Mufasa, the storyteller
Pendo’s brother, Mufasa, loved telling stories. They always made Pendo and his two friends, Marko and Tito, laugh out loud. Mufasa always began his stories by asking, “Shall I tell you a tale?”, and everyone would eagerly reply, “Yes, tell us a tale!”
“But don’t forget the lesson,” Mufasa would add.
Sometimes, the lessons were forgotten, but the laughter always remained.
A new tale begins
“I have an April tale, Pendo,” Mufasa called out one day.
“Really? Let me call Marko and Tito,” Pendo said.
Once the four boys were seated under the mango tree, Mufasa began, “Shall I tell you a tale?”
The three boys responded in unison, “Yes, tell us a tale!”
Betrayal of Jesus
“There was a man in the Bible who was betrayed.”
“I know his name—Jesus!” Tito shouted.
“Alright, Tito, listen and let me tell the tale,” Mufasa said with a smile.
Tito quickly put a finger to his lips to signal silence.
“To betray means to be disloyal,” Mufasa continued.
“Jesus was betrayed many times by people He called His friends. But He knew they would betray Him. It was part of God’s plan, even before Jesus was born. Judas, one of His disciples, led the authorities to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, identifying Him with a kiss and handing Him over for thirty pieces of silver.
“Then, one of His closest friends, Peter, denied knowing Him three times after Jesus’ arrest, fearing for his own safety. Jesus had predicted this would happen.
“But Jesus knew all these painful events had to take place. This was the price He had to pay for our sins. He endured everything so that we could be made new by the blood He shed on the cross.”
Good News
Mufasa paused: “Do you know what the good news is?”
“I don’t think there’s anything good about Jesus dying,” Marko said.
“Oh, but there is. His sacrifice gives us hope. Through Jesus, we receive God’s forgiveness and the promise of Heaven. He died on Good Friday, and rose again after three days. Before ascending to Heaven, He gave His disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit,” Mufasa replied.
Lesson
Marko said that the story was making him sad.
But Mufasa explained that the story was of new life, given by Jesus who gave up His life so that we could be forgiven of our sins.
Then Pendo asked for more of the story.
But Mufasa said I he had to go and asked his friends to go and read the story in the New Testament.
