Title: The Life of Our Lord in Simple Language for Little Children
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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[Illustration]



THE LIFE OF OUR LORD

FOR LITTLE CHILDREN



[Illustration: "SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME."]



THE LIFE OF OUR LORD IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE FOR LITTLE CHILDREN


    With numerous illustrations


[Illustration: JERUSALEM]


    LONDON
    FREDERICK WARNE AND CO.
    AND NEW YORK


[Illustration]



PREFACE


IN preparing this brief account of the chief incidents in Our Lord's
Life, the writer has endeavoured to keep as close as possible to the
sacred text; its divine simplicity being far preferable to any other
style of writing the story.

The easiest words and those most familiar to children have generally
been used and every effort has been made to adapt the volume to the
intelligence of the young with the view of instilling into their minds
the love of our Saviour for mankind as shown in the beautiful story of
His life.

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THE LIFE OF OUR LORD

FOR LITTLE CHILDREN


[Illustration: KING DAVID.]

IN ages past God made the world: the earth, the sea, the hills, the
streams, the trees; the fish, birds and beasts; last of all He made
Adam, the first man, and Eve his wife, and they lived in the Garden
of Eden. They were quite good at first, but tempted by Satan they ate
the fruit of a tree God told them not to eat, and that brought sin
into the world; they could not live for ever now, they must die; but
that their souls might go to heaven, God's own Son said He would come
down on earth and die to save them. God said His Son should be born of
Abraham's nation, and should be one of the sons of the line of King
David, who sang the sweet psalms in praise of God.

Abraham was a good man, so good that God called him His friend; and
from him came the people called Jews. David was one of their kings. God
always keeps His word, but He makes men wait till it is His time to do
as He says; and it was a long, long time after Abraham and David that
our Lord came to live among men.

At last God sent His angel Gabriel to a young maiden, named Mary, who
lived at a town called Nazareth, to tell her that God loved her, and
that she should have God's Son for her own son. Our Lord would be her
little babe. When Mary saw the angel she was at first afraid, but he
said to her, "Fear not, Mary," and he told her that she must call the
child's name Jesus--that means Saviour--for He would save the people
from their sins. Then Mary must have been glad. She said, "I am God's
servant; may His will be done." Mary was to be the wife of her cousin
Joseph--they were both of David's family--so the angel went and told
him too, that Mary should have God's Son for her own, and that he must
call the child Jesus.

Joseph and Mary lived at Nazareth. At that time the Jews were ruled
over by the Romans, whose king was called Cæsar. He wanted to know how
many people there were in that land, so he said all the men and women
of it must go to their own towns to be counted. Now Mary and Joseph's
town was Bethlehem. It was a great way off, but they had to go. It took
days and days to get there, for they went slowly, and when at last they
came to the town they found the inn full; there was no room for them,
and they had to go to a stable to sleep and eat and drink.

And that night God sent Mary her Son. She had no nice cradle to lay
the Lord in, but she had some clothes to put on Him, so she wrapped the
sweet babe in them, and laid Him in a manger, where the ox and the ass
fed.

[Illustration: THE JOURNEY DOWN TO BETHLEHEM.]

How good it was of our Lord to be born a poor child for our sakes, was
it not? He was the Son of God, but to save men He came down and was a
babe in a stable of Bethlehem.

Winter had come, the snow was on the hills near Bethlehem, and some
shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks at night for fear the
wolves or bears should come and hurt them, when suddenly they saw a
great light in the dark sky, and from it a bright angel came down close
to them, and they were much afraid. But the angel said, "Fear not, for
I bring you good tidings"--that is, news--"of great joy which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David,
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this is how you will know
Him: you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a
manger." And then a great many angels came out of the light and sang,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace; good-will to men."
The song ended, they went back to heaven, and the shepherds said, "Let
us go to Bethlehem, and see this great thing of which the Lord has told
us." And they made haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying
in a manger. And the shepherds praised God, and told the people all
that they had seen and heard. The Son of God had no nice soft cradle
as you had; He was laid in a manger from which the ox and ass fed: He
chose to be a poor child for our sakes.

[Illustration: THE SHEPHERDS IN THE STABLE.]

Mary gave the name of Jesus to the babe as God had told her, and when
He was six weeks old she and Joseph brought Him to God's Temple to
present Him to the Lord, and to give two doves to show her thanks for
the child God had sent to her. There was an old and good man at that
time, to whom God had promised that he should not die till he had seen
the Lord's Son; and now God's Holy Spirit told him that the Child was
in the Temple; and the old man, Simeon, went there and took the Babe
in his arms, and thanked God, and said that now he should die in peace,
for he had seen the Saviour. And Simeon blessed Joseph and Mary, but
he told her that men would speak ill of her Child. Then a good old
woman--her name was Anna--came in; she was day and night praying in the
Temple, and God let her, too, know that this Child was God's Son, come
to save men; and she was glad, and gave God thanks, and told every one
that the Christ was come.

[Illustration: THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE.]

The word Christ means anointed--that is, touched with oil, as kings and
priests were--and the Jews always spoke of the Saviour who was to come
as "the Christ," or "King."

Then Mary took the Child back to Bethlehem.

Now there were some Wise Men who lived a long way off, and who knew a
great deal about the stars. At that time all the world expected that
Christ would come, and these wise men had heard that when He was born
they would see a new star. One night they saw a bright one that they
did not know, and it shone over the land of the Jews. So they set off
at once to go and see the new-born King. It was a long way to go; they
rode across the sands on camels, and went on and on to where the star
shone. At last they came to Jerusalem, and they asked the people,
"Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star
in the east, and are come to worship him."

[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF THE WISE MEN.]

Now at that time the Romans had made a very bad, cruel man, whose name
was Herod, King of the Jews. When he heard of the wise men and of what
they wanted to know, he was troubled; for he was afraid if the great
King was born that he (Herod) would not be King any longer. So he sent
for the chief priests and asked them where God had said that the Christ
should be born. He did not know himself, for he was not a Jew. And the
priests said that Christ should be born in the little town of Bethlehem.

Then Herod sent for the wise men and asked them when they first saw
the star; and he sent them to Bethlehem and said: "When you have found
the young Child bring me word, that I may come and worship Him too."

[Illustration: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.]

But the cruel King meant to kill the Babe if he found him. Then the
wise men went to Bethlehem, and to their great joy, the star that they
saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the
young Child was.

Then the wise men went in, and saw the young Child and Mary his mother,
and they fell down and worshipped Him, and gave Him rich gifts--gold
and a sweet scent, and myrrh, which is a kind of gum. But God told
them, in a dream, not to return to Herod, so they went back to their
own land by another way. And when they were gone, the angel of the Lord
came to Joseph in a dream, and told him to rise, and take the young
Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, for Herod would seek for the
Babe to kill Him. Joseph rose at once, though it was night, and took
the Child and His mother and made haste to go to Egypt.

[Illustration: THE SEA OF GALILEE.]

King Herod was very angry when he knew that the wise men were gone
home, and he sent and had all the babes in Bethlehem killed, from quite
babies up to two years old. He thought, thus, that he would be sure to
kill the Holy Child, but God did not let him, you know.

When this cruel King died, an angel came and told Joseph to take the
Child back again into His own land. And Joseph took Him and Mary,
and they went to live at Nazareth, a town on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee.

[Illustration: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.]

And the Child grew strong and full of wisdom, and the grace of God was
on him. And when He was twelve years old, He went up with Mary and
Joseph to Jerusalem, to keep the Passover--this was a feast that God
had commanded the Jews to keep, to remind them that He had saved them
from death, and set them free when they were slaves in Egypt. They ate
a lamb at it, and drank some wine. When the feast was over, Mary and
Joseph went on their way home, but Jesus stayed behind in the city.
There were so many people going to Galilee that Mary did not miss her
son till night; then she went to look for Him, for she thought He must
be with some friends; but she could not find Him, and in great fear,
she and Joseph went back to the city to seek for Him. They did not find
Him for three days, and then they went to the Temple, and there He was
in the midst of the priests and learned men, listening to them, and
asking them questions. And they were all much surprised at his great
sense and wise answers. His mother, also, was amazed; but she said to
Him, "Son, why have you done this? your father and I have sought You
sorrowing." And He said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did
you not know that I must do My Father's business?" He meant "God's
business," but they did not know the meaning of His words. Then He went
home with them and obeyed them, and was a good, kind Son; but His
mother kept all these things in her heart. Jesus has shown all children
how to behave to their parents; to obey them and be kind to them as He
was.

[Illustration: THE RIVER JORDAN.]

Now about fifteen years after this time there came a man in the wild
part of the land, by the river Jordan, who cried to the people,
"Repent," that is, "Be sorry for your sins and be good," "for the
Kingdom of Heaven is near." This man's name was John, and he was the
cousin of Jesus. He wore only a rough robe of camel's hair and a belt
of leather round his waist; he had never tasted wine; he fed on insects
called locusts, and wild honey.

Then all the people of Jerusalem, and in all the places near, came to
John, and said how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them
in the Jordan--that is, he poured water on their heads as they stood
in the stream as a sign that God would wash their sins away--that is,
forgive them. But he told them all that he was not the Christ who was
to come. He said he was only a Voice to call them from their bad ways
and make them ready for the One that was to come, whose shoes he was
not good enough to untie. At last, one day, Jesus came to be baptized,
but John, who knew how good He was, said, "No, I need to be baptized
by You. Why do You come to me?" But Jesus said, "It was right to do
so," and then John obeyed Him and baptized Him. Our Lord had no sins to
be forgiven, but He wished to set us an example, always to do right.
And as He came up out of the river, the heavens opened, and the Spirit
of God, like a dove, came down and rested on Him, and there came a
voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well
pleased." Then John knew that Jesus was God's Son--the Christ.

After He had been baptized, Our Lord went into the wild country, or
wilderness, for forty days, and was tempted by the wicked spirit,
called the Devil. To tempt any one is to try and make him wicked; but
the devil could not make our Lord say or do a wrong thing, although he
tried in every way that he possibly could, and so he left Him.

But Jesus came back to John the Baptist, and as He came near the
river, John said to those who stood by him, "Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world." And he told them how he knew
that Jesus was the Son of God, by the voice from heaven and the dove
coming down on Him. Again, the next day as John stood with two of his
disciples--that means, men who were taught by him--Jesus came near, and
John said, "Behold the Lamb of God." And then the two disciples of John
followed Jesus. He turned and saw them, and said, "What seek ye?" They
said, "Master, where do You live?" And He said, "Come and see," and He
took them to His house, and they stayed with Him all day. Now one of
them was called Andrew. He was so sure that Our Lord was Christ, the
Son of God, that he went and found his own brother, Simon, and brought
him to hear and know this great teacher. A good brother or sister will
always try to make his or her own brother know and love Our Lord.

[Illustration: PHILIP AND NATHANAEL.]

The next day Our Lord told Philip to follow Him. And Philip went to
his friend Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found the Lord who is
Christ, He is Jesus of Nazareth." Nathanael said, "Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth?" for Nazareth was a very bad town. Philip said,
"Come and see." He knew that if his friend saw and heard Jesus he
would love Him. So he brought Nathanael to Our Lord, and Jesus said,
"Here is a very good, true man." Nathanael said, "How do You know me?"
Jesus said, "Before Philip called you I saw you when you were under the
fig-tree." God can see us always. So then Nathanael knew that Jesus
must be the Son of God--the King--for only the Son of God could have
seen him so far off; and he stayed with Our Lord as the others did.

Now Jesus had five disciples with Him, and He left the shores of the
Jordan and went with his friends, John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and
Nathanael, to a town called Cana.

And three days after they came to it, there was to be a wedding in
Cana. The mother of Jesus was there, and Our Lord and His disciples
were invited to the marriage. Now, you know the Lord Jesus and His
mother were poor, and no doubt the people who gave the feast were also
poor, for they had not enough wine to last till the end; and when there
was not any more the mother of Jesus went to Him and said, "They have
no wine." Jesus did not say at once, "I will give them some;" He said,
"What have I to do with thee? My time has not yet come." But His mother
believed that He would help all the same; she knew how good and kind He
was. So she said to the servants, "Do what He tells you."

Now there were some large stone jars or pots in the room used for
holding water, and Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the water-pots
with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And then Our Lord
told them to pour it out and take it to the man who was ruler of the
feast; for the Jews used to get a friend to see that things went right
at their feasts, and he was called the governor or ruler.

[Illustration: CHANGING THE WATER INTO WINE.]

Now Our Lord had changed the water into wine, and when the ruler of
the feast had tasted it he sent for the bridegroom, and said to him,
"You have kept the good wine till now," for it was very good wine. But
the servants knew that it had been water, and they told every one that
Jesus had made it wine. This was the first miracle--that is, wonderful
thing--that Our Lord did before all the people. It was a great miracle;
and when His disciples saw it they were sure that He must be the Christ.

Why did our Lord do this wonderful thing? To be kind, and to show men
that He was God. There are things men cannot do; but God can do them,
and when Jesus did them He showed men that He was God.

Soon after this, Our Lord went up to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. He
went to the Temple--God's house in which He was worshipped; and where
every day they killed a lamb and burnt it on the altar. The lamb was
offered up that God might forgive the sins of the people. So when John
the Baptist said, "Here is the Lamb of God," he meant that Our Lord
would die, as the Temple Lamb did, to save men from their sins.

[Illustration: TURNING OUT THE MONEY CHANGERS.]

But when our Lord came into the Temple He was very angry. For He saw in
it oxen and sheep, doves and pigeons waiting to be sold to people for
sacrifice, and tables with heaps of money on them that came from all
lands; for the men whose the tables were, changed the gold of far off
countries for the Jew's money. Do you not think it was very wrong of
men to bring oxen, and lambs, and money to change into God's House? Our
Lord was very angry to see it. He made a whip of small cords and drove
out the oxen and sheep; and He upset the tables of money, and the seats
of those who sold doves, and said, "Take these things away. Do not make
my Father's house a place to buy and sell in."

The men whom the Lord drove out were very angry, but they knew that
He was quite right, and so they did not strive against Him. But the
priests, who ought not to have allowed such things, came to Jesus and
said, "Give us some sign, you have a right to do this." They meant, do
some miracle.

But our Lord would not do a miracle for them. He said the only sign
that should be given them was, that if they killed Him He would rise
again in three days. But they did not know what His words meant.

While Jesus was here a very good and wise rich man, named Nicodemus,
came to see Him by night. He did not go to see Jesus in the daytime,
because he was afraid of the Jews; but Our Lord taught him a great many
things. Among others, that God so loved the World that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For God sent His Son into the World that through
Him it might be saved.

[Illustration: NICODEMUS BEING TAUGHT BY CHRIST.]

Then Jesus left the City, and went about teaching and doing good,
healing the sick, making the blind see, and the deaf hear, and so He
came to Samaria. Now the Jews hated the people who lived there; and the
Samaritans hated the Jews. Our Lord never hated any one. He loved both
the good and the bad, and came to save all. Of course God loves good
men or good children best; Our Lord loved His Apostle John best of
all, but He does good to all men, and lets His sun shine on all alike.

One day Our Lord was very tired; He had been teaching the poor and
making the sick well, and He had walked a long way, and He wanted food.
So He sat down on the stone edge of an old well in Samaria, while the
disciples went to buy food, and while He sat there a woman came from
the town with a jug to draw water. And Jesus said to her, "Give me some
to drink." But she said, "How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask me,
who am a Samaritan, for drink? for the Jews will not have anything to
do with the Samaritans." Jesus told her that if she had but known Who
it was that asked her for drink, she would have begged Him to give her
living water. The woman said, "You have not anything to draw the water
in, and the well is deep. How can you get living water? Are you greater
than our father, Jacob, who gave us this well?" But Our Lord told her
that they who drank the water of that well would be thirsty again;
but that if she drank of the water He could give her she should never
thirst; it should give her life that would not end.

What did Our Lord mean by living water? He meant God's grace--that
is--God's help to make us good. The woman did not know what He meant,
so she said, "Give me this water that I may not have to come here to
draw any more." Then Our Lord told her of her sins; He knew that she
was not good; He knew all her past life, and He told her about God, and
that He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. The woman said, "I
know that Christ will come soon, and He will tell us all things."

Think how glad she must have been when Our Lord said, "I, that speak
unto you, am He."

Just then His disciples came, and they wondered that He talked to a
Samaritan woman. She left her water-pot, and went to tell her friends,
and to ask them to come and see Jesus. The disciples said to Our Lord,
"Master, eat;" they had brought food; but Jesus cared more to do God's
work than to eat, though He was hungry.

The woman brought many of the people of the town to Our Lord, and they
believed that He was the Christ, and begged that He would stay with
them and teach them; and He did stay there for two days. How good our
Lord was to stay and teach these poor men, to whom the proud Jews would
not even speak. Then Jesus went to Cana again where He had made the
water into wine; and a rich man who had a young son very ill came to
Him and begged Him to make his child well.

[Illustration: JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA.]

Our Lord wanted to try the man's faith, so He did not say, "Yes, I
will," at once. He said, "If you do not see signs and wonders you will
not believe." But the man said again, "Sir, do come down or my son will
be dead." Our Lord pitied him and said, "Go thy way, thy son liveth."

[Illustration: JESUS AND THE RICH MAN.]

Jesus could cure the sick boy without seeing him. The rich man had
faith; he believed Our Lord's words and went his way, but before he
reached his house his servants met him, and said, "Your son is getting
well." "When did he begin to get better?" asked the father. "Yesterday,
at the seventh hour, the fever left him," they said. Then the father
knew that it was at the very same hour that Our Lord spoke that his
son was made well. And now Our Lord came to Nazareth where He had
been brought up, and He went into the synagogue--that is the Jews'
chapel--on the seventh day and He stood up to read. The priest gave
Him the book. It was that part of the Bible where God told men what
Christ would do when He came, how He would teach men, and comfort sad
people, and make blind men see. And when Our Lord had read it He gave
the book back to the priest, and said, "All this has come true to-day."
And He told them that He was the Christ. At first they liked to hear
Him preach, for His words and voice were sweet; but when He told them
that He was Christ they grew very angry, and said, "Is not this the
carpenter's son? He is not Christ;" and they got up and dragged Our
Lord out of the town to the edge of the hill on which their city was
built, that they might cast Him down headlong and kill Him. But it was
not the time Jesus meant to die, so He made them not able to see Him,
and He walked through the midst of them and went away.

[Illustration: PREACHING IN THE SYNAGOGUE.]

You see what bad men lived in Nazareth. They drove away the good,
gentle Lord, who came to save them from their sins, because they were
proud and jealous of Him; and He never again came to teach them. He
went down to Capernaum, another town by the Sea of Galilee, and taught
there and did many miracles, and it was called His Town.

Our Lord had not His disciples always with Him yet; John and James and
Andrew and Peter had gone back to their boats to fish; but now Jesus
wished them to be always with Him, so He called them again. I will
tell you how. One day when Jesus was on the sea-shore, such crowds of
people came to hear Him speak to them that there was not room, and they
pressed upon Him. There were two large boats close to the shore; the
fishers had gone out of them and were washing their nets; so our Lord
went into one of them, which was Peter's, and asked him to push the
boat a little way out from the land. Then He sat down and taught the
people from the boat. And when He had done speaking, He said to Peter,
"Pull out into the deep water and let down your nets to catch some
fish." But Peter said, "Master, we have toiled all night and have not
caught one fish; but still at Thy word I will let down the net." Peter
thought that it would be of no use to do so, but still he would obey
the Lord. So he threw the net into the sea, and heaps and heaps of
fishes came into it directly, so many that the net broke.

[Illustration: THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES.]

Then Peter called to the other boat, in which were his partners, James
and John, to help him, and they came and filled both boats with fish;
there were so many that the boats began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Our Lord's feet, and said, "Go
away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

For he was afraid. But Jesus said to him, "Fear not; from this time you
shall catch men." What did that mean? Peter knew, and James and John
knew; it meant that they must not fish any more, but come and try to
draw men to the Lord to make them good. They were quite sure now that
Our Lord was the Christ, so when they had brought their boats to the
shore, they left them and all they had, and went with Jesus, and did
not leave Him any more till the end came.

After Our Lord had been away for a time from Capernaum, He went back
there. As soon as the people heard it they came in great numbers to the
house Jesus was in, to see and hear Him.

Now the houses in that land are not like ours: they have flat roofs,
on which you can walk or sit, and a staircase outside the house leads
up to it. Most of the houses--all the large ones--have a court in the
middle of them. The people crowded into the court of the house where
Our Lord was, and He preached to them there. More and more came in till
there was no room, not so much as about the door.

Now there was a poor man in the town who was sick of the palsy, so that
he could not move; and lay always on a bed. He wished very much to go
to Our Lord for help, and his friends who loved him had him carried
by four men on a kind of bed to the house where the Lord Jesus was,
but they could not come near Him through the crowd. So they carried
him up to the roof, and took off enough of the tiles to make room for
them to let the bed down by ropes put at each of the four corners, and
thus they lowered it down with him on it, right in the front of the
Lord. He looked at the sick man, and said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven
thee." Jesus knows all we think, and He knew the poor man wished more
to be forgiven for his sins than to be made well. But some of the
Jews--lawyers--who hated Our Lord, thought to themselves, "How wickedly
this man speaks. Who can forgive sins but God only?" They did not think
the Lord could know their thoughts; but He did know them, and He said,
"Why do you think this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the sick
man, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise, take up your bed and
walk? But that you may know that (I) the Son of Man have power on earth
to forgive sins, I will do so." And then our Lord said to the sick man,
who could not move, "Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into
thine house." And the sick man rose up and stood, and took up his bed
and walked out before them all. And they were amazed, and praised God,
saying, "We never saw anything like it before."

[Illustration: THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE SEA OF GALILEE.]

After Our Lord had made the sick man well, He walked down to the shore
of the beautiful sea of Galilee. The crowd followed Him, and there in
the fresh, sweet air, He went on teaching them. Not far off was a place
called the Receipt of Custom. I will tell you for what it was used.

The Romans made the Jews pay them money, and this was called a tax.
They put men in some places to receive this tax for them, and these
men were called Publicans. They were not good men generally, and the
priests and great men hated them; but some of them were just and
honest. Levi was; and we may be sure he had heard Our Lord preach and
loved Him, for one day, as he was sitting at the place where men paid
the tax to him, Our Lord went up to him and said, "Follow Me." Levi
must have known who spoke to him, for he at once rose and was ready to
give up all his riches and go with Jesus. And he was so glad that the
Lord had called him that he gave a feast at his house, and asked all
his friends to come to it to meet their Saviour. His friends were most
of them Publicans like himself, and not all good men; but Jesus and His
disciples sat down and ate with them.

Now some of the Jews hated Our Lord; these were the Scribes and
Pharisees. The Scribes were men who wrote out the laws--there were no
printed books in those days--so they were thought wise; the Pharisees
were a set of men who pretended to serve God better than any other
people, and made a show of praying, saying their prayers in the streets
to be seen of men; but they were not really good. These men came now,
and said to Jesus, "How can You sit down to eat with publicans and
sinners?" Jesus said, "Men who are well do not want a doctor, but those
who are sick do. I am not come to call good men to be sorry for their
sins, but bad men." The Pharisees did not know that they and all men
were sinners, and that all must be saved by Jesus.

[Illustration: THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM.]

Now I must tell you that Levi had two names, as you have. His first
name was Matthew, and a long time after, he wrote the story of Our
Lord's life. It is called the Gospel--that means good news--of St.
Matthew, and it is in the Bible.

Now just as the feast was ending there came a ruler and he threw
himself down at Jesus' feet, and said, "My daughter is dying, but come
and lay Your hands on her and she shall live." This ruler's name was
Jairus; he had great faith. And Jesus rose up at once and went with
him, and so did His disciples. And as they went along the road a poor
woman who had been ill for years and had spent all her money to pay
doctors, who did her no good, crept softly up behind Our Lord and just
touched the hem of His robe, for she said, "If I may but touch His robe
I shall be well." There was a great mob of people at the time and they
pressed up against Jesus, but He stopped, and said, "Who touched Me?"
Then Peter and the rest said, "Master, all the people press on You; why
do You ask 'who touched Me?'" And Jesus said, "Some one has touched
Me." Then the woman came and knelt down, and said, "I did," and Jesus
was pleased with her faith and told her to go in peace, and she was
quite cured. Then they went on to Jairus' house. The little girl was
dead; but Jesus took the father and mother and Peter, James, and John
with Him and went in where she lay and took her little hand, and said,
"Maid, arise." And the little girl came to life and got up, and Jesus
told them to give her something to eat.

How glad her father and mother must have been to have their dear child
again, alive and well! How they must have thanked and blessed Our Lord!
All her friends would always believe in Him now; and do you not think
the little girl--she was only twelve years old--must have loved the
Lord Jesus very much, and tried to be good to please Him.

[Illustration: THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER.]

When Jesus left the house where He had raised the child from the dead,
two blind men followed Him crying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on
us." When they called the Lord the Son of David, they meant that they
believed He was the Christ. And they followed Him into the house. And
Jesus said to them, "Do you believe I can make you see?" They said,
"Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes and said, "As your faith is
so be it unto you." And their eyes were opened and they could see.
They had told the truth, they did believe in Jesus; if they had said
they did untruly they would not have been cured. Our Lord told them
not to let any one know it; but when they were gone they told about it
everywhere.

When Jesus went out again they brought to Him a dumb man; Our Lord
ordered him to speak and he did so. Indeed no poor sick man came to Him
in vain. He made lepers well, and cured a man with dropsy; and made
a crooked woman straight. He made the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the
blind see, the cripple walk. We cannot in this little book tell you
half the kind, good, and wonderful things Our Lord did while He was on
earth.

And He sent His apostles also to teach the people, and made them able
to heal the sick and to do other miracles. One day the disciples were
angry because one who was not a disciple cured a man in Christ's Name,
but Our Lord said, "Forbid him not, for even he who gives you a cup of
water in My Name, shall not lose his reward."

About this time there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. Now there was at Jerusalem by the sheep-market a pool of
water which was called Bethesda, that means House of Mercy. Round it
were five porches or doorways, and in these lay a great many poor sick
men.

There was something wonderful about the pool. At times in the year
the water bubbled up--the Jews said an angel made it do so. The first
person who stepped into the pool as it bubbled was cured at once. So
many sick men waited for the chance. One man was there who had been
crippled for thirty-eight years. The Lord Jesus walked down one day to
this pool, and when He saw the poor man and heard how long he had been
thus, He said to him, "Will you be made well?" The helpless man thought
Our Lord meant, "Will you not go into the pool," for he answered, "Sir,
I have no man who will put me in when the pool is bubbling, and while
I try to get to it another man steps down before me." It was, as you
know, only the first who stepped in after the water was troubled that
was cured. Then Jesus said, "Take up your bed and walk."

[Illustration: THE CRIPPLE AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA.]

And the man who could not move at all at once rose, took up his bed--a
rug most likely--and walked.

Now it was the Sabbath day, and you know how strict the Jews were about
it. They said at once to the man who was cured, "Why do you carry your
bed on the Sabbath day? it is forbidden by the law."

The man said, "He that made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and
walk.'"

When they asked him, "What man was it who told you to do so?" But the
man did not know, because Jesus had gone away with the crowd.

Afterwards Jesus found him in the Temple and said to him, "You are well
now; do not sin again lest a worse thing come on you."

The man must have been a sinner, and Jesus told him to take care to be
a better man, or God might punish him with a worse illness, but he was
so ungrateful that, though he must have known the Jews would be angry
with Our Lord for making him well on the Sabbath day, he went at once
to them and told them that it was Jesus who had made him well.

The priests were very angry, but Jesus said to them, "My Father works
on the Sabbath and so do I." Then they wanted to kill Him, because he
had not only done a miracle on the Sabbath, but said that God was His
Father, making Himself equal with God.

And so, you know, He was; but these wicked Jews would not believe
it; they were jealous of Him because the people loved Him, and angry
because He told them how wicked they were.

[Illustration: THE TREASURE HID IN A FIELD.]

Our Lord told His disciples one day this pretty parable. The Kingdom
of Heaven is like treasure--that is, something precious like gold or
gems--hid in a field, and a man who knows about it, and wishes to get
it, sells all that he has and buys the field; the treasure is then his
and he digs it up. In that country much gold had been hidden in the
ground by men who fled from their enemies, and never came back to dig
it up again, and there were many who sought for it.

This parable means that the kingdom of God, the love of Christ, and His
help to make us good are so precious that we should give up anything
for them, and try as hard as we can to gain them.

[Illustration: JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELD.]

Our Lord and His disciples were poor, and sometimes wanted food.
One Sabbath day they were walking through the corn-fields, and the
disciples were hungry, so they picked some ears of corn, rubbed them in
their hands, and ate the wheat.

The Jews might eat corn in the fields on week-days, but the Pharisees
had made many hard and silly rules about the Sabbath day. God had said
that they must keep the seventh day holy; but He meant it to be a rest
from work and a day for men to pray to Him, not a day such as they made
it.

The Pharisees said that no fire might be lighted on the Sabbath day, no
food cooked, not one thing might be done; they might only walk a little
way on that day; and doctors might not cure or help the sick. So it was
a day when men, and children too, were not happy, as God meant them to
be.

Now, when the Pharisees saw the disciples eat the corn, they said,
"Why do you do that which is not right on the Sabbath day?" Our Lord
answered, and told them that there was no harm in His disciples eating
the corn, for men must eat on the Sabbath day, and that we might do
needful things on it. Then He went into the synagogue, and He saw there
a man with a withered hand. And the Jews said to Christ, "Is it right
to make men well on the Sabbath day?" And Jesus said, "Yes, it is; for
if a sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day you would take it out,
and a man ought to be helped more than a sheep." And He told the poor
man to stretch out his hand; he did so, and found that Jesus had made
it well, and just like the other hand. And the Pharisees were so angry
because He had told men that they were wrong, that they began to talk
about killing Him. But Jesus went away when He knew it; and a great
crowd of people followed Him, and He made all the sick ones well.

[Illustration: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.]

One day, when He saw how many there were following Him, He wished to
teach them, and, that they might hear Him well, He went up on a mount
close by, and sat down. The Jews always sat down to preach. And when He
was seated, His disciples came to Him, and the words He then spoke are
called the Sermon on the Mount. You will read it when you are older;
it is too hard for you now, but we may tell you a few things out of
it. Jesus told them that God would bless those who were humble--that
is, not proud--and the meek and gentle. He said that God would comfort
those who were sad; that He would bless those who were kind; that the
pure in heart should see God, and that those who made up quarrels
should be called God's children. He told them that they need not "take
thought" about how they should get food and clothes. "See," He said,
"the birds of the air: God feeds them; He will also feed you; and look
at the lilies: they toil not, neither do they spin, yet the grandest
king in all his glory was not arrayed--that is, dressed--like one
of them. Seek to please God, and He will take care of you." Then He
taught them to say the prayer "Our Father," just as you do now at your
mother's knee.

When Jesus had ended the Sermon on the Mount, He came down, and a great
many people followed Him; and there came a leper, and knelt down to
Him, and said, "Lord, if You will, You can make me clean."

A leper was a man whose flesh was eaten away by disease; sometimes the
fingers and feet of the leper would fall off. No one could cure him,
and men might catch the complaint, so the lepers were kept in a place
by themselves; and if they went into the town, they had to cry as they
went, "Unclean! unclean!" We are sure that, when this leper came to
Christ, all the people got out of his way, and would not touch the poor
man. But Our Lord put out His kind hand and touched him, and said, "I
will; be thou clean;" and in a moment the leper was quite well; and Our
Lord told him to go to the priest and offer a gift of thanks to God.
No one but God can cure a leper; but Jesus is God, and He could.

[Illustration: CHRIST AND THE CENTURION.]

Now, when Our Lord had come to Capernaum, there came a Roman, the
captain of a hundred men, and begged Him to make his servant well, for
he was very ill with the palsy. Our Lord said at once, "I will come and
heal him." But the Roman captain said, "Lord, I am not good enough for
You to come to my house, but speak the word only, and my servant will
be well." You see, this Roman had even more faith than the rich man,
whose son was ill. "For," the Roman went on, "if I tell my servants
to do anything, they do it; and You, who rule all things, need only
speak to be obeyed." And Jesus wondered at the Roman's words, and said,
"Verily, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel," and He
said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed so be it
done unto you." And the man went home, and found his servant well.

Then Jesus went to Peter's house, and made his wife's mother well of a
fever, and healed many more sick, and made the blind see and the deaf
hear. We cannot, in this little book, tell you half of the good and
kind things Our Lord did.

Jesus sometimes told His disciples lovely tales that meant something
more than just the story, so they were called Parables. One of these
was that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who wanted to buy
good pearls. You know what pearls are, do you not? They are pure white
shining beads that men find in the shell of the oyster. To get them
the fishers have to go down to the bottom of the sea; so, of course,
they sell the pearls very dear. Now, when the pearl-fishers had found a
very large pearl of great price, they took it to the merchant; it would
cost a great deal, but he knew it was worth even more; so he sold all
he had and bought it. Now this story means that God's Kingdom is such
a beautiful place, and that it is so good for us to serve Christ here,
that we should give up all that we most care for to gain the love of
God.

[Illustration: THE MIRACLE AT NAIN.]

One day, Our Lord, with His disciples and a great crowd who followed
Him, came near a little town called Nain. And just as He drew near the
gate of the city a dead young man was brought out to be buried. His
mother was walking by the side of the bier and crying very much, for
her husband was dead, and she had no other son. And when Our Lord saw
her He had pity on her, and said, "Weep not," and He came and touched
the bier, and the men who were carrying it stood still. And Jesus said,
"Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!" And the dead man came to life and
sat up and began to speak, and the Lord gave him to his mother. And
there came a great fear on all who saw it, and they said, "God has
visited His people."

Another parable Jesus told them was of a sower who went out to sow
seed. And as he cast the seeds about some of them fell by the wayside;
and the birds came and ate them up; some fell on stony places where
they had not much earth to grow in, and they sprang up fast, because
they were not deep in the ground; but when the sun came out, it burned
them up quite dry, for they had no root; and some fell among thorns,
and the thorns sprang up and choked them--that is, did not leave them
room to grow. But some fell on good ground, and grew up and brought
forth much fruit.

The Apostles did not quite know what hidden meaning there was in this
Parable, so Jesus told them.

The seed meant the Word of God; the sower, a servant of God who had to
teach the Word. The seed that fell by the wayside meant that the words
had not been cared for by those who heard them, and the Wicked Spirit
then made them forget all they had heard. That which fell on stony
places and had no depth of earth, meant those who at first are glad
to hear of God's love, and seem as if they would be His children; but
their goodness has "no root," and so a little trouble makes them give
up trying. We must all ask God to keep us Christ's children. The seed
that fell among thorns meant that sometimes when men have been taught
about God, they let the love of money and the cares of life and its
pleasures fill their minds so that they have no time or thought to give
to God, or to read and pray. Those seeds that fell on good ground meant
the children or men who listen to God's Word, and read it, and pray to
Him for help, and try to obey it. These grow better and better, and God
will love and help them.

[Illustration: THE SOWER.]

Our Lord was often very tired when He had been making sick people well
and teaching them by these lovely stories; and then He would go up a
mountain alone and pray to His Father in Heaven, or cross the sea to
some other place, for He had hardly time to eat or sleep. One day He
was very tired and the sun had set, so He said to His disciples, "Let
us cross to the other side." Then they sent away the crowd of people
and took Jesus in the ship, and put out to sea, and there were with
them many other little ships.

And there arose a great wind; the waves were high and beat into the
boat, so that it was full of water and going to sink; but Our Lord was
fast asleep, with his head on a pillow, in the stern of the ship. The
disciples were much afraid, and they woke him, saying, "Lord, do you
not care that we perish?" Then Jesus rose and stood up and spoke to the
wind and waves, and said, "Peace"--that is, Hush!--"be still." And the
wind stopped blowing, and the waves grew still, and there was a great
calm. Then the disciples said to each other, "What kind of man is this,
that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" They ought to have known, for
they had seen Him raise the dead. You know, do you not? He was the Son
of God.

[Illustration: CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST.]

Our Lord chose twelve of the men who followed Him to be his apostles,
and He sent seventy of His disciples out to teach, and gave them power
to make sick people well. The apostles also, were sent, but after a
time they came back to Our Lord, and told Him all that they had done
and taught. And He said to them, "Come ye apart into a desert place and
rest awhile," for there were many coming and going, and they had not
even time to eat. And they went by ship with Him to a desert place
near a city called Bethsaida. But when the people found out where He
had gone, they came in crowds after Him. Our Lord was very kind to
them. He went to this desert place to rest, but He did not care for
rest or food, if He could do good, so He did not say, "Why did you come
here?" but He went up on a mount and told them about God, and made all
the sick ones well. And when the day began to wear away, the twelve
apostles came to Him, and said, "Send this great crowd away that they
may go to the towns near and get food, for this is a desert place."
Then Jesus said to Philip, "Where shall we get bread that these may
eat?" And this He said to try him, for He Himself knew what He would
do. And Philip said, "A great deal of bread would not be enough to give
each of them a little piece." Then Andrew said, "There is a lad here
who has five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they
among so many?" And Jesus said, "Make the men sit down." And they sat
down on the grass, fifty in one place, and there were five thousand
men there. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He
broke them, and gave the pieces to His disciples, and they gave them to
the people; and He gave them of the fishes as much as they would, and
they all ate and left many pieces. Then Our Lord told the Apostles to
gather the pieces up so that nothing might be lost; for Jesus does not
like people to waste things, and they picked up enough pieces to fill
twelve baskets with the bread that was left. Was not this a very great
miracle? The people who saw it said at once, that Our Lord was the
Christ that was to come, and they wanted to make Him a King; and when
He would not be one, they thought they would take Him by force and
crown Him; but Jesus sent His disciples away and went into a mountain
all by Himself and prayed to His Father. This miracle made the people
believe in our Lord more than any other. They thought that He Who could
feed them when they were hungry, must be the promised Saviour; and
they had been taught by the priests that when Christ came He would be
a king, that He would free them from the Romans and make them rich and
great. That was a great mistake. The Christ was coming to set them free
from their sins, and bring them to His Heavenly Kingdom, not only to do
them good on earth.

[Illustration: FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.]

And when the sun had set the disciples were on the sea, and it was now
dark, and Jesus was not come to them. The wind blew, and the great
waves rose. How they must have wished Our Lord had been there to hush
the storm. But Jesus saw them, and in the middle of the night He went
to them; He had no boat so He walked on the sea. Can men walk on the
sea? No; but Our Lord could, because He was God. When the disciples saw
Him, they were afraid, and cried out. But Jesus spoke to them at once,
and said, "Fear not, it is I." And Peter said, "Lord, if it is You tell
me to come to You on the sea." And Jesus said, "Come." Peter stepped
out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus, but when he saw
the great waves, he was afraid and began to sink; and he cried out,
"Lord, save me." Then Jesus at once put out His hand, and caught him,
and said, "O why have you so little faith!" And when they had both got
into the boat, the wind left off blowing, and the ship was at the place
they were going to at once. Then those in the ship came and knelt down
to Jesus, and said, "Of a truth, Thou art the Son of God."

One day, Our Lord was with His apostles near the place where the Jews'
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."

He thought it was not fit that Our Lord should do as a servant would.

But Jesus said, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me." Then
Peter let Him do it. Why did Our Lord wash His apostles' feet? To show
us that we must not be too proud to do anything for one another.

Then Our Lord sat down to supper, and He was troubled, and said, "One
of you will give Me up to the priests." And the disciples looked at
one another and wondered which of them would be so wicked. Peter made
signs to John, who was close to Our Lord, to ask Him; and John did. And
Jesus said, "The one to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it."
And He dipped a piece of bread in some sauce and gave it to Judas, and
said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Then, Judas, who
knew what Our Lord meant, went out; but the others did not know; they
thought Our Lord sent him to give something to the poor.

We shall not tell you all Our Lord did and said at this Last Supper;
it would be too hard for you to understand; but we will tell you that
He grew sad and told His apostles that they would all leave Him that
night. Peter said, "Lord, I will go with Thee to prison or to death."
Our Lord answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows you will
three times say you do not know Me."

When the supper was ended and they had sung a hymn, they went out to
the Mount of Olives; and on the way the Lord talked to them, and told
them to love one another.

[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]

Now, on that Mount, there was a garden called Gethsemane; Our Lord went
into it, and with Him He took Peter and James and John, and told them
to watch while He prayed. They were tired, and only kept awake a little
while; but they heard Our Lord pray. He was very sorrowful, for He knew
He must die, and He was sad because men were so wicked; but He said to
God, "Not My will, but Thine be done;" and His Father sent an angel
from Heaven to comfort Him. Twice Jesus went to His apostles and found
them asleep. It must have seemed very unkind of them; but Our Lord was
not angry. He said they could not help it, they were so tired. But the
third time He came to them He told them to rise, for Judas was coming
with the priests to take Him.

And just then the priests came with soldiers and lamps, for it was
night, and Judas was with them. He said, "I will show you which is
Jesus; I will kiss Him." So he went up to Our Lord, and said, "Hail,
Master," and kissed Him. Jesus said, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of
Man with a kiss." Then He said to the soldiers, "Whom seek ye?" They
said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Our Lord said, "I am He," and they fell on
their faces before Him; they felt how great He was. But they soon got
up, and when Our Lord said again, "Whom seek ye?" and they answered,
"Jesus," He said, "I am He; but let My disciples go." Now Peter had a
sword, and he was so angry that he drew it and cut off the ear of one
of the high priest's servants.

But Our Lord told him to put up his sword, and touched the ear of the
wounded man and made it well at once. Was not Jesus good and kind to
heal the man who came to take Him? Then all His disciples forsook Him
and fled; and the soldiers led Him to the High Priest's house, where
all the wicked priests and scribes were sitting up waiting for Him.
John and Peter were soon sorry that they had left Our Lord, and went
after Jesus. John had a friend in the High Priest's house who let him
go in; and then John went and brought Peter in. The priests were very
cruel to Our Lord; they told falsehoods about Him. But when they asked
Him if He was the Christ, and He said, "I am, and you will see Me one
day sitting on the right hand of God, and coming in the clouds with
the Holy Angels," they were so angry that they tore their clothes, and
said, "He ought to die." And then they began to ill-treat Our Lord, and
threw a cloth over His face and beat Him with the palms of their hands,
and said, "Tell us who struck You!"

[Illustration: "THIS FELLOW WAS WITH JESUS."]

Now Peter sat in the part of the great hall that was lower down than
that where Our Lord was, and he warmed himself by the fire; and a maid
came up, and said to him, "You are one of the men who were with Jesus;"
but he said, "I do not know Him." Then another servant said to him,
"You are one of His disciples;" but Peter said, "Man, I am not." An
hour went by, and then another said, "This fellow was with Jesus." And
Peter said he was not, and began to use bad words. Just then the cock
crowed; and Our Lord turned and looked at Peter. It must have been such
a sad look! and it reminded him of what Our Lord had said, "Before the
cock crow thou shalt deny Me three times." And he was so much ashamed
and so very sorry that he went out and wept bitterly.

Now, when Judas saw that Our Lord would be put to death, he repented,
and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests, and
said, "I have sinned, for I have given up to you an innocent man." The
wicked priests answered, "What is that to us? See thou to that." And
Judas cast down the pieces of silver and went and hanged himself. Very
bad men sometimes cannot bear to live, when they feel how wicked they
have been; but it only adds to their sins to kill themselves; for God
has said men may not do so.

When daylight came, the great crowd of the priests and scribes and
their friends led Our Lord from the High Priest's house to that of
Pilate, the Roman governor, to have Him judged; for the Romans did not
allow the Jews to put any one to death. Pilate was in his hall where
he judged people. He came out and asked, "What has this Man done?" "He
teaches men wrong," said they; "He tells them not to pay the tax to
Cæsar, and says that He is Christ, a King." Then, Pilate went back to
the judgment hall and had Christ brought before him, and said, "Are You
a King?" Our Lord told him that He was; but not a king of this world;
His Kingdom was a heavenly one. Then Pilate went out to the people,
and said, "I find no fault in this man." But they were more angry, and
cried, "He teaches the people wrongly, from Galilee to this place."
When Pilate found that Jesus came from Galilee, he sent Him to Herod
to be judged, for Herod was ruler over that part of the land. And when
Herod saw Our Lord, he was glad, for he hoped to see some miracle done
by Him; and he questioned Jesus with many words; but the Lord would
not even speak to the cruel man who had killed John the Baptist. Then
Herod grew angry, and he and his soldiers mocked the Lord, and put on
Him a purple robe such as kings wear, and sent Him back to Pilate. The
priests and scribes then said all manner of false things about Jesus;
but He did not speak or answer at all. Then Pilate's wife sent to tell
him not to have anything to do with that just man, as she had had a
terrible dream about Him. And again Pilate tried to save Him. The
Romans set free any prisoner that the Jews asked for at the Passover;
so Pilate said to them, "I will have Jesus beaten and then set Him
free." But the priests told the people to say, "No; set Barabbas free."
Now, Barabbas was a robber.

Then Pilate said, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus who is called
Christ?" and they said, "Crucify Him!"--that is, "Nail Him to a cross."
But Pilate still tried to save Jesus; he told his soldiers to beat Our
Lord with great knotted ropes; and then the men made a crown of sharp
thorns and pressed it on His head, so that the blood ran down; and
they put a reed in His hand, and the purple robe on again, and cried,
"Hail, King of the Jews!" and kneeled down to Him, mocking Him. Pilate,
thinking that the cruel Jews would be quiet and let Him go if they saw
Him thus, took Him out, and said to them, "Behold the Man!" But they
only cried more and more, "Crucify Him!" Pilate said, "Take ye Him and
crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." They answered, "We have a
law, and by our law He ought to die, because He says He is the Son of
God."

When Pilate heard that, he was much afraid; he took Our Lord back
into the hall, and asked Him, "Whence do you come?" But Jesus did
not answer him. Pilate said, "Why do you not answer me? Do you not
know that I can crucify you, or let you go free?" But Jesus said that
Pilate's power was given from above, and that the Jews had the greater
sin. Then Pilate tried very hard to save the Lord, but the Jews cried
out again, "If you let this Man go, you are not Cæsar's friend."

[Illustration: "I AM INNOCENT OF THE BLOOD OF THIS JUST MAN."]

And Pilate was much afraid of Cæsar, who was a cruel man. Then the Jews
began to make a great disturbance; but Pilate took water, and washed
his hands before them, and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this
just Man; see ye to it." Was this true? No. Pilate ought to have rather
died himself than let a good man be killed. But fear often makes men
wicked. Be ashamed to be a coward.

Then the soldiers took the robe off Christ, and put His own clothes
on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. At first they made Him carry
the great cross on which He was to be nailed; but He fainted under the
weight and fell, and then they made a man they met carry it for Him.

They nailed the dear Lord's hands and feet to the cross; but first they
wanted Him to drink some wine and myrrh that He might not feel the pain
so much, but He would not drink it. Now, the mother of Jesus stood by
the cross with his favourite apostle, John. How sad it was for her
to see her dear Son in such pain! But Jesus still thought of her. He
looked at John, and said, "Woman, behold thy son;" and to John He said,
"Behold thy mother;" and from that hour John was a good son to the
mother of his Lord.

Then Our Lord prayed to God for the cruel Jews. He said, "Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they do"--that is, they did
not know that He was God's Son. There were two thieves crucified
with Christ, one on each side. One of them was wicked; the other was
sorry for his sin, and asked Jesus to forgive him. The Lord told him,
"To-day you shall be with Me in Paradise"--the happy place, you know.
Then a great darkness came on like night, and there was a hush--the
cruel Jews had been mocking Our Lord; now, they were frightened. The
darkness lasted for three hours; then light came back. Our Lord said,
"I thirst." And the soldiers dipped a sponge in vinegar, and put it on
a reed and held it to His lips. When He had tasted it, He said, "It is
finished!" and bowed His head and died. Then the earth and the city
shook, and the Roman Captain, close by, said, "This Man really was the
Son of God."

The Jews asked Pilate to take Our Lord and the others down from the
crosses, because the next day was their Sabbath. So he sent to see
if they were dead. Jesus was, but, to make sure, one of the soldiers
stabbed His side with a spear. The thieves were not dead; so their legs
were broken, that when taken down they might not get away, and die
sooner.

Then a rich man, named Joseph, begged Pilate to let him bury Our Lord,
and Pilate said he might. So Joseph, and Nicodemus, who came to Jesus
by night, wrapped Him in white linen and put Him in a grave that Joseph
had made for himself in a garden, and a great stone was put for a door
to it. The Jews begged Pilate to set a guard upon the tomb for fear
the disciples should take the Lord away; for they remembered that He
had said He would rise again. So Pilate sent a great many soldiers to
watch. But at day-dawn an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven: his
face was bright as the lightning, and his robe as white as snow; and
the earth shook very much as he came down. He rolled away the stone
that shut the tomb, and sat on it. The guards were nearly dead with
fear, and made haste away.

Now, the women who loved the Lord were coming to put sweet spices on
Him, even while it was dark. But when they came, they saw that the
stone was rolled away, and that the grave was empty; so Mary Magdalene
ran off at once to tell Peter and John of it. The other women went
and looked into the tomb, and there they saw two bright angels, and
they were afraid. But the angels said, "Do not be afraid. We know you
are looking for Jesus; He is not here; He is risen. Go and tell Peter
and the disciples that He is risen." And they made haste to take the
message.

And while they were going, some of the watch came into the city and
told the chief priests all that had been done; how an angel had come
down and rolled away the stone from the tomb. The priests were afraid,
and called the elders together to ask their advice; it was that they
should give a great deal of money to the soldiers and tell them to say
that the disciples came in the night, and stole Our Lord's body away
while they were asleep, and this wicked thing they did. They paid the
Roman soldiers to tell a falsehood, and said that they would take care
that Pilate should not punish them for sleeping on their watch; for
which they might be put to death.

[Illustration: PETER AND JOHN AT THE GRAVE OF OUR LORD.]

Then Peter and John came with Mary Magdalene, and looked into the tomb,
but it was empty--only the linen lay folded up on one spot. They were
very much surprised, but by-and-by they went home. Mary did not; she
stood crying by the tomb. Then she looked into the grave, and she also
saw the two angels. They said to her, "Why do you weep?" She said,
"Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they
have laid Him." She turned back as she spoke, and Jesus stood close
by her, but she did not know Him. He said, "Why do you weep?" Mary
was crying so much she could not see His face, and she thought He was
the gardener, so she said, "Sir, if you have taken my Lord away, tell
me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said,
"Mary!" When she heard His voice and her name, she knew who He was, and
kneeled down to Him. He told her to go and tell "His brothers"--the
disciples--that He had come out of the grave and would soon go up to
Heaven.

[Illustration: JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE.]

Then the Lord Jesus went and spoke to Peter, because the kind Saviour
knew how sad he was.

[Illustration: "PEACE BE TO YOU."]

Two disciples that day were walking to a place eight miles from
Jerusalem. They were very sad, talking about Our Lord, when He came
up and walked with them; but He did not let them know who He was. He
asked them why they were sad, and they told Him it was because Jesus
was dead. Then He made them understand that Jesus died that they might
go to Heaven, and they were quite glad of what He said. They begged Him
to go in with them to supper, and He went in; and when He took bread
and blessed it they knew Him at once. But He passed away, they could
not tell how, so they made haste to go back to Jerusalem to tell the
Apostles. They found them all, except Thomas, in one room, with the
doors shut, but before they could tell their tale, the men said, "Our
Lord has risen from the dead, and has been seen by Peter." Then the
two told how He had walked with them; and while they spoke Jesus stood
in the midst of them, and said, "Peace be to you;" and He showed them
the holes of the nails in His hands and feet. Then they knew that it
was the Lord. They told Thomas of it, but he was so sad he could not
believe them. "You must make a mistake," he said; "I will not believe
Our Lord is alive again unless I can put my hand in His side, where the
spear went in, and my fingers in the holes of the nails."

[Illustration: OUR LORD APPEARING TO THOMAS.]

The next first day of the week--Sunday--they were all in the room,
Thomas too, when Our Lord came into the midst of them, and said to
Thomas, "Put out your hand and feel my side, and put your fingers
in the nail-holes." Then Thomas kneeled down and said, "My Lord and
my God." Jesus said, "Thomas, because you have seen Me you believe;
blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."

Our Lord stayed forty days on earth, and often came and talked to His
disciples; once He came to five hundred all in one place. But some of
the apostles went back to their boats. There were together Peter, James
and John, Thomas, Nathanael, and two other disciples. They went out to
fish; but all night they did not catch one, and when day broke Jesus
stood on the shore. They did not know Him, and He asked if they had any
fish. They said, "No;" and then He told them to cast their net on the
right side of the ship. They did so, and now the net nearly broke with
the weight of the fish. Then John said, "It is the Lord," and Peter at
once swam ashore to Jesus. The others came in the boat dragging the
net full of fish. And when they came to the shore they saw a fire of
coals and fish laid on it, and bread. And Jesus told them to bring some
of their own fish; there were a hundred and fifty great ones in the
net, but it did not break. Then Jesus said, "Come and dine;" and He
gave them fish and bread. When they had dined, the Lord said to Peter,
"Do you love Me more than these?" Peter said, "Yes, Lord; You know
that I love You." Then Christ said, "Feed My lambs." Again He asked
Peter, "Do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," said Peter. Then said Jesus,
"Feed My sheep." A third time He asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" Peter
was grieved because Jesus asked him three times; he thought Our Lord
remembered that he had three times said he did not know Him, and he
said, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Then Jesus
said, "Feed My sheep." Who are Christ's lambs? Little children, whom
Jesus loves; to feed the sheep and lambs means to teach them.

[Illustration: OUR LORD APPEARING TO THE DISCIPLES.]

Then Jesus said to Peter, "When you were young you walked where you
would; but when you are old you shall stretch forth your hands, and
another shall gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go."
Jesus thus foretold Peter's death; who, when old, was crucified. Peter
asked Our Lord what John would do--you remember that John and Peter
were great friends--and Jesus gently reproved him for asking, by
saying, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"

Our Lord also told His disciples to go all over the world and tell
people about Him, and baptize them; and then He took them out to the
Mount of Olives, and, while He was blessing them, He was taken up, and
a cloud hid Him from their sight; but they stood a long time looking
up after their Lord, till two angels came to them, and said, "Why do
you stand looking up into Heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from
you into Heaven will come again in the same way as you have seen Him go
up." Then the disciples were very glad, and they went back to Jerusalem.

Has not the story of Our dear Lord made you love Him? We hope so; and
if you love Him you will be a good child to please Him, for He sees
you now from where He sits at God's right hand, whence He will come
by-and-by and--if you obey Him--will take you to live with Him in
Heaven.

[Illustration]


    PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
    LONDON AND EDINBURGH.



FOOTNOTE:

[A] New Version, St. Matt. xix, 17.

[Illustration]

       *       *       *       *       *

Transcriber's Notes:

Page 19, "it" changed to "It" (It was right)

Page 36, word "he" added to text (came a ruler and he)





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