The Great Search
Bible Drama
~ Act Four ~
NARRATOR: We continue now with Act Four of “The Great Search Bible
Drama.” As the week passed, Mr.
Vance was so engrossed with the second book that he ordered all food to be
brought to his room. Questions had
mounted so high in his mind from the first book that it was a real joy to find
the answers. He was not content to
go over this book once, but he would re-read entire chapters, and found himself
wanting to memorize favorite
verses. Also, he had his sketching
tablet handy to graphically illustrate the major events. The week passed quickly, and through
diligent study, much was accomplished.
Mr. Goldston found it hard to sleep
the night before time to meet. He
kept saying to himself that he had really been unfair to the Bible. He had read very few verses in his life
and the religion and Bible knowledge that he obtained came from hearing others
talk. However, his attitudes were now changing. He even found himself reading from the
stories Mr. Vance had related in his report. For the first time in his life, he had experienced a genuine
interest.
All
three men kept the appointment promptly.
It was obvious to see before Mr. Vance
began that this second book had not let him down. Now that they are all seated comfortably, it seems that they
are ready to begin. Let’s listen
as Mr. Vance gives his second report.
MR. VANCE:
Mr. Preacher,
now I know that you were wise in not answering my questions last week, because
this second book has answered them so well. The first book closed promising that the prophet Elijah would come, and I had not read far
into this second book until I learned that this Elijah was in the form of a man
called John the Baptist.
He
was called the Baptist or Immerser because he baptized
people, but his real mission was to prepare for this promised seed. The chosen nation that came from the seed of Abraham was not
ready for the One through whom all
nations would be blessed.
Therefore, John worked faithfully to prepare for the coming of the Messiah and to announce that the Kingdom of
Heaven is at hand.
Then
came the One for whom he was preparing, the One whom all the prophets in the
first book had predicted—Jesus Christ. I had never before read of such a great
One!
His
birth began with a miracle since His mother conceived by the Holy Spirit instead of by man. At the age of twelve He was smart
enough to discuss deep matters with the doctors of the law in the Temple. After He was baptized
of John, the heavens opened as the Holy Spirit descended like a dove on Him,
and the voice of God in heaven announced, “This is My beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased.”
After
defeating the devil in the
wilderness, Jesus began His ministry,
and what a ministry it was! He did
not just ask people to take His word, but everywhere He went, miracles were performed.
The
lame were made to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind
to see, evil spirits cast out, and
some dead ones were called back to
life. Even the winds and storms of
the sea obeyed Him.
He
was not interested in impressing men from an earthly standpoint, but rather was
interested in their eternal souls. This is why He spent each day teaching
them how to live on earth so that they could live with God in eternity. His pure teaching stirred up jealousy
among the religious “glory seekers,”
but this did not stop Him. He merely exposed their evil motives and showed His
audiences the real way of life. As
He taught, He also trained men called apostles,
to help. He taught them and others
many lessons through parables.
As
I continued reading of His life, there seemed to appear a shadow of death gathering about Him. Many times evil men tried to take Him,
but failed. The real seriousness
came when He took Peter, James, and John to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. While there, Jesus was so concerned as
He prayed that He sweated, as it were, great drops of blood. He spoke of a cup to drink and even
prayed His Father to let it pass if possible. However, Jesus assured His Father
that He was ready to suffer if it was His will.
It was shortly after this that the mob came with their torches and clubs to
capture Him.
From
this time forward, His life was filled with suffering
and disappointment. Even one of
the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot,
betrayed Him, and another called Peter,
denied Him. He was taken from one
mock trial to another until finally the bloodthirsty mob got permission to crucify Him.
How
sad it was for me to read of His death.
The carrying of His cross, the nailing of His hands and feet, the
mocking: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross,” “He saved
others, let Him save Himself,” the gall for food, vinegar for drink, the crown of thorns,
the slapping and spitting—all add up to the most cruel
scene in history.
Even
in the midst of what many considered weakness, there came forth strength and
power. The great cries from the cross, the darkness over the earth, the earthquake, the appearance of some dead walking in Jerusalem, the veil of the temple torn in two from the top
to the bottom, make me want to cry out with the Roman soldier, “Surely He
was the Son of God!”
At
this point, with Jesus dead, I felt disappointed. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
removed the body and prepared it for burial by wrapping it with linen clothes
and spices. He was buried in
Joseph’s new tomb, and then it was
sealed by a large stone and guarded by Roman soldiers.
But I didn’t stay disappointed long! With further study I found that after three days the grave could not hold Him. There was a great earthquake as an angel from heaven descended and rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb, and Jesus came forth victorious over death!
Then
I remembered from the first book that
this was all prophesied, and the words of Isaiah kept coming to my mind:
“He
is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not
esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised
for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed,” (Isa.
53:3-5).
It
finally came to me that He was carrying out the promise made of God to Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. This
couple had brought death, and God had promised the “Seed
of Woman” to pay the price.
Somehow it had never occurred to me that the price would have to be
death!
After
His resurrection, Jesus met with His
apostles and told them He would have to leave. This made them sad, but He promised to prepare a place for them and said that He
would send the Holy Spirit to earth
to guide them. Until this time, He
had singled out the Jewish nation only, but Jesus spoke of the time shortly
when all nations—every creature—would hear His message and
be saved. Then He told them to go into Jerusalem and wait for this
power or Holy Spirit to come.
He had prepared for the coming of His church or kingdom, and with these plans all finished, He was taken up in a cloud out of their sight into heaven. What a glorious experience this must have been for the apostles!
Now, Mr. Preacher, here are my questions: “Did they go to Jerusalem?” “Did they receive that power?” “Did the kingdom or church, as it is called, come into existence?” This second book contained Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John’s account of the life of Jesus, and I read them all, but these men stopped with Jesus ascending to heaven. Did the kingdom begin? Did the power come?
PREACHER: Mr. Vance, you have asked me some
great questions, and I could answer each of them for you, but do you remember
saying earlier that I did right in not personally answering your questions, and
that giving you the book (with the
answers) was best for you?
MR. VANCE: Yes sir, and I still feel that this was the best way.
PREACHER: Then,
instead of answering these questions, let me give you another book.
Here is Book 3, taken from the
Bible, and is called the book of Acts. Suppose you take this book, read it as
thoroughly as you did the first two, and see if you can find the answers to
your questions.
MR. VANCE: Sir, this I will gladly do.
PREACHER: Well, Mr. Goldston, what do you
think of the progress of our experiment?
MR. GOLDSTON: Frankly, I could not be more
pleased! Preacher, why didn’t you
tell me before that this Bible is so great?
PREACHER: Sir, if you will recall, I tried
several times and you showed very little interest. In fact, this is all taking place because you thought the
Bible to be a book that causes religious division.
MR. GOLDSTON: Yes, yes, you’re right. It’s just that I have never enjoyed
anything so much in my life. Why
would anyone neglect this great
book—this I cannot understand!
PREACHER: You have a good point there, but
suppose we continue this experiment by allowing Mr.
Vance to get back to work.
Now, Mr. Vance, you know what you are to do. You are certainly doing an excellent job with your
presentation, and I’m personally looking forward to hearing your third report.
MR. VANCE: Thank you Mr. Preacher, and I look
forward to seeing you again in one week.
NARRATOR: And so, the second phase of the test
of the great Book, the Bible, came to an end. It was obvious to all as they went their separate ways that
this great Book of God was passing all tests!
To Mr. Goldston, this week passed by more slowly than the other two. He was not sure what had made the difference, but perhaps it was because he was anxious himself to find some of the answers to the questions asked by Mr. Vance. It was no longer just a matter of proving someone wrong, but Mr. Goldston was seeing himself and his relationship to God for the first time in his life.
Mr.
Goldston spent each day and even into the night, studying
the Bible. This was not a part of
the experiment, but something that he wanted to do. He had allowed money and material things to take over his
life with no real concern about his soul. In his personal study, one Scripture
kept coming back to his mind, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul,” (Mt. 16:26). —BBBristow
(Please continue this drama by clicking on Act 5)