Mary and Elisabeth

Once
there was a woman named Elisabeth. She and her husband Zacharias, asked God to
give them children, but they never had any. When they grew old, an angel came to
give Zacharias a message. He said, Your prayer has been heard. You will have a
son and you shall name him John. He will tell many people about God. Zacharias
said, How do I know this is true? My wife and I are both old. The angel said, my
name is Gabriel and God sent me to tell you this great news. But, because you
don’t believe my words, you will not be able to speak until the child is born.
Then
Gabriel was sent to a city named Nazareth to a young woman named Mary, who was
Elisabeth’s cousin. Mary loved a man named Joseph and was going to marry him
soon. Gabriel told Mary, the Lord is with you, and you are blessed among women.
You will have a son and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Highest. And His kingdom will never end. Mary said to
Gabriel, how can this be? I am not married yet. Gabriel answered, The Holy
Spirit will make this child in you and He will be called the Son of God. Gabriel
told Mary, Your cousin Elisabeth, is going to have a baby too. With God, nothing
is impossible. Mary said, I am a servant of the Lord. Let it happen to me, just
as you have said. Then the angel Gabriel left her.
Mary
hurried to visit Elisabeth, and when Elisabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby
moved inside of her and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary said, God has
done great things for me. Mary stayed with Elisabeth for three months and then
went home. When Elisabeth’s baby was born, people thought they should name him
after his dad, but Elisabeth said, No, his name will be John. Now, Zacharias
still could not speak, so he wrote, His name is John. All of a sudden, he could
speak again, just as the angel Gabriel had told him. Everyone that heard, was
surprised and Zacharias said, Blessed be the Lord God.
Jesus is Born

Joseph
was a carpenter and he was a good man. One night an angel of the Lord talked to
him in a dream and said, Joseph, don’t be afraid to make Mary your wife. Her
baby has been made in her by the Holy Spirit. She will have a son and shall call
his name Jesus. He will save His people from their sins. So Joseph did as the
angel told him, and Mary became his wife.
There was
a law made, that everyone in the world had to go to the city where they grew up,
to be counted. Joseph was from the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. It
was a long way from Nazareth to the little town of Bethlehem, so Mary rode on a
donkey. When they got there, the baby Jesus was born in a stable, because there
was no room at the inn. Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a
manger. That night, there were shepherds that were taking care of their sheep in
a field near Bethlehem. The angel of the Lord said to them, Don’t be afraid, I
am bringing news of great joy for the whole world. Today in the city of David, a
Savior is born, which is Christ the Lord. You will find the baby wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly, with the angel, there were
many more angels praising God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men. When the angels left, the shepherds said to each
other, Let’s go to Bethlehem and see the Savior. They hurried and found Joseph
and Mary. And when they saw the baby Jesus, they told people in other countries
that the Savior was born, and they thanked God for all the things that they had
heard and seen.
At the
time that Jesus was born, the king of Jerusalem was named Herod. There were wise
men that followed a star to Jerusalem and asked Herod where the baby was that
was born the King of the people of Israel. They wanted to go and worship him.
This bothered Herod because he didn’t want anyone else to be king. He called all
his people together and asked where the child was. They told him that the
Prophet Micah had written that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. So, Herod
sent the wise men to Bethlehem and said, go find the young child and when you
have found him, come back and tell me so I can worship Him too. They followed
the star again and it lead them until it stood right over where the baby Jesus
was. They gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then God told them
not to go back and tell Herod, so they left and went back to their own country.
After the
wise men left, Joseph saw an angel of the Lord in a dream. The angel said, Take
the baby Jesus and Mary and go to Egypt until I tell you it is safe to go back
home, because Herod will look for Jesus to destroy Him. Joseph did what the
angel told him. When Herod figured out that the wise men weren’t coming back, he
was very mad, and sent his people to kill all the children in Bethlehem that
were under two years old. When Herod died, Joseph saw the angel in a dream
again. The angel told Joseph to return to Israel, and Joseph and Mary and Jesus
went back and lived in Nazareth.
As Jesus
grew up, he was filled with wisdom. He was God’s son, because God’s Holy Spirit
made him, so he was perfect in every way. Every year, Mary and Joseph went to
Jerusalem to celebrate when God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. When
Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the feast, and when it was over, Jesus
stayed in Jerusalem, but Mary and Joseph didn’t know it. They thought Jesus was
with the other people who were traveling with them back home. When they found
out Jesus wasn’t with them, they went back to Jerusalem to find Him. After three
days, they found Jesus in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them
questions. Everyone was surprised at how smart he was. Mary asked Jesus, Why
have you done this to us? Your dad and I have been so worried about you. And
Jesus said to them, Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I would be
doing my Father’s business? They didn’t understand what He said. He went back to
Nazareth with them and grew up and God loved Him very much.
Jesus is Baptized
Jesus’
cousin John, grew up in the wilderness. His clothes were made of camel’s hair
and he ate wild honey and locusts. John came out of the wilderness and went to
the river in Jordan and baptized people in the water. Baptize means to become
clean of your sins. John told the people to be sorry for their sins and to ask
God to forgive them, because the kingdom of Heaven would soon be here. He told
people how to live a good clean life. If someone has two coats, or food, share
with someone who doesn’t have any. Don’t steal or lie and be happy with what you
have. Some people thought he had the spirit of Elijah, and some thought he was
the Messiah, who God’s Prophets said was the Savior. Some people asked John, Who
are you? John answered, I baptize with water, but there is someone mightier than
me. I am not even good enough to loosen his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit, and fire.
Jesus
came to Jordan to be baptized by John and when John saw Him, he knew who He was.
John said, You came to be baptized, but I should be baptized by you. When Jesus
went up out of the water, the Heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God
come down and land on Jesus like a dove, and a voice from Heaven said, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Satan Tries to Trick Jesus

Jesus
went up into the wilderness and didn’t eat for forty days and forty nights. He
was very, very hungry. The devil tried to trick Jesus and said, If you are the
Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. But Jesus said, Man shall not
live on bread only, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Well,
that trick didn’t work, so the devil tried to trick Jesus again. He took Jesus
up into Jerusalem, to the very tip top of the temple and said to Him, If you are
the Son of God, jump off from here, because God says his angels will take care
of you so you won’t hurt yourself. But Jesus said, You shall not test the Lord
your God. Well, that didn’t work either, so the devil tried one more time. He
took Jesus up to the top of a very, very high mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world and how great they are. And the devil said, I will give
you all of these things if you will bow down and pray to me. Jesus said to the
devil, Go away satan, You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve
only Him. The devil thought he could trick Jesus three times, and all three
times he lost, so the devil left and angels came and took care of Jesus.
The Disciples
Jesus was thirty years old when he started telling people about God. The people
who followed him everywhere he went, were called disciples. There are twelve and
these are their names:
Simon Peter
Andrew
James
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew
James
Thaddeus
Simon
Judas
They left
their homes and families and everything they owned, to follow Jesus, and they
learned everything he taught. They watched Him make sick people well, give sight
to the blind, make crippled people walk, and do many other miracles. As Jesus
and the twelve disciples traveled around, many crowds would listen to him teach
about God and how to live the way God wants us to, being good, obeying his
Commandments, and loving and helping other people. Jesus told many stories that
helped people understand what is right and what is wrong. These stories are
called parables.
The Field and the Weeds
Jesus
told this story. The kingdom of God is like a farmer who planted grain in his
field, but while he slept, his enemy came and planted weeds in with the grain,
and left. When the grain started to grow, the weeds started to grow too. The
servants asked the farmer, where did all these weeds come from? The farmer said,
my enemy has done this. The servants asked, do you want us to go and pull the
weeds out? But the farmer said, No, you might pull up the grain too. Let them
both grow together until the grain is ready to be picked, then pull the weeds
and tie them in bundles to burn them, but put the grain in my barn.
Then
Jesus told what the story means. The farmer is the Son of God. The field is the
world. The grain seeds are people who love God. The weeds are people who listen
to the devil. The enemy is the devil. The servants are the angels. And the barn
is the kingdom of Heaven. At the end of the world, the people who listen to the
devil will be taken and burned in fire. The Son of God will send his angels and
they will take the people who love God to live with God in His kingdom of
heaven.
The Lost Sheep

Once
there was a lot of sinners who came to hear Jesus talk. Some people were
surprised that Jesus would be talking to sinners. Jesus said, If you had a
hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t you leave the ninety nine and go
look for the one that was lost, until you found it? And when you found it,
wouldn’t you bring it back on your shoulders, and be very happy? And when you
got home, wouldn’t you call your friends and say to them, come and be happy with
me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? Jesus said, The same will
happen in heaven, when one sinner is sorry for his sins. And if a woman has ten
pieces of silver and loses one piece, wouldn’t she light a candle and sweep the
house and look for it until she found it? And when she has found it, she would
call her friends and say, come and be happy with me, because I have found the
silver that I had lost. Then Jesus said, I say to you, the angels will be happy
if one sinner asks to be forgiven for their sins.
Forgive
Simon
Peter asked Jesus, How many times should I forgive if someone does something
bad? Seven times? Jesus said, No, seventy times seven. Then Jesus began to tell
a story. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who once had a servant that owed
him a hundred dollars. The servant didn’t have the money to pay him back, so the
king wanted to sell the servant and his wife and children so that he could get
his money. The servant begged the king, O please, give me time and I will pay
all that I owe you. The king had a good heart, so he didn’t sell the servant and
his family and told him to forget all about the money he owed. Then the servant
went out and found one of his friends that owed him a dollar. He took him by the
throat and said, Pay me what you owe me! His friend begged him, O please give me
time and I will pay all that I owe you. But the servant would not wait, and he
had his friend put into jail until he could pay what he owed. When the king
heard what had happened, he said to the servant, I forgot about what you owed
me, shouldn’t you forget what your friend owed to you? The king was angry and he
took the servant and put him into jail until he could pay what he owed. Then
Jesus told what the story meant. You should forgive people when they do
something bad and they are sorry for it, just like God forgives you when you are
sorry.
The Lost Son
This is a
story that Jesus told about a man who had two sons. The younger said to his dad,
Give me the money you have saved for me. So his dad gave the money he had saved
to both of his sons, and the younger son went out and wasted all of his money on
things he didn’t need, and doing wrong. When he had spent it all, he ended up
feeding pigs and nobody would give him anything to eat. He said to himself, My
dad’s servants have bread, and I am hungry. I will go back home. When he got
home his dad had missed him so much and was so glad that he had come home that
he ran to his son and hugged his neck and kissed him. The son said, I have
sinned against Heaven and you and I am not good enough to be called your son.
But his dad told his servants to bring the best clothes for him and let us be
happy and have a feast, because my son was dead and now he is alive again! He
was lost, and now he is found!
The older
brother was in the field and when he came near to the house he could hear music
and dancing and he asked the servants what was going on. They told him that his
brother has come home and your dad is very happy that he is home, safe and
sound. The older brother was mad, and wouldn’t go in the house, so his dad came
out to talk to him. The older brother said, I have worked for you for many years
and have always been good, and you never gave me a party. But as soon as my
brother came home, after wasting all his money and doing wrong, you have a great
big party. His dad said to him, Son, you are always with me and everything I
have is yours. It is right that we should be happy, because your brother was
dead and is alive again. He was lost and now he is home.
Jesus was
telling about how God feels when someone is bad. He is very happy when they
figure out that they were wrong and they come to Him and ask to be forgiven, and
they are not lost anymore. He will say, Welcome home!
Jesus Feeds the People
Once
there was a big crowd of people who had followed Jesus to hear him teach. Jesus
loved people and he healed the sick people who were there. When it started to
get late, the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could go and
buy food. But Jesus said, They don’t need to go, give them food to eat. The
disciples said, But we only have five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus told
the people to sit down on the grass and he took the bread and the fish and
looked up to Heaven. He blessed the bread and broke it into pieces and gave it
to his disciples to give to the people. There were five thousand men there, not
counting the women and children, and everyone who was there, ate until they were
full. They picked up the food that was left over and it filled twelve baskets!
Jesus Walks on Water

Jesus
liked to be alone to pray, so he went up into a mountain to talk to His Father.
When it got dark, he came down from the mountain, his disciples were all out on
a boat in the water and the wind was blowing against them. Jesus went out to
them, walking on the water! When they saw him walking on the sea, they were
afraid, because they thought it was a spirit. Jesus said to them, Be happy, it
is I, don’t be afraid. Peter said, Lord, if is you, tell me to come out to you
on the water. Jesus said, Come. Peter stepped out of the ship and started to
walk on the water toward Jesus, but he remembered the wind and got scared. He
started to sink into the water and cried out to Jesus, Lord, save me! Jesus
reached out His hand to Peter and caught him and said, You have little faith,
why did you doubt? Jesus lesson was that if you believe, you receive. If you
trust in God that you can do something, He will help you do it. They went back
to the boat and the wind stopped. All who were on the boat said, It is true, you
are the Son of God. They sailed to the other side of the sea, and when the
people heard that Jesus was there, they brought all their sick people to Him so
that they might be made well. And whoever even touched the hem of Jesus clothes,
was made perfectly healthy because they had faith, and believed in Jesus.
The Last Supper

Jesus told his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and go through many
things. God told Jesus that He would be hung on a cross and would die, and then
He would be brought back to life three days after that. The disciples were very
sad. Then, a woman came to Jesus with some lotion that cost a lot of money. She
poured it on Jesus head as he ate. When his disciples saw, they said, Why did
she waste this lotion. It could have been sold for a lot of money and the money
could have been given to the poor. Jesus said, She has done a good thing. You
always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.
Then Judas, one of the
disciples went to the Jews who wanted to kill Jesus and asked them how much they
would pay him if he turned Jesus in to them. They promised him thirty pieces of
silver. From that moment on, he waited for a chance to hand Jesus over to them.
It was the time of year that people celebrated when God brought the people of
Israel out of Egypt. It was called Passover. The disciples got the meal ready
and Jesus sat down with them. As they ate, Jesus said, One of you will hand me
over. They were very upset and each one of them asked, Lord, is it me? Jesus
said, The Son of God will die, but it will be sad for the man who hands me over.
It would be better if he had never been born. Then Judas asked, Is it me? And
Jesus answered, You said it. While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and
blessed it and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take and eat.
This is my body. After supper, he took a cup of wine and gave thanks and gave it
to them and said, Take and drink. This is my blood which is poured out for many,
for the forgiveness of sins. I will not drink again until I drink with you in my
Father’s kingdom.
Then Jesus washed all the
disciples feet, to show them that if the Lord takes care of you, you should take
care of each other. Then Jesus said to Judas, Do what you have to do quickly.
Judas left, and the others thought that Jesus sent him to buy something or to
give money to the poor, but Jesus knew that he was going to do. Then Jesus spoke
to the others and said, I will be with you for a little while longer, then I
must go where you cannot go, so I give you a new Commandment. Love one another
as I have loved you. Then all people will know that you are my disciples. Simon
Peter asked Jesus, Where are you going? Jesus answered, You cannot follow me
now, but you will follow me afterward. Peter said, Lord, I will give up my life
for you. Jesus answered him and said, before the rooster crows, you will say you
don’t even know me, three times.
Jesus
talked to the disciples more and said, I am going to my Father’s house to make a
place for you there. Nobody can be with my Father unless they believe in me. I
am in the Father and the Father is in me. If you believe in me and the things I
do, you will be able to do these things and even greater things. And whatever
you ask in my name, I will do. God will send you His Holy Spirit and he will
stay with you forever. He will live in you and teach you all things. He will
help you remember everything I have said to you. If I stay, the Holy Spirit will
not come to you, but if I go away, I will send Him to you. He will guide you.
Thirty Pieces of Silver
Jesus
went to pray in a place called the garden of Gethsemane. He took Peter, James
and John with him to watch. Jesus was very sad while he prayed. An angel came to
him from Heaven and gave him strength. He prayed even harder and his sweat was
like great drops of blood falling to the ground. When Jesus got back to Peter,
James and John, he found them asleep. Jesus said, Get up, let us go, because the
one who will hand me over will be here soon. Before he finished speaking, Judas
brought a crowd of Jews with swords and spears. Judas had told them before they
got there, that whoever I will kiss, that is Jesus that you are looking for.
Right away, Judas said Master, master, and kissed Jesus. They arrested Jesus.
All the disciples got scared and ran off, except for Peter who followed far
behind. They tried to find reasons to kill Jesus but they couldn’t. Then Jews
started telling lies about Him. One man asked if he was the Son of God. Jesus
said, I am. They didn’t believe Jesus was the Son of God. They said He deserved
to die for lying. They started spitting on Him and hitting Him and making fun of
Him.
Peter was
waiting to see what would happen, when a woman said, This man was with Jesus.
Peter said, I don’t know Him. After a little while another person said, You are
one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter said, I don’t know the man. Then a while later a
third person said, This fellow was with Jesus. Peter said, I don’t know what
you’re talking about. Then suddenly, a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered how
Jesus said to him, Before the rooster crows, you will say you don’t even know
me, three times. Peter went out and cried.
When
Judas figured out what a bad thing he did, he was sorry for what he had done. He
took the thirty pieces of silver back to the Jews who gave it to him and said, I
have sinned. I handed over a man who did nothing wrong. They wouldn’t listen to
him. Judas threw the silver on the ground and went out and hanged himself.
Hung on a Cross

They took
Jesus to the governor named Pontius Pilate. Pilate asked Jesus if he was the
King of the Jews. Jesus said, You say that I am. The Jews told Pilate all their
lies about Jesus, but Pilate couldn’t find a reason for Jesus to die. Now, every
year at Passover, one prisoner was set free, and the Jews got to choose which
one. They told Pilate they wanted him to set Barabbas free. Barabbas was a
robber and a murderer. Pilate said, What should I do with Jesus? They said, Nail
him to a cross! They whipped Jesus and put a crown of thorns on His head. They
hit Him and spit on Him and made fun of Him. A man named Simon carried His cross
part of the way to a place called Golgotha. They nailed Jesus to the cross and
hung him there with two thieves, one on each side of him. They put a sign on his
cross above his head that said, THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the thieves said to
Jesus, If you are Christ, save yourself and us. But the other said, Don’t you
fear God? We deserve this for what we’ve done, but this man has done no wrong.
And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And
Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in paradise.
Darkness fell over the whole land for three hours, then Jesus said with a loud
voice, It is finished. Father, into your hands I give my spirit. And Jesus bowed
His head and died.
Jesus is Alive

After
Jesus died, the soldiers came to take Him down from the cross. They broke the
legs of the two thieves, because they were still alive. When they saw that Jesus
was dead already, they didn’t break his legs, but one of the soldiers took his
spear and stabbed his side, and at once, blood and water spilled out of Jesus.
A man
named Joseph asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus away to bury Him.
Pilate agreed and Joseph wrapped Jesus in new linen cloth and laid him in a
tomb. There was a huge rock that was rolled in front of the opening of the tomb
and left. The next day, some Jews remembered that Jesus had said, After three
days, I will live again. So they asked Pilate to put guards at the tomb.
On the
third day, the earth shook, because two angels of God came down from Heaven and
rolled the stone away from the door of the tomb and sat down on it. The guards
were so afraid that they fainted. A woman that Jesus had healed, named Mary
Magdalene, came to see the tomb. When she saw the stone was taken away, she ran
and told Simon Peter and John, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and I
don’t know where they have taken Him. They ran back to the tomb and John got
there first. He saw the linen cloth, but he didn’t go in. Then Peter went in and
saw the linen cloth and the napkin that was around Jesus’ head, in a place by
itself.
The
disciples left and Mary stayed outside the tomb, crying. She looked into the
tomb and saw the two angels. They asked Mary, Why are you crying? And she said,
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have taken
him. She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was
Him. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you crying, who are you looking for? She
thought He was the gardener, and said, Sir, if you have taken Him from here,
tell me where He is and I will go get Him. Then Jesus said, Mary, and she turned
and said, Teacher! Mary went and told the disciples she had seen Jesus alive,
but they didn’t believe her.
That
night when the disciples were together with the doors locked, because they were
afraid of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle of them and said, Peace
be with you. He showed them His hands where they were nailed to the cross, and
his side. The disciples were so glad to see the Lord. Then Jesus said, My Father
sent me, now I send you. He breathed on them and said, I give you the Holy
Spirit.
Thomas
wasn’t there when Jesus came back, so the other disciples told him, We have seen
the Lord. Thomas said, Unless I see the holes in his hands from the nails and
touch my finger on them, and push my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Eight days later, the disciples were together again with the doors locked and
Thomas was with them this time. Jesus came and stood in the middle of them again
and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Touch my hands with your
finger and push your hand into my side, and believe. Thomas said, You are my
Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, you have seen me, so you believe.
Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.
Jesus
talked to His disciples for forty days after He rose from the dead. Jesus told
them, soon you will be baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit. Go and tell
all nations the things that I have taught you and make disciples of them.
Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. I
am with you always even until the end of the world. Jesus lifted up His hands
and blessed them and God took Jesus, and carried Him up into Heaven.