NT45 – Peter, Aeneas & Tabitha

Story 45 – Peter, Aeneas & Tabitha

Based on Acts chapter 9 verses 32 – 43

So the church had a period of peace and growth throughout the region. And as it grew, Peter left Jerusalem and started an itinerant ministry, going from place to place encouraging the believers and telling those who hadn’t heard – about Jesus.

And, as he moved around, he eventually came to a place called Lydda, at the intersection of a couple of extremely important trade routes, up to the north west of Israel. His purpose for coming was to encourage and build up the believers there. However, while he was in Lydda, he came across a man named Aeneas who was paralysed – and had been for at least 8 years.

Maybe Peter was reminded of another paralysed man confined to his mattress? It had been during the time when Jesus was with them and He’d been teaching in a house jam-packed to overflowing. The friends of the paralysed man had been so insistent that he reached Jesus that they’d literally taken part of the roof off in order to lower their friend down in front of Jesus so that Jesus could heal him. It hadn’t gone quite as they’d expected because, instead of instantly curing their friend as they’d hoped, they’d watched as Jesus had not offered healing – but forgiveness – because Jesus had seen past the paralysis to the real deep-felt need of the man.

Then, to prove to the doubting Jewish leaders present that He had the authority to forgive sins, Jesus had gone on to heal the man – much to the delight of his friends – and told him to pick up his mat and go home! An instant healing, undeniable and truly miraculous.

Now here was poor Aeneas who, like that other man, was confined to his mattress. He’d been like if for 8 years with no hope whatsoever of freedom or change. No doubt filled with compassion for Aeneas, Peter looked at him and spoke to him directly, in very much the same way Jesus had spoken directly to that other paralytic once the issue of sin had been sorted. But Peter didn’t rely on his own power or for a moment think he could change Aeneas’ condition. Instead, Peter pointed to the real source of power by saying, ‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you.’

Quite what Aeneas felt I don’t know, but Peter wasn’t happy to leave it at that. Jesus hadn’t healed the paralytic lowered through the roof and then left him on his mat! Instead, Jesus had commanded the man to respond to the healing – an undeniable proof of the miracle that had taken place as well as being undeniable proof of Jesus’ ability and willingness to forgive sin! So, in the same way, Peter spoke again to Aeneas, ‘Now get up, and make your own bed’ – a task sounding so simple, but which had been impossible for him for 8 years. And, like the paralytic that Jesus had healed, who’d got up, picked up his mat and walked home, Aeneas also got up – no doubt both overwhelmed and overjoyed by what had happened to him.

When Jesus had healed that paralytic, it had been obvious to all, and the reaction of those present at that time had been to glorify God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this before.’ And, in a similar way, the story of what had happened to Aeneas spread like wildfire throughout the whole of Lydda and the plain of Sharon. People saw the once paralysed man walking about and living his life by the power of Jesus working through Peter. They met him, spoke to him and no doubt the story was told over and over again about how wonderful and merciful the Lord had been to him. And, as people heard, the Holy Spirit moved in an incredibly powerful and deep way, as everyone responded by turning away from their old way of life and towards Jesus, believing in Him and accepting Him as their Saviour. (PAUSE)

Now, during the time Peter was in Lydda, an incident happened in Joppa which was about 11 miles away up to the north east, on the coast. The believers in Joppa must have heard about Peter’s visit to Lydda and the news of what’d happened to Aeneas. So, when the incident happened, the believers in Joppa didn’t hesitate to call for Peter, knowing that his proximity to them was no coincidence.

What had happened was that a dearly loved member of their church had died. Her name was Tabitha and she was the kind of person whose love for Jesus simply shone through in the love she had for the destitute widows and the poor and needy people in the church at Joppa. That love caused her to work hard to meet their needs as she was best able which, in her case, involved making and providing essential clothing such as undergarments and cloaks that the needy and vulnerable simply couldn’t afford. Although I don’t know for certain, I suspect that Tabitha’s death had caught the church by surprise, that maybe she wasn’t of an age when they would’ve expected her to die. Whatever the cause, when she died, the believers at Joppa realised that Peter was nearby and so they washed and prepared Tabitha’s body for burial but, instead of burying her, they placed her on a bed in an upper room and sent a couple of men to hurriedly get Peter and return without delay.

These people realised that God had moved in such a way that Peter was close enough to get to them quickly and that God had used Peter to do many miracles – not least the latest one everyone was talking about when he’d healed Aeneas, the paralytic. And so, they trusted God that, if He wanted, He could work again through Peter in this sad situation.

No doubt Peter was a busy man. Many, many people had turned to Jesus in Lydda and Sharon but, instead of thinking he had to stay there, Peter trusted God and the church in Lydda and Sharon to help these new believers, and made himself available to respond to this urgent invitation to go to Joppa. So, he got up and went with the men as quickly as he could.

When Peter arrived, he was hurriedly shown to the upper room where Tabitha’s body was laid out and where a crowd of widows wept and showed Peter all the garments Tabitha had made for them. Clearly Tabitha was a dearly loved and sorely missed woman.

I wonder if this situation reminded Peter of another incident that had happened when he’d been with Jesus? Another time when there had been a house full of weeping people and, not a woman, but a little girl of 12, lying dead on her bed? At that time, Jesus had put everyone else out of the house except for Peter, James and John and the girl’s parents. In a similar way, Peter ushered out the weeping widows until he was alone with the dead body of Tabitha laid out on the bed.

Peter knew he needed Jesus’ help to deal with this situation. With the little girl, Jesus had simply said, ‘Talitha koum’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you – get up!’. But Peter wasn’t Jesus and so he did what had become so natural and easy for him to do, he knelt down at the bedside and prayed to the Lord he loved and trusted. Then, turning to the body on the bed, Peter said, ‘Tabitha koum’. Almost the same words Jesus had spoken to the little girl except for one letter difference.

The little girl had got up at once and begun to walk around, and Jesus had instructed her parents to give her something to eat. But Tabitha simply opened her eyes as if from a long sleep. Then, seeing Peter there beside her, she sat up and Peter held out his hand to help her get up.

Well, as you can imagine, there was a great deal of rejoicing when Peter presented Tabitha alive again to the believers and widows. And, of course, the news of what had happened spread like wildfire around all Joppa and many people believed in the Lord Jesus because of what had happened. (PAUSE)

And after that? Well, even though Peter was an apostle, God was still very much at work in his life. He’d been brought up as a strict Jew and that meant he’d been taught what the Jews considered to be right and wrong. However, Jesus had started the process of showing Peter that what he’d been brought up to believe – wasn’t quite as straightforward as he’d thought. For example, when Philip had told Samaritans (whom Jews hated and avoided at all costs) about Jesus, many Samaritans believed. Then, Peter himself, along with John, had visited these Samaritan believers to see what was happening, and the Lord had allowed those people to receive the Holy Spirit in the same way the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had done. This was unthinkable for a Jew – that anyone outside of the Jewish faith could be added to the church. But Peter could not deny what Jesus was doing and so the new church now consisted of BOTH Jews and Samaritans.

And, maybe because of this, because Peter realised that Jesus was breaking down barriers and challenging his prejudices, he was able to do something that just a few years ago would have seemed unthinkable.

A tanner had become a believer in Joppa and had invited Peter to say at his house. Now, tanners ‘tan’ animal skins to create leather. Therefore, they have to deal with dead animals which, according to the Jews, made them unclean. A Jewish synagogue at that time would not have allowed a tanner to join them and, if you had dealings with a tanner, you would be considered to be unclean. But, obviously, Peter saw that this tanner, also named Simon, was a real believer because, rather than rejecting him and his offer, Peter stayed at his house for a long time as the Lord continued His work in Joppa and beyond.

Episode NT43 – Beyond Jerusalem

Story 43 – Beyond Jerusalem

Based on Acts chapter 8 verses 4 to 40

So Stephen was dead and, as those who hated the church swept through Jerusalem to arrest and imprison every believer they could find, the rest of us fled for our lives, not sure what to think! Satan, the enemy of God, seemed to be winning, killing Jesus’ followers and making it almost impossible for us to carry on meeting together. As for me, Philip, I escaped Jerusalem just in time and started to go north, to the area called Samaria. The Jews hate the Samaritans because they think that Samaritans aren’t proper Jews but a mixture of Jews and non-Jews and so they avoid Samaria and Samaritans as much as possible. I hoped that would put off those persecuting the church from following me there. Mind you, it’s not really a good place for any Jew to go, because the hatred goes both ways, and the Samaritans hate the Jews just as much, the two groups having as little to do with each other as possible.

As I pondered on all that was happening, I couldn’t help thinking about another time when Jesus’ followers had thought that Satan had won – when Jesus was crucified! Back then, the disciples didn’t understand or believe that, even when Jesus was taken to the cross to be executed, God was still in control. And, because God was still in control, when Jesus died on the cross, far from it being a great victory for Satan, it removed all Satan’s power as Jesus took away our guilt so that Satan couldn’t tell God how terrible we were any more! So, now, when things seemed so bleak with Stephen dead and the rest of us scattered, was God still in control? Of course He was! And yet, what was I supposed to be doing?

As I arrived in Samaria, the words of Jesus that the apostles had told us about came to mind. Jesus had said that we’d be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, yes! But He’d also said we’d be witnesses to Him in Samaria and I was in Samaria! And, anyway, I just couldn’t keep quiet about all the Lord had done, so, when I entered the city of Samaria, I started telling them about the Messiah, about Jesus. I didn’t know what to expect, but I simply couldn’t keep quiet!

God was with me as the Holy Spirit worked with great power through me, enabling me to do all kinds of miracles. Those possessed by evil spirits were freed and the demons left with a shriek! The sick were healed – both paralysed and lame – and, because of it, the people listened very carefully to everything I had to tell them about Jesus and there was lots of joy in the city. (PAUSE)

One thing I’ve learnt is that, when the Lord’s at work through His people, Satan’s at work as well! (P) In that city there was a man called ‘Simon the Sorcerer’. For many years he’d claimed to be someone of great importance and all the people, from the most ordinary right up to the rulers, often called him ‘the Great One – the Power of God’. The reason they all thought so much of him was because of the magic he performed. But now, many people in that city believed the message I brought them about the Kingdom of God and about Jesus. And because of that many men and women were baptised. Even Simon seemed to believe what I said and was baptised. Yet, rather than getting on and showing he really believed by doing what God wanted, he followed me around everywhere I went, wanting to see the miracles God was doing through me. And, when he saw them, he was amazed! – But more on Simon later.

I don’t know if you remember, but God had shown us that when we believed, He’d send the Holy Spirit to us in a special way. He’d ‘baptise us with the Holy Spirit’, to use Jesus’ words. But a funny thing happened when I was in Samaria. Many people had heard my message about the Kingdom of God and believed what I said and been baptised into the name of Jesus, and yet, the Lord hadn’t baptised them with the Holy Spirit! (P) Anyway, when what was left of the church in Jerusalem heard that the people in Samaria had accepted God’s message, they quickly sent Peter and John to see what was happening. And, it was when Peter and John arrived that I began to see why the Lord had held back the Spirit.

Jews hate Samaritans! Samaritans hate Jews! But the church Jesus has given us must not be split! It would be so easy for the Jerusalem believers and the Samaritan believers to be two separate churches, but what Peter and John and I had seen was that the people in Samaria were saved in exactly the same we’d been saved! By believing the Good News about who Jesus is and what He’s done, by believing that Jesus died not just for the people of Jerusalem, but for everyone else as well! And so, when they saw this, Peter, the leader of the church, and John laid their hands on the believers in Samaria, and they received the Holy Spirit – showing beyond doubt that everyone who believes in Jesus is saved in exactly the same way and that they all belong together as one church!

But, getting back to Simon the Sorcerer, when he saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles, Peter and John, placed their hands on the believers’ heads, he actually offered the apostles money to buy that power for himself! ‘Let me have this power as well,’ he pleaded, ‘so that, when I put my hands on people, they’ll receive the Holy Spirit through me!’

Peter couldn’t believe what he was hearing! Here was someone who said they were a believer and yet what they really wanted was fame for themselves – for people to think more highly of them than anyone else! So Peter replied, ‘May your money perish with you for thinking that you could buy the gift of God! Your heart isn’t right with God, so you can’t have any part to play in this ministry. Turn away from your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Maybe He’ll forgive you for having such evil thoughts in your heart, because I can see that you’re full of bitterness and captive to sin!’

I think that what Peter said to Simon really frightened him but, instead of doing what Peter said and turning away from this evil thought and saying sorry to God and being forgiven, he pleaded with Peter, ‘Please, pray to God for me so that those terrible things won’t happen to me!’ (P)

After spending some time with the new believers in Samaria, telling them about Jesus and preaching in the city about all that Jesus has done, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, stopping off in many Samaritan villages along the way, to tell them the Good News as well.

They left me in Samaria to carry on the work that the Lord had started through me. However, one day, an angel sent from the Lord came and spoke with me. He said, ‘Go south down to the desert road that runs from Jerusalem and on to Gaza.’ This was outside of Samaritan territory, but I did as the Lord asked. Now, as I was going along the road, I came across a chariot with a really important official from the land of Ethiopia in it. He was the treasurer to Queen Candace, queen of Ethiopia. This man must either have had Jewish parents, or become a Jew when he was older, because he was going back home again, having spent some time worshipping in Jerusalem. But what was very interesting was that, as he sat in his chariot, he was reading out loud from the book of Isaiah.

As he started to pass me by, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, ‘Go over and stay near that chariot.’ So I trotted over to it and kept jogging alongside. And, as I did so, I heard the man reading from Isaiah, so I asked him, ‘Excuse me, do you understand what you’re reading?’

‘How can I,’ the man replied, ‘when there isn’t anyone who can tell me what it means? Why don’t you come up here and explain it to me?’

The passage he’d been reading was this: ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken away from the earth.’

After he’d read this out loud, the official turned to me and asked, ‘Tell me, who’s the writer of this passage talking about? Himself or someone else?’ So I started by explaining that very passage and continued to tell him the Good News about Jesus. And, as we talked and travelled along the road, we came to a place where there was some water. ‘Look, there’s some water here,’ the official said to me. ‘Why shouldn’t I be baptised?’ So he ordered the chariot to stop and the two of us got out and went down into the water and I baptised him.

When we came back out of the water, the Holy Spirit suddenly took me away from the Ethiopian official, and we never met again – although I did hear later how the official had gone on his way rejoicing at what the Lord had done for him. (P) As for me, I found myself up north in the city of Azotus. And, starting there, I told people the Good News about Jesus in every city along the way until I came to Caesarea.

Episode NT40 – Ananias and Sapphira

Story 40 – Ananias and Sapphira

Based on Acts chapter 4 verses 32 to 37 & chapter 5 verse 1 to 16

The thing about praying is that God answers your prayers – and the new church in Jerusalem had just prayed for great boldness when speaking about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. They had also asked for healing power and for signs and wonders to be done in the name of Jesus. And, in answer to that prayer and as confirmation that the Lord had heard and would give them what they’d asked for, the building they were in was shaken. As that happened, once again, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and went out preaching about Jesus with great boldness.

They also found that they were one in heart and mind – they belonged to each other as brothers and sisters. No one felt that what they owned was theirs alone, but was to be shared by everyone in the church as needed. This meant that, at times, some in the church would sell houses or land and bring the proceeds from that sale to the apostles so that they could distribute it as required, with the result that there were no needy people in the church.

An example of this was a man known as Barnabas. His real name was Joseph and he was from the tribe of Israel called the Levites who helped in the Temple, although his family was actually from Cyprus! He was known as Barnabas because it means ‘son of encouragement’ and that seemed to sum up who he was – so the nickname had stuck! One day Barnabas sold some land he owned, probably back in Cyprus and, when the money arrived, he brought it to the apostles and laid it at their feet to indicate that he was happy for them to use it in any way they saw fit.

However, when the enemy of the church, the devil, saw what Barnabas and many others were doing, he saw an opportunity to destroy the church, to make it rotten from the inside out and he looked for – and found – a couple in the church who he could use for his wicked purposes.

The idea was simple, destroy the church by destroying its integrity. Make one person a liar and the whole testimony of the church would be rubbished, with conflict and mayhem following in its wake.

The enemy prepared his attack well by playing on the pride and vanity of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They had watched as people like Barnabas had brought the money from the sale of land and houses to the apostles. No doubt the devil had encouraged them to feel envious of the way Barnabas was thanked, trying to make them believe that there was some kind of spiritual elite they could be part of. He must have reminded them that they also had some land they could sell and, just as they were about to sell the land so that they could look good in the eyes of people, the devil must have caused them to doubt the faithfulness of God. After all, selling a piece of land and giving the money away was a big thing to do – you couldn’t just get it back later! So the devil encouraged them to come up with a plan that would give them the best of both worlds: the security of a nice little hidden nest-egg from the sale of the land, while at the same time appearing to be one of the supposed spiritual elite by their giving. All they had to do was tell the apostles their plan to sell the piece of land, but not tell them the truth about the actual price they were going to get for it. It seemed such a small lie. They were going to give MOST of the money away and only keep back SOME for themselves. No one else need know except them. The buyer wasn’t part of the church and so they felt their secret would be safe.

When the transaction was completed, the day arrived when Ananias brought the money to the apostles. He brought most of what the land had actually sold for – and the exact amount he’d told the apostles it had sold for! So, walking up to Peter, knowing that all eyes were on him, Ananias swelled with pride. He was part of the elite now, they would look up to him after such sacrificial giving. No doubt with a pious and holy expression on his face, he placed the money at Peter’s feet. But that’s when it all went wrong, for you can hide nothing from God!

‘Ananias,’ asked Peter, ‘why have you let Satan fill your heart? You’ve lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back some of the money you got from selling the land for yourself!’

This was not going the way Ananias had expected. His holy expression dropped and a look of horror and shame fell across his face.

Then Peter continued, ‘The property was yours before you sold it – you didn’t have to sell it. And, after you’d sold it, didn’t the money from the sale belong to you to do whatever you wanted with it? How could you do something like this? Don’t you realise that you aren’t lying to us, but to God?’

No sooner had Peter stopped speaking than Ananias fell to the floor and died. (P) As you can imagine, everyone who heard what had happened was terrified! Some of the young men quickly wrapped up his body in a sheet and took it out to bury.

Satan’s plan was failing – and worse, the exact opposite to his intention was happening. Instead of others becoming hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another, everyone realised that God was watching them and they needed to be careful to continue to please and honour Him, knowing that you can’t hide ANYTHING from God.

About three hours later, Sapphira, Ananias’ wife, arrived, not knowing what’d happened to her husband. No doubt she too was excited about how holy the others would think she was and was eager to accept thanks from those they’d helped. But, instead of the smiles and gratitude she’d expected, she found herself face to face with Peter while the others looked on, serious expressions etched on their faces.

‘Tell me, Sapphira,’ Peter asked straight away, showing her the money he’d received from her husband, ‘was this the price you and your husband received for your land?’

Although alarm bells were ringing in her head, her course of action had been set in stone when she’d agreed with her husband to lie to the apostles about the full figure they’d got for the land. To change her story now was to drop herself and her husband into very hot water and so the lie continued. ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘that is the price we got for the land.’

Peter’s heart must have been breaking as he heard Sapphira’s reply. The Lord Himself had revealed to him that it wasn’t true – that this was an attempt by the devil to get in and corrupt the church. And then the Lord also revealed to Peter what would happen next. Looking Sapphira in the eye, he shook his head and said, ‘How could the two of you even think of plotting together to test the Spirit of the Lord like this?’ Then, with a deep sigh he added, ‘The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will also carry you out and bury you.’

At that moment, Sapphira fell to the floor and died, just as her husband had done. Then, as Peter had said, the young men who’d buried her husband came back through the door and found her dead body. They picked her up and buried her beside her husband.

Such fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard about these things. The devil’s plans had failed and, instead of weakening the church, had strengthened it in line with the prayer they’d prayed. They’d asked for boldness, healings and signs and wonders – maybe not realising that ‘wonders’ could come in many different ways. And, these ‘wonders’ caused the church to stay pure.

The apostles performed many more miraculous signs and wonders in addition to what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. The church, growing at a tremendous rate, met regularly at the Temple in an area know as ‘Solomon’s Colonnade’. No one else dared to disturb or join them there, no doubt mindful of what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. But even so, in answer to their prayer, more and more people believed what the apostles boldly preached about Jesus and were brought to the Lord – crowds of them, both men and women.

In fact, as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit through the apostles, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across them as he passed by. It wasn’t superstition, but an acknowledgement that God was powerfully at work through His people. Of course, this kind of news couldn’t stay hidden and spread to the villages around Jerusalem so that many people were brought from the villages who were sick or demon possessed and every one of them was healed!

Episode NT39 – Peter and John on Trial

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Acts chapter 4 verses 1 to 31

A miracle had taken place right outside the Temple in Jerusalem. And now, inside the temple area, a man crippled from birth was walking, leaping and praising God that he’d been healed. Maybe if that’d been all that had happened, then those in charge of the temple may have looked on and done no more. But Peter, one of the followers of Jesus, had started to teach the crowds, saying that through Jesus there was life after death – something that the ruling Sadducees refused to believe! This man and his friend had to be silenced – how dare they teach such lies!

So, while they were still speaking to the crowds, the Priests, the captain of the Temple guard and the unbelieving Sadducees – came and arrested Peter, John and the man who’d been healed. And, because it was evening, they put them in jail, waiting until the next day before they took matters further! But even though the apostle’s Peter and John had been arrested and locked away from the crowds, the message they’d taught in the Temple was remembered by the people who’d heard it, and many believed what they’d heard, so that the number of men who believed, without counting women and children, grew to about 5000.

The next day, the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law gathered together to consider what should be done with the apostles. Both Annas and Caiaphas were there, the leaders who’d overseen the death of Jesus. Then the prisoners were brought before them.

As Peter and John were brought before the leaders, the words Jesus had spoken must have rung in their ears, ‘You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will be accused before kings and governors of being my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply!’ (P) Well, now was such a time when they were going to need Jesus to give them the words to reply to the questions that were about to come their way.

As they stood before the council, the leaders demanded, ‘By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?’

Once again being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter replied, ‘Rulers and elders of our people, if you’re asking us to explain our act of kindness to a crippled man and how he was healed, you all need to know this: He has been healed in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. This is how the Scriptures talk about Jesus, they say, ‘The stone that you builders rejected – has now become the stone which holds everything together.’ You can’t be saved in any other way! Because there is no one else in all of heaven that people can call on to save them except Jesus!

Some of the leaders sat there open-mouthed – amazed at the boldness of Peter and John, especially as they were just ordinary men without any religious teaching. But at the same time, they also realised that these men had been with Jesus. (P) The leaders were at a loss as to what to do, particularly as the man who’d been healed was standing right there with them. So they ordered that the three of them be put outside the room so they could talk about what to do next.

‘What’re we going to do with them?’ they asked each other. ‘The whole of Jerusalem knows they’ve done an outstanding miracle and there’s no way we can deny it. But we have to stop this thing spreading.’ So they agreed to warn the apostles not to speak about Jesus again!

Peter, John and the healed man were called back to hear their judgement. ‘This is our decision,’ the Sadducees and leaders said, ‘you are not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus ever again!’

Peter and John shook their heads. What the leaders were asking was impossible; how could they stop now? So looking at the council they replied, ‘Well, you must judge for yourselves what’s right in God’s sight, whether we obey you or we obey God. You see we just can’t help speaking about all that we’ve seen and heard.’

The council were none too impressed with this answer and, before letting them go, threatened the apostles in an effort to make them stop talking about Jesus. But even though they wanted all talk of Jesus to end, the council couldn’t work out how to punish the apostles because all the people were praising God for what’d happened, not least because the man who’d been healed had been lame for more than 40 years!

Having left the council, Peter and John hurried back to the other disciples. When they arrived, they told them all that’d happened, and how the leaders had tried to stop them talking about Jesus.

The disciples listened carefully and realised that this mustn’t happen, they mustn’t hold back from talking about Jesus to everyone, no matter what trouble it got them into. And so they did the most important thing they could do. As one large group, they all raised their voices to God in prayer. ‘Lord,’ they prayed, ‘hear these people’s threats against us, and give us, your servants, great boldness as we speak about you. And stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’

As they finished praying, the building they were meeting in was shaken – and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And, in answer to their prayer, God enabled them to speak with great boldness about Jesus.

Episode NT38 – A Crippled Beggar

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Acts chapter 3 verses 1 to 20

Story 38 – A Crippled Beggar

The people in the temple came running from all directions! Once again something truly incredible had taken place – a miracle! And there he was! The beggar they’d seen almost every day on their way to the temple. But HE WAS no longer sitting on the floor with his mis-shapen and useless ankles and feet in front of him, instead he was jumping and walking and praising God while hanging on to a couple of men as he learnt how to balance on feet that’d never walked before! What was happening? What had these men done? How’d he been healed so completely and so quickly? A crowd started to gather around the three men, and then one of the men motioned for silence and shouted out in a loud voice, ‘Men of Israel, why do you look at us as though we’ve made this man walk by our own power? No! It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Fathers who has brought glory to Jesus by doing this thing!’ (P)

‘This thing,’ the healing of the lame man, had happened just five minutes before. Peter and John, apostles of Jesus, had been on their way to the temple to take part in the afternoon prayer service when, at the same time, a man crippled from birth in his ankles and feet had been brought to sit at the temple gate called ‘Beautiful’. Each day he was carried to the temple to beg for money from the people going in, hoping that a few of them would give him something.

As Peter and John were about to enter through the temple gate, the man asked them for money. (P) That’s when things started to happen that no one expected. Somehow the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and John and both of them stopped and looked intently at the man.

‘Look at us!’ Peter said, and the lame man looked up at them, certain they were going to give him some money! But instead of getting out his purse, Peter spoke. ‘I don’t have silver or gold to give you,’ he said, and a slightly puzzled look came over the beggar’s face. ‘But what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!’

After saying this, Peter leant forward, took the man by the right hand and helped him to his feet! And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles which had been so useless that he’d never walked, were healed and strengthened! As Peter helped him, the lame man, now completely healed – jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk! He’d never walked before in his whole life! Then, walking, leaping into the air and praising God, the three of them went into the Temple together!

That’s when the commotion took place and everyone rushed over to them. The man couldn’t hold himself back as he learnt to walk while holding tightly on to Peter and John, and in a loud voice he praised God that he’d been healed! So there they were, a vast crowd surrounding them, while Peter spoke to them all about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the one who’d been crucified a few months earlier.

‘The Jesus who’s healed this man,’ Peter continued, ‘is the same Jesus YOU handed over and rejected in front of Pilate even though Pilate had decided to let Him go!’

Many of them could remember the day they’d stood before Pilate, and the mood of the crowd as they’d shouted for Barabbas to be released. And then, when Pilate had asked, how they’d screamed for Jesus to be crucified!

But Peter was still talking, ‘You rejected the holy, righteous One and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God – raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this FACT! It is by trusting in the name of Jesus that this complete healing has come about – as you can all see.’

A terrible feeling of guilt came over the crowd as Peter carried on, ‘Brothers, I know that what you did to Jesus was done because you didn’t realise who He was, and the same can be said of your leaders. But when it happened, God was at work fulfilling what the prophets had said about the Messiah beforehand – that He must suffer these things. Now turn away from your sins and turn back to God so that you can be made clean from your sins and so that wonderful times of refreshment can come from the Lord …’

But even while Peter spoke, and the crowd marvelled at the wonderful healing of the man and all that Peter was telling them about Jesus, worried and hate-filled eyes looked on – ready to silence the apostles!

Episode NT37- Pentecost – Never the Same Again!

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Acts chapter 2

Story 37 – Pentecost – Never the same again!

Seven weeks had gone by since the Passover in Jerusalem, when Jesus had been executed by Roman crucifixion – an execution that at the time had looked like a terrible defeat as the ‘Messiah’ was murdered at the hands of evil men. But so much had changed since then! Yes, Jesus had been put to death by wicked men, and yet what had happened to Him was never out of God’s control! And since then, God had raised Jesus back to life! And over the next 40 days He’d spent time with His disciples showing them that He really was alive and not a ghost, and at the same time teaching them about the Kingdom of God. And, most exciting of all, Jesus had promised that within days He’d baptise them with the Holy Spirit so that they could tell everyone, starting with the residents of Jerusalem and ending up – well, at the furthest ends of the earth – about who He was and what God had done through Him! (PAUSE)

At the end of those very special 40 days, Jesus had been taken back to heaven. But even though He’d gone back to heaven, His disciples knew they could still talk to Him, and He could still let them know what He wanted. So, instead of feeling sad, they spent their time praising God in the temple for what He’d done and then, in a more private place, they continued to pray, asking Jesus to do what He’d promised, to send the Holy Spirit. (PAUSE)

And so now it was the Jewish celebration of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, which marked the end of the barley harvest (and also marked the time they’d been given the Torah on Mount Sinai), and for this festival, every Jewish man was commanded to come before the Lord in His temple in Jerusalem. So Jerusalem was buzzing with people from all over the place, Jews who’d come back to Jerusalem for this special celebration even though they now lived in many different countries all over the world! (PAUSE)

On the day of the Pentecost celebration, the city stirred early with people on the streets enjoying the festivities. The disciples were also up early when, suddenly, the house where they were gathered was filled with the sound of a powerful, rushing wind and then something appeared that looked like tongues made of fire and, as the disciples watched, the tongues of fire separated and came to rest on all the disciples, all 120 or so of them! At once everybody in the room was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they started speaking in all kinds of different languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability!

Nobody could keep this quiet! People all over Jerusalem heard the sound of the powerful, rushing wind and came running to see what was happening. And when they got there, they were amazed – not really sure what to make of it all – as each of them heard their own language being spoken by the believers!

No one could understand what was going on! ‘How can this happen?’ they asked each other. ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet – we hear them speaking the languages of the lands we were born in – our native languages – from all around the world! And they’re speaking about the wonderful things God has done!’

What confused people even more was that the disciples really were from Galilee and, to be honest, Galilee was considered to be a backwater, not exactly cultured, and their strong accents usually made them incapable of speaking any language clearly – some said they even struggled with their own language! And yet, after that incredibly loud noise of rushing wind, and the settling of the tongues of fire, here they were fluently speaking languages from places they’d surely never been! ‘What does it mean?’ the onlookers asked, shaking their heads and unable to understand it. (P) But a few of them who came to see what all the commotion was about, heard the people speaking different languages and started to laugh! ‘If you ask me,’ they said, ‘these people have had a little too much wine!!’

It was then that Peter stepped forward, and with the other apostles behind him, he addressed the crowd. ‘Listen carefully, all of you! These people aren’t drunk, it’s only 9 o’clock in the morning – it’s far too early for that. No, what you see this morning is what the prophet Joel predicted centuries ago. This is what he wrote:

‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit on my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy…’’

And then Peter continued to tell the people about Jesus: that He was a man God approved of as shown by the signs and wonders God had done through Him; that He’d died at the hands of evil men, but at the same time, His death hadn’t been outside the plans and purposes of God; that God had raised Jesus back to life, freeing Him from the grave; and that God had now raised Him up to sit on a throne at His right hand side in heaven from where He poured out the Holy Spirit as they could now see. He finished with, ‘So let it be clearly known by everyone in Israel – that God has made this Jesus whom YOU crucified – to be both Lord and Messiah!’ (PAUSE)

God had started His work of building His Kingdom, of building His church, and as Peter spoke, the Holy Spirit took Peter’s words and helped many of those who heard them to realise how guilty they were and that they needed to be forgiven. So they said to the apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’

So Peter told them, ‘Each of you must turn away from your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you too will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And this promise isn’t just for you, it is also for your children and even for people who are far away from Him – for all who’ve been called by the Lord our God.’ (PAUSE)

Over 3000 people believed what Peter said and were baptised and added to the church that very day! They all spent their time listening to and putting into practice what the apostles taught. (P) And because of this, a deep sense of awe came over the believers, both old and new, and the apostles performed many miracles, signs and wonders!

The believers met together constantly and shared everything they had, selling their possessions and giving to those in need. Together they worshipped at the temple every day, and met in each other’s homes to share the Lord’s Supper and their own meals with thankful and humble hearts – while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of the people. And each day, the Lord added to their group more people who were being saved.

Episode NT36 – Jesus’ Ascension

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Acts chapter 1 verses 1 to 14

Story 36 – Jesus’ Ascension

(PETER) ‘Jesus had risen from the dead! And from time to time during the 40 days after His resurrection He came to see us, His disciples, or apostles as we were also called. Apostle means ‘Someone who’s sent out’, and we were called apostles of Jesus because He’d chosen us and sent us out to tell people about Him and God’s Kingdom.

As we spent time with Him during those days He talked to us about all kinds of matters concerning the Kingdom of God. And, while He was with us, He ate food and showed us time and time again that He wasn’t a ghost or anything like that – but a living, breathing person. The same Jesus we’d known and loved before His crucifixion, whose first concern was always the Kingdom of God.’

‘Anyway, we’d returned to Jerusalem from Galilee, and while He was eating with us He gave us, His apostles, an important commandment. (P) He said, ‘Don’t leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised.’ He looked around at us expecting us to understand, but most of us sat there with blank expressions on our faces, so He added, ‘Remember? I’ve told you about it before! John baptised with water, but in just a few days you’ll be baptised with the Holy Spirit!’’ (PAUSE)

‘Now that God had raised Jesus back to life, and He was talking about the Kingdom of God again, we began to think that all our old ideas about Jesus becoming King of Israel and kicking the Romans out of our country must have been right all along. So we kept asking Him, ‘Lord, is it now that you’re going to free Israel and make us the most important kingdom in the world?’’

‘Jesus must have been so disappointed with us, we still didn’t understand and were making the same old mistakes we’d always made. So, one day, as we asked Him yet again, He said, ‘The Father sets those dates and they aren’t for you to know.’ (P) That put us in our place! And then He spoke once more of the subject that was so close to His heart, His Kingdom. ‘But when the Holy Spirit comes,’ He continued, ‘you’ll receive power, and then you’ll tell people everywhere about me! You’ll start right here in this city, Jerusalem; and then you’ll move out to Judea, the area around Jerusalem; and then you’ll move even further away from here, to Samaria, where the Samaritans live; and then – to the ends of the earth.’’

‘I guess it took us a while to really understand what Jesus meant. He hadn’t been raised from the dead so that He could become the King of a single country! The whole earth belonged to Him! His Kingdom was bigger than any country, or any nationality or people group! His Kingdom was to cover the whole earth and our job in this Kingdom was to tell everyone about Him, to point to Him, the real King who’d died to take the punishment we so richly deserve! And now He was telling us that sometime soon, He’d return to His Father and send the Holy Spirit to help us – to help us tell the whole world that Jesus is alive and our sins can be forgiven, our guilt can be washed away and we can be children of God and citizens in His Kingdom – all because of what Jesus did on that cross!’

‘It wasn’t long after this that Jesus went back to be with His Father. While He’d been with us He’d come and gone as He’d wanted, just appearing or disappearing, sometimes even appearing in a locked room. But now that He was going to leave us, going to heaven so that He could send the Holy Spirit, He left in a different way. I guess He could have just gone, disappeared and not come back, but if He’d done that we’d all have been thinking, ‘Maybe He’s not gone for good? Maybe He’ll come back if we just wait.’ I think Jesus understood that we needed to know He’d really gone back to His Father in heaven, so one day He took the 11 of us, His apostles, to the Mount of Olives about a kilometre outside of Jerusalem. And as we stood there with Him, He rose up into the sky and a cloud, like the cloud that’d been on the top of that mountain the day three of us had seen Jesus transfigure before our eyes and His clothes turn whiter than white – a cloud just like that – hid Him from our eyes.’

‘Well, we all just stood there staring up into the sky, straining our eyes, trying to see if we could still catch a glimpse of Him, wondering if He was going to come back, not sure what was happening, when suddenly two angels, who looked liked men in bright white robes stood with us. I was staring so hard at the sky I didn’t even notice them until they spoke to us – it gave me a bit a shock when I realised who they were. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, in the same way that you’ve seen Him go, He will return!’ And as they spoke I realised it was a gentle warning to us. Jesus had told us what He wanted us to do – to wait for the Holy Spirit and then tell people everywhere about Him. He didn’t want us to waste our time staring into the sky, but to get on and do what He’d asked.’

‘It was then that it really sunk in that Jesus had gone back to heaven. (P) But even though He’d gone, in a way we didn’t feel like He’d left us, because we could still talk to Him by praying, and He could still lead and guide us. He’d gone, but it wasn’t like those terrible days when He’d died. Now, even though He was in heaven, nothing could take Him from us.’

‘After that, we all went back to the house where we’d been staying. Then, with some of the women who followed Jesus, and with Mary His mother and His brothers, we spent our time either praising God in the temple for raising Jesus from the dead, or praying in that house, asking Jesus to do what He’d promised and send the Holy Spirit to help us tell the whole world about Him.’ (PAUSE)

Episode NT35 – Peter & Jesus

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on John chapter 21 verses 1 to 23

Story 35 – Peter and Jesus

(PETER) ‘Although I was overjoyed that Jesus’ death on that cross hadn’t been the end of it all, inside I was feeling uncomfortable. Uncomfortable about all those things I’d said the night before He’d been … murdered. How He’d told us all that we’d desert Him and leave Him, and then how I – Peter the brave – Ha! – had told Him I’d never leave Him even in the face of death.’

‘Of course I’d been really embarrassed when He’d said in front of everyone that before the night was through I was going to deny even knowing Him – three times. I just couldn’t believe I’d ever say anything against Him – not after all we’d been through together over these last three years. (P) But the truth was even worse than I could’ve imagined ‘coz, (sniff) when His enemies arrived to arrest Him and take Him away, I ran for my life. Oh yeah, I followed at a distance and managed to get into the courtyard to see what would happen – trying to prove I wasn’t a coward, but then, some of them started to say I was one of Jesus’ disciples. I know I should have admitted it, but I was terrified, and I heard myself lying to save my own skin. ‘Me? I’m not one of His disciples, I don’t even know the man.’ (sniff – deep breath) Three times I said it, each time more emphatic, each time denying that I even knew the One person who really mattered. I even swore an oath that I’d never known Him! And then the cockerel crowed and I remembered what Jesus’d said … that I’d do what I’d just done. So when I heard that sound – the sound of the cockerel crowing – and realised what I’d done, how I’d failed Him when He needed me most, I ran out into the darkness and wept bitter tears – crying as if my heart would break.’

‘And then I had to live with my failure. Jesus was alive, and we were overjoyed that even death couldn’t hold Him, but every time we met, I knew – He knew what I’d said and done.’ (PAUSE)

‘A little later we went back to Galilee. Jesus wasn’t with us then and I wasn’t really sure what to do with my time so, as night began to fall, I told those with me, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and a couple of the others, that I was going out to fish. ‘Coz if there’s one thing I do know – it’s how to fish! Anyway, the others wanted to come too so we set sail and – not t’put too fine a point on it – we had the worst night’s fishing I’ve ever known. It was a complete disaster – nothing – not a thing. Anyway, the dawn arrived and we headed back to land. It was then that we saw someone on the shore. Well, I say we saw him, we actually heard him before we saw him as he called out to us, ‘Hey, friends, have you caught anything?’’

‘‘No!’ we shouted back, not really wanting to talk about how bad our night had been and not knowing it was Jesus speaking to us. Then he called out, ‘Try throwing your net over the right-hand side of the boat, then you’ll catch plenty of fish!’ Oh right – now this stranger’s giving us advice on how to fish. But instead of telling him just what we thought of his idea, we shrugged our shoulders and threw the net over the right-hand side of the boat, like he’d said. (P) Then suddenly, it was nearly pulled out of our hands as it filled with fish! I can remember thinking, ‘What going on?’ And then John spoke, He wasn’t really holding the net too tightly, he was looking at the shore where the stranger was. ‘It’s Him, Peter,’ he said. ‘It’s the Lord!’’

‘Suddenly it all fell into place. This catch was too big to be by chance; it was a miracle! Anyway, when I realised who it was standing on the shore, I forgot about the fish, tied my jacket around me, jumped into the water and swam to shore.’

‘Now, the net was so full of fish, the other disciples dragged it behind the boat and followed me as we were only about 90 meters out at the time. When they got to shore, they tied off the net on the boat and we all went to find Jesus. Seeing us, He beckoned us over and we saw a charcoal fire burning with fish cooking over it and some bread. Jesus squatted by the fire and called over, ‘Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.’ So I went onto the boat, untied the net and dragged it to shore. The net was full, but even so it hadn’t broken. A little later we counted the fish, including the ones we’d eaten – 153, all of them massive – it was truly a miraculous catch.’

‘After I’d pulled the net ashore, Jesus called out, ‘Come and have some breakfast!’ And so we sat with Him, and He served us fish and bread.’

‘We didn’t say much as we sat with Jesus. I had mixed feelings; there weren’t words to describe how I felt about Jesus being alive – it was so wonderful. But at the same time there were those things I’d said and done on the night they’d arrested Him – how I’d left Him, how I’d run away and lied an … and … failed Him. So I sat in silence, concentrating on my food until we’d finished eating and started walking and I found myself with Jesus.

As we walked side by side, with the other disciples ahead and behind us, Jesus spoke to me, but He didn’t use the name He’d given me all that time ago – He didn’t call me Peter. Instead, He used the name I’d had before I met him – Simon, son of John. It was almost like He was reminding me who I was before, and asking me if I still wanted to be that man.

(PAUSE) ‘Simon, son of John’, He started, ‘do you love me more than they love me?’ As He said this, He indicated the other disciples walking with us.’

‘I guess I deserved that, after all, wasn’t it me who’d told Jesus that if everyone else deserted Him I wouldn’t? But now I realised I had no idea if I loved Him more than they did. But I knew I did love Him, so I said, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’’

‘’Then feed my lambs,’ He said to me. And we carried on walking.’

‘But a few moments later, in the hush that followed, He asked me again, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’’

‘Why did He ask me again? I thought I’d answered that already. So I repeated myself because, even though I had failed Him, I still loved Him. ‘Yes, Lord,’ I said, ‘you know I love you.’

‘’Take care of my sheep,’ Jesus replied looking straight at me.’

‘It was an uncomfortable walk. The others were no doubt listening in, but I kept my eyes down until … until I heard His voice again. ‘Simon, son of John,’ I looked into His eyes, a feeling of pain and sadness overwhelming me, as He asked a third time, ‘Do you love me?’’

‘What could I say? He’d already asked me twice if I loved Him and I’d told Him I did, so I simply answered, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.’’

‘’Feed my sheep,’ Jesus said. But this time He carried on, ‘When you were young you were able to do what you liked and go where you wanted. But when you’re old, you’ll stretch out your hands, and others will tie you up and take you where you don’t want to go.’ Then He added, ‘Follow me.’’

‘I looked at Jesus, dumbstruck, as I began to understand what He’d just said. Three times I’d denied knowing Jesus in public, and now three times in the presence of my closest friends, His followers, He’d forgiven me. But now, had He really just told me about the day of my death? About being taken to a place I didn’t want to go. (P) I was humbled to think that even after my terrible failing – He had work for me to do – to look after His people! And He knew, that with His strength this time and not mine – I’d remain His even to the day of my death!

‘Shaking my head at the wonder of it all, I caught sight of John following behind us. Jesus had told me about my future, so I asked, ‘Lord, what about John?’’

‘’That’s not your concern,’ He said. ‘If I want Him to remain alive until I return, what’s that to you? What matters is that you follow Me!’ Jesus wasn’t saying that John was going to stay alive until His return, He was just telling me, telling all of us, that what really matters is that WE are following Him, trusting Him and being the people He wants us to be right the way to the end of our lives.’