Helen Braun Hojt - The Story of Jesus The Christ

member this story, will we

not? And we will think

with love of the little child whose birth we celebrate on Christ¬

mas Day.

After giving Jesus their presents, the wise men started home

again. But they did not go back to tell Herod where they had

The Three Wise Men

16

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

found the child, for God had told them in a dream that Herod

did not mean what he said, that he did not want to worship

Jesus, but to kill him. So they went home another way.

When Herod had heard the strangers asking him where the; y

could find the King of the Jews he had been greatly interested,

and a good deal worried. He was afraid that he would have more

trouble than ever with the Jews if they had a king of their own

So he, too, wanted to find the child. He had expected the wise

men to tell him when they went back to Jerusalem just where

he could be found, and there would be no more trouble after that,

But the wise men did not come back to tell him. He waited

and waited, till at last he found that they had gone to theit

homes without seeing him again. Herod was very angry wheri

he heard this. “ I must find the child,» he said; “ it will not do

to let him live to be king.» One of his plans had failed, but h.

thought of another.

He did not know how old the child king was, but he watf

sure that he could not be more than two years old. So, as ho

did not know where to find him, he sent his soldiers to kill eveiy

boy in Bethlehem that was two years old, or younger. (The

word “ child ” in our Bibles really means boys; Herod did not

need to kill girls in order to be sure of killing Jesus.) The

soldiers did as they were told, and there were many sad home /

in Bethlehem that day. This sounds even more cruel than it

really was, for Bethlehem was a very small town, and there were

probably not more than twenty or thirty boys there.

But even this plan of Herod’s failed to harm the child Jesus.

For on the night after the wise men had started for their homes,

an angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a dream, “ Take the child

and his mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I bring

you word; for Herod will look for the young child to destroy

him.»

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So Joseph took the child and his mother that very night,

and left Bethlehem to do as the angel had told him. In

Egypt they were safe, for

Herod had no power there,

and could not touch them,

even if he had been able to

find out that they had gone

there. Probably he never

knew that he had not killed

the boy king when he sent

his soldiers to the city where

he had been born.

They lived in Egypt till

the wicked king Herod died.

We do not know what they

did there, or where they

stayed, although many sto¬

ries are told about them.

They probably lived very

quietly.

After the death of Herod

Joseph dreamed again, and

again the angel came to him,

saying, “ Rise, take the child

and his mother, and go back

to your own land; for they are dead who sought to kill the child.»

Joseph obeyed this dream as he had the other.

But they did not go to Bethlehem to live; for they heard that,

although the king Herod was dead, yet his son Archelaus, who was

ruler there now, was a very wicked man. They went to Nazareth,

the early home of Joseph and Mary. There Jesus lived all the

years of his childhood, and all but three years of his whole life.

Flight into Egypt

We do not know much about him when he was a boy. The

Bible says that he was “ filled with wisdom/’ and that he was in

favor with God and man.» We know by this that he was a good

boy, and was loved by every one who knew him.

The people in Nazareth were not thought to be very good,

and sometimes, when Jesus was older, he was looked down

upon because he had once lived in Nazareth. But if the people

were not good the country

was beautiful. Jesus proba¬

bly went to school with

the other Jewish boys, and

studied Jewish history and

law, from the books of the

Bible. We can also think

of him as playing and work¬

ing in his father’s carpen¬

ter’s shop, and with his

mother in the house.

He learned, too, from

other teachers than books.

The mountains and lakes,

the birds and flowers, the

storms, the sunshine, and

indeed everything he saw

or heard, had lessons for

him which he was happy in

learning.

This was how he became

filled with wisdom; because he saw something to learn in every¬

thing about him, and was willing to try to learn the lesson.

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Infancy of Christ

19

The Bible tells of a journey Jesus took when he was twelve

years old. Every year in the spring there was a great feast in

Jems ale m,

called the Feast

of the Pass-

over; and Jews

from all parts

of the country

went to it. The

women and old

men commonly

rode on mules or

donkeys; some¬

times on horses

or camels. The

young men, with

long sticks in

their hands,

walked beside

them and led the animals. Children were not generally taken

till they were twelve years old; those who did go ran a part

of the way, but when they were tired they were given a ride.

Ever so many people travelled together, and had such a good

time on the way! They talked and laughed and sang together,

stopped at the springs to get water when they were thirsty, and,

as they walked along, picked the fruit and berries they found by

the roadside. When they were tired they stopped to rest; for

manjf of them had a long way to go.

Thousands of strangers were in Jerusalem when the feast

began. Every house was full, and tents were put up for those

who could not find room anywhere else.

When Jesus was twelve years old his parents took him, for

Jesus, Twelve Years Old, on His Way to Jerusalem

20

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

the first time, to this feast. It lasted seven days, and then the

long procession started home again. Jesus was so much inter¬

ested in what he was seeing and hearing that when the others

left the city he stayed behind. His parents did not know this;

they supposed that of course he was with some of their friends in

the company, and did not look for him until evening. Then he

was nowhere to be found, and no one remembered seeing him all

day. Think how troubled his parents must have felt! The boy

who had never been away from them was lost, and so far away

from home, too! They

must go back to Jeru¬

salem to find him.

It took them an¬

other day to get to the

city, so it was the third

day before they saw

their boy again. Then

where do you think

they found him? In

the temple, hearing the

old, gray-haired men

talk, and asking them

questions so wise that

they were astonished to

find a boy of twelve

years who knew so

much.

Do you think his

Christ in the Temple parents were glad to

see him? His mother

hurried to him and said: “ My son, wiry did you leave us? Your

father and I have been looking for you, and have been very sad.»