A Story of God and All of Us Young Reade - By Roma Downey Page 0,35

scribbles in the dirt.

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The disciples cry out to Jesus: "Please, say something to help her."

Then, to the shock of all who watch, Jesus reaches down and selects a fine throwing stone from the pile. Jesus walks over and lines up next to the high priests, or Pharisees, each of whom now holds a stone, facing the condemned woman.

Now the crowd sees the words Jesus has written: JUDGE NOT, LEST YOU

BE JUDGED.

As they stare at the words, letting them rest upon their hearts, Jesus strolls back and forth in front of the throwing line. He holds his rock up in his hand

for all to see as he scrutinizes the rocks held by the others. "Let the man who is without sin throw the first stone." Jesus offers his rock to each man, with the utter certainty that they all have sinned.

Even the Pharisees cannot look Jesus in the eye.

Jesus walks over to the woman. Behind, he hears the dull thuds of rocks hitting the earth. But the rocks are being dropped, not thrown. Each man turns silently and walks quickly home as his own sins weigh on his conscience.

"Go," Jesus tells the woman. "Go and sin no more."

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It's dusk as Jesus and his disciples walk up a long hill that leads to the next town. Children run to greet them, but otherwise it appears that they are in for an ordinary evening. They'll find a place to sleep and get a meal. Perhaps Jesus will teach, or maybe he won't. All in all, they're just glad to be sleeping with a roof over their heads after many a night sleeping outdoors.

But as Jesus leads the way up and over the top of the hill, the apostles gasp in shock. Thousands upon thousands of people fill the valley below. They stand on the shores of a silvery sea, waiting anxiously to hear the words of Jesus.

The instant the crowds catch sight of him, they rush up the hillside, all trying to get a spot in front when Jesus begins teaching.

"Would you look at all those people!" gasps Peter.

"Yes," Jesus answers. "How are we going to feed them all?"

"Do what?"

"Feed them. It's late. I don't see any cooking fires. They must be famished.

Go out into the crowd," Jesus tells his disciples. "And bring back as much food as you can."

They come back with almost nothing: five loaves of bread and two fish.

There's not enough to feed the disciples themselves, let alone roughly five

thousand.

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The crowd consumed the contents of their food baskets hours ago as they waited patiently for Jesus. Now those baskets are quite empty.

Jesus seems unbothered. "Thank you, Father," he prays over the little food they have gathered. "Thank you for what you bring us."

The disciples begin to distribute the food, and the baskets overflow with bread and fish--so much that the crowd has seconds, and then thirds.

The crowd is soon demanding more food and clamoring to proclaim Jesus as the new King of the Jews. But he sends them away, knowing that the miracle they observed will be more than enough to fortify their faith for some time to come.

Jesus has restored sight to the blind, cured the lame, cast out demons, and healed the handicapped. Some say that if a person has enough faith in Jesus and his teachings, the sick can be healed, the physical body can be made whole, and life itself can be restored.

Jesus is soon put to the test as he and his disciples walk through a village, enjoying the games played by the young children and the generally festive atmosphere of the day. A messenger comes running with a 150

desperate plea. He tells Jesus that his friend Lazarus lies dangerously ill.

Jesus and his disciples make the walk to Lazarus's village, and they find a town consumed in grief.

"I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus tells Lazarus's sisters, Martha and Mary. "If anyone believes in me, he will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world." Mary weeps as she speaks, and Jesus is deeply moved.

"Where have you laid him?" Jesus asks. By now Lazarus has been dead for four days.

They lead him to their brother's tomb to grieve. Jesus weeps.

"Take away the stone," Jesus commands.

The disciples and the men of the village obey Jesus' order and roll back the stone that covers the entrance