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one whom he saw doing wrong, whoever he was, and wherever
he was. One day he told King Herod that he was leading a sin¬
ful life, and that both
he and his wife were
wicked people. This
was true, but they did
not like to hear John
say it. They were so
angry that they would
have killed John if
they had dared. But
the Baptist had so
many friends that
thought he was a great
prophet that Herod
was afraid to do this.
So instead of killing
him he took him and
put him in prison.
Jesus, you remem¬
ber, was travelling in
John the Baptist in Prison Galilee. The people
there were glad to
have him with them once more. Many of them had seen what
he had done at the feast at Jerusalem, and others had heard so
much about this preacher who talked so well and did so many
miracles that they wanted to know him.
THE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST
39
In the course of liis journey he came to Cana where he had
made the water into wine. While there, one day at noon, a
nobleman came to him
in great haste. He had
come twenty miles, from
Capernaum, on purpose
to see Jesus and ask
him a great favor. He
had a son at home who
was very, very ill; it
seemed as if he must
die. But the father
had known of the mir¬
acles of Jesus, and be¬
lieved that he could
make his child well.
So when he heard
that Jesus was in Cana
he went to him as
quickly as he could, and
begged him to go to
Capernaum and heal
the boy. Jesus said to him, “ Unless you see wonders you will
not believe.» But the father only thought of his sick boy, and
said, “ Sir, come down before my child dies.» The Saviour
looked at the father who seemed to trust him so, and said, “ Go
home, your son will live.» Did the man believe that Jesus had
the power to cure a sick boy twenty miles away, without any
medicine? Yes, he believed, and went home, sure that he would
find him well.
When be was almost home he met his servants coming to tell
him that his boy was well. He asked them when he began to get
The Appeal of the Nobleman
40
A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST
better, and they told him it was at one o’clock, just the time when
Jesus had said, «Your son will live.» So the nobleman and all
his family believed that Jesus was the Christ, and became hi?
friends.
Though the Jews had only one temple they had in every town
places where they met to worship when they did not want to offer
sacrifices. These were called synagogues. They had only one
room. The men sat on one side of the room and the women on
the other behind a screen. There was a raised seat for the
preacher and ten «chief seats» where the leading Jews sat.
The service was much like ours. There were prayers and
hymns, and a passage was read from the Scripture, or that part
of our Bible which we call the Old Testament. The most of what
our New Testament tells had not yet happened. Any one could
read this lesson, and could explain it afterward, if he had permis¬
sion from the ruler of the synagogue, who was the man who had
the charge of the service. It was the custom for the reader to
stand while he read the lesson, and to sit down in front of the
people when he began to talk. The hymns they sang were not
like ours, and they had no hymn books. What they usually sang
were the Psalms, which we can read in our own Bibles. One
man, standing in front of the others, led the singing, sometimes
singing alone, while the people joined in the chorus.
Soon after healing the nobleman’s son Jesus spent a Sabbath
day at his old home, Nazareth. As his custom always was, he
went to the synagogue, to read the lesson and talk to the people.
They handed him the book from which the lesson was to be read,
and he found one of the places where the prophet Tsaiah tells
about the Christ that was to come, and what he was to do to help*
the people. You can find just what Jesus read to them that day
if you look in your Bibles at the first two verses of the sixty-first
chapter of Isaiah.
T1IE MINISTRY OF THE CHRIST
41
After reading a few words he handed the book to the man
who took care of it, and began to talk to the people. He told
them that these words that he had just read were even then com¬
ing true; that he was doing just the things that Isaiah said the
Christ would do.
For a little while they were glad to listen to him, for he spoke
very gently and lovingly. But soon they began to ask one
another: “ Is this not
the son of Joseph the
carpenter? We know
his father and mother,
and we know him.
He is no better than
we are. What does
he mean by saying
that he is the Christ?
How