Just Because: The Story of Salvation for Children (19 page)

king of Israel, and we will all follow you.”

Jesus turned to His disciples and ordered them

to get into the boat and leave. Judas hesitated, but

they all left. Jesus was standing there beside the sea

on His own. Jesus then did what all of us should do

when Satan tries to tempt us to do something God

doesn’t want. He prayed. He went up the hill to a

quiet place, He got down on His knees, and I believe

He prayed for strength to do exactly His Father’s

183

Just Because

will. He stayed there for several hours, praying about

His mission, praying for strength to be willing even

to be crucified for the people to save them from sin.

When Jesus finished praying He was glowing

with holy power. He stood and walked down to the

beach. He didn’t stop when He came to the water but

just kept on walking out to where the disciples were

rowing the boat. He was glowing with the glory of

God, and He looked beautiful, but also scary because

He was shining like a very bright light. As He got

near to the boat the disciples suddenly saw Him.

They were terrified; they were so scared that some of

them started to scream in terror. They had never seen

anything like this before, and they thought Jesus was

some kind of a ghost.

They had been with Jesus just a few hours earlier,

but they didn’t know who He was because He looked

very different. Then Jesus spoke to them, and He

called Himself a name that was the same name He

used when He spoke to Moses on the mountain long

before He became a little baby in a stable.

“Do not be afraid,” Jesus said. “I AM.”

The disciples stopped being afraid; they recog-

nised His voice. Peter stood and asked Jesus, “Lord,

if it is really You, then tell me to come to You on the

water.”

“Come,” Jesus said.

Peter climbed over the side of the boat and

started to walk on top of the water toward Jesus.

Then he suddenly looked at the waves and took

his eyes off Jesus. He began to sink and cal ed out,

“Lord, save me!”

184

Just Because

Immediately Jesus took his hand and saved him.

“You of little faith,” Jesus said to him, “why did you

doubt?”

Peter and Jesus got into the boat, and then the

disciples did something that no Jewish man would

ever do. They worshipped Jesus. Jewish men knew

that to worship anyone or anything except God was

a terrible sin, but they knew the person who got into

their boat was the Lord God Himself, the Creator of

the world. They worshipped Him, and Jesus didn’t

stop them because He knew what they were doing

was right.

Jesus Christ is the Creator of our world who

became a man. Nobody knows exactly how Jesus can

be fully a man and fully God. We only know because

of what He said and did. Only God can make the

blind see, and only God can make a little girl hear

again, and only God can walk on the water. But Jesus

the man was sometimes tired and hungry and Jesus

the man was tempted by Satan. We don’t understand

all of these things, but we believe them, Just Because

Jesus said He was both a man and God, and we know

everything He said was true.

185

Chapter 33

k

There was a lady who lived in a little town called

Magdala, and her name was Mary. She was a

famous lady in the Bible, and she was called Mary

Magdalene. We are not told much about her in the

Bible, but I think her story goes something like this.

Before she met Jesus, Mary was a very bad person.

She had done many bad things and some of Satan’s

buddies were living inside her. Mary hated herself,

and everyone else probably hated her as well. She had

no real friends, and she was a very lonely woman.

One night a man told her about Jesus.

“Mary,” he said, “have you heard about the new

holy man who is visiting the towns nearby? They say

He is a friend of the sinners and bad people.”

“Another holy man, you say,” replied Mary.

“They are all the same.”

“No, Mary, this Jesus of Nazareth is really

different. He eats with sinners, He heals the sick,

and He seems to truly love the ordinary people, even

people like you. The only people He seems to get

187

Just Because

angry with are those religious leaders who think they

are holy when they’re not.”

Mary looked down at the floor in her little house.

“No one truly loves a woman like me, and this Jesus

will be just the same.”

The next morning when she got up Mary heard

lots of noise outside. People were leaving to go

somewhere. They were carrying sick people on little

beds and putting them onto wagons.

“Where are you going?” Mary asked her

neighbour.

“Don’t talk to me, woman. Anyone who goes

near you is unclean. Get away from me!” her neigh-

bour yelled at her.

Mary stepped back into her house. People often

spoke to her like that. Her neighbour had always

hated her. But she was wondering where everyone

was going, so she put a robe over her long pretty

hair and followed the crowd of people. After a time

they came to a place where thousands of people were

sitting, and over on the side of the hill was a man

with twelve other men sitting around Him. Can you

guess who it was?

Jesus was teaching the people.

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the

kingdom of God. Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate

you and insult you and reject you as evil because of

Me. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.”

Mary had never heard words like this before.

These were not the usual words that told her she was

evil and dirty and that she was cursed by God forever.

188

Just Because

Jesus’ words seemed to reach across the crowd and

enter into her heart. She felt love reaching out to her.

Not the kind of love when men would want to kiss

her and stuff like that, but a love that said, “Mary,

God loves you and wants you to be happy.”

And Mary felt other feelings as well. She felt

ugly. She knew she was very pretty to look at on the

outside, but she also knew she was a bad sinner. She

heard voices in her head whispering things to her.

“Jesus can’t love a sinner like you. God hates you,

Mary. Jesus could never forgive you. You belong to

us, and we live inside you because you are unclean

like us. Get away from here. Run home.” You know

whose voices they were, don’t you?

Mary ran away. She ran home. She ran inside her

house; she fell down beside her bed, and she cried

and cried. She had not cried like that for a long time

because she had let her heart become very hard. But

Jesus’ words had opened her heart and even given

her hope that perhaps, yes, just perhaps she could be

given a new life. She wanted to feel clean, but when

we have sin in our lives we can never feel clean until

we have been forgiven by the Lord.

Mary didn’t sleep much that night. The next

day she decided to follow the crowds again. Mary’s

neighbour was loading her crippled son onto a wagon.

The boy had never walked from the day he was born.

Mary decided to follow, but she didn’t get too close.

“Don’t go, Mary,” said the voices inside her. It was

hard to force herself to go because she knew people

didn’t like her, but she fol owed her heart and went.

189

Just Because

Jesus was there again. He was healing the sick.

He was making the blind people see and the crippled

people walk. Mary had never seen anything like it.

Then she saw her neighbour. Jesus was touching

her neighbour’s son. He was now fifteen, but he had

never run or kicked a ball or jumped over a fence.

Then Jesus was holding his hand, and the boy was

beginning to stand. Mary held her breath. This was

unbelievable. She could see her neighbour’s face,

tears of joy running down her cheeks. And then she

saw the boy start to walk.

He was a bit shaky at the start, but soon he started

jumping and leaping for joy. Mary had known this

boy all of his life, and she felt such happiness that

tears flowed down her face and she forgot to hide.

Suddenly her neighbour saw Mary. The neighbour

came up to her, but there was no anger in her face.

She grabbed Mary’s arms.

“He healed my boy, Mary!” she cried. “Jesus

healed my son.”

Mary could only stand there with tears in her

eyes feeling such joy for this family, and then Jesus’

words came back to her mind.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall

laugh. Rejoice and leap for joy.”

Mary sat down and continued to watch. It was

late in the afternoon, and everyone was hungry. She

heard one of Jesus’ disciples telling Him to send the

people away so they could buy food. Jesus told the

disciples to feed them, but they were standing there

looking silly and shaking their heads wondering

what to do. Then the little boy who could now walk

190

Just Because

brought Jesus his lunch, some small loaves of bread

and small fish. Jesus ordered the disciples to bring

baskets. He broke the fish and bread, put a small

amount in each basket and then prayed, thanking His

father for giving them food to eat.

Jesus then ordered the disciples to feed the people.

The disciples stood there holding their baskets and

wondering how they could feed all those people with

a few broken pieces of fish and bread.

“Do what he said!” ordered Peter.

She heard a disciple hold out a big basket and

say, “I’m sorry, but there’s only a little left.”

The person replied, “No way, man. There are

plenty of fish and loaves in here.”

The disciple dropped the basket. It had become

full to overflowing with big fresh fish and new freshly

baked bread.

Nearly twenty thousand people were there, and

all were amazed. They were praising God and singing

and dancing. And then a disciple was standing before

her and holding out a basket. Mary didn’t know what

to do. She felt unclean; she knew she was a bad

sinner. “How can I take this holy food from God?”

she thought.

“Run, Mary,” said the voices in her head. Mary

ran. She was too ashamed to stay. She hated herself

too much to let something holy from God touch her.

She wanted to hide, but she also wanted more than

anything to be forgiven.

The next day Mary saw her neighbour again. She

quickly turned to go inside, but her neighbour called

to her.

191

Just Because

“Mary. . .wait a moment.”

She came up to Mary and touched her shoulder.

Mary looked at that hand on her shoulder. Never

before had her neighbour touched her. She saw love

in her neighbour’s eyes; her neighbour was different,

changed somehow.

“Jesus is in town, Mary,” her neighbour was

saying. “He is eating at the house of Simon, the reli-

gious leader, today. Why don’t you go to Him?”

“Me! Go to Simon’s house! I am not welcome

anywhere!” Mary said.

“Jesus will welcome you, Mary,” said her neigh-

bour in a friendly voice.

Mary went inside. It was too much for her. She

began to weep again. Never had she felt love from

someone who only a few days before had hated her.

Mary wanted to be loved, she wanted to be forgiven,

and she wanted to feel clean on the inside. She had

a strong feeling to go to see Jesus, but she was very

afraid to go to Simon’s house. Simon was a religious

leader, and Simon knew who she was.

Mary had one thing in her house that was worth a

lot of money. It was a jar of very expensive perfume.

She made up her mind. She would go to see Jesus

and give Him the only thing she had to give. As she

walked down the street the voices in her head were

no longer whispering. They were screaming at her

to stop and turn around. They told her Jesus would

reject her, that He would send her away. But another

soft voice was calling her, a voice of love telling her

to keep going.

192

Just Because

She came to Simon’s house and saw Jesus sitting

there. Suddenly she didn’t care what anyone thought

of her. She only cared about what she must do. She

went over in front of Jesus and fell down with her

head on His feet. She held His feet with her hands and

wept. Her tears fell down like rain, washing Jesus’

feet, and she dried His feet with her hair. She put her

perfume on His feet. In her heart she was crying out

to Him to forgive her; she was crying out to be made

clean again, the way she felt as a little girl when she

would go to the temple with her mother to pray.