Produced by Al Haines
[Frontispiece: "I am the good shepherd. . ."]
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
A LIFE OF CHRIST FOR CHILDREN
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
NEW YORK : : CHICAGO : : TORONTO
Publishers of Evangelical Literature
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. WHY JESUS CAME TO THIS WORLD
II. JESUS IS BORN IN BETHLEHEM
III. THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS
IV. JOHN THE BAPTIST
V. JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK
VI. SOME WORDS AND WORKS OF JESUS
VII. A FRIEND FOR THE SORROWFUL
VIII. MORE WONDERFUL WORKS AND WORDS
IX. THE MAN BORN BLIND, AND LAZARUS
X. THE PRODIGAL SON, AND OTHER STORIES
XI. THE LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM
XII. THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE RESURRECTION
XX SELECTED SONGS, PSALMS, AND PRAYERS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"I am the good shepherd . . ." . . . . . . _Frontispiece_
Map of Palestine at the time of Christ
The shepherd's care
Bethlehem
Nazareth, from hill above
Jewish women grinding corn
The River Jordan
Jericho, from plains above
A modern Jew's wedding party in Galilee
Jacob's well
Ruins of Capernaum
The good Samaritan
Bethany
Child at prayer
The shepherd's care (2nd version)
The shepherd's care (3rd version)
The Jordan near Bethabara
Mount of Olives and Jerusalem
Gethsemane
Calvary
The empty tomb
The Sea of Galilee
The Mount of Olives
CHAPTER I
WHY JESUS CAME TO THIS WORLD
In the beginning, before the world was made, the Lord Jesus lived in
heaven. He lived in that happy place with God. Then God made the
world. He told the hills to come up out of the earth, and the seas to
run down into the deep places which He had made for them. He made the
grass, the trees, and all the pretty flowers. He put the sun, the
moon, and the stars in the sky. He filled the water with swimming
fish, the air with flying birds, and the dry land with walking and
creeping animals. And then He said, 'Let _Us_ make man.' Who were
meant by 'Us'? Who was with God when He made the world? It was Jesus.
The Bible says:
'THE WORD (that means Jesus) WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. THE
SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD. ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM.'
So after He had made everything else, God made a man, and named him
Adam. God put Adam into the beautiful Garden of Eden, and at first he
was good and very happy. God also made a woman, named Eve, to be his
wife, and to help him to take care of the garden. All the fruit in the
garden, except what grew on one tree, was given to Adam and Eve to eat;
all the animals were their servants; and God was their Friend.
A wicked angel, who had been turned out of heaven, saw how happy Adam
and Eve were, and he was angry, and thought, 'I will make them as bad
and unhappy as I am; I will make them do what God has told them not to
do. Then he will turn them out of Eden, and they and their children
will be my servants for ever, and I shall be king of the world.'
So the wicked angel, whose name was Satan, came into Eden. He got Adam
and Eve to take the fruit which God had told them not to eat, and God
had to send them out of the beautiful garden; for God had said He would
punish Adam and Eve if they took that fruit, and God always keeps His
word.
But God went on loving Adam and Eve even when He knew that He must
punish them, and He tried to make them good in this way. He thought,
'I will send My dear Son down to the earth. He shall become a little
child, and grow up to be a man, and shall die for the sins of the
world.'
Hundreds and hundreds of years passed away before Jesus came. But a
great many of the people who lived in Palestine were expecting Him.
God had said that when Jesus came, He would be a Jew. The Jews were
very proud about that. They often talked about the coming of Jesus.
When they talked about Him, they called Him the Messiah.
Just before Jesus was born, the Jews were very unhappy. Roman soldiers
had been fighting with them, and had conquered them, and made them
servants of the great Roman king. He was called Augustus Caesar, and
he gave the Jews another king called Herod. He was very wicked.
[Illustration: Map of Palestine at the time of Christ.]
The Jews longed to get rid of Herod, and many of them thought, 'It will
be all right when the Messiah comes. The Messiah will fight against
the Romans; He will drive them away from our land; and then He will be
our King instead of that wicked Herod.' But only a few Jews remembered
that Jesus was coming to fight against Satan and against sin.
The place where the Jews lived had four or five names. It was called
the Land of Canaan at the first, then the Land of Promise, and then the
Land of Israel. But we call it the Holy Land, or Palestine.
If you look at the map of Palestine, you will see a river running from
the north of Palestine to the south. That river is called the Jordan.
And Palestine is divided into four parts,--one at the top (we call that
the north), one at the bottom (we call that the south), one in the
middle, and one on the other or eastward side of the Jordan.
The part in the North is called Galilee. The part in the south is
called Judaea. The part in the middle is called Samaria. The part on
the other side of the Jordan is called Perea.
Palestine is full of hills, with great holes, called caves, in their
sides. Palestine is not very big; England is about six times, and New
York State about five times larger. Washington is called the capital
of the United States. The capital of Palestine was Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was a very beautiful city. It was built on four or five
hills which were very close together. One of these hills was called
Mount Moriah. On the top of Mount Moriah there was a great Temple
where the Jews went to pray. Part of the Temple was called the Holy
Place, the part at the very top of the mountain. It was splendid with
its shining gold and white marble, but it was not very large, for the
people were not allowed to go into it. When it was time for the Jews
to go to the Temple, silver trumpets were blown once, twice, three
times, and then the gates were thrown open, and the people crowded into
the courts.