JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD.--LAZARUS BROUGHT TO LIFE.--THE FEAST, AND
THOSE WHO WERE BID TO IT.
JE-SUS said to those whom he taught, I am the good shep-herd. The good
shep-herd will give his life for the sheep. But he that is hired, and
who does not own the sheep, when he sees the wolf will leave the sheep
and run to save his own life. Then the wolf lays hold of the sheep, and
puts the flock to flight. He who is hired flees from the sheep, be-cause
he does not care for them.
I am the good shep-herd and know my sheep, and my sheep know me. And I
will lay down my life for the sheep.
Some sheep I have which are not of this fold; they too must I bring in,
and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one
shep-herd.
The Jews found fault with his words, and some said, He talks like a
mad-man.
As Je-sus went out on the porch at one side of the great church that
He-rod built, the Jews came round him and said, How long wilt thou keep
us in doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us so in plain words.
Je-sus said, I told you, and ye had no faith in me. The works that I do,
in God's name, are proof that I am sent from him. But ye do not trust me
be-cause ye are not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,
and they go the way I lead. They shall not be lost, and no one shall
take them from me. For God gave them to me, and no one can take them out
of his hand. I and my Fa-ther are one.
Then the Jews took up stones to stone him, be-cause he said that he was
God.
But he fled from them, and went out of Je-ru-sa-lem to a place near the
Jor-dan, where crowds came to hear him, and to be taught of him. And not
a few gave their hearts to Je-sus, and sought to lead new lives; to do
right and to be good.
[Illustration: THE LOST SHEEP.]
Ma-ry and Mar-tha, who lived at Beth-a-ny, had a bro-ther whose name was
Laz-a-rus, and he was sick. So his sis-ters sent word to Je-sus, but
though he was fond of these friends at Beth-a-ny he made no haste to go
to them, but staid two days in the place where he was.
Then he said to the twelve, Let us go back to Beth-a-ny, for my friend
Laz-a-rus sleeps, and I must go and wake him.
He meant that Laz-a-rus was dead, and that he must go and bring him back
to life.
But the twelve thought that he meant that Laz-a-rus slept, as we do when
we take our rest.
Now Beth-a-ny was near Je-ru-sa-lem, and a crowd of Jews had gone there
to weep with Ma-ry and Mar-tha. As soon as Mar-tha heard that Je-sus was
near she ran out to meet him; but Ma-ry sat still in the house. And
Mar-tha said to Je-sus, If thou hadst been here my bro-ther would not
have died. But I know that e-ven now what thou wilt ask of God he will
give it thee.
Je-sus said to her, Thy bro-ther shall rise a-gain.
Mar-tha said, I know that he shall rise at the last day.
Then Mar-tha went back to the house and said to Ma-ry, The mas-ter has
come and asks for thee.
Ma-ry rose at once and went out to meet him; and those who saw her leave
the house, said, She goes to the grave to weep there.
As soon as Ma-ry came to the place where Je-sus was, she fell at his
feet and said, Lord, if thou hadst been here my bro-ther had not died.
When Je-sus saw her tears, and the tears of those who wept with her, he
was full of grief, and said, Where have ye laid him?
They said, Lord, come and see.
Je-sus wept. And when the Jews saw it they said, See how he loved him.
And some of them said, Could not this man, who gave the blind their
sight, have saved Laz-a-rus from death?
Je-sus came to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay at the mouth of
it.
Je-sus said, Take a-way the stone. Mar-tha said to him, By this time he
must be in a bad state, for he has been dead four days.
Je-sus said to her, Did I not tell thee that if thou hadst faith thou
should see what great things God could do?
Then they took the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And
Je-sus cried out with a loud voice, Laz-a-rus, come forth.
[Illustration: LAZ-A-RUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD.]
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot in his grave
clothes, and with his head tied up in a cloth. Je-sus said, Loose him
and let him go.
And some of the Jews who came to be with Ma-ry and Mar-tha, and saw
this great thing which Je-sus did, had faith in him that he was the son
of God. But some of them went to the Phar-i-sees and told what he had
done.
And the Phar-i-sees and chief priests met to talk of Je-sus and his
deeds. They said it would not do to let him go on in this way, for he
would raise up a host of friends who would make him their king. That
would not please the Ce-sar of Rome, who would come and take
Je-ru-sa-lem from them, and drive the Jews out of the land.
So from that time they sought out some way in which they could put
Je-sus to death.
As Je-sus went out of the church where he had taught on the Lord's day,
he saw a wo-man all bent up in a heap. She had been so for near a score
of years, and could not lift her-self up.
Je-sus said to her, Wo-man, thou art made well. And he laid his hands on
her, and she rose at once, and stood up straight, and gave thanks to
God.
And the chief man of the church was wroth with Je-sus, be-cause he had
done this deed on the day of rest. He said to those in the church, There
are six days in which men ought to work; if you want to be cured come
then, and not on the day of rest.
Je-sus spoke, and said, Doth not each one of you loose his ox or his ass
from the stall and lead him off to drink? And if it is right to do for
the ox and the ass what they need, is it not right that this wom-an
should be made well on the day of rest?
[Illustration: THE GREAT SUP-PER.]
And when he said this his foes hung their heads with shame, and all his
friends were glad for the great deeds that were done by him.
One Lord's day he went to the house of one of the chief Phar-i-sees, and
while there he spoke of a man who made a great feast.
And when it was all spread out, he sent his ser-vant out to bid those
come in whom he had asked to the feast.
And they all cried out that they could not come. The first one said, I
have bought a piece of ground, and must go and see it; so pray do not
look for me.
The next one said, I have bought five yoke of ox-en, and must go and try
them; so pray do not look for me.
The next one said, I have just ta-ken a wife, and so can-not come.
So the ser-vant came back to the house and told his mas-ter these
things. Then the rich man was in a rage, and he said to his ser-vant,
Make haste and go out through the streets and lanes of the town, and
bring in the poor, the lame, and the halt and the blind.
And the ser-vant did as he was told. Then he came and said, Lord, I
have done as thou didst bid me, and yet there is room for more.
The lord of the house then said, Go out through the high-ways, and down
by the hedge-rows, and make the folks come in, that my house may be
full; for none of those who were first called shall taste of my feast.
The man who spreads the feast is God. The feast is the good news--that
Christ will save us from our sins. The ser-vant means those who preach,
and urge men to come to Christ. Those who were first bid to the feast
and would not come mean the Jews. And to bid the poor, the lame, and the
blind come in-to the feast, means that the poor and the sick are to be
saved as well as the rich and the great.
Great crowds drew near to Je-sus, and he told them that though they
might come and hear him preach, if they did not care for him in their
hearts they were not true friends, and could not be of his band. They
must care more for him than for all else in the whole world; and must
bear his cross--that is, they must do what is right, as Je-sus did.