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 CHILDS 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 Fathers 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 CHILDS 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
Gods 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
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 strangers 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 Gods
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 CHILDS 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 CHILDS 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.