Helen Braun Hojt - The Story of Jesus The Christ

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Jesus answered her: “ Why did you look for me? Did you

not know that I must be about my Father’s business?» Jesus

did not mean Joseph when he said “ my Father,» he meant God.

He was a young boy, but he was very thoughtful, and he knew

that there was work for him to do in the world; and that his

work was to teach people how his Father wants them to live.

He would have liked to have begun his work even now, but it

was not yet time for him to do so. He went back to Nazareth

with his parents, and was the same loving, obedient boy that he

had always been.

Until a Jewish boy was twelve years old he was called a little

boy; but after that he was a young man, and was expected to

study and work as the young men did. Every one must learn

some trade, or some kind of work by which he could earn his

living. Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to do car¬

pentry work: to make houses, tables, yokes for oxen, or anything

that is made of wood.

So, busy with his studies and his work, Jesus lived at Naza¬

reth till he was thirty years old. We will leave him there for a

while, and see what has become of the son of Zacharias.

John, too, grew to be a thoughtful, manly boy; for his father

told him what his work was to be, and taught him what he

needed to know, to be ready for it. As he grew older he knew

that he could not do good work unless he thought, studied, and

prayed much about it. To do this he left his home and his

friends, and went to live all alone in the wilderness.

He could find enough to eat there: locusts, and the honey

which the bees left in the rocks and the hollow trees. Locusts

are something like our grasshoppers, and even now, in that coun¬

try, people eat a great many of them. There were caves in the

sides of the hills, where John could find shelter from the cold

and storms, and from any wild beasts that might be about. His

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A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

clothing was made of the coarse hair which grows on a camel>

and was fastened around his waist with a leather belt.

There in the woods he lived alone for many years with noth¬

ing to take his mind from his work. At last the time came for

him to preach.

There is a river in Pal¬

estine called the Jordan,,

and it was to the banks

of the Jordan that John

came from the wilderness

and began to preach. He

was so much in earnest,

and spoke so well, that

people liked to listen to

him; and before long great

crowds from all around

came everyday to hear him.

They all thought he

must be the Christ; but

John said: 66 No, I am not

the Christ. I am the

prophet from the wilder¬

ness whose work it is to

prepare the way for the

Christ, and tell people about

John the Baptist in the Wilderness llim.

«He is to be so much

greater than I am that I am not good enough even to be his ser¬

vant. Your Saviour is coming very soon, but he will not save

you unless you are sorry for your sins. You must not say to} T> ur-

selves: ‘ God will love us because we are the children of Abraham/

You must be good yourselves if you want to be loved and saved/»»

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Over and over again John said to the people, “ Repent, and

be baptized, every one of you.» To repent is to be so sorry

for something we have

done that we will ask

God’s forgiveness and

try very hard never to

do it again. After they

repented he baptised

them. You know how

pure and clean water

makes things that are

Washed in it. So water

is used in baptism as a

sign that the one who

is baptized wants his

heart made pure and

clean.

J ohn baptized so

many people that he

is called John the Bap¬

tist, but he told them

John the Baptist Preaching

all that the baptism did

not make them good;

it only show r ed others that they meant to try to be better men

and women. “ When the Christ conies,“ he said, „he will give

you a new heart, and that is what you need to be really good.»

We should all pray just as David did so long ago: «Create

in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within

me.» This is nfot a very long prayer, but it means a great deal;

for when we have been given new, clean hearts we will never

again do wrong without being very, very sorry, and praying to

be forgiven.

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

THE OPENING OF THE MINISTRY

One day John was preaching as usual, when a stranger came

to him and asked to be baptized. John looked at him for a

minute, and then said:

«I need to be baptized

by you. Why do you

come to me?» For in

that one look something

in the stranger’s face

told John that it was

Jesus, the Christ, who

had asked to be bap¬

tized. Although they

were cousins, their

homes were so far apart

that they had never

seen each other.

John knew that the

Saviour did not need to

repent, for he had never

done anything that was

wrong. He did not want

to baptize him, but Jesus

said: «I want you to do it. It is right that you should, even if

you do not know the reason why.» Then they both went into the

Jordan, and Jesus was baptized.

When he came up out of the water something in the form of

a dove rested on his head, and a voice from heaven said, “ This

is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» It was God’s

voice.

Baptism of Jesus

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Jesus did not wait to talk to the people then; he went off by

himself into the wilderness, where he could be alone with God.

He wanted to think about the new life he had just begun. He

had no home now, for he had given up his home and everything

that was dear to him in Nazareth, to spend the rest of his life in

doing good to others, and in teaching them how ’to be happy.

Forty days and forty nights he spent in this wilderness, think¬

ing much of what others needed, but so little about what he him¬

self needed that in all that time he had eaten nothing. Now he

felt hungry. Round about him were some smooth stones shaped

much like the loaves of bread they used in that country. They

were something like our crackers.

Has not the wicked spirit Satan sometimes whispered in your

ear, asking you to do something which you knew was not right?

Well, that wicked spirit came to Jesus now when he was so

hungry, and said: “ If you are the Son of God, you can do any¬

thing you want to. Just turn these stones into bread.» Jesus

was able to do this, for in a few days he did something just as

wonderful; but he had been asking God for power to help other

people, not to help himself. He did not turn the stones into

bread, but answered Satan with a Bible verse which means that

although we need to feed our bodies we also need to trust and

obey God, w T ho has promised to take care of us.

Satan whispered to him again and said: “ If you are the Son

of God, why do you not throw yourself down from the high roof

of the temple at Jerusalem? God will send his angels to take

care of you, for he has promised to do so. They will hold you

up in their hands so that you will not get hurt. And when the