“Shall we do it?” Alex turned to Caleb in a spirit of adventure.
Caleb looked up at the tall mountain that seemed to touch the sky from down where they were. He gulped.
“Let’s do it!” exclaimed Gilad enthusiastically. Zev nodded, and Jonathan beamed in consent.
Alex playfully thumped Caleb on his back. “Be a sport!
We’ll make it to the top of the mountain.”
“It reminds me of the tower of Babel,” Caleb said.
“Then let’s see if we’ll reach Heaven!” laughed Alex.
And so, the five adventurous teenagers embarked on the mission ‘Mountain conquest’, to scale the tallest mountain in the village, a feat that a few dared to do. When they began the ascent, they were in high spirits, and full of energy. But as the climb progressed, they felt drained out. The sun was getting brighter and the boys, weaker.
“I need a break!” begged Gilad as he slumped into a small space.
“Let’s rest awhile,” supported Zev.
They relaxed for a while, enjoying the view of their village from the mountain heights.
“There is the stream by my home…” Caleb viewed excitedly, “And look, there is the Temple!”
“Caleb! Be careful!” warned Alex as he noticed that Caleb, in his thrill at viewing the landscape, wasn’t paying attention to his foothold.
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No sooner had he said that, Caleb’s foot slipped, and he fell down the slope. Alex darted and grabbed his hand. Caleb screamed.
“Help!” cried Caleb.
“Hold on!” Alex cried out.
The others dashed to their friend’s rescue, but Caleb was slipping away.
“Aaaaaaaah!” Caleb gave out a final cry as he slid from his friends’ grasp and fell through the air deep down…..
The boys watched helplessly as they gazed at Caleb disappearing down the cliff.
A search was launched for Caleb. The villagers found his body. He was not dead. He survived the fall, but was badly wounded. Caleb became paralyzed, neck down.
The four gloomy friends sat still in the meadows, gazing at the sunset. Nobody talked for a long while.
“It’s my fault!” regretted Alex. “Caleb was hesitant about climbing the mountain. I forced him to do it.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Alex. We were all in it,” Gilad consoled.
“Isn’t there something we can do for him?” Jonathan wondered.
“His parents have taken him to the best doctors. They all said he will never walk again,” Alex sighed.
“What is impossible for man is possible for God,” pointed Gilad.
“I pray for him every day!” Alex cried.
“Have you heard of Jesus?” suddenly Zev asked his friends.
Nobody had.
“Last week, when I was at my uncle’s house in Galilee, I went to the synagogue with him. There we saw this prophet 65
called Jesus preaching about God’s love. His words were powerful. I am not very religious, but there was something about him that moved me.” Zev looked around at his friends.
“What really amazed me was the healings -he just touched and the blind could see, he just spoke and the lame began to walk. Miracles occurred in the name of God the Father!”
“Shall we take Caleb to Jesus?” Jonathan asked.
“Is he still in Galilee?” Gilad queried.
“I could find out,” Zev responded.
“But how do we get to Caleb? His parents hate us! They won’t allow us anywhere near him,” Alex said.
“We will have to sneak him out,” Zev suggested.
Alex shook his head. “No! Caleb’s parents already blame us for his accident. If we sneak him out, they will be mad at us. If we take him to Jesus and he doesn’t get healed, they will hate us even more.”
“But it’s worth the try,” Zev persuaded.
“What do we have to lose, anyway?” Jonathan said. “The whole village hates us. We hate ourselves for what happened.
There is hope Jesus can heal him. And even if he can’t heal, things couldn’t get worse. Nobody could hate us more!”
Jonathan was almost in tears.
Alex pondered for a while. Then he said to Zev, “Find out if Jesus is still in Galilee. We will take Caleb to him.”
Zev smiled and nodded. He had hope.
Caleb’s father was in the fields that morning. Caleb’s mother, Susan, was in the kitchen making warm soup for her son. She took a bowl full of soup for Caleb and went to his room. As he sipped at the spoon his mother held up near his lips, Susan said, “I will have to go to fill the pots with water.”
Caleb nodded.
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“Shall I ask Joanna to come and stay here with you while I am gone?” she asked.
“No, I’ll be fine mother,” Caleb replied.
After he finished the soup, Susan helped him lie down again, and tucked the blanket around him.
“I will be back soon,” she said.
Susan lifted two huge pots and went outside. Through the open window, Caleb’s gaze followed his old mother limping her way through the dusty road. Usually, it was he who brought water home from the well. The pots were heavy, and the walk was weary. He knew his mother felt the task was hard, but there was no one else to do it. Caleb was the only son. He used to care for his parents and they had great dreams for his future. Now, that fatal fall had shattered al their dreams.
“It’s my fault!” he thought as a tear rolled from his eye. “I am a bad person and this is a punishment for all my sins. I deserve this.”
As he was drowning in such depressing thoughts, a voice called “Caleb!”
Caleb couldn’t see who it was, but he recognized the voice of his dear buddy.
“Alex!” he said, and strained to look. Alex came and sat beside him.
The three others joined Alex. They tried to smile.
Caleb spoke, “Good to see you all again. I was wondering why you hadn’t come yet,” he said.
“We did,” Gilad said, “but…,” he didn’t complete.
Caleb understood. “Don’t mind my parents. It’s just that they are very upset.”
“Anyone would be. We understand how they feel,”
Jonathan assured.
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“Caleb, we are here to take you to someone who can heal you,” Zev spoke up.
Caleb smiled as though he thought it was a joke.
“I’m already tired out by the treatments of all the doctors in the village. I couldn’t stand one more,” he said wearily.
“This is not a doctor. He is a healer, a prophet. His name is Jesus!” Zev explained.
Caleb didn’t reply but just closed his eyes, expressing disinterest.
Alex placed his hand firmly on Caleb’s arms.
“Please, Caleb. Let us take you to him. Let us do something for you,” he pleaded.
Caleb opened his eyes. “I don’t think my parents would like that.”
“They won’t know,” Zev assured.
“You are planning to kidnap me?” Caleb joked.
“If you allow us to,” Jonathan replied.
“My parents will be upset if I am missing,” Caleb spoke. “I don’t want to worry them.”
“We won’t be able to take you with their permission. This is our only chance. Please, Caleb…” Alex held Caleb’s feet and begged. “Their sorrow will turn to joy when you walk back home with us.”
Caleb closed his eyes. A few moments elapsed in silence.
All four friends anxiously awaited Caleb’s response. Finally, he opened his eyes and said, “Alright, take me to him.”
The friends became happy. They rolled Caleb in a mat and stealthily carried him away.
“Let’s go through the woods to our boat so no one sees us,” Alex directed.
And so the four friends, along with Caleb, headed for Galilee. As their boat reached the shore of Galilee, Alex 68
closed his eyes and prayed, “God, we trust in you. Please help us. Make Caleb walk again.”
On enquiring where Jesus was, they were told he was preaching in a house near the synagogue. Jonathan, Zev, Alex, and Gilad carried Caleb to the house. It was crowded.
They tried to push their way inside, but couldn't.
“Sir please, we have a sick friend. We want to take him to Jesus,” Gilad pleaded with a man in the crowd.
“We all want to see Jesus,” he responded. “We all have needs.”
“Wait till Jesus comes out of the house. Maybe you can get to see him then,” suggested another man.
“But our friend is tired. The sun is too hot. He’ll be exhausted,” Jonathan was worried.
The man shrugged. “There is no way you can get him into the house. See how thick the crowd is?"
Alex looked at the packed house and sighed. How long would they have to wait? By now the villagers would have discovered that Caleb is missing and that they are responsible.
The thought of what awaited them when they get back made Alex shudder.
“Alex!” whispered Zev. Alex looked at Zev who pointed with his eyes to the thatched roof of the house.
Alex glanced at the roof and then back at Zev. “Shall we?”
Zev asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Alex nodded. “But how?”
“We need strong ropes,” Jonathan said.
“Let’s check near the well for ropes,” Gilad suggested.
Jonathan and Gilad loosened the rope from the well without any of the ladies noticing. They brought the rope to the backside of the house where Zev and Alex were waiting.
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Zev and Alex climbed to the top and helped to raise the mat Caleb was on. Once the four had scrambled to the rooftop, they pressed their ears to the roof to hear Jesus’
voice. They had to get straight above him.
“Here!” Alex signaled to his friends. “He is right here!”
The four crowded around the spot and pressed their ears to the roof.
They could distinctly hear Jesus preaching. They were just above him.
Alex looked up at the others, "Let’s do it”. Taking a deep breath, he ripped away the thatch of the roof while the other three took hold of the mat Caleb was lying on.
“The kingdom of God is within each of you!” Jesus spoke to the crowd huddled in the room. “When you enthrone the Heavenly Father in your heart as King and make a decision to always do what is good and pleasing to Him, He lives in you, and where He is, the Kingdom is! There has…”
Jesus was startled as the roof above him crumbled. He looked straight up to see a mat slowly lower before him with a tired young boy who was sick, both in body and soul.
He looked up again to the hole in the roof from where four heads with red faces eagerly peeked.
Alex begged, “Please heal our friend.”
Zev added, “We want him to walk home with us.”
“We have faith you can help us. Please do,” Gilad pleaded.
“Please work a miracle,” Jonathan requested.
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Jesus looked at Caleb. Caleb didn’t look back. He didn’t seem to have the faith or hope Jesus could heal him. Jesus could see he was depressed. Ever since the accident, Caleb kept blaming and cursing himself for it. He was under the conviction that this was a punishment God had given him for his many sins and there was no way out of it. Jesus felt sorry for Caleb and he was moved by the faith of his four friends.
Jesus spoke kindly to Caleb, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
The people were astonished at those words. Some mumbled, “How dare he say that! Only God has the right to forgive sins.”
“Does he claim to be God?” remarked another.
But some people supported Jesus.
“He is a great prophet of God. He has done miracles in the name of God. Perhaps God has given him the authority to forgive sins in His name too,” said an old man.
“Yes, the forgiveness of God is what we need more than miracles. Ah! How beautiful are those words of assurance
‘Your sins are forgiven!’” spoke another man.
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Jesus could make out what they all were thinking. He said,
“Why are many of you agitated by the words I have spoken?
Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk?’ Are you eager to see a miracle? To see him stand up and walk? Greater than that is the miracle of forgiveness, and that is what this boy needs right now. Forgiveness is a miracle that works in the heart and which eyes cannot see. It is the divine touch in the depths of a soul that despite all unworthiness heals one’s spirit and renews it with holiness in a new friendship with God the Father.”
Jesus looked into Caleb’s eyes. Caleb now slowly turned his gaze towards Jesus and faintly smiled. He could feel the divine touch within his soul. He felt forgiven…
Jesus said firmly, “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home.”
Caleb twitched his fingers. Slowly, he sat up.
People gasped in amazement.
Jesus held out his hand. Caleb grasped it. Jesus helped him climb to his feet and take a few steps. Caleb burst into tears and looked up at his four friends, still peering in through the hole in the roof. They were all in tears, too.
Jesus looked up at the four faces and smiled affectionately.
“Your faith has healed your friend. You can walk back home with him as you prayed.”
Caleb picked up his mat, glanced gratefully at Jesus one more time, and walked out of the house where his friends greeted him with tight hugs and loud yells.
People were astounded and praised God saying, “We have never seen something like this before!”
A few days later, as Jesus was praying by the riverside, a voice called, “Jesus!”
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Jesus opened his eyes and turned around to see a beaming boy. “Caleb, good to see you again!” Jesus smiled.
Caleb was looking healthy and cheerful. “I’ve come again to say ‘thank you’ once more…..of course, no matter how many times I say it …” he looked at Jesus and his eyes glistened with tears.
Jesus placed his hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “If you are really grateful, live your life to show it.”
“Jesus, I was hoping you would come with me to my village. Everyone is eager to meet you and hear you,” Caleb invited.
Loud voices were heard a little away. The disciples seemed to be having an argument with someone. Jesus wondered what all the commotion was about, and went toward them.
Near Judas, James, and John stood the four friends, Zev, Jonathan, Gilad, and Alex.
Judas Iscariot complained, “Jesus, these boys were stubborn about meeting you right away. We said you couldn't be disturbed while in prayer and asked them to wait. But these mischievous boys were so adamant they played a trick on us so one of them could get past us to you.”
Jesus looked at Caleb who gave a sheepish smile.
“Well, let them come now. I’m done with my prayer,” said Jesus.
The four boys jovially greeted Jesus.
“So will you come with us to our village?” enquired Alex eagerly.
Judas intervened. “Jesus cannot come with you. We are on our way to Jerusalem. We are not going anywhere else.”
“Everyone is just waiting to see you. We’ve told them all about you,” Zev informed.
“Please come,” pleaded Jonathan.
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The JC Team
“There are so many in our village who need you,” Gilad added.
“Boys, we are going to Jerusalem and we are already late.
We won’t be able to stop by your village,” said James.
Jesus turned to the boys. “I have to reach Jerusalem. You boys go back home and bear testimony to the goodness God has shown you. Live life in friendship with God. More than the words I preach there, your changed lives will speak out loud and clear. The power of God will touch your village through each one of you.”
The boys were upset, but they could understand.
“Thank you so much for what you have done for us,”
Alex said and gave Jesus one big hug.
Gilad cheered, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Jonathan and Zev bent down and lifted Jesus on their shoulders as the other three cheered out loud. The disciples joined them and they all sang hymns and psalms in praise of God for His Mercy and Love revealed through His Son, Jesus.
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Coming Soon…..
THE JC TEAM
Bible Stories told like never before
***Volume 2***
On July 13, 2024
(Feast of Rosa Mystica)
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