Child's Story of the Bible Part 26

Jesus was in the Temple most of the time during the Pa.s.sover Feast. He taught the people standing among the marble pillars of the outer court.

He also did miracles among them, and many believed on Him because of the miracles, but He, knowing their hearts, saw not one among them whom He would call to be with Him in His work, for He could not wholly trust them. The Pharisees and Doctors of the Law also stood and listened to Him, and among them was one whose heart turned toward Jesus. He was one of the highest of the Pharisees, but his heart was not so proud and full of self-love as the hearts of most of the Pharisees. His name was Nicodemus. He longed to talk with Jesus, but he was afraid of what the other Pharisees would say.

He found out where the camp of the Galilean company was, and one night went out of the city gate, across the Kedron bridge and up the slope of the Mount of Olives and found Jesus. There was no place to talk quietly in the crowded tents, so they must have gone out under the shadowy olive trees to talk.

"Master," he said--and it was much for the wise Pharisee to speak so humbly to the young carpenter of Galilee--"Master, we know that Thou art a teacher come from G.o.d, for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest except G.o.d be with him."

Jesus looked through the heart of Nicodemus, though it was night, and saw what he needed most, and so He made no reply about Himself or His miracles, but said,

"Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of G.o.d."

Nicodemus could not understand how a man could be born when he is old, so Jesus explained that it was a spiritual birth. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit."

And as the wind softly stirred the leaves of the olive trees above their heads He said,

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it bloweth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus had always thought that religion was the keeping of the law as all Jews were taught by the priests, so he was astonished, and said,

"How can these things be?"

"Art thou a master in Israel and knowest not these things?" said Jesus, and then He spoke to the soul of Nicodemus of the things of the Spirit of Heaven--The Heaven in which He already lived,--and of the new kingdom that had begun on earth.

If you will find what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John's Gospel you will find among other things these beautiful words,--

"For G.o.d so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Nicodemus found out that life was the breath of G.o.d in man, and that by it man lives. Perhaps he felt it within him as he went down the valley under the trees and heard the wind among the leaves; and as he came up the steep way and through the city gate in the silence of the night, perhaps he resolved to be a disciple of Jesus.

CHAPTER XII.

A TALK ABOUT THE WATER OF LIFE.

After the Pa.s.sover there were many who had believed in Jesus who wished to be baptized, and so they went down to Jordan with Jesus and the disciples, and then the disciples baptized them.

John, who was also baptizing at another point by the river, was told that Jesus was baptizing and that all men were going to Him. John was rejoiced at this.

"This my joy therefore is fulfilled," he said. "He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from heaven is above all."

After this Jesus went back to Galilee, and as He and His disciples went through the country of Samaria, which lay between Judea and Galilee, they came at noon near to the little village of Sychar among the hills.

It was the most difficult road to Galilee, and most persons followed the Jordan road when going back and forth, for the Judeans and Samaritans were not friendly, but it is written that Jesus "must needs go through Samaria."

While the disciples went up into the village to buy some bread, Jesus sat down by a deep well in the valley. It was built round with stone, and covered from the sun, for the people prized the well not only for the clear, cold water, but because Jacob, the father of all the tribes of Israel dug the well for his family and cattle and flocks hundreds of years before.

While Jesus rested by the well a woman came down the path from the town to draw water. She drew the water with a strong cord that she fastened around her earthen water-jar and was going to put it on her shoulder and carry it away when Jesus asked her for a drink of water. She had not offered Him any for she thought a Jew would not ask even a drink of water from a Samaritan, but Jesus said,

"If thou knewest the gift of G.o.d, and who it is that saith to thee 'Give me to drink' thou wouldst have asked of Him and he would have given thee living water."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Jesus by the well]

The woman did not understand His words about water any more than Nicodemus did about the blowing of the wind. Jesus was talking about _life_ always and everywhere, but the people were slow to understand Him.

The woman wondered where Jesus could get better water than this from Jacob's well.

"Whosoever shall drink of this water," He said, "shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

When the woman heard this she asked for it, that she might not be thirsty and come to the well for water, but Jesus, seeing that she could not understand His words began to speak of her life, and so truly that she was amazed and said,

"Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet." She talked of the mountain near by which had been the place of worship of the Samaritans, and of the Temple at Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped, for she did not want to talk of her own life, which was not good.

Jesus then showed her that "G.o.d is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth," and that the hour had come when He wished people to worship him so in every place.

"I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ," she said,

"I that speak unto thee am He," He said. Then the woman left her water-jar and hurried away without a word to tell the people of the town.

While she was away His disciples came and begged Jesus to eat, but His spirit was filled with the thought of life, and he said,

"I have meat to eat that ye know not of."

And when they did not understand He said,

"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and finish His work,"

and when he thought how great the work was that was before Him, it was as if the harvest-time of gathering the people into the kingdom had come.

As they looked out along the valley men were ploughing the fields to sow wheat.

"Say ye not there are four months," He said, "and then cometh harvest?

Behold I say unto you, 'Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.'"

While He stayed two days in Sychar many believed on him there.

"Now we believe," they said to the woman, "not because of thy saying for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."

CHAPTER XIII.

JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE.

Jesus came back to Galilee through the Valley of Jenin and across the plain of Jezreel to Cana, where His disciple Nathanael lived, and where He had wrought His first miracle. While He was in Cana a n.o.bleman who lived at Capernaum came riding into the little town in great haste to asked Jesus to come down and heal his son who was near death. To try him, Jesus said,

"Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe."

The n.o.bleman would not stop to talk of this, but besought Jesus, saying,

"Sir, come down ere my child die."