Over a hundred years ago, before the St. Gotthard tunnel was built, all travelers who wanted to go from Italy to Switzerland (or the opposite direction) had to walk across the St. Gotthard pass. This took quite a long time.
At that time, people traveled in groups. There was a group of brick and stone workers journeying from near Lugano to central Switzerland because they could earn better wages. Among them was a young man, Antonio, who got into conversation with an older lady who told him about the Lord Jesus. Antonio did not want to hear anything, but said, “We have Mary and the priests. That is enough.”
Then the lady offered him a beautiful, leather-bound Bible as a gift. He took it, but never read it.
At the construction site at Glarus, he was assigned to help build a large house. At work he began swearing and cursing, as did all his buddies. When plastering a wall, he noticed a hole that still had to be bricked up. All of a sudden he thought of the Bible that was in his bag, and he said to his fellow workers, “Chaps, I have an idea. Look at this Bible. I’ll put it into this hole.”
The Bible barely fit in there, and the binding became somewhat damaged. Antonio said, “Look here, put some mortar in front, and now I would like to see whether the devil can get the Bible out of here!” A few weeks later, Antonio went back home across the mountains.
On May 10, 1861, a big fire burned the town of Glarus. A total of 490 buildings were destroyed. The whole town was in ruins, but it was to be rebuilt.
A foreman bricklayer from northern Italy named Johannes got the job of examining a new house which was only partly destroyed. He pounded with his hammer at the still remaining walls, and suddenly a piece of plaster broke off. To his surprise, he found a book which had been jammed into the wall. He took it out—a Bible! How strange! How did it get there?
During his break time, Johannes diligently started reading the Bible. He did not understand many things, but from the Gospels and the Psalms he learned how to pray.
If someone is honest, God will come to his help. It did not take long for Johannes to realize that he was a sinner, but that God loved him and that by faith in the Lord Jesus he could receive forgiveness of sins. In the autumn, when he returned to his home and family, he told everyone the good news of his salvation.
In his spare time, he took a suitcase full of Bibles and canvassed the neighboring villages to spread the gospel message. He also came into the area where Antonio lived. At a fair he put up a stand with Bibles. When Antonio strolled about, he stopped and said, “Oh, Bibles, I don’t need them! If I wanted one, I only have to go to Glarus where I put one into a wall. I would be surprised if the devil could get it out of there.”
Johannes looked solemnly at the young man. Immediately, everything became clear to him, and he said, “Be careful, young man. Don’t scoff. What would you say if I showed you that very Bible?”
“That I don’t believe,” said Antonio. “I would recognize it at once, because I marked it. And I’ll say it again: Even the devil would not get it out of the wall!”
Johannes produced the Bible and asked, “Do you know the mark, my friend?” Antonio was speechless at first when he saw the damaged Bible.
“Do you see it? This is not the work of the devil, but of God. God did it in order to show you that He lives. He also wants to save you.”
Again, Antonio’s old hatred against God showed itself. He was struck in his conscience, but he shouted to his friends, “Come on, boys, what about this guy with his pious Bible stand?”
In a few seconds, Johannes’ Bible stand was pushed over, and he himself was beaten. The vandals disappeared among the gathering crowd. From that time on, Antonio became more hostile towards God.
One day, again drunk at work, he fell from a 56-foot-high scaffold and, severely injured, was rushed to the hospital. When Johannes heard of it, he had flowers sent to him and even visited him. But Antonio’s heart remained hard as a rock, though he was impressed by the kindness Johannes had shown to him.
Johannes visited him every week, and Antonio slowly started reading the Bible. First he read it because he had nothing else to do. But soon his interest was awakened. Once he read in Hebrews 12:55And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (Hebrews 12:5), “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord.” Well, that fit his case. Antonio continued reading God’s Word, and it began to reach his heart. He learned to recognize his guilt and to confess it before God. But he also learned to trust in the finished work of the cross. His soul was healed, but his leg remained paralyzed. He was not able to work as a bricklayer anymore, but he found other suitable work. Later he was happily married to Johannes’ daughter. His father-in-law was, at the same time, his best friend.
Antonio is now in heaven. The Bible which he had once put into the wall has been valued by his family members over the years as a great treasure.
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There are other true, remarkable stories of Bibles, which we will print from time to time.
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