Title: Bible Pictures and Stories in Large Print
Author: Aldon, Isabella M.
Language: English
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                             BIBLE PICTURES
                                   AND
                                 STORIES

                             IN LARGE PRINT

                             [Illustration]

                                 BOSTON
                       LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY

                            COPYRIGHT, 1898,
                                   BY
                       LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY.



BIBLE PICTURES AND STORIES

IN LARGE PRINT.

[Illustration]



ADAM AND EVE.


God made the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea and all the
beasts, birds, insects, plants and fishes. After that He made man, then
woman. Adam was the first man, Eve the first woman. He planted a lovely
garden and gave it to Adam and Eve to live in. There was every kind of
luscious fruits in this garden and God was willing they should eat all
but one; this He told them they must not even touch.

For a while they minded God and were happy, but one day they both ate
some of this fruit. Then God was very angry and sorry for what they had
done. He drove them out of the lovely garden forever.



CAIN AND ABEL.


Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain, when he got old enough,
became a farmer, Abel a shepherd. They both brought gifts to God. Cain’s
gift was fruit; Abel’s gift was the very best of his lambs. For some
reason God liked Abel’s gift, but did not like Cain’s. This made Cain
hate Abel so much that he killed him.

When God asked Cain what had become of his brother he said: “I know
not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” But God, who sees everything, had seen
what Cain had done and punished him by making him wander homeless and
friendless over all the earth.

[Illustration: CAIN AND ABEL.]



THE FLOOD.


A great many years after Cain killed Abel—over a thousand perhaps—the
people had grown to be so very wicked that God made up his mind to
destroy them by a great flood. But there was one good old man Noah, whom
God loved. So He had him build a huge boat or ark and told him to put
into it all his own family, and two of every kind of animal on the earth.
As soon as Noah had done this, the rain began to fall. It kept on raining
for forty days and forty nights until everything was covered by the
water, even the highest mountains. Nothing was saved except what was in
the ark.

[Illustration: ENTERING THE ARK.]



BABEL.


After Noah’s death, his sons and their families kept traveling westward.
By and by they came to a beautiful plain. They were very tired of
traveling, so they rested a long time. The plain pleased them so much
that they thought they would like to live there always, and they began to
build a great city and a high tower “whose top should reach unto Heaven.”
God came down to see the city and the tower. The sight made him angry and
at once he caused the workmen to speak different languages, so they could
not understand one another and had to stop building. The tower is called
Babel because God “did there confound the language of all the earth.”

[Illustration: THE TOWER OF BABEL.]



LOT’S FLIGHT FROM SODOM.


Lot lived in Sodom, a city so wicked that not ten good men could be found
there. One evening two angels came to Lot, to tell him that God was going
to destroy the wicked city and to warn him to flee in the morning with
his wife and daughters. Lot and his family heeded the angel’s warning and
fled to Zoar, a city near by. Then God rained down fire and brimstone
upon Sodom, until it was burned to ashes. Lot and his two daughters were
saved, but Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, because she
looked back at the burning city. This the angels had warned them not to
do.

[Illustration: LOT ENTERING ZOAR.]



THE FINDING OF MOSES.


In time there came to be so many Israelites in Egypt that Pharaoh began
to be afraid of them. So he issued an order that all boy babies should be
put to death. But one mother hid her baby boy three months. Then she made
a little boat out of rushes, laid the baby in it, and put the boat in the
water near the shore. A little while after she did this one of Pharaoh’s
daughters came down to the river to bathe and saw the little boat. She
had one of her maids wade out and get it. When she saw the little boy,
she felt so sorry for him that she took him for her own son. She named
him Moses, which means “drawn out of the water.”

[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES.]



THE FLIGHT FROM EGYPT.


Pharaoh made the Israelites work very hard and treated them cruelly in
other ways. God was sorry for his people, so he came to Moses and told
him to go to Pharaoh with his brother Aaron and order him to let the
Israelites go away from Egypt to a land He had made ready for them. But
Pharaoh did not care anything about what God told him to do and would not
let the people go. So God sent dreadful plagues upon the Egyptians. Still
Pharaoh was stubborn and held out against God until the tenth plague
came, which killed the eldest child in every Egyptian house. Then he sent
the Israelites out of the land.

[Illustration: SPRINKLING THE BLOOD.]



MOSES STRIKING THE ROCK.


After the Israelites had been away from Egypt quite a long time, they
came into a dry, stony country called the Wilderness, where there were
no springs of water and no rivers. They got very thirsty, but could find
nothing anywhere to drink. This made them angry with their leader, Moses,
so angry that they were going to stone him to death. But Moses asked God
to help him, saying: “What shall I do unto this people? they be almost
ready to stone me.” God told him to take his rod and strike a certain
rock on Mount Horeb. Moses did so. At once a clear stream of water burst
out of the rock, enough for all the people.

[Illustration: STRIKING THE ROCK.]



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.


When the Israelites came near Mount Sinai, God said that in three days
from that time he would come down upon the mountain. But none of the
people except Moses and Aaron were to touch the mountain. If they did,
they would die. They could come up into the mountain and be with Him. God
did as he promised. There was a thick cloud all about Him, and fire and
smoke, and thunder and lightnings, so the people could not see him. And
the mountain shook and the voice of God was heard like the sound of a
trumpet, giving to them the Ten Commandments. And the people were afraid
and drew back from the mountain.

[Illustration: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.]



BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB.


After God had given the Ten Commandments, Moses went up into the mountain
and stayed with God forty days and forty nights. God told him that the
Israelites must build Him a house to live in which should be called “The
Tabernacle.” They must give gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet,
fine linen, oils, spices, costly woods, jewels and other precious things,
for this house. Bezaleel and Aholiab must build it, because He had
made them wise. Moses told the people what God had said. They were so
anxious to help that they brought more than God had asked for. And God’s
beautiful house was soon made.

[Illustration: BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB.]



THE BRAZEN SERPENT.


Once, almost forty years after they made God’s House, the Israelites were
very hungry and thirsty. They said hateful things about Moses and about
God too, which was very wicked. So God sent fiery serpents to bite the
people. The bite was poisonous, and many died. Then they knew this was
because they had done wrong. They came to Moses and asked him to pray God
to take the serpents away. Moses prayed. God told Moses to make a brass
serpent and set it on a pole where all the people could see it. When
Moses had done this he told the people to look. Every one who was bitten
was made well as soon as he saw the brass serpent.

[Illustration: THE BRAZEN SERPENT.]



THE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN.


After Moses died Joshua led the people of Israel. They had come very
near to the land God had made ready for them, but there was still the
great river Jordan to cross. They did not know how to get across, for
the water was deep and they had no boats. But God had a way for them. He
told Joshua to have the priests of his Tabernacle go into the water first
and stand there. As soon as the feet of the priests touched the water it
stopped flowing from above and piled up in a great heap. So the people
went across the Jordan on dry land. After the priests left the river, the
water flowed just as it had before.

[Illustration: CROSSING THE JORDAN.]



THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD’S HOST.


When the Canaanites heard how the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, they
were afraid and shut themselves up in their city, Jericho. The Israelites
had to find some way to break into the city. One day when Joshua was
walking near the wall of Jericho, he saw a man with a drawn sword in his
hand. He at once asked the man whether he was a friend or an enemy. The
man answered: “As captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.” Then
Joshua knew it was an angel and fell down and worshiped him. The angel
said: “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy.” Joshua did so.

[Illustration: THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD’S HOST.]



HOW JERICHO WAS CAPTURED.


The Israelites took Jericho in a very curious way. Every day for six
days the armed men marched around the city once. On the seventh day they
marched around seven times, while the priests blew their trumpets. Just
as they finished the last march, the trumpets gave a long blast and all
the people together gave a mighty shout. Then that strong, high wall fell
down flat, and they went in and took the city and burnt it and everything
in it except the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron. The
rest of the people of Canaan were greatly surprised when they heard how
Jericho was captured.

[Illustration: THE FALL OF JERICHO.]



ACHAN’S SIN.


Ai was a city not far from Jericho. Three thousand Israelites went to
take it. But some were killed and the rest got frightened and ran away.
Joshua felt so badly that he went and told God all about it. God said
that the Israelites had been beaten because one of them had kept for his
own some of the silver and gold taken from Jericho. God pointed out that
Achan was the man who had stolen these things and that he had hidden
them in his tent. When they looked in the tent they found them buried in
the ground. Achan and all his family and all that he had were stoned and
burned and a great heap of stones raised over them as a warning.

[Illustration: ACHAN CONFESSING HIS SIN.]



THE ALTAR ON MOUNT EBAL.


After Achan had been burned, the Israelites captured Ai and hanged its
king on a tree. Then Joshua built an altar to God on Mount Ebal of whole
stones that had never been cut. On the altar he put burnt offerings. On
the stones of the altar he wrote the laws that Moses had given to the
people when he was alive. Then he got all the people together, men, women
and little ones, and read to them God’s promises of the good things that
would happen to them if they did right, and the bad things that would
happen if they did wrong. The people listened carefully to the reading.
Joshua did this because he had promised Moses that he would just before
he died.

[Illustration: THE ALTAR ON MOUNT EBAL.]



THE CITIES OF REFUGE.


In those old times, when one man killed another, the friends of the dead
man had the right to kill the murderer. But sometimes it happened that
one person killed another without meaning to do it. Of course it was not
right that he should be killed for what he could not help. God saw that
there ought to be some way of saving him. So he told Joshua to name six
cities to which such a person could flee and where no one could touch
him. These cities were called Cities of Refuge. Three of them were on the
west side of Jordan and three on the east. Some say that all the guide
posts along the way had “Refuge!” “Refuge!” written on them.

[Illustration: FLEEING TO THE CITY OF REFUGE.]



THE DEATH OF JOSHUA.


A long time after the fall of Jericho, when Joshua was an old man, he
made all the Israelites come into one place so that he could talk to
them, before he left them, forever. He asked them to count over the good
things God had done for them, and promised that He would do even more for
them than He had already. He told them to be brave, to do as Moses had
wanted them to do when he was alive, and never to have anything to do
with people who worshiped idols. If they did, God would punish them. When
Joshua had instructed the Israelites in all the good ways, having said
all that was on his mind, he died. He was one hundred and ten years old.

[Illustration: JOSHUA EXHORTING THE PEOPLE.]



GIDEON AND THE FLEECE.


After Joshua died, the Israelites forgot God and worshiped idols. So God
punished them as Joshua said. The Midianites came into the land and the
Israelites had to hide from them in dens and caves. Gideon, a mighty man,
was threshing corn one day when an angel came to him and told him to go
and save Israel. Gideon was willing to go, but asked God to show him some
sign that he would beat the Midianites. So one night God made a fleece
that Gideon put on the ground wet with dew while all the ground was dry,
and the next night he kept the fleece dry while all the ground was wet.
Then Gideon knew that God would be on his side.

[Illustration: EXAMINING THE FLEECE.]



THE DEFEAT OF THE MIDIANITES.


Gideon got together a large army, but God told him that only a part must
fight. So Gideon picked out the three hundred bravest men and divided
them into three companies of one hundred each, and put a trumpet in each
man’s hand and an empty pitcher and a lamp inside the pitcher. About the
middle of the night they came to the camp of the Midianites and blew the
trumpets and broke the pitchers and held up the lamps and cried “The
sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” The Midianites were afraid and ran
about and cried out and killed one another. The Israelites ran after them
and drove them out of the country.

[Illustration: “THE SWORD OF THE LORD, AND OF GIDEON.”]



THE DEATH OF SAMSON.


Samson was the strongest man that ever lived. At one time he tore a live
lion apart with his hands, at another he killed one thousand men, and at
another he carried away the gates of Gaza, a city of the Philistines.
But the very last thing that he did was the most wonderful of all. The
Philistines had cruelly put out his eyes. At a feast where there were
over three thousand of them, Samson got a boy to show him the way, and
then putting his hands upon two pillars that held up the roof, and
praying God for help, he pressed upon them with all his might. The
pillars broke, the roof fell. Samson himself and the Philistines were
killed.

[Illustration: SAMSON AND THE PHILISTINES.]



RUTH AND NAOMI.


Naomi’s home was at Bethlehem. But one year, because there was no food
there, she went to Moab with her husband and her two sons. Both the sons
took wives in Moab. The wives’ names were Orpah and Ruth. After a little
time Naomi’s husband died, then both the sons. Naomi started to go back
to Bethlehem, and Orpah and Ruth started with her. But Naomi did not
think they ought to leave their homes and advised them to stay in Moab.
Orpah stayed. But Ruth said to Naomi: “Whither thou goest, I will go, and
where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy
God, my God.” So Ruth and Naomi came to Bethlehem.

[Illustration: RUTH AND NAOMI.]



BOAZ AND RUTH.


Ruth and Naomi were poor. So Ruth went out to pick up the grain which the
reapers let fall at their work. The field into which she went belonged
to a rich man named Boaz. He was pleased with Ruth, and let her eat and
drink with the reapers. He told her never to go anywhere else, but always
to come to his field, and he made the reapers let fall some grain on
purpose for her. So when she came home to Naomi at night, she had a very
large bundle. Ruth went to that field all through the harvest. Afterward
she became the wife of Boaz.

So you see Ruth did not lose anything by staying with Naomi.

[Illustration: BOAZ SHOWING KINDNESS TO RUTH.]



ELI AND SAMUEL.


Once a year Samuel’s mother went to see him and always took with her a
little coat. One night, when Samuel was asleep, he heard his name spoken.
He thought Eli called him, and ran to see what he wanted. But Eli said
he had not called him. So he went back to bed. Again he heard “Samuel,”
and again he ran to Eli. But Eli had not called him. Still again he was
called and ran to Eli. Then Eli knew that God had spoken and told him to
say, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth,” next time he was called.
Samuel did this, and God told him of something terrible that was going to
happen to Eli and his sons.

[Illustration: SAMUEL AND ELI.]



DEATH OF ELI AND HIS SONS.


A little while after God spoke to Samuel, the Israelites fought against
the Philistines. They were beaten. Then they took the ark of God from the
tabernacle and marched against the Philistines. At first the Philistines
were afraid of the ark. But they fought bravely. The Israelites were
again beaten. Eli’s two sons were killed and the ark of God was taken.
Eli was then ninety-eight years old. He was blind. He was sitting on a
bench by the roadside when he heard the sad news. He was so overcome by
the intelligence he fell over backward and brake his neck. That was what
God told Samuel would happen.

[Illustration: ELI RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE DEATH OF HIS SONS.]



PLAYING ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL.


Saul was the king of Israel. David was a shepherd boy, the son of Jesse.
He had a happy, ruddy face that made everybody like him. Besides he was
very brave. Once he killed both a lion and a bear that came to eat up the
lambs in his father’s flock. He knew how to throw stones with a sling and
could play on the harp beautifully. One day King Saul was feeling very
sad and wanted somebody to play to him. He thought music would make him
feel better. His servants told him about David. So he sent for him. David
came and played so nicely on the harp that Saul forgot all about his
trouble.

[Illustration: DAVID PLAYING ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL.]



DAVID AND GOLIATH.


The Israelites and Philistines were at war. Goliath was a Philistine
giant. He used to come out in front of the Israelites every day and
dare any one to fight with him. He was so big and strong that all the
Israelites were afraid to try. One day David came to the camp on an
errand, and when he saw Goliath he made up his mind to fight him. So he
chose five smooth stones out of a brook and put them in his shepherd’s
bag. Then with sling in hand he went toward Goliath. Goliath laughed at
him, but David did not mind that. He threw a stone with his sling. It hit
Goliath on the forehead and he fell to the ground. Then David cut off his
head.

[Illustration: DAVID.]



DAVID AND ARAUNAH.


David was not a bad man, but he sometimes did wrong and then God had
to punish him although He was very fond of him. When he had been king
many years he had the Israelites counted. This displeased God and He
sent a plague upon Israel. This plague killed many thousand people.
David felt very sorry to have his people die for his sin and prayed God
to stop the plague and punish him instead. God told David to go to the
threshing-floor of Araunah and make an offering. David went. He bought
the threshing-floor and some oxen and wood. Then he built an altar and
made the offering. God stopped the plague.

[Illustration: DAVID AND ARAUNAH.]



ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.


Ahab was a very wicked king, more wicked than any that came before him.
He took a wife who worshiped idols and built an altar to a heathen god
and worshiped this god. So God sent Elijah to Ahab to say to him: “As
the Lord of Israel liveth there shall not be dew nor rain these years.”
Ahab was so angry at Elijah that he had to flee and hide himself by the
brook Cherith near the river Jordan. The brook gave him all the water he
needed, but there was no food there. But God would not let his prophet
starve. He sent ravens to feed him. These ravens brought him bread and
meat twice every day; in the morning and in the evening.

[Illustration: ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.]



ELIJAH AND ELISHA.


One day Elijah was traveling through the land, when he saw twelve men
ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. One of these men was Elisha. When
Elijah saw Elisha, he knew that he was the man God wished him to take
for a servant. So Elijah threw his coat on Elisha as he went by. Then
Elisha ran after Elijah and said: “Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father
and mother and then I will follow thee.” He killed a yoke of oxen and
made a feast. Then he said good-by to his father and mother and went away
with Elijah. Afterward God took Elijah up to Heaven in a chariot of fire.
Elisha was with him at the time.

[Illustration: PLOUGHING IN CANAAN.]



THE SHUNAMMITE’S SON.


A kind Shunammite woman who liked Elisha made for him a little chamber
on the wall. She made it cosey with a bed and table and stool and
candlestick. Elisha used to come to this little room when he got tired.
Now this good woman had a little boy whom she dearly loved, for he was
her only child. One morning the little fellow was running about in the
field with the reapers. All at once he felt a pain and ran to his father,
crying, “My head! my head!” When the father saw his little son was not
feeling well, he had him taken home to his mother. She held him in her
lap till noon. Then he died. Elisha brought him back to life.

[Illustration: THE SHUNAMMITE’S SON RESTORED.]



THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.


Naaman was a great Syrian general, who had beaten the Israelites in
battle. He was very wretched because he was a leper. Now Naaman’s wife
had a little Israelite girl to wait upon her, who had heard of the
wonderful things Elisha had done. This little girl had told her mistress
that Elisha could cure Naaman. So Naaman went with his chariot and horses
to see Elisha. Elisha told him to wash seven times in the river Jordan.
Naaman would not do this at first, it seemed such a little thing. But he
finally changed his mind, and washed in the Jordan and was cured. You see
how much good one little girl can do.

[Illustration: THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.]



JONAH AT NINEVEH.


God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn the people that their city
would be destroyed because they were so wicked. But Jonah ran away to
sea. There was a terrible storm on the sea, and the sailors threw Jonah
overboard. They thought he was the cause of the storm. But he was not
drowned, for God sent a great fish to swallow him. Jonah was inside the
fish three days and three nights. Then God made the fish throw Jonah up
on the dry land. After this God sent Jonah to Nineveh. But the people
were so sorry for their sins that He took pity on them and did not
destroy the city.

[Illustration: JONAH AT NINEVEH.]



HEZEKIAH AND SENNACHERIB.


Hezekiah was the best king Judah ever had. The Bible says no king
ever served God so well. When Hezekiah had been king fourteen years,
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, marched against Jerusalem. He sent a
letter to Hezekiah, telling him to give up the city because his God could
not help him. Hezekiah took this letter up into the temple. He spread it
out before God and prayed Him to save Jerusalem. God heard his prayer.
That night His angel went into the Assyrian camp and killed one hundred
and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. Soon after this Sennacherib’s
two sons killed him.

[Illustration: HEZEKIAH LAYING THE LETTER BEFORE GOD.]



THE BRAVE HEBREW BOYS.


Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were four Hebrew boys who were
prisoners at Babylon. They thought it was wrong to eat the meat and drink
the wine the king sent, and refused both when offered them. They asked
for plain food and pure water instead. But the servant was afraid they
would grow thin if he gave them nothing else. Then the king would be
angry at him and he would lose his life. Daniel told him to give them
plain food and water for ten days. He did so. At the end of the ten days
they seemed so much better than those who ate the meat and drank the wine
that the servant was glad to do as they wished.

[Illustration: THE BRAVE HEBREW BOYS.]



DANIEL AND THE LIONS.


When Darius was king at Babylon he liked Daniel so well that he made
him the chief officer in his kingdom. This made the other officers hate
Daniel. They got Darius to make a law that every man who prayed to any
one except Darius himself should be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel
kept on praying to his God three times a day. When Darius heard that
Daniel prayed he was very sorry he had made the law. But he could not
change it, so Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. That night Darius
could not sleep, he felt so bad. Very early next morning he ran to the
den. But Daniel was safe, for God had shut the lions’ mouths.

[Illustration: DANIEL AND THE LIONS.]



ESTHER BEFORE THE KING.


Ahasuerus was king of Persia. Esther, a Jewess, was his queen. Haman was
next to the king. He was a cruel man, and hated the Jews because one of
them, a servant of the king, would not bow down to him. So he got the
king to make a law that all the Jews in his kingdom should be killed.
Esther felt very sorry for her people. She made up her mind to save them
if she could. But first she spent three days in fasting and prayer. Then
she went to the king and begged him to save the Jews. The king loved
Esther so much that he did what she asked. So the Jews were saved from
the cruel decree of the king Ahasuerus.

[Illustration: ESTHER BEFORE THE KING.]



DAVID AND JONATHAN.


Saul loved David at first. Then he hated him and tried to kill him twice
by throwing his spear at him. David escaped and hid himself. Now Saul
had a son named Jonathan, who thought a great deal of David. It made him
feel very bad to see his father trying to kill him. Jonathan thought that
Saul might get over his anger in two or three days and take David back.
But when he was sure that Saul really meant to kill David, he went to
his hiding place and told him how he might get away. After they had wept
and kissed each other and promised always to be friends, David fled and
Jonathan went back to his father.

[Illustration: DAVID AND JONATHAN.]



THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.


One night certain shepherds were out in the fields taking care of their
sheep. Suddenly they saw a light brighter than the sun, and in the glory
of the light, an angel. They felt afraid.

But the angel spoke to them; he said: “Fear not. I have good news for
you, and for all the people in the world. There was born to-day, in
the city of Bethlehem, a little child who is to be a Saviour; his name
is Christ the Lord. You will find him lying in a manger.” As he spoke,
suddenly there appeared a great company of angels, and they sang: “Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth, _peace_, good-will toward men.”

When the angels were gone back to Heaven, the shepherds said to one
another: “Let us go right away to Bethlehem, and find this wonderful baby
that the Lord has sent us word about.”

So they started in haste. When they reached Bethlehem, they found the
stable, and the manger, and there was the baby with his mother. Then the
shepherds told what the angels had said and sung. The people wondered
at it; the mother remembered every word, and thought about what it all
meant. Then the shepherds went back to their work praising God as they
went, for all that he had told them, and for all that they had seen.

[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.—Matt. ii. 1.]



THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS.


The child Jesus grew strong in body and mind. He was so unlike any other
child that he was “filled with wisdom.” God’s favor was with him all the
time. When he was twelve years old he went with his father and mother
to Jerusalem to the great yearly feast called the Passover. Having been
there eight days, they started for home. But Jesus stayed behind at
Jerusalem. His father and mother didn’t know it; they supposed him to be
with some of the friends. At night when they stopped to rest, they found
he was not to be found. They went among the friends and acquaintances who
were travelling with them, but they got no news of him; so they turned
back toward Jerusalem, looking for him all the way. In this way three
days passed; then they found their son sitting in the church among the
learned men, listening and asking questions. And the people who listened
were astonished at the questions which Jesus asked, and at the words
which he spoke. When his parents saw him, they were very much astonished.
His mother said to him: “My son, why did you treat us in this way? Your
father and I have hunted for you in great sorrow.”

Then he made this strange answer: “How is it that you sought me? Didn’t
you know that I must be about _my_ Father’s business?”

They didn’t understand what he meant; they forgot that their son was not
simply a boy; he was God. But he came at once from the church, and went
home with them, and obeyed his father and mother in everything. But his
mother never forgot any of the strange words that he spoke.

[Illustration: THE CHILD JESUS.—Luke ii. 40.]

[Illustration: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE, TEACHING THE DOCTORS.—Luke ii. 46.]



MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.


When Jesus had grown to be a young man, there came a minister through the
country about Jordan, preaching to the people that they repent and be
baptized. Some thought he was the Christ for whom they had been waiting.
But he said to them: “I baptize you with water, but there is coming one,
so much mightier than I, that I am not even worthy to untie his shoes
[this was the work of the lowest servant]; He will baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and with fire. He will make clean the hearts of his people.
He will gather them in as wheat is gathered into the garner. But the
wicked will be like chaff which is burned up, with a fire that cannot
be put out.” Many other solemn things, also, this minister preached to
the people. A man named Herod, ruler over part of the country, was angry
with John because he had been reproved for many sins, among them marrying
a woman whom he had no right to marry; and he put John in prison. But
before that happened, one day, when John had been preaching and baptizing
many people, Jesus came, and asked to be baptized also; and as he was
praying, a wonderful thing happened. The Holy Ghost came down out of
heaven in the form of a dove, and rested on Jesus, and a voice out of
heaven said: “Thou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased.”



JESUS AT NAZARETH.


We find Jesus to-day in Nazareth, where he lived in his boyhood. It is
the Sabbath-day, and he has gone to church, and stands reading to the
people from the Bible. He read in the book named Isaiah; read about
himself. These are the words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me
to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” When he had read
these wonderful words he closed the book, and gave it to the minister,
and sat down. All the people looked at him, wondering what he would
say. Then he began to talk. He told them that the promises he had been
reading to them were fulfilled. All listened and wondered at the tender
and beautiful words that he spoke. They whispered to each other, saying,
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said to them: “You will surely remind
me of the proverb, ‘Physician, heal thyself.’ Do some of the wonderful
things here that we have heard of you doing in Capernaum. But, remember,
no prophet is highly thought of in his own country. Remember that during
that time of famine in Israel, when it didn’t rain for three years and
six months, there were many widows, but the prophet Elijah was sent only
to one at Sarepta, a city of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel
while the prophet Elisha lived there; but Naaman, the Syrian, was the
only one that was cured.”

This preaching made the people angry, and they started up in wrath and
thrust him out of their city, and wanted to push him headlong down the
hill on the top of which Nazareth was built. But just there he showed his
power, in passing quietly through the crowd of angry people, holding them
back by the power of his gaze, and went away.

[Illustration: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE, READING THE BIBLE.—Luke iv. 16.]



THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES.


Jesus stood by the shore of Lake Gennesaret, and the people pressed
about him, to hear him talk about God. He saw two ships near the water;
they were empty, for the fishermen to whom they belonged were gone to
wash their nets. One of the ships belonged to a man named Simon. Jesus
stepped into it, and when Simon came asked him to push out a little from
the shore; then he sat down in the ship and taught the people. When the
sermon was over he said to Simon: “Push out now where it is deep, and
let down your net.” Simon answered: “We have been at work all night,
Master, and have caught no fish; but we will do as you say.” So they
let down the net into the water, and at once it became so full of fish
that it began to break. Then Simon and the other fisherman called to
their partners, who were in the other ship, to come and help. They came
and filled both the ships with fish; then the ships began to sink. Simon
Peter, seeing that, fell on his knees and began to pray; he said: “Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He meant that he was not worthy
to be near the Lord. He was astonished and frightened, and so were the
others—James and John, and they were the sons of Zebedee. Jesus spoke
kindly and tenderly to Simon; he said: “Fear not; after this you shall
catch men.”

[Illustration: MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES.—John xxi. 4.]



THE CENTURION’S FAITH.


Next we find Jesus at Capernaum. A certain Roman military officer lived
there, who had a servant lying very sick. The officer loved his faithful
servant. He saw that he was going to die. He had heard of Jesus, and he
sent some of the elders to him, begging that he would come and cure the
sick man. The messengers came to Jesus and urged him to go at once to the
sick one; they told him how kind the officer had been to their people. He
went with them. When they were near the house, other friends came out to
meet the Saviour, and presently the officer came himself. He told Jesus
that he did not feel himself worthy to have so great a man in his house;
that he did not want to trouble him to go there, and at first he thought
he ought not even to come to him, troubling him. He begged that Jesus
would just then and there speak a word that should cure his servant. He
said that he was a man in authority, having servants who obeyed orders.
Jesus, he believed, had but to give orders, and his invisible servants
would obey him. Jesus wondered at his faith.

He turned, and said to the people who were following: “I haven’t found
such great faith as this in all Israel.” Some of those who had been sent
to Jesus, now reached the house where the sick man had lain, and behold
he was well! This story is also told in Matthew viii. 5-13.

[Illustration: THE CENTURION.—Matt. viii. 8.]



THE WIDOW OF NAIN.


Once Jesus went to the city of Nain. His disciples went with him. Many
people followed him. As he reached the city gate he met a funeral
procession. It was a long procession, for the young man who was dead had
been his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. The people were very
sorry for her. Jesus, when he saw her, felt very sorry for her, too.
He spoke to her. He said, “Weep not.” Then he went towards the frame
on which the dead body was laid, and touched it; and the men who were
carrying it stood still, and Jesus spoke to the dead. He said, “Young
man, I say unto thee, arise.” Immediately the dead man sat up and spoke
to Jesus; and Jesus called his mother to him. This wonderful thing made
the people afraid; they said, “A great prophet has come among us.” And
they praised God for sending him. This story was told all over the
country, and for many miles around. When the people came together they
said, “Have you heard how that poor widow who lives in Nain had her son
given back to her after he was dead?”

[Illustration: JESUS RAISETH THE WIDOW’S SON.—Luke vii. 14-15.]



THE FRIEND OF SINNERS.


Jesus was invited to dine with a man named Simon. While at table, a poor
woman came in and poured sweet-smelling ointment over the feet of Jesus,
weeping so that she washed his feet with her tears. Simon did not like
this, for the woman was very wicked. He thought if Jesus were a prophet
he would know what sort of a woman this was, and would not allow her to
touch him. Jesus saw these thoughts in his heart, and told him he had
something to say to him. Then he told him this story: “There was once a
man who was owed by two men; one owed him five hundred pence, and the
other fifty. Both were poor, having nothing with which to pay their
debt. The good man knowing this, forgave them both. Tell me, which of
them will love him most?”

“Why,” said Simon, “I suppose the one who owed the most.”

“Yes,” said Jesus, “that is true. Simon, do you see this poor woman? You
gave me no water to wash my feet, but she has washed them with her tears,
and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she continues to
kiss my feet. You did not even anoint my head, but she has anointed my
feet. Now I tell you this: her sins which are many, are forgiven, for
she loves me very much. If people feel that they have but little to be
forgiven, they have but little love.” Then he spoke to the woman; he
said: “Your sins are forgiven.” Those who were sitting with him at table
began to say among themselves, “Why, who is this man who can forgive
sins?” Jesus spoke again to the woman; he said: “Thy faith hath saved
thee; go in peace.”

[Illustration: MARY MAGDALEN ANOINTING THE FEET OF JESUS.—Luke vii. 38.]



RETURN OF THE SEVENTY.


Seventy people were sent out in many directions to tell the people of the
Lord Jesus. They had blessed meetings. They came back filled with joy.
They told Jesus that they had found even devils who had to obey their
words when they spoke in his name. Jesus told them that he had long known
that Satan would be subject to him. Also he promised them that nothing
should hurt them in their work, neither that serpent Satan, nor any of
his helpers. But he reminded them, that though they had such great power
given them, there was something better than that for them to rejoice
over forever: that their names were written in heaven. Then Jesus, with
great joy in his heart, thanked God that he had hidden many things from
the worldly-wise and the selfishly prudent, and had made them known to
the humble-hearted who were willing to be like little children and learn
of him. He reminded his disciples that no man knew about the mysteries
of God, but that all things were delivered to him, and that no one could
understand the Father unless he made him plain to their hearts. And he
said to those disciples aside, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things
that you see; many prophets and kings desired to see them, but were not
permitted.”

[Illustration: AND WHEN YE COME INTO AN HOUSE, SALUTE IT.—Matt. x. 12.]



THE GOOD SAMARITAN.


A lawyer once asked Jesus who was his neighbor, and Jesus told him this
story:—“Once a man went from Jerusalem to Jericho, and on the road he
met a party of thieves. They stripped his clothes from him; they wounded
him, and at last went away, leaving him lying half dead. A little while
after a certain minister passed that way; he saw the man, but he crossed
the street and went on. Then there came a Levite; he stopped and looked
at the poor man, and then he too crossed the street and went on his way.
Then there came a Samaritan; he stopped and looked at the poor man, and
his heart was filled with pity. The man was nothing to him, not even
one of his own nation; but he bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine
on them to soothe the pain; then he lifted the man to his own horse and
took him to a place where he could be cared for. In the morning before he
went on his journey, he took from his pocket some money, and gave it to
the host, and asked him to have the sick man taken care of. If he had to
spend money, when he came that way again he would pay the bill.”

“Now,” said Jesus, “which of these three people do you think treated the
poor man like a neighbor?”

“Why,” said the lawyer, “the one who took care of him.”

“Then,” said Jesus, “see that you follow his example.”

[Illustration: THE GOOD SAMARITAN.—Luke x. 33.]



IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER.


At one time when Jesus was with his disciples they asked him to teach
them to pray. Having talked with them about the Lord’s Prayer, he
illustrated prayer by the following:

Said he: “Suppose you had a friend to whom you should go one night at
midnight, and ask him to lend you three loaves of bread, for a friend
had arrived unexpectedly, and you had nothing for him. Suppose he should
answer, ‘Don’t trouble me; I’ve shut my house for the night, and my
children and I are in bed; I can’t get up and attend to you.’ Now I tell
you, though he wouldn’t attend to you on account of friendship, yet if
you persist in urging your need he will get up and give you what you
want. Now I say to you: ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall
find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Every one that asks shall
receive; he who seeks shall find; to him who knocks it shall be opened.
Suppose your son asks for a piece of bread, would you give him a stone?
Suppose he asks for a fish, would you give him a serpent? If he ask for
an egg, would you give him a scorpion? Now, if you with evil hearts and
ignorant minds, yet know enough to take care of your children and give
them proper things, don’t you suppose that your Heavenly Father knows
what you need, and will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

[Illustration: SECRET PRAYER.—Matt. vi. 6.]



WARNING AGAINST COVETOUSNESS.


Jesus had been talking about the loving care of the Heavenly Father, and
one of the listeners interrupted him with a request that he would talk
to his brother and get him to divide equally between them the property
that had been left. Jesus asked him who he thought made him a judge, or
a divider over them; and then, by the story he told them, he showed the
covetous thought that was in the man’s heart. He reminded them that the
important thing in a man’s life was not to have a great deal of property.
Said he: “There was a certain man who grew rich; his harvests were so
great that he wondered what he should do with all his grain. At last he
decided to pull down his barns and build larger ones, and then say to
his soul, ‘Soul, you have plenty of food, enough to last you many years;
take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But just then God spoke to him;
He said, ‘Foolish man, this night your soul shall be called to leave the
body; then who will have all these things which you have provided?’—Now,”
said Jesus, “the man who plans for himself, laying up treasures for
himself, and has none of the riches that God could give him, is like this
poor, foolish man in the story.” Then He turned to His disciples and
told them that living meant more than simply keeping the body alive and
clothed.

[Illustration: CONSIDER THE LILIES HOW THEY GROW.—Luke xii. 27.]



WARNING AGAINST FORMALISM.


Jesus was traveling through the cities and villages on his way to
Jerusalem, teaching as he went. One day a man asked him if many would be
saved. He said all must strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many
would try some other way and would not get in. He said, “It was like a
feast spread for guests; and when once the master of the house had closed
the door, no more could get in. Those who stood outside saying, ‘Lord,
Lord, open the door for us,’ would only be answered with ‘I don’t know
you.’ They might answer, ‘We have eaten and drank with you, and you have
taught in our streets,’ for some of these people who would not follow
Jesus had sat at table with him and heard his teachings. But he said
the answer to any such would be, ‘I don’t know you; go away, you are
wicked people.’—Then,” said Jesus, “there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth;” Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob would be inside, but those who
would not come to him by the right way would be thrust out. People from
every quarter shall come together and sit down in God’s kingdom. The
Gentiles, who were the last to hear the good news, shall be among the
first in heaven, and some of the Jews (God’s dear people who would not
love Him) will not get in.

[Illustration: JESUS EATETH WITH PUBLICANS AND SINNERS.—Mark ii. 16.]



THE GOSPEL FEAST.


One Sabbath-day Jesus was taking dinner at the house of a Pharisee. He
talked with the people at the table about humility of manner at the great
feasts which were given in those days. Then one of the company said to
him, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” I do
not think he meant heaven, but rather the kingdom that he hoped the
Messiah would set up on the earth. Jesus answered him in the form of a
story about a man who made a great supper, sending out many invitations.
When everything was ready he sent for his guests to come, and every one
of them sent an excuse. One said he had bought a piece of ground and
must go and see it, and begged to be excused; another said he had bought
five yoke of oxen, and was going to prove them; another said he had just
been married and couldn’t come. When the servant came back and told his
master he was angry. He told his servants to go out quickly through the
streets and bring all the lame people, and the blind people, and the poor
people of every sort. So the servant did as he was told; but he said to
his master, “There is room yet.” So the master told him to go out in the
highways and hedges, and coax people to come to the supper, and fill the
house, for none of those who were first invited should be allowed to
taste of the supper.

[Illustration: JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ON THE ROAD TO CÆSAREA.—Mark viii.
27.]



THE PRODIGAL SON.


Jesus once, in teaching the people, told this story: “A man had two sons;
the younger of them asked his father to give him the part of the property
that would finally belong to him. So the father divided his wealth
between them. A few days after that the younger son went a long journey,
taking all his money with him; but he wasted it in wild and foolish
living. When it was all gone there came a great famine to that country,
and the foolish young man had nothing to live on. He went looking for
work, and a man hired him to take care of swine. He was so hungry that
he was willing to eat the husks that the swine had for food; and no one
gave anything to him. Then he began to think of his home, and to remember
how his father’s servants had plenty to eat, and here he was starving!
Then he said, ‘I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am not worthy to
be called your son; let me be one of your hired servants.’ So he went on
his journey home. When he was yet a great way from the house, his father
saw him and ran out to meet him, and put his arms around him and kissed
him. Then the son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you; I am not worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said, ‘bring
the best clothes in the house for him to wear, and put a ring on his
hand, and shoes on his feet, and have the fatted calf killed, and make a
feast, and let us eat and drink and be merry; for my son was the same to
me as dead, and now he is alive again; he was lost, but now he is found.’
And they were merry.”

[Illustration: RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON.—Luke xv. 20.]



THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.


In order to explain to his disciples that there were two worlds for
souls, Jesus once told them this story:—“There was a rich man who wore
elegant clothing and lived richly every day. There was a poor, sick
beggar, named Lazarus, lying at his gate. He wanted the crumbs which were
left from the rich man’s table. His body was full of sores, and the dogs
used to come and lick them. One day this poor man died, but God sent
his angels and carried him to heaven. Then the rich man died, and was
buried. His soul went to hell. One day, while he was in that place of
pain and torment, he looked up, and away off he saw heaven, and Lazarus
the beggar was there, with his head on Abraham’s bosom. He called to
him: ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip
of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this
flame.’ But Abraham said: ‘Son, remember that while you were living you
had plenty of good things, while Lazarus suffered at your gate. Now he is
happy, and you are suffering. And, besides, there is a great gulf between
you and us, so that if we wanted to come to you we could not; neither can
you come here from that place.’ Then the rich man said, ‘I pray you send
him to my father’s house to tell my five brothers about this dreadful
place, so they need not come here.’ But Abraham said, ‘Why, they have the
story of that place. Moses wrote about it, and the Prophets wrote about
it; let them read it.’ But the rich man said, ‘O, Father Abraham, if one
went back to them from the dead, they would repent.’ ‘No,’ said Abraham,
‘if they will not believe God’s own word, as Moses and the Prophets wrote
it in the Bible, neither would they believe if one went to them from the
dead.’”

[Illustration: LAZARUS AT THE RICH MAN’S DOOR.—Luke xvi. 19.]



THE TEN LEPERS.


One day Jesus, on his journey to Jerusalem, passed through a village in
Samaria. He saw ten men who had the leprosy; they kept away from all
other people, as the law obliged them to. But when they saw Jesus, they
called out with loud voices, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus
said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priest.” This was what people
who were cured of leprosy were obliged to do before they could go among
the people. The priest had to give them a certificate to say that they
were cured. As these ten men turned to go to the priest, as Jesus had
told them, suddenly they found that they were well. One of them, as soon
as he found it out, turned back and followed after Jesus, and when he
reached him he bowed down at his feet, thanking him and praising God. He
was from a Samaritan village; not one of the Lord’s chosen people, but a
Gentile. Jesus said to him, “Didn’t I cure ten men? Where are the nine?
Not one of them came back to thank me, except this Samaritan.” Then he
said to the kneeling man, “Arise, and go on your way; your faith hath
made you whole.”

[Illustration: JESUS CURING THE TEN LEPERS.—Luke xvii. 14.]



WHOM THE LORD RECEIVES.


When Jesus was on earth he met some people who thought that they were
perfect, and they despised other people. One day he told them this story:
“There were two men who went to the temple one day to pray. One of them
was a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee said, ‘God, I thank
thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or
even as this man beside me. I fast twice in the week, and I give a tenth
of all that I have.’ Then the publican prayed: he did not even go close
to the holy place: he kept his eyes on the ground, and he struck his
breast, which was a sign of deep humility, as he said, ‘God be merciful
to me, a sinner’—I tell you,” said Jesus, “that man went back to his home
justified, rather than the other, for every one who thinks too well of
himself must be humbled; but those who are humble God will exalt.”

The rest of the story is about some very little children being brought
to Jesus. His disciples tried to have them sent away, for they did not
understand Jesus; but he called the little ones to him and said: “Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the
kingdom of heaven. Truly I say to you, that any one who will not receive
the kingdom of heaven with the faith of a little child shall never enter
there.”

[Illustration: THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.—Luke xviii. 10.]



ZACCHEUS THE PUBLICAN.


There was a man named Zaccheus, a rich man, a tax-gatherer, who wanted
very much to see Jesus. One day, when Jesus was passing through the
city of Jericho, Zaccheus, who was a small man and could not see over
the heads of the crowd who were following Jesus, ran ahead of them and
climbed into a sycamore tree. When Jesus reached the tree he looked up
and said, “Zaccheus, make haste and come down; I want to go to your house
to-day.” Then Zaccheus hurried down and joyfully took Jesus home with
him. But the people murmured about it; they said, “He has gone to visit
a wicked man.” Then Zaccheus talked with Jesus; he said to him, “Lord,
I mean to give the half of all my goods to the poor; and if I have taken
anything from any man wrongfully, I will give him back four times as
much.” Then Jesus said to him, “This day is salvation come to your house.
You are a Jew, a son of Abraham; you shall have the promised gift.”



JUDAISM OVERTHROWN.


Jesus, one day, talking with his disciples, said to them: “Take care that
you are not deceived. There will be many coming in my name, saying, ‘I
am Christ, and the end is near;’ but don’t follow after them. When you
hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be frightened; these things must
first come, but the end is not at once. Nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be great earthquakes, and
famines, and pestilences, and fearful sights; and great signs shall there
be from heaven: and before these come, people will persecute you, and put
you in prisons, and you shall be brought before kings and rulers, for my
name’s sake. And you will have a chance to testify for me; but you need
not plan what you shall say, for I will give you words that your enemies
can neither answer nor resist. You will be betrayed by parents, brothers,
relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death; and you will
be hated by men for my sake; but not a hair of your head shall perish. Be
patient to the end, and your souls shall be saved. When you see Jerusalem
surrounded with armies, then know that desolation is near. Then let them
which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the
midst of it depart out, and let not them which are in the countries enter
thereinto.”

[Illustration: JESUS FORETELLS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE.—Matt. xxiv.
2.]



THE LORD’S SUPPER.


It was the evening before Jesus was to be crucified that these things
happened which are in our lesson to-day. Jesus sent Peter and John to
make ready the supper, that they might eat it together. He said to them:
“When you get to the city of Jerusalem, a man will meet you, carrying a
pitcher of water; follow him and stop at the same house. Tell the man of
the house that the Master told you to ask him where the guest-chamber was
in which he could eat the Passover with his disciples. He will show you
a large upper room, furnished. In that room make all things ready.” It
all happened just as he said, and they prepared the supper. When Jesus
and the twelve disciples sat down he said to them, “I have longed to eat
this Passover with you before I suffer, for I will not eat of it any more
until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took up the cup
and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves,
for I say unto you, I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the
kingdom of God shall come.” And he took bread and gave thanks, and gave
the bread to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you; do
this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took the cup and passed it to
them, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed
for you.”

[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER.—Matt. xxvi. 26.]



THE CROSS.


At the place which is called Calvary, our Lord was crucified, and on
the cross with him hung two thieves, one on each side. The soldiers
divided his clothes among them, casting lots which should have them. He
prayed for them all; he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do.” The people and the rulers stood about him, looking at
him and mocking. They said, “He saved others, let him save himself if
he is Christ, the chosen one of God.” And the soldiers also mocked him,
offering him vinegar to drink, and saying to him, “If you are the king
of the Jews, save yourself.” Then they wrote on a tablet in Greek, and
in Latin, and in Hebrew, “This is the King of the Jews,” and hung it
over the cross. One of the thieves joined in the mocking, saying, “If
you are Christ, save yourself and us;” but the other thief reproved him,
asking him if he did not fear God, since they were suffering the same
punishment. “They,” he said, “deserved their punishment, but the other
had done nothing wrong.” Then he spoke directly to Jesus: he said, “Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” And instantly Jesus
answered him in these words, “Verily I say unto you, To-day shalt thou
dwell with me in Paradise.” These things happened about twelve o’clock.
From that time until three o’clock the earth was dark; the sun hid away.
When Jesus cried out with a loud voice, he said, “It is finished;” and
then, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit;” and having said this,
he died. Just then the veil which had always hidden the inner temple
split in two from top to bottom.

[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION.—John xix. 25.]



THE WALK TO EMMAUS.


The third day after Jesus was buried, two of his friends walked to a
village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. As
they walked along they talked together about the sad things that had
lately happened. At that moment Jesus himself came along and joined them,
but they did not know him. He asked them what it was they were talking
about, and why they were so sad. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him
if he was a stranger in Jerusalem that he had not heard the strange,
sad news. He asked them, “What news?” And Cleopas answered: “Why, about
Jesus of Nazareth; he was a mighty prophet; his words and his deeds
were wonderful; but our rulers condemned him to death and crucified him.
We hoped that he was the one who was to redeem the people of Israel;
but this is the third day since these things were done. Some women who
were at the grave this morning, told us a strange story; they say his
body is not there, and that they saw angels who said that he was alive;
and some of our friends went to the grave and found that it was as the
women said, but they did not see him.” Then Jesus said to them: “O what
foolish people. How slow you are to believe all that the prophets wrote
about this! Did they not tell that Christ must suffer these things and
then enter into his glory?” Then he began with the books that Moses
wrote, and explained what he and the other writers had said about
Christ. When they drew near to Emmaus the stranger acted as though he
was going further, but they begged him to stop with them, as the day was
nearly gone. So he stopped with them, and as they sat down to the table
together, suddenly something opened their eyes to know that it was Jesus
who sat with them. He took some bread and blessed it, and gave them some.
Then he vanished out of their sight.

[Illustration: JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.—Luke xxiv. 30.]



THE SAVIOUR’S LAST WORDS.


The disciples and friends of Jesus were together talking of him and of
the wonderful story that he had risen, when he appeared to them again and
talked with them. He reminded them that the things which had happened
were the very ones which he had foretold, and which were told in the
Bible would happen. Then he explained the Bible to them and gave them
wisdom to understand what he said. He showed them how it was written
that Christ would come, and suffer and die, and rise again on the third
day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sin should be preached to
all people, beginning at Jerusalem. Then he told them they were the
witnesses that all these things had taken place. Then he assured them
that he would send to them that which the Father had promised they should
have, and they were to wait in Jerusalem until God sent them a special
power.

The last story that we have of the life of Jesus on earth was when he led
his disciples out to Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, blessed them,
and was parted from them and carried up into Heaven. Then the disciples
worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and now they
could be found continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.

[Illustration: JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES.—Luke xxiv. 30.]





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