08 - King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford

The King Nobody Wanted narrates the intriguing tale of Jesus in a relatable, everyday language. Drawing from the timeless King James Version of the Bible, this podcast weaves a captivating narrative thats both genuine and compelling.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter eight of The King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eight
Jesus is strong that night, Jesus said to the disciples,
let us go across the lake. Simon and Andrew, and

(00:20):
James and John were fishermen. They knew where to get
a boat, and they knew how to sail it too.
All twelve disciples, along with Jesus, climbed into a boat
and pushed away from shore. The Sea of Galilee was
a lovely blue lake in the daytime, when the sunlight
sparkled on the water. In the evening, it was lovely too,

(00:41):
when the waves were lapping peacefully against the side of
a boat, and the stars came out twinkling overhead. But
the Sea of Galilee was not always so lovely or
so peaceful. Sometimes the wind came roaring down the steep
banks around the lake, and the water grew white and angry.
Then again, everything might be calm and quiet when a

(01:05):
boat left the land, but before it had gone very
far a storm might be howling around it. It would
toss the boat around like driftwood, and then it would
be too late to turn back. To shore. Some of
the disciples were fishermen, and they had fished here all
their lives. They knew what the sudden storms were like.

(01:27):
It was no surprise to them when the stars disappeared,
as though the rising wind had blown them out. They
knew what was coming. Now the night would grow black
as ink, and the great foaming waves would smash against
the ship and fill it up with water. There was
nothing any one could do about it. Nobody could sail

(01:47):
or row or steer the boat any longer. Only God
himself could bring the poor sailors safe to shore. The
sea was rough already and getting rougher every minute. They
were afraid. They were always afraid of the sea. When
the storms began to blow, it was so big and
dangerous and terrible, and the men were so small and weak.

(02:10):
It was like a frightful monster, tossing them up and
down before it swallowed them alive. If only they had
stayed on the good safe land. They had been so
worried and so tired that night, so discouraged about Jesus
and his work, and now there was this storm on
top of everything. It looked as if none of them

(02:32):
would live to see another day. They had left their
homes and families behind to follow Jesus. What was the
use of following Jesus if they were all to be drowned?
Now the boat was full of water. They tried to
bail it out, but the fishermen knew that nothing they
could do would be of any use. In the dark,

(02:53):
they could hardly see one another's faces. Where was Jesus.
No one had heard a word from Hymn since the
storm began to blow. They had found him at the
back of the boat, just where he was when they
left the shore. He was stretched out on a seat,
resting on a pillow, and he was fast asleep. The

(03:15):
disciples were angry. Any minute now the boat was going
to turn over, and there was Jesus sleeping as though
nothing in the world were wrong. One of the men
took Jesus by the shoulders and shook him awake. They
shouted at him, master, doesn't it matter to you if
we are all drowned. Jesus rose to his feet in

(03:36):
the tossing boat. The wind blew in his face, and
he seemed to be answering it. The sea smashed against
the boat again, and Jesus cried out peace be still.
All at once, the wind began to die away. The
waves tossed for a minute or two longer, but not

(03:56):
so strongly. Now everything was growing quiet. The stars began
to shine again, and soon there was no sound but
the water lapping gently against the boat. Jesus spoke to
the disciples, why were you so frightened? How is it
that you still haven't any faith in me? But the

(04:17):
disciples scarcely noticed what he was saying. They were more
afraid than ever. This time. It was not the sea
that frightened them. They were afraid of Jesus. They said
to one another, what kind of man is this? When
he speaks even the wind and the sea obey him.
In the morning, they brought their little boat to land

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on the other side of the lake. Over here, in
the country of Gadderini's galilee seemed very far away. A
high cliff rose above the sea. Jesus and the disciples
climbed up and looked round. There was nothing much to
see except some men feeding a herd of pigs. In
the distance was a graveyard. Suddenly a man came running

(05:01):
out of the graveyard. He was naked, and his body
was covered with cuts and bruises. The man was out
of his mind, and he lived by himself in the
graveyard and wandered through the mountains. Other people had often
tried to chain him up, but he was so strong
that he broke the chains as if they were made
of string. He could be heard day and night crying out,

(05:27):
always cutting himself with sharp stones. No one dared to
go near him. The madman ran towards Jesus, shouting at him.
His words were like those of the other madmen who
had interrupted Jesus in the synagogue service. What have I
to do with you, Jesus? What have I to do

(05:47):
with the Sun of the Most High God? Don't torment me?
Jesus said to him, what is your name? The man answered,
my name is Legion. There's a whole legion of devils
inside me. The disciples were meanwhile listening in horror. There
was something in the man that was evil, something as

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dreadful as the storm of the night. Before they heard
Jesus say, come out of that man. Then they seemed
to hear many voices crying out and calling to Jesus
and pleading with him, And they heard Jesus say, go
The wild look left the man's eyes, and at that

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very moment the pigs went wild. The man was in
his right mind now, but it seemed as though the
pigs had gone crazy with a great snorting and squealing.
They ran to the cliff and plunged into the sea.
After that, everything was quiet. It was as quiet as
it had been when Jesus stilled the storm. The evil

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thing was gone. The morning sun was shining brightly on
the peaceful countryside. There was nothing dreadful any more. But
what they had seen was too much for the men
who had been feeding the pigs. As fast as their
legs would take them, they ran to the nearest town
and told everybody what had happened. The people came flocking

(07:17):
out of the town to see for themselves. When they came,
they found the madman sitting there talking to Jesus. He
had put on his clothes, and he was just as
sensible as anybody else. The people had been terribly afraid
of the madman, but now they were afraid of Jesus.
They had tied this man up with chains, and still

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they could not hold him. Yet here was a stranger
from Galilee who cured the madman with a few words.
What kind of man is this? They thought, What kind
of power does he have? They were so worried about
what Jesus might do next that they asked him to
leave the country Without a word, Jesus took his disciples

(08:00):
back to the boat. The man who had been out
of his mind followed him and asked if he might
go along, but Jesus told him, no, you have work
to do here. Go back home to your friends, tell
them what the Lord has done for you. The man
went back to the city and began to tell his story.
The story went abroad through that whole country, and every

(08:23):
one who heard it was amazed. For the disciples, it
had been a night and a day of wonders. But
as they sailed home across the lake, they did not
know that an even greater triumph was waiting for Jesus
on the other side. As their boat drew near to
the land, they saw a crowd standing on the shore.

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Everyone had been watching anxiously waiting for Jesus to come.
When Jesus stepped ashore, the waiting crowd made way for
a man who was well known in the town. His
name was Jerius, and he was the chief officer of
the synagogue. Jerius fell down at jesus feet and began
to plead with him to come at once to his house.

(09:05):
My little girl is dying. Please come and put your
hands on her and heal her and make her live.
Jesus went with Jerrius, and the whole crowd followed to
see what he was going to do. As they walked
along the street, with people pressing in on them from
every side, Jesus suddenly stopped and said, who touched my clothes?

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The disciples could not imagine what he was talking about.
They said to him, why don't you see the crowd.
Every one is touching you. What do you mean by
asking who touched my clothes? But Jesus answered, there was
some one in particular who touched me. I felt power
going out of me with that. A poor woman came

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out of the crowd and fell down in front of Jesus.
She was trembling with fear. She told him her whole story.
For twelve years, she had been sick, She had spent
all her money on doctors, and she never got any better.
She thought that if only she could touch his clothes
without anybody seeing her, she would be made well. Jesus

(10:12):
looked at her kindly and said, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace. Meanwhile, Jerius was waiting impatiently
for Jesus to come along. Soon it might be too late.
At that very moment, a message came from jerrus house.
The worst had happened. The little girl had died, and

(10:32):
there was no use troubling Jesus already it was too late.
But before Jerius could speak, Jesus took him by the
arm and said, don't be afraid, just keep on believing.
He sent the crowd away and told the disciples that
none of them could come with him except Simon and
James and John. Jerius led the way to his house.

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When he got there, they found that the bad news
was true. The little girl had really died. Already. The
flute players who played at funerals in Palestine had arrived.
Every one was mourning and weeping. Jesus spoke sharply to
the mourners. Why are you making all this fuss, he asked,

(11:18):
The little girl isn't dead, she is only sleeping. Everyone
laughed at him, as though he were a fool, so
he doesn't know the difference between being asleep and being dead.
They said to themselves, but Jesus told them to get
out of the house. When they were gone, he took
Jerrius and his wife and the three disciples and went

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into the little girl's room. There could be no doubt
about it. The little girl was dead. She was lying,
white and cold and still. No doctor in the world
could ever help her. Again, Jesus bent over the still
body and opened his mouth to speak. Simon and James
and John held their breath. Not many hours before they

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had heard him say to the sea, peace be still.
When he had spoke, the sea obeyed him. They heard
him speak to a madman, and after he spoke, the
man was in his right mind again. But what use
would it be to speak to some one who was dead?
The dead could not hear him, or could they hear him?

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Had Jesus not once told them the dead hear my voice?
The little girl did not know anything. She did not
hear anything. She could not know or hear anything, for
she was dead. Then a voice came through the silence.
The little girl began to hear some one talking. It

(12:45):
was a man's voice, and it was saying the very
words her mother used to wake her up each morning.
Little girl get up, she heard. She opened her eyes.
She looked into the face of Jesus. He took her
hand and helped her to her feet. Her parents were
there too. She went to them. Give her something to eat,

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said Jesus, and say nothing about what has happened. But
no one could keep a secret like that. Soon everyone
had heard the story. Everyone heard how Jesus spoke and
brought the dead back to life, and of chapter eight