The Story of Jesus The Christ. Helen Braun Hojt
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know it.
After David died, his son Solomon became king. He was very
rich, and knew so much that he has been called the wisest man
that ever lived. He built for the people a beautiful temple where
they could meet to worship God. When this temple was built
the people promised to always love and obey the God who had
been so good to them and to their fathers. If they had remem¬
bered this promise, and kept it, they would have been a strong
nation even now; but very soon they began to break God’s laws.
Some of them even began to pray to idols.
After King Solomon died things grew worse and worse, until
at last the Jews were conquered by other nations, their cities de¬
stroyed, and the people carried away to other countries. After a
time some were allowed to go back to Palestine to live, but there
has never been a real Jewish nation since that time, and that was
a great many years ago.
But the Jews kept up their courage; for their prophets had
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INTRODUCTION
told them that they should have a king who should rule the
whole world, and who should reign for ever and ever. Prophets
are men who tell what is going to happen long before it does
come; they foretell things. We have men whom we call
weather-prophets. By studying the sky, the clouds, and the
winds, they can tell what sort of weather we are likely to have.
But these Jewish prophets talked with God, and he told them
what to foretell, so they never made any mistakes.
These prophets did not all live at one time; nor did they all
tell the same things about the king. One said he was to be born
in Bethlehem, and was to belong to David’s family. Another
said when he should be born; and others told something else
about his life. Still another said that before he came God would
send a great prophet, who would teach the people how to get
ready for the Christ, their king.
At the time of our story there had been no prophet for four
hundred years; but the Jews, remembering and believing what
the prophets had promised so long ago, were looking for their king.
For, if the prophets had spoken truly, it was almost time for him
to come. They had forgotten that some of the prophets had said
that the king was to be poor, and a man of sorrows. They ex¬
pected him to come in great power, and make them a strong free
nation again.
Although many Jews were now living in Palestine, they were
under the rule of the Homan Emperor. The Emperor had so
large a country that he could not look after it all himself; but
divided it into what were called provinces and appointed rulers
to take charge of them for him. The Jews did not like to obey
the Roman Emperor, they did not like the rulers who were sent
to them, and they did so long for their own strong king.
Herod, one of the Roman rulers, who was called a king, was
very much disliked, and he began to be afraid that he would lose
INTRODUCTION
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his throne. So to please the Jews he built them a temple, even
more beautiful than the one which Solomon had built for them.
That one had been destroyed when the’ Jews were driven out of
their country, and the one which had been built when they had
returned was now so old that it was falling to pieces.
The temple was not much like our churches, nor was the ser¬
vice like ours. There was one building of two rooms. In the
smaller of these only the High Priest went, and only once a year.
In the other any priest could go.
Around this building were four large open spaces called
courts, separated from each other by walls. The one next the
building was for the priests alone; the next for the Jewish men;
the third for the Jewish women, and the fourth for all who were
not Jews. No one could go farther than the court in which he
belonged. When we speak of people going into the temple, we
mean they went into one of these courts.
The priests were the ministers, who did all the work of the
temple, and, took charge of the services. In those days the peo¬
ple did more than pray to God to forgive their sins. In the tem¬
ple was an altar, or sort of table covered with brass. On this
altar a fire was kept burning day and night. Twice every day a
lamb which had just been killed was burned on this altar, and
while it was burning the people prayed to God, asking him to
forgive their sins, and to destroy the memory of them as the fire
was destroying the lamb. This was called offering a sacrifice.
Another thing the priests did was to offer incense. Incense
was made of sweet spices, and was very fragrant. While it was
burning the people in the courts outside were praying that their
prayers might rise to God as sweet and pure and well pleasing as
the incense.
One day, just about the time that our story begins, the work
of burning the incense fell to the lot of a priest named Zacharias,
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INTRODUCTION
who had a wife Elizabeth, but who had no children. Both were
very sorry for this, and often when they prayed, they asked God
to give them a little son.
On this day, as Zacharias alone in the temple was burning
the incense, and praying to God, he looked up and saw an angel of
the Lord standing at the right side of the altar. When Zacharias
saw him he was afraid. But the angel said: “ Do not be afraid,
Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; God will give you and Eliza¬
beth a baby boy, and you must call his name John. He will
bring