Helen Braun Hojt - The Story of Jesus The Christ

he found her very sick with a fever. He went right into the

room where she lay. Her skin was dry and hot, and she was in

great pain. The Saviour stood over her, took her hand in his,

and lifted her up. At once the fever left her, and she was well;

so well that she was able to get up and wait on the visitors.

The Jewish Sabbath ended at sunset on the day we call Sat¬

urday, and hardly had the sun gone down this Sabbath afternoon

when men and women came in crowds to Peter’s door. They

had heard of what Jesus had done that day, and every one had

brought with him some sick friend whom he wanted the Saviour

to help. All sorts of peo] 3le came; men and women, old and

young, those who had been sick a little while, and those who had

been sick so long that they never expected to be any better.

There were also many with evil spirits, like the one who had

cried out in the synagogue that morning.

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A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Jesus was tired. Do you think he felt like seeing all these

needy people and doing something for every one of them? He

did not think of himself. He thought of their pain, and, laying

his hands on all the sick ones, he cured them and drove out all

the evil spirits.

Early the next morning, long before sunrise, he slipped quietly

away from the house and walked out into the country where he

could be alone with God

and pray. For Jesus, the

Son of God, felt that he

needed to ask his Father

for help and strength to

do his work. But he was

not alone long. Peter and

the other disciples came to

him, and said, “ The people

have come again this morn¬

ing for help and are look¬

ing for you.» Jesus an¬

swered: “ We must not stay

here any longer, for people

in other places need us.

Let us go to the next towns

that I ma}» preach there

also.»

By this time many of

the men and women who

Healing the Sick had followed the disciples

joined them and begged

Jesus not to leave Capernaum. But he could not do as they

wished. He said, u 1 must go and preach the Kingdom of God

to other cities, also, for that is my work.»

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So lie left Capernaum and went through other towns of

Galilee, healing the sick and teaching in the synagogues.

While passing through one of these cities a man who was a

leper saw him and kneeled down before him. Now leprosy is

a very dreadful disease or

sickness that people in hot

countries sometimes have;

and one who takes the dis¬

ease almost never gets free

from it. He is called a

leper, and is not allowed

to touch anybody, for a

touch might give the dis¬

ease to the one who did not

have it. He must leave

his home and live with

other lepers, and if he sees

any one coming near him

he must call out so that

they will keep away. The

Jews always called out

«Unclean! Unclean!»

But this leper did not

cry “ Unclean.» He went

as near Jesus as he dared,

fell down before him and said, «Lord, if you are willing you can

make me well.» The Saviour felt sorry for the poor man; he

put out his hand and touched him and said, “ I am willing; you

shall be well.» As soon as he spoke the leprosy left the man;;

he was well.

Jesus said, “ Tell no man how you were cured, but go and

show yourself to the priest.»

The Great Physician

48

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

The leper must do that to obey the law of the country, which

was somewhat like this: If a man who thought he had leprosy

found that it was a mistake and he did not have the disease, or

if one who was a leper had been cured of his trouble, he must

first go to the priest and prove that he was free from the disease.

Then he must go through a form of cleansing, and the priest must

offer sacrifices for him. After all this had been done he was

called clean and allowed to live with his family again. The

lepers went to the priests to be sure that they did not have the

disease, because the priests were the ones who were taught to

know the disease whenever they saw it; and they were the ones

who had a right to decide. There were no good doctors, except

among the priests, so the people always went to them for such

things as this, just as we go to some doctor.

Jesus told this man to obey the law by showing himself to the

priest, and being cleansed, but not to say anything about how he

was cured. But the man was so happy and grateful that he

could not keep still; he went out and told every one he met that

the Lord Jesus had cured him, and he was well.

The news spread fast. People from far and near came to see

the preacher who made more wonderful cures than any doctor

they had ever known. Jesus needed rest, and for a few days he

kept away from the crowded cities and spent the time in the

wilderness.

But in a very few days he was ready for work again, and went

to his friends in Capernaum. It did not take long for people to

find out that he was there again, and crowds came to hear him

from that city, and from all the towns in Galilee and Judea.

Scribes and Pharisees were often among his hearers. The

scribes were lawyers; they spent much time in studying the Jew¬

ish law, and taught the people what they must do to obey it.

They were the men who made the copies of the Scriptures. You

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know they did not know then how to print with machines as we

do now. Every book had to be written by hand with a pen,

and it took a long time. The books did not look like ours, but

were on long rolls of paper, with a stick fastened to each end, so

they could be rolled up smoothly. When any One wanted to read

from a book he must unwind the roll until he came to the place

he wanted.

The Pharisees were another very important class among the

Jews. Jesus called them hypocrites, for they pretended to be one

thing when they were something else. They made long prayers

at the corners of the streets where people could hear them; and

gave money and food to the poor when they would be seen doing

it. They were very strict about some things, but their hearts

were bad, and when no one was watching them they could not be

trusted. They were dishonest and sly and very unloving. These

Pharisees did not like Jesus because he had told them they were

not honest men. They wanted to find something to say against

him.

One day in Capernaum a number of these people had come to

the house where Jesus was preaching. The houses of Palestine

are not like ours. Many of them are only one story high, and

are covered with a flat roof that can be reached from the outside

by stairs. This roof is quite useful; for after the sun goes down

in the hot summer days families sit on the roof, and even sleep

there. A railing around the edge makes it safe. It is very easy

to carry the beds up there, for the bed of that country is only a

thin mattress or heavy mat which is spread on the floor when

needed, but rolled up and put one side when not in use. In the

centre of the house there is often a large room called the court,

and the part of the roof over this court is made in such a way

that it can easily be taken off. It was in the court of such a