75-500Witnesses-C

500 WITNESSES

    Everyone was now back from Jerusalem. Jesus' apostles, his family, his friends. They decided to have a kind of funeral for him ~ a time to remember his life.

     There was no body, and some people weren't sure about the story he had come back to life. But they loved him and wanted to have this funeral.

     Five hundred people came to his funeral. His apostles were getting ready to talk about Jesus' wonderful life when everyone got a big surprise. There was Jesus standing in front of all 500 of them! At his own funeral!

     Jesus announced that he would like to say hello to every one of them. So they lined up, and one by one were able to talk to Jesus and touch him. "Thank you, Jesus" they all wanted to say.

     Here came one of the shepherds ~ now old ~ that the angels had appeared to when Jesus was born. Then some people from the wedding where he turned water to wine. "Thank you, Jesus."

     Then Nichodemus and Joseph who buried him. Then the woman Jesus met by the well in Samaria. Then Captain Demetrius, his maid, and the little boy Jesus healed. Then Chuza and Joanna and their little boy who Jesus healed. "Thank you, Jesus."

     There were people he had healed of blindness and deafness and various diseases. There were people with missing legs and hands that he made grow back, and people with shriveled legs and hands that he made fill out and whole again. "Thank you, Jesus."

     There were people who he had cast bad angels ~ demons ~ out of. And the man who couldn't move and was lowered through Peter's roof to be healed. And the other man who couldn't move that Jesus healed by the pool. "Thank you, Jesus."

     There was the woman who had pretended she was a wife to the man who treated Jesus so bad at his dinner. And the woman who had done the same bad thing with some of the priests and had been saved from stoning. "How can we ever thank you, Jesus?"

     There was the woman whose back was bent over and was made straight by Jesus. And the young man Jesus brought back to life and his widowed mother. And the girl Jesus brought back to life and her parents. "We will thank you forever, Jesus."

     Then a woman walked up by herself. She was Mary, Jesus' mother. Everyone gave them time. They hugged and hugged. Jesus did not want to let go of his mother.

     Jesus' brothers and sisters joined them. They hugged Jesus. God had picked out a good family for Jesus to grow into manhood with.

     One of them said, "Jesus, we grew up with you.   What we're about to do is really hard for us. But we're willing to try."

     Then Jesus' brothers and sisters slowly knelt at his feet. They had grown up with the Son of God. Even Jesus' mother bowed before him. They all had to start thinking of him, not as their brother or son, but as their God.