Episode NT30 – Peter’s failure and Pilate’s Trial

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Matthew chapter 26 verse 69 to chapter 27 verse 26

Peter’s failure and Pilate’s Trial

While Jesus was being tried by the leaders of Israel, Peter sat outside in the cold courtyard. He was thinking about how Jesus had encouraged them to pray with Him on the Mount of Olives and how they’d let Him down by falling asleep. But there was something else Jesus had said that’d hurt his pride – ‘What was it?’ he thought as he waited to hear what would happen to Jesus.

As he sat there, thinking about all that’d happened, how Judas had betrayed Jesus and how Jesus had been arrested, a young servant girl walked up to him staring closely at his face in the firelight. ‘I thought so,’ she said out loud, ‘you were one of those with Jesus.’

A surge of fear rushed through Peter’s body and he felt his cheeks flush, ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.’ And he stood up and walked over to the gate.

But a little later, while he was standing at the gate, another servant girl came up and also looked at him closely. ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth,’ she told the people standing around.

Again Peter felt the surge of fear, the flushing of his cheeks and, looking nervously at the people around him who were paying him much closer attention now, he swore an oath! ‘Look, I promise, I don’t even know the man – leave me alone.’

As Peter moved away again to another part of the courtyard, some other people started murmuring to each other nearby. After talking to each other for a few moments, they came over to Peter. ‘You must have been one of His followers,’ they said, ‘we can tell from your accent.’

‘Leave me alone,’ Peter shouted, ‘I swear by God Himself that I do NOT know this man!’ (P) No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the cockerel crowed. And Peter remembered the thing that had bothered him earlier, the thing that had hurt his pride. It was Jesus’ words to him, ‘Before the cockerel crows you will have said three times that you don’t know me.’ And so Peter went away, crying bitterly. (PAUSE)

Early the next morning all the leaders of Israel met once again to work out how they were going to persuade the Romans to sentence Jesus to death. Then they bound Jesus up tightly and took Him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

Judas had been paid thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus. But early the next day, when he realised that Jesus had been sentenced to death – he was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt! Going back to the temple with the money, he went to see the chief priests. ‘I’ve sinned,’ he told them, ‘by betraying an innocent man.’

‘So what,’ they replied, ‘what do we care? That’s your problem.’ So Judas took the thirty pieces of silver, threw them onto the floor of the temple and went out and hung himself. (PAUSE)

By this time Jesus was standing before the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate wasn’t too happy about being made to work so early in the morning. And to make matters worse, the Jews refused to go into his palace to see him because it would make them ceremonially unclean and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. (P) Anyway, at their insistence, Pilate went to see them. ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ he asked, looking Jesus up and down.

‘Yes, that’s right,’ replied Jesus.

Then the chief priests and the other leaders made all their accusations against Jesus as Pilate patiently listened. But all the time these lies were being told about Him, Jesus said nothing. ‘Can’t You hear what they’re saying against You?’ Pilate demanded. But to Pilate’s great surprise Jesus remained silent.

Now it didn’t take a genius to work out that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of jealousy, so Pilate decided he’d take the opportunity to use a custom that he’d set in place over the last few years. It had become his custom, once a year at the Passover celebrations, to release one prisoner to the crowds, anyone they wanted. This last year a particularly evil man named Barabbas had been caught, arrested and sentenced to death for leading a rebellion and for murder. As the crowds started to gather before Pilate’s palace he called out to them, ‘Which of these two do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’

At that moment, as Pilate sat on his seat of judgement before the people, an urgent message came through to him from his wife. ‘Your wife says that you must leave that innocent man alone,’ the messenger reported, ‘because she says that she had a terrible nightmare about Him last night.’ But it was too late to back down now; Pilate had to see the thing through.

Meanwhile, while Pilate received the message from his wife, the chief priests and the other leaders urged the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be put to death! So when Pilate asked again, ‘Which of these two do you want me to release?’ The crowds screamed ‘Barabbas,’ and not ‘Jesus’!

‘But if I release Barabbas to you,’ Pilate called back, ‘then what should I do with the one called Jesus, the Messiah?’

And then, the same crowd who a week earlier had waved palm branches welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem as the long-awaited Messiah shouted, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’

Pilate couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Jews hated crucifixion! It was a Roman punishment to put to death the lowest kinds of criminals! And so he called back to the crowd, ‘Why should I crucify Him? What crime has He committed?’

But the crowd’s mood started to change, and more angrily and louder than before they shouted back, ‘Crucify Him!’

Quickly Pilate realised that the situation was in danger of becoming a riot! So, with the crowd watching he called for a bowl of water, and washing his hands in front of them he said, ‘I declare before you all that I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!’

At this, the people yelled back, ‘Let the responsibility fall on us and our children!’

So Pilate released Barabbas to the crowd and ordered that Jesus be flogged with a whip that had pieces of lead and bone in its strands so that it stuck in His back and pulled the skin off. Then he turned Jesus over to the soldiers so that they could crucify Him. (PAUSE)

And so a guilty man, a man who’d murdered others – walked free, while in His place an innocent man, a man who would do no wrong – was sent to crucifixion! But that was the whole point of what was to follow, the innocent dying for the guilty.

Episode NT29 – Gethsemane

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Matthew chapter 26 verses 30 to 69

Gethsemane

DISCIPLE ANDREW ‘After we’d shared our meal together and Judas had left, we went to a place we often went to together, to a hill nearby called the Mount of Olives. As we were walking along Jesus spoke to us. ‘Tonight,’ He said, ‘every one of you will desert me. For it’s written in the Scriptures, ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’. But after I’ve risen from the dead, I’ll go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.’’

‘Once again my brother Peter was the first to speak. ‘But Lord,’ he said, ‘Even if everyone else leaves you, I never will!’’

‘Jesus stopped for a moment and looked at us. ‘Peter,’ He replied, ‘the truth is, this very night before the cockerel crows you will have said three times that you don’t know me.’’

‘’No way!’ Peter insisted. ‘Even if I have to die with You, I wouldn’t deny I knew You!’ And all the rest of us said the same thing.’

‘When we arrived at a garden full of olive trees called Gethsemane, Jesus told us, ‘Sit here while I go on ahead to pray.’ Taking Peter, James and John with Him He began to be filled with sorrow, anguish and deep distress. Turning to the three of them He said, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and pray with me.’ Then, going a little further on by Himself, He fell face down on the ground and prayed, ‘Father if it’s possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. (P) And yet, I want what You want, not what I want.’’

‘After Jesus’d prayed this prayer He got up and went back to see Peter, James and John, but they’d fallen asleep. So waking Peter up He said, ‘Peter, couldn’t you stay awake and pray with me for just one hour? Keep alert and pray otherwise temptation will overpower you! Because, even though the spirit is willing, the body is weak!’’

‘Then Jesus left the three of them and went back to pray, ‘My father. If this cup of suffering cannot be taken away until I drink it, then may Your will be done.’ Once again, after praying, Jesus returned to find His disciples sleeping. They were so tired they just couldn’t keep their eyes open. And so He went back a third time to pray, praying the same thing. ‘My father. If this cup of suffering cannot be taken away until I drink it, then may Your will be done.’

‘Then coming a third time to His disciples He woke them from their sleep. ‘Still sleeping?’ He said, ‘Still resting? Look, the hour has come and I, the Son of Man, have been betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s go, my betrayer has arrived!’’

‘Even while He was speaking Judas Iscariot, one of His closest disciples, one of the 12 of us, arrived with a crowd of people sent by the chief Priests armed with swords and clubs. Judas had arranged a special signal with the crowd so that they’d know who to arrest. ‘This is how you’ll know who Jesus is,’ he’d told them, ‘He’ll be the one I greet with a welcoming kiss.’ And so, walking straight up to Jesus he said, ‘Greetings Teacher,’ and gave Him a kiss.’

‘I can’t even begin to imagine how Jesus felt. One of His closest friends, a disciple, someone who’d shared His food, was betraying Him! But looking at Judas He said, ‘My friend, do what you came to do.’ And at that, others from the crowd grabbed Jesus and arrested Him.’

‘It was then that my brother Peter decided he ought to show Jesus just how ready he was to die for Him. And so, grabbing a sword, he slashed at the first person he came across who happened to be the servant of the high priest. It wasn’t a very effective blow, but it did cut off his ear!’

‘Put your sword away!’ Jesus shouted. ‘Don’t you know that those who use the sword will die by the sword? Don’t you realise that if I wanted to I could ask My Father to send twelve legions of angels to protect us and He would send them at once! (P) But if that happened, then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?’

‘Then reaching out His hand, Jesus touched the high priest’s servant’s ear and healed him. Turning to the crowd, Jesus asked, ‘Every day I sat in the Temple courts teaching and you didn’t arrest me. So why have you come to me now with swords and clubs as if I were some kind of dangerous criminal starting a rebellion? But this is happening to fulfil the words the prophets wrote as recorded in the Scriptures.’ (P) To my shame, it was then that all the rest of us, His disciples, His closest friends – ran away and deserted Him, fearful for our own lives.’ (PAUSE)

‘Jesus was led to the house of Caiaphas the high Priest where all the teachers of the Law and other leaders had gathered, even though it was the early hours of the morning. I found out later that Peter followed on behind, a long way back, and eventually made his way into the courtyard of the house, waiting to see what would happen to Jesus.’

‘There was nothing legal or right about that gathering. Such was their hatred for Jesus that they were prepared to break their own laws to make sure they got rid of Him, even if that meant meeting in the middle of the night! And so Jesus stood in the middle of this illegal court waiting to hear what they’d say as the entire council tried to find witnesses to tell lies about Him. But the law said there had to be at least two witnesses to any charge if the person was to be found guilty! The witnesses they brought against Jesus told all kinds of lies, but none of them could agree – so they were worthless. Finally, the council brought forward two men who shouted, ‘This man Jesus said He’s able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it again in just three days!’ But even these men didn’t get their stories straight!’

‘The high Priest knew he was losing the argument, but he couldn’t give up now and let Jesus go. He had to do something, anything, to get Jesus to say something that could be used against Him. And so, once again breaking the law by asking Jesus to answer a question that the law said He didn’t have to answer, the high priest shouted at Jesus, ‘I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you’re the Messiah, the Son of God – or not.’’ (PAUSE)

‘If Jesus said no, they’d have to let Him go. But Caiaphas knew He wouldn’t – or couldn’t – say no, because it would have been a lie. So raising His head to look at them, Jesus answered Caiaphas’ question. ‘Yes, it is as you say. And the day will come when you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God in the place of power – and coming back on the clouds of heaven.’’

‘At last, Caiaphas had got something he could work with. So in a show of mock horror he stood up and tore his clothes shouting, ‘Blasphemy! He has spoken blasphemy claiming to make Himself equal with God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You have all heard His blasphemy with your own ears. What’s your verdict?’ (P) It would only be blasphemy if it wasn’t true – but this court wasn’t interested in truth; its only interest was in getting rid of Jesus once and for all.’

‘’Guilty!’ came back the shouts from the crowd. ‘He is guilty of blasphemy and must die!’’

‘After this, they spat in Jesus’ face and hit Him with their fists. Some of them even slapped Him and jeered at Him, ‘prophesy to us, Messiah! Who hit you this time?’

Episode NT18 – The Transfiguration

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Mark chapter 8 verse 27 to chapter 9 verse 13

The Transfiguration

As they travelled northeast, out of Israel to the area of Caesarea Philippi, they couldn’t help noticing all the temples and places of worship there were to different ‘gods’. It was said that at the bottom of one of the nearby mountains the so-called ‘god’ Pan was born – a god of fertility, perhaps the most important fertility symbol in the whole region. It was as they walked through this landscape, a landscape of so much worship but so little knowledge of the true and living God that Jesus turned to His disciples and asked, ‘Tell me, who do people say I am?’

The disciples mulled it over for a moment or two. ‘Some say you’re John the Baptist come back to life,’ one said. Another added, ‘Or maybe Elijah or one of the other prophets, you know, Jeremiah or someone like that.’

‘But what about you?’ Jesus asked them, ‘Who do you say I am?’

Simon Peter didn’t hesitate when he heard the question, because somehow he already knew the answer. And so in a land of so many gods and idols, Simon Peter spoke his true confession, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’

‘God has really blessed you Simon son of John,’ Jesus said. ‘Because you didn’t learn this from anyone else, it was my Father in heaven who revealed it to you. And now I tell you that with your true acknowledgement of who I am – you are Peter, which means ‘rock’, and on this rock – I will build my church, and even though the powers of hell will rage against it, they will never conquer it. And, I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven so that whatever you bind up here on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you set free here on earth will be set free in heaven.’

Jesus knew that even though His disciples had begun to understand who He was, as yet they had little real idea of what the Messiah would be like. They thought the Messiah would set them free from the power of the Romans, that their nation would become the most powerful on earth – they only thought of the Messiah as someone who would set them free from the problems of this world. But Jesus knew how little they understood, and how easily others would misunderstand if they found out that He was the Messiah, and so He sternly warned them not to tell anyone else that He was the Messiah.

From that moment on Jesus was determined that the disciples should understand what the Messiah’s life was all about. So He began to tell them plainly that He would have to go to Jerusalem and about all that would happen there.  That He would have to suffer at the hands of the leaders, the high priests and teachers of the law. That He would be killed and on the third day, He would be raised back to life.

But this wasn’t anything like the Messiah the disciples had in mind! Peter couldn’t believe his ears! The Messiah suffer? Die? What was Jesus talking about, surely this couldn’t be right? Jesus must have got it all mixed up. So taking Jesus to one side he started to correct Him, ‘Jesus, Jesus, heaven forbid that these things you’re talking about should come true…’

As Peter spoke, Jesus realised where all the false ideas Peter had about the Messiah had come from, and who had whispered them into Peter’s head. So looking at Peter and making sure they could all hear He said, ‘Get away from me Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me because you don’t see things from God’s perspective but from a human point of view!’

And with Peter still reeling from His rebuke, Jesus started to teach the disciples what it really meant to be one of His followers, to show them how wrong their ideas were and just how much it was going to cost them. ‘If anyone wants to be my follower,’ He began, ‘then they must put aside what they want and pick up their cross and follow me.’

Pick up a cross? Was Jesus saying that following Him was the same as being a prisoner under sentence of death? For only a convicted criminal walking to his place of execution would carry his cross, knowing it would be the last journey of his life! But Jesus was still talking, ‘If you try to keep living your life for yourself, then you will lose your life. But, if you live your life for me, then you will find true life! Tell me, what good is it if you become master of the whole world and have everything you could ever imagine and then lose your soul to the fires of hell? Is there anything worth more than your soul? For one day I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father, with His angels, and I will judge all people according to what they have done! And what’s more, I assure you that some of you standing right here will not die before you have seen me, the Son of Man, coming in my Kingdom!’

The disciples were to remember this later when Jesus had risen from the dead!

About six days or so later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers James and John with Him as He went up a high mountain. When they reached the top something amazing happened before their eyes! As they watched, Jesus’ appearance started to change until His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any process known to man could make them. And as they watched in terror and awe, two other men appeared with Jesus. There was no doubting who these men were. One of them was Moses, the man who had led the people of Israel out of Egypt and who had received the law and passed it on to the people. The other man was Elijah the great prophet who had been taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. And as they met with Jesus, Moses and Elijah started to speak with Him about what was to take place soon!

The disciples didn’t know what to think, what to do. It would perhaps have been wiser if Peter hadn’t said anything, but as he looked at the scene unfolding before him he spluttered out, ‘Lord, this is wonderful! If you want, I could make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah!’ He didn’t really know what he was saying!

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud came over them all and a voice spoke from within the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him. Listen to Him.’ As the voice spoke the disciples were terrified, and just like Moses and Elijah had fallen down to worship God on Mount Sinai many years earlier, so the three of them fell face down on the ground. (PAUSE)

God had spoken His approval of all Jesus had said and done! In the most spectacular way, God had told these disciples that He was fully pleased with Jesus and that they should listen to Him even though He wasn’t the kind of Messiah they’d been expecting. And even though He taught that following Him would cost so much.

Moments later Jesus came over and touched them. ‘Get up,’ He said, ‘don’t be afraid.’ As they got up and looked around they saw that only Jesus remained with them – as if Moses and Elijah had been pointing to Jesus so that only Jesus remained, because, in Him, all the law and the prophets found their fulfilment. As they descended the mountain, Jesus commanded them yet again not to tell anyone what they had seen until He had been raised from the dead.’

Episode NT16 – Walking on Water

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on John chapter 6 verses 14 to 20 & Matthew chapter 14 verses 28 to 36

Walking on Water

‘It was hard work passing out all that bread and fish to all those people! And by the time we’d each collected a basket full of leftovers, the twelve of us were exhausted!’

‘It was then that the crowds realised Jesus had just fed well over five thousand people from the contents of a child’s packed lunch, they were amazed! It was an incredible miracle and reminded them of how in the time of Moses, God had fed the people of Israel with manna from heaven when they were wandering in the desert.’

‘It was enough to convince some of the crowd that Jesus was the ‘Great Prophet’ Moses had promised would one day come, and so they decided that they were going to make Him king, even if it meant they had to use force to make it happen!’

‘Jesus was indeed the ‘Great Prophet’, but at that time we didn’t understand how the ‘Great Prophet’ Moses had promised would come us, and that His kingdom wasn’t one restricted to the earth. And so Jesus slipped away from us all and made His way higher up into the hills to be alone and pray.’ (PAUSE)

‘As the crowd melted away, going back to their home, the twelve of us, His disciples, were left waiting for Jesus. Jesus hadn’t left any instructions with us about what we were supposed to do. So after a while we wandered back to the boat and waited for Him there.’

‘The hours ticked by slowly, and when it started to get dark and we realised Jesus wasn’t going to be coming back with us, we set sail for Capernaum.’

‘The wind was against us from the start and we made slow progress through heavy waves. When we were about three or four miles out into the lake, our minds were completely absorbed in the battle against the waves and in trying to make headway through the dark seas. So when, at about three o’clock in the morning, we saw a figure walking on the water towards us out of the night we screamed in terror!’

‘But no sooner had we seen the figure and started to scream than the voice of Jesus came to us strong and loud from the figure in the darkness. ‘It’s all right,’ He said. ‘It’s me! I’m here! Don’t be afraid.’’

‘As we looked at each other, not sure what to think or do, Peter started shouting back. ‘Lord, if it really is you, then tell me to come to you by walking on the water.’’

‘The rest of us couldn’t believe what we were hearing! Peter wanted to walk to Jesus on the water – in this storm?’

‘‘Come to me Peter,’ Jesus said.’ (P)

‘It was so typical of my brother Peter! Without a second thought he leapt out over the side of the boat and, gazing at Jesus, he started to walk on the water towards Him!’ (PAUSE)

‘Maybe it was the howling winds that first caught Peter’s attention and took his eyes off Jesus. Whatever it was that broke his concentration, Peter started to notice the massive waves rolling by, and as he saw them and stopped looking at Jesus, terror grasped at his heart, and as the fear took hold so he started to slip down into the water. ‘Save me Lord,’ he screamed as he sank lower and lower.’

‘Instantly, without a moment’s hesitation, Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed hold of Peter. ‘You don’t trust me very much do you Peter?’ He said. ‘Why did you doubt me?’’

‘The two of them climbed into the boat and as they did, the wind stopped.’ (PAUSE)

‘It was then that all of us fell to our knees and worshipped Jesus. We had seen the impossible, Jesus coming to us walking on water in the midst of a storm, and then calling Peter to come to Him on the water. We had seen Jesus save Peter’s life when he called out to Him for help. And so on bended knee we all said to Jesus, ‘You really are the Son of God.’’ (PAUSE)

‘We landed at Gennesaret and it seemed that within moments the news of our arrival spread throughout the whole region. Soon crowds of people arrived, begging Jesus to heal the sick. Even the sick themselves begged just to be able to touch the fringe of His robe, and everyone who touched it was healed.’

Episode NT12 – The Unclean

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Mark chapter 5

The Unclean

As the boat approached the shore after the terrible storm, the disciples saw the man running their way. He was hard to miss! Naked and unkempt from years of living amongst the tombs and wandering in the wilderness – he hurried to where their boat was landing. Even as Jesus climbed out of the boat the man ran towards Him. And at seeing Jesus, he shrieked, threw himself on the ground and started screaming! ‘Why are you bothering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I’m begging you – don’t torture me!’ He was pleading with Jesus because already Jesus had started to tell the evil spirits to come out of the man and leave him alone.

The evil spirits had often taken control of the man. When people had tried to put him in chains to control him, he simply smashed the chains and ran out amongst the tombs or into the wilderness screaming and shrieking and hurting himself with rocks, totally under the power of the demons.

‘Tell me,’ Jesus asked, ‘What’s your name?’

‘Legion,’ replied the man, ‘Because there are many of us inside this man’. And then they started to beg Jesus again and again not to send them to some far off place. (PAUSE)

Just nearby was a very large herd of pigs. ‘Send us into those pigs instead,’ the demons begged, and Jesus gave them permission.

So, at Jesus’ command, the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs. (P) As they did, it looked as if the whole hillside was moving. The herdsmen watched in horror as the whole herd of two thousand pigs stampeded down the hillside and drowned in the lake!

The herdsmen were terrified and ran as quickly as they could to the nearby city telling everyone they met what they’d seen and what had happened to the pigs!

Within no time at all a crowd gathered around Jesus, the people wanting to see for themselves if what the herdsmen had said was true. And what they saw filled them with fear, for as they came to Jesus, there in front of him sat the man they’d always know to be demon possessed. Before, he’d been like a madman, screaming and shrieking and running around the tombs, but now, although they recognised his face, it was almost as if a new man was sitting there. For he was no longer controlled by demons, but completely sane, clothed and sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet. As the crowds gathered, those who’d seen the whole thing happen told the newcomers how Jesus had healed the demon possessed man and what’d happened to the pigs. (PAUSE)

How should the people have responded to have amongst them One so powerful? Surly they should have welcomed Him into their homes having decided to turn away from all their evil deeds. They should have begged Him to teach them, to show them how they could become children of the Most High God. But instead, in their fear and because of losing their pigs, they begged the One who had come to heal them – to go away and leave them alone. (P) And so Jesus started to leave.

As Jesus got into the boat, the man who’d been possessed begged Him, ‘Lord please, let me come with you.’ But He refused to let the man come, and instead told him, ‘No, you stay here and go home and tell all your friends what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful He’s been.’

And so as Jesus and His disciples set sail for the other side of the lake, the man stayed and did just as Jesus had commanded. Travelling to all the towns and cities of that area he told everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him, and all who heard these things were amazed. (PAUSE)

When Jesus’ boat arrived back on the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him on the shore. News of all that Jesus had done was well known in the region, so it wasn’t too surprising when someone came to Him, begging Him to heal their daughter. This person, Jairus, was the leader of the local Jewish meeting place, the synagogue, and he was terrified that his precious daughter, his only child was about to die.

‘Please,’ he begged, ‘come to my home, put your hands on my daughter and heal her so that she can live.’ (PAUSE)

It wasn’t exactly easy to go with Jairus, as it seemed that everyone and their neighbour wanted to see Jesus, and talk to Jesus, and be near Jesus. The narrow streets couldn’t cope with such a huge number of people and so their progress was slow. (P)

The woman didn’t know what to do – she was desperate! Something was wrong with her. She’d been bleeding constantly for twelve years! Numerous doctors had tried all they could to heal her, but they’d only made matters worse, and now she had a permanent flow of blood making her ritually unclean, unable to play any part in the life of her people – she wasn’t even supposed to touch another person in case she made them unclean as well. Not only that, but she’d used every last penny she had to pay the doctors – with nothing left, she had nowhere else to go.

This woman had also heard about Jesus, of all He’d done, that there was nothing to difficult for Him and that the power of the living God was at work in Him and through Him. But how could she go to Him with THIS problem, it was too private, too painful and yet somehow she knew that He was the only answer. The crowds were almost overwhelming. Normally she kept away from them for fear that someone would recognise her as the ‘unclean woman’ and she’d be disgraced. But she had to see Jesus, to touch just the hem of his clothes for she knew that He was the One through whom God would heal her. So covering her head, hoping that no one would recognise her, she pushed her way into the crowd, heading for Jesus.

Jesus was making slow progress to Jairus’ house with the crowd pushing and shoving and getting in each other’s way. Meanwhile, the woman worked her way through the crowd, came up behind Him, and reaching out her hand she touched the fringe of his robe, and at once, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was healed. But her joy was momentary for no sooner had she received His healing power than Jesus stopped and started to look around the crowd.

‘Who touched me?’ He asked.

‘What do you mean ‘who touched you’ his disciples replied. ‘This crowd’s pushing against you from every side, how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’’

But Jesus wouldn’t move, He kept looking around and asking ‘who touched me?’  The woman was terrified, people would recognise her as being the ‘unclean woman’, what was she to do? All she could do was fall on her knees before Jesus in front of this huge crowd and tell Him what she’d done.

Would Jesus be angry? Would He scold her for being unclean and touching other people? No, instead He looked at her, and for all to hear, so that everyone would no longer be able to call her the ‘unclean woman’, he gently restored her, saying. ‘Daughter, your faith had made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed.’ Not only had Jesus healed her, but now He’d made sure everyone knew she was clean – she was healed and restored, she could take her place once more amongst God’s people. (PAUSE)

The healing of the woman had taken precious time. Jairus had looked on not knowing what to do. His daughter was dying, every moment was precious as her life hung in the balance and here was Jesus dealing with someone else. Then Jairus saw his servant approaching, ashen faced. ‘There’s no point bothering the teacher now sir,’ he said, ‘your daughter’s died.’

Jairus didn’t know what to think, but Jesus was by his side. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ He said, ‘Just trust me.’

It was then that Jesus stopped the crowd from coming any further, only allowing Peter, James and John to follow him to Jairus’ house. Already the mourners had gathered and the weeping and mourning for the dead had begun, but Jesus went in and said to them, ‘What’s all this racket? The child’s not dead, she’s only sleeping.’ The mourners laughed at Jesus, they knew the difference between someone who’s dead and someone who’s sleeping.

Jesus told everyone to leave the house except his three disciples and the girl’s parents. Then taking them into the girl’s room, Jesus walked across to where she lay on her bed and took hold of her hand. ‘Little girl,’ He said, ‘Get up.’ At His command, the twelve year old girl immediately stood up and started to walk around!

Completely overwhelmed her parents looked to Jesus who told them, and His disciples, not to tell anyone what had happened, but instead to give their daughter something to eat.

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.