The Birth of Christ Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Holy Tales Bible Stories Old Testament

This is the story of how Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, was born. The story begins in a place called Nazareth. Nazareth was a quiet, sleepy little town where most people were farmers and shepherds. In this town there lived a young Jewish woman named Mary. She was a very obedient and God-fearing woman. She helped her parents in the field and did her chores in the house. She was kind and helpful to everyone and people liked her very much. Mary was going to get married soon to a good and honest man named Joseph. A few days before Mary's engagement she had a visitor. He was a very special guest, an angel sent by God from heaven. The holy angel Gabriel visited her in her room and called her in her sleep. When Mary opened her eyes she saw a heavenly figure bathed in a pool of white light floating beyond her window. It wore bright white robes and had big silver wings fluttering behind him. At first she thought she was dreaming, but later when she heard the angel's voice she realized this was no dream. Mary, do not be afraid. I am Gabriel. God has sent me to you. He loves you and you have been chosen for something very special. Your kind heart and pure soul is of great value to the Lord. You are fortunate that God has chosen you above everyone else for this special task. I am not afraid. I am honored to know that God has chosen me to carry out his wish. I am lucky to be a favor to God. Bless you, Mary. God is pleased with you. I have come to tell you that soon you will have a son. He will be a great king one day and he will be loved by everyone. He will be called the Son of God. Mary was at first shocked at what Gabriel had to say. However, she remained calm and listened to everything that the angel had to say. Then she spoke to Gabriel. But how is this possible? I am not yet married. Do not be afraid, Mary. The Spirit of the Lord will take over you and you will be blessed with a son. He will be called the Son of God. He will do great things for the people. He will be hailed as the King of Jews and the Savior of mankind. I am grateful for whatever the Lord has done for me. I am happy to have his wish come true through me. The Lord is with you, Mary. You are blessed. Go in peace. Gabriel then left the house of Mary and returned to heaven. In a few days, Mary became pregnant. In those days, it was very unusual for a girl to become pregnant before marriage. However, Mary explained everything to Joseph about the angel and God's wish and the son they were going to have. Joseph was a good man and he accepted everything. He married Mary in a few days. In those days, the king of the land announced a census. He wanted every citizen of his country to be counted and documented. Since Joseph was actually from Bethlehem, he had to go there to be counted. Bethlehem was a long way from Nazareth. Joseph and Mary had a long and difficult journey ahead to Bethlehem. There were no cars or other means of transportation except for a donkey. The whole journey had to be made by foot. Mary sat on a donkey and Joseph walked behind them. It was even more difficult for Mary since she was going to give birth to her baby. After many, many days of walking through the desert, Joseph and Mary finally reached Bethlehem. It was getting very dark when they reached the town. They desperately needed a place to rest and spend the night. But all the inns were full and nobody would give them space to spend the night. Joseph walked all over the town knocking at the doors of houses and shops, one after the other, but nobody would allow them to come in. Mary was about to give birth and it was important that she had a safe and comfortable place for the baby and herself. Joseph and Mary kept feeling hopeless. After searching for a while, Joseph found an empty barn built for cows. There was plenty of fresh straw there. Joseph used the straw and managed to make a bed for Mary. Later in the night, something magical happened. Mary gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Joseph made a small bed of fresh straw in the manger and laid him there. It was warm and comfortable and the baby slept happily in the manger. Mary was happy that the predictions of the angels had come true. Jesus Christ, the Savior of this world, was born in a humble manger. That same night, while Joseph and Mary were looking for a place to stay the night, not very far away, two shepherds were out looking for their sheep on a hill. Suddenly, they were blinded by a bright light from the sky. They opened their eyes to find a beautiful angel in front of them with long golden hair and silver wings. She wore a shimmering white and gold dress which sparkled in the moonlight. The shepherds did not know how to react and were amazed. Then the angel spoke to them. Do not be afraid. I have come to give you good news. Tonight, in the town of Bethlehem, a baby boy has been born. His name is Jesus. He will be known as the Savior of the world. You will know it is Jesus when you see a baby boy wrapped in clothes in a manger. Go to the villages and let everybody know of this happy news. Let everybody know that Jesus, the Savior of the Jews, was born today. Go in peace now and spread the good news. The shepherds were happy and shocked at the same time. They were overjoyed at the fact that a Savior was born and they ran towards Bethlehem to find baby Jesus, the King of the Jews who had been born in a humble manger. When they eventually found the baby in the manger in Bethlehem, they praised him and bowed down in worship. On the night that Jesus was born, three wise men were traveling on their camels across the desert. Suddenly, there felt a flash of light come down on them. They looked up at the sky and they saw a bright star. It was a kind of star that they had never seen before. The three wise men were aware of the prophecy of Jesus. They were waiting for the star of Bethlehem to appear and when they saw it, they were overjoyed. It meant that the Savior of the world and the King of the Jews was born. At the time of Jesus' birth, the country was under the rule of King Herod who was a very selfish and evil king. When the three wise men informed King Herod of the star they had seen in the sky and what it had meant, King Herod was worried that he would lose his kingdom to this baby boy. He told the wise men to find the baby Jesus and let him know where the baby was. Although the king informed the wise men that he wanted to find the baby so he could go and worship him, Herod was actually plotting to kill the child. He feared that Jesus would grow up to overpower him someday. The three wise men followed the star for several days and found baby Jesus in the manger. They were surprised to find the future king of Jews lying in a barn. They found the barn in which Jesus was born a few days after he was born. Finally, the star stopped right over the manger. They smiled at Mary and bowed down in reverence to the new baby. They had brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the baby. These were very valuable gifts and only given to kings. It was highly unusual for anybody to give these precious things to a newborn baby. However, this was no ordinary baby and the wise men fully understood the purpose of Jesus' birth. And so, now you know the story of Christmas and how the mighty savior of the world started his journey on earth. The story shows us that great things can have small and humble beginnings. After Jesus' cousin, John, was killed, Jesus was very sad. He went away to the top of a mountain to be alone and to pray. After some time, he came down again and started preaching and teaching, visiting different towns. Wherever he went, he performed miracles and healed the ill, which made the people believe in him more and more. In one town, he even healed a man with leprosy. After that, people started seeking out Jesus. Wherever he went, large crowds would gather to meet him to either see miracles being performed or for people to get healed themselves. One day, Jesus reached the town of Capernaum and went into the home of a follower. Word about Jesus coming to the town soon spread everywhere. Like in other places, here also people came in droves to see him. So many people got into the house where Jesus was that the door also could not be closed. Yet people kept pushing, trying to squeeze in. In this town, there lived a man who was paralyzed. He could not stand or even sit, so he kept lying down all the time. I say, have you heard that Jesus is in town? Jesus? Who is he? He's said to be the Son of God. Everybody's talking about the miracles he performs and the people he cures. Really? Then we should take our friend to him. If he is indeed the Son of God, he will surely be able to cure our friend here. Of course. But how will we take him? There are so many people there. It will be impossible for us to make our way in. Well, we will have to at least try, for our friend's sake. The two men, along with their two other friends, sat down to think of a way to carrying their friend to where Jesus was. After a lot of discussion, they decided to make a mat, like a stretcher, upon which they could lay their paralyzed friend. They set to work, and soon they had made a strong mat. They then carried their friend on this mat to the house where Jesus had come. However, when they reached the place, they became quite disappointed. Oh my God! Look at the number of people gathered here. I can't imagine how we can make our way through this crowd carrying our friend. Let's forget about it and go back. We have come all this way. Let us at least try to do something. I agree. After having taken the trouble to come so far, we cannot go back without making an effort to meet Jesus. Yes, we have to do it for our friend. If he is healed, it will be worth any hardship that we face. It was finally decided that the four men would try to find some way to get into the house. However, it soon became obvious to them that it would be impossible for them to push their way through the crowd carrying their friend. What shall we do now? I don't think the people here will have any sympathy for our friend and allow us to pass. It will be very sad if we have to admit defeat and go back without meeting Jesus. The paralyzed man was feeling very bad by now, seeing how hard his friends were trying but not having any success. You have done enough for me, dear friends. I am not fated to get well. Please, let's go back now. Don't lose heart. We are now determined to find a way to make you meet with Jesus. Leave it to us. Don't you worry about it. I am not sure if it can be possible, but I have an idea. Come on, tell us. We are desperate enough to try anything now. As you can see, it is impossible to get into the house. Why don't we try and get inside from the roof? What? Are you mad? Why don't we give it a try? I really can't think of anything else right now. The fourth friend then got onto the roof of the house. He carefully crawled to the middle and then called to his other friends. I think we might be able to do it. One of you come up here and help me make a hole in the roof. We can then pull up our friend on the mat and slowly lower him down, right where Jesus is. What do you say? I say we should give it a try, but will we be able to make a hole in the roof? The roof seems to be quite weak. There are only some tiles there. One of the friends climbed up to help the one on the roof. Both of them carefully removed some tiles and finally managed to make a hole large enough to pass the mat through. We have done it! Come on, you two, bring up our friend. The two friends on the ground, with the help of the two on the roof, lifted their friend onto the roof. Once there, they started to slowly lower him down into the room where Jesus was. What is this? What is happening? How dare you push yourselves here? Please, don't be angry. We didn't know how else to get in. Our friend is paralysed. We have brought him here, to Jesus, to heal him. Though some people were upset, Jesus was very impressed with how the paralysed man's friends had brought him before Jesus. Wait, do not be angry with them. Show some compassion. They have come to me with love and faith, and I cannot let them down. Oh, Jesus, we have heard so much about the miracles you have performed and the numerous people you have healed. Please help our friend, who has not been able to even sit or stand for years. Please have pity on him. Jesus looked at the paralysed man, and placing his hand on the man's head, said to him, My friend, your sins are forgiven. But when Jesus said that, the Pharisees and teachers who were gathered there became very angry. They felt that what Jesus was saying was blasphemy. How could anyone other than God forgive a person's sins? However, Jesus understood what was going on in their minds. I know what you are thinking of in your hearts. Tell me, why do you feel that a son of man cannot forgive someone's sins on earth? The Pharisees and teachers looked at each other, but no one replied. As you can see, this man cannot sit, stand, or walk. What would be easier to tell him? That his sins are forgiven, or that he should get up and walk? Does anyone have an answer to that? Again, no one spoke up. Jesus smiled and said to them, You want to know whether the son of man has the power to forgive or not? I will prove to you that I am the son of God and can heal this man. Saying this, Jesus turned to the paralyzed man. My friend, get up now, pick up your mat, and go home. When Jesus said this, everyone turned to look at the man, who stood up and picked up the mat. All the people who had gathered there were stunned. The healed man wept and fell at the feet of Jesus. You are indeed the son of God! Praise be to you! You are our Savior! The faith of the gathered people grew even more stronger. Even the Pharisees and teachers of law seemed impressed with the healing of this paralyzed man. After this, more and more people followed Jesus wherever he traveled. Jesus went on to many more towns, spreading the word of God and performing many more miracles.