A FRIEND FOR THE SORROWFUL
One day Jesus went to a town called Nain (or Beautiful), about
twenty-five miles from Capernaum. A great crowd of people followed
Jesus and His disciples; and when they came near to the gate of the
city of Nain, they saw a funeral coming out. The dead body of a young
man was being carried out on a bier to be buried.
When Jesus saw the poor mother crying and sobbing, He felt very sorry
for her, and He said to her, 'Weep not.' And Jesus came and touched
the bier, and the men who were carrying it stood still. And Jesus
said, 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.' And life came back into
that dead body again. He that was dead sat up and began to speak. And
Jesus gave him back to his mother.
A Pharisee, called Simon, once asked Jesus to come and have dinner with
him. When anyone in that land went to a feast, the master of the house
used to kiss him, and say, 'The Lord be with you,' and put some sweet
smelling oil on his hair and beard, and the servants used to bring the
visitor water to wash his feet. But none of those kind things were
done to Jesus when He came to that Pharisee's house. Presently Jesus
and Simon began to eat. In that country, people often _lay_ down to
eat. Broad settees, or couches, were put round the table, and the
visitors used to lie down in rows on these settees. Their heads were
near the table, and their feet were the other way. They lay down on
their left side, and they had cushions to put their elbows on, so that
they could raise themselves up while they were eating. While Jesus and
Simon were at dinner, a woman came in out of the street. In the East,
people walk in and out of other people's houses just as they like. But
that woman had been very wicked, and Simon was not pleased when he saw
her come in. But nobody said anything to her. So she came to Jesus,
and stood at His feet, behind the couch on which He w as lying, and
cried till the tears ran down her face. Then as her tears dropped on
to the feet of Jesus, she stooped down and wiped them away with her
long hair. And then she kissed the feet of Jesus many times, and put
precious sweet-smelling ointment upon them. Perhaps she had heard some
beautiful words which Jesus had just been saying to the people out of
doors--
'COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE
YOU BEST.'
Her sins were like a heavy load, and so she had come to Jesus.
But Simon thought to himself, 'If Jesus had really come from God, He
would have known how wicked this woman is, and He would not have
allowed her to touch Him.'
Jesus knew what Simon was thinking, and He said that once upon a time
there were two men who owed some money. One owed a great deal of
money, and the other owed a little. But when the time came for them to
pay the money they could not do it. And the kind man forgave them both.
Jesus then asked Simon which of the two men would love that kind friend
most.
Simon said, 'I suppose he to whom he forgave most.'
Jesus said that that was quite right. Then He turned to the woman, and
said to Simon: 'Seest thou this woman? I came into thine house; thou
gavest Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with tears,
and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest Me no kiss, but
this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet:
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but she hath anointed My feet
with ointment. I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are
forgiven, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same
loveth little.' And then Jesus said to the woman, 'THY SINS ARE
FORGIVEN. THY FAITH HATH SAVED THEE. GO IN PEACE.' And she left her
heavy load of sin with Jesus, and took away instead the rest and peace
He gives.
After Jesus had finished all the work He wanted to do in Nain, He went
again into every part of Galilee to tell people the good news that a
Saviour had come.
Jesus preached to the crowds out of a boat. He told them most
beautiful stories. They liked these stories so much that they did not
care to go away--not even when it was evening. But Jesus and His
disciples needed rest, so Jesus told the disciples to go over to the
other side of the lake.
When the boat started, Jesus was so tired that He lay down at the end,
out of the way of the men who were rowing, and put His head upon a
pillow, and fell fast asleep. Soon the wind began to blow, and it blew
louder and louder. Then the waves curled over and dashed into the
boat till the boat was nearly full. But still Jesus slept quietly on.
The disciples were afraid that their boat would sink, and they came to
Jesus, and woke Him, and said, 'Master! Master! we perish! Lord,
save!' And Jesus arose, and told the wind to stop, and He said to the
sea, 'Peace, be still.' And suddenly the wind stopped, and the sea was
quite smooth. Then Jesus said gently to His disciples, 'Where is your
faith?' Those disciples might have known that the boat could not sink
when Jesus was in it.
[Illustration: Ruins of Capernaum.]
When Jesus came back to Capernaum, a man, called Jairus, fell down at
His feet and begged Him to go to his house, where his little girl,
about twelve years old, was dying. So Jesus and His disciples started
to go to Jairus' house, and a great crowd of people went with Him. But
while they were going, someone came to Jairus, and said, 'It is of no
use to trouble the Master any more. The child is dead.' But Jesus
said to him quickly, 'Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she shall be
made well.'
When Jesus came to the house of Jairus, He heard a great noise. As
soon as anyone dies in the East, people come to the house, and cry and
howl, and play wretched music. They are paid to do that. That was the
noise which Jesus heard, and he asked, 'Why do you make this ado? The
little maid is sleeping.' And those rude people laughed at Jesus, just
as if He did not know what He was talking about. So Jesus turned them
all out.
Then Jesus took three of His disciples--Peter, and James and John--and
Jairus and his wife; and they went together to look at the child.
There she was, lying quite still. Life had flown away from her body.
But Jesus took hold of the girl's hand, and said, 'My little lamb, I
say unto thee, Arise.' And life flew back to her body again, and she
opened her eyes and got up, and walked. And Jesus told her father and
mother to give her something to eat.
When Jesus came out of Jairus' house, two blind men followed Him,
begging Him to make them well. Jesus waited till He had got back to
the house where He was staying and then He touched their eyes, and made
them see.
Just about this time Jesus had some very sad news. Herod Antipas, the
son of wicked King Herod, had shut up John the Baptist in a prison,
called the Black Castle, by the side of the Dead Sea. Part of that
castle was a beautiful palace, with lovely furniture and a coloured
marble floor. One day Herod gave a grand birthday party. Herod had
married a very wicked woman, who was at the party. Her name was
Herodias. Herodias hated John the Baptist, because he had said that
she ought not to be Herod's wife. So she made up her mind to have John
the Baptist killed. Herodias had a daughter called Salome, who danced
beautifully. And on that birthday Herod was so pleased with Salome's
dancing that he said, 'I will give you anything you ask me for.'
Salome went to her mother, and said, 'What shall I ask?' And Herodias
said, 'Ask for the head of John the Baptist.' And Salome came back
quickly and said, 'I want the head of John the Baptist.'
Now, it is wrong to break a promise. But it is not wrong to break a
_wicked_ promise. It is wrong ever to have made it. Herod was sorry,
but he was afraid of what other people in the party would think if he
did not do what he had said. So he sent his soldiers to the prison,
and had John the Baptist's head cut off to give to that dancing-girl.
Jesus had sent His twelve disciples out to preach to people He could
not go and see Himself. When they came back they had a great deal to
talk about, and they were very tired. But there were always so many
people coming to see Jesus that they could get no quiet time at all, no
time even to eat. They were all at the Lake of Galilee again, and
Jesus told them to come away with Him into a desert place, and rest
awhile. That desert place was near a town called Bethsaida, where
Peter, and his brother Andrew, and Philip lived once upon a time.
Jesus and His disciples got into a boat as quietly as they could, and
went away. But some people near the lake caught sight of the boat, and
they saw who was in it; and they ran so fast along the shore of the
lake that they got to the desert before Jesus was there. Jesus felt
very sorry for these people, and He began to teach them many things.
By and by it got late, and Jesus said to the disciples, 'How many
loaves have you? Go and see.' And Andrew said, 'There is a boy
herewith five barley loaves and two fishes; but what are they among so
many?' And Jesus told him to bring the loaves and fishes. Then Jesus
said, 'Make the people sit down.' So the disciples arranged the crowds
in rows on the grass. And when every one was ready, Jesus took the
five loaves and the two fishes in His hands, and He blessed them, and
divided them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave
them to the people. And there was plenty for everybody. Jesus made
those loaves and fishes last out till everybody had had enough. And
then He said, 'Gather up the fragments (that means the little pieces)
that are left, that nothing be lost.' And the disciples picked the
little pieces up, and put them together in baskets. And there were
twelve large baskets full--more than they had at first. There were
five thousand men in that grassy place, and a great many women and
children besides. And when the people saw the miracle that Jesus had
done they said, 'THIS MUST BE THE MESSIAH;' and they wanted to make Him
their king--the king of their country, but not the king of their hearts.
Jesus did not wish to be made a king like Herod or Caesar. He was God,
so He was King of kings already. He made His disciples go away at once
in the boat to the other side of the lake, and He sent the crowds away
Himself. When Jesus was alone, He went up into a mountain and prayed.
But now a great wind began to blow, and the waves on the Sea of Galilee
began to toss about. The disciples rowed hard, but they could not get
on; the wind kept trying to blow them back. But Jesus saw them, and
when the night was nearly over, He came to them walking on the sea.
The disciples had never seen Him walking on the water before, and they
could not understand who He was, and they cried out for fear. But
Jesus was sorry for them, and He spoke kindly to them directly and
said, 'BE OF GOOD CHEER (that means, 'Be glad'). IT IS I. BE NOT
AFRAID.'
And Peter said, 'Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the
water.' And Jesus said, 'Come.' And Peter jumped out of the boat, and
walked on the water to go to Jesus. But soon Peter began to think of
the rough wind and waves instead of thinking about Jesus, and then he
could not get on at all, and he began to sink in the water, and called
but, 'Lord, save me!' And Jesus put out His hand and caught him, and
said, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?' Then they
both came into the boat, and the wind stopped blowing. And the
disciples fell down at the feet of Jesus, and said 'THOU ART THE SON OF
GOD.' Then, all at once, they saw that their boat was close to the
land. Jesus had brought it there.