The Story of Jesus The Christ

TIIE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

15

they first saw the star. He wanted to know bow old the child

was. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, u Go

and look carefully for the child, and when you have found him

bring me back word where he is, that I may go and worship

him also.»

The wise men then left Herod and went to Bethlehem, follow¬

ing the star until they came

to the house where Jesus

was. And when they had

come into the house they

saw the child with Mary

his mother, and they fell

down and worshipped him.

And when they had opened

their treasures they gave

him their gifts: gold,

frankincense, and myrrh.

Frankincense and myrrh

are costly perfumes.

This is the first time

that any child ever had a

Christmas present. And

when Christmas conies

round year after year bring¬

ing with it gifts from those

who love us, we will re¬

member this story, will we

not? And we will think

with love of the little child whose birth we celebrate on Christ¬

mas Day.

After giving Jesus their presents, the wise men started home

again. But they did not go back to tell Herod where they had

The Three Wise Men

16

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

found the child, for God had told them in a dream that Herod

did not mean what he said, that he did not want to worship

Jesus, but to kill him. So they went home another way.

When Herod had heard the strangers asking him where the; y

could find the King of the Jews he had been greatly interested,

and a good deal worried. He was afraid that he would have more

trouble than ever with the Jews if they had a king of their own

So he, too, wanted to find the child. He had expected the wise

men to tell him when they went back to Jerusalem just where

he could be found, and there would be no more trouble after that,

But the wise men did not come back to tell him. He waited

and waited, till at last he found that they had gone to theit

homes without seeing him again. Herod was very angry wheri

he heard this. “ I must find the child,» he said; “ it will not do

to let him live to be king.» One of his plans had failed, but h. <t

thought of another.

He did not know how old the child king was, but he watf

sure that he could not be more than two years old. So, as ho

did not know where to find him, he sent his soldiers to kill eveiy

boy in Bethlehem that was two years old, or younger. (The

word “ child ” in our Bibles really means boys; Herod did not

need to kill girls in order to be sure of killing Jesus.) The

soldiers did as they were told, and there were many sad home /

in Bethlehem that day. This sounds even more cruel than it

really was, for Bethlehem was a very small town, and there were

probably not more than twenty or thirty boys there.

But even this plan of Herod’s failed to harm the child Jesus.

For on the night after the wise men had started for their homes,

an angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, “ Take the child

and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring

you word; for Herod will look for the young child to destroy

him.»

THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

17

So Joseph took the child and his mother that very night,

and left Bethlehem to do as the angel had told him. In

Egypt they were safe, for

Herod had no power there,

and could not touch them,

even if he had been able to

find out that they had gone

there. Probably he never

knew that he had not killed

the boy king when he sent

his soldiers to the city where

he had been born.

They lived in Egypt till

the wicked king Herod died.

We do not know what they

did there, or where they

stayed, although many sto¬

ries are told about them.

They probably lived very

quietly.

After the death of Herod

Joseph dreamed again, and

again the angel came to him,

saying, “ Rise, take the child

and his mother, and go back

to your own land; for they are dead who sought to kill the child.»

Joseph obeyed this dream as he had the other.

But they did not go to Bethlehem to live; for they heard that,

although the king Herod was dead, yet his son Archelaus, who was

ruler there now, was a very wicked man. They went to Nazareth,

the early home of Joseph and Mary. There Jesus lived all the

years of his childhood, and all but three years of his whole life.

Flight into Egypt

THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST

We do not know much about him when he was a boy. The

Bible says that he was “ filled with wisdom/’ and that he was in

favor with God and man.» We know by this that he was a good

boy, and was loved by every one who knew him.

The people in Nazareth were not thought to be very good,

and sometimes, when Jesus was older, he was looked down

upon because he had once lived in Nazareth. But if the people

were not good the country

was beautiful. Jesus proba¬

bly went to school with

the other Jewish boys, and

studied Jewish history and

law, from the books of the

Bible. We can also think

of him as playing and work¬

ing in his father’s carpen¬

ter’s shop, and with his

mother in the house.

He learned, too, from

other teachers than books.

The mountains and lakes,

the birds and flowers, the

storms, the sunshine, and

indeed everything he saw

or heard, had lessons for

him which he was happy in

learning.

This was how he became

filled with wisdom; because he saw something to learn in every¬

thing about him, and was willing to try to learn the lesson.

18

Infancy of Christ

THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST

19

The Bible tells of a journey Jesus took when he was twelve

years old. Every year in the spring there was a great feast in

Jems ale m,

called the Feast

of the Pass-

over; and Jews

from all parts

of the country

went to it. The

women and old

men commonly

rode on mules or

donkeys; some¬

times on horses

or camels. The

young men, with

long sticks in

their hands,

walked beside

them and led the animals. Children were not generally taken

till they were twelve years old; those who did go ran a part

of the way, but when they were tired they were given a ride.

Ever so many people travelled together, and had such a good

time on the way! They talked and laughed and sang together,

stopped at the springs to get water when they were thirsty, and,

as they walked along, picked the fruit and berries they found by

the roadside. When they were tired they stopped to rest; for

manjf of them had a long way to go.

Thousands of strangers were in Jerusalem when the feast

began. Every house was full, and tents were put up for those

who could not find room anywhere else.

When Jesus was twelve years old his parents took him, for

Jesus, Twelve Years Old, on His Way to Jerusalem

20

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

the first time, to this feast. It lasted seven days, and then the

long procession started home again. Jesus was so much inter¬

ested in what he was seeing and hearing that when the others

left the city he stayed behind. His parents did not know this;

they supposed that of course he was with some of their friends in

the company, and did not look for him until evening. Then he

was nowhere to be found, and no one remembered seeing him all

day. Think how troubled his parents must have felt! The boy

who had never been away from them was lost, and so far away

from home, too! They

must go back to Jeru¬

salem to find him.

It took them an¬

other day to get to the

city, so it was the third

day before they saw

their boy again. Then

where do you think

they found him? In

the temple, hearing the

old, gray-haired men

talk, and asking them

questions so wise that

they were astonished to

find a boy of twelve

years who knew so

much.

Do you think his

Christ in the Temple parents were glad to

see him? His mother

hurried to him and said: “ My son, wiry did you leave us? Your

father and I have been looking for you, and have been very sad.»

THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST

21

Jesus answered her: “ Why did you look for me? Did you

not know that I must be about my Father’s business?» Jesus

did not mean Joseph when he said “ my Father,» he meant God.

He was a young boy, but he was very thoughtful, and he knew

that there was work for him to do in the world; and that his

work was to teach people how his Father wants them to live.

He would have liked to have begun his work even now, but it

was not yet time for him to do so. He went back to Nazareth

with his parents, and was the same loving, obedient boy that he

had always been.

Until a Jewish boy was twelve years old he was called a little

boy; but after that he was a young man, and was expected to

study and work as the young men did. Every one must learn

some trade, or some kind of work by which he could earn his

living. Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to do car¬

pentry work: to make houses, tables, yokes for oxen, or anything

that is made of wood.

So, busy with his studies and his work, Jesus lived at Naza¬

reth till he was thirty years old. We will leave him there for a

while, and see what has become of the son of Zacharias.

John, too, grew to be a thoughtful, manly boy; for his father

told him what his work was to be, and taught him what he

needed to know, to be ready for it. As he grew older he knew

that he could not do good work unless he thought, studied, and

prayed much about it. To do this he left his home and his

friends, and went to live all alone in the wilderness.

He could find enough to eat there: locusts, and the honey

which the bees left in the rocks and the hollow trees. Locusts

are something like our grasshoppers, and even now, in that coun¬

try, people eat a great many of them. There were caves in the

sides of the hills, where John could find shelter from the cold

and storms, and from any wild beasts that might be about. His

22

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

clothing was made of the coarse hair which grows on a camel>

and was fastened around his waist with a leather belt.

There in the woods he lived alone for many years with noth¬

ing to take his mind from his work. At last the time came for

him to preach.

There is a river in Pal¬

estine called the Jordan,,

and it was to the banks

of the Jordan that John

came from the wilderness

and began to preach. He

was so much in earnest,

and spoke so well, that

people liked to listen to

him; and before long great

crowds from all around

came everyday to hear him.

They all thought he

must be the Christ; but

John said: 66 No, I am not

the Christ. I am the

prophet from the wilder¬

ness whose work it is to

prepare the way for the

Christ, and tell people about

John the Baptist in the Wilderness llim.

«He is to be so much

greater than I am that I am not good enough even to be his ser¬

vant. Your Saviour is coming very soon, but he will not save

you unless you are sorry for your sins. You must not say to} T> ur-

selves: ‘ God will love us because we are the children of Abraham/

You must be good yourselves if you want to be loved and saved/»»

THE BOYHOOD OF THE CHRIST

23

Over and over again John said to the people, “ Repent, and

be baptized, every one of you.» To repent is to be so sorry

for something we have

done that we will ask

God’s forgiveness and

try very hard never to

do it again. After they

repented he baptised

them. You know how

pure and clean water

makes things that are

Washed in it. So water

is used in baptism as a

sign that the one who

is baptized wants his

heart made pure and

clean.

J ohn baptized so

many people that he

is called John the Bap¬

tist, but he told them

John the Baptist Preaching

all that the baptism did

not make them good;

it only show r ed others that they meant to try to be better men

and women. “ When the Christ conies,“ he said, „he will give

you a new heart, and that is what you need to be really good.»

We should all pray just as David did so long ago: «Create

in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within

me.» This is nfot a very long prayer, but it means a great deal;

for when we have been given new, clean hearts we will never

again do wrong without being very, very sorry, and praying to

be forgiven.

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

THE OPENING OF THE MINISTRY

One day John was preaching as usual, when a stranger came

to him and asked to be baptized. John looked at him for a

minute, and then said:

«I need to be baptized

by you. Why do you

come to me?» For in

that one look something

in the stranger’s face

told John that it was

Jesus, the Christ, who

had asked to be bap¬

tized. Although they

were cousins, their

homes were so far apart

that they had never

seen each other.

John knew that the

Saviour did not need to

repent, for he had never

done anything that was

wrong. He did not want

to baptize him, but Jesus

said: «I want you to do it. It is right that you should, even if

you do not know the reason why.» Then they both went into the

Jordan, and Jesus was baptized.

When he came up out of the water something in the form of

a dove rested on his head, and a voice from heaven said, “ This

is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» It was God’s

voice.

Baptism of Jesus

24

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

25

Jesus did not wait to talk to the people then; he went off by

himself into the wilderness, where he could be alone with God.

He wanted to think about the new life he had just begun. He

had no home now, for he had given up his home and everything

that was dear to him in Nazareth, to spend the rest of his life in

doing good to others, and in teaching them how ’to be happy.

Forty days and forty nights he spent in this wilderness, think¬

ing much of what others needed, but so little about what he him¬

self needed that in all that time he had eaten nothing. Now he

felt hungry. Round about him were some smooth stones shaped

much like the loaves of bread they used in that country. They

were something like our crackers.

Has not the wicked spirit Satan sometimes whispered in your

ear, asking you to do something which you knew was not right?

Well, that wicked spirit came to Jesus now when he was so

hungry, and said: “ If you are the Son of God, you can do any¬

thing you want to. Just turn these stones into bread.» Jesus

was able to do this, for in a few days he did something just as

wonderful; but he had been asking God for power to help other

people, not to help himself. He did not turn the stones into

bread, but answered Satan with a Bible verse which means that

although we need to feed our bodies we also need to trust and

obey God, w T ho has promised to take care of us.

Satan whispered to him again and said: “ If you are the Son

of God, why do you not throw yourself down from the high roof

of the temple at Jerusalem? God will send his angels to take

care of you, for he has promised to do so. They will hold you

up in their hands so that you will not get hurt. And when the

people see angels taking care of you, and not allowing you to fall,

they will believe at once that you are the Christ, and they will

worship you.» Again Jesus answered with a Bible verse. What

he said means that although it is true that God has promised to

26

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

help us when we are in trouble, it is wicked to do things that

are dangerous just to see if he will help us.

Satan now took Jesus where he could see a long way oh, and

as he thought of all the cities lying beyond the hills, filled with

people and riches, Satan said: u All these you can have, if you

will obey me. The people

will he glad to have you

for their king if you will

not find fault with their

wicked ways. Never mind

if they are wicked. Try

to please them and me in¬

stead of trying to please

God.»

But Jesus answered him:

«Go away from me, Satan,

I will have nothing to do

with you. It is written,

4 Thou shalt love the Lord,

thy God, and him only shalt

thou serve.» ” The wicked

spirit found that here was

a man whom he could not

tempt to do wrong, and he

Temptation of Christ went away for that day.

Many other times the evil

spirit tried to make Jesus do what was wrong, for the Bible says

that he was tempted in every way just as we are, but never

sinned. That is why our Saviour can help us conquer sin, if we

ask him; because he knows just how hard it is for us to do

right, and just what we need to conquer Satan. After Satan had

gone angels came and comforted Jesus.

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

27

Shortly after this Jesus went back to the Jordan, where John

was still preaching to a great many people. As John looked up

and saw Jesus coming toward them,

he said to his hearers,» Behold the

Lamb of God, which taketh away

the sins of the world.» What did

John mean? Just this. Before

long, Jesus, a pure, gentle man

who had never done a wrong thing,

would be put to death like the

lamb in the temple service, for the

sins of other people. After this

happened people need not offer

sacrifices any more; for their sins

would be forgiven if they asked

God to do it for Jesus’ sake.

The next day Jesus passed that

way again. John the Baptist was

there talking to two of his friends,

John and Andrew, and seeing Je¬

sus coming he said again, “ Behold

the Lamb of God.» This time the

two men followed Jesus, who,

turning round and seeing them

close behind him, asked, “ What

are you looking for?» They answered, «Rabbi» (which means

master or teacher), “ where do you live?» He said, “ Come and

see.» They went with him to the place where he was staying,

and spent the rest of the day there. Andrew was so much pleased

with his new friend that he found his brother Simon, afterward

called Peter, and brought him to Christ.

The next day Jesus started on a journey to Galilee, and his

Jesus walking by the Sea

28

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

three new friends went with him. On the way they met a man

named Philip, who lived in the same town as Andrew and Peter.

Jesus invited Philip to go with them, and he was very glad to do

so. Before he went he found his friend Nathanael, and asked

him to join them.

Nathanael did not wish to go when he heard that Jesus was

from Nazareth. You remember that the people of Nazareth were

not thought to be good, so Nathanael did not think a man from

that place could be the Christ. But Philip asked him to go and

see Jesus before he decided, and Nathanael went with him. Af¬

ter talking for a little while he said, 44 Rabbi, you are the Son of

God; you are the King of Israel.» He was as much pleased with

the new friend as the others were, and was glad to join the little

company on their w T ay to Galilee. There were six in the company

now, – Jesus, and the five men, John, Andrew and Peter, Philip

and Nathanael, who were dear friends of Jesus the rest of their

lives. They are called his disciples, or learners, because they lis¬

tened to his teachings and learned from him.

On the third day that they were together there was a wedding

in Cana of Galilee, and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the

feast. When they came to the house, they found Mary, the mother

of Jesus, there. The feast lasted several days, and before it was

over the wine gave out. What should they do? It would not

do to be without any, yet they did not know where to get more.

Mary told Jesus that they had no wine, and although he seemed

very unwilling to do anything about it, she was so sure that life

would help them that she said to the servants, 44 Do whatever he

tells you.»

There were six water-pots, or large stone jars, outside the door,

filled with water. For it is so hot and dusty in that country that

the people need to bathe often, and jars for that use are kept out¬

side the doors of most houses. The tops of the jars are filled

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

29

with fresh, green leaves, and these leaves keep the water clean and

cool. Jesus told the servants to empty all the water from the jars,

and then to fill them again with clear water. This they did, fill¬

ing them to the brim.

Then Jesus said, u Draw some out now, and take it to the gov¬

ernor of the feast. This was the chief guest, who had the

direction of much of the

feast. The servants did

as he told them. The

governor took a taste of

what they brought him,

and said: 66 How is this?

At most feasts they

serve their best wine at

the beginning, and keep

the poorest till the last;

but here at the end of

the feast they are serv¬

ing their best wine.»

And it was so, for Jesus

had changed the water

in the six jars to the

richest of wine.

You remember that

although he was very

hungry in the wilder- The Marriage Feast at Cana

ness a few days before

this he would not turn the stones into bread for his own use.

Now it was different; other people were in trouble, not he him¬

self. By using this power which God had given him, he could

not only do a kindness to these people, but he could also show

them that he was different from the other teachers they had

30

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

known; that he was the Son of God. And so he did what no one

else could possibly have done; it was a miracle. It was the first

time Jesus had done anything of the kind, so far as we know;

but we shall hear of a good many miracles after this, and we

shall find that every time that he used this wonderful power,

during all his life, it was for this very same reason; to do a

kindness to some one. He never used it to make himself more

comfortable; and, least of all, to make any one else uncomfort¬

able.

No one was more interested in what he had done than his five

new friends. They had known their Master only a few days, but

in that time they had learned to love him; and now they were

sure that they had made no mistake in believing him to be the

Christ, for no one could do such things as this unless God gave

him the power.

After the feast was over Jesus and his disciples went to Caper¬

naum, a busy city on the shore of a lake which is known by three

names; the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias, and Lake Gen-

nesaret. It was a beautiful lake thirteen miles long and six miles

wide; and on it were thousands of boats of every kind. There

were the war-ships of the Romans, which were very tiny in com¬

parison with those of our time. There were the little rough boats

of the fishermen, and many gay pleasure boats.

The country around the lake was beautiful also. Mountains

and hills sloped down to the shore, and on these mountain-sides

anything that was planted would grow; for the soil was very rich.

Scattered about were fields of wheat, groves of palms, olives, figs,

and oranges. Where nothing else was planted, wild flowers

sprang up in great plenty. There are a great many kinds of

wild flowers in Palestine, many of them very beautiful, with

rich, gay colors. A field of these flowers is said to be a won¬

derful sight that no one ever forgets who has seen it once.

the MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

31

All along the shores of the lake cities and larg^ towns had

been built; and Capernaum was one of the busiest of these cities.

Roman soldiers were always there on guard, and strangers were

coming and going all the time, for Capernaum was a central place,

through which people passed in going from one country to another,

and from every direction people came here to trade.

It was a place where Jesus could meet and talk with people

of many nations. Later in his life he spent much time in Caper¬

naum; for, besides the work which he could find to do right in

the city, it was easy to make short trips into the country around.

But now Jesus stayed in the city only a few days, for it was time

to go to the Passover Feast at Jerusalem.

You remember how delighted he was when his parents took

him for the first time to the Passover, when he was twelve years

old, and how he loved to stay in the temple? But this time

when he entered the temple courts, he was not at all pleased.

Site of Capernaum, Sea of Galilee

32

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Instead of tjie quietness and respect which belong to the house

of God, there was the greatest confusion. Money was being

changed, doves and sheep and oxen were being sold, even inside

the temple wall. Such a noise as there was! And all the while

the temple service was going on!

Jesus saw some small cords which had probably been used to

tie the animals. Out of these curds he made a whip, and drove

from the temple the sheep

and oxen, and the men who

had charge of them. He

upset the tables of the

money-changers, and their

money rolled about on the

floor. Then he said to

those who sold the doves:

«Take these things away

from here, and do not make

my Father’s house a place

of business.» His voice

was stern, and no one dared

to disobey him; so the

temple court was soon

cleared.

You may wonder why

they ever thought of doing

such things as buying and

selling animals in the tem-

The Purification of the Temple pie. The reason Was that

many of the people who

came to worship lived a long way from Jerusalem, and could not

easily bring with them the animals for their sacrifices; it was

better that they should buy them in Jerusalem and near the