Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
In a world where faith was weak and miracles were forgotten, in a small town called Nazareth, a journey began that would change the course of history.
From his humble birth to his miraculous ministry, witness the story of the greatest man who ever lived. A story of miracles unlike any ever witnessed. A story of compassion that touches every soul. A story of power that cannot be denied.
Stepping into a society filled with faithless morons much like your favorite theologians and preachers, one man brought hope, healing, and a message that would define humanity forever. He challenged the religious, empowered the weak, and showed the true meaning of faith.
And when it seemed like all was lost, the greatest victory of all time was won. This is not just a story from the past. It is a movement that continues today.
CONTENTS
01. Jesus and the Word
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02. Jesus and the Hero
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03. Jesus and the Angel
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04. Jesus and the Manger
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05. Jesus and the Star
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06. Jesus and the Temple
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07. Jesus and the Voice
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08. Jesus and the Spirit
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09. Jesus and the Devil
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10. Jesus and the Disciples
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11. Jesus Turned Water into Wine
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12. Jesus Healed from a Distance
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13. Jesus Healed a Paralyzed Man
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14. Jesus Healed on the Sabbath
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15. Jesus Praised a Centurion
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16. Jesus Stopped a Storm
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17. Jesus Healed a Bleeding Woman
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18. Jesus Restored Life to a Girl
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19. Jesus Healed the Blind
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20. Jesus Multiplied the Food
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21. Jesus Walked on Water
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22. Jesus Restored Life to Lazarus
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23. Jesus Revealed His Glory
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24. Jesus Explained the Key
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25. Jesus Entered Jerusalem
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26. Jesus Feasted with His Followers
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27. Jesus Arrested by the Faithless
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28. Jesus Sacrificed Himself
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29. Jesus Returned from the Dead
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30. Jesus Restored His Followers
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31. Jesus Commanded His Followers
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32. Jesus Returned to Heaven
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33. Jesus Sent the Holy Spirit
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34. The Adventures Never End
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
You are probably not going to like this book. It presents episodes from the life of Jesus written for young readers, but it differs significantly from other books aimed at this audience.
There are two assumptions common to Christian books written for children and young readers. I reject both of them. These assumptions shape the way adults teach children, and they have caused great harm to young minds.
The first assumption is that young people are not interested in God. Adults often assume that children lack interest, and therefore use diluted theology and gimmicks to capture their attention. However, many young people are genuinely interested in God, often more so than adults. When presented with authentic teaching about God, they will engage with it.
It is true that some young people are not interested, but the same is true for adults. Many adults have such disinterest or aversion to the things of God that it drives them straight to hell. The same can be true for young people, and if this does not change, they too will end up in hell. If someone has no interest in God, it is not because they are young, but it is because they are reprobate or not yet awakened, just like adults who are uninterested are reprobate or not yet awakened.
The lack of interest is not due to a problem with the content, but a problem with the individual. If a child is genuinely uninterested in God, they will not read this book, just as adults will not read Christian books if they are uninterested. If young readers do not want to learn about Jesus, that is not my fault, nor is it the book’s fault. It is their fault. And it might also be your fault for the way you raised them.
The second assumption is that young readers cannot understand. Many adults think that young people lack the ability to grasp complex or abstract ideas. But they can understand much more than adults admit. The problem is not the ideas themselves, but the way they are explained to them. If the ideas are communicated in simple language, children and young people are capable of understanding anything in theology and biblical studies.
If they do not understand, it is often because adults have convinced them that they cannot. Many books begin their discussions of even basic concepts by saying, “This might be hard for you to understand.” Young people are not given the chance to understand the concepts. Adults convince them that, if they think they understand immediately, then they must have misunderstood.
I have written primarily in short and simple sentences, using a basic vocabulary. However, I refuse to speak to young people in the condescending manner that many adults do. While the language is simplified for young readers, the ideas are meaningful for all audiences. There will be new words that they might need to learn, and that is a good thing. A reader does not have to understand every word in a book for it to be effective. People learn by encountering new ideas, making inferences, and expanding their vocabulary.
This book is written for younger people, but adults can also find it useful. As I worked on it, I realized more and more that it is just as appropriate for adults. Perhaps if I say some things the way I do here, adults will finally understand. It is certainly a good way to address faithless and pretentious scholars who have taught about Jesus all their lives but never knew him.
This book teaches faith instead of unbelief, victory instead of defeat, healing instead of sickness, and the suffering of Jesus instead of our suffering. It focuses on faith, not ethics, and on miracles, not charity. It affirms the work of the Holy Spirit instead of condemning or blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
It emphasizes faith, loyalty, worship, and the supernatural. It refuses to dilute the life of Jesus into lessons on how to “be a good boy” or “be a good girl.” Jesus did not just tell his disciples to be nice. He commanded them to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons.
A book like this cannot present everything Jesus taught, but it does emphasize some things that others have rejected. At first, I wanted to include a section on the teachings of Jesus, but the book was already becoming long as I described the events of his life. So I decided to remove those chapters. Many of his teachings are woven into the stories of his life, and others are covered in my other writings.
As I was writing, I was again struck by how much Jesus emphasized faith in his teachings and how often he demonstrated it through miracles. In various ways and on various occasions, Jesus said that anyone who has faith can perform even greater miracles than those he performed during his ministry. He intended for the ministry of miracles to expand to more demographics, to more territories, and to all future generations. I was reminded of how evil it is for people to oppose something that Jesus emphasized over and over again. Jesus showed us the way of faith, life, and power. We do not have to follow the path of faithlessness.
If you are a pastor, you are probably not going to like this book. Your young readers will see that you have been preaching unbelief, trash that has come out of your filthy mouth and poisoned their minds for years. They will see that your religion is nothing like what Jesus established, and that you do not live up to the gospel. By your faithless teachings, you have attempted to take away their chance to live up to it.
If you are a parent, you are probably not going to like this book either. It will contradict the unbelief that you have taught and shown your children. If you disagree with my approach, you are not going to like this book. But the more you dislike it, the more you and your children need it. If you were not planning on telling them the truth, then I will. And if you hide the truth from them, God can let them find it some other way.
Preachers are zealous to indoctrinate unbelief and rebellion into young people. This practice is almost universal, and it is evil and satanic. I do the opposite. I emphasize faith and miracles without apology. My only regret is that I have not emphasized it enough. If you disagree with that, then you are wrong. You are disloyal to Jesus and to the gospel. And I am a better pastor and parent to your children than you are. You should be ashamed to call yourself a Christian or a parent. How many young people would be saved and filled with joy and hope if they were told that it is good to believe the Bible?
If you do not like what I say, then I do not like you either. But many young people will like what I say, and they will defy your faithless doctrines and traditions. However, if you do not like this book because you think you can teach the same things better and stronger, then do it! Stop using me as an excuse. Teach children and young people the things that Jesus taught, so they may grow up doing the same works that Jesus did, and even greater works.