Читать книгу The Story of Jesus The Christ - Helen Braun Hojt - Страница 16

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Jesus answered her: “ Why did you look for me? Did you

not know that I must be about my Father’s business?» Jesus

did not mean Joseph when he said “ my Father,» he meant God.

He was a young boy, but he was very thoughtful, and he knew

that there was work for him to do in the world; and that his

work was to teach people how his Father wants them to live.

He would have liked to have begun his work even now, but it

was not yet time for him to do so. He went back to Nazareth

with his parents, and was the same loving, obedient boy that he

had always been.

Until a Jewish boy was twelve years old he was called a little

boy; but after that he was a young man, and was expected to

study and work as the young men did. Every one must learn

some trade, or some kind of work by which he could earn his

living. Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to do car¬

pentry work: to make houses, tables, yokes for oxen, or anything

that is made of wood.

So, busy with his studies and his work, Jesus lived at Naza¬

reth till he was thirty years old. We will leave him there for a

while, and see what has become of the son of Zacharias.

John, too, grew to be a thoughtful, manly boy; for his father

told him what his work was to be, and taught him what he

needed to know, to be ready for it. As he grew older he knew

that he could not do good work unless he thought, studied, and

prayed much about it. To do this he left his home and his

friends, and went to live all alone in the wilderness.

He could find enough to eat there: locusts, and the honey

which the bees left in the rocks and the hollow trees. Locusts

are something like our grasshoppers, and even now, in that coun¬

try, people eat a great many of them. There were caves in the

sides of the hills, where John could find shelter from the cold

and storms, and from any wild beasts that might be about. His

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A CHILD’S STORY OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

clothing was made of the coarse hair which grows on a camel>

and was fastened around his waist with a leather belt.

There in the woods he lived alone for many years with noth¬

ing to take his mind from his work. At last the time came for

him to preach.

There is a river in Pal¬

estine called the Jordan,,

and it was to the banks

of the Jordan that John

came from the wilderness

and began to preach. He

was so much in earnest,

and spoke so well, that

people liked to listen to

him; and before long great

crowds from all around

came everyday to hear him.

They all thought he

must be the Christ; but

John said: 66 No, I am not

the Christ. I am the

prophet from the wilder¬

ness whose work it is to

prepare the way for the

Christ, and tell people about

John the Baptist in the Wilderness llim.

«He is to be so much

greater than I am that I am not good enough even to be his ser¬

vant. Your Saviour is coming very soon, but he will not save

you unless you are sorry for your sins. You must not say to} T> ur-

selves: ‘ God will love us because we are the children of Abraham/

You must be good yourselves if you want to be loved and saved/»»