July 26, 2025 • 11 mins
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.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter eleven of the King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eleven
nearing the city pass Over time had almost come, so
Jesus had to be on his way. Jericho was left behind,
and Jesus and the disciples pushed across the hills and
(00:23):
desert land that lay east of Jerusalem. This was the
country Jesus had crossed the first time he went to
Passover feast. That was twenty years ago, when he was
a boy of twelve, and Joseph and Mary had taken
him to the feast in the Great City. The stones
were just as hard now as they had been then,
(00:45):
the land was as dreary to see as it had
ever been, and the desert as dry. And yet there
were just as many pilgrims from all parts of Palestine
traveling up to Jerusalem, going as their fathers did for
them to keep the Passover in the Holy City of
the Jews. In a little while, a shout would go up,
(01:08):
and many a party would burst into song. They would sing,
I was glad when they said unto me. Let us
go into the House of the Lord pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee A
few days more, and they would sacrifice their lambs in
the temple. They would pray to God to be good
(01:30):
to the Jews and to save them from their enemies.
A few nights more, and they would sit down to
eat the roasted flesh of the lambs at the pastover feast.
And when they had eaten, they would sing, O, give
thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his
mercy endureth forever. Jesus and the disciples came out of
(01:52):
the desert and paused among the olive groves near the
village of Bethany. Now only the Mount of Olives and
the Brook of Kidron stood between Jesus and Jerusalem. Already
the passover pilgrims were pouring through the gates of the
city up to the temple. It was hard for all
the pilgrims to find places to stay during the week
(02:13):
of Passover. Here at Bethany, Jesus had friends who loved him,
and here he found a place in which to stay.
A man named Simon, whom Jesus once cured of the
dreaded leprosy, had a house in Bethany, where Jesus was welcome.
There also was a woman in Bethany whose name was Mary.
(02:34):
She thought that nothing was too much to give to Jesus.
Like another woman who once made the Pharisees angry, she
came to Jesus when he sat at dinner in Simon's
house and poured precious ointment on his head. But this
time it was not the Pharisees who were angry, for
there were no Pharisees in the house. It was jesus
(02:56):
own disciples, especially Judas Iscariot, who said that it was
wrong to waste anything that cost as much as that ointment.
Judas spoke up and said, why was not this ointment
sold in the money given to the poor. Judas did
not really care about the poor. He looked after the
money for Jesus and the disciples, and when he wanted
(03:19):
any he secretly help himself out of what belonged to
all of them. He thought that if the precious ointment
had been sold, there would have been more money in
the purse he carried. When Jesus heard the disciples complaining
about Mary's gift, he said, let her alone. This is
a good thing that she has done. There will always
(03:40):
be poor people and You can give them all you
like after I am gone, but you will not have
me always. You know, your custom is that when loved
ones die, you put ointment on their bodies before you
bury them. Well, Mary has come to get me ready
to be buried before I am even dead. I tell you,
(04:01):
this woman's name will be remembered all over the world
because of what she did to day. The disciples begrudged
Jesus the ointment that a loving woman poured upon his head.
That was a bad sign. Many times in these last
few months, Jesus had had to speak sharply to his disciples.
(04:22):
The longer they were with him, the less they seemed
to understand the things that he had taught them. Jesus
was growing lonelier every day, and the hardest task was
still ahead. One time, when they were on the road,
John came to Jesus feeling very proud of himself. Master.
He said, we saw a man curing people who were
(04:43):
out of their minds, and he was using your name
to do it. Naturally, we told him he would have
to stop. He didn't have any right to use your
name when he wasn't one of us. Jesus answered, you
shouldn't have stopped him. If he wasn't doing us an
harm than he was on our side. Then there was
(05:03):
a terrible scene one day when Jesus found the disciples
quarreling about which one of them would be most important
when Jesus became king. Each thought that he ought to
have a higher position than the rest. Aren't you supposed
to be looking out for yourselves? Jesus told them, that's
what the Romans do. They want to be kings and
(05:24):
order other people about. But the greatest one of you
will be the one who does the most help to others,
no matter what it costs him. Which would you rather do?
Sit down to a dinner and have your food brought
to you, or bring the food for somebody else. You'd
rather sit down and let a servant wait on you,
of course. But I am content to be a servant
(05:47):
among you, the servant of every one. The disciples could
not get over thinking that some people were more important
than others, and that they themselves counted for more than
any one else. Once, some mothers brought their little children
to Jesus, hoping that he would put his hands on
them and bless them. The disciples did not think that
(06:10):
the children counted for anything, and they were going to
send them away. They told the mothers that they ought
not to come where they were not wanted. But Jesus
called the little children to him and said, let the
children come to me, and don't stand in their way.
God's kingdom is made up of people like these children.
(06:31):
God hasn't any place for a person who thinks himself important.
These children aren't pushing themselves forward. They are humble, and
it would be better if you were more like them.
With these words, Jesus laid his hands upon the children
and gave them his blessing, as the mothers wanted him
to do. Another thing that Jesus said which the disciples
(06:55):
could not understand, was that they ought to forgive any
one who did them an injury. One day, Peter came
to him and asked, Lord, if somebody keeps on doing
wrong to me, how many times should I forgive them?
Seven times? Perhaps Peter thought that seven times would be
doing very well, but Jesus answered him seven times. Multiply
(07:19):
that by seventy forgive him until you have lost count
of the times. When the disciples heard that, they knew
that Jesus meant they should never stop forgiving anyone who
wronged them. This seemed to them to be more than
they could do. Unless God help them, they would need
more faith in God. So they asked, Lord, give us
(07:41):
more faith than we have. Then Jesus had to tell
them that they really did not have any faith at all.
He said, if your faith were only as big as
a mustard seed, the smallest seed there is, you could say,
to that tree over there, be pulled up and be
planted in the sea, and it would be done. No,
(08:02):
the disciples did not have much faith. They did not
understand Jesus. They were jealous of one another. They thought
that Jesus ought to be king, and each of them
thought that they ought to be the king's right hand man.
The disciples were afraid if Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
They could not tell what would happen. Sometimes they thought
(08:24):
it would be best if Jesus would stay out of sight,
where his enemies could not find him. Worst of all,
there was one of the disciples who was not loyal,
Judas Is Scariot. Judas was planning something so terrible that
no one except Jesus knew what it was. Jesus could
not wait until his disciples understood he could not wait
(08:48):
until they were brave enough, or strong enough, or good enough.
If he did, he would wait forever, and there was
very little time. There was something that he had to
do now, the thing he had planned to do all along,
back in the days when he was all alone in
the wilderness after John baptized him in the Jordan. He
(09:10):
knew that this was what he would have to do
some day. Now the time had come. He must go
back to the temple where he had stood and watched
the passover lambs being killed when he was a boy
of twelve. He must go and get ready for the passover.
Jerusalem was about two miles away. He could not stay
(09:31):
on in Bethany. He must go to Jerusalem at once.
He called two of his disciples and gave his orders.
Go into the village, and there you will find a
young donkey tide. No one has ever ridden it. Untie
it and bring it here. If the owner questions, you
tell him the Lord needs this donkey, he will let
(09:53):
you have it at once. The disciples went to do
as they were told, and they did not need to
be told twice. They knew what Jesus meant, for they
knew the scriptures. If this was the way Jesus was
going to Jerusalem, there was nothing to be afraid of.
For it is said in the scriptures that the Messiah
(10:14):
would come into Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. How did
the words go, Rejoice greatly, O, daughter of Zion, Shout,
O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy king cometh unto thee.
He is jest and having salvation lowly, and riding upon
an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an
(10:35):
ass Jesus was going to do it. He was going
to ride into Jerusalem as the Messiah. Every one would
know who he was at last, for it said in
the scriptures that this was how the Messiah would come
to the city. Let the Jews get ready to receive
the king. They had waited for so long. They would
(10:56):
have to wait no longer. Messiah, King Nassaiah was marching
toward his throne. End of Chapter eleven,
Chapter eleven of the King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eleven
nearing the city pass Over time had almost come, so
Jesus had to be on his way. Jericho was left behind,
and Jesus and the disciples pushed across the hills and
(00:23):
desert land that lay east of Jerusalem. This was the
country Jesus had crossed the first time he went to
Passover feast. That was twenty years ago, when he was
a boy of twelve, and Joseph and Mary had taken
him to the feast in the Great City. The stones
were just as hard now as they had been then,
(00:45):
the land was as dreary to see as it had
ever been, and the desert as dry. And yet there
were just as many pilgrims from all parts of Palestine
traveling up to Jerusalem, going as their fathers did for
them to keep the Passover in the Holy City of
the Jews. In a little while, a shout would go up,
(01:08):
and many a party would burst into song. They would sing,
I was glad when they said unto me. Let us
go into the House of the Lord pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee A
few days more, and they would sacrifice their lambs in
the temple. They would pray to God to be good
(01:30):
to the Jews and to save them from their enemies.
A few nights more, and they would sit down to
eat the roasted flesh of the lambs at the pastover feast.
And when they had eaten, they would sing, O, give
thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his
mercy endureth forever. Jesus and the disciples came out of
(01:52):
the desert and paused among the olive groves near the
village of Bethany. Now only the Mount of Olives and
the Brook of Kidron stood between Jesus and Jerusalem. Already
the passover pilgrims were pouring through the gates of the
city up to the temple. It was hard for all
the pilgrims to find places to stay during the week
(02:13):
of Passover. Here at Bethany, Jesus had friends who loved him,
and here he found a place in which to stay.
A man named Simon, whom Jesus once cured of the
dreaded leprosy, had a house in Bethany, where Jesus was welcome.
There also was a woman in Bethany whose name was Mary.
(02:34):
She thought that nothing was too much to give to Jesus.
Like another woman who once made the Pharisees angry, she
came to Jesus when he sat at dinner in Simon's
house and poured precious ointment on his head. But this
time it was not the Pharisees who were angry, for
there were no Pharisees in the house. It was jesus
(02:56):
own disciples, especially Judas Iscariot, who said that it was
wrong to waste anything that cost as much as that ointment.
Judas spoke up and said, why was not this ointment
sold in the money given to the poor. Judas did
not really care about the poor. He looked after the
money for Jesus and the disciples, and when he wanted
(03:19):
any he secretly help himself out of what belonged to
all of them. He thought that if the precious ointment
had been sold, there would have been more money in
the purse he carried. When Jesus heard the disciples complaining
about Mary's gift, he said, let her alone. This is
a good thing that she has done. There will always
(03:40):
be poor people and You can give them all you
like after I am gone, but you will not have
me always. You know, your custom is that when loved
ones die, you put ointment on their bodies before you
bury them. Well, Mary has come to get me ready
to be buried before I am even dead. I tell you,
(04:01):
this woman's name will be remembered all over the world
because of what she did to day. The disciples begrudged
Jesus the ointment that a loving woman poured upon his head.
That was a bad sign. Many times in these last
few months, Jesus had had to speak sharply to his disciples.
(04:22):
The longer they were with him, the less they seemed
to understand the things that he had taught them. Jesus
was growing lonelier every day, and the hardest task was
still ahead. One time, when they were on the road,
John came to Jesus feeling very proud of himself. Master.
He said, we saw a man curing people who were
(04:43):
out of their minds, and he was using your name
to do it. Naturally, we told him he would have
to stop. He didn't have any right to use your
name when he wasn't one of us. Jesus answered, you
shouldn't have stopped him. If he wasn't doing us an
harm than he was on our side. Then there was
(05:03):
a terrible scene one day when Jesus found the disciples
quarreling about which one of them would be most important
when Jesus became king. Each thought that he ought to
have a higher position than the rest. Aren't you supposed
to be looking out for yourselves? Jesus told them, that's
what the Romans do. They want to be kings and
(05:24):
order other people about. But the greatest one of you
will be the one who does the most help to others,
no matter what it costs him. Which would you rather do?
Sit down to a dinner and have your food brought
to you, or bring the food for somebody else. You'd
rather sit down and let a servant wait on you,
of course. But I am content to be a servant
(05:47):
among you, the servant of every one. The disciples could
not get over thinking that some people were more important
than others, and that they themselves counted for more than
any one else. Once, some mothers brought their little children
to Jesus, hoping that he would put his hands on
them and bless them. The disciples did not think that
(06:10):
the children counted for anything, and they were going to
send them away. They told the mothers that they ought
not to come where they were not wanted. But Jesus
called the little children to him and said, let the
children come to me, and don't stand in their way.
God's kingdom is made up of people like these children.
(06:31):
God hasn't any place for a person who thinks himself important.
These children aren't pushing themselves forward. They are humble, and
it would be better if you were more like them.
With these words, Jesus laid his hands upon the children
and gave them his blessing, as the mothers wanted him
to do. Another thing that Jesus said which the disciples
(06:55):
could not understand, was that they ought to forgive any
one who did them an injury. One day, Peter came
to him and asked, Lord, if somebody keeps on doing
wrong to me, how many times should I forgive them?
Seven times? Perhaps Peter thought that seven times would be
doing very well, but Jesus answered him seven times. Multiply
(07:19):
that by seventy forgive him until you have lost count
of the times. When the disciples heard that, they knew
that Jesus meant they should never stop forgiving anyone who
wronged them. This seemed to them to be more than
they could do. Unless God help them, they would need
more faith in God. So they asked, Lord, give us
(07:41):
more faith than we have. Then Jesus had to tell
them that they really did not have any faith at all.
He said, if your faith were only as big as
a mustard seed, the smallest seed there is, you could say,
to that tree over there, be pulled up and be
planted in the sea, and it would be done. No,
(08:02):
the disciples did not have much faith. They did not
understand Jesus. They were jealous of one another. They thought
that Jesus ought to be king, and each of them
thought that they ought to be the king's right hand man.
The disciples were afraid if Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
They could not tell what would happen. Sometimes they thought
(08:24):
it would be best if Jesus would stay out of sight,
where his enemies could not find him. Worst of all,
there was one of the disciples who was not loyal,
Judas Is Scariot. Judas was planning something so terrible that
no one except Jesus knew what it was. Jesus could
not wait until his disciples understood he could not wait
(08:48):
until they were brave enough, or strong enough, or good enough.
If he did, he would wait forever, and there was
very little time. There was something that he had to
do now, the thing he had planned to do all along,
back in the days when he was all alone in
the wilderness after John baptized him in the Jordan. He
(09:10):
knew that this was what he would have to do
some day. Now the time had come. He must go
back to the temple where he had stood and watched
the passover lambs being killed when he was a boy
of twelve. He must go and get ready for the passover.
Jerusalem was about two miles away. He could not stay
(09:31):
on in Bethany. He must go to Jerusalem at once.
He called two of his disciples and gave his orders.
Go into the village, and there you will find a
young donkey tide. No one has ever ridden it. Untie
it and bring it here. If the owner questions, you
tell him the Lord needs this donkey, he will let
(09:53):
you have it at once. The disciples went to do
as they were told, and they did not need to
be told twice. They knew what Jesus meant, for they
knew the scriptures. If this was the way Jesus was
going to Jerusalem, there was nothing to be afraid of.
For it is said in the scriptures that the Messiah
(10:14):
would come into Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. How did
the words go, Rejoice greatly, O, daughter of Zion, Shout,
O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy king cometh unto thee.
He is jest and having salvation lowly, and riding upon
an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an
(10:35):
ass Jesus was going to do it. He was going
to ride into Jerusalem as the Messiah. Every one would
know who he was at last, for it said in
the scriptures that this was how the Messiah would come
to the city. Let the Jews get ready to receive
the king. They had waited for so long. They would
(10:56):
have to wait no longer. Messiah, King Nassaiah was marching
toward his throne. End of Chapter eleven,
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