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diff --git a/40460-0.txt b/40460-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..08a7217 --- /dev/null +++ b/40460-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12429 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40460 *** + +Hurlbut's Life of Christ + +For Young and Old + +[Illustration: Coming to Jerusalem these strangers asked of every one +whom they met: "Can you tell us where to find the little child who is +born to be the King of the Jews?"] + + + + + +HURLBUT'S LIFE OF CHRIST FOR YOUNG AND OLD + +A COMPLETE LIFE OF CHRIST WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE, BASED ON THE +GOSPEL NARRATIVE + +BY REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D. + + _Author of "Hurlbut's Story of the Bible" + Former Editor International Sunday-School Lessons_ + + ILLUSTRATED + + With Colored Plates and Full Page Halftone Reproductions + from the Paintings of WILLIAM HOLE, + R.S.A., R.E., and other artists. Also including + Maps and Photographs of the Holy Land. + + PHILADELPHIA + THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY + PUBLISHERS + + + + + Copyright, MCMXV, by + L. T. MYERS + + PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. + HUNDREDTH THOUSAND EDITION + + + + +Preface + + +IN the preparation of this volume the aim in view has been to tell the +story of Jesus Christ in a manner that will be attractive to both young +and old, to children and their teachers. While the purpose of the writer +has been to adapt the narrative to the understanding of a child of ten +years, so that he will not need to ask the meaning of a sentence or a +word: yet it has also been his desire to make it not childish, but +simple, so that older readers may find it interesting and profitable. + +In order that this book may not lead its younger readers or listeners +away from the Bible, but directly toward it, no imaginary scenes or +conversations have been introduced. The design has been to write the +biography of Jesus, not a romance founded upon his life. + +The order of events has been carefully considered; and follows that of +the best authorities, accepting as historical _all_ the four gospels and +_all_ their contents; raising no questions concerning miracles or the +relative values of different portions of the record. The first purpose +of every student or reader of the Bible, whether young or old, should be +to become thoroughly familiar with its contents. Without a full +knowledge of the Scriptures as they are, he is absolutely unfit to cope +with the questions of authorship or the credibility of the sacred +writings. + +No attempt has been made to formulate from the record of Christ's life a +doctrinal system. Theology is the loftiest study for the human +intellect; but it belongs to the mature mind, not to the realm of +childhood. Nor has it been the writer's aim to find in this story moral +lessons for the young. The works and words of Jesus will make their own +application to their reader, whether they be children or adults. + +The typography, the illustrations, and the mechanical execution of such +a work as this are of almost equal importance with its literary +material. All that diligent effort, artistic taste, and abundant +resources can do to make this book attractive and helpful to its +readers, has been done by the Publishers. + +That this volume may awaken a new interest in that Life of lives, which +has brought the light of life to untold millions since it was lived upon +the earth: that the children of this generation, who are to become the +pillars of the coming years, may learn to love and follow Him who is the +Elder Brother and Saviour of us all, is the prayer of the author of +these pages. + + Jesse Lyman Hurlbut + +August 28, 1915. + + + + + +Contents + + + PAGE + PREFACE 3 + WHY EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW THE STORY OF JESUS 9 + CHAPTER + 1. THE LORD'S LAND 17 + 2. THE PEOPLE IN THE LORD'S LAND 24 + 3. THE STRANGER BY THE GOLDEN ALTAR 31 + 4. THE ANGEL VISITS NAZARETH 37 + 5. A YOUNG GIRL'S JOURNEY 45 + 6. THE BOY WHO NEVER TASTED WINE 50 + 7. THE CHILD-KING IN HIS CRADLE 55 + 8. THE BABY BROUGHT TO THE TEMPLE 63 + 9. THE FOLLOWERS OF THE STAR 66 + 10. SAFE IN EGYPT 73 + 11. A CHILD'S LIFE IN NAZARETH 77 + 12. THE BOY LOST AND FOUND 85 + 13. THE YOUNG WOODWORKER 93 + 14. THE VOICE BY THE RIVER 97 + 15. THE CARPENTER LEAVES HIS SHOP 103 + 16. ALONE IN THE DESERT 107 + 17. THE EARLIEST FOLLOWERS OF JESUS 115 + 18. THE WATER TURNED TO WINE 121 + 19. THE LORD IN HIS TEMPLE 127 + 20. AT THE OLD WELL 132 + 21. THE NOBLEMAN'S BOY 139 + 22. THE CARPENTER IN HIS HOME-TOWN 143 + 23. FOUR FISHERMEN CALLED 149 + 24. JESUS IN THE CHURCH, IN THE HOUSE, AND IN + THE STREET 153 + 25. THE LEPER AND THE PALSIED MAN 157 + 26. HOW THE TAX-COLLECTOR BECAME A DISCIPLE 163 + 27. THE CRIPPLE AT THE BATH 167 + 28. THE LORD OF THE SABBATH 171 + 29. JESUS ON THE MOUNTAIN 175 + 30. THE GOOD ARMY CAPTAIN 181 + 31. HOW JESUS STOPPED A FUNERAL 183 + 32. THE SINFUL WOMAN FORGIVEN 189 + 33. JESUS AND HIS ENEMIES 192 + 34. THE STORY-TELLER BY THE SEA 195 + 35. MORE STORIES TOLD BY THE SEA 199 + 36. SAILING ACROSS THE SEA 205 + 37. THE SICK WOMAN MADE WELL, AND THE DEAD + GIRL BROUGHT TO LIFE 211 + 38. SIGHT TO THE BLIND AND VOICE TO THE DUMB 216 + 39. TWELVE PREACHERS SENT OUT 218 + 40. A DANCE; AND HOW IT WAS PAID FOR 223 + 41. THE BOY WITH HIS FIVE LOAVES 227 + 42. HOW THE SEA BECAME A FLOOR 233 + 43. THE BREAD OF LIFE 235 + 44. JESUS IN A STRANGE COUNTRY 239 + 45. IN THE LAND OF THE TEN CITIES 242 + 46. AGAIN ON THE SEA OF GALILEE 246 + 47. THE GREAT CONFESSION 249 + 48. THE VISION ON THE MOUNTAIN 255 + 49. THE BOY WITH THE DUMB SPIRIT 259 + 50. THE LAST VISIT TO CAPERNAUM 262 + 51. GOOD-BYE TO GALILEE 267 + 52. PASSING THROUGH SAMARIA 271 + 53. THE SCRIBE'S QUESTION; AND MARY'S CHOICE 275 + 54. JESUS AT THE FEAST OF TENTS 281 + 55. JESUS AND THE SINFUL WOMAN 285 + 56. THE BLIND MAN AT THE POOL OF SILOAM 290 + 57. THE GOOD SHEPHERD 296 + 58. SENDING OUT THE SEVENTY 300 + 59. LAZARUS CALLED OUT OF HIS TOMB 303 + 60. JESUS PREACHING IN PEREA 311 + 61. IN THE CHURCH AND AT THE FEAST 317 + 62. ON COUNTING THE COST 321 + 63. SEEKING THE LOST 324 + 64. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON FOUND 328 + 65. THE PARABLE OF THE DISHONEST STEWARD 333 + 66. A PARABLE FOR THE LOVERS OF MONEY 336 + 67. TWO PARABLES UPON PRAYER 339 + 68. THE LITTLE CHILDREN; AND THE RICH YOUNG + MAN 341 + 69. THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD 346 + 70. THE BLIND MAN AT THE GATE 351 + 71. IN THE RICH MAN'S HOME AT JERICHO 353 + 72. THE ALABASTER JAR 357 + 73. PALM SUNDAY 362 + 74. MONDAY ON THE MOUNT AND IN THE TEMPLE 367 + 75. TUESDAY MORNING IN THE TEMPLE 371 + 76. THREE PARABLES OF WARNING 375 + 77. THE HEAD ON THE COIN 379 + 78. THE WOMAN WITH SEVEN HUSBANDS 382 + 79. THE GREATEST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS 385 + 80. THE GREATEST GIFT; AND THE STRANGERS + FROM AFAR 388 + 81. JESUS TELLING OF DARK DAYS TO COME 391 + 82. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN BRIDESMAIDS 395 + 83. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS 398 + 84. THE LAST GREAT DAY 402 + 85. WASHING THE DISCIPLES' FEET 405 + 86. THE LORD'S SUPPER 410 + 87. THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES 412 + 88. THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS TO HIS DISCIPLES 416 + 89. IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 421 + 90. JESUS BEFORE ANNAS 427 + 91. JESUS BEFORE CAIAPHAS 431 + 92. JESUS BEFORE THE ROMAN GOVERNOR 439 + 93. JESUS BEFORE HEROD 442 + 94. JESUS SENTENCED TO DEATH 445 + 95. JESUS LED TO CALVARY 453 + 96. JESUS ON THE CROSS 459 + 97. THE TOMB IN THE GARDEN 465 + 98. THE RISEN CHRIST AND THE EMPTY TOMB 469 + 99. JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE 475 + 100. A WALK WITH THE RISEN CHRIST 479 + 101. TWO SUNDAY EVENINGS WITH THE RISEN CHRIST 483 + 102. THE BREAKFAST BY THE SEA 487 + 103. JESUS RISING UP FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN 493 + + + + +Why Everybody Should Know the Life of Christ + + +THERE HAVE been many famous men in this world, and every one wishes to +know who they were and why they are called great. In almost every city +in America may be seen a statue of George Washington, or Abraham +Lincoln, or Benjamin Franklin, or General Lee, or General Grant. +Whenever you see one of these statues, you ask--if you do not know +already--who this man was and why his statue has been set up. In Canada, +every house has on the wall a portrait of the great and good Queen +Victoria, and when a child sees it he wishes to know something of her +life and her greatness. You see pictures of a man standing on the deck +of a ship, or going ashore under palm trees on an island, and are told +that he is Christopher Columbus--and every child in America knows +something of his story. Men like Napoleon Bonaparte, and Julius Caesar, +and Alexander the Great, are written about, and talked about; and every +child should know who these men were and why they are famous. + +Did you ever think that there is one man who has been talked about, and +written about, and sung about, more than any other man in all the world; +and that man is Jesus? For one book telling of Washington, or Napoleon, +or Columbus, there are hundreds of books telling of Jesus. Every year at +least fifteen million copies of the Bible are printed and sent out into +the world, in every language spoken on this earth. Why does everybody +wish to have a Bible in his house? It is because that book tells of +Jesus. If the pages that tell of Jesus should be torn out of the Bible, +few people would care to have it or to read it. + +There are more portraits of Jesus Christ, painted and drawn and printed, +than of any other man who has ever lived. Everybody knows the picture of +Jesus as soon as he sees it, whether it be of the baby Jesus in his +mother's arms, or the boy Jesus in the Temple, or the Saviour teaching, +or dying upon the cross. You do not need to be told which one in any +picture is Jesus--his face is so well known that you know it at once. No +other face among all the men who have ever lived from Adam the first man +down to today, is known to as many people as the face of Jesus. Then, +too, look in the hymn books of the churches and the song books of the +Sunday-schools, and see how many of the hymns and songs are in praise of +Jesus Christ. You do not find songs in praise of Julius Caesar, nor of +Christopher Columbus, nor even of George Washington. No one who gives it +thought doubts that the most famous man in all the world is Jesus +Christ; and because he is so famous and so great, every one should know +something of his life. + +Then, too, everybody likes to hear stories of wonderful things. Even +though we know that they are not true stories, every one listens to +fairy tales and the stories of the "Arabian Nights." But how often, when +the story is ended, the child looks up to the story-teller's face and +says, "Is it all true?" Now, the story of Jesus is full of wonders. You +read of his turning water into wine when the guests at the feast needed +it, of his touching the eyes of a blind man and giving him sight, of his +speaking to the storm and bringing peace, of his walking upon the waters +in another storm to help his friends in danger, and, most wonderful of +all, of his coming out of his own tomb living, after he had died. +Wonderful indeed are the stories told of Jesus; and the greatest wonder +is that they are all true. You would like to hear those stories, I am +sure; and every child should know them and be able to tell them to +others. + +Let me give you another reason why every one should know the story of +Jesus. He came to show us who God is, what God is to us, and how God +feels toward us. Every one, even every child, thinks of God and in his +heart wishes to know about God. How terribly some people have mistaken +God! They have thought of him as an enemy, not as a friend. You can see +in some countries images of a person with forty arms, and on every hand +something to kill a man with--a sword, a spear, an arrow, a club, a cup +of poison, or some other fearful thing--and that is the thought of God +in that land: a mighty being who hates men! In old times, many people +thought that their gods were pleased when men killed their own children +and burned their bodies on an altar as an offering to God. God saw all +over the earth that men had wrong and cruel thoughts of him; and he sent +his Son Jesus Christ to teach men by his words, and to show men in his +life what God is, how God feels toward us, and how we should feel toward +God. If Jesus had done no more for us than to teach us the Lord's +Prayer, beginning with the words "Our Father who art in heaven," he +would have done enough to make us love him. He showed people that God is +their Father, the Father of every one in all the world, and that as a +Father we may call upon him, just as any child can go to his father for +whatever he needs. + +There was once an artist who was called upon to paint the portrait of a +good man. But the man had died ten years before; the artist had never +seen him, and there was no picture of him to be used as a copy. At first +the artist did not know what to do. Then a thought occurred to him. + +"Is there no one," he said, "who looks like this man, so that I can see +him and know something of the man's face?" + +"Why, yes," they answered. "He has left a son, a man grown, who looks +exactly like his father." + +The artist studied the face of the son, and from it painted a likeness +of the father, whom he had never seen. No one has ever seen God, but if +we would know, not his face, which we cannot know, but his nature, how +kind, and loving, and helpful, and willing God is, we have only to think +of Christ; and if we know Christ, the Son of God, we know God, his +Father and our Father. For this reason, because in Jesus we may know +God, everybody should know about Jesus. + +But Jesus came to this world, not only to show us what God is, but to +show us what we should be and how we should live. Whatever his work may +be, every one needs a copy which he can look at and follow. The child +who is learning to write must have a copy, so that he may know how to +shape his letters. The boy or girl learning to draw has a copy or a +model to guide him in his drawing. When a man is about to build a ship, +he first makes a model and then shapes his great ship exactly like it. +Perhaps you have heard the lines in Longfellow's poem, "The Building of +the Ship." + + "In the shipyard stood the Master, + With the model of the vessel + That should laugh at all disaster, + And with wave and whirlwind wrestle." + +Well, we are all builders. Each one of us, boy or girl, man or woman, is +building for himself what no one else can build for him: his character, +what he is to be, whether good or bad, whether wise or ignorant, whether +noble or selfish. And in building up ourselves we need a model, one +perfect man, on whom we can look and whose life we can copy. That model +we can find in Jesus. He lived our life, and in living showed us how we +should live. Even a little child may say, "Jesus was once a little +child; and I will try my best to be just such a child as he was." A boy +of twelve may think of Jesus as a boy and resolve to live as Jesus +lived. The young man, working in a shop, or office, or in the field, may +take Jesus the workingman for his pattern. When Jesus was on the earth, +he said many times, and to different people, "Follow me!" He says it to +every one of us. But if we are to follow Jesus and to be like him, the +best man that ever lived, we must study him, must know about his life, +must have every story of him in our mind and in our heart; and that is +another reason why every one should know the story of Jesus. + +It is now almost two thousand years since Jesus lived on the earth and +walked among men. Since he came, the world has become a different world, +just as far as they have heard the story of Jesus and have learned to +follow him. People have become less selfish and more thoughtful of +others, more willing to help others, more generous in giving to others. +Think of all the homes for the poor, of all the hospitals for the sick, +of all the places where little children are cared for, of the +playgrounds, of the love shown at Christmas time, of ten thousand ways +in which the world is better. And then remember that all these good +things come from Jesus Christ and his love in the hearts of men. But for +Jesus, this would have been a dark world. The proof of this is that +these good things are to be seen only in the lands where Jesus is known +and loved and followed. Look at the lands where Christ is unknown and +you find them dark and sad. There is still much to be done to make this +a perfect world. We see terrible wars, and the poor still suffering +wrong, and many people still selfish and cruel to their fellow-men. What +can we do to make this a better and a brighter world? We can do as Jesus +did. It was said of him, "He went about doing good"; and that may be +said of us if we will follow Christ. But to make this world good, we +must know him who is its power for goodness; and that is another reason +why every one should know the story of Jesus. + +Let me name only one reason more why we should know the story of Jesus: +through him we have what we need most of all--the forgiveness of our +sins. Suppose that someone who watches us all the time should keep a +list of every wrong-doing, of every fiery temper, of every angry word, +of every blow struck, of every time that one of us failed to do what is +right, of every time that one let pass a chance to do some good act to +another--what a long list it would be! There is such a list kept. An eye +that never sleeps sees every act, the eye of God; and he remembers all +our deeds, and the things left undone which we ought to have done. Is +there any way to have that list against us taken away, blotted out and +forgotten? Yes, there is one who can take our sins away and make the +black story of our life as white as snow. That one is Jesus Christ, the +Son of God. He can forgive our sins, as he forgave the sins of men while +he was on the earth; and he longs to have us ask him for forgiveness. +Should we not love him for this? And should we not wish to hear about +him and to know all the tender story of his love? + +These, then, are some of the reasons why we should all seek to know the +story of Jesus: because he is the greatest and most famous man that ever +lived; because his story is full of interest and full of wonders, and is +true; because he came to show us how kind and loving God is, and how +willing to have us call upon him; because his life shows us a pattern +of what we may be and tells us how we may be like him; because Jesus has +made and is still making the world better, and brighter, and happier, +wherever he is known; and best of all, because through Jesus our Saviour +our sins may be forgiven and taken away, and we may be pure and holy as +Jesus was upon the earth. + +With these thoughts and aims, this Story of Jesus has been written. May +it help many, young and old, to know Jesus better, to love him more, and +to follow him more closely! + +[Illustration: PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF CHRIST + +Copyright 1911, by W. A. Wilde & Co.] + + + + + +The Lord's Land + +CHAPTER 1 + + +FIRST OF ALL, let us take a journey to the land where Jesus lived. We +will sail in one of the big ocean steamers across the Atlantic, heading +our prow a little to the south, and in eight days will pause at the Rock +of Gibraltar, which stands on guard at the gate of the Mediterranean +Sea. Do you know what "Mediterranean" means? It means, "among the +lands"; and when you look at this sea on the map, you see that it has +lands around it on every side, with only a narrow opening at Gibraltar, +where its blue waters pour into the Atlantic Ocean. + +We will enter the Mediterranean Sea, and sail its entire length, past +Spain and France and Italy on the left. We just miss touching the toe of +Italy, for you know Italy runs into the sea like a great leg with a +high-heeled boot upon its foot. And just beyond Italy we sail by Greece, +which looks somewhat like a hand with fingers wide apart. + +While we are passing by these lands on the left, we are also sailing +past Morocco and Algiers, and Tunis and Tripoli on the right. We stop at +Alexandria in Egypt, at one of the mouths of the river Nile, and soon +after we leave the big steamer at Port Said, where the great Suez Canal +begins. + +There in the afternoon about ten days after our leaving America, we go +on board a smaller ship, and sail northward past the eastern shore of +the Mediterranean Sea. The next morning we awake to find our ship at +anchor in front of a city on a hillside, rising up in terraces from the +water. + +That city is now called Jaffa, or Yafa; and it is the place where the +steamers stop to send ashore those who are about to visit the Holy Land, +for that is the name given to the land where Jesus lived. Do you +remember in the Old Testament the story of Jonah, the prophet who tried +to run away from God's call to preach in the city of Nineveh? Well, it +was from this city of Jaffa, then called Joppa, that Jonah started on +his voyage, which ended inside the big fish. Perhaps you remember also +the story of Dorcas, in the New Testament, that good woman who helped +the poor; and after dying was raised to life through the prayer of the +Apostle Peter. Dorcas too lived at Joppa; and they show the house where, +it is said, Peter stayed while he was visiting in that city. + +[Illustration: The Mediterranean Sea] + +Here at Jaffa or Joppa we end our long sea-voyage of about six thousand +miles. We go ashore in a small boat, tossing up and down on the waves, +for there is no wharf where a steamer can land its passengers. And now +we are standing on the soil of the Holy Land, where Jesus lived. In +Christ's time this land was called Judea. In our day its name is +Palestine. + +It is a small country. If you will turn to the map of the United States, +and look at New Hampshire, you will see a state in form quite like +Palestine, and only a little smaller in size; for Palestine, or the Holy +Land, contains about twelve thousand square miles, and New Hampshire a +little more than nine thousand. + +[Illustration: There is no real harbor at Jaffa. Steamers must anchor +some distance out, and passengers are landed by rowboats] + +From Joppa we must go across Palestine if we would look at the part of +the land among the mountains where Jesus lived. We can now ride in a +railroad train, something that Jesus never saw while he lived on the +earth; or we can go in a carriage, or on a horse, or on the back of a +camel, as you will see some people riding, or in what they call "a +palankeen," which is something like a coach-body set not on wheels, but +between two pair of shafts, one in front, the other behind, and a mule +harnessed in each pair, so that the rider has one mule in front and the +other back of him. + +As we ride over the land we notice that at first it is very level. This +part of the country is called "the Sea Coast Plain," and a plain it +surely is, almost as level as a floor. All around, you see gardens and +farms, orange trees and fig trees. If you could pluck one of these +golden oranges and taste it, you would find that it is one of the +sweetest and richest and juiciest that you have ever eaten, for the +Jaffa oranges are famous for their flavor. You ride between great fields +of wheat and rye and barley, for this Sea Coast Plain is a rich farming +land. + +[Illustration: House of Simon, the tanner, in Joppa, where Peter stayed +while visiting in that city] + +But after a few miles, ten or fifteen, we notice that we have left the +plain and are winding and climbing among hills. In place of the +farm-lands, we see here and there flocks of sheep with shepherds +guarding them just as the boy David watched over his flock three +thousand years ago. Indeed, in our journey we might pass over the very +brook where David found the round, smooth stones, one of which he +hurled with a sling into the giant Goliath's forehead. This is the +region of low hills, the foothills of the higher mountains beyond. It is +called "the Shephelah," a name not easy to remember. In the Old +Testament days, many battles were fought on these hills between the +Israelites and the Philistines, their fierce enemies. + +[Illustration: A saddled camel] + +These foothills of the Shephelah are not many miles wide; and beyond +them we come to the real Mountain Region of Palestine. Mountains rise on +every hand, bare, stony, with scarcely any soil upon their steep sides, +and with not a tree to be seen for miles. They are rocky crags, with +here and there a village perched on their summits or clinging to their +walls. This mountain land, more than the hills and plains below, was the +home of the Israelites, the people from whom Jesus came. We wonder how +they could ever have found a living in such a desolate land; but +everywhere we see the ruins of old cities, showing that once the land +was filled with people. In those times, two thousand and more years ago, +all these mountain-sides, now bleak and rock-bound, were covered with +terraces, where grew olive trees, fig trees and vineyards; where gardens +blossomed and great crops were raised to feed the people. Even now in +the spring and early summer, the valleys between these mountains are +covered with flowers of every color. Scarcely another land on earth has +as many wild flowers as this land of Palestine. This mountain-belt, +running from the north to the south throughout the land was the part of +Palestine where nearly all the great men of Israel lived and died. Here +among the mountains in the south is Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In +a mountain village in the north, Nazareth, was the home of Jesus during +nearly all his life; and over these mountains everywhere in the land, +Jesus walked in the three years of his preaching and teaching. + +We pass over these mountains from east to west, and then from the +heights we look down to a valley which runs north and south, the deepest +in all the world, where we can see a little river with many windings, +and rapids and falls, rolling onward to drop at last into a blue lake in +the south. This river, as you know, is the Jordan, crossed by the +Israelites when they first came to this land; the river where Naaman +washed away his leprosy, where Elijah struck the waves with his mantle +and parted them, and in whose water Jesus was baptized. + +We journey across this Jordan valley, from ten to twenty miles wide, and +then we climb again high and steep mountains. This region is called the +Eastern Table Land, because the mountains gradually sink down to a great +desert plain on the east. Here we see the ruins of once great cities, +where now only a few wandering Arabs pitch their tents. + +We have now crossed the land of Palestine, and we have found that it +contains five parts lying in a line: first, the Sea Coast Plain; second, +the Shephelah, or foothills; third, the Mountain Region; fourth, the +Jordan valley; and fifth, the Eastern Table Land. + +But we must keep in mind that the land when Jesus lived there was very +different from the land as we see it. Now it is a poor land; then it was +rich. Now its villages are made of miserable mud-houses, where live +people who look half starved; then it was a land of well-built towns and +happy people. Now we find roads that are mere tracks over the stones; +then there were good roads everywhere. Now the hills rise bare and +rocky; then they were covered with gardens. Now scarcely a tree can be +seen in miles of travel; then the olive and the vine and the palm grew +everywhere. We see the land in its ruin; Jesus saw it in its riches. + +[Illustration: The valley of Gehenna, to the east of Jerusalem] + + + + +The People in the Lord's Land + +CHAPTER 2 + + +NEARLY ALL the people living in Palestine in the time of Jesus were of +the Jewish race. Two thousand years before Jesus came, a great man was +living in that land, named Abraham. To this man, God gave a promise that +his children and their children after them for many ages should live in +that land and own it. Abraham's son was named Isaac, and Isaac's son was +named Jacob. All the people of Palestine had sprung from the family of +Jacob, and by the time Jesus came, these descendants of Jacob, as they +were called, were in number many millions, and were to be found in other +lands besides Palestine; although more of them lived in Palestine than +in any other land. + +Jacob, Abraham's grandson, was also named Israel; and on that account +all the people sprung from him were called the Israelites. Jacob or +Israel had twelve sons, from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel. But +one son, named Judah, had more descendants or people springing from him +than any other; and as most of the people in Palestine were of Judah's +family, all of them were spoken of as Jews, a word which means sprung or +descended from Judah. So the people to whom Jesus belonged were +sometimes called Israelites, but more often Jews. They had another name, +"Hebrews," but that was not used as often as the two names, Israelites +and Jews. + +For many years, long before Jesus came, the Jews were rulers in the land +of Palestine, with kings of their own race, as David and Solomon in the +early times, and King Jeroboam and King Hezekiah later. But in the time +of Jesus, the Jews were no longer rulers in their own land. Palestine +was then a small part of the vast Roman Empire, which ruled all the +lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Its chief was an emperor, who lived +at Rome in Italy. At the time when Jesus was born the emperor was +Augustus. He was then an old man, and died very soon after the birth of +Jesus. The emperor who followed him was named Tiberius, and he ruled +most of the years that Jesus was living in Palestine. + +[Illustration: Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, where Herod lived] + +But there was another king ruling the land of Palestine under the Roman +emperor, at the time when Jesus came. His name was Herod, and because he +was a very wise and strong man, although a very wicked man, he was +called Herod the Great. He ruled the land of Palestine, but in his turn +obeyed the orders of the emperor Augustus at Rome. Herod also was a +very old man at the time of Jesus' birth, and died soon afterward. + +When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided into four parts. Each +of these parts had a king of its own, and three of these kings were +Herod's sons. Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee in the northwest, and +Perea in the southeast; Herod Philip was over the country in the +northeast; and Herod Archelaus ruled the largest portion, in the south. +None of these little kings were good men. They had their father's +wickedness, but did not have his ability to rule. One of them, +Archelaus, was so bad that all the people asked the emperor at Rome to +take his rule away. This the emperor did, and sent a man from Rome to +govern the land in his place. You have heard of the Roman governor who +was over this part of the land while Jesus was teaching. His name was +Pontius Pilate; and he it was, you remember, who sent Jesus to die upon +the cross. + +The land of Palestine at that time was divided into five parts, which +were called "provinces." The largest of these provinces was Judea, the +one on the south, between the Dead Sea and the river Jordan on the east, +and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. North of Judea was a small +province called Samaria, where lived a people who were not Jews but +Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans, and the Samaritans, in turn, +hated the Jews. Samaria was governed as a part of Judea, not with a +separate ruler. These were the two provinces at first under Archelaus +and then under the Roman governor. + +In the north of Palestine, west of the river Jordan and the Sea of +Galilee, was the province of Galilee, a country full of mountains, where +Jesus dwelt for nearly all his life. The ruler of this province was +Herod Antipas. He lived most of the time at a city which he had built +beside the Sea of Galilee, and had named Tiberias, after the Roman +emperor Tiberius. + +[Illustration: Samuel anointing Saul to be the first king of Israel] + +Across the Jordan, on the east, opposite to Galilee was another +province. In the Old Testament times, this land had been called Bashan, +which means "woodland," because it was a land of many forests. In the +New Testament time it was generally spoken of as "Philip's province," +because its ruler was Herod Philip, the best of Herod's sons, and none +too good, either. + +South of Philip's province, and east of the river Jordan, was a province +named Perea, a word meaning "beyond," because this region was beyond or +across the river Jordan. At the time of Jesus' life, Perea was like +Galilee, ruled by Herod Antipas. Once at least Jesus visited this +province; and here he told the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which +everybody has heard. + +Although the mighty Roman empire gave to the Jews in Palestine a +government that was just and fair, it was not a Jewish rule; and the +Jews were not contented under the power of foreigners. They felt that +they more than other nations were the people of God, and that they had a +right to rule themselves, under kings of their own race. Also they read +in their Bible the promises of the prophets that from Israel should come +forth a king, out of David's line, who should rule the world. + +[Illustration: A heathen idol] + +This great King, whom the Jews hoped for and looked for, they called +"Messiah," a word in the Jews' language meaning the same as the word +"Christ," which is a Greek word, meaning "the Anointed One," that is, +"the King." You remember that in the Old Testament story the prophet +Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, that is, he poured +oil on his head; and that afterward he chose the boy David to be the +next king by the same sign. When we say "Jesus Christ," Jesus is his +name and "Christ" is his title; and we mean "Jesus the King." + +We know that this promised King whom the Jews called Messiah was Jesus +Christ who rules over the hearts of men everywhere; but the Jews thought +that it meant a king like Herod or the emperor Tiberius, only better and +wiser, who should live in a palace at Jerusalem, their chief city, and +make all lands obey his will. This hope made the Jews very restless and +unhappy under the Roman power. They were always looking for the coming +of this mighty King of the Jews, who should lead them to conquer the +earth. + +[Illustration: Interior of Jewish synagogue in Palestine] + +In their worship the Jews were different from all the rest of the world. +Every other people had gods of wood and stone, images before which they +bowed and to which they gave offerings. In all the cities of that world +were temples and altars to these idols, made by the hands of men. But in +the land of the Jews were no images, no idol-temples, and no offerings +to man-made gods. The Jews, whether in Palestine or in other lands, +worshipped the One God who was unseen, the God to whom we also pray. In +their chief city, Jerusalem, was a splendid temple where God was +worshipped; and in every Jewish city and town were churches, where the +people met to read the Bible, to sing the psalms of David, to offer +prayer to God, and to talk together about God's laws. These churches +were called "synagogues," and wherever Jews lived, synagogues were to be +found. The Jews looked with great contempt upon the idol-worship of +other nations, and were proud of the fact that ever since the days of +their father Abraham, they had worshipped only the Lord God. + +[Illustration: Ruins of ancient synagogue at Kefr Birim, in Galilee] + + + + +The Stranger by the Golden Altar + +CHAPTER 3 + + +IN THE land of Palestine one city was loved by the Jews above all other +places. That was Jerusalem, the largest city in the land in the province +of Judea. It was to the Jews everywhere, not only in Palestine but over +all the earth, wherever Jews lived, "the holy city." From all parts of +the land the people came at least once in every year, and many families, +three times each year, to worship God in Jerusalem. At these great +feasts, as they were called, all the roads leading to Jerusalem were +thronged with travelers going up to Jerusalem for worship. And the Jews +in other lands, many hundreds of miles away, even as far as Rome itself, +tried at least once in their lives to visit the city. They sang about +Jerusalem songs such as: + + "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, + Let my right hand forget her cunning; + Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth + If I remember thee not, + If I prefer not Jerusalem + Above my chief joy." + +That which made Jerusalem a holy city was its Temple, a magnificent +building on Mount Moriah, just across a valley from Mount Zion, where +the larger part of the city stood. The Temple they called "The House of +God," for in it the Jews believed their God made his home. In front of +this Temple stood an altar, which was like a great box made of stone, +hollow inside, and covered with a metal grating. Upon this altar a fire +was kept burning night and day, and on the fire the priests who led in +the worship of God, laid offerings of sheep and oxen, which were burned +as gifts to God; while around the altar the people stood and prayed to +God as the offering, which they called "a sacrifice," was burning. + +[Illustration: Looking up the Kedron Valley toward Mt. Moriah] + +Inside the Temple building were two rooms. The room in front was called +"the holy place," and in it stood on one side a table covered with gold, +on which lay twelve loaves of bread as an offering to God; one loaf for +each of the twelve tribes of Israel. On the other side of the room stood +a golden lamp-stand, with seven branches, called "the golden +candlestick." At the farther end of the room stood another altar, made +of gold, smaller than the great altar in front of the Temple. On this +golden altar the priest offered twice each day a bowl of incense, which +was made by mixing some sweet-smelling gums, frankincense and myrrh, and +burning them, so that they formed a fragrant white cloud, filling the +Holy Place. + +Beyond the Holy Place was another room called "The Holy of Holies." Into +this room no one entered except the high priest, and he on only one day +in the year; for this inner room was set apart for the dwelling-place of +God; and the Jews believed that in this room the light of God was +shining so brightly that no one could endure it. In the first Temple +built by King Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant stood in the Holy of +Holies. This was a chest covered with gold, within which lay the two +stone tables on which the Ten Commandments were written. But the Ark of +the Covenant had been lost, and in the time of which we are speaking, +nothing was in the Holy of Holies except a block of marble. + +[Illustration: The Mosque of Omar, now on the place where the Temple +once stood] + +One day an old priest named Zacharias was offering incense upon the +golden altar in the Holy Place. He had filled the bowl, which they +called a censer, with the frankincense and myrrh, and had placed in it +some coals of fire from the great altar in front of the Temple. He had +come into the Holy Place, bringing his censer of incense, which sent its +white cloud into the air, and was just about to lay it upon the altar, +when he was startled at suddenly seeing someone standing by the golden +altar on the right side. + +Zacharias was surprised to see anyone in the room, for he knew that no +one but himself had a right to be there. But he was still more surprised +and filled with fear when he looked at this stranger standing by the +altar. He seemed like a young man, and his face and body and clothes +were bright and shining like the sun, so glorious that the old priest +could not bear to look upon him. + +[Illustration: High Priest, altar of incense, table for shew bread, and +Ark of the Covenant] + +At once Zacharias knew that this glorious person was an angel sent from +God. He trembled with fear; his knees shook, and he could scarcely keep +from falling on the floor. The angel spoke to him, gently and kindly: + +"Zacharias, do not be frightened. You have nothing to fear. I have come +to you with good news. God has heard the prayers that you and your good +wife Elizabeth have been sending up to heaven for these many years. You +shall have a son, and shall call his name John. Your son when he becomes +a man will bring joy and gladness to many people; for he shall be great +in the sight of the Lord; and it shall be his work to make his people +ready for the coming of the King for whom they have been looking so +long. You must see that your son never drinks any wine or strong drink, +for he is to be set apart for God, to serve God only, and to speak the +word of God to the people, telling them that their King and Saviour is +at hand." + +[Illustration: The golden candlestick] + +The priest was so filled with surprise and fear that he could scarcely +believe what he heard. + +"How can these wonderful words be true?" he said. "I am an old man, and +my wife is also old. We are too old now to have children. How can I +believe all this?" + +The angel was not pleased when he saw that Zacharias doubted his word, +and he said: + +"I am the angel Gabriel, that stands before God; and I have been sent +from God to speak to you and to bring you this good news. Now, because +you did not believe God's word, you shall be stricken dumb, and shall +not be able to speak until my words come true and your child is born." + +And then the angel vanished out of sight as suddenly as he had come, and +Zacharias was left alone. + +All this time a great crowd of people was standing outside the Temple, +worshipping God while the offering was made. They wondered that +Zacharias was waiting so long in the Temple; and they wondered more when +he came out and they found that he could not speak. He made signs to +them, trying to show them he had seen an angel, but he did not tell them +what the angel had said, for that was meant for himself only and not for +others. + +Each priest stayed for one week in the Temple and then went to his +house; so after a few days Zacharias left Jerusalem and returned to his +house in the southern part of the land, not far from the old city of +Hebron, the place where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the early fathers of +the Israelites, were buried. + +How happy Elizabeth was when her husband, by signs and by writing, told +her of the angel and his promise that she should be the mother of one +who was to bear the word of the Lord to the people. Such men, to whom +God spoke and who spoke for God, were called "prophets." Many great +prophets in past years had spoken the word of God to the Israelites, men +like Samuel and Elijah and Isaiah. But more than four hundred years had +passed away since the voice of a prophet had been heard in the land. +Their promised son was to rise up and speak once more God's will to his +people. Zacharias and Elizabeth might not live long enough to hear his +voice as a prophet, but they had God's promise, and in that promise they +were happy, waiting for their child to come and grow up to his great +work. + + + + +The Angel Visits Nazareth + +CHAPTER 4 + + +FOR OUR next story we visit Nazareth, a village in Galilee, nearly +seventy miles north of Jerusalem. Galilee, as we have seen, was the +northern province or division of the land, lying between the river +Jordan and the Great Sea. The lower part of Galilee is a great plain, +called "the plain of Esdraelon," or "the plain of Jezreel," where many +battles have been fought in past times. The upper part of Galilee is +everywhere mountains and valleys, with villages perched on the mountain +tops or clinging to their sides, and sometimes nestled in the valleys. +Just where the plain ends and the mountains begin, we find a long range +of steep hills. If we climb to the top of this range, on one side we see +the plain stretched out, and far in the distance the Mediterranean Sea; +and on the other, or northern slope of the hills, we come to the city of +Nazareth. There the mother of Jesus lived as a young girl before her son +was born, and there Jesus lived during most of his life. + +Nazareth is there still, although many of the old towns in that land +have passed away; and now it is quite a city, but in the time of which +we are telling it was only a village. All around it are hills. One can +stand in the town and count fifteen hills and mountains, all in sight. + +[Illustration: Nazareth from the road to Cana] + +Its narrow streets climb the hills between rows of one-story white +houses, many of them having a little dome on the roof. Around each roof +in those times of which we are telling was a rail with posts on the +corners, to prevent any one on the roof from falling off, for the flat +roof was used as a place of visiting and of rest, since the house inside +was dark, having no glass windows, but instead only one small hole in +the wall. None of these houses had a door opening upon the street. +Beside the road was a high wall, and in it a gate leading to an open +court, at one end of which stood the house. + +In the village was one fountain, to which all the women went for water. +There were no wells or pumps or pipes with water in the houses; and +around the fountain might be seen in the morning a crowd of women +bringing water-jars empty, and carrying them home full of water, +balanced on their heads. No one often saw a man carrying a jar of water, +for this was looked upon as a woman's work. + +In one of those small white houses of Nazareth lived a young Jewish girl +named Mary. We do not know how she looked, for although many artists +have made pictures of her, all have drawn or painted her as they +imagined her to be, not as she was. All that we really know of Mary, we +read in two of the four gospels, Matthew and Luke; and neither of these +tell us anything about her early life or her family. It has been said +that her father's name was Joachim and her mother's was Anna; but this +is not found in either of the gospels, and we do not know whether it is +true. + +We do know, however, that she was a pure-hearted, lovely girl, who +served the God of Israel with all her heart and lived a holy life. She +knew her Bible well, we are sure, for its words came readily to her +lips; and she was a girl who thought much and talked but little. In +those years she might have been seen often going with the other girls of +the village to the fountain for water, or sitting in the women's gallery +in the church, listening thoughtfully to the reading from the Bible, +and with her rich young voice joining in the chanting of David's psalms. + +In that land girls are promised in marriage while very young, and Mary +was at this time promised to be married to a man named Joseph, who was a +carpenter, or, as he is called in the gospels, a worker in wood. The two +families, Joseph's and Mary's, were not rich. They belonged to the +working class of people, but they were not like many, wretchedly poor. +They were just plain, honest, working people, able to earn a comfortable +living. + +[Illustration: The well of the Virgin Mary, at Nazareth] + +[Illustration: Mary beheld the angel Gabriel suddenly beaming upon her.] + +Although Joseph and Mary were of the common people, they came from the +noblest blood in all the land. Both were sprung from the royal line of +David, the greatest of the kings of Israel, and the singer of many +beautiful psalms. They lived in little one-room houses, and their hands +were hard from work, but they could trace their line back to the palace +where David the founder of their family dwelt. + +On one day Mary was alone. It may have been in her own little home, or +upon its roof, where she often went for prayer, or perhaps under a tree +on the hillside near the village. Just as Zacharias a few months before +had seen a heavenly, gloriously-shining being in the Temple, so now Mary +beheld the same angel Gabriel suddenly beaming upon her. In a sweet +voice he said: + +"Peace be with you, Mary! You are in high favor and love, for the Lord +is with you!" + +The voice was gentle, but the sight of this shining form filled the +young girl with alarm. She knew not what to think, nor why this glorious +being had come to her. But after a moment the angel went on speaking, +and said: + +"Do not be afraid, Mary, for God has chosen you among all women for his +special favor. You shall have a son; and you shall give him the name +Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins. He shall be +great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest God. God shall give to +him the throne and the kingdom of his father David. He shall reign +forever over the people of Israel, and of his kingdom there shall be no +end." + +The angel paused and Mary found words to speak, tremblingly and with +fear: + +"How can all this come to me? I do not understand what it all means!" + +Then the angel spoke again to the troubled and frightened girl: + +"The Holy Spirit of God shall come to you, and the power of God shall be +upon you; and therefore that holy child that is to be given you shall +be called 'The Son of God.' Also, let me tell you that your cousin +Elizabeth is soon to have a son in her old age. This may seem strange to +you; but no word of God is without power. Every promise of God shall +surely come to pass." + +Then Mary said: + +"I am the Lord's servant, and I can trust him. Let it be to me as you +have spoken. I will rest without fear in the will of the Lord." + +Then, as suddenly as he had come, the angel vanished out of sight, and +Mary was left alone. She was filled with wonder at what she had seen and +heard. Any young Jewish girl to whom came the news that the words of the +prophets in the Bible were now to come true, that the long-promised King +of Israel was soon to be born, and that she should be his mother, would +be amazed and perhaps alarmed at the message. + +Some girls would have talked about it, and might even be proud at such +an expectation. But Mary's was a quiet nature, not apt to speak of her +deepest thoughts. She felt in some way that there was no one in her home +or in her village with whom she could speak of these things. She hid +them silently in her heart, but thought about them day and night. + +[Illustration: Elizabeth greeting Mary: "Blessed, most blessed are you +among women!"] + + + + +A Young Girl's Journey + +CHAPTER 5 + + +AFTER THE visit of the angel and the message which he had brought, +Mary's mind was filled with many thoughts and her heart was full. She +was only a young girl, not older than sixteen years, perhaps as young as +fifteen; for if she were older she should have been already married. In +that land nearly all young women are married as soon as they are sixteen +years old; and very few stay unmarried. + +Mary felt that she must talk with somebody of all these wonderful things +that had been spoken to her. We would think that her mother was the one +with whom she could open her heart most freely, but we are not sure that +her mother was living. And is it not true that a young girl can +sometimes tell to a dear grandmother, or some other old lady who is her +friend, the deep things of the heart that she may hesitate to mention +even to her own mother? + +She thought of one who was not her grandmother, but who from her age and +sweetness seemed like one. Her mind turned to Elizabeth, living far away +in the south. The angel, you know, had told her that Elizabeth was also +to have a child, and perhaps she would be able to understand Mary's +feelings better than any other woman. + +Elizabeth was related to Mary. She is named in the gospel of St. Luke as +Mary's cousin, though very likely they were not near, but distant +relatives. Mary knew that she was wise and good, that she loved her, and +being old, could give her advice. Mary made up her mind to visit +Elizabeth and open her heart with her fully about what the angel had +spoken to her. From Nazareth to Elizabeth's house was a long distance, +in a straight line more than eighty miles, but much farther by the road +which travelers from Galilee generally followed in going from the north +to the south of the land. + +Very soon after the angel's visit, Mary left her home and began her +journey southward. Of course, a young girl could not take a journey so +long alone. But there were always caravans or parties going from Galilee +to Jerusalem, and Mary would travel with one of those companies. A +soldier would ride on a horse, a general in his chariot, and an Arab on +his camel; but most men in those times walked, even on long journeys. A +woman would ride on an ass, which was the animal preferred by the Jews +for travel. + +We may think of Mary with a beating heart leaving her home in Nazareth +in company with a caravan or party of people journeying to Jerusalem to +attend one of the great feasts held every year in that city. Their most +direct way would be over the mountains; but it would be rough and stony; +up one mountain, down another, and around a third mountain, nearly all +the way. Besides, this way would lead them through the country of the +Samaritans, which lay between Galilee and Judea, and such was the hatred +between Jews and Samaritans that it was scarcely safe for a company of +Jews to go through their land. A large company would need to stop by +night at some inn, and the Samaritans often shut their inns against +those who were going to Jerusalem. + +The line of travel from Nazareth would be to go over the steep hill on +the south of their village, then follow a well-trodden way eastward down +to the river Jordan. There they would find a very good road built by +the Romans, straight down the Jordan Valley, with mountains on either +side. This they would follow about sixty miles until they came to +Jericho. There they might rest for a few days; and then climb the steep +path up the mountains to Jerusalem. This Jericho road was a hiding place +for robbers, and it was never safe for anyone to travel it alone. But in +a large company, with many men, and often a guard of soldiers, the +travelers need not fear. They would easily reach Jerusalem in a week or +ten days after leaving Nazareth, and might make the journey in five days +if they were in haste. + +In Jerusalem Mary would visit with some friend. All the families in the +land had friends in Jerusalem with whom they stayed while attending the +great feasts, of which three were held each year; and the dwellers in +Jerusalem opened their houses to the same families year after year. +After the feast, Mary would find another caravan or party going home to +Hebron and the villages near it, and she would travel the rest of her +journey, about twenty miles, with this party. Altogether, Mary's +journey, from Nazareth to Hebron, was nearly one hundred and twenty +miles long. Although many people were with her all the way, she was +alone in spirit, for she could speak to no one of the great thoughts +which burdened her mind and her heart. + +At last her long journey was over. She stopped at the door of the house +of Zacharias; and in a moment was clasped in the arms of Elizabeth. In +some strange way God had given to Elizabeth to know all that had come to +Mary. In a loud voice she said: + +"Blessed, most blessed are you among women! And blessed among men shall +be the son born to you! High indeed is the honor mine today when the +mother of my Lord comes to my home! Blessed is she that believed the +angel's word, for that word shall surely come true!" + +In that moment Mary's feelings, long held in, broke out into song. For +this young woman's soul was not only pure and tender and devout, it was +the soul of a poet whose thoughts shape themselves into verse. Mary +spoke and sung a song which has become famous. Someone wrote it down, +and Saint Luke, who wrote the gospel, found a copy of it and gave it to +the world. Everyone should read it. We give it here. + + +MARY'S SONG + + My soul beholds the greatness of the Lord, + And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. + For he hath looked upon his servant in my lowly state; + And from this time people in all ages shall call me blessed. + + For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; + And holy is his name. + And his mercy is from age to age + On those who fear him. + + He hath showed strength with his arm; + He hath scattered the proud in the vain thoughts of their heart. + He hath put down princes from their thrones, + And hath lifted up those of humble state. + + The hungry he hath filled with good things; + And the rich he hath sent empty away. + He hath given help to Israel his servant + That he might remember mercy + As he spoke to our fathers, + Toward Abraham and his children forever. + +For three months Mary stayed with Elizabeth in that quiet home, the old +woman and the young woman, both soon to be mothers, talked together day +after day. Perhaps by this time people were going to another feast in +Jerusalem, and Mary found again a party of pilgrims--for that was the +name that they gave to people going to Jerusalem to worship--who were +returning to Galilee. She went home, comforted in spirit and made strong +by her visit with Elizabeth. + +It was either while Mary was visiting with Elizabeth, or soon after her +return to her home, that Joseph, her promised husband, began to question +in his mind whether he ought to marry her. There was a strange look in +her face, and he saw that she had thoughts in her mind of which she +could not speak to him. He loved her deeply, and it was with sorrow that +he asked himself whether they would be happy together. + +But one night, while he was sleeping, a dream came to Joseph. In his +dream he saw an angel standing by his side. The angel said to him: + +"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife. She +shall have a son; and his name shall be Jesus, for it is he that shall +save his people from their sins." + +The word Jesus, in the language of that people, means "Saviour," and +often Jesus is spoken of as "Our Saviour" because he came to take away +our sins. + +After this message, Joseph hesitated no longer. He did as the angel had +bidden him. He was married to Mary, and led her to his own home, in +which was also the shop where he followed his trade as a carpenter. + + + + +The Boy Who Never Tasted Wine + +CHAPTER 6 + + +NOT LONG after Mary's visit, the child promised to Zacharias and +Elizabeth was born. In Jewish families the coming of a child into the +home was always the cause of great gladness; and the gladness was +greater at the birth of this baby, because this was the first child, and +the father and mother were old. All the friends of Zacharias and +Elizabeth came to see them and to rejoice with them over the boy whom +God had given them. + +"He must be named Zacharias after his father," said the visitors. + +"Not so," answered the mother; "he shall be named John." + +"Why should you give him that name?" they said. "None of your family has +ever been called John." + +But Elizabeth insisted that her boy should bear the name John. + +You remember that Zacharias had been stricken dumb at the time when the +angel spoke to him in the Temple. In all the months since he had not +spoken a word. Nor could he hear what was said; for now they made signs, +to ask him what should be the child's name. They brought him a writing +table, and on it he wrote, "His name is John." So that was the name of +this child of promise, just as the angel Gabriel had said. + +You may ask, what was a writing table? In those times paper was very +scarce and high in its cost. It was used only for writing down matters +that were important. For common uses, each family had a writing table, +which was a board over which was spread a thin layer of wax. On this wax +they marked what they wished to write, with a sharp-pointed pen of iron +or steel. This kind of a pen was called a stylus. The other end of the +pen was flat, like an ivory paper-cutter. After writing, they could +smooth it all out again; and the wax was then ready to be used once +more. + +Just as soon as Zacharias had written the words "His name is John," the +power to hear and to speak came back to him. He began to praise God in a +loud voice, and gave forth a song of rejoicing. This song was afterward +written, and may be read in the gospel by St. Luke, near the end of the +first chapter. + +[Illustration: Writing tablets] + +In this song, Zacharias gave thanks to God for having blessed his people +and kept the promises that had been made in God's name by all the +prophets of old time. The prophets, as you may know, were the good men +who listened to God's words and then gave them to the people, speaking +with God's power; and sometimes telling, long before the time, of great +events that were to take place. They were men like Moses, who saw God +face to face, and Samuel the wise ruler, and Elijah the prophet of fire, +and Isaiah, who declared Christ's coming long before his day. In the Old +Testament times there was always a prophet to tell the people the will +of God. But since the Old Testament had been finished, almost five +hundred years before this time, no prophet had stood up in Israel with +the word of the Lord. + +Zacharias knew that this newly-born child should grow up to give God's +message to the people. He said in his song: + + "And you, O child, shall be called the prophet of God; + For you shall go before the Lord Christ, to make ready a way for him; + You shall give to his people the good news of a Saviour, + And the forgiveness of their sins + Because of the tender mercy of God." + +[Illustration: John the Baptist in the desert] + +In the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth the baby John grew up a strong, +noble boy. Very early they told him of the angel's visit, and of the +command that throughout his life he was not to taste wine nor any strong +drink. He was under a vow or pledge of special service for God; and one +sign of his pledge was to be his not tasting wine nor even eating +grapes. Another sign was in leaving his hair to grow long and never +cutting it. Everyone who saw him would know by these signs that he was +pledged to a life of peculiar service to God. + +When John became a young man he went away from his home and lived in the +desert, alone with his own thoughts and with God. Very likely, his +father and mother died before he went to live alone, for at the time of +his birth they were old people and could not live many years. + +John lived upon the plainest of food, the locusts that could be gathered +in the field, and were boiled, to be eaten by the poorest people. He ate +also the honey made by the wild bees and stored by them in hollow trees +and holes in the rocks. All those years of his young manhood, John was +thinking upon the work to which God had called him, talking with God and +learning God's will; so that when the time came, he could give God's +message to the people. + +[Illustration: Plowing in Bible time] + +[Illustration: They sought out the inn at Bethlehem but Joseph found +within its walls no place where his wife could rest after her long and +wearisome ride.] + + + + +The Child-King in His Cradle + +CHAPTER 7 + + +FOR A FEW months after their marriage, Joseph and Mary lived in their +little house at Nazareth. Joseph worked at his trade as a carpenter, +while Mary cared for the home and carried the water for the needs of the +house from the well in the middle of the village, walking with her jar +full of water on her head. + +One day Joseph came home and told his wife that he had been called to go +on a journey to Bethlehem, which was the town from which their family +had come. Both Joseph and Mary, as we have seen, had sprung from the +line of the great King David, who had been born in Bethlehem more than a +thousand years before. Every one who belonged to the line of David, +wherever he might be living, looked upon Bethlehem as the home-town of +his family. + +The Emperor Augustus at Rome, who ruled over all the lands and was above +Herod, the king of Judea, had given orders that a list should be made of +all the families in his wide empire. He wished to lay a tax upon every +family; that is, to call upon every family to pay money for the support +of his officers, his army, his court; and in order to fix this tax, he +must have written down the names of all the people. + +In our land such a list is made every ten years, and is called a census. +With us, men are chosen in every city and town to go to the people where +they live and make the list of their names. From all the states +throughout the land, these lists are sent to one office, and there the +names are arranged in order. + +[Illustration: Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, said to enclose the +birthplace of the Saviour] + +[Illustration: The shepherds came to the stable, opened the door and +found just what the angel said they would see, a tiny babe lying in the +manger.] + +But the Romans who were ruling the world at that time chose a plan for +making this great list which would give themselves the least trouble, +even though it gave to the people under them much more trouble, and +compelled them to make long journeys. Instead of appointing in each +place an officer to take the names of the people at the places where +they were living, they made a law that every family must go to the city +or town from which they or their fathers had come, and there give their +names to the officers who were making the roll of the people. Those who +were living in Jerusalem, and had come from Shechem or Joppa or Cæsarea, +must journey to one of these places and there make their report; those +who were living in Nazareth and had come, or their parents before them +had come, from any other place, must go to their home-town, however +far it might be, and in that place be enrolled or written upon the list +of names. + +There is no reason to suppose that Mary, although herself sprung from +the family of David, was compelled to make this journey to Bethlehem +with her husband. The Roman laws took very little notice of women, +unless they were rich women who could be taxed. Joseph could go alone to +Bethlehem, and there have both their names written upon the list. But at +once a thought came to Mary, and she said to her husband: + +"You shall not make the journey to Bethlehem alone. I will go with you." + +We are not told why the young wife was resolved to go with her husband +on the long journey, but the reason may have been this: Mary knew that +she was to have a son, and the time for his coming was now near at hand. +She knew, too, that her child should be the Son of David and the King of +Israel, that he was to sit on David's throne. She wished him to be born, +not in the village of Nazareth in Galilee, but in David's own town of +Bethlehem. He was to spring from the royal line, and she was willing to +endure a hard, trying journey, and even to suffer, that her son might +come from the royal city where David lived. Mary had read the books of +the Old Testament, and she knew that in those books it had been written +by the prophets, to whom God had spoken, that this king, whom they +called Messiah and Christ, should be born in Bethlehem. These were the +reasons that made Mary decide so quickly to go with her husband on his +journey to Bethlehem, the city of their fathers. + +So Joseph locked up his carpenter's shop and set his wife upon an ass, +and with a staff walked beside her, over the mountain and down the +valley to the river Jordan, and thence following the river, over the +Roman road, the same long road that Mary had taken in the caravan or +company of pilgrims some months before. Joseph had been over that road +many times, going up every year to the feasts at Jerusalem, so that he +knew all the places which they passed, and could tell Mary stories of +their people and the great events which had taken place on the mountains +or in the cities as they came into view in their journey. + +They stopped at Jericho, near the head of the Dead Sea, and there turned +westward, climbing the mountains over the robber-haunted road, and +reaching Jerusalem. Perhaps they rested a day or two in this city and +then went over to the mount of Olives, past the village of Bethany; and +six miles south of Jerusalem they entered the gate of Bethlehem. + +They had no friends with whom they could stay in Bethlehem, and so they +sought out the inn, or the khan, as it was called. This was a large +building with rooms around an open court. In this court the animals and +the baggage were placed, and the guests of the inn were in the rooms +around it. But Joseph and Mary were not the only people who had come to +Bethlehem to have their names enrolled or written upon the lists for the +taxing. Others had reached the inn or khan before them. When they came +the courtyard was filled with asses and camels and chariots and baggage, +and all the rooms around the court were crowded with visitors. Joseph +found within the walls of the khan no place where his wife could rest +after her long and wearisome ride. + +But at last Joseph learned of a place where they might stay through the +night and for a few days. It was only a cave, hollowed out in the +hillside, used as a stable for cattle; but miserable as it was, Mary +was glad to lie down upon the straw and rest. And in that cave-stable +Mary's child was born. She wrapped her little baby in such clothes as +she could find at hand, and laid him for his first sleep in the manger +where the oxen had fed. This was the lowly cradle of the Son of David, +the King who was to rule over all the earth! King Herod in his palace +did not know, and the Emperor Augustus at Rome did not dream, that in +the humble stable at Bethlehem was lying a Prince who should reign over +a realm vastly greater than Judea or the Roman Empire; that all the +world should date their years from the year when that baby was born; and +that his name would be praised long after their names had been +forgotten. + +[Illustration: Main street in Bethlehem] + +But although neither King Herod, nor the Emperor Augustus, nor the +high-priest and rulers in Jerusalem were there to welcome their new-born +King, there were some visitors at his manger-cradle. In the open fields +around Bethlehem were shepherds, watching at night over their flocks of +sheep, just as, a thousand years before in the same fields, the young +shepherd David had cared for his sheep, guarding them from wild beasts +of the wilderness and from robbers. + +Suddenly a great, dazzling light flashed upon these shepherds, and they +saw, as Zacharias had seen by the altar, and as Mary had seen in +Nazareth, a glorious angel standing before them. The shepherds were +filled with fear and fell upon their faces on the ground, not daring to +look up at the shining form. But the angel spoke to them kindly and +graciously, saying: + +"Do not be afraid, for I come with good news, which will make you glad; +news for all God's people. On this very night is born in yonder city of +David, one who shall be the Saviour, even Christ your Lord and King. +Would you wish to go and see this child? I will tell you how you can +find him. Look for a newly-born baby wrapped in such clothes as babies +wear, and lying, not in a cradle in a house, but in the manger of a +stable, where the oxen and the asses are kept. There you will find the +child who is to be the King of all the earth!" + +While shepherds were listening to the words of this angel, they saw that +the entire midnight sky over them was filled with a multitude of +heavenly beings. The shepherds heard them sing: + + "Glory to God in the highest, + And on earth peace among men in whom God is well pleased." + +Then the vision faded away, the angelic host passed out of sight, and in +the dark sky only the stars were shining above them. Then the shepherds +said to each other: + +"Let us leave our sheep here for a little while, and go to the village +and see this wonderful thing that has come to pass. How good it is that +the Lord has given this word to us, that we may be the first to look +upon our King!" + +It did not take the shepherds a long time to find the right stable and +the manger, for Bethlehem was then only a small village. They came, +opened the door, and found just what the angel had said they would see, +a tiny baby lying in the manger, his mother hovering near, and Joseph +watching over them both in tenderness. + +They saw the royal little one, and bowed low around his manger cradle, +then went again to their flocks in the field, praising God for his +goodness in sending the long-promised King. The people to whom the +shepherds told this story, wondered at it, hardly knowing whether to +believe it or not; for this was not the way in which they looked for the +King of Israel to come. They were expecting a prince to be born in a +palace, not a working-woman's child in a dark cave where cattle were +kept. + +But Mary, happy with her little one, clasped him to her heart and said +nothing to anyone of the angel that had come to her in Nazareth, and of +the promises given her about this child. When the day came to name the +child, she simply said, "His name shall be Jesus," but she told no one +why the name was given. It was a common name among the Jews, so no one +was surprised at the name. But no word could tell better than his name +"Jesus" what this child should become, for the word Jesus means +"Saviour." + +[Illustration: Simeon came forward and took the infant Jesus into his +arms, and lifting up his eyes to heaven gave thanks that he had seen the +Saviour.] + + + + +The Baby Brought to the Temple + +CHAPTER 8 + + +ALTHOUGH JESUS was born in a stable and slept in a manger, he did not +stay in that place long. After a few days Joseph was able to find a more +comfortable home, where the young mother and her baby were taken. The +Jews were very kind to strangers of their own people, and welcomed them +to their houses when passing through their towns. + +Joseph and his family were in Bethlehem for some weeks, perhaps for some +months. It may have been their purpose to make Bethlehem their home, and +to bring up this child, the Son of David, in David's own city, where he +could have a better training for his coming life, whatever that life +might be, than in the country village of Nazareth. + +On the day when Jesus was forty days old, he was brought with his mother +to Jerusalem, which was only six miles from Bethlehem. There he was +taken to the Temple for a service which showed that he was given to God +and to be brought up as God's child. It was the rule of the Jews that +after the first child had come to a family, an offering should be made +on the altar in the Temple for him and prayers should be said. A family +that was rich would offer for their first child a sheep, which was +killed and burned on the altar as a gift to God in place of the child. +If the family was poor, or of the working class of people, the parents +offered a pair of doves or pigeons. Joseph and Mary brought a pair of +doves, and stood by while these were burned on the altar, Mary holding +her baby in her arms. + +At that moment there was in the Temple an old man named Simeon. He was a +good man and very earnest in his prayers to God that he might live to +see the Messiah-King of Israel, the Christ of God, who had been promised +through the prophets of old. And God had said to Simeon that he should +not die until he had seen Christ. On that morning a voice had seemed to +say to him, "Go to the Temple." He obeyed it, not knowing why he had +been sent to that place on that day. + +As Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus into the Temple, the voice of +the Lord spoke again to Simeon, saying: + +"This child is David's Son, the King of Israel." + +[Illustration: Mary and the doves] + +The old man came forward, held out his arms, and took the child into +them, folded him to his bosom, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, said +in Hebrew verse: + + "Now, Lord, thou mayest let thy servant go + According to thy word, in peace. + For these eyes of mine have seen thy Saviour + Whom thou hast sent to all the people. + A light to shine upon the nations, + And the glory of thine own people Israel." + +Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder at the act and words of the old +man, whom they had never seen before and did not know. But as he placed +the child in their arms again, he prayed for God's blessing upon both +Joseph and Mary. + +"Listen," he said, "this child will become a cause for many to fall and +to rise again in Israel. He shall be God's sign of mercy, but many shall +speak against him. Also, sorrow like a sword shall pierce through your +soul, O mother; and the thoughts out of many hearts shall be made +known." + +Those words seemed very strange at the time; but long afterward, when +Jesus had grown to be a man, Mary found how true they were, as she saw +enemies gathered against her son, and at last looked at him dying upon +the cross. Then, indeed, a sword went through Mary's soul. + +Just at that moment a woman came up to the little group. She was very +old, more than ninety years of age; and being a widow and a devout +worshipper of God she stayed nearly all her days in the Temple praying. +God had spoken to her also with the promise of a coming Christ, the +Saviour and King. She too saw in this little baby the promised Messiah, +and in a loud voice gave thanks and praise to God. All who heard her +wondered at her words, and wondered all the more as they looked on this +plainly-clad father and mother with their baby, all evidently from the +country, and the speech of Joseph and Mary showing they had come from +Galilee in the far north. + +Thus even while Jesus was a very young baby, only forty days old, here +in Jerusalem a few people had looked upon him and spoken of him as the +coming King of Israel. + +Joseph and Mary carried the child back to their new home in Bethlehem; +and Mary had more thoughts to hide within her silent heart long after +that day in the Temple. + + + + +The Followers of the Star + +CHAPTER 9 + + +WHILE JOSEPH and Mary with the child Jesus were still staying in +Bethlehem, the city of Jerusalem was stirred by the coming of some men +from a land far away, with a strange question. These men were not Jews, +but were Gentiles, which was the name that the Jews gave to all people +except themselves. All Romans and Greeks and Egyptians and all others +who were not of their own race, the Jews called by the name "Gentiles." +These Gentile strangers who came to Jerusalem were asking of everybody +whom they met this question: + +"Can you tell us where is to be found the little child who is born to be +the King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east, and we have +come to do him honor?" + +Who were these men, and what was the star that they had seen? + +We are not certain as to their land, but it is generally thought to have +been the country now called Persia, then known as Parthia, a land about +a thousand miles to the east of Judea. Although some Jews lived in that +land--for Jews were to be found then as now in all lands, especially in +large cities--the people of Parthia were not Jews, but, as the Jews +called them, Gentiles. Although not of the Jewish race, these people +were like the Jews in one respect--they never bowed down to worship +images which men had made. They worshipped the One God of all the earth; +and they prayed with their faces toward the sun. They said that they did +not worship the sun, but the One God who was like the sun, the light of +the world. + +Among these Parthian people were many men who at night studied the stars +in the sky. They did not have telescopes, as those who look at the stars +now have, to bring the heavenly bodies, the moon, the planets, and the +stars nearer to them; they could only use their own eyes, but by long +study they had learned much about the stars, could tell of their +movements and where in the sky to find each one of them. The men who +gave their lives to this study of the stars were called Magi, a word +meaning "Wise Men"; and these strangers who were seeking the child-king +in Jerusalem are sometimes spoken of as "the Wise Men," sometimes as +"the Magi." + +[Illustration: The Wise Men on their journey] + +The people of that time believed that when great kings were born, or +before they died, strange stars suddenly appeared in the heavens, shone +for a time and then as suddenly passed out of sight. A year or perhaps +two years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, such a star, very bright, +that had never before been seen, began to shine. In some way it came to +the minds of these men that this star pointed to the coming of a great +king who was to rule over all the lands, and who was to be found in the +land of Judea. + +These Wise Men at once made up their minds to go to the land of Judea +and see this child-king. It was a long and hard journey of more than a +thousand miles. They must pass from the high plains of Parthia down to +the lowlands of Babylonia, must find some way to cross two great rivers, +the Tigris and the Euphrates. Then they would come to a vast trackless +desert, where nothing grew and there was no water. If they went around +this desert they must follow up the Euphrates River far to the north, +and then traveling southward under the shadow of lofty mountains, they +would come at last to Judea, and to Jerusalem, its largest city. Through +all that long and trying journey, which would last a year, traveling +most of the way on camels, they saw the wonderful star in the sky +seeming to lead the way. + +From the story as told in the Gospel by St. Matthew it appears that when +these men came to Jerusalem the star was no longer shining. However, the +loss of the star would not matter so much, now that they were in the +King's own land, for they supposed that everybody in that country, and +especially in the city of Jerusalem, would know that their Prince was +born. But to their surprise, nobody seemed to have heard about the +newly-born King. They did not meet the shepherds of Bethlehem, who had +seen the angel on the night of Jesus' birth, nor did they hear of old +Simeon and Anna who a month or more before had seen the Christ-child. +Very, very few were those who knew that the King had come, and none of +these few people did these strangers chance to meet. + +They thought that at one place they could surely learn where to look for +this young Prince. That was the king's palace in Jerusalem. Herod was +still living, although old and very feeble, yet as fierce and cruel as +ever. Perhaps they thought that this Prince for whom they were looking +might be a son or a grandson of the king. Herod did not live in +Jerusalem, for he did not like its people and he knew how greatly its +people hated him; but he had a palace in the city and he came to it +often for short visits. He may have been in Jerusalem when the Wise Men +came; or they may have sought Herod down at Jericho, twenty miles away, +where most of the time he lived. + +As soon as the old king heard the question of these strangers, and +learned that they had been led by a star to his land, he was filled with +alarm. A child born to be king of the Jews--if there was such a child, +what would become of Herod's own throne and crown? If he could find +where this child was, he would send his soldiers to the place and soon +kill him, as he had killed many others whom he suspected of seeking to +take away his kingdom. But Herod hid his cruel purpose, and spoke kindly +to these strangers about their errand. He asked them when the star +appeared, how it looked, and how they knew that it showed that a king +had been born. + +Then Herod sent for the wisest men in his land, the teachers of the law +who lived in Jerusalem. He knew that all the people were looking for the +coming of their Messiah-king, whom they also called the Christ. + +"Can you tell me," asked Herod, "in what place this great King, the +Messiah or Christ, is to be born?" + +The scholars were ready with their answer. They said: + +"In Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David, this King who springs from +David's line shall be born. This is what the old prophets have said." + +And they read to him one of the promises of the prophets that the King +should come out of Bethlehem. + +Then Herod sent again for the Wise Men, and asked them to give him the +exact time when they first saw the star. When he had learned the time, +he thought at once that this long-looked-for King must have been born in +Bethlehem less than two years before. + +"Go to Bethlehem," said Herod to the Wise Men, "and search through the +town until you find this child; and when you have found him, come and +tell me, for I wish to do honor to this King." + +That was what Herod said; but what he meant to do was a very different +thing, as we shall see. + +The Wise Men at once started for Bethlehem, which was only six miles +from Jerusalem. They went over one of the mountains, and then one said +to another: + +"Look, there is the star once more! See it in the sky just before us!" + +The star stood over the road leading to Bethlehem, and again they +followed it rejoicing. It led them straight to the city, and then to a +house, over which it seemed to pause. They knocked at the door, and when +it was opened they went into a room, where they found a baby lying in +its young mother's arms. + +These Wise Men knew at once that here was the King for whom they had +sought so long and traveled so far. They bowed before him to the ground +to show the high honor in which they held him. Then they opened the +treasures which they had brought from their own land, and gave to him +rich gifts, such as were presented to kings. They gave him gold, and +frankincense and myrrh, the fragrant gums that were used in offerings +and were very costly. Thus, while in his own land only a few people +showed their gladness at the coming of their king, the strangers from a +distant country came to pay him honor. We would have thought that some +of the learned Jews, who could tell King Herod where the King was born, +might have come with the Wise Men to see him. But these great scholars +really cared very little about Jesus. They stayed at home and soon +forgot the men of the east, their journey, and their question. + +[Illustration: The well of the Wise Men, near Bethlehem] + +[Illustration: Joseph and Mary taking the child Jesus with them set out +on their journey to the land of Judea] + + + + +Safe in Egypt + +CHAPTER 10 + + +ON THE night after their visit to Mary and her child, the Wise Men had a +dream. In their dream they heard the voice of God saying to them: + +"Do not go to meet King Herod again. He is no friend to this princely +child. Return to your own land by some other way, and do not let Herod +know it." + +The Wise Men obeyed the voice of the Lord. They left Bethlehem very +quietly, telling no one the road that they were taking; and without +going through Herod's city, went back to their own land, far-distant +Parthia. + +As soon as the Wise Men had left, on that night Joseph also had a dream. +He saw an angel by his bed, who said to Joseph: + +"Rise up at once; take the little child and his mother, and go as +quickly as you can down to the land of Egypt, stay in that country until +I tell you to leave it, for very soon King Herod will try to kill this +child." + +Without waiting a moment, Joseph awaked Mary from her sleep, and in the +night they left the house, taking the sleeping baby with them. They +passed silently through the dark streets of Bethlehem and found the road +that would lead them to Egypt. At times Mary rode upon an ass, holding +her precious child; at others she walked while Joseph guided the animal +which carried their possessions. It was a journey of more than a hundred +miles to Egypt, but they went in safety, unknown to King Herod. + +In Egypt they could dwell safely, for that land was not a part of +Herod's kingdom. Many Jews were dwelling there, and among them Joseph +could live by his trade, for he was a skilful worker in wood. How long +they stayed in Egypt we do not know. It may have been either a few +months or a few years. + +Herod waited for some time to see the Wise Men again, and to find where +the child-king was living. But as the days passed and he heard nothing +from them, and finally learned that they had left for their home-land +without obeying his command to come and see him, he was very angry. But +he was resolved to kill this child, who if he should live might take the +kingdom from him or from his family. + +[Illustration: Joseph and Mary with Jesus in Egypt] + +Herod planned and carried out a fearfully wicked deed, but not more +wicked than many deeds that he had already done. He sent a troop of his +soldiers to Bethlehem, with orders to go into every house in the +village, to find every child that was two years old or under that age, +and to kill them all. This terrible thing the soldiers did, and a great +cry went up to heaven from the mothers and fathers whose little ones had +been slain by the wicked king's command. + +But Herod's slaughter of the little children was all in vain, as must be +every attempt to fight against God. Herod thought that surely this royal +child must be among those little dead bodies in Bethlehem, and that his +throne was safe. But by that time the little Jesus was in Egypt, +sleeping under one of its palm trees beside the river Nile, or looking +with wide-open baby eyes upon the pyramids and the Sphinx, the wonderful +works of ancient time, carved in stone. + +Herod did not live long after this. He died full of years, full of +wickedness, and suffering great pain. Then Joseph in Egypt dreamed +again. The angel whom he had seen so many times before came once more +and said to him: + +"Joseph, you may now take the young child and his mother and go back to +the land of the Jews, for those who sought to kill the child are dead +and can do him no harm." + +Then Joseph as before fastened a saddle on the ass and placed their +possessions upon its back. The little family then set out upon its +journey back to the land of Judea. The purpose of Joseph and Mary was to +go back to Bethlehem, David's city, and there bring up this child whom +they expected one day to sit on David's throne as King of Israel. But on +the way they met other travelers and asked them: + +"Who is now the King in Judea, since Herod is dead?" They said to +Joseph: + +"The king over Jerusalem and Judea is now Archelaus, the son of the old +King Herod, and he is as wicked and as cruel as his father was before +him." + +This news made Joseph and Mary afraid to go to Bethlehem. They thought, +"Perhaps King Archelaus may have heard of the child Jesus, and is +watching for the chance to kill him." + +They made up their mind not to go near Bethlehem or Jerusalem, but +keeping away from the land ruled by Archelaus, to return to Nazareth, +where both had lived before their marriage. So it came to pass that +Jesus who was born in Bethlehem of Judea was brought up in Nazareth of +Galilee. + +[Illustration: Bronze coin of Herod Agrippa I] + +[Illustration: Large bronze coin of Agrippa II] + + + + +A Child's Life in Nazareth + +CHAPTER 11 + + +THE LITTLE Jesus must have been between two and five years old when he +was brought to Nazareth, just coming out of babyhood and growing into a +little boy; and Nazareth was his home for at least twenty-five years, +all through his childhood, his boyhood and his young manhood. + +Jesus was not the only child living in that little white house of one +story and one room on the side of the hill. Soon another baby boy came, +who was named James, who grew up to become a great man, and many years +after wrote one of the books in the Bible, the Epistle of James. Then, +one after another, came three more boys, Joseph and Simon and Judas. +When we read that name "Judas" we are apt to think of the wicked Judas, +who sold the Lord Jesus for a few pieces of silver. But that was a +different Judas. This Judas, like his brother James, long afterward +wrote another book in the New Testament, the Epistle of Jude. Somewhere +in the list of children were two girls--there may have been more than +two, but the number and names of the girls have not been kept. + +After a few years that little house must often have been crowded, with +children coming one after another, and always a baby to be cared for. +And much of the time it was the shop where father Joseph did his work as +a carpenter. The floor of brick or of clay was often littered with +shavings and the workman's tools were on the table. + +[Illustration: The child Jesus loved outdoor life, he knew the flowers +that grew in the fields and the birds flying in the air.] + +The house had very little furniture; no chairs, no bedstead with a +mattress upon it, no stove and no pictures upon the walls. In one +corner a little fire was lighted for cooking the meals, and the smoke +went up through a hole in the roof, unless the wind blew it back into +the room. They never made a fire to keep the house warm in winter, but +when it was cold just waited for the sun to come out. Sometimes a +snowstorm came, but the snow seldom stayed more than two or three days. +The children of Joseph never took a sleigh-ride and never coasted on +sleds down the steep hills. + +[Illustration: Jesus as a boy at the house of his father and mother] + +If there was a table for their meals, it was very low, less than two +feet high; and they sat around it on little cushions, dipping their +hands or pieces of bread into one common dish for food. Sometimes the +table was just a round measure turned upside down; and sometimes the +meal was served on the floor, as we serve meals on the grass at a +picnic. + +When night came, they unrolled some mats, which through the day were +rolled up and stood against the wall, spread them on the floor and lay +down upon them to sleep, throwing over themselves the long mantle which +had been their outside garment through the day. When the door was shut, +the house was dark, for its only window was a little hole in the wall; +and they lighted it by an oil lamp, which stood either on a tall stand +or on a little shelf. + +[Illustration: Women grinding grain in Bible times] + +But the house was used little in the daytime, for everybody lived out of +doors, in the open court in front, in the streets and on the hills +around. On pleasant days Joseph took his tools in the court and worked +in wood. We are apt to think of Joseph as building houses, as in our +time that is the chief work of a carpenter. But the houses were made of +clay or rough stone, and the carpenter did very little work upon them. +His chief business was in making wooden plows, yokes for the oxen, the +little tables, and the peck or bushel measure, which was to be found in +every house, and was also used in place of a table. + +One very useful article was either in the house or in the court--the +hand mill for grinding grain, made of two round flat stones. Our flour +comes to us from great factories, but in that land each family had its +own little mill. They poured the grain into a hole in the upper +millstone, and then turned the stone round and round by a handle until +the grain was ground into flour. This was hard work, but it was always +done by the women. Often two women helped each other to turn the handle +of the upper millstone. Mary's arms often ached in making the flour +needed for her large family. When her daughters grew strong, they helped +her in this work. + +When Jesus became a boy six years old, he was sent to school with the +other boys. There were no schools for girls among the Jews, so far as we +know. The school was held in the village church, which they called the +synagogue. The teacher was always a man, and he was generally the +janitor of the church, who kept the building in order. + +The Jews had a pretty name for the village school. They called it "The +Vineyard," as though the children were bunches of little grapes, growing +up to ripen in the sun. In this vineyard-school there was only one book +for study. That was the Bible. The Jews had only the Old Testament, for +the New Testament had not yet been written. Each of the larger books was +in a separate volume in the form of a long roll of parchment; that is, a +sheet made of sheepskin which had been made smooth, on which the words +were written. Several of the smaller books were written on one roll. In +the school there was only one copy of the Bible for all the scholars, +but each boy had a board and a piece of chalk, with which he wrote +sentences from the Bible and then learned them by heart. When his text +had been learned, each pupil cleaned off his board like a slate and +wrote on it a new lesson. All the teaching in a Jewish school was in the +Old Testament. + +The copy of the Bible in the school was generally one that had been used +in the church until it had grown old and worn out. When they obtained a +new set of the books for the service in the church, they gave the old +copies to the school. + +You can see in that same land now a school of children just like those +in the time when Jesus was a boy. The children sit on the floor in a +circle, the teacher being one of the ring. When they repeat their verses +in learning them, all are talking aloud at the same time, so that the +school is very noisy. We could not study in such a din, but they do not +seem to mind it. + +[Illustration: Roll of book] + +School was not very hard in that country. Our children have one holiday +in each week, free from school, but in the school where Jesus was +taught, they had two holidays in every week, besides the sabbath. In +addition to these holidays there was a long recess of three hours in the +middle of each day, and no school at all if the day was very hot. + +When Jesus was a small boy he was taken by father Joseph to the church, +which you remember they called the synagogue. The men and boys sat on +the floor upon rugs or mats, while the women and girls were in a +gallery, looking down upon them. All the men and boys wore their hats in +the church. Their hats were turbans of cloth wrapped around their heads. +But each one as he entered the door slipped off his shoes or slippers, +and was barefooted in the church at the hour of worship. If at the hour +of worship you go to a Mohammedan church in that country--which they +call a mosque--you will see all the shoes standing outside the door. + +In the church they had no minister to lead the service and to preach a +sermon. The men took turns in charge of the worship. One read from one +part of the Old Testament, another from another part. If they found a +boy who was a good reader he was often called upon to read the Bible in +the church service. They had prayers, always read from a book; they sang +together from the Psalms; and whoever wished to speak could do so. + +But we are not to think of the child Jesus as always at school or at +church. He was a strong, hearty, healthy boy. He loved outdoor life, he +knew the flowers that grew in the fields and the birds flying in the +air. He played with other boys and knew all their games. Two of these +games he once happened to mention long after, while he was teaching. One +game was the wedding, when they sang and danced; the other was the +funeral, when they cried with loud voices, making a mournful wail. We +know, too, that in those times the boys played ball and marbles, and a +game somewhat like ten-pins. + +Jesus was not a lonely boy, living apart. He was always fond of having +others around him. When he was a man, traveling and teaching over all +the land, he had his twelve chosen friends who were always with him, +and we may be sure that as a boy he liked to be with other boys, and in +turn was liked by the boys of his village. + +We may be sure, too, that he grew up a good boy; one who always tried to +do right, at home, at school, or in play. At home he would help Joseph +in his shop and his mother in her work or in caring for the smaller +children; in school we know that he learned his verses in the Bible, +because in after years he could always call them to his mind and speak +them; and in play he was always fair and good-hearted and willing. We +are told that he grew in knowledge and in the favor of God and of all +people. In other words, he was a boy that everybody liked. + +[Illustration: The citadel of ancient Bethshean, in the Jordan valley, +twelve miles south of sea of Galilee] + + + + +The Boy Lost and Found + +CHAPTER 12 + + +JESUS STAYED at the school in the village church until he was twelve +years old. By that time he could read and write and could also repeat +many verses. But as his reading book and spelling book and copy book and +memory verses were all in the Bible, and as he heard long readings from +its books at the church service, we may be sure that he knew quite well +all the best things in that best of all books, the Bible. One proof of +this is that in later years, when anyone tried to puzzle him with a hard +question, he often answered promptly with a sentence from the Bible. + +A Jewish boy generally left school at the age of twelve, unless he +wished to become a rabbi, which was the name among the Jews for a +teacher of their law. If that was his wish or the purpose of his +parents, he was sent up to Jerusalem to study in the college held by the +scribes or teachers in the Temple. Saul of Tarsus, a boy about four +years younger than Jesus, whom we know as Paul the Apostle, was a +student in the Temple college, but Jesus was not. While the young Saul +was studying in Jerusalem, Jesus as a young man was working in the +carpenter shop at Nazareth. + +When Jesus was twelve years old he was taken on his first journey from +Nazareth up to Jerusalem to attend the great feast of the Passover. +Three great feasts were held during the year. The feast of the Passover +was in the early spring, and kept in mind the great day when the +Israelites went out of Egypt, no longer slaves but free men. The feast +of the Pentecost was held in the late spring, just fifty days after the +Passover--the word "pentecost" meaning "fifty days"--and reminded the +people that fifty days after their fathers went out of Egypt, God gave +them their law amid lightning and thunder on Mount Sinai. The feast of +the Tabernacles, or "feast of tents" (for that is the meaning of the +word tabernacles), was held in the fall; and at this time the people +built for themselves huts of green branches, ate in them and slept in +them for a week, to show the outdoor life of the early days in the +wilderness, while they were marching to Canaan, the Promised Land. These +three great feasts were held in Jerusalem, and from every part of the +land the people came up to the city to attend them. + +It was a great event when the boy Jesus for the first time went on this +journey to Jerusalem. The younger children were left at home, under the +care of some friend, for a boy did not begin attending these feasts +until he was twelve years old. Of course, Joseph and Mary knew all about +this journey, for they had made it many times. They went in the caravan +or company from Nazareth, following the road that Joseph and Mary had +taken on their way to Bethlehem, twelve years before. As they journeyed, +Mary seated on the ass, Joseph and the boy Jesus walking beside her, +they would talk about the places which they passed, and the stories of +old times told about them. Jesus knew all those stories, for every +Jewish boy had heard them, over and over. + +As they paused on the top of the hill beside Nazareth, below them was +spread out the great plain of Esdraelon, and they would say, "That +mountain by the Great Sea on the west is Mount Carmel, where Elijah +built his altar and made his great offering, when in answer to his +prayer the fire came down from heaven and burned up the bullock laid on +the altar. Do you see that road running across the plain? On that road +Elijah ran in front of King Ahab's chariot, after the long drought, when +the rain was coming. And then, this plain! Over it from Mount Tabor, +there on the left, Deborah and Barak chased the flying Canaanites across +the plain. Do you see that second mountain beyond Tabor? That is Mount +Gilboa; and at its foot Gideon with his brave three hundred frightened +at night the Midianite host and won a great victory." + +[Illustration: Mount Tabor and the plain of Esdraelon] + +They went down into the Jordan valley and walked southward by the Roman +road, following the Jordan River. At one place the mountains on either +side came down close to the river, and there was barely room for the +road between the foaming stream on one side and the steep rocks on the +other. + +"Look," said Joseph, "this is the place where the waters rose up and +stood in a heap when our fathers under Joshua were about to cross the +river, thirty miles below." + +They crossed a brook which fell into the river; and Joseph said, "Do you +see this brook? Up there among the mountains was the place where the +prophet Elijah was fed by the ravens; for this is the brook Cherith." + +They came to the place just above Jericho where under Joshua the +Israelites walked across the dry bed of the river, the holy ark carried +by the priests in front and the people following in a long procession. +There the river is very wide and quite shallow, so that people walk +across, except in the early spring, when it is swollen by the rains and +the melting snow on the high mountains far to the north. + +[Illustration: The Temple of Herod restored by Fergusson. The covered +portico on the left is the royal porch extending along the southern side +of the Temple area. The colonnade running from left to right is +Solomon's porch extending across the eastern side of the area. The +courts were much larger than as here shown.] + +[Illustration: At last his parents found Jesus in the Temple, the center +of a company of learned scholars; he was asking questions of them and +they were asking questions of him, while all around were people +listening and wondering at this boy's deep knowledge of the truth.] + +There they would point out across the river Mount Nebo, where Moses +stood looking upon the land and then all alone lay down and died. They +stopped for a rest at Jericho, where were stories to tell of the walls +that fell down when the Israelites marched around them, and the +priests blew their ram's-horn trumpets. Perhaps they stopped and drank +at the great spring near Jericho where the water was made pure by Elisha +the prophet. And after a climb up to the mountains, at the end of six +days or a week, they came to Jerusalem, the end of their journey, and +the place called by the people "the holy city." + +And then, there was the splendid Temple of God! How the boy's heart was +stirred as he walked over the bridge leading from Mount Zion to Mount +Moriah! They went into the great outside court, the court of the +Gentiles, the only place in the Temple where foreigners were allowed to +enter; and the boy Jesus was shocked to see that it had been turned into +a market, where cattle and sheep and doves were sold, and where tables +stood around for the men who changed foreign money into Jewish shekels. + +Over the eastern wall and the Golden Gate, they saw the Mount of Olives, +then covered to the top with vineyards and olive trees and gardens. They +climbed up a flight of steps and passed through a gate called "the +Beautiful Gate," into a smaller court, like the outer court open to the +sky. This was named "The Court of the Women" because from its +lattice-covered gallery the women looked down on the altar and the +services of worship. Jesus noticed that in this Court of the Women were +many classes of young men studying, seated in a circle, listening to +their teachers. How he longed to sit down among them and listen to these +wise scholars; for though only a boy, he had thought deeply on many +things which he had read, and many questions had come to his mind which +he greatly desired to have answered. He saw the sacrifice offerings laid +on the altar and burned, while trumpets sounded and censers of incense +were waved and the priests chanted the psalms of David. + +While the family were in Jerusalem they found friends with whom they +stayed, and in their house the Passover feast was eaten. It was a very +simple meal, just a roasted lamb, some vegetables and bread made without +yeast, in thin cakes, like soda biscuit, only larger. They ate the meal +lying down on couches around the table, their heads toward the table, +their feet away from it. It was the custom or rule of the Jews, at this +feast, to have the story of the first Passover. Perhaps Joseph said to +Jesus: + +"My son, you know what took place when this passover was eaten for the +first time. Tell us the story." + +[Illustration: David street, Jerusalem, looking toward Olivet] + +Then the boy Jesus told of the terrible plagues that fell upon the land +of Egypt; of the last and greatest sorrow, the death of the oldest son +in every house; how the Israelites sprinkled their door-posts with the +blood of the slain lamb and were passed over by this death-angel; how +they ate the lamb on that night, dressed for their journey; and how they +went out of Egypt and marched through the Red Sea. + +The family were in Jerusalem for a week, and every day Jesus went up to +the Temple to worship in its services and to learn what he could from +its teachers. The last day of their visit came, and at its close the +families going to Galilee met together for their homeward journey. A +horn was blown and the caravan or company started northward. Mary missed +her son, but thought that he was somewhere in the crowd, talking with +other boys of his own age. But when night came, the company stopped to +rest and Jesus did not appear. Mary was alarmed. They looked through all +the crowd, but no Jesus was to be found. + +Then in great trouble, Joseph and Mary hastened back to Jerusalem, +looking for their boy. They asked for him among the friends at whose +house they had stayed, but he had not been there. They wandered up and +down the narrow streets, but while they saw many groups of boys, their +boy was not among them. At last, on the third day, they looked for him +in the Temple. In one of its courts a crowd of people were listening to +the teachers who seemed to be talking with someone. They drew near, and +Mary's heart began to beat as she suddenly heard a boy's voice sounding +from the middle of the throng. She knew that voice, in its clear, rich, +honest tone! She pressed her way in; and there stood her boy, the center +of a company of the learned scholars. He was asking questions of these +men, and they in their answers were asking him questions in turn, while +all around were people listening and wondering at this boy's deep +knowledge of the truth. + +Mary hastily rushed up to Jesus, and said: + +"My son, why have you treated us so unkindly? Your father and I have +been looking for you, in great trouble, for three days!" + +Jesus looked up at his mother's face, with surprise, and said: + +"Why should you look for me? Did you not know that I would be in my +Father's house?" + +Evidently on the last day of their stay, he had slipped away for one +more visit to the Temple; and once there his mind and heart had been so +full that no thought of the home-going had come to him. He had just +stayed there in the courts of the Lord's house without a thought of the +outside world. + +Where had he slept on those two nights? Who had given him food during +those three days? He might have lain down, as thousands did during the +feast, under the olive trees on the Mount of Olives. Some stranger may +have seen him and invited him to a meal. But it would not be strange if +in his deep, whole-souled interest, he had never thought of food and had +eaten nothing during those three days. + +But without a word he took his mother's hand and walked out of the +Temple. He made the journey home to Nazareth, saying little but thinking +much of all that he had seen and heard. One great, precious truth at +least had come home to his heart. He felt that the Lord God of Israel +was his own Father and he could trust fully the Father God. + + + + +The Young Woodworker + +CHAPTER 13 + + +FOR EIGHTEEN years after the visit to the Temple, Jesus was living in +Nazareth, growing up from a boy to a young man. A Jewish boy generally +left his school at about thirteen years of age, and began working at +some trade or business. Jesus went into Joseph's shop and helped in the +work, making plows and ax-handles and rakes and the plain furniture for +the houses. Whatever Jesus did was done well, and we cannot doubt that +in his trade he soon became a skilful worker. His ax-handles and plows +were as good as the best; and if he made a bushel measure, it was a true +one, for Jesus was a boy that could be trusted. + +As a boy, he was like other boys, playing happily in play-time and +working heartily in work-time. Some boys like to be alone, reading and +thinking and dreaming; but Jesus was not one of that kind. All through +his life he liked to have people around him, and as a boy we may be sure +he had many friends among other boys. He was strong, in good health, +could run and jump and climb trees. With his boy friends he wandered +among the mountains and upon the great plain just over the hills from +his town. The Sea of Galilee was only twenty miles away, and we do not +doubt that Jesus with his friends went fishing in its blue waters and +brought home to his mother the fish which he had caught. + +[Illustration: Jesus went into Joseph's shop and helped in the work, +making plows and ax-handles and the plain furniture for the houses.] + +After a time, Joseph, the husband of Mary, died, and Jesus was left to +care for his mother and her large family of children. It is no light +load for one just coming out of boyhood and just beginning to be a +man, to have laid upon him the earning of enough money to buy food for +a mother and at least six younger brothers and sisters; and this was the +load which the young Jesus took up. But although Joseph who had been a +father to him was gone, Jesus knew that his heavenly Father was still +with him, and he could call upon him for help in every need. + +Jesus worked hard all the long days, but when the Sabbath day came, +which among the Jews was Saturday, his shop was shut up and he sat on +the floor of the village church, listening to the reading of the Old +Testament and joining in the songs of praise. He took his turn as the +reader at the desk, and as he read the lesson in Isaiah or Micah or +Hosea, he saw meanings in the verses that others could not see, for in +the long hours of the workshop he was thinking and praying and listening +to the voice of God. + +[Illustration: Tools of an oriental carpenter. 1, 3, 4. Drills. 2. +Chisel. 5. Handle of a drill. 6. Nut held in the hand while the drill +revolves. 7. Saw. 8. Punch. 9. Horn of oil. 10. Mallet. 11. Bag for +nails. 11. Basket to hold tools.] + +While Jesus was living this quiet life in the home and the shop some +changes were going on in the land. The ruler in Galilee was Herod +Antipas, the son of that wicked Herod who killed all the babies in +Bethlehem; and he was very little better than his father. In Judea, the +part of the land around Jerusalem, Archelaus, another son of Herod, +ruled so badly that all the people sent to the Emperor Tiberius at Rome +asking to have him taken away. The Jews hoped that they might then have +rulers of their own people; but the Emperor sent them a Roman governor, +whom they did not like but dared not make angry. In many places through +the land, especially in Galilee, where Jesus was living, some of the +people refused to pay their taxes to the Roman empire, and began +fighting against the rulers. They could not battle with the Roman +armies, and hid in the woods and caves and mountains, but came out in +bands and robbed the people on the roads. All through the land, north +and south, were fear and trouble. The people were not contented with +their rulers, and all hoped that the time was near when the Kingdom of +God would come and their Roman officers and tax-gatherers would be +driven away. They looked for a kingdom like the one over which David +reigned a thousand years before, a kingdom with armies and victories +over its enemies and a palace for the king. + +But they did not know that in that little one-room house on the hillside +of Nazareth, the King was waiting for his call to go forth and bring in +the true Kingdom of God. + + + + +The Voice by the River + +CHAPTER 14 + + +WHILE JESUS was still living in Nazareth and working in his carpenter +shop, suddenly the news went through all the land that a strange man was +preaching in the desert country of Judea, not far from Jerusalem; and +that all the people were going out of the cities and villages to hear +him. + +This man was John, the son of the old priest Zacharias and his wife +Elizabeth. You remember that an angel came to Zacharias while he was +standing by the altar in the Temple, and told him that he should have a +son, and that his name should be John. John had now grown up and was a +young man about thirty years old. He had lived out in the desert places +away from the cities and their crowds, so that he could be alone and +think and pray and listen to the voice of God. And God had spoken to him +in the desert and he had told him to preach to the people and tell them +how to get ready for the Kingdom of God, which was soon to come. + +[Illustration: John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness] + +John was preaching beside the river Jordan, at the foot of the +mountains; and from the cities and villages everywhere the people went +to listen to his words. John did not look like the men of his time. He +had never cut his hair, and it hung upon his shoulders in a long black +mass. His black beard, too, was very long, for it had never been +trimmed. His clothing was a skin torn from a beast or a mantle woven +from the rough, shaggy hair of the camel, fastened by a leather belt +around the waist. He had lived out of doors in the sun and the winds and +the rain, so that his face and arms and legs and his bare feet were +all brown and hard. He ate for his food the locusts which he could pick +up in the fields and the woods and the honey to be found in the hollow +trees. When the people looked at him, they thought of the great prophet +Elijah, who many hundred years before had gone up to heaven in a chariot +of fire near that very place where John was preaching, and they said +wonderingly to each other: + +"This must be Elijah, the fiery prophet, who has come back to earth." + +A prophet among the Israelites was a man who brought to the people the +word which God had given him to speak. The books of the Old Testament, +which all the people knew almost by heart, told of many prophets, such +as Moses, who brought water for his people by striking the rock; Samuel, +whose prayers saved the people from their enemies; Nathan, who spoke +bold words to David the king; and Elisha, who had made the bitter waters +of a spring sweet, had cured the leper Naaman and wrought many wonderful +works. Of all the prophets, they thought Elijah the greatest, and they +remembered that in the last book of the Old Testament, the book of the +prophet Malachi, it was written: + +"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great day of the +Lord shall come." + +And when the people looked at this strange man who was preaching by the +river, they thought that the day of the Lord was surely coming, and that +here was the prophet Elijah as had been promised. + +John said to the people, in his preaching, that the Kingdom of God was +near at hand and that every man must be ready for it. To make themselves +ready, they were to confess their sins, to stop doing wrong and to begin +to do right. As a sign of their willingness to cease from evil and to +serve the Lord, they were baptized by John in the river Jordan. John +said to them: + +"I baptize you with water, but there is one among you, of your own +people, one whom you do not know, who is greater than I, so much above +me that I am not worthy to stoop down and tie his shoestrings. He will +come soon; and when he comes, he will not baptize with water as I do. He +will baptize you with fire and with the Spirit of God." + +[Illustration: The river Jordan] + +He spoke further about this Greater One who was coming so soon, and +said: + +"He shall deal with the people as the farmer deals with his grain on the +threshing floor. He will sweep the floor most carefully; the wheat he +will put in his barn and the chaff he will burn up with a fire that +cannot be put out." + +The people came to John and said to him: + +"What shall we do to make ready for the coming of this Great King?" + +John answered them: + +"Let everyone do what he can to help those who are in need. If any of +you have two coats, give one of them to some poor man that has no +garments; and those of you who have wheat and barley, give to those who +are hungry something to eat." + +Some of the men who gathered the taxes from the people for the Roman +rulers came to John and said: + +"What would you have us do to make ready for the coming of the King? +Shall we tell the people that they are to pay no more taxes?" + +"No," answered John. "Let the people pay their taxes as before; but see +that you do not make them pay more than is right, and do not rob them." + +For many of these tax-collectors (who were called publicans) took from +the people more than they had a right to take, and used the people's +money for themselves. They made themselves rich by robbing the people. +Everywhere the people hated these tax-collectors, and called them +"sinners." + +The soldiers and policemen came to John and said, "And what shall we +do?" + +John said to them: + +"Do not be harsh and rough with the people. Treat everyone kindly. Be +contented with your pay, and do not make the people give you money that +you have no right to ask." + +These were some of the many things that John said to the people. All his +words came to this: "If you are doing wrong, stop it and begin to do +right. Do not be selfish, but love your fellow men and do good to them. +And be ready when the King comes to obey him." + +John was called "John the Baptist" because he baptized in the river +Jordan all those who promised to follow his teachings. + +The leaders of the people in Jerusalem did not believe the words of John +and were not baptized by him. They did not know exactly what to think of +him, and they sent some priests and others to see him. These men came +and asked him: + +"Who are you? Are you the Christ, the promised King?" + +"No," answered John, "I am not the Christ." + +"What then?" said they. "Are you Elijah the prophet come to earth again, +as some people say you are?" + +"No," answered John again, "I am not Elijah." + +"Well, then," they said, "tell us who you are, so that we can give an +answer to the rulers who have sent us." + +And John said: + +"In the book of the prophet Isaiah it is written, 'The Voice of him that +cries in the desert: prepare ye the way of the Lord, make a straight +path before him.' I am that voice to speak to the people and make them +ready for the King, who is even now among you, although you do not know +him, and who will soon make himself known." + + + + +The Carpenter Leaves His Shop + +CHAPTER 15 + + +AFTER SOME months the news was brought to Nazareth that John the Baptist +had come up the river Jordan and was now preaching at a place about +twelve miles south of the Sea of Galilee. The place where John was +preaching had two names. It was called "Bethany beyond Jordan," there +being another Bethany quite near Jerusalem; and it was also called +"Bethabara," a word which means "the place where one can walk across the +river"; for there the river Jordan was so shallow that people waded +across it. John had chosen this place because the sloping shore beside +the river was fitted for the crowds to listen to his preaching, and the +shallow water was near at hand for baptizing the people. + +Bethabara or Bethany was about twenty-five miles from Nazareth; and over +the plain just across the hill was a road leading down to the river at +that place, where people used to cross the Jordan on their way to the +land of Decapolis and Perea beyond. Nearly all the people had heard John +preach, and most of them had been baptized by him as a sign that they +promised to turn from evil and do good and look for the King who was +soon to come. + +Jesus felt that the time had now come for him to begin the work to which +God had called him. He had told no one of his purpose, not even his +mother; but one day he left his carpenter shop to his younger brothers, +who were now young men and able to care for their mother. He walked down +the valleys, came to the river Jordan, waded the stream, and at +Bethabara, in front of a crowd of people from every part of the land, +for the first time he saw John the Baptist. No doubt Mary had told her +son all the story of the angel by the altar, of John's birth and of his +early life; but in all the years Jesus and John had never met. + +Jesus listened to the words of John, and then with the others he came +forward to be baptized. John looked at this strange young man who was +drawing near, and as he looked the voice within him said: + +"The long-promised King has come! This Man is He!" + +John felt that here was one who needed no baptism; for he knew that this +man had no sins to give up, and was already doing God's will perfectly. +He felt unwilling to baptize him, and said: + +[Illustration: The Jordan. At the supposed place of Christ's baptism.] + +"It is not fitting that I should baptize one so good and so great in the +sight of God as you are. I need to be baptized by you, and do you come +to me?" + +But Jesus answered him: + +"It is best that it should be so. Whatever is right for other men is +right also for me. Let me do this as my duty to God." + +[Illustration: As Jesus rose out of the water, a light flashed from the +sky, resting on his head, and the voice of God was heard saying: "This +is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased."] + +Then John yielded to the will of Jesus and baptized him. Just as Jesus +rose out of the water a strange thing happened. While he was praying a +light flashed from the sky and seemed to rest upon the head of Jesus +like a white, shining dove coming down upon him; and a voice was heard +somewhat like a peal of thunder. Those standing on the shore felt that +some words were spoken, but they could not understand them. John alone +heard and understood. It was the voice of God, and John afterward told +the people that these were the words spoken: + +"This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased." + +At that instant a mighty Power came upon Jesus. The Spirit of God had +always been with him and had caused him to feel that the Lord was +fitting him to do some great work. But in that moment when the light +from heaven fell upon him and the voice of God was heard, Jesus was +filled with the Spirit of God as no man, not even the greatest of the +prophets, had been filled before. He knew now that he was not only a +prophet, one who hears God's voice and speaks God's words; but more than +a prophet, he himself was the Son of God. He saw as in a flash what was +God's plan for his kingdom on the earth; and that it was a kingdom far +different from that expected by the Jewish people. He knew that he, who +up to that moment had been the woodworker of Nazareth, was from that +hour to be the Prince of the heavenly kingdom. He was to lead the people +to God and to show in his own life how men should live. He was to bring +God down to men and to bring men to God. All this and more that we +cannot understand came to the soul of Jesus as he stood on the brink of +Jordan with the light of God upon his face. + + + + +Alone in the Desert + +CHAPTER 16 + + +AFTER HIS baptism Jesus felt that for a time he must be alone to think +over the great change that had come upon him. Only yesterday he had been +the carpenter in Nazareth, and now he knew that he was the Son of God +and the King of Israel! So sudden and mighty a change as this made him +feel that he must go to some quiet, lonely place, where he could think +and pray and find out his Father's will for himself and the work that he +was to do. + +Without speaking even a word with John, Jesus slipped out of the crowd +upon the bank of the river. He walked toward the south, not following +the well-known road beside the Jordan, over which he had walked many +times while attending the feasts in Jerusalem, but choosing the paths +along the mountain-side where he would not meet people, for he wished +not to talk with men but with God. + +[Illustration: Jesus chose the paths along the mountainside where he +would not meet people, for he wished not to talk with men but with God.] + +He came at last to a very lonely place, between Jericho and Jerusalem; a +place where no man lived and where even the Arabs of the desert scarcely +ever wandered. The only living creatures in the desolate land were the +wild beasts, the wolves and the foxes, whose howls could be heard at +night. There upon the top of a hill, with rocks all around, he sat down +to rest. His mind had been in such a whirl of excitement, and his heart +was beating with such strong feeling, that he had never thought of +taking with him any food to eat. For many days and nights he was alone, +praying and talking with God and never once thinking of eating. More +than a month passed away, even forty days, before the feeling of +hunger came upon him. + +Then suddenly he felt a sharp gnawing in his body, and he knew that he +was famishing for food. He felt that he must have something to eat or he +would die there in the desert, with the great work to which God had +called him all left undone. Around him were the rough stones of the +wilderness, and as he looked on them, this thought came to his mind: + +"There is no need for me to starve in this desert. If I am the Son of +God, as the voice from heaven said, then I need only to speak a word and +these stones will be turned to bread!" + +Then Jesus thought again, and said to himself, "Yes, I am the Son of +God, and I have the power to make these stones turn into bread for me to +eat. But that power was given me by my heavenly Father; and it was +given, not that I should use it for myself, but for the help of others +who are in need. It is not God's will that I should make bread out of +stones for myself." + +And then a sentence out of the Bible came to the mind of Jesus, and he +said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every +word that comes out of the mouth of God." + +Jesus seemed to be alone in the desert, but there was one who was +watching him, all unseen. That one was the evil spirit, Satan, who hated +Jesus, knowing that he was the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. +He had put into the mind of Jesus the thought of turning stones to bread +and using the power which God had given him for himself alone. Jesus was +quick to see the purpose of Satan and to turn away from it. + +[Illustration: When Satan, the wicked spirit, found that he could not +persuade Jesus to do his will, he left him.] + +Then another thought came to the mind of Jesus. He said to himself, "I +know that I am the King of Israel, the Messiah whom the people have been +looking for so long. But how shall I cause the people to know that I +am their King? What can I do to make them believe in me?" + +At that moment, while Jesus was trying to think out the best plan for +beginning his work and making himself, as the Son of God, known to the +people, Satan, the evil spirit, was ready with another word. He said, +"Here is a good plan. Go to the Temple in Jerusalem at some feast-time +when it is crowded with people, and in the sight of all the crowd, leap +off one of the towers. You will not fall to the ground, but will come +sailing down through the air, for all power is yours. And when the +people see you, they will fall on their faces before you and will +believe in you as the King so long promised. You know that you are the +Son of God and that God will take care of you. Don't you remember that +in one of the psalms it is written, 'He shall give his angels charge +over thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up so that thou shalt +not dash thy foot against a stone?'" + +Jesus saw at once that this was not God's plan, but Satan's plan. It +would not be trusting God, but would be putting God's power and God's +care to a trial to show what Jesus himself could do. He would not +perform this foolish act, nor anything like it, of his own accord. He +would wait until God told him what to do, and would do nothing until he +was sure that it was the will of God. Again a sentence out of the Bible +came to his mind, and he said: + +"It is written again, 'Thou shall not put the Lord thy God to trial.'" + +That means that we should never make a show of our trust in God or let +others see by some act that is not needed what God can do to help us. We +must not venture into danger to show how God can bring us out of +danger. + +Jesus had now settled two great questions. He would not use his +wonder-working powers for himself, even to save his own life; and he +would do nothing merely as a show, but would in all things work only the +will of his Father. There was one more question to be met: he was to +become the King of Israel, but what kind of a kingdom would he have? + +He knew well that all the Israelite people, not only in Judea and +Galilee, but in all the lands, were looking for a king who should rule +in Jerusalem, somewhat as the Emperor Tiberius was ruling in Rome. They +hoped for a king who should gather an army, should drive out the Romans, +should fight battles, win victories and make his kingdom the ruling +power in the world. They looked for the time when the Romans should be +under their feet, and when all other lands should pay taxes and serve +their king in Jerusalem. + +All this Jesus knew, and Satan, the wicked spirit, was at his side, +though unseen, to say to him: + +"Take my advice, and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world; for +they are mine and I can give them to whom I please." + +Jesus knew that what the people wanted was just what Satan wanted, a +worldly, wicked kingdom, built out of war and blood and the killing of +all who would not submit to it. But that would not be the Kingdom of +God. It would be the Kingdom of Satan, as so many kingdoms and nations +have been in the past. To do as Satan wished him to do would be just the +same as if he bowed down before Satan and worshipped him as his Lord and +Master. This he would not do; and his last words to the tempter were: + +"Go away from me, Satan! It is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy +God, and him only shalt thou serve!'" + +Jesus saw plainly that in making this great choice to please God, he +would not please his own people, the Jews. He knew that the rulers and +the priests and the scribes, those who were the leading men of the time, +would be against him, would refuse to follow him, would try to stir up +the people against him and would try to kill him. But Jesus was ready to +die in serving God, rather than to live in doing the will of Satan. + +When Satan, the wicked spirit, found that he could not persuade Jesus to +do his will, he left him. And afterward, angels from heaven, sent by his +Father, came to him in the desert and gave him all the food that he +needed. + +The gospels of Matthew and Luke, which tell the story of this meeting +with Satan and of Jesus' victory, do not say just where it took place. +All we know is that it was in the "desert" or the "wilderness." But near +Jericho stands a mountain where it is thought by some that Jesus stayed +during those forty days. This mountain on that account is called by a +name which means "forty days"--Mount Quarantania. + +[Illustration: Mount Quarantania. Believed by some to be the mount where +Jesus was tempted.] + +[Illustration: Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus, who gave him a +new name, "The Rock," or Peter.] + + + + +The Earliest Followers of Jesus + +CHAPTER 17 + + +AFTER HIS forty days in the desert, Jesus began his work of winning men +to the Kingdom of God. This plan was, at first, to talk to men one by +one, until he could gather around him a little company of those who +would believe in his words as a teacher, and follow him as their leader. +The men who would be best fitted to become his first followers were some +of those who had been already taught by John the Baptist. So from the +wilderness Jesus turned his steps northward once more, and walked up the +well-trodden road toward Bethabara, where nearly two months ago he had +been baptized. + +At Bethabara with John the Baptist was a group or company of young men, +who were known as John's "disciples," that is, men who stayed with him +to learn his teachings after the crowds had gone home. Some of these +were fishermen from the Sea of Galilee who had left their nets and their +work that they might listen to John. + +John was standing with some of these men around him, when at some +distance a stranger was seen walking up the road. These disciples of +John did not know who this man was, but John remembered him, for the +light flashing from the sky upon his face at the moment of his baptism +and the voice from the heavens, had stamped Jesus upon his memory. He +pointed to Jesus and said: + +"Look! Yonder is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! +This is the one of whom I spoke when I said, 'After me shall come a man +who is greater than I, and who shall baptize not in water but in the +Holy Spirit.' Upon this man I saw the Spirit coming down like a dove +and resting upon him. And I tell you all that this man is the Son of +God." + +While John was speaking these words, Jesus passed out of sight, and John +and his disciples saw no more of him that day. But on the next day, when +John was standing with two of his followers, Jesus again walked by, and +John again looked at him and said to the young men: + +"Look! The Lamb of God!" + +The two young men when they heard these words at once left John and +walked toward Jesus. As they drew near, Jesus turned and said to them: + +"Why do you follow me? What is it that you wish?" + +They said to him: "Teacher, we wish to know where you are staying, so +that we can see you and talk with you." + +"Come and see," said Jesus; and he led them to the house where he was +staying as a guest. In those times the Jews welcomed to their homes +those who were on a journey and for a few days needed a resting place. +It was about ten o'clock in the morning when those two men sat down in +the house with Jesus, and they stayed with him all the rest of the day +until the sun went down, listening as he talked to them about the +Kingdom of God. His words went straight to their hearts, and on that day +those two young men believed in Jesus as their Messiah-Christ; that is, +the King of Israel, long promised by the prophets of the Old Testament +and long looked for by the Israelite people. The two words Messiah and +Christ mean the same. One is in the Hebrew language; the other in the +Greek, and both words mean "The Anointed One," or "the King of Israel." + +Thus, on the first day of his teaching Jesus found two followers. Both +of these men were fishermen from the Sea of Galilee, not many miles +away. One was a man named John, who was afterward called "the disciple +whom Jesus loved," for of all his followers, John was the one nearest to +Jesus. Long afterward, John wrote one of the most precious books in the +Bible, "the Gospel according to John," which shows us, more than any +other book, the inmost heart of Jesus. + +The other young man was named Andrew. He thought at once of his older +brother, Simon, who was also a follower of John the Baptist. He went to +find Simon, and said to him: + +"We have found the Messiah, of whom the prophets have spoken!" + +He spoke in the Hebrew tongue, which was the language of his people. If +he had spoken in Greek, the tongue in which the New Testament was first +written, he would have said, "We have found the Christ;" that is, the +King. Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus; and as soon as Jesus +looked at him, before Andrew had spoken his name, he said: + +"Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas. But I will give you a +new name. In the time to come you shall be called 'the Rock.'" + +In the Hebrew language the word meaning "rock" is "Cephas" or "Kephas." +In Greek it is "Peter." After this Simon was sometimes called Cephas, +but more often Peter. He became a leader among the followers of Jesus, +and many years later wrote one, perhaps two, of the books in the New +Testament. + +Jesus had now three followers who believed in him as their Lord and +King; and the next day he found a fourth. This man was named Philip, and +he came from a place called Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea +of Galilee. Jesus said to Philip: + +"Follow me." + +And he too joined the little company of the disciples or followers of +Jesus. Philip at once thought of a friend of his own, a very good and +pure man, who he thought would be glad to join him as a follower of +Jesus. He went to look for him and found him standing under a fig tree. +He said: + +"We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and of whom the +prophets spoke, the Christ. His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph; and he +comes from the town of Nazareth." + +Now Nathanael's home-town was Cana, only a few miles from Nazareth. +Nathanael thought of Nazareth as a mean place. He could not believe that +the great King of Israel, the Christ, should spring from such a village. +He looked for him to come from some great city, like Jerusalem, or from +Bethlehem, David's town. He did not know that Jesus had been born in +Bethlehem; in fact he had never heard of Jesus, and he said: + +"Do you tell me that anything good can come out of Nazareth?" + +Now, Philip was not wise enough to tell Nathanael the reasons why he +believed in Jesus. It is hard to put into words some of our deepest +thoughts. But he gave to Nathanael a very wise answer. + +"Well," said Philip, "come and see Jesus for yourself." + +Jesus had never seen Nathanael before, but as he drew near, Jesus said +to those who were standing by: + +"Look! here comes a true Israelite, a man of God, one whose heart has in +it nothing evil." + +Nathanael was greatly surprised at these words of Jesus. He said, + +"How is it that you know me?" + +"Before Philip spoke to you," answered Jesus, "while you were standing +under the fig tree, I saw you." + +"Teacher," said Nathanael, "you are the Son of God; you are the King of +Israel." + +Jesus said: + +"Do you believe because I said, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree?' You +will yet see greater things than these. In truth, I say to you that you +shall see the heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming +down upon the Son of Man." + +By "the Son of Man," Jesus meant himself. He used those words to show +that while he was "the Son of God," he was also a man among men. + +Jesus had been preaching or talking to a few men about the Kingdom of +God, and already he had gained five followers. There may have been +others, for not long afterwards we find James, the brother of John, +among his disciples. + +[Illustration: The village of Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives] + +[Illustration: Jesus, with his first followers, John, Andrew, Philip and +Nathanael, left the river Jordan and walked to the village of Cana in +Galilee.] + + + + +The Water Turned to Wine + +CHAPTER 18 + + +SOON AFTER Jesus met the men who became his first followers he left the +river Jordan, and with these men walked to the land of Galilee, to the +village of Cana, about six miles north of Nazareth. This was the town +where Nathanael, one of the first five followers of Jesus, lived. + +At Cana a marriage was to be held, and Jesus with all his followers was +invited. In that land, at a marriage, a feast was always given, and all +the friends of the newly-married couple, with their friends also, and +almost everybody in the village, were expected to come. The feasting and +dancing and merry-making often lasted through a whole week. + +Before the feast was over they found that the wine, which in those times +everybody drank freely, was used up, and those who were giving the feast +had no wine to set before their guests. This filled them with alarm, for +at such times the wine was expected to flow freely, and not to have wine +for the company at a feast was considered almost a disgrace. + +The mother of Jesus was there as a friend of the family. She thought of +a way to help those who were giving the feast, and called her son aside +from the crowd, and said to him very quietly: + +"They have no wine." + +She knew what very few knew, that Jesus was the Son of God, and that all +power was in his hands. He had not yet done any of those wonderful works +of curing the sick, making the blind to see and making the deaf to +hear, which he did so often afterward; but Mary believed that he could +do them if he chose. She thought that perhaps he would use his power to +give the wine that was needed. It was with this hope that she said to +him, "They have no wine." + +The answer that Jesus gave was not such in its words as to encourage +her. + +"Woman," said he, "what have you to do with me in this matter? My time +is not yet come." + +His speaking to his mother as "Woman," instead of saying "Mother," as a +young man would among us, was not lacking in respect. It was the usage +of that time for a son to say "Woman," and not "Mother." She saw in his +face a look showing her that she had not spoken in vain. So she turned +to the servants who were standing near. "Whatever he tells you to do," +she said, "do it." + +[Illustration: Cana, and its well] + +One of the usages of the Jews was to wash their hands before they sat +down to a meal. This washing was not merely to make their hands clean; +it was a sort of religious service, and the Jews were very strict in +doing it. When so large a company met for a feast, a great deal of water +was needed. In the hall were standing six large jars for water, each jar +of a size to hold nearly twenty gallons. They were nearly empty, +because all the guests had washed their hands before sitting down at the +feast. Jesus pointed to these jars and said to the servants: + +"Fill all those jars with water." + +They obeyed him and filled all the jars up to the brim. Then Jesus said +again: + +"Now draw out from the jars, and carry what you take out to the ruler of +the feast." + +Wondering, the servants dipped their pitchers into the great jars which +only a few moments before they had filled with water. How surprised they +were to find each pitcher as it came out full of red wine! They carried +it to the ruler of the feast. He tasted it and saw that it was wine of +the very best kind. He did not know how it had been made, but supposed +that it had been brought suddenly from some wine merchant. He called the +young man who had been married, and in whose honor the feast was being +held, and said to him: + +"Everybody serves his best wine at the beginning of his feast; and +afterward, when people have been drinking some time, he brings wine that +is poorer; but you have kept your best wine until now!" + +[Illustration: Stone water-jars] + +[Illustration: The mother of Jesus called her son aside and said to him +quietly: "They have no wine."] + +The only ones who knew whence the new wine had come were the servants. +But they soon told others, and the word was passed around the company +that Jesus of Nazareth, Mary's son, had wrought this wonderful work. His +followers, the five or more disciples who had come with Jesus to the +wedding feast, now believed more fully than before that their teacher +was more than a mere man, that the power of God was upon him and that +whatever he should say was the word of God. + +Such a work as that of turning the water into wine, a work that no man +could do without God's power, was called "a miracle." It showed that the +one who wrought it was a man sent from God, doing God's will and +speaking God's word. This was the first miracle or work of wonder that +Jesus wrought; but after this we shall read of many miracles. + +From the wedding feast Jesus went down the mountains of Galilee to the +city of Capernaum, which stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee on the +northwest. With Jesus on this visit to Capernaum were his mother, some +of his younger brothers and his followers. + +[Illustration: Oriental basin, ewer, etc.] + +[Illustration: Nicodemus sought Jesus quietly one night to talk with him +and learn more of his teachings.] + + + + +The Lord in His Temple + +CHAPTER 19 + + +THE SPRING-TIME of the year came, when the people from all parts of the +land went up to Jerusalem to attend the great feast of the Passover. + +You remember that this feast was held to keep in mind how more than a +thousand years before God had led the Israelite people out of Egypt, +where they had been slaves. It was called the feast of the Passover +because on the night of their going-out the angel of death had "passed +over" the houses of the Israelites when he brought death to the Egyptian +homes. On that night, too, they went out of Egypt in such haste that the +women did not have time to wait for the bread to rise before baking it, +and all the bread eaten at that time was "unleavened bread," or bread +made without yeast. + +To keep in mind that great day, the day when Israel became a nation, +ruling itself, in the spring of every year all the people gathered in +Jerusalem, and for one week ate unleavened bread, that is, bread made +without yeast. Great services were held in the Temple on every day of +this feast; and on one evening a special dinner of a roasted lamb was +eaten by everybody, to keep in mind the last meal which the Israelites +ate in the land of Egypt, with their hats on their heads and their +cloaks on their shoulders and their shoes on their feet, all ready to +march away. + +Jesus and the little company of his disciples or followers went up to +Jerusalem, walking, as many times before, down the Jordan valley to +Jericho, and then climbing the hills to the holy city. For many years +Jesus had been coming to the feast of the Passover; but never before had +he come as he came now, in the power of the Spirit, as the Son of God. + +Around the House of God was a great open court, called the Court of the +Gentiles, where foreign people who were not Jews came to pray; since +none but Jews or Israelites could enter the inner courts. But the Jews +held all Gentiles or foreign people in contempt. They did not look upon +the part of the Temple buildings where foreigners prayed as holy; and +they had turned this court, the Court of the Gentiles, into a market +place. Here Jesus found everywhere sheep and oxen brought there for +sale; cages full of doves, which were sold to the poorer people for +offerings upon the altar; counters where sat men changing the money of +people from other lands into the coins of Judea. There was nothing of +the quiet and peace which should be in a place of prayer; all was noise +and confusion; the lowing of oxen, the voices of men buying and selling, +the jingling of silver on the tables. + +These sights and sounds stirred the heart of Jesus. He felt that such +work as went on around him was unfit and was wicked in a place set apart +for the worship of God. He picked up a piece of rope from the floor and +untwisted its cords until it seemed like a whip. Then standing before +the buyers and the sellers, he called upon them to stop their trading. +They looked up amazed at this stranger whose face glowed with power as +though he were a king. + +Alone, without help from anyone, he drove all these people out of the +court. He bade them lead away the sheep and the oxen; he commanded those +who sold the doves to carry out their cages; he overturned the tables of +the money-changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor. + +[Illustration: Standing before the buyers and the sellers, he called +upon them to stop their trading; he overturned the tables of the money +changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor.] + +"Take all these things away," he cried out. "This is the house of my +Father; you shall not make it a house for buying and selling." + +Even the little company of his disciples--Peter, John, Andrew and the +others--stood still in wonder as they saw their Master alone, armed only +with a piece of rope, driving out the gates this crowd of men, who were +frightened at the kingliness of his looks and fled before him, not for +one moment daring to resist his will. + +But soon came the priests and rulers of the Temple. They ought not to +have allowed these men to trade in the Temple Court and to make it a +market place. But some of them took a share of the money that was made +in that place. One high priest, it is said, owned all the cages of doves +and pigeons that were kept in the Temple for sale. These rulers were +very angry to have the trading stopped and their gains taken away. + +"What right have you to come here," they said to Jesus, "and make +trouble? Who are you that you should undertake to rule in this place? +Show us some sign or proof that you are Master here!" + +"The time is coming," said Jesus, "when I will show you a sign of my +power, but not now; and when that sign comes, you will not believe it." + +Then, making a motion of his hands as though pointing to himself, he +added: + +"Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up." + +The Jews were horrified at these words; for they thought that he was +speaking of the building on Mount Moriah, and in their mind to speak of +pulling down the house where God dwelt was a terrible thing. But Jesus +was speaking of himself as the Son of God, in whose body dwelt the +Spirit of God. Far more than that building, where men cheated and did +evil deeds, Jesus himself was the house of God. The rulers said: + +"This Temple has taken forty-six years to build, and it is not finished +yet; and will you raise it up in three days?" + +Nearly fifty years before, King Herod had begun to rebuild the Temple, +which in his time had become old and decayed. The repairs were made very +slowly, and in the time of Jesus the building was still far from being +finished. It was not finished until more than twenty years afterward. + +We know what Jesus meant by those words; that three years afterward, +those very men would cause him, the Son of God, whose body was God's +dwelling place, to be put to death; and within three days after his +death he would rise from his tomb, to be the Temple of God again and +forever. The disciples of Jesus heard these words, but at that time did +not know what they meant. + +Jesus stayed for some time in Jerusalem and talked to the people about +the Kingdom of God. He also did some wonderful works, such as curing the +sick; and the people who saw these acts believed his words, as from one +whom God had sent to men. But the priests and the rulers hated Jesus, +because he spoke against their wicked lives, and they did all that they +could to turn the people away from him. + +Among the rulers, however, were a few men who listened to Jesus and +believed his words. One of these was a man named Nicodemus. He wished to +have a talk with Jesus and learn more of his teachings. But he was +afraid to be seen with Jesus in the day-time, knowing that the other +rulers were so strongly against Jesus. So he went quietly one night, +unknown to everybody, and had a meeting with Jesus. Nicodemus began by +saying: + +"Teacher, we all know that you have been sent by God to speak to us, +because no one could do these wonderful things that you are doing unless +God were with him to give him power." + +Jesus said to him: + +"Let me tell you and all your people one thing. No man can have any part +in the Kingdom of God unless he is born again from God." + +Nicodemus did not know what this meant, and he said, "How can a man be +born again after he is grown up?" + +"Every man," said Jesus, "must become a new man and have the Spirit of +God dwelling in him, if he is to come into the Kingdom of God. Do not be +surprised that I say to you, 'You must be born anew.' There are many +things that you cannot understand. Listen to the wind blowing! You can +hear it, but you cannot tell from what place it comes nor to what place +it goes. Just so is it with every one who is born of God's spirit." + +What Jesus meant in these words was that every one who would be a +follower of Christ needs to have a new heart and to live a new life; and +this new heart and new life God alone can give to him. + +One great sentence was spoken by Jesus at this time. Here it is. + +"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever +believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." + + + + +AT THE OLD WELL + +CHAPTER 20 + + +AFTER THE Passover, Jesus went teaching through the villages in Judea, +the province or part of the land around Jerusalem. As Judea was the +largest of the five provinces, it gave its name also to the whole land, +which was called both "Judea" and "the land of Israel." John the Baptist +was still preaching and baptizing, although the crowds which now came to +hear him were not so great as before. While John was near the Sea of +Galilee, Jesus stayed in Judea, so that none might think that he was +trying to draw the people away from John. + +But after a time Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in +prison by Herod Antipas, the wicked ruler of Galilee and Perea. Herod +had stolen from his brother Philip his wife, named Herodias, and was +living with her. John said to him: + +"It is against the law of Moses and of God for you to take away your +brother's wife." + +This made Herod angry with John, and Herodias even more angry. She +wished to have John put to death for his bold words, but Herod, though +he was not a good man, was unwilling to have John slain, and partly to +keep him safe from the hate of his wife, he ordered that he should be +put into prison. To a man like John, used to the free life of the +wilderness, and not even willing to live in town or village, it must +have been hard to be shut up in a prison cell, within four walls, and to +be able only to see the outside world through grated windows. + +As soon as Jesus learned that John the Baptist was shut up in prison, he +ended his work in Judea, and with his disciples started for Galilee, his +old home in the north. On this journey he did not go the way of the +river Jordan, but took the most direct road, which would lead him +through the land of Samaria. He knew that the Samaritan people who lived +in that land hated the Jews and often robbed them when they traveled +through their country. Still, Jesus made up his mind to go through +Samaria. + +[Illustration: John the Baptist rebuking Herod] + +Leading the little company of his followers, he walked northward from +Jerusalem, past Bethel, where long before Jacob lying on his pillow of +stone had his wonderful dream of the ladder reaching up to heaven; past +Shiloh, where once the holy Ark of God had been kept in the Tabernacle +in the days of Samuel; and over mountains where battles had been fought +and victories won. + +Early one morning, after walking in the night, Jesus and his disciples +came to an old well, about two miles from the city of Shechem. Nearby +was a little village, named Sychar, which could be seen from the well, +and although it was a Samaritan village the followers of Jesus went to +it to buy some food. This well was very old. It had been dug by Jacob, +the early father of all the Israelite people, more than eighteen hundred +years before Jesus came to that place. And it is still there, a well dug +out of the solid rock nearly one hundred feet deep, and even now having +water in it ten months of the year, but apt to be dry in the summer. +That well is now nearly four thousand years old, yet every traveler who +visits it may look down into its depths, may see a bucket of water drawn +and may have a drink from it. + +In that time a well did not have with it a pump for bringing up the +water, nor was there even a rope to let down into it; but each one who +came to draw water--and it was generally a woman--brought a rope and a +water-jar. As Jesus sat beside the well, very tired and hungry and +thirsty, he had nothing with which to draw water. As the Son of God upon +the earth, he could have made the water come to him, but he would not, +for you remember that in the desert Jesus would do no wonderful work, no +miracle, merely for his own need. + +Suddenly Jesus heard the sound of someone coming. He looked up and saw a +woman, with her water-jar and rope, standing by the well. From her dress +he knew that she was not a Jewish but a Samaritan woman, and being the +Son of God, he saw more. He knew at once all her life, which had not +been a good life. But he looked into her heart and saw that she had a +longing after God and after good. He said to her: + +"Will you give me a drink of water from this well?" + +The woman glanced at Jesus, and knowing from his dress and his manner of +speaking that he was a Jew, said to him: + +"How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink from me, a Samaritan +woman?" + +The Jews looked down upon the Samaritans, never asked any favors of +them, and would not drink from a cup or pitcher that a Samaritan had +handled. The woman knew this, and was greatly surprised that this +strange young man of the Jewish race should speak to her. Jesus answered +her: + +"If you knew what God's free gift is, and who he is that is asking you +for a drink, you would have asked him instead, and he would have given +you living water." + +As Jesus said these words, very thoughtfully, the woman looking and +listening felt that this was no common man. She thought that he might be +a prophet, a man whom God had sent to do mighty works and speak the +words of God. She said, very respectfully: + +"Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is very deep. +Where can you get your living water? Are you a greater man than our +father Jacob, who dug this well and gave it to us, and drank of its +water himself, with his sons and his sheep and oxen?" + +Jesus answered her: + +"Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but anyone who +drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst any more. The +water that I will give him will turn into a well of water springing up +to everlasting life." + +"Oh, sir," said the woman, "give me some of your living water, so that +I need not be thirsty nor come all this road to draw water." + +Jesus looked earnestly at the woman's face, and then said to her: + +"Go home; call your husband, and come here again." + +The woman's face clouded, her eyes dropped, and she looked as if she +felt ashamed, while she answered in a low voice, "I have no husband." + +Jesus looked at her steadily, and said: + +"You have spoken the truth. You have no husband. But you have had five +husbands, and the man with whom you are living now is not your husband. +You spoke the truth in those words." + +The woman was filled with wonder as she heard the stranger speak. She +saw at once that here was a man who knew everything. She was sure that +God had spoken to this man and given him this knowledge of her. "Sir," +said she, "I see that you are a prophet of God. Tell me, then, whether +our people or the Jews are right. Our fathers have worshipped God on +this mountain; but the Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where all +should go to worship God." + +As she spoke, she pointed to the mountain that was standing near, Mount +Gerizim, on the top of which was the temple of the Samaritans. + +"Woman, believe me," answered Jesus, "there is coming a time when men +shall worship God in other places besides this mountain and Jerusalem. +The time is near, it has even now come, when the true worshippers +everywhere shall pray to the Father in spirit and in truth. God is a +Spirit, dwelling everywhere, and those who worship him, must worship in +spirit and in truth." + +[Illustration: Jesus sat beside the well, very tired and thirsty, but he +had nothing with which to draw water. Suddenly he heard the sound of +someone coming, and looking up saw a Samaritan woman with her water +jar.] + +The woman said to Jesus: + +"I know that Messiah is coming, the Christ sent from God to be our +King. When he comes he will explain everything to us." + +Then Jesus said to her, "I who am now speaking to you am he, the +Christ!" + +Just at that moment the followers of Jesus, John and Peter, and the +others, came back from the village with the food which they had bought. +They were surprised to find their Master talking with a woman, but they +said nothing. + +The woman had come to the well to draw water, but in her interest in +this wonderful stranger she forgot all about her errand. Leaving her +water-jar she ran back to the village and said to everybody whom she +met: + +"Come with me and meet a man who told me everything I have done in all +my life! Is not this man the Christ whom we are looking for?" + +After the woman went away toward her home, the disciples urged Jesus to +eat some of the food which they had brought. A little while before Jesus +had been hungry, but now in talking with the woman and leading her mind +to the truth, he had forgotten his own needs. + +"I have food to eat," said he, "that you know nothing of." + +They looked at each other and said: + +"Can it be that someone has brought him something to eat?" + +But Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of my Father who sent +me into the world, and to finish the work that he gave me to do. Do you +say that there are four months before the harvest time will come? I tell +you to look on the fields, and find them already white for the harvest. +You shall reap and gain a rich harvest, gathering grain for everlasting +life." + +Jesus meant that this woman, bad though she may have been before, was +now eager to hear his words and to come to God. So his disciples would +soon find the hearts of men everywhere, like a field of ripe grain, +ready to be won and to be saved. + +Soon the woman came back to the well with many of her people. They all +asked Jesus to come to their village and teach them. He went to the town +of Sychar and stayed there two days, talking to the people about the +Kingdom of God and showing them how they might enter into it. Many of +the people in that place and near it believed in Jesus as the Christ, +the King sent from God, and they said: + +"Now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is really the +Saviour of the world." + +[Illustration: Scene in Damascus, showing houses on the walls] + + + + +THE NOBLEMAN'S BOY + +CHAPTER 21 + +[Illustration: Jacob's well as it is at the present time] + + +AFTER STAYING two days in Sychar, the village near Jacob's well, Jesus +and his disciples went on their way northward to the land of Galilee. +They walked across the great plain where so many battles had been fought +in the old times, and climbed the mountains beyond it. Nazareth, where +Jesus had lived for so many years, was on his way, but Jesus did not at +this time stop there, for he had in his mind to visit it a few weeks +later. With his followers, Jesus came for the second time to Cana, the +place where a few months before he had turned the water into wine. + +When Jesus was at Cana at his first visit, very few people had heard his +name. But now everybody was talking about him, for all the people who +had come home from the Feast of the Passover told their friends and +neighbors of the wonderful young Prophet who had been preaching in +Jerusalem, and had driven the men buying and selling out of the Temple, +and had wrought wonders in curing the sick. + +About twenty miles from Cana was the city of Capernaum, on the shore of +the Sea of Galilee. At Capernaum was living a man of high rank, an +official of King Herod Antipas. This nobleman was in deep trouble, for +his son was very ill with a great fever and lying at the point of death. +The news that Jesus was again in Galilee, and only twenty miles away, +brought to the nobleman a hope that perhaps this Prophet might be +willing to come down from Cana to Capernaum and cure his son. + +[Illustration: In the court of a village home in Cana of Galilee] + +At once he made up his mind to go to Jesus and ask him to come and help +him. It was a hard journey from Capernaum to Cana, twenty miles of +mountain climbing; but this anxious father started very early in the +morning, and came to Cana at about one o'clock in the afternoon. He +found Jesus, told him how ill his son was, and begged him to come to +Capernaum and cure him. Jesus did not seem very willing to go. He said +to the nobleman: + +[Illustration: Site of Capernaum] + +"Unless you people are always seeing me do wonderful works you will not +believe in me." + +"Oh, sir," pleaded the troubled father, "do come down quickly or my son +will die!" + +"There is no need for me to come," said Jesus. "You may go home, for +your son will live and will get well." + +These words would make a heavy trial to this man's faith in Jesus. For +how could he know that his son would be well, without any sign given him +by Jesus? And how could he understand that Jesus by a word could cure +someone who he had not seen and who was twenty miles away? But the +father at once believed the promise of Jesus. He did not even hurry home +to see if his boy was cured, but waited until evening before starting +upon his journey. + +The next day, as he was nearing home, his servants met him with the glad +news: + +"Your son is living and is very much better." + +"At what time," said the nobleman, "did he begin to improve?" + +"It was yesterday," they told him, "at about one o'clock when the fever +left him." + +The man was not surprised, for it was just as he had expected. That +hour, one o'clock, was the very time that Jesus had said to him, "Your +son will live." + +This miracle, or work of wonder, was much talked about and led not only +this nobleman, but all his family with him, to believe that Jesus was +the Saviour and the King of Israel who had been promised so long. + + + + +The Carpenter in His Home-town + +CHAPTER 22 + + +SOON AFTER the visit to Cana, and the cure of the nobleman's son, Jesus +walked over to his old home at Nazareth, which was only six miles away. +He thought of his sisters in that city, who were now grown women with +children of their own, and he longed to see them. He thought, too, of +the boys with whom in other days he had played and had sat in the +school, now men with families; of his former neighbors, whom he had not +seen for nearly a year. His heart was full of love for his own people, +and he felt that out of the power God had given him he could speak to +them words that would do them good. + +Of course, the people of Nazareth had heard wonderful stories about +their former townsman; that he had suddenly come forth as a great +teacher, speaking truths such as never had been heard before; and +especially, that he had done wondrous works of curing the sick at Cana +and at Capernaum. All these reports were surprising to the people of +Nazareth, because among them Jesus had never shown any signs of +greatness. He had sat in his seat in the church, but had never spoken +from the pulpit; and they had known him as a good young man, kind and +gentle toward all, and an honest, skilful workman at his trade. But they +had never thought of him as a teacher, or a prophet bearing a message +from God, or as a worker of wonders, such as they had heard of his doing +in Cana and Capernaum. + +[Illustration: The people in the synagogue at Nazareth did not care for +the words of Jesus. In their rage and fury they leaped from their seats +and dragged him out of doors.] + +It was expected that Jesus on the Sabbath day would speak in the church +at Nazareth (they called their church "the synagogue," a word that +means "a meeting of the people"); and everybody was present to see him +and to hear him. In a gallery on one side were his sisters, looking and +listening, but unseen, because the women's gallery in all Jewish +churches was covered with a lattice-work. There on the floor, seated on +rugs or mats, were his neighbors and the people who had seen him grow up +from a boy to a man. They were present, not to learn, but to listen and +judge his words, and especially to see what great things he might do. + +Jesus walked up to the platform, and the officer in charge handed him +the rolls on which were written the lessons for the day. This officer +was at the same time the janitor or keeper of the building and the +teacher of the school held there during the week. This man may have been +the teacher who had taught Jesus as a boy to read. One of the lessons +for that day was in the sixty-first chapter of the book of Isaiah the +prophet. A part of it read thus: + + "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, + Because he hath set me apart to preach the gospel to the poor. + He has sent me to say that the prisoners shall be set free, + That the blind shall have their sight again, + That the poor and suffering shall be given freedom, + That the time of favor from God has come." + +While Jesus was reading from the Bible, he stood up, and all who were +present also stood, for the Jews showed their respect for the Bible by +standing whenever it was read. When he had finished the reading, he +folded up the roll, handed it back to the officer, and sat down, and the +people also sat down likewise. Often the man who preached in the +synagogue or church was seated while speaking. Jesus began by saying: + +"Today this word of the prophet has come to pass in your hearing." + +And he went on to tell in simple, gentle words how he had been sent to +preach to the poor, to set the prisoners free, to give sight to the +blind and to bring the news of God's goodness to men. At first the +people listened with the deepest interest, and their hearts were touched +by his kind and tender words. + +But soon they began to whisper among themselves. One said, "Why should +this carpenter try to teach us?" And another, "This man is no teacher! +He is only the son of Joseph the carpenter! We know his brothers, and +his sisters are living here." And some began to say, "Why does he not do +here some of the wonderful things that they say he has done in other +places? We want to see some of his marvelous cures with sick people!" + +Jesus knew their thoughts, but he would not do wonders merely to be seen +by men. He said to them: + +"I know that you are saying, 'Let us see some wonderful work, like that +on the nobleman's son in Capernaum.' I tell you in truth, that no +prophet or teacher has honor among his own people. + +"You remember that in the days of Elijah the prophet, when the sky was +shut up for three years and six months, and no rain fell, there was a +great famine in the land and a need of bread. At that time there were +many widows in the land of Israel, yet Elijah was not sent to any of +these, but to a widow woman in Zarephath of Zidon, a foreigner and a +Gentile. And in the time of Elisha the prophet after Elijah, there were +many lepers in the land of Israel, yet none of these was made clean of +his leprosy, but only Naaman the Syrian." + +These words, telling how God had chosen foreigners instead of Israelites +for his works of wonder, made the people in the church very angry, for +they did not care for the words of Jesus; they only wished to see him do +some miracle or wonderful act. They would not listen to him; in their +rage and fury, they leaped from their seats; they rushed upon the +platform; they seized hold of Jesus and dragged him out of doors. They +took him up to the top of the hill above the city, and would have thrown +him down its steep side to his death. But the time for Jesus to die had +not yet come. By the power of God, Jesus slipped quietly out of their +hands and went away. He walked away very sadly from Nazareth, for he had +longed to bring the good news of God's blessings first of all to his own +people. + +[Illustration: Approach to Jerusalem, from the railroad station on the +southwest] + +[Illustration: Jewish fishermen by the Sea of Galilee] + + + + +Four Fishermen Called + +CHAPTER 23 + + +THE PLACE which Jesus chose for his home, after being driven away from +Nazareth, was Capernaum. This was a large city on the northwestern shore +of the Sea of Galilee. Only one city beside the lake was +larger--Tiberias. That was a new city, built by Herod, the ruler of +Galilee, and named after the Emperor Tiberius at Rome. But Tiberias was +not a Jewish city. It contained temples to idols, its people were +foreigners, and very few Jews were willing to live within its walls. +Then, too, Herod Antipas lived there in a palace which he had built, and +Jesus did not wish to be near Herod. + +But Capernaum was a Jewish city, and Jesus felt that his work was to be +among the Jews. At least four of the early followers of Jesus lived in +Capernaum; two pair of brothers, Simon and Andrew, the sons of Jonas; +and James and John, the sons of Zebedee. These four men were partners +with Zebedee in the fishing trade. They owned a number of fishing boats +and had men working for them. The lake was full of fish, and many people +all around it lived by fishing. The fish in the Sea of Galilee were good +food, and were sent to all the nearby cities. It is said that one +emperor at Rome, not long after this time, had sent to him every week a +barrel full of fish from the Sea of Galilee, for his table in the +palace. + +The people of Capernaum had heard of Jesus, for all those who went up to +the feasts in Jerusalem brought home reports of this wonderful teacher +and healer of the sick. Wherever Jesus went, crowds gathered around him +to listen to his words, and especially eager to see if he would do any +of his wonderful works. + +[Illustration: LOWER GALILEE] + +One morning while Jesus was walking on the beach, he met some of his +followers. Having now come to their own home, these men had gone back to +their old work, as fishermen, and their boats were lying upon the +shore. The men had been fishing in the night before, and they were now +washing their nets upon the beach. Jesus spoke to one of his followers, +Simon Peter, to push his boat a little way out into the water. He did +so, and then Jesus sat down in the boat, while a great crowd stood on +the shore, but within reach of his voice. Then from the boat as a pulpit +he talked to the people on the shore. What he said at that time was not +written down; but it was very much like his teachings as given in the +Sermon on the Mount, which may be read in the fifth, sixth, and seventh +chapters of the gospel by Matthew. There is no doubt that in his talks +in many places to different crowds, Jesus often gave the same teachings +over and over again. + +After Jesus had ended his speaking to the people, he said to Simon, who +with the other fishermen was standing beside him: + +"Push out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch of +fish." + +"Master," answered Simon, "we worked all last night and caught not a +single fish. However, if you tell us to try again, I will let down the +nets." + +They did so, and now their nets took in a great shoal of fish, so large +a number that the nets began to break. Then they beckoned to their +partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and helped +to pull up the nets and to empty the fish into the boats. So many were +the fish that they filled both the boats so full that they began to +sink. When Simon Peter saw all this, he was struck with wonder and with +fear, for he felt that this had been done by the power of God. He fell +upon his knees in the boat to Jesus, saying: + +"O Lord, I am full of sin, and am not worthy of all this! Leave me, O +Lord!" + +But Jesus said to him and to the other three men with him: + +"Do not be afraid; come after me; and from this time you shall be +fishers of men." + +He meant that they were now to leave their nets and their boats, to stay +with him; and after learning from him, they were to go out and show men +the way out of sin into the Kingdom of God. + +As soon, therefore, as they had brought their nets and their fishes to +the land, they left them with Zebedee, the father of James and John, and +with the hired men. + +From that day these four men stayed with Jesus and went with him on all +his journeys, listening to his words, until from hearing them often, +they learned them and could repeat them to others. + +[Illustration: Pool of Hezekiah at Jerusalem] + +[Illustration: The disciples let down their nets and took in a great +shoal of fish, so large a number that the nets began to break.] + + + + +Jesus in the Church, in the House, and in the Street + +CHAPTER 24 + + +THE STORY of the great catch of fish was told abroad, for many saw the +boats loaded with the fish brought to the shore, and we may be sure that +all who ate a breakfast of those fish spoke of the wonder. Partly as a +result of this report, when the Sabbath day came, the church in +Capernaum was crowded with people to see and hear this new Rabbi. +"Rabbi" was the name that Jews gave to men who taught the law in their +churches. Although Jesus had never taken the course of study at +Jerusalem which would give him that title, he was generally called +"Rabbi" by the people. The people listened with wonder to the words of +Jesus, for his teaching was very different from that of the scribes who +taught the law. He spoke on great things--the kingdom which God was soon +to set up, and how the people were to be made ready for his coming. +Then, too, he spoke with power, as Lord of all; and the listeners felt +that these were the words of one who had been sent by God. + +[Illustration: From all parts of the city of Capernaum they brought +those that were sick, or had evil spirits, and Jesus healed them all.] + +While Jesus was speaking in the church, the service was stopped by the +loud screaming of a furious man who had come in. This man was suffering +with a terrible evil, worse than any disease. Into his body had come in +some way an evil spirit, a demon. This demon controlled the man and +drove him to wild acts and words. The words which were spoken by this +man's tongue were not his own, but the words of the wicked spirit within +him. The spirit, using the man's voice, shrieked aloud: + +"Ha, you Jesus of Nazareth, let us alone! What business have you with +us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are; you are God's Holy +One!" + +But Jesus at once said to the wicked spirit in the man, "Be still, and +come out of him!" + +At these words the demon threw the man down upon the floor, as if to +kill him; and then went out of the man suddenly, leaving him almost +dead. Soon they found that the man, whom everybody had feared before, so +fierce had he been, was now perfectly well and quite free from the evil +spirit. + +Then surprise and wonder came upon all. They talked about it to one +another, saying: + +"What does all this mean? What new teaching is this? Why, this man +speaks to the evil spirits with power, and they obey him and come out." + +As the people left the church they told everyone whom they met of this +mighty act of Jesus. These men and women told others, and soon the news +of Jesus' power went through all the towns and villages in that part of +the land. + +After the service in the church was over, Jesus went home to dine in the +house of Simon and Andrew, and with him went also the two brothers, +James and John. In the house they told him that Simon's mother-in-law, +the mother of his wife, was very ill, having a high fever. He came, +stood by her bed, leaned over her and took her by the hand as if to +raise her up. As he touched her, she felt a new power shoot through her +body. Instantly the fever left her; she rose up from her bed, perfectly +well, and helped to make ready the dinner and serve it. + +Jesus stayed in Simon's house that afternoon. When the sun went down and +the Sabbath was ended, they found a crowd of people filling the street +in front of the house. From all parts of the city they had brought +people that were sick, or had evil spirits, like the man whom Jesus had +cured in the church. As he came out of the house he laid his hands upon +these sick people, one by one; and as soon as he touched them, they rose +up well. The evil spirits in some of the men tried to speak to him. But +he would not allow them, and gave them command at once to come out of +the men in whom they were. They dared not to disobey Jesus, came out and +went away. + +On that night, while everybody was sleeping, Jesus rose up long before +day, while it was still dark, and went out of the city. He found a quiet +place, with no houses or people near, and there for hours he prayed to +his Father. In the morning he was missed, and Simon Peter, with the +others, went out to look for him. They found him and said to him, +"Master, come back to the city, for everybody is looking for you!" + +But Jesus said, "I was sent not only to your city but to other places +also. Let us go out and visit the towns that are near. It was for this +purpose that I have been sent by my Father, to preach everywhere the +good news of the Kingdom of God." + + + + +The Leper and the Palsied Man + +CHAPTER 25 + + +FROM THE city of Capernaum Jesus went forth and visited all the villages +on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and on the mountains near by. +He took with him his disciples or followers, that they might see his +works and listen to his words. Great crowds of people came to hear him +during this journey; and everywhere he cured all kinds of sickness and +cast out of men evil spirits that were ruling them. + +At one place a man came to Jesus who was covered with a dreadful disease +called leprosy and was called "a leper." No one ever touched a leper or +even came near him, for they feared that a touch might cause the +disease. A leper was driven out of the home, to live with other lepers +in a camp outside the city. When he saw anyone coming near, he must +stand at a distance, must cover his mouth with his garment, not to let +his breath reach anybody, and must call out, "Unclean! Unclean!" so that +no one might take his disease. Many lepers were in the land when Jesus +was preaching; and lepers may still be seen in that country. + +This leper who saw Jesus came as near to him as he dared. He knelt down +before Jesus, touching his head to the ground, and called out to him: + +"Oh, sir, if you choose to do it, you can take away my leprosy, and make +my flesh pure and clean." + +Jesus was not afraid to touch the leper. He went to him and placed his +hand upon him. Then he said: + +"I do choose; be clean!" + +And at once all this man's leprosy passed way. His skin lost its waxen, +deadly whiteness, his eyes were bright, his deformed hands became +perfect and his voice was no longer hollow and cracked. He was no more a +leper, but was a man in perfect health. + +Jesus said to him, "Do not tell anyone of your cure; but go to the +priest in the temple, let him see that you are clean, and make the +offering of thanksgiving to God. Let the priest give you a writing to +show that you are well, and then go to your own home." + +Jesus knew that if this man should tell very many of his cure, there +would come such a crowd of people having diseases of all kinds, seeking +to be made well, that he could have no time nor chance to preach the +gospel, and his great purpose was, not to cure diseases, but to teach +men the way to God. It is better to be saved from sin than to be cured +of sickness. + +But this man was so happy at being made well that he could not be still. +Everywhere he went he told people of his wonderful cure, and roused such +a desire among the people to see Jesus that Jesus could not go to the +cities, for so great were the crowds that he could no longer preach. +Everybody was eager to be cured of some illness or to see Jesus cure +others. Jesus was driven to seek the open country, where few people +lived, and even there the crowds sought him, coming from many places. + +[Illustration: They broke open the roof and let the man down, wrapped in +a blanket and lying upon a mattress, right in front of Jesus.] + +After some time, Jesus came again to Capernaum, which was now his home. +As soon as the people heard of his return, they gathered in great crowds +to see him, to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. He stood on +the porch of a house, where every room was full of people, and a company +was in front of him, crowding the court of the house to its utmost +corner. In this throng were some who were ready to believe in Jesus; but +there were also some men who had come from Judea to see who Jesus was, +what he was teaching and what he was doing. These men did not believe in +Jesus, but were there to find some fault with him. They belonged to a +class called "the Pharisees," who claimed to be better than others, +because they carefully kept all the rules of the Jewish law; but in +their hearts they were far from good, and they were bitterly opposed to +Jesus. + +While Jesus was speaking, four men came, carrying on a bed a man who was +sick with the palsy, a disease which makes one helpless, unable to use +his hands, to walk or to stand alone. They were very eager to bring this +man to Jesus to be cured, but on account of the crowd they could not +come into the house or even into the yard in front of it. They were +bound, however, in some way to get this palsied man to Jesus. They +climbed up to the roof of the house and pulled the sick man up. Then +they broke open the roof, never minding the dust and litter that fell +upon the heads of the people below. When they had made an opening large +enough, they let the man down, wrapped in a blanket and lying upon a +mattress, right in front of Jesus. All this showed their faith in Jesus. +They believed that he could cure the palsied man, and were ready to take +any trouble to bring him before the Saviour. + +Jesus looked at the man, and said to him: + +"My son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven!" + +Some of these Pharisees, the enemies of Jesus, were sitting near, and as +they heard these words they thought in their own minds, though they did +not speak it aloud: + +"What wicked words are these! This man speaks as though he were God! No +man has the right to forgive sins; that belongs to God alone. What +wickedness, for this man to pretend to have God's power!" + +[Illustration: The leper knelt down before Jesus and called out to him: +"Oh, sir, if you choose you can make my flesh pure and clean."] + +Jesus knew their thoughts, for he could look into their hearts. He said +to them: + +"Why do you think wicked things in your hearts? Which is the easier to +say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'? But I will +show you that while I am on earth as the Son of Man, God has given me +the power to take away sin." + +Then he turned to the palsied man lying on the couch, and said with a +voice of power: + +"I tell you, rise up, take up your bed, and go to your house!" + +In an instant a new life came to the palsied man. He stood upon his feet +in full strength, rolled up his blanket, took up the mattress upon which +he had been lying, placed it upon his shoulder and walked out through +the crowd, which opened to make a way for him. Through the streets the +man went to his home, praising God for his cure. + +By this act of healing Jesus had shown that he was the Son of God, with +the right to forgive the sins of men. These Pharisees, the enemies of +Jesus, could find nothing to say, but in their hearts they hated him +more than before, for they saw that the people believed on Jesus. Wonder +filled the minds of those who saw this cure; they praised the God of +Israel and said to each other, "We have seen strange things today!" + +[Illustration: Jesus looked at Levi-Matthew and said to him: "Come, +follow me!" At once Matthew rose and went after Jesus.] + + + + +How the Tax-Collector Became a Disciple + +CHAPTER 26 + + +SO GREAT were the crowds gathering from all parts of the land to see and +hear Jesus, that no place could be found in the city of Capernaum large +enough to hold the multitudes. The church was far too small; and there +were no open places in the city where so great a company could meet. So +every day Jesus went out of the city to the seaside, sometimes sitting +in Peter's boat, sometimes upon the shore, while all the people stood +upon the grass-covered hillside, with the blue sky above them and the +blue lake before them, while Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God and +showed how every man could enter into the kingdom by turning from his +sins and doing God's will. + +Among these crowds of people Jesus noticed one man standing, who +listened closely to every word. This man was named Levi-Matthew. He was +an officer of the government, called "a publican"; and it was his work +to gather the taxes which the Roman rulers had laid upon the people. +Everybody was called upon to pay money to the Romans, who were the +rulers of the land. The people hated the Romans, who held the land under +their power, and hated also these tax-gatherers, who were often selfish +and unjust men, making the people pay more than they should, robbing the +poor and taking much of the money for themselves instead of paying it to +the Roman treasury. Because many of these tax-gatherers or publicans +were cruel and selfish, all of them were looked upon as wicked. They +were called "publicans and sinners," and the people despised them. + +One day Jesus was passing the office where Levi-Matthew sat at his table +receiving the tax-money from the people. Jesus looked at the publican +and said to him, "Come, follow me!" At once Levi-Matthew rose up, left +his clerks and helpers to care for the money on the table, and went +after Jesus. From that hour he was no longer a tax-collector; he became +a disciple of Jesus, and followed him wherever he went, listening to his +words and keeping them in his mind and memory. Many years afterward, +when Jesus was no longer among men, Matthew wrote a book telling of what +Jesus said and did. That book is the Gospel according to Matthew, the +first book in the New Testament; and it tells what Matthew remembered of +the teachings and acts of the Lord Jesus. So it was well for the people +who lived after the time of Jesus, and for all the people who through +the ages since have read that gospel, and for the millions all over the +world who now read it, that Matthew the tax-gatherer became a disciple +of Jesus. But for this man's prompt obedience to Christ's call on that +day, that precious book would never have been written. + +Matthew wished his fellow-publicans to meet Jesus and hear his words. He +gave a supper at his house to Jesus, and invited all the publicans or +tax-gatherers in that part of the country to come. Many of them came, +and with their friends sat down to the supper with Jesus. The Pharisees, +who were enemies of Jesus, looked scornfully at Jesus sitting at the +table with all the tax-gatherers around him. They said to the disciples +of Jesus: + +"Why does your Teacher eat with those publicans and sinners?" + +They told Jesus of these words, and he answered: + +"Those who are well and strong have no need of a doctor, but only those +who are sick. I did not come to call those who think themselves good, +but those who know that they are sinful and want to be saved. But let +those Pharisees learn the meaning of the text where God says, 'I prefer +those who show kindness and mercy, to those who offer sacrifices upon +the altar.'" + +This pointed to the Pharisees themselves, for while they were careful +about fasting and saying their prayers and making their offerings in the +Temple, they were often unjust and hard toward the poor. + +[Illustration: Mosque El Aksa, near the ancient Temple] + +[Illustration: Jesus saw lying there upon a mat a man who had been +helpless and unable to walk for almost forty years. He said to him: +"Would you like to be made well?"] + + + + +The Cripple at the Bath + +CHAPTER 27 + + +THE TIME came for another feast at Jerusalem, and as on the year before, +Jesus went to attend it. We do not know whether his disciples were with +him on this visit, for in the story as given by John in his gospel, they +are not mentioned. + +On one Sabbath day, while Jesus was in the city, he walked past a public +bath not far from the Temple. It was a large pool or cistern, where +several could bathe at once; and beside it were five porches, forming an +arched-over platform. These porches, when Jesus came to the pool, were +crowded with people, all suffering with disease. Some were blind, some +were lame and some had legs or arms all withered and palsied. + +At certain times the water in this bath used to bubble and rise up; then +it would go down again and be quiet. The people believed that this +bubbling up of the water was caused by an angel (whom no one could see) +going down and stirring up the pool. They believed, too, that at such +times when the water bubbled up, any person who was ill would be cured +by taking a bath in the pool. We know that there are many springs whose +water will cure diseases, and this pool may have been one of these +health-giving springs. + +Jesus saw lying there upon a mat beside the bath one man who had been +helpless, unable to walk for almost forty years. Jesus who knew all +things, knew that this man had been ill for a long time. He said to him: + +"Would you like to be made well?" + +This man had never seen Jesus before and did not know who he was. + +"Sir," he answered, "there is nobody to put me in the bath when the +water rises; but while I am trying to crawl down and get into the water, +somebody who can walk steps in ahead of me." + +[Illustration: Pool of Bethesda from above] + +Jesus said: + +"Rise, take up your mat, and walk!" + +The crippled man had never heard words like these; but as soon as they +were spoken, he felt a new power shooting through his body. He stood up +for the first time in thirty-eight years, picked up his piece of +matting, rolled it up and put it upon his shoulder. Then he started to +walk toward his house, carrying his burden. + +You remember that it was on the Sabbath day that this took place. The +Jews were exceedingly careful in keeping the Sabbath. God had said to +their fathers many years before, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it +holy." But the Jews had added to this commandment many useless rules. +They could not light a fire on that day, for that would be working; they +could not hold a pen, for that would be carrying a load. These little +rules had not been given by God, but had been made by the scribes or +teachers of the law. + +Some people saw this man carrying his roll of matting through the +street. They said to him: + +"Stop! don't you know this is the Sabbath day? You have no right to be +carrying your bed." + +The man did not lay down his load. He said, "A man saw me helpless by +the pool, for I was nearly forty years a cripple. This man made me well; +and he it was who said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" + +"Who was this man," said the Jews, "who told you to carry your bed on +the Sabbath day?" + +The man who had been cured did not know who it was that had cured him, +for many were standing near, and after healing the man Jesus had walked +away without being noticed. Soon after, the man went up to the Temple to +give thanks to God for his cure, and there he met his healer and learned +for the first time his name. Jesus said to him at that time: + +"You are now free from the disease which for so many years has made you +helpless. Do not sin any more against God, or something worse will come +to you." + +The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured +him. The leaders among the Jews, the priests, the scribes and the +Pharisees, were very angry at Jesus, because he had made this man well +on the Sabbath and because he had told the man to carry his mat on that +day. The rulers tried to stir up the people against Jesus, saying that +he was a Sabbath-breaker, and nobody should listen to his words. + +But Jesus said to them, "My Father works on all days doing good to men; +and I do only what he does." + +He meant to show them that God sends his sunshine and his rain every day +in the week, causing the grass and the grain and the flowers to grow as +much on the Sabbath as on other days; and that it was right for him and +for every man to do good works, helping men and curing their sickness, +on the Sabbath day. + +But his words only made the Jews all the more angry, because he had +spoken of God as his Father, making himself (they said) equal with God. +They would have killed him if they could, so great was their hate +against him. + +Jesus did not stay long in Jerusalem at this visit. Soon after the feast +he went again to his home at Capernaum. + + + + +The Lord of the Sabbath + +CHAPTER 28 + + +THE QUESTION whether Jesus was a Sabbath-breaker or not, arose again +soon after he came back to Galilee. On a Sabbath day Jesus was walking +with his disciples through the fields of grain. Some of the disciples +were hungry, and as they walked picked the heads of the wheat, rubbed +them in their hands, blew away the chaff and ate the kernels of grain. +The law of the Israelites allowed anyone walking by a field of grain to +help himself to all that he wished to eat, but forbade him to take any +to his home. + +But to the Pharisees, who were very exact in their rules of keeping the +Sabbath, to pluck the grain was the same as reaping it with a sickle, to +carry it in the hand was the same as bearing a load, and to rub it in +the hands was the same as thrashing; and to do these on the seventh day +of the week was breaking the Sabbath. These were rules, not given by +God, but made by the scribes; and Jesus had already taught his disciples +to pay no attention to them. + +The Pharisees were constantly watching Jesus and his followers, to catch +them, if possible, in doing or saying something that might be thought +wrong. They said to Jesus: + +"Do you see that your disciples are doing what is forbidden on the +Sabbath day; picking the ears of grain, carrying handfuls of them and +rubbing them in their hands?" + +"Have you never read," answered Jesus, "what David did when he was +flying from King Saul; how he went into the house of God and took away +the holy bread, laid on the table as an offering to God, which was to be +eaten by the priests only; ate it himself and gave it to the men that +were with him? And do you not know that the priests in the Temple do all +kinds of work, killing animals for the offering, placing wood on the +altar and many other things; yet they do right, for these things are +necessary, and whatever is needful may be done on God's holy day. The +Sabbath was made for the good of man and not man for the Sabbath. I tell +you that One greater than the Temple is here, for the Son of Man is Lord +of the Sabbath." + +[Illustration: Jesus and His Disciples in the field of grain] + +On another Sabbath day Jesus went into the church to worship God and to +preach the word. A man was there whose hand was withered and helpless. +The Pharisees watched Jesus to see if he would cure this man on the +Sabbath. They hoped he would cure him, not because they cared for the +poor, crippled man, but because they were eager to find something to +say against Jesus. + +Jesus spoke to the man with the withered hand, "Stand up and come +forward." The man stood up before them all; and then Jesus, looking +straight at his enemies, said: + +"Is it against the law on the Sabbath day to do good or to do harm; to +save a life, or to try to kill a man, as you are trying to do? If one of +you men owns a single sheep, and he should happen on the Sabbath day to +find it fallen into a pit, would he not take hold of it and lift it out? +And how much more is a man worth than a sheep? Thus it is right to do a +kind and helpful act on the Sabbath." + +[Illustration: The man with the withered hand healed by Jesus in the +church] + +He looked around sternly at his enemies, being sad and grieved because +their hearts were so hard. They did not have a word to say; and after +waiting a moment he turned to the man with the withered hand and said: + +"Stretch out your hand!" + +He reached out his arm, and the withered hand was at once made well and +strong, as sound as the other. Jesus went away, but the Pharisees were +filled with anger against him. They talked together, seeking some way to +kill Jesus; and they called upon the friends of King Herod, the ruler of +Galilee, to see if they could not persuade the king to order that Jesus +should be put to death. + +But Jesus went on teaching and curing those that were sick, paying no +attention to the plans of his enemies. He told those whom he cured, not +to go out and speak to others about him, but to stay quietly at home; +for the crowds coming to hear him were already great, and he did not +wish them to be any greater. So many people came together from all parts +of the land, and even from places outside the land of Israel, from the +country of Tyre and Sidon on the north and from Edom or Idumea on the +south. They thronged around Jesus, and pressed upon him; so that he +spoke to his disciples to have a little boat at hand, to wait upon him, +and take him out into the lake for quiet and rest. + + + + +Jesus on the Mountain + +CHAPTER 29 + + +ABOUT TWELVE miles southwest from Capernaum and six miles west of the +Sea of Galilee stands a mountain which can be seen many miles away. It +is now called "Kurn Hattin," which means, "The double horns of Hattin." +The name is given because the mountain has two tops, one at each end, +and a wide hollow between them, its form making it look somewhat like a +saddle or a camel with two humps. Near this mountain, roads ran to +almost every part of the land of Israel, so that from every place it +could be reached. + +The word went throughout the land that Jesus was coming to this +mountain; and a great multitude of people gathered in the hollow place +between its two crowns, all waiting to see Jesus. He came to the +mountain and went up alone to one of its hill-tops. All night Jesus was +there in prayer with his heavenly Father; for he had an important work +to do, and before any great work Jesus prayed to God. In the morning he +called forth out of the vast company of people before him twelve men, +who were to be with him all the time, go with him wherever he should go, +listen to his teachings, and learn them by heart, and be ready to preach +his words when he should send them out. These twelve men Jesus afterward +called "apostles," which means "men sent out"; but they were generally +named "the twelve." They are also spoken of as "the disciples," although +the word "disciples" is also used of all the followers of Jesus. + +Most of the twelve men had been called before, and had been for some +time with Jesus. Others were new men whom Jesus called now for the +first time. Their names are arranged in pairs, two of them together. +They were Simon Peter and Andrew his brother; James and John, the sons +of Zebedee; Philip and his friend Bartholomew, also called Nathanael; +Thomas and Matthew, who had been the tax-gatherer; James the son of +Alphaeus; another Simon, who was called "the Zealot," and Judas +Iscariot, the one who afterward became the traitor and sold his Lord to +his enemies. About most of these men we know very little, but some of +them in later years did a great work for the church of Christ. Simon +Peter was always a leader among the Twelve, being a man of quick mind +and ready words; and John long after that time wrote "The Gospel +according to John," one of the most wonderful books in the world. + +[Illustration: Kurn Hattin, where Jesus preached the Sermon on the +Mount.] + +[Illustration: In the morning he called forth out of the vast company of +people before him twelve men.] + +In the sight of all the people Jesus called these men to stand by his +side. Then he came down from the mountain-top to the hollow place +between the two summits. He sat down, with his twelve chosen men +around him, and beyond this a great crowd of people. To the Twelve and +to the listening multitude Jesus preached that great sermon which is +called "The Sermon on the Mount." Matthew wrote it down, and you can +read it in his gospel, the first book of the New Testament, in the +fifth, sixth and seventh chapters. How fortunate it was that Jesus +called the tax-gatherer to be one of his disciples, a man who could +remember and write this great sermon for all the world to read! We give +here only a few parts from this Sermon on the Mount. Jesus began with +words of comfort to his followers: + +"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. +Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. Blessed are +the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger +and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. Blessed are +the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in +heart; for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they +shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they that have been persecuted +for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." + +Then he spoke to his disciples of what they were to be among men: + +"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor, +wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to +be cast out and trodden under foot of men." + +He went on, perhaps pointing to a town not far away, built on the top of +a hill and seen everywhere around: + +"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. +Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on the +stand; and it giveth light to all the house. Even so let your light +shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to +your Father who is in heaven." + +He told his disciples how they should feel and act toward those who had +done wrong to them: + +"Ye have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate +your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who +do you wrong, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven: for he +makes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends rain +alike on the just and on the unjust. For if you love only those who love +you, what reward do you have? Why, the tax-gatherers whom you despise do +as much. And if you speak only to your friends, wherein are you better +than others? For even the Gentiles do the same. You should be perfect, +as your heavenly Father is perfect." + +He spoke also of the aims which men should seek in their lives: + +"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust +destroy, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for +yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and +where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure +is, there will your heart be also. + +"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love +the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot +serve God and Mammon, who is the god worshipped by this world. Therefore +I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what ye shall eat or what +ye shall drink; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Surely, life +means more than food, surely the body means more than clothes! Look at +the birds flying above you; they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into +barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than +the birds? + +"And why should you be anxious about your clothing? Look how the lilies +of the field grow: they neither toil nor spin, and yet Solomon in all +his glory was never robed like one of these! Now, if God so clothes the +grass of the fields, which blooms today, and tomorrow is thrown into the +fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you who trust God so little?" + +"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we have to eat?' or +'what shall we have to drink?' or 'how can we get clothes to wear?' Your +heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Seek the kingdom +of God, and do right according to his will: then all these things will +be yours. Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious +for itself. Each day's own trouble is enough to be anxious over." + +Here is what Jesus said as the ending of his sermon: + +"Everyone who hears these words of mine, and acts upon them, is like a +wise man, who built his house upon rock. The rain fell, the floods rose, +the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for it was +founded upon rock. + +"And every one that hears these words of mine, and does not act upon +them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house on sand. The rain +fell, the floods rose, the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it +fell, and great was its fall." + +When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were filled with wonder +at his way of teaching. He spoke with the authority of a Master, unlike +their own scribes. Most of the scribes when they were teaching would +speak in the name of earlier teachers, and say, "Rabbi Jonathan said +this," or "Rabbi Hillel said that." But Jesus spoke in his own name, +saying, "I say this to you." + +[Illustration: Jesus receives the message from the army captain: "Lord, +do not trouble yourself to come to my house, for I am not worthy to have +one so great under my roof; but only speak a word where you are, and my +servant shall be healed."] + + + + +The Good Army Captain + +CHAPTER 30 + + +AT CAPERNAUM there was an officer of the Roman army, a captain, having +under him a company of one hundred men. This man was not of the Jewish +people, but a Gentile, which was the name that the Jews gave to all +people outside of their own race. All the world, except themselves, the +Jews called Gentiles. + +This army captain was a good man, and he was very friendly to the Jews, +because through them he had heard of the true God, and had learned to +worship him. Out of his love for the Jews he had built for them with his +own money a church, and had given it to them. This may have been the +very church in which Jesus taught on the Sabbath days. + +The army captain had a young servant, a boy whom he loved greatly; and +this boy was very sick with the palsy and near to death. The army +captain had heard that Jesus could cure those who were sick; and he +asked the chief men of the church, who were called its "elders," to go +to Jesus and ask him to come to the captain's house, that he might lay +his hands on the boy and make him well. The elders spoke to Jesus soon +after he came again to Capernaum, after preaching on the mountain. They +asked him to go with them to the captain's house and cure his servant, +and they added: + +"He is a worthy man, and it is fitting that you should help him, for +though a Gentile, he loves our people, and he has built for us our +church." + +Then Jesus said, "I will go and cure him." + +But while Jesus was on his way to the captain's house, and with him the +elders and a company of people, who hoped to see another wonderful cure, +he was met by some friends of the captain, who brought this message: + +"Lord, do not take the trouble to come to my house: for I am not worthy +to have one so great as you are under my roof; and I sent to you, +because I am not worthy to speak to you myself. But speak only a word +where you are, and my servant shall be made well. For although I am +myself a man under authority and rule, I have soldiers under me to carry +out my will. I say to one man 'Go,' and he goes; I say to another man +'Come,' and he comes. I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. You, +too, have power to command and be obeyed. Only speak the word and my +servant shall be cured." + +When Jesus heard this he wondered at this man's faith. He turned to the +crowd that followed and said: + +"In truth I say to you all, I have not found such faith as this in all +Israel. And I tell you further, that many like this man, who are not +Israelites, shall come from places in the east and the west, and shall +sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. But +many of those who are the children of Israel, because they have not +believed, shall never enter into God's kingdom, but shall be thrust +forth into the darkness outside." + +And Jesus said to those who came from the captain's house: + +"Go back and say to this man in my name, 'As you have believed, even so +shall it be done to you.'" + +They went to the captain's house, and found his servant, who had been at +the point of death, now free from his palsy and brought back to perfect +health. + + + + +How Jesus Stopped a Funeral + +CHAPTER 31 + + +JESUS WENT on a journey for preaching through the southern parts of +Galilee, as before he had visited the villages among the mountains near +the sea. He walked out of Capernaum with the twelve disciples and a +crowd of followers which grew larger as he went on. They passed by Mount +Tabor, and just before sunset they came to a small city at the foot of +another mountain, the Hill Moreh. This place was named Nain. Outside the +gate Jesus and his followers paused to allow a funeral procession to +pass by. In front were women wailing aloud, flinging their arms up and +down and chanting a song about the young man who had died. The body was +wrapped in long strips of linen, and was lying upon a couch, carried by +bearers. After it walked an old woman, the young man's mother, who was a +widow, burying her only son; and with her were many of the people in the +city, showing their sorrow for the widow at the loss of her son. + +When Jesus saw this weeping mother, he felt a great pity for her and +said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the couch on +which the body was lying. The men who were carrying it stood still with +wonder at the coming of this stranger, whose look showed power. Standing +beside the dead young man, he said: + +"Young man, I say unto you, Rise up!" + +Instantly the young man sat up and began to speak. Jesus took him by the +hand and gave him to his mother. She received him into her arms, and +found his cold body now warm with life, the dull eyes now bright. Her +son that had died that day was alive once more. + +The people who were looking on now felt that indeed a marvelous work had +been done. Many of them had seen Jesus before, and knew him; and even +those who had not seen him had heard of him, and said, "This must be +that great teacher from Nazareth!" Many fell on their faces before him; +and some said, "A great prophet has come among us," and others said, +"Surely God has visited his people!" + +[Illustration: Ruins of Nain, near which Jesus restored to life the +widow's son] + +The news that Jesus had raised a dead man to life spread through all +the land and even to the countries around. More and more people after +this sought to see Jesus and to hear his words. + +While Jesus was slowly journeying through southern Galilee, visiting the +towns, teaching the people and curing the sick, two men came asking to +see him. These men were followers of John the Baptist, who was still in +the prison where Herod had sent him. In his prison John heard of the +works that Jesus was doing and of the teaching that Jesus was giving. It +may be that John was expecting Jesus to set up his kingdom at once, +instead of merely going up and down the land as a teacher. Perhaps also, +John, shut up in prison, had grown discouraged and doubtful. In other +days he had said to all the people that Jesus was the Coming King, so +high above him that he was not worthy to tie his shoestrings. But now +these two men had brought from John this question to Jesus: + +"John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask--are you the Coming One, the +promised King of Israel? Or are we to look for another?" + +Jesus did not at once answer this question. He acted for a time as +though it had not been asked, and left these two men standing, while he +turned to the people about him. + +[Illustration: Standing beside the dead young man, Jesus said: "Young +man, I say unto you, rise up!" Instantly he sat up and began to speak.] + +At the Saviour's feet were many suffering people--the sick brought upon +couches by their friends, the blind crying for sight, the deaf and dumb +holding out their hands toward him, the lepers with all their horrible +sores, the wild people in whom were evil spirits. Jesus attended to the +needs of all these sufferers. He laid his hands upon the sick, and they +rose up well; he touched the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, +and gave them their sight and hearing; he gave each leper a new, pure, +perfect body; and he cast out the evil spirits by his words. Then he +went on and made his usual talk to the crowds about the Kingdom of +God, and how any man might come into it. + +When at last his morning's work of healing and teaching was over, he +turned to these two message-bearers from John the Baptist, and said to +them: + +"Go back and tell John in his prison what you have seen and heard. Here +are men once blind who now can see; lame men who now can walk; leprous +men who have been made clean; deaf men made to hear; men having in them +evil spirits, who are now free from their power. You have heard too of +dead men raised to life; and you have listened while the gospel has been +preached to the poor. You go and tell John all these things that you +have seen and heard. Then let John think about these things and judge +whether I am not the One whom he promised should come." + +That was a far better way to bring John the Baptist back to believing +fully in Jesus as the promised King of Israel and the Saviour of the +world than to send the answer back, "Go and tell John that I am the +Saviour." For John's faith would be the stronger, because he would now +have the proofs that Jesus was the promised Lord. + +After these messengers from John the Baptist had left, Jesus began to +talk to the people about John. Some may have thought that in sending +this question to Jesus, John had showed weakness and a change of his +mind. Jesus said to the people: + +"What was it that you went out to the desert to see? Was it a reed +swayed to and fro by the wind? No, this man John was no weak, +wind-shaken reed. Did you go out to look at a man clothed in the robes +of a prince, and eating delicate food? No, that skin-clad man in the +desert was no such princely person. To see such people you go to the +palaces of kings. Come, what _did_ you go out to see? Was it a prophet, +a man sent from God? Yes, I tell you, John the Baptist was indeed a +prophet, and more than a prophet. He was the King's messenger, to +prepare the way for the King himself. Of a truth, I tell you all that no +greater man was ever born into this world than John the Baptist. And yet +he that is least in the Kingdom of God is higher even than John." + +Jesus meant that those who could come into the Kingdom of God, as those +who heard the gospel might come, were higher than even the greatest of +those who prepare the way for the Kingdom. + +[Illustration: The Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem] + + + + +The Sinful Woman Forgiven + +CHAPTER 32 + + +WHILE JESUS was passing through southern Galilee, in one place a +Pharisee named Simon invited him to his house for dinner. The Pharisees, +you remember, were people who were supposed to be very religious, +because they carefully followed all the rules about praying at regular +hours every day, whether on the street or in their homes; fasting, or +not taking food, on certain days; going to church three times every +week, and doing many things to be seen by others, while they were often +sharp and hard in their dealings with men. They seemed to be good, but +often were not as good as they seemed. Everywhere the Pharisees were at +heart enemies of Jesus. They watched him, but in no friendly spirit. + +This Pharisee, Simon, wished to know Jesus and to talk with him, +although he did not believe in him. But he felt that Jesus, being only a +common carpenter who had turned Rabbi, or teacher, was below himself in +rank; and he did not treat him with respect. When a great man came to +the house, the servants took off his sandals and washed his feet; they +dressed his hair and poured fragrant oil upon his head. None of these +things had Simon done to Jesus. He merely invited him to his house, and +without even giving him water to wash his feet, all dusty with walking, +he pointed him to his place at the table. + +In that land people did not sit down upon chairs at dinner. Around the +table were placed couches or lounges, and on these the guests reclined, +half lying and half sitting, their heads toward the table and their +feet away from it. They could reach the table and help themselves to +food or drink. Very little meat was eaten; and before being placed upon +the table, it was always cut into small pieces, so that the guests +needed no knives or forks. After each course of the meal, a servant +passed around a bowl of water and a towel, and washed the hands of the +guests. + +While Jesus, and perhaps his disciples with him, were at the table +during the dinner, people were coming in and going out freely. Soon a +woman came in, looked around, saw Jesus, and went toward the couch +whereon he was lying. In her hand was a jar of fragrant oil. She broke +the jar, not waiting to take out the stopple, and poured the oil upon +his feet. She wiped his feet with her long flowing hair; she wept over +them, dropping her many tears upon his feet; and she kissed them over +and over again. + +All the people of that place knew who this woman was, and knew the life +that she had lived. She had not been a good woman, but had been wicked, +and was despised by all respectable people. Simon the Pharisee wondered +that Jesus should allow such a woman to touch him. He thought within +himself, though he did not say it aloud: + +"This man cannot be a prophet, as they say he is; for if he were a +prophet he would know what a vile creature this woman is, and he would +not permit her hands to touch even his feet." + +Jesus read the thoughts of the Pharisee, for he could look down into his +mind. He said, "Simon, I have something to say to you." + +"Well, Teacher," answered Simon, "say it." + +[Illustration: She poured fragrant oil upon his feet and wiped them with +her long flowing hair. And Jesus said to Simon: "As many as her sins +have been, they are forgiven, for her love is great."] + +Then Jesus said, "There was a lender of money, to whom two persons owed +a debt. One owed him five hundred pieces of silver and the other owed +him fifty. Neither of these two men could pay his debt; and so the money +lender let them both go free. Tell me now, Simon, which of those two men +will love this man the most?" + +"I suppose," answered Simon, "the man who had the most forgiven." + +"You are right," said Jesus. Then he turned toward the woman, and went +on, still speaking to Simon. "Do you see this woman? When I came into +your house, you never even gave me water for my feet; but see, she has +wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them dry with her hair. You never +gave me a kiss of welcome; but this woman ever since she came in has +been pressing kisses upon my feet. You never anointed my head with oil; +but she has poured perfume over my feet. Therefore I tell you, Simon, +that many as her sins have been, they are forgiven, for her love is +great; while he to whom little is forgiven loves only a little." + +Then he spoke to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." + +Those at the table began to whisper to one another, "Who is this that +claims the right to forgive sins?" + +But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." + +After this he went on visiting the villages and telling the people the +good news of the Kingdom of God. With him were his twelve chosen +disciples. Besides these men were some women whom Jesus had cured of +different diseases. One was Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out +no less than seven evil spirits. Another was Joanna, the wife of a +nobleman named Chuza, who was a high officer in the court of King Herod +Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. Another was named Susanna; and with these +were a number of other women. Some of these were rich, and gave freely +of their money to help Jesus. + + + + +Jesus and His Enemies + +CHAPTER 33 + + +AFTER HIS journey through southern Galilee, which was the second of his +preaching journeys in the land, Jesus came again to Capernaum. With him +came a great multitude of people who had listened to him and longed to +hear more of his words. For every one who met Jesus was drawn to him in +love and desired to be with him. Nearly all who heard him loved him, but +not all. Both the scribes, who were the teachers of the people in the +law of Moses, and the Pharisees, who pretended to a religion which was +false and not real, hated Jesus more and more and spoke evil of him to +the people. They declared that a wicked spirit was in him, and that his +power to work wonders came from Satan, the evil one. + +One day there was brought to Jesus a man in whom was an evil spirit; and +the spirit had taken away both his sight and his hearing, so that he +could neither see, nor hear, nor speak. Jesus spoke to the evil spirit +in the man, saying: + +"Come out of this man, O wicked spirit, and never enter into him again!" + +The evil spirit left the man's body, and for a moment he lay on the +ground as though he were dead. But soon he rose up, entirely well and +able to see, to hear and to speak. All those who saw this cure were +filled with wonder, and many said, "Is not this the Son of David, whom +the prophets promised should come and be our King?" + +But when the Pharisees and scribes heard of this wonder, they said, +"This fellow casts out the evil spirits because the chief of all the +evil spirits is in him and gives him this power." + +Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said: + +"Any kingdom that is divided into two sides that are fighting each other +will soon fall in pieces; and any family where people are quarreling +will soon come to naught. If Satan, the evil one, is casting out evil +spirits, then Satan's kingdom will soon fall, for it is divided against +itself. But if by the power of God I cast out the bad spirits from men, +then you may be sure that God is among you." + +But this report that Jesus was possessed by evil spirits went abroad +among the people, and some believed it. It came to the brothers of +Jesus, who at that time did not fully believe in him; and it came to +Mary his mother, filling her with alarm. She feared that her Son, +working without any rest, and bearing such heavy loads of care, had lost +his mind. Some said that the family of Jesus should take him home and +not allow him to disturb the people, for they said, "He is beside +himself!" + +Mary and her sons came to the house where Jesus was talking to the +people and curing the sick. So great was the crowd around the door that +they could not get into the house, and they sent word inside that the +mother of Jesus and his brothers were out in the street and wished to +speak with him. They told Jesus: + +"Your mother and your brothers are outside and they wish to speak with +you." + +But he answered the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my +brothers?" + +He turned to his disciples, stretched out his hands, and said: + +"Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever will do the will of my +Father in heaven, that one is my brother, and my sister and my mother!" + +Jesus meant by this that dear as his mother was to him, those who were +ready to follow his teachings were dearer still. + +Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke to Jesus, saying: + +"Teacher, show us some sign that you have come from God." + +They wished him to work some miracle, some wonder in their sight. But +Jesus never would do any of his great works merely to be seen. He cured +the sick and cast out evil spirits out of pity for people in trouble, +but not as a show of his power. He said to these people: + +"It is a wicked and unfaithful time when people seek for a sign. I will +give you no sign now, but after a time you shall see a sign, though you +will not believe it. It will be the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as +Jonah was three days inside the great fish, so I the Son of Man will be +three days under the ground, and like Jonah will come forth living. + +"The people of Nineveh, to whom Jonah preached, will rise up in the day +when God shall judge the world, and they shall show that they were +better than the people of this time, for when Jonah preached to them, +they turned from their sins and sought God. And One greater than Jonah +is here, yet they will not listen to him! + +"The Queen of Sheba will rise up in the day of judgment with the people +of this time, and will prove them to be unfaithful. For she came from +the ends of the earth to hear the wise words of Solomon; and one greater +than Solomon is here, yet you will not listen to him." + + + + +The Story-teller by the Sea + +CHAPTER 34 + + +SOON AFTER his journey through southern Galilee, Jesus began to teach in +a new form, that of telling stories to the people. Everybody likes to +listen to a story, and sometimes a story will go to the heart when the +plain truth will fail. Story-tellers have always been very abundant in +the East, where Jesus lived. Even today may be found everywhere men who +go from place to place telling stories, and the people flock around them +and listen to their stories from morning until night. + +But the stories that Jesus told were very different from those of the +Eastern story-tellers. His stories were told to teach some great truth, +and on that account were called "parables." A parable is a story which +is true to life--that is, a story which might be true, not a fairy +story--and which also has in it some teaching of the truth. + +[Illustration: "Once a sower went out to sow his seed. Some seed fell on +stony ground and some fell among briers and bushes."] + +One day Jesus went out of the city of Capernaum and stood on the beach +by the Sea of Galilee. A great crowd of people gathered around him, for +all the opposition of the scribes and Pharisees could not keep the +common people away from Jesus. The throng was so great, crowding around +Jesus, that as before he stepped into a boat and told his disciples to +push it out a little from the shore. Then he sat down in the boat, +fronting the great multitude that filled the sloping beach. He said to +the people: + +"Listen! Once a sower went out to sow his seed. And as he was scattering +the seed, some of it fell on the path, where the ground had been trodden +hard. The seed lay there on the path until the birds lighted upon it +and picked up all the kernels, so that none of them grew. + +"Some of the seed fell on places where there was a thin covering of +earth over stones. There the kernels grew up quickly, just because the +soil was thin. But when the hot weather came, the sun scorched the +tender plants, and they all withered away, because they had no moisture +and no root in deep earth. + +"Some other of the seeds fell among briers and bushes, and there was no +room for the grain to grow up. It lived, but it did not bring forth +heads of grain, because it was crowded and choked by thorn bushes all +around it. + +"But there were some other of the seeds that fell into ground that was +soft and rich and good. There they grew up and brought forth fruit +abundantly. Some kernels gave thirty times as many as were sown, some +sixty times and some a hundred times." + +Jesus did not tell the people what the teaching of the parable was. He +only said, "Whoever has ears, let him hear what I have spoken." He meant +that they should not only listen but think and find out for themselves +the meaning. + +When Jesus was alone with his disciples, they said to him: + +"Why do you speak to the people in parables? What do you mean to teach +in this story about the man sowing seed?" + +Jesus said to them: + +"To you who have followed me it is given to know the deep things of the +Kingdom of God, because you seek to find them out. But to many these +truths are spoken in parables, for they hear the story, but do not try +to find out what it means. They have eyes, but they do not see, and +ears, but they do not hear. For they do not wish to understand with the +heart and turn to God to have their sins forgiven. But blessed are your +eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Listen now to the +meaning of the parable of the sower. + +"The sower is the one who speaks the word of God, and the seed is the +word which he speaks. + +"The seed on the roadside, the trodden path, means those who hear, but +do not take the truth into their hearts. Then the Evil Spirit comes and, +like the birds, snatches away the truth, so that they forget it. + +"The seeds on the rocky soil are those who hear the word and seem to +take it gladly into their hearts; but they have no root in themselves; +just as soon as they meet with any discouragement or trouble, or find +enemies to the truth, they are turned away and their goodness does not +last. + +"That which is sown among the thorns and briers are those who listen to +the word, but the worries of life, and the desire for money, and the +pleasures of the world, crowd the word in their hearts, and the gospel +does them but little good. + +"But the seed sown on the good ground are those who listen to the gospel +and understand it; who take the word into honest and good hearts and +keep it and bring forth fruit in their lives." + + + + +More Stories Told by the Sea + +CHAPTER 35 + + +HERE IS another parable story that Jesus told to the people as he sat in +the boat and the people stood on the shore. This is the parable of "The +Wheat and the Weeds." + +"There was a man who sowed good wheat in his field; but while people +were asleep, an enemy came and scattered the seed of weeds over all the +ground. Then the enemy went away, leaving his seed to grow up. When the +sprouts of grain began to form into heads of wheat, the men saw that +everywhere in the field the weeds were among them, for weeds always grow +faster than good seed. + +"So the servants of the farmer came to him and said: + +"'Did you not, sir, sow good seed in your field? How comes it that it is +full of weeds?' + +"He said to them, 'Some enemy of mine has done this.' + +"'Shall we go,' said the servants, 'and pull up the weeds that are +growing with the wheat?' + +"'No,' answered the farmer, 'for while you are pulling the weeds, you +will root up the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the +harvest; and in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, +"When you have cut down all the crop, then take out the weeds and put +them into bundles to be burned; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" + +Jesus gave to the people another parable about "The Growing Grain." He +said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should throw seed upon the +ground. The sower will sleep every night, while the seed will spring +up, he cannot tell how. The ground bears fruit of itself, first the +little shoot, then the ear of grain, and then the full head of grain. +But when the heads of grain are ripe, he puts in his sickle and reaps, +because the harvest is come." + +[Illustration: Jesus teaching by the Sea of Galilee] + +His next parable was "The Mustard Seed." "The kingdom of heaven," said +Jesus, "is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in +his field. This is the smallest of all seeds; but it grows up to become +a bush so large that it is like a tree, putting out great branches, and +the birds light upon them and rest under their shadow." + +[Illustration: While people were asleep, an enemy came and scattered the +seed of weeds over all the ground] + +Jesus gave one more parable, "The Leaven, or Yeast." He said, "The +kingdom of God is like the leaven or yeast that a woman uses when she +makes bread. She mixes up a very little yeast in a large mass of +dough, and leaves it to rise. Presently all the dough is changed by the +yeast, and made into good bread. So it is with the truth to those who +take it into their hearts." + +After Jesus told these five parables, "The Sower," "The Wheat and the +Weeds," "The Growing Grain," "The Mustard Seed," and "The Leaven," he +sent the crowd away and went into a house with his disciples. When they +were alone they said to him, "Tell us what is the meaning of the parable +of 'The Wheat and the Weeds.'" + +Jesus answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, whom +God has sent into the earth. The field is the world. The good wheat are +those who hear his word and are the children of God. The weeds are the +children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil, +Satan. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the +angels of God. Just as the weeds are gathered from among the good grain +and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son +of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all +that do evil and cause harm, and shall throw them into the furnace of +fire; there men will weep and wail and gnash their teeth. But in that +day, the children of God, the true wheat, shall shine like the sun in +the kingdom of their heavenly Father." + +Then to his disciples, not to the crowd, Jesus gave three more parables. +The first was "The Hid Treasure." He said, "The kingdom of heaven is +like a heap of money which a man found while he was working in a field. +He hid it again, and told no one about it; but went home, sold all that +he had and gladly bought that field, that the treasure might be his +own." + +The next parable was that of "The Pearl." "There was a man who went into +many places to find pearls, which he bought to sell to others. In one +place he found a pearl of great price, far more precious than any that +he had seen before. He went and sold everything that he had, and with +the money bought that pearl." + +The last of these parables was "The Drag Net." "Once more," said Jesus, +"the kingdom of heaven is like a large net that was cast into the sea +and took in fishes of every kind, large and small, good and bad. When +the net was full they drew it to the shore. There they sat down and took +the fishes out, one by one. They looked them over and put the good fish, +those that were fit to be eaten, into baskets, but those that were +useless they threw away. So will it be at the end of the world. The +angels will come and will take out the people that are wicked from among +the good, and shall fling them into the furnace of fire; there men will +weep and gnash their teeth." + +After Jesus had finished telling these parables to his disciples, he +said to them, "Have you understood all these?" + +They said to him, "Yes, we have." + +And he said to them, "Every teacher who has been made a learner in the +kingdom of God is like a man who brings out of his store some things +that are new and some that are old." + +[Illustration: Jesus looked around, saw the dashing waves and said just +these words: "Peace, be still!"] + + + + +Sailing Across the Sea + +CHAPTER 36 + + +AFTER THE day of teaching in parables, when the evening came on, as the +crowds were still pressing upon Jesus and giving him no time to rest, he +said to his disciples: + +"Let us sail across the lake to the other side." So they made ready the +boat and took Jesus on board. Some of the people were so eager to be +with Jesus that they also went into other boats and sailed with him. +Jesus was very tired after his day of teaching and he lay down in the +rear end of the boat, resting his head upon one of the cushions. In the +steady motion of the oars and the gentle rippling of the waves, Jesus +soon fell asleep, while the boat moved onward over the lake. Soon the +night came and the disciples rowed on in the darkness. + +On the Sea of Galilee, storms often arise very suddenly. The water may +be perfectly calm for a time and then in a few minutes lashed into fury +by the wind. So it came to pass while Jesus was sleeping. A great wind +arose, the waves rolled high and dashed into the boat; but Jesus slept +on peacefully. + +At least four of the twelve disciples, and we know not how many more, +were fishermen. They knew how dangerous these sudden storms might be; +and as they saw the boat filling with water and beginning to sink, they +were frightened. Coming to Jesus, they awoke him, crying out, "Master, +Master, we are lost! Help us or we shall drown!" + +The storm, with all the noise of creaking sails and roaring winds and +dashing waves, had not awaked Jesus, but the cries of his frightened +disciples aroused him from his sleep. He looked around, saw the dashing +waves and said just these words: + +"Peace, be still!" + +At once the wind ceased, the waves smoothed down and there was perfect +calm upon the sea. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying: + +"Why are you so fearful? Have you so little faith in me?" + +They might have known that whether their Master was awake or asleep, +they were safe if he was with them. They wondered at this new proof of +Jesus' power, and said to each other: + +"Who can this be that can speak to the winds and the waves and they obey +his words!" + +They were sailing from Capernaum in a direction southeast, and after +rowing about seven miles, they came to the eastern shore of the lake, +where was a village called Gerasa. This region was called "the country +of the Gadarenes," from a large city, Gadara, not far away. It was a +part of Decapolis, a name given to all the country on the east of the +Sea of Galilee. The word Decapolis means "The Ten Cities," and because +in that land were ten large Roman cities, the whole country was called +"The Country of Ten Cities." + +It must have been very early in the morning when Jesus and his disciples +brought their boats to the shore at Gerasa. Just as they were landing, a +man came running down the hill to meet them, and from his wild acts they +saw that he was one of those wretched people who were under the power of +evil spirits. This man wore no clothes; he would not live in any house, +but stayed in the caves in the hillside, which were used as burial +places. They had tried to bind him with ropes and chains, but when the +evil power was on him, he would break all his bonds and even snap his +chains apart. He stayed all the time among the tombs, crying, moaning +and gashing himself with sharp stones. + +This wild man ran toward Jesus and fell at his feet. As soon as Jesus +saw the state he was in, he spoke to the evil spirit within the man: + +"Come out of this man, you vile spirit!" + +The spirit answered Jesus, crying out, "Jesus, son of the Most High God, +what business have you with us? In the name of God, I call upon you not +to make us suffer!" + +Jesus saw that this man's state was far worse than even most of those +who were ruled by evil spirits. He said to the spirit, "What is your +name?" + +"My name is Legion," answered the evil spirit; meaning that in the man +was not only one, but many of the evil spirits, a whole army of them, +for the word "legion" means an army. + +The demons, or evil spirits, begged Jesus not to send them far away. On +the top of the hill was a herd of many hogs feeding. The Jewish people +were not allowed to keep hogs nor to eat their flesh, so this drove of +hogs must have belonged to foreign people, whom the Jews called +Gentiles. + +The evil spirits asked Jesus if when they left the man, they might go +into these hogs; and Jesus allowed them. Then the demons or evil spirits +went out of the man, leaving him lying upon the ground, naked but well. +They went into the drove of hogs, and the hogs instantly became wild and +could not be controlled. They rushed in a great mass down the steep side +of the hill and into the water. There they were all drowned, about two +thousand in number. The men who kept the hogs ran to the town near by, +and told all the people what had happened; how the demons at the command +of this stranger had left the man, had gone into the drove of hogs and +had caused them to drown in the waters. The people of the city came out +to see for themselves what had taken place. They saw the man in whom had +been the fierce evil spirits, now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed +and in his right mind, calm and peaceful. + +[Illustration: The evil spirits went out of the man into the hogs, +causing them to rush down the hill into the water] + +These Gadarene people evidently knew nothing of Jesus and the many good +works that he had done. They were filled with dread of his power, and +scarcely looking at the man whom Jesus had helped so wonderfully, +thought only of the hogs which they had lost. They begged Jesus to go +away from their land and not to come to their town. Think what blessings +Jesus might have brought to them, in curing their sick, giving sight to +the blind, and hearing to the deaf, besides the good news of his +teaching! But with no knowledge of these good gifts, they asked Jesus to +leave them. + +And Jesus took them at their word. Sadly he turned away, went down to +the beach and stepped into the boat. The man who had been set free from +the evil spirits begged most earnestly to be allowed to go with Jesus. +He may have feared that the people of the city would be angry with him +because the demons in him had killed their hogs; or he may have thought +that the evil spirits might come back to him if he was left alone, +without his mighty helper near. He knew that he would be safe if he were +with his Lord, and he asked again and again that he might go away with +Jesus, wherever he might go. + +But Jesus would not grant his prayer. He said to the man: + +"Go home to your own people, and tell them what great things the Lord +has done for you, and how he has taken pity on you." + +The man went through all the country of Decapolis and told everybody +whom he met what great things Jesus had done for him. When they heard +this, they all wondered, and no doubt many wished that they had welcomed +Jesus instead of sending him away. + +[Illustration: Joppa] + +[Illustration: The woman came forward trembling with fear and told Jesus +how she had touched his clothing and been made well. Jesus said to her: +"Daughter, your faith has made you well."] + + + + +The Sick Woman Made Well and the Dead Girl Brought to Life + +CHAPTER 37 + + +A GREAT CROWD of people were on the shore at Capernaum, looking +earnestly over the sea. On the evening before they had seen Jesus with +his disciples in their boats pushing off from the beach and sailing out +into the lake; and now they were watching for their return. Close by the +water was standing one man, whose face showed that he was in great +trouble, as he gazed anxiously in every direction over the sea. + +This man was named Jairus. He was the chief elder over the church in the +town, which they called the synagogue. At home his little daughter +twelve years old was lying very ill and likely to die at any moment. +Jairus knew that if Jesus should come ashore in time, before his +daughter would die, he could save her life; so with hope and fear +mingled, he stood on the shore watching for Jesus to come, but fearing +that he might come too late. + +At last he could see the large boat rising in sight and drawing nearer, +with other smaller boats around it. Before Jesus could step ashore, +Jairus fell down upon his face before him and cried out: + +"O Master, come to my house just as soon as you can! My little daughter +is lying at the point of death; I pray you, come and lay your hands upon +her so that she may live and be made well." + +Jesus went with him, and all the crowd followed, pressing closely upon +him; some showing pity and hope for Jairus in his trouble, but more of +them wishing to see Jesus do one of his wonderful works. In the edge of +the crowd was standing a poor woman, wasted by sickness and as pale as +death. She had a running sore, which for twelve years had drained away +her blood. She was very eager to go to Jesus, for she believed that he +could cure her sore, although many doctors had tried in vain to help +her. She had spent all her money upon the doctors, one after another, +but no one of them had done her any good, and she was all the time +growing worse. Jesus was in the middle of this great crowd, and this +woman was very weak, but by making a strong effort she was able to get +near enough to Jesus, not to speak to him, but to reach her hand between +those who were walking nearest to him and to touch his clothes. + +Suddenly a great hope arose in her heart. She said to herself, "I really +believe that if I can just touch the Master's clothes I will be made +well!" + +She reached out with trembling hand and touched the outer robe of Jesus. +In an instant she felt a strange power come into her body and she knew +that the sore was cured. She was well and strong! + +At that moment Jesus stopped in his walk, while Jairus was trying to +hurry him onward. He stood still, looked all around, and said, "Who +touched my clothes?" + +His disciples were beside him, and Peter answered: + +"Why, Master, the crowd is all around, pressing close upon you, and yet +you say, 'Who touched me?' while people are touching you all the time." + +But Jesus said, "I am sure that somebody touched me, because I felt that +power had gone out from me." + +As he stood still and looked all around to see who had done this, the +woman came forward out of the crowd and fell down at his feet, trembling +with fear, afraid that she had offended him. She told of what she had +suffered, how she had touched his clothing and had been made well. +Jesus said to her: + +"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be free from +your sickness." + +But while Jesus was delaying for these few moments, Jairus was standing +by his side in growing alarm, for to him and his dying child every +minute was precious. Just then some one from his own house came up to +him through the crowd and said: + +"Your daughter is dead; what is the use of asking the Teacher to come +any further? Not even he can help her now." + +These people had not heard how Jesus some weeks before had raised to +life the widow's son at Nain, for that village was at least twenty-five +miles from Capernaum. + +But Jesus spoke encouragingly to the sorrowing father. "Have no fear; +only believe, and she shall yet be well." + +They went to the house of Jairus, and the crowd would have followed him +inside, but Jesus forbade them. He allowed none to go with him into the +house, except the father and three of his disciples, Peter, James and +John. + +The house was full of people, weeping and wailing, playing on flutes and +making a great noise, as the manner was then and is even now in that +land. Men and women are paid to come to the house where one is lying +dead, and to scream and cry aloud, so that all in the town may know of +the death and of the sorrow of the family. + +Jesus said to the people in the house, "Why do you make such a noise? +The little girl is not dead, but only sleeping." + +[Illustration: Jesus went into the room where the daughter of Jairus was +lying dead on the bed, and taking her hand into his own said: "Little +girl, I say to you, rise up!"] + +Jesus meant by these words that we need not be filled with sorrow when +our friends die; for death is only a sleep until the time when God shall +awaken them. But this they did not understand; and they would not be +comforted, for they knew that the child was dead. + +Jesus ordered all these hired mourners to leave the house. He went into +the room where the dead child was lying on the bed, taking with him only +her father and mother, with his three chosen disciples. Standing beside +the dead body, he took its little hand into his own and said: + +"Little girl, I say to you, rise up!" + +And instantly the girl stood up, looked around and began to walk. How +happy were that father and mother as they clasped in their arms their +little girl, no longer dead, but living and well. All were filled with +wonder. They would have told everybody about this mighty work, but Jesus +said to them: + +"Give the child something to eat, but do not talk about her being +brought back to life. Tell no one of it." + +[Illustration: Jesus healing the sick] + + + + +Sight to the Blind and Voice to the Dumb + +CHAPTER 38 + + +AS JESUS was coming out of the house where he had raised to life the +young girl, two blind men met him; for the news of his return to +Capernaum had gone abroad, and these two men, eager to obtain their +sight, at once set out to find Jesus. They followed Jesus on the street, +crying out aloud: + +"Have mercy on us, O Son of David!" + +You know that Jesus came from the family of which David had been the +head long before. All the people looked for him, as sprung from David, +to take David's throne, and like David, become king over all the land. +The people who believed that Jesus was to be king often called him "Son +of David." + +These two blind men followed Jesus, crying to him, until he went into +the house where he was staying, which may have been the house where +Simon Peter lived. The blind men came into the house after Jesus. He +said to them: + +"Do you believe that I can do this which you desire?" + +They answered him, "Yes, Lord, we believe that you can." + +Then Jesus placed his hands upon their eyes, first on one man and then +on the other. As he touched their eyes, he said to them, "As you +believe, let it be done to you." + +At once their eyes were opened and they could see. Jesus spoke to them +very strongly, and gave them special orders, saying, "See that nobody +knows of this." + +He did not wish always to have crowds around seeking for miracles of +healing, for he felt that he had a greater work to do in preaching to +the souls of men than in curing their bodies. But these men went away +and told all whom they met what a wonderful thing Jesus had done for +them. It was not strange that they should speak of it, even though he +had forbidden them, for all who had known them before as blind men saw +the great change in their looks, now that they could see, and asked them +how it had come to pass; so that it was not easy to avoid telling people +about it. But wherever it was told, people who had any disease, or were +blind, or deaf and dumb, or lame, were filled with desire to find Jesus +and be made well. + +Soon after these two men left Jesus, cured of their blindness, another +man was brought to Jesus. This was a dumb man, in whom lived an evil +spirit. Jesus always cast out the evil spirits, without waiting to be +asked, whenever he found them ruling over men. He spoke to this evil +spirit, and it left the man. Then all at once the man began to speak, +for it was the evil spirit in him that had made him dumb. All the people +wondered, and said to one another: + +"Such power as this has never before been seen in the land of Israel!" + +But the scribes and Pharisees, who were enemies of Jesus, said again, as +they had said before: + +"This man casts out the evil spirits, because Satan, the prince of the +evil spirits, helps him." + + + + +Twelve Preachers Sent Out + +CHAPTER 39 + + +JESUS HAD now preached in nearly all parts of Galilee, except in the +middle portion, the region around Nazareth, the home of his younger +days. You remember that when he had tried to speak in Nazareth, soon +after coming from Judea, the people refused to listen to him, thinking +that one who had been only a workingman and not a Rabbi or scribe could +not teach them anything. + +But Jesus loved those people in Nazareth, for many of the men had been +with him boys at school; and his own sisters lived there with their +children, boys and girls, who were his nephews and nieces. He longed to +see them all, and made up his mind to go again to Nazareth, and see if +its people would this time listen to him. On his earlier visit he had +been alone, and the men of Nazareth in their anger had tried to kill him +by throwing him down a very steep hill; but now Jesus had with him his +twelve disciples and many more who followed him from place to place. On +this visit the men of Nazareth did not venture to do him harm, because +of his many friends around him. + +As before, Jesus went to the village church on the Sabbath day and +preached. Again the people listened to him with wonder at his words; but +again they said: + +"Is not this the carpenter who used to make plows and hoes and tables +for us? How can he teach us?" + +He could only do a few of his great works, because the people would not +believe in him. He did, indeed, lay his hands upon a few that were sick, +and made them well; but he could only wonder at the hardness of heart +in those among whom he had lived so many years. + +Leaving Nazareth with a sad heart, he went around the villages in middle +Galilee, teaching in the churches and curing sickness of all kinds. As +he saw how poor the people were, how little they knew of the truth, and +how greatly they longed for it, he felt a great pity for them. They +seemed to Jesus like sheep that were lost and wandering, not having any +shepherd. He said to his disciples: + +"The harvest truly is rich, but the workers in it are very few. Pray +very earnestly to the Lord of the harvest that he may send out workers +to gather in his harvest." + +[Illustration: "Peace be to this house"] + +Jesus knew that the time of his work in Galilee was nearly ended. There +were other parts of the land of Israel where he had not yet preached, +and he wished to visit them. He knew, too, what none but himself knew, +that in a year he would be taken away from the earth, and his disciples +would be left alone to carry on his work and preach to all the people +the news of God's kingdom. He made up his mind to send out his twelve +disciples, whom he named "the apostles," and to let them begin their +work by preaching in the villages of Galilee which he had not found time +to visit. + +So he called together his twelve disciples, and divided them into pairs, +sending two men together, that they might help each other. He poured +upon them some of his own power to cure diseases and to cast out evil +spirits from men. He gave them commands about their work, to whom they +should go and how they should act. He said: + +"Do not go to any city of the Gentiles, the foreigners; and keep away +from the villages of the Samaritan people. Your work just now is to be +among the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Go to the Jews throughout +the land, and tell them that the kingdom of God has come, and that they +may enter it. Cure the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse the lepers, +cast out the evil spirits from men. Give freely, without being paid; for +you have received the gift of God freely. + +"Do not take with you any money of gold or silver or copper in your +girdle; nor a bag to carry food for the road; nor two shirts, nor a pair +of shoes; but go wearing only sandals on your feet. For God's workman +deserves his food, and it will be given to him. + +"When you come to a village, ask for some good man, go to his house, and +stay there while you are in that village. Do not go visiting from one +house to another. When you come to a house say, 'Peace be to this +house.' If the people dwelling in that house are worthy of your peace, +then peace shall be given to them; if they are not worthy, your peace +shall come back to you. And if in any place the people will not hear you +nor give you welcome, then as you go out of that house or that city, +take off your sandals and shake the dust of that place from them as a +sign. I say to you in truth that in the day of judgment it shall be +worse for the cities that have refused you than for Sodom and Gomorrah, +the cities upon which God rained down fire. + +"You are sent forth like sheep among wolves; so be wise like serpents, +yet harmless like doves. But you must watch against evil men, for they +will seize you and hand you over to courts to be judged; you will be +beaten in their court-rooms; you will be brought before governors and +kings, because you are my followers. Now, when they bring you up for +trial, do not be anxious about what you shall speak or how you shall say +it; for what to speak shall be given you when you need it. For it is not +you that speak, but the spirit of your Father in heaven that speaks in +you." + +[Illustration: "Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of +cold water because he is my disciple, he will not lose his reward"] + +Many more words Jesus spoke to his twelve disciples; and at the end of +his charge he said this: + +"Whoever receives you and listens to you, it is the same as though he +received me, your teacher; and whoever receives me, receives my Father +who sent me. He that receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall +receive a prophet's reward. He who receives a good man because he is a +good man shall receive a good man's reward. And whoever gives to one of +these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple of +mine, I tell you truly, he will not lose his reward." + +After giving his commands to the twelve disciples, Jesus sent them out +to preach, while he himself went to other places telling the people the +good news of the Kingdom of God. + +[Illustration: The great mosque at Damascus] + + + + +A Dance; and How It Was Paid For + +CHAPTER 40 + + +DURING NEARLY all the year of Jesus' teaching and preaching in Galilee, +John the Baptist was in Herod's prison at a lonely place called +Machærus, on the east of the river Jordan, near the Dead Sea. You +remember that John was put into prison because King Herod's queen, +Herodias, became angry against him, when John said to Herod that it was +not right for him to take away his brother's wife and have her as his +own. Herodias hated John and tried many times to have him killed, but +Herod held John in high respect and would not suffer him to be slain. + +But at last the chance came for Herodias to carry out her purpose. On +King Herod's birthday, he held at Machærus, which was not only a prison +but a palace, a great feast to his lords, the captains of his army, and +the chief men of his kingdom. At this feast the daughter of Herodias, a +young girl, came in and danced before the company. Herod and the guests +with him were so delighted with the girl's dancing that the king made +her a very foolish promise. He said to her: + +"You may ask for anything that you please, and I will give it to you." +He went further and even swore with an oath to her, "I will give you +whatever you choose, even to half of my kingdom." + +The girl went to her mother and said to her, "What shall I ask?" + +And Herodias hissed out the words, "You ask for the head of John the +Baptist." + +The girl went in haste to the king, and said, "I want you to give me +here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." + +The king was greatly displeased and very angry. He knew that his wife +Herodias had led the girl to make this choice, and he would have liked +to break his promise. But because he had given his word and was ashamed +to call it back before all the nobles at his feast, he gave orders, very +unwillingly, to his guards to have her will carried out. They went into +the prison, and with a sharp sword cut off the head of John the Baptist, +the best and noblest man in all his kingdom. The head was laid on a +platter and given to the young girl, who carried it to her mother. So +the man whom Jesus called "a prophet and more than a prophet" was slain +to satisfy the whim of a dancing girl and her wicked mother! + +[Illustration: The daughter of Herodias dancing before Herod] + +The few followers who had still clung to John the Baptist, and visited +him in his prison, took up his headless body and buried it. Then they +went to Jesus and told him all the sad story of John's death. + +But Herod was not yet done with John the Baptist. Soon he began to hear +wonderful stories of the new prophet, Jesus the Nazarene, who had risen +up in John's place. He heard that amazing powers were shown by Jesus, +that the sick were cured, the lepers were made clean, the blind were +made to see, and, most wonderful of all, the dead were raised to life. + +People were saying to each other, "Who is this great Prophet that is +working all these wonders?" + +Some said, "This is the old prophet Elijah, who has come to earth +again." + +Others said, "If he is not Elijah, it may be Jeremiah or some other +prophet of the old times." + +But Herod was filled with a terrible fear, for his conscience troubled +him on account of his wicked deeds. He said: + +"I know who this is. It is John the Baptist, whose head I had cut off. +He has come to life again. It is on his account that all these wonderful +things are taking place!" + +Thus the bloody head of John the Baptist, like a terrible ghost, rose +before the sight of Herod the king! + +[Illustration: After he had blessed the food and broken it, Jesus gave a +portion to each of his disciples, who went among the people and fed +them. As the loaves and fishes were broken they grew in their hands +until every one had enough to eat.] + + + + +The Boy with His Five Loaves + +CHAPTER 41 + + +THE NEWS that King Herod had slain the holy prophet John the Baptist +sent a thrill of horror to all who heard it. It came to the twelve +disciples, who were just completing their work of preaching in the +villages of Galilee. They feared that Herod might seize them and put +them in prison; but they were more alarmed for their Master. Having +slain John who had made Jesus known to the people, they feared that +Herod might now try to kill Jesus himself. + +They all hastened to Capernaum, where they found Jesus, and gave him the +report of the places which they had visited, the work which they had +done in healing and helping people and the message which they had given +everywhere about the Kingdom of God. The disciples found the crowds +around Jesus greater than ever before; for not only had the preaching of +these disciples aroused an interest in Jesus and led many to leave their +homes and seek him, but the Passover, the greatest of all Jewish feasts, +was to be held soon, and the city of Capernaum was thronged with people +who were on their way to Jerusalem; for as you know, this feast was held +only in that city, and from every part of the land people went up to +Jerusalem to attend it. + +So many were the people coming and going and those who were looking for +Jesus and seeking his power to cure their diseases, that Jesus and his +disciples could scarcely find a chance to eat. The crowds were +constantly pressing upon them. He said to his disciples: + +"Come, let us take the boat and go across the lake to some quiet place, +away from the crowds, and there rest for a time." + +They went into the boat and started to row over the lake. But the people +saw them going and many tried to follow them. Those who had boats sailed +in them after the course in which they saw the boat with Jesus and his +disciples. And the others, a great multitude, walked and ran around the +head of the lake, waded across the river Jordan where it enters the Sea +of Galilee, still keeping Jesus' boat in sight, and were at the beach to +meet Jesus when he landed near the town of Bethsaida, which was on the +northeastern shore. Here Jesus was safe, for Bethsaida was outside the +rule of King Herod and in the land governed by Herod's brother Philip. + +When Jesus stepped out of his boat on the shore near Bethsaida, there he +found a great throng of people, more than five thousand men, besides +some women and children. When Jesus saw how eager they were and how glad +to meet him, his heart of love and pity went out toward them. He cured +some sick people that they had brought and he spoke to them about the +kingdom of God. + +The day began to draw to its close and the sun was almost sinking below +the hills of Galilee, when the disciples said to Jesus: + +"It is getting late and will soon be night. These crowds of people came +so suddenly that they have brought with them nothing to eat. Send them +away, so that they may go to the city of Bethsaida and the villages +around and buy food and find places to stay through the night. We are +here, you see, in a desert place, where there is neither food nor +lodging for them." + +But Jesus said to his disciples, "There is no need for them to go away; +you give them something to eat." + +They said to him, "Shall we go into the town and buy thirty dollars' +worth of bread, so that each one of them may have a little?" + +Jesus turned to Philip, one of his disciples, and asked him, "Philip, +where shall we find bread that all these people may eat?" + +Jesus said this to try Philip's faith, for he himself knew already what +he would do. Philip looked over the crowd gathered upon the level +ground, and he answered, "Thirty dollars' worth of bread would not be +enough to give to each one even a little piece." + +Jesus said to his disciples, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." + +Just then another of the disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, +came up to Jesus and said, "There is a boy here who has five loaves of +barley bread and two little fishes; but what use would they be among so +many people?" + +Jesus said, "Bring them to me." + +So they led to Jesus this boy with his lunch basket, in which his mother +had placed five large flat biscuits of barley and two small salted +fishes. + +Jesus said to his disciples, "Go out among the people and tell them to +arrange themselves into companies, with fifty or a hundred in each +company, and to sit down upon the grass." + +The disciples did as Jesus ordered, and soon all the crowd was divided +up into groups of fifty or a hundred people, all seated on the ground. +On the green grass, arranged in rows and squares with their clothes of +different colors, they looked like beds of flowers. + +Then, in the sight of all the people, Jesus took the five loaves and the +two fishes. He waved his hand for silence, and while all were still, +looked up to heaven, gave thanks to God for his gift of food, and +blessed it. He broke the loaves which were like large flat crackers or +biscuit, and gave to each of his disciples a piece and also a piece of +dried fish. The disciples went among the people breaking off pieces of +the loaves and fishes and handing them out. As they were broken, the +loaves and fishes grew in their hands, until every one in the company +had enough to eat. + +Then Jesus said, "Go and gather up the pieces of food that are left, so +that nothing may be wasted." + +Each of the twelve disciples carried a basket among the people, and took +from them all that was left. When they came back to Jesus, all the +twelve baskets were filled with the pieces left over of the loaves and +fishes. There had been in the beginning only five loaves and two fishes. +Of these, five thousand men, besides women and children, had eaten as +much as they wanted. And now came back twelve baskets full of bits left +over--much more at the end after all had eaten than at the beginning. + +When the people saw that here was one who could give them food, all that +they wanted, they said to each other, "This is the man that we want for +our king! He can give us bread to eat without our working for it. Let us +break away from the rule of the Romans and make Jesus our king!" + +Jesus knew their thoughts and what they were saying to each other, for +he knew all things. He knew, too, that he was a king, but not such a +king as they wished. His kingdom was to be in the hearts of those who +loved him, not a kingdom won by armies and by swords. Jesus found that +his disciples were pleased to find the people so eager at once to crown +Jesus as their King, for that would mean high rank and offices for +themselves. + +Jesus, therefore, began by sending away his disciples. He compelled +them, much against their will, to get into the boat, and to row over the +lake toward Capernaum. After sending away his disciples, he sent away +the multitudes, who were also unwilling to go, for they could not +understand why Jesus should refuse to be made king. + +When all were gone away and quiet was around him and the night had come +on, Jesus went to the top of a mountain near by, and spent some hours in +prayer to his heavenly Father. He needed prayer, for he saw in this +attempt to make him king another effort of Satan to bring Jesus under +his power, by giving him a worldly kingdom, instead of a heavenly. + +[Illustration: A distant view of "The Horns of Hattin," in the hollow of +which Christ sat while he preached "The Sermon on the Mount" to the +multitude gathered about him] + +[Illustration: As Jesus drew near, Peter cried out, "Lord, if it is +really you, command me to come to you on the water."] + + + + +How the Sea Became a Floor + +CHAPTER 42 + + +ON THE night after the multitude was fed with the five loaves, while +Jesus was praying alone on the mountain, his disciples were rowing over +the lake toward Capernaum. It was very dark; and soon after midnight a +terrible storm arose, as storms often come very suddenly upon the Sea of +Galilee. From his mountain top, through all the darkness and miles away, +Jesus could see them struggling with the waves, and in great danger of +losing their lives, for he could see all things. + +While the disciples were pulling hard with their oars, suddenly they saw +someone walking upon the waves and drawing near their boat. They were +more alarmed, when they saw this form walking over the waves as though +the waters were a solid floor, than they had been at the storm +threatening to swallow them up, for they thought that surely this was a +spirit from the world of the dead, coming to give warning that death was +awaiting them. They cried out in their terror; but soon heard a voice +speaking to them above the roaring of the wind and the dashing of the +waves; a voice which they knew well. It was the voice of Jesus, saying: + +"Be of good cheer! it is I; do not be afraid!" + +Then they knew that it was no spirit or ghost from the grave, but their +own Lord and Saviour coming to help them. What a load of fear was lifted +from them when they heard that voice! + +But one of the disciples, one who was always putting himself in the +front, thought that if Jesus could walk on the water, he would like to +do the same. You would know that this one was Simon Peter, a good man, +but very quick in his impulses. He cried out, as Jesus drew near, "Lord, +if it is really you, command me to come to you on the water." + +And the Lord said, "Come." Then Peter leaped overboard from the boat and +began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But after a few steps on the +sea, he saw how heavy the storm was, and was afraid; and at that moment +he began to sink. He shouted out, "Lord, save me!" + +Jesus reached out his hand and caught him and kept him from sinking, +saying to him: + +"How little you trust me! Why did you doubt my word?" + +When Jesus, holding Peter's hand, came with him into the boat, the wind +stopped, and the sea became calm. They found that they were close to the +land. Then all the men in the boat fell down at the feet of Jesus and +said, "Truly you are the Son of God!" + +Soon the daylight came, and they saw that their boat was beside a plain, +reaching into the lake, a few miles south of Capernaum, called the land +of Gennesaret. They went ashore and drew up their boat on the beach. The +people of that place knew Jesus, for many of them had heard him in +Capernaum. They were glad to have him come to their land; and sent word +through all the plain that Jesus, the great teacher and healer, had +landed on their shore. From all the country around they brought on their +beds those that were sick, and laid them before Jesus, begging him to +cure them. Many came near his side, and asked him if they might only +touch the border of the mantle which he wore; and all who touched it +were made perfectly well, so strong was their faith in Jesus. + + + + +The Bread of Life + +CHAPTER 43 + + +ON THE morning after the day when Jesus had fed the five thousand people +with the five loaves, the crowd came together once more, hoping again to +see Jesus; and some of them expecting to have the miracle or wonder-work +repeated. On the evening before, they had seen the twelve disciples go +out upon the lake in their boat, and had noticed that Jesus did not sail +with them. They thought that Jesus must still be there, and looked all +around for him, not knowing that in the night he had walked upon the sea +to help his disciples in the storm. Failing to find Jesus, they thought +that he must have gone back to his home in Capernaum. They found some +other boats upon the shore, and in these they crossed the lake to +Capernaum. + +They found Jesus at the church in Capernaum, and said to him, "Rabbi, +when did you come here?" + +"I tell you the truth," answered Jesus, "it is not on account of the +signs of power which you saw that you are looking for me, but because +you ate of the bread which I gave you, and had your fill. You should +work, not for the food which does not last, but for that which endures +to everlasting life; that bread the Son of Man will give you, for upon +him the Father has set his seal of power." + +Jesus wished them to understand that the truth which he could give them +was more to the soul than food was to the body, for it would give the +life of God, which never passes away. + +"In what way," they asked him, "can we do the work that God would have +us do?" + +"The work that God would have you do," answered Jesus, "is to believe in +him whom God has sent to you as his message-bearer." + +"Well, then," they said to Jesus, "show us the sign that will prove that +you have come from God, then we will believe in you. What is the work +that you are doing? Our fathers under Moses in the desert ate the manna +that Moses gave them. You remember that it is written, 'He gave them +bread from heaven to eat.'" + +You see, the people wanted Jesus to show his power again by repeating +the miracle with the loaves, and giving them more bread in the same way. + +"In truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "it was not Moses who gave your +fathers the bread from heaven; it was my Father, the Lord God. And my +Father does give you now the real bread from heaven. For God's bread is +that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." + +"Master," they said, "give us that bread always!" + +"I am the life-giving bread," answered Jesus. "He who comes to me shall +never be hungry, and he who believes in me shall never be thirsty. But, +as I told you, you have seen me, and yet you do not believe in me. All +those whom the Father gives me will come to me; and no one who comes to +me will I ever turn away. For I have come down from heaven not to carry +out my own will, but the will of Him who sent me; and his will is +this--that I should not lose even one of all those whom He has given me, +but shall raise them up to life at the last great day. For it is the +will of my Father that every one who sees the Son, and believes in him, +should have everlasting life; and I myself will raise him up at the last +day." + +The Jews who heard Jesus began to find fault with him for saying, "I am +the bread which came down from heaven." + +"Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. +How can he say, 'I came down from heaven?'" + +They could not understand his words, and they were angry with him +because he would not again work the miracle of giving them bread. Also +they now found that Jesus was not willing to be a king such as they +wanted, one that would sit on a throne and live in a palace; would raise +an army to drive away the Romans and make the Jews a ruling people upon +the earth. It was, as we have seen, the time of the Passover, and one +reason for the great crowds around Jesus was that all were expecting him +to lead the people to Jerusalem and take his place as the king of +Israel. But this year Jesus did not go, as he usually did, to the feast +in Jerusalem, for he had other plans for himself and his disciples. + +When the crowd following Jesus found that he would not be a king +according to their desires, that he would not do wonders for them to +look upon, and that his words were such as they could not understand, +nearly all of them turned against Jesus. They went away, leaving the +twelve disciples alone with him. + +Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you, too, wish to leave me?" + +Simon Peter answered for them all, "Lord, to whom shall we go if we +leave you? You have the words that will give us everlasting life. And we +believe and are certain that you are the Holy One of God." + +These men did not understand all the words of Jesus, but they had +learned to love him and to believe that he was the promised King. They +were ready to stay with him until death. + +"Did I not choose you to be the Twelve?" said Jesus, "and yet, even +among you there is one who is doing the devil's work." + +They did not know of whom he was speaking; but he meant Judas, the son +of Simon Iscariot; the one of the twelve disciples who a year afterward +was to give up his Master to death. At that time Judas himself did not +know this. Jesus, who could read the hearts of men, saw in Judas the +signs all unknown to himself that he would do this dreadful deed. + +[Illustration: A view of the village of Nain, and rising in the +background is Mount Tabor] + + + + +Jesus in a Strange Country + +CHAPTER 44 + + +WITH HIS sermon on "The Bread of Life," given in the church at +Capernaum, Jesus finished his work among the people of Galilee. He had +lived in that land for more than a year; he had traveled through every +part of it; he had spoken in most of its villages and cities, and had +sent out his disciples to preach in many other places. Everybody in +Galilee had either heard Jesus or had heard about him. If they did not +believe in him and his gospel, it was because they would not. + +There was another and important work which now lay before Jesus. That +was the training of his twelve disciples. These men, the apostles, as +they were called later, had been with him for nearly a year. They had +listened to his preaching and had heard his sermons many times, over and +over again; for in different places Jesus gave the same talks to the +people; but those talks and parables the Twelve heard in each place, as +Jesus wished those men to hear his words until they knew them by heart +and could give them as his message to others who had not heard Jesus +himself. + +One reason why we have in the four gospels, by Matthew, Mark, Luke and +John, so many of the teachings and parables of Jesus, is that the +disciples heard them so many times, learned them, could tell them to +others; and thus at least thirty years after Jesus passed away from +earth, his words were remembered and could be written down. + +But besides the public teachings of Jesus, such as the Sermon on the +Mount and the parables, there were other great truths of the gospel that +could not be given to the people, for they were not ready for them and +could not understand them. We can see how the common people were puzzled +by his words about "the bread of life." Jesus saw that it was needful +for him to take the twelve disciples apart by themselves, that he might +teach them some of the deeper truths of his gospel. In Galilee he could +not be alone with these men; for wherever he might go there would always +be many sick people coming to be cured and others leading men held in +the power of evil spirits begging Jesus to cast them out. Then, too, in +every place were the Pharisees and scribes, bringing their questions, +asking for miracles, and trying to stir up the people against Jesus. +Wherever Jesus was, a crowd was always around him, and he could find no +time to teach his disciples some truths needful for them to know. + +He made up his mind to go away from Galilee to some quiet place where no +one would know of his coming. On the northwest of Galilee was a narrow +land, on the other side of the Lebanon mountains, beside the great +Mediterranean Sea. It was called Phoenicia, from the people who lived +there, the Phoenicians; and also called "the land of Tyre and Sidon," +from its two leading cities. The people who lived in that country were +not Jews, and few of them even spoke the Jewish language. Jesus thought +that this would be a quiet place where he could talk alone with his +disciples. + +[Illustration: The woman threw herself at Jesus' feet and cried aloud: +"Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David!"] + +Jesus and the Twelve quietly left Capernaum, and walked over the +mountains to this land of Tyre and Sidon. There they found a house and +went into it, intending for a time to live there. Jesus wished nobody to +know of his coming; but he could not be hidden. A woman of that country +heard of him, and at once went to Jesus, threw herself at his feet, +and begged him to come and cast an evil spirit out of her daughter. + +This woman was not of the Jewish people. She was a foreigner, of a +mingled Syrian and Phoenician race, a people called "Canaanites." She +cried aloud and kept on crying: + +"Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David! My little daughter is terribly +troubled with an unclean spirit. Will you not please come and help her?" + +At first Jesus did not answer her one word. But his disciples said to +him, "O Master! send this woman away, for she is making a great noise +and disturbing us!" To them she was only a Gentile, a heathen woman, and +the Jews, even those who followed Jesus, looked with great contempt on +all such people. They did not know that Jesus was sent to save not only +the Jews but also the Gentiles. + +Jesus wished to teach his disciples a lesson, that a Gentile could have +the same faith as a Jew. He said to the woman: + +"I was not sent to your people, but only to the lost sheep of the house +of Israel." + +But the woman kept on following him. She knelt down before Jesus, and +said, "Master, help me!" + +He said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first of all; it is not +fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." + +"That is true, Lord," said the woman; "yet the little dogs under the +table do pick up some of the children's crumbs." + +Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great. Your prayer is +granted as you wish. The evil spirit is gone away from your daughter." + +The woman believed the word of Jesus. She hastened to her home and found +her daughter well and resting upon her bed. + + + + +In the Land of the Ten Cities + +Chapter 45 + + +JESUS SOON found that if he wished to be alone with his disciples, he +must leave the land of Tyre and Sidon; for after he had cured the +woman's child of her evil spirit, the people were coming to him for +other mighty works. He made up his mind to go farther away, and taking +his disciples, he went to Sidon, north of Tyre, and then not through +Galilee, but around it, to the river Jordan, north of the Sea of +Galilee. He crossed the Jordan, and on the eastern side of the Sea of +Galilee came to a country called Decapolis, or "the land of the Ten +Cities," from ten large places in that region. While they were on this +journey, few people saw them, and as they walked together he talked to +his disciples and taught them many things. + +The place to which Jesus came was not far from the town where some +months before he had cast out from a poor man a whole army of evil +spirits and had sent them into the drove of hogs. At that time, you +remember, the people had come to Jesus and had begged him to go away +from them, for they had seen his power, but knew nothing of his +goodness. But after that miracle, the man who had been cured went all +through this land of the Ten Cities, telling the people everywhere of +the good work Jesus had done to him and how much they had lost in +sending him away. + +On this second visit of Jesus to this land, the people were ready and +eager for his coming. They gathered around Jesus with great joy, and +came from near and from far to see him. He went up into a mountain and +sat down with his disciples, hoping to be alone. But the people came to +him in great crowds, bringing with them those that were lame, and ill +with different diseases. They laid these suffering people at his feet, +and asked him to cure them. He made them all well. They all wondered, as +they saw the dumb talking, the cripples made sound, the lame walking +about and the blind seeing; and they all praised the God of Israel. + +[Illustration: View of Tyre] + +At this time they led to Jesus a man who was very deaf, and who +stammered so that people could scarcely understand his words. They asked +Jesus to place his hand on this man and cure him. But Jesus would not do +this in public, with a crowd of people looking on. He led him away out +of the throng to a place where they could be by themselves. He put his +fingers into the man's ears, and then, moistening one finger upon his +own tongue, with it touched the man's tongue. Looking up to heaven with +a sigh, he said, "Be opened." The man's ears and his tongue were at once +set free; he could hear and could speak plainly. Jesus forbade the man +and his friends to tell anyone about the cure; but contrary to his +command they made it known everywhere. All who saw this man were +astonished; and they said of Jesus, "He has done everything well! He +makes even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!" + +The crowd clung to Jesus and followed him for three days. By that time +whatever food the people had brought with them had been eaten and yet +they stayed with Jesus, never thinking of their needs. Jesus called his +disciples together and said to them: + +"My heart is touched on account of all these people; for they have now +been with me three days and they have nothing to eat. Some of them have +come from distant places, and I cannot bear to send them away hungry for +fear that they may break down by the way." + +"Where can we," the disciples asked him, "in a lonely place like this, +with no towns near, find bread for such a crowd as this?" + +"How many loaves have you?" asked Jesus. + +"We have in all seven loaves," they answered, "and with them a few small +fishes." + +Jesus told all the crowds to sit down upon the ground; and when they had +done so, he held up the loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks to his +heavenly Father for them. Then he broke the loaves into pieces, also the +dried fish, and gave them to the disciples. The disciples distributed +them among the people; and everyone had all that he wanted to eat. + +After the meal, the disciples went around with large baskets, and picked +up of the food left over seven baskets full. At this time the people who +were fed by Jesus were four thousand men, besides women and children. +When all were satisfied, Jesus told them to go back to their homes; then +with his disciples, he went into the boat and sailed across the Sea of +Galilee. + +[Illustration: Sidon] + + + + +Again on the Sea of Galilee + +CHAPTER 46 + + +FROM THE land of the Ten Cities, Jesus and his disciples sailed straight +across the Sea of Galilee, and on its southwestern shore they came to a +city called Magadan or Magdala. One of the women who went with Jesus on +his journeys in Galilee, Mary Magdalene, that is, Mary of Magdala, was +from this city. Jesus came to this place for rest and for quiet talking +with his disciples; but as soon as he landed he was met by some +Pharisees and others who did not believe in him. They said to him: + +"Teacher, show us some sign from heaven that you are a prophet or one +whom God has sent." + +They wished Jesus to do some miracle or wonderful work, not that they +might believe in him, but only that they might see what he could do. +Everywhere the Pharisees, who looked upon themselves as leaders, were +opposed to Jesus and stirred up the ignorant people against him. + +We have already seen that Jesus never gave any cures or wonderful works +merely to be looked upon. He would help those who were in need or in +trouble; but he would not merely satisfy an idle desire to see a +miracle. He answered these Pharisees as he had answered others: + +"I will give you a sign from heaven. In the evening, at sunset you say, +'It will be fine weather, for the sky is as red as fire.' But in the +morning, if the sky is red, you say, 'It will be a stormy day, for the +sky is red as fire, and threatening.' You learn to read the signs in the +sky, yet you do not know how to read the signs of the times. If you +would look, you might see whether I come from God or not. It is a +wicked and a disobedient people who continually ask for signs. No sign +shall be given to this people, except the sign of the prophet Jonah." + +He did not even tell them how Jonah was to be a sign or token to them. +Perhaps a few months later, when these people heard that Jesus had been +slain and buried; then after three days had risen again to life, just as +Jonah had come forth alive after being buried for three days in the +great fish, they would then understand how Jonah had been as a sign of +Jesus. + +Jesus saw at once that this was no place to find quiet and a chance to +teach his disciples, so he went into the boat again, with his disciples, +and sailed away up the lake. They left in such haste that the disciples +did not think, while they were ashore, to buy some bread, and they had +with them in the boat only one loaf for Jesus and twelve men. + +While they were rowing over the sea, Jesus said to them: + +"Take care and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and +the leaven of Herod." + +They thought that he was speaking to them about their having failed to +bring more bread, and they began talking among themselves. Jesus noticed +this, and he said: + +"Why are you talking to one another about your being short of bread? How +little trust you have in me! Do you not remember the five loaves with +which I fed the five thousand, and the twelve baskets full of pieces +that you picked up afterward? Have you forgotten about the seven loaves +among the four thousand, and the seven baskets full that you picked up? +How is it that you do not see that I was not speaking to you about +bread? No, be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the +leaven of Herod." + +In warning his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees, Jesus +meant their pride and pretense of religion and exactness in obeying +rules, while failing to serve God with the heart. By the leaven of +Herod, he meant the spirit of living for the world, of guilty pleasure, +without a thought of doing God's will. + +They came to Bethsaida; and as soon as the people saw Jesus they brought +to him a blind man and begged him to touch him, hoping to see Jesus give +him his sight. But Jesus would not let them look on the curing of the +man. He took him away from the crowd, and outside the town, to a lonely +place. There, after spitting upon the man's eyes, he laid his hands upon +him, and asked him: + +"Can you see anything?" + +The man looked up, and said, "Yes, I can see a little, but not very +clearly. I see men moving about, but they look like trees." + +Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes. He looked around, and now +could see everything distinctly. + +Jesus said to him, "Now go directly to your home; and do not go into the +town, where men will see you and ask how you received your sight." + +Jesus and his disciples did not stop in Bethsaida; for he felt that he +must find some quiet, lonely place, where he could teach his disciples +the great truths of which they knew nothing; truths, too, which it would +be hard for them to believe and to understand. So from Bethsaida he went +on, following a road beside the river Jordan to the foot of Mount +Hermon, far in the north. + + + + +The Great Confession + +CHAPTER 47 + + +FROM BETHSAIDA by the Sea of Galilee Jesus led his twelve disciples +northward, to the very end of the land of Israel, at the foot of Mount +Hermon. Here, at one of the great springs from which the river Jordan +flows, was the city of Cæsarea-Philippi, or "Philip's Cæsarea," so +called because it was in the land ruled by Herod Philip, the brother of +Herod Antipas, who was ruling in Galilee. Jesus did not go into the city +of Cæsarea-Philippi, but into one of the villages near the city, for he +wished not to have a crowd around him, but to be alone with his +disciples. + +The time had now come for the disciples to know more about Jesus, who he +was, the work that he was to do and what he was soon to suffer. His plan +of teaching them was not to tell them, but to lead them on by questions +so that they might learn the truth by finding it out themselves. One +day, after he had been alone praying to his Father, he asked his +disciples: + +"Tell me, who do the people say that I am?" + +"Some say that you are John the Baptist, raised up from the dead," +answered the disciples; "others say that you are Elijah the prophet come +to earth again; and still others say that you are the prophet Jeremiah +or some other one of the old prophets." + +"But you, who do you say that I am?" asked Jesus. + +At once Simon Peter answered, for he was the one among the Twelve always +ready to speak: + +[Illustration: "But you, who do you say that I am?" asked Jesus of Simon +Peter.] + +"You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God!" + +You know that the Jews everywhere were looking for a king to rule over +them, set them free from the Roman power and make of them a great +conquering nation. This king, in their own language, they called "the +Messiah," which means, "the Anointed One," for in Israel a new king was +chosen by having oil poured upon his head. The word "Messiah," in the +Greek language, which was spoken everywhere, was "Christ," also meaning +"The Anointed One." Peter, in speaking those words, "Thou art the +Messiah, the Christ," meant to say that Jesus was the King of Israel, +for whom all the people were looking. + +"You are a blessed man, Simon, son of Jonah," answered Jesus, "for no +human being has made this known to you, but my Father who is in heaven. +Yes, and I say to you, 'Your name is Peter--a Rock--and on this rock I +will build my church; and all the powers of the underworld shall not +succeed against it.' Also, Simon Peter, I will give to you the keys of +the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth shall be forbidden +in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth shall be allowed in heaven." + +Because Simon Peter was the first to make this confession of Jesus as +the Messiah-Christ, the King, he was given special honor among the +followers of the Lord. You remember that more than a year before, when +Jesus met Simon for the first time, beside the river Jordan, he gave him +the new name Peter, which means "a rock." + +Then Jesus told the disciples that they were not to speak to any of the +people of what Peter had said, that Jesus was the Christ, the King, for +the time had not yet come to make it public. But now, since they knew +that he was to be a king and rule over Israel, he began for the first +time to speak of certain other things, which they found very hard to +understand. + +"Very soon," said Jesus, "we are going up to Jerusalem; and there I must +endure great suffering from the rulers of the people, the chief priests +and teachers of the law. I must be slain and buried; and on the third +day I shall rise again." + +The disciples could not understand how if he was to reign as King of +Israel, it could be possible for him to suffer these things and to die. +Peter took Jesus aside, where he could speak with him alone. + +"Master," said Peter, "you must not speak of such things. God will not +allow these things to come to you. You are not going to be put to death +in Jerusalem; you are going to Jerusalem to sit on the throne of David, +and reign over the land!" + +But Jesus turned his back upon Peter, and looking upon his disciples, +said: + +"Get away from me, Satan! You would turn me away from doing God's will! +For you look at things, not as God looks at them, but as man does!" + +Jesus saw that in Peter's mind was the view of the kingdom that Satan +had shown him in his great temptation on the mountain, not as a kingdom +of God, but as a kingdom such as men were expecting, a kingdom like +those of the world. + +Then Jesus called to his disciples, and to the people that were around +them, and said: + +"If any man has the will to come after me and be my disciple, let him +give up his own will, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever +wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever for my sake loses his +life shall find it. What good will it do to a man to gain the whole +world if in gaining he loses his own life? What will a man give that is +worth as much as his life? For the Son of Man is coming in the glory of +his Father with his angels; and then he will give to every man what his +acts deserve. And I tell you truly, there are some standing here who +will not die until they have seen the Son of Man coming to reign in his +kingdom." + +[Illustration: Nazareth] + +[Illustration: The three disciples beheld with wonder the change which +had come over their Lord. His face shone with a glory so great they +could not bear to look upon him, and beside him they saw standing the +prophets, Moses and Elijah.] + + + + +The Vision on the Mountain + +CHAPTER 48 + + +AT ONE time while Jesus was staying in one of the villages at the foot +of Mount Hermon, in the far north of the land, he took with him three of +his disciples, Peter, James and John, and went up the mountain to pray. +It was in the afternoon, when they walked up the mountain, and when +night came on he was still in prayer. The three disciples were tired +from climbing the mountain and fell asleep for a little time. When they +awoke they were filled with wonder at the change which had come over +their Lord. + +Although it was night, they saw the face of Jesus shining as brightly as +the sun at noon, with a dazzling glory so great that they could not bear +to look upon him. His clothes too were shining white and glittering. Not +only his face, but his hands, his feet and even his body beamed through +his garments with brightness. + +They saw standing beside Jesus in his splendor two men who had lived +long before on the earth and were now living no more. How the disciples +knew them we are not told. Perhaps the knowledge flashed upon their +minds, given them by God; or it may have been that as they listened to +these two men, they learned from their words who they were. One was the +great prophet Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt and died on +Mount Nebo; the other was the prophet Elijah, who spoke bold words to +the wicked King Ahab and was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. +Both these men had passed from earth many hundred years before. + +As the three disciples looked and listened, they could hear what these +two prophets of the old times were saying. They were talking to Jesus +about his death which was to take place at Jerusalem. So these two great +men of the past knew already what Jesus had tried to tell his disciples, +and what they were so slow to believe, that he was soon to die! + +Peter was always eager to speak, and he spoke now, though he scarcely +understood what his own words meant. + +[Illustration: Mount Hermon--the Mount of the Transfiguration] + +"Master," he said, "this is a good place for us to stay in. If you are +willing, I will make here three tents; one for you, one for Moses and +one for Elijah." + +He thought that the two prophets, Moses and Elijah, had come back to +stay upon the earth; and that if tents were made for them, they would +live upon that mountain. + +While Peter was speaking a bright and glorious cloud came over them all, +over Jesus, over the two prophets and over the three disciples, who were +filled with fear as they found the cloud around them. And a greater +fear came upon them as they heard the voice of God out of the cloud +saying: + +"This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I delight. Listen to him!" + +And as they heard these words, knowing that God had spoken them, they +fell down upon their faces in great terror. Jesus came to them and +touched them gently, saying: + +"Rise up, and do not be afraid." + +Then they looked up. The bright cloud had passed away, the two prophets +were no longer to be seen, and Jesus was standing alone over them, some +of the glory still remaining upon his face. + +As they were walking down the mountain, Jesus said to his three +disciples, Peter, James and John: + +"Tell no one what you have seen this night, until the Son of Man has +risen from the dead." + +So, much as they wished to tell their fellow-disciples of this wonderful +sight, they obeyed their Master, and said not a word about it while +Jesus was still with them. + +They said to Jesus, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the +prophet Elijah must come before the Messiah-King appears?" + +"Elijah does come," answered Jesus, "and he prepares the way for the +coming of the King. And I tell you that Elijah has already come, but the +people have not known him. They would not listen to him, and have done +to him as they pleased. And just as it was with him, so will it be with +the Son of Man. He shall also suffer at the hands of men." + +Then the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking to them of John +the Baptist, who like Elijah had lived in the wilderness, wore a mantle +of skin, and fed on desert-food, and who, like Elijah, gave God's +message to the people, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus +Christ. + +[Illustration: As Jesus and his three disciples came down to the village +at the foot of Mt. Hermon, a man eagerly besought him to cast an evil +spirit out of his son.] + + + + +The Boy with the Dumb Spirit + +CHAPTER 49 + + +WHEN JESUS and his three disciples came to the village at the foot of +the mountain, they found a great crowd gathered around the other nine +disciples, and some of the Jewish teachers of the law, the scribes, +talking with them very earnestly. Some of the glory of the last night +still lingered upon the face of Jesus, and as the people looked upon +him, they were filled with wonder and bowed down before him. + +Out of the crowd came a man running, whose face showed that he was in +great trouble. He knelt before Jesus and cried out: + +"Teacher, I brought to you my son, in whom is an evil spirit, which has +made him dumb. I pray you have mercy on him, and cure him, for he is my +only child. Often the spirit seizes him and dashes him down. It makes +him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth. He is wasting away, and I +fear will die unless help comes to him. I brought him here, hoping to +find you. But you were away, and I spoke to these men, your disciples. +They tried to cast out the evil spirit, but they could not. Now that you +have come, will you not help me?" + +"O you people who will not believe, and who turn away from God!" said +Jesus, "how long must I be with you? How long must I have patience with +you? Bring your boy to me." + +They brought the boy to Jesus; but no sooner did the boy see him, than +the wicked spirit threw him into a spasm. He fell on the ground, his +body twitching and tearing; and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. + +"How long has he been like this?" asked Jesus of the boy's father. + +"Ever since he was a little child," the man answered, "and it has many +times thrown him into fire and into water, almost killing him. If you +can do anything, do take pity on us both and help us." + +"'If I can!'" said Jesus, taking up the man's word. "Do you not know +that all things can be done for the one who believes?" + +"I do believe," cried out the father of the boy. "O Master, help my lack +of faith!" + +Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering around, and he spoke to the +evil spirit. + +"Deaf and dumb spirit," he said, "I command you at once come out of this +boy, and never again trouble him!" + +With a loud cry, the evil spirit threw the boy into a violent spasm of +pain and then left him. The boy lay on the ground, looking like a +corpse. In fact, many who were standing near, as they saw him, said, +"The boy is surely dead!" + +But Jesus took his hand, lifting him from the ground. The boy stood up +and walked away well, free from the evil spirit and able to speak. + +When Jesus was alone with his disciples in the house, they asked him, +"Why was it that we could not drive out the evil spirit from the boy?" + +"It was because you have so little faith. I tell you that if your faith +were only the size of a grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this +mountain, 'Move from this place to that,' and move it would; for nothing +would be impossible to you." + +But he added, "An evil spirit of this kind is harder to drive away than +most. Only by special prayer can it be cast out." + +Soon after this Jesus left that place at the foot of the mountain, and +led his disciples toward the south. They saw that he was now going in +the direction of Jerusalem, and were quite sure that there he would set +up his throne and kingdom. But Jesus knew what they were thinking of, +and he said to them, + +"Listen carefully to my words. The Son of Man is to be given into the +hands of his enemies. They shall kill him, and three days after he has +been killed, he shall rise again to life." + +But the disciples could not understand these words, for they would not +believe that he was to die, and they were afraid to ask him what these +sayings meant. + +[Illustration: The Jordan near Dan] + + + + +The Last Visit to Capernaum + +CHAPTER 50 + + +WHILE JESUS was passing through Galilee for the last time, he wished not +to do in that land any more wonderful works or to give any further +teachings in public. He desired not to have crowds around him, but to be +alone with his disciples, for there were many things to be told them +before he should be taken away from them. + +As they were on their way to Capernaum, which had been his home during +the year before, he saw that his disciples as they walked were having +some dispute or quarrel. He well knew what they were saying to each +other, for he knew all things; but at the time he said nothing. + +He came to Capernaum, for the first time followed by no crowd, but with +his twelve disciples only. In the evening, as they sat together in the +house, he said to them: + +"What was it that you were talking about today as we were walking on the +road?" + +The disciples looked at each other, a little ashamed, and at first did +not speak. Finally, one of them said: + +"We were asking each other who of us should hold the first place in your +kingdom." + +Although Jesus had more than once told these men that he must suffer and +die, they did not believe it. They saw that he was on his way toward +Jerusalem, and like all the people who believed in him, they thought +that when he came to that city, he would take his kingdom and rule; and +each of his disciples wanted a place for himself next the throne. + +"The first place!" answered Jesus. "If any of you has the will to be +first in the kingdom of heaven, that one shall be the last of all and +shall serve all the others!" + +[Illustration: Whoever will become like this little child, shall be the +greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven] + +A little child was playing near him, for the children were never afraid +of Jesus and loved to be with him. Jesus reached out his hand, took the +child in his arms and held it close to him. Then he said to his +disciples: + +"I tell you, unless you change your spirit and become like little +children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven at all! Whoever +of you will become humble and gentle, like this little child, not +seeking great things for himself, that is the one who shall be the +greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And any one who helps even a little +child to be one of my followers is helping me. But if anyone puts a +snare or stumbling-block in the way of one of these little ones, to keep +him from following me, it would be better for that man to have a great +millstone hung on his neck, and to be thrown into the deep sea! Woe to +the world on account of snares and hindrances, keeping men away from God +and from salvation! There must be these snares and hindrances, that +cannot be helped; but woe to the man who puts them in the way! + +"If your hand or your foot becomes a snare to you, keeping you from God, +you must cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter +into life a cripple, and with only one hand, than with two hands or two +feet, to go away to everlasting death. And if your eye would lead you to +forsake God, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to be +saved having only one eye, than to be lost having two eyes. + +"I tell you, never despise or think lightly of one of these little ones; +for I say to you, their angels always see the face of my Father who is +in heaven." + +Then John, one of the disciples, said: + +"Teacher, we saw a man who is not one of your followers using your name +to cast out evil spirits; and we told him not to use your name, since he +is not with us." + +"Do not forbid him," said Jesus, "there is no man who will do a mighty +work in my name, and be able also to speak against me. Whoever is not +against us is for us. Why, if any one will give you even a cup of water +to drink, because you belong to Christ, I tell you truly, that man shall +not fail of having a reward." + +At that time Jesus told his disciples how to treat those who had done +them any wrong. He said: + +"If your brother does wrong, go to him and speak to him about it when +you are alone with him. If he listens to you, then you have won your +brother. But if he will not listen, take with you one or two others, and +talk with him again, that there may be at least two witnesses in every +case. If he will not listen to these men, speak to the church; and if he +refuses to listen to the church, then have nothing more to do with him, +but treat him as a stranger, as the people treat those who collect the +taxes for the Romans. + +"I tell you, my disciples, that whatever you forbid on earth shall be +forbidden by those in heaven; and whatever you allow on earth shall be +allowed by those in heaven. I tell you another thing: if two of you +shall agree on earth upon anything that they ask in prayer, it shall be +done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have +come together in my name, I am there among them." + +Then Peter came up to Jesus and asked him a question. It was this: + +"Master, how often should I forgive my brother when he has done me +wrong? Shall it be as many as seven times?" + +"Seven times?" said Jesus. "No, I say, seventy times seven! For the +kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to have his +servants pay him the debts which they owed him. When he had begun to +make up their accounts, one servant was brought before him who owed him +more than a million dollars. He could not pay his debt, and his master +ordered that he should be sold, and his wife and children with him, and +everything that he had, toward the payment of his debt. The servant fell +down upon his face before him, and said, 'Only have patience with me, my +lord, and I will pay it all.' His master knew that he could never pay so +great a debt; he felt a pity for him, and let him go free, forgiving him +all that he owed. + +"But as he was going away, that servant met one of his fellow-servants +who owed him a small debt, only about fifteen dollars. He took him by +the throat, and said, 'Pay me what you owe me!' The man threw himself on +the ground and begged for mercy, crying out, 'Have patience with me, +wait a little while, and I will pay all that I owe you.' But he refused +to have mercy; he took him into the court and had him put into prison +until he should pay the debt. + +"When the other servants saw him sending this man to prison, they felt +troubled and told the king what he had done. At this the king became +very angry. He sent for that cruel servant and said to him, 'You wicked +servant! When you asked me for mercy, I gave to you all your great debt +and let you go free! Should not you, also, have shown the same kindness +to your fellow-servant that I showed to you?' Then his master, being +very angry, handed him over to the jailor, to be kept in a dungeon until +he should pay the whole of his debt. So also will my Father in heaven do +to you, unless you forgive your brother with all your heart." + +While Jesus was at this time in Capernaum, the officer who collected +from the Jews the tax for the Temple came to Peter and said: + +"Does not your Master pay the Temple tax?" + +"Yes," answered Peter. + +But when he went into the house, before he could speak, Jesus said to +him, + +"Tell me, Simon, from whom do the kings of this world take taxes? From +their sons, or from foreigners?" + +"From foreigners," answered Peter. + +"Then their own people are free from being taxed, are they not? We are +the sons of God, and we should be free from the tax for the house of +God. However, in order not to displease them, do you go to the sea, +throw in a hook and take the first fish that comes up; open its mouth, +and you will find in it a piece of silver money. Take that and give it +to the tax collectors for you and me." + + + + +Good-bye to Galilee + +CHAPTER 51 + + +WHILE JESUS was still in Capernaum, the fall of the year came on, and +with it the time drew near for the Jewish Feast of Tents, or Feast of +Tabernacles. In the Bible, the word "tabernacles" always means "tents." +This feast was called "the Feast of the Tents" because every year the +people who went up to Jerusalem to attend it lived for a week in little +tents or huts made of green branches; to keep in mind the forty years, +long before, when, after coming out of Egypt, the Israelites lived in +the desert in tents, moving from place to place. + +The younger brothers of Jesus, the sons of Joseph and Mary, heard that +Jesus was in Capernaum; and they came to see him. At this time these +brothers of Jesus did not believe in him as their King and Saviour; +although afterward they were among his followers. These men said to +Jesus: + +"Why do you not go to Judea and Jerusalem and let your disciples see +there what you can do? No one who wishes to be known stays in a place +apart from the people. Since you can do these great works, you should +show yourself to the world." + +"My time," said Jesus, "has not come yet; but your time is always here. +The world is not against you, but it is against me, because I speak +against its evil deeds. Go yourselves up to the feast; I am not going as +yet up to this feast, because my time has not yet come." + +Jesus did not wish to have as his companions at the feast men who did +not believe in him, even though they were his brothers. So, while his +brothers went on to Jerusalem, he stayed a little longer in Galilee. +Before he left the city of Capernaum he gave one last call and warning +to its people and those in the cities near by. He spoke to those who +lived in Chorazin, a town only a few miles from Capernaum; and those in +Bethsaida, five miles away, at the head of the lake. He said to these +cities: + +[Illustration: Christ's call to the sick and weary: "Come unto me, all +ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."] + +"Woe unto you, Chorazin! and woe to you, Bethsaida! If the mighty works +that were done in you had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, +long before this time they would have turned from sin to God, weeping in +rough garments, with ashes on their heads! I tell you that when God +comes to judge the lands, it will be harder for Chorazin and Bethsaida +than for Tyre and Sidon. And you, O Capernaum, shall you be lifted up +to heaven? No, you will sink down to death. For if the great works that +were done in you had been done in Sodom, that city would have lasted +until today. But I say to you, it will be easier for Sodom in God's day +of judgment than for you, O Capernaum!" + +At the same time Jesus spoke these words also: + +"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these +things from the wise and the learned, and for making them known to those +who are child-like in spirit. Yes, Father, I praise thee that this has +been the way that thou hast chosen. + +"All power has been given to me by the Father; and no one can fully know +the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows the Father except the +Son, and he to whom the Son will make him known. + +"Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy-laden with your troubles; +and I will give you rest. Take upon you the yoke that I bear, and learn +from me how to live; for I am gentle and lowly-minded, and you shall +find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light." + +With these words Jesus left Capernaum and Galilee for the last time. + +[Illustration: But one of the ten men when he found that he was a leper +no longer, stopped and praised God with a loud voice, and ran to Jesus' +feet, giving him thanks for his cure.] + + + + +Passing Through Samaria + +CHAPTER 52 + + +AFTER MOST of those who were going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of +Tents had left Capernaum, Jesus began his journey with his disciples. +All who saw him going toward Jerusalem, and even his disciples, thought +that now he was surely on his way to take his throne and rule the people +as king of Israel. + +Just as they were starting, a man who was one of the teachers of the law +came to Jesus and said: + +"Master, I will follow you wherever you may go." He thought that by +following Jesus he might have some high place in his kingdom. But Jesus +saw that this man was following him only for gain. He said to him: + +"You will gain nothing by following me. The foxes have holes, and the +wild birds have their nests; but the Son of Man has not a place where he +can lay his head." + +To another man, Jesus said, "Follow me!" The man answered, "First let me +go and bury my father." + +Jesus said to this man, "Let those who are dead bury their dead; but do +you go and spread everywhere the news of the kingdom of God." + +Jesus meant by this that such matters as the burial of the dead could be +cared for by others, even though they did not have a knowledge of the +truth which gives life; but Jesus wanted this man to go at once and +preach his gospel. + +There was another man who said to Jesus, "I will follow you; but let me +first go and say 'good-bye' to my friends at my home." + +"Whoever looks back," answered Jesus, "after he has put his hand to the +plough is of no use for the kingdom of God." + +For his work Jesus wanted men who were single-hearted, giving up all, +that they might follow and serve him. + +On this journey to Jerusalem Jesus did not take the road down the Jordan +valley, the way usually followed. He made up his mind this time to go +through Samaria, perhaps because he did not wish to have a crowd of +people with him, and few of the Jews went to Jerusalem by way of +Samaria. + +As he drew near a Samaritan village, he sent some of his disciples to +find in it a lodging place. But the Samaritan people would not allow +Jesus and his disciples to come into their village, because they saw +that they were Jews on their way to Jerusalem. The Samaritans and the +Jews hated each other and would not show kindness to one another. + +James and John, two of the disciples, were exceedingly angry at these +people, who would shut out their Master. They said to him: + +"Lord, shall we call down fire from heaven, as the prophet Elijah did, +and burn up that wicked village?" + +But Jesus said to them, "Your spirit is not right. I did not come to +destroy the lives of men, but to save them. Let us go to some other +village." + +While he was still on the border of Galilee and Samaria, as he was going +into a village, he met ten men who had the terrible disease of leprosy. +They stood at a distance, for lepers were not allowed to come near +people; and they cried aloud, saying: + +"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" + +"Go," answered Jesus, "and show yourselves to the priests." + +In the Temple was a room where a man went who had any disease like +leprosy, with a breaking out upon his skin. At this room he was kept for +a time; and if it was found that his disease was not leprosy, after +certain offerings and washings, he was allowed to go home and be among +men. These men started for their Temple; those who were Jews for the +Temple in Jerusalem, any that were Samaritans for their Temple on Mount +Gerizim, near the city of Shechem. As they went, and by going showed +their faith in Jesus, they found all at once that their leprosy was gone +and they were entirely well. + +Nine of these ten men, after they were cured, went on their way toward +the Temple. But one of them, when he found that he was a leper no +longer, stopped with a loud voice praised God; and ran to Jesus' feet +and fell on his face before him, giving him thanks for his cure. This +man was a Samaritan. + +"Were there not ten men cured?" said Jesus. "But where are the nine? Was +there only one to turn back and give thanks to God, and that one a +stranger?" + +And Jesus said to this grateful Samaritan, "Rise up, and go your way; +your faith has made you well." + +[Illustration: The priest and the Levite walked past on the other side, +but the Samaritan felt a pity for the poor man lying in the road and +came down and poured oil on his wounds and bandaged them.] + + + + +The Scribe's Question; and Mary's Choice + +CHAPTER 53 + + +WHILE JESUS was on his way to Jerusalem one of the teachers of the +law--whom the Jews called "scribes"--came to him with a question. These +Jewish scribes were everywhere enemies of Jesus, and were continually +asking him questions, not that they might learn, but that in some way +they might give him trouble. + +This scribe said to Jesus, "Teacher, what shall I do that I may have the +life everlasting?" + +"What is said in God's law?" answered Jesus. "What do you read there?" + +He answered, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with +all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you +must love your neighbor as yourself." + +"That is a right answer," said Jesus; "do that and you shall live." + +But the scribe, wishing to make an excuse for himself, and thinking to +puzzle Jesus, said, "But who is my neighbor?" + +Then Jesus told to this man the parable or story of "The Good +Samaritan." + +"There was once a man," said Jesus, "who was going down by a lonely road +from Jerusalem to Jericho. The robbers who hide among the mountains in +that region rushed at this man, stripped him of everything, and beat him +near to death; then ran away and left him almost dead on the roadside. +It happened that a priest was going down the same road. He saw the man +lying there, but instead of coming to help him, walked past him on the +other side of the road. Then a Levite, one of those who help the priests +in the services of the Temple, came to that place; and he too went by on +the other side, carefully keeping away from the suffering man. + +"But soon after, a Samaritan, one of those people whom all the Jews hate +and despise, came down the same road. This man, when he found the poor +man lying in the road, got off from the ass on which he was riding and +stood over the man. He felt a pity for the sufferer and put bandages on +his wounds, after pouring into them a little oil and wine. Then he +lifted up the man and carefully placed him on his own ass, and walking +by his side, brought him to an inn and cared for him all that night. On +the next morning he took out from his purse two pieces of silver, handed +them to the inn-keeper and said to him, 'Look after this man until he is +well; and if you spend more than this, I will repay it to you when I +come this way again.' + +"Now," asked Jesus, "which one of these three men, the priest, the +Levite and the Samaritan, do you think showed himself a true neighbor to +the poor fellow who fell among the robbers?" + +The scribe answered, "The one who showed kindness to him." + +Jesus said to him, "Then go and do as this man did." He meant to show +the scribe that "our neighbor" is the one who most needs our help, +whoever he may be. + +[Illustration: "Martha, Martha," replied the Lord, "you are anxious and +troubled about a great many things."] + +When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, he did not at once enter the city and +find a lodging place within its walls, for he knew well that it was +filled with his enemies; and that the priests and rulers would try to +seize him and put him to death. He expected after some months to die +at Jerusalem, as he had so many times told his disciples--although they +could not believe it--but the time for his death had not yet come. For a +home while attending the Feast of Tents, he went to a village about two +miles from Jerusalem, on the east of the Mount of Olives. This village +was called Bethany, and in it was living a family all of whom were +strong friends of Jesus: Martha, her sister Mary and their younger +brother Lazarus. With this family he stayed while he was visiting +Jerusalem. + +Martha was the older sister and the head of the house. She gave Jesus a +hearty welcome and made herself busy in attending to his needs. But +Mary, her younger sister, left everything and seated herself at the feet +of the Lord, eager to listen to his words. Martha, somewhat worried by +her many cares, especially in making ready a dinner for Jesus, was not +pleased at her sister's conduct. She came to Jesus and said: + +"Lord, do you think it right for my sister to leave all the work to me? +Tell her to help me." + +"Martha, Martha," replied the Lord, "you are anxious and trouble +yourself about a great many things. Only one thing is really needful. +Mary has chosen the best dish, and she will not be dragged away from +it." + +Jesus meant to say that Martha need not prepare a dinner with many +dishes, for he needed only a simple meal; and that Mary had chosen well +instead of food the words that he was speaking, which were really a +feast to her soul. + +At one time Jesus was praying in a certain place. It may have been on +the Mount of Olives, between Bethany and Jerusalem, for Jesus went there +often to pray. When his prayer was over, the disciples came to him and +said: + +"Master, John the Baptist taught his disciples how to pray. Will you not +also give us a prayer that we may use?" + +Jesus said to them, "I will give you this prayer. When you pray, say, +'Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. +Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our +daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And +lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the +kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and forever. Amen.'" + +Jesus also gave to his disciples a parable or story about earnestness in +prayer. He said: + +"Suppose that one of you who has a friend should go to his house in the +middle of the night, and should knock at his door loud enough to wake +him from his sleep, and should say to him, 'Friend, please do get up and +let me have three loaves of bread! A friend of mine has suddenly come to +my house and I have nothing for him to eat;' and suppose the other +should answer him from inside the door, 'Don't bother me; the door is +locked and I am in bed with my children. I can't get up and give you +anything!' I tell you, though he will not get up and give you anything +merely because you are a friend of his, if you keep on knocking long +enough, he will at last rise and give you whatever you want, because you +persevere in seeking after it. + +"So, I say to you: ask, and the gift shall be yours; seek, and you shall +find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For every one who asks, +receives; he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, the door shall +be opened. + +"Is there a father among you, who if his son asks for bread, will give +him a stone? If he is asked for a fish, will he give his son a snake? +Or, if asked for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If you then, even +not as good as you should be, are willing to give good things to your +children, how much more will your Father in heaven give this Holy Spirit +to his children that ask him?" + +[Illustration: This massive ancient wall is known as the Wailing Place. +Here the Jews of Jerusalem come to mourn over the splendor of Israel +that is no more] + + + + +Jesus at the Feast of Tents + +CHAPTER 54 + + +AT THE TIME when Jesus came to Jerusalem, the Feast of Tents was half +over. Many had been looking for him, for all through the land he was +talked about. At the Feast the people were saying, "Where is he? Has he +come up to the Feast?" + +Some said, "He is a good man." Others said, "No, he cannot be a good +man, for he is leading the people away from the law of Moses." But no +one spoke freely about him, for fear of the rulers and the people of +Jerusalem whose minds had been set against Jesus by the priests and the +scribes or teachers of the law. + +From his home in Bethany at Martha's house, Jesus came quietly into the +Temple and began teaching the people who gathered there during the +Feast, going out at evening to Bethany. All who heard him wondered at +his words, and every day the crowds around him grew. People said to each +other, "How did this man get all his knowledge? He has never studied in +the college of the scribes." + +"My teaching," said Jesus in answer, "is not my own; but it comes from +Him who sent me. Any one who chooses to do God's will, will know whether +I speak in God's name, or whether I am talking in my own name. Did not +Moses give you the law? Yet none of you honestly tries to keep the law. +If you did try to keep the law, you would not try to kill me!" + +The crowd replied to Jesus, "You are crazy! Who is trying to kill you?" + +But Jesus knew that he was speaking the truth, for he knew what was in +the minds of the rulers and of many in Jerusalem. He said to the crowd: + +"I will be with you only a little longer, and then I am going to him who +sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me, and where I am +going, you cannot come." + +"Where is this man going," said the Jews, "that we cannot find him? Is +he going among our people in foreign lands, to teach the foreigners? +What does he mean by words like these?" + +Jesus meant that after they should kill him and he should rise from the +tomb and live again, he was going back to his home in heaven, a place to +which they could never come. + +[Illustration: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink"] + +The last and greatest day of the Feast of Tents came. On that day they +brought water into the Temple and poured it out, amid great rejoicing; +calling to mind how God had given water from the rock to the Israelites +in the desert. + +In the midst of the pouring out of the water, Jesus cried with a very +loud voice, so that all heard him: + +"If any one is thirsty," he said, "let him come to me and drink! He who +believes in me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water!" + +Some of the people, when they heard this, said, "This must be really the +Prophet who is to come!" + +Others said, "This is the Christ, the King of Israel!" + +But there were those who said, "No, this cannot be Christ the King, for +this man comes from Galilee, and the Bible says that Christ is to come +from the line of King David and from David's town of Bethlehem." + +These people knew that Jesus came to them from Galilee, but they did not +know that he had been born in Bethlehem and belonged to the royal line +of David. They were divided over Jesus: some thought that he was their +promised king, while others wanted to seize him as a teacher of +falsehood. The rulers sent out officers to make him their prisoner, but +somehow no man dared to lay hands upon him. + +When the officers came back to the chief priests and leading men, they +were asked, "Why did you not bring this man with you?" + +The officers answered, "No man ever spoke as this man speaks!" + +"What! has this man led you astray, too?" said the rulers. "Have any of +the leading men, or the Pharisees, believed in him? As for this crowd +who know nothing of the law, they are of no account!" + +Nicodemus, that one of the rulers who a year before had come by night to +talk with Jesus, said to them: + +"Surely our law does not allow any man to be treated as guilty before +hearing what he has to say and finding out what he has done!" + +"Are you too from Galilee, like all the followers of this man?" they +answered him. "Search, and you will find that no prophet ever comes from +Galilee." + +In the evening all the people went to their homes, and Jesus went over +the Mount of Olives to his friends at Bethany. + +[Illustration: View of Bethany] + + + + +Jesus and the Sinful Woman + +CHAPTER 55 + + +AFTER THE Feast of Tents Jesus stayed near Jerusalem, making his home in +Bethany, for nearly two months, until another feast came, the Feast of +the Dedication of the Temple. About two hundred years before that time, +the Temple had been held by enemies, who had stopped the services, had +set up images in the building and had done many things to make it vile. +At last the enemies were driven away; and then the Jews made the Temple +clean again, destroyed the images and began once more the regular +service. After this, every year they kept the day of the reopening of +the Temple as "The Feast of the Dedication." At this feast the Temple +was lighted up every night very brightly, and on that account the feast +was also called "The Feast of Lights." + +During the days of his stay, Jesus went often to the Temple and sat down +in a room called "The Court of the Women," because on one side of it was +a gallery where the women worshipped, looking down on the services at +the altar. It was also called "The Treasury" on account of the +gift-boxes on its walls, where people dropped in their money for the +poor and for the support of the Temple. In this court, which was very +large, and open to the sky, without a roof, the Jewish teachers held +their classes for the study of the law; and many came to Jesus to listen +to his words. + +[Illustration: Jesus replied to the accusers of the sinful woman: "Let +the one among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at +her."] + +One morning the teaching of Jesus was interrupted by a noise in the +court. Some of the scribes and Pharisees, who were enemies of Jesus, +planned to get him into trouble with the Roman rulers. They came, +dragging in a poor woman who had done a wicked deed; and bringing her +forward directly in front of Jesus. + +"Teacher," they said, "this woman was caught in a wicked act. Now, Moses +in the law commands that any person committing that crime shall be +stoned to death; but what do you say should be done with her?" + +Jesus very well knew that they had brought this question to him hoping, +whatever he said, to make trouble for him. If he should say, "Let her go +free," they would declare that Jesus was a breaker of the law and cared +nothing for crimes. If, on the other hand, he said, "Let her be +punished," they could say to the Roman rulers, "This man is acting as a +judge and claims to be the King of Israel;" and this might cause the +Romans to put him to death. So, whatever Jesus might say, they could +find some reason to accuse him. + +But Jesus seemed to pay no attention to their words. He stooped down, +and began to write with his finger on the floor. But as they kept on +asking him the same question, finally he rose up, looked his enemies +full in the face, and said: + +"Let the one among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at +her." + +Then he stooped down again and continued writing with his finger. They +stood silent for some time and then began quietly to go away, the oldest +men first and the younger men later. After a while, Jesus looked up and +saw the woman standing alone before him. He rose up and said: + +"Woman, where are those men? Does no man say that you are guilty?" + +She answered him, "No man, Lord." + +Jesus said to her, "Neither do I call you guilty. Go away, and never sin +again." + +Then Jesus went on with his teaching, which had been stopped by the +bringing in of the woman by his enemies. He said: + +"I am the light of the whole world. He who follows me and obeys my words +will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." + +Many other things Jesus said to the people at that time; and some of +those who heard him began to believe that he was a teacher come from +God. To those who believed, he said: + +"If you stand faithful to my words, you are truly my followers; and you +shall understand the truth, and the truth shall make you free." + +[Illustration: "I am the light of the whole world. He who follows me and +obeys my words will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of +life"] + +"What do you mean by those words, 'You shall be made free'?" said the +people. "We are sprung from Abraham, and have never been slaves. How can +we be made free?" + +"In very truth, I tell you," answered Jesus, "every one who sins is a +slave. Now the slave does not stay in the home always, but the son +stays, for it is his home, and he has a right to be there. So, if the +Son of the heavenly Father sets you free from sin, you will be free +indeed." + +As Jesus went on speaking, the people who listened became very angry. At +last he said: + +"Your great father Abraham longed to see the day when I should come to +the earth; and he saw it coming, and it made him glad." + +"Why," the Jews said, "you are not fifty years old, and do you say that +Abraham saw you?" + +"I tell you truly," answered Jesus, "before Abraham was born, I was +living!" + +At this, they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself +from them and left the Temple. + +[Illustration: The so-called tower of David in Jerusalem] + + + + +The Blind Man at the Pool of Siloam + +CHAPTER 56 + + +ON A SABBATH morning, which was not Sunday, but Saturday, the Jewish day +of rest and church-going--Jesus and his disciples were on their way to +the service in the Temple, when they passed a blind man. They had seen +this man before and knew that he had been blind all his life. He had +come into the world without eyesight, to the great sorrow of his father +and mother; and he lived upon the little coins that people gave him as +they were on their way to the Temple. + +The Jews believed that every disease was caused by some act of sin; that +if a man became ill, it was because he had done some wicked deed and was +being punished for it; and if a child was born blind, or dumb, or +crippled, it must have been because either its father or mother had +sinned against God's law. Some of the scribes, who were the teachers of +the law, said that each soul lived many times on the earth; that when a +man died, his soul went into a body that was born at that moment; and if +the new-born baby was blind, or diseased, it was because it had done +wrong in some life before that one. None of these things are believed +now since Christ has taught men, but they were held by nearly all people +while Jesus was on the earth. + +As the disciples were passing by this blind man, one of them said to +Jesus: + +"Teacher, whose sin was it that caused this man to be born blind? Was +it the fault of his parents? Or was it his own fault?" + +"It was through no fault of his, nor of his father or mother that this +man was born blind," answered Jesus. "It was that God might show a +wonderful work in him. While daylight lasts, we must be doing God's +work; the night will soon come when we can work no longer. As long as I +am in the world I am the light of the world, and give light to men." + +As he said this, he spat on the ground and mixed the spittle with dust, +making it into mud, and smeared it on the man's eyes. He said to the +blind man: + +"Now, go down to the pool of Siloam and wash." + +[Illustration: The Pool of Siloam at the present time] + +The pool of Siloam was a large tank or reservoir on the southeast of the +city, where the valley of the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom +meet. To go to that place the blind man with two great blotches of mud +on his face must walk across the city of Jerusalem, passing all the +crowds on their way to worship. He went down to the pool of Siloam, +climbed down its steps to the water and washed the mud from his face. In +a moment his white, sightless eyes flashed with a new light. He looked +up, and for the first time in all his life he could see! + +As he went to his father's house, everybody who saw him noticed how +differently he looked. All had known him as a blind man, groping his way +to the place where he used to sit as a beggar. The people asked each +other: + +"Is this the same blind man that begged in the street?" + +Some said, "Yes, this is the same man." + +But others said, "No, this cannot be the man; but he is one who looks +somewhat like him." + +He said, "I am the same man." + +"Then how did you get your sight?" they asked. + +"The man whom they call Jesus," he answered, "made some mud and put it +on my eyes, and said, 'Go to Siloam and wash your eyes.' So I went and +washed them; and my sight came to me." + +"Where is this man who cured you?" they asked. + +"I do not know," he answered. + +They took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, who were the +leaders of the people. We have seen that the Pharisees were always +enemies to Jesus. So the Pharisees asked him to tell again how he had +gained his sight; and he told them: + +"The man named Jesus smeared some mud on my eyes, and I washed them, and +now I can see." + +Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus cannot be from God, because +he does not keep the Sabbath." + +The scribes had made a rule that mixing up mud on the Sabbath day was +working; that carrying it from one place to another was bearing a load; +and that to give any treatment to a sick man on the Sabbath, unless it +was necessary to save his life, was Sabbath breaking. So to their eyes, +Jesus in curing the blind man had broken the Sabbath rules in more than +one way. + +But some others said, "How can a bad man do such wonderful works? Is not +this work of cure a sign that God is with him?" + +So there were two parties among them in their opinion about Jesus. They +asked the blind man again: + +"What do you say of this man who has opened your eyes?" + +"I say that he is a prophet from God," answered the man. + +Many of the Jews, however, would not believe that this man had been born +blind and had gained his sight, until they sent for his father and +mother. + +"Is this your son," they asked, "the son you say was born blind? How is +it that now he can see?" + +"This is our son," his parents answered, "and he was born blind; of that +we are sure. But how it is that he can see now, we do not know, nor do +we know who opened his eyes. Ask him--he is old enough--he can speak for +himself." + +His parents spoke in this way because they were afraid of the Jews, for +the rulers had agreed that any one who said that Jesus was the Christ +should be turned out of the church. That was why they had said, "He is +old enough; ask him." So the Pharisees again sent for the man who had +been blind, and said to him: + +"Give God all the praise for your sight; we know that this Jesus is a +bad man." + +"I know nothing about his being a bad man; one thing I do know, that +once I was blind, and now I can see." + +"What did he do to you?" they asked. "How did he open your eyes?" + +"I have told you all about it already," he replied, "and it seems you do +not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you intend to be his +disciples?" + +Then they were in a rage at him, and said, "You may be his disciple, but +we are disciples of Moses, and we obey his laws. We know that God spoke +to Moses, but we do not know where this fellow comes from!" + +"Well, this is very strange!" answered the man. "You do not know where +he comes from; and yet he has opened my eyes. We know that God does not +listen to bad men; but if any man is God-fearing, and does God's will, +that man God will hear. Since the world began, no one ever heard before +of a man that could open the eyes of one born blind. If this Jesus were +not of God, he could do nothing." + +"Are you trying to teach us?" they answered. "You, who were born a +sinner?" + +Then they turned him out of the church; they forbade him to sit in the +meetings or to go into the Temple; and after that none of them would so +much as speak to him. Jesus heard that he had been put out of the +church; he sought him out, and when he had found him, he asked: + +"Do you believe in the Son of Man?" + +"Tell me who he is," said the man, "and I will believe in him." + +"You have seen him," answered Jesus, "and it is he who is now speaking +to you." + +The man said, "I do believe, Lord," and he fell on his face before him. + +And Jesus said, "I came into the world to put men to this test, in order +that those who cannot see, and know they are blind as this man was, +might be made to see; and that those who think they can see should +remain blind." + +Some of the Pharisees who heard this knew that it was a rebuke to them, +because they failed to see in Jesus one sent from God. They said: + +"Then are we blind, too!" + +"If you were really blind," said Jesus, "you would have no sin to answer +for; but as it is, you say, 'We can see,' and so your sin remains +against you." + +Again the Jews were divided over the words of Jesus. Some said, "He is +crazy! Why listen to him?" + +But others said, "These are not the words of a crazy man. Can a man who +is crazy open the eyes of a blind man?" + +[Illustration: The modern village of Siloam] + + + + +The Good Shepherd + +CHAPTER 57 + + +AT THE SIDE of the Temple buildings toward the east stood a long balcony +or archway, roofed over, with a row of pillars on each side. It was +called "Solomon's Porch." On the eastern side it looked over the valley +of the brook Kedron, and beyond the valley to the Mount of Olives. In +the west it fronted on the great court of the Gentiles. This porch was +about a thousand feet long. + +At the time of the Feast of the Dedication, it was winter, and Jesus was +walking with his disciples in this porch. The Jews gathered around him +and asked: + +"How long are you going to keep our minds in uncertainty? If you are +really the Christ, the King of Israel foretold by the prophets of old, +tell us plainly." + +"I have already told you," answered Jesus, "and you do not believe me. +The works that I do in the name of my Father, they speak for me; but you +do not listen because you do not belong to my flock. My sheep listen to +my voice; I know them, and they follow me; and I give to them the life +everlasting; and they shall not be lost, and no one will ever snatch +them out of my hands. My Father who has given them to me is stronger +than all; and no one can snatch anything out of my Father's hand." + +Then Jesus gave the parable or story of "The Good Shepherd." He said: + +"I tell you in truth, whoever does not go into the sheepfold through the +door, but climbs up somewhere else, that man is a thief and a robber. +But the man who goes through the door is a shepherd of the sheep. The +watchman opens the door for him; and the sheep listen to his voice. He +calls his own sheep by their names, for he knows each one of them, and +leads them out. When he has brought all his sheep outside, he walks in +front of them; and his sheep follow him, for they know his voice. When a +stranger speaks to them, they will not follow him, but will run away +from him, for they do not know a stranger's voice." + +Jesus spoke to them this parable, but they did not understand its +meaning. So he explained it to them. + +"In truth I tell you," he said, "I am the Door for the sheep. All who +ever came before me and not in my name, were thieves and robbers, but +the sheep would not listen to them. I am the Door, whoever enters by me +will be safe; and he shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief +comes only to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life +and have it to the full. + +[Illustration: Eastern sheepfold] + +"I am not only the Door, but also the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd +lays down his own life for his sheep. The hired man, who is not a +shepherd and does not own the sheep, when he sees a wolf coming, runs +away and leaves the sheep. Then the wolf tears them and scatters the +flock. The hired man does this, just because he is only a hired man, and +does not care about the sheep. + +"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep, and my sheep know me--just as +the Father knows me, and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for +the sheep. + +"I have other sheep, too, which do not belong to this fold; these also I +must lead, and they will listen to my voice; and so it will be one flock +and one Shepherd. + +"On this account my Father loves me because I lay down my life, to take +it up again. No one took it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have +power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. This is the +command which my Father has given me. I and my Father are one." + +[Illustration: The Good Shepherd] + +Suddenly, as he spoke these words, the Jews began again to pick up +stones to throw at him. Jesus said to them: + +"I have done many good works of God. For which of these works would you +now stone me?" + +The Jews answered, "It is not for any good work that we would stone you, +but for those dreadful words, words that would make you, a mere man, to +be God!" + +Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'? +If the law calls those 'gods' to whom God spoke his word--and God's book +must speak the truth--then why is it such a terrible thing for one whom +God has set apart and sent into the world as his messenger, to say of +himself 'I am God's Son'? If I am not doing the work of my Father, do +not believe me; but if I am doing it, even though you will not believe +me, believe what my work shows. Then you will learn and understand that +the Father is in me and I am in the Father." + +Once again they tried to seize him, but he escaped from their hands and +went away from Jerusalem. + +[Illustration: Jerusalem from the north] + + + + +Sending Out the Seventy + +CHAPTER 58 + + +AFTER LEAVING Jerusalem, at the time of the Feast of the Dedication, +Jesus went across the Jordan, and followed the river upward to the place +twelve or thirteen miles below the Sea of Galilee; the place where he +had been baptized by John, and where soon after his baptism he found his +earliest followers. This place was called by two names, "Bethabara," +which means, "the town of the ford," that is where one could wade across +the river; and "Bethany beyond Jordan," to keep it distinct from the +other Bethany near Jerusalem, where Martha and Mary lived. + +The twelve disciples were with Jesus at Bethabara, and some who came +with him from Jerusalem and Judea. Also when the news went abroad in +Galilee that Jesus was at this place, many more hastened to meet him; so +that soon a large number of his followers gathered around him. Jesus was +now near the border of the land on the east of the Jordan, known as +Perea. This word means "beyond," and the land was so named because it +was "beyond the Jordan" from Judea. + +Jesus had never visited this land, although he had preached in every +other part of the country; in Judea on the south; in Galilee on the +north; in Decapolis on the northeast; and even in Samaria, where the +people were not Jews but Samaritans. He made up his mind now to go +through Perea preaching, as he had preached in all the other parts of +the land. But in Perea, his time must be short, because now only three +months remained before the Feast of the Passover, and at that time he +must be in Jerusalem. In order to make the people of Perea ready for his +coming, and to bring together as many as possible to hear him, he chose +the places in that land to be visited. Then he called seventy men from +among his followers, and sent them by two and two to these cities and +the villages around them, to preach to the people and tell them that +Jesus was soon to come among them. + +To these seventy preachers, Jesus gave the same commands that he had +given to the Twelve some months before, when he sent them out to preach +in Galilee. He said: + +"Do not take with you a purse of money, or a bag for food, or an extra +pair of sandals. Do not stop to give greetings to any who meet you on +the road. Wherever you go into a house, first say, 'May peace be to this +house!' Then if one is there who is in the spirit of peace, your peace +will rest upon him; otherwise it will come back to you. Stay at that +same house while you are in that city, and eat and drink whatever they +offer you, for the workman has a right to his wages. Do not move around +from one house to another. Whatever town you visit, if the people give +you welcome, eat what is given you; cure those that are sick; and be +sure to say to the people everywhere, 'The kingdom of God is coming very +soon.' + +"But whatever town you visit, if the people will not receive you nor +listen to your message, go out into the streets of that place and cry +aloud, 'The very dust of your city that clings to our feet we wipe off +as a sign against you; but be sure of this, that the kingdom of God is +coming to you soon.' I tell you that in God's day when he will judge +men, the punishment of Sodom will be easier to bear than the punishment +of that town!" + +The seventy men went out from Bethabara, going in pairs, two men +together, making thirty-five pairs. They visited all the cities and +villages in the country of Perea to which Jesus had sent them, the +places which he was expecting to visit later; gave to the people the +message of Jesus, that the kingdom of God was soon to appear, and thus +aroused the people everywhere to an interest in the coming of Jesus. +Their errand was finished in a few weeks, for thirty-five pairs of men +could soon visit many places; and when they came again to Bethabara, +they found Jesus still there. + +They told Jesus what places they had visited and how they had wrought +many cures in his name and through the power which he had given them. +With great joy they said to Jesus: + +"Master, even the evil spirits obey us when we use your name!" + +And Jesus answered them, "Yes, I have seen Satan, the chief of the evil +spirits, fall from heaven like a flash of lightning from the sky. +Remember, I have given you the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, +and to trample under your feet all the power of the enemy; nothing shall +in any way do you any harm. Only, do not rejoice merely because the evil +spirits submit to you; but rejoice more because your names are written +in heaven as the children of God." + +[Illustration: A scorpion] + +While Jesus was at Bethabara, many people came to see him and to hear +his words. As this was one of the places where John the Baptist had +preached three years before, they compared Jesus with John, and many of +them said: + +"John the Baptist never gave any wonderful works as signs that God had +sent him; but he spoke about this man; and all that he ever said of this +man was the truth." + +And while Jesus was at Bethabara many people believed in him and became +his followers. + + + + +Lazarus Called Out of His Tomb + +CHAPTER 59 + + +WHILE JESUS was still at Bethabara, and expecting soon to begin his +journey through Perea, news came to him which led him for a time to +change his plans. + +At Bethany, near Jerusalem, as you remember, were living his dear +friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. The two sisters sent to Jesus at +Bethabara the word: + +"Lord, your friend Lazarus is very ill." + +They did not ask Jesus to come and cure Lazarus, but they hoped that he +might come, although it would call for a journey sixty miles from +Bethabara to Bethany. But Jesus did not at once go to the sick man. He +said: + +"This sickness is not to end in his death; the end of it will be to give +glory to God and to the Son of God." + +Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus. Yet, when he heard that Lazarus +was very ill, he stayed two days longer at Bethabara. Then, after that, +he said to his disciples, "Let us go again to Judea." + +At this the disciples were greatly surprised. They said to him, "Why, +Master, only a little while ago the men of Judea were trying to stone +you. Is it safe for you to go there again?" + +"Are there not twelve hours in the day?" answered Jesus. "If a man walks +about through the day, he does not stumble, because he can have the +light of the sun; but if he walks at night, he does stumble, because he +has no light." + +[Illustration: With a loud voice, Jesus called: "Lazarus! Come out!" And +out from the tomb came the man who had been dead.] + +Then he added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; I am going to wake +him." + +"If he has fallen asleep, Master," said the disciples, "he will get +well." + +They thought that Jesus was speaking of taking rest in sleep, which +would show that a fever was passing away; but Jesus meant that Lazarus +was in the sleep of death. Then he told them in plain words: + +"Lazarus is dead; and on your account I am glad that I was not there; +for now you will learn to believe in me more fully. Come, now, let us go +to him." + +[Illustration: Bethany, where Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived.] + +At this, Thomas, one of his twelve disciples, who was also called +"Didymus," a word meaning "The Twin," said to his fellow disciples: + +"Let us go too; and if he dies, we will die with him." + +So from Bethabara they went again to Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem; +a journey of about sixty miles. When Jesus came to Bethany, he found +that Lazarus had been already four days in the tomb. In the house with +Martha and Mary were a number of their friends who had come to show +their sympathy with the sisters by weeping with them over their +brother's death. + +Someone went into the room and told Martha that Jesus was coming, and +was near the village. She rose up quietly and hastened to meet Jesus, +while Mary sat still in the room. When Martha saw Jesus, she said to him +mournfully: + +"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even +now, I know that whatever you ask of God, he will give it to you." + +"Your brother shall rise to life again," said Jesus. + +"I know that he will rise again," said Martha, "when all the dead shall +be raised up, at the last day." + +"I, myself," said Jesus, "am the one who raises the dead to life. He who +believes in me shall live again, even if he dies; and he who lives +believing in me shall never die. Do you believe that?" + +"Yes, Lord," she said, "I do believe that you are the Christ, the Son of +God, who was promised to come into the world." + +After saying this, Martha went again to the house, leaving Jesus still +outside the village. She whispered to her sister Mary: + +"The Master is here, and he has asked for you." + +On hearing this, Mary rose in haste and went to the place where Jesus +was. The friends who were with her, seeing her go out of the house, +thought that she was going to the tomb, to weep there, and they followed +her, to weep with her. It was the custom in that land, and still is the +custom, for those who had lost a friend, to meet at his grave, day after +day, and there to mourn for him. + +But Mary did not go to her brother's tomb. She went to Jesus, who was +still at the place where Martha had met him; and threw herself at his +feet, saying, as her sister had said before: + +"O Master! if only you had been here, my brother would not have died!" + +When Jesus saw her wailing, and saw the friends with her wailing, he too +was troubled and greatly distressed. + +"Where have you laid him," he asked. + +"Come and see, Master," they answered. + +Jesus now began to weep, in feeling for the two sisters. + +"How he must have loved him!" said the Jews to each other. But some of +them said: + +"Could not this man, who gave sight to a blind man, have kept this man +from dying?" + +Again groaning, but quietly, Jesus came to the tomb. Like many of the +graves in that land, it was a cave in the rocky hillside, and a large +stone covered its mouth. + +"Move away the stone," commanded Jesus. + +"Master," said Martha, "remember that he has been dead four days, and by +this time there may be a strong smell from the body." + +"Did I not tell you," said Jesus, "that if you will only believe in me +you will see the glory of God?" + +They moved the stone away from the door of the cave, and Jesus, lifting +his eyes upward, said: + +"Father, I thank thee for listening to my prayer. I knew that thou +always hearest me; but I spoke on account of those around me, that they +might believe that thou hast sent me." + +Then with a loud voice, Jesus called: + +"Lazarus! Come out!" + +Out from the tomb came the man who had been dead. He could scarcely +walk, for his hands and feet were wrapped with bandages; his face, too, +had been covered with a cloth tied over it. + +"Set him free," said Jesus, "and let him go!" + +They took away the cloth from his face, and unwrapped the bandages from +his body; and Lazarus stood up living and well, in the presence of all +the people! How happy were Martha and Mary, as they placed their arms +around him, and felt his flesh, warm with the life-blood once more +flowing through his veins! + +As the Jews who had come to visit Martha and Mary saw this wonderful +work, calling back to life a man who had been in his tomb four days, +many of them believed in Jesus. These told the story to others, and the +number of believers grew larger and larger. + +Some of those who had seen or had heard of the raising of Lazarus to +life went to Jerusalem and told the Pharisees, the enemies of Jesus, +what had taken place. These men told the chief priests, and the priests +and Pharisees called together the high council to talk of these things +and to decide what should be done with Jesus. + +This high council was a board or company of leading men, which, next to +the Roman governor, ruled over the Jews. It was made up of seventy-two +men, some of them priests and some of them scribes or teachers of the +law. They met in a room set apart for their use in the Temple; and they +formed the highest court in the land to deal with any who were accused +of having broken the laws. + +When this council came together and heard of what Jesus had done and of +the people who, in greater number than ever, were beginning to believe +in Jesus, they said to each other, "What shall we do, now that this +Jesus has done another work, more wonderful even than any of his works +in the past? If we leave him alone, all the people will believe in him, +and will seek to make him their King. Then the Romans will come, and +will destroy our Temple, and will no longer let us live as a nation." + +But one of these men in the council was the high priest, whose name was +Caiaphas. He said to them: + +"You are entirely mistaken. You do not understand that whether Jesus is +or is not a prophet coming from God, it is better that one man should +die, instead of having all the people destroyed. Let us all agree that +Jesus shall be killed, and that the people of Israel shall be saved from +death." + +These words of Caiaphas the high priest meant more than he knew when he +spoke them. He was himself, being the high priest, speaking a prophecy, +that Jesus was to die for the people; for that was what Jesus was soon +to do. He was to die for the sins of the people; not only for the Jewish +people but for all the people of the world. By his death, Jesus was to +bring together into one body all the children of God scattered +throughout all the lands. + +At that meeting of the council, the rulers decided that Jesus must be +killed. Not all of them agreed in this, for Nicodemus, who long before +had come at night to talk with Jesus, and a rich member of the council, +named Joseph--of whom we shall hear later--and a few others, were +friendly to Jesus. But his enemies were so many and so fierce that these +few friends of Jesus did not venture to speak for him. So the vote was +taken that Jesus was to be put to death. + +Jesus, knowing all things, knew their plans; and he knew that when the +time came he should die. But that time had not yet come, for he had +promised to preach his gospel in Perea, across the Jordan. He went, +therefore, to a town on the edge of the wilderness, called Ephraim, and +there for a few weeks he stayed with his disciples. + +The great Feast of the Passover was drawing near, and many people were +coming up to Jerusalem to prepare themselves for the Feast. They were +looking out for Jesus, and said to each other as they walked in the +courts of the Temple: + +"What do you think? Do you think that Jesus will come to the Feast?" + +The chief priests and the leading Pharisees had given orders that if any +one found out where Jesus was, they were to be told, so that they might +send men to arrest him. + +[Illustration: The Via Dolorosa, or Sorrowful Way, over which, it is +said, Christ walked carrying his cross] + + + + +Jesus Preaching in Perea + +CHAPTER 60 + + +JESUS DID not stay long in the village of Ephraim. He went down the +mountains to the river Jordan, crossed it, and began preaching in the +land of Perea, going to the places where his seventy messengers had +given the news of his coming. + +Everywhere the people thronged in great crowds to see him and to hear +him. The rich and the poor met in the crowd, the rulers and the common +people, the Pharisees who were his enemies, and the publicans or +tax-collectors who had been leading lives full of sin. There was a great +desire among the people to listen to the Teacher and Prophet from +Galilee, of whom they had heard so much, and whom they had not seen +before. Many went to see him because they believed that he was the +long-looked-for Christ, who was at last on his way to Jerusalem to sit +on his throne and rule all the lands. So great were the crowds to see +and hear Jesus that it is said that the thousands trod on each other +around him. + +While he was speaking in one place to a great multitude of people, a +voice was heard from the throng. + +"Teacher," cried out a man, "tell my brother to divide with me the +property which belongs to our family." + +This man supposed that Jesus, being the King of Israel, would rule in +all matters of difference between the people. But Jesus answered him: + +"Man, who made me a judge or a settler of disputes over your affairs?" + +Then he added, "Take care to avoid the love of money; for no matter how +rich one may be, his true life does not depend on what he owns." + +[Illustration: Home of a rich man in Palestine] + +And he gave to them the parable or story of "The Poor Rich Man." He +said: + +"There was once a rich man whose farm gave him very large crops. He +began to ask himself, 'What am I to do? I have no room to store the +grain and fruits that have grown on my land. This is what I will do. I +will pull down my old barns and build larger ones in place of them. +There I shall store all the fruits from my orchards and the grain from +my fields. And then I will say to myself, "Now you have plenty of good +things stored up to last for many years; take your ease, eat, drink and +have a good time."' But God said to him 'Fool! this very night your life +is taken away; and who will have all that you have stored up?' So is it +with everyone who lays up money for himself, instead of gaining the +riches of God." + +[Illustration: "Look at the lilies, and see how they grow"] + +And Jesus said again to his disciples some of the things that he had +already taught them in his great "Sermon on the Mount"; for he often +repeated the same teachings, over and over, until the disciples knew +them by heart, so that after he should be taken from them, they in turn +could tell them to others. At this time he said: + +"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life here on the +earth, what you can get to eat, nor what you can get to wear. Life is +something more than food and the body is more than its clothes. Look at +the crows flying through the air! They neither sow nor reap; they have +no storehouse nor barns; and yet God gives them food. How much more are +you worth to God than are the birds? And however anxious you may be, +can you add one minute to your life? And if you cannot do even this, why +be anxious about other matters? + +"Look at the lilies, and see how they grow. They neither spin nor weave; +and yet, I tell you, even King Solomon in all his splendor was not +dressed like one of these. Now, if God so beautifully clothes the grass +in the field, which blooms today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the +fire, how much more will he clothe you, O men, who trust God so little? + +"So do not worry about food and drink and clothes; these are the things +for which the nations of the world who know not God are seeking after, +and you should not wish to be like them. Besides, your Father in heaven +knows that you have need of these common things. Only seek the kingdom +of God, and your heavenly Father will see to it that you have these +things. Do not be afraid, my little flock, for your Father has been +pleased to give you a place in his kingdom." + +At this time some people brought to Jesus the news that Pilate, the +Roman governor, had killed in the Temple some men from Galilee, while +they were worshipping at the altar, so that their blood was poured out +with the blood of their offerings. This act of the governor had terribly +shocked the people. + +"Do you suppose," said Jesus, "that because those Galileans suffered +these things, that they were worse sinners than the rest of those living +in Galilee? I tell you, no; unless you turn from your sins and seek God, +you will all perish as they did. + +"Then, too, think of those eighteen men in Siloam, just outside of +Jerusalem; those men on whom the tower fell and killed them all; do you +suppose that they had been worse than all the other people living in +Jerusalem? No, I tell you; unless you turn to God, you will all perish +as they did." + +Then Jesus gave to the people the parable of "The Fruitless Fig Tree." +He said: + +"A man who had a fig tree growing in his garden came at the time when +figs were ripe, looking for fruit, but found on it not a single fig. So +he said to the gardener, 'Here I have come for three years looking for +fruit on this tree, without finding any. Cut it down! Why should it take +up room and rob the soil?' But the gardener answered him, 'O please, +sir, leave it one year more. I will dig around it and enrich the soil; +then it may bear fruit next year. If it does not, then let it be cut +down.'" + +[Illustration: Beneath an olive tree is a delightful place to rest, for +all about it usually grow flowers of many kinds] + +[Illustration: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How often would I have gathered +your children around me, as a fowl gathers her brood under her wings!"] + + + + +In the Church and at the Feast + +CHAPTER 61 + + +WHILE JESUS was in Perea, on the Sabbath days he went into the churches +and spoke there; and in every place the church was crowded with those +who were eager to hear him. On one Sabbath day he saw in the church a +woman who for eighteen years had been bent double and could not possibly +stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him. + +"Woman," he said, "you are set free from your weakness." + +He placed his hands upon her, and instantly power came to her. She stood +up erect, and with a loud voice praised God for her cure. But the +president of the board in the church was greatly displeased that Jesus +had done this on the Sabbath. He said to the people: + +"There are six days in the week for work; come on one of these to be +cured, and not on the holy Sabbath." + +"O you false-hearted men, making a pretense of serving God!" said the +Lord Jesus. "Does not each one of you on the Sabbath day unloose his ox +or his ass from its manger, and lead it out to drink? And this woman, a +daughter of Abraham our father, whom the evil one has held bound for all +these eighteen years, should she not be set free on the Sabbath?" + +As he said this all those who were opposed to him felt ashamed of +themselves; while the people rejoiced to see all his wonderful doings. +As Jesus went through the towns and villages, all the time on his way +toward Jerusalem, he repeated many of the parables and teachings that he +had given in other parts of the land, such as "The Narrow Door," "The +Mustard Seed," "The Yeast in the Dough," and others. + +The land of Perea, where he was now teaching, belonged to the Kingdom of +Herod. Some Pharisees, who were enemies of Jesus, came to him and said: + +"You had better get away from this land, for King Herod means to kill +you." + +This they said, not to save the life of Jesus, but to make him leave +their land. But Jesus answered them: + +"You may go and tell that fox that I am casting out the evil spirits and +curing diseases today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish +my work. But I must go on my way today, tomorrow and the day after +tomorrow, for it would never do for a prophet to meet his end except in +Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! killing the prophets and stoning +those whom God has sent to you! How often would I have gathered your +children around me, as a fowl gathers her brood under her wings! But you +would not come! Truly, your house is left to you to be destroyed. Never, +I tell you, shall you see me again until the day comes when you will +say, 'Blessed be He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" + +In one place he was invited by one of the rulers who was a Pharisee to +come to his house for dinner. There were at the table other Pharisees +and people not friendly to Jesus, and they watched him closely. He saw +in the room a man who was swollen with the dropsy; and Jesus asked the +teachers of the law and the Pharisees: + +"Is it according to the law to cure a sick man on the Sabbath, or is it +not?" + +They said nothing. Then Jesus laid his hands on the man and cured him, +and sent him away. Afterward he said: + +"Is there any one of you who, finding on the Sabbath day that his ass +or his ox has fallen into a pit, will not at once pull him out without +waiting for a working day?" + +They could not answer him this question. He noticed that those who had +been invited to the dinner picked out for themselves the best places, +near the head of the table; and he gave them this advice. + +"When you are invited to a marriage feast, do not take one of the best +places. It may be that some person of higher rank than you has been +invited; and then the one who gives the feast comes to you and says, +'Here, make room for this man!' Then you must get up ashamed and take a +place down at the foot of the table. No, when you come to the feast, go +to the lowest place, then when the giver of the feast sees you, he will +say, 'My friend, come up higher,' and you will be honored in the +presence of all your fellow-guests. For every one who lifts up himself +shall be humbled; and the one who humbles himself shall be lifted up." + +Jesus said also to the ruler who had invited him, "When you give a +dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, or your brothers, or those +who are your relatives, or your rich neighbors, for they may invite you +in turn, and thus you will be repaid. No, when you give a dinner, invite +the poor, the cripples, those who have lost an arm, and the blind. Then +God will give you his blessing; for these people cannot repay you; and +you will receive your reward when God raises up the good from their +graves to everlasting life." + +One of those at the table heard these words of Jesus; and he spoke out, +"Happy will he be who shall sit down at that feast in the kingdom of +God!" + +Jesus answered him by giving the parable of "The Supper and the +Excuses." He said: + +"There was once a man who was giving a great supper, to which he had +invited many of his friends. At the hour for the supper, he sent out his +servant to say to the guests who had been invited, 'Come at once, for +everything is now ready!' But all of them with one mind began to decline +his invitation. The first man said to the servant: + +"'I have bought some land, and I must go and look at it. Please to +excuse me.' + +"The second said, 'I have bought five pair of oxen, and I am going to +give them a trial. Please to have me excused.' + +"Another said, 'I cannot come, because I have just married a wife.' + +"The servant went home and told his master all these answers. Then the +master of the house was very angry. He said to his servant: + +"'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in +here the poor, the cripples, the blind and the lame.' + +"Soon the servant came back, saying, 'Your orders have been carried out, +sir; but there is still room for more.' + +"'Go out into the country,' said the master of the house, 'to the roads +and the hedges, and make the people come in, to fill up my house; for I +tell you that not one of those that were invited shall taste of my +supper.'" + + + + +On Counting the Cost + +CHAPTER 62 + + +AT THIS TIME while Jesus was in Perea, preaching in the towns, greater +crowds than ever before were following him, claiming to believe in him +as the son of David and the King of Israel. Most of these people saw +that he was going toward Jerusalem, and the report went abroad among +them that when he reached that city he would take the throne that had +been King David's; and not only would be king of that land but lead the +Jewish people to conquer all the lands. Very many of the crowd following +Jesus had no thought of what it meant to be his disciples. They were +expecting great things--riches and honor and power--but knew nothing of +the sufferings that Jesus must endure and that his followers must face +in the days soon to come. + +Jesus was not willing to have such careless and thoughtless followers as +these. He spoke to them words that seemed harsh and forbidding, but were +meant to make them think of what they must meet if they would be among +those who believed in him. Turning to the multitudes that were flocking +around him, he called out to them: + +"If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and +wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life +besides, he cannot be a disciple of mine. Whoever does not carry his own +cross and walk in my steps cannot be a disciple of mine!" + +[Illustration: AROUND JERUSALEM ] + +Jesus did not mean quite all these words he seemed to speak. He did not +wish sons and daughters really to hate their fathers and mothers, nor +parents to hate their own children; but he did mean that no one should +say, 'My father and mother do not consent to my following Jesus, and +therefore I cannot be his disciple.' Nor did he wish that parents should +say, 'I have children to care for, and I must not believe in Jesus, and +become his disciple.' He wished those who were following him without +thought, to ask themselves whether they were willing to lose all for +Christ's sake, and to serve him, no matter who were opposed to him or +what they might suffer in his service. + +"Who of you," said Jesus, "when he wants to build a tower, does not +first sit down and count the cost, and see whether he has enough money +to finish it? If he can only lay the foundation, and then must leave the +work unfinished, everybody who sees the half-completed wall will laugh +at him and say, 'This fellow began to build, but he could not finish!' + +"Or what king sets out to go to war with another king, and does not +first sit down to consider whether with ten thousand soldiers he can +fight the king who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he does +not dare to meet his enemy, then while his army is still a great way +off, he sends an officer to ask for terms of peace. So will it be with +every one of you who will not give up all that he has; he cannot be a +disciple of mine." + +What Jesus meant was this, "Think whether you will hold out to the end, +if you would be among my followers. And think, too, whether you will +dare to meet the hate and opposition that you must overcome in becoming +my disciples." He went on with such words as these: + +"Every true disciple of mine is like salt; and salt is good as long as +it has its own salty taste. But if it loses its saltiness and becomes +tasteless, is there any way to make it good salt again? It is of no use +either for the land, nor even for the manure heap, but people throw it +away as useless. So will it be with everyone who loses the salt of my +life in himself. Now, do not let these words of mine go into one ear and +out from the other. Listen, and think of what I have said!" + + + + +Seeking the Lost + +CHAPTER 63 + +[Illustration: "But one was out on the hills away ... Away on the +mountains wild and bare"] + + +THE PHARISEES were very careful to keep all the rules of the Jewish law, +and were supposed to be very religious, because they prayed often in +public places and went regularly to church. But Jesus saw that their +religion was only pretended and not real, and would have nothing to do +with them, except rebuke them for their sins. The scribes, who were the +teachers of the law in the churches, expected Jesus to give them special +honor. But both Pharisees and scribes were very angry when they found +that Jesus paid them no attention, and was friendly with the +tax-collectors whom all the Jews despised and hated. Jesus even allowed +some to come near him who were outcasts, people who did not go to church +and did not try to keep the rules of the Jews. + +The Pharisees and the scribes said in great scorn of Jesus, "This man +welcomes sinners, and even sits down at the table to eat with them!" + +[Illustration: Searching for the lost silver-piece] + +Jesus heard of their words, and answered them in the parable of "The +Lost Sheep." He said: + +"If one of you has a hundred sheep, and loses one of them, does he not +leave the ninety and nine sheep in the sheepfold out in the fields, and +go after the lost one until he finds it. When he has found it, he puts +it on his shoulders with great joy and carries it home. And when he +comes to his house, he calls together his neighbors and his friends, +saying to them, 'Come and be glad with me; for I have found my sheep +which was lost.' + +"So I tell you, there is more joy in heaven over one outcast sinner who +turns away from his sin to God, than over ninety-nine religious men who +are good already and do not need to turn from sin." + +A lady has written this parable in verses that have been set to music +and sung many times. These are her verses: + +THE NINETY AND NINE + + There were ninety and nine that safely lay + In the shelter of the fold, + But one was out on the hills away, + Far off from the gates of gold-- + Away on the mountains wild and bare, + Away from the tender Shepherd's care. + + "Lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine; + Are they not enough for thee?" + But the Shepherd made answer, "'Tis of mine + Has wandered away from me; + And although the road be rough and steep + I go to the desert to find my sheep." + + But none of the ransomed ever knew + How deep were the waters crossed; + Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through + Ere he found his sheep that was lost. + Out in the desert he heard its cry, + Sick and helpless, and ready to die. + + "Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way + That mark out the mountain's track?" + "They were shed for one who had gone astray + Ere the Shepherd could bring him back." + "Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn?" + "They are pierced tonight by many a thorn." + + But all through the mountains, thunder-riven, + And up from the rocky steep, + There arose a cry to the gate of heaven: + "Rejoice! I have found my sheep!" + And the angels echoed around the throne, + "Rejoice! for the Lord brings back his own!" + MRS. ELIZABETH C. CLEPHANE. + +Jesus also gave to the people another parable, "The Lost Silver-piece." +He said: + +"Or, if there is a woman who has ten silver coins, and loses one of +them, what will she do? She will light her lamp, and sweep her house, +and search carefully for her money, until she finds it. And when she +finds it, she goes out and calls together her women-friends and +neighbors, and says, 'Come and rejoice with me, for I have found the +silver-piece which I had lost.' + +"Even so, I tell you there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one +sinner that turns to God." + +It might be asked--why did the woman need to light a lamp when searching +for her lost coin? In that land, the houses of the plain people have +either no windows, or one window for the whole house, which is merely a +hole in the wall. The rooms are dark, even at mid-day, and to look on +the floor thoroughly, and especially in the corners, a lamp must be +lighted and carried close to the floor. + +[Illustration: Silver Denarius of Tiberius. (Penny, Matt. 18: 28, etc., +16 cents.)] + + + + +The Parable of the Lost Son Found + +CHAPTER 64 + + +YOU REMEMBER that the enemies of Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes, said +of him, "He gives welcome to bad men, and eats at the table with them!" +Jesus in answer gave a parable or story to show how God welcomes a +sinner who turns from his sin and seeks his heavenly Father. This is one +of the most beautiful among all the parables of Jesus. It is called "The +Prodigal Son." The word "prodigal" means one who spends his money, +throwing it away in a careless manner; and this story is of a young man +who spent all the money that his father gave him. Here is the parable: + +"There was once a man," said Jesus, "who had two sons. The older son +stayed at home and helped his father in the care of his farm, but the +younger son was restless and wanted to go away. The young man said to +his father: + +"'Father, give me now the share of what you own which will come to me +after you die.' + +"So the father divided all that he had, his land, his vineyards, his +olive orchards, his fig trees, his houses, his flocks of sheep and +goats, and his money, into three equal parts. Two of these parts he kept +for the older son; and the third part he gave to the younger son; for in +that land it was the rule for the older son, as the head of the family, +to receive twice as much as a younger son. + +"After a few days, the young man sold out his share of the property for +ready money, and then went away to a land far off, where he could live +as he pleased. There he began to lead a foolish and wild life, feasting +and drinking wine with worthless men and women. It did not take him many +months to spend all his money and to be in great want. None of these +people who had helped him in his pleasures were now ready to help him in +his need. And what added to his trouble was that just then food became +very scarce in that country and there was not bread enough for all the +people. + +[Illustration: "There in the open field among the grunting hogs sat this +young man"] + +"This young man was in want of everything. His clothes became rags, his +shoes were worn out, and what was worse, he could get nothing to eat and +was starving for the want of food. Never before had he done any work, +but now, driven by hunger he went everywhere looking for something to do +which would give him a mouthful of bread. At last he found a man who was +willing to hire him. This man sent him out into his field to take care +of his pigs and feed them. This was a work felt to be disgraceful, for +no Jew would eat pig's meat or in any way touch the vile animals. But +even this work the poor young man was compelled to do rather than starve +to death. In the field he was so hungry that he was ready to snatch up +some of the bean-pods on which the pigs were feeding; and no one in that +country cared for him or would even give him something to eat. + +[Illustration: The father fell on his son's neck] + +"So there in the open field among the grunting hogs sat this young man, +ragged, famished and almost ready to die. Suddenly the thought came to +him of his father's house, where once he had enjoyed plenty and lived at +ease, waited upon by servants. He now saw how foolish, how ungrateful to +a kind father, and how wicked he had been. It seemed to him as if he +had been living in a dream, had now for the first time awaked and had +come to his senses. He said to himself: + +"'Why, even the hired men on my father's farm have more food than they +can eat; and here I am almost dead with hunger! I will get up and will +go to my father; and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against +God in heaven and against you. I don't deserve any more to be called +your son; only make me one of your servants working for wages."' + +"So the poor young man left the field and the pigs, and went back to his +father's house. There in the door sat his father waiting and watching +for his wandering son. While the son was still a long distance away, the +father saw him and knew him, barefoot and ragged as he was. He felt pity +for his son, whose looks showed his utter misery, and ran to him, fell +upon his neck, placed his arms around him and kissed him. + +"'Father,' said the young man, 'I have sinned against God in heaven and +against you. I don't deserve any more to be called your son--' But the +father did not wait to hear him any further. He called out to the +servants: + +"'Be quick, bring some new clothes, the very best in the house, and put +them on him; bring a ring to place around his wrist and sandals for his +feet; go pick out the fattest calf in the stall, and kill it for a +feast! Let us all eat and have a happy time together. For this son of +mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and is found!' + +"So they began to make merry. Now the older son was out in the field; +and as he came near the house, he heard the sounds of music and dancing. +Wondering what was the cause of such gladness, he called to him one of +the servants and asked what all this meant. + +"'Your brother has come home,' answered the servant, 'and your father +has killed the fattest of the calves, and is having a feast, because he +has him back safe and sound.' + +"This made the older son very angry. He would not go in to the supper, +but stayed outside. His father came out and begged him to come in and +give a welcome to his brother. + +"But he refused, saying, 'Think of all the years that I have been +serving you! Never have I once disobeyed you; and yet you have never +given me even a little kid out of the flock of goats, for me to have a +merrymaking with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours comes +home, who has wasted your money with vile people, you kill the fatted +calf and for him make a great feast.' + +"'My son,' said the father, 'you and I are always together, and +everything that I have is yours. We could not help being glad and +rejoicing; for your brother here was dead, and is alive again; he was +lost and is found.'" + +You can see that in this elder brother of the story was the spirit of +the Pharisees and the scribes, who were displeased because Jesus was +willing to welcome those who had been sinful, when they came to him, +sorry for their sins. + + + + +The Parable of the Dishonest Steward + +CHAPTER 65 + + +AT THIS TIME Jesus gave to his disciples the parable of "The Dishonest +Steward." A steward is a man who takes care of any business or lands or +houses belonging to another man who employs him. Jesus said: + +"There was a rich man who had a steward who took charge of all his +business. Some one told the rich man that his steward was cheating him +and making a wrong use of his money. So the master sent for the steward +and said: + +"'What is this that I hear about you? Hand in your accounts, for you +shall not be my steward any longer.' + +"The steward was at first greatly troubled at this; and he did not know +how he could live if his office as steward was taken away. + +"'What shall I do,' he said to himself, 'now that my master is taking +away from me my place as steward? I am not strong enough to dig in the +ground as a farmer, and I am ashamed to beg in the streets. Oh, I know +what I can do, so that when my office as steward is taken away the +people will invite me to their homes to live with them.' + +"One by one the steward called to him the men that were owing his +master. + +"'How much do you owe my master?' he asked of the first. + +"'A hundred barrels of oil,' answered the man. + +"'Here, take your bill,' said the steward, 'and instead of a hundred +barrels, make it fifty barrels.'" + +This, you see, was making a present to the man of fifty barrels of oil, +but not from the steward himself; instead, stealing it from his master, +to give to the man who owed him. + +"Then to the next man he said, 'And how much do you owe?' + +"'A hundred bushels of wheat,' answered the man. + +"'Here is your bill,' said the steward; 'make it eighty.' + +"And so he treated all those who were owing to his master, giving to +each one a part of his debt; so that they would be friendly to him and +give him help when he should need it. + +[Illustration: The dishonest steward] + +"When his master heard of all this, he praised the steward, not for +doing rightly, but for looking ahead and taking care for the time to +come." + +And Jesus said, "The people of this world often are wiser in looking +ahead, and planning for the days to come, than are those who have the +light of God. And I say to you: use the money of this world to make +friends with it, not on earth, but in heaven; so that when you leave the +earth, they may welcome you to homes in heaven that never pass away. He +who is faithful with a small trust is also faithful with a large trust; +and he who is not honest but tries to cheat in little things, will be +dishonest and try to cheat in great things. So if you cannot be trusted +with the money of this world, who will trust you with the riches of God? +And if you are not faithful with what belongs to another, how can you +expect to have anything forever as your own? + +"No servant can serve two masters at the same time; for either he will +hate one master and love the other; or else he will stand by one master +and despise the other. You cannot serve God and at the same time live +for money." + +All these things were spoken in the hearing of the Pharisees, who were +fond of money and grasping. They listened, with contempt and scorn in +their hearts. + +Jesus knew what was in their minds, and he said to these Pharisees: + +"You are the men who make people believe that you are good, but God sees +and knows what is in your hearts. What is lofty in the sight of men is +vile in the sight of God." + + + + +A Parable for the Lovers of Money + +CHAPTER 66 + + +JESUS KNEW that the Pharisees, for all their church-going and their +carefulness in keeping the rules of their law, were in their hearts +lovers of money, and were living for the things of this world and not +for God. He gave to them a parable about a rich man who suddenly became +poor, and a poor man who became rich. It is called "The Parable of the +Rich Man and Lazarus." + +"There was a rich man," said Jesus, "who dressed in purple robes, like a +king, and lived in a splendid great house, with many servants to wait +upon him, and feasted every day upon the finest food. Outside the door +of the rich man's house was laid every morning a poor beggar named +Lazarus, who was covered with sores and was glad to eat the crumbs and +broken pieces from the rich man's table. The dogs of the street used to +come and lick his sores. + +"After a time, the poor man died, and his soul was taken by the angels +to be in heaven with Abraham, the father of God's people; because in all +his poverty he had lived for God, trying always to do God's will. The +rich man died, too, and was buried. But no angels came to carry him to +the land where Abraham was living in happiness. His soul went to the +place of woe and sorrow and suffering; not because he had been rich, but +because in his riches he had never thought of God. + +"The rich man, being in torment, looked up, and far away saw Abraham, +with Lazarus in his arms. + +"'O Father Abraham,' he called out, 'take pity on me, and send Lazarus +to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am +burning in this flame!' + +"'My son,' answered Abraham, 'remember that when you were alive on the +earth you had all your enjoyment, while Lazarus in his life had poverty +and pain. Now Lazarus has comfort for all his trouble and you are in +misery. Besides all that, between us in heaven and you in the dwelling +place of the wicked, there is a great valley, a gulf which no one can +cross, either to go from us to you or to come from you to us.' + +[Illustration: Lazarus before the rich man's door] + +"'If that be so,' said the once-rich man, now so poor, 'and Lazarus +cannot come to me, I beg of you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my +father's house; for I have five brothers; let him speak to them in time, +so that they may not come to this place of terrible suffering.' + +"'They have the writings of Moses and the words of all the prophets,' +said Abraham; 'let them listen to these.' + +"'But, Father Abraham,' he said, 'if some one from the dead should go to +them, they would turn from sin to God.' + +"'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,' said Abraham, +'they will not believe, even if some one should rise from the dead.'" + +As the twelve disciples of Jesus heard this parable, they said, "Lord, +make our faith stronger!" + +"If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed," said Jesus, "you could +say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it +would obey you. + +"Which one of you, if he had a servant plowing in the field or tending +sheep, when he comes in from the field will say to him, 'Come at once +and take your place at the table for your supper'? No, he will say to +his servant, 'Get my supper ready; then make yourself ready to wait on +me while I am eating and drinking; and after that you may have your +supper.' + +"Does a master thank his servant for doing what he has been told? Well, +it is the same with you; when you have done all that you have been told, +say, 'We are only servants; we have done no more than we ought to have +done.'" + + + + +Two Parables Upon Prayer + +CHAPTER 67 + + +JESUS TOLD his disciples a parable to show that they should always keep +on praying and never be discouraged. This parable is named "The Parable +of the Unjust Judge." + +"In a certain city," he said, "there was a judge who in his rule did not +try to do right, but was often unjust and wicked; for he had no fear of +God and no care for what men said about him. And in that city there was +a widow who came many times to this judge, crying over and over again, +'Do for me what is right against the man who has done me wrong!' + +"For some time the judge paid no attention to her, for right and wrong +were both the same to him. But after a while the judge said to himself: + +"'Although I have no fear of God and no care for man, yet as this widow +is so troublesome to me, and gives me no rest, I will do what she asks, +for I am tired of her coming and of her calling out for her right every +day.' + +"Listen," said the Lord Jesus, "to what this unjust judge says. And if a +man who does not care for right or wrong will at last answer a prayer, +how much more will your heavenly Father listen to his own children when +they call upon him day and night, even though he seems to make them wait +long for the answer to their prayers? I tell you that God will do right +by them and answer their prayers, and that very soon! Yet when the Son +of Man comes, will he find on earth those who are looking for him and +who believe in him?" + +Jesus also told a parable to some people who were sure of their own +goodness and looked down upon others. This parable is that of "The +Pharisee and the Tax-Gatherer." + +"Two men," said Jesus, "went up to the Temple to pray. One of these men +was a Pharisee; and the other was a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood up +and began praying to himself, not to God, in words like these: + +"'O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men--thieves, wrongdoers, +and wicked--or even like this tax-gatherer. Twice in every week I eat no +food, to show that I am worshipping God; I give to God's house one-tenth +of all that I get.' + +[Illustration: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a +Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer"] + +"But the tax-gatherer stood far away, and would not raise his eyes +toward heaven. He beat his breast, saying: + +"'O God, have mercy on me and forgive my sins!' + +"I tell you," said Jesus, "this tax-gatherer went to his house with his +sins forgiven, instead of the Pharisee. For every one who uplifts +himself will be brought low; and every one who humbles himself will be +lifted up." + + + + +The Little Children; and the Rich Young Man + +Chapter 68 + + +WHILE JESUS was still passing through the land of Perea, on his way to +Jerusalem, at one place the fathers and mothers brought their babies to +him, asking him to place his hands on their heads and speak upon them a +blessing. When the disciples saw them doing this, they were not pleased. + +"Take these babies away!" they said. "The Lord is too busy with greater +things to attend to them!" + +But Jesus heard them, and he was displeased, not with the parents and +their children, but with his disciples. + +"Let the little ones come to me," he said, "and do not stop them; for +the kingdom of God comes only to those who are child-like. I tell you, +whoever will not give himself up to the kingdom of God as a little child +shall never come into the kingdom." + +Then he took the little ones up into his arms, laid his hands upon them +and gave them his blessing. After that he went away from that place. + +Soon afterward a young man who was one of the leaders in the church of +his town came running, and bowed low before Jesus. "Good Teacher," said +the young man, "tell me what to do if I am to be saved and have life +everlasting." + +"Why do you call me 'good'?" answered Jesus. "There is only one who is +really good; that is God. To be saved, you have only to do God's will. +You know what his commandments are; keep them." + +[Illustration: Jesus and the rich young man. "Sell everything that you +have, and give all the money to the poor."] + +"Why, what commands do you mean?" asked the young man. He supposed that +Jesus, like many of the scribes, who were the teachers of God's law, had +given some special rules of his own. + +Jesus said to him, "I mean the ten commandments of God, such as, 'Thou +shalt not steal; thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not say what is false; +honor thy father and thy mother,' and so on." + +[Illustration: Jesus laid his hands upon the little ones and gave them +his blessing] + +The young man said, "Teacher, all these I have kept ever since I was a +child. What more do I need?" + +As Jesus looked at this young man, so eager in his wish to please God, +he loved him, and felt a special longing to have him among his +disciples. + +"If you really wish to be perfect," he said to the young man, "you do +need one thing more. Sell everything that you have, and give all the +money to the poor, and you will have your treasure in heaven; and come, +follow me, and be one of my disciples." + +When the young man heard those words, he felt greatly disappointed, and +turned away, unwilling to do what Jesus asked, for he was very rich, and +he loved his money. After he had left them, Jesus turned to his +disciples: + +"How hard it is," said Jesus, "for a rich man to come into the kingdom +of God!" + +As the disciples heard this, they were greatly surprised, for all the +Jews thought that to have riches was a sign of God's special favor. As +they stood silent, not knowing how to answer these words, Jesus said +again: + +"Children, how hard it is for those who trust in their riches to enter +into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye +of a needle, than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God!" + +They were amazed at this, and said, "Then who can be saved?" + +"What is impossible with men," answered Jesus, "is possible with God." + +"But we," said Simon Peter, "have left everything, and have followed +you. What shall we have in the kingdom for all this?" + +Peter thought, as did all the crowds who were going up to Jerusalem with +Jesus, that there he would set up his kingdom and give rich rewards to +his disciples. + +[Illustration: "Let the little ones come to me," said Jesus, "for the +kingdom of God comes only to those who are childlike."] + +"In truth I say to you," answered Jesus, "that you who have followed me, +in the new kingdom when the Son of Man shall sit upon his throne, you +twelve men, my disciples, shall sit upon twelve thrones, ruling over the +twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left home, or wife, or +children, or parents, or brothers, or sisters on my account, and for the +sake of God's kingdom, shall receive in this life a hundred times as +much as he has lost, and in the world to come, life everlasting. But +many that are first in this world shall be last in the kingdom; and some +that are the lowest here will be the highest there." + +[Illustration: The Bay of Acre and the modern town Haifa] + + + + +The Workers in the Vineyard + +CHAPTER 69 + + +JESUS EXPLAINED by a parable what he meant in saying, "Many that are +first shall be last, and some that are lowest here will be the highest +in God's kingdom." This parable was "The Workers in the Vineyard." + +"There was a man," said Jesus, "who owned a vineyard. He needed men to +work in his vineyard; and one day, early in the morning, went out to +hire them. Some men met him and agreed to work for him at fifteen cents +for each day's work; so he sent them out to his vineyard. At about nine +o'clock he was walking through the market place, and seeing some other +men standing around, waiting for work, he said to them: + +"'You go to work in my vineyard, and whatever is fair, I will pay you.' + +"He went out again at noon; he found men wanting work and sent them also +into his vineyard, saying to them, 'Whatever are fair wages, I will pay +you.' Again at three o'clock, he found other men and sent them, too, +making them the same promise. He went into the market place at five +o'clock, almost at the end of the day, and found some men standing +there. 'Why do you stand here doing nothing?' he said to these men. They +answered him: + +"'We would be glad to work; but nobody is ready to hire us.' + +"'You go into my vineyard, too,' he said, 'and I will pay you whatever +is right.' + +"When the evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his foreman, +'Now call the workers together and pay them their wages. Begin with +those who came to work last, then pay those who went into the vineyard +at three o'clock, and so on, ending with those who went to work +earliest.' + +"So those came up first who had been hired last, and had worked only one +hour; and to each of them was paid fifteen cents, the wages of a full +day's work. When the first came, they supposed that they would be paid +more, because they had worked longer; but each was paid his fifteen +cents, as had been agreed upon. These men complained to the master of +the vineyard. + +"'Those men who came in last, when the day was almost ended,' they said, +'have been made equal to us, who have borne the hard work and the heat +of the day. That is not fair!' + +"'My friend,' said the master to one of these men, 'I am not cheating +you. Did you not agree with me to work for fifteen cents a day? Take up +your wages and go. I choose to give to this last man the same as to you. +Haven't I the right do so as I please with what belongs to me? Are you +jealous because I am generous?' + +"So," said Jesus, "there are last who will be first; and there are first +who will be last." + +This parable shows how God gives his rewards differently from men. Men +pay only for work that is done; but God gives his pay to those who are +_willing_ to work for him, whether they are able to work or not; for +while men look at the deed, God looks at the heart. + +Every day Jesus was drawing nearer to Jerusalem, and his twelve +disciples with all the multitude of those who were following him, fully +expected that in Jerusalem Jesus would reign as the King of Israel. He +had told them before, and more than once, that he was going up to +Jerusalem to die there; but their minds were so fixed upon thrones and +kingdoms and worldly power that they could not understand his words. + +Now Jesus called together his twelve disciples, apart from the crowd. + +"Listen!" he said, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and there everything +that is written in the books of the prophets about the Son of Man shall +come to pass. He will be given up to his enemies, the chief priests and +the scribes, the teachers of the law; and they shall sentence him to be +put to death, and shall hand him over to the Romans to be mocked and +beaten and nailed to a cross to die; and on the third day after, he will +rise from the dead." + +But the disciples did not understand what these words meant. They were +just as certain as they had been before, that he was going up to +Jerusalem to take the throne and rule, and they even talked among +themselves about the chief offices in his kingdom and who should have +them. + +When they were drawing near to Jerusalem, but still in the land of +Perea, a woman came to Jesus with her two sons. This woman was named +Salome; and she was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James and +John, two of the leading disciples of Jesus. She bowed low even to the +ground before Jesus, and begged him to grant her a favor. + +"What is it that you want?" said Jesus to her. + +"I want you to promise me," said Salome, "that in your kingdom these two +sons of mine shall sit, one on your right hand and the other on your +left." + +"You do not know what you are asking," answered Jesus. "Can you drink of +the cup that I am to drink? Can you receive the same baptism that is +coming to me?" + +"Yes," the two men said, "we can!" + +"You shall indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with my baptism," said +Jesus. "But it is not mine to say who shall sit on my right hand and on +my left. Those places shall be given to those whom my Father has chosen +for them." + +By his cup and his baptism, Jesus meant his sufferings and his death; +but this James and John did not know. When the other ten disciples heard +of this they were very angry with the two brothers for trying to get +ahead of them. But Jesus called them to him and said: + +"You know that in the nations of this world their rulers lord it over +them, and their great men make the people serve them. But it must not be +so with you. Whoever among you has the will to be great, let him be a +servant to the others; and whoever would be first, let him be even as a +slave. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to +give up his life that he may save many." + +[Illustration: The river Jordan] + +[Illustration: Bartimeus, hearing that Jesus had sent for him, sprang up +and flung his coat to the ground, and was led to Jesus.] + + + + +The Blind Man at the Gate + +CHAPTER 70 + + +JESUS HAD now ended his work of preaching in the land of Perea, on the +east of the Jordan. With his disciples and a great throng of people who +were going up to the feast of the Passover at Jerusalem, he came to the +river at another Bethabara, or "the place of the crossing," because like +the Bethabara near the Sea of Galilee, the river though very wide was +very shallow, so that people could wade across it. This Bethabara was +opposite the city of Jericho, which had been built up and made beautiful +by King Herod the Great, about forty years before. + +More than a thousand years before Jesus stood beside the river, the +Israelites had walked across it to enter the land; when God held back +the water. Jesus could have walked on the water if he had chosen to do +it; but he never caused a miracle for himself, though often he did for +others. At that time some of the people going up to Jerusalem waded +across the river, holding their clothes on their heads, while others +crossed in a ferry-boat. We are not told in which way Jesus went across +the river. + +Six miles from the river Jordan, on the west, stood Jericho, toward +which Jesus came with a great crowd of people around him. As he drew +near Jericho, a blind man was seated beside the gate, begging for the +small coins of those who passed by. This blind man's name was Bartimeus, +a word which means "the son of Timeus." Hearing the tramping and the +voices of a crowd, he asked why so many people were coming. They said to +him: + +"Jesus the Nazarene is passing by." + +Bartimeus had heard of Jesus and his good works, curing many that were +blind and lame and lepers. He had often wished that Jesus might pass his +way and cure him. Now, when he heard that Jesus was really coming, he +shouted out at the top of his voice: + +"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me! Jesus, son of David, have pity on +me!" + +The people who were in front told him to be quiet; but he felt that this +was the chance of his life, and he kept on calling, "Jesus, son of +David, have pity on me!" + +Jesus stopped, and said to those near, "Go, and bring this man to me." + +Then they said to Bartimeus, "Be of good cheer; get up and go to Jesus, +for he is calling you!" + +Bartimeus was in such a hurry to get to Jesus that he sprang up, flung +aside his cloak, and left it on the ground, while they led him to the +Lord. When he came near, Jesus said to him: + +"What would you have me do for you?" + +"Lord," he answered, "let me have my sight again!" + +"Have your sight," said Jesus, "your faith has made you well." + +And at once his sight came back to him; and he joined the crowd +following Jesus, giving praise to God with a loud voice. And all those +who saw this wonderful work added their praises to God. + + + + +In the Rich Man's Home at Jericho + +CHAPTER 71 + + +BUT BLIND Bartimeus was not the only man in Jericho who was eager to +meet Jesus. In that city was living a very rich man named Zaccheus, who +was the head of all the tax collectors in that part of the country. He +had heard that Jesus was unlike other Jews, in being friendly toward the +tax gatherers, and he greatly desired to see him. But Zaccheus was a +small man, and in the crowd he could have no chance to look at Jesus, so +he ran on ahead and climbed up into a mulberry tree that stood beside +the road, and from a place among its branches he could look down upon +the passing multitude. + +When Jesus came opposite to the tree, he stopped, looked up and saw +Zaccheus, and said to him: + +"Zaccheus, make haste and come down; for I must stop at your house +today!" + +He was surprised and glad that the great Teacher should choose his +house, out of all the homes in Jericho, to stay in. He came down and +walked with Jesus to his house. But all the people began to find fault, +saying: + +"He has gone to visit at the house of a man who is a sinner!" + +For they took for granted because many of the tax gatherers were wicked +men and robbed the people, that all of them were bad. + +[Illustration: Jesus called out to Zaccheus in the tree: "Make haste and +come down, for I must stop at your house today!"] + +Zaccheus knew how they were feeling and what they were saying; so he +came forward, and stood before Jesus and said: + +"Hear me, Master! I will give half of all that I own to help the poor; +and if I have robbed or cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times +as much as he has lost!" + +"Today," said Jesus, "in this house a man has been saved from his sins; +since even Zaccheus here is a true son of Abraham our father. For the +Son of Man has come to look after the lost ones and to save them." + +As the people were listening, he went on and spoke a parable to them; +for he knew that as he was going up to Jerusalem, they were looking for +the kingdom of God to be set up at once. This was "The Parable of the +Pounds." + +"A certain prince," said Jesus, "was going to a city far away, to be +made a king, and then to come back and rule over his own land. Before +leaving, he called ten of his servants, and gave to each one five +hundred dollars, and said to him, 'Trade with this until I come back.' +Then he went away. + +"But the people of his land hated him, and sent messengers to follow him +to the distant city and to say, 'We will not have this man as our king.' + +"However, the prince was made king and came home to reign over his land. +Then he sent for his servants to whom he had given the money, so that he +might learn how much each one had made by buying and selling. The first +servant came and said: + +"'My lord, the five hundred dollars which you gave me has gained five +thousand dollars.' + +"'Well done, you good servant,' said the king, 'because you have been so +wise and faithful with a small amount, I will make you the governor over +ten cities in my kingdom.' + +"Then came another servant, who said, 'My lord, your five hundred +dollars has made five times as much as you gave me. Here are twenty-five +hundred dollars.' + +"'Very well,' answered the king, 'you may be the ruler over five +cities.' + +"Soon one of the servants came, saying, 'My lord, here is your five +hundred dollars, just as you gave it to me. I have kept it safe for you, +wrapped up in a napkin. For I was afraid of you; you are such a hard, +selfish man. You pick up what you never put down; and you reap what you +do not sow.' + +"'You worthless servant!' answered the king, 'out of your own words will +I pass judgment upon you. You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, +picking up what I never put down, and reaping what I did not sow! If you +knew this, why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I +came home I could have gotten interest upon it, the money gained by +lending it.' + +"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take away from him the five hundred +dollars, and give it to the one who has five thousand dollars!' + +"'My lord,' they said, 'why, he has five thousand dollars already! Why +give it to him?' + +"'That is the very reason why he should have it,' said the king. 'I tell +you, that to him who has, more shall be given; and as for him who has +not, even the little that he has shall be taken away from him.'" + +"'And now, for these enemies of mine,' the king went on, 'those men who +sent word that they would not have me for their king, seize them, and +bind them in chains and bring them here. Let them be slain in my +sight!'" + +With these words Jesus went onward up the mountain road leading to +Jerusalem. + + + + +The Alabaster Jar + +CHAPTER 72 + + +FROM JERICHO to Jerusalem was a journey of fifteen miles up the +mountains by a very steep road; a road often dangerous on account of the +robbers who were hidden among the rocks by the wayside. But at the time +of the Passover when thousands of people were going up to the feast, it +was safe, through the crowds traveling together. Up this road Jesus +walked with his disciples and a great throng of people, all on their way +to the Passover. He did not, however, go directly to Jerusalem, but +turned aside when near the city, and stopped at the village of Bethany +for a visit with his friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. They were +very, very glad to see Jesus now, for you remember that on his last +visit, some months before, he had called Lazarus out of his tomb to live +again. + +It was on Friday, just six days before the Passover was to be held, that +Jesus came to Bethany. There, at the house of a man named Simon, a +supper was given in honor of Jesus. This Simon had been a leper, but had +been cured by Jesus, so that he had his own reason for showing love and +honor to Jesus. At the supper, the guests sat leaning on couches, with +their heads toward the table and their feet away from it; and those who +waited at the tables passed the food and drink around to the guests. +Among those who were serving at the table was Martha, the sister of +Lazarus. + +[Illustration: Mary anointing Jesus' feet with fragrant oil from the +alabaster jar] + +On the couch standing at the head of the table was leaning in the middle +Simon, who gave the feast. On his right hand, in the place of honor, was +Jesus; and on his left was Lazarus. On the side tables were lying the +disciples of Jesus and other guests. + +Suddenly, into the room came Mary, the sister of Lazarus. She carried in +her arms a jar made of marble, of the kind called alabaster. Its cover +was sealed; but Mary broke the seal, and at once a rich perfume arose in +the air and floated not only through the dining hall, but the whole +house, for the jar was filled with a very fragrant and costly oil. Mary +walked up the aisle between the tables and the couches whereon the +guests were lying. She came opposite to Jesus, and poured some of the +oil upon his head; then walked around the couch, poured the rest of it +upon his feet and wiped them with her long hair, hanging loose upon her +shoulders. + +[Illustration: Judas secretly bargaining with the chief priests for the +betrayal of Jesus into their hands] + +Everybody in the room was surprised at Mary's act; and one of the +disciples of Jesus said aloud: + +"What a waste this is? Why, that jar of perfume was worth at least fifty +dollars! It might have been sold and the money given to the poor!" + +The one who said this was Judas Iscariot, the wicked disciple who was +already planning to give up his Lord to his enemies, the chief priests +and rulers. Judas was the treasurer for Jesus and his twelve disciples. +They all lived as one family, kept their money in one purse, and in +addition whatever money was given to Jesus by his friends. Judas kept +this purse; but he was a thief, and stole some of the money, that he +might use it for himself. When Judas saw all the precious oil poured +upon the head and feet of Jesus, he was angry, for he looked upon it as +so much money that he might have kept. + +"Why do you find fault with this woman?" said Jesus. "It is a beautiful +thing that she has done to me. You will always have the poor with you, +but you will not always have me. As she poured this perfume on my body, +she did it for my burial, which is soon to take place. I tell you, +wherever in the whole world my gospel shall be preached, the act of this +woman will be told, and she will be remembered on account of it." + +All the friends of Jesus were expecting him soon to go to Jerusalem and +set up his kingdom and rule. They did not understand his words about +dying and rising from the dead. But Mary, among them all, knew that +Jesus was soon to die, and it was not only to show her love toward him +for bringing her brother to life, but in a very tender way to put into +an act what she would not say in words, that her Lord would soon die and +be buried. + +After this supper, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had spoken against +Mary and her gift, quietly made up his mind to give Jesus over to his +enemies. He saw that Jesus would not be such a king as he wished him to +be, and he had begun to fear that his stealings were known, or at least +suspected. He went secretly to the chief priests and the rulers and said +to them: + +"What will you pay me if I will give Jesus into your hands?" + +They were glad to hear this, and said to him, "We will give you thirty +pieces of silver." + +This was a little less than twenty dollars in our money, and it was the +price paid for a slave. Think of it, for the value of a slave, the Lord +of all the earth was sold by one of his own chosen followers! + +Judas was sharp in his dealing with the priests. He was afraid that, +after he had given Jesus up to them, he might be cheated out of his +money. So he said: + +"Pay me the money now; and when the right time comes, I will show you +how to make Jesus of Nazareth your prisoner." + +They gave Judas the thirty pieces of silver; and from that moment Judas +was looking for the chance to put Jesus into the hands of his enemies. + +[Illustration: Jewish shekel] + + + + +Palm Sunday + +CHAPTER 73 + + +THE NEWS that Jesus was at Bethany went abroad, and very soon the +village was thronged with people eager to see him. Many of these were +men who had come from the country up to Jerusalem for the feast of the +Passover; and most of them were ready to believe in Jesus as the Christ, +the promised King of Israel. Some came to Bethany, not only to see +Jesus, but to see Lazarus also, the man whom Jesus had raised from death +to life. The rulers, who had already made up their minds to put Jesus to +death and had paid Judas to give him up to them, said to each other: + +"If we are to prevent these people from making Jesus of Nazareth their +king, it will not be enough to kill Jesus; we must first kill Lazarus, +for on his account many are following Jesus." + +On the morning after the supper at Simon's house, Jesus decided to go +into Jerusalem. He called two of his disciples and said to them: + +"Go into the next village on the road to Jerusalem, and just on the edge +of it you will find an ass tied, and with it a colt on which no one has +ever ridden; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks you, 'Why +are you doing that?' tell him, 'The Master needs them; and will send +them back soon;' and he will let you take the ass and the colt." + +The two disciples went to the village, and found in the street in front +of a house an ass and a colt tied just as Jesus had said. They were +untying them when the owner, who was standing by, said: + +"What are you doing, untying the ass?" + +"The Master needs it," answered the disciples; and when the man heard +this, he allowed them to take the ass and the colt. They brought them to +Jesus at Bethany; and on the ass-colt they laid their cloaks, to form a +cushion for Jesus; and he sat upon the colt, which never before had been +ridden upon. Then the crowd, seeing that Jesus was riding toward +Jerusalem, walked with him, some going before and some following after. +Those in front spread their clothes upon the road before Jesus; others +threw on the ground leaves from the field; while many waved branches of +palm taken from the trees beside the road. + +[Illustration: The brook Kedron] + +And before they came to the top of the Mount of Olives, which was +between Bethany and Jerusalem, another crowd of people met them, coming +from the city to see Jesus. And all the multitude shouted together: + +"God save the King, the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the +Lord's name! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David! Praises be to +the Lord!" + +For all this crowd of people believed that now, at last, the kingdom of +God was to be set up, with Jesus as Christ and King. But in the +multitude were some Pharisees, enemies of Jesus, who became very angry +as they saw the crowd waving the palm branches and cheering for Jesus as +King. These men came up to Jesus as he was riding and said to him: + +"Teacher, tell your followers to stop this noise!" + +"I tell you," answered Jesus, "that if these men should keep still, the +very stones would cry out!" + +Soon they came to the top of the Mount of Olives, and then the Temple +and the city of Jerusalem were in sight before them. + +As Jesus looked upon the city, the tears came into his eyes and he said: + +"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! If only you might know, even now, while yet +there is time, what would give you peace! But no, it is hidden from your +sight! The time is coming when your enemies will build walls and forts +around you, and shut you in on every side; and trample you down into the +dust, and your children with you. They will not leave in you one stone +standing upon another--and all because you would not understand when the +Lord was visiting you." + +Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives, and across the valley of the brook +Kedron. At the gate of the Temple he got off from the back of the colt, +and sent it with the ass back to its owner. As he came into the city and +the Temple there was a great stir, the people everywhere flocking to +meet him. + +"Who is this?" they said; and the crowds answered, "This is the Prophet +Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee!" + +[Illustration: Many waved branches of palm, and all the multitude +shouted together: "God save the King, the son of David! Blessed is he +who comes in the Lord's name!"] + +The Pharisees said to each other, "We can do nothing! The whole world +has gone after Jesus!" + +Everybody, both the friends and enemies of Jesus, looked to have him +take control of the city and act as a king. But Jesus only went into the +Temple and walked around it. By this time it was evening, and Jesus +returned with his disciples to Bethany. + +Forty years after that time, the terrible things that Jesus declared +were to fall upon Jerusalem, did come to pass. The Jews rose against the +Romans and made war upon them. A mighty Roman army came, and swept over +all the land, bringing ruin and death everywhere. The Romans laid siege +to Jerusalem, and built a strong wall around it, so that no one could +come out or go in. The people fought desperately, until they were +starved and could fight no more. At last the Romans broke into the +Temple, and set the city on fire. Both the Temple and all the city were +utterly destroyed; untold thousands of the people were slain, and many +thousands more were sold as slaves. And from that time, seventy years +after Jesus was born, and forty years after he died on the cross, the +Jews have not had of their own a land or a city. + +[Illustration: After teaching in the Temple all day, Jesus went out in +the evening over the Mount of Olives to the home of his friends in +Bethany.] + + + + +Monday on the Mount and in the Temple + +CHAPTER 74 + + +AFTER THE royal coming of Jesus to the city and the Temple, on the next +morning--which was Monday--Jesus left Bethany very early, without +waiting for his breakfast, and with his twelve disciples walked over the +Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem. The walk and the early morning air +made him hungry, and seeing a fig tree covered with green leaves in a +field near the road, he went to it, hoping to find some figs upon it. + +The laws of the Jews allowed any person passing by a field which was not +his own, to take as much fruit or grain as he wished to eat, but not to +carry any away; so that Jesus had a right to go to this tree and help +himself to its fruit. Jesus knew that it was not quite the time for ripe +figs, for they do not become ripe in that country before May or June, +and that day may have been in March. But on the sunny slope of the Mount +of Olives figs often ripen early in the season and as the figs always +come before the leaves, wherever the leaves were abundant, there might +be among them some ripe figs. + +But when Jesus came to the fig tree, and looked at it closely, he found +that upon it was no fruit, either ripe or green, but only leaves. Then a +thought came to Jesus, and in the presence of his disciples he spoke to +the fig tree. + +"From this time let no fruit ever be picked from this tree forever!" he +said. + +This was not because Jesus was angry with the poor tree, which could not +help not having fruit. It was because he saw in that tree a parable or +picture of the Jewish people. They made a show of serving God, and were +like trees covered with leaves; but they did not bring forth the fruit +of good lives, of love to God and their fellow-men. They were fruitless +trees, and trees which have been planted and kept for fruit are of no +use without fruit. + +The twelve disciples who were with Jesus around the fig tree heard those +words, and soon had cause to remember them. + +[Illustration: As the traders looked upon Jesus and heard his stern +rebuke, they became afraid and rushed out of the court before him] + +From the Mount of Olives they walked, as on the day before, across the +valley of the brook Kedron, and again came into the Temple. You remember +that two years before when Jesus visited the Temple, he then drove out +from its court all the people that he found buying and selling and +changing money. But in the two years that had passed, they had all come +back, and the Court of the Gentiles was again a place of business and of +confusion. All around were oxen lowing and sheep bleating; their owners +calling upon the people passing by to come and buy them; cages full of +pigeons and doves were standing on every side; and from a row of tables +might be heard the chink of silver, as the money of foreign lands was +changed for that of Judea. + +When these traders saw Jesus standing before them, some of them could +remember how two years before he had driven them out of the Temple, and +all saw in him the man whom only yesterday the people had welcomed as +the coming King of Israel. There was a look upon the face of Jesus which +made all these wrongdoers afraid of him; and when he spoke in the +hearing of them all, "God's book says, 'My house shall be called a house +of prayer; but you are making it a den of robbers,'" with one accord +they rushed out of the court before him, driving out the sheep and oxen, +carrying away the cages of doves, and even upsetting the tables of the +money-changers. + +Jesus saw that people who were coming from outside the wall were +carrying goods and jars of water and of oil through the Court of the +Gentiles as the nearest way to the city, so that the court was becoming +merely a street between the city and the country. He put a stop to this +carrying of loads through the Temple courts; and would not allow even a +jar of water to be taken by way of the Temple into the city. This +building in all its parts was the house of God, and Jesus as the Son of +God gave commands that everywhere it was to be used only for the worship +of his heavenly Father. + +After casting out all these evil things from the outer court, Jesus +walked up the steps to the inner court, called the Treasury. There he +sat down, and for the rest of the day taught the people who crowded +around him. + +While he was in the Treasury, they led to him the blind, and he gave +them sight by a word; and the lame came in on crutches, or were carried +in by their friends to his feet, and he gave them power to walk. Boys +too were marching around the Temple and shouting everywhere, "May God +save the Son of David!" + +All these things made the priests and the rulers very angry; for they +were only waiting for a chance to find Jesus alone and make him their +prisoner, and they could do nothing while such crowds were around him, +all believing that he was the promised Son of David and King of Israel. +But these enemies of Jesus could not keep quiet amid all these praises. + +"Do you hear," they said to Jesus, "what these boys are shouting? Why do +you not tell them to be still?" + +"Yes, I hear them," answered Jesus, "and have you never read what is +said in the book of Psalms, 'Out of the lips of little children, even of +babies in their mothers' arms, thy praises have been made perfect?'" + +Jesus stayed in the Temple teaching until the evening drew near. Then he +went with his disciples back to Bethany for the night. There among his +friends he was safe. + + + + +Tuesday Morning in the Temple + +CHAPTER 75 + + +AGAIN ON Tuesday morning of that great week, the last week of our +Saviour's life on earth, he went with his disciples out of Bethany to go +to Jerusalem. As they were walking up the Mount of Olives, they came to +the fig tree to which Jesus had spoken on the morning before. It was +standing upon the hillside, but withered and dead, its dry leaves turned +yellow, rustling in the wind. + +"Master, look!" said Peter, "the fig tree to which you spoke those words +yesterday is all withered!" + +"Have faith in God," answered Jesus. "I tell you in truth, that if any +one of you should say to this mountain before us, 'Be lifted up and +thrown into the sea,' and should not have in his mind a doubt, but +believes that what he says will come to pass, it shall be done. So I say +to you, whatever you pray God for, believe that God gives it to you, and +it shall be yours. But keep this also in mind, whenever you stand up for +prayer, if there is anything that you have against anybody, forgive him. +Then, and then only, will your Father in heaven forgive you your sins +against him." + +Again they came to Jerusalem, and walked across the Court of the +Gentiles now quiet and free from the confusion of the morning before, no +buying, no selling, and no carrying of loads through it to the city. +They went into the Treasury, where Jesus had taught and cured on the day +before; and they found it already full of people who had come together, +hoping to listen again to the words of the great Teacher. + +[Illustration: The chief priests angrily demanded of Jesus: "What right +have you to come here and act as a ruler?"] + +But not only were there in the Temple people friendly to Jesus, and +eager to hear him; the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the +members of the great council, were also there, ready to do all in their +power against him. These men were very angry at Jesus for what he had +done on the day before. They pushed their way through the crowds up to +Jesus, and said to him, with an air of lordship: + +"What right have you to come here and act as a ruler? Who gave you the +right to do what you did yesterday?" + +"I will ask you a question," answered Jesus promptly, "and if you will +answer that, then I will tell you who has given me the right to do what +I have done here in the Temple. What do you say about John the +Baptist--did he speak the words of God as his messenger? Or did he speak +his own words only, without authority or power from God? Answer me that +question!" + +They were taken aback at this answer of Jesus; and began talking +together, while the crowd around looked on. + +"What shall we say?" they whispered to each other. "If we say, 'John the +Baptist spoke from God,' he will ask, 'Then why did you not believe his +words and obey him?' No, let us say, 'He spoke only as a man, without +authority or power from God.' But then, if we say that, the people will +stone us, for they all believe that John was a true prophet of God." + +So after a time these men said to Jesus, "We cannot answer your +question. We don't know whether John spoke the words of God or his own +words." + +Then said Jesus, "No more will I tell you who has given me the power to +do these things." + +For Jesus well knew that if these men had not believed when John the +Baptist said, "Thus saith the Lord," they would not believe him saying, +"I do only what my Father tells me to do." + +[Illustration: The pool of Mamilla, at Jerusalem] + + + + +Three Parables of Warning + +CHAPTER 76 + + +IMMEDIATELY after answering the question of the priests and the rulers, +Jesus gave three parables, one directly after another; and all aimed at +his enemies. The first was "The Parable of the Two Sons." + +"What do you think of this?" said Jesus. "There was a man who had two +sons. He went to the older son, and said to him, 'My son, go and work in +the vineyard today.' 'Yes, sir,' said the young man. 'I will go.' But +although he had given his promise to go, he broke it, for he did not go. + +"Then the father spoke to his second son, as he had spoken to the first. +'My son, go and work today in the vineyard.' This one said to his +father, 'I will not go.' But afterward he was sorry, and went into the +vineyard to work. Now tell me, which of these two sons did as his father +told him to do?" + +They answered him, "The second." + +"I tell you truly," said Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers and the bad +women are going into the kingdom of God instead of you, who believe +yourselves to be better than others. For John the Baptist came and +showed you how to live, and you would not believe him nor do as he said. +But the tax-gatherers and the bad women believed him and turned from +their evil ways to God. And even when you saw them turning from evil to +good, you would not seek God after them and follow the words of John." + +Then Jesus spoke to these rulers another parable, called "The Parable of +the Wicked Vine-dressers." + +"Listen to another parable," he said. "A man who owned some land planted +upon it a vineyard of grape-vines. He put a fence around it, dug a +wine-vat inside it, and built a tower in the middle of the vineyard, so +that a watchman might be on the lookout against thieves. Then he let it +out to vine-dressers, to take care of it, and at the time of ripe grapes +to send him his share of the fruit or its worth in money. After leasing +the vineyard, he went away to another country. + +[Illustration: Vineyard and watch-tower in Bethlehem] + +"When the time for the vintage drew near, the time for gathering the +grapes, he sent his servants for his share of the fruit. But instead of +giving him what belonged to him, the vine-dressers seized his servants. +One servant they flogged and drove away, another they killed, and a +third they stoned. A second time the owner sent some other servants, +more than before; and the vine-dressers treated them in the same way. +And so it was with many others; some they beat and some they killed. + +"The owner of the vineyard had one son, a young man, whom he loved very +dearly. Last of all he sent this son to them, saying to himself, 'They +will surely respect my son, and will not treat him as they have treated +the servants.' + +"But those men said, as soon as they saw him, 'This is the one who is to +own the vineyard when his father dies. Let us kill him, and then the +vineyard will be ours.' So when he came, they seized him and killed him, +and flung his body outside the vineyard. + +"Now, I will ask you," said Jesus, "when the owner of that vineyard +comes, what will he do to those vine-dressers?" + +They answered, "He will utterly destroy those vile, cruel men, and will +lease his vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will give him every year +his share of the fruit." + +"Have you never read this verse," said Jesus. + + "The stone which the builders refused + Has now become the chief and corner-stone; + This is the work of the Lord, + And it is wonderful in our sight?" + +"I tell you," added Jesus, "that the kingdom of God shall be taken from +you and given to a people that brings to God its fruits. Yes, and he who +falls on this stone shall be dashed to pieces; and whoever this stone +falls on shall be ground to powder!" + +As the chief priests and Pharisees and rulers heard these parables, they +knew at once that they were spoken against them. They were eager to +seize Jesus, but were afraid of the crowds around, for all the common +people looked upon him as a prophet speaking God's word. + +Jesus gave a third parable: that of "The Marriage of the King's Son." +This, given in the Temple, was in some parts like another, "The Parable +of the Great Feast," which he had already given in Perea; but other +parts of it, as we shall see, were different from that parable. + +"There was a certain king," said Jesus, "who gave a great supper at the +marriage of his son. He sent out his servants to those who had been +invited to the feast, but they would not come. Once again he sent some +other servants, and told them to say to the guests: + +"'Here is my supper all ready, the oxen and fat cattle have been killed; +everything is ready; come to the feast.' + +"But they paid no attention to his words, and went off, one to his farm +and another to his shop. And some seized his servants, ill-treated them +and even killed them. This made the king very angry. He sent his army, +put those murderers to death and burned up their city. + +"Then the king said to his servants, 'The marriage feast is ready; but +those who were the invited guests were not fit for it. Go out into the +streets of the city and the roads in the country, and ask everybody whom +you meet to come to the wedding.' The servants went forth into the +roads, and brought to the feast all whom they met, both the bad and the +good. So the marriage supper had plenty of guests. + +"When the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man among them who +was not wearing a wedding robe. For as each guest came to the house, a +beautiful robe was given him, to be worn at the supper. + +"'My friend,' said the king to this man, 'how was it that you came in +here without a wedding robe?' + +"The man stood silent, for he had nothing to say. Then said the king to +his servants: + +"'Tie this man hand and foot, and throw him out of doors into the +darkness. There men will wail and gnash their teeth. For I tell you that +many are invited, but few are chosen.'" + + + + +The Head on the Coin + +CHAPTER 77 + + +THE ENEMIES of Jesus thought that, perhaps, they might lead him to say +some words against the Roman rulers over the land. If he would do this, +then they could complain to the Roman governor and cause Jesus to be +seized and put in prison, or even slain, as an enemy of the Roman state. +These priests and Pharisees and rulers themselves hated the Romans, and +would gladly throw off the Roman yoke if they dared to do it; but they +were willing to pretend friendliness to their Roman masters, if only +through them they could destroy Jesus. + +[Illustration: The head on the coin] + +With this purpose in mind, while Jesus was in the Temple on that Tuesday +morning, they sent to him some men whom Jesus had never met, men who +seemed honest and true; for they knew that if they came themselves +Jesus would at once see through their plans and be on his guard against +them. They did not know that Jesus as the Son of God knew all things, +could look into every heart of man and read all their thoughts. + +So these men came to Jesus in the Temple and tried at first to speak +flattering words to him to win his favor. + +"Teacher," they said, "we know that you are honest and speak the truth; +that you are not afraid of anybody and do not try to please men, but say +only what is right. There is a question that troubles us, for we do not +know how to meet it. For that reason we bring it to you, for we know +that you will give us a right answer. Tell us now what you think about +it. Is it right for our people to pay taxes to the Roman rulers over the +land? Shall we pay, or shall we refuse to pay?" + +[Illustration: Silver coin of Tiberius Cæsar] + +This was indeed a hard question to answer, especially to answer at once, +without time for thinking about it. For if Jesus should say, "Do not pay +the tax," the Romans would arrest him as an enemy to their rule, and +might even put him to death, as they had seized and slain many for this +very act of refusing to pay the taxes. At that very time hundreds of men +were hiding from the Romans in caves and forests, trying to escape from +paying this tax. On the other hand, if Jesus should say, "Pay the tax," +all the common people would turn against him; for all the Jews hated +this tax, which was a sign of the Roman power over them; and every man +among them only paid it because he was afraid of the Roman governor and +the Roman soldiers. + +But Jesus saw through all their plots and plans, and he had his answer +ready. + +"You men of false heart, pretending to be honest!" he said, "why do you +try to catch me in a snare? Let me see some of the tax money!" + +They brought to him a piece of silver, a Roman coin. He looked at it +closely and then asked: + +"Whose head is this that I find upon the coin? What are the words around +the edge?" + +"Why, that is the head of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Cæsar, and those +words are his title." + +"Well, then," said Jesus, "give to Cæsar what belongs to Cæsar; and be +sure to give to God what belongs to God." + +There was nothing in that answer which they could make to appear either +unfriendly or friendly to the Roman rule; nor yet was there anything +that could be used against Jesus with the people. Wondering at the +answer of Jesus, these men left him. + +[Illustration: Jewish half-shekel, the coin in which the Temple tax was +paid--"tribute money" (Matt. 17:27)--value, 32 cents] + + + + +The Woman with Seven Husbands + +CHAPTER 78 + + +WE HAVE heard much in the story, of the Pharisees, who were looked upon +as leaders of the people in religion, because they regularly went to +church, paid the church dues and obeyed all the rules, foolish as some +of those rules seemed. These Pharisees, as you know, were bitter enemies +of Jesus, and everywhere stirred up the people against him. + +But there was another party among the Jews, the Sadducees, whom we have +not mentioned up to this time. These people were equally opposed to the +Pharisees and to Jesus. They were easy-living men, not paying much +attention to the church rules; and in fact not going often to the +church, which you know was called "the synagogue." But although they +cared little for the churches in the different towns, they cared greatly +for the Temple in Jerusalem, for most of the priests in the Temple were +Sadducees, as also were many of the rulers in the great council of the +Jews. + +The Sadducees did not believe that there was any soul in man, nor any +life after this life, nor any angels, nor any rising from the dead +hereafter, nor any heaven or hell. They believed that when a man died +and was buried, that was his end forever. + +Some of these Sadducees tried to puzzle Jesus with a question. They came +to him in the Temple that Tuesday while he was speaking to the people. + +"Teacher," they said to him, "you remember that in the law of Moses it +is ordered that if a man should die without any children, but leaving a +wife, then the man's brother shall take the widow for his wife, and +raise a family for his brother. Well, there were living seven brothers. +The oldest of these married a wife, and after a time died, leaving no +children. Then the second married her, and he too died without a child. +The third took her and died, the fourth also, and all the rest of the +seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, +you have been teaching that there will come a day when the dead shall +rise to life. When that day comes, and these seven men rise, all of whom +were married to this woman, whose wife out of them all will she be, for +every one of them in turn was married to her?" + +"You make a mistake," answered Jesus, "because you do not understand the +teachings of the Bible; nor do you know how great is the power of God, +who can at a word call the dead up to life. In this world men and women +marry because they live on earth only for a time, and must have families +to live after them. But when the dead are raised up, they do not rise as +husbands and wives, nor do they marry in that world to come, for they +will have no need to raise up families to take their places. In that +land all live forever, like the angels of God. And as to the +resurrection, the rising from the dead, have you not read the words that +God spoke to Moses at the burning bush? + +"'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' + +"Now God is not the God of dead men, but of living men. For in the sight +of God all men are alive, even after they have died on earth." + +While Jesus was answering these questions--that of the rulers of the +Temple about his right to drive out those that were buying and selling; +that of the Pharisees about the paying of taxes; and that of the +Sadducees about the resurrection, the rising from the dead--the people +were standing around, listening. Although the rulers were enemies of +Jesus, the common people were friendly, and heard him gladly. They saw +how ready and how apt his answers were, and they were greatly pleased to +find the enemies of Jesus put to confusion before him. + +[Illustration: The tomb of David as shown to-day in Jerusalem] + + + + +The Greatest of All the Commandments + +CHAPTER 79 + + +WHILE JESUS was talking in the Temple and answering all these questions, +a teacher of the law was standing near and listening. He saw how well +Jesus answered all the questions put to him, and coming up to him, said: + +"Teacher, what commandment stands first of all?" + +We might suppose that he was speaking of the Ten Commandments and asking +which of these is the most important. But that was not his purpose. He +was thinking, not of the commandments given by God, but of the rules +made by the scribes. One teacher would say that the rules about keeping +the Sabbath were the greatest, another that the rules about washing were +first; and so on, each scribe or teacher laying stress on one set of +rules above another. Jesus looked upon all these little laws made by men +as of no importance; and this was his answer to the scribe who had asked +the question: + +"The first and greatest of all the commandments is this, 'Hear, O ye +people of Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the +Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy +mind, and with all thy strength.' And the second commandment is this, +'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' There is no other commandment +greater than these two." + +To love God with all the heart is to do God's will, not because we must +do it, but because we love to do it and find joy in doing it. And to +love our neighbor means to feel an interest in our fellow-men and to do +for them whatever we would wish to have them do for us. + +"You are right, Teacher!" said the scribe in answer to Jesus. "It is +true, as you say, that there is one God; and there is no other God +besides him. And to love God with the whole heart, and with the whole +mind, and with the whole strength; and to love one's fellow-man as one's +self--this is far beyond all offerings upon the altar!" + +[Illustration: Ruins at the place where Jesus foretold the destruction +of Jerusalem] + +Jesus saw that this man's words were true and good and that he had the +right thought of our duty to God and to our fellow-man. He said to him: + +"You are not far from the kingdom of God." + +This was the last question put to Jesus. No one ventured to ask him any +more, for they were afraid of his wonderful answers. The chief priests +and the rulers were more and more angry at him, but the common people +listened to him willingly. + +While Jesus was teaching he in his turn asked a question of the +Pharisees and teachers of the law. + +"Tell me," he said, "what you think of the Messiah-Christ, the King of +Israel, promised to come. Whose son is he?" + +They answered at once, "David's son." + +"How is it then," asked Jesus again, "that David in one of the psalms +calls him 'Lord'? + + "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, + Until I put your enemies under your feet.' + +"If David calls this coming Christ 'my Lord,' how can he be David's +son?" + +This they could not answer, and they dared not ask Jesus any more +questions. But we know, from the words of the New Testament, that while +Christ as a man was sprung from David's line, as the Son of God he was +David's Lord. + +After this Jesus spoke strong words to the priests, the scribes, and the +rulers, for their wickedness of life for their leading the people away +from God's will, and for their unjust, cruel purpose to put him to +death. He told them that for their sins and the sins of their people, +the Temple should be thrown down, the city of Jerusalem should be +destroyed, and the land should be made desolate. These were his last +words, and when he had spoken them, he rose up to go out of the Temple. + + + + +The Greatest Gift; and the Strangers from Afar + +CHAPTER 80 + + +THE ROOM in the Temple where Jesus spoke on that Tuesday, the last day +of his teaching in public, was called "The Treasury," because beside its +walls were chests or boxes in which people who came to worship placed +their money for gifts to pay for the offerings of poor people. As Jesus +rose up to leave the room, he noticed the people dropping their money +into these boxes. Some rich men made a show of giving large sums of +money, letting it make a noise as they dropped it slowly, piece after +piece, into the box. + +There came in a poor woman, whose dress showed that she was a widow; and +she dropped into the box two little copper coins, worth together only a +quarter of a cent. Jesus saw her, and calling his disciples, he said: + +"I tell you in truth, that in the sight of God this poor widow has put +into the box more money than any of the others. All the rest have been +putting in money that they could spare and did not need. But she in her +need gave all that she had, her whole living!" + +Then Jesus walked out of the Treasury through the door on the east, +which was so richly decorated that it was called "The Beautiful Gate," +his disciples with him. They stepped down into the Court of the +Gentiles; and at the foot of the stairs met a number of men whose looks +and dress showed that they were not Jews, but foreigners. These men were +Greeks, from a land far away. They were waiting for Jesus at the foot of +the stairs, for not being Jews they were forbidden to enter the inner +courts of the Temple. + +These Greeks stepped up to one of the twelve disciples, Philip, who had +come from Bethsaida in the north of Galilee, and could speak their +language. + +"Sir," they said to Philip, "we would like to meet Jesus." + +Philip was not sure whether his Master would be willing to talk to these +men; for Jews kept Gentiles or foreigners at a distance, would never eat +with them, and would scarcely speak with them. Philip thought that +Andrew, the brother of Peter, might know whether to bring these men to +Jesus or not, so he spoke to Andrew, and Andrew took the lead in coming +to Jesus with the Greeks. + +[Illustration: The poor widow drops in two little coins] + +"The time has now come," said Jesus, "for the Son of Man to be lifted +up, and to die. For it is only by dying that I can bring forth fruit. +When a kernel of wheat is dropped into the ground, unless its outside +shell dies, it lives alone; but if it dies, then it becomes a seed and +brings a harvest of many kernels of wheat. He who loves his life and +keeps it, loses it; but he who takes no care of his life here shall have +it forever. If any man is ready to serve me, let him follow me; and +where I am going there shall my servant be with me. If any one is my +servant, he shall have honor from my Father." + +At that moment it came to the mind of Jesus that in less than three days +he would be hanging dead upon the cross. For an instant the thought gave +him pain. "I am deeply troubled, and have sorrow in my heart," said +Jesus, "and what can I say? Shall I say, 'Father, save me from the hour +that is coming so soon?' No, I will not say that, because it was for +that hour of death on the cross that I have lived even until now. I will +say, 'Father, give honor to thine own name!'" + +Then a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "I have honored my name +already, and I will honor it once more." + +The people standing around said, "That was a peal of thunder just now." + +"No," said others, "it was an angel speaking to this man!" + +"It was not on my account that the voice came," said Jesus, "but on your +account. Soon will come the hour when God will judge this world, and the +prince of evil, who rules this world, shall be driven away." + +Then Jesus thought of his coming death on the cross; what it was to +bring to the world; how that everywhere after his death men should +believe on him as their Lord and Saviour; not only Jews, but Greeks, and +people of every land; and he said: + +"And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me." + +Soon after this Jesus walked out of the Temple, never again to set his +foot within it. + + + + +Jesus Telling of Dark Days to Come + +CHAPTER 81 + + +JESUS WALKED across the Court of the Gentiles or Strangers, the large +outer court of the Temple, toward the Mount of Olives. On that side of +the court stood Solomon's Porch, a double row of pillars, having a roof +above to shield it from the sun. Under this porch they stepped down a +marble staircase to pass out of the Temple grounds through a gate called +"The Golden Gate." As they drew near this gate the disciples called his +attention to the great stones in the wall, the pillars and the splendid +buildings around. + +"Are you looking at these stones and buildings?" said Jesus. "I tell you +now, that the time is coming, and not far away, when all of these stones +shall be torn apart, and of these fine buildings not one stone shall be +left standing in its place; all shall be thrown down!" + +The disciples heard these words with alarm and sadness. They knew that +their Lord spoke as a prophet; and whatever he said would be sure to +come to pass. But they looked upon Jerusalem as the holy city, and upon +the Temple as the house of God. To them, the fall of the city and the +Temple seemed like the end of the whole world. They walked after Jesus +in silence across the valley of the brook Kedron and up the steep sides +of the Mount of Olives. On its top they sat down to rest, and looked +over the valley at the city, its towers and roofs rising in their view. +While they were sitting on the mountain, Peter and Andrew, with the +brothers James and John, came to Jesus, and said to him: + +"Tell us, Master, what your words mean, and when these terrible things +will come to pass? Are you going away, and then coming back again? How +may we know when to look for you?" + +Then, sitting on the mountain, with the twelve disciples around him, +Jesus gave a long talk about the things that were to come. He began by +warning them against following after men claiming to be Christ, the King +of Israel. + +"Take care," he said, "that no one lead you astray. For many will come +saying, 'I am Christ, the King of Israel,' and they will lead away many +people. But do not follow any of these false Christs. + +"You will hear of wars that have come, and reports of wars that are +coming; but do not be frightened. These must come, but they are not the +end. Nation shall make war with nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and +you shall hear of earthquakes in many places; and times shall come when +there will be no bread for the hungry to eat. But all these are only the +beginnings of the trouble; and the worst is yet to come. + +[Illustration: The Golden Gate, on east of the Temple Area, Jerusalem +(now closed)] + +"But before these take place there are some other sufferings that you +must meet because you are my disciples. Enemies will rise up against +you. You shall be brought before councils and courts to be tried; you +shall be seized and beaten in the churches of the Jews; you shall stand +before governors and kings to give account for yourselves as my +followers. But when they seize you and bring you to be tried, do not be +anxious as to what you shall speak; for the right words shall be given +you in that hour of trial. It will not be you that speak, but the Spirit +of God that speaks through you. + +"In those times of trial fathers and mothers shall turn against their +children, and brothers shall give up brothers who believe in me. Some of +you shall be put to death in those days. And all men shall hate you +because you are my disciples. But if you are faithful to the end, even +to death, you shall be saved to everlasting life." + +[Illustration: The Mount of Olives from Gethsemane] + +Then Jesus told of the terrible times that were coming to Jerusalem and +the land of the Jews. He said: + +"When you see great armies encamped on these hills all around Jerusalem, +then know that the time has come for the city and the Temple to be +destroyed. Let this be a sign for everyone in Judea to hide among the +mountains. If a man at that time is on the roof of his house, let him +not go down to take anything out of his house; nor a man in the field go +home after his cloak; but hasten away just as he is, with the clothes +that are upon his back, and find a safe hiding-place. + +"If anyone tells you in such times as those, 'Here is Christ!' or 'There +he is!' do not believe it, for false Christs will come and false +prophets will appear; and they will show signs and wonders, so as to +lead astray even some of God's own people. I tell you truly that many +who are now living shall see all these things come to pass." + +Jesus had already told his disciples that he was soon going away to +leave them, but in his own time he would come again. He now spoke about +his "coming again." + +"As to the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows about that day or +hour; no man knows when it will be, nor the angels, nor even the Son +himself, but only the Father. It will be then as it was in the days of +Noah; they went on eating and drinking, marrying and being married, +until the day Noah went into the ark; and they took no notice until the +flood came and swept them all away. + +"So will it be when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men +working together in the field; one shall be taken and the other left. +Two women will be grinding grain with the hand mill; one shall be taken +and the other left. Keep on the watch then, for you never know what day +the Lord will come. Be sure of this, if the owner of the house had known +at what time in the night the thief would come, he would have been on +the watch for him, and would never have allowed his house to be broken +into. So be ready all the time, for when you least expect him, the Son +of Man will come." + + + + +The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids + +CHAPTER 82 + + +AT THE CLOSE of a long talk with the disciples, on the Mount of Olives, +Jesus gave three parables. The first parable was to show that his +followers must watch and be ready for his sudden coming. It is "The +Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids." + +"The coming of the Lord in his kingdom," said Jesus, "will be as when +ten girls, the bridesmaids at a wedding, took their lamps and went out +to meet the bridegroom with his friends, and go with them to the house +of the bride. Five of these girls were foolish and thoughtless, and five +of them were wise. The foolish young women brought their lamps, but +never thought that they would need more oil to fill their lamps again. +But each of the five wise girls carried a small flask of oil to refill +her lamp when needed. + +[Illustration: Oriental lamp] + +"As the bridegroom, the young man who was to be married, was late in +coming, the ten bridesmaids grew sleepy, and finally all fell asleep. +They slept until midnight, when suddenly they were awakened by the +shout, 'Here comes the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' + +"Then all the girls got up and began trimming their lamps. The careless, +foolish ones said to the wise and thoughtful ones: + +"'Come, let us have some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.' + +"But the wise bridesmaids answered them, 'No, each one of us has brought +just enough oil for her own lamp. If we should divide our oil with you, +then none of us would have enough to keep her lamp burning and we should +all be in the dark together. You must go to the store and buy for +yourselves!' + +[Illustration: The coming of the bridegroom] + +"So, in the middle of the night, while the bridegroom was coming, those +foolish women had to go to the town, and wake up the oil-sellers and buy +more oil. While they were on their way buying oil, the bridegroom and +his party came; and the bridesmaids who were ready went with them to the +marriage-supper. When they were all inside the room, the door was shut +to keep out strangers who had no right to enter. + +"After a time, the rest of the bridesmaids came and found the door +shut. They called out to the bridegroom: + +"'Oh, sir, oh, sir! Please open the door for us!' + +"But he answered them, 'I tell you, I do not know who you are!' + +"So," said Jesus, "I say to you, keep on the watch, and be ready at all +times, for you do not know either the day or the hour when your Lord +will come." + +[Illustration: Watch-tower] + + + + +The Parable of the Talents + +CHAPTER 83 + + +THE SECOND of the three parables with which Jesus closed his long talk +to his disciples on the Mount of Olives was "The Parable of the +Talents." In some parts it was like "The Parable of the Pounds," given +to the crowd at Jericho only a week before, but in other parts it was +different. In that parable, there was a king, going to a distant city to +have a kingdom given to him. In this parable, it was a rich man going on +a long journey. In the parable of the Pounds, all the servants began +with the same amount of money; in this parable, they received different +amounts, one of them five times as much as another received. In the +parable of the Pounds, one gained ten times, the other five times what +had been given to him; and they obtained different rewards, one the +ruler over ten cities, another over five. But in the parable of the +Talents, each faithful servant doubled what he had received, and both +had the same reward. But we will give the parable of the Talents, and +you can see how it differs from the parable of the Pounds. Jesus said: + +"When the Son of Man comes, it will be as when a man returned from his +journey into a far country. Before starting out upon his journey, this +man called together his servants and gave his money into their charge. +To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. Each +talent was worth about two thousand dollars, so that the first servant +had ten thousand dollars, the second four thousand dollars, and the +third two thousand dollars. To each man was given as much as his master +thought that he was able to take care of. They were to use the money and +gain with it until their master should come home again; and then bring +it with their gains to him. After dividing his money, the man went away. + +"At once the servant who had the five talents or ten thousand dollars, +went to trade with his money, and made with it ten thousand dollars +more, or twenty thousand dollars in all. The second servant, who had two +talents or four thousand dollars, also used his money carefully, and +doubled it, making eight thousand dollars. But the third servant, to +whom had been given one talent, or two thousand dollars, instead of +making use of his master's money, went away and dug a hole in the +ground, and put the talent into the hole and left it there. + +"After a long time the master of the servants came home again, and +called for his servants, to see what each had gained. The one who had +received the five talents came with bags of gold in his arms. He said: + +"'My lord, you gave me ten thousand dollars. Here they are, and ten +thousand dollars more, which I have gained with your money.' + +"'Well done, you good servant!' said his master. 'You have done well in +small things; now I will give you great things; come and share your +master's feast!' + +"Then came the second servant, to whom had been given two talents. + +"'My lord,' said he, 'you trusted me with four thousand dollars. See, +here it is with four thousand dollars more that I have gained for you!' + +"'Well done, you good servant,' said his master. 'You too have done well +in small things; now I will give you great things; come and share the +feast with me!' + +"Then came the servant to whom had been given one talent, two thousand +dollars. In his hand was the same bag of gold that he had received, and +no more. + +"'Sir,' he said, 'I knew that you were a hard man, reaping where you +never sowed, and taking grain that you did not harvest. So I was afraid, +and hid your money in the ground. Look, here is what belongs to you.' + +"'You lazy, worthless servant!' said his master. 'You knew, did you, +that I reap where I did not sow, and that I take grain that I did not +harvest? If you knew that I am such a man as that, you should have put +my money into the savings bank; and then at least I might have had my +own money with some gain added to it. + +[Illustration: "You lazy, worthless servant!" said his master] + +"'Therefore,' the master went on, 'take away the talent from this man, +and give it to the one who has brought me the ten talents, the twenty +thousand dollars; for that shows that he is fitted to take care of it. +For to every one that has, more shall be given and still more. But from +him that does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away. + +"'And as for that good-for-nothing servant, turn him out of doors from +the feast, into the darkness outside; there those who cannot come into +the feast shall wail and gnash their teeth.'" + +From this parable, as well as the parable of the Pounds, it is plain +that by "every one who has," the Lord meant "every one who cares for and +makes use of what he has"; and by "him who has not" he meant "the one +who makes no use of what he has." Whoever uses rightly what he has, +whether money, or knowledge, or powers of mind, or the chance to do +good, will find more and more of it; and whoever neglects what he has +will surely lose it. + +[Illustration: Flagellum or scourge] + + + + +The Last Great Day + +CHAPTER 84 + + +AFTER THE two parables of "The Bridesmaids" and "The Talents," Jesus +still with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, gave one more parable; +a picture of "The Last Great Day." He said: + +"When the Son of Man shall come again to earth, in all his glory as +King, and with him all the angels of God, then he will take his seat +upon his royal throne; and before him shall be gathered all the people +of the world to be judged. At that time he will send out his angels and +they shall divide the great multitude into two parts, as a shepherd +divides his flock, putting the sheep on his right hand and the goats on +his left. Then the King shall say to those on his right hand: + +"'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Come, and take the kingdom +made ready for you ever since the beginning of the world. For, when I +was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; +when I was a stranger, you opened your doors and took me into your +homes; when I had no clothes, you gave me clothing; when I was sick, you +cared for me; when I was in prison, you came to visit me.' + +"Then the good will answer, 'When was it that we found you hungry and +gave you food? Or thirsty and gave you drink? When did we see you a +stranger, and took you into our homes? Or without clothes, and gave you +clothing? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and went to visit +you?' + +"And the King will answer them, 'I tell you, as often as you did any of +these things to one of these my brothers who believe in me, even the +least of them, you did it to me.' + +"Then the King will turn to those on his left hand, and will say to +them: + +"'Go away from me, you whom God has cursed, to the everlasting fires +which have been kindled for the Devil and his angels, the wicked +spirits. There shall be your home forever! For I was hungry, but you +never gave me food; I was thirsty, but you never gave me drink; I was a +stranger, but you never opened your doors to me; I was in need of +clothes, but you never gave me any; I was sick and in prison, but you +never cared for me.' + +"Then these will answer him: + +"'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or +without clothing, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?' + +"And he shall answer them, 'In very truth I say to you, that as often as +you did not help in their need these my brothers who believe in me, even +the very least of them, you did not help me.' So these will go away to +suffer punishment forever; but those who have done the right will go to +life everlasting." + +It was now late on Tuesday afternoon, and Jesus with his disciples went +down the Mount of Olives to Bethany. On the way he said to them: + +"You know that two days from now is the Feast of the Passover. On that +day the Son of Man will be given up to his enemies; and they shall put +him to death upon the cross." + +But, although he had spoken of this many times, even now they could not +believe it. They went together to Bethany, to the home of Martha and +Mary and Lazarus. + +[Illustration: "You, my Lord, shall never wash my feet!" said Peter. +"Unless I wash you," answered Jesus, "you are not one of mine."] + + + + +Washing the Disciples' Feet + +CHAPTER 85 + + +TUESDAY HAD been a busy day for Jesus, as we have already seen; but +Wednesday must have been a quiet day, for none of the four gospels tells +us of any events taking place on that day. Jesus knew that in two days +more his sufferings were to begin, and he needed Wednesday, his last +full day, for rest and for talking with his Father in heaven. On +Wednesday, therefore, Jesus was alone with God, not talking much with +his disciples. + +On Thursday evening was to be held by all the Jews the great Feast of +the Passover. This kept in mind the day, more than a thousand years +before, when the Israelites went out of Egypt and became a free people. +At that time each Israelite family in Egypt killed a lamb, roasted it, +and ate it, their last meal in Egypt; and with it they ate "unleavened +bread," that is, bread made without yeast; somewhat like soda biscuit. +In memory of that day, the families of Israel went up to Jerusalem every +year in the spring and ate a dinner of roasted lamb with unleavened +bread, which they called "The Feast of the Passover," because on that +night in Egypt the angel of death "passed over" the homes of the +Israelites, while he brought death to the families of Egypt. + +On Thursday morning, Peter and John came to Jesus in Bethany and said: + +"Master, where shall we make ready the passover feast for you?" + +"Go into the city," answered Jesus, "and you will meet a man carrying a +jar of water; follow him, and into whatever house he goes, say to the +man living there, 'The Teacher says, I must eat the passover at your +house tonight with my disciples--where is my room?' And this man will +show you a large room upstairs; there make ready all things for the +supper." + +Peter and John went from Bethany into the city as they were told; they +met the man with the water jar and followed him to the house. There they +found the owner of the house, and spoke to him as Jesus had said. This +man may have been a follower of Jesus, glad to have his Master take a +meal at his house. He led Peter and John upstairs into a large room, +with tables standing, and around them couches for the guests. + +Then the two disciples went into the market and bought a lamb. This they +carried upon their shoulders to the Temple. There it was killed and its +blood was poured out at the foot of the great altar. The lamb was then +roasted in an oven; and after sunset it was brought to the supper room +and placed upon the table. Beside it were the flat biscuits of +unleavened bread, and also some vegetables of a slightly bitter taste, +to be eaten with the lamb. + +Late on Thursday afternoon Jesus and the rest of his disciples left +Bethany. Jesus alone knew that this was his last farewell to that home +and its loving people; but he said nothing, not wishing to alarm them. +Among his followers on that afternoon was Judas Iscariot, knowing that +he had sold his Master to his enemies, and that the thirty silver pieces +were even then in his money bag. Jesus knew it, too, but he said not a +word of it, either to Judas or the disciples. + +They went around the Mount of Olives, crossed the valley, and came +through one of the gates into the city; then found their way among the +streets on Mount Zion to the house where in the upper room the supper +was all ready for them. Here, as many times before, arose a little +quarrel over the question as to which of the twelve disciples should sit +at the guest table with Jesus, for that table was the place of honor. +Jesus stopped the dispute by saying to them what he had said before: + +"He that would be greatest among you, let him take the lowest place; and +he who would be chief, let him become your servant. But there is no need +for you to be anxious about places. You have stood by me through all my +trials, and I will give you all high places in my kingdom, for you shall +sit on twelve thrones, each of you over one of the tribes of Israel." + +But Jesus in teaching his disciples lowliness of mind and unselfishness +of spirit, did not stop with words. He taught them by an act which made +them wonder. Just before the supper, he rose from the couch where he was +lying, took off his robe and outer garments, then tied a towel around +his waist, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the +disciples as they were reclining around the tables, their heads toward +the tables, their feet away from them. Jesus came first to Simon Peter, +and stood at his feet, holding the basin of water. Peter looked up at +him, and saw that the Saviour was preparing to wash his feet. + +"What, Master!" said Peter. "Are you going to wash my feet?" + +"You do not understand now what this means," said Jesus, "but you will +learn after a time." + +"You, my Lord, shall never wash my feet!" said Peter. + +"Unless I wash you," answered Jesus, "you are not one of mine." + +"Then, Master," said Peter, "if that be so, wash not only my feet, but +my hands and my head!" + +"He who has already bathed," said Jesus, "is clean, and needs only to +wash his feet. And you are clean--but not every one of you." + +In those words "not every one of you," he was thinking of Judas, the +traitor, who was there with the others. + +So Jesus washed Peter's feet and wiped them dry with the towel around +his waist; and he went around the couches, washing the feet of every +disciple, even the feet of wicked Judas. When he had finished, he took +off the towel, and put on his outer clothes, and took again his place at +the table. + +"Do you understand the meaning of what I have done to you?" said Jesus. +"You call me your Teacher and your Lord, and you are right, for I am +both Teacher and Lord. Well, if I, who am your Teacher and your Lord, +have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have set +you an example, that you should do what I have done to you. I tell you +truly, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger +greater than the one who sends him. If you know all this, you are happy +if you do them." + +[Illustration: After taking the piece of bread, Judas at once went out +into the night] + +Then Jesus went on, saying, "When I say 'you' I do not mean all of you; +for there is one of you eating with me now who will give me up to my +enemies. Truly, truly, I tell you one of you shall betray me!" + +[Illustration: Then Jesus took up the cup and blessed it, and gave it +also to his disciples.] + +As Jesus said this his face showed that he was in deep trouble. The +disciples looked at each other, not knowing of whom Jesus was speaking. +They too were filled with sorrow, and began to say to him, all around +the table, "Is it I, Lord?" + +"One of you that puts his hand into the same dish with me," answered +Jesus, "is the traitor. The Son of Man goes from earth, as has been +written of him in the Scripture, but woe, woe to that man who betrays +his Lord! It would have been well for that man if he had never been +born!" + +Next to Jesus at the table was reclining one of the disciples, John, +whom Jesus loved greatly. Simon Peter made signs to John, which meant, +"Find out who it is that he is speaking of." + +So John leaned back on Jesus' shoulder and whispered: + +"Who is it, Master?" + +"It is the one," answered Jesus, "to whom I shall hand this piece of +bread, after dipping it in the dish." + +Jesus dipped the bread into the dish holding the roasted lamb, and +handed it to Judas Iscariot. At that moment the spirit of evil went +fully into the heart of Judas. Jesus said to him: + +"What you are going to do, do at once." + +But no one at the table understood what these words meant. As Judas kept +the purse for the company, they thought that Jesus was telling him to +buy some things for the feast, or perhaps to give some money to the +poor. After taking the piece of bread, Judas at once went out into the +night. + + + + +The Lord's Supper + +CHAPTER 86 + + +WHILE THEY were eating the passover meal, Jesus took a loaf of bread, +and holding it in his hand, with his eyes lifted to heaven, spoke a +blessing upon it. Then he broke it and gave a piece of it to each of the +disciples. As he gave it to them, he said: + +"Take this, and eat it; this means my body which is given for you." + +Then he took a cup of the wine, and blessed it, and gave this also to +his disciples, saying: + +"Drink from this, all of you; this means my blood, the blood of the new +covenant, which is poured out for many, to take away their sins. I tell +you, from this time I will never again drink the juice of the grape, +until that day when I drink it new with you, in the kingdom of my +Father." + +In the old times, an agreement or promise was called "a covenant," and +when it was made a lamb or a goat was killed for an offering, and laid +upon the altar to be burned. The blood of the offering was poured out on +the altar; and this was called "the blood of the covenant." Jesus meant +to tell his disciples that soon his blood would be poured forth as the +sign of God's promise to take away sin from those who believed in him. + +You have seen at some services in the church a table covered with a +white cloth. When the cloth has been taken away, you have seen plates of +bread and cups of wine. The minister gives the bread to the people, and +repeats the words of Jesus, "Take, eat; this is my body which is given +for you." And afterward as the wine is taken, he says, "Drink ye all of +this; for this is my blood shed for you." This service is called "The +Lord's Supper," and it is held to keep in our minds the thought of the +last meal that Jesus ate with his disciples. + +"My dear children," said Jesus after the supper, "I am to be with you +only a little longer; then you will look for me, and as I told the Jews +I tell you now, where I am going you cannot come. I give you a new +commandment, to love one another. As I have loved you, you are to love +each other. By this every one will know that you are my disciples, by +your loving each other." + +"Lord," said Simon Peter, "where are you going?" + +"I am going," answered Jesus, "where you cannot follow me now; but you +shall follow me after a time." + +"Why cannot I follow you now, Master?" asked Peter. "I am ready to lay +down my life and die for you!" + +"Will you lay down your life for me?" said Jesus. "I tell you truly, +Peter, before the cock crows twice tomorrow morning you will three times +declare that you have never known me." + +But Peter again said most earnestly, "If I must die with you, I will +never deny you." + +And all the disciples who were present said with Peter that they would +never forsake their Lord, even unto death. + + + + +The Vine and the Branches + +CHAPTER 87 + + +JESUS SAW that his disciples were greatly disturbed at his words, as he +spoke of going away to some place where they could not go with him, and +leaving them alone among people who were his enemies; especially as he +told Peter that he would soon disown his Master, and that all the rest +of the disciples should leave him to suffer alone. Jesus tried to +comfort them in their fears and their sorrows. + +"Do not be troubled in your hearts," he said to them; "trust in God, and +trust in me, and in my words. In my Father's dwelling-place there are +many homes. I am going to prepare a place for you; and when I have +prepared it, I will come back and take you to be with me there, so that +you may be where I am. And you know the way to the place where I am +going." + +"Master," said Thomas, "we do not know where you are going; and how then +are we to know the way?" + +"I am the way, and the truth, and the life," answered Jesus. "No one +ever comes to the Father in any way except through me. If you knew me, +you would know my Father also. You know him now, and have seen him; for +you have seen me." + +"Master," said Philip, "let us see the Father; that is all that we +want." + +"Have I been with you all this time, Philip," answered Jesus, "and yet +you do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. What do you +mean by saying, 'Let us see the Father'? Do you not believe that the +Father and I are one, that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The +words that I speak are my Father's words; and the works that I do are my +Father's works. I tell you truly, that whoever believes in me shall do +the very works that I do; and he shall do even greater works than these. +I am going to the Father, and whatever you ask the Father in my name +that I will do, that the Father may be honored in the Son. If you ask +anything in my name, I will do it. + +"If you love me," Jesus went on, "you will do whatever I have told you +to do; and I will ask the Father to give you another Helper to be with +you always. That Helper is the Spirit of Truth. The people of this world +cannot have the Spirit, because they do not see him nor know him. But +you know him, because he is always with you, and is within you. I will +not leave you alone in your sorrow; I am coming to you. A little while +longer, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me, for I am +living, and you will be living, too. He who has my commands and keeps +them in his heart is the one who loves me; and he who loves me will be +loved by my Father; and I will love him and I will make myself known to +him." + +Then said one of the disciples named Judas--not Judas Iscariot the +traitor (he had gone out), but another Judas, the brother of James--"How +is it, Lord, that you are to make yourself known to us and not to the +world?" + +"If any one loves me," answered Jesus, "he will obey my word; and my +Father will love him; and we will come to him and make our home with +him. He who does not love me will not obey my words; and the word to +which you are listening is not my own word, but the word of the Father +who sent me. I have told you all this while I am still with you, but the +Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send to you to take my +place, he will teach you all that you need to know and he will bring to +your mind all that I have said to you. Peace be with you! My own peace +I give you. I do not give my peace to you as the world gives its +'peace.' Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid. + +"You heard me say that I was going away and soon afterward coming back +to you. If you loved me fully, you would be glad that I am going to the +Father, for the Father is greater than I am. I have told you all +this--that I am going away--before it happens, so that when it does +happen, as it will very soon, you may still believe in me, and believe +that I am coming again." + +[Illustration: "I am the vine, and you are the branches"] + +Then Jesus gave to his disciples another parable, "The Vine and the +Branches." He said: + +"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower, the Master of the +vineyard. You, my disciples, and all who believe in me, are the branches +of the vine. If the vine-grower finds on his vine any branches that bear +no fruit, he cuts them off, for they are of no use. If he finds branches +that bear fruit, he trims them and cleans them, so that they may bear +better fruit. You are already clean through the word that I have spoken +to you. Keep united to me, the vine, and I will keep united to you. Just +as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself when separate from the vine, no +more can you bear fruit unless you stay united to me. + +"Remember, I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who keeps himself +in union with me, and keeps me in union with himself bears rich fruit. +But apart from me you can do nothing. If any one does not stay united to +me, he is thrown away, just as a branch would be, and he withers up; +then the worthless, withered branches are gathered and thrown into the +fire and are burned. + +"If you stay united to me, and my teaching stays in your hearts, you may +ask whatever you wish, and it shall be yours. As you bear rich fruit and +prove yourselves my disciples, my Father is honored. As my Father has +loved me, so I have loved you; stay in my love. If you keep my commands +in your hearts, you will stay in my love, just as I have kept my +Father's commands in my heart and dwell in his love." + + + + +The Last Words of Jesus to His Disciples + +CHAPTER 88 + + +JESUS WENT on giving his last talk with his disciples, in the room after +the supper. Among other things, he said: + +"This is my last command to you. Love one another as I have loved you. +No one can give greater proof of love than by laying down his life for +his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not +any more call you 'servants'; for a servant does not know what his +master is doing; but I have called you 'friends,' for all things that I +have learned from my Father I have told you. It was not you who chose +me, but I have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit that +shall last, so that the Father may give you whatever you ask in my name. + +"This is what I command you, to love one another. If the world hates +you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the +world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, +since I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember +what I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they +have tried to do me harm, they will try to do you harm too. If they hold +to my word, they will hold to yours also. It is written in the Holy +Book, 'They hated me without any cause,' and that word has come true in +me; for they have indeed hated me when there was no cause for it. But +when that Helper comes, he whom I will send to you--the Spirit of Truth +who comes from the Father--he will speak for me; yes, and you shall +speak for me, for you have been with me from the very first. + +"I have said these things to you now, so that in the times to come, +knowing these things you will not be discouraged nor fail. They will put +you out of their churches; yes, there is coming a time when if anyone +kills you he will think that he is pleasing God. They will do these +things because they have not really known my Father, nor known me. But I +am telling you of these things now, that when the time comes, and you +find the rulers and the people your enemies, you will remember I told +you, and will be ready for these things. + +[Illustration: In a little while your sorrow shall be turned into joy, +and your joy shall never be taken away from you] + +"I am telling you the truth; it is best for you that I go away; for if I +do not leave you, that Helper, the Spirit of God, will not come to you; +but if I go away, I will send him to you. When he the Spirit of Truth +comes, he will lead you into all truth; and he will make known to you +what is to come. In a little while you will not see me any longer; then +after another little while you will see me again." + +These words seemed to the disciples hard to understand. They said to +each other: + +"What does he mean by telling us, 'In a little while you will not see +me; then after another little while you will see me'; and 'I am going to +the Father'? What does he mean by 'a little while'?" + +Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him; and he said to them, "Are you +trying to find out what I meant in saying 'a little while and ye shall +not see me, and then a little while and ye shall see me'? I tell you +truly, that in a very little while you will be weeping and sorrowing, +while the world around you will be glad. Then in a little while again, +your sorrow shall be turned into joy, for you shall see me again, and +your joy shall never be taken away from you." + +Jesus meant them to understand that in a few hours he would be taken +from them and placed upon the cross to die; that he would be buried, and +all these things should give them pain and sorrow. But in a few days he +would rise again from the grave, and then they would be glad and happy, +with a happiness that should never pass away, even though he should +again, after that, leave them and go to the Father. + +After saying these things, Jesus lifted up his hands to God and prayed. +In his prayer he gave thanks to God that he had been able to finish the +work that had been given him to do. He prayed also for his disciples, +that they might all be one in heart, and love each other, and that they +might be kept faithful to the end. He prayed, too, not only for those +his disciples, but for all who through their words should come to +believe in him as the Saviour of the world; that they all might be of +one heart, loving each other; one with Jesus, and one with his Father. + +When Jesus had finished his prayer, they all sang a hymn together, and +went out of the supper room into the silent streets of the city. They +walked toward the Mount of Olives, as if expecting to return to Bethany, +the place from which they had come in the afternoon. + +With the disciples, as they went out of the house, was a young man whose +name was John Mark. He may have been the son of the man at whose house +Jesus and his disciples had eaten the supper. If that be so, then his +mother's name was Mary, just like the name of Jesus' mother, though she +was not the same woman. Long afterward, this John Mark wrote one of the +four gospels, telling of the life of Jesus, "The Gospel of Mark." + +[Illustration: Olive tree and oil press] + +[Illustration: Jesus, leaving his three disciples to watch at the +entrance to the Garden of Gethsemane, went farther inside to pray.] + + + + +In the Garden of Gethsemane + +CHAPTER 89 + + +DURING THE week of the Passover, while the city of Jerusalem held three +or four times as many people as usual, the gates in its walls were kept +open day and night, although during most of the year they were closed at +sunset. It was near midnight on Thursday when Jesus and his disciples, +coming from the supper room, passed through a gate in the eastern wall +just north of the Temple. They went down into the valley of the brook +Kedron, and crossed the brook upon a bridge. On the further side of the +valley, they came to an orchard of olive trees, called the Garden of +Gethsemane. Jesus had often visited this garden, for it was a quiet +place; and he loved to pray under the shadow of its olive trees. The +orchard had a wall around it; and at its gate Jesus said to his +disciples: + +"Sit here, while I go and pray inside the garden." + +He took with him three of his disciples, Simon Peter, James, and John +his brother, and with these three went into the garden. The disciples +began to notice that their Master was now showing the signs of deep +sorrow, as if full of grief. He said to the three disciples: + +"My heart is sad; sad even to death; stay here and watch." + +Then he went forward a little way, and fell with his face upon the +earth, and prayed to the Father: + +"Oh, my Father! My Father!" he cried. "Thou canst do anything! Take this +cup away from me, I pray! Yet, I do not ask to have my own will, but +only what is thy will." + +"The cup" of which Jesus spoke was the terrible suffering that was very +soon to come upon him. In those last moments, as he saw his trial and +death drawing near like a black cloud, his spirit shrank. So earnest was +his prayer, that the sweat stood upon his face in drops of blood. Just +then came an angel from heaven, standing by his side to cheer and help +him. + +[Illustration: Ancient olive tree, in the garden of Gethsemane] + +He rose up, and walked to the place where he had left the three +disciples. They had fallen asleep, being overcome with the trouble which +they felt in knowing that soon they were to lose their Master. Jesus +spoke to Peter, + +"Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch with me for a single hour? +Watch and pray, all of you, that you may be kept from being tempted. I +know that your spirit is willing, but your bodies are weak." + +Again he went away, and prayed in the same words: + +"My Father! My Father! Thou canst do anything! Take this cup away from +me! Yet, I would not have my own will, but thy will." + +Coming back, he found them again asleep, for their eyes were heavy and +they could not keep them open. When awaked, they did not know what to +say to him, for they were ashamed of being found asleep a second time. +Jesus left them, and prayed for the third time. In this prayer he said: + +"Oh, my Father, if this cup cannot be taken away; if I must drink it, +then thy will be done!" + +He went once more to the three disciples, and found them asleep, just as +before. He now said to them: + +"You may as well sleep on now, and take your rest; for it is too late +for you to help me. My time has come! The Son of Man has been given into +the hands of wicked men. Come, get up, here is the traitor close at +hand!" + +And at that very instant, while he was speaking these words, the +traitor, Judas Iscariot, burst into the garden, with a crowd of men, +armed with swords and clubs. These men had been sent by the chief +priests and the rulers to seize Jesus. Spies had been watching near the +house while Jesus was talking after the supper, and others watching at +the gate when Jesus passed out of it. Word had been sent to the chief +priests that Jesus was in the garden, and while he was praying to his +Father, these men, led by Judas Iscariot, were hurrying to that place to +make Jesus their prisoner. + +The men who had come to seize Jesus were not sure that in the night +time, even though the full moon was shining, they would know him among +his disciples. They said to Judas: + +"How can we tell in the dark, under the trees, who is the one for us to +take hold of as prisoner?" + +"You watch me," said Judas, "and when I go up and kiss a man, seize him, +for that one whom I shall kiss will be the man you are looking for." + +[Illustration: Judas Iscariot, burst into the garden with a crowd of +men, armed with swords and clubs.] + +So Judas went into the garden, where by this time all the other +disciples were gathered around Jesus. He came rushing up, saying +"Master! Master!" and kissed him, just though he were glad to see him. + +"Judas," said Jesus, "do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" + +Then he went forward to the band of men who were standing with their +lanterns and torches, their swords and spears. + +"For whom are you looking?" he said to these men. + +"For Jesus of Nazareth," they answered him. + +"I am he," said Jesus. At the instant when he said this, they went +backward, as if frightened, and fell upon their faces on the ground. +Again, after a moment, he asked them: + +"For whom are you looking?" + +And again they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." + +"I have already told you," said Jesus, "that I am he. If you are looking +for me, then let these men go away." + +For even in that hour Jesus was thinking not of his own safety, but of +his disciples. The delay of a few moments gave to the disciples some +courage. They began asking: + +"Master, shall we strike with the sword?" + +Simon Peter, not waiting for an answer from Jesus, drew a sword which he +had brought with him, and with it struck one of the high priest's +servants; a man named Malchus, and cut off his right ear; for by this +time the band had risen to their feet and were drawing near. Jesus said: + +"Let me at least do this;" and he touched his ear; and at once his ear +was made well again. + +"Put up your sword," said Jesus to Peter. "Those who take the sword +shall die by the sword. Do you not know, that with a word I could call +upon my Father, and even now he would send me twelve armies of angels to +keep me safely? The cup which my Father has given me, must I not drink +it?" + +Then he turned to the band of men who had come to take him. + +"Do you come out to arrest me as if I were a robber, with swords and +clubs? Day after day I was with you in the Temple, and you did not lay +your hands upon me. But now your time has come, and the dark Power has +its way." + +Then the disciples, finding that they could do nothing to protect Jesus, +ran away and left him alone. The men of the band put chains upon Jesus, +and led him away. + +But John followed the company, and Peter also, anxious to see what would +be done with their Lord. The young man John Mark was also following him, +when one of the band tried to seize hold of him by his clothes. He left +the linen cloth wrapped around him in the hands of the man, and slipped +away with only his undergarments upon his body. + + + + +Jesus Before Annas + +CHAPTER 90 + + +THE MEN who took Jesus as their prisoner were the policemen of the +Temple, led by their chief. With them were some of the priests and +officers, and a crowd of the lowest people, who had been gathered from +the streets by the rulers. All these formed together a noisy and +disorderly mob, dragging Jesus out of the Garden of Gethsemane and into +the city on Mount Zion. Two of the disciples, Peter and John, followed, +keeping close to the crowd, but outside of it, their hearts filled with +alarm for their Master. + +The Temple policemen brought Jesus, all tied with ropes and chains, to +the house on Mount Zion, inside the wall of the city, where lived one of +the chief priests named Annas. Annas had once been the high priest, that +is, the great priest at the head of all the priests; but the Roman +rulers of the land had taken his office away from him, and made +Caiaphas, whose wife was the daughter of Annas, high priest in his +place. Many of the people believed that the Romans had no right to take +his office away from Annas, and still looked upon him as the true and +rightful high priest. Annas was a man of great power, feared by many; +and therefore the men who had seized Jesus brought him first to the +house of Annas. In the house were met a number of the chief rulers and +members of the great council of the Jews. Jesus was brought in before +them all. Annas asked Jesus to tell him what he had taught, and who were +his disciples. Jesus answered him: + +"My teachings have never been in secret; I have always been open and +public in my words. I spoke everywhere in the churches and in the +Temple, where the people go to worship. Why do you ask me what I have +said? Ask the people who heard me; they know what I said." + +[Illustration: Priests and officers taking Jesus from the Garden of +Gethsemane] + +As Jesus spoke these words, one of the police officers standing by +struck Jesus a hard blow with his hand, saying: + +"Is that the way that you answer the high priest?" + +Jesus answered him calmly, "If I have said anything that is not true, +prove it; but if I have spoken the truth, why do you strike me?" + +When Jesus was taken into the house of Annas, John followed the crowd +inside, for John knew the high priest, and he was not afraid to go into +his house. But Peter stood outside in the street. Then John spoke to +the woman who had charge of the door, and asked her to let in the man +standing outside, and she opened the door for Peter. The rooms of the +house stood around an open court, and Peter stood in the court among the +servants and policemen. It was cold, and they had made a charcoal fire +in a brazier--that is an iron pan standing upon either three or four +legs. Around this fire the people gathered; and Peter stood in the court +among them, holding his hands over the fire to warm them. The woman who +kept the door looked sharply at Peter, and said: + +"Are you not one of this man's disciples?" + +Peter was alone among the enemies of Jesus, for John had gone into the +room where Jesus was standing before Annas and the other rulers. Peter +felt a sudden fear come over him, and to this woman's question, he +answered: + +"No, I am not!" + +Poor Peter! Already he had begun to deny his Lord! + +Annas knew that he had no right to act as judge upon Jesus. All that he +could do was to examine Jesus, listen to what he might say, and try to +find in his words some ground for his enemies to bring charges against +him. So after a little, Annas sent Jesus, all bound as he was, to +Caiaphas, who was the high priest by law. + +[Illustration: Jesus brought for trial before Caiaphas, who in anger +tore his clothes and flung up his arms, denouncing Jesus because he +declared himself to be the son of God.] + + + + +Jesus Before Caiaphas + +CHAPTER 91 + + +THE HIGH PRIEST Caiaphas, before whom Jesus was now brought for a +regular trial, had been in office many years. He was a shrewd, sharp +man, caring very little about right or wrong, but always ready to do +whatever would please the Jewish leaders, without giving offence to the +Roman rulers. + +You remember that after Jesus raised Lazarus to life, and many people +were believing in Jesus, it was this Caiaphas who said, "No matter +whether Jesus is innocent or guilty, whether he is good or bad, the +easiest way for us to avoid trouble is to kill him; and that we must +do." That showed the spirit of Caiaphas the high priest. + +The houses of Annas and Caiaphas were not far apart, and may have been +in the same group of buildings on Mount Zion. The officers and policemen +took Jesus into the large hall in the high priest's house where all the +members of the Jewish council that could be brought together so suddenly +were gathered. It was a little after midnight when Jesus was made +prisoner in the garden, and it must have been between four and five +o'clock on Friday morning when Jesus stood before Caiaphas and the +council. + +Peter had come with the crowd, and was in the court of the high priest's +house. John was not there, but had gone to the house in Jerusalem, where +Mary the mother of Jesus was staying, to bring to her the terrible news +that her Son was in the hands of his enemies, and to try to give her +comfort. So again Peter was left alone in the midst of a throng opposed +to Jesus. + +By the law of the Jews, no one could be put to death unless two persons +could be found to tell of a wicked act that they had seen him do, or +wicked words that they had heard him speak; and also, the accounts of +these two witnesses must agree. The rulers looked for witnesses to come +and speak against Jesus of what they had seen and heard. They did not +care whether these witnesses speaking against Jesus spoke the truth or +spoke lies; all they wanted was to have them agree in their words. There +were many who spoke falsely against Jesus, but what they said did not +agree. After a time two men stood up, and said: + +"We ourselves heard this man say in the Temple, 'I will destroy this +Temple made by the hands of men, and in three days I will build another +made without hands.'" + +But even those witnesses did not agree in their account of what Jesus +had said. You remember, that three years before, in the Temple, Jesus +had said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." +But he was speaking not of the Temple of the Jews, but of himself as the +temple of the Lord, and of his own death and rising from the tomb. You +see how these men changed the words of Jesus in the telling of them. + +Now, the Jews had agreed that for any man to speak of destroying the +house of God was very wicked; and that whoever should speak of such a +thing must be put to death. So in the words of these two men, even +though they did not agree, and were false, Caiaphas and the council saw +a chance to carry out their purpose of putting Jesus to death. + +The high priest Caiaphas stood up, and said to Jesus in a very loud and +fierce manner: + +"What have you to say of the things spoken by these witnesses? Have you +no answer to give?" + +But Jesus stood silent and would not speak a word. He knew that speaking +would not help him, for their minds were made up to kill him, whatever +he might say. After a moment of waiting Caiaphas spoke again. + +[Illustration: Judas filled with remorse returns the thirty pieces of +silver] + +"Are you the Christ," he asked, "the Son of that Blessed One?" + +Then Jesus spoke out, once for all: + +"I am," he answered, "and what is more, you will all see the Son of Man +sitting on the right hand of Almighty God, and coming in the clouds of +heaven!" + +At this the high priest became furious. In his anger he tore his +clothes, and flung up his arms and cried: + +"What awful, awful words!" shouted the high priest. "Why this man makes +himself equal to Almighty God! We need no more witnesses; he has spoken +his own doom. What shall be done to a man who calls himself God?" + +Then with one voice all the council said, "He deserves to die," and the +sentence of death upon Jesus was given. + +Then they began to spit in his face and to strike him. They threw a +covering over his face, and after striking him, would say, "Are you a +prophet? then tell who it was that struck you!" + +[Illustration: The potter's field] + +All this time Peter was in the court of the building, and through the +open door he could see Jesus standing in the inner room. One of the +young women servants looked closely at Peter, and finally said: + +"You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazarene!" + +"I don't know what you are talking about," said Peter in answer; and he +went away from the group into the hall outside. Just then the cock crew, +and Peter heard it. + +[Illustration: As Peter was speaking, which was his third denial of his +Master, the cock crew for the second time. At that moment Jesus turned +and looked on Peter, who instantly repented and went out and wept bitter +tears.] + +Again the woman who had noticed him began to tell those standing near, +"That fellow is one of them!" But he denied it again. After a little +another man said to Peter: + +"You surely are one of this fellow's men! Why, your very accent shows +that you come from Galilee! You speak your words like a Galilean!" + +Then Peter began to curse and to swear; and he said, "I don't know the +man you are talking about, and have never seen him!" + +As Peter was speaking, the cock crew for the second time. And at that +moment the Lord Jesus in the inner room turned and looked on Peter, +standing outside the open door. Then all at once flashed upon Peter's +mind what his Lord had said on the evening before, "Before the cock +crows twice tomorrow morning you will three times deny that you have +ever known me." And Peter went away, and as he thought upon it all, he +was full of sorrow and wept bitter tears. + +But Simon Peter was not the only man in trouble that morning. There was +one whose trouble was far deeper. That man was Judas Iscariot, who had +sold his Lord for money. When he found that the chief priests and the +council had given sentence of death upon Jesus, Judas saw how wicked he +had been, and that through his guilty act, Jesus was to be slain. He +brought back to the Temple the thirty pieces of silver that had been +given him, and threw them down upon the floor, saying: + +"I have done wrong in betraying an innocent man! Take back your money!" + +"What difference is that to us?" answered the priests. "That is your +affair, not ours." + +Judas went away, and in his sorrow became wild and hung himself. The +next day he was found hanging dead. The chief priests did not know what +to do with the money that he had brought back. They said: + +"It would never do to put that money among the gifts of the people to +the Temple, for it is the price of blood." + +They finally decided to take the money; and with it bought a piece of +ground as a burial-place for strangers in the city. They bought it of a +man who made pots and jars of earthenware; and it was named "The +Potter's Field." But by all the people it was called ever after "The +Field of Blood." + +[Illustration: "The Field of Blood." Purchased with money Judas +received.] + +[Illustration: Pilate came down and sat upon his throne as a judge, and +said: "What is the charge which you bring against this man?"] + + + + +Jesus Before the Roman Governor + +CHAPTER 92 + + +ALTHOUGH the high council of the Jews had given sentence upon Jesus that +he should be put to death, they could not kill him without the consent +of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate; for long before this the Romans +had taken away from the Jews the right to put any man to death. So, very +early in the morning, before sunrise, the chief priests and rulers +brought Jesus to the castle where the governor was staying. His home was +in the city of Cæsarea, nearly sixty miles away, on the sea-coast; but +at the time of the Passover, when the city was crowded with people from +every part of the land, he usually came to Jerusalem to see that it was +kept quiet and in order; and at this time he stayed in a castle north of +the Temple, called "The Castle of Antonia." + +The Jews had condemned Jesus to die, because, as they claimed, he had +said that he was the Son of God; and that claim according to their laws +was a high crime, deserving of death. Jesus _was_ the Son of God, and as +God's Son they should have honored him and obeyed his teachings. But +they knew very well that Pilate would not care for their law, and would +not order Jesus put to death merely because Jesus had said that he was +the Son of God. So they undertook to find something against Jesus which +was contrary to the laws of the Romans; and the charge which they +resolved to make was that Jesus had spoken against the Roman rule, and +had declared that he himself was the King of the Jews. He was, indeed, a +king, but not such a king as would be against the Romans or their +government. + +The Jews came to the castle, and standing outside, called for Pilate to +come from the room where he was sleeping, and give judgment upon a +law-breaker whom they had brought to him. They hoped that Pilate would +do as they wished, without looking closely into the matter. He came +down, and sat upon his throne as a judge, and said: + +"What is the charge which you bring against this man?" + +"If he were not a wicked man, one who has broken the laws, we would not +have brought him to you," they answered. + +"Well," said Pilate, "if he has broken the laws of the land, take him to +your own court and punish him." + +"We found this man," said the Jewish rulers, "everywhere leading the +people away from their rulers. He forbids them to pay the tax to the +Roman emperor, Cæsar, telling the people that he is Christ, the King of +the Jews. He ought to be put to death for stirring the people up against +the government, and we ask you to give sentence against him." + +Pilate began at once to be very suspicious of these Jewish rulers. He +knew that they themselves hated the Roman power, and that they would +never wish to have anybody punished for opposing it. He looked at Jesus, +standing bound and helpless among them, and he thought that this man +could not be a dangerous enemy. Pilate said to them: + +"Bring this man to me. I wish to speak with him." + +Jesus was led up to the foot of the steps to Pilate's judgment throne; +and Pilate asked him, + +"Are you the King of the Jews?" + +Jesus answered the governor, "Do you ask this of your own accord, or did +others tell you that I am a king?" + +[Illustration: Jesus was led to Pilate, who questioned him privately: +"Are you the King of the Jews?"] + +"Do you take me for a Jew?" asked Pilate. "Your own people and the +priests have brought you before me, saying that you have claimed to be a +king. Now tell me, what have you done?" + +"My rule as a king does not belong to this world," said Jesus. "If my +kingdom were of this world, my men would fight to keep me from being +given up to the Jews; but my kingdom is not here on the earth." + +"Then you are a king!" said Pilate. + +"You speak the truth, I am a king," said Jesus. "I was born for this: I +came into the world for this, that I should speak in behalf of the +truth. Every one who is on the side of truth listens to my words." + +"Truth! What is truth?" said Pilate. Then he went out of the hall and +spoke to the Jewish rulers: + +"I do not find anything wrong in this man." + +This decision of Pilate made the Jews very angry, for they had hoped +that he would approve their sentence without asking many questions; and +now they found that he was willing to set Jesus free. Pilate thought +that Jesus was a harmless man, perhaps not quite right in his mind in +believing that he was a king. + +But the rulers would not cease their charges against Jesus. They said to +Pilate, "This man stirs up the people everywhere, and makes trouble. He +began in Galilee; and now he has come here." + +"What," said Pilate, "does this man come from Galilee? Then he belongs +to the rule of King Herod; and Herod is now here in Jerusalem. Take him +to Herod, and let Herod decide his case." + +This Pilate said merely because he wished to avoid deciding it himself. +He knew that Jesus had broken no law, and should be set free; but he did +not wish to displease the Jewish rulers, and he thought to rid himself +of the matter by sending Jesus to be tried before Herod, the ruler of +Galilee. + + + + +Jesus Before Herod + +CHAPTER 93 + + +HEROD, to whom Jesus had been sent by Pilate, was the ruler of Galilee, +the northern part of the land, and of Perea, on the east of the river +Jordan. Jesus had lived in Galilee nearly all his life; and lately had +been through Perea, preaching, so that Herod had been the ruler over +Jesus for years. Herod was not really a king. His title was "Tetrarch," +which means, "the ruler of a fourth part of a kingdom"; and he was so +called because when his father, Herod the Great, died, he received as +his share one-fourth of his father's kingdom. But he was generally +called "King Herod," because the people knew that it pleased him to be +looked upon as a king, rather than "the quarter of a king." This was the +Herod who had caused John the Baptist to be killed, on account of his +promise to the young girl who danced at his feast. That shows what sort +of a man Herod was--weak of will, fond of pleasure, and caring very +little whether his acts were right or wrong. + +Like thousands of other people, high and low, King Herod had come to +Jerusalem to take part in the Feast of the Passover; for Herod was a +Jew, and kept the Jewish feasts; while Pontius Pilate, the governor of +Judea, was a Roman, and worshipped the idols of Rome. Herod was highly +pleased to have Jesus sent to him for trial, partly because Pilate and +Herod, rulers of lands next to each other, had not been friendly, and +this act, the sending of Jesus for trial, showed that Pilate wished to +have Herod as his friend. Also, while Jesus was living in Capernaum and +teaching all through Galilee, Herod had heard much about him. You +remember that some time before this, when they told King Herod of the +many wonderful works of Jesus, how he made the sick well, gave sight to +the blind, and even raised the dead, Herod said, "This must be John the +Baptist whom I killed, come to life again." + +Although Herod did not live in Jerusalem, but in Galilee, he owned a +fine house in that city, called a palace; and in this palace he stayed +while in Jerusalem. Into the great hall of this palace Jesus was brought +by the soldiers of Pilate; and the high priest Caiaphas came with them, +also many of the Jewish priests and rulers, to speak against Jesus. +Herod was very glad to see Jesus, the prophet and wonder-worker of whom +he had heard so much. He wished to see Jesus work a miracle, and +commanded him to do it, for he supposed that Jesus, being in his power, +for life or death, would be very desirous of pleasing him. + +But as you know, Jesus never worked his miracles merely for people to +look at them. He would make the sick people well or give hearing to the +deaf, because he pitied them in their trouble; but when Herod spoke to +him, calling upon him to do some wonderful work, Jesus stood still, and +would do nothing. Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus would not +answer them, and remained silent. The king did not know what to do with +such a prisoner, who would not speak a word, even to save his life. + +All this time, while Jesus was silent, the priests and the rulers stood +around him, charging Jesus with wickedness of all sorts, disobedience to +the laws of the land, and trying to make himself a king in Herod's own +country. But Jesus answered nothing to all their charges against him. + +Herod thought to make sport of Jesus. As they said falsely that Jesus +claimed to be "King of the Jews," Herod sent for a splendid mantle, such +as kings wore, and had it placed on Jesus. Then they bowed low before +him, and called him "king," mocking him as one who pretended to royal +power. But in the midst of the crowd of mockers stood Jesus, calm and +still, paying no attention and looking as though his thoughts were +elsewhere. + +Herod knew very well that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death; that +he was a good man, and harmless. He would not do what the priests and +rulers urged him, over and over again, to do, to command that Jesus +should be put to death. So, after holding Jesus up to contempt for some +time, he sent him back to Pilate, all dressed as Jesus was in the royal +robe. + +[Illustration] + + + + +Jesus Sentenced to Death + +CHAPTER 94 + + +WHEN PILATE sent Jesus to King Herod, he felt relieved, for he was +unwilling on one hand to order Jesus, an innocent man, to be put to +death; and on the other hand, he did not wish to offend the Jewish +rulers by setting Jesus free. He thought that he had gotten rid of his +difficulties, when suddenly he found Jesus brought back to him, and the +priests clamoring as before, that he should be put to death. + +Pilate very unwillingly sat down again upon his throne, compelled to +hold the trial of Jesus once more, and unable to avoid making a decision +upon his case. Just as he was about to begin the new trial of Jesus, a +message from his wife came to him, which added to his anxiety and his +alarm. Pilate's wife sent this word to him: + +"My husband, I ask you not to allow any harm to come to that good man; +for this day I have been very unhappy on account of a dream about him." + +This message made Pilate all the more desirous not to yield to the Jews +and put Jesus to death. He thought of a new plan to save the life of +Jesus; and with this in mind he said to the chief priests and the +leaders: + +[Illustration: The soldiers took Jesus into the guard room, tied him to +a pillar, and beat him with heavy whips.] + +"You brought before me this man charged with the crime of trying to lead +the people to rise up against the government, and I have looked into his +case, and have found the charges false. He has not done the things that +you accuse him of; and there is nothing wicked in his acts, so far as I +can see. Nor has Herod found any fault with him, for he has sent him +back. He has done nothing that demands death. But he deserves some +punishment for causing all this excitement and stir. I will order him to +be well beaten, and then set free." + +But with one voice, they all cried out, "Away with this fellow! To the +cross with him! Don't release him: release to us Barabbas!" + +It was a custom that at the Feast of the Passover, as a sign of the +gladness of the time, to set free some prisoner, whatever man in prison +the people should call for. There was at that time in the prison a man +named Barabbas, who had led a party of Jews against the Roman rulers, +and in the fight had killed a man. He had been condemned to die, but the +people did not think any the less of him because he had fought against +the Romans, whom they also hated, and whom they would gladly drive out +of the land if they were not afraid of their power. The crowd began +calling out to Pilate to do as had been done every year, and set free +some prisoner. + +"Are you willing," asked Pilate "that I should free this man Jesus, the +King of the Jews?" + +But the chief priests and the Jewish rulers went around among the crowd, +and persuaded them to ask, not for Jesus, but for Barabbas. And the +people shouted out, as if they were all one man: + +"We will not have this man; we will have Barabbas!" + +This was not what Pilate had looked for. He had thought that according +to the custom of the feast he might set Jesus free and still please the +people. He said to the crowd: + +"What then shall I do with Jesus, the man whom they call Christ?" + +"Send him to the cross! Let him die on the cross!" they roared with all +their might. + +[Illustration: They put on Jesus a cloak of scarlet and wove together a +wreath of thorns and pressed it on his head until the blood streamed +out; they beat him with the reed, and in mockery bowed before him +saying: "Long live the King of the Jews."] + +"Why, what wicked thing has he done?" asked Pilate of the crowd. "I find +nothing on his part that deserves death. I will have him beaten, and let +him go!" + +Then, at Pilate's command, the soldiers took Jesus into the guard room. +They stripped off all his clothes, tied him to one of the pillars, and +beat him with heavy whips, which tore into his flesh. To mock him, as +one who called himself "King," they put on him a cloak of scarlet color; +they wove together a wreath of thorns, and pressed it on his head until +the blood streamed out; they placed in his hand a reed, as if it were a +scepter held by a king; they fell down on their knees before him, and +said to him: "Long live the King of the Jews!" They struck him with +their hands, over and over again; they beat him with the reed; and they +spat in his face. + +Pilate thought that if the people could see Jesus as he was, crowned +with thorns, and covered with blood, they would feel pity for him, and +not call for him to be put to death. He said to the Jews: + +"I will bring him out for you to see; but understand, I cannot find +anything wrong in him." + +Then they brought Jesus out on the steps of the palace. His face was +stained with blood; on his head was the wreath of thorns; and on his +shoulders was the scarlet cloak. And Pilate said to the crowd: + +"See, here is the man!" + +But if Pilate hoped that the sight of Jesus, so woeful and sad, would +arouse the pity of the people, he soon found himself mistaken. Led by +the chief priests and their officers, they cried out with loud voices: + +"To the cross with him! Let him be crucified!" + +To be crucified was to be fastened with nails on a cross, which was then +stood up, and left standing until the suffering man was dead. This was +what the crowd of Jews before Pilate's palace called upon him to do +with Jesus who had done no harm, but only good! + +Pilate answered them: "You can take him and crucify him, if you choose. +I will have nothing to do with it; for I can not find that he has done +anything wicked." + +The rulers of the Jews answered Pilate: "But we have a law; and by our +law he must die, because he has made himself out to be the Son of God!" + +When Pilate heard that, he was still more afraid, for there seemed to +him something strange in this man Jesus. He did not know what to do. He +went inside the palace and took Jesus with him. + +"Where do you come from?" said Pilate to Jesus. + +Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said to him: + +"You will not speak to me? Don't you know that it is in my power either +to set you free, or to send you to the cross, just as I please?" + +"You would have no power over me," answered Jesus, "if it had not been +given you from one who is above. God gave you that power to use for the +right and not for the wrong. There is one man whose sin is greater than +yours; and that is the high priest who brought me to you!" Jesus meant +to have Pilate understand that he was only a weak man, yielding to the +will of the high priest, and that he as the governor should have a mind +of his own and do only what was right in God's sight. + +All this made Pilate the more anxious not to put Jesus to death, but to +set him free. But the rulers of the Jews shouted aloud to him: + +"If you set this man free, who has called himself a king, you are no +friend to Cæsar, the emperor at Rome! Anyone who calls himself a king +sets himself above the emperor who is over us all!" + +[Illustration: Pilate washed his hands, and holding them out, called to +the people: "My hands are clean from this good man's blood! This is your +doing, not mine!"] + +Pilate knew that Cæsar the emperor was very jealous and would be very +angry if he knew that any man was trying to make himself a king. Very +unwillingly, Pilate made up his mind that it would be safer for himself +to let Jesus be put to death, rather than to make the emperor at Rome +his enemy. So Pilate again took his seat upon the throne, and had Jesus +brought before him. It was now the time of sunrise, six o'clock in the +morning. Pilate said to the Jews: + +"Here is your king!" + +"Kill him! kill him!" yelled the Jews. "Crucify him! Crucify him!" + +"This fellow is not our king," shouted the priests and rulers. "We have +no king but Cæsar the emperor!" + +Pilate tried to show the Jews that the act of putting Jesus to death was +their deed, not his. He sent for a basin of water, and in presence of +them all washed his hands. Then holding out his hands, he called out to +the people: + +"My hands are clean from this good man's blood! I tell you that he has +done nothing to deserve death! This is your doing, not mine!" + +"This blood be on us, and on our children who come after us," answered +the Jews. + +Then Pilate, sitting on his throne, gave sentence that it should be as +they wished, that Barabbas, a robber and a murderer, should be set free, +and that Jesus, who had done no harm, but only good, should be sent to +the cross. + +[Illustration: Denarius of Cæsar] + + + + +Jesus Led to Calvary + +CHAPTER 95 + + +IN OUR TIME, and in all well-governed lands, when a man has been +sentenced to death, he is taken to prison and kept there safely for a +few days, that he may prepare to die. No one is allowed to do him harm; +good food is given him to eat, and he is allowed to live his last days +in peace. But in the old times, when Jesus was among men, prisoners +appointed to die were treated with the greatest cruelty. They were +mocked and beaten and spit upon for an hour or more, and then they were +led away to death. + +So it was with Jesus on that day. After the soldiers had treated him +shamefully, they took off the scarlet robe and put on him his own +clothes. Then they laid upon his wounded shoulders the heavy beam of his +cross, and led him from Pilate's palace through the streets of Jerusalem +toward a hill outside the city wall. This hill was called in the Hebrew +tongue, the language of the Jewish people, "Golgotha," a word meaning +"Skull-place." In the language of the Romans, the word meaning +"Skull-place" was "Calvaria," and from this word the place where Jesus +was crucified has been called "Mount Calvary." + +It is not certain where was the true Mount Calvary, the place of +Christ's cross. For a long time it was believed to be a little hill on +the west of the city; and over that hill was built in the after years a +great church, called "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre," because inside +that church they show not only the place where people thought that the +cross stood, but also the tomb or sepulchre in which Jesus was buried. +To this church thousands of people go every year, thinking that they +can see the very places where the Saviour died and was buried. + +But most of those who have studied carefully all that can be known about +the city of Jerusalem and the hills around it, have believed that the +true Calvary was not where the great Church of the Holy Sepulchre now +stands, but at some other place. Many think that it was a rounded, +grass-covered little hill just outside the city on the north. The side +of this hill looking toward the city is very steep, and in it are two +great caves. As one stands on the city wall and looks at this rounded +hill, with the two holes in it, he thinks of a skull--which is a man's +head without the skin and the flesh, and with two eye-holes. This hill +may have been called "the skull-place," because it looks so much like a +skull. On this skull-like hill it may be that Jesus was crucified. + +[Illustration: Church of the Holy Sepulchre, sometimes claimed to be +built upon the site of Calvary] + +[Illustration: Turning to the women weeping over him, Jesus said: "Women +of Jerusalem, weep not for me but weep for yourselves and your +children!"] + +Jesus walked through the streets of the city loaded down with the heavy +beam of his cross on his shoulders. The soldiers were dragging him on, +and some were driving him forward with blows, when suddenly, worn out +with suffering, and fainting from loss of blood and want of food, he +sank down upon the ground, unable to carry his load any further. Just +then a man coming from the country into Jerusalem, met the soldiers and +the crowd with Jesus. This man was named Simon. He was not Simon Peter, +the disciple of Jesus, but another Simon, who had come from a city far +away in Africa, called Cyrene. The soldiers seized this man, and made +him help Jesus in carrying the cross, until they came to Calvary. + +Following the soldiers who had been commanded to crucify Jesus, was a +crowd of Jewish priests and scribes, the teachers of the law, and a +multitude of the lowest of the people, all shouting aloud their +rejoicing that Jesus was to be put to death, just as if he had been the +wickedest man in all the land. But among these were a few friends of +Jesus, and some of the women who had known him and loved him, and were +now weeping over the wrongs done to him. + +Jesus turned and spoke to these women: + +"Women of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and +your children! For the time is coming when they shall say, 'Happy are +those who have no children to suffer and to die.' In those days they +shall call out to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Hide +us.' If this is what they do now in the beginning, what will they do +then in the end?" + +Even in those terrible moments Jesus was not thinking of himself and his +own sufferings, but the sorrows that would soon come upon others. + +[Illustration: ANCIENT JERUSALEM] + +There is a story told of Jesus on the way to Calvary, which is not found +in any of the gospels, and may not be true. It is said that a good +woman, named Veronica, was standing by the street when Jesus went by. +Seeing his face covered with sweat, and dust, and blood, she went to him +and wiped his face with a napkin. When she looked at her napkin, she +found that on it had been printed the portrait of Jesus; and she kept it +ever afterward as her greatest treasure. + +They led Jesus out of the gate in the city wall, and up the side of the +hill Calvary, wherever that hill was. There they laid the cross upon the +ground and stretched Jesus out upon it. They drove nails through his +hands and feet to fasten his body to the cross. Then they lifted it up +with Jesus upon it, and dropped the lower end of it into a hole so that +it would stand upright. + +With Jesus they had brought two other men, who had been robbers, and +sentenced to die by the cross. These two men they crucified with Jesus, +one on his right hand and the other on his left, and Jesus between them, +as if he had been the most wicked man of the three. + +Jesus knew that the Roman soldiers who fastened him to the cross were +not his enemies, as the Jews were, but were only obeying the orders that +had been given them by their officers. He prayed to God for them. + +"Father," said Jesus, "forgive them, for they do not know what they are +doing!" + +It was nine o'clock on Friday morning when Jesus was placed upon the +cross; and he hung there living for six awful hours, until three o'clock +in the afternoon. + +[Illustration: When Jesus saw his mother, and beside her the disciple +whom he loved, he spoke from the cross to her: "Woman, there is your +son." Then he said to John: "Son, there is your mother."] + + + + +Jesus on the Cross + +CHAPTER 96 + + +IT WAS the custom of the Romans when they put to death any man upon the +cross, to place on the cross above his head a writing, telling what the +man's crime was. Pilate commanded that the writing above the head of +Jesus should be + + THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH + THE KING OF THE JEWS. + +It was written in the language of three different peoples; in Hebrew, +the tongue spoken by the Jews; in Latin, the language of the Romans; and +in Greek, the language spoken by all in that part of the world who were +not Jews. These words told a great truth, that Jesus was a king, and +they told it to all the earth, although very few people believed it +then. Now, all over the world are millions upon millions of people who +serve Jesus as Lord and King. + +When the priests and rulers of the Jews read this writing upon the cross +they were greatly displeased, for they did not like to have Jesus called +a king. The priests went to Pilate in his palace and said to him: + +"Will you not change the writing upon the cross of that man? Let it not +be, 'The King of the Jews.' Please change it to, 'He said, "I am King of +the Jews."'" + +But Pilate answered them, "What I have written, I have written." He +meant that whatever he had placed upon the cross must stand there +unchanged. + +It was also the custom of the Romans when a man was crucified to give +his clothes to the soldiers who fixed him on the cross. Four soldiers +were in charge of the cross. These men divided the clothes of Jesus +among them, each taking one garment. But one garment was left over, the +shirt of Jesus. This was all woven in one piece, not sewed together; so +the soldiers said: + +"Let us not tear it, but cast lots to settle whose it shall be." + +They threw upon the ground little square pieces of ivory having spots +upon them. These squares were called dice. Each soldier threw one ivory +piece; and they counted the spots on the side that was uppermost. The +soldier whose piece showed the highest number took the shirt of Jesus as +his own. One of the disciples of Jesus was standing near, and saw the +soldiers dividing the clothes of Jesus, and he thought of the words in +the twenty-second psalm, as a prophecy or foretelling of what should +happen to Christ. These were the words of the psalm, written many +hundred years before: + + "They shared my garments among them, + And over my clothing they cast lots." + +The soldiers having done their work, sat down around the cross to watch +it. A great crowd of the priests and scribes and people stood around the +cross, looking at Jesus hanging there. Some of them spoke spitefully to +Jesus, shaking their heads at him, saying such words as these: + +"Ah! you would destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, +would you? Then come down from the cross and save yourself if you can!" + +And some of the priests and scribes called out, "He saved others; but he +can not save himself! If he is, as he said, 'Christ, the King of +Israel,' let him now come down from the cross in our sight. Then we will +believe on him." + +"He trusts in God," said others; "now let God help him, if he chooses; +for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" + +One of the two robbers who were hanging on the crosses beside Jesus +called out to him, joining in the abuse: + +"Are you not the Christ, the King of Israel? If you are, why don't you +save yourself and save us with you?" + +But the crucified man on the other side of Jesus rebuked him: + +"Have you no fear of a just God?" he said. "You are suffering the same +sentence as this man. And you and I are suffering only what we deserve +for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." + +Then this man from his cross said to Jesus, "Jesus, do not forget me +when you come into your kingdom." + +And Jesus answered him, "I tell you truly, this very day you shall be +with me in the heavenly land." + +At this time, near the cross of Jesus, was standing John, his disciple, +the one disciple that Jesus loved, and with him was Mary, the mother of +Jesus, also her sister and two other women named Mary--Mary the wife of +Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, or Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his +mother, and beside her the disciple whom he loved, he spoke from the +cross to her: + +"Woman, there is your son." + +Then he said to John: + +"Son, there is your mother." + +And from that time Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived with the disciple +John, as though he was her own son. + +It was now noon, and Jesus had been upon the cross three long, terrible +hours; the sun beating with its rays upon his head. Just at noon a +sudden darkness came over the sky and the earth, and the darkness did +not pass away until three o'clock. This darkness alarmed the people, and +those who had been speaking to Jesus words of contempt, now stood still, +full of fear. + +At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice these words: + +"My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?" + +These are the opening words of the twenty-second psalm, written many +hundred years before as a prophecy of what Christ should suffer. It may +be that Jesus spoke those words to show that all his suffering had been +foretold long before. Jesus in speaking those words used the old Hebrew +tongue, the language in which the psalm was written. In the old Hebrew +the words, "My God! My God!" were "Eloi! Eloi!" But the language had +changed so greatly since the psalms were written that the people who +heard him did not understand the words. Some said, "He is calling upon +Elijah the prophet to help him!" + +Then Jesus spoke again and said: + +"I am thirsty." + +There was standing by a jar full of vinegar. One of the men took a +sponge, soaked it in the vinegar, fastened it on the end of a stick, and +placed it on the lips of Jesus. This also had been foretold in the +sixty-ninth psalm, in the words, + + "In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." + +As soon as Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said: + +"All is finished." + +Then, after a moment's pause, he spoke with a loud voice to God: + +"Father, into thy hands I give up my spirit!" + +And with those words his head dropped forward, and Jesus was hanging +dead upon his cross. + +[Illustration: The people on Mt. Calvary looking at the dying Jesus were +filled with fear, and went back to the city in terror at the darkness +and earthquake.] + +Just at the moment when Jesus died, suddenly there was an earthquake; +the ground was shaken, the rocks were torn apart, and many of the tombs +around Jerusalem were opened. In the Temple on Mount Moriah, a wonderful +event was seen. The great veil that hung between the Holy Place and +the Most Holy Place was suddenly torn from the top to the bottom, as if +by a mighty unseen hand, so that the priests in the Temple could see +what none of them, except the high priest, had ever seen before, the +inside of the Holy of Holies. + +The people who were standing on Mount Calvary, looking at the dying +Jesus, were filled with fear. They beat upon their breasts with their +hands, and went back to the city in terror at the darkness and the +earthquake. The Roman captain, who was in charge of the soldiers around +the cross, said: + +"Surely this was a good man, a son of God!" + +You know that the Sabbath among the Jews was kept on the seventh day of +the week and that it always began at sunset on the evening before. It +was on Friday that Jesus was crucified, and three o'clock on that +afternoon. The Jews did not wish to have the men upon the three crosses +hanging there upon the Sabbath, for that day, the Passover Sabbath, was +kept especially holy. + +The Jewish rulers came to Pilate and asked him that the men should not +be left upon the cross over the Sabbath, but that they should be killed +and their bodies taken away. They did not know at that time that Jesus +was already dead. Pilate gave orders to the soldiers to have the men +killed. This they did by breaking their legs, as they hung upon the +crosses. As they saw that Jesus was no longer alive, they did not break +his legs. But one of the soldiers, to be sure of his death, drove his +spear into the side of Jesus, to strike his heart. John the disciple was +still standing there watching beside the cross to the very last, and he +wrote in his gospel many years afterward that he saw both water and +blood pour forth from the side of Jesus, out of the wound made by the +spear. + + + + +The Tomb in the Garden + +CHAPTER 97 + + +YOU REMEMBER that from the garden of Gethsemane, very early on Friday +morning, Jesus was brought before the high council of the Jews for +trial, and that by the council it was ordered that Jesus should be put +to death as one who falsely claimed that he was Christ, the King of +Israel. But not all the members of this council were enemies of Jesus. A +very few of them were his friends, but in secret, not daring to speak +for him or to vote for him, for fear of the rulers and the people. + +One of these secret friends of Jesus was Nicodemus, the ruler who had +come to see Jesus at night three years before, on his first visit to +Jerusalem. Another was a good man named Joseph, a rich man, who lived at +a place called Arimathea, some miles out of Jerusalem, in the country. +This man, Joseph of Arimathea, did a very bold thing. He went to Pilate +in his palace, and asked Pilate to allow him to take down from the cross +the dead body of Jesus, and to bury it. To us this may not seem a brave +act, but it was, for the Roman rulers were very suspicious of anybody +who appeared to be the friend of one who had been condemned to death. +Some time before this, when a man asked the governor for the body of a +man who had been put to death, the governor ordered that his friend +should also be slain as an enemy of the Romans and the governor's enemy. +It might be said that Joseph of Arimathea "took his life in his hands" +when he asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. + +[Illustration: In the side of a rocky hill was a cave which Joseph of +Arimathea had hollowed out for his own tomb, and there they laid the +body of Jesus.] + +But Pilate was not angry with Joseph; and at heart he was not an enemy +of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to learn that Jesus was already dead, +for sometimes upon the cross men lived several days of terrible pain. He +sent for the Roman captain who had been in charge at the cross, and +asked him if Jesus the Nazarene was dead. When the captain told him that +Jesus was dead, he allowed Joseph to take away the body and do with it +as he pleased. + +Then Joseph, with some of the disciples of Jesus, carefully and tenderly +took down from the cross the body of Jesus; and after the manner of +Jewish burials at that time, wrapped it round and round with long strips +of linen cloth. They also tied a napkin over the face of Jesus. +Nicodemus came to help in the burial, bringing with him the weight of a +hundred pounds in fragrant and costly spices, aloes and myrrh, which +they laid in the linen cloth around the body. + +Near the place where Jesus was crucified was a garden belonging to +Joseph of Arimathea, and in the side of the rocky hill was a cave which +Joseph had hollowed out for his own tomb. No dead body had ever been +buried in this tomb; and there they laid the body of Jesus. Then they +rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and left it. + +Near by, at this time, were some of the women who had come with Jesus +from Galilee; looking on while the body of Jesus, whom they had loved so +fondly, was laid in the tomb. One of these women was Mary Magdalene, or +"Mary of Magdala" by the Sea of Galilee, a woman from whom Jesus had +driven out evil spirits more than a year before. Another woman was Mary, +the wife of Clopas; and another was named Salome, who may have been the +mother of the disciples James and John, and the wife of Zebedee the +fisherman. These women noticed carefully the place where the body of +Jesus was buried. + +On the next morning, which was the Jewish Sabbath day, the chief priests +and leading men among the Jews came to Pilate and said to him: + +"We remember, sir, that while this man who deceived the people was +alive, he said, 'After three days in the tomb I will arise again.' Now, +then, give orders that the tomb where he is buried be kept under guard +for three days. For if it be not watched, his disciples may come and +steal his body out of the tomb and hide it; then they will tell the +people, 'He is risen from the dead,' and the last false report will do +more harm than the first, that he was the King of Israel." + +"Take a guard of soldiers," said Pilate, "and make it just as sure as +you can." + +So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the great +stone at the door. Also they placed a guard of soldiers in front of the +tomb, with orders to stay there for three days. + +On one side of the rounded skull-like hill which may have been Calvary, +where Jesus was crucified, there has been found a very ancient tomb, +which may have been the place of the Saviour's burial. No one can be +sure of this; but we may be certain that either in this tomb, or in one +like it, not far away, Jesus was buried. + + + + +The Risen Christ and the Empty Tomb + +CHAPTER 98 + + +IT WAS FRIDAY evening at sunset, only three hours after Jesus had died +upon his cross, when the stone at the door of the tomb was rolled +against the door, and the body of Jesus was left alone in its resting +place. All day on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, and through that night, +the body lay in the tomb, watched by Roman soldiers. But early on Sunday +morning, before the sun rose, something wonderful took place such as had +never been seen from the beginning of the world and never has been seen +since that day. + +There was a great earthquake, shaking the ground around the tomb, as an +angel from heaven came down. His face and his form shone with dazzling +brightness like lightning, and his clothing was white as snow glittering +in the sun. The soldiers on guard trembled as they saw the angel, and +fell down on the ground as if they were dead; and after a little while +rising up, crept away in their fear, and left the garden. + +The bright angel laid his hand on the stone at the door of the tomb, +paying no attention to the seal upon it, and rolled the stone away. As +he stood at the open door of the tomb, the Lord Jesus Christ walked out +from it, no longer dead but living, and living never to die again. The +grave clothes were not now wrapped around his body, and the napkin had +been taken from his face. + +[Illustration: The women at the empty tomb listened in fear and wonder +to the words of the angel: "He is not here; he has risen!"] + +If the Roman soldiers were still there, they could not see Jesus, for a +change had come over him, and he was now seen only by those whom he +wished to see him and by no others. And he could suddenly appear and +disappear as he chose. He could be seen suddenly in one place, and then +a moment after could be seen just as suddenly in another place miles and +miles away. He could pass through closed doors just as if they were wide +open; and after being seen by his friends could vanish out of their +sight. + +A few moments after the earthquake, and after the risen Christ had come +from his tomb, a few women came from the city to the tomb, bringing some +more spices and perfumes to place around his body. Those women were Mary +Magdalene, and Mary the wife of Clopas, and Salome, and a woman named +Joanna, and perhaps others. They may have felt the earthquake shock, but +they did not know the wonderful things that had taken place, and +supposed that the body of Jesus was in the tomb. As they came near, they +said to each other: + +"Who will roll away for us the great stone at the door of the tomb?" + +But when they came to the tomb, they found the stone already rolled +away, and the tomb open. Mary Magdalene came a little before the others, +and was the first to see that the tomb was open, and looking inside she +saw that it was empty. She took but one glance, and then, without +waiting for the others, ran away to tell some of the disciples of Jesus +that the tomb had been opened and the body of Jesus taken away, for she +did not know that Jesus had risen and was living. + +A moment after Mary Magdalene had gone away, the other women came to the +tomb. They, too, saw that the stone had been rolled away, the tomb was +open and the body of Jesus was not there. But these women saw what Mary +Magdalene had not seen, a young man with shining face and long white +robe, seated on the right side of the place where the body of Jesus had +been laid. They were frightened as they looked upon him, for this young +man was the angel who had rolled away the stone. But he calmed their +fears, saying to them: + +"Do not be afraid, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been +crucified. He has risen; he is not here! Look! this is the place where +his body was laid; and you can see it is empty! But go, find his +disciples, and Peter, and tell them that he will go before you into +Galilee, to the mountains. There they will see him, as he said to them +before he died." + +So these women, like Mary Magdalene only a few minutes before, went away +from the tomb to find some of the disciples. They found Peter and John, +and told them the news that the angel had given to them. + +Peter and John at once hurried to the tomb. John was younger than Peter, +and came to the tomb first. He saw the stone rolled away and the tomb +open, and stood at the door, hesitating, uncertain whether to go into +the tomb or not. But Peter, who came a moment afterward, did not +hesitate. He rushed past John into the tomb, and saw that it was empty. +It was like John, the thoughtful one, to wait at the door of the tomb; +and it was like Peter, the quick and hasty one, to rush straight into +the tomb. After Peter walked into the tomb, John followed him inside. +They saw that the grave-place was empty; but they saw no angel. John +noticed that the grave-clothes were lying in a heap on the floor, just +as if Jesus had slipped out of them, without unrolling the long bands; +and that the napkin which he had seen bound about his face had been +carefully folded and was lying by itself. All these things showed that +the body had not been taken away suddenly or in haste. + +[Illustration: Peter and John hurried to the tomb; seeing that it was +empty they were convinced that Jesus had risen.] + +Peter, the excitable, was not a thinker, and just looked at these things +and wondered. But John, the thoughtful disciple, looked at these +things--the stone rolled away with its seal broken, the empty tomb, the +grave clothes in an orderly pile, and the napkin folded carefully. Then +it flashed upon his mind for the first time that his Lord had risen +alive from the tomb! And at that moment came to him the words of Jesus +spoken more than once, that he must die, and on the third day would rise +again from death to life. Of all the eleven disciples of Jesus--for now +that Judas was dead, they were no longer twelve, but eleven--John, the +disciple whom Jesus loved the most, was the first one to believe that +Jesus had risen, and he believed it before he had seen his living Lord. + +As yet no one had seen Jesus living. Two disciples had looked into the +empty tomb, and the women, except Mary Magdalene, had seen the angel, +but none of them had seen Jesus; and all of them, save Mary Magdalene, +went away, wondering and scarcely knowing what to think. + + + + +Jesus and Mary Magdalene + +CHAPTER 99 + + +All THE FOUR gospels agree in saying that the first person who saw Jesus +Christ living after his death on the cross was Mary Magdalene; that is, +Mary of Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee; a woman from whom a year +before Jesus had driven out evil spirits; and who in love for what Jesus +had done to her, followed him, and helped him with her gifts, for she +was a rich woman. + +When the other women, with Peter and John, went away from the tomb, Mary +stayed there, weeping and sobbing; for she had not seen the angel who +said that Jesus had risen, and did not know that he was alive. As she +stood weeping at the door of the tomb, she looked inside. There she saw +two angels sitting at the empty grave-place, one at the head, the other +at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. + +"Woman," said one of the angels, "why are you weeping?" + +"Because they have taken away my Lord," answered Mary, "and I do not +know where they have laid him." + +Just then something caused her to turn around, and she saw a man +standing near her. It was Jesus, but she did not know him; for after +rising from his grave Jesus showed himself in differing forms, and +people could not know him until he allowed them. + +"Woman," said Jesus to her, "why are you weeping? Who is it that you are +looking for?" + +Mary thought that this strange man was the gardener. She said to him: + +"Oh, sir, if you have carried him anywhere, tell me where you have laid +him, and I will take him away myself." + +"Mary!" said Jesus. + +And as he spoke her name, she knew him; and fell at his feet, clasping +them in her hands. + +"My own Master!" was all that she could say, in her joy at seeing him +alive once more, whom she had last looked upon dead, hanging on the +cross. + +"Do not hold me," said Jesus, "for I have yet to arise and go to my +Father in heaven; but go to my brothers, my disciples, and tell them +that I shall soon rise up from the earth and go to my Father and your +Father, to my God, and your God." + +Mary Magdalene went and found the disciples, and said to them, "I have +seen the Lord!" telling them also what he had said to her. + +After Mary Magdalene had gone away from the tomb, the other women--Mary +the wife of Clopas, Joanna, and Salome--came back from having seen the +disciples, and having told them what the angel had said, that Jesus had +risen. As they drew near the tomb, Jesus went to meet them. + +"Welcome!" he said to the women. They ran up to him, fell on their +faces, and clasped his feet, just as Mary had done, for they felt joy +and fear mingled as they saw him. + +"Do not be afraid," said Jesus, "go tell my brothers to go to Galilee +and they shall see me there." + +So these women went again to find the disciples and give them the news +that Jesus was really living, and that they had seen him. All this was +on Sunday morning--the first Easter-day. + +[Illustration: Mary Magdalene turned and answered the strange man whom +she thought was the gardener: "Oh, sir, if you have carried him +anywhere, tell me where you have laid him." "Mary!" said Jesus. And as +he spoke her name she knew him.] + +On that morning, when the soldiers who had fled from the tomb recovered +from their terror, they went to the chief priests and told them about +the earthquake and the angel who had rolled away the stone. The priests +had a talk with the rulers of the city; then they gave a large sum of +money to the soldiers, and told them to say to everybody: + +"The disciples came at night, while we were asleep, and broke open the +tomb, and stole the body of Jesus." + +They knew that a soldier had no right to sleep while on guard; and the +rule of the army was, that any soldier who slept on his post should be +put to death. But the rulers said to them: + +"If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him, and see that no +harm comes to you." + +So the soldiers took their money and did as they were told. And the +story that the body of Jesus was stolen from the tomb, was told among +the Jewish people and believed by them. + +[Illustration: Coins struck by Pontius Pilate] + +[Illustration: Then Jesus began to show them in all the Old Testament +books, how all the prophets had foretold the things that should take +place with Christ when he should come.] + + + + +A Walk with the Risen Christ + +CHAPTER 100 + + +WHEN JESUS was seen after he rose from the tomb, it was called an +"appearance" because Jesus appeared to someone. His first appearance, as +you have read, was to Mary Magdalene; his second appearance was to the +other women; and his third appearance was to two men walking out into +the country on that first Easter morning. + +Those two men were not among the twelve disciples of Jesus; but they had +believed in him as the Christ, the King of Israel. One of them was named +Cleopas; the name of the other has not been given in the gospel by Saint +Luke, where this story is told. The two men on that morning were walking +out from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, which was six or seven +miles from the city. As they walked, they talked together of Jesus, of +his death, his burial, and of a report which had just come to them, that +he was living again. + +While they were walking and talking, they suddenly saw another man +walking with them. This stranger was Jesus, but they did not know him; +just as Mary Magdalene did not know Jesus when first she saw him. He +said to them: + +"What is it that you are talking about, as you walk along?" + +They stood still, with sorrowful faces; and Cleopas answered this +stranger. + +"What!" said Cleopas, "do you live all alone in Jerusalem, since you +seem not to have heard of the things that have taken place there in the +last few days?" + +"What things do you mean?" asked the stranger. + +"Why, about Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "Have you never heard of +him? He was a wonderful prophet, to whom God gave power in his words and +his deeds before all the people. But the chief priests and our rulers +seized him, and gave him up to be sentenced to death, and crucified him. +But it was our hope that he was to be the one to set Israel free from +its enemies, and reign as our King. And now, this is the third day since +he died, and this morning some women of our company have brought to us +news that greatly surprised us. They went to the tomb at daybreak, and +found it open, but did not find his body within it. They told us that +they had seen some angels, who said that Jesus was alive! At once some +of our men went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said, +the tomb thrown open and the body gone; but they did not see Jesus." + +"O, foolish men, with hearts so slow to believe, after all that the +prophets have said in the Holy Book!" said the stranger, who was the +risen Jesus. "Do you not know that Christ was bound to suffer all these +things before he could enter his glory as the Son of God?" + +Then he began to show them in all the Old Testament books, how Moses in +the law, and David in the psalms, and all the prophets in their +writings, had foretold the things that should take place with Christ +when he should come; and that all these things had come to pass with +Jesus, showing that Jesus of Nazareth was in truth the Son of God and +the King of Israel. + +While they went on talking together, they drew near the village of +Emmaus, to which the two men were going. The unknown Jesus seemed as if +he was going further; but they urged him to stop. + +"Stay with us," they said to him, "for it is getting toward evening; the +sun is already about to set." + +[Illustration: After his resurrection Jesus appears to Simon Peter.] + +And Jesus went with them to the village and into the house. They sat +down to supper; and the stranger took the loaf of bread, blessed it, +broke it, and gave it to them. In that instant, their eyes were opened, +and they knew who he was, Jesus their Master! But in that moment he +vanished out of their sight. + +"How our hearts burned within us," they said to each other, "while he +was talking to us on the road and explaining to us what is said in the +Holy Book!" + +Then they immediately rose up from the table, and went back in haste to +Jerusalem. They found some of the disciples and others in the upper room +at Jerusalem, where Jesus had taken his last supper with his disciples. +Before Cleopas and his friend found a chance to tell their story, those +in the room said to them: + +"The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon Peter!" + +Then the two men from Emmaus told how the stranger had walked with them +on the road, and had told them many things out of the Old Testament; and +how they had suddenly known that he was Jesus, while he was blessing and +breaking the bread. + +These were the third and fourth appearances of Jesus, the third to Simon +Peter; but what Jesus said to him has not been written; and the fourth, +to Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus. + + + + +Two Sunday Evenings with the Risen Christ + +CHAPTER 101 + + +THE MEETING place of all who believed in Jesus, after his death on the +cross, seems to have been the upstairs room, where Jesus had his last +supper. There they met from day to day; and it was to this place that +the two men came from Emmaus with the report of their meeting with +Jesus. On the evening of Sunday, the first Easter day, the followers of +Jesus were gathered together in this room. Ten of the eleven disciples +of Christ were there, Thomas being absent; and with them were the women +and a number of others who were believers in Jesus. + +The doors leading to this room were shut and locked, for they feared the +Jewish rulers and people. They were talking together of these reports +that had come to them of Jesus having risen and having been seen, when +all of a sudden they saw Jesus himself standing in the middle of the +room. He said to them: + +"Peace be to you!" + +At the first sight of him, they were frightened, for they thought it was +not Jesus alive whom they saw, but the ghost or spirit of Jesus dead. + +"Why are you so startled?" said Jesus to them, "and why do doubts come +to you? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I, myself. Feel me, and look +at me; a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see that I have!" + +[Illustration: Jesus looked at Thomas and said to him: "Look at my hands +and put your finger there, and look at my side and thrust your hand into +it."] + +With these words he showed them his hands and his feet, with the holes +left by the nails on the cross still in them. Even yet, they felt the +sight of Jesus was too good to be true, and could scarcely believe +that it was their Lord living. He said to them: + +"Have you here anything to eat?" + +They brought to him a piece of broiled fish; and he ate it while they +looked on. This was not because he was hungry and needed food, for he no +longer needed anything; but simply to show them that he was really +living. + +Then at last they were afraid no longer, and believed fully that their +Lord was with them living; and their hearts were full of joy. Jesus said +to them again: + +"Peace be with you; as the Father sent me forth, even so I send you +forth." + +Then he breathed on them, and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit of God! I +give you power that if you take away the sins of men, they are taken +away from them, just as if I myself forgave them; and if you do not take +away their sins, then the guilt of their sins shall stay upon them." + +After talking with his followers for a time on that evening, Jesus +disappeared as suddenly as he had come. This was his fifth appearance on +that day, the day of his rising from the tomb. + +But, as we have seen, Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, was +not with the others on that evening, and being absent did not meet the +risen Jesus. The other disciples said to him: + +"We have seen the Lord!" + +But Thomas would not believe them. He thought that they were all +mistaken, and said: + +"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails on the cross, and put +my finger on those marks of the nails; and unless I can put my hand into +the wound made by the spear in his side, I will not believe that he is +alive!" + +A week later, on the next Sunday evening, they all met again in the +upper room; and at this time, Thomas was present. Though the doors were +shut, Jesus came again and stood among them, with the words as before: +"Peace be with you!" + +He looked at Thomas and said to him: + +"Look at my hands, and put your finger there; and look at my side, and +thrust your hand into it. Do not longer refuse to believe that I am +alive, but believe in me." + +Thomas answered him: "My Lord, and my God!" + +"Is it because you have seen me that you have believed in me?" said +Jesus. "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed!" + +You remember that John, the beloved disciple, believed that Jesus had +risen when he looked into the empty tomb, and before he had seen him +alive. + +This meeting with the disciples on the second Sunday evening was the +sixth appearance of Jesus after rising from the dead. + + + + +The Breakfast by the Sea + +CHAPTER 102 + + +ON THE NIGHT before the death of Jesus, at the supper he had said to the +twelve disciples, "After I have risen from the dead, I will go before +you to Galilee." And after rising from his tomb, he had said to the +women, "Go and tell my disciples that I will meet them on the mountain +in Galilee." This mountain was Kurn Hattin, near the Sea of Galilee, +where in the year before, he had preached his great "Sermon on the +Mount." + +The word that Jesus would show himself to all who believed on him, on +this mountain in Galilee, led the followers of Jesus from all parts of +the land to go to Galilee and to this mountain. They waited near that +place for some days without seeing Jesus. + +One morning seven of the eleven disciples of Jesus were on the shore of +the Sea of Galilee. These seven men were Simon Peter, James and John, +Thomas, Nathanael (who was also called Bartholomew, which means "son of +Tolmai"), and two other disciples, whose names have not been given. + +While they were standing by the lake, Peter felt a longing for his old +work as a fisherman, and he said to the others: + +"I am going fishing." + +He thought that while they were waiting for Jesus to come, they might +also do some work. The other six men said: + +"We will go fishing with you." + +[Illustration: At daybreak they saw a man standing on the shore, who +called to them: "Throw out your net on the right side of the boat and +you will catch some fish."] + +They went out in the boat, and fished all night, but caught nothing. +The next morning, just as the day was breaking, they saw a man standing +on the shore. + +"Boys," called out this man, "have you caught anything?" + +"No," they answered him. + +"Throw out your net on the right side of the boat," said the stranger, +"and you will find some fish." + +They threw out the net as the man told them, and at once it was filled +with large fish, so full that they could not at first haul it in. Then +John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter: + +"That is our Lord!" + +When Simon Peter heard that this man on the shore was the Lord Jesus, he +slipped on his coat--for he had taken it off while working--and leaped +into the water to swim ashore. The other disciples came ashore in a +smaller boat, dragging the net, full of fish; for they were not more +than a hundred yards from the beach. + +When they landed on the shore, they saw a charcoal fire burning, with +some fish cooking upon it and some bread beside it. Jesus said: + +"Bring some of the fish that you have caught." + +Peter went to the boat and pulled the net ashore, full of large fish. +They counted them afterward, and found that they numbered one hundred +and fifty-three; but although there were so many, the net was not torn +anywhere. Jesus said to them: + +"Come and have breakfast." + +They sat down on the beach beside the fire; and Jesus passed the bread +around to them, and also the broiled fish. This was now the third time +that Jesus was seen by his disciples after rising from the dead; for he +had already appeared to them on two Sunday evenings in Jerusalem; and in +all, this was the seventh appearance of Jesus after his rising from the +dead. + +After they had eaten their breakfast, and were still sitting together, +Jesus said to Simon Peter: + +"Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than the others?" + +"Why, Master," answered Peter, "you know that I am your friend." + +"Then," said Jesus, "feed my lambs." + +There was a moment's pause, and then Jesus a second time asked Peter: + +"Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?" + +"Yes, Master," he replied; "you know that I am your friend." + +"Then," said Jesus, "be a shepherd to my sheep." + +Then, a third time, Jesus asked him: + +"Simon, son of Jonas, are you my friend?" + +Peter felt hurt that his third question was "Are you my friend?" and not +"Do you love me?" and he answered: + +"Master, you know everything! You know that I am your friend!" + +"Then feed my sheep," said Jesus; and he went on, "I tell you in truth, +when you were young you put your own girdle around your waist, and went +wherever you chose. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your +hands for someone else to put a girdle around you, and you will be taken +where you do not wish to go." + +Then Jesus added, "Follow me." + +As Peter on the night of his Master's trial had three times denied that +he knew Jesus or was his disciple, so now Jesus wished him to say three +times before them all that he was his friend. And when he had spoken +this three times, the Lord said to him, as he had said long before by +the Sea of Galilee, "Follow me." Thus Simon Peter was again given his +old place among the disciples of Jesus. + +What Jesus said to Peter about stretching out his hands and being +carried where he did not wish to go, was spoken as a prophecy or +foretelling of the manner by which Peter should die for the sake of +Christ. Nearly forty years after that time, when Peter was an old man, +he was put to death at Rome by being crucified as Jesus had been. It is +said that when he was about to be fastened upon the cross, he said to +the soldiers, that one who had denied his Master as he had, was not +worthy of dying in the same manner as Jesus had died; and he begged them +to set up his cross with his head downward toward the ground; and thus +Peter died. + +But to go back to that breakfast by the Sea of Galilee, after those +words had been spoken by Jesus to Peter, he looked at John, who was +standing near. Peter and John, though very different in their natures, +loved each other greatly. In the story of Jesus and his disciples, and +in the days that came after, we find that almost always Peter and John +were together. Seeing John, Peter said to Jesus: + +"Master, you have told me about myself; now tell what this man shall +do." + +But Jesus said to Peter: + +"If I choose that he shall wait until I come back to earth, what has +that to do with you? Do you follow me, as I said." + +John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, lived a long time after that day. +When all the rest of the twelve disciples of Jesus had died--nearly all +of them were slain by enemies of Christ--John was still living. And from +these words of Jesus many thought that John would not die. But Jesus did +not say that John would not die. He only said that if he chose to let +John live until he, Jesus, came again, it was not Peter's matter, but +the Lord's. + +[Illustration: He rose into the air, higher and higher, until a cloud +covered him from their sight, and Jesus the Lord of glory was seen no +more.] + + + + +Jesus Rising up from Earth to Heaven + +CHAPTER 103 + + +SOON AFTER the appearance of Jesus to the seven disciples by the Sea of +Galilee, a great meeting was held of many who believed in Jesus, on the +mountain, in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to come together. It is +said that at this meeting more than five hundred people who were +followers of Jesus gathered in one place. There Jesus showed himself to +the whole company. When they saw him they bowed down to the ground +before him; but even then some of them were in doubt whether they had +really seen the Lord. + +At that time Jesus drew near to this company and said to them: + +"All power as the Son of God, and the King of God's Kingdom in heaven +and on earth has been given to me by my Father. I command you, +therefore, to go and preach the gospel to all the world, and make +disciples of all nations and in all lands. Those who believe on me, +baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and +teach them to obey all the commands that I have given you. Whoever +believes on me as his Saviour shall be saved from his sins; but whoever +will not believe, shall suffer the guilt of his sins. And these powers +shall be given to those who believe; in my name they shall drive out +evil spirits; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up +poisonous snakes in their hands and shall suffer no harm; if they drink +any poison it shall not hurt them; they will place their hands on sick +people, and they shall become well. And I will be with you all the +time, even to the very end of the world." + +After this there was a ninth appearance of Jesus to James; not James the +brother of John, but another James who was the son of Joseph and Mary, +and a younger brother of Jesus. What was said at that appearance has not +been told, but from that time James was one of the foremost followers of +Jesus, and for many years a leader in the church at Jerusalem. Long +after this, James wrote one of the books in the New Testament, the +Epistle of James. + +Jesus was seen from time to time during forty days by his disciples and +followers. We know of ten times in all when Jesus appeared; but there +may have been other times of which no mention is made in the gospels or +in the other writings of the New Testament. His tenth appearance, as far +as we know, and his last, may have been at the upper room in Jerusalem, +forty days after he had risen from his tomb. At that time he said: + +"When I was with you, I told you this, that everything written of me in +the books of Moses, and the psalms and the prophets must come to pass." + +Then he opened their minds to understand what was written in the Old +Testament. + +"Thus," he said, "it is written that Christ the King of Israel must +suffer, and die, and rise again the third day, just as has come to pass. +And now you are to go forth and preach that men must everywhere turn +from their sins to God, and be forgiven of their sins through the power +given to me. And you are to begin your preaching here in Jerusalem, the +very place where I have been crucified. I will soon send down on you the +Holy Spirit whom my Father has promised. But wait in this city until the +power comes upon you from on high." + +[Illustration: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, +there am I in the midst of them."] + +Then the risen Christ led them out of the city to the Mount of Olives. +No one except those who believed in him could see him, for he was unseen +to all other people. As he drew near Bethany he lifted up his hands and +blessed his followers. While they were looking at him, and his hands +were held out, he rose into the air, higher and higher, until after a +time a cloud covered him from their sight, and Jesus the Lord of glory +was seen no more. + +While they were looking upward, two men dressed in shining white, angels +of God, were seen standing beside them. These angels said to the +followers of Jesus: + +"Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up towards the +heavens? This Jesus, who has been taken from you, will come again to +earth in the very same way that you have seen him go up to heaven." + +So Jesus Christ was taken up to heaven, and there sat down on his throne +at the right hand of God. He sits there still, watching over his people +until the day shall come for him to return to earth. + + + * * * * * + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + +Text uses Caesar in the introduction and Cæsar in the stories. There +were hyphenation differences between the text usage and caption usage. +For example, the text uses no hyphen on "today" while one of the +captions does hyphenate it. + +Page 31, "his" changed to "this" (Upon this altar a) + +Page 56, "Caesarea" changed to "Cæsarea" (from Shechem or Joppa or +Cæsarea) + +Page 228, word "do" removed from text. Original read (do you give them) + +Page 353, "Zacc eus" changed to "Zaccheus" (rich man named Zaccheus) + +Page 455, "portr t" changed to "portrait" (portrait of Jesus) + +Page 472, "is" added to text (this is the place where) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hurlbut's Life of Christ For Young and +Old, by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40460 *** |