Hurlbut's
Life of Christ
For Young and Old

Coming to Jerusalem these strangers asked of every one whom they met: "Can you tell us where to find the little child who is born to be the King of the Jews?"

HURLBUT'S
LIFE OF CHRIST
For Young and Old

A COMPLETE LIFE OF CHRIST
WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE,
BASED ON THE GOSPEL NARRATIVE
By REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D.
Author of "Hurlbut's Story of the Bible"
Former Editor International Sunday-School Lessons
ILLUSTRATED
With Colored Plates and Full Page Halftone Reproductions
from the Paintings of William Hole,
R.S.A., R.E., and other artists. Also including
Maps and Photographs of the Holy Land.
Philadelphia
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
Publishers

Copyright, MCMXV, by
L. T. Myers
————
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
Hundredth Thousand Edition

Preface

IN the preparation of this volume the aim in view has been to tell the story of Jesus Christ in a manner that will be attractive to both young and old, to children and their teachers. While the purpose of the writer has been to adapt the narrative to the understanding of a child of ten years, so that he will not need to ask the meaning of a sentence or a word: yet it has also been his desire to make it not childish, but simple, so that older readers may find it interesting and profitable.

In order that this book may not lead its younger readers or listeners away from the Bible, but directly toward it, no imaginary scenes or conversations have been introduced. The design has been to write the biography of Jesus, not a romance founded upon his life.

The order of events has been carefully considered; and follows that of the best authorities, accepting as historical all the four gospels and all their contents; raising no questions concerning miracles or the relative values of different portions of the record. The first purpose of every student or reader of the Bible, whether young or old, should be to become thoroughly familiar with its contents. Without a full knowledge of the Scriptures as they are, he is absolutely unfit to cope with the questions of authorship or the credibility of the sacred writings.

No attempt has been made to formulate from the record of Christ's life a doctrinal system. Theology is the loftiest study for the human intellect; but it belongs to the mature mind, not to the realm of childhood. Nor has it been the writer's aim to find in this story moral lessons for the young. The works and words of Jesus will make their own application to their reader, whether they be children or adults.

The typography, the illustrations, and the mechanical execution of such a work as this are of almost equal importance with its literary material. All that diligent effort, artistic taste, and abundant resources can do to make this book attractive and helpful to its readers, has been done by the Publishers.

That this volume may awaken a new interest in that Life of lives, which has brought the light of life to untold millions since it was lived upon the earth: that the children of this generation, who are to become the pillars of the coming years, may learn to love and follow Him who is the Elder Brother and Saviour of us all, is the prayer of the author of these pages.

August 28, 1915.

Contents

Why Everybody Should Know the Life of Christ

THERE HAVE been many famous men in this world, and every one wishes to know who they were and why they are called great. In almost every city in America may be seen a statue of George Washington, or Abraham Lincoln, or Benjamin Franklin, or General Lee, or General Grant. Whenever you see one of these statues, you ask—if you do not know already—who this man was and why his statue has been set up. In Canada, every house has on the wall a portrait of the great and good Queen Victoria, and when a child sees it he wishes to know something of her life and her greatness. You see pictures of a man standing on the deck of a ship, or going ashore under palm trees on an island, and are told that he is Christopher Columbus—and every child in America knows something of his story. Men like Napoleon Bonaparte, and Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great, are written about, and talked about; and every child should know who these men were and why they are famous.

Did you ever think that there is one man who has been talked about, and written about, and sung about, more than any other man in all the world; and that man is Jesus? For one book telling of Washington, or Napoleon, or Columbus, there are hundreds of books telling of Jesus. Every year at least fifteen million copies of the Bible are printed and sent out into the world, in every language spoken on this earth. Why does everybody wish to have a Bible in his house? It is because that book tells of Jesus. If the pages that tell of Jesus should be torn out of the Bible, few people would care to have it or to read it.

There are more portraits of Jesus Christ, painted and drawn and printed, than of any other man who has ever lived. Everybody knows the picture of Jesus as soon as he sees it, whether it be of the baby Jesus in his mother's arms, or the boy Jesus in the Temple, or the Saviour teaching, or dying upon the cross. You do not need to be told which one in any picture is Jesus—his face is so well known that you know it at once. No other face among all the men who have ever lived from Adam the first man down to today, is known to as many people as the face of Jesus. Then, too, look in the hymn books of the churches and the song books of the Sunday-schools, and see how many of the hymns and songs are in praise of Jesus Christ. You do not find songs in praise of Julius Caesar, nor of Christopher Columbus, nor even of George Washington. No one who gives it thought doubts that the most famous man in all the world is Jesus Christ; and because he is so famous and so great, every one should know something of his life.

Then, too, everybody likes to hear stories of wonderful things. Even though we know that they are not true stories, every one listens to fairy tales and the stories of the "Arabian Nights." But how often, when the story is ended, the child looks up to the story-teller's face and says, "Is it all true?" Now, the story of Jesus is full of wonders. You read of his turning water into wine when the guests at the feast needed it, of his touching the eyes of a blind man and giving him sight, of his speaking to the storm and bringing peace, of his walking upon the waters in another storm to help his friends in danger, and, most wonderful of all, of his coming out of his own tomb living, after he had died. Wonderful indeed are the stories told of Jesus; and the greatest wonder is that they are all true. You would like to hear those stories, I am sure; and every child should know them and be able to tell them to others.

Let me give you another reason why every one should know the story of Jesus. He came to show us who God is, what God is to us, and how God feels toward us. Every one, even every child, thinks of God and in his heart wishes to know about God. How terribly some people have mistaken God! They have thought of him as an enemy, not as a friend. You can see in some countries images of a person with forty arms, and on every hand something to kill a man with—a sword, a spear, an arrow, a club, a cup of poison, or some other fearful thing—and that is the thought of God in that land: a mighty being who hates men! In old times, many people thought that their gods were pleased when men killed their own children and burned their bodies on an altar as an offering to God. God saw all over the earth that men had wrong and cruel thoughts of him; and he sent his Son Jesus Christ to teach men by his words, and to show men in his life what God is, how God feels toward us, and how we should feel toward God. If Jesus had done no more for us than to teach us the Lord's Prayer, beginning with the words "Our Father who art in heaven," he would have done enough to make us love him. He showed people that God is their Father, the Father of every one in all the world, and that as a Father we may call upon him, just as any child can go to his father for whatever he needs.

There was once an artist who was called upon to paint the portrait of a good man. But the man had died ten years before; the artist had never seen him, and there was no picture of him to be used as a copy. At first the artist did not know what to do. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Is there no one," he said, "who looks like this man, so that I can see him and know something of the man's face?"

"Why, yes," they answered. "He has left a son, a man grown, who looks exactly like his father."

The artist studied the face of the son, and from it painted a likeness of the father, whom he had never seen. No one has ever seen God, but if we would know, not his face, which we cannot know, but his nature, how kind, and loving, and helpful, and willing God is, we have only to think of Christ; and if we know Christ, the Son of God, we know God, his Father and our Father. For this reason, because in Jesus we may know God, everybody should know about Jesus.

But Jesus came to this world, not only to show us what God is, but to show us what we should be and how we should live. Whatever his work may be, every one needs a copy which he can look at and follow. The child who is learning to write must have a copy, so that he may know how to shape his letters. The boy or girl learning to draw has a copy or a model to guide him in his drawing. When a man is about to build a ship, he first makes a model and then shapes his great ship exactly like it. Perhaps you have heard the lines in Longfellow's poem, "The Building of the Ship."

"In the shipyard stood the Master,
With the model of the vessel
That should laugh at all disaster,
And with wave and whirlwind wrestle."

Well, we are all builders. Each one of us, boy or girl, man or woman, is building for himself what no one else can build for him: his character, what he is to be, whether good or bad, whether wise or ignorant, whether noble or selfish. And in building up ourselves we need a model, one perfect man, on whom we can look and whose life we can copy. That model we can find in Jesus. He lived our life, and in living showed us how we should live. Even a little child may say, "Jesus was once a little child; and I will try my best to be just such a child as he was." A boy of twelve may think of Jesus as a boy and resolve to live as Jesus lived. The young man, working in a shop, or office, or in the field, may take Jesus the workingman for his pattern. When Jesus was on the earth, he said many times, and to different people, "Follow me!" He says it to every one of us. But if we are to follow Jesus and to be like him, the best man that ever lived, we must study him, must know about his life, must have every story of him in our mind and in our heart; and that is another reason why every one should know the story of Jesus.

It is now almost two thousand years since Jesus lived on the earth and walked among men. Since he came, the world has become a different world, just as far as they have heard the story of Jesus and have learned to follow him. People have become less selfish and more thoughtful of others, more willing to help others, more generous in giving to others. Think of all the homes for the poor, of all the hospitals for the sick, of all the places where little children are cared for, of the playgrounds, of the love shown at Christmas time, of ten thousand ways in which the world is better. And then remember that all these good things come from Jesus Christ and his love in the hearts of men. But for Jesus, this would have been a dark world. The proof of this is that these good things are to be seen only in the lands where Jesus is known and loved and followed. Look at the lands where Christ is unknown and you find them dark and sad. There is still much to be done to make this a perfect world. We see terrible wars, and the poor still suffering wrong, and many people still selfish and cruel to their fellow-men. What can we do to make this a better and a brighter world? We can do as Jesus did. It was said of him, "He went about doing good"; and that may be said of us if we will follow Christ. But to make this world good, we must know him who is its power for goodness; and that is another reason why every one should know the story of Jesus.

Let me name only one reason more why we should know the story of Jesus: through him we have what we need most of all—the forgiveness of our sins. Suppose that someone who watches us all the time should keep a list of every wrong-doing, of every fiery temper, of every angry word, of every blow struck, of every time that one of us failed to do what is right, of every time that one let pass a chance to do some good act to another—what a long list it would be! There is such a list kept. An eye that never sleeps sees every act, the eye of God; and he remembers all our deeds, and the things left undone which we ought to have done. Is there any way to have that list against us taken away, blotted out and forgotten? Yes, there is one who can take our sins away and make the black story of our life as white as snow. That one is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He can forgive our sins, as he forgave the sins of men while he was on the earth; and he longs to have us ask him for forgiveness. Should we not love him for this? And should we not wish to hear about him and to know all the tender story of his love?

These, then, are some of the reasons why we should all seek to know the story of Jesus: because he is the greatest and most famous man that ever lived; because his story is full of interest and full of wonders, and is true; because he came to show us how kind and loving God is, and how willing to have us call upon him; because his life shows us a pattern of what we may be and tells us how we may be like him; because Jesus has made and is still making the world better, and brighter, and happier, wherever he is known; and best of all, because through Jesus our Saviour our sins may be forgiven and taken away, and we may be pure and holy as Jesus was upon the earth.

With these thoughts and aims, this Story of Jesus has been written. May it help many, young and old, to know Jesus better, to love him more, and to follow him more closely!

Transcriber's Note: To see a larger version of this map and other maps in this text, click on the image of the map.

The Lord's Land

CHAPTER 1

FIRST OF ALL, let us take a journey to the land where Jesus lived. We will sail in one of the big ocean steamers across the Atlantic, heading our prow a little to the south, and in eight days will pause at the Rock of Gibraltar, which stands on guard at the gate of the Mediterranean Sea. Do you know what "Mediterranean" means? It means, "among the lands"; and when you look at this sea on the map, you see that it has lands around it on every side, with only a narrow opening at Gibraltar, where its blue waters pour into the Atlantic Ocean.

We will enter the Mediterranean Sea, and sail its entire length, past Spain and France and Italy on the left. We just miss touching the toe of Italy, for you know Italy runs into the sea like a great leg with a high-heeled boot upon its foot. And just beyond Italy we sail by Greece, which looks somewhat like a hand with fingers wide apart.

While we are passing by these lands on the left, we are also sailing past Morocco and Algiers, and Tunis and Tripoli on the right. We stop at Alexandria in Egypt, at one of the mouths of the river Nile, and soon after we leave the big steamer at Port Said, where the great Suez Canal begins.

There in the afternoon about ten days after our leaving America, we go on board a smaller ship, and sail northward past the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The next morning we awake to find our ship at anchor in front of a city on a hillside, rising up in terraces from the water.

That city is now called Jaffa, or Yafa; and it is the place where the steamers stop to send ashore those who are about to visit the Holy Land, for that is the name given to the land where Jesus lived. Do you remember in the Old Testament the story of Jonah, the prophet who tried to run away from God's call to preach in the city of Nineveh? Well, it was from this city of Jaffa, then called Joppa, that Jonah started on his voyage, which ended inside the big fish. Perhaps you remember also the story of Dorcas, in the New Testament, that good woman who helped the poor; and after dying was raised to life through the prayer of the Apostle Peter. Dorcas too lived at Joppa; and they show the house where, it is said, Peter stayed while he was visiting in that city.

Here at Jaffa or Joppa we end our long sea-voyage of about six thousand miles. We go ashore in a small boat, tossing up and down on the waves, for there is no wharf where a steamer can land its passengers. And now we are standing on the soil of the Holy Land, where Jesus lived. In Christ's time this land was called Judea. In our day its name is Palestine.

There is no real harbor at Jaffa. Steamers must anchor some distance out, and passengers are landed by rowboats

It is a small country. If you will turn to the map of the United States, and look at New Hampshire, you will see a state in form quite like Palestine, and only a little smaller in size; for Palestine, or the Holy Land, contains about twelve thousand square miles, and New Hampshire a little more than nine thousand.

From Joppa we must go across Palestine if we would look at the part of the land among the mountains where Jesus lived. We can now ride in a railroad train, something that Jesus never saw while he lived on the earth; or we can go in a carriage, or on a horse, or on the back of a camel, as you will see some people riding, or in what they call "a palankeen," which is something like a coach-body set not on wheels, but between two pair of shafts, one in front, the other behind, and a mule harnessed in each pair, so that the rider has one mule in front and the other back of him.

As we ride over the land we notice that at first it is very level. This part of the country is called "the Sea Coast Plain," and a plain it surely is, almost as level as a floor. All around, you see gardens and farms, orange trees and fig trees. If you could pluck one of these golden oranges and taste it, you would find that it is one of the sweetest and richest and juiciest that you have ever eaten, for the Jaffa oranges are famous for their flavor. You ride between great fields of wheat and rye and barley, for this Sea Coast Plain is a rich farming land.

House of Simon, the tanner, in Joppa, where Peter stayed while visiting in that city

But after a few miles, ten or fifteen, we notice that we have left the plain and are winding and climbing among hills. In place of the farm-lands, we see here and there flocks of sheep with shepherds guarding them just as the boy David watched over his flock three thousand years ago. Indeed, in our journey we might pass over the very brook where David found the round, smooth stones, one of which he hurled with a sling into the giant Goliath's forehead. This is the region of low hills, the foothills of the higher mountains beyond. It is called "the Shephelah," a name not easy to remember. In the Old Testament days, many battles were fought on these hills between the Israelites and the Philistines, their fierce enemies.

A saddled camel

These foothills of the Shephelah are not many miles wide; and beyond them we come to the real Mountain Region of Palestine. Mountains rise on every hand, bare, stony, with scarcely any soil upon their steep sides, and with not a tree to be seen for miles. They are rocky crags, with here and there a village perched on their summits or clinging to their walls. This mountain land, more than the hills and plains below, was the home of the Israelites, the people from whom Jesus came. We wonder how they could ever have found a living in such a desolate land; but everywhere we see the ruins of old cities, showing that once the land was filled with people. In those times, two thousand and more years ago, all these mountain-sides, now bleak and rock-bound, were covered with terraces, where grew olive trees, fig trees and vineyards; where gardens blossomed and great crops were raised to feed the people. Even now in the spring and early summer, the valleys between these mountains are covered with flowers of every color. Scarcely another land on earth has as many wild flowers as this land of Palestine. This mountain-belt, running from the north to the south throughout the land was the part of Palestine where nearly all the great men of Israel lived and died. Here among the mountains in the south is Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In a mountain village in the north, Nazareth, was the home of Jesus during nearly all his life; and over these mountains everywhere in the land, Jesus walked in the three years of his preaching and teaching.

We pass over these mountains from east to west, and then from the heights we look down to a valley which runs north and south, the deepest in all the world, where we can see a little river with many windings, and rapids and falls, rolling onward to drop at last into a blue lake in the south. This river, as you know, is the Jordan, crossed by the Israelites when they first came to this land; the river where Naaman washed away his leprosy, where Elijah struck the waves with his mantle and parted them, and in whose water Jesus was baptized.

We journey across this Jordan valley, from ten to twenty miles wide, and then we climb again high and steep mountains. This region is called the Eastern Table Land, because the mountains gradually sink down to a great desert plain on the east. Here we see the ruins of once great cities, where now only a few wandering Arabs pitch their tents.

We have now crossed the land of Palestine, and we have found that it contains five parts lying in a line: first, the Sea Coast Plain; second, the Shephelah, or foothills; third, the Mountain Region; fourth, the Jordan valley; and fifth, the Eastern Table Land.

But we must keep in mind that the land when Jesus lived there was very different from the land as we see it. Now it is a poor land; then it was rich. Now its villages are made of miserable mud-houses, where live people who look half starved; then it was a land of well-built towns and happy people. Now we find roads that are mere tracks over the stones; then there were good roads everywhere. Now the hills rise bare and rocky; then they were covered with gardens. Now scarcely a tree can be seen in miles of travel; then the olive and the vine and the palm grew everywhere. We see the land in its ruin; Jesus saw it in its riches.

The valley of Gehenna, to the east of Jerusalem

The People in the Lord's Land

CHAPTER 2

NEARLY ALL the people living in Palestine in the time of Jesus were of the Jewish race. Two thousand years before Jesus came, a great man was living in that land, named Abraham. To this man, God gave a promise that his children and their children after them for many ages should live in that land and own it. Abraham's son was named Isaac, and Isaac's son was named Jacob. All the people of Palestine had sprung from the family of Jacob, and by the time Jesus came, these descendants of Jacob, as they were called, were in number many millions, and were to be found in other lands besides Palestine; although more of them lived in Palestine than in any other land.

Jacob, Abraham's grandson, was also named Israel; and on that account all the people sprung from him were called the Israelites. Jacob or Israel had twelve sons, from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel. But one son, named Judah, had more descendants or people springing from him than any other; and as most of the people in Palestine were of Judah's family, all of them were spoken of as Jews, a word which means sprung or descended from Judah. So the people to whom Jesus belonged were sometimes called Israelites, but more often Jews. They had another name, "Hebrews," but that was not used as often as the two names, Israelites and Jews.

For many years, long before Jesus came, the Jews were rulers in the land of Palestine, with kings of their own race, as David and Solomon in the early times, and King Jeroboam and King Hezekiah later. But in the time of Jesus, the Jews were no longer rulers in their own land. Palestine was then a small part of the vast Roman Empire, which ruled all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Its chief was an emperor, who lived at Rome in Italy. At the time when Jesus was born the emperor was Augustus. He was then an old man, and died very soon after the birth of Jesus. The emperor who followed him was named Tiberius, and he ruled most of the years that Jesus was living in Palestine.

Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, where Herod lived

But there was another king ruling the land of Palestine under the Roman emperor, at the time when Jesus came. His name was Herod, and because he was a very wise and strong man, although a very wicked man, he was called Herod the Great. He ruled the land of Palestine, but in his turn obeyed the orders of the emperor Augustus at Rome. Herod also was a very old man at the time of Jesus' birth, and died soon afterward.

When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided into four parts. Each of these parts had a king of its own, and three of these kings were Herod's sons. Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee in the northwest, and Perea in the southeast; Herod Philip was over the country in the northeast; and Herod Archelaus ruled the largest portion, in the south. None of these little kings were good men. They had their father's wickedness, but did not have his ability to rule. One of them, Archelaus, was so bad that all the people asked the emperor at Rome to take his rule away. This the emperor did, and sent a man from Rome to govern the land in his place. You have heard of the Roman governor who was over this part of the land while Jesus was teaching. His name was Pontius Pilate; and he it was, you remember, who sent Jesus to die upon the cross.

The land of Palestine at that time was divided into five parts, which were called "provinces." The largest of these provinces was Judea, the one on the south, between the Dead Sea and the river Jordan on the east, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. North of Judea was a small province called Samaria, where lived a people who were not Jews but Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans, and the Samaritans, in turn, hated the Jews. Samaria was governed as a part of Judea, not with a separate ruler. These were the two provinces at first under Archelaus and then under the Roman governor.

Samuel anointing Saul to be the first king of Israel

In the north of Palestine, west of the river Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, was the province of Galilee, a country full of mountains, where Jesus dwelt for nearly all his life. The ruler of this province was Herod Antipas. He lived most of the time at a city which he had built beside the Sea of Galilee, and had named Tiberias, after the Roman emperor Tiberius.

Across the Jordan, on the east, opposite to Galilee was another province. In the Old Testament times, this land had been called Bashan, which means "woodland," because it was a land of many forests. In the New Testament time it was generally spoken of as "Philip's province," because its ruler was Herod Philip, the best of Herod's sons, and none too good, either.

South of Philip's province, and east of the river Jordan, was a province named Perea, a word meaning "beyond," because this region was beyond or across the river Jordan. At the time of Jesus' life, Perea was like Galilee, ruled by Herod Antipas. Once at least Jesus visited this province; and here he told the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which everybody has heard.

Although the mighty Roman empire gave to the Jews in Palestine a government that was just and fair, it was not a Jewish rule; and the Jews were not contented under the power of foreigners. They felt that they more than other nations were the people of God, and that they had a right to rule themselves, under kings of their own race. Also they read in their Bible the promises of the prophets that from Israel should come forth a king, out of David's line, who should rule the world.

A heathen idol

This great King, whom the Jews hoped for and looked for, they called "Messiah," a word in the Jews' language meaning the same as the word "Christ," which is a Greek word, meaning "the Anointed One," that is, "the King." You remember that in the Old Testament story the prophet Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, that is, he poured oil on his head; and that afterward he chose the boy David to be the next king by the same sign. When we say "Jesus Christ," Jesus is his name and "Christ" is his title; and we mean "Jesus the King."

We know that this promised King whom the Jews called Messiah was Jesus Christ who rules over the hearts of men everywhere; but the Jews thought that it meant a king like Herod or the emperor Tiberius, only better and wiser, who should live in a palace at Jerusalem, their chief city, and make all lands obey his will. This hope made the Jews very restless and unhappy under the Roman power. They were always looking for the coming of this mighty King of the Jews, who should lead them to conquer the earth.

Interior of Jewish synagogue in Palestine

In their worship the Jews were different from all the rest of the world. Every other people had gods of wood and stone, images before which they bowed and to which they gave offerings. In all the cities of that world were temples and altars to these idols, made by the hands of men. But in the land of the Jews were no images, no idol-temples, and no offerings to man-made gods. The Jews, whether in Palestine or in other lands, worshipped the One God who was unseen, the God to whom we also pray. In their chief city, Jerusalem, was a splendid temple where God was worshipped; and in every Jewish city and town were churches, where the people met to read the Bible, to sing the psalms of David, to offer prayer to God, and to talk together about God's laws. These churches were called "synagogues," and wherever Jews lived, synagogues were to be found. The Jews looked with great contempt upon the idol-worship of other nations, and were proud of the fact that ever since the days of their father Abraham, they had worshipped only the Lord God.

Ruins of ancient synagogue at Kefr Birim, in Galilee

The Stranger by the Golden Altar

CHAPTER 3

IN THE land of Palestine one city was loved by the Jews above all other places. That was Jerusalem, the largest city in the land in the province of Judea. It was to the Jews everywhere, not only in Palestine but over all the earth, wherever Jews lived, "the holy city." From all parts of the land the people came at least once in every year, and many families, three times each year, to worship God in Jerusalem. At these great feasts, as they were called, all the roads leading to Jerusalem were thronged with travelers going up to Jerusalem for worship. And the Jews in other lands, many hundreds of miles away, even as far as Rome itself, tried at least once in their lives to visit the city. They sang about Jerusalem songs such as:

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her cunning;
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
If I remember thee not,
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my chief joy."

That which made Jerusalem a holy city was its Temple, a magnificent building on Mount Moriah, just across a valley from Mount Zion, where the larger part of the city stood. The Temple they called "The House of God," for in it the Jews believed their God made his home. In front of this Temple stood an altar, which was like a great box made of stone, hollow inside, and covered with a metal grating. Upon this altar a fire was kept burning night and day, and on the fire the priests who led in the worship of God, laid offerings of sheep and oxen, which were burned as gifts to God; while around the altar the people stood and prayed to God as the offering, which they called "a sacrifice," was burning.

Looking up the Kedron Valley toward Mt. Moriah

Inside the Temple building were two rooms. The room in front was called "the holy place," and in it stood on one side a table covered with gold, on which lay twelve loaves of bread as an offering to God; one loaf for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. On the other side of the room stood a golden lamp-stand, with seven branches, called "the golden candlestick." At the farther end of the room stood another altar, made of gold, smaller than the great altar in front of the Temple. On this golden altar the priest offered twice each day a bowl of incense, which was made by mixing some sweet-smelling gums, frankincense and myrrh, and burning them, so that they formed a fragrant white cloud, filling the Holy Place.

Beyond the Holy Place was another room called "The Holy of Holies." Into this room no one entered except the high priest, and he on only one day in the year; for this inner room was set apart for the dwelling-place of God; and the Jews believed that in this room the light of God was shining so brightly that no one could endure it. In the first Temple built by King Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant stood in the Holy of Holies. This was a chest covered with gold, within which lay the two stone tables on which the Ten Commandments were written. But the Ark of the Covenant had been lost, and in the time of which we are speaking, nothing was in the Holy of Holies except a block of marble.

The Mosque of Omar, now on the place where the Temple once stood

One day an old priest named Zacharias was offering incense upon the golden altar in the Holy Place. He had filled the bowl, which they called a censer, with the frankincense and myrrh, and had placed in it some coals of fire from the great altar in front of the Temple. He had come into the Holy Place, bringing his censer of incense, which sent its white cloud into the air, and was just about to lay it upon the altar, when he was startled at suddenly seeing someone standing by the golden altar on the right side.

Zacharias was surprised to see anyone in the room, for he knew that no one but himself had a right to be there. But he was still more surprised and filled with fear when he looked at this stranger standing by the altar. He seemed like a young man, and his face and body and clothes were bright and shining like the sun, so glorious that the old priest could not bear to look upon him.

High Priest, altar of incense, table for shew bread, and Ark of the Covenant

At once Zacharias knew that this glorious person was an angel sent from God. He trembled with fear; his knees shook, and he could scarcely keep from falling on the floor. The angel spoke to him, gently and kindly:

"Zacharias, do not be frightened. You have nothing to fear. I have come to you with good news. God has heard the prayers that you and your good wife Elizabeth have been sending up to heaven for these many years. You shall have a son, and shall call his name John. Your son when he becomes a man will bring joy and gladness to many people; for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and it shall be his work to make his people ready for the coming of the King for whom they have been looking so long. You must see that your son never drinks any wine or strong drink, for he is to be set apart for God, to serve God only, and to speak the word of God to the people, telling them that their King and Saviour is at hand."

The golden candlestick

The priest was so filled with surprise and fear that he could scarcely believe what he heard.

"How can these wonderful words be true?" he said. "I am an old man, and my wife is also old. We are too old now to have children. How can I believe all this?"

The angel was not pleased when he saw that Zacharias doubted his word, and he said:

"I am the angel Gabriel, that stands before God; and I have been sent from God to speak to you and to bring you this good news. Now, because you did not believe God's word, you shall be stricken dumb, and shall not be able to speak until my words come true and your child is born."

And then the angel vanished out of sight as suddenly as he had come, and Zacharias was left alone.

All this time a great crowd of people was standing outside the Temple, worshipping God while the offering was made. They wondered that Zacharias was waiting so long in the Temple; and they wondered more when he came out and they found that he could not speak. He made signs to them, trying to show them he had seen an angel, but he did not tell them what the angel had said, for that was meant for himself only and not for others.

Each priest stayed for one week in the Temple and then went to his house; so after a few days Zacharias left Jerusalem and returned to his house in the southern part of the land, not far from the old city of Hebron, the place where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the early fathers of the Israelites, were buried.

How happy Elizabeth was when her husband, by signs and by writing, told her of the angel and his promise that she should be the mother of one who was to bear the word of the Lord to the people. Such men, to whom God spoke and who spoke for God, were called "prophets." Many great prophets in past years had spoken the word of God to the Israelites, men like Samuel and Elijah and Isaiah. But more than four hundred years had passed away since the voice of a prophet had been heard in the land. Their promised son was to rise up and speak once more God's will to his people. Zacharias and Elizabeth might not live long enough to hear his voice as a prophet, but they had God's promise, and in that promise they were happy, waiting for their child to come and grow up to his great work.

The Angel Visits Nazareth

CHAPTER 4

FOR OUR next story we visit Nazareth, a village in Galilee, nearly seventy miles north of Jerusalem. Galilee, as we have seen, was the northern province or division of the land, lying between the river Jordan and the Great Sea. The lower part of Galilee is a great plain, called "the plain of Esdraelon," or "the plain of Jezreel," where many battles have been fought in past times. The upper part of Galilee is everywhere mountains and valleys, with villages perched on the mountain tops or clinging to their sides, and sometimes nestled in the valleys. Just where the plain ends and the mountains begin, we find a long range of steep hills. If we climb to the top of this range, on one side we see the plain stretched out, and far in the distance the Mediterranean Sea; and on the other, or northern slope of the hills, we come to the city of Nazareth. There the mother of Jesus lived as a young girl before her son was born, and there Jesus lived during most of his life.

Nazareth is there still, although many of the old towns in that land have passed away; and now it is quite a city, but in the time of which we are telling it was only a village. All around it are hills. One can stand in the town and count fifteen hills and mountains, all in sight.

Nazareth from the road to Cana

Its narrow streets climb the hills between rows of one-story white houses, many of them having a little dome on the roof. Around each roof in those times of which we are telling was a rail with posts on the corners, to prevent any one on the roof from falling off, for the flat roof was used as a place of visiting and of rest, since the house inside was dark, having no glass windows, but instead only one small hole in the wall. None of these houses had a door opening upon the street. Beside the road was a high wall, and in it a gate leading to an open court, at one end of which stood the house.

In the village was one fountain, to which all the women went for water. There were no wells or pumps or pipes with water in the houses; and around the fountain might be seen in the morning a crowd of women bringing water-jars empty, and carrying them home full of water, balanced on their heads. No one often saw a man carrying a jar of water, for this was looked upon as a woman's work.

In one of those small white houses of Nazareth lived a young Jewish girl named Mary. We do not know how she looked, for although many artists have made pictures of her, all have drawn or painted her as they imagined her to be, not as she was. All that we really know of Mary, we read in two of the four gospels, Matthew and Luke; and neither of these tell us anything about her early life or her family. It has been said that her father's name was Joachim and her mother's was Anna; but this is not found in either of the gospels, and we do not know whether it is true.

We do know, however, that she was a pure-hearted, lovely girl, who served the God of Israel with all her heart and lived a holy life. She knew her Bible well, we are sure, for its words came readily to her lips; and she was a girl who thought much and talked but little. In those years she might have been seen often going with the other girls of the village to the fountain for water, or sitting in the women's gallery in the church, listening thoughtfully to the reading from the Bible, and with her rich young voice joining in the chanting of David's psalms.

In that land girls are promised in marriage while very young, and Mary was at this time promised to be married to a man named Joseph, who was a carpenter, or, as he is called in the gospels, a worker in wood. The two families, Joseph's and Mary's, were not rich. They belonged to the working class of people, but they were not like many, wretchedly poor. They were just plain, honest, working people, able to earn a comfortable living.

The well of the Virgin Mary, at Nazareth

Mary beheld the angel Gabriel suddenly beaming upon her.

Although Joseph and Mary were of the common people, they came from the noblest blood in all the land. Both were sprung from the royal line of David, the greatest of the kings of Israel, and the singer of many beautiful psalms. They lived in little one-room houses, and their hands were hard from work, but they could trace their line back to the palace where David the founder of their family dwelt.

On one day Mary was alone. It may have been in her own little home, or upon its roof, where she often went for prayer, or perhaps under a tree on the hillside near the village. Just as Zacharias a few months before had seen a heavenly, gloriously-shining being in the Temple, so now Mary beheld the same angel Gabriel suddenly beaming upon her. In a sweet voice he said:

"Peace be with you, Mary! You are in high favor and love, for the Lord is with you!"

The voice was gentle, but the sight of this shining form filled the young girl with alarm. She knew not what to think, nor why this glorious being had come to her. But after a moment the angel went on speaking, and said:

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for God has chosen you among all women for his special favor. You shall have a son; and you shall give him the name Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest God. God shall give to him the throne and the kingdom of his father David. He shall reign forever over the people of Israel, and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

The angel paused and Mary found words to speak, tremblingly and with fear:

"How can all this come to me? I do not understand what it all means!"

Then the angel spoke again to the troubled and frightened girl:

"The Holy Spirit of God shall come to you, and the power of God shall be upon you; and therefore that holy child that is to be given you shall be called 'The Son of God.' Also, let me tell you that your cousin Elizabeth is soon to have a son in her old age. This may seem strange to you; but no word of God is without power. Every promise of God shall surely come to pass."

Then Mary said:

"I am the Lord's servant, and I can trust him. Let it be to me as you have spoken. I will rest without fear in the will of the Lord."

Then, as suddenly as he had come, the angel vanished out of sight, and Mary was left alone. She was filled with wonder at what she had seen and heard. Any young Jewish girl to whom came the news that the words of the prophets in the Bible were now to come true, that the long-promised King of Israel was soon to be born, and that she should be his mother, would be amazed and perhaps alarmed at the message.

Some girls would have talked about it, and might even be proud at such an expectation. But Mary's was a quiet nature, not apt to speak of her deepest thoughts. She felt in some way that there was no one in her home or in her village with whom she could speak of these things. She hid them silently in her heart, but thought about them day and night.

Elizabeth greeting Mary: "Blessed, most blessed are you among women!"

A Young Girl's Journey

CHAPTER 5

AFTER THE visit of the angel and the message which he had brought, Mary's mind was filled with many thoughts and her heart was full. She was only a young girl, not older than sixteen years, perhaps as young as fifteen; for if she were older she should have been already married. In that land nearly all young women are married as soon as they are sixteen years old; and very few stay unmarried.

Mary felt that she must talk with somebody of all these wonderful things that had been spoken to her. We would think that her mother was the one with whom she could open her heart most freely, but we are not sure that her mother was living. And is it not true that a young girl can sometimes tell to a dear grandmother, or some other old lady who is her friend, the deep things of the heart that she may hesitate to mention even to her own mother?

She thought of one who was not her grandmother, but who from her age and sweetness seemed like one. Her mind turned to Elizabeth, living far away in the south. The angel, you know, had told her that Elizabeth was also to have a child, and perhaps she would be able to understand Mary's feelings better than any other woman.

Elizabeth was related to Mary. She is named in the gospel of St. Luke as Mary's cousin, though very likely they were not near, but distant relatives. Mary knew that she was wise and good, that she loved her, and being old, could give her advice. Mary made up her mind to visit Elizabeth and open her heart with her fully about what the angel had spoken to her. From Nazareth to Elizabeth's house was a long distance, in a straight line more than eighty miles, but much farther by the road which travelers from Galilee generally followed in going from the north to the south of the land.

Very soon after the angel's visit, Mary left her home and began her journey southward. Of course, a young girl could not take a journey so long alone. But there were always caravans or parties going from Galilee to Jerusalem, and Mary would travel with one of those companies. A soldier would ride on a horse, a general in his chariot, and an Arab on his camel; but most men in those times walked, even on long journeys. A woman would ride on an ass, which was the animal preferred by the Jews for travel.

We may think of Mary with a beating heart leaving her home in Nazareth in company with a caravan or party of people journeying to Jerusalem to attend one of the great feasts held every year in that city. Their most direct way would be over the mountains; but it would be rough and stony; up one mountain, down another, and around a third mountain, nearly all the way. Besides, this way would lead them through the country of the Samaritans, which lay between Galilee and Judea, and such was the hatred between Jews and Samaritans that it was scarcely safe for a company of Jews to go through their land. A large company would need to stop by night at some inn, and the Samaritans often shut their inns against those who were going to Jerusalem.

The line of travel from Nazareth would be to go over the steep hill on the south of their village, then follow a well-trodden way eastward down to the river Jordan. There they would find a very good road built by the Romans, straight down the Jordan Valley, with mountains on either side. This they would follow about sixty miles until they came to Jericho. There they might rest for a few days; and then climb the steep path up the mountains to Jerusalem. This Jericho road was a hiding place for robbers, and it was never safe for anyone to travel it alone. But in a large company, with many men, and often a guard of soldiers, the travelers need not fear. They would easily reach Jerusalem in a week or ten days after leaving Nazareth, and might make the journey in five days if they were in haste.

In Jerusalem Mary would visit with some friend. All the families in the land had friends in Jerusalem with whom they stayed while attending the great feasts, of which three were held each year; and the dwellers in Jerusalem opened their houses to the same families year after year. After the feast, Mary would find another caravan or party going home to Hebron and the villages near it, and she would travel the rest of her journey, about twenty miles, with this party. Altogether, Mary's journey, from Nazareth to Hebron, was nearly one hundred and twenty miles long. Although many people were with her all the way, she was alone in spirit, for she could speak to no one of the great thoughts which burdened her mind and her heart.

At last her long journey was over. She stopped at the door of the house of Zacharias; and in a moment was clasped in the arms of Elizabeth. In some strange way God had given to Elizabeth to know all that had come to Mary. In a loud voice she said:

"Blessed, most blessed are you among women! And blessed among men shall be the son born to you! High indeed is the honor mine today when the mother of my Lord comes to my home! Blessed is she that believed the angel's word, for that word shall surely come true!"

In that moment Mary's feelings, long held in, broke out into song. For this young woman's soul was not only pure and tender and devout, it was the soul of a poet whose thoughts shape themselves into verse. Mary spoke and sung a song which has become famous. Someone wrote it down, and Saint Luke, who wrote the gospel, found a copy of it and gave it to the world. Everyone should read it. We give it here.

MARY'S SONG

My soul beholds the greatness of the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath looked upon his servant in my lowly state;
And from this time people in all ages shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
And holy is his name.
And his mercy is from age to age
On those who fear him.
He hath showed strength with his arm;
He hath scattered the proud in the vain thoughts of their heart.
He hath put down princes from their thrones,
And hath lifted up those of humble state.
The hungry he hath filled with good things;
And the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath given help to Israel his servant
That he might remember mercy
As he spoke to our fathers,
Toward Abraham and his children forever.

For three months Mary stayed with Elizabeth in that quiet home, the old woman and the young woman, both soon to be mothers, talked together day after day. Perhaps by this time people were going to another feast in Jerusalem, and Mary found again a party of pilgrims—for that was the name that they gave to people going to Jerusalem to worship—who were returning to Galilee. She went home, comforted in spirit and made strong by her visit with Elizabeth.

It was either while Mary was visiting with Elizabeth, or soon after her return to her home, that Joseph, her promised husband, began to question in his mind whether he ought to marry her. There was a strange look in her face, and he saw that she had thoughts in her mind of which she could not speak to him. He loved her deeply, and it was with sorrow that he asked himself whether they would be happy together.

But one night, while he was sleeping, a dream came to Joseph. In his dream he saw an angel standing by his side. The angel said to him:

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife. She shall have a son; and his name shall be Jesus, for it is he that shall save his people from their sins."

The word Jesus, in the language of that people, means "Saviour," and often Jesus is spoken of as "Our Saviour" because he came to take away our sins.

After this message, Joseph hesitated no longer. He did as the angel had bidden him. He was married to Mary, and led her to his own home, in which was also the shop where he followed his trade as a carpenter.

The Boy Who Never Tasted Wine

CHAPTER 6

NOT LONG after Mary's visit, the child promised to Zacharias and Elizabeth was born. In Jewish families the coming of a child into the home was always the cause of great gladness; and the gladness was greater at the birth of this baby, because this was the first child, and the father and mother were old. All the friends of Zacharias and Elizabeth came to see them and to rejoice with them over the boy whom God had given them.

"He must be named Zacharias after his father," said the visitors.

"Not so," answered the mother; "he shall be named John."

"Why should you give him that name?" they said. "None of your family has ever been called John."

But Elizabeth insisted that her boy should bear the name John.

You remember that Zacharias had been stricken dumb at the time when the angel spoke to him in the Temple. In all the months since he had not spoken a word. Nor could he hear what was said; for now they made signs, to ask him what should be the child's name. They brought him a writing table, and on it he wrote, "His name is John." So that was the name of this child of promise, just as the angel Gabriel had said.

You may ask, what was a writing table? In those times paper was very scarce and high in its cost. It was used only for writing down matters that were important. For common uses, each family had a writing table, which was a board over which was spread a thin layer of wax. On this wax they marked what they wished to write, with a sharp-pointed pen of iron or steel. This kind of a pen was called a stylus. The other end of the pen was flat, like an ivory paper-cutter. After writing, they could smooth it all out again; and the wax was then ready to be used once more.

Just as soon as Zacharias had written the words "His name is John," the power to hear and to speak came back to him. He began to praise God in a loud voice, and gave forth a song of rejoicing. This song was afterward written, and may be read in the gospel by St. Luke, near the end of the first chapter.

Writing tablets

In this song, Zacharias gave thanks to God for having blessed his people and kept the promises that had been made in God's name by all the prophets of old time. The prophets, as you may know, were the good men who listened to God's words and then gave them to the people, speaking with God's power; and sometimes telling, long before the time, of great events that were to take place. They were men like Moses, who saw God face to face, and Samuel the wise ruler, and Elijah the prophet of fire, and Isaiah, who declared Christ's coming long before his day. In the Old Testament times there was always a prophet to tell the people the will of God. But since the Old Testament had been finished, almost five hundred years before this time, no prophet had stood up in Israel with the word of the Lord.

Zacharias knew that this newly-born child should grow up to give God's message to the people. He said in his song:

"And you, O child, shall be called the prophet of God;
For you shall go before the Lord Christ, to make ready a way for him;
You shall give to his people the good news of a Saviour,
And the forgiveness of their sins
Because of the tender mercy of God."

John the Baptist in the desert

In the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth the baby John grew up a strong, noble boy. Very early they told him of the angel's visit, and of the command that throughout his life he was not to taste wine nor any strong drink. He was under a vow or pledge of special service for God; and one sign of his pledge was to be his not tasting wine nor even eating grapes. Another sign was in leaving his hair to grow long and never cutting it. Everyone who saw him would know by these signs that he was pledged to a life of peculiar service to God.

When John became a young man he went away from his home and lived in the desert, alone with his own thoughts and with God. Very likely, his father and mother died before he went to live alone, for at the time of his birth they were old people and could not live many years.

John lived upon the plainest of food, the locusts that could be gathered in the field, and were boiled, to be eaten by the poorest people. He ate also the honey made by the wild bees and stored by them in hollow trees and holes in the rocks. All those years of his young manhood, John was thinking upon the work to which God had called him, talking with God and learning God's will; so that when the time came, he could give God's message to the people.

Plowing in Bible time

They sought out the inn at Bethlehem but Joseph found within its walls no place where his wife could rest after her long and wearisome ride.

The Child-King in His Cradle

CHAPTER 7

FOR A FEW months after their marriage, Joseph and Mary lived in their little house at Nazareth. Joseph worked at his trade as a carpenter, while Mary cared for the home and carried the water for the needs of the house from the well in the middle of the village, walking with her jar full of water on her head.

One day Joseph came home and told his wife that he had been called to go on a journey to Bethlehem, which was the town from which their family had come. Both Joseph and Mary, as we have seen, had sprung from the line of the great King David, who had been born in Bethlehem more than a thousand years before. Every one who belonged to the line of David, wherever he might be living, looked upon Bethlehem as the home-town of his family.

The Emperor Augustus at Rome, who ruled over all the lands and was above Herod, the king of Judea, had given orders that a list should be made of all the families in his wide empire. He wished to lay a tax upon every family; that is, to call upon every family to pay money for the support of his officers, his army, his court; and in order to fix this tax, he must have written down the names of all the people.

In our land such a list is made every ten years, and is called a census. With us, men are chosen in every city and town to go to the people where they live and make the list of their names. From all the states throughout the land, these lists are sent to one office, and there the names are arranged in order.

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, said to enclose the birthplace of the Saviour

The shepherds came to the stable, opened the door and found just what the angel said they would see, a tiny babe lying in the manger.

But the Romans who were ruling the world at that time chose a plan for making this great list which would give themselves the least trouble, even though it gave to the people under them much more trouble, and compelled them to make long journeys. Instead of appointing in each place an officer to take the names of the people at the places where they were living, they made a law that every family must go to the city or town from which they or their fathers had come, and there give their names to the officers who were making the roll of the people. Those who were living in Jerusalem, and had come from Shechem or Joppa or Cæsarea, must journey to one of these places and there make their report; those who were living in Nazareth and had come, or their parents before them had come, from any other place, must go to their home-town, however far it might be, and in that place be enrolled or written upon the list of names.

There is no reason to suppose that Mary, although herself sprung from the family of David, was compelled to make this journey to Bethlehem with her husband. The Roman laws took very little notice of women, unless they were rich women who could be taxed. Joseph could go alone to Bethlehem, and there have both their names written upon the list. But at once a thought came to Mary, and she said to her husband:

"You shall not make the journey to Bethlehem alone. I will go with you."

We are not told why the young wife was resolved to go with her husband on the long journey, but the reason may have been this: Mary knew that she was to have a son, and the time for his coming was now near at hand. She knew, too, that her child should be the Son of David and the King of Israel, that he was to sit on David's throne. She wished him to be born, not in the village of Nazareth in Galilee, but in David's own town of Bethlehem. He was to spring from the royal line, and she was willing to endure a hard, trying journey, and even to suffer, that her son might come from the royal city where David lived. Mary had read the books of the Old Testament, and she knew that in those books it had been written by the prophets, to whom God had spoken, that this king, whom they called Messiah and Christ, should be born in Bethlehem. These were the reasons that made Mary decide so quickly to go with her husband on his journey to Bethlehem, the city of their fathers.

So Joseph locked up his carpenter's shop and set his wife upon an ass, and with a staff walked beside her, over the mountain and down the valley to the river Jordan, and thence following the river, over the Roman road, the same long road that Mary had taken in the caravan or company of pilgrims some months before. Joseph had been over that road many times, going up every year to the feasts at Jerusalem, so that he knew all the places which they passed, and could tell Mary stories of their people and the great events which had taken place on the mountains or in the cities as they came into view in their journey.

They stopped at Jericho, near the head of the Dead Sea, and there turned westward, climbing the mountains over the robber-haunted road, and reaching Jerusalem. Perhaps they rested a day or two in this city and then went over to the mount of Olives, past the village of Bethany; and six miles south of Jerusalem they entered the gate of Bethlehem.

They had no friends with whom they could stay in Bethlehem, and so they sought out the inn, or the khan, as it was called. This was a large building with rooms around an open court. In this court the animals and the baggage were placed, and the guests of the inn were in the rooms around it. But Joseph and Mary were not the only people who had come to Bethlehem to have their names enrolled or written upon the lists for the taxing. Others had reached the inn or khan before them. When they came the courtyard was filled with asses and camels and chariots and baggage, and all the rooms around the court were crowded with visitors. Joseph found within the walls of the khan no place where his wife could rest after her long and wearisome ride.

But at last Joseph learned of a place where they might stay through the night and for a few days. It was only a cave, hollowed out in the hillside, used as a stable for cattle; but miserable as it was, Mary was glad to lie down upon the straw and rest. And in that cave-stable Mary's child was born. She wrapped her little baby in such clothes as she could find at hand, and laid him for his first sleep in the manger where the oxen had fed. This was the lowly cradle of the Son of David, the King who was to rule over all the earth! King Herod in his palace did not know, and the Emperor Augustus at Rome did not dream, that in the humble stable at Bethlehem was lying a Prince who should reign over a realm vastly greater than Judea or the Roman Empire; that all the world should date their years from the year when that baby was born; and that his name would be praised long after their names had been forgotten.

Main street in Bethlehem

But although neither King Herod, nor the Emperor Augustus, nor the high-priest and rulers in Jerusalem were there to welcome their new-born King, there were some visitors at his manger-cradle. In the open fields around Bethlehem were shepherds, watching at night over their flocks of sheep, just as, a thousand years before in the same fields, the young shepherd David had cared for his sheep, guarding them from wild beasts of the wilderness and from robbers.

Suddenly a great, dazzling light flashed upon these shepherds, and they saw, as Zacharias had seen by the altar, and as Mary had seen in Nazareth, a glorious angel standing before them. The shepherds were filled with fear and fell upon their faces on the ground, not daring to look up at the shining form. But the angel spoke to them kindly and graciously, saying:

"Do not be afraid, for I come with good news, which will make you glad; news for all God's people. On this very night is born in yonder city of David, one who shall be the Saviour, even Christ your Lord and King. Would you wish to go and see this child? I will tell you how you can find him. Look for a newly-born baby wrapped in such clothes as babies wear, and lying, not in a cradle in a house, but in the manger of a stable, where the oxen and the asses are kept. There you will find the child who is to be the King of all the earth!"

While shepherds were listening to the words of this angel, they saw that the entire midnight sky over them was filled with a multitude of heavenly beings. The shepherds heard them sing:

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men in whom God is well pleased."

Then the vision faded away, the angelic host passed out of sight, and in the dark sky only the stars were shining above them. Then the shepherds said to each other:

"Let us leave our sheep here for a little while, and go to the village and see this wonderful thing that has come to pass. How good it is that the Lord has given this word to us, that we may be the first to look upon our King!"

It did not take the shepherds a long time to find the right stable and the manger, for Bethlehem was then only a small village. They came, opened the door, and found just what the angel had said they would see, a tiny baby lying in the manger, his mother hovering near, and Joseph watching over them both in tenderness.

They saw the royal little one, and bowed low around his manger cradle, then went again to their flocks in the field, praising God for his goodness in sending the long-promised King. The people to whom the shepherds told this story, wondered at it, hardly knowing whether to believe it or not; for this was not the way in which they looked for the King of Israel to come. They were expecting a prince to be born in a palace, not a working-woman's child in a dark cave where cattle were kept.

But Mary, happy with her little one, clasped him to her heart and said nothing to anyone of the angel that had come to her in Nazareth, and of the promises given her about this child. When the day came to name the child, she simply said, "His name shall be Jesus," but she told no one why the name was given. It was a common name among the Jews, so no one was surprised at the name. But no word could tell better than his name "Jesus" what this child should become, for the word Jesus means "Saviour."

Simeon came forward and took the infant Jesus into his arms, and lifting up his eyes to heaven gave thanks that he had seen the Saviour.

The Baby Brought to the Temple

CHAPTER 8

ALTHOUGH JESUS was born in a stable and slept in a manger, he did not stay in that place long. After a few days Joseph was able to find a more comfortable home, where the young mother and her baby were taken. The Jews were very kind to strangers of their own people, and welcomed them to their houses when passing through their towns.

Joseph and his family were in Bethlehem for some weeks, perhaps for some months. It may have been their purpose to make Bethlehem their home, and to bring up this child, the Son of David, in David's own city, where he could have a better training for his coming life, whatever that life might be, than in the country village of Nazareth.

On the day when Jesus was forty days old, he was brought with his mother to Jerusalem, which was only six miles from Bethlehem. There he was taken to the Temple for a service which showed that he was given to God and to be brought up as God's child. It was the rule of the Jews that after the first child had come to a family, an offering should be made on the altar in the Temple for him and prayers should be said. A family that was rich would offer for their first child a sheep, which was killed and burned on the altar as a gift to God in place of the child. If the family was poor, or of the working class of people, the parents offered a pair of doves or pigeons. Joseph and Mary brought a pair of doves, and stood by while these were burned on the altar, Mary holding her baby in her arms.

At that moment there was in the Temple an old man named Simeon. He was a good man and very earnest in his prayers to God that he might live to see the Messiah-King of Israel, the Christ of God, who had been promised through the prophets of old. And God had said to Simeon that he should not die until he had seen Christ. On that morning a voice had seemed to say to him, "Go to the Temple." He obeyed it, not knowing why he had been sent to that place on that day.

As Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus into the Temple, the voice of the Lord spoke again to Simeon, saying:

"This child is David's Son, the King of Israel."

Mary and the doves

The old man came forward, held out his arms, and took the child into them, folded him to his bosom, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, said in Hebrew verse:

"Now, Lord, thou mayest let thy servant go
According to thy word, in peace.
For these eyes of mine have seen thy Saviour
Whom thou hast sent to all the people.
A light to shine upon the nations,
And the glory of thine own people Israel."

Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder at the act and words of the old man, whom they had never seen before and did not know. But as he placed the child in their arms again, he prayed for God's blessing upon both Joseph and Mary.

"Listen," he said, "this child will become a cause for many to fall and to rise again in Israel. He shall be God's sign of mercy, but many shall speak against him. Also, sorrow like a sword shall pierce through your soul, O mother; and the thoughts out of many hearts shall be made known."

Those words seemed very strange at the time; but long afterward, when Jesus had grown to be a man, Mary found how true they were, as she saw enemies gathered against her son, and at last looked at him dying upon the cross. Then, indeed, a sword went through Mary's soul.

Just at that moment a woman came up to the little group. She was very old, more than ninety years of age; and being a widow and a devout worshipper of God she stayed nearly all her days in the Temple praying. God had spoken to her also with the promise of a coming Christ, the Saviour and King. She too saw in this little baby the promised Messiah, and in a loud voice gave thanks and praise to God. All who heard her wondered at her words, and wondered all the more as they looked on this plainly-clad father and mother with their baby, all evidently from the country, and the speech of Joseph and Mary showing they had come from Galilee in the far north.

Thus even while Jesus was a very young baby, only forty days old, here in Jerusalem a few people had looked upon him and spoken of him as the coming King of Israel.

Joseph and Mary carried the child back to their new home in Bethlehem; and Mary had more thoughts to hide within her silent heart long after that day in the Temple.

The Followers of the Star

CHAPTER 9

WHILE JOSEPH and Mary with the child Jesus were still staying in Bethlehem, the city of Jerusalem was stirred by the coming of some men from a land far away, with a strange question. These men were not Jews, but were Gentiles, which was the name that the Jews gave to all people except themselves. All Romans and Greeks and Egyptians and all others who were not of their own race, the Jews called by the name "Gentiles." These Gentile strangers who came to Jerusalem were asking of everybody whom they met this question:

"Can you tell us where is to be found the little child who is born to be the King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east, and we have come to do him honor?"

Who were these men, and what was the star that they had seen?

We are not certain as to their land, but it is generally thought to have been the country now called Persia, then known as Parthia, a land about a thousand miles to the east of Judea. Although some Jews lived in that land—for Jews were to be found then as now in all lands, especially in large cities—the people of Parthia were not Jews, but, as the Jews called them, Gentiles. Although not of the Jewish race, these people were like the Jews in one respect—they never bowed down to worship images which men had made. They worshipped the One God of all the earth; and they prayed with their faces toward the sun. They said that they did not worship the sun, but the One God who was like the sun, the light of the world.

Among these Parthian people were many men who at night studied the stars in the sky. They did not have telescopes, as those who look at the stars now have, to bring the heavenly bodies, the moon, the planets, and the stars nearer to them; they could only use their own eyes, but by long study they had learned much about the stars, could tell of their movements and where in the sky to find each one of them. The men who gave their lives to this study of the stars were called Magi, a word meaning "Wise Men"; and these strangers who were seeking the child-king in Jerusalem are sometimes spoken of as "the Wise Men," sometimes as "the Magi."

The Wise Men on their journey

The people of that time believed that when great kings were born, or before they died, strange stars suddenly appeared in the heavens, shone for a time and then as suddenly passed out of sight. A year or perhaps two years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, such a star, very bright, that had never before been seen, began to shine. In some way it came to the minds of these men that this star pointed to the coming of a great king who was to rule over all the lands, and who was to be found in the land of Judea.

These Wise Men at once made up their minds to go to the land of Judea and see this child-king. It was a long and hard journey of more than a thousand miles. They must pass from the high plains of Parthia down to the lowlands of Babylonia, must find some way to cross two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Then they would come to a vast trackless desert, where nothing grew and there was no water. If they went around this desert they must follow up the Euphrates River far to the north, and then traveling southward under the shadow of lofty mountains, they would come at last to Judea, and to Jerusalem, its largest city. Through all that long and trying journey, which would last a year, traveling most of the way on camels, they saw the wonderful star in the sky seeming to lead the way.

From the story as told in the Gospel by St. Matthew it appears that when these men came to Jerusalem the star was no longer shining. However, the loss of the star would not matter so much, now that they were in the King's own land, for they supposed that everybody in that country, and especially in the city of Jerusalem, would know that their Prince was born. But to their surprise, nobody seemed to have heard about the newly-born King. They did not meet the shepherds of Bethlehem, who had seen the angel on the night of Jesus' birth, nor did they hear of old Simeon and Anna who a month or more before had seen the Christ-child. Very, very few were those who knew that the King had come, and none of these few people did these strangers chance to meet.

They thought that at one place they could surely learn where to look for this young Prince. That was the king's palace in Jerusalem. Herod was still living, although old and very feeble, yet as fierce and cruel as ever. Perhaps they thought that this Prince for whom they were looking might be a son or a grandson of the king. Herod did not live in Jerusalem, for he did not like its people and he knew how greatly its people hated him; but he had a palace in the city and he came to it often for short visits. He may have been in Jerusalem when the Wise Men came; or they may have sought Herod down at Jericho, twenty miles away, where most of the time he lived.

As soon as the old king heard the question of these strangers, and learned that they had been led by a star to his land, he was filled with alarm. A child born to be king of the Jews—if there was such a child, what would become of Herod's own throne and crown? If he could find where this child was, he would send his soldiers to the place and soon kill him, as he had killed many others whom he suspected of seeking to take away his kingdom. But Herod hid his cruel purpose, and spoke kindly to these strangers about their errand. He asked them when the star appeared, how it looked, and how they knew that it showed that a king had been born.

Then Herod sent for the wisest men in his land, the teachers of the law who lived in Jerusalem. He knew that all the people were looking for the coming of their Messiah-king, whom they also called the Christ.

"Can you tell me," asked Herod, "in what place this great King, the Messiah or Christ, is to be born?"

The scholars were ready with their answer. They said:

"In Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David, this King who springs from David's line shall be born. This is what the old prophets have said."

And they read to him one of the promises of the prophets that the King should come out of Bethlehem.

Then Herod sent again for the Wise Men, and asked them to give him the exact time when they first saw the star. When he had learned the time, he thought at once that this long-looked-for King must have been born in Bethlehem less than two years before.

"Go to Bethlehem," said Herod to the Wise Men, "and search through the town until you find this child; and when you have found him, come and tell me, for I wish to do honor to this King."

That was what Herod said; but what he meant to do was a very different thing, as we shall see.

The Wise Men at once started for Bethlehem, which was only six miles from Jerusalem. They went over one of the mountains, and then one said to another:

"Look, there is the star once more! See it in the sky just before us!"

The star stood over the road leading to Bethlehem, and again they followed it rejoicing. It led them straight to the city, and then to a house, over which it seemed to pause. They knocked at the door, and when it was opened they went into a room, where they found a baby lying in its young mother's arms.

These Wise Men knew at once that here was the King for whom they had sought so long and traveled so far. They bowed before him to the ground to show the high honor in which they held him. Then they opened the treasures which they had brought from their own land, and gave to him rich gifts, such as were presented to kings. They gave him gold, and frankincense and myrrh, the fragrant gums that were used in offerings and were very costly. Thus, while in his own land only a few people showed their gladness at the coming of their king, the strangers from a distant country came to pay him honor. We would have thought that some of the learned Jews, who could tell King Herod where the King was born, might have come with the Wise Men to see him. But these great scholars really cared very little about Jesus. They stayed at home and soon forgot the men of the east, their journey, and their question.

The well of the Wise Men, near Bethlehem

Joseph and Mary taking the child Jesus with them set out on their journey to the land of Judea