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FROM CHRISTMAS 
 TO EASTER 
 
 JV Jitejj for ^Bogs anh CStrls 
 
 By 
 LUCY H. HEATH 
 
 I 
 
 Cmchmait: 
 JENNINGS AND GRAHAM 
 
 EATON AND MAINS 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY 
 JENNINGS AND GBAHAM 
 
 ><£~° 
 
 ©CI.A343198 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 One night, in the long ago time, while 
 shepherds watched their flocks in the fields 
 around Bethlehem, in the land of Pales- 
 tine, they were startled by the sudden 
 appearance of an angel clothed in bright 
 raiment, and a bright glory shone all 
 around them. It was so light that the 
 sheep were roused from slumber and called 
 to their shepherds in a frightened bleat. 
 But the shepherds were filled with awe, 
 and stood speechless, looking at their heav- 
 enly visitor. The angel spoke to them. 
 His voice was like music, sweet and clear, 
 and they never forgot what he said. Listen 
 to his words: "Fear not: for, behold, I 
 bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
 shall be to all people. For unto you is 
 born this day, in the city of David, a 
 Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this 
 
 5 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the 
 Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in 
 a manger." Then the bright cloud which 
 was above them parted, and a host of glit- 
 tering angels was with them, praising God, 
 and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, 
 and on earth peace, good will toward men." 
 
 The shepherds watched the bright cloud, 
 which received the angels out of their sight, 
 until it was lost from view in the heavens; 
 Then they said, "Let us go to Bethlehem, 
 and see this Savior King, whose birth has 
 been made known to us." With the echo 
 of that first Christmas song still ringing in 
 their ears, they hurried away to Bethlehem. 
 
 These shepherds were humble, prayerful 
 men, and knew that God had promised to 
 send a Savior King, and that the whole 
 Jewish nation was looking for Him. They 
 also knew that He was expected suddenly 
 to appear in a mysterious way in the 
 temple and deliver them from the Romans 
 and reign over the Jewish nation. In low, 
 
 6 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 excited tones they asked one another if it 
 could be possible that He was born as a 
 little child, and that God had honored 
 them by telling them of His birth. 
 
 Now, there were many people in Beth- 
 lehem at that time, for Caesar, the Roman 
 king, had commanded all the people to 
 enroll their names for future taxation. The 
 ancient Jewish custom was not to take the 
 census in the places where the people lived 
 at the time, but at the places where they 
 belonged as members of the original twelve 
 tribes. 
 
 Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, 
 and they had to go nearly one hundred 
 miles, for they belonged to the royal town 
 of Bethlehem. When they arrived, weary 
 with the long journey, they found that the 
 town was full of strangers who had also 
 come to enroll their names. Every house 
 was crowded, but near the inn there was a 
 stable, where they were permitted to stay. 
 And there the Son of God was born. There 
 
 7 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 the shepherds found Mary and Joseph and 
 the Babe lying in a manger, just as the 
 angel had told them. They praised God, 
 and repeated to Joseph what the angel 
 had said to them, also the song which the 
 angels had sung. But Joseph and Mary 
 already knew that her baby was the 
 promised Savior, for God had sent an 
 angel to tell them "That He was the 
 Spirit of God clothed in a human body." 
 They kept the secret locked in their hearts. 
 It was too sacred to tell to others, but 
 they thought much about the wonderful 
 mystery. 
 
 When the Child was eight days old 
 they named Him Jesus, and a few weeks 
 later they carried Him to Jerusalem, to 
 offer a sacrifice in the temple, as the 
 Jewish law required. There an aged priest, 
 whose name was Simeon, and Anna, a 
 prophetess, openly worshiped Him, for the 
 Holy Spirit had made it known to them 
 that He was the promised Savior. 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Far away to the east, in the countries be- 
 yond the Euphrates River, there lived men 
 who studied the stars and knew a great 
 deal about them. In some way God had 
 revealed to these wise 1 men that a King 
 had been born who should save all people 
 from sin, and that if they followed the new 
 star, which they saw in the heavens, it 
 would lead them to Him. And the star 
 led them to the province of Judea, in Pal- 
 estine. And they said surely a king would 
 be born in a palace, and the king's palace 
 would be at the capital; therefore they 
 went to the beautiful city of Jerusalem 
 and sought out the palace where King 
 Herod lived, and they inquired of him, 
 saying, "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." 
 
 9 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 This question aroused jealous fears in 
 Herod's heart. He was afraid he would 
 lose his place as ruler. Immediately he 
 sent for the scribes and inquired of them 
 where it was foretold that Christ should 
 be born. They replied, "In Bethlehem of 
 Judea." Then Herod inquired of the wise 
 men what time the star appeared, and with 
 a hypocritical smile said, "Go to Beth- 
 lehem and search for the Child, and when 
 you have found Him return and let me 
 know, that I may also go and worship Him." 
 
 The wise men departed, and rejoiced 
 when the star led them to the home in 
 Bethlehem where the Savior King was, 
 with Mary His mother. They fell down 
 and worshiped Him, and they gave Him 
 rich and beautiful gifts and costly spices 
 such as loyal subjects present to their 
 King; but God warned them in a dream 
 not to return to Herod, and they quietly 
 departed and went home into their own 
 country another way. 
 
 10 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 When Herod found that the wise men 
 did not return, he was very angry. The 
 jealousy in his heart grew until hate ruled 
 him, and he sent soldiers to kill all the 
 children in Bethlehem who were under two 
 years old. He thought that in that way he 
 would surely kill the promised Ruler. 
 
 But God was watching over His own 
 dear Son. He told Joseph in a dream to 
 take Mary and Jesus and go into Egypt, 
 and remain there while Ilerod lived. 
 
 When Joseph awoke Mary and told 
 her that they must flee, for the Child 
 in danger, she asked no questions; but, 
 elasping her baby to her heart, followed 
 him out into the night, and they fled with 
 the Child into Egypt. 
 
 Jesus was safe, but all the children in 
 Bethlehem under two years old were slain. 
 And the poor, sorrowing mothers, how 
 they mourned and wept for their dear 
 little ones; and they could not be com- 
 forted. 
 
 11 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 When Joseph heard that Herod was 
 dead, he brought his family back to Pales- 
 tine; but when he knew that the wicked 
 son of Herod reigned in Judea, he was 
 afraid to take them to Bethlehem, and 
 they went to Nazareth, in Galilee, the 
 little village where they had lived and 
 loved before their marriage; and that was 
 the home of Jesus until He grew to be a 
 man. 
 
 He grew and played like other boys. 
 He went to school in the village synagogue, 
 where the Old Testament was taught by a 
 scribe. We know that He was a good 
 scholar, for He often quoted passages from 
 the Scriptures when, in after life, He 
 taught and preached. 
 
 Every year His parents went to the 
 Passover feast at Jerusalem, for no devout 
 Jew ever missed going to that feast, if he 
 could possibly help it. And when Jesus 
 was twelve years old He went with them. 
 A Jewish boy at that age was permitted to 
 
 12 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 eat the Passover supper with his parents 
 and friends. 
 
 It was a journey of three or four days 
 from Nazareth to Jerusalem, through a 
 beautiful country, at the time of year when 
 everything was in blossom. The beauty 
 of the hills and fields and trees, the mass 
 of people who came to the annual feast 
 filled with religious enthusiasm, the beau- 
 tiful city of Jerusalem which every Jewish 
 heart loved, the splendor of the temple, 
 the lambs which were killed and offered as 
 a sacrifice — the Boy saw it all. He re- 
 membered that night which the Passover 
 feast commemorated, when the Lord slew 
 the firstborn in every house among the 
 Egyptians, and passed over the houses of 
 the children of Israel and led them out 
 from Egypt, the land of bondage. Every 
 year, since He could remember, His mother 
 had told Him the story at Passover time. 
 Everything must have made a great im- 
 pression on His mind. Do you wonder 
 
 13 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 that when He found so much of interest 
 He lingered behind when His parents, 
 with their friends and neighbors, started 
 for home? 
 
 They traveled a whole day before they 
 knew He was not in the company. This 
 shows that they trusted Him. When they 
 found He was not with them, they re- 
 turned in alarm to Jerusalem, and sought 
 Him sorrowing. 
 
 Three days they searched, and then 
 they found Him in the temple, with the 
 teachers and learned men, talking with 
 them and asking questions; and they all 
 wondered at His understanding. 
 
 His parents were surprised to find Him 
 there, and when His mother reproved Him 
 He looked into her eyes and said with 
 quiet dignity, "Did ye not know that I 
 must be about My Father's business?" 
 His mother did not reply to this significant 
 question; but she thought about it often 
 when alone, and watched with loving care 
 
 14 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 the development of her boy, who, we are 
 told, "grew in wisdom and stature, and 
 in favor with God and man." 
 
 He returned with them to Nazareth, 
 and lived eighteen years longer in His 
 home there. Nothing has been told us 
 about these years; but we know that 
 Joseph was a wise man, who loved and 
 obeyed God. We know that His mother 
 was a pure, loving, saintly woman, and 
 that Jesus grew up in her love. We know 
 from His after life that He was a pure, 
 
 high-minded boy and loved and honored 
 His mother. We know that He learned 
 the carpenter's trade and in thai way met 
 many people and learned much about 
 human nature; and we know that He went 
 to Jerusalem every year to the Passover 
 feast, where He must have learned how 
 corrupt the prevailing religion was. 
 
 15 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 When Jesus was about thirty years old 
 there appeared one day, on the bank of the 
 Jordan River, a strange preacher. He was 
 dressed like the prophets of old, in a long 
 garment woven from camel's hair, with a 
 girdle of untanned leather. His name was 
 John, and he was the son of a priest who 
 lived in Hebron, in the province of Judea; 
 but for years he had lived in the desert, 
 eating wild honey and locusts, communing 
 with his own heart, and with God, in 
 preparation for the work which was before 
 him. For he knew that the Prophet Isaiah 
 had foretold, hundreds of years before he 
 was born, that he should be sent to tell 
 the people to prepare for the coming of 
 the Savior King. 
 
 It had been five hundred years since 
 there had been a prophet among the 
 
 16 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Hebrews, and the people went from all 
 the country around to hear him. He told 
 them that the promised Savior was soon 
 coming, that they must stop sinning, and 
 be ready to meet Him and believe on Him. 
 
 When any one said he was sorry for 
 his sins, and wanted to live a better life, 
 John baptized him in the River Jordan. 
 
 Some of the people thought they were 
 good enough and belonged to God's King- 
 dom because they were Jews; but John 
 told them that being Jews made no dif- 
 ference. And when he told them what 
 great sinners they were some went away 
 in anger; among these were the Pharisees. 
 
 One day when John the Baptist was 
 preaching, Jesus came to hear him. He 
 knew that it was time for Him to begin 
 His work of winning men to His Kingdom. 
 
 After others had been baptized, Jesus 
 
 offered Himself for baptism, because He 
 
 wished to set an example of all right doing. 
 
 At first John was unwilling to baptize 
 2 17 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Him. There was something in the face of 
 Jesus which made him feel unworthy to 
 do so; but Jesus convinced him that it 
 was right, and when He came out of the 
 water the Spirit of God descended and 
 rested upon Him, and a voice from heaven 
 said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom 
 I am well pleased." 
 
 Then John knew that Jesus was the 
 promised Savior, for God had told him 
 that this should be the sign which He 
 would give him. 
 
 This Spirit, which had been given Jesus, 
 led Him into the wilderness there to think 
 over the new consecration and talk with 
 His Father about it. 
 
 Jesus knew that the people were look- 
 ing for a king who would do great and 
 wonderful things and lead a large army of 
 soldiers against their enemies and rule 
 over the whole world. 
 
 We are told that Jesus was tempted, 
 by the devil, to do those things which the 
 
 18 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Jews were expecting their Savior King to 
 do. He knew that unless He did this that 
 many would not believe on Him. Should 
 He, in some measure, gratify their desire, 
 and use the power which He, the Son of 
 God, had to make Himself an earthly 
 king? Then, when they were all His lo; 
 subjects, He could tell them of the love of 
 God which He came to reveal. Or, should 
 He wait until, by the force of truth and 
 the power of love, shown in His life and 
 death, the Kingdom of God should be 
 established in the hearts of the peopl 
 
 The struggle was great, and He suf- 
 fered intensely. We are told that He re- 
 mained in the wilderness forty days and 
 nights without food. His mind was so 
 disturbed that He did not feel the need 
 of food, and He forgot to eat. But when 
 the struggle was ended, and He had chosen 
 the way of the cross, the peace of God 
 came to Him, and angels ministered unto 
 Him. 
 
 19 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 That trial strengthened Jesus for the 
 great strain He would have to endure 
 through the rest of His life here, and be- 
 cause He was tempted in every way, as 
 we are, He knows how to help and pity all 
 who are tempted. 
 
 20 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 It was about six weeks after John bap- 
 tized Jesus before he saw Him again. But 
 he kept on preaching to the people, and his 
 message was, "The Son of God has come." 
 
 One day, as he stood talking with two 
 of his scholars, he saw Jesus coming, and 
 pointing to Him said, "Behold the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
 world. It is He, about whom I have been 
 telling you." 
 
 The two men, whose names were John 
 and Andrew, followed Jesus. And when 
 He saw that they followed Him, He 
 stopped and spoke to them, and invited 
 them to go home with Him, because He 
 knew that they wanted to talk with Him. 
 They gladly accepted the invitation, and 
 remained with Him that day. We do not 
 know what He taught them, but we know 
 
 21 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 that they loved Him and became His dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 They believed what their first teacher 
 had told them, that Jesus was the Savior 
 King, and they wanted others to know 
 and love Him, too. Therefore the two 
 disciples hurried to tell the good news to 
 their own brothers. John led his brother 
 James to Jesus, and Andrew brought his 
 brother Simon. Jesus saw just what kind 
 of a man Simon, with the Spirit of God in 
 his heart, would make, and He told him 
 that he should be called Peter, which 
 means a rock. 
 
 The next day, as Jesus and His four 
 disciples started to go into Galilee, they 
 met Philip, and Jesus said to him, "Follow 
 Me." Philip did not say, "Sometime I 
 will follow you, but not now." He at once 
 went with Jesus and His disciples. He 
 knew Andrew and Peter, for he lived in 
 the same city; and when he knew Jesus 
 he went to his friend Nathanael and told 
 
 22 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 him they had found the promised Savior 
 King. At first Nathanael could not believe 
 it, but when Philip urged him to come and 
 see for himself, he went with him to Jesus. 
 
 When Jesus spoke to Nathanael, and 
 told him about things which he thought 
 no one but himself knew, he exclaimed, 
 "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou 
 art the King of Israel." 
 
 A few days later Jesus and His dis- 
 ciples were invited to a wedding in Cana, 
 a small town of Galilee; and the mother of 
 Jesus was there; and when she found that 
 the wine had given out, she went to her 
 Son and told her trouble to Him. She was 
 a relative of the bride, and felt that it 
 would be a disgrace to them all to have the 
 wine fail before the entertainment was 
 over. Jesus helped them out of their dif- 
 ficulty by turning water into wine. This 
 was His first miracle, and when His dis- 
 ciples saw the manifestation of His power 
 their faith was strengthened. 
 
 23 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 The rumor of this miracle soon reached 
 Jerusalem, and when Jesus went to the 
 holy city, at Passover time, He attracted 
 the attention of all classes, for it had been 
 four hundred years since the Jews had 
 seen a miracle. 
 
 Jerusalem was called "the holy city" 
 because the holy temple was there. It 
 was the same temple where Jesus had 
 talked with the learned doctors. It was 
 very beautiful and cost a great amount of 
 money, and it had been solemnly conse- 
 crated to the Lord. Here, twice a day, by 
 the sacrifice of animals, was shown the 
 coming of the "Lamb of God to be a 
 sacrifice for the sins of the world." 
 
 When Jesus went into the temple and 
 saw there those who sold oxen and sheep 
 and doves for sacrifice, and the tables for 
 money changers (the money in common 
 use was Roman and had to be exchanged 
 for Jewish coin before it could be accepted 
 for temple fees and dues to the priests), He 
 
 24 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 was very indignant, and picking up from 
 the floor pieces of cord He twisted them 
 into a whip and drove out the animals 
 and the traders, who were selling them; 
 and He overturned the money tables and 
 said, "Take these things hence; make not 
 My Father's house a house of merchan- 
 dise." During this feast Jesus wrought 
 miracles and taught the people who were 
 in the city from every land. 
 
 One night a Pharisee named Nicodemus 
 came to Jesus and wanted to know how 
 he could enter the new Kingdom which 
 Jesus had been telling them about. He 
 was a rich man and a teacher of the law. 
 He was also very strict about all outward 
 forms of religion. He went to Church, 
 and said long prayers, and people thought 
 him very good. Perhaps he thought so, 
 too, until he saw Jesus and heard His 
 teaching. 
 
 Jesus told him that the Kingdom which 
 He had come to found was a spiritual 
 
 25 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Kingdom, and that he must be born again 
 to enter it. 
 
 When Nicodemus replied that he could 
 not understand what He meant by this, 
 Jesus told him that the new life which he 
 must have was a gift from God, and that 
 we can not see it any more than we can 
 see the wind. 
 
 We can see what the wind does when 
 it blows the tree tops, and we can see that 
 the new life, which is born of the Spirit, 
 has come by what it does. For it is a life 
 of love. One who has it will love God and 
 love everybody. Then Jesus said: "As 
 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- 
 ness, even so must the Son of man be lifted 
 up, that whosoever believeth in Him should 
 not perish, but have eternal life. For God 
 so loved the world that He gave His only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life." 
 
 26 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Many of the people in Judea only looked 
 with curiosity on Jesus as He wrought 
 miracles and taught. They would not be- 
 lieve on Him as the Christ, the Savior of 
 the world. And when Jesus heard that 
 Herod had put in prison John the Baptist 
 because he had told him the truth about 
 his sins, He left Judea and, with His dis- 
 ciples, went into Galilee. They went 
 through Samaria, and when they came 
 near to a place called Sychar, while His 
 disciples went into the city to buy food, 
 Jesus sat down by the well which Jacob 
 had digged hundreds of years before. 
 
 He was warm and thirsty and tired, 
 and when a woman of Samaria came to 
 draw water from the well, which was very 
 deep, He said, "Give Me to drink." 
 
 The woman saw by His dress that He 
 27 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 was a Jewish teacher, and she was surprised 
 because He spoke to her, for the Jews and 
 the people of Samaria had quarreled and 
 had no dealings with one another; but this 
 made no difference with Jesus. He saw 
 that, like Nicodemus, she was hungry for 
 goodness, and He showed her that He 
 knew all about her wicked life; then He 
 began to teach her about the new life 
 which God gives; and He told her that He 
 was the Christ, the Son of God, who had 
 come from His home in heaven to live in 
 this world that every one who would might 
 believe on Him and have the new life in 
 earth and heaven. 
 
 The woman was so glad when she 
 heard this that she left her water jar and 
 ran back to the city to tell her friends and 
 neighbors that she had found the Christ, 
 and asked them to come and see Him; and 
 they urged Him to stay with them, and 
 He remained there two days and taught 
 the Samaritans, and many believed on Him. 
 
 28 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 When they came to the city of Cana, 
 where Jesus had helped at a wedding 
 feast, an officer of King Herod's court, 
 called a nobleman, begged Him to hurry 
 to his home in Capernaum, twenty miles 
 away, and heal his son, who was very sick. 
 This man had heard about Jesus and the 
 wonderful things He bad done in Judea, 
 and he believed that Jesus could cure his 
 child if only He could get there before he 
 died. 
 
 Jesus wanted to teach the lesson that 
 He could help without our seeing Him with 
 our eyes, or feeling the touch of His hands, 
 and He said to the man, "Go, thy son 
 liveth." The man believed what Jesus 
 said, and started for home. Before he had 
 gone the whole twenty miles he met mes- 
 sengers who came to tell him that his son 
 lived. He asked what time the fever had 
 left him, and when they told him he knew 
 that it was the very hour that Jesus had 
 said, "Go home, for thy son liveth." 
 
 29 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 When he had told the story to the rest of 
 the family they all believed that Jesus 
 was the Son of God. 
 
 One of the first places Jesus visited in 
 Galilee was Nazareth, where He had lived 
 and grown to manhood; and on the Sab- 
 bath day He went into the synagogue, 
 the place where He had worshiped ever 
 since He could remember. And when they 
 invited Him to do so, He read the Scrip- 
 tures, selecting the passage in Isaiah which 
 gives a glowing description of the coming 
 and work of the Christ. He closed the 
 Book and, looking into their familiar faces, 
 longed to tell them that the Christ had 
 come, and that He was the promised Savior; 
 but when He attempted to do so, they were 
 angry and would not believe it. They 
 said, with scorn, "Is not this the carpenter 
 who used to live here with us?" And they 
 drove Him out of the synagogue and out 
 of the city. 
 
 From this time He made His home in 
 30 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of 
 Galilee. It was a busy, thrifty, central 
 town, and from here He went out into the 
 other towns and villages, preaching and 
 teaching the people. He carried comfort 
 and joy everywhere. Day after day He 
 healed the sick of all classes and cured all 
 kinds of diseases; even the lepers, whom 
 all people shunned, were healed by the 
 touch of His hand. Crowds of people fol- 
 lowed Him from city to city and brought 
 their sick friends to Him to be healed; and 
 they heard about Him through all the land. 
 The chief priests and rulers of the Jews 
 thought Jesus was becoming too popular 
 among the people, therefore they sent a 
 committee to Capernaum to watch Him. 
 Jesus was in Peter's house. He was 
 preaching, and, as usual, a great multitude 
 gathered to hear Him. The courtyard and 
 street were crowded with people, and so 
 eager were they to hear that they would 
 not move to make way for four men who 
 
 31 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 were bringing a helpless friend on a mat- 
 bed to Jesus. But these men believed that 
 Jesus could cure their sick companion, and 
 were determined in some way to reach 
 Him. Carefully they carried their burden 
 up the stairs outside the house to the flat 
 roof, then they removed the tiling of the 
 roof over the courtyard, and let the man, 
 on his mat-bed, down at the feet of Jesus. 
 When He saw their faith, and that the man 
 was very sorry for all the wrong things he 
 had done, He said, "Son, be of good cheer; 
 thy sins are forgiven." The committee of 
 learned men from Jerusalem said within 
 their hearts, "He speaketh blasphemies; 
 no one but God can forgive sins." 
 
 Jesus read their thoughts, just as He 
 had read the thoughts of the sick man, and 
 He knew that the people could not see that 
 the man's sins were forgiven; and to prove 
 that He had the power to forgive sins, He 
 turned to the helpless man and said, 
 "Arise, take up thy bed, and go home;" 
 
 32 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 and the man immediately obeyed Him, and 
 went home praising God. 
 
 The people were surprised. They were 
 ready to believe whal they eould see, and 
 were filled with awe. They glorified God. 
 But the learned men from Jerusalem were 
 so wicked that they would not believe that 
 His power came from God; and while they 
 continued to watch Ilim, they complained 
 because He and His disciples did not keep 
 their fasts and other outward forms of 
 religion. They also found fault with the 
 company He kepi, saying, "He is a friend 
 of publicans and sinn< They were 
 
 angry because He invited Matthew, a tax- 
 gatherer, to be His disciple, and they 
 could not see that they were even greater 
 sinners than the tax-gatherers, whom they 
 despised and hated. 
 
 33 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 After these things Jesus went again to 
 Jerusalem and taught in the temple; and 
 on the Sabbath day He walked out to the 
 pool of Bethesda. This pool was a spring 
 of water which at times bubbled up from 
 the bottom. The people believed that an 
 angel caused this, and that the first person 
 who stepped in after the moving of the 
 water would be restored to health. Around 
 this pool five porches had been built, where 
 sick folks could be sheltered from the sun 
 while they waited for the water to move. 
 On this Sabbath day many people were 
 lying in these porches waiting to be healed. 
 They were crippled in various ways, and 
 some of them were blind. When Jesus 
 saw how wretched they were, His heart was 
 filled with pity. One man had been help- 
 less thirty-eight years, and he had no friends 
 
 34 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 to assist him. As he lay there waiting for 
 the chance, which he thought would never 
 come, Jesus stopped beside him and said, 
 "Wilt thou be made whole?" 
 
 The man looked up into the pure face 
 of Jesus, and a gleam of hope came into 
 his dull eyes as he answered, "I have no 
 one when the water is troubled to put me 
 into the pool." Perhaps he thought Jesus 
 would do this act of mercy for him, but 
 Jesus said, "Rise, take up thy bed, and 
 walk." 
 
 The man did not say, "I can't, for I 
 have been helpless a long time." He im- 
 mediately stood up, then picked up his 
 bed, which was like a rug or blanket, and 
 walked away. 
 
 When the Jews told him it was not 
 right for him to carry his bed on the Sab- 
 bath day, he answered them boldly, saying, 
 "He who had the power to cure me told me 
 to take up my bed and carry it away." 
 When they asked, "Who is the man that 
 
 35 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 told you to break the Sabbath?" he could 
 not tell them, for Jesus had disappeared 
 among the crowd; but he knew that it 
 must have been the power of God which 
 had healed him; therefore he went into the 
 temple to worship and praise Him. Jesus 
 found him there and told him to sin no 
 more, lest he be sick again. 
 
 When the man found out that it was 
 Jesus who had cured him, he went and 
 told the Jews. Therefore the Jews per- 
 secuted Jesus, because He had broken 
 their Sabbath law. But Jesus said, "My 
 Father loves and takes care of you every 
 day, and He has sent Me into the world 
 to love and help everybody. I came to 
 reveal My Father's love." 
 
 Then the Jews sought to kill Him, be- 
 cause He said that God was His Father. 
 
 Jesus tried to convince them that He 
 was the Son of God, because He wanted 
 them to believe on Him and be saved; but 
 they would not, and He returned to Gal- 
 
 36 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 ilee, where He received a warm welcome, 
 and busied Himself again with His work. 
 He was more popular than ever. People 
 came from all the neighboring provinces 
 to see Him and hear Him preach. They 
 brought their friends who were sick to 
 Him, and He healed them, and He was so 
 busy that He had scarcely time to eat or 
 sleep. 
 
 He cast out demons, He forgave sins, 
 and He preached wonderful sermons, and 
 the people were asking one another, "Can 
 He indeed be the promised Savior King? 
 If so, what is He going to do?" 
 
 One night, not long after His return 
 to Capernaum, He went up into a moun- 
 tain, and we are told that He spent the 
 whole night in prayer, for Jesus was never 
 too tired to pray. 
 
 In the morning He found that a great 
 multitude of people had climbed part way 
 up the mountain to a level space to meet 
 Him. Out of this company Jesus selected 
 
 37 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 twelve men, from those who had been 
 His scholars, to help Him in His work. 
 The names of these men were Peter and 
 Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bar- 
 tholomew, Matthew and Thomas; James, 
 the son of Alpheus, and Simon; and Judas, 
 the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot. 
 They all belonged to the common people; 
 four of them were fishermen. Peter and 
 his brother Andrew were fishing on the 
 Sea of Galilee, and John and James were 
 in a boat with their father, mending their 
 nets, when Jesus said to them, "Follow 
 Me, and I will make you to become fishers 
 of men." And they left their nets and 
 followed Him. These twelve apostles be- 
 came great men, and founded the Chris- 
 tian Church. 
 
 While they walked and talked with 
 Jesus, and listened to His teaching, they 
 loved Him and tried to become like Him 
 in character, and the silent influence of His 
 character on theirs stamped His own image 
 
 38 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 upon them. He told these twelve men, 
 whom we call apostles, that they were to 
 go out and preach the gospel of His King- 
 dom, as He had been doing. Then, in the 
 presence of this great company, He told 
 them what kind of people should live in 
 His Kingdom and what their character 
 should be. It was a wonderful sermon. 
 We call it the "Sermon on the Mount." 
 He said it was those who were truly good 
 and humble, not those who thought they 
 were good, who should live in His King- 
 dom; the meek, and those who pity, help, 
 and forgive the wrongdoer; I he pure in 
 heart, and those who love peace and try 
 to make peace. 
 
 The Jews thought if they kept the law 
 W T hich God had given to Moses they would 
 be perfectly good; and the Pharisees, who 
 were there that day, were very careful to 
 keep the commandments outwardly. They 
 said long prayers and fasted, and gave to 
 the poor. Jesus told them that outside 
 
 39 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 goodness was not enough, that they should 
 not give, or pray, or do anything to have 
 men see and know it, but to please God. 
 And He showed them how they often broke 
 the commandments in their hearts, and 
 that the only way in which they could 
 truly keep them was by love. He said if 
 their hearts were full of love to God and 
 man, that they would not willfully sin 
 against either. The Jews had said, "Love 
 him who loves you;" but Jesus said if they 
 wanted to be in His Kingdom they must 
 love everybody, even their enemies, and 
 do them good and pray for them. He said 
 we must not judge others, because we 
 could not read the thoughts of their hearts 
 or know their motives; and that we should 
 do unto others as we would like to have 
 them do unto us. He also taught in this 
 sermon that we should not worry about 
 things, but should love God and trust Him, 
 and He would give us all things which we 
 need. And He taught how to pray: we 
 
 40 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 call it the "Lord's Prayer" because Jesus 
 taught it. That prayer teaches us to call 
 God "Our Father," and that prayer is 
 talking to God. It also teaches us that 
 God should come first in our thoughts 
 and prayers, and that we should ask Him 
 for those things which we need and should 
 give to Him all praise and glory. 
 
 Many people listened to that sermon 
 on the mount, and in closing Jesus said 
 that it was not enough to hear, but that 
 they must do as He had [old them, if they 
 would be in His Kingdom. 
 
 Soon after this Jesus and His disciples 
 went into the city of Xain, and many 
 people were following along with them. 
 When they came near to the city they 
 heard the low murmur of a dirge which 
 hired mourners were chanting, and soon a 
 funeral procession came out through the 
 city gate. The chief mourner was a woman ; 
 she was weeping bitterly, her face full of 
 despair. For years she had been a widow, 
 
 41 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 and now she was following her only son 
 to the grave. When Jesus saw her His 
 heart was filled with pity, and He said, 
 in tones of sympathy, "Do not weep." He 
 touched the bier, and they that bore it 
 stood still. Silently He looked at the face 
 of the young man. Then for a moment 
 He looked with divine pity at the heart- 
 broken mother, while the many people 
 waited in silence to see what He would do. 
 Again His eyes rested on the face of the 
 dead, and in a tone of authority He said, 
 "Young man, arise!" And He that was 
 dead arose and asked for his mother. When 
 Jesus led him to her, how the mother heart 
 must have loved and adored Him! The 
 people praised God. They were filled with 
 awe, and the news of this miracle soon 
 spread throughout the land. 
 
 When John's disciples heard of it, they 
 went and told him, for Herod permitted 
 the friends of John to visit him in prison; 
 he dared not do otherwise, perhaps. 
 
 42 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 John, in his gloomy dungeon down by 
 the Dead Sea, was glad to hear of the 
 wonderful things which they told him they 
 had heard that Jesus was doing. Perhaps 
 he wondered why Jesus did not help him 
 out of prison, if He was truly the Christ 
 and had such power; and he asked two of 
 his disciples to go and see Jesus and ask 
 Him if He was the promised Savior King, 
 or if another was coming. 
 
 When the tw r o disciples had come the 
 long distance to where Jesus was they 
 found Him teaching and healing the sick. 
 As usual a crowd had gathered around Him, 
 but through this crowd they pushed their 
 way near to where He stood and said, 
 "John the Baptist sent us to ask, 'Art 
 Thou the promised Savior King?" Jesus 
 kept on with His work, healing the sick; but 
 later He said to them, "Go and tell John 
 what things you have seen and heard; 
 how that the blind see, the lame walk, the 
 lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the 
 
 43 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 dead are raised, and the gospel is preached 
 to the poor." 
 
 When John's disciples returned and 
 gave him this message he knew that Jesus 
 was the Son of God, for those were the 
 very things which the prophets had written 
 in the Old Testament that the Christ would 
 do. 
 
 44 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 When Jesus saw that the twelve apostles 
 were prepared for the work, He sent them 
 out, by two and two, to preach; and He 
 gave them power to heal the sick, so that 
 they could help the people as He did. 
 They wen! out through many towns which 
 Jesus had not time io visit, and told the 
 people that the Savior had come, and that 
 they must be sorry for all the evil things 
 they had done if they wanted to live in His 
 Kingdom; and everywhere they healed the 
 sick. In this way many persons were 
 cured who could never have met Jesus. 
 Meanwhile Jesus kept on with His 
 work in Galilee. His love to men gave Him 
 intense sympathy with every form of pain 
 and misery. He healed the sick; He cast 
 out devils; He forgave sins; He comforted 
 those who were in trouble; He taught 
 
 45 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 them by telling stories called parables. 
 And in this way He made known to them 
 His great truths. 
 
 When His disciples returned, eager to 
 talk with Jesus about what they had done, 
 they found Him so busy healing and teach- 
 ing the people who crowded around Him 
 that He hardly had time to eat. 
 
 About this time the disciples of John 
 the Baptist came to Jesus and told Him 
 that Herod had beheaded their beloved 
 teacher. Jesus knew it was better for 
 John to live in heaven, but He was very 
 sorry for those who loved him, and one 
 morning He said to His disciples, "Let us 
 go away and rest awhile." So they went 
 in a fishing boat across the Sea of Galilee 
 to the grassy plain of Bethsaida Julius. 
 
 When the people saw the boat sailing 
 away and knew that Jesus had departed 
 in it, they started to w^alk around the 
 head of the lake to meet Him. Many 
 more people joined them as they passed 
 
 46 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 through the towns until they numbered 
 five thousand men, besides women and 
 children. Some of them were on their way 
 to the Passover feast, but they wanted to 
 see Jesus and followed the crowd; they 
 walked so fast that they got there before 
 the boat did. 
 
 When Jesus saw the multitude who 
 were waiting for Him He was not angry 
 because the opportunity for rest and qi 
 had been disturbed; His heart was fi] 
 with pity, and all day lb 4 went around 
 among them healing the sick and teaching 
 them about the love of God and His King- 
 dom. 
 
 The people looked, and listened, and 
 loved Him. They forgot that they were a 
 long way from home and had no food. 
 Jesus did not forget. As the sun went 
 down, He turned to His disciples and said, 
 "Where shall we buy bread for so many 
 to eat?" He asked them this question to 
 test their faith; for He knew what He 
 
 47 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 would do. "Two hundred pennyworth of 
 bread is not enough to feed them," replied 
 Philip; and he knew that it would take a 
 man a year to earn this sum. Perhaps 
 Andrew remembered the miracles of Jesus, 
 for he said, "There is a boy here who has 
 five barley loaves and two small fishes, but 
 what are they among so many?" 
 
 Jesus said, "Bring them to Me." He 
 had no home where He could entertain His 
 friends, but this beautiful plain, with its 
 carpet of green grass, was His. He had 
 taught and helped them through the day, 
 and now He wanted to feed them. Per- 
 haps He knew that some of them were too 
 poor to buy themselves bread, for five mil- 
 lion Jews were compelled to pay the heavy 
 tax of three million dollars a year. 
 
 Jesus told His disciples to make every 
 one sit down; so they brought the people 
 together and seated them in rows, for they 
 had seen Jesus do many wonderful things 
 and had learned to do as He commanded 
 
 48 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 without asking questions. And when all 
 were seated on the grass, Jesus took the 
 five loaves and the two fishes, and, looking 
 up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke 
 them in pieces, and gave them to His dis- 
 ciples; and the disciples gave them to the 
 multitude. 
 
 When they had all eaten so much that 
 they wanted no more, Jesus told His dis- 
 ciples to gather up the pieces, that nothing 
 be wasted. It was the custom among the 
 Jews to always carry a sort of basket or 
 wallet with them. Into some of these the 
 pieces were now gathered, and there were 
 twelve basketfuls left. 
 
 This last miracle of the afternoon seemed 
 to open the eyes of the people, for this 
 was what they expected the promised 
 Christ to do — feed them without their 
 working; and they said, "He must be 
 the Christ, the promised King to free us 
 from Rome and make us a nation and 
 rule the world. Let us carry Him up to 
 4 49 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Jerusalem and proclaim Him king at the 
 Passover." 
 
 When Jesus saw that they wanted to 
 take Him by force and make Him a king, 
 He told His disciples to get into the boat 
 and go back to Capernaum. They were 
 surprised and disappointed at His com- 
 mand, for they had hoped to enjoy a quiet 
 talk with Him after the multitude had 
 gone away. And they also thought the 
 time had come for Him to be proclaimed 
 king; but they obeyed Him, and soon were 
 sailing toward Capernaum. 
 
 Jesus was grieved that the people, and 
 also the twelve apostles, who had been so 
 much with Him, could not understand 
 Him; and when He had sent the multitude 
 away He went up into a mountain, and 
 there, in the darkness and silence of the 
 night, He talked with His Father. 
 
 When the disciples were about halfway 
 across the lake a storm arose; the waves 
 dashed over the boat, and they were afraid. 
 
 50 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 The wind blew in the opposite direction 
 from where they wanted to go, so they 
 took down the sails; and while they strug- 
 gled with the rowing they saw Jesus coming 
 to them, walking on the water, for, though 
 it was dark, He knew that they were in 
 trouble and went to them. He could 
 have spoken to the wind and waves, or 
 by uplifted hand have stilled them; but 
 He thought it would strengthen the faith 
 of His friends if He walked to them on the 
 water. 
 
 When they saw Him they were afraid, 
 and said, "It is a spirit." But the well- 
 known voice of Jesus rang out across the 
 waves, saying, "It is I; be not afraid." 
 Peter cried, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me 
 come to Thee on the water." Jesus an- 
 swered, "Come!" and Peter sprang out of 
 the boat and walked upon the water 
 toward Jesus. But when he looked at the 
 big waves which the wind tossed high he 
 was afraid, and began to sink. Then he 
 
 51 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 cried out, just as every one does when 
 afraid, "Lord, save me." Instantly Jesus 
 held out His hand and caught hold of 
 Peter and led him to the boat, saying, 
 "Why didst thou doubt?" And when 
 they both had got into the boat the wind 
 stopped blowing and the waves tossed no 
 more. And the disciples fell at His feet 
 and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly Thou 
 art the Son of God." Then, without any 
 more trouble, the boat came safely to land. 
 On the Sabbath day the little syna- 
 gogue at Capernaum was crowded; every 
 one had been talking about the wonderful 
 miracle which Jesus had done, and all came 
 to hear what He would say and to see 
 what He would do. Jesus knew that they 
 did not seek Him because they loved 
 Him, or believed on Him as their Savior, 
 but because they thought it would be de- 
 sirable to have a king who would feed 
 them. He told them, however, not to 
 be so anxious for the things which would 
 
 52 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 not last, but to seek those things which 
 would feed the soul; that they needed 
 food to give strength to the soul as much 
 as they needed food to give strength to 
 the body. And He told them that He was 
 the bread of life, the living bread which 
 came down from heaven, and that who- 
 ever believed on Him should have ever- 
 lasting life. 
 
 The people could not understand Him, 
 and from that time many of them left 
 Him. If He could not be their earthly 
 king and feed them as they expected, they 
 would have nothing more to do with Him. 
 This desertion of His followers must have 
 hurt the heart of Jesus and discouraged 
 Him, for one day He turned to the twelve 
 apostles, who still clung to Him, and 
 said, "Surely ye also do not wish to go 
 away?" Peter answered for them all: 
 "Master, there is no one else to whom we 
 can go, for we know that Thou art the 
 Christ, the Son of God." 
 
 53 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Jesus knew that Herod feared and hated 
 Him; He also knew that the Pharisees 
 suspected and watched Him. He wanted 
 to be alone with His disciples, and He went 
 with them to Tyre and Sidon, and other 
 distant towns, which they had not previ- 
 ously visited. He preached to the people 
 and healed the sick; but He gave more time 
 to the teaching of His disciples than for- 
 merly. He told them about His sufferings, 
 and about His death, for He knew that it 
 was near at hand, and He wanted to pre- 
 pare them for it; but they could not under- 
 stand Him. They would not believe that 
 He was to die. They thought He must be 
 telling them one of the parable stories, 
 which were sometimes so hard to under- 
 stand, and that He would overcome all 
 
 54 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 opposition and take His place as king and 
 rule the world. 
 
 During this last year Jesus also spent 
 more time alone with His Father, in com- 
 munion with Him, One night, when they 
 were at the foot of Mt. Lebanon, He asked 
 Peter, James, and John to go with Him 
 up into this mountain to pray. While He 
 prayed the disciples fell asleep, for they 
 were tired. And when they awoke they 
 saw Him, as it were, in a frame of glory. 
 His face shone, while angels talked with 
 Him; for His Father had sent Moses and 
 Elias to talk with Him about His death 
 and to strengthen Him for the great suffer- 
 ing which He must endure. His disciples 
 were afraid and fell on their faces; but 
 when His visitors had gone Jesus came to 
 them and said, "Arise, and be not afraid." 
 And when they looked up they saw no man, 
 "save Jesus only." And He told them 
 to say nothing about what they had seen 
 until after His resurrection. 
 
 55 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Soon after this Jesus and His disciples 
 left Galilee and went south toward Jerusa- 
 lem through that part of the land which 
 He had not visited. 
 
 In this new field the multitudes followed 
 Him, as they had in Galilee during the 
 year of His popularity. He healed the 
 sick; He forgave sins; He preached and 
 taught and loved; He thought of others 
 and not of Himself. He went to Jerusalem 
 at the feast of tabernacles and taught in 
 the temple, and many believed on Him. 
 The Jews were surprised at His knowl- 
 edge, and the Pharisees and chief priests 
 sent officers to take Him. 
 
 Perhaps Jesus saw these men waiting 
 for a good opportunity to arrest Him, for 
 He said, "I must remain on earth a little 
 while longer; then ye will kill Me and I 
 shall go to My Father, and thither ye can 
 not come, for ye know Him not." 
 
 The officers listened to His teaching 
 and were awed by the majesty of His 
 
 56 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 countenance and by His words. They did 
 not venture to arrest Him, but returned 
 to the chief priest and Pharisees, who 
 asked, "Why did ye not bring Him?" 
 The officers answered, "Never man spake 
 like this Man." 
 
 One day, as Jesus came out of the 
 temple, He saw a blind man sitting by the 
 gate. The crippled and the blind were 
 not permitted to go into the temple, but 
 they could sit by the gate and beg from 
 those going in and coming out. Many a 
 time had this man sat there and waited 
 for people to help him. He had never seen 
 the blue sky, the beautiful flowers, or the 
 majestic temple which was so near him, 
 and he had never seen the face of his father 
 and mother. 
 
 Sometimes people become blind through 
 sickness, then they have memory pictures 
 to look at; but this man had been born 
 blind. 
 
 Jesus knew that the Pharisees would 
 57 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 find fault" if He healed this man on the 
 Sabbath day; but He was indifferent to 
 Jewish prejudices and went straight on 
 with the everyday duties of life. He said, 
 "I must do the work which I was sent 
 into the world to do." "I am the light of 
 the world." Then He spat on the ground 
 and made clay of the spittle and spread it 
 upon the eyes of the blind man, and said 
 to him, "Go, wash off the clay in the pool 
 of Siloam." The man obeyed Jesus, and 
 he received his sight. 
 
 The opening of the man's eyes so 
 changed his look and manner that the 
 neighbors and they who had seen him 
 sitting, as a blind beggar, said, "Is this 
 he that sat and begged?" Some said, "It 
 is he;" others said, "No, but he is like 
 him." The man heard them talking about 
 it, and said, "I am he." When they asked 
 how he had received his sight, he said, 
 "The man that is called Jesus made clay 
 and anointed my eyes and told me to go 
 
 58 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 and wash in the pool. I obeyed, and re- 
 ceived my sight." And when they asked 
 where Jesus was, he said, "I do not know." 
 
 Perhaps these friends and neighbors did 
 not intend to make mischief, but really 
 thought the authorities ought to know 
 that this healing work had been done on 
 the Sabbath; so they brought the blind 
 man to the Pharisees, and they also asked 
 him how he had received his sight; and 
 when he told them, they said, "This power 
 could not come from God, because Jesus 
 does not keep the Sabbath; it must be from 
 the devil." 
 
 Some of the Jews did not believe that 
 the man had been blind until they called 
 his parents and asked them, saying, "Is 
 this your son? Was he born blind? How 
 does he now see?" They answered, "We 
 know that this is our son, and that he was 
 born blind: but we do not know who 
 opened his eyes. Ask him." 
 
 Therefore a second time they ques- 
 59 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 tioned him who had been born blind and 
 tried to make him think that Jesus was a 
 sinner. But he said, "I know that I was 
 blind and now I see. This man could 
 not have opened mine eyes unless he were 
 from God." 
 
 And they were angry, and said with 
 scorn, "Dost thou teach us?" And they 
 cast him out of doors. 
 
 When Jesus heard that they had cast 
 him out, He went to him and said, "Dost 
 thou believe on the Son of God?" And he 
 answered, "Who is He, sir, that I may 
 believe on Him?" Then Jesus told him 
 plainly that He was the Son of God. And 
 the man believed that Jesus was the prom- 
 ised Savior, and he worshiped Him. 
 
 How happy and thankful he must have 
 been that he could look upon the face of 
 Him who had given sight to his eyes, and 
 also taught him to see that he needed a 
 Savior. 
 
 The more clearly Jesus made known 
 60 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 to the Jews that He was the Christ the 
 more they hated Him and determined to 
 kill Him. The people were drawn to Him 
 by His teaching and miracles, but His 
 continual refusal to become such a king 
 as they expected the promised Christ to 
 be drove them from Him. One day they 
 gathered around Him and asked, "Art 
 Thou the Christ? Tell us plainly." Some 
 of them were almost ready to believe on 
 Him, and thought a plain answer would 
 help them; others hoped He would say 
 something for which they could arrest 
 Him. Jesus answered, "I have told you, 
 and ye believe not. The works that I do 
 in My Father's name bear witness of Me. 
 I and My Father are one." Then the 
 Jews tried to stone Him, but He escaped 
 and went to Bethabara, in Perea, the 
 place where John at first baptized; and 
 many people believed on Him there. 
 
 61 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Jesus had many friends who still believed 
 in Him and loved Him; among these were 
 two sisters, Martha and Mary, and their 
 brother Lazarus. They lived together in 
 a happy home in the village of Bethany, 
 on the southeast slope of the Mount of 
 Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. 
 Jesus often visited in this home, where for 
 a short time He found rest and quiet; and 
 they loved to sit and listen while He 
 taught them of heavenly things. 
 
 Sometimes Martha was so busy with 
 household cares that she could not stop 
 to hear the truths of God. She was afraid 
 their guest would not have every comfort 
 which love and money could give; but 
 Mary, forgetful of all else, sat at His feet 
 and listened to every word that fell from 
 His lips. 
 
 m 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 Jesus and His disciples were in Perea 
 when He received a message from this 
 home. It only said, "Lord, he whom 
 Thou lovest is sick;" but it implied that 
 the sisters believed Jesus would come to 
 them and heal their brother, or heal him 
 as He did the nobleman's son by speaking 
 the word from Perea. 
 
 How disappointed they must have been 
 when hour after hour and day after day 
 passed and He came not, and their brother 
 died and was laid in the tomb. Perhaps 
 in the bitterness of their grief they blamed 
 Jesus. They knew that He had restored 
 to health many who were sick. Then why, 
 if He loved Lazarus, did He not heal him? 
 
 Jesus remained two days where He was, 
 then He said to His disciples, "Let us go 
 into Judea again." But the disciples were 
 full of anxiety for the safety of Jesus and 
 begged Him to remain in Perea. They 
 reminded Him that when last in Judea 
 the Jews had tried to kill Him. But Jesus 
 
 63 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 said, "My work is not yet done. Our 
 friend Lazarus sleepeth; I go that I may 
 awake him out of sleep." His disciples, 
 still hoping to escape the dreaded journey, 
 said, "If he sleep he will get well." Then 
 Jesus told them plainly: "Lazarus is dead; 
 and I am glad for your sakes that I was 
 not there, for you will see the power and 
 glory of God, and will believe. Let us go 
 unto him." 
 
 Jesus knew that His disciples had need 
 of all the help and strength which He 
 could give them, for His death, which was 
 near at hand, would greatly try their faith. 
 
 When some one, who had perhaps been 
 looking for Jesus, told Martha that He 
 was coming, she went to meet Him. Her 
 lips trembled, and tears rolled down her 
 pale cheeks as she said, "Lord, if Thou 
 hadst been here my brother had not died." 
 
 Jesus said, "Your brother shall rise 
 again." "Yes," replied Martha, "I know 
 that he shall rise in the resurrection, at 
 
 64 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 the last day." Jesus said, "I am the resur- 
 rection and the life. He that believeth in 
 Me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
 live: and whosoever liveth and believeth 
 in Me shall never die. Belie vest thou this? " 
 "Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the 
 Christ, the Son of God which should come 
 into the world." Then said Jesus, "Go 
 and call thy sister." And Martha, with 
 new-born hope, hastened back to the house 
 and said softly to her sister, "The Master 
 has come and calleth for you." As soon 
 as Mary heard the good news she arose 
 quickly and went to Jesus; and when she 
 saw Him she fell at His feet and sobbed 
 out, "Lord, if Thou hadst been here my 
 brother had not died." This thought had 
 been often in the minds of the two sisters 
 during the last four days, therefore their 
 first words to Jesus were expressive of 
 regret. 
 
 The Jews, who had come from Jerusa- 
 lem to comfort the sisters, followed Mary, 
 5 65 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 for they thought she was going to the 
 grave to weep; and when they saw her 
 weeping bitterly they also wept. 
 
 Jesus was troubled when He saw the 
 hypocritical sorrow of His Jewish enemies 
 mingling with the heartfelt sorrow of His 
 loving friends, and He said, "Where have 
 you laid him?" They answered, "Lord, 
 come and see." Slowly they walked to 
 the grave of him whom they loved, and 
 tears of sympathy came into the eyes of 
 Jesus and rolled down His face, pale with 
 emotion. Then said the Jews, "Behold, He 
 weeps. He did love him;" and some of 
 them said, "Why, then, did He not heal 
 him?" 
 
 When they came to the closed tomb, 
 Jesus said to those who stood by, "Take 
 away the stone." "Lord," said Martha, 
 "He has been dead four days, and no one 
 ought to see him." "Daughter, believe, 
 and thou shalt see the power of God," 
 replied Jesus. And when they had taken 
 
 66 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 away the stone Jesus lifted His eyes up- 
 wards, and a look of divine majesty over- 
 spread His countenance as He prayed, 
 saying, "Father, I thank Thee, that Thou 
 hast heard Me; and I know that Thou 
 hearest Me always; but because of the 
 people which stand by do I offer unto 
 Thee this prayer, that they may believe 
 that Thou hast sent Me." Then Jesus, 
 stretching forth His hand towards the 
 tomb, cried, with a loud voice, "Lazarus, 
 come forth!" And Lazarus heard the 
 voice of Jesus, and came forth from the 
 tomb to live again on the earth. 
 
 Therefore many of the Jews believed 
 on Jesus when they saw this miracle, and 
 they praised God. But some of them went 
 to Jerusalem and told the wonderful story 
 of the young man who had been dead 
 four days and who was then raised to life. 
 It caused great excitement. The Jewish 
 leaders were more frightened than ever. 
 They were afraid that all the people would 
 
 67 
 
FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 believe on Him and that they should lose 
 their place of power. The chief priests and 
 Pharisees met in council and talked the 
 matter over, and decided to put Him to 
 death. 
 
 But the time had not yet come for 
 Jesus to die, and He went with His dis- 
 ciples to the village of Ephraim, on the 
 mountains overlooking the Jordan valley, 
 and remained there in seclusion several 
 weeks, teaching the twelve apostles. He 
 then descended the mountains and, cross- 
 ing the Jordan valley, entered again the 
 province of Perea, where He taught the 
 people and healed them; and mothers 
 brought their little children to Him that 
 they might receive His blessing. And 
 when His disciples rebuked them, Jesus 
 said, "Suffer the little children to come 
 unto Me; forbid them not: for to such be- 
 longeth the Kingdom of God. Verily I 
 say unto you, whosoever shall not receive 
 the Kingdom of God as a little child, he 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 shall in no wise enter therein." And He 
 took them up in His arms and blessed 
 them. 
 
 From Perea Jesus went through Jericho 
 to Bethany. He was on His last journey 
 to Jerusalem, and knew that death awaited 
 Him there. On Friday, six days before 
 the Passover, He arrived once more at the 
 home of His friends in the village, which 
 was still in a state of excitement over the 
 resurrection of Lazarus. 
 
 The Jewish Sabbath commenced at sun- 
 set on Friday and ended at sunset on Satur- 
 day. During this time Jesus probably re- 
 mained in the home where He was greatly 
 loved with His friend Lazarus. 
 
 Saturday evening a friend of Lazarus, 
 Simon by name, invited them all to a sup- 
 per. This man once had the leprosy, and 
 Jesus must have cured him, for no one 
 else could cure that kind of sickness. I 
 think Simon must have felt very grateful 
 and wanted to do something to show his 
 
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 love for Jesus, who had done so much for 
 Him. He also invited the disciples, and 
 perhaps others who wanted to know Jesus. 
 Martha, we are told, helped to wait 
 on the table. Perhaps she thought the 
 only way she could show her love was in 
 service; and I think she put her whole 
 heart into that service. Mary wanted to 
 show Jesus how much she loved Him and 
 how grateful she was to Him for bringing 
 her brother back to life. She could not 
 find words to tell Him, but she thought of 
 a beautiful slender-necked vase which she 
 had. This vase was filled with a very 
 precious fragrant ointment, made from a 
 plant which grew in India, called spike- 
 nard. It cost a great deal of money; but 
 Mary was glad to give the best she had to 
 Jesus, and she poured all of it over His 
 feet, and wiped them with her hair. The 
 sweet fragrance filled the house, and some 
 of the guests grumbled because they thought 
 the ointment had been wasted; and Judas 
 
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 asked why it had not been sold and the 
 money given to poor people. He said 
 this, not that he cared for the poor, but 
 because he loved money, and was a thief, 
 and carried the money purse of the little 
 company. 
 
 Rut Jesus praised Mary; He was pleased 
 because she gave the best she had to show 
 her love for Him. And He reproved those 
 who found fault with her. 
 
 The next morning, when Jesus came 
 forth to go to Jerusalem, the streets were 
 crowded with people. Some of them had 
 come with Him on Friday; others, having 
 heard that Jesus was in Bethany, went 
 out from Jerusalem to meet Him. For 
 many people had come to the great annual 
 feast in the hope that He might be there, 
 and the news of His arrival in Bethany 
 spread like wild-fire. They were also 
 anxious to see Lazarus, whom He had 
 raised from the dead. 
 
 Therefore when Jesus came forth to go 
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 to the city they began to shout, "Hosanna 
 to the son of David ! Blessed is He that 
 cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna 
 in the highest!" Jesus did not reprove 
 them; but rode silently and humbly on a 
 young ass into Jerusalem as the King of 
 peace. 
 
 As they advanced, people from every 
 direction hurried to join the crowd. The 
 shouts rang loud and louder, and they 
 broke off branches from the palms as they 
 passed and waved them triumphantly. 
 
 But the people of Jerusalem took no 
 part in this demonstration. They said, 
 "Who is this?" And the multitude an- 
 swered, "This is Jesus, the Prophet of 
 Nazareth." Some of the Pharisees came to 
 Jesus and told Him to bid His followers 
 hold their peace. Jesus answered, "If 
 these should hold their peace, the stones 
 would cry out." 
 
 Jesus went into the temple, and, after 
 looking around, disappointed the multi- 
 
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 •tudes (who thought He would now pro- 
 claim Himself king) by returning to Beth- 
 any, where He remained during the nights 
 of the feast. 
 
 Monday He walked into Jerusalem, 
 and for the second time drove the traders 
 out of the temple. The lame and blind 
 came to Him there, and He healed them. 
 Tuesday morning He went again into the 
 city, and for the last time taught in the 
 temple; and the authorities came to Him 
 and asked Him questions, hoping He would 
 say something for which they could de- 
 liver Him into the power of the governor. 
 But Jesus knew their hearts, and He 
 answered them so wisely that they could 
 find nothing to complain about. Then 
 Jesus told them how they pretended to be 
 virtuous and said long prayers to make 
 people think they were good; but that 
 their hearts were very sinful and selfish, 
 and that they loved power and the praise 
 of men more than God. 
 
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 They were ashamed and angry to be 
 tX }s humiliated before all the people, and 
 that very evening met and planned how 
 they might kill Him. They decided it 
 would be best to wait until the pilgrims 
 who had come to the feast had returned 
 home, for Jesus was very popular among 
 them, and if He were arrested in their 
 sight it might cause an uproar. It was 
 at this meeting that Judas came to the 
 authorities and offered to betray Jesus 
 for money. Gladly they agreed to give 
 him thirty pieces of silver, and sent the 
 traitor away to find a good opportunity for 
 them to arrest Christ. 
 
 74 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Thursday evening each family ate the 
 Passover feast together in Jerusalem. Jesus 
 and His twelve disciples were like a family, 
 and therefore ate the Passover together, 
 after which Jesus instituted the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 On the way to this feast the disciples 
 disputed among themselves, because they 
 all wanted the best seat at the table, for 
 it was the custom to seat the family ac- 
 cording to their rank, and the seats near 
 Jesus were the places of honor. 
 
 In those days men wore sandals, which 
 were like soles of leather tied around the 
 bare feet. They left these at the door as 
 they came in, and the lowest servant 
 usually washed the dust from their feet 
 and wiped them with a towel. 
 
 Jesus and His disciples had no servant, 
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PROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 and not one of The Twelve was willing to 
 take the place of a servant and perform 
 this service. They were selfish and cross. 
 They all wanted to be the greatest, so they 
 seated themselves at the table with un- 
 washed feet, which was a very rude, im- 
 polite thing to do. 
 
 Jesus was grieved at the selfishness and 
 pride which He saw in their hearts; and 
 He arose from the table, laid aside His 
 long garment, and, taking the basin of 
 water and a towel, went to each of His 
 disciples and washed their feet. 
 
 Peter felt that He could not have his 
 Lord and Master take a servant's place, 
 and he said, "Thou shall not wash my feet;" 
 but when Jesus replied, "If I wash thee 
 not, then you are not one of mine," Peter 
 gladly yielded. 
 
 After Jesus had washed their feet and 
 seated Himself again at the table, He told 
 them He had done this to show them that 
 love will make us willing to serve one an- 
 
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 other, even if the work be humiliating and 
 disagreeable, and that He wanted them to 
 follow His example and serve and love one 
 another, as He had loved them. Then He 
 startled them all by saying, "One of you 
 shall betray Me." 
 
 The disciples looked at one another 
 and wondered who it could be; and Peter 
 beckoned to John, the dearest disciple, 
 who sat at the right of Jesus, to ask who 
 should do this awful deed, and John, al- 
 most under his breath, asked, "Who is it, 
 Lord?" Jesus answered, "He it is to whom 
 I give the morsel of food;" and He gave it 
 to Judas and said, "What thou doest, do 
 quickly." The disciples did not under- 
 stand what He meant; even John, who 
 knew that Judas was the traitor, did not 
 know that this was what Jesus alluded to. 
 They thought that because Judas carried 
 the money purse that Jesus wished him 
 to buy something or give something to 
 the poor. 
 
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 After Judas went out Jesus said very 
 tenderly, "Little children, I am going away 
 soon, and you can not go with Me. A 
 new commandment I give unto you, that 
 ye love one another as I have loved you; 
 and all men shall know that ye are My 
 disciples if ye love one another." 
 
 They all looked at Him with grief- 
 stricken faces, and Peter asked, "Lord, 
 whither goest Thou?" Jesus answered, 
 "You can not go with Me now, but after- 
 wards thou shalt follow Me." Then Peter 
 said, "Why can not I follow Thee now? I 
 will lay down my life for Thy sake." 
 
 Jesus looked at him with pitying eyes, 
 and said, "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall 
 not crow till thou hast denied Me three 
 times." 
 
 Then, when Jesus saw how sorrowful 
 they were, He tried to comfort them. He 
 told them not to be troubled, but to believe 
 in Him. He was going back to live in His 
 Father's house, and He would prepare a 
 
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 place for them and sometime take them to 
 live with Him forever. 
 
 The disciples could not understand why 
 it was best or necessary for Him to go 
 away. They loved Him so much they 
 thought that they could not live without 
 Him, and they were afraid that they would 
 not know what to do when they could 
 not ask Jesus. Jesus told them they 
 should still be His helpers, and that He 
 wanted them to love and help and heal 
 and teach as He had done ; and He promised 
 to ask His Father to send them another 
 Friend, who, though they could not see 
 Him, would be always with all of them, 
 wherever they went, and would teach them 
 what to do and would help them to re- 
 member and understand all that He had 
 taught them. This Spirit of God which 
 His Father would send He called "the 
 Comforter." And Jesus kept His promise. 
 "Ten days after He went to His Father's 
 house the Holy Spirit came into the world, 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 and He has always been in the world to 
 comfort and guide every one who will 
 listen to Him and follow His teaching." 
 
 A long time that Thursday evening 
 Jesus talked to His disciples, and with 
 many loving words tried to comfort them. 
 Then He talked with His Father. He 
 prayed for Himself and for His disciples 
 and for the Church. 
 
 It was midnight when they went out 
 into the street., and out through the city 
 gate, crossing the brook Kedron to the 
 Mount of Olives. When they came to 
 the Garden of Gethsemane., Jesus said to 
 His disciples, "Remain here and watch 
 while I go yonder." And He took with 
 Him into the garden Peter, James, and 
 John; and when they had reached a se- 
 cluded spot under the olive trees He told 
 them that His heart was very sorrowful, 
 and asked them to wait and watch there 
 while He went apart from them to pray 
 to His Father. 
 
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 His long talk with the disciples must 
 have wearied Jesus. He had tried to pre- 
 pare them for this hour and for the work 
 which would be left for them to do; but 
 they could not understand Him or sympa- 
 thize with Him. He was to be betrayed 
 into the hands of His enemies by one 
 whom He had chosen and loved. His life 
 was to be taken by those who should have 
 been His helpers. He had come to reveal 
 the love of God to them and to the whole 
 world. His very life was love, and He 
 thirsted for love, but they gave Him hate 
 and scorned His love and dishonored His 
 Father; and Jesus felt that He could not 
 bear His trouble alone. Therefore He 
 now went forward a little and kneeled down 
 and prayed, O, so earnestly, that the bitter 
 cup might be taken from Him. Then He 
 said, "Not My will, O Father, but Thine 
 be done." 
 
 We can not understand just what He 
 meant; but His Father understood, and 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 strengthened Him to overcome every fear 
 and temptation. 
 
 Three times He prayed this prayer, 
 and three times returned to His disciples, 
 to find them sleeping. The struggle ended 
 in a complete victory, and with calmness 
 and majesty, which never again left Him, 
 He said to His disciples, "Why sleep ye? 
 Watch and pray lest ye enter into tempta- 
 tion. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is 
 weak." 
 
 While He was speaking He saw the 
 gleam of torches through the branches of 
 the olive trees and heard the tramp of 
 many feet, and knew that His enemies 
 were near. Judas was at their head, know- 
 ing the place well, for he had often been 
 there with Jesus and the other disciples — 
 perhaps he hoped to find Him sleeping. 
 
 Jesus went to meet them, and said, 
 "Whom seek ye?" They answered, "Jesus 
 of Nazareth." Jesus said, "I am He." 
 
 There must have been something in the 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 tone of His voice and the expression of His 
 face that awed them, for they started back- 
 ward and fell to the ground. When they 
 rose to their feet, Jesus repeated the ques- 
 tion, "Whom seek ye?" Again they an- 
 swered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said, 
 "I have told you that I am He." Then, 
 fearing for the safety of His disciples, who 
 had gathered around Him, He said, "If 
 ye seek Me, let these go their way." 
 
 Peter, with his sword, cut off a man's 
 ear; but Jesus touched and healed it, and 
 told Peter to put up his sword: He would 
 not have His friends fight for Him, for He 
 knew that He was doing His Father's will 
 and glorifying Him. 
 
 Jesus let the soldiers bind Him and 
 lead Him back to the city, to the palace of 
 the high priest. They took Him first to 
 Annas, an old man who had been high 
 priest and had great influence, then to his 
 son-in-law Caiaphas, who was the high 
 priest that year. 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 John and Peter followed Jesus, but the 
 other disciples were afraid, and ran away. 
 John knew the high priest, and went into 
 the palace with Jesus; but Peter stood at 
 the door without. Then John went and 
 spoke to the woman who kept the door 
 and brought in Peter. The woman looked 
 curiously at him and said, "Art thou also 
 one of this Man's disciples?" He replied, 
 "I am not." Only a short time before 
 Peter had vowed that he would go with 
 Jesus even to death! And now he was 
 afraid to say that he was His disciple. 
 
 While the high priest questioned Jesus, 
 and the elders and council were trying to 
 find those who would witness against Him, 
 Peter stood by the fire, which the servants 
 had built, and warmed himself, for it was 
 cold; and one of those who stood near him 
 said, "Art not thou one of His disciples?" 
 Again Peter said, "I am not." A little 
 later a servant of the high priest, a kins- 
 man to him whose ear Peter had cut off, 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 said to him, "Did I not see thee in the 
 garden with Him?" This frightened Peter, 
 and he swore that he never knew Him. 
 Immediately the cock crew, for it was 
 toward morning: just then Jesus turned 
 and looked at Peter. 
 
 When Peter heard the cock crow, and 
 looked into the loving, pitying ewes of the 
 Master, he remembered what Jesus had 
 told him, that before the cock should crow 
 he would three times deny Ilim. His 
 heart was filled with shame and sorrow, 
 and he went out and wept bitterly. 
 
 Meanwhile the council could find noth- 
 ing whereof to accuse Jesus. The witnesses 
 could not agree, and the case seemed hope- 
 less. Jesus was calm, serene, fearless, and 
 listened in absolute silence to the contra- 
 dictory testimonies. 
 
 Then Caiaphas said to Him, "I com- 
 mand You, by the living God, that You 
 tell me whether You are the Christ, the 
 Son of God." Jesus answered with quiet 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 dignity, "I am." Then the high priest, 
 looking around on the members of the coun- 
 cil, said, "You have heard the blasphemy; 
 what think you?" And they all said, "He 
 is deserving of death." 
 
 When Judas saw that they condemned 
 Him, he was sorry for what he had done. 
 He thought, perhaps, that Jesus would 
 escape from them by His own miraculous 
 power; and when he saw that He made 
 no defense, but would let them kill Him, 
 he brought back the money to the chief 
 priests and elders, saying, "I have be- 
 trayed an innocent man. I have sinned. 
 Take back your money and let Him go." 
 But they answered heartlessly, "What is 
 that to us?" And Judas threw down the 
 thirty pieces of silver in the temple, and in 
 despair went away and hanged himself. 
 
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CHAPTER XI 
 
 While it was yet early they bound Jesus 
 and led Him to Pilate, the Roman gov- 
 ernor, for he was the only man who had 
 power to say that Jesus should be put to 
 death. They had hoped that Pilate would 
 pass the sentence they desired without 
 looking into the case; but Pilate asked them 
 what Jesus had done, and they said, 
 "If He were not an evil doer we should 
 not have brought Him to you." Pilate 
 said, "Judge Him, then, according to your 
 law." Then the Jews answered, "It is not 
 lawful for us to put any man to death." 
 And when they saw that Pilate would not 
 condemn Him without a cause, they said 
 He had perverted the nation and forbade 
 the people to pay tribute to Rome, and 
 called Himself a King. These charges were 
 false, and Pilate thought so. Then he took 
 
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 Jesus into the judgment hall to examine 
 Him. The more he talked with Him the 
 more he was convinced that Jesus had 
 done no wrong; and he went out and told 
 the Jews that he found no fault in Him. 
 
 The Jews were enraged, and cried out, 
 saying, "He has excited the people through- 
 out the whole land, beginning in Galilee." 
 When Pilate heard this he remembered 
 that Herod, the ruler of Galilee, was in the 
 city, and, hoping to get rid of the whole 
 affair, he sent the prisoner to Herod, who 
 had come to the Passover for its novel 
 spectacle. 
 
 Herod was glad to see Jesus, about 
 whom he had heard so much, and hoped 
 to see at once some miracle performed. 
 He asked Him many questions, but Jesus, 
 in silent disdain, answered not. Then 
 Herod and his soldiers mocked Him, and 
 dressed Him in a cast-off robe and sent 
 Him back to the Roman governor. 
 
 Again Pilate tried to release Jesus. He 
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 said, "You have a custom that every year, 
 at the Passover, I should release to you 
 one prisoner. Shall I release unto you 
 the King of the Jews?" And they an- 
 swered, "Not this man, but Barabbas." 
 
 The authorities had been planning for a 
 long time how they might put Jesus to 
 death, and now they did not mean to let 
 Him go. They had rather release Barab- 
 bas, the robber. 
 
 Pilate said, "What shall I do with 
 Jesus?" and they cried out, 'Crucify Him!" 
 Pilate asked, "Why, what evil hath He 
 done?" and their answer was, "Away with 
 Him! Crucify Him ! " Pilate did not 
 mean to grant their request, but he sent 
 Jesus away to be scourged; and when the 
 soldiers had beaten Him cruelly with sharp 
 lashes they put upon Him a purple rol 
 and a crown of thorns on His head, and 
 bowed down before Him in mock worship. 
 
 When they brought Him back to Pilate, 
 faint and bleeding, wearing the purple robe 
 
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 and crown of thorns, Pilate thought if 
 they could see His suffering and helpless- 
 ness they would pity Him and be satisfied 
 to release Him; and He brought Jesus out 
 where the crowd could see Him, saying, 
 " Behold the Man ! " But they cried louder 
 than ever, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! 
 By our law He ought to die, because He 
 called Himself the Son of God." When 
 Pilate heard this, he tried all the more to 
 release Him. Then the Jews said, "If you 
 let this man go you are not Caesar's friend, 
 for whoever makes himself a king is an 
 enemy to Caesar." Then Pilate was afraid 
 that they would complain against him to 
 the emperor and he might lose his position 
 as governor. He was not a hero, who 
 would do what he thought was right at 
 any cost. He was a selfish man of the 
 world, and knew that his past life had been 
 very wicked and would not bear examina- 
 tion; so he gave Jesus into their hands to 
 be crucified. 
 
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 And the soldiers took Jesus and led 
 Him away to the place of execution and 
 crucified Him with two others, one on 
 either side of Jesus. 
 
 It was the custom to put the name and 
 crime of the person executed on the cross. 
 Therefore Pilate wrote the title, "Jesus of 
 Nazareth, the King of the Jews." And it 
 was written in Hebrew and Greek and 
 Latin, so every one could read it. The 
 chief priests wanted Pilate to change this 
 title and write, "He said, 'I am King 
 of the Jews." But Pilate, now having 
 nothing to fear or gain, would make no 
 change. 
 
 Thousands of people, for it was a Pass- 
 over holiday, followed Jesus to the place 
 of execution; foremost among them were 
 the chief priests and scribes, who mocked 
 Him. Through their lips the devil tried 
 again to tempt Him. They said, "He 
 saved others; Himself He can not save. 
 If He be the King of Israel let Him now 
 
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 come down from the cross and we will 
 believe Him." 
 
 Crucifixion was an awful death, and 
 was reserved for slaves and for those whose 
 end the government wanted to stamp with 
 public disgrace. Sometimes the victims 
 lived two or three days. Jesus lived about 
 six hours, and triumphed over His suffering 
 by self -forgetting love. He prayed for His 
 murderers while He was being nailed to the 
 cross, saying, "Father, forgive them; for 
 they know not what they do." He forgave 
 the penitent man, who was crucified with 
 Him; and when He saw His mother stand- 
 ing near the cross with her sister and Mary, 
 the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene, 
 He gave her into the care of John, the 
 disciple whom He loved, who also stood 
 by her, supporting her trembling form. It 
 was about nine o'clock when they led 
 Jesus out to be crucified. At noon the sun 
 was darkened, and for three long hours 
 the strange darkness overspread the land, 
 
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 and the vast multitude waited in terror to 
 see what would happen. Then, at the 
 hour of the afternoon sacrifice, through 
 the darkness and silence rang the cry, 
 "My God, My God, why hast Thou for- 
 saken Me?" No one can ever understand 
 what agony of soul Jesus suffered when He 
 uttered this cry; and many voices ex- 
 claimed, "See! He is deserted and pun- 
 ished by the Almighty." But while they 
 were speaking a bright glory shone around 
 Him, and He said, "I thirst;" and they 
 lifted to His parched lips a sponge filled 
 with sour wine, which the soldiers had 
 brought for themselves to drink. Then 
 He said, "It is finished;" and He bowed 
 His head and gave up His life, saying, 
 "Father, into Thy hands I commend My 
 spirit." 
 
 The earth trembled and shook, rocks 
 were rent, and the veil of the temple, 
 which separated the most holy place (where 
 were the ark of the covenant and the mercy 
 
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 seat) from the other parts of the temple, 
 was torn in two from the top to the bot- 
 tom, to show us that the way to the throne 
 of mercy is open to all. Then the sun 
 reappeared, and the centurion who stood by 
 said, "Truly this Man was the Son of 
 God." 
 
 94 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 When the evening was come, for it was 
 the day before the Sabbath, a man whose 
 name was Joseph went to Pilate and 
 begged the body of Jesus. 
 
 Pilate called to him the centurion and 
 asked him how long Jesus had been dead; 
 and when he knew he gave Joseph per- 
 mission to take the body away. Then 
 Nicodemus, who first came to see Jesus 
 by night, brought a hundred pounds of 
 spices; and they took the body of Him 
 whom they loved and wrapped it in linen 
 clothes with the spices, and laid Him in a 
 new T sepulcher which was hewn out of a 
 rock; and they rolled a great stone to the 
 door. The women also followed Him to the 
 tomb and saw where He was laid, for it 
 was in a garden near by. Then with sad 
 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 hearts they returned home and prepared 
 sweet spices and rested over the Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 The next day the chief priests and 
 Pharisees went to Pilate and said, "We 
 remember that the deceiver said, 'After 
 three days He would rise again;' command, 
 therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure, 
 lest His disciples come by night and steal 
 His body and tell the people that He is 
 risen again from the dead." Pilate an- 
 swered, "You have a watch; make it as 
 sure as you can." And they went and made 
 the sepulcher secure, sealing the stone and 
 setting soldiers to guard it. 
 
 The first day of the week, which is our 
 Sunday, Mary Magdalene and several other 
 women who had followed Jesus to the 
 cross and the tomb, went very early in 
 the morning to carry sweet spices to lay 
 around the body of Him whom they loved. 
 As they walked thither they wondered 
 whom they could get to roll away the 
 
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 heavy stone from the door of the tomb. 
 But there was no need for them to be 
 anxious about that, for, early as it was, 
 some one had been there before them. An 
 angel from heaven had rolled away the 
 stone, and the soldiers who were left to 
 guard the tomb were so afraid that they 
 fell down like dead men; but later they 
 went to the chief priests and Pharisees and 
 told them what they had seen and heard: 
 and they paid the soldiers money to say 
 that His disciples came in the night while 
 they were sleeping and stole Him away. 
 
 When Mary Magdalene saw that the 
 stone had been rolled away she thought 
 the body of Jesus had been stolen, and she 
 ran back to the city to tell Peter and 
 John, for she thought they ought to know 
 about it. When they heard the news they 
 ran as quickly as they could to the garden, 
 and they went into the tomb and saw the 
 linen clothes lying there, and the napkin, 
 which was about His head, folded and laid 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 by itself. Then suddenly there flashed into 
 the mind of John a remembrance of what 
 Jesus had told them — "That He must 
 suffer and die and rise again the third 
 day" — and he said aloud, "He is risen!" 
 Peter looked at him in amaze. He could 
 hardly believe the great truth. And they 
 went again home, wondering where they 
 could find Him. 
 
 Mary of Magdala returned as quickly 
 as she could, but when she reached the 
 sepulcher Peter and John had gone, and 
 she stood by the tomb and wept. Then 
 she stooped down and looked into that 
 little room hewn out of the rock, and she 
 saw two angels, one sitting at the head 
 and the other at the feet, where the body 
 of Jesus had lain; and they said, "Why 
 weepest thou?" She answered, "Because 
 they have taken my Lord away, and I 
 know not where they have laid Him." 
 She turned around as she spoke and saw 
 a man standing near her, and she thought 
 
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 it was the gardener. He spoke to her, say- 
 ing, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom 
 seekest thou?" She said, beseechingly, 
 "Sir, If Thou hast taken Him away, tell 
 Me where Thou hast laid Him." 
 
 Then the loving, tender voice she had 
 so often heard spoke one little word — 
 "Mary!" And with the joyful cry, "Mas- 
 ter!" she threw herself at His feet and 
 worshiped Him. 
 
 And He said unto her, "Go and tell 
 My disciples that I am risen." 
 
 When she had gone to do His bidding, 
 He met the other women who still lingered 
 in the garden, and spoke to them, and 
 told them also to go and tell His disciples 
 to meet Him in Galilee. 
 
 The disciples had been weeping and 
 mourning together. They were disap- 
 pointed and disheartened, and they could 
 not believe it was true when the women 
 told them that they had seen Jesus. 
 
 He had told them about His death and 
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FROM CHRISTMAS TO EASTER 
 
 resurrection, but they had not understood 
 these sayings. 
 
 Some time during that day Peter saw 
 Jesus. No one has ever told us about 
 that meeting. It must have been so sacred 
 to Peter that he buried it deep down in 
 his heart, in the holy of holies; and no one 
 but Jesus and Peter ever knew anything 
 about it. 
 
 When the apostles saw the risen Christ, 
 and He talked with them and taught them, 
 they became courageous, hopeful, and be- 
 lieving. He lingered long enough on earth 
 to convince them of the truth of His 
 resurrection. He told them to go into all 
 the world and preach the gospel to every- 
 body, and He would always be with them. 
 One day He led them out to Mount Olivet 
 and lifted up His hands and blessed them; 
 and, while He was praying, He was parted 
 from them and a bright cloud received 
 Him out of their sight and carried Him 
 up into heaven. 
 
 100 
 
FEB 20 1913 
 
 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: July 2005 
 
 PreservationTechnologies 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
 
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 Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
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