Bible stories for children

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Chap, Copyright No.

Chapter I. The Birth Of Christ

The time was near for Je-sus to come on the earth. God had told Ad-am and Eve of one who would save them from their sins. Mo-ses, and all the seers and wise men, spoke of him who was to give men new hearts, and help them to lead new lives.

In the days of He-rod, king of Ju-dah, there was a priest named Zach-a-ri-as. His wife's name was E-liz-a-beth. They were both old, and had led pure lives, and sought to keep God's laws. But they had no child.

One day when the priest was in the house of God by one of the al-tars, an an-gel came and stood near him. And when the priest saw him he shook with fear.

But the an-gel said : Fear not, Zach-a-ri-as, for God will give thee and thy wife a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and shall turn the hearts of men to the Lord their God,

History of the New Testament.

Then Zach-a-ri-as said to the an-gel, But how shall I know that these things will be ?

And the an-gel said to him, I am the an-gel Ga-bri-el, who stands near to God, and he has sent me to tell thee this good news. And for thy lack of faith thou shalt be dumb, and speak not a word till the day that these things come to pass.

Now those who were in the courts of God's house thought it strange that Zach-a-ri-as should stay so long at the al-tar where he burnt the in-cense.

And when he came out he could not speak to them, but made them know by signs that he had seen a strange sight.

Six months from this time God sent the an-gel Ga-bri-el to the town of Naz-a-reth, to a young woman there whose name was Ma-ry. She was one of the heirs of King Da-vid.

When Ma-ry saw the an-gel she was in great fear, for she knew not why he had come. And the an-gel said: Fear not, Ma-ry, for God has blessed thee. Thou shalt have a son, and shalt call his name Je-sus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of God. And God will make him a king, and to his reign there shall be no end.

Ma-ry said: How can this be?

The an-gel told her that what might seem hard for her was not hard for God, who could do all

THE AN-NUN-CIA-TION.

History of the New Testament.

things. He had told E-liz-a-beth that she should have a son, and he had now sent word to Ma-ry that she should have a son ; and what he had said he would do.

Then Ma-ry said, Let the Lord's will be done. And the an-gel left her.

Ma-ry made haste and went to the land of Ju-dah, and to the house of E-liz-a-beth and Zach-ari-as, where she spent three months. Then she came back to her own home. Jo-seph was the name of Ma-ry's hus-band ; and he was a Jew, of King David's line. They were both poor, and Jo-seph had to work hard at his trade. He was a car-pen-ter.

God gave Zach-a-ri-as and E-liz-a-beth the son that he said they should have. And when the child was eight days old, the friends and kins-folk came to see it and to give it a name. Most of them said, Call him Zach-a-ri-as.

But the child's mo-ther said, Not so. He shall be called John.

And they said, There is none of thy kin-dred that is called by this name.

And they made signs to the fa-ther that he should let them know by what name the child should be called.

And the fa-ther sat down and wrote: His name is John. And they all thought this strange, as he

The Birth of Christ.

had not told them of the an-gel who spoke to him in the house of God.

As soon as Zach-a-ri-as wrote these words his speech came back to him, and he gave praise and thanks to God. And all the folks in that part of the land heard of these things, and they said, What sort of a child shall this be? And the boy grew tall and strong, and the Lord blest him, and he went out and dwelt in the woods and waste lands till he was a man, and it was time for him to preach to the Jews and to tell them of Je-sus.

Now the king of Rome was called a Ce-sar, in the speech of that land, and the Jews had to do just as he said, for they were his slaves. And he made a law that the names of all the Jews should be put down in a book, that it might be known what tribe they came from, and what they were worth. Then, too, it would not be a hard task to count them when the Ce-sar wished to know how large a force of them was in this land he had fought for and won.

And each Jew was to go to that part of the land where his fore-fa-thers dwelt, and have his name put down in the book at that place.

So, as Jo-seph and his wife were of the house of Da-vid, they both set out for the town of Beth-lehem, where Da-vid used to feed his sheep. The way was long, and when they came to the town they

History of the New Testament.

found a great crowd of folks there. There was no room for Jo-seph and Ma-ry at the inn, and they knew no one at whose house they could stay.

As they went from place to place in search of a room, they came to a shed in which was a great trough or man-ger full of hay, where the poor folks who came to town fed the beasts on which they rode.

So Jo-seph and Ma-ry made their home in this shed while they had to wait to have their names put down. And while they were there God gave to Ma-ry the son that he said she should have.

And as she had no fine soft clothes to wrap the babe in, she took bands of cloth and put round him, and laid him on the straw in the man-ger.

In those days rich men kept large flocks of sheep and goats, and had men watch them at night for fear that wild beasts would seize and kill them. The men who fed and took care of the sheep were called shep-herds.

One night, as some shep-herds were on the hills where they kept watch of their flocks, the an-gel of the Lord came down to them. And a bright light shone round them so that they were in great fear.

And the an-gel said to them, Fear not, for I bring you good news which shall give joy to all the land. For Christ, the Lord, is born for you this day, in the town of Beth-le-hem, and he will save

THE NA-TIV-I-TY.

History of the New Testament.

you from your sins. And this is the way ye shall know him : Ye shall find the babe wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a man-ger.

When the an-gel had said this, there came, like a flash of light, a great host of an-gels who gave praise to God, and sang, Glo-ry be to God on high, and on earth, peace and good-will to men.

When the an-gels had left them the shep-herds said, Let us go at once to Beth-le-hem and see these things of which the an-gel has told us.

And they came with haste, and found Ma-ry and Jo-seph, and the babe that lay in the man-ger where the ox and ass used to feed. And when they had seen the child, they went out and told what the angel had said to them. And those who heard were filled with awe, for it was the first time that such a thing had been done in the world. And the strange news spread fast.

Ma-ry told no one of the talk she had had with the an-gel, but thought much of these things, and took the best of care of the new-born babe. It did not seem as if it could be her own child.

When the babe was eight days old, its fa-ther and mo-ther gave it the name of Je-sus, as the an-gel had bid them. And they gave him to the Lord ; that is, they vowed to the priest that they would bring up the child to serve God and to lead a good life. For

The Birth of Christ.

though he was the son of God he was sent on earth to teach men what they ought to do.

Now there was a man in Je-ru-sa-lem whose name was Sime-on. He was a good man, and did what was right, and for years he had been on the watch for one of whom the seers had told, and who was to save men from their sins.

And it was made known to Sim-e-on in a dream that he should not die till he had seen this King of kings and Lord of lords.

Sim-e-on was a priest in the house of God, and when Joseph and Ma-ry brought in the child Je-sus, he took it up in his arms and blest God, and said : Now, Lord, thy words have come true, and I can die in

SIM-E-ON IN THE TEM-PLE.

peace, for I have seen him who is to be the light of the world, and to save men from their sins!

Jo-seph and Ma-ry knew not what to make of this strange speech. And the priest blest them, and gave the child back to his mo-ther, and told her of some of the great things he would do when he grew up to be a man.

And there was one An-na, who kept all the fasts, and served God night and day. She was four-score and four years old, and could fore-tell what was to take place, and her fame was great. And she came in-to the house of God while Sim-e-on yet spoke, and gave thanks to the Lord, and told of him who was to come to save the Jews, and to give them back their rights.

Then Ma-ry and Jo-seph went back to their own home in Naz-a-reth. And the child grew, and was strong, and wise, and God blest him from day to day.

Chapter II. The Star In The East

In these days God spoke to men by strange signs, and wise ones were all the time on the watch for them. They had read in their old books of a

The Star in the East.

star that was to shine with a bright light, and each

night they would raise their eyes to the sky, in hopes

that they might see this sign that would bring hope

and joy to the whole race of Jews. But years and

years had gone by, and

the Jews had no land of

their own, and were as

slaves to the Ce-sar of

Rome. And He-rod,

their king, was most

harsh to them, for he

had skill in the use of

a sword, but not in the

use of kind words, or

good deeds.

One night as a wise man lay on the roof of his house, with his gaze fixed on the great broad sky, he gave a start and cry of joy, for there shone a new star of such size that all the rest of the stars grew dim and small. And it was as if the sun had burst through a dark cloud, and brought the dawn some hours too soon, for the whole East was full of light from the long rays of this new star.

THE GUID-ING STAR.

History of the New Testament.

And the star seemed to move, and its rays to point all one way. And the wise men who saw it knew that the light had come for which they had looked and prayed so long, and they set out at once with the star to guide them, and they took rich gifts with them. Each night it shone in the sky, and led them on and on till they came to Je-ru-sa-lem. And they said to those they met there, Where is he that is born to be King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to kneel down at his feet.

When He-rod heard of these things, and that they spoke of Je-sus as King, he was in great fear lest he should lose his throne. So he sent for his chief priests and scribes that they might tell him where Christ should be born. And they read from their old books that it had been fore-told that he should be born in Beth-le-hem.

Then He-rod sent for the wise men, and told them to go to Beth-le-hem, and search for the young child. And when ye find him, said he, bring me back word that I too may fall down at his feet and give him praise.

But this he did not mean to do, for his plan was to put the child to death just as soon as he could find out where it was.

When the king had ceased to speak, the wise

History of the New Testament.

men from the east left Je-ru-sa-lem, and went on their way to Beth-le-hem. And the star led them on and on, and was like the face of a friend. And a small, still voice seemed to say to them: — Come! — Come! — Come! And it drew them so that they would have gone to the ends of the earth. When troops are on the march, and through their ranks goes the cry of Halt! then each foot must stand still, and not a man moves from his place.

And when the wise men came to Beth-le-hem, lo, the star that had led them stood still in the sky, right o'er the place where the young child was. And when they went in-to the house they saw the young child, with Ma-ry, his mo-ther, and they fell on their knees and bowed down to him as if he had been a king. And they brought him gifts of great worth, and gold and myrrh and rich gums and spice that can be found only in those lands in the far East.

And God spoke to them in a dream, and told them not to go back to He-rod, so they went home not by the same road they had come.

When He-rod found that the wise men had not done as he bade them, he was in a great rage, and sent men to Beth-le-hem, and slew all the chil-dren there who were two years old or less, for then he was sure that Je-sus would be slain.

But ere He-rod's men came, God spoke to Joseph in a dream, and said, Rise, and take thy wife and thy son, and flee into E-gypt, and stay there till

I bring thee word ; for He-rod will seek the young child to kill him.

So Jo-seph did as the Lord told him, and took his wife and child out of Beth-lehem by night, and went to dwell in the Land of E-gypt.

But when He-rod was dead, God spoke to Jo-seph in a dream, and told him to take his wife and son and go back to the land of Is-ra-el, for the man was dead who sought to kill the young child. And Jo-seph did as the an-gel told him, and he and his wife and child came and dwelt in Naz-a-reth.

THE FLIGHT IN-TO E-GYPT.

Chapter III. The Boyhood Of Jesus

It was in the first month of the year that God brought the Jews out of E-gypt and led them through the Red Sea.

And he made it a law that in the first month of each year they should all meet at one place, and bring the young lambs and calves and the first fruits of the field and give thanks to God in the way they had been taught. And this they were to do all the days of their life. And this feast, which was to last not quite two months, was known as the Feast of the Weeks. There were days they were to fast, and days they were to feast, and they were to call to mind that they were once slaves, and that God had set them free, and with glad hearts praise and bless his great name.

The place where the Jews now met was at Je-ru-sa-lem, and Je-sus was twelve years old when he went up for the first time, with Jo-seph and Ma-ry, to keep the Feast of the Weeks.

There was a great crowd there, and friends to meet and talk with, and it must have been a hard

History of the New Testament.

task to keep track of the young folks, who found so much to see and to hear that was new and strange.

When the days of the feast were at an end, Joseph and Ma-rysetout for their home in Naz-a-reth.

They had gone out with a band of friends and

NAZ-A-RETH.

folks from the same town, and were to come back in the same way. It was not safe for them to go by them-selves, for there were waste lands to cross where bands of thieves lay in wait for a chance to rob and to kill those who came their way.

Some rode on mules, some on horse-back, and

The Boyhood of Jesus*

some had to walk all the way. Je-sus was not with Jo-seph and Ma-ry, but they thought he must be with some of the friends or kins-folk. But when at the end of a day's ride he came not near them, they

JE-SUS AT THE AGE OF TWELVE AMONG THE DOC-TORS IN THE TEM-PLE.

sought for him in the groups of friends and kins-folk, where there were lads of his own age.

And when they found him not, they went back to Je-ru-sa-lem, and sought for him with hearts full of grief, for they knew not what harm might have come to him.

History of the New Testament.

For three days they went from house to house, and through the lanes and streets, but could see no signs of the boy they had lost.

At the end of that time they went in-to the house of God, it may have been to pray that their child might be found, and there a strange sight met their gaze.

Je-sus sat in the midst of the wise men, whose place it was to teach and to preach to those who came up to the feasts, and the old men bent their heads to hear what the young lad had to say. For it was the first time they had met with one so young in years who was so wise in speech, and they felt in their hearts that he must have been taught of God.

When Jo-seph and Ma-ry saw Je-sus they were struck dumb, and could do naught but stare, as if it was a scene in a dream. Then Ma-ry said, My son, why didst thou vex us thus? we have sought for thee with sad hearts.

Je-sus said, Why did ye look for me? Do ye not know that I must do the work that my fa-ther has set me to do?

Jo-seph and Ma-ry did not know what he meant by these words, or that God had sent Je-sus on earth to teach men how to read the word of God a-right, and how to save their souls from death.

The Boyhood of Jesus,

Je-sus went back to Naz-a-reth with Jo-seph and Ma-ry, and was a good son to them. And he grew wise and tall, and was blest of God, and won the hearts of all who were near him, for they saw in him much to love.

It was not known that he was the Son of God, and he made friends by his own sweet ways, for he was a poor boy.

Naught was heard or known of Je-sus for some years, and we are led to think that he was taught how to use the axe, and saw, and plane, and to work at the same trade his fa-ther did. This gave him a chance to see how folks lived, and to use his eyes and ears as he went from house to house, so that when he went forth to teach he could tell them of their sins, and show them how vile they were.

And this part of the life of Je-sus — of which not a word is told in the New Test-a-ment — is to teach us to stay in the place where God has put us, and to do our work there in the best way we know how.

Je-sus was at school then, just as boys and girls in these days go to school, and strive to grow wise and to fit them-selves for the work they are to do in the world. And though he was to be a king he did not put on airs, or sit and fold his hands and bid those that were near wait on him and be at his beck and call No! he was born and brought up with

History of the New Testament.

poor folks, to teach us that Je-sus is more at home with the poor than he is with the rich ; and to be Christ-like we must seek to please God, to do his will, to put down pride, and keep sin out of our hearts.

Chapter IV. Jesus And John The Baptist

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

History of the New Testament.

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.

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 over 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 indeed bap-tize you with wa-ter, but he who is to come af-ter me, and who is great-er than I, will bap-tize you with fire.

Jesus and John the Baptist.

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 Jesus 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

History of the New Testament.

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.

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.

Jesus and John the Baptist.

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.