Helen Braun Hojt - The Story of Jesus The Christ

names; the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias, and Lake Gen-

nesaret. It was a beautiful lake thirteen miles long and six miles

wide; and on it were thousands of boats of every kind. There

were the war-ships of the Romans, which were very tiny in com¬

parison with those of our time. There were the little rough boats

of the fishermen, and many gay pleasure boats.

The country around the lake was beautiful also. Mountains

and hills sloped down to the shore, and on these mountain-sides

anything that was planted would grow; for the soil was very rich.

Scattered about were fields of wheat, groves of palms, olives, figs,

and oranges. Where nothing else was planted, wild flowers

sprang up in great plenty. There are a great many kinds of

wild flowers in Palestine, many of them very beautiful, with

rich, gay colors. A field of these flowers is said to be a won¬

derful sight that no one ever forgets who has seen it once.

the MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST

31

All along the shores of the lake cities and larg^ towns had

been built; and Capernaum was one of the busiest of these cities.

Roman soldiers were always there on guard, and strangers were

coming and going all the time, for Capernaum was a central place,

through which people passed in going from one country to another,

and from every direction people came here to trade.

It was a place where Jesus could meet and talk with people

of many nations. Later in his life he spent much time in Caper¬

naum; for, besides the work which he could find to do right in

the city, it was easy to make short trips into the country around.

But now Jesus stayed in the city only a few days, for it was time

to go to the Passover Feast at Jerusalem.

You remember how delighted he was when his parents took

him for the first time to the Passover, when he was twelve years

old, and how he loved to stay in the temple? But this time

when he entered the temple courts, he was not at all pleased.

Site of Capernaum, Sea of Galilee

32

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Instead of tjie quietness and respect which belong to the house

of God, there was the greatest confusion. Money was being

changed, doves and sheep and oxen were being sold, even inside

the temple wall. Such a noise as there was! And all the while

the temple service was going on!

Jesus saw some small cords which had probably been used to

tie the animals. Out of these curds he made a whip, and drove

from the temple the sheep

and oxen, and the men who

had charge of them. He

upset the tables of the

money-changers, and their

money rolled about on the

floor. Then he said to

those who sold the doves:

«Take these things away

from here, and do not make

my Father’s house a place

of business.» His voice

was stern, and no one dared

to disobey him; so the

temple court was soon

cleared.

You may wonder why

they ever thought of doing

such things as buying and

selling animals in the tem-

The Purification of the Temple pie. The reason Was that

many of the people who

came to worship lived a long way from Jerusalem, and could not

easily bring with them the animals for their sacrifices; it was

better that they should buy them in Jerusalem and near the

33

temple. Then, too, money had to be changed; for nothing but

Jewish money would be taken at the temple, and people from

different parts of the world had to bring the kinds of money that

were used where they lived.

If these things were true, what was there wrong about it?

Why was Jesus displeased? It was not because the things were

done, but because they were done in the wrong place; for the

temple, was built to worship God in, not for a place of business.

There was plenty of room outside of the temple, and if they had

cared about God’s house, and keeping it sacred, as God had told

them, they would not have wanted to do their selling there.

The priests should not have allowed such things to be done; but

probably they got a share of the money that was taken, and so

they were willing.

These priests were astonished and angry at what was done.

They might lose some money if the buying and selling in the

temple was stopped. They had another reason, too: they were

the rulers of the people, and they did not like to have this

stranger come and take the control they thought belonged to

them. So they asked Jesus to give them a sign that he had the

right to do such things. He answered them in a way that no one

understood then; but years afterward the disciples remembered

the answer he gave, and then they knew what he had meant.

Jesus stayed in Jerusalem through the Passover week. The

Bible says that many people believed that he was the Christ

when they saw the miracles that he did, but it does not tell us

what these miracles were. One of these men was a very promi¬

nent man among the Jews, named Nicodemus. This man wanted

to learn more from this wonderful teacher, but he was afraid to

have his friends know that he did so. So he waited till one

night after dark. Then, when no one could see what he was

doing, he came to the place where Jesus was staying.

34

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Jesus was always willing to teach those who wanted to learn

from him, and now he was glad to tell Nicodemus about the new

life that every one

must live who wants to

please God and make

the best of himself. He

said that because men

did not know the best

way to live, God sent

his Son into the world

to teach them; and

whoever believes on

him and obeys his

teachings has this life

that goes on forever

and ever. He told him

that the coming of the

Son of God, like the

sunshine, brought light

into the world, showing

people what was good

Jesus and Nicodemus and what was bad. But

as people who have

been doing wrong do not like to have the light show what they

have been doing, but want to hide away in the dark, so these

people would like their own wicked ways and thoughts better

than those he had come to bring.

After the Passover was over, Jesus and his disciples left

Jerusalem and travelled through Judea, until they came to the

place where John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing.

Jesus, too, began to preach. At first only a few people listened

to him; soon more and more became interested in hearing him

35

talk. Before long the crowds who had been so fond of hearing

John, left him to follow this new Rabbi, or teacher. He did not

baptize any of them, but his disciples baptized more than John

did. The friends of John did not like to have the crowds leave

their master to follow this new teacher; they went to John, find¬

ing fault with Jesus and with the people. But John said: «It

is just as it should be. I am not the Christ. My work is almost

done, but his will be greater and greater. You must take him

for your master, and believe what he tells you. He is the Son

of God.»

Some of the Jewish teachers, too, were envious because he

was winning so many friends. They did not like John very well,

but they liked Jesus even less. This was because the people who

had trusted them and come to them to be taught were leaving