land joined that of the people who did not know about God. And a poor
woman of that country followed Him, and cried after Him, "Have mercy on
me, O Lord, Thou Son of David, for my daughter is very ill." But He did
not answer her; and so she kept crying to Him till the apostles said,
"Send her away, for she crieth after us." They wanted Our Lord to cure
her child, so that she might go away. But Jesus said, "I am not sent to
any but the Jews."
[Illustration: JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA.]
[Illustration: OUR LORD AND THE WOMAN OF CANAAN.]
Then the woman came and kneeled down to Him, and said, "Lord, help me."
And Jesus said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and cast
it to the dogs." Did not Our Lord seem unkind? But He was not; He was
only trying the woman's faith. But she was very humble; she said, "That
is true, Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their
master's table." Then Jesus said, "O woman, great is thy faith, be it
unto thee even as thou wilt;" and her daughter was made well that very
hour.
This woman was at first of the Greek religion; that is, she had
worshipped and prayed to idols of stone, whom she called Jove and
Apollo and Diana. But she had heard of the God of the Jews, and we
think had given up her false gods and believed in Him; for she knew of
the expected Christ, and that he would be of David's family. Then her
dear child was ill, and she went to Jesus for help. Very great was her
faith, as Our Lord said.
This was the second miracle Our Lord did for people who were not Jews,
but who had learned to believe in God.
Our Lord was often spoken to as He went on His way by people who
thought they would like to be His disciples, but had not faith enough
in the end to give up the things they loved to go with Him. Once a
man said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said,
"Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but I, the
Son of Man, have not where to lay My head." For the Lord Jesus was
very poor; He had no home then on earth. He stayed, we read, sometimes
in Peter's house, and with other friends of whom we shall tell you
by-and-by. We do not know if the man who spoke still wished to follow
Christ; we fear he did not, or we should have heard he did.
Another day as He was going on His way, a young man ran up to Him,
kneeled down, and said, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I
may have eternal life?" And Jesus said, "Why do you ask Me concerning
that which is good?[A] One there is who is good; but, if you would
enter into life keep God's Commandments." The young man asked "Which?"
Jesus said, "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not
bear false witness; honour thy father and mother; thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself." The young man said, "I have kept all these; what
is wanting in me?" And Our Lord looking on him loved him, for he was
very good; but he had one great fault, he loved money, and Jesus said,
"If you would be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the
poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven; and come, and follow Me."
But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had
great riches, and he did not like to part with them and go about poor
with Our Lord's disciples. We are sure that Jesus was sorry for him,
and we hope he came back afterwards, but we do not know. Poor young
man! he was so good that we think perhaps in the end he did.
Our Blessed Lord went through every city and village telling them the
glad tidings of the Kingdom of God, and the twelve apostles were with
Him. There were some women with them also whom Christ had made well.
One was called Mary Magdalene, who had been cured of a sad disease, and
Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward, and Susannah, and many others, who
brought Our Lord and His apostles food, and did all they could to serve
Him.
Jesus had many friends as well as cruel enemies.
There were some good people who lived at Bethany, a pretty little
village near Jerusalem. They were two sisters and a brother, called
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. When Our Lord was at Jerusalem, He often
went to see them; and they were very glad to have Him in their house.
Martha bustled about to get a feast for Him and His apostles one day
when He came there; but Mary sat at his feet listening to His words.
Then Martha thought her sister ought to help her, so she came, and
said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve
alone? Bid her help me." But Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, you
are careful and troubled about many things; there is only one thing
needful; and Mary has chosen that good part that shall not be taken
away from her."
[Illustration: JESUS WITH MARY AND MARTHA.]
Jesus was not angry with Martha; He only told her not to be so full of
care about earthly things, but to care most for listening to His words.
We cannot hear Christ's voice now, but we can hear and read His words
still. Do you know where they are found? In the Bible.
Our Lord prayed a great deal. Sometimes He prayed all night long; He
loved to pray to His Father in Heaven. And one day He told a pretty
story to His disciples to teach them how to pray.
Two men went into the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a
publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed, and said, "God, I thank Thee
that I am not as bad as other men, or even as this publican; I obey Thy
law." The publican stood a great way off and would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto Heaven, but struck his breast with his hand to show he
was sorry, and said, "God be merciful to me a sinner."
The Pharisee boasted how good he was; the publican only asked God to
forgive him. Which of the two prayed best? Our Lord said the publican
did; for God will not hear the prayers of the proud, but listens to
those of the humble.
[Illustration: THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.]
The Lord Jesus has told us that God will give us what we ask for in
prayer if we do not pray for wrong things. He says, "Ask, and ye shall
receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you." The meaning is, If you ask God's help, He will give it; if you
seek to find out what is His will, you will find it; if you beg God to
make you understand His word, He will let you; for Our Lord said, "If a
son ask his father for bread, will he give him a stone, or, if he ask a
fish, will he give him a serpent?"--that is, a snake. No; you know he
will not. Since, then, even men who are not good will be kind to their
children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to
them who ask Him! The Lord loves to hear the prayer of a little child.
You may pray when you like; at your mothers knee, or in the day if you
feel you want God's help. He will hear you if you say in your mind,
"Make me a good child, for Christ's sake."
One day a lawyer stood up from among the crowd who listened to Our
Lord and asked Jesus a question. He did it to try the Lord and see if
He would say something that the priests might think wrong. He said,
"Master, what shall I do to gain eternal life"--that is, life in
Heaven? And Jesus said, "What is written in the law?" And the lawyer
said, "The law tells me that I must love the Lord my God with all my
heart, and with all my soul, and with all my strength, and my neighbour
as myself." Our Lord said, "You have answered right; do this and live."
But the lawyer, not yet satisfied, asked, "Who is my neighbour?" And
Our Lord answered by telling him a pretty story.
A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho: it was a wild, lonely road
over the hills; and he met some thieves who robbed him, took off his
clothes, wounded him, and left him for dead by the road-side. And by
chance a priest came by that way but he did not help the poor man; he
crossed over to the other side of the way and went on. Then, a Levite,
one of the men who served the priests in the Temple, came that way; he
stopped and looked at the poor man, and then left him and crossed to
the other side of the road.
Next, a Samaritan came along--you remember, do you not, that the Jews
hated the Samaritans?--but this man, when he saw the poor wounded Jew
lying in the road, had pity on him. And he went to him and bound up
his wounds, putting oil and wine to them, as people used then to do;
and he lifted him off the hard ground and put him on his own beast
and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, when
he had to go away, he called the host--that is, the man who kept the
inn--and gave him two pence--which were worth more than a shilling--and
said, "Take care of the poor man, and whatever you spend I will repay
you when I come again."
[Illustration: THE ROAD FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO.]
"Which of these three men do you think was neighbour to the man who
fell among thieves?" asked Our Lord. And the lawyer could not help
answering, "He that had mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
One day Our Lord told His disciples of what would happen soon, how He
must go up to Jerusalem and die for them and for all the world; and
that made them very sad.
About eight days after, He took Peter and James and John with Him and
went up a high mountain to pray. It was late, and the disciples were
tired, and while Jesus prayed they fell asleep. But a great light woke
them, and then they saw a wonderful thing. Our Lord's face shone like
the sun, and His robe was white and glittering as the light; and two
men stood by Him in shining white robes; and the apostles knew that
they were Moses and Elijah. Moses had been dead very, very long, and
Elijah had been taken up to Heaven alive; but now, like two bright
angels, they talked with Our Lord. What did they talk about? Of how
Jesus would go up to Jerusalem and die to save men. The disciples could
not quite tell what it meant, and Peter said, "Lord, it is good for
us to be here. Let us make here three tents for Thee and Moses and
Elijah," not knowing what he said; but, as he spoke, a bright cloud
came over them, and they were taken into it, and a voice came out of
the cloud and said, "This is My Beloved Son; hear Him." And when the
voice was past, Jesus was alone. It was He who was God's Dear Son.
Soon after this the disciples began to talk together about which of
them should be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And Jesus called a
little child to Him, and when He had taken him in His arms, He said to
them, "Whoever will receive one of such children in My name receiveth
Me, and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth not Me but Him that sent
Me." And He told the apostles that they must be as gentle and humble as
little children if they would be great in Heaven, for there the humble
would be the first, and the proud the last.
[Illustration: JESUS AND THE LITTLE CHILDREN.]
Our Lord loved little children very much. Soon after this, some mothers
brought their children and infants to Jesus that He might touch and
bless them; but the apostles told them to go away and not to trouble
the Lord. When Jesus knew it He was very angry, and said, "Suffer
little children to come unto Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is
the Kingdom of God." And He took the little ones in His arms, put His
hands upon them, and blessed them. How good and kind Jesus was! Little
children ought to love Him with all their heart, and be very good to
please Him.
Our Lord came, you know, to bear the punishment of our sins; and
He told some pretty parables to the Pharisees to try and make them
understand why He talked so much to bad men. It was because His great
love made Him wish to save them. He told them that if they had a great
many sheep and one was lost, the shepherd would leave all the others
and go to find the lost one; and when he had found it he would bring it
back with great joy.
And He said: "If a woman has ten pieces of silver and she loses one
she will light a candle and sweep the house and look carefully for
it. And when she has found it she will call her friends, and say, Be
glad with me; I have found the piece that I had lost, so"--went on Our
Lord--"there is joy in Heaven with the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth."
Once Our Lord told His disciples a parable of a fig-tree. Fig-trees
grow by the side of the road in that land, and people might pick the
figs. But this fig-tree grew in a man's garden; and for three years it
had borne no figs. Then the master called his gardener and said to him,
"For three years I have come to find figs on this tree and there are
none; cut it down; it is of no use." But the gardener said, "Lord, let
it stay this year, I will dig round it and manure it, and if next year
it bears fruit, well; but if not, then you shall cut it down."
This parable meant that Christ is always asking God, His Father, to
let us have time to be sorry for our sins before we die. It meant,
too, that He asked God to give the Jews time to be sorry before He
destroyed their city and sent them out of their own land.
[Illustration: THE PARABLE OF THE LOST PIECE OF MONEY.]
Then He told them this other story: "Once, there was a man who had two
sons. The younger of the two said to him one day, 'Father, give me
now the share of your money you mean me to have.' And the kind father
divided his money between the sons as the greedy one asked. As soon as
the younger son had his share he left his father's house and went to a
far off land, and there he spent his money in eating and drinking with
bad people. And when he had spent all he had, great want came on that
land; there was very little food, and bread was very dear. Now this
sinful lad had no money left, so he was obliged to go and be a servant
to a man of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs;
and he had so little food and was so hungry that he would have liked
to eat the husks the pigs ate, and no man gave any food to him. Then
he felt how sinful he had been, and he said, 'My father's servants
have more bread to eat than they want, while I shall die of hunger.
I will go back to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned
against God and against you, and am not fit to be called your son;
make me your servant."' And he arose and went to his father; and when
he was yet a great way off his father saw him--a poor, ragged man--and
he ran to meet him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son
said, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against thee, I am not
good enough to be called thy son; let me be one of thy servants.' But
his father quite forgave him, and told the servants to bring the best
robe and put it on him, and to put shoes on his feet, and a ring on
his hand, and to cook the fat calf that they might eat; and they were
merry.
"Now, when the elder son, who was in the fields, heard the sound of
music and dancing, and was told what the feast was for, he was angry,
and would not go in; his father came out and begged that he would. But
the son said, 'I have been a good son, but you did not give me a kid
that I might make a feast for my friends; yet, now your wicked son is
come who has spent all on bad living, you have had the calf killed for
him.' It was wrong of this son to be jealous, was it not? He ought to
have been glad that his brother had come home again. But his father
said, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours; but
it was right to be glad now, for your brother who was dead is alive
again, was lost, and is found.'"
[Illustration: THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON.]
Jesus meant to teach us by this story that God will forgive us and
love us as soon as we are sorry for being naughty. People who keep on
being naughty are said in God's Book to be dead and lost--and so they
are--till they are sorry and do better.
Now it was winter-time, and a feast was being kept in Jerusalem. Our
Lord went to it, and walked in the Temple in Solomon's Porch. Then the
Jews came round about Him, and said, "How long do You mean to keep us
in doubt"--to be in doubt is not to be sure of a thing--"If You are
Christ, tell us plainly?"
Jesus said, "I have told you, and you would not believe Me. The works
I do show that I am the Christ, but you will not believe. Ye are not
My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,
and I give unto them eternal life, and no man can take them out of My
Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
The Jews knew that Our Lord meant to say that He was God, for He was
God's Son, and they were so angry that they took up stones to throw at
Him and sought to take Him, but it was not yet time for Jesus to die
for us all, so He passed from them and went away to the other side of
the river Jordan, to the place where John baptized, and many believed
on Him there. John the Baptist was dead, another cruel Herod had had
his head cut off.
It was while Our Lord was here that a man was sent to Him by Martha
and Mary to say that Lazarus, their brother, whom the Lord loved, was
ill. The sisters thought Jesus would be sure to come and make His dear
friend well. But, though Our Lord loved these good people, He did not
go at once. He waited for two days, and then He said to His disciples,
"Let us go into Judea again." But the disciples said, "Master, the Jews
of late tried to kill You; why will You go there again?" Then Jesus
said, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep; I go that I may awake him." They
did not know what Jesus meant, so they said, "If he is asleep he will
get well." Then Our Lord told them that Lazarus was dead, and said that
He must now go to him. The apostle Thomas said to the others, "Let us
go, too, that we may die with Him." For they thought the Jews would be
sure to kill Jesus if He went near Jerusalem; and Martha and Mary lived
very near it. Lazarus had been buried four days when they arrived at
Bethany.
As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet
him, and said to Him, "Lord, if You had been here my brother would
not have died; but I know that even now if You ask God anything He
will give it You." Jesus said, "Thy brother shall rise again." "Yes;
I know," said Martha, "he will rise at the last day." But Jesus told
her that He could give life to the dead. Then He asked for Mary. She
was sitting with a great many friends who had come to comfort her in
her grief, but Martha made haste to tell her that Our Lord was come;
and Mary went out to the Lord and said, as Martha had, "Lord, if You
had been here he would not have died." Then Jesus said, "Where have
you laid him?" The Jews had also come out now, and they said, "Come
and see." They were all weeping, and Our Lord had such pity for their
grief, that He too shed tears. Now the grave was a place in a rock
and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." And when
they had taken it away, Our Lord said some words to God in heaven, and
then He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." And the
dead man came out alive, though he had lain four days in the grave.
How glad Mary and Martha must have been! A great many of the Jews who
were there, when they saw this wonderful thing, believed that Jesus
was the Son of God; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told
them what Jesus had done. And they were angry, and said, "What shall
we do? for if we let this man alone all will believe in Him, and the
Romans will come and take away our place and nation." They meant that
the Romans would take them and sell them for slaves, as was sometimes
done in those days. Then the high priest said, "One man must die for
the people." He did not know how true his words were, for Jesus meant
to die to save all men. But the Lord did not let them kill Him yet, He
went to another place with his disciples.
[Illustration: MARY ANOINTING THE FEET OF JESUS.]
However, as soon as the time of the Passover drew near, He went up to
Jerusalem, and then to Martha's house, where Lazarus was; and Simon,
who had been a leper, made a supper for Him, and Martha waited on
Him; but Lazarus sat at the table. Then Mary took a pound of very
sweet-scented ointment, that cost a great deal of money, and she put it
on the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair, and the scent
went all over the house.
Now Jesus had one bad man among His apostles. His name was Judas. He
kept the bag in which Our Lord and the disciples put their money, and
he used to steal from it. He was vexed when he saw Mary use the sweet
ointment; he could have sold it, he thought, and stolen the money if
she had given it to Our Lord, and not used it, so he said, "That is a
waste, the ointment could have been sold for a great deal and the money
given to the poor." But Jesus said, "Let her alone; the poor you have
always with you, but Me ye have not always. She has done it for My
burial."
There were a great many Jews at this feast, they came to see Lazarus
who was raised from the dead, as well as Jesus; and many of them
believed in the Lord.
The priests then thought that they had better kill Lazarus as well as
Our Lord, and that very night Judas came to them, and offered to help
them take Jesus if they would pay him for it. And they gave him some
silver money for doing it--as much as four of our sovereigns--just as
much as people paid for a slave.
Now the next day, when the people who had gone up to Jerusalem for the
feast, heard that Our Lord was coming, they went out to meet Him, with
branches of palm-trees in their hands, crying, "Blessed is the King
that cometh in the name of the Lord." Jesus had sent for a young ass
and was riding on it, and the people, to show how they loved him, and
that they would have Him for their King, spread their garments on the
ground for the ass to tread on.
[Illustration: THE ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.]
And when Our Lord was come near the city, and saw it, He wept over it;
He was very sorry that it was so wicked, and He knew that God would
destroy it.
They went on into Jerusalem, and the people wondered, and said "Who is
this?" And the crowd answered, "Jesus of Nazareth!"
[Illustration: THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE.]
Then, Our Lord went into the Temple, and found there the tables of
money and the oxen and sheep as He had before, and He drove them out
again. The children, with palms in their hands, had followed Him into
the Temple, and sang, with their sweet voices "Hosanna (that is,
praise) to the Son of David;" and when the priests heard them they were
angry, and said, "Do You hear what these children say?" And Our Lord
said, "Yes; have you never heard that out of the mouth of babes and
little infants God has perfect praise?"
Then Jesus left them and went back to Martha's house, where He slept.
For five days more, Our Lord came every morning to Jerusalem, and went
back in the evening to the house of Lazarus to sleep. And He taught His
apostles many things, and talked with the Pharisees and priests in the
Temple. One day, when His disciples showed Him what a grand place the
Temple was, He told them that not one stone would be left on another.
And He said that one day He would come again to judge the world.
One day, He saw a very poor woman--she was a widow--drop two
mites--that is, less than a farthing--into the box that was placed for
men to give money to the Temple. And Jesus said to His disciples, "This
poor widow has cast in more than they all, for the rich men could spare
all they gave, but she has given to God all the living she had."
You see, God does not mind how small the gift is that we offer to Him,
if it is all we can do; He loves the gift of the poor.
[Illustration: THE WIDOW'S MITE.]
One day some of the wicked people who wanted to find fault with Him,
came and asked Our Lord if it was right to pay the tax to the Romans.
Jesus said, "Show me a penny;" and when they brought it He said, "Whose
likeness is on it and what name?" They said, "Cæsar's." Then said
Jesus, "Give to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the
things that are God's."
It was of no use to teach these men; they would not believe though
they heard how wisely Jesus spoke and saw the wonderful works He did.
Some of the chief rulers believed on Him, but they were afraid of the
Pharisees and would not say that they did; for the Bible tells us they
loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
It was on one of the first days of this week, that some Greeks came to
the Apostle Philip and said, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip told
Andrew, and they went together to tell Our Lord. Jesus said that the
hour was come that He should be glorified, and He spoke to the Greeks,
and told them that if any man served Him, God would honour him; and
ended His words by saying, "Father, glorify Thy Name," and there came a
voice from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify
it again." Some of the people who stood by said that it thundered; but
others--perhaps the Greeks, who were nearer--said that an angel spoke
to Him. Our Lord told them that the voice came not for Him but for
their sakes. It was meant to make them believe in Jesus, and these good
Greeks must have gone away sure now that He was indeed the expected
Christ.
Now, Our Lord had told the apostles to get Him a room in which He
would eat the Passover with them, and, when they were there, Our Lord
took a towel and poured some water into a basin and began to wash His
disciples' feet, and wipe them with the towel. But, when He came to
Peter, Peter said, "Lord, Thou shalt not wash my feet."