THE GOOD SAMARITAN.—MARTHA AND MARY.—THE MAN BORN BLIND.
Je-suswent to the great church in Je-ru-sa-lem, and the Jews came there in crowds to hear him preach, and to find fault with him.
And a man of law stood up and said, What must I do to be saved? Je-sus said to him, What does the law say? How dost thou read it? The man of law said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and thy neigh-bor as thy-self.
Je-sus said to him, That is right. Do this, and thou shalt be saved.
The man of law said, Who is my neigh-bor? Then Je-sus spoke in this way, and said, A man went down from Je-ru-sa-lem to Je-ri-cho. And the thieves fell on him, tore off his clothes and beat him, then went on their way and left him half dead on the ground.
By chance there came a priest that way, and when he saw the poor man he went by him on the oth-er side of the road.
Then one of the tribe of Le-vi came to the place, and took a look at the poor man, and went by on the oth-er side of the road.
By and by a Sa-mar-i-tan—that is, a man from Sa-ma-ri-a—came that way, and as soon as he saw the poor man on the ground his heart was moved, and he made haste to help him.
The SamaritanTHE GOOD SAM-AR-I-TAN.
Now the Jews did not like the Sa-mar-i-tans, and would have nought to do with them. And those to whom Je-sus spoke would not have thought it strangeif this man from Sa-ma-ri-a had left the Jew to die by the road-side.
But this he could not do, for he had a kind heart. He went to the poor man and bound up his wounds, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And the next day when he left he took out two pence and gave them to the host, and said to him, Take care of him; and if thou hast need to spend more than that, when I come back I will pay thee.
Which now of these three dost thou think was neigh-bor to him who fell a-mong thieves?
And the man of law said, He that was kind to him.
Then said Je-sus, Go, and do thou like-wise; thatis, to those who need help go and do as the Sa-mar-i-tan did.
Je-sus came to Beth-a-ny—a small place near Je-ru-sa-lem—and a wo-man, whose name was Mar-tha, asked him to come to her house. She had a sis-ter, whose name was Ma-ry, and while Mar-tha went to get things and to cook, and sweep, and dust, Ma-ry sat down at the feet of Je-sus to hear him talk.
This did not please Mar-tha, who felt that she had too much work to do; so she came to Je-sus and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sis-ter hath left me to do the work a-lone? Bid her there-fore come and help me.
Je-sus said to her, Mar-tha, Mar-tha, thou art full of care and vexed a-bout more things than there is need of. There is need of but one thing, and Ma-ry hath made choice of that which is good, and no one shall take it from her.
He meant that Ma-ry chose to care for her soul, and to be taught how to live in this world, so that she might fit her-self for the next one. And the one thing we all need is a new heart, full of love to Je-sus and glad to do his work.
One of the twelve said to Je-sus, Teach us how to pray, as John taught those who were with him. Je-sus taught them to pray thus:
SistersMA-RY AND MAR-THA.
Our Fa-ther, who art in heav-en, Hal-low-ed bethy name, Thy king-dom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heav-en, Give us this day our dai-ly bread, and for-give us our debts as we for-give our debt-ors. Lead us not in-to temp-ta-tion but de-liv-er us from e-vil, for thine is the king-dom, the pow-er, and the glo-ry, both now and for-ev-er. A-men.
Then he said, Which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him at mid-night and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves: for a friend of mine has come a long way to see me, and I have no food for him.
And he who is in-side shall say, The door is now shut, and my chil-dren are with me in bed; I can-not rise and give thee.
I say to you, though he will not rise and give him be-cause he is his friend, yet if he keeps on and begs hard he will rise and give him as much as he needs. And I say to you, Ask God for what you need and he will give it to you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock, and the door that is shut will o-pen for you.
For, he said, if a child of yours should ask for bread, would you give him a stone? or should he ask for a fish, would you give him a snake? If ye then, who are full of sin, know how to give good gifts to your chil-dren, how much more sure is it that God will give good things to those who ask him.
Je-sus chose three-score and ten more men and sent them out, two and two, in-to all the towns where he meant to come, that they might heal the sick and preach the good news. And they did as he told them, and came back full of joy at the great things they had done through the strength that he gave them. Je-sus told them that they should feel more joy that their names were set down in the Book of Life—God's book—where he keeps the names of all those who love him, and do his will on earth.
THE SEND-ING OUT OF THE SEV-EN-TY.
The Feast of Tents was near at hand, and Je-sus said to the twelve, Go ye up to this feast, but Iwill not go now, for my time has not yet come. So he staid in Gal-i-lee for a-while. Then he went up to Je-ru-sa-lem, but did not make him-self known lest the Jews should kill him.
The Jews sought for him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much talk of him. Some said, He is a good man; and some said, No, he is a fraud. But no one dared to speak well of him out loud for fear of the Jews.
In the midst of the feast Je-sus went up in-to the church and taught there. And he said, Ye both know me, and ye know from whence I came. I am not come to please my-self, but to do the will of him that sent me, whom ye know not. But I know him, for I have come from him, and he hath sent me.
Then they made a rush for him, but no man laid hands on him, for his hour had not yet come. God had set the time for him to die, and no one could harm him till that day and hour.
As he came from the church he saw a man who had been blind from his birth. Je-sus spat on the ground and made clay of the moist earth, and spread the clay on the eyes of the blind man.
Then he told him to go and wash in a pool that was near. And he went, and did as he was told, and his sight came back to him.
And his friends, and those who had seen himwhen he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
Seeing man"ONCE I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE."
Some said, This is he; and some said, He is like him; but the man said, I am he.
Then they said to him, How were thine eyes cured?
And he said, A man, by the name of Je-sus, made clay and spread it on my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool of Si-lo-am and wash; and I went and did so, and my sight came back to me.
Then they said to him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
It was on the day of rest that Je-sus made the clay, and the Phar-i-sees, when they heard of it, said, This man is not of God, for he does not keep the day of rest. And they went to the fa-ther and the mo-therof the man who had been blind, and said to them, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see?
His pa-rents said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees, or who hath cured his eyes, we know not. He is of age, ask him; he shall speak for him-self.
They spoke thus for fear of the Jews; for the Jews had made it known that all those who said that Je-sus was the Christ should be put out of the church. So they said, He is of age; ask him.
Then the Phar-i-sees went to the man that was blind, and said to him, Give God the praise, for we know that this man is a man of sin.
He said to them, What he is I know not; but this I do know, that once I was blind, but now I see.
Then they said to him, What did he do to thee? How did he cure thine eyes?
The man said, I have told you be-fore, and ye did not hear. Why would ye hear me say it once more? Would ye be of his band?
Then they spoke harsh words to him, and said, Thou dost take sides with him, but we stand by Mo-ses. We know that God spoke to Mo-ses; but as for this fel-low, we know not who sent him.
The man said, It is strange that ye know not who sent him, when he has brought sight to my blindeyes. Since the world was made we have not heard of a man who could give sight to one that was born blind. If this man were not of God he could not have done this thing.
The Phar-i-sees were full of wrath, and said to the man, Thou hast dwelt in sin from thy birth, and wilt thou try to teach us? And they drove him out of the church.
Je-sus heard of it, and when he found the man he said to him, Have you faith in the son of God?
He said, Who is he, Lord, that I may put my trust in him?
Je-sus said, It is he that talks with thee.
The man said, Lord, I know that it must be so; and he fell at the feet of Je-sus, and gave praise to him.
JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD.—LAZARUS BROUGHT TO LIFE.—THE FEAST, AND THOSE WHO WERE BID TO IT.
Je-sussaid to those whom he taught, I am the good shep-herd. The good shep-herd will give his life for the sheep. But he that is hired, and who does not own the sheep, when he sees the wolf will leave the sheep and run to save his own life.Then the wolf lays hold of the sheep, and puts the flock to flight. He who is hired flees from the sheep, be-cause he does not care for them.
I am the good shep-herd and know my sheep, and my sheep know me. And I will lay down my life for the sheep.
Some sheep I have which are not of this fold; they too must I bring in, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shep-herd.
The Jews found fault with his words, and some said, He talks like a mad-man.
As Je-sus went out on the porch at one side of the great church that He-rod built, the Jews came round him and said, How long wilt thou keep us in doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us so in plain words.
Je-sus said, I told you, and ye had no faith in me. The works that I do, in God's name, are proof that I am sent from him. But ye do not trust me be-cause ye are not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they go the way I lead. They shall not be lost, and no one shall take them from me. For God gave them to me, and no one can take them out of his hand. I and my Fa-ther are one.
Then the Jews took up stones to stone him, be-cause he said that he was God.
But he fled from them, and went out of Je-ru-sa-lem to a place near the Jor-dan, where crowds came to hear him, and to be taught of him. And not a few gave their hearts to Je-sus, and sought to lead new lives; to do right and to be good.
sheepTHE LOST SHEEP.
Ma-ry and Mar-tha, who lived at Beth-a-ny, had a bro-ther whose name was Laz-a-rus, and he was sick. So his sis-ters sent word to Je-sus, but though he was fond of these friends at Beth-a-ny he made no haste to go to them, but staid two days in the place where he was.
Then he said to the twelve, Let us go back to Beth-a-ny, for my friend Laz-a-rus sleeps, and I must go and wake him.
He meant that Laz-a-rus was dead, and that he must go and bring him back to life.
But the twelve thought that he meant that Laz-a-rus slept, as we do when we take our rest.
Now Beth-a-ny was near Je-ru-sa-lem, and a crowd of Jews had gone there to weep with Ma-ry and Mar-tha. As soon as Mar-tha heard that Je-sus was near she ran out to meet him; but Ma-ry sat still in the house. And Mar-tha said to Je-sus, If thou hadst been here my bro-ther would not have died. But I know that e-ven now what thou wilt ask of God he will give it thee.
Je-sus said to her, Thy bro-ther shall rise a-gain.
Mar-tha said, I know that he shall rise at the last day.
Then Mar-tha went back to the house and said to Ma-ry, The mas-ter has come and asks for thee.
Ma-ry rose at once and went out to meet him; and those who saw her leave the house, said, She goes to the grave to weep there.
As soon as Ma-ry came to the place where Je-sus was, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if thou hadst been here my bro-ther had not died.
When Je-sus saw her tears, and the tears of those who wept with her, he was full of grief, and said, Where have ye laid him?
They said, Lord, come and see.
Je-sus wept. And when the Jews saw it they said, See how he loved him. And some of themsaid, Could not this man, who gave the blind their sight, have saved Laz-a-rus from death?
at Lazarus' tombLAZ-A-RUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD.
Je-sus came to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay at the mouth of it.
Je-sus said, Take a-way the stone. Mar-tha said to him, By this time he must be in a bad state, for he has been dead four days.
Je-sus said to her, Did I not tell thee that if thou hadst faith thou should see what great things God could do?
Then they took the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Je-sus cried out with a loud voice, Laz-a-rus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot in his grave clothes, and with his head tied up in a cloth. Je-sus said, Loose him and let him go.
And some of the Jews who came to be with Ma-ryand Mar-tha, and saw this great thing which Je-sus did, had faith in him that he was the son of God. But some of them went to the Phar-i-sees and told what he had done.
And the Phar-i-sees and chief priests met to talk of Je-sus and his deeds. They said it would not do to let him go on in this way, for he would raise up a host of friends who would make him their king. That would not please theCe-sarof Rome, who would come and take Je-ru-sa-lem from them, and drive the Jews out of the land.
So from that time they sought out some way in which they could put Je-sus to death.
As Je-sus went out of the church where he had taught on the Lord's day, he saw a wo-man all bent up in a heap. She had been so for near a score of years, and could not lift her-self up.
Je-sus said to her, Wo-man, thou art made well. And he laid his hands on her, and she rose at once, and stood up straight, and gave thanks to God.
And the chief man of the church was wroth with Je-sus, be-cause he had done this deed on the day of rest. He said to those in the church, There are six days in which men ought to work; if you want to be cured come then, and not on the day of rest.
Je-sus spoke, and said, Doth not each one of you loose his ox or his ass from the stall and lead him off to drink? And if it is right to do for the ox and the ass what they need, is it not right that this wom-an should be made well on the day of rest?
supperTHE GREAT SUP-PER.
And when he said this his foes hung their heads with shame, and all his friends were glad for the great deeds that were done by him.
One Lord's day he went to the house of one of the chief Phar-i-sees, and while there he spoke of a man who made a great feast.
And when it was all spread out, he sent his ser-vant out to bid those come in whom he had asked to the feast.
And they all cried out that they could not come. The first one said, I have bought a piece of ground, and must go and see it; so pray do not look for me.
The next one said, I have bought five yoke of ox-en, and must go and try them; so pray do not look for me.
The next one said, I have just ta-ken a wife, and so can-not come.
So the ser-vant came back to the house and told his mas-ter these things. Then the rich man was in a rage, and he said to his ser-vant, Make haste and go out through the streets and lanes of the town, and bring in the poor, the lame, and the halt and the blind.
And the ser-vant did as he was told. Then hecame and said, Lord, I have done as thou didst bid me, and yet there is room for more.
The lord of the house then said, Go out through the high-ways, and down by the hedge-rows, and make the folks come in, that my house may be full; for none of those who were first called shall taste of my feast.
The man who spreads the feast is God. The feast is the good news—that Christ will save us from our sins. The ser-vant means those who preach, and urge men to come to Christ. Those who were first bid to the feast and would not come mean the Jews. And to bid the poor, the lame, and the blind come in-to the feast, means that the poor and the sick are to be saved as well as the rich and the great.
Great crowds drew near to Je-sus, and he told them that though they might come and hear him preach, if they did not care for him in their hearts they were not true friends, and could not be of his band. They must care more for him than for all else in the whole world; and must bear his cross—that is, they must do what is right, as Je-sus did.
THE PRODIGAL SON.—THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.—BABES BROUGHT TO JESUS.—ZACCHEUS CLIMBS A TREE.
Je-sussaid, There was a rich man who had two sons. One of them was wild, and fond of feasts and of gay times, and did not care for his home, or the life that he led there. So he went to his fa-ther and said, Give me, I pray thee, my share of the wealth thou hast laid up for thine heirs, that I may spend it as I choose. And he took his share, and went far from home, and led a gay life.
And when he had spent all he had, there came a dearth in that land, and he was in great want.
That he might not starve, he went out in search of work, and a man hired him, and sent him in the fields to feed swine. And so great was his need of some-thing to eat that he would have been glad to have had some of the coarse food with which the swine were fed, but none of the men gave it to him.
Then he said to him-self, The men my fa-ther hires have more food than they can eat, while I starve for want of what they can well spare. I willrise and go to my fa-ther, and will say to him, Fa-ther, I have done wrong in thy sight, and in the sight of God, and have no more right to be called thy son. Let me come back to thy house, and be as a ser-vant.
So he rose and went to his fa-ther. And while he was yet a long way off his fa-ther saw him, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
And the son said to him, Fa-ther I have done wrong in thy sight, and in the sight of God, and have no more right to be called thy son.
But the fa-ther said to his hired men, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring in the fat-ted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be glad. For this my son was dead, and now lives; he was lost and is found. And tears and sighs gave place to smiles and songs of joy.
Prodigal sonTHE PROD-I-GAL'S RE-TURN.
Now the son who had staid at home and kepthis share of wealth that his fa-ther gave him, was at work in the field. And as he came near the house he heard the gay sounds, and called one of the hired men to him and asked what it all meant.
The man said, Thy broth-er is here, and thy fa-ther has made a feast, so great is his joy to have him back safe and sound. And the young man was in a rage, and would not go in the house; so his fa-ther came out and coaxed him.
And he said to his fa-ther, For years and years have I been true to thee and broke none of thy laws. But thou didst not kill a kid for me that I might make a feast for my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, who spent thy wealth in ways of sin, thou didst kill the fat-ted calf for him.
And the fa-ther said, My son, I have loved thee all thy life, and all that I own is the same as if it was thine; yet it was right that we should be glad and sing songs of joy, for this thy broth-er was dead and now lives; he was lost and is found.
In this way Je-sus taught those who found fault with him, that God was glad to have men turn from their sins and come back to him. He loved them in spite of their sins, and when they made up their minds to leave them, and to do what was right, God met them more than half way, and gave peace and joy to their hearts.
PhariseeTHE PHAR-I-SEE.
A prod-i-gal is one who wastes all that he has.
Then Je-sus spoke to those who were proud, and felt as if no one else was quite as good as they were. And he said, Two men went up in-to the church to pray. One of them—a Phar-i-see—chose a place where all could see him; and he stood up and said, God I thank thee that I am not like oth-er men. I fast twice a week, and I give to the aid of the church a tenth part of all I own.
But the oth-er man stood far off, and bowed his head, and beat on his breast as he said, God help me, and for-give my sins. And God for-gave thisman more than he did the oth-er, for those that are proud shall be brought low, and those who are meek shall be set in a high place.
Then babes were brought to Je-sus that he might lay his hands on them and bless them. And when the twelve saw it, they tried to keep them back, and would have sent them a-way.
This did not please Je-sus, and he said to them, Let the chil-dren come to me, and do not hold them back, for of such is the king-dom of God.
He meant that no one could have a home with God who was not as good, and sweet, and pure as a young child, who hates sin, and loves God with his whole heart. Then Je-sus took the babes up in his arms, and laid his hands on them, and blest them.
And as he and the twelve went on their way, Je-sus told them that they were to go to Je-ru-sa-lem that those things might be done to him of which the seers and proph-ets spoke. He said that the Jews would beat him and put him to death, but that he should rise from the dead on the third day.
None of the twelve knew what he meant by these things, but thought he would set up his throne on earth, and reign as kings do in this world, and that each one of them would have a place of high rank near his throne.
Jesus and children"SUF-FER LIT-TLE CHIL-DREN TO COME UN-TO ME."
When it was known that they were to pass through Jer-i-cho a great crowd came out to meet them. And there was a rich man there who had a great wish to see Je-sus. And his name was Zac-che-us. He was so small that he was quite hid by the crowd, and he was in great fear that Je-sus would pass and he not see him. So he ran on a-head of the crowd; and got up in-to a tree, from whence he could look down at this great man of whom he had heard.
And when Je-sus came to the place he raised his eyes and saw him, and said to him, Zac-che-us, make haste and come down, for to-day I must stay at thy house.
And Zac-che-us came down and went with Je-sus, and was glad to have him as a guest. And there was quite a stir in the crowd, and the Jews found fault with Je-sus, and said that he had gone to be a guest with a man that was full of sin.
But Zac-che-us told Je-sus that if he had done wrong he would do so no more, but would try to be just to all men and to lead a good and pure life.
And when Je-sus saw that he meant what he said, he told Zac-che-us that God would blot out the sins of the past, and help him to lead a new life. For he said that he had come to the world to seek those who had gone wrong, and were like lost sheep,and to save them and bring them to his home in the sky, where there was no such thing as sin or death.
THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER.—THE SUPPER AT BETHANY.
Nowthe great feast of the Pass-o-ver was near, and a great crowd of Jews went up to Je-ru-sa-lem to keep it. It had been kept since the days of Mo-ses, when God smote the first-born of E-gypt, and passed o-ver the homes of the Jews.
And those who were on the watch for Je-sus to do him harm, said, as they stood in the church, What think ye? will he not come to the feast? For the chief priests and Phar-i-sees had sent out word that those who knew where Je-sus was should make it known, that they might take him.
Now six days be-fore the great feast, Je-sus came to Beth-a-ny, where Laz-a-rus was whom he had raised from the dead. Some of the Jews knew that he was there, and they came not so much to see Je-sus as to see Laz-a-rus.
And the chief priests sought for a way to put Laz-a-rus to death, as some of the Jews, when theysaw him had faith in Je-sus, and gave their hearts to him.
Je-sus left Beth-a-ny to go to Je-ru-sa-lem, and on the way the mo-ther of Zeb-e-dee's chil-dren came to Je-sus and begged that he would do one thing for her.
Je-sus said to her, What wilt thou? She said to him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the oth-er on thy left, in thy king-dom.
Je-sus said, Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and bear all that I shall have to bear? They said, We can. Je-sus said, Ye shall drink of the cup, and bear the cross, but to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give; but God gives it to those who are fit for it.
When the ten heard this they were wroth with James and John. But Je-sus told them that those who sought to rule would be made to serve, and that he him-self came not to be served by men but to lay down his life for them.
Jesus and the mumCHRIST AND THE MOTH-ER OF ZEB-E-DEE's CHIL-DREN.
And when they came to the Mount of Ol-ives, Je-sus sent two of the twelve, and said to them, Go to the small town which is near you, and you shall find there a colt tied, on which no man has rode. Loose him, and bring him to me, and if you shouldbe asked, Why do ye this? Say that the Lord hath need of him, and he will be sent at once.
HosannaCHIL-DREN IN THE TEM-PLE CRY-ING, "HO-SAN-NA TO THE SON OF DA-VID."
The men did as Je-sus told them, and brought the young ass and put their robes on his back, and Je-sus sat on him.
And as he went out on the road the crowds on their way to the feast spread their robes be-fore him, and strewed the way with green boughs from the palm trees. And they waved palms in their hands, and made the air ring with shouts of, Ho-san-na to the son of Da-vid! Blest is he that comes in the name of the Lord! Ho-san-na in the high-est!
triumphalTHE EN-TRY IN-TO JER-U-SA-LEM.
This was the way in which they used to meet and greet their kings, and they thought to please Je-sus so that he would pay them back when he set up his throne on earth. For the most of them did not love him in their hearts.
As Je-sus came near to Je-ru-sa-lem he looked at it, and wept when he thought of the grief that the Jews were to know.
And he taught each day in the church at Je-ru-sa-lem, but at night he went to Beth-a-ny to sleep.
One morn as he was on his way back to Je-ru-sa-lem he saw a fig-tree by the road-side, and went to it to pluck some of the fruit. But he found on it naught but leaves. Then he said to it, Let no more figs grow on this tree.
The next day when the twelve went by they saw that the fig-tree was dried up from its roots.
And they thought of the words that Je-sus spoke, and said, How soon has the fig-tree dried up!
Je-sus told them that they might do as much and more than he had done to the fig-tree, if they had faith in God, and sought strength from him.
weepingCHRIST WEEP-ING O-VER JER-U-SA-LEM.
Then he spoke to them in this way: There was a rich man who laid out a vine-yard, and dug a ditch round it to keep wild beasts and thieves a-way, and made a wine press, and let the place out to men whowere to give him part of the fruit. Then he went off to a far land.
When the time had come for the fruit to be ripe he sent one of his ser-vants to the men who had charge of the vine-yard, that he might bring back his share of the grapes.
But the men took the ser-vant and beat him, and sent him off with no fruit in his hands.
Then the one who owned the place sent once more, and the bad men threw stones at this ser-vant, and hurt him so in the head that he was like to die. The next one they killed, and so things went on.
Now the rich man, who owned the place, had but one son, who was most dear to him. And he said, If I send my son to them they will be kind to him, and treat him well.
But as soon as the bad men saw him they said, This is the heir; let us kill him, and all that is his shall be ours. And they took him and put him to death, and cast him out of the vine-yard.
The vine-yard is the world. The one who owns it is God. The bad men are the Jews; he had taught them his laws, and they had vowed to keep them. When they did not do it, God sent priests and wise men to try and make them do what was right. These were stoned, and not a few were slain.
At last he sent his own dear son, Je-sus. Nowthey meant to kill him, as the bad men had killed the heir of the vine-yard.
When the Jews heard this talk they knew that Je-sus spoke of them, and they were wroth with him, and in haste to kill him.
One day, on his way out of the tem-ple, Je-sus sat down near the box in which mon-ey was put for the use of the church. And he saw that the rich put in large sums. And there came a poor wid-ow who threw in two mites, which make a far-thing, or the fourth of a pen-ny.
Je-sus said to the twelve, This poor wid-ow has cast in more than all the rest. For they had so much they did not miss what they gave; while she, who was poor and in want, did cast in all that she had.
THE WID-OW'S MITE.
PARABLES.
Apar-a-ble is a sto-ry of some-thing in real life that will fix in our minds and hearts the truth it is meant to teach.
Je-sus said the king-dom of heav-en was like the mas-ter of a house who went out at morn to hire men to work in his vine-yard.
The price was fixed at a pen-ny a day, and those who would work for that were sent out to the vine-yard.
At nine o'clock in the day he went out and saw men in the mar-ket place who were out of work, and he said to them, Go ye to the vine-yard, and I will pay you what is right. And they went their way.
He went out at noon, and at three o'clock, and found more men whom he sent to work in his vine-yard. Later in the day, when it was near six o'clock, he went out and saw more men, to whom he said, Why stand ye here all the day i-dle?
They said to him, Be-cause no man has hired us.
laborersLA-BOR-ERS IN THE VINE-YARD.
He said, Go ye in-to the vine-yard, and what is right I will give thee.
So when night came, the lord of the vine-yard had the work-men called in, and each one was paid a pen-ny.
When the first came they thought they should have more, and when they were paid but a pen-ny they found fault, and said, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast paid them the same as us who have born the toil and heat of the day.
The mas-ter said, Friend, I do thee no wrong. Didst thou not say thou wouldst work for me for a pen-ny a day? Take what is thine, and go thy way; for I have a right to do as I will with mine own. And the last shall be first and the first last.
Je-sus told them a par-a-ble of ten maids who went out to meet the bride-groom. For in those days the man who was wed brought his bride home at night, and some of his friends used to go out to meet him.
These ten maids had lit their lamps, and gone out to meet the bride-groom. But he did not come as soon as they thought he would, and as the hours went on they all fell a-sleep.
Now five of these maids were wise, and five were not. The wise ones had brought oil with them, so that if their lamps should go out they could fill them. Those who were not wise had no oil but that which was in their lamps.
At mid-night those who were on the watch cried out, Lo, the bride-groom comes! Go ye out to meet him.
And the five wise maids rose at once, and went to work to trim their lamps.
The five who were not wise, stood by and said, Give us of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.
But the wise ones said, Not so; for we have no more than we need. Go ye and buy of those who have oil to sell.
And while they went out to buy, the bride-groom came, and those who were in trim went in with him, and the door was shut.
oil for lamps missingTHE FOOL-ISH VIR-GINS.
Then the five maids who had been out to buy oil came to the door, and cried out, Lord, Lord, let us in. But he said, I do not know you; and would not let them in.
The bride-groom means Je-sus, who is to come at the last day. The ten maids are those who claim to love him, and who set out to meet him on that day. The oil is the love in our hearts, which burns and keeps our faith bright. We are to watch and wait for him, for we know not the day nor the hour when he will come.
Je-sus came to the town of Beth-a-ny, and they made a sup-per for him there. In those days they did not sit at their meals on chairs as we do, but lay down on a couch, or lounge, as high as the ta-ble, so that they couldrest on the left arm, and have the right hand and arm free to use.
Mar-tha, Ma-ry, and Laz-a-rus were there, and while Je-sus sat at meat Ma-ry came with a flask of rich oil, that was worth a great price. And she broke the flask and poured the oil on the head of Je-sus.
And there were some there who found fault with this great waste, and Ju-das—one of the twelve—said that the oil might have been sold for a large sum that would have done the poor much good.
Je-sus said, Blame her not. She has done a good work on me. For the poor you have with you all the time, and you may do them good when you choose. But you will not have me al-ways.
Then Ju-das went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me if I bring you to the place where Je-sus is, so that you may take him? They said they would pay him well. And from that time he was on the watch to catch Je-sus a-lone.
Je-sus said, There was a rich man, who wore fine clothes, and had great feasts spread for him each day. And a beg-gar named Laz-a-rus lay at his gate, full of sores; but the rich man gave him not so much as a crumb. And the dogs came and licked his sores.
rich and beggarTHE RICH MAN AND THE BEG-GAR.
The beg-gar died, and was borne by the an-gels to A-bra-ham's bo-som. The rich man died and waslaid in the ground. And while in the pains of hell he raised his eyes and saw A-bra-ham with Laz-a-rus on his bo-som, and he cried and said, Fa-ther A-bra-ham, have mer-cy on me, and send Laz-a-rus that he may dip the tip of his fin-ger in wa-ter and cool my tongue, for this flame tor-ments me.
But A-bra-ham said, Son, thou in thy life-time had thy good things, while Laz-a-rus was poor and had a hard lot. Now he has ease from all his pains and thou art in tor-ments. And be-tween us and you there is a great gulf; none can go from here to you, nor come from you to us.
Then the rich man said, I pray thee then send him to my fa-ther's house, for I have five breth-ren, that he may speak to them, so that they come not to this place of tor-ment.
A-bra-ham said, They have Mo-ses and the proph-ets, let them hear them.
And the rich man said, Nay, fa-ther A-bra-ham; but if one went to them from the dead they will turn from their sins.
And he said to him, If they hear not Mo-ses and the proph-ets they will not turn from their sins though one rose from the dead.
A stew-ard is one who takes charge of a house or lands, pays bills, hires work-men, and is the mas-ter's right-hand man.
Je-sus said, There was a rich man who had a stew-ard. And word was brought to him that this stew-ard made a bad use of his mas-ter's wealth. So the rich man said to him, What is this that I hear of thee? Let me know how thou hast done thy work, if thou wouldst keep thy place.
The stew-ard said to him-self, What shall I do if my lord takes my place from me? I can-not dig, and am too proud to beg. I have made up my mind to do some-thing that will put me on good terms with the rich, so that they will not close their doors to me should I lose my place here as stew-ard.
So he sent for all those who were in debt to his lord. And he said to the first, How much dost thou owe? And he said, A hun-dred mea-sures of oil. The stew-ard said, Take thy bill, and sit down and write fif-ty.
Then said he to the next one, How much dost thou owe? The man said, A hun-dred mea-sures of wheat. The stew-ard said to him, Take thy bill, and write four-score.