 Story number one of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, part six. The Angel by the Altar. Luke 1.1-80 At the time when the story of the New Testament began, the land of Israel, called also the land of Judea, was ruled by a king named Herod. He was the first of several Herods who at different times ruled either the whole of the land or parts of it. But Herod was not the highest ruler. Many years before this time the Romans who came from the city of Rome in Italy had won all the land around the Great Sea, the sea which we call the Mediterranean. And above King Herod of Judea was the Great King at Rome who was called Emperor, ruling over all the lands and over the land of Judea among them. So Herod, though King of Judea, obeyed his overlord, the Emperor at Rome. At the time when this story began the Emperor of Rome was named Augustus Caesar. At this time the land where the Jews lived was full of people. Jerusalem was its largest city and in Jerusalem was standing the Temple of the Lord which King Herod had begun to build anew, taking the place of the old temple built in the time of Zero Bebel. Seastory 105 which had long needed repair. There were also many other large cities besides Jerusalem. In the south was Hebron among the mountains. On the shore of the Great Sea were Gaza and Joppa and Caesarea. In the middle of the land were Shechem and Samaria. And in the north were Nazareth and Cana. Down by the shore of the Sea of Galilee were Tiberius and Capernaum and Bersaida. Far up in the north at the foot of snowy Mount Hebron was another Caesarea. But so that it might not be confused with Caesarea upon the sea coast this city was called Caesarea Philippi or Philip's Caesarea from the name of one of Herod's sons. One day an old priest named Zacharias was leading the service of worship in the temple. He was standing in front of the holy altar of incense in the holy place and was holding in his hand a censer or cup full of burning coals and incense while all the people were worshiping in the court of the temple outside the court of the priests where the great altar of burnt offering stood. Let's see stories 27 and 28. Suddenly Zacharias saw an angel from the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. He felt a great fear when he saw this strange being with shining face but the angel said to him, Do not be afraid Zacharias for I have come from the Lord to bring you good news. Your wife Elizabeth shall have a son and you shall name him John. Be made glad for your son John shall bring joy and gladness to many. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord and he shall never taste wine nor strong drink as long as he lives but he shall be filled with God's Holy Spirit. He shall lead many of the people of Israel to the Lord for he shall go before the Lord in the power of Elijah the prophet as was promised by Malachi the last of the old prophets. See the last story. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and those who are disobeying the Lord to do his will. As Zacharias heard these words he was filled with wonder and could hardly believe them true. He was now an old man and his wife Elizabeth was also old so that they could not expect to have a child. He said to the angel, How shall I know that your words are true for I am an old man and my wife is old? I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God said the angel and I was sent from the Lord to speak to you and to bring you this good news but because you did not believe my words you shall become dumb and shall not be able to speak until this which I have said comes to pass. All this time the people outside in the court were wondering why the priest stayed so long in the temple. When at last he came out they found that he could not speak a word but made signs to them to tell them that he had seen a vision in the temple. After the days of his service were over Zacharias went to his own home which was near Hebron a city of the priests among the mountains in the south of Judea. When his wife Elizabeth found that God was soon to give her a child he was very happy and praised the Lord. About six months after Zacharias saw the vision in the temple the same angel Gabriel was sent from the Lord to a city in the part of the land called Galilee which was in the north. The city to which the angel was sent was Nazareth. There the angel found a young girl named Mary who was a cousin to Elizabeth. Mary was soon to be married to a good man who had sprung from the line of King David though he himself was not a king or a rich man. He was a carpenter or woodworker living in Nazareth and his name was Joseph. The angel came into the room where Mary was and said to her Hail woman favored by the Lord, the Lord is with you. Mary was surprised at the angel's words and wondered what they could mean. Then the angel spoke again and said Do not be afraid Mary, the Lord has given to you his favor and has chosen you to be the mother of a son whose name shall be Jesus which means salvation because he shall save his people from their sins. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of God and the Lord shall give to him the throne of his father David. He shall be a king and shall reign over the people of God forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. But Mary could not see how all this was to come to pass and the angel said to her The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall be over you and the Holy Child which you shall have shall be called the Son of God. Then the angel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was soon to have a child through the power of the Lord and when Mary heard all this she said I am the servant of the Lord to do his will let it be to me as you have said. When the angel had given his message and had gone away Mary rose up in haste and made a journey to the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth 80 miles away in the South Country When Elizabeth saw Mary she was filled with the Spirit of the Lord and said Blessed are you among women and blessed among men shall be your Son and why is it that the mother of my Lord comes to visit me Blessed is the woman who believed that the promise of the Lord to her shall be made true Then Mary was filled with the Spirit of the Lord and broke into a song of praise She stayed with Elizabeth for nearly three months and then went again to her own home at Nazareth As the angel had said to the aged woman Elizabeth was given a son They were going to name him Zacharias after his father but his mother said No, his name shall be John Why? they said None of your family has ever been named John They asked his father Zacharias by signs what name he wished to be given to the child He asked for something to write upon and when they brought it he wrote His name is John Then all at once the power to hear and to speak came back to Zacharias He spoke praising and blessing God and he sang a song of thanks to God in which he said You old child shall be called a prophet of the most high to go before the Lord and to make ready his ways When John was growing up they sent him out into the desert on the south of the land and there he stayed until the time come for him to preach to the people for this child became the prophet, John the Baptist End of section 1 Recording by Sean McGaghey, DucktapeGuy.net Story number 2 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by John Leader Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 6 The Manger of Bethlehem Matthew 1 v. 18-25 and Luke 2 v. 1-39 Soon after the time when John the Baptist was born Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth, the husband of Mary, had a dream In his dream he saw an angel from the Lord standing beside him The angel said to him Joseph I have come to tell you that Mary, the young woman whom you are to Mary will have a son sent by the Lord God You shall call his name Jesus which means Salvation because he shall save his people from their sins Joseph knew from this that this coming child was to be the King of Israel of whom the prophets of the Old Testament had spoken so many times Soon after Joseph and Mary were married in Nazareth a command went forth from the Emperor Augustus Caesar through all the lands of the Roman Empire for all the people to go to the cities and towns from which their families had come and there to have their names written down upon a list for the Emperor wished a list to be made of the people under his rule As both Joseph and Mary had come from the family of David the King they went together from Nazareth to Bethlehem there to have their names written upon the list for you remember that Bethlehem in Judea six miles south of Jerusalem was the place where David was born where his father's family had lived for many years it was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem down the mountains to the river Jordan then following the Jordan almost to its end and then climbing the mountains of Judah to the town of Bethlehem when Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem they found the city full of people who, like themselves had come to have their names enrolled or written upon the list the inn or hotel was full and there was no room for them for no one but themselves knew that this young woman was soon to be the mother of the Lord of all the earth the best that they could do was to go to a stable where the cattle were kept there the little baby was born and was laid in a manger where the cattle were fed on that night some shepherds were tending their sheep in a field near Bethlehem suddenly a great light shone upon them and they saw an angel of the Lord standing before them they were filled with fear as they saw how glorious the angel was but the angel said to them be not afraid for behold I bring you news of great joy which shall be to all the people for there is born to you this day in Bethlehem the city of David this saviour who is Christ the Lord the anointed king you may see him there and may know him by this sign he is a newborn baby lying in a manger at the inn and then they saw that the air around and the sky above them were filled with angels praising God and singing glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men in whom God is well pleased while they looked with wonder and listened the angels went out of sight as suddenly as they had come then the shepherds said one to another let us go at once to Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing that has come to pass and which the Lord has made known to us then as quickly as they could go to Bethlehem they went and found Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth and his young wife Mary and the little baby lying in the manger they told Mary and Joseph and others also how they had seen the angels and what they had heard about this baby all who heard their story wondered at it but Mary the mother of the child said nothing she thought over all these things and silently kept them in her heart after their visit the shepherds went back to their flocks praising God for the good news that he had sent to them when the little one was eight days old they gave him a name and the name given was Jesus a word which means salvation as the angel had told both Mary and Joseph that he should be named so the very name of this child told what he should do for men for he was to bring salvation to the world it was the law among the Jews that after the first child was born in a family he should be brought to the temple and there an offering should be made for him to the Lord to show that this child was the Lord's a rich man would offer a lamb but a poor man might give a pair of young pigeons for the sacrifice on the day when Jesus was forty days old Joseph and Mary brought him to the temple and as Joseph the carpenter was not a rich man they gave the child as an offering a pair of young pigeons at that time there was living in Jerusalem a man of God named Simeon the Lord had spoken to Simeon and had said to him that he should not die until the anointed king should come whom they called the Christ for the word Christ means anointed on a certain day the spirit of the Lord told Simeon to go to the temple he went and was there when Joseph and Mary brought the little child Jesus the spirit of the Lord said to Simeon this little one is the promised Christ then Simeon took the baby in his arms and praised the Lord and said now oh Lord thou mayest let thy servant depart according to thy word in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast given before all the peoples a light to give light to the nations and the glory of thy people Israel when Joseph and Mary heard this they wondered greatly Simeon gave to them a blessing in the name of the Lord and he said to Mary this little one shall cause many in Israel to fall and to rise again many shall speak against him and sorrow like a sword shall pierce your heart also you know how this came to pass afterward when Mary saw her son dying on the cross while Simeon was speaking a very old woman came in her name was Anna and God spoke to her as to a prophet she stayed almost all the time in the temple shipping God day and night she too saw through the spirit of the Lord that this little child was Christ the Lord and gave thanks to God for his grace thus early in the life of Jesus God showed to a few that this little child should become the savior of his people and of the world end of story number two recording by John leader Bloomington Illinois story number three of Hurlbut's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Hurlbut's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut part six the star and the wise men Matthew second one to twenty three for some time after Jesus was born Joseph and Mary stayed with him in Bethlehem the little baby was not kept long in the stable sleeping in the manger for after a few days they found room in a house and there another visit was made to Jesus by strange men from a land far away in a country east of Judea and many miles distant were living some very wise men who studied the stars one night they saw a strange star shining in the sky and in some way they learned that the coming of this star meant that a king was soon to be born in the land of Judea these men felt a call of God to go to Judea far to the west of their own home and there to see this newborn king they took a long journey with camels and horses and at last they came to the land of Judea just at the time when Jesus was born at Bethlehem as soon as they were in Judea they supposed that everyone would know all about the king and they said where is he that is born the king of the Jews in the east we have seen his star and we have come to worship him but no one of whom they asked had ever seen this king or had heard of him the news of their coming was sent to Herod the king who is now a very old man he ruled the land of Judea as you know under the emperor at Rome Augustus Caesar see story 110 Herod was a very wicked man and when he heard of someone born to be a king he feared that he might lose his own kingdom he made up his mind to kill this new king and thus to keep his own power he sent for the priests and scribes the men who studied and taught the books of the Old Testament and asked them about this Christ for whom all the people were looking he said can you tell me where Christ the king of Israel is to be born they looked at the books of the prophets and then they said he is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judea art not the least among the princes of Judea for out of thee shall come forth one who shall rule my people Israel then Herod sent for the wise men from the east and met them alone and found from them at what time the star was first seen then he said to them go to Bethlehem and there search carefully for the little child and when you have found him bring me word again so that I may come and worship him then the wise men went on their way toward Bethlehem and suddenly they saw the star again shining upon the road before them at this they were glad and followed the star until it led them to the very house where the child was they came in and there they saw the little one with Mary its mother they knew at once that this was the king and they fell down on their faces and worshiped him as the Lord then they brought out gifts of gold and precious perfumes frankincense and myrrh which were used in offering sacrifices and they gave them as presents to the royal child that night God sent a dream to the wise men telling them not to go back to Herod but to go home at once to their own land by another way they obeyed the Lord and found another road to their own country without passing through Jerusalem where Herod was living so Herod could not learn from these men who the child was that was born to be a king and very soon after these wise men had gone away the Lord sent another dream to Joseph the husband of Mary he saw an angel who spoke to him saying rise up quickly take the child and his mother and go down to the land of Egypt for Herod will try to find the little child to kill him then at once Joseph rose up in the night without waiting even for the morning he took his wife and her baby and quietly and quickly went with them down to Egypt which was on the south west of Judea there they all stayed in safety as long as the wicked King Herod lived which was not many months King Herod waited for the wise men to come back to him from their visit to Bethlehem but he soon found that they had gone to their home without bringing to him any word then Herod was very angry he sent out his soldiers to Bethlehem they came and by the cruel King's command they seized all the little children in Bethlehem who were three years old or younger and killed them all what a cry went up to God from the mothers of Bethlehem as their children were torn from their arms and slain but all this time the child Jesus whom they were seeking was safe with his mother in the land of Egypt soon after this King Herod died a very old man cruel to the last then the angel of the Lord came again and spoke to Joseph in a dream saying you may now take the young child back to his own land for the king who sought to kill him is dead then Joseph took his wife and the little child Jesus and started to go again to the land of Judea perhaps it was his thought to go again to Bethlehem the city of David and there bring up the child but he heard that in that part of the land Archelaus was now ruling who was a son of Herod and as wicked and cruel as his father he feared to go under his rule and instead took his wife and child to Nazareth which had been his own home and that of Mary his wife before the child was born Nazareth was in the part of the land called Galilee which at that time was ruled by another son of King Herod a king named Herod Antipas he was not a good man but was not so cruel nor bloody as his wicked father had been so again Joseph the carpenter and Mary his wife were living in Nazareth and there they stayed for many years while Jesus was growing up Jesus was not the only child in their house for other sons and daughters were given to them End of story number three Story four of Herobot's story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by T. Wellington Holbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Holbert Story four The boy in his father's house Luke chapter two verses 40 to 52 Jesus was brought to Nazareth when he was a little child not more than three years old there he grew up to be a boy and a young man and there he lived until he was 30 years of age We should like to know many things about his boyhood but the Bible tells us very little as Joseph was a working man it is likely that he lived in a house with only one room with no floor except the earth no window except a hole in the wall no pictures upon the walls and neither bedstead nor cushions they slept upon rolls of matting and their meals were taken from a low table not much larger than a stool Jesus may have learned to read at the village school which was generally held in the house used for worship called the synagogue the lessons were from rolls on which were written parts of the Old Testament but Jesus never had a Bible of his own from the time when he was a child he went with Joseph to the worship in the synagogue twice every week there they sat on the floor and heard the Old Testament read and explained while Mary and the younger sisters of Jesus listened from a gallery behind a lattice screen the Jewish boys of that time were taught to know almost the whole of the Old Testament by heart it was the custom of the Jews from all parts of the land to go up to Jerusalem to worship at least once every year at the Feast of the Passover which was held in the spring some families also stayed to the Feast of Pentecost which was 50 days after Passover and some went again in the fall to the Feast of Tabernacles when for a week all families slept out of doors under roofs made of green twigs and bushes see story 23 and 28 when Jesus was a boy 12 years old he was taken up to the Feast of the Passover and then for the first time he saw the Holy City, Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord on Mount Moriah young as he was his soul was stirred as he walked among the courts of the Temple and saw the altar with its smoking sacrifice the priests in their white robes and the Levites with their silver trumpets though a boy Jesus began to feel that he was the son of God and that this was his father's house his heart was so filled with the worship of the Temple with the words of the scribes or teachers whom he heard in the courts then when it was time to go home to Nazareth he stayed behind held fast by his love for the house of the Lord the company of people who were traveling together was large and at first he was not missed but when night came and the boy Jesus could not be found his mother was alarmed the next day Joseph and Mary left their company and hastened back to Jerusalem they did not at first think to go to the Temple they sought him among their friends in kindred who were living in the city but could not find him on the third day they went up to the Temple with heavy hearts still looking for their boy and there they found him sitting in a company of the teachers of the law listening to their words and asking them questions everybody who stood near was surprised to find how deep was the knowledge of this boy in the word of the Lord his mother spoke to him a little sharply for she felt that her son had not been thoughtful of his duty she said child why have you treated us in this way do you not know that your father and I have been looking for you with troubled hearts why did you seek for me said Jesus did you not know I must be in my father's house they did not understand these words but Mary thought often about them afterwards for she felt that her son was no common child and that his words had a deep meaning though Jesus was wise beyond his ears he obeyed Joseph and his mother in all things he went with them to Nazareth and lived contented with the plain life of their country home as the years went on Jesus grew from a boy to a young man he grew too in knowledge and in wisdom and in the favor of God he won the love of all who knew him for there was something in his nature that drew all hearts both young and old Jesus learned the trade of a carpenter or worker in wood with Joseph and when Joseph died while Jesus was still a young man Jesus as the oldest son took up the care of his mother and his younger brothers and sisters and so in the work of the carpenter's shop and the quiet life of a country village and the worship of the synagogue the years passed until Jesus was 30 years of age End of Story 4 Read by T. Wellington Story 5 of Hubert's Story of the Bible This is LibriVox Recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by T. Wellington Hubert's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hubert Story 5 The Prophet in the Wilderness Matthew chapter 3 verses 1 through 17 Mark chapter 1 verses 1 to 11 and Luke chapter 3 verses 1 to 22 We now turn to a time when Jesus, the son of Mary was a young man about 30 years of age John, the son of the priest Zacharias was six months older but these two young men had never met for one was in the north of Nazareth and the other was living in the desert on the south of Judea Suddenly the news went through all the land of Israel that a prophet had risen up and was giving to the people the work of the Lord It was more than 400 years since God had sent a prophet to his people and when it was known that again a man was speaking what God had told him not what he had learned by studying the old writings a thrill went through the hearts of all the people from all parts of the land out of cities and villages people poured forth to the wild region beside the river Jordan where the new prophet was preaching the word of God This prophet was John, the son of Zacharias He lived in the wilderness where he was alone with God and listened to God's voice In his looks and dress John was not like other men His garment was made of rough cloth woven from camel's hair around his waist was a girdle of skin and the food which he ate was dried locusts and a wild honey from the trees and this was his message turn from sin to doing right for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and the king is soon to come The people came to hear his words and when they asked him what shall we do John said to them he that has two coats let him give to him that has none and he that has food more than he needs let him give to him that is hungry The men who gathered the taxes and were called publicans asked of John master what shall we do and John answered them do not cheat the people nor rob them nor take more money than the law tells you to take from them and when the soldiers came to him he said to them do not harm anyone nor bring false charges against any and be content with the wages that are paid to you There came to John some people who were called Pharisees these men made a great show of being good and of worshiping often and of keeping the law of Moses but in their hearts they were evil and their goodness was not real John said to these men when he saw them oh ye brood of vipers who has told you to escape from the wrath of God and is soon to come turn from your sins to God and do right and do not say to yourselves Abraham is our father for God is able out of these stones to raise up children to Abraham When men who heard the words of John wished to give themselves up to his will John baptized them in the river Jordan as a sign that their sins were washed away and because of this he was called John the Baptist Some of the people began to ask Is not this man the Christ whom God promised long ago to send to rule over the people John heard this and he said I baptize you with water but there is one coming after me who is greater than I he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire he is so high above me that I am not worthy even to stoop down and untie the strings of his shoes this mighty one who is coming shall sift out the wheat from the chaff among the people the wheat he will gather into his garner but the chaff he will burn up with fire that no man can put out nearly all the people in the land came to hear John in the wilderness baptized by him among the last who came was Jesus the young carpenter from Nazareth when John saw Jesus something within told John that here was one greater and holier than himself he said to Jesus I have need to be baptized by thee and come as thou to me Jesus answered him let it be so now for it is fitting that I should do all things that are right then John baptized Jesus as he had baptized others and as Jesus came up out of the water and was praying John saw above the head of Jesus the heavens opening and the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove and lighting upon him and John heard from heaven a voice saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and then John knew and told to others that this was the Son of God the Christ whom God had promised to send to the people end of story 5 story 6 of Holbert's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by T. Wellington Holbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Holbert story 6 Jesus in the desert and beside the river Matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 11 Mark chapter 1 verses 12 and 13 Luke chapter 4 verses 1 to 13 and John chapter 1 verses 29 to 51 from the earliest years of Jesus the Spirit of God was with him growing as he grew and in the hour when he was baptized and the form of a dove was seen hovering over him Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as no man before him had been filled for he was the Son of God at that hour he knew more fully than he had ever known before that work that he should do to save men the Spirit of God sent Jesus into the desert there to be for a time alone with God and to plan out his work for men so earnest was the thought of Jesus in the desert so full was his union with God that for 40 days he never once ate anything or felt any wish for food but when the 40 days were ended then suddenly hunger came upon him and he felt faint and starving as any other man would feel who had fasted for so long a time at that moment Satan the evil spirit came to Jesus as he comes to us and put a thought into his mind it was this thought if you are the Son of God you can do whatever you please and can have whatever you wish why do you not command that these stones be turned into loaves of bread for you to eat Jesus knew that he could do this but he knew also that this power had been given to him not for himself but that he might help others he said to the evil spirit it is written in God's book man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of God then the evil spirit led Jesus to Jerusalem, the holy city and brought him to the top of a high tower on the temple and said to him now show all the people that you are the Son of God to the ground you know that it is written in the book of Psalms he shall give his angels charge over thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone but Jesus knew that this would not be right for it would be done not to please God but to show himself before men and as a trial of God's power when God himself had not commanded it he answered it is written again thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God again the evil spirit tried to lead Jesus into doing wrong as he leads us all he led him to the top of a high mountain and caused a vision of all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to stand before the eyes of Jesus then he said all these shall be yours you shall be the king of all the earth if you will only fall down and worship me then Jesus said to him thou evil spirit for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve when Satan found that Jesus would not listen to him he left him and then the angels of God came to Jesus in the desert and gave him the food that he needed after this victory over the evil spirit Jesus went again from the desert to the place at the river Jordan where he had been baptized his nearest city sometimes called Bethabera a word which means a place of crossing because it was one of the places where the river Jordan was so shallow that the people could walk across it the city was also called Bethany beyond Jordan so that it would not be mistaken for another Bethany on the Mount of Olives very near Jerusalem there John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and he said who takes away the sin of the world this is the one of whom I spoke saying there is one coming after me who is greater than I this is the Son of God and again the next morning John the Baptist was standing with two young men his followers they were fishermen who had come from the sea of Galilee to hear him one was named Andrew and the other John John the Baptist saw Jesus walking nearby and he said again behold the Lamb of God when the two young men heard this they left John and went to speak with Jesus although they had not known him before Jesus saw that they were following him and he said what is it that you wish from me and they said to him master we would like to know where you are staying so that we can see you and talk with you Jesus said to them they went with Jesus and saw where he was staying and stayed and talked with him and listened to his words all the rest of that day for it was about 10 o'clock in the morning when they first saw Jesus and these two young men went away from the meeting with Jesus believing that Jesus was a savior and the king of Israel these two Andrew and John were the first two men after John the Baptist to believe in Jesus these four men had a brother whom he wished might know Jesus Andrew's brother was named Simon and John's brother was named James these four men were all fishermen together upon the sea of Galilee Andrew found his brother first and he said to him we have found the anointed one the Christ who is to be the king of Israel and Andrew brought his brother to meet Jesus Jesus saw him coming and without waiting to hear his name he said, your name is Simon and you are the son of Jonas but I will give you a new name you shall be called the rock the word rock in Hebrew the language of the Jews was Cephas and in Greek the language in which the New Testament was written it is Petros or Peter so from that time Simon was called Simon Peter that is Simon the Rock so now Jesus had three followers Andrew, John and Simon Peter the next day he was going back to Galilee the part of the land where was his home he met another man named Philip who had also come from Galilee he said to Philip follow me and Philip went with Jesus as the fourth of his followers Philip found a friend whose name was Nathaniel he came from a place in Galilee called Cana Philip said to Nathaniel we have found the one whom Moses wrote in the law and of whom the prophet spoke the anointed Christ it is Jesus of Nazareth Nathaniel lived not many miles from Nazareth and he did not think that such a place as Nazareth could have in it one so great as the Christ whom the Jews looked for as their king he said to Philip rather than scorn can there any good thing come out of Nazareth Philip knew that if Nathaniel could only meet Jesus and hear his words he would believe in him as the others believed he said to Nathaniel come and see him for yourself and he brought Nathaniel to Jesus as soon as Jesus saw him he said here is an Israelite indeed Nathaniel was surprised at this and he said to Jesus Master how do you know me before Philip called you when you were standing under the fig tree I saw you said Jesus at this Nathaniel wondered all the more and he saw that Jesus knew what no man could know he said master thou art the son of God thou art the king of Israel Jesus said to Nathaniel do you think because I tell you that I saw you under the fig tree you shall see greater things than these the time shall come when you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and down through me the son of God Jesus had now five followers these men and others who walked with him and listened to his words were called disciples a word which means end of story 6 story 7 of Holbert's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by T. Wellington Holbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Holbert story 7 the water jars at the wedding feast 1 chapter 2 verse 1 to chapter 3 verse 21 a few days after Jesus met his first followers or disciples at the river Jordan he came with these men to a town in Galilee called Cana to be present at a wedding in those lands a feast was always held at a wedding and often the friends of those who were married stayed several days eating and drinking together the mother of Jesus was at this wedding at the end of the family for Nazareth where she lived was quite near to Cana before the wedding feast was over all the wine had been used and there was no more for the guests to drink the mother of Jesus knew that her son had power to do whatever he chose and she said to him they have no wine Jesus said to her oh woman what have I to do with thee my hour is not yet come but his mother knew in some way helped the people in their need and she said to the servants who were waiting at the table whatever he tells you to do be sure to do it in the dining hall were standing six large stone jars each about as large as a barrel holding 25 gallons these jars held water for washing as the Jews washed their hands before every meal and washed their feet as often as they came from walking in the street since they wore no shoes but only sandals Jesus said to the servants fill the water jars with water the servants obeyed Jesus and filled the jars up to the brim then Jesus spoke to them again and said now draw out some of the water and take it to the ruler of the feast they drew out water from the jars and saw that it had been turned into wine the ruler did not know from what place the wine had come but he said to the young men who had just been married the bridegroom at a feast everybody gives his best wine at the beginning and afterward when his guests have drunk freely he brings on wine that is not so good but you have kept the good wine until now this was the first time that Jesus used the power that God had given him to do what no other man could do such works as these were called miracles and Jesus did them as signs of his power as the Son of God when the disciples saw this miracle they believed in Jesus more fully than before after this Jesus went with his mother and his younger brothers to a place called Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee but they stayed there only a few days for the feast of the Passover was near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem to attend it you remember that the feast of the Passover was held every year to keep in mind how God had led the people of Israel out of Egypt long before when Jesus came to Jerusalem he found in the courts of the temple men who were selling oxen and sheep and doves for the sacrifices and other men sitting at tables changing the money of Jews who came from other lands into the money of Judea all this made the courts around the temple seem like a market and not a place for the worship of God Jesus picked up some cord and made it into a little whip with it he began to drive out of the temple all the buyers and sellers he was but one and they were many but such power was in his look that they ran before him he drove them in and the sheep in the oxen he overturned the tables and threw on the floor the money some of the rulers were selling the doves he said take these things away make not my father's house a house for selling and buying these acts of Jesus were not pleasing to the rulers of the Jews for many of them were getting rich by this selling of sacrifices and changing of money some of the rulers came to Jesus and said to him what right have you to come here and do such things as these that God has given you power to rule in this place Jesus said to them I will give you a sign destroy this house of God and in three days I will raise it up then said the Jews it has taken 46 years to build this temple and it is not finished yet will you raise it up in three days but Jesus did not mean the temple on Mount Moriah he was speaking of himself before in him God was dwelling as in a temple and he meant that when they should put him to death he would rise again in three days afterward when Jesus had died and risen again his followers the disciples thought of what he had said and understood these words while Jesus was in Jerusalem one of the rulers of the Jews a man named Nicodemus came to see him perhaps because he was afraid to be seen coming in the daytime he said to Jesus Master, we know that you are a teacher come from God for no man can do these wonderful things that you do unless God is with him Jesus said to Nicodemus I say to you in truth that unless a man is born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God Nicodemus did not know that this myth that to be saved we must have new hearts given to us by the Lord he said why, how can a man be born twice how can one be born again after he has grown up Jesus said to him I tell you the truth that unless a man is born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God by this he meant that we must be baptized and that God must put his spirit in us and become God's children Jesus said also as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that everyone who believes in him may have everlasting life for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him may not perish but may have everlasting life for God sent not his son into the world to condemn to judge the world but that the world through him might be saved we have already read in Story 32 how Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness and how that serpent pointed to Christ End of Story 7 Story 8 the stranger at the well Matthew chapter 14 verses 3 to 5 Mark chapter 6 verses 17 to 20 Luke chapter 3 verses 19 and 20 and John chapter 3 verse 22 to chapter 4 verse 42 and John chapter 3 verse 22 to chapter 4 verse 42 While Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem and in the country places near it John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing but already the people were leaving John and going to hear Jesus some of the followers of John the Baptist were not pleased as they saw that fewer people came to their master and that the crowds were seeking Jesus but John said to them I told you that I am not the Christ for him Jesus is the Christ, the King He must grow greater while I must grow less and I am glad it is so Soon after this Herod Antipas, the king of the province or land of Galilee put John in prison Herod had taken for his wife a woman named Herodias who had left her husband to live with Herod which was very wicked John sent word to Herod for him to have this woman as his wife these words of John made Herodias very angry she hated John and tried to kill him Herod himself did not hate John so greatly for he knew that John had spoken the truth but he was weak and yielded to his wife Herodias pleased her he sent John the Baptist to a lonely prison among the mountains east of the Dead Sea for the land in that region as well as Galilee was under Herod's rule there in prison Herod hoped to keep John safe from the hate of his wife Herodias Soon after John the Baptist was thrown into prison Jesus left the country near Jerusalem with his disciples and went toward Galilee the province in the north between Judea and the south and Galilee in the north lay the land of Samaria where the Samaritans lived who hated the Jews worshipped him but they had their own temple and their own priests and they had their own Bible which was only the five books of Moses for they would not read the other books of the Old Testament the Jews and the Samaritans would scarcely ever speak to each other so great was the hate between them when Jews went from Galilee to Jerusalem or from Jerusalem to Galilee they would not pass through Samaria but went down the mountains to the river Jordan and walked beside the river in order to go around Samaria but Jesus, when he would go from Jerusalem to Galilee walked over the mountains straight through Samaria one morning while he was on his journey he stopped to rest beside an old well at the foot of Mount Gerizim not far from the city of Shechem but near to a little village that was called Sikar this well had been dug by Jacob the great father or ancestor of the Israelites many hundreds of years before it was an old well then in the days of Jesus and it is much older now for the same well may be seen in that place still even now travelers may have a drink from Jacob's well as we read in Story 14 it was early in the morning about sunrise when Jesus was sitting by Jacob's well he was very tired for he had walked a long journey he was hungry and his disciples had gone to the village near to buy food he was thirsty too and as he looked into the well he could see the water a hundred feet below but he had no rope with which to let down a cup or a jar and to draw up some water to drink just at this moment a Samaritan woman came to the well with her water jar upon her head and her rope in her hand Jesus looked at her and in one glance read her soul and saw all of her life but he said to her please to give me a drink the woman saw from his looks and his dress that he was a Jew and she said to him how is it that you who are a Jew ask drink of me a Samaritan woman Jesus answered her if you knew what God's free gift is and if you knew who it is that says to you give me a drink you would ask him to give you living water and he would give it to you there was something in the words the looks of Jesus which made the woman feel that he was not a common man she said to him sir you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep where can you get that living water are you greater than our father Jacob who drank from this well and who gave it to us whoever drinks of this water said Jesus shall thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give shall never thirst shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life sir said the woman give me some of this water of yours so that I will not thirst anymore nor come all the way to this well Jesus looked at the woman and said to her go home and bring your husband and come here I have no husband answered the woman yes said Jesus you have spoken the truth you have no husband but you have had five husbands the woman whom you now have is not your husband the woman was filled with wonder as she heard this she saw that here was a man who knew what a stranger could not know she felt that God had spoken to him and she said sir I see that you are a prophet of God tell me whether our people or the Jews are right our fathers have worshiped on this mountain the Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where men should go to worship now which of these is the right place woman believe me said Jesus there is coming a time when men shall worship God in other places besides on this mountain and in Jerusalem the time is near it is even now come when the true worshipers everywhere shall pray to God in spirit and in truth for God himself is a spirit the woman said I know that the anointed one is coming the Christ Jesus said to her I that speak to you now am he the Christ just at this time the disciples of Jesus came back from the village they wondered to see Jesus talking with this Samaritan woman but they said nothing the woman had come to draw water but in her interest in this wonderful stranger she forgot her errand leaving her water jar she ran back to her village and said to the people come and told me everything I have done in my life is not this man the Christ whom we are looking for when the woman was gone away the disciples urged Jesus to eat some of the food which they had brought a little while before Jesus had been hungry but now he had forgotten his own needs of food and drink he said to them I have food to eat that you know nothing of the food of the soul and that food is to do the will of God and to work for him pray to me that there are four months before the harvest you shall reap and shall have a rich reward gathering fruit to everlasting life Jesus meant that as this woman bad though she may have been before was now ready to hear his words so they would find the hearts of men everywhere like a field of ripe grain ready to be won and to be saved soon the woman came back to the well with many of her people they asked Jesus to come to their town he went there and teach them he went with them and stayed there two days teaching the people who were Samaritans and many of the people in that place believed in Jesus and said we have heard for ourselves now we know that this is indeed the savior of the world End of Story 8 Story 9 of Hobart's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by T. Wellington Hobart's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hobart Story 9 the story of a boy in Capernaum and of a riot in Nazareth John chapter 4 verses 46 to 54 and Luke chapter 4 verses 16 to 31 from Sychar the village near Jacobswell Jesus went northward into Galilee, Decana the place where he had made the water into wine as we read in Story 116 the news that Jesus had come back from Jerusalem and was again in Galilee went through all the part of the land and everybody wished to see the prophet who had wrought such wonders there was one man living in Capernaum a town beside the sea of Galilee who heard with great joy that Jesus was again at Cana he was a man of high rank a nobleman at the court of King Herod but he was in deep trouble over his son who was very sick and in danger of dying this nobleman went up the mountain in great haste from Capernaum to Cana to see Jesus he wrote all night and in the morning when he found Jesus he begged him to come down to Capernaum and cure his son Jesus said to him you people will not believe on me as a savior unless you continually see signs and wonders oh my lord said the father do come down quickly or my child will die you may go home said Jesus for your son will live the man believed the words of Jesus and went home but he did not hurry nor did he ask Jesus to go with him the next morning as he was going down the mountain his servants met him and said your son is living and is better at what hour did he begin to grow better as the nobleman it was yesterday at seven o'clock in the morning when the fever left him they answered that was the very hour when Jesus had said to him your son will live and after that the nobleman believed in Jesus and so did all who were living in his house Jesus had come to Galilee to preach to the people and to tell them of his gospel he thought that he would begin his preaching in the town of Nazareth where he had lived so many years where his brothers and sisters were still living and where all the people had known him he loved the men who had played with him when he and they were boys together and he longed to give them the first news of his gospel so Jesus went to Nazareth and as on the Sabbath days he had always worshipped in the synagogue he went to that place once more there was no longer the carpenter but the teacher the prophet of whom all in the land were talking and the synagogue was filled with people eager to hear him and especially hoping to see him do some wonderful works seated on the floor before him were men who had known him since he was a little boy and perhaps some of his own sisters who were looking down from the gallery behind the lattice screen Jesus stood up to show that he wished to read from the scriptures and the officer who had the care of the books handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah Jesus turned to the 61st chapter and from it read the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor he hath sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are bruised and to proclaim the year of God's grace to men when Jesus had read these words he rolled up the book and gave it again to the keeper of the rolls and sat down for in the synagogue a man stood up to read the bible and sat down to speak to the people he began by saying this day this word of the Lord has come to pass before you and then he showed how he had been sent to preach to the poor to set the captives free to give sight to the blind to comfort those in trouble and to tell men the good news of God's grace at first the people listened with the deepest interest and they were touched with the kind and tender words that he spoke but soon they began to whisper among themselves one said why should this carpenter try to teach us and another this man is no teacher he is only the son of Joseph we know his brothers and his sisters are living here and some began to say why does he not do here the wonders that they say he is done in other places we want to see some of his miracles Jesus knew their thoughts and he said I know that you will say to me let us see a miracle like that on the nobleman's son in Capernaum of a truth I say to you no prophet has honor among his own people you remember what is told of Elijah the prophet when the heavens were shut up there were many widows in the land of Israel at that time but Elijah was not set by the Lord to see any one of them the Lord sent him out of the land to Zarepeth a town near Zidon to a widow there and there he wrought his miracles and in the time of Elisha the prophet there were many lepers in Israel that Elisha might have cured but the only leper that Elisha made well was Naaman the Syrian all this made the people in the synagogue very angry for they cared only to see some wonderful work and not to hear the words of Jesus they would not listen to him they leaped up from their seats upon the floor they laid hold of Jesus and dragged him outdoors they then took him up to the top of a hill above the city and they would have thrown him down to his death but Jesus by the power of God slipped quietly out of their hands and went away for the time for him to die had not yet come very sadly Jesus went away from Nazareth for he had longed to bring God's blessings to his own people he walked down the mountains to the city of Capernaum by the seashore and there on the Sabbath days he taught the people in the synagogues you can read the story of Elijah the prophet and the woman of Zarepeth in story 76 and the story of Elisha who named the Assyrian in story 86 these were the stories of which Jesus spoke to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth end of story 9 story 10 of Halbert's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by T. Wellington Halbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Halbert story 10 Annette Fola Fishes Matthew chapter 4 verses 18 to 22 Mark chapter 1 verses 16 to 34 and Luke chapter 4 verses 33 to chapter 5 verse 11 you remember that when Jesus was by the river of Jordan many young men came to him as followers or disciples we have read of these men Andrew and John Peter and Philip and Nathaniel in story 115 while Jesus was teaching near Jerusalem and in Samaria these men stayed with Jesus but when he came to Galilee they went again to their homes and their work for most of them were fishermen from the sea of Galilee one morning soon after Jesus he went out of the city by the sea followed by a great throng of people who had come together to see him and to hear him on the shore were lying two fishing boats one of which belonged to Simon and Andrew the other to James and John and their father Zebedee the men themselves were not in the boats but were washing their nets nearby Jesus stepped into the boat that belonged to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and asked them to push it out a little into the lake so that he could talk to the people from it without being crowded too closely they pushed it out and then Jesus sat in the boat and spoke to the people as they stood upon the beach after he had finished speaking to the people and he had sent them away he said to Simon Peter put out into the water and let down your nets to catch some fish master said Simon caught nothing but if it is your will I will let down the net again they did as Jesus bade them and now the net caught so many fishes that Simon and Andrew could not pull it up and it was in danger of breaking they made signs to their two brothers James and John who were in the other boat for them to come and help them they came and lifted the net and poured out the fish there were so many of them that both the boats were filled and began to sink when Simon Peter saw this he was struck with wonder and felt that it was by the power of God he fell down at the feet of Jesus saying oh Lord I am full of sin and I am not worthy of all this leave me oh Lord but Jesus said to Simon and to the others fear not but follow me and I will make you from this time fishers of men from that time these four men Simon and Andrew James and John gave up their nets and their work and walked with Jesus as his disciples on the Sabbath after this Jesus and his disciples went together to the synagogue and spoke to the people they listened to him and were surprised at his teachings for while the scribes always repeated what the other scribes had said before Jesus never spoke of what the men of old time had taught but spoke in his own name and by his own power saying I say unto you as one who had the right to speak men felt that Jesus was speaking to them as the voice of God on one Sabbath while Jesus was preaching a man came into the synagogue who had in him an evil spirit for sometimes evil spirits came into men and lived in them and spoke out from them the evil spirit in this man cried out saying let us alone thou Jesus of Nazareth what have we to do with thee hast thou come to destroy us I know thee and I know who thou art the holy one of God then Jesus spoke to the evil spirit in the man be still and come out of this man then the evil spirit threw the man down and seemed as if he would tear him apart but he came out and left the man lying on the ground without harm then wonder filled all the people they were filled with fear and said what mighty word is this this man speaks even to the evil spirits and they obey him after the meeting in the synagogue Jesus went into the house where Simon Peter lived there he saw lying upon a bed the mother of Simon's wife who was very ill with a burning fever he stood over her and touched her hand at once the fever left her she rose up from her bed and waited upon them at sunset the Sabbath day was over and then they brought to Jesus from all parts of the city those who were sick and some who had evil spirits in them Jesus laid his hands upon the sick and they became well he drove out the evil spirits by a word it would not allow them to speak end of story 10 story number 11 of Hallbott's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Hallbott's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hallbott's part 6 the leper and the man let down through the roof Matthew chapter 8 verses 2 to 4 chapter 9 verses 2 to 8 Mark chapter 1 verses 40 to 45 chapter 2 verses 1 to 12 Luke chapter 5 verses 12 to 26 after the great day of teaching and healing of which we read in the last story Jesus laid down to rest in the house of Simon Peter but very early the next morning before it was light he rose up and went out of the house to the place where he could be alone and there for a long time he prayed to God soon Simon and the other disciples missed him and sought for him until they found him they said everybody is looking for you come back to the city but Jesus said no I cannot stay in Capernaum there are other places where I must preach the kingdom of God for this is the walk to which I am sent and Jesus went out through all the towns in that part of Galilee preaching in the synagogues and healing all kinds of sickness and casting out the evil spirits his disciples were with him and great crowds followed him from all the land they came to hear his wonderful words and to see his wonderful works while he was on this journey of preaching in Galilee a leper came to him you remember from the story of Neyman the Syrian story 86 what a terrible disease leprosy was and still is in those lands and that no man could cure the leper this poor leper fell down before the feet of Jesus and cried out oh Lord if you are willing I know that you can make me well and clean Jesus was full of pity for this poor man he reached out his hand and touched him and said I am willing to be clean and in a moment all the scales of leprosy fell away his skin became pure and the lepers stood up a well man Jesus said to him do not tell anyone but go to the priests and offer the gift that the Lord commands and let them see that you have been cured Jesus said this because he knew that if the man should tell everyone whom he met how he had been cured such crowds would come to him for healing that he would find no time for preaching the word of God I am preaching God's word and not healing the sick was the great work of Jesus but this leper who had been healed did not obey the command of Jesus he could not keep still and told everybody whom he knew that Jesus the great prophet had taken away his leprosy and it came to pass as Jesus had expected such great crowds gathered in all the towns and villages to see Jesus and to ask him to heal their sick that Jesus could not enter the cities to preach the gospel he went out to the fields and the open country and there the people followed him in great trunks after a time Jesus came again to Carpanon which was now his home as soon as the people heard that he was there they came in great crowds to see him and to hear him they filled the house and the courtyard inside his walls and even the streets around it while Jesus sat in the open court of the house and taught them it was the springtime and warm and a roof had been placed over the court as a shelter from the sun in the crowd listening to Jesus were not only his friends but some that were his enemies Pharisees men making a great show of serving God but wicked in their hearts and scribes who taught the law but were jealous of this new teacher whose words were so far above theirs these men were watching to find some evil in Jesus so that they might lead the people away from him while Jesus was teaching and these men were listening the roof was suddenly taking away above their heads they looked up and saw that a man was being let down in a bed by four men on the walls above this man had a sickness called palsy which made his limbs shake all the time and kept him helpless so that he could neither walk nor stand he was so eager to come to Jesus that these men finding that they could not carry him through the crowd had lifted him up to the top of the house and had opened the roof and were now letting him down in his bed before Jesus this showed that they believed in Jesus without any doubt whether he could kill this man from his palsy Jesus said to the man my son be of good cheer your sins are forgiven the enemies of Jesus who were sitting near heard these words and they thought in their own minds though they did not speak it out loud what wicked things this man speaks he claims to forgive sins who except God himself has power to say your sins are forgiven Jesus knew their thoughts for he knew all things and he said why do you think evil in your hearts which is the easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise up and walk but I will show you that while I am on earth as a son of man I have the power to forgive sins then he spoke to the palsy man on his couch before them rise up take up your bed and go to your house at once a new life and power came to the palsy man he stood upon his feet rode up the bed on which he had been lying helpless placed it on his shoulders and walked out through the crowd which opened to make a way for him the man went strong and well to his own house praising God as he walked by this Jesus had shown that as a son of God he had the right to forgive the sins of men these enemies of Jesus could say nothing but in their hearts they hated him more than ever for they saw that the people believed on Jesus they praised the Lord God and felt fear toward one who could do such mighty works and they said we have seen strange things today end of story 11 story number 12 of Halbot's story of the Bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Halbot's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Halbot part 6 the cripple at the pool and the withered hand in the synagogue Matthew chapter 12 verses 1 to 14 Mark chapter 2 verse 23 2 verse 6 of chapter 3 Luke chapter 6 from verses 1 to 11 John chapter 5 from verse 1 to 18 while Jesus was living in Capernaum the time for the Passover of the Jews drew near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem to keep the feast as he had kept it a year before you remember that at that time he drove out of the temple the people that were buying and selling we read this in story 116 the feast which Jesus now kept was the second Passover in the 3 years while Jesus was preaching while Jesus was at Jerusalem he saw in the city not far from the temple a pool called Beth Seder beside this pool were five arches or porches and in these porches we are lying a great crowd of sick and blind helpless and crippled people at certain times the water rose and bubbled up in the pool and it was believed that at these times it had power to cure diseases we know that there are springs of water that will cure many kinds of sickness and this may have been one of these on the Sabbath day Jesus walked among these poor, helpless and suffering people who were waiting for the water to rise Jesus looked at one man and though no one told him he knew that this man had been a cripple without power to walk for almost 40 years he said to this man do you wish to be made well the man did not know who Jesus was he answered sir I cannot walk and I have no man to carry me down to the water when it rises in the pool but while I am trying to crawl down others crowding before me and the place is full so that I cannot reach the water and be cured Jesus said to the man rise take up your bed and walk the cripple had never had words like these before but as they were spoken he felt a new power shoot through his limbs heroes up took the piece of Martin on which he had been lying rolled it up and walked away toward his home someone who saw him said stop this is the Sabbath day and it is against the law for you to carry your bed the man did not lay down his load he only said the one who made me well said to me take up your bed and walk the Jews said who was this man that told you to carry your bed on the Sabbath day the man who had been cured did not know who it was that had cured him for there were many standing near and Jesus after healing the man had walked away without being noticed but after this Jesus met this man in the temple and said to him you have been made well do not sin against God anymore or something worse than disease will come upon you the man went away from the temple and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well the Jews were very angry at Jesus because he had cured this man on the Sabbath but Jesus said to them my father walks on all days to do good to men and I walk also these words made the Jews ready to kill Jesus not only because as they said he had broken the Sabbath but because he had spoken of God as his father as though he were the son of God he was indeed the son of God although they would not believe it after the feast of the Passover Jesus went again to Campanon in Galilee beside the lake one Sabbath day he was walking with his disciples through the fields of ripe green and the disciples as they walked picked the heads of the green rubbed them in their hands blew away the shaft and ate the canals of wheat the law of the Jew allowed anyone walking through the fields to eat what he could gather with his hands though he did not allow him to take any of the green home but the Pharisees whose goodness was all for sure said that it was a breaking of the Sabbath to pick the ears and rub them in their hands on the Sabbath day they said to Jesus do you see how your disciples are doing on the Sabbath what is against the law Jesus answered them have you never read what David did when he was hungry he went into the house of God and took the holy bread from the table and ate some of it and gave some to his men though the law said that only the priests might eat this bread and do you not know that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple do walk in killing and offering the sacrifices yet they do no wrong I say to you that one greater than the temple is here for the son of man is Lord of the Sabbath Jesus meant them to understand that he was the son of God that God lived in him even more fully than he lived in the temple and that he spoke as Lord of all we have read this about David and the holy bread in the tabernacle of which Jesus spoke to the Jews in story 16 on another Sabbath day Jesus went to the synagogue a man was there whose hand was withered the Pharisees watched Jesus to see whether on the Sabbath day he would make his hand well not that they felt for the poor man they only wished to find some chance to speak evil against Jesus Jesus knew all their thoughts and he spoke to the man rise up and stand where all can see you the man rose up from the mat where he had been sitting and stood before all the people then Jesus looked around upon them standing being sad because their hearts were so hard and cruel and he said is it against the law to do good on the Sabbath day or to do evil to heal a man or to try to kill a man as you are doing if any one of you owns a ship and he falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will he not take hold of it and lift it out is not a man what modern a ship I say unto you that it is right to do good to men on the Sabbath day and then turn into the man he said stretch out your hand the man obeyed the word of Jesus and held at his hand at once it became strong and well like his other hand many of the people were glad as they saw this but the Pharisees who hated Jesus went out very angry and they met together to find some plan for putting Jesus to death end of story 12 story number 13 of Halbert's story of the bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Halbert's story of the bible by Jesse Lyman Halbert part 6 the 12 disciples and the salmon on the mount Matthew chapter 9 from verse 9 to 13 chapter 5 to chapter 8 Mark chapter 2 from verse 13 to 17 Luke chapter 5 from verse 27 to 32 chapter 6 from verse 12 to 49 among the Jews there was one class of men hated and despised by the people more than any other that was the publicants these were the men who took from the people the tax which the Roman rulers had laid upon the land many of these publicants were selfish grasping and cruel they robbed the people taking more than was right some of them were honest men dealing fairly and taking no more for the tax than was needful but because so many were wicked all the publicants were hated alike and they were called sinners by the people one day when Jesus was going out of Capernaum to the seaside followed by a great crowd of people he passed a publican or tax gatherer who was seated at his table taking money from the people to pay their taxes this man was named Matthew or Levi for many Jews had two names Jesus could look into the hearts of men and he saw that Matthew was one who might help him as one of his disciples he looked upon Matthew and said follow me at once the publican rose up from his table and left it to go with Jesus all the people wondered as they saw one of the hated publicans among the disciples with Peter and John and the rest but Jesus knew that Matthew would long afterward do a walk that would bless the world forever it was this same Matthew the publican who many years after this wrote the Gospel according to Matthew the book which tells us so much about Jesus and more than any other book gives us the words that Jesus spoke to the people Jesus chose Matthew knowing that he would write this book a little while after Jesus called him Matthew made a great feast for Jesus at his house and to the feast he invited many publicans and others whom the Jews called sinners the Pharisees saw Jesus sitting among these people and they said with scorn to his disciples why does your master sit at the table with publicans and sinners Jesus heard of what these men had said and he said those that are well do do not need a doctor to cure them but those that are sick do need one I go to these people because they know they are sinners and need to be saved I came not to call those who think themselves to be good but those who wish to be made better one evening Jesus went alone to a mountain not far from Campanon a crowd of people and his disciples followed him but Jesus left them all and went up to the top of the mountain where he could be alone there he stayed all night praying to God his father and our father in the morning out of all his followers he chose twelve men who should work with him and listen to his words so that they might be able to teach others in turn some of these men he had called before but now he called them again and others with them called the twelve or the disciples and after Jesus went to heaven they were called the apostles a word which means those who were sent out because Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel to the world the names of the twelve disciples or apostles were these Simon Peter and his brother Andrew James and John sons of Zebedee Philip of Bethsaida and Nathaniel who was also called Batlumi a name which means the son of Thalmai Thomas who was also called Didimos a name which means a twin and Matthew the publican or tax cadra another James the son of Alphaeus to keep his name apart from the first James the brother of John and Labios who was also called Tadios Labios was also called Judas but he was a different man from another Judas whose name is always given last the eleventh name was another Simon who was called the Cammian or Simon Zealots and the last name was Judas Iscariot who was afterward the traitor we know very little about most of these men but some of them in later days did a great work Simon Peter was a leader among them and John long after those times when he was a very old man wrote one of the most wonderful books in all the world the Gospel according to John the fort among the gospels in the sight of all the people who had come to hear Jesus Jesus called these twelve men to stand by his side then on the mountain he preached to these disciples and to the great company of people Jesus sat down the disciples stood beside him and the great crowd of people stood in front while Jesus spoke what he said on that day is called the salmon on the mount Matthew wrote it down and you can read it in his Gospel in the fifth sixth and seventh chapters Jesus began with these words to his disciples blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are ye when men shall revalue you and persecute you and shall say all man of evil against you falsely for my sake rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you ye are the salt of the earth but if the salt have lost his savor where which shall it be salted if his tense thought good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men ye are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be healed neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick and it give it light unto all that are in the house let your light so shine before men that they may see your good world and glorify your father which is in heaven here are some more of the words of Jesus in the salmon I say unto you do not be anxious for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on you is not the life more than meat and the body than lament behold the birds of the air for they so not neither do they reap nor gather into bands yet our heavenly father feedeth them are ye not much better than they which of you by taking thought can add one qubit unto his stature and why take you thought for raiment consider the lilies of the field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more clothe you o ye of little faith therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knowest that ye have need of all these things but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you take therefore no anxious thought for the morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself sufficient unto the day is the evil dear of this is what Jesus said about prayer to our heavenly father ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that ask it receive it and he that seek it find it and to him that knock it it shall be opened of you whom if his son ask bread will he give him a stone or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that asking therefore all things whatever ye would that men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the law and the prophets and this was the end of the salmon therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock and everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell was the fall of it end of story 13 story number 14 of Hallbott's story of the bible this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Hallbott's story of the bible by Jesse Lyman Hallbott part 6 the captain's servant the widow's son and the woman who was a sinner Matthew chapter 8 from verse 5 to 13 Luke chapter 7 from verse 1 to 17 Luke chapter 7 from verse 36 to 50 there was at Capannum an officer of the Roman army a man who had under him a company of a hundred men they called him a centurion a word which means having a hundred but we should call him a captain this man was not a Jew but was what the Jews called a Gentile a foreigner a name which the Jews gave him a name which the Jews gave him a name which the Jews gave him a name which the Jews gave to all people outside of their own race all the world except the Jews themselves were Gentiles this Roman centurion was a good man and he loved the Jews because through them he had had of God and had learned how to worship God out of his love for the Jews he had built for them with his own money a synagogue which may have been the very synagogue in which Jesus taught on the Sabbath days the centurion had a young servant a boy whom he loved greatly and this boy was very sick with a palsy and near to death the centurion had heard that Jesus could cure those who were sick and he asked the chief men of the synagogue who were called its elders to go to Jesus and ask him to come and cure his young servant the elders spoke to Jesus just as he came again to Capanon after the salmon on the mount they asked Jesus to go with them to the centurion's house and they said he is a worthy man and it is fitting that you should help him for though a Gentile he loves our people and he has built for us our synagogue then Jesus said I will go and heal him but while he was on his way and with him were the elders and his disciples and a great crowd of people who hopes to see the work of healing the centurion sent some other friends to Jesus with this message Lord, do not take the trouble to come to my house for I am not worthy that one so high as thou art should come under my roof and I did not think that I was worthy to go and speak to thee but speak only a word where you are and my servant shall be made well for I also am a man under rule and I have soldiers under me and I say to one go and he goes and to another come and he comes and to my servant do this and he does it you too have power to speak and to be obeyed speak the word and my servant will be cured when Jesus had this he wandered at this man's feet he turned to the people, flow him and said in truth I say to you I have not found such feet in all Israel then he spoke to the friends of the centurion who had brought word from him go and say to this man as you have believed in me so shall it be done to you then those who had been sent went again to the centurion's house and found that in that very hour his servant had been made perfectly well on the day after this Jesus which is disciples and many people went out from Cappanum and turned southward and came to a city called Nain just as Jesus and his disciples came near to the gate of the city they were met by a company who were carrying out the body of a dead man to be buried he was a young man and the only son of his mother and she was a widow all the people felt sad for this woman who had lost her only son when the Lord Jesus saw the mother in her grief he pitied her and said do not weep he drew near and touched the frame on which they were carrying the body wrapped round and round with long strips of linen the bearers looked with wonder and sat down the frame with its body and stood still standing beside the body Jesus said young man I say to you rise up and in a moment the young man sat up and began to speak Jesus gave him to his mother who now saw that her son who had been dead was alive again a great fear came upon all who had looked upon this wonderful work of Jesus they praised God and said God had indeed come to his people and he has given us a great prophet and the news that Jesus had raised a dead man to life again went through all the land while Jesus was on this journey through southern Galilee at one place Jesus' name was Simon asked Jesus to come and dine at his house this man did not believe in Jesus but he wanted to watch him and if possible to find some faults in him he did not show Jesus the respect due to a guest did not welcome him nor did he bring water to wash Jesus feet as was done to people when they came in from walking for in that land they wore no shoes or stockings but only sandals covering the soles of their feet and they often washed their feet when they came into the house at meals they did not sit up around the table but leaned on couches with their heads toward the table and their feet away from it while Jesus was leaning in this manner upon his couch at the table a woman came into the dining room bringing a flask of ointment such as was used to anoint people of high rank she knelt down at the feet of Jesus' weeping and began to wet his feet with her tears and then to wipe them with her long hair she anointed his feet with the ointment and kissed them over and over again this woman had not been a good woman she had led a wicked life but by her act she showed that in her heart she was truly sorry for her sins when Simon the Pharisee saw her at the Savior's feet he thought within himself though he did not say it if this man were truly a prophet coming from God he would have known how wicked this man is and he would not have allowed her to touch him Jesus knew this man's thought and he said Simon I have something to say to you and Simon said Master say on then Jesus said there was a certain lender of money to whom two men were owing one man owed in 500 shillings and the other owed in 50 when he found that they could not pay their debts he freely forgave them and let them both go free which of these two will love that man most why said Simon I suppose that the one to whom he forgave the most will love him the most you are right said Jesus then he turned toward the woman and added do you see this woman I came into your house you gave me no water for my feet but she has wetted my feet with her tears and has wiped them with her hair you gave me no kiss of welcome but she has not seized to kiss my feet you did not anoint my head even with oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment you have acted as though you owed me little and you have loved me little but she feels that she owes me much and she loves me greatly I say to you her sins which are mainly are forgiven then he spoke to the woman your sins are forgiven those who were around the table whispered to each other who is this man that dares to act as God and even to forgive sins but Jesus said to the woman your faith has saved you go in peace and Jesus went through