Bible Made Easy 2: The New Testament: Selected Bible Stories with Audio

By Josephine Pollard

"The sweet stories of God’s Word in easy language.

The word Bible is from the Greek, and means The Book. It is made up of several small books, and when bound in two parts is known as The Old Testament and The New Testament. A testament is a will; and the bible is God's will made for man's good, and for his guide through life.

THIS BOOK INCLUDES AUDIO & ILLUSTRATIONS."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oldiees Publishing
• Release date: Sep 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9791186505205

Book preview

life.

CHAPTER I. The Birth of Christ

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The time was near for Jesus to come on the earth. God had told Adam and Eve of one who would save them from their sins. Moses, and all the seers and wise men, spoke of him who was to give men new hearts, and help them to lead new lives.

In the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest named Zacharias. His wife's name was Elizabeth. They were both old, and had led pure lives, and sought to keep God's laws. But they had no child.

One day when the priest was in the house of God by one of the altars, an angel came and stood near him. And when the priest saw him he shook with fear.

But the angel said: Fear not, Zacharias, for God will give thee and thy wife a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and shall turn the hearts of men to the Lord their God.

Then Zacharias said to the angel, But how shall I know that these things will be?

And the angel said to him, I am the angel Gabriel, who stands near to God, and he has sent me to tell thee this good news. And for thy lack of faith thou shalt be dumb, and speak not a word till the day that these things come to pass.

Now those who were in the courts of God's house thought it strange that Zacharias should stay so long at the altar where he burnt the incense.

And when he came out he could not speak to them, but made them know by signs that he had seen a strange sight.

Six months from this time God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth, to a young woman there whose name was Mary. She was one of the heirs of King David.

When Mary saw the angel she was in great fear, for she knew not why he had come. And the angel said: Fear not, Mary, for God has blessed thee. Thou shalt have a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of God. And God will make him a king, and to his reign there shall be no end.

Mary said: How can this be?

THE ANNUNCIATION

The angel told her that what might seem hard for her was not hard for God, who could do all things. He had told Elizabeth that she should have a son, and he had now sent word to Mary that she should have a son; and what he had said he would do.

Then Mary said, Let the Lord's will be done. And the angel left her.

Mary made haste and went to the land of Judah, and to the house of Elizabeth and Zacharias, where she spent three months. Then she came back to her own home. Joseph was the name of Mary's husband; and he was a Jew, of King David's line. They were both poor, and Joseph had to work hard at his trade. He was a carpenter.

God gave Zacharias and Elizabeth the son that he said they should have. And when the child was eight days old, the friends and kinsfolk came to see it and to give it a name. Most of them said, Call him Zacharias.

But the child's mother said, Not so. He shall be called John.

And they said, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

And they made signs to the father that he should let them know by what name the child should be called.

And the father sat down and wrote: His name is John. And they all thought this strange, as he had not told them of the angel who spoke to him in the house of God.

As soon as Zacharias wrote these words his speech came back to him, and he gave praise and thanks to God. And all the folks in that part of the land heard of these things, and they said, What sort of a child shall this be? And the boy grew tall and strong, and the Lord blest him, and he went out and dwelt in the woods and waste lands till he was a man, and it was time for him to preach to the Jews and to tell them of Jesus.

Now the king of Rome was called a Cesar, in the speech of that land, and the Jews had to do just as he said, for they were his slaves. And he made a law that the names of all the Jews should be put down in a book, that it might be known what tribe they came from, and what they were worth. Then, too, it would not be a hard task to count them when the Cesar wished to know how large a force of them was in this land he had fought for and won.

And each Jew was to go to that part of the land where his forefathers dwelt, and have his name put down in the book at that place.

So, as Joseph and his wife were of the house of David, they both set out for the town of Bethlehem, where David used to feed his sheep. The way was long, and when they came to the town they found a great crowd of folks there. There was no room for Joseph and Mary at the inn, and they knew no one at whose house they could stay.

As they went from place to place in search of a room, they came to a shed in which was a great trough or manger full of hay, where the poor folks who came to town fed the beasts on which they rode.

So Joseph and Mary made their home in this shed while they had to wait to have their names put down. And while they were there God gave to Mary the son that he said she should have.

And as she had no fine soft clothes to wrap the babe in, she took bands of cloth and put round him, and laid him on the straw in the manger.

In those days rich men kept large flocks of sheep and goats, and had men watch them at night for fear that wild beasts would seize and kill them. The men who fed and took care of the sheep were called shepherds.

One night, as some shepherds were on the hills where they kept watch of their flocks, the angel of the Lord came down to them. And a bright light shone round them so that they were in great fear.

THE NATIVITY

And the angel said to them, Fear not, for I bring you good news which shall give joy to all the land. For Christ, the Lord, is born for you this day, in the town of Bethlehem, and he will save you from your sins. And this is the way ye shall know him: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a manger.

When the angel had said this, there came, like a flash of light, a great host of angels who gave praise to God, and sang, Glory be to God on high, and on earth, peace and goodwill to men.

When the angels had left them the shepherds said, Let us go at once to Bethlehem and see these things of which the angel has told us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe that lay in the manger where the ox and ass used to feed. And when they had seen the child, they went out and told what the angel had said to them. And those who heard were filled with awe, for it was the first time that such a thing had been done in the world. And the strange news spread fast.

Mary told no one of the talk she had had with the angel, but thought much of these things, and took the best of care of the newborn babe. It did not seem as if it could be her own child.

When the babe was eight days old, its father and mother gave it the name of Jesus, as the angel had bid them. And they gave him to the Lord; that is, they vowed to the priest that they would bring up the child to serve God and to lead a good life. For though he was the son of God he was sent on earth to teach men what they ought to do.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. He was a good man, and did what was right, and for years he had been on the watch for one of whom the seers had told, and who was to save men from their sins.

And it was made known to Simeon in a dream that he should not die till he had seen this King of kings and Lord of lords.

SIMEON IN THE TEMPLE

Simeon was a priest in the house of God, and when Joseph and Mary brought in the child Jesus, he took it up in his arms and blest God, and said: Now, Lord, thy words have come true, and I can die in