The Story of Jesus The Christ

The Story of Jesus The Christ

Helen Braun Hojt

© Helen Braun Hojt, 2019

ISBN 978-5-0050-0692-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

THE STORY OF JESUS

THE CHRIST

Adapted for Children

PREFACE

The story of the life of Christ has been written time and

time again, yet it is one that is ever fresh and attractive.

Little children love to hear it if it is told in language which

their minds are able to grasp, and the aim of this book has

been to tell the story so simply that the youngest child can

enjoy it because he can understand it.

The account recorded in the four gospels has been closely

followed, and the order of events is that accepted by the greatest

thinkers and writers. Many of the laws and customs of the

times have been introduced to make the text more clear; and,

that the lessons taught may be more attractive and better

remembered, the book is abundantly illustrated.

The writer does not claim originality, but, knowing that all

children love to read or hear a good story, she has tried to tell

this old, old story in a way that will make them love it and

absorb into their own beings the elements of true living which

only the life and teachings of the Christ can give.

THE STORY OF JESUS-THE CHRIST

INTRODUCTION

Far away over the sea, on the continent of Asia, is the land

of Palestine, which is also called the Holy Land. If you look

for it on the map you will find that it is a very small country.

Yet, though it is so small, such great things have happened

there that all the world knows of Palestine. This story will tell

you why it is called the Holy Land, and why so many people

love it.

Very many years ago there lived in Palestine a man by the

name of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, and the grandson of

Abraham. He had twelve sons, each of whom was the head of a

large family called a tribe. The twelve tribes together made a

nation which was known either as the Jews, or as the Children

of Israel. Israel was another name given to Jacob after he was

a man.

The Jews were better than any other people living at that

time, just because they worshipped God. There were a good

many people then, as there are now, who did not know about the

true God in heaven. They made images, or idols, of wood or

stone, which they called gods. They prayed to these idols, asking

them to take care of them. They even thanked these gods

for giving them life and health, and so many beautiful things.

They were heathen, for that is what we call those who pray to

idols.

2

INTRODUCTION

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not heathen; they knew

and loved the true God, and taught their children to do the

same. But the Jews were not always good. They did wicked

things over and over again, but after they had done wrong they

were sorry for it, and asked God to forgive them. Then they

started over again, and tried to do better.

When Jacob was an old man, he and his children and grand¬

children went to live in Egypt, and lived there happily a good

many years. But the time came when the Children of Israel

were not happy; for the kings who were then on the throne were

not kind to them. They made slaves of them, and the Jews had

to work so hard and so long that they almost forgot their God.

But at last a child was born who had a different life from the

rest of his people. He was named Moses, and was brought up

by the king’s daughter, in the king’s palace. He was very wise

and learned. He thought a great deal about his people. He

could see how badly they were treated, and how unhappy they

were, and his greatest wish was to set them free and take them

back to Palestine. The time came when God allowed him to do

this.

It was hard to get so many people started, and harder yet to

make them do as God would have them. They found fault with

everything if things did not please them: with Moses, and even

with God. There were many years of very hard work for Moses

and their other leaders before they were at last settled in their

own country, in homes of their own.

For a great many years God was really their king. He gave

them laws through Moses, and all their leaders were chosen by

God. They all talked with God, and learned from him what to

do for the people. But the time came when they wanted to be

like the other nations around them and have a king whom they

could see, and who could go before their army when it went to war.

INTRODUCTION

3

The first king was not a good raler; but after he died a young

man named David came to the throne, and David was a good

king. He tried to do as well as he could himself, and tried to

teach the people to obey the laws of their God.

David belonged to the tribe of Judah, and was born in Beth¬

lehem. He was only a shepherd boy when he was chosen to be

king, and for that reason he is often called the Shepherd King.

Although he left his country home and went to Jerusalem to live

when he was quite a young man, he never forgot the lessons he

learned in the fields of Bethlehem. He wrote beautiful songs that

show that while he stayed with the sheep, hour after hour, his

thoughts were about God and his goodness. It was thousands of

years ago that David lived, yet ever since that time people have

read and sung these songs, and we can read them now in that

part of the Bible called the Psalms. One of them begins, u The

Lord is my shepherd.» Perhaps you 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

4

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

5

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,

6

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 you joy and gladness, and many other people will rejoice

that he is born. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,

and will turn many from their wicked ways, and teach them to

love God. This child is the one whom the prophets said would

come to make the world ready for the Christ.»

Zacharias could not believe what he heard, and asked, “ How

shall I know that what you say is true?» The angel answered,

«God sent me to tell you about it, and because you have not

believed my word you will not be able to speak again until the

day when it comes true.»

The people outside in the courts waited for Zacharias to come

back, and wondered why he stayed so long in the temple. When

he did come out he could not speak to them. They knew that

something had happened, for he made signs to them, but did not

speak. When his week of service was over he went to his home

in the hill country of Judea, and there, when the time came, the

baby boy was born.

Little Jewish children were not named until they were eight

days old. When it w r as time for this baby to be named, the

friends called him Zacharias, after his father. His mother said,

«No, he is to be called John.» The friends thought it was

strange to call him that, for no one in the family ever had that

name; and, too, it was the custom to call the first boy by his

INTRODUCTION

T

father’s name. They made signs to Zacharias, asking how he

would have him called. Zacharias asked for a writing tablet and

wrote, “ His name is John.»

The friends wondered still more when the father also chose

that name, but they soon had still greater reason for surprise.

Zacharias, who had not spoken for so long, began to talk again.

Would you like to know what he said first? He thanked God

for what had happened, and then told the friends who were with

them that the Christ, the promised king, was coming very soon,

and that this child of his was the prophet who would teach the

people about their king. This story was told all through the hill

country of Judea, and the people asked, “ What kind of a child

will he be?»

9

THE STORY OF JESUS – THE CHRIST

THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

In Galilee, in the northern part of the Holy Land, is the

little town of Nazareth. In this town lived a beautiful young

woman, loving and gentle and pure. She was named Mary, and

was the cousin of Elizabeth.

A little while before John was born, as Mary was sitting

alone one spring day, the angel who was sent to Zacliarias came

to her and said, «God is very kind to you, Mary, for he has

chosen you to be the mother of the Christ-child. You must call

his name Jesus (which means Saviour), for he will save the

people from their sins. He shall be great, and be called the

Son of God, and shall rule the world for ever and ever.»

Mary believed what the angel told her, and gently answered,

«Let it be to me as you have said.» Then the angel left her.

In the early part of the winter the Emperor of Rome, Caesar

Augustus, commanded that all the people should be enrolled,

which means that they should have their names written down on

10

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

a roll of paper. Every Jew of the same tribe must have his

name written on the same roll. The Jews were very much

scattered, and to do this

each had to go to the city

or town where the fathers

of his tribe had lived, be¬

cause the tribal roll was

there.

Mary and her hus¬

band were both of the

tribe of Judah, and Beth¬

lehem was the city of

that tribe. You remem¬

ber, do you not, that

David was of the tribe of

Judah, and lived in Beth¬

lehem when he was a

shepherd boy? Because

the Jews were so fond of

David they called Bethle¬

hem the City of David.

Bethlehem was eighty

miles away from Naza¬

reth, and the roads be¬

tween the two places were

very rough and stony, up hill and down hill. It was a hard

journey to take. Mary and Joseph could not travel very fast,

and when they reached the city the houses were all full, for

strangers from every part of the country had come to Bethlehem

on the same errand as theirs. They were very tired when their

journey was over, but they found no one there ready to welcome

them. There was no room for them anywhere, except in a stable.

Arrival at Bethlehem

THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

11

There they found a resting-place, and there that night God

gave to Mary the baby he had promised her, the baby that was

the long-expected King of the Jews.

The poor people in that country often wrapped a long band

around their little babies

to clothe them, and this

sort of dress was called

swaddling clothes. Mary

wrapped her baby in

swaddling clothes, and

since there was no other

crib for him she laid him

in a manger.

In the beautiful val¬

ley just outside the city,

where David had taken

care of his father’s

sheep so many years

before, some shepherds

were watching their

flocks that night. They

watched them day and

night, for it was not

safe to leave them alone. Angels and Shepherds

Robbers and wild beasts

were about, and the sheep might come to harm if left without

care.

The shepherds knew that it was time for the Christ to come,

and this night they were probably thinking of him and talking

one to another, when all at once a bright light shone around

them, and the angel of the Lord came before them. They were

very much afraid, but the angel said: 44 Fear not, for, behold, I

12

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour

which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you:

you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a

manger.»

And suddenly there w^ere with this angel a great many more

who sang, “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,

good will to men.»

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the

shepherds said to one

another, “ Now let us

go to Bethlehem right

away, and see this baby,

of whom the angels

have been telling us.»

They started at once

and soon came to the

city, for it was not

more than a mile away.

And there they found

Joseph and Mary and

the baby.

The shepherds were

very happy. They had

so longed to have the

Christ come; now he

had come, and they

were looking at him.

Do you not think that

Mary was happy, too,

when she learned from the shepherds how they knew of her

baby’s birth? She did not talk much about it, but the thought

Adoration of Shepherds

THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

13

was a comfort to her for the rest of her life. The shepherds

went out and talked with every one whom they met about the

wonderful child, and what the angels had said of him; and

thanked God for what they

had seen and heard, as

they went back to their

sheep.

When the child was

eight days old Mary named

him Jesus, as the angel

had told her. When he

was forty days old he was

taken to the temple at Je¬

rusalem. This was done

in order to obey a Jewish

law that said that a mother

must take her child to the

temple and offer sacrifices

for him. If she could af¬

ford it she must take a

lamb and a turtle dove for

the sacrifice; if she were

poor she could take two

turtle doves or two young

pigeons. As Joseph and Mary were poor, they took two turtle

doves.

There was an old man in Jerusalem, named Simeon, who

loved God, and who had so longed to see the Christ that God

had promised him that he should not die until he had seen the

child. Simeon was in the temple when Joseph and Mary brought

in the child Jesus. He looked at the baby, and knew at once

that this was the Christ he had so longed to see.

Presentation in the Temple

14

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

He took Jesus in liis arms, and thanked God that he had

been allowed to see his Christ. 44 Lord, now I am willing and

glad to go,» he said, 44 for I have seen thy Christ; the Saviour

who has come to make the world brighter and better.» Then

he said, as he gave the child back to his mother: 44 This child is

born to be a great help to many people, but others will not

believe him. They will speak against him, and will bring much

sorrow to him, and his trouble will cause you sorrow too.»

While these things were happening in Palestine, there were

in another country in the East some wise men who saw a bright

new star in the sky. These men studied the stars so much that

they knew those that generally shone as they did old friends,

and they knew that they had not seen this before. It seemed to

tell them that some great thing had happened. They knew that

the Jews were expecting a king, and they decided that this star

was sent to tell them that he was born; and they thought they

should go to honor him.

So, although they lived a long way from Palestine, they took

splendid gifts in their hands and went to find the king. They

followed the star until they came to Jerusalem, where Herod

the king lived. They were sure that a king would be found in a

king’s house, so they went to Herod’s palace and asked him :

44 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen

his star in the East, and have come to worship him.»

Herod could not answer them. If he had ever heard of the

birth of Jesus, it had not interested him enough to make him

remember it. But he called together the learned Jews, and asked

them where they expected the Christ to be born. They told him

that the prophets had said that he should be born in the little

town of Bethlehem.

After Herod had found out all he could about the child, he

called the wise men and asked them how long it had been since

TIIE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST

15

they first saw the star. He wanted to know bow old the child

was. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, u Go

and look carefully for the child, and when you have found him

bring me back word where he is, that I may go and worship

him also.»

The wise men then left Herod and went to Bethlehem, follow¬

ing the star until they came

to the house where Jesus

was. And when they had

come into the house they

saw the child with Mary

his mother, and they fell

down and worshipped him.

And when they had opened

their treasures they gave

him their gifts: gold,

frankincense, and myrrh.

Frankincense and myrrh

are costly perfumes.

This is the first time

that any child ever had a

Christmas present. And

when Christmas conies

round year after year bring¬

ing with it gifts from those

who love us, we will re¬

member this story, will we

not? And we will think

with love of the little child whose birth we celebrate on Christ¬

mas Day.

After giving Jesus their presents, the wise men started home

again. But they did not go back to tell Herod where they had

The Three Wise Men

16

A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

found the child, for God had told them in a dream that Herod

did not mean what he said, that he did not want to worship

Jesus, but to kill him. So they went home another way.

When Herod had heard the strangers asking him where the; y