Part 10 (1/2)

The Pharisees still did not get the point So Jesus tried again with another story He said:

”A certain iveto ave each of the sons his share

”Then the younger son packed up his belongings, and went away to a far country There he spent all hisleft to live on He went to work for a farry that he would have been glad to eat the pigs' food, but no one gave hi

”Then one day he said to hiht of how even the servants at ho to death He said: 'I will go back to ainst God I will tell hiive me work as one of his servants'

”So he went ho, and ran out to welco man started to say, 'I have sinned, and I am not worthy to be your son' But his father called out to a servant: 'Bring the best clothes in the house, and shoes for et a feast ready My son is back, and we are going to celebrate!'

”Meanwhile, the older brother was out in the field When he ca in the house He asked a servant why they were having a party When he was told, he becao into the house When his father came out to ask him to join the party, the older brother said: 'All these years I have stayed at ho you told aveyour ood for him!'

”But the father answered him kindly 'Son,' he said, 'you are alith ht that we should celebrate, and be happy For it is as if your brother had been dead, and now he is alive again He was lost, and now he is found'”

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The days went by Soood, and some were bad Once in a while Jesus would find somebody who seeain it would see in what he tried to do

The tiood days Jesus was just co out in the country, when this officer approached hih he was a Roman, and the captain of a company of Roman soldiers, this man ell liked in Capernauue, and everyone knew that he loved the Jewish people

He ca at horeatly”

Jesus replied at once, ”I will come and heal him”

But the officer shook his head

”Lord,” he said, ”I am not worthy that you should co here, and that will heal my servant You see, I have an army under me I say to a soldier, 'Co, and he does it right away

You have that kind of power too You just have to say that my servant shall be healed, and he _will_ be healed”

Jesus was joyful when he heard these words To those ere standing around he said:

”I tell you, I have not found a the Jewish people anyone who believes in me so much as this Roman does! And I tell you this too: When you talk about the Kingdom of God you shouldn't think that God has no place in it for anyone except Jews God is going to bring together people from every country, everybody who has faith like this officer's faith And so in!”

Then he turned to the officer and said:

”Go back to your house You have had faith in ive you what you ask”

When the officer went home, he found that his servant had recovered fro

That was one of the good days, when Jesus found a new believer But a bad day caun to lose faith in hier that Jesus was the Messiah

And John was in trouble He had preached against King Herod, the son of the king who had died when Jesus was a baby Herod married another man's wife, and John the Baptist said that this was a sin Herod threw John into jail

As John lay in his prison cell day after day, he began to wonder about Jesus Had he been wrong in thinking that Jesus was the Messiah? Jesus did not seem to have done very much as yet The Romans were still in the country The rich people were as bad as they had always been, and the poor were just as poor