Scenes in the life of Christ. Adapted to the comprehension of children, and designed especially for Sabbath schools

II Lutheran Publication Society

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by the

LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

FROM THE PRESS

OF THE

LANCASTER, PA.

Preface

To the children of the Sabbath-schools, this little volume is affectionately dedicated, with the very beautiful and encouraging words of the Divine Master: " Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. "

Dear Children : — I made a promise, at the earnest solicitation of one of our Church agents, years ago, that I would write a book for the children of the Sabbath-school. I have not felt well satisfied in not having redeemed this promise; for, you know, we should try to fulfill all our engagements. I am not young any more, and life is uncertain; and I have therefore thought that one of the very best things I could do, would be, by the grace of God, to redeem, as soon as possible, this promise. I am aware, too, that it is not an easy thing to write a

VI PREFACE.

book for children. One of the greatest, if not the greatest, difficulty with me has been to choose a subject which would be interesting and profitable to you. After having considered this part well, I find that I have fixed upon the subject that was first brought to my mind, and that is — " Scenes or Incidents in the Life of our Saviour."

I would also state, that when I had first thought of writing for you on this interesting subject, some older heads made a very bad prophecy about you, and said to this effect : " Oh yes, it is a very good subject; but then, the children of the Sunday-schools nowadays don't want to read any book that is really and truly religious. They want story-books, and would much rather read about ' Robinson Crusoe/ than about anything the Lord Jesus has said or done." I told these people that I thought^ they were mistaken ; that I had a better opinion of you, and thought that a book of this kind could be written in such a way, that you would want to read it, and be pleased with it.

Having this good opinion of you, and having

PREFACE. Vll

had considerable experience in the Sabbath-school, I now, in the fear of God, undertake to write for you.

I would state, however, that this little volume does not by any means profess or undertake to give an account of all the wonderful doings of Christ, as written by the Evangelists. That would make a large volume, and defeat the object. We have taken the liberty to choose such incidents as could be made, according to our judgment, most interesting and profitable to children. It does not, either, profess to give these incidents in the order of time and place, as they occurred; but they have been selected, and in one or two instances, several of the same kind are thrown together (or grouped) under one general head: i. e. "Raising of the dead," where we have " The Son of the Widow of Nain," " Jairus' Daughter," and " Lazarus " taken together.

The book, as all will understand, is intended for children, and arranged and written accordingly; and yet we at the same time trust that it may be read with profit by older persons also.

Vlll PREFACE.

Before you begin to read this book, however, I want you to pray this little prayer, which I have here written :

O God, our Heavenly Father ! help me by Thy good Spirit to read and understand this book. It tells me about Jesus, my Saviour, and His wonderful doings. Grant, blessed Jesus, to open my young heart to receive its truths, and may I be enabled to turn from sin and all evil, and seek to love, obey and follow Thee through life ; and after this short life shall have ended — as it must — receive me into Thy heavenly kingdom, to unite in serving Thee forever. Amen.

I would herewith Acknowledge my obligations to my esteemed friend, Mr. John L. Ried, of Georgetown, D. C, for having kindly transcribed the manuscript forme, and having thus aided greatly in preparing the work for the press.

G. A. N.

PAGE.

Chapter I

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.— MaM. ii ; Luke ii. 1-20.

Golden Text. — Luke ii. 11. a For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord."

f^HRISTMAS has come at last. Oh! how ^-^ long and earnestly we have waited for it, counting months, weeks and days. The nearer it has come the more anxious we have been, until at last we felt that .we could scarcely wait any longer. Now your anxiety, I fear — for I was a child too — arises too much from the pleasant time you expect to have, the presents you expect to receive, and the nice things to eat, etc.

Well, we are pleased to see you happy, and enjoy yourselves; for Christ came into the world to make people happy forever, by saving them from sin. Whilst, however, you enjoy yourselves and have so many good and nice things, you should remember about the birth of the dear Saviour, and how He came into the world and became a little helpless child, born in great poverty, that He might take upon Himself our nature, live here, and teach us, and then die to save us. Think how poor and helpless He was, as has been beautifully written :

" On the long-expected morn He was in a stable born; Where the horned oxen fed, The straw and manger were his bed. ,,

You know, children, that shepherds were out at night, keeping watch over their flocks, when it was made known thr f Christ was born. A light shone round about them, and although Christ had been expected, they were very much frightened, or as is said in the Scripture "sore afraid." They did not know what the light meant — may perhaps have thought, at first, that it was a judgment, or something bad about to come upon them : but, you remember, the angel soon told them they should not fear, for said he, " Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." He told them how they .would find the child and his mother, etc. There was also a star seen by the " wise men" in the east, that went before them until it came and stood over the place where Jesus lay. Some one has written very beautifully about it, after this manner:

" Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid : Star of the east, the horizon adorning, Guide where the infant Redeemer is laid."

You know how they came and found Jesus and His mother, as they had been told; and how glad they were when they had found Him, and how they opened their treasures, and gave Him "gold, frankincense and myrrh ;" you remember, too, how Herod, a wicked king who lived at that time, sought to kill Jesus; and how His parents, "being warned of God in a dream," fled into Egypt, taking the young child with them, and thus saved His life.

Now we may learn from this, dear children, that Christ the Saviour has come into the world, and therefore we may be saved. You see too how glad we should be, like the "wise men" when they saw the star, and found Jesus — so too, we should seek after Jesus by prayer, and reading and hearing of Him ; and we too should be glad when we find Him, that is, when we believe in Him and feel our sins forgiven. If we love Jesus as these "wise men" seem to have done, we also will seek to do something for Him; give money — gold, if we have any — to tell other people in heathenish darkness and who worship idols, about Christ, this loving Saviour. We should also remember that Christ and His Church still have their enemies, who are opposed to Him and are seeking to hinder His kingdom. We should shun the society of wicked people, and pray that God would convert them unto Himself.

O, Saviour! Thy kingdom cannot be destroyed: grant to send out missionaries; and may all people soon hear of Thee, and know that Thou hast come into the world, and art willing and able to save.

Chapter II

THE LOST CHILD; OR, JESUS IN THE TEMPLE WITH THE DOCTORS.— Luke ii. 42-52.

Golden Text. — Luke ii. 52. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man"

A CHILD lost! What an excitement the ^^ cry makes in any city, village, or section of country. The people leave their homes, and go forth cheerfully, with one accord, in search of the missing one. Every lane, nook and corner is carefully examined; the forest is searched, and if the dear one is not found, as a last resort the waters are dragged for the body. Now Jesus, at the age of twelve years, had gone up to Jerusalem with His parents to attend one of the great feasts, that of the Passover, celebrated in remembrance of the night in Egypt, in which the destroying angel passed over the homes of ancient Israel, because, at the command of God, these houses had been marked with blood.

The parents of Jesus had spent a number of days at Jerusalem, attending this great feast, and had gone a day's journey from the city before they missed Jesus. The reason why they did not miss Him earlier may have been that there were sometimes a number of families together, who may also have had children; and knowing Jesus to be a loving and dutiful child, they may not have made themselves uneasy about Him. At the end of the first day's journey, perhaps as they were about going to rest, or to partake of a frugal evening meal, they missed their son. Now, as you may well think, they felt very sad, when all at once they found that Jesus was not with them. They asked just as other parents would have done who love a child ; and after having searched for him among their "kinsfolk and acquaintance" in vain, they then started back towards Jerusalem, as was very natural for them to do, and found Him, at length, at Jerusalem, in the temple with the doctors, " hearing and asking them questions."

It must certainly have surprised His parents very much, to find their little son thus engaged. Most children, if lost, would be found perhaps on the street, looking at the many pretty things to be seen; but Jesus was "in the temple." Now it seems to me they must have thought " well, He is in a good place, at any rate ;" but then the idea of one so young sitting in the midst of aged, learned men, with perhaps their grey beards, must have struck them as very strange. When asked why He acted as He had done, He, we suppose, gives them to know for the first time something of His character, and replies : " Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business." He was more than a child, and He realized it.

This justifies His conduct to His parents in remaining. He was really far above His parents, the Lord of heaven and earth.

Now, children, we see from this how Jesus increased in knowledge, as He grew in years; and this should urge you to learn too, especially about God, and salvation, and this Saviour who was once a little child. For this purpose, to help you to learn of Christ, and to increase in this knowledge, have I written this book. You can learn much whilst young, and what you now learn well, will not soon be forgotten ; and instead of spending all your spare time in play, for children should play sometimes, try to read good books, especially your Bible ; and instead of being in the company of the ignorant and wicked, try to be in the society of good and wise people, remembering that God's word says that "a companion of wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." If you want to know anything about your lesson that you do not understand, ask your kind teachers politely, and they will try to answer your questions. Any one may, however, ask very hard questions, which it is almost impossible to answer ; and, when this is the case, you must be satisfied with your teacher, or friend, doing the best for you they can. "Secret things belong unto God," and there is much that we will never know certainly in this world : strive to be wise and good.

We too are in danger of being lost forever, for we have gone away from God and have sinned against him.

God, our heavenly Father, like unto these parents of Jesus, comes after us, and seeks us by His good Spirit, and by the prayers and kind words of our Sabbath-school teachers, pastors, or other pious friends. As Jesus immediately obeyed His parents, and went back with them, and was " subject unto them at Nazareth," so too should we in our young days, before we have gone off as far as many older persons have done in sin, seek to return unto our Heavenly Father, by repenting of sin, and believing in Christ our Saviour, through whom alone we can be pardoned and become children of God.

Chapter III

CHRIST'S TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS.— Matthew iv. i— ii. Mark i. 12, 13.

Golden Text. — Hebrews ii. 18. "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted."

A WILDERNESS, children, is, as you -^ ^- know, a wild place, where few if any people live; large trees, bushes and rocks all serve to give it a very wild look. I have traveled through such dreary places, especially when I was preaching in West Virginia. Now, I suppose many of you would be afraid to go into such a place alone ; and if you knew that you would probably meet a wild man, or a savage beast, you would be still more afraid.

God's ways are wonderful. Here you see almost immediately after the baptism of Christ

(*5)

He is " led up of the Spirit" into such a place, to meet Satan and be tempted.

I have not, as you see, given you a chapter on the Saviour's baptism, although it was a great and important event, as I did not think that you would perhaps understand it as well, or be as much interested in it, as in some other things. It will be enough for me to state that Jesus came to Jordan, and desired John to baptize Him; and that John, knowing His exalted character, was slow at first to do it; but that after Jesus gave His reason — " for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" — John then did as Christ desired him.

You know, too, how that, after His baptism, "the heavens were opened," and the Spirit of God descended upon Him, and ^a voice from heaven" said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

I have only to tell you here that baptism is an ordinance of God, and that we should all

LIFE OF CHRIST. 2J

be baptized in the name of the Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Ghost ; but that, unless we repent of sin, and really believe in Jesus, baptism will not save us. It would seem that almost immediately after the baptism of Christ, He was "led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil." Now, God, it is said, tempts no man; but He did so direct as to have His Son, our Saviour, go where He would be tempted. He knew that He could and would overcome the tempter, and that it was necessary that He should be tempted, that He might feel for us in our many and strong temptations. How cunning, powerful and persevering Satan is in his temptations ! You see how he suited the temptations to Christ's situation, and how strongly he sought to excite His ambition.

He knew that Christ had been fasting and was hungry ; he knew that it was right to eat; and, therefore, he asks first that the Saviour should show His power in commanding "that these stones be made bread ;" but Christ answered him from the Scriptures, " It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." As though He had said, God can keep me alive without bread. He doubtless knew, too, that if He was hungry, and went to the door of some kind people, they would give Him something to eat; and that, therefore, it was not necessary that He should change the stones into bread to please Satan.

He then tried another temptation, by taking Him # into Jerusalem (here called the " holy city") and setting Him on the high part of the temple (called here "pinnacle") and requesting Him to cast Himself down, as there was a promise in the Scriptures that He should not be hurt, because the angels would watch over Him. The Saviour told him that it was also written that we were not to tempt God. That is, that we are not to place ourselves in danger when it is not necessary. The devil having failed in his two temptations, tries a third or last one.

He then takes Jesus up "into an exceeding high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them ;" and says, "All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Then the Saviour told him to leave, and said : " It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

Now, my young friends, you know that Satan still lives, and will come after us, too, and seek to lead us to do wrong. You see, too, how cunning and persevering he is. He knows how to suit the temptation to our situation, or rather, as he does not, like God, know all things, he judges from his past dealing with people, what will be likely to please them ; and if he fails with one temptation, as was the case with the Saviour, he tries another, and tries like a general to find our weak point. One he tempts to steal ; another to get angry, and say bad words; another to be proud, etc. He tempts little children, too, and begins very early. This is one reason why you sometimes find it hard to do good. He tempts you to disobey your parents ; to get angry with each other ; to want what you should not have ; to be proud of your pretty clothes, and think that you, perhaps, are better than other children, because you have finer and more costly clothes than they. He tempts you to stay away from Sabbath-school and from church; he tempts you to talk and be mischievous when there, not listening to what your kind teacher says, and making your dear superintendent trouble. Satan is ever busy, and we must watch him: we may always know that when we desire to do wrong, Satan, or our own wicked hearts, or both together, are tempting us. He is a deceiver, and makes great promises— what he will do for us, and how pleasant it will be to sin — but as soon as we have done wrong, guilt and pain follow\ He promised our first parents in Eden much ; and deceived, and made them miserable. He promised Christ the world; but he never had a world to give, because the world does not belong to him, but to God who made it. As Christ brought up Scripture to resist him, so should you; and you therefore see, too, how important it is that you commit to memory, or get it as we sometimes say "by heart." If we do this, and look to God in prayer, when we are tempted to do wrong, God can and will preserve and deliver us, and Satan, that wicked and miserable spirit, will go away from us, and we shall feel so happy that we obeyed God, and would not listen to his lies.

CHAPTER IV. CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT;— Matthew v.-vii

Golden Text. — John vii. 46, " Never man spake like this man"

TT7E have here, children, an instance of Christ preaching. They had then no Christian churches as we have, but the Saviour sometimes went into the Jewish places of worship and took part in their services. In this instance, however, He prefers the open air for it may be that scarcely any house would have been large enough for the people.

The expression here used, " and seeing the multitudes He went up into a mountain,'' seems to mean that Christ selected the mount on account of the large number of people who were anxious to hear Him, and desired, doubtless, that all might have this opportunity. " Into the mount," away from the noise and bustle of the city, where, under His own heavens and shaded by the trees which He as God had caused to grow, they might hear His words and be taught in heavenly things without being disturbed. We should feel thankful that at this day we have good, convenient and comfortable churches in which to worship God; and yet if we did not have them, or were compelled to give them up, as some have been in times of persecution, we could just as well worship God in the open air. The number of persons who wanted to hear Jesus on this occasion must have been quite large. Here, " on the mount," they could all be accommodated. The Saviour, we suppose, sat above them, and so they could all hear.

I have stated that He sat, as the sacred record informs us. Now this would seem strange to many of us who are not used to see the minister sit when preaching; but it was the 3 custom for the Jewish teachers to sit when instructing the people, and therefore I do not suppose that they thought strange of that.

It is here said " He opened His mouth and taught them," that is, began to preach or teach them. Now, I think I can imagine the scene. All the people are quietly seated around and below Christ, on a beautiful day ; the shade of the trees protects from the heat of the sun ; all is silent, and nothing heard, perhaps, but the occasional sweet notes of some little bird; the people are in breathless silence to hear this great Teacher. He begins by calling several classes of persons "blessed," whom a wicked world would never esteem thus. " The poor in spirit" are first called "blessed." By these the Saviour means the humble. He next says that those "who mourn" are "blessed," "for they shall be comforted." He refers chiefly, we suppose, to those who mourn on account of sin. God Himself will comfort all such. He next styles

"the meek," gentle, loving souls, "blessed" — this class of people stand opposed to the proud and ambitious. The Saviour says, "they shall inherit the earth." He next says those are "blessed" who "hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Now hunger and thirst are two of our most urgent wants. If you have not been hungry, and God has blessed you with good and kind parents, you should feel thankful ; for many little boys and girls in the large cities almost starve. Perhaps you have been thirsty, and you feel, Oh ! what would I not give for a drink of water ! especially if you have been sick and had some fever. Now the Saviour calls those "blessed" who desire to be good as earnestly as hungry and thirsty people do bread and water. The soul that once sees its lost and perishing condition, craves forgiveness and salvation as much as the hungry and thirsty do bread and water. The Saviour next calls the "merciful" "blessed;"

that is, persons who have tender and forgiving hearts, and who can feel for the sorrows of others. Some children, — and grown people too, — are very unmerciful to each other, and especially to dumb brutes, who can not speak and tell their troubles. It always shows me that the person or child that can do so, has a very hard and wicked heart. Jesus next tells us that "the pure in heart" are "blessed," "for they shall see God." Our hearts are naturally impure, and have many sinful thoughts and desires, but they must be made "pure" by God's Word and Spirit if we would "see God." Now children, all our outward works and doings will not help, unless our hearts are made "pure." It will be a great thing to see God. All will see the Saviour when He comes again, and at the judgment day; but to "see" Him here means to live with Him in heaven. Christ then calls "the peacemakers" "blessed," for, says He, " they shall be called the children of

God." Now my young friends, you may begin early to be "peacemakers;" for when you know that two of your little companions or playmates have had some difficulty, you can go kindly to them, and by speaking gently to them seek to bring them together again. This is one of the many ways in which we can do good in the world, and the Saviour here says that such "shall be called the children of God." One more class of persons is called "blessed" by the Saviour, and they are such as are persecuted for righteousness* sake. This world is so wicked that if we seek to do right in all things, reprove sin, and do our duty, wicked people will hate us and persecute us. That is, they will say, perhaps, bad things about us, laugh at us, and seek to injure us. Christ and His Apostles and the first Christians were very much persecuted, and many of the early Christians put to death for their love to the Saviour. Now Jesus says "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. " He then, in this connection, calls those "blessed" around Him who should thus suffer, and intends all who shall be persecuted for this cause. Christ, when He preached at this time, did not choose a particular text, and dwell on that, but, as you see, He instructs or teaches the people about many duties. He next styles His disciples "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world." As salt purifies and saves from putrefaction, so Christians are represented as purifying, and to some extent saving the world.

Thus you remember that the Lord would have spared Sodom, if only ten righteous persons had been found in it. Christians are also to be "the light of the world." The world is in darkness, and needs light ; Christians, by their example and influence, are to point to Christ, show what His religion has done for them, and thus, by pointing out the way to heaven, be " the light of the world."

The Saviour next teaches the duty of forgiveness; then, that all sin, no matter though it should be dear and profitable unto us, as a right eye or hand, must be given up, if we would be saved.

He then proceeds to caution persons against swearing, and says, " let your communications be yea, yea, nay, nay." The Quaker Friends and others understand this to be directed against swearing of all kinds ; and, therefore, only affirm in courts.

Our Divine Teacher next instructs us in regard to prayer and alms-giving, and teaches us that these things must not be done for show or vain glory, or to attract attention, and then in the Lord's prayer gives us an example of how we should pray. He teaches us next that we are to strive mainly after heavenly things, and "lay up our treasure" there y and tells us that we " cannot serve two masters ;" but that as His people, we should have a firm trust in His providential care, and encourages this from two illustrations taken from the natural world. The first is, " the fowls of the air," how God takes care of them; and the second is, " the lilies of the field," and says, in reference to them, that " even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these!' The conclusion is, that if God takes care of these lower and frail things, He will also take care of us if we put our trust in Him.

He next warns us against harsh and rash judgments in regard to our fellow men; warns us against "casting our pearls before swine ;" encourages us again to prayer, from the manner in which parents hear and usually grant the requests of their children ; warns us against "false prophets," and tells us that "by their fruits," or lives, we shall know them.