Helen Braun Hojt - The Story of Jesus The Christ

Judah, and lived in Beth¬

lehem when he was a

shepherd boy? Because

the Jews were so fond of

David they called Bethle¬

hem the City of David.

Bethlehem was eighty

miles away from Naza¬

reth, and the roads be¬

tween the two places were

very rough and stony, up hill and down hill. It was a hard

journey to take. Mary and Joseph could not travel very fast,

and when they reached the city the houses were all full, for

strangers from every part of the country had come to Bethlehem

on the same errand as theirs. They were very tired when their

journey was over, but they found no one there ready to welcome

them. There was no room for them anywhere, except in a stable.

Arrival at Bethlehem

11

There they found a resting-place, and there that night God

gave to Mary the baby he had promised her, the baby that was

the long-expected King of the Jews.

The poor people in that country often wrapped a long band

around their little babies

to clothe them, and this

sort of dress was called

swaddling clothes. Mary

wrapped her baby in

swaddling clothes, and

since there was no other

crib for him she laid him

in a manger.

In the beautiful val¬

ley just outside the city,

where David had taken

care of his father’s

sheep so many years

before, some shepherds

were watching their

flocks that night. They

watched them day and

night, for it was not

safe to leave them alone. Angels and Shepherds

Robbers and wild beasts

were about, and the sheep might come to harm if left without

care.

The shepherds knew that it was time for the Christ to come,

and this night they were probably thinking of him and talking

one to another, when all at once a bright light shone around

them, and the angel of the Lord came before them. They were

very much afraid, but the angel said: 44 Fear not, for, behold, I

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A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

bring you good tidings of great joy that 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 shall be a sign to you:

you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a

manger.»

And suddenly there w^ere with this angel a great many more

who sang, “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,

good will to men.»

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the

shepherds said to one

another, “ Now let us

go to Bethlehem right

away, and see this baby,

of whom the angels

have been telling us.»

They started at once

and soon came to the

city, for it was not

more than a mile away.

And there they found

Joseph and Mary and

the baby.

The shepherds were

very happy. They had

so longed to have the

Christ come; now he

had come, and they

were looking at him.

Do you not think that

Mary was happy, too,

when she learned from the shepherds how they knew of her

baby’s birth? She did not talk much about it, but the thought

Adoration of Shepherds

13

was a comfort to her for the rest of her life. The shepherds

went out and talked with every one whom they met about the

wonderful child, and what the angels had said of him; and

thanked God for what they

had seen and heard, as

they went back to their

sheep.

When the child was

eight days old Mary named

him Jesus, as the angel

had told her. When he

was forty days old he was

taken to the temple at Je¬

rusalem. This was done

in order to obey a Jewish

law that said that a mother

must take her child to the

temple and offer sacrifices

for him. If she could af¬

ford it she must take a

lamb and a turtle dove for

the sacrifice; if she were

poor she could take two

turtle doves or two young

pigeons. As Joseph and Mary were poor, they took two turtle

doves.

There was an old man in Jerusalem, named Simeon, who

loved God, and who had so longed to see the Christ that God

had promised him that he should not die until he had seen the

child. Simeon was in the temple when Joseph and Mary brought

in the child Jesus. He looked at the baby, and knew at once

that this was the Christ he had so longed to see.

Presentation in the Temple

14

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

He took Jesus in liis arms, and thanked God that he had

been allowed to see his Christ. 44 Lord, now I am willing and

glad to go,» he said, 44 for I have seen thy Christ; the Saviour

who has come to make the world brighter and better.» Then

he said, as he gave the child back to his mother: 44 This child is

born to be a great help to many people, but others will not

believe him. They will speak against him, and will bring much

sorrow to him, and his trouble will cause you sorrow too.»

While these things were happening in Palestine, there were

in another country in the East some wise men who saw a bright

new star in the sky. These men studied the stars so much that

they knew those that generally shone as they did old friends,

and they knew that they had not seen this before. It seemed to

tell them that some great thing had happened. They knew that

the Jews were expecting a king, and they decided that this star

was sent to tell them that he was born; and they thought they

should go to honor him.

So, although they lived a long way from Palestine, they took

splendid gifts in their hands and went to find the king. They

followed the star until they came to Jerusalem, where Herod

the king lived. They were sure that a king would be found in a

king’s house, so they went to Herod’s palace and asked him :

44 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen

his star in the East, and have come to worship him.»

Herod could not answer them. If he had ever heard of the

birth of Jesus, it had not interested him enough to make him

remember it. But he called together the learned Jews, and asked

them where they expected the Christ to be born. They told him

that the prophets had said that he should be born in the little

town of Bethlehem.

After Herod had found out all he could about the child, he

called the wise men and asked them how long it had been since

15

they first saw the star. He wanted to know bow old the child

was. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, u Go

and look carefully for the child, and when you have found him

bring me back word where he is, that I may go and worship

him also.»

The wise men then left Herod and went to Bethlehem, follow¬

ing the star until they came

to the house where Jesus

was. And when they had

come into the house they

saw the child with Mary

his mother, and they fell

down and worshipped him.

And when they had opened

their treasures they gave

him their gifts: gold,

frankincense, and myrrh.

Frankincense and myrrh

are costly perfumes.

This is the first time

that any child ever had a

Christmas present. And

when Christmas conies

round year after year bring¬

ing with it gifts from those

who love us, we will re¬