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Young Folks' Bible

<div class='chaptertitle'>JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST.</div> You have been told that John went out in-to the woods and waste lands when quite a young man. He fed on lo-custs and wild hon-ey, and his clothes were made of the skin of the cam-el, with the long rough hair on the out-side. The time had now come for him to go out in the world to tell of Je-sus, and to bid men give up their sins and walk in the right path. And he went to a place near the Jor-dan and crowds came there to hear him. And he told them that he had been sent to warn them to flee from the wrath to come. He said they must not think they would be saved be-cause they were sons or heirs of good men who had served God and died in the faith. He told them that each one was to be like a tree, and to stand in his place and bring forth fruit, and serve God in the best way that he could. And[258] each tree, said John, which brings not forth good fruit is cut down and cast in-to the fire. He told them they must be good and kind to each oth-er, and must give food and clothes to those who were in need of such things. They must not tell lies, nor steal, nor be vain and proud, but they must show by the way they lived that they loved God and were glad to do his will. <div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/i_099.jpg" width-obs="474" height-obs="600" alt="The Baptist" /> JOHN THE BAP-TIST.</div> And when those who heard him felt a great hate for sin, and a strong wish to lead good lives, and to be saved from the wrath of God, they spoke to John and he led them down to the Jor-dan and they were bap-tiz-ed in the stream. Now wa-ter will wash the stains from our clothes, and cleanse our skin, but it will not wash our sins away. To do this we must have Christ in our hearts. Some of those who heard John talk thought that he might be the Christ who was to come, and of whom the proph-ets had fore-told since the days of Mos-es. Some were quite sure of it; but oth-ers shook their heads, for they had made up their minds that he who was to come and rule o-ver them would be dressed like a king, and not in such plain clothes as John wore. John heard their words, or guessed their thoughts, and he said to these Jews, I in-deed bap-tize you with wa-ter, but he who is to come af-fer me, and who is great-er than I, will bap-tize you with fire. [259] That meant that Je-sus would be in their hearts like a fire, to burn up all that was bad, as they burnt the chaff that was blown loose from the wheat. Then Je-sus came from his home in Naz-a-reth to have John bap-tize him in Jor-dan's stream. But John would not. He said there was more need that Je-sus should bap-tize him. He felt that there was need to have his own sins washed a-way, but Je-sus had no sins. So why dost thou come to me? said John. Je-sus had come on the earth as a man to do God's will, and to teach man-kind how to walk in the right path and keep their hearts free from sin. And he told John, that all these things would be made plain to him some day, and it was right that he should bap-tize him. So John went with Je-sus in-to the wa-ter, and he bap-tized Je-sus in the wa-ter. And Je-sus was pray-ing to his Fa-ther in heav-en. And as Je-sus went up out of the wa-ter, lo, there came a great light in the sky, that took the form of a dove, and it came down and seemed to rest on him. And God's voice spoke out of the sky, and said: This is my dear Son, with whom I am well pleased. Then Je-sus went out in-to the waste lands, and was there with no one near him for more than a month. In all that time he ate no food, but spent[260] the hours in talks with God. At last he felt weak and faint, and left the waste lands to go in search of some-thing to eat. Now there is a fiend in this world, as we all know, who has a black heart, and can take on all sorts of shapes. He came to Eve in the form of a snake, and to Sam-son with a fair face. He tempts those to do wrong who have set out to do right, and we have to be on our guard all the time, and to watch and pray that we may be kept safe from him. When this fiend saw Je-sus on his way to give new hearts to men, and to make them good and pure, he thought he would try and put a stop to such work. So he went out to tempt Je-sus, with the same smooth voice in which he spoke to Eve. And he came to him and said, If thou be the Son of God change those stones in-to bread, so that thou canst eat now that thou hast need of food. Je-sus knew why Sa-tan had come, and he told him that men should take more pains to do God's will than to get bread to eat. Next Sa-tan took Je-sus to Je-ru-sa-lem, and up to a high place where the house of God was built. And he said to him, If thou be the Son of God, throw thy-self down; for it is said, he shall give his an-gels charge to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash a-gainst a stone. [261] <div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/i_100.jpg" width-obs="498" height-obs="600" alt="Temptation" /> THE TEMPT-A-TION.</div> [262] Je-sus told him that it was not right to go where it was not safe, just to try if God would keep us from harm. Then Sa-tan took Je-sus up on a high mount, from whence could be seen all the large towns in the land, and all their great wealth. And he said to him, All these will I give thee for thine own if thou wilt kneel down and wor-ship me. Je-sus said to him, Go from me, Sa-tan, for it is set down in God's book, Thou shalt wor-ship the Lord thy God, and him a-lone shalt thou serve. When Sa-tan found that Je-sus paid no heed to his words, he left him, and an-gels came to wait on the Son of God. In a short time Je-sus went back to the Jor-dan where John was, and when John saw him, he said, Be-hold the Lamb of God! He spoke of Je-sus as the Lamb of God, for he was to be laid on the cross for the sins of men, as the lamb was in those days laid on the al-tar. Then Je-sus set out to preach and to turn men from their sins. And he went to Gal-i-lee. And one day as he walked by the sea-shore he saw two men cast their net in-to the sea. Their names were An-drew and Pe-ter. Je-sus said to them, Come with me. And they left their nets at once, that they might be near him and learn of him. [263] <div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/i_101.jpg" width-obs="369" height-obs="500" alt="At the wedding" /> THE MAR-RIAGE IN CA-NA.</div> The next day he saw two men whose names were James and John in a boat with their fa-ther. Their nets had broke, and they were in haste to mend them so that they could take in a large haul of fish. But Je-sus spoke to James and John, and they left the boat at once, and went with him that he might teach them. The next day Je-sus spoke to Phil-ip and Na-than-i-el, and they left their homes and went with him. When Je-sus came to the town of Ca-na he found quite a crowd there, for a wed-ding was to take place, and he and his mo-ther had been bid to the feast. There was[264] food to eat and wine to drink, but ere the feast was at an end the wine was all gone. And when Ma-ry knew of it she said to Je-sus, They have no wine. And she bade those who were there to serve the guests to do just as Je-sus told them. Now there were in the house six large stone jars such as the Jews kept to hold wa-ter. Je-sus said to the men, Fill the jars with wa-ter. And they filled them to the brim. And he said to them, Take some out now and bear it to the chief guest of the feast. And they did so; and the wa-ter was changed in-to wine. The chief guest did not know what Je-sus had done; but when he had drunk some of the wine he sent for the bride-groom and said to him, As a rule, those who give a feast set out the good wine first, and when the guests have had all they care for they bring out that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine till now. This was the first great sign Je-sus gave of the pow-er he had from on high. And it was proof to those whose hearts were with him that he was the true Son of God. The time of the Feast of Weeks was at hand, and Je-sus went up to Je-ru-sa-lem to keep it. And in one of the courts were men who had brought their wares to the house of God to sell them to the Jews[265] when they came up to the feast. When Je-sus came to the place where these men were, the sight did not please him. And Je-sus made a scourge, or whip of small cords, and drove them all out, with their flocks and their herds. And he poured their gold and sil-ver on the ground, and said to those who sold doves, Take them a-way; make not the house of God a place to buy and sell in. <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i_102.jpg" width-obs="367" height-obs="500" alt="Clearing the temple" /> DRIV-ING THE SELL-ERS FROM THE TEM-PLE.</div> And while he was at the feast crowds were drawn to him, and had faith in him when they saw what won-ders he could do. Nic-o-de-mus, one of the chief men of the Jews, came to Je-sus in the[266] night, and said to him, We know that God has sent thee to teach us what is right, for no man could do these won-ders if God were not with him. Je-sus told him that he must have a new heart or he could not be a child of God. He-rod, who slew the babes of Beth-le-hem, was dead, but his son He-rod ruled in that part of Gal-i-lee, and he was a bad man. He took his broth-er's wife from him and made her his own wife. Her name was He-ro-di-as. When John the Bap-tist told He-rod this was not right, he would have put him to death if he had dared. But he had heard him preach, and knew that he was a good man. Yet to please He-ro-di-as He-rod had seized John, and bound him, and shut him up in jail. While John was in jail, He-rod, on his birth-day, made a great feast for the lords and chief men of Gal-i-lee. And a young girl, whose name was Sa-lo-me, came and danced in their midst. He-rod was so much pleased with her that he said, Ask of me what thou wilt, and thou shalt have it, though it were half of my realm. And Sa-lo-me went to He-ro-di-as—who was her mo-ther—and said, What shall I ask? And He-ro-di-as said to her, Ask the king to cut off the head of John the Bap-tist, and bring it to thee here in a large dish. [267] Sa-lo-me came back in haste to the king, and said, Give me, in a large dish, the head of John the Bap-tist. He-rod was grieved, but as he had sworn to give her what she asked for, and those who sat near had heard him, he felt bound to keep his word. So he sent one of his train-band, who cut off John's head in the jail, and brought it in a large dish to Sa-lo-me, and she gave it to her mo-ther. When the friends of John heard of it they came up and took his dead form and laid it in a tomb, and went and told Je-sus. <hr class="chap" /> <h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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