The Story of Jesus The Christ. Helen Braun Hojt
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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
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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
THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST
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.
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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
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35
talk. Before long the crowds who had been so fond of hearing
John,