Soon after Jesus had gone away from Bethany, His friend Lazarus became very ill. Martha and Mary longed for Jesus now, and they thought, 'If Jesus were here, our brother would not die;' and they sent a messenger to Him to say 'Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick.' When Jesus heard that, He stayed on quietly where He was for two days longer. Then He came to Bethany, and by this time Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Presently somebody came to Martha, and said to her quietly, 'Jesus is coming.' When Martha heard that, she got up, and went out to meet Him. And when she saw Jesus, she said, 'Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died; but I know that even now whatever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee.' Jesus said to her, 'Thy brother shall rise again.' When Jesus saw how unhappy Mary and Martha were, He too felt very sad, and said, 'Where have ye laid him?' And they said, 'Lord, come and see.' And then——Jesus wept. 'See how He loved Lazarus,' said the Jews; and they wondered that Jesus had let His friend die.
Now they had come to the grave. It was a hole in the side of a rock, and there was a heavy stone over it. Jesus said, 'Take ye away the stone;' and they rolled it away. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and thanked God that He had heard His prayer and given Him back the life of Lazarus. And then He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.' And the man who had been dead came out of the cave alive. When the Jews saw what was done, some of them believed, but others hurried off to Jerusalem to make mischief as fast as they could.
After a time Jesus crossed the Jordan and again came into Perea, and then He came slowly down through Perea to Jerusalem.
[Illustration: The shepherd's care (3rd version).]
CHAPTER X
THE PRODIGAL SON, AND OTHER STORIES.
One day, when the mothers of Perea brought their little ones to Jesus, the disciples found fault with them for coming, and tried to keep them away. But when Jesus saw what the disciples were doing He was much displeased, and said to them—