forth from the emperor Augustus Cæsar through all the lands of the Roman
empire, for all the people to go to the cities and towns from which
their families had come, and there to have their names written down upon
a list, for the emperor wished a list to be made of all the people under
his rule. As both Joseph and Mary had come from the family of David the
king, they went together from Nazareth to Bethlehem, there to have their
names written upon the list. For you remember that Bethlehem in Judea,
six miles south of Jerusalem, was the place where David was born, and
where his father's family had lived for many years.
It was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; down the mountains to
the river Jordan, then following the Jordan almost to its end, and then
climbing the mountains of Judah to the town of Bethlehem. When Joseph
and Mary came to Bethlehem they found the city full of people who, like
themselves, had come to have their names enrolled or written upon the
list. The inn or hotel was full, and there was no room for them; for no
one but themselves knew that this young woman was soon to be the mother
of the Lord of all the earth. The best that they could do was to go to a
stable where the cattle were kept. There the little baby was born, and
was laid in a manger, where the cattle were fed.
On that night, some shepherds were tending their sheep in a field near
Bethlehem. Suddenly, a great light shone upon them, and they saw an
angel of the Lord standing before them. They were filled with fear, as
they saw how glorious the angel was. But the angel said to them:
"Be not afraid; for behold I bring you news of great joy, which shall
be to all the people; for there is born to you this day in Bethlehem,
the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord, the anointed king.
You may see him there; and you may know him by this sign: He is a
new-born baby, lying in a manger, at the inn."
[Illustration: _They were filled with fear_]
And then they saw that the air around and the sky above them were filled
with angels, praising God and singing:
"Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men in whom God
is well pleased."
While they looked with wonder, and listened, the angels went out of
sight as suddenly as they had come. Then the shepherds said one to
another:
"Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that has
come to pass, and which the Lord has made known to us."
[Illustration: _The baby in the manger_]
Then as quickly as they could go to Bethlehem, they went, and found
Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, and his young wife Mary, and the
little baby lying in the manger. They told Mary and Joseph, and others
also, how they had seen the angels, and what they had heard about this
baby. All who heard their story wondered at it; Mary, the mother of the
child, said nothing. She thought over all these things, and silently
kept them in her heart. After their visit, the shepherds went back to
their flocks, praising God for the good news that he had sent to them.
When the little one was eight days old, they gave him a name; and the
name given was "Jesus," a word which means "salvation," as the angel had
told both Mary and Joseph that he should be named. So the very name of
this child told what he should do for men; for he was to bring salvation
to the world.
THE STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN
For some time after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary stayed with him in
Bethlehem. The little baby was not kept long in the stable sleeping in a
manger; for after a few days they found room in a house; and there
another visit was made to Jesus by strange men from a land far away.
In a country east of Judea, and many miles distant, were living some
very wise men who studied the stars. One night they saw a strange star
shining in the sky, and in some way they learned that the coming of this
star meant that a king was soon to be born in the land of Judea. These
men felt a call of God to go to Judea, far to the west of their own
home, and there to see this new-born king. They took a long journey,
with camels and horses, and at last they came to, the land of Judea,
just at the time when Jesus was born at Bethlehem. As soon as they were
in Judea, they supposed that every one would know all about the king,
and they said:
"Where is he that is born king of the Jews? In the east we have seen his
star, and we have come to worship him."
[Illustration: THE SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD--"And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night.... And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.'"--(Luke 2: 8-10-11.)]
But no one of whom they asked had ever seen this king, or had heard of
him. The news of their coming was sent to Herod the king, who was now a
very old man. He ruled the land of Judea, as you know, under the emperor
at Rome, Augustus Cæsar. Herod was a very wicked man, and when he heard
of some one born to be a king, he feared that he might lose his own
kingdom. He made up his mind to kill this new king.
He sent for the priests and scribes, the men who studied and taught the
books of the Old Testament, and asked them about this Christ for whom
all the people were looking. He said: "Can you tell me where Christ, the
king of Israel, is to be born?" They looked at the books of the
prophets, and then they said: "He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea;
for thus it is written by the prophet, 'And thou Bethlehem in the land
of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee
shall come forth one who shall rule my people Israel.'"
Then Herod sent for the wise men from the east, and met them alone, and
found from them at what time the star was first seen. Then he said to
them:
"Go to Bethlehem; and there search carefully for the little child; and
when you have found him, bring me word again, so that I also may come
and worship him."
[Illustration: _The wise men went their way_]
Then the wise men went on their way toward Bethlehem; and suddenly they
saw the star again shining upon the road before them. At this they were
glad, and followed the star until it led them to the very house where
the little child was. They came in, and there they saw the little one,
with Mary, its mother. They knew at once that this was the king; and
they fell down on their faces and worshipped him as the Lord. Then they
brought out gifts of gold and precious perfumes, frankincense and myrrh,
which were used in offering sacrifices; and they gave them as presents
to the royal child.
That night God sent a dream to the wise men, telling them not to go back
to Herod, but to go home at once to their own land by another way. They
obeyed the Lord, and found another road to their own country without
passing through Jerusalem where Herod was living. So Herod could not
learn from those men who the child was that was born to be a king.
And very soon after these wise men had gone away, the Lord sent another
dream to Joseph, the husband of Mary. He saw an angel, who spoke to him,
saying:
"Rise up quickly; take the little child and his mother, and go down to
the land of Egypt, for Herod will try to find the child to kill him."
Then at once Joseph rose up in the night, without waiting even for the
morning. He took his wife and her baby, and quietly and quickly went
with them down to Egypt, which was on the southwest of Judea. There they
all stayed in safety, as long as the wicked king Herod lived, which was
not many months.
King Herod waited for the wise men to come back to him from their visit
to Bethlehem; but he soon found that they had gone to their home
without bringing to him any word. Then Herod was very angry. He sent out
his soldiers to Bethlehem. They came, and by the cruel king's command
they seized all the little children in Bethlehem who were three years
old, or younger, and killed them all. What a cry went up to God from the
mothers in Bethlehem, as their children were torn from their arms and
slain!
[Illustration: _He took his wife and baby and went down to Egypt_]
But all this time, the child Jesus whom they were seeking was safe with
his mother in the land of Egypt.
Soon after this king Herod died, a very old man, cruel to the last. Then
the angel of the Lord came again and spoke to Joseph in a dream, saying:
"You may now take the young child back to his own land, for the king who
sought to kill him is dead."
Then Joseph took his wife and the little child Jesus, and started to go
again to the land of Judea. Perhaps it was his thought to go again to
Bethlehem, the city of David, and there bring up the child. But he heard
that in that part of the land Archelaus, a son of Herod, was now ruling,
and who was as wicked and cruel as his father.
He feared to go under Archelaus' rule, and instead took his wife and the
child to Nazareth, which had been his own home and that of Mary his wife
before the child was born. Nazareth was in the part of the land called
Galilee, which at that time was ruled by another son of king Herod, a
king named Herod Antipas. He was not a good man, but was not so cruel
nor bloody as his wicked father had been.
So again Joseph the carpenter and Mary his wife were living in Nazareth.
And there they stayed for many years while Jesus was growing up. Jesus
was not the only child in their house, and he had many other playmates
among the boys of Nazareth.
THE STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE
Jesus was brought to Nazareth when he was a little child not more than
three years old; there he grew up as a boy and a young man, and there he
lived until he was thirty years of age. We should like to know many
things about his boyhood, but the Bible tells us very little. As Joseph
was a working man, it is likely that he lived in a house with only one
room, with no floor except the earth, no window except a hole in the
wall, no pictures upon the walls, and neither bedstead, nor chair, nor
looking-glass. They sat upon the floor or upon cushions; they slept upon
rolls of matting, and their meals were taken from a low table not much
larger than a stool.
Jesus may have learned to read at the village school, which was
generally held in the house used for worship, called the "synagogue."
The lessons were from rolls on which were written parts of the Old
Testament; but Jesus never had a Bible of his own. From a child he went
with Joseph to the worship in the synagogue twice every week. There they
sat on the floor and heard the Old Testament read and explained, while
Mary and the younger sisters of Jesus listened from a gallery behind a
lattice-screen. The Jewish boys of that time were taught to know almost
the whole of the Old Testament by heart.
It was the custom of the Jews from all parts of the land to go up to
Jerusalem to worship at least once every year, at the feast of the
Passover, which was held in the spring. Some families also stayed to the
feast of Pentecost, which was fifty days after Passover; and some went
again in the fall to the feast of Tabernacles, when for a week all the
families slept out of doors, under roofs made of green twigs and bushes.
When Jesus was a boy twelve years old, he was taken up to the feast of
the Passover, and there for the first time he saw the holy city
Jerusalem, and the Temple of the Lord on Mount Moriah. Young as he was,
his soul was stirred, as he walked among the courts of the Temple and
saw the altar with its smoking sacrifice, the priests in their white
robes, and the Levites with their silver trumpets. Though a boy, Jesus
began to feel that he was the Son of God, and that this was his Father's
house.
[Illustration: _Sitting in a company of the doctors of the law_]
His heart was so filled with the worship of the Temple, with the words
of the scribes or teachers whom he heard in the courts, and with his own
thoughts, that when it was time to go home to Nazareth, he stayed
behind, held fast by his love for the house of the Lord. The company of
people who were traveling together was large, and at first he was not
missed. But when night came and the boy Jesus could not be found, his
mother was alarmed. The next day Joseph and Mary left their company and
hastened back to Jerusalem. They did not at first think to go to the
Temple. They sought him among their friends and kindred who were living
in the city, but could not find him.
On the third day, they went up to the Temple with heavy hearts, still
looking for their boy. And there they found him sitting in a company of
the doctors of the law, listening to their words and asking them
questions. Everybody who stood near was surprised to find how deep was
the knowledge of this boy in the word of the Lord.
His mother spoke to him a little sharply, for she felt that her son had
not been thoughtful of his duty. She said: "Child, why have you treated
us in this way? Do you not know that your father and I have been looking
for you with troubled hearts?"
"Why did you seek for me," said Jesus. "Did you not know that I must be
in my Father's house?"
They did not understand these words; but Mary thought often about them
afterward; for she felt her son was no common child, and that his words
had a deep meaning. Though Jesus was wise beyond his years, he obeyed
Joseph and his mother in all things. He went with them to Nazareth, and
lived contented with the plain life of their country home.
As the years went on, Jesus grew from a boy to a young man. He grew,
too, in knowledge, and in wisdom, and in the favor of God. He won the
love of all who knew him, for there was something in his nature that
drew all hearts, both young and old.
Jesus learned the trade of a carpenter with Joseph; and when Joseph
died, while Jesus was still a young man, Jesus worked as a carpenter,
and helped his mother take care of the family. And so in the carpenter
shop, and the quiet life of a country village, and the worship of the
synagogue, the years passed until Jesus was thirty years of age.
THE STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE
A few days after Jesus met his followers or disciples at the river
Jordan, he came with these men to a town in Galilee called Cana, to be
present at a wedding. In those lands a feast was always held at a
wedding, and often the friends of those who were married stayed several
days, eating and drinking together.
The mother of Jesus was at this wedding as a friend of the family; for
Nazareth, where she lived, was quite near to Cana. Before the wedding
feast was over, all the wine had been used, and there was no more for
the guests to drink. The mother of Jesus knew that her son had power to
do whatever he chose; and she said to him; "They have no wine."
Jesus said to her: "O woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour is not
yet come."
But his mother knew that Jesus would in some way help the people in
their need, and she said to the servants who were waiting at the table:
"Whatever he tells you to do, be sure to do it."
In the dining hall were standing six large stone jars, each about as
large as a barrel, holding twenty-five gallons. These jars held water
for washing, as the Jews washed their hands before every meal, and
washed their feet as often as they came from walking in the street,
since they wore no shoes, but only sandals. Jesus said to the servants:
"Fill the jars with water."
[Illustration: _"Fill the jars with water"_]
The servants obeyed Jesus, and filled the jars up to the brim. Then
Jesus spoke to them again, and said:
"Now draw out some of the water, and take it to the ruler of the feast."
They drew out water from the jars, and saw that it had been turned into
wine. The ruler did not know from what place the wine had come; but he
said to the young man who had just been married, the bridegroom:
"At a feast everybody gives his best wine at the beginning, and
afterward, when his guests have drunk freely, he brings on wine that is
not so good; but you have kept the good wine until now."
This was the first time that Jesus used the power that God had given
him, to do what no other man could do. Such works as these were called
"miracles"; and Jesus did them as signs of his power as the Son of God.
When the disciples saw this miracle, they believed in Jesus more fully
than before.
After this Jesus went with his mother and his younger brothers to a
place called Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But they
stayed there only a few days, for the feast of the Passover was near,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem to attend it. You remember that the feast
of the Passover was held every year, to keep in mind how God had led the
people of Israel out of Egypt long before.
When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he found in the courts of the Temple men
who were selling oxen and sheep and doves for the sacrifices, and other
men sitting at tables changing the money of Jews who came from other
lands into the money of Judea. All this made the courts around the
Temple seem like a market, and not a place for the worship of God.
[Illustration: _"Take these things away"_]
Jesus picked up some cord and made from it a little whip. With it he
began to drive out of the Temple all the buyers and sellers. He was but
one, and they were many; but such power was in his look, that they ran
before him. He drove the men and the sheep and the oxen; he overturned
the tables and threw on the floor the money, and to those who were
selling the doves he said: "Take these things away; make not my Father's
house a house for selling and buying!"
The acts of Jesus were not pleasing to the rulers of the Jews, for many
of them were making money by this selling of sacrifices and changing of
money. Some of the rulers came to Jesus and said to him: "What right
have you to come here and do such things as these? What sign can you
show that God has given to you power to rule in this place?"
Jesus said to them: "I will give you a sign. Destroy this house of God,
and in three days I will raise it up."
Then said the Jews, "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple,
and it is not finished yet. Will you raise it up in three days?"
But Jesus did not mean that Temple on Mount Moriah. He was speaking of
himself, for in him God was dwelling as in a temple, and he meant that
when they should put him to death, he would rise again in three days.
Afterward, when Jesus had died and risen again, his followers, the
disciples, thought of what he had said, and understood these words.
THE STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL
While Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem and in the country places near it,
John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing. But already the
people were leaving John and going to hear Jesus. Some of the followers
of John the Baptist were not pleased as they saw that fewer people came
to their master, and that the crowds were seeking Jesus. But John said
to them: "I told you that I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before
him. Jesus is the Christ, the king. He must grow greater, while I must
grow less; and I am glad that it is so."
Soon after this, Herod Antipas, the king of the province or land of
Galilee, put John in prison. Herod had taken for his wife a woman named
Herodias, who had left her husband to live with Herod, which was very
wicked. John sent word to Herod, that it was not right for him to have
this woman as his wife. These words of John made Herodias very angry.
She hated John, and tried to kill him. Herod himself did not hate John
so greatly, for he knew that John had spoken the truth. But he was weak,
and yielded to his wife Herodias. To please her, he sent John the
Baptist to a lonely prison among the mountains east of the Dead Sea; for
the land in that region, as well as Galilee, was under Herod's rule.
There in prison Herod hoped to keep John safe from the hate of his wife
Herodias.
Soon after John the Baptist was thrown into prison, Jesus left the
country near Jerusalem with his disciples, and went toward Galilee, the
province in the north. Between Judea in the south and Galilee in the
north, lay the land of Samaria, where the Samaritans lived, who hated
the Jews. They worshipped the Lord as the Jews worshipped him, but they
had their own Temple and their own priests. And they had their own
Bible, which was only the five books of Moses; for they would not read
the other books of the old Testament. The Jews and the Samaritans would
scarcely ever speak to each other, so great was the hate between them.
When Jews went from Galilee to Jerusalem, or from Jerusalem to Galilee,
they would not pass through Samaria, but went down the mountains to the
river Jordan, and walked beside the river, in order to go around
Samaria. But Jesus, when he would go from Jerusalem to Galilee, walked
over the mountains straight through Samaria. One morning while he was on
his journey, he stopped to rest beside an old well at the foot of Mount
Gerizim, not far from the city of Shechem, but nearer to a little
village that was called Sychar. This well had been dug by Jacob, the
great father or ancestor of the Israelites, many hundreds of years
before. It was an old well then in the days of Jesus; and it is much
older now; for the same well may be seen in that place still. Even now
travelers may have a drink from Jacob's well.
It was early in the morning, about sunrise, when Jesus was sitting by
Jacob's well. He was very tired, for he had walked a long journey; he
was hungry, and his disciples had gone to the village near at hand to
buy food. He was thirsty, too; and as he looked into the well he could
see the water a hundred feet below, but he had no rope with which to let
down a cup or a jar to draw up some water to drink.
Just at this moment a Samaritan woman came to the well, with her
water-jar upon her head, and her rope in her hand. Jesus looked at her,
and in one glance read her soul, and saw all her life.
He knew that Jews did not often speak to Samaritans, but he said to her:
"Please to give me a drink?"
The woman saw from his looks and his dress that he was a Jew, and she
said to him:
"How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink of me, a Samaritan
woman?"
Jesus answered her:
"If you knew what God's free gift is, and if you knew who it is that
says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would ask him to give you living
water, and he would give it to you."
There was something in the words and the looks of Jesus which made the
woman feel that he was not a common man. She said to him: "Sir, you have
nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where can you get that
living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who drank from this
well, and who gave it to us?"
"Whoever drinks of this water," said Jesus, "shall thirst again, but
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up unto everlasting life."
"Sir," said the woman, "give me some of this water of yours, so that I
will not thirst any more, nor come all the way to this well."
Jesus looked at the woman, and said to her, "Go home, and bring your
husband, and come here."
"I have no husband," answered the woman.
"Yes," said Jesus, "you have spoken the truth. You have no husband. But
you have had five husbands, and the man whom you now have is not your
husband."
The woman was filled with wonder as she heard this. She saw that here
was a man who knew what others could not know. She felt that God had
spoken to him, and she said:
"Sir, I see that you are a prophet of God. Tell me whether our people or
the Jews are right. Our fathers have worshipped on this mountain. The
Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where men should go to worship.
Now, which of these is the right place?"
"Woman, believe me," said Jesus, "there is coming a time when men shall
worship God in other places besides on this mountain and in Jerusalem.
The time is near; it has even now come, when the true worshippers
everywhere shall pray to God in spirit and in truth; for God himself is
a Spirit."
The woman said: "I know that the Anointed one is coming, the Christ.
When he comes, he will teach us all things."
Jesus said to her:
"I that speak to you now am he, the Christ!"
Just at this time the disciples of Jesus came back from the village.
They wondered to see Jesus talking with this Samaritan woman, but they
said nothing.
The woman had come to draw water, but in her interest in this wonderful
stranger, she forgot her errand. Leaving her water-jar, she ran back to
her village, and said to the people:
"Come, see a man who told me everything that I have done in all my life!
Is not this man the Christ whom we are looking for?"
Soon the woman came back to the well with many of her people. They asked
Jesus to come to their town, and to stay there and teach them. He went
with them, and stayed there two days, teaching the people, who were
Samaritans. And many of the people in that place believed in Jesus, and
said: