Title: Hosanna
Bible stories retold
Author: Catharine Shaw
Illustrator: E. Stuart Hardy
Release date: July 21, 2023 [eBook #71243]
Language: English
Original publication: United Kingdom: John F. Shaw & Co. Ltd, 1909
Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
III. A MAN WHO BELIEVED IN JESUS
V. THE INVITATION TO THE FEAST
VIII. THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE LOST SHEEP
IX. "JESUS CALLED A LITTLE CHILD UNTO HIM"
XI. THE LABOURERS IN THE HARVEST-FIELD
XII. JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, "RISE"
XVII. THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER
XVIII. THERE AROSE A GREAT STORM
XXIV. SO RUN, THAT YE MAY OBTAIN
THE Shepherds near Bethlehem had been quietly watching their flocks, and perhaps looking out anxiously for the dawn, when suddenly, without any warning, an Angel came down to them from heaven, and the Glory of the Lord surrounded them with a great and wondrous light.
The Shepherds were very frightened at first, but the Angel quickly reassured them by saying that he had brought very good news, which would be a great joy to all people! For a Holy Babe was born in Bethlehem that night, Who had come to this earth to be the Saviour of the World!
Then the Angel told them that they would know his words were true, by finding the little Babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
And, suddenly, a multitude of the heavenly host were with the Angel; and they all praised God, and said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Then the Angels all went back to heaven, and the Shepherds turned to each other in solemn awe, and they said, "The Lord has made known to us a wonderful thing—let us go to Bethlehem and see for ourselves what has come to pass."
So they left their flocks and hurried to the town.
And there in a lowly stable, they saw the Holy Babe who was sent to Mary on the morning of Christmas day!
Months before this the Angel Gabriel had been sent from heaven to tell Mary that she was to be the most blessed of all women, for the Holy Child who was to be given to her, was to be called the Son of God.
Now He had come! And she laid Him—the Son of God—in a manger, "because there was no room for them in the Inn." The town was so full of travellers at that time, that Mary and Joseph were given a shelter in the stable. And so the Baby Jesus had a manger for His cradle.
Now I am going to tell you a little true story which happened where I live.
There was a Children's Service, and the clergyman asked the children if they could remember what he had begged them to do the Christmas before?
Then a little girl stood up, and gently and bravely answered, "You asked us to say—"
And he answered "Yes, that was it and you are a kind little girl to tell us!"
So to-day, with this sweet prayer in our minds, we can remember that there is a place in the heart of each one of us, which we can keep for Jesus!
We can think of His love to us; we can love Him in return; and worship Him every day we live.
And if we make room for Jesus in our hearts here, we shall find by and by, that He will give us "a crown of glory, that fadeth not away."
THERE was once a lonely man walking in Palestine on the long mountainous road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
But suddenly a band of thieves sprang out of their hiding-place and robbed him of everything he had, and then cruelly wounded him and made off, leaving him by the roadside half dead.
Sad indeed was his plight, lying there in the glaring sunshine, aching with pain and consumed with thirst. Would no one come and help him? he thought.
Then some footsteps came close to him, and as he lifted his weary eyes, he saw one of the Jewish priests standing, arrested by the sight; but he only passed by on the other side of the road, and went away.
Then a Levite came along the road, and catching sight of the wounded man, he came over and looked at him; but he, too, passed by on the other side.
But at length there was a traveller who was making the same journey; and he saw the poor man lying there dying, and when he saw him he had compassion on him, and a great pity filled his heart. So he quickly went to his side, and bound up his wounds; and then he lifted him on to his donkey, and walking by his side, he brought him at length to an inn, and stayed with him all night.
At length the morning came, and the traveller was obliged to proceed on his journey.
So he called the master of the inn, and gave him some money, and told him to take care of the stranger, and promised to repay the innkeeper when he returned, whatever he had spent in caring for the sick man.
And now, I think, our Lord Jesus, who looks down from heaven at all that is happening here, says to each one of us, as we pass on our journey through this world: "Go thou, and do likewise."
I think that means, doing little kindnesses for everyone who seems to need help; and then we shall be like the good Samaritan whom Jesus praised.
ONE day, as the Lord Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind ever since he had been born.
And His disciples asked Him whether this was the poor man's fault, or that of his parents.
And Jesus told them that it was no one's fault, and that He was going to work a great miracle; and He reminded them that He Himself, while He was in the world, was the Light of the world.
Then the Lord Jesus made clay, and put it on the eyes of the blind man; and told him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.
So the blind man did what Jesus had told him, and he went to the Pool of Siloam, and washed, and came back quite cured.
You can imagine how the people who knew him gathered round him, with endless questions.
"How was it that he could see?" "And was he the very blind man who had sat all his life, and begged?"
And he answered very simply, "A man named Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and told me to go and wash in Siloam; and I washed, and came back able to see!"
Then the Pharisees, hearing of all this, came and questioned him again, even calling his father and mother to answer them, as to whether this was their son, and if so, had he been born blind?
So the parents answered that this was quite true.
And then the Pharisees argued that the man who cured him must be a sinner, for he had healed him on the Sabbath day!
At last the blind man lost all patience, and exclaimed indignantly: "Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence He is, and yet He hath opened mine eyes! Since the world began, it has never been heard that any man opened the eyes of one that had been born blind! If this man were not of God He could do nothing!"
Then the Jews were so angry that they cast him out of the Synagogue, and would have nothing more to do with him.
When Jesus heard that they had cast him out, He found him in the Temple, and in His great tenderness He cheered him with most glorious assurances.
The blind man had believingly obeyed the Lord Jesus when He told him to wash in the Siloam Pool; and he had defended his belief that this Man must be a Prophet if He could do these wonderful things.
And now our Lord revealed to him something which was above all other beliefs—and He said to him, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"
And the healed man answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?"
And Jesus answered him, "Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee!"
Then the man who had been blind, and now could see, said adoringly:
"Lord, I believe!" and he worshipped Him.
OUR Lord Jesus was journeying towards Jerusalem, where He was going to die for us.
On the way He came to Jericho, and passing through it, numbers of people followed Him, and when He came out of the gate there was quite a crowd of those who wanted to see Him.
There was one man who specially wished to catch sight of Jesus, but he was such a short man that he felt sure he would not be able to see Him in the midst of the crowd.
So thinking about what he should do, he saw before him a low tree which could be easily climbed.
This pleased Zacchaeus very much, for now he made sure that he should see this wonderful Man whom everybody was talking about.
Zacchaeus was a chief of the Publicans, and was very rich; but he was not thinking about his riches just then, but just about seeing Jesus!
He did not know that that sight of Jesus, and that look from His holy eyes, and the cheering words which He would utter, would completely change the whole of his life!
So he sat on the bough of the sycamore tree, and looked to see Jesus come through the gate.
At length He came, among the thronging multitude pressing round Him, and Zacchaeus thought he was quite hidden by the branches, and that no one would think of his being there!
But when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said to him: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy house!"
And Zacchaeus made haste and came down, and received him joyfully.
That look from the eyes of the Son of God had gone straight into the heart of the rich, avaricious Publican; and though the crowd was offended, and said that Jesus had gone to be with a man that was a sinner, Zacchaeus did not trouble at all as to what they said! He had seen the face of Jesus, and he had felt in his own heart that he was a sinner, and he was longing to ask the forgiveness which he believed Jesus would give him.
So he stood before them all, and he told Jesus, in a few simple words, that he wished to make up for what he had taken wrongfully, and would make up four-fold if he had accused anyone without cause.
And Jesus said to him, "This day is salvation come to this house ... For the Son of Man is come to seek, and to save, that which was lost!"
When any of us remember past sins, as Zacchaeus did, the best thing we can do is to go to Jesus and tell Him all about it, and ask Him to forgive us; and He will say to us, as he did to Zacchaeus, and to all who heard him: "The Son of Man is come to seek, and to save, that which was lost!"
OUR Lord Jesus tells us this story, with its great warning.
A certain man made a great supper, and invited a great many to come to it, and when all was ready, he sent his servants to tell the guests.
But to the astonishment of the servants, the guests all made excuses that they could not come!
One said he had bought a piece of land, and he must go to look at it. Another said he had married a wife, and therefore could not come; and another that he had bought five yoke of oxen, and he must go to prove them: till at last all of them made excuses that they could not come!
Then the master told his servants to go to the highways and bring in all the lonely and homeless, and wandering ones, and compel them to come in, that his house might be filled.
And the master of the house said very sorrowfully that none of those who had refused could taste of his supper.
And the meaning of this great feast seems to me to be like one of the glimpses of Heaven which we get in the Bible. They tell us of the joys which those who are willing to accept "God's invitation" will have for ever and ever.
I knew a little girl, years ago, who heard a sermon which changed all her life.
We were listening to a great preacher, and he was saying, "God's Holy Spirit is here, and He is asking you to come to Jesus, and be saved. The Holy Spirit seems to say, 'Yet there is room.' Let us pause in silence for a few minutes, while you answer this question: Will you come to Jesus, now?"
In the solemn silence that followed, I found my little girl's arm gently put into mine, with a little squeeze: and I guessed that all was right.
When we were going home, I whispered, "What did you answer?"
And she said softly, "I said, 'Yes.'"
Children, there comes to us a great choice to-day! Shall we accept the invitation to take the Lord Jesus into our hearts?
If we do, we shall try to please Him, and our lives here will be filled with blessing; and Eternal Life will be ours.
THIS is a picture of an Eastern shepherd, leading his sheep on the mountains.
He loves his sheep, he knows every one of them; he leads them, and they follow him.
He chooses the green pastures for them, and they rest beside the still waters.
He guards them from their enemies, and if any wild beast comes against them, he is ready to give his life to protect them.
If the shepherd is away, and a hired man has to take care of them, the hireling runs away if he hears the roar of a wild beast, or even if he sees a storm coming.
But our Lord Jesus says to us, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." And Jesus wants the little lambs too, and "He carries them in His bosom."
In the 15th of Luke our Lord tells us about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, who, when he counted them before he put them into the fold, found there was one missing.
But the shepherd would not lose his sheep for anything!
So he left his ninety-nine in the fold, and hastened away into the wilderness to find the one which was lost.
Over the rugged mountains; through the tangles and the briars; through the deep waters of the rushing stream, on he passed; and as he went, perhaps these words seemed to dwell in his very heart: "Until I find it!"
On he went, weary and worn, till at last he heard a faint cry.
Then the shepherd called, and stood listening for the answer. And again came that faint cry, and the shepherd knew that somewhere near him, his lost sheep was lying—lonely, helpless, and hopeless.
Then the shepherd saw beneath him, just at the edge of an awful precipice, the poor sheep caught in a tangled briar.
So the shepherd leaned over the abyss and stretched out his hands, and, regardless of the tearing thorns, he grasped his sheep, he disentangled the briars, and lifted it into safety.
But the sheep was so weary and faint, that it could not walk; so the tender shepherd put it on to his shoulders, and brought it home rejoicing!
And then the shepherd called his friends together, saying:
"Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost!"
This is a word-picture of what our Lord Jesus is. "The Good Shepherd, Who giveth His life for the sheep!"
If we feel that we have wandered away, we can go and tell Jesus, and He will forgive us.
Or if we are in any trouble or danger, He is ever near us, to help us and guide us, and do us good.
And when the little lamb comes to Jesus, and says, "I am sorry," or the big sheep comes back and asks forgiveness, then Jesus rejoices, and says to us all: "I say unto you, That likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth."
WHEN our Lord Jesus was on earth, He did so many kind and loving things, and made so many people well who were sick, that the multitude followed Him about everywhere, so that sometimes Jesus and His disciples had not even time to eat.
One day when He was by the Lake of Gennesaret (which is sometimes called the Sea of Galilee) the people pressed so close to Him that seeing two small ships drawn up on the shore, Jesus entered one of these, and asked the owner to put his ship a little way from the land, so that He might speak to the people where they all could hear.
The ships were empty, for the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets in the lake.
The fishing-boat that Jesus entered, belonged to Simon Peter, whose wife's mother had been healed by Jesus, a very short time before. Peter loved Jesus very much, and he had already been chosen to be His disciple.
So when the Lord had done talking to the people, He told Simon Peter to launch the ship out into deep water, and to let down their nets to catch some fish.
But Simon told Him that they had been up, working hard all the night, but it had been all for nothing, as they had not caught a single fish—!
But Simon did not stop there; he added—what has been a comfort to hundreds and thousands of people since then—"Nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net."
Do you think they caught nothing this time?
Ah, if you do, you have not thought what it is to be in the boat with Jesus!
When He commands, He makes it possible for us to obey. You will find that out, children, the more you love and trust Him.
So they let down the net; and now they enclosed such an immense number of fishes that their net began to break, and they were obliged to beckon to their partners, who were in the other ship, to come and help them.
And they filled both of the ships so full that they began to sink.
Then Simon Peter fell down at the feet of Jesus, and told Him that he felt himself to be too sinful to be near Him.
But Jesus never turns away because we are sinful; He comforted Simon Peter with the loving words we so often read in the Bible; He said, "Fear not!"
Then Jesus told Simon that he should be a fisher of men; that meant, that he should draw people into the Kingdom of Heaven.
And when Simon Peter and his partners, James and John, had brought their ships to land, they left everything, and followed Jesus.
And they became, very soon, His three chief disciples; and were privileged to be with Him on the mountain when He was transfigured, and heard God speak from heaven: "This is My beloved Son, hear Him."
IN this story we have a peep of what happens on earth, and another peep of what happens in Heaven.
Think of that, children! For Jesus says that when anyone is sorry and comes back to God to be forgiven, the angels in Heaven rejoice!
Jesus tells us of a shepherd in that Eastern land who had a hundred sheep—and everybody who heard Him tell this beautiful parable of the Good Shepherd, would instantly recognize it as true of what happened all around them—of the shepherd, who on counting his sheep at night, might find one of them missing.
He tells us how that loving shepherd would leave the ninety and nine of his flock in the wilderness, and go to seek the lost one.
Over the mountains wild and bare, the shepherd sought the wandering one. The thorns pierced his tired feet, and his loving hands, as he looked here and there until he found it, perhaps caught in a thicket of thorns, or fallen into a pit from which it could not extricate itself!
He would disentangle the thorns from the imprisoned sheep, he stooped low, regardless of his own life, to reach it from the miry pit.
And then, when the shepherd had reached it at last, and had grasped it in his loving hands, he laid it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he got home he called together his friends and neighbours, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost!"
And our Lord Jesus adds these words; and it is here we get a peep into Heaven:
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance."
Jesus says that He is the Shepherd—the Good Shepherd—Who giveth His life for the sheep!
Little children are the lambs; and the Bible says, "He shall gather the lambs with His arm."
He sees them wandering, He loves them; He goes after them; He seeks them.
And when He finds them, even the angels in Heaven rejoice!
OUR Lord Jesus loved the little children. He took them up in His arms, and blessed them. He rejoiced to hear their glad hosannahs as He entered Jerusalem.
One day there was a crowd round Him, and the disciples were asking Him who should be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Among the crowd there was a little child, and the Lord called him, and set him in the midst, close by Him; and then He explained to His disciples, that if they wanted to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven, they would have to be as humble as this little child!
Then He went on to say to them, that they must be careful not to hurt or wrong one of these little ones who believed in Him; and that anyone who received such a little child, was receiving Jesus Himself.
And then He said these very wonderful words: "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say unto you, That in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in Heaven."
Many years ago, we had just moved into the country with our three little children.
A stranger kindly called on me, and having seen our children, she said gently to me, "Do you try to teach them about Jesus?"
I was an earnest Christian, and I said, "Are they not too young?" and I told her that I meant to do so when they were a little older.
And I never forgot her reply: "You cannot begin too soon!"
And then she went on to tell me of her own little boy, who had lately gone to be with Jesus in heaven.
She said, "I had always talked to him about Jesus, and though he was not much over two years old, he could repeat the verse, ending—
Then she told me that a sudden attack of illness had come on, and that he had kept on repeating, "In the kingdom of Thy grace, give a little child a place!"
But he grew weaker, and just before he died, he suddenly looked up with a lovely smile, and exclaimed: "White babies! Oh, white babies!" and so passed away to the home above the clouds.
I never forgot that visitor's words, and I began at once to teach our little ones about Jesus; and when, some years after, our most cherished darling came to die, he had a peep into Heaven too.
He had learned a little hymn also, and he used often to say—
And just before he died, he raised his head, and pointed eagerly towards the ceiling, and a lovely smile overspread his face.
He, too, had seen the glory, which Jesus had spoken of, "Where their angels behold the face of My Father which is in Heaven!"
WHEN the time was getting very close for the Lord Jesus to be crucified, He went up to Jerusalem, going among the Jews, whom He knew would take Him and kill Him. He did all this, because He loved us so much, and was going to die for us.
One day when He was at Bethany, Mary came with an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and as Jesus sat at supper, she poured the ointment on His head, and the whole room was filled with the sweet scent.
But Judas, the disciple who was going to betray Jesus, said it was a great waste to pour all that ointment on Jesus, for he said it might have been sold for the poor; but that was because Judas had the moneybag and was a thief.
Then Jesus told them all that Mary had done what she could for Him; that "she had anointed Him for His burial," and that in after years, all over the world, wherever the gospel should be preached, this should be told for a memorial of her!
Many of the Jews were at that supper, partly to see Jesus, and partly to see Lazarus, whom he had just raised from the dead.
When Jesus left Bethany, and drew near to the city, He sent on two of His disciples to find a colt for Him to ride on.
Our Lord knew everything beforehand, and He told them just where the colt was tied, and what they should say to the man to whom the colt belonged.
No one had ever ridden on this colt before, but Jesus, the Lord of Glory, did not have any trouble with it. They put their garments on the colt for a saddle, and so they set out towards Jerusalem.
Then the people ran before Him, casting down their clothes for him to ride over; others cut down branches of the trees, and strewed them along the path, crying out, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord!"
Some of the Jews were very angry, and asked Jesus to stop the disciples. But Jesus told them that "if they were to hold their peace, the very stones would cry out for joy!"
As they were coming down the hill towards Jerusalem, suddenly they turned a corner and came in view of the beautiful city, and when Jesus beheld it He wept over it.
Why did He weep? Why did the Son of God, Who was going there to obtain eternal salvation for us—why did He weep?
He wept because the people in that city would not have Him for their Saviour!
When the great rejoicing multitude reached Jerusalem, they all followed Jesus into the temple, and the blind and the lame came to Him to be healed, and all the city was moved at the sight of Him.
And the little children gathered round Him, crying out joyously, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"
THERE was an Eastern householder, who had great vineyards, stretching far up on the hillsides. By and by the grapes were ready for picking, and the householder went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard; and when he had agreed with them, he sent them into his vineyard.
By and by, he went out again; and seeing others standing idle, he said to them, "Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will pay you."
At length, at the last hour before sundown, the householder went once more, and found others standing idle, and he said to them, "Why are you standing here idle, all the day?" And they answered him, "Because no one has hired us."
Then he sent them also into his vineyard, and said, "I will pay you."
There are many lessons for us in this parable, but I think the chief one is this:
The Vineyard spoken of belongs to the Lord God.
The Grapes represent the people all over the world, whom He wants to have in His Heavenly Home.
The Labourers are God's own people, whom He tells to go and get in the harvest.
God calls each one of us who love Him, to be a labourer in His Kingdom.
To each one, when the day is ended, the Lord will give us our own reward, and He gives us great promises to encourage us.
He says, if His workers are "Wise and turn many to righteousness—they shall shine as stars for ever and ever."
Does not this encourage us to do all we can to tell others of the love of Jesus, who died on the Cross that we might be saved.
We can all pray, that God will call us to work for Him; and surely, if He does call, and we listen to His Voice, He will teach us how to bring many to righteousness, and earn "the crown of glory, that fadeth not away!"
THERE was a Pool just outside Jerusalem, which was called Bethesda.
Here, numbers of sick people congregated, for there was a wonderful thing happened there, and the poor sick people watched eagerly to see if that wonderful thing was going to happen that day!
If you have never heard the story, you will wonder very much what that could be!
It was, that God sent an angel down at a certain season to stir the water in that Pool; and whoever was fortunate enough to step down first into the Pool, after the water was stirred, was made quite well of whatever disease he had.
One day, our Lord Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on His way, He passed this Pool of Bethesda.
Looking round on the sick people, He saw the man He had come to seek.
The Bible says: "Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been a long time in that case."
So He came close to him, and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?"
Ah! the poor man could not answer that question straight off! There was only one remedy he knew of, and that was impossible.
So he looked up into the face of Jesus, and gave a very pitiful and simple answer, in words like these:
"Sir," he said, "I am lying here helpless, and when the water is stirred, there are numbers of others who can step down into the water before me, and I am left behind!"
Then our dear Lord Jesus gave 'The Word of Command'—and when He, the Son of God, commands, He gives the power to obey—and He said to the poor man, "Rise! take up thy bed and walk!"
And immediately the man was made well; and without any hesitation, he rose straight up, took up the mat he had been lying on, and was able to walk away quite well.
Afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "Thou art made whole; go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
Jesus had seen how hopeless this man had been, and He healed him, but He wanted him to have a greater blessing still, even to have his sins forgiven.
And for us—He sees how we need to be healed of our sins, and from the remembrance of what we have done wrong; and He says to us, too: Wilt thou be made whole? Wilt thou have my forgiveness, and come to me and be saved? And then, like the helpless man in the story, we can look up into the face of Jesus, Who is in Heaven looking down on us now, and all at once we can realize His mighty power to save us! and we can yield ourselves to His love.
If we come to Him so, He will make life a different thing for us.
We shall go about our work, or our school, or our home, or our play, with a glad heart because we have Jesus, as our own Saviour.
THE poor man, who you see in this picture, had been very ill for a long time.
He had four friends who loved him very much, and who had heard that the Lord Jesus could heal those who were sick.
When these friends heard that Jesus was in their city, they were very anxious to get the sick man to Him. But he was so helpless that he could only lie on his bed, waited on by those around him.
But these four friends firmly believed that Jesus could heal the sick man, and they decided to carry him, just as he was on his bed, and ask Jesus to cure him.
But when they reached the house where Jesus was, there was such a crowd that they could not even get near the door.
You can imagine how they tried to persuade the people to make room for them to get in; but everyone was so anxious to see the Lord Jesus, and to hear Him speak, that they could not even get near the door.
What was to be done now? Should they turn back?
What? get so near to Jesus, and not be healed after all!
Then the four friends thought of another plan.
They would get the invalid up the outside staircase that there often is in Eastern houses, and would get on to the roof!
So they carried the poor sick man carefully up the staircase, and when they had uncovered a place in the roof, they let down his bed right through the ceiling to the feet of Jesus.
Ah! what do you think the dear Lord said then?
When He saw their faith—the faith of those men who had brought the sick man to Jesus—He said to the poor trembling invalid, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee!"
And then when the people wondered very much at Jesus being able to forgive sins, He showed them His great power, by making the sick man quite well the very next moment.
He asked the people which was the easiest for God to do, to forgive sins, or to make people well in an instant?
Then He said to the man, sick of the palsy, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house."
Jesus made him so well that though he had to be carried there on a bed, he received strength to obey, and walked back to his home, carrying his bed in his arms!
This wonderful story of one of the miracles of Jesus helps us to understand three things: first, the great power of Jesus; and next, that we should bring our friends to Jesus, to get blessed; and third, that we should let no difficulties stop us in coming to Him.
He is in heaven now, but He is always close to us, and we can speak to Him at any moment; and no difficulty, however great it seems to us, is beyond His power to overcome.
THESE words are a wonderful encouragement, and a wonderful promise.
As our Lord Jesus looked into the anxious faces of the multitude round Him, He revealed to them some of the deepest needs of our hearts.
His words are very simple, and the youngest child can understand a little about them.
"Ask," He says. Do you not know how the tiny child asks his mother for what he wants? And how the little girl runs to her father, and says, "May I have it?"
So when we remember how full of love God is, we can go to Him at any moment, and tell Him what we need. It may be forgiveness; or it may be help in some trouble; or comfort in some disappointment; or ease in some bad pain. Yes, He says, "Ask!"
And when God says, "Seek" and "Knock," He expects you to be looking for an answer. He does not always answer at once; He waits to see if we are in earnest in what we are asking. He says, "Men ought always to pray and not to faint."
Our Lord Jesus tells us a beautiful little story about knocking and asking, in the 11th of Luke, verse 5.
"And He said unto them, which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say unto him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves: for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'"
"And he from within shall answer and say, 'Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.'"
"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth."
"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
THREE of the chief friends of our Lord Jesus lived at Bethany, which was a village near Jerusalem, just on the other side of the Mount of Olives.
Their names were Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus.
Jesus often went to their home when He was staying at Jerusalem, and they loved Him very much, and He loved them dearly, too.
Only a little time before our Lord Jesus died on the Cross, and while He was some distance away from Bethany, Lazarus was taken very ill, and his sisters sent in haste to Jesus to beg Him to come and heal their brother.
But our Lord Jesus waited for two whole days before He set out to their help. And you must hear why.
This was not because He did not care about their trouble: Oh, no! But He had a great reason in staying away.
He knew that Lazarus was dying, and He intended to come and raise him from the dead!
And when Jesus reached Bethany, Lazarus had died, and had been buried four days before.
When Martha had the news that Jesus was coming, she hastened to meet Him, and in her grief she exclaimed, "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died!"
But Jesus told her that her brother should rise again; and that He, Himself, was the Resurrection and the Life: and He said that if only she would believe, she should see the glory of God!
And when Jesus came to the grave, and they rolled away the big stone, then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said: "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it!" ... And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come forth."
And Lazarus came out of the grave, and they unbound his grave clothes, and he was alive again.
So Martha did see "the glory of God!"
From this time, many of the Jews determined to destroy Jesus; and would gladly also have put Lazarus to death.
Not long after this, Simon the leper, who lived at Bethany, made a feast for Jesus.
Martha helped to serve the guests, but Lazarus sat down to the table with the Lord.
Many Jews were also guests, who came, not only to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
Then, as Jesus sat at supper, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, brought an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it over His head and His feet, and the room was filled with the lovely odour.
Some who were there were indignant at what they thought was waste, but the Lord said, "Let her alone ... she hath done what she could; she is come beforehand to anoint My body for the burying."
And then He added this wonderful promise—"Verily I say unto you, 'Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also, that she hath done, shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.'"
ONE day Peter asked Jesus how often we ought to forgive anyone who had done us a wrong?
And our Lord told them this story—
There was a certain king, who wished to settle up his accounts with his servants; and when he had begun to reckon with them, one was brought before him who owed him ten thousand talents.
It was quite impossible for the servant to pay, and as he had not the money, the king commanded that he and all his family should be sold, and payment made.
Then the servant fell at the king's feet and besought him to have pity, and he would try to pay it all.
And the king was sorry for him, and had compassion, and forgave every bit of it, and set him free!
But what do you think that forgiven servant did?
He found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred pence; and he seized him, and said, "Pay me what thou owest!"
And the poor fellow-servant said, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all!"
But the servant who had been forgiven, would not; but cast his fellow-servant into prison till he should pay the debt.
So the other servants were very sorry, and went and told their Lord all about it.
And the king called that unforgiving servant, and said to him: "I forgave thee all that debt; shouldest not thou have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?"
And the king was angry, and said he would have to be punished, and to pay the debt.
And our dear Lord Jesus adds this solemn warning to us all—
"So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts do not forgive everyone his brother their trespasses."
Now this brings us to ourselves. Perhaps you know yourselves how difficult it is to forgive?
Now, suppose someone has done you a wrong, or you think so, and you feel it is quite impossible for you to forgive that person: Then what is to be done?
Go into your room, or some quiet spot, or speak to God in your heart, and say, "Heavenly Father, I can't forgive So-and-so, but do help me to! Do give me a forgiving spirit!"
Very soon, if you wait quietly for a few minutes, you will find softer feelings coming into your heart. You will, perhaps, begin to find excuses for the person who has done you the wrong.
Sometimes we can only reverently pray that beautiful prayer of our dear Lord on the Cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
And if you do, I am sure you will find that His loving Spirit will come into your hearts; and you will find the battle is over, and you have forgiven, and have won the Victory.
"As Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
YOU see that woman? She has lost something which she is most anxious to find.
Yesterday she had ten pieces of silver in her hand, which she was counting up with joy, but this morning—somehow—one was missing! She was sure she had them all right last night!
So she looked all over the rooms, but not a trace could she find of her piece of silver.
Her neighbours were sorry for her trouble, but when they had sympathized with her, they returned to their own affairs.
At length, she thought of getting a light, and a broom—perhaps she would find it that way.
And so she searched all over again; and would not allow herself to leave off until she found it.
Then clasping her precious coin in her hand, she ran out to her neighbours, calling to them to rejoice with her, as she had found the piece that was lost!
And then our Lord seems to turn to His disciples, and to us now, as He says, "Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth."
That woman sought until she found it! and this lesson comes home to us to-day, as we travel along life's pathway.
Perhaps we know someone who has wandered away into wrong-doing! That is like the coin that was lost!
We look sorrowfully round, and wonder if there is anything we can do?
And at last we take the candle and the broom, and begin to seek.
What do "the candle and the broom" mean to us?
The candle seems to me to be the Light of God's loving promises to help.
And the broom seems to me to link us with those words, "Pray without ceasing!"
God says: "Do not stop praying till you find the one that was lost is brought back to God!"
And then our dear Lord's words come back to us again: "I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
YOU have often heard of the Lake of Gennesaret, or the Sea of Galilee, for the gospels tell us many beautiful stories of what happened around those shores.
Several large cities had been built, and the lovely Lake was surrounded by mountains, and there were numbers of ships and boats which went across the Lake, some with fishermen plying their trade, and others carrying merchandise to the opposite shores.
But the Lake, looking so beautiful in the sunshine, and reflecting in its waters every shade of colour of the sky, or of the surrounding mountains, sometimes had violent storms, instead of calm on its lovely waters.
The wind suddenly rose, and swept down between the mountains; and almost before the sailors could furl their sails, the wind would drive the boat before it, as if it would swamp it altogether.
But one day, when all was beautiful and bright, Jesus was walking by the Lake, and a number of people out of the cities around came out to see Him, for they longed to hear His words; no one had ever spoken to them as He did, nor comforted them with assurances that their sins might be forgiven.
As the Lord saw the multitudes around Him, He entered into one of the fishing boats which were moored to the shore, and He talked to the people from there, because they could hear Him better.
So all day He sat and talked to them, until evening came on, and then He said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake."
And when His disciples had sent the multitude away, they took Jesus, just as He was, in the ship. And there were other little ships with Him.
But soon a great storm of wind swept down between the mountains, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full.
And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him, and said unto Him, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?"
And Jesus arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And Jesus said to them, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"
And the disciples feared exceedingly, and said one to another, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"
Children! It is because Jesus is the Son of God, that He can do these wonderful miracles!
If we are in any trouble we can look up to Jesus in heaven and say, "Lord, help me!"
If we are sad, we can ask Him to comfort us.
If we have done what is wrong, we can ask Him to forgive us. He has all power in Heaven and Earth, and He will listen to our cry, and come to our help, as He helped the disciples in that great storm!
PERHAPS you ask, "What are these men so busily doing?"
Little did they know that hundreds of years before it had been written by God's Prophet: "They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."
Those four soldiers, whom Pilate had ordered to crucify the Lord of glory, and who had heard our dear Lord say, when they had nailed Him to the Cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"—those four soldiers, did not take any heed of the matchless love of those words of forgiveness. They were only thinking about dividing His clothes.
They had crucified Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and two malefactors with Him, one on the right hand and the other on the left, and Jesus in the midst.
And now the people who were watching, saw the four soldiers carry away His raiment to a little distance, to divide it between themselves.
When they found that His coat, or under-robe, was seamless, and woven in one piece, they cast lots for that, so that it should not be torn or divided, as God had said, so long ago.
In this picture we do not see the Cross on which our dear Lord was crucified, but it must have been very near to the men.
There was a piece of parchment nailed on the Cross; and though Pilate had said, "I find no fault in Him," yet when he sat down to write his accusation on the parchment, he was obliged to put something; and he wrote, in Hebrew, and in Greek, and in Latin, "JESUS OF NAZARETH—THE KING OF THE JEWS."
This writing was read by many people, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near to Jerusalem, and many were passing backwards and forwards at this Passover time.
The cruel Jews, who had urged Pilate to crucify Jesus, wanted him to take the writing down from the Cross.
They said, "Do not say that He is the King of the Jews! But say that He said He was!"
But Pilate would not alter it. "What I have written, I have written," he said.
So when Jesus died, this was His accusation—that He is King!
Then the rulers who were standing by mocked him, saying, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save! Let Him come down from the Cross!"
Perhaps some of you who read this may think that it was the cruel nails which held His dear hands fast, so that he could not come down?
But that was not the reason—oh no!
It was love that made the Son of God stay there; love to you, and to me. "He gave His life a ransom for us."
He stayed there that He might die for us; that His precious Blood should be shed to pay the price of our sins.
No one can tell the depth of woe and loneliness which Jesus suffered, while the load of our sins rested upon Him; but the more we understand it, the more we shall love Him, for His great love.
THE night before our Lord was crucified for us, He gathered His twelve disciples together, and sat down to eat the Passover Supper with them in the Upper Room.
And as they were eating, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and told them that one of them would betray Him.
Close to His side, leaning on His bosom, was the disciple whom Jesus loved; and Peter beckoned to him to ask the Lord who it was who should betray Him.
So John, leaning on Jesus' bosom, whispered, "Who is it, Lord?"
And Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I give a sop when I have dipped it."
And He gave the sop to Judas Iscariot.
And as they were eating, "Jesus took bread, and gave thanks and brake it, and gave unto them, saying: 'This is My Body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.' Likewise also the cup, after supper, saying: 'This cup is the New Testament (covenant) in My Blood which is shed for you.'"
And from that Last Supper before His death till now, nearly two thousand years after, in one unbroken chain, week after week, those who love Christ have partaken of this Holy Feast, in remembrance of Him till He comes back again.
The Holy Supper was over. Judas had already left them to go and betray his Master to the Chief Priests, for thirty pieces of silver, and he had gone out into the darkness.
In that wonderful conversation, as Jesus talked with the disciples for the last time, He told them many things which they understood more clearly afterwards.
He told them He would not leave them comfortless, and that He was going to prepare a place for all who loved Him, in the many mansions of His Father's house.
And then they sang a hymn together—Jesus and His disciples—and after that they went into the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Easter moon was shining among the sombre trees: and there it was that Judas found Him, and betrayed Him to the multitude.
AFTER the Lord Jesus had stilled the great storm, and the disciples had been so amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed Him, they landed on the other side of the Lake from that from which they had started.
And directly the Lord stepped on the shore from the boat, He performed another great miracle in the sight of the astonished disciples.
For there was a man there who lived among the tombs. He wore no clothes, and he did nothing but wander about and cry and cut himself with stones.
People had tried to bind him, but he broke the chains, and no man could tame him.
For it was Satan who had put wicked spirits to live in him, and this was what made him so miserable.
But when the poor man saw Jesus come out of the ship, he hurried to Him, and worshipped Him; and begged Him not to torment him, for he said that he knew that Jesus was the Son of the most high God!
But Jesus had said at once, "Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit!"
Then the Lord Jesus asked the man to tell him his name? And the man said it was Legion, for that many devils lived in him.
Then the devils asked Jesus not to send them far away, and begged Him to send them into the herd of swine which were feeding near on the mountain.
So Jesus gave them leave, and the wicked spirits entered into the swine; and instantly the whole herd ran violently down a steep place and were drowned in the sea.
Then the keepers of the swine hurried away to the town, to tell the people what had happened; for there were over two thousand swine buried in the sea.
But when the people came out to see for themselves, a wonderful sight met their eyes.
For there was the man, whom Jesus had healed, sitting quietly by Him, with clothes on, and in his right mind! The wicked spirits had gone out of him, and he was happy beyond expression. He only wanted to be near Jesus, and to show Him how thankful he was! And he begged Jesus to let him stay with Him always.
But Jesus answered him that He did not wish him to do that, because He wanted him to go home to his friends and to tell them what great things the Lord had done for him, and how He had had compassion on him.
So the poor man, happy now because Jesus had healed him, went back to Decapolis and told everybody he met what Jesus had done for him.
And it seems to me that this story tells its own tale to each one of us:
Jesus is the Son of God, and has all power.
Satan likes to trouble us, and make us sin; and if he can succeed in his wicked wishes, he binds us by the very sins he has made us do.
But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is much more powerful than Satan; and if we go to Him for forgiveness, He will send Satan away, and He will forgive us, and make us clean and white. For on the Cross He died to wash away our sins, if we will but look to Him and be saved!
Then we can go, ever so happily, and tell other people what He has done for us!
OUR Lord Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant-man seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Now all of us are seeking for all sorts of things; and each one, in our different ways, desires most earnestly to find the thing we desire.
You boys want to be splendid at football, or cricket, or games at school! Or you want to be very clever at your lessons, and top of your class, and hoping to be put up higher next term.
And you strive and strive for these things, and like the merchant-man, you seek them, as he did his pearls.
And you girls—what do you think most about?
To be a girl-guide? To be top of your class? To be elected "captain" in your school? To be a clever artist, or a good musician?
And then with older people? All the world seems after fame, or riches, or pleasure, more things than I can count; and like the merchant-man, they value them very much.
But one day this merchant-man comes across a man who offers him the most beautiful pearl he has ever seen.
It is large, and so pure, so brilliant, and so rare; he takes it in his hand, and is lost in amazement.
The one who offers it to him, tells him that he will have to give up all his other pearls to buy it!
Then the merchant-man goes into his chamber, and looks earnestly at his own pearls. But the desire for the one Treasure is overwhelming—and at length he returns to his visitor, and he says, "I will give everything I possess, if you will give me this One Pearl of great Price!"
This is an allegory; but we may well ask, "What is this Pearl of great Price?"
It is—to take Jesus to be our Saviour.
To ask Him to wash away our sins; to help us to be pure, and good; to be our light in our darkest hours; to be our joy, our life, and our happiness, if we have taken Him for our own Saviour.
Years ago, when I was a little girl of twelve, I heard a sermon in which we were asked to take Jesus into our hearts, then and there.
I remember how, directly I reached home, I ran up into my room, and knelt down, and asked Him to take me.
Since then, Jesus has been all the world to me. And He has helped me through a long life to try to bring others to love Him.
A little girl was asked by the Vicar a few Sundays ago, whether she had understood what he had said?
She looked up sweetly, and answered: "You said, 'we must do all we can for Jesus Christ'!"
ONE day, our dear Lord was teaching in God's Temple at Jerusalem, and preaching the Gospel. He had been warning the people against the scribes who made long prayers for a show, but who oppressed poor widows and took away their houses.
The Lord looked straight into people's hearts, and He could not bear for the scribes to seem so very good outside, and to be so wicked inside!
Jesus was sitting near the Treasury, which was a chest in which people put their offerings of money for God's service.
After He had been speaking about those scribes that oppressed the widows, He raised His eyes and saw the people casting their gifts into the Treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.
And just then a poor widow drew near, and she put in two mites, which make a farthing.
Jesus saw it all! He could see into her empty pocket; He knew all about it!
Then He called His disciples to Him, and said to them, "This poor widow has cast more in than all the others who have cast into the Treasury: for they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living!"
There was another poor widow in the time of Elijah, God's Prophet.
Elijah had come a long journey, in a time of famine, and he was starving and nearly dying of thirst.
He came to Sarepta, and saw this poor widow picking up sticks outside the city, and asked her for food and water.
She told him she had only a handful of meal and a little oil, and when that was eaten she and her boy must die.
Then Elijah begged her to make a little cake for him, too; and he promised her that God would give her some more meal and oil, as long as the famine lasted.
So she believed God, and made him a cake; and the barrel of meal did not get empty, and the cruse of oil did not fail, as the Lord had said.
YOU have heard of the Olympic games which were practised in old times, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and you may have seen pictures of the old ruins of the Colosseum at Rome, with its tiers and tiers of seats all round, so that thousands of people could witness the things that went on in the arena. Some very cruel things; but some, on the other hand, were simply men racing with all their might to receive a great prize.
These men were trained, for many months, to the highest point of perfection. They were taught how to run, looking forward to the spot where the crown was to be given them, without faltering or looking back.
The Apostle Paul described these games. He says, "They all ran, but only one could get the prize;" but he reminds us that in the Heavenly race, we may all obtain the prize!
This race that we are to run, is to try to please God in our everyday life! And he again reminds us that we must lay aside every weight (like those runners did of old) and the sin that so easily besets us, and we must run with patience the race set before us. And as the competitors did in those old days—they looked at the goal, and ran with all their might—so we must look to Jesus, who has told us to run this heavenly race, and who is waiting for us to finish it, through faith in Him.
Those runners cast aside every impediment; they were trained with the utmost care, so as to leave nothing undone which could help them.
And Jesus our Saviour, Who is looking on at all those who have undertaken His race, assures us, with most beautiful promises, that we shall surely receive the Crown of Life, which He has promised to those who obey Him.
You boys and girls in these days are all running a race of some sort!
I do not mean only your Sports' Day! That is most interesting to you all, and, doubtless, is very good for you.
But there are heaps of other races which come into your lives—your difficult lessons, your music, your drawing, your languages, and a dozen other efforts; to have a good education, and to get on in the world!
But Jesus is watching you all with the deepest interest. He says to you, that He longs to see you come to Him and join His great Race, and, like Matthew, "rise up and follow Him."
Then if you do, you have undertaken to be in the Race whose crown is Everlasting Life.
And for this race, the "looking unto Jesus" is the safety and the joy of it.
Satan loves to tempt us, and at our first failure, perhaps he says, "You will never do it; give it up!"
But Jesus our Saviour says to you, "Do not be discouraged; do not think of Satan, but think of ME. Remember, for the joy that was before ME, I endured to die on the Cross for your sakes, and I am the Author and the Finisher of your faith."
"It is I Who am standing at the goal watching, and it is I Who will give you the Crown of Righteousness that fadeth not away—'reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the power of God.'"
