July 26, 2025 • 15 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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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter fifteen of The King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fifteen,
The Victorious King. At sunrise the day following the Sabbath,
three women came to the garden where Jesus was buried.
(00:21):
They came as the custom was to put ointments and
spices on the body of Jesus. On the way, they
remembered that a great stone had been rolled against the
door of the tomb. They wondered how they would get in.
Who will roll the stone away, they asked each other.
But when they reached the tomb, they found that the
stone had been rolled back. Some one had been there
(00:44):
before them. The door was open. The women went through
the door of the tomb. A young man in white
clothes was sitting on one side. Seeing their amazement, the
young man spoke, do not be surprised. You are looking
for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here.
(01:05):
He has risen from the dead. Look there is the
place where he was. They looked, and they saw that
his body was no longer there. The young man went
on go quickly and tell this to his disciples. Jesus
is alive. The women ran out of the tomb, trembling
with fright and with surprise. One of the women was
(01:28):
Mary Magdalen. As she ran, she saw two of the
disciples coming, John and Peter. She cried out to them,
some one has taken Jesus body out of the tomb.
We don't know where they have put it. John and
Peter begin to run toward the tomb. John ran faster
and got there first. He looked through the door, and
(01:50):
there he saw the white clothes that Jesus body had
been wrapped in, but there was no body in them
any longer. Peter caught up to John and ran right
into the tomb. He too saw the folded clothes. John
and Peter went away to their homes, not knowing what
to think. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalen had come back. She stood
(02:13):
in the garden near the tomb, weeping as though her
heart would break. She turned round and saw that a
man was standing near her. He spoke to her and said,
why are you crying? For whom are you looking? Mary
thought that the man must be the gardener. Through her tears,
she said, sir, if you have carried away the body
(02:35):
of my Lord, tell me where you have laid him,
and I will go and take him away, the man
said softly. Mary. She looked again. She knew that voice.
It was Jesus, Jesus calling her name. She cried out, Master.
She moved as though to take hold of him. Jesus
(02:57):
spoke again. It really was he Do not try to
hold me here. I am going to my father in heaven.
But now go and tell that to the disciples. Tell
them that I am going to my father. And Mary
went and told the disciples I have seen the Lord. Afterward,
no one could ever remember clearly all that happened on
(03:20):
that day. No one knew what to make of it all.
No one knew whether to believe that Jesus was really alive.
Late that afternoon, two disciples were walking along the road
from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaeus. They talked of
what had happened on Friday and now on Sunday. As
(03:41):
they were talking, a stranger joined them. The stranger said,
what is it that you are talking about. The disciples stopped.
They were almost too sad to speak any more, but
one of them answered, are you the only visitor to
Jerusalem that doesn't know the things that have been happened
there these last few days. What things, the stranger asked.
(04:05):
The disciples replied, why all about Jesus of Nazareth. He
was a great prophet and teacher. The chief priests and
the rulers had him crucified. We had hoped that he
was the Messiah who is going to save the Jewish people.
But now it is two days since he was put
to death, and nothing has happened. Though there were some
(04:26):
women who went to the tomb and came away saying
that he was risen from the dead. The stranger said, oh,
you foolish men, so slow to believe what it says
in the prophets. Don't you see that the Messiah had
to suffer this way in order to be king. Then
he explained everything in the scriptures about the Messiah. He
(04:48):
spoke to them of how the prophet Isaiah had said
long ago he was despised and cast out by men,
a man of sorrows and full of grief, and no
one would look at him. He was hurt because we
were so sinful. He suffered for our sakes. He was
killed like a lamb, and did not try to defend himself.
(05:11):
The stranger explained that Isaiah was talking about the Messiah.
The Messiah was to be humble and sacrifice himself like
one of the lambs at the Passover feast. Isaiah meant
that the only one who could help others was the
one who was willing to suffer for others. The Messiah
(05:31):
never wanted to be a king like other kings. He
did not want to lord it over others. He wanted
to love them and to give his life for them.
And so the stranger went on, you ought not to
be sad thinking that Jesus is not the Messiah. After all,
Jesus has lived and died, as the scriptures said, the
(05:53):
Messiah would. His love and his sufferings proved that he
really is the Messiah. And if his believers loved one
another as he has loved them, and sacrificed themselves as
he has done, they will have peace and joy. As
the three walked on, the strangers talked. When they reached Amais,
(06:16):
they came to the home of one of the disciples.
They said to the stranger, come in and stay with us.
It is evening. The day is very nearly over. They
went into the house. Some one lighted the lamps and
food was placed before them. The stranger took some bread
and said a prayer of thanks, and broke the bread.
(06:37):
The disciples had seen something like that before breaking bread.
They looked up quickly. Why this man was not a
stranger at all. It was Jesus. They knew him as
they looked into his face. And as they looked, he
vanished out of their sight, and they were alone again.
(06:58):
They said to each other, didn't you have a strange feeling?
As he talked to us along the road and explained
the scriptures. Although it was now night, they returned to
Jerusalem at once. They found the other disciples and told
their story. The Lord is indeed alive, they said. We
knew him the moment he broke the bread. While they
(07:20):
were speaking, Jesus was suddenly among them again. Jesus said,
peace be with you. They were frightened then, but Jesus
spoke again. Do not be afraid, he said, I am
not a spirit. They still could hardly believe it. It
seemed too good to be true. And while they stood there,
(07:40):
not daring to believe that Jesus was alive, he said,
have you anything here to eat? They set a piece
of broiled fish down before him, and Jesus sat down
to supper. One of the disciples was not there when
Jesus appeared to the others. His name was Thomas, and
no matter what the others said, Thomas could not believe
(08:03):
that Jesus was alive again unless he said, I see
in his hands the marks that the nails made when
he was crucified, and unless I put my finger into
those marks, I will not believe. Eight days later, the
disciples were all together. This time Thomas was there with
the others. The doors were shut. Suddenly Jesus appeared again
(08:28):
and said, as he had before, peace be with you.
Then Jesus turned to Thomas and said, put your finger
into the nail holes in my hand, and doubt no more,
but believe in me. Thomas fell down on his knees.
He cried out, my Lord and my God. Jesus said
(08:49):
to him, you believe in me because you have seen
me with your own eyes. It is still better when
people believe even though they have not seen me. After this,
the disciples saw Jesus many times and at many places,
but a day came at last, after which they did
not see him on earth again. On this day, Jesus
(09:12):
appeared to them outside Jerusalem and said, all power has
been given to me in heaven and earth. I am
Lord and King of all men. Go and tell people
of every nation about me, so that they will believe
in me. Baptize everybody in my name. Teach them everything
(09:32):
I have taught you. You will not be alone, for
although you do not see me, I shall be with
you always. Then Jesus said to them, wait a little while.
Wait in Jerusalem, and some day soon you will know
that the time has come to go out and preach.
God will give you the power to make other people
(09:54):
believe in me as their savior. You shall tell them
about me in Jerusalem and in the country all around,
in Samaria, and in the farthest parts of the earth.
He lifted his hands and blessed them. And as he
blessed them, a cloud covered him, and they did not
(10:14):
see him any more. Jesus had gone home to his father.
They stared up into the sky where he seemed to
have gone. As they looked, they heard voices saying, you,
men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into
the sky. The Lord Jesus will come again. Then they
(10:35):
remembered that They had work to do before they would
see Jesus again. They had to go and preach, as
Jesus had told them. They had to tell about him
to all people everywhere. They walked back into Jerusalem. They
had to wait, but now they were not waiting for
Christ the Savior to come. They were waiting only for
(10:57):
the sign that would tell them it was time to
go out and preached that Christ had already come. The
Passover was finished for another year, and the farmers of
Palestine had work to do. The warm spring weather spread
over the land, and the wheat was growing in the
fields and on the hillsides. Farmers reaped their crops and
(11:20):
gathered in grain and got ready for another feast at Jerusalem.
For when the wheat was gathered, it was time to
go and give thanks to God for the harvest. At
the feast of Pentecost. The disciples waited while the weeks
of spring went by. Every day they went to the
temple and praised God for his goodness, because they knew
(11:43):
that Christ had come. Seven weeks passed by, the hot
sun ripened the crops, and the farmers cut their grain.
The day of Pentecost came around, and the streets of
Jerusalem were thronged again. There were men there from near
and far, from every country of which any one had
ever heard. The harvest was over, and the feast was on.
(12:09):
That morning, the disciples were all together when they heard
the sound. It was a sound like the rushing of wind,
bringing messages from God. They saw a vision, too, and
what they saw seemed like tongues of fire come down
to each one of them, so that they all could
speak what God wanted them to say. The disciples went
(12:31):
out and began to speak. Everyone who heard them understood
what they were saying. Excitement went through the city. This
is strange, the people said. We have come from near
and far. We speak many different languages. Yet when these
men tell us about the wonderful things that God has done,
(12:52):
we understand what they are telling us. What is it
that has happened? Peter stood up beside the other disciples
and boldly raised his voice. Listen to me, every one
who is here at Jerusalem. You have read in the
scriptures how God said that he would send his Holy
Spirit to his people. That is what has happened. The
(13:15):
time has come to preach to you. Therefore, listen to
my words. God sent Jesus of Nazareth to you, and
he did many wonderful things among you, which you saw
for yourselves. God let you take him and put him
to death with your own wicked hands. But it was
not possible for him to be held forever by death.
(13:38):
God has raised him from the dead, and we have
seen it. He is king, and he has given us
the power to tell you about him, and you can
hear what we are telling you. Let everybody know this
for a fact. This very Jesus whom you crucified, is
Lord and Christ. And the people heard these words, they
(14:01):
were greatly troubled. What shall we do, they cried. Peter answered, repent,
give up your sins and begin a new life. Believe
in Jesus Christ, and let us baptize you in his name.
Then your sins will be forgiven, and He will send
his Holy Spirit to change you. Many were glad when
(14:23):
they heard this, and they were baptized in Jesus name.
That very day. About three thousand people became believers and
followers of Christ. They joined with those who had been
disciples before, praying together and sharing with each other everything
they had. Jesus had a church which believed that he
(14:44):
was Christ, the Savior. Every day many more were added
to the church. Every day the Church of Jesus Christ
grew stronger. It grew like the grain fields in the spring.
And of Chapter fifteen and of the King Nobody Wanted
by Norman F. Langford read for You by Don Larson
(15:09):
in Minnesota. For more information about this or other books,
please visit LibriVox dot org.
Chapter fifteen of The King Nobody Wanted by Norman F. Langford.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fifteen,
The Victorious King. At sunrise the day following the Sabbath,
three women came to the garden where Jesus was buried.
(00:21):
They came as the custom was to put ointments and
spices on the body of Jesus. On the way, they
remembered that a great stone had been rolled against the
door of the tomb. They wondered how they would get in.
Who will roll the stone away, they asked each other.
But when they reached the tomb, they found that the
stone had been rolled back. Some one had been there
(00:44):
before them. The door was open. The women went through
the door of the tomb. A young man in white
clothes was sitting on one side. Seeing their amazement, the
young man spoke, do not be surprised. You are looking
for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here.
(01:05):
He has risen from the dead. Look there is the
place where he was. They looked, and they saw that
his body was no longer there. The young man went
on go quickly and tell this to his disciples. Jesus
is alive. The women ran out of the tomb, trembling
with fright and with surprise. One of the women was
(01:28):
Mary Magdalen. As she ran, she saw two of the
disciples coming, John and Peter. She cried out to them,
some one has taken Jesus body out of the tomb.
We don't know where they have put it. John and
Peter begin to run toward the tomb. John ran faster
and got there first. He looked through the door, and
(01:50):
there he saw the white clothes that Jesus body had
been wrapped in, but there was no body in them
any longer. Peter caught up to John and ran right
into the tomb. He too saw the folded clothes. John
and Peter went away to their homes, not knowing what
to think. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalen had come back. She stood
(02:13):
in the garden near the tomb, weeping as though her
heart would break. She turned round and saw that a
man was standing near her. He spoke to her and said,
why are you crying? For whom are you looking? Mary
thought that the man must be the gardener. Through her tears,
she said, sir, if you have carried away the body
(02:35):
of my Lord, tell me where you have laid him,
and I will go and take him away, the man
said softly. Mary. She looked again. She knew that voice.
It was Jesus, Jesus calling her name. She cried out, Master.
She moved as though to take hold of him. Jesus
(02:57):
spoke again. It really was he Do not try to
hold me here. I am going to my father in heaven.
But now go and tell that to the disciples. Tell
them that I am going to my father. And Mary
went and told the disciples I have seen the Lord. Afterward,
no one could ever remember clearly all that happened on
(03:20):
that day. No one knew what to make of it all.
No one knew whether to believe that Jesus was really alive.
Late that afternoon, two disciples were walking along the road
from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaeus. They talked of
what had happened on Friday and now on Sunday. As
(03:41):
they were talking, a stranger joined them. The stranger said,
what is it that you are talking about. The disciples stopped.
They were almost too sad to speak any more, but
one of them answered, are you the only visitor to
Jerusalem that doesn't know the things that have been happened
there these last few days. What things, the stranger asked.
(04:05):
The disciples replied, why all about Jesus of Nazareth. He
was a great prophet and teacher. The chief priests and
the rulers had him crucified. We had hoped that he
was the Messiah who is going to save the Jewish people.
But now it is two days since he was put
to death, and nothing has happened. Though there were some
(04:26):
women who went to the tomb and came away saying
that he was risen from the dead. The stranger said, oh,
you foolish men, so slow to believe what it says
in the prophets. Don't you see that the Messiah had
to suffer this way in order to be king. Then
he explained everything in the scriptures about the Messiah. He
(04:48):
spoke to them of how the prophet Isaiah had said
long ago he was despised and cast out by men,
a man of sorrows and full of grief, and no
one would look at him. He was hurt because we
were so sinful. He suffered for our sakes. He was
killed like a lamb, and did not try to defend himself.
(05:11):
The stranger explained that Isaiah was talking about the Messiah.
The Messiah was to be humble and sacrifice himself like
one of the lambs at the Passover feast. Isaiah meant
that the only one who could help others was the
one who was willing to suffer for others. The Messiah
(05:31):
never wanted to be a king like other kings. He
did not want to lord it over others. He wanted
to love them and to give his life for them.
And so the stranger went on, you ought not to
be sad thinking that Jesus is not the Messiah. After all,
Jesus has lived and died, as the scriptures said, the
(05:53):
Messiah would. His love and his sufferings proved that he
really is the Messiah. And if his believers loved one
another as he has loved them, and sacrificed themselves as
he has done, they will have peace and joy. As
the three walked on, the strangers talked. When they reached Amais,
(06:16):
they came to the home of one of the disciples.
They said to the stranger, come in and stay with us.
It is evening. The day is very nearly over. They
went into the house. Some one lighted the lamps and
food was placed before them. The stranger took some bread
and said a prayer of thanks, and broke the bread.
(06:37):
The disciples had seen something like that before breaking bread.
They looked up quickly. Why this man was not a
stranger at all. It was Jesus. They knew him as
they looked into his face. And as they looked, he
vanished out of their sight, and they were alone again.
(06:58):
They said to each other, didn't you have a strange feeling?
As he talked to us along the road and explained
the scriptures. Although it was now night, they returned to
Jerusalem at once. They found the other disciples and told
their story. The Lord is indeed alive, they said. We
knew him the moment he broke the bread. While they
(07:20):
were speaking, Jesus was suddenly among them again. Jesus said,
peace be with you. They were frightened then, but Jesus
spoke again. Do not be afraid, he said, I am
not a spirit. They still could hardly believe it. It
seemed too good to be true. And while they stood there,
(07:40):
not daring to believe that Jesus was alive, he said,
have you anything here to eat? They set a piece
of broiled fish down before him, and Jesus sat down
to supper. One of the disciples was not there when
Jesus appeared to the others. His name was Thomas, and
no matter what the others said, Thomas could not believe
(08:03):
that Jesus was alive again unless he said, I see
in his hands the marks that the nails made when
he was crucified, and unless I put my finger into
those marks, I will not believe. Eight days later, the
disciples were all together. This time Thomas was there with
the others. The doors were shut. Suddenly Jesus appeared again
(08:28):
and said, as he had before, peace be with you.
Then Jesus turned to Thomas and said, put your finger
into the nail holes in my hand, and doubt no more,
but believe in me. Thomas fell down on his knees.
He cried out, my Lord and my God. Jesus said
(08:49):
to him, you believe in me because you have seen
me with your own eyes. It is still better when
people believe even though they have not seen me. After this,
the disciples saw Jesus many times and at many places,
but a day came at last, after which they did
not see him on earth again. On this day, Jesus
(09:12):
appeared to them outside Jerusalem and said, all power has
been given to me in heaven and earth. I am
Lord and King of all men. Go and tell people
of every nation about me, so that they will believe
in me. Baptize everybody in my name. Teach them everything
(09:32):
I have taught you. You will not be alone, for
although you do not see me, I shall be with
you always. Then Jesus said to them, wait a little while.
Wait in Jerusalem, and some day soon you will know
that the time has come to go out and preach.
God will give you the power to make other people
(09:54):
believe in me as their savior. You shall tell them
about me in Jerusalem and in the country all around,
in Samaria, and in the farthest parts of the earth.
He lifted his hands and blessed them. And as he
blessed them, a cloud covered him, and they did not
(10:14):
see him any more. Jesus had gone home to his father.
They stared up into the sky where he seemed to
have gone. As they looked, they heard voices saying, you,
men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into
the sky. The Lord Jesus will come again. Then they
(10:35):
remembered that They had work to do before they would
see Jesus again. They had to go and preach, as
Jesus had told them. They had to tell about him
to all people everywhere. They walked back into Jerusalem. They
had to wait, but now they were not waiting for
Christ the Savior to come. They were waiting only for
(10:57):
the sign that would tell them it was time to
go out and preached that Christ had already come. The
Passover was finished for another year, and the farmers of
Palestine had work to do. The warm spring weather spread
over the land, and the wheat was growing in the
fields and on the hillsides. Farmers reaped their crops and
(11:20):
gathered in grain and got ready for another feast at Jerusalem.
For when the wheat was gathered, it was time to
go and give thanks to God for the harvest. At
the feast of Pentecost. The disciples waited while the weeks
of spring went by. Every day they went to the
temple and praised God for his goodness, because they knew
(11:43):
that Christ had come. Seven weeks passed by, the hot
sun ripened the crops, and the farmers cut their grain.
The day of Pentecost came around, and the streets of
Jerusalem were thronged again. There were men there from near
and far, from every country of which any one had
ever heard. The harvest was over, and the feast was on.
(12:09):
That morning, the disciples were all together when they heard
the sound. It was a sound like the rushing of wind,
bringing messages from God. They saw a vision, too, and
what they saw seemed like tongues of fire come down
to each one of them, so that they all could
speak what God wanted them to say. The disciples went
(12:31):
out and began to speak. Everyone who heard them understood
what they were saying. Excitement went through the city. This
is strange, the people said. We have come from near
and far. We speak many different languages. Yet when these
men tell us about the wonderful things that God has done,
(12:52):
we understand what they are telling us. What is it
that has happened? Peter stood up beside the other disciples
and boldly raised his voice. Listen to me, every one
who is here at Jerusalem. You have read in the
scriptures how God said that he would send his Holy
Spirit to his people. That is what has happened. The
(13:15):
time has come to preach to you. Therefore, listen to
my words. God sent Jesus of Nazareth to you, and
he did many wonderful things among you, which you saw
for yourselves. God let you take him and put him
to death with your own wicked hands. But it was
not possible for him to be held forever by death.
(13:38):
God has raised him from the dead, and we have
seen it. He is king, and he has given us
the power to tell you about him, and you can
hear what we are telling you. Let everybody know this
for a fact. This very Jesus whom you crucified, is
Lord and Christ. And the people heard these words, they
(14:01):
were greatly troubled. What shall we do, they cried. Peter answered, repent,
give up your sins and begin a new life. Believe
in Jesus Christ, and let us baptize you in his name.
Then your sins will be forgiven, and He will send
his Holy Spirit to change you. Many were glad when
(14:23):
they heard this, and they were baptized in Jesus name.
That very day. About three thousand people became believers and
followers of Christ. They joined with those who had been
disciples before, praying together and sharing with each other everything
they had. Jesus had a church which believed that he
(14:44):
was Christ, the Savior. Every day many more were added
to the church. Every day the Church of Jesus Christ
grew stronger. It grew like the grain fields in the spring.
And of Chapter fifteen and of the King Nobody Wanted
by Norman F. Langford read for You by Don Larson
(15:09):
in Minnesota. For more information about this or other books,
please visit LibriVox dot org.
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