Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
[Illustration: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.]
SUNDAY STORIES
STORIES FROM THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS
By
CATHARINE SHAW
Author of
"Cherry's Choice," "Mother's Bible Stories,"
"Suffer Little Children," etc., etc.
JOHN F. SHAW & CO., LTD.
3, Pilgrim Street, London, E.C.4
British Manufacture.
CONTENTS.
I. The Message to the Shepherds
II. "His Star"
III. The Flight into Egypt
IV. Found in the Temple
V. At Jordan
VI. "Nazareth where He was brought up"
VII. The Well at Nazareth
VIII. At Bethany
IX. The Temptation
X. The Deep Well
XI. "Suffer Little Children to come unto Me"
XII. "Follow Me"
XIII. Lazarus
XIV. The Widow's Mite
XV. "Do this in Remembrance of Me"
XVI. The Lame Man Leaping
XVII. Gethsemane
XVIII. The Trial
XIX. The King of the Jews
XX. The Soldiers Mocked Him
XXI. Jesus Carrying His Cross
XXII. The Cross of Jesus
XXIII. The Sealed Tomb
XXIV. The Resurrection
XXV. On the Shore at Dawn
XXVI. Going to the Father
XXVII. When the Earth was made Beautiful
XXVIII. Adam and Eve
XXIX. Cain and Abel
XXX. The Escape from Sodom
XXXI. The Tower of Babel
XXXII. The Friend of God
XXXIII. In a Thirsty Land
XXXIV. The Offering of Isaac
XXXV. A Bargain Between Two Brothers
XXXVI. The Ladder up to Heaven
XXXVII. Jacob meets Rachel
XXXVIII. The Story of Joseph
XXXIX. Jacob Comes into Egypt
XL. Moses and the Children of Israel
XLI. The Rod of God
XLII. Pharaoh's Refusal
XLIII. The Passover
XLIV. Bread from Heaven
XLV. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
XLVI. Breaking God's Law
XLVII. A Great Victory
XLVIII. Caleb's Daughter
XLIX. The First King
SUNDAY STORIES
I. The Message to the Shepherds
In the dark night, all was still and quiet in those fields at
Bethlehem, where the shepherds watched their flock and gazed up into
the starry sky, waiting for the dawn.
But as they looked, suddenly they saw an angel of the Lord close to
them, and a wonderful light shone all round them—such a glory as they
had never seen before, even in the brightest day.
The shepherds were very frightened, but the angel spoke to them at
once; and he said to them, what God says to us so many times in the
Bible: "Fear not!"
You may think how anxiously the shepherds listened to the angel's
words; and those words have been repeated thousands and thousands of
times all over the world, and have made heavy hearts rejoice.
Listen to the angel's message: "Fear not! for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Still the shepherds held their breath to listen, and still the glory of
the Lord shone round them.
Was that all the message? What were the glad tidings which would make
everybody joyful?
Ah! Here it is: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord!"
Did the shepherds turn and look eagerly towards the little village over
the fields? "A Saviour? Christ the Lord?"
But hush! The angel has not finished his message: "And this shall be
a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger."
And then, as if the news was too great and too glad for them to keep
silence any longer, suddenly there was with the angel thousands more
angels, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards
men!"
Then all the angels went back to heaven, and the shepherds said to each
other, "Let us go, and see this thing that has come to pass, which the
Lord hath made known to us."
So they ran very quickly to Bethlehem, and there, in the stable of
the inn, they found Mary and Joseph, with the Holy Babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, and lying in the manger!
Then the shepherds understood what the angel had meant about the
"sign"; that this little Babe was the One they were looking for, and
was to be the Saviour of the world.
How glad they were! They were only poor men, those shepherds, among the
poorest in the land, but they had the honour of being told of God's
great gift, and they had seen Him with their own eyes.
No wonder that they went out and told everybody they met that the Babe
lying in the manger was Christ the Lord.
II. "His Star"
How happy those men look! They are pointing to a bright star, and it is
one which they are very glad to see.
They have come a very long journey; and they have had to go through hot
deserts where there is no water to be had.
What made them take that journey, do you think?
When people go a long way, they generally want to see some one at the
end of it. And these wise men from the East wanted to see some one too.
They had come all that way to see a King! When they reached the end of
their journey and got to Jerusalem, their first question was, "Where
is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the
East, and are come to worship Him."
Now Herod was the king of the Jews at that time, a king set up by the
Romans; and when he heard what the wise men said, he did not like it at
all.
So he inquired of the chief priests whether they knew where Christ
should be born; and when he understood that God had said in the
Scriptures that He should be born in Bethlehem, he sent secretly for
the wise men, and told them to search for the Baby King, and when they
had found Him, to let him know, and he would come and worship Him too.
So the wise men left King Herod, and when they began their journey
again, lo! The star which they had seen in the East, went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the dear little Baby
with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him; and when
they had opened their treasures—which you know the camels had brought
all that way—they presented to the dear Lord Jesus gifts from their
store, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Then God warned them in a dream to go back to their country another
way, and not to return to Herod, who was a wicked man, and did not
really want to worship the Lord Jesus at all.
Do you not think you would have liked to be with the wise men, and have
found the dear little Baby, and have had the joy of giving Him gifts
from your treasures?
If you say "Yes," dear children, then remember that you have a treasure
which the dear Lord Jesus wants above all else—that is, the love of
your heart! Do not forget that we can make Jesus glad now, by giving
Him that!
III. The Flight into Egypt
I have told you about the wise men who saw the star of Jesus in the
East, and how King Herod heard of it and was very troubled.
Herod was afraid that if the real King whom the godly Jews were
expecting to come very soon should be born, he would lose his throne;
so he sent for the chief priests and scribes, who knew more about the
Scriptures than any one else, and asked them where Christ should be
born.
They told him at once that in the book of the prophet Micah it was
foretold, 700 years before, that the Ruler of Israel should be born at
Bethlehem in the land of Judah.
So Herod sent the wise men to find the young Child, promising to come
and worship Him too.
But the wise men were warned by God not to go back to Herod after they
had seen the Lord Jesus.
Then Herod was so angry that he sent to Bethlehem and killed all the
little baby boys he could find.
But God had taken care of the Lord Jesus, and before Herod's soldiers
could get to Bethlehem, He was far away!
For God had spoken to Joseph in a dream, and had told him to take the
little Babe, and Mary His mother, right away down into Egypt, and to
stay there till He sent him word.
Joseph was a very good man, and obeyed God in all things.
When the Angel told him to go down into Egypt, he arose at once, and
set out in the night with Mary and the Babe on their journey.
By and by, when the wicked King Herod was dead, God sent an angel again
to Joseph, and told him to take the little Child and His mother back to
Palestine, directing him to go to Nazareth, so that the words of the
prophet might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."
So Joseph and Mary left Egypt and came back to Nazareth, "that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out
of Egypt have I called my Son."
We must never forget, children, that Jesus is the Son of God! He became
a little child, and lived on earth as a man, in order that He might
die for us; but after His death on the cross, He rose from the grave,
and went back to heaven, and there He is now, ready to help us at any
moment when we speak to Him. He is alive for evermore!
Nazareth was not a very good place, but the Holy Child Jesus was
brought up there for thirty years. He, who did no sin and was pure
and good, lived in the midst of sinful people, so that He might be a
holy pattern to all of us—showing that we may be good with God's help
wherever we are!
IV. Found in the Temple
It is nice to think that the dear Lord Jesus was a boy, just the age
that you little boys and girls are to-day.
And in His holy and blameless life, while He lived on this earth, we
have the great Example of how we ought to live too.
The Jews went up to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast every
year, and when Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph went up to worship as
other Jewish men did, and the mother of Jesus went too.
A number of other people from the country villages travelled together,
so that there was a very large company.
When they all set out to go home again, Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem, and His mother and Joseph went a day's journey before they
found out that He was not with the rest of the travellers.
But when they could not find Him, they turned back again to Jerusalem,
and looked for Him for three whole days.
[Illustration: LISTENING TO THE LEARNED MEN AND ASKING THEM QUESTIONS.]
At length, they found Him in the Temple of God, listening to the
learned men and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were
astonished at His understanding and His answers.
Then His mother told Him how she and Joseph had looked for Him so long.
And He gave them that gentle answer which, from the Son of God and the
Son of man as He was, meant so much, "How is it that you looked for Me?
Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"
He was speaking of His Heavenly Father, and of the glorious and loving
work which He had come on earth to do.
His mother Mary thought a great deal about His sayings, and though she
could not fully understand all that was going to happen, she watched
her gentle Son with ever-increasing wonder and love, as she saw His
obedience and wisdom, and how He grew towards manhood, loved and
praised by all who knew Him.
To all children, just growing out of children into boys and girls, our
blessed Lord's obedience comes as a great encouragement.
The Bible says He was "subject" to His parents; that means that He was
always ready to obey in His earthly home, and to live a quiet life in a
carpenter's shop in the lowly town of Nazareth!
V. At Jordan
John the Baptist had been sent by God to baptize the people for the
remission of sins, and to tell them that the Lamb of God who was to
"take away the sin of the world" was soon coming to live among them,
and to be their Saviour.
"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth . . .
and was baptized of John in Jordan."
"And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened,
and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and there came a voice
from heaven, saying, 'Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.'"
"And John saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God."
So now we know, children, what was happening all those eighteen years
at Nazareth, while Jesus grew from a boy into a man.
The people at Nazareth were offended at Him, when, after His baptism,
He began to go about the country healing the sick, and teaching
the people about God; and they said, scornfully, "Is not this the
Carpenter?"
But God gives us the whole history of those eighteen quiet years in one
sentence—
"This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!"
When John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, he had exclaimed,—
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"
And two of his disciples, hearing him speak, turned and followed Jesus.
May we hear those blessed words, and follow Him too!
VI. "Nazareth where He was brought up"
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived among men for thirty-three
and a half years.
We have in the New Testament only little glimpses of His life during
the first thirty years.
First as a little baby; then, as a boy of twelve, we see Him journeying
to Jerusalem to be present at the Passover Feast, and we are told that
when He returned home to Nazareth He "was subject" to His mother and
Joseph, and obedient to them in all things.
[Illustration: FOUND IN THE TEMPLE.]
Here for eighteen quiet years Jesus lived learning the trade of a
carpenter, and working with His own blessed hands, making the simple
things that were used by the country people around Him—seats, and
tables, ploughs, and yokes for oxen.
Is it not nice to think that Jesus knows all about making yokes!
Do you not remember afterwards, how He said, "Take My yoke upon you,
and learn of ME . . . for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light"?
So children, Jesus knows exactly all about the weight of "the yoke" you
may have to bear. Everybody has some trial or burden; but Jesus says,
if you will come to Him, the yoke He has made for you will be light.
I like to think that when He made yokes for the oxen, He made them as
comfortable and easy and light as they could possibly be made, so that
no rough edge should gall the patient animal as he pulled the heavy
plough!
When Jesus was thirty years old, all the wonderful things began which
we read of in the Gospels.
His first public appearance was when He came to John the Baptist to be
baptized by him in the river Jordan, which we shall read about on the
next page.
Soon after this He began His public ministry.
One Sabbath day, He went to the synagogue as was His custom, and stood
up to read from the Holy Book.
The servant or attendant gave Him a roll of the Prophet Isaiah, and,
when He had found the place, He began to read.
And what do you think the Son of God, the Saviour of the World, read to
explain His great mission?
He read: "The Lord . . . hath anointed Me to preach good tidings to the
poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at
liberty them that are bruised."
He comes to each one of us first of all with the promise of
forgiveness. His name means that!
"Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins."
VII. The Well at Nazareth
In the story belonging to the last picture, we heard how God sent an
angel to Joseph in a dream, and told him to take the Lord Jesus and His
mother away from Egypt, and to go back to their own city, Nazareth.
Our next picture is of the public well at Nazareth, where people even
to this very day go to draw all the water which they want.
For you know, children, that water is not "laid on" in eastern
countries, but has to be fetched from long distances in jars or skins.
The women and children generally do this; and the Lord Jesus when He
was a little boy must have gone daily to this well with His mother,
keeping her company in the long hot walks to and fro, and helping her
to carry the jars of water back to their home.
If you were to go to Palestine, the land where Jesus lived, you would
see (besides, the women who come to the wells) the water-carriers, who
have large pig-skins supported by straps to their shoulders.
These they fill with water, and tie up the neck securely with a string;
and then they carry the heavy skin to the next town or village; and as
they go along they call out—
"Ho! Thirsty ones, come and buy water! Here is water! Do you want to
buy it?"
Then the people who have any money to spare, and who do not want to
walk the long distance to the well, come out to the water-carriers and
have their jars filled and pay for it.
Do you remember what God says about that in the 55th chapter of Isaiah?
"Ho! Every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money come and buy. Yea, come and buy wine and milk without money
and without price."
Ah, children, God gives us His gifts without money and without price!
The "Living Water" which Jesus promises, we have only to ask of Him and
we shall be given it.
For Jesus is the Living Water Himself, and those who drink of that
water and have Jesus in their hearts, will find that He makes them
happy, and that having Him for their Saviour they have all they need!
We read of many wells in the Bible, and some of them are to be found
now.
There is "Jacob's Well," where Jesus promised the Living Water to the
woman of Samaria; and there is this well at Nazareth, which is called
"Mary's Well" now, because people feel sure that Mary, the dear mother
of Jesus, must have drawn water at it when she lived at Nazareth.
It is nice to think that the feet of Jesus as a little child walked
along those roads; that His eyes rested on those very hills that
surround Nazareth; that He picked some of the countless flowers that
grow all over the fields and make a carpet of beautiful colours such as
we never see here.
This was the home of Jesus all the time He was a child; and here He
lived every day, and watched Joseph at his work in his carpenter's
shop. It was here that He lived an obedient, dutiful life, and grew
in favour with God and with men. It was here He pleased His Heavenly
Father in all things.
It is a nice thought, children, that whatever age you are, He was just
that age too; so that He knows what children's feelings are, and all
their little trials or joys or temptations.
He lives in heaven now, it is true, but He is ready to help you if you
look up to Him.
I do not mean looking up with your eyes, but with your heart and your
thoughts.
Just a little word or two spoken in Your heart will bring help from
Jesus!
A little prayer of three words has made many a person happy when he was
miserable before.
"Lord help me!" or "Lord save me!" will bring Jesus near in a moment;
and He does help and save!
VIII. At Bethany
There seems to have been one home especially where the Lord Jesus loved
to visit.
We hear a great deal about the people who lived in this home, perhaps
more about them than any other of the friends of Jesus.
Their names were Lazarus, Martha and Mary.
One day the Lord Jesus was going about healing the sick, and teaching
people about His Heavenly Father, and in His journey He came to the
village of Bethany, where Martha and Mary and Lazarus lived.
Martha was a very industrious, energetic woman, and when she saw Jesus
and His disciples coming, I dare say she ran out to meet them, and
invited them into her house to have something to eat.
She bustled about and spread the table; she told her servants what to
bring to set before the large company who had suddenly come to her; and
with joyful willingness she hurried to put before them whatever she
could think of to make them welcome.
Suddenly her eyes fell upon her only sister, Mary. She was not bustling
about and getting the dinner ready; she was sitting near Jesus, eagerly
listening to His words, and satisfied to be in His presence.
Poor Martha! She loved to hurry about and make Jesus welcome, but to
have her sister sit idle and enjoy to hear Him talk, was more than she
could bear.
So she got quite cross and vexed. She felt that it was too hard; and
she ran to Jesus and asked Him how it was He did not care that Mary had
left her all the work to do alone, and begged Him to bid Mary come and
help her.
And then Jesus turned to her and said those gentle words which have
been a lesson to busy, bustling people all these hundreds of years:
"Martha, Martha, you are too much troubled over these many things; only
one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen the good part which shall
never be taken away from her."
[Illustration: SHE WAS NEAR JESUS, EAGERLY LISTENING.]
Do you ask, children, what that one thing is?
It is learning of Jesus, and hearing His voice.
Even if everything else is lost to us, if we have Jesus we can be
happy. Even the poorest and most wretched person in the world, who has
heard the voice of Jesus, has the "one thing" which will make him happy
here, and will give him endless joy by and by.
IX. The Temptation
Directly after the Lord Jesus had been baptized, and God had spoken out
of heaven saying He was His beloved Son, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into
the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.
Perhaps you ask, dear children, "Why must Jesus, the Holy One, be
tempted by Satan?"
I think it was for two reasons: that He might be our perfect example in
everything; and that He might show us the way to conquer Satan.
It says in the Bible Jesus was tempted in all points like we are!
One of Satan's temptations to Jesus in the wilderness was "if He was
the Son of God," to make the stones into bread.
Jesus was very hungry, He had not had food for a long time; but Jesus
would not do what Satan asked Him. He said to Satan, that it was
written in God's word "that men were not to live by bread alone," but
to please God first of all.
You will understand His wonderful answers to Satan's temptations as
you get older. But you can remember this now—If Satan tells you to do
wrong, tell him boldly in return, that "Jesus is your Saviour, and He
died to save you."
It says in the Bible, "His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins," and if you say to Satan the one word
"Jesus!" you will find that he runs away.
X. The Deep Well
Jesus was taking a long journey. He had to walk many, many miles, and
at last, when He came near a large town called Samaria, He sent His
disciples on in front to buy food.
He was very tired, and while He waited for them, He sat down to rest by
the well which, hundreds of years before, Jacob had dug, which has been
called ever since Jacob's Well.
Presently a woman from the town came with her pitcher to draw some
water. As it was twelve o'clock in the day, the sun Was very hot, and
the dear Lord Jesus was very thirsty.
When the woman came close to the well, He asked her to give Him some
water to drink. But she was so busy with her own thoughts, that she
told Him she was surprised that He should ask her for anything, as the
Jews were not friendly with the people of Samaria.
Jesus did not answer that; for His loving heart knew all about her, and
how she needed a Saviour to save her from her sins.
So He said to her something like this—
"If you knew what a wonderful gift God has to give you, and Who it is
that has asked you to give Him drink, you would have asked Him instead,
and He would have given you living water."
The woman could not understand this at all. She saw that Jesus had
nothing to draw with, and she knew that Jacob's Well was very deep.
What could He mean by living water?
Then Jesus told her that if any one came to Him for this living water,
he would never be thirsty again, but would have everlasting life!
The woman began to think that it would be very nice not to be thirsty
any more, so she asked Jesus to give her this water; but she did not
know that she was talking to the Son of God, Who gives the Holy Spirit;
she only thought of her many hot journeys to and from the well.
And now the Lord has to show her that it is something much better than
real water that He wants her to have. He explains to her that she is a
sinner, and He tells her so much about her past life, which she thought
nobody knew, that she begins to guess that Jesus must be the Christ
whom the Jews were expecting to come into the world.
Then Jesus said, "I, that speak unto thee, am He."
The woman was so surprised, and so glad, that she left her waterpot and
ran back to the town to tell her neighbours all about her wonderful
Saviour.
So numbers of them came out to find Jesus, and many believed on Him,
not only because the woman had said that Jesus had told her all that
ever she did, but because they heard from His own loving lips the words
which brought them everlasting life.
XI. "Suffer Little Children to come unto Me"
A number of people are pressing round the dear Lord Jesus!
The mothers have heard how kind He is, and how He is doing good to
everybody who comes to Him, and they are anxious that their little ones
shall be blessed too.
So they take their babes in their arms, and their toddling children by
the hand, and lead them to where they know the Lord Jesus is.
When the little ones see His loving face, they are not a bit afraid.
They run to Him, sure that He will not refuse them, and when they come
to Him, Jesus takes them up in His arms, puts His hands upon them, and
blesses them.
The men who are following the dear Lord Jesus, think that the little
children will be a trouble to Him, so they tell the mothers to take the
little ones away; but we read that Jesus was much displeased, and said,
"Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of
such is the kingdom of heaven."
Yes, Jesus said, when He was here walking about in our world, "Let the
children come unto Me, and do not forbid them"; and now He is gone
to be with His Father in heaven, He says just the same to all of you
little ones. "Come to Me!" He says every day.
He is here in spirit, just as much as He was then, and He wants you to
love Him with all your loving little hearts.
He loves you so much that He cares about everything that happens to
you. He cares whether you are happy, He is sorry if you are naughty,
and He is glad when you are good. He loves to have you do anything to
please Him, and His dear eyes see you all day long, and He will help
you to please Him if you ask Him.
Besides all this, the Lord Jesus has died on the cross, to bear the
punishment of your sins, instead of you.
Should you not think it very kind if a little brother were to offer to
be punished instead of the one who had done wrong?
That is what Jesus did. He took upon Himself the sin of the whole
world, that whoever trusts Him and comes to Him, may be forgiven, and
may go at last to live with Him, and with God our Heavenly Father, in
that bright and beautiful home which He is getting ready for all who
love Him.
Perhaps you ask, "Why does Jesus want you to come to Him?"
When you have been naughty and are sorry, why does mother hold out her
loving arms to you?
Is it not that you may run into there and be forgiven and comforted? Is
it not because she loves you?
Does she not wipe away your tears, and tell you that she will not think
of your fault any more?
Does she not take you with her about the house, or in the garden, and
show you by her manner how glad she is that you have come to her for
forgiveness, and that you are going to try to do better?
Well, that is just a little bit like the love of Jesus.
He wishes you to come to Him, that you may have happiness and joy.
He wants you to live with Him all day long, and walk about by His side;
to go to Him in every trouble; to ask His help in anything difficult.
You cannot see Him yet, but He is close to you all the time, and He can
see you and hear you in an instant when you speak to Him.
By and by He will give you endless pleasures at His right hand for
evermore.
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee.
"Fain I would to Thee be brought,
Blessed Lord, forbid it not:
In the kingdom of Thy grace
Give a little child a place."
XII. "Follow Me"
Soon after Jesus had chosen Peter and James and John as His disciples,
He was walking near the lake of Gennesaret when He saw Matthew sitting
at the place where the people had to pay taxes.
For Matthew was not a fisherman, like the others, but was a taxgatherer
employed by the Romans to collect money from the Jews.
These taxgatherers were very much disliked, as they often took more
money than they ought, and kept it for themselves, so that the Jews
hated them and dreaded to see them coming.
But the Lord Jesus chooses disciples from all sorts of people. He does
not wait till we are good, to call us to follow Him; but He says to us,
just where we are, at school, at work, at play, in the street, in the
home, in the shop, "Follow Me."
And these words mean, "Keep close to Me, where you can see Me and speak
to Me. And if you keep close to Me, by and by when I lead the way into
My glory in Heaven, you, if you are following Me, shall come with Me
and share all I have."
So Jesus called Matthew the publican; and Matthew heard His call, and
rose up, and left all and came after Jesus.
Dear children, if we hear Jesus calling us, let us leave behind
anything that would displease Him, and tell Him we are ready to follow
Him wherever He may lead.
XIII. Lazarus
Not so very long after the supper where Martha had served, her brother
Lazarus fell sick and died.
We are told that "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus," and
yet He let him die!
Ah, how often have those whom Jesus loves, to trust Him through the
very hardest thing that could happen to them!
Jesus was not there when Lazarus fell ill, and though they sent to Him
to tell Him, He did not go to them at once, but stayed where He was for
two more days. In the meantime Lazarus died, and was buried.
At length Jesus told His disciples that He would go to Bethany.
When they got near to where Lazarus lived, Martha heard that Jesus was
coming, and hurried out to meet Him with the words, "Lord, if you had
been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever you
ask of God, God will give it to you."
Then Jesus told her that Lazarus would rise again; and Martha showed
her faith in answering that she knew he would rise at the last day. And
again Jesus questioned her with these wonderful resurrection words,
"Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou
this?"
And Martha gave one of the most wonderful answers that we read in the
Bible: "Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
which should come into the world."
Blessed Martha! She had found the one thing needful!
So by and by they come to Bethany, and Jesus sent for Mary to come from
the house of mourning to Him.
And Mary's first words were the same as Martha's, "Lord, if you had
been here, my brother had not died."
Oh, the compassion of Jesus! He knew that soon their sorrow would
be turned into joy, but when He saw them all weeping. He was very
troubled, and wept too.
And so they come to the grave; and Jesus told them to take away the
stone. The Martha reminded Him that Lazarus had been dead four days.
But Jesus answered her, "Did I not say to you, that, if you would
believe, you should see the glory of God?"
And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou
hast heard Me . . . that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
And then He called with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And the
dead man came forth, bound with graveclothes and Jesus said to them,
"Loose him, and let him go."
Oh, how happy those sisters were! Did not Martha, indeed, see the glory
of God, as Jesus had said?
XIV. The Widow's Mite
One day, very shortly before our dear Lord was crucified, He was
teaching in God's Temple at Jerusalem and preaching the gospel.
He had been warning the people against the scribes, who loved to seem
very good and to be thought well of, who chose the highest seats in the
synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts, who made long prayers for a
show, and who oppressed poor widows and took away their houses.
The Lord looked straight into people's hearts, and He could not bear
for the scribes to seem very good outside and to be very wicked inside!
Jesus was sitting near the treasury, which was the chest or receptacle
in which the people put their offerings of money for God's service.
After He had been speaking about those scribes that oppressed the
widows, He raised His eyes and saw the people casting their gifts into
the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.
[Illustration: JUST THEN A POOR WIDOW DREW NEAR.]
And just then a poor widow drew near, and she put in two mites, which
make a farthing.
Jesus saw it all! He could see into her empty pocket; He knew all about
it!
Then He called His disciples to Him and said to them, "This poor widow
has cast more in than all the others who have cast into the treasury:
for they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast
in all that she had, even all her living!"
There is another widow we read of, who gave all her living to God!
The account is in 1 Kings xvii. God sent the prophet Elijah to her in
a time of famine. When he got to where the widow lived, he found her
gathering a few sticks to make a fire to bake the last bit of bread
that she had!
So Elijah called to her to fetch him a little water. He was nearly
dying of thirst, and as she ran to fetch it, he begged her also to
bring him a morsel of bread too.
But she told him that she only had a tiny bit of meal left in the
barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and this she was going to make
into a little cake for her and her son, and when they had eaten that,
she said, they must die!
But Elijah said some words like these to her: "Fear not . . . make me
a little cake first, and bring it to me . . . for thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, You shall always find a little meal in the barrel, and a
little oil in the cruse as long as the famine lasts!"
And she believed God's promise, and went and did as Elijah had said;
and she and Elijah and her son had enough to eat for many days.
XV. "Do this in Remembrance of Me"
Very soon after this, just before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus
knew that the hour had come that He was to die, and to go back to His
Father, He wished to do one last act of love to His disciples, because
"He loved them to the uttermost."
And supper being ended, Jesus rose up and taking a towel He poured
water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of His disciples.
This astonished them very much, and when it came to Peter's turn, he
said, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?"
Then Jesus said to him something like this, "You cannot understand what
I am doing now, Peter, but you shall understand by and by."
But Peter said to Jesus, "Thou shalt never wash my feet!"
And Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, Peter, you have no part
with Me."
So Peter at last let Jesus wash his feet; but he asked Him to wash his
hands too, and his head. I think he meant that he wanted to be made
wholly clean!
Jesus is our perfect example, and though He was their Lord and Master,
He did for them what was the office of the servants in the East, that
they might hereafter remember that there is no act, however lowly, that
they should be unwilling to perform for one of His disciples.
This loving example has helped thousands of the followers of Jesus to
go into prisons and hospitals; or to minister to the sick in crowded,
wretched rooms, where dirt and misery abound; that they may brighten
and cleanse them, and bring a little, to the poor suffering inmates, of
that love of Jesus which loves to the uttermost, and "is able to save
to the uttermost, those that come unto God by Him."
* * * * * * *
And now the hour for the Passover Feast had come, and Jesus sat down,
the twelve apostles with Him, and He told them that with a great desire
He had longed to eat that Passover with them before He suffered.
Dear children, you have often heard of the Communion of the Lord's
Supper, and some of you may have been with your parents, and may have
seen it.
But now I am going to tell you about the first time the Lord's Supper
was held.
Ever since that time for nearly nineteen hundred years, the people who
love the Lord Jesus have met together "to remember Him" as He told
them; and those who love Him are told to do this, till He comes back
again to take us to His heavenly home.
So that night "in which He was betrayed" this was how our dear Lord
gave us this last command.
"And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,
saying, 'This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance
of Me.'
"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the New
Testament in My blood which is shed for you.'
"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives."
And Jesus said to them, "All ye shall be offended because of Me this
night: for it is written, 'I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered!'"
But in His great forgiving love, though Jesus knew they would all
forsake Him, He gave them the promise, that when He was risen from the
dead He would go before them to Galilee, and there they should see Him
again.
[Illustration: THE CITY ON A HILL.]
XVI. The Lame Man Leaping
Acts iii. 8
One day, very soon after the Holy Spirit had been sent down to give
power to the disciples, Peter and John, as their custom was, went up
into the Temple to pray.
It was what was called the ninth hour, our three o'clock in the
afternoon, and was "the hour of prayer" in Jerusalem.
Peter and John climbed up the many steps that led to the Temple, and
reached the gate called the Beautiful Gate.
Some one else had come up those many steps, too; but he had not walked.
He had been lame all his life, and daily his friends carried him up
that long way, to lay him in the Beautiful Gate.
What do you think they took all that trouble for? It was that the poor
lame man might ask for money of the passersby who went up to pray.
He had no means of providing for himself, and, like many other sick and
helpless people, he lay there hour after hour, holding out his hand to
receive the coins which the pity of the passersby made them give him.
As he saw Peter and John about to go into the Temple, he begged them to
have pity on him in his poverty.
Then Peter, knowing that within him rested the great power of God, said
to the lame man, "Look on us!"
The poor man eagerly obeyed, thinking they were not going to pass on
without showing him some kindness.
He was quite right. Peter at once said: "I have not any silver or
gold! But what I have, I will give you! In the Name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand, and
lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones were given
strength, and the man, who had been a cripple for more than forty
years, walked and leapt, and went with Peter and John into the Temple,
walking and leaping and praising God!
Then all the people, who knew all about this lame man for so many
years, were filled with amazement at what had happened to him. For the
lame man held Peter and John, and all the people ran together into
Solomon's Porch to see the wonderful sight. But Peter told them, at
once, that it was not by their own power that they had made this man
well, but because God had glorified His Son Jesus, and that it was
through faith in His Name that he had been given this perfect soundness.
And then he told these wondering, amazed Jews, that it was their God,
"the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob," who had sent Jesus to earth
to bless them, and to turn away every one of them from their sins.
And that blessed Name of Jesus has the same power now to help and save
all who look to Him. Forgiveness, strength, comfort, and help can
belong to those who will trust Him!
XVII. Gethsemane
Many, many hundreds of years ago, the Easter full moon was shining down
in all its beauty on a garden near Jerusalem.
This garden was called Gethsemane and I should think that every one
who loves the Lord Jesus, and who knows about His great agony in that
garden, must love the very name of the place, and remember with very
tender feelings all He bore for our sakes.
Every Easter now, when the moon shines so sweetly, we can recall that
night on which our dear Lord was betrayed, and we can ask Him to help
us to watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation.
He had just eaten the Passover Supper with His disciples; He had told
them and us, to "do this, as oft as ye take it, in remembrance of ME,"
and then, after they had sung a hymn, or psalm, they went down the
steep path from one of the gates leading out of Jerusalem, to go to the
Mount of Olives.
Just at the bottom of the valley there lay the Garden of Gethsemane;
and the Lord Jesus, who knew all that was going to happen to Him the
next day,—how He would be mocked and beaten and crucified—wanted to
pray to His Heavenly Father before He was betrayed into the hands of
the Jews.
So He turned into the garden beneath the olive trees, telling some of
His disciples to wait outside, but taking Peter and James and John into
the garden with Him.
He was very, very sorrowful, so He bade them wait near Him and watch.
Then He went a little further on, and fell on the ground and prayed to
His Father that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from Him.
He knew that all things were possible with God, but He did not want
to have His own will, if His dear Father in Heaven wished anything
different. He had come to earth to do His will perfectly.
Then after His prayer, He rose and went to His disciples. But he found
them asleep! They had not watched as He bade them.
So He said to Peter, "Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one
hour?"
And then He told them to watch and pray lest they should enter into
temptation.
He said He knew they were willing to do it, but they had tired bodies,
and this made it the more necessary to be watchful.
So He went away again and prayed to His Father in an agony that the
bitter cup might pass from Him.
We cannot fully understand all that is meant by that bitter cup. It is
enough for us to know that our blessed Lord dreaded it above everything.
But even in the midst of that misery, He could say, "Oh, My Father, if
this cup may not pass away from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done!"
And there appeared an angel from heaven, strengthening Him.
Still again a third time He went away and prayed the same prayer, but
all the while His disciples were fast asleep!
At last Jesus rose up from prayer, and when He came to His disciples
He told them that now He was going to be betrayed into the hands of
sinners.
As He was speaking, a great band of men, led by wicked Judas, came
hurrying into the garden.
Now Judas had said to the chief priests (when he sold Jesus to them for
thirty pieces of silver), "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He;
hold Him fast."
The Lord Jesus, who is God as well as man, could easily have escaped
from their cruel hands. He told them He could have prayed to His
Father, and He would have sent Him thousands and thousands of angels.
The band of men and officers from the chief priests were so amazed at
the majesty of Jesus, that they went backward and fell to the ground.
But Jesus was ready to die for us; for how else could we be saved?
Then they took Jesus prisoner, and bound Him and led Him away to the
palace of the High Priest.
And as He was led away from Gethsemane, He said to Peter those
memorable words of love and submission—"The cup which My Father hath
given Me, shall I not drink it?"
He knew that the Cross to which He was going was His Father's Will! For
had He not said Himself, to the people?—
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life."
XVIII. The Trial
When Judas had betrayed the Lord Jesus with a kiss, and the band of
soldiers and officers were going to take Him away, Peter tried to
defend Jesus by drawing his sword, and he smote one of the servants of
the High Priest and cut off his ear.
But Jesus did not wish His disciples to fight for Him with swords, and
He told Peter to put it up in the sheath again; and then, in His love
and compassion, He healed the man's ear.
And Jesus said to the soldiers, "Are you come out as if I were a thief,
with swords and staves to take me? I was with you every day in the
Temple, teaching you, and you did not take Me; but the Scriptures must
be fulfilled."
Then all His disciples forsook Him and fled.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd; and now it had come to the time when He was
going to lay down His life for the sheep.
But oh! How sad it must have made Him, to have all His disciples run
away from Him!
Then the soldiers bound Him and led Him away.
But after the first moment of fear and dismay, John, the beloved
disciple, ran to follow his Master, and the crowd tried to prevent his
going after Jesus. But he managed to escape from them, and presently
he reached the High Priest's house, and, as he was known to the High
Priest, he went in with Jesus into the palace.
But Peter was left in the garden, and he followed afar off, even into
the palace of the High Priest, and sat with the servants and warmed
himself at the fire.
When the whole band had brought Jesus into the palace, they found there
all the chief priests, and the elders, and the scribes.
Then the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against
Jesus to put Him to death; but found none.
There were many false witnesses who gave evidence against Him, but they
all contradicted each other.
All this time Jesus stood silent, listening to their false charges, but
not answering a word.
At last the High Priest exclaimed, "Answerest thou nothing? What is it
that these witness against thee?"
But Jesus held His peace, and answered nothing.
Then the High Priest asked Him a question which Jesus answered.
He said, "Art Thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"
And Jesus said, "I am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the
right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
Then the High Priest tore his clothes, and said there was no need to
examine any more witnesses, for they had heard Him say Himself that He
was the Son of God.
[Illustration: THEN THE HIGH PRIEST TORE HIS CLOTHES.]
And for this they all condemned Him to be guilty of death.
XIX. The King of the Jews
When the chief priests of the Jews had determined to kill the Lord
Jesus, after examining Him for many hours on the dreadful night when
all His disciples had forsaken Him and Peter had denied Him, they
consulted together as to how they could carry out their wicked plan.
The morning dawned before they had decided what to do; and at length,
as they did not like to put Him to death themselves, they thought the
best way would be to take Him to Pilate the Roman governor, for they
thought that he would do what they wished.
The Jews and the High Priest had asked Jesus whether He was really
the Christ, the Son of God; and the Lord Jesus, to leave them without
excuse, told them plainly that He was, and that hereafter they would
see Him sitting in heaven, and coming back to earth in the clouds.
At this they had been fearfully angry, and had torn their clothes, and
had bound Him and led Him away to Pilate, in the hopes that Pilate
would at once order Him to be put to death.
* * * * * * *
Now we are told in Matthew's Gospel that Judas, who had betrayed his
Master with a kiss, saw Jesus led away to Pilate. He knew by this that
the chief priests had condemned Him to death, and, too late, Judas
repented of the wicked thing he had done.
Jesus had told the disciples when they sat down to the Passover supper,
that one of them should betray Him, and Judas had asked, among the
rest, "Lord, is it I?" And Jesus had told him, that though He must die
to save the world, yet it was woe to the man who should betray Him.
But Judas thought of the thirty pieces of silver which he was going to
earn for doing this sad deed, and he left the supper table and went out
into the dark night.
Judas had made his decision against Jesus!
Oh, children! Let our decision be for Jesus! All through our lives, let
our one purpose be that He shall be our Lord and our King. We shall not
be sorry by and by that we have decided so.
But Judas had made his evil choice; he had set going a thing which he
could not now stop. And when he realized that the chief priests had
really condemned Jesus, Judas would have given everything he possessed
to undo what he had done. But it was too late.
He hurried back to the chief priests with the money in his hand, and he
exclaimed, "I have sinned; I have betrayed the innocent One!"
But they said, "What is that to us? You must see to that!"
So he threw down the thirty pieces of silver in the Temple, and went
and hanged himself.
Oh, poor Judas! What good was his money to him then? "What shall it
profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Then the chief priests took up the silver and consulted as to what they
should do with it, because it was "the price of blood," and they might
not put it into God's Treasury; and they decided to buy a field, called
the Potter's field, to bury strangers in. And that field was called
"the Field of Blood" ever afterwards. We read in the Bible that, five
hundred years before that, it was foretold by the prophet Zechariah
that all these things should be done, when Jesus was sold for thirty
pieces of silver.
* * * * * * *
So Jesus was brought before Pilate, and stood there in all His majesty
and humility, and Pilate asked Him, "Art Thou the King of the Jews?"
And Jesus again left no excuse to those who condemned Him. Though He
had answered nothing when the false witnesses spoke against Him, though
He answered nothing now when the chief priests and elders accused Him,
yet, to give Pilate an opportunity of believing and accepting Him, He
answered him at once—