were still attracted by his goodness, and won by his gentleness, mildness and patience.

No angry word ever escaped his lips; no unkindness or injustice drew from him a murmur or complaint. He knew that the blessing of God was with him, that the everlasting arms were round about him, and that man could have no power to harm him unless it was his Father's will.

As he grew older, he assisted Joseph in his occupation as a carpenter, still living in retirement and quiet, a quiet that was varied only by attendance upon the national feasts, as the seasons brought them round.

To these, it is probable, Jesus went, in compliance with the Hebrew laws, reverently uniting in the worship of Jehovah with those who were all unconscious of his claims to be revered and honored.

But, in those years which passed so obscurely, angels were watching over him, waiting for the wonderful things to be accomplished for which Jesus was preparing.

Among the hills that surrounded his childhood's home, how often he wandered in solitude, to commune with God and with angelic messengers, we are not told; nor how frequent were his midnight walks and meditations; but we may readily suppose that to such high communings the Son of Man would resort to gain wisdom and strength for the conflict that awaited him.

From this time no further mention is made of Joseph, and we may naturally conclude he was ere long gathered to his fathers.

We are told he was a just man; and he seems to have been kind-hearted and benevolent, regarding the welfare and happiness of others, rather than his own ease or reputation. He could not have been for so many years in daily

intercourse with the sinless child who dwelt beneath his roof, marking the innumerable proofs of that which angels had testified, that Mary's son was the Christ which was so long since promised to the world, without a deep sense of the privilege thus granted him.

And in his dying moments it must have been to him a precious solace that he had been permitted to watch over and defend the infancy of one whom prophets had foretold, and his fathers desired to see.

Mary appears henceforth to have shared the wandering life of her son, who, from the commencement of his ministry, had no abiding home. We hear of her at Capernaum, in other places whither his duties called him, at Jerusalem in the hour of his crucifixion, and last of all on the day of his ascension.*

It was not until he had reached his thirtieth year that our Lord left his quiet home, to go forth among his countrymen with the offer of eternal life.

His childhood and youth were past. The years of his early manhood had been spent in patient seclusion, waiting for the hour to arrive when he should labor for the good of his people, when he should heal their diseases, soothe their sorrows, and open to them that way of salvation which was to be procured by his death.

*Acts 1: 14.

3*

PART II.

THE FIRST EIGHTEEN MONTHS OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.

CHAPTER III.

The mission of John the Baptist. —The baptism of Jesus. The temptation. Jesus returns to Bethabara.

Some of the disciples are called. - Jesus goes into Galilee. The marriage feast at Cana. Jesus and his disciples attend the Passover.

SIX months before the birth of Jesus another child was born, whose coming had also been predicted long since by one of the prophets.

His name was John. His mother, Elizabeth, was the cousin of Mary, and his birth-place is supposed to have been Jutta, a city in the south-eastern part of Judea.

At the time of his circumcision, when his name was given to him, his father Zacharias, a priest, prophesied, by the Spirit of God, that he should be a prophet, to go before the Lord, and prepare the way for him.

After this we hear that the child grew in size, in strength, and in understanding.

Like the Saviour he remained in obscurity until the time for his public preaching arrived. This was probably in his

thirtieth year, as that was the age when the priests entered the duties of their office..

upon

His life had also been one of preparation for his mission. He was consecrated at his birth for one great object, to prepare the minds of his countrymen to receive Christ as their Saviour and King.

For this he spent years of self-denial. Abstaining from the pleasures and luxuries of the world, he wore only the coarsest clothing, partook only of the simplest food.

His dress was made of the long, shaggy hair of camels, woven into cloth, and bound round his waist by a leathern girdle.

The dress of the Jews consisted mainly of a coat or tunic, and a cloak.

The former, usually of linen, hung to the knees, and was gathered to the waist by a girdle of more or less costliness, according to the wealth of the owner.

The latter was of stuff or woollen, from seven to nine feet in length, and nearly the same in breadth, with a border around it, and fringe in the corners of a blue color. This cloak, or mantle, the Jews wrapped around the body when walking, or hung over the shoulder when the weather was serene; but when at labor they laid it aside. The poor often used it as a covering at night. These garments were of various colors, but white and purple were most esteemed by the rich. The dress of the females differed from this chiefly in its length and the fineness of the material, and in the addition of a veil, which was worn by all, except maidservants, and those in the lowest condition of life.

The dress of John the Baptist was of the same kind as that worn by the prophet Elijah.*

* 2 Kings 1: 8.

His food consisted of locusts and wild honey.

The former were winged insects about an inch in length, that came at times in great numbers, so as to darken the air, and were dried and salted by the poor people for food 1; while the latter was found in clefts of the rocks, or hollow trunks of trees.

Most of the time, since his childhood, John had spent in the deserts or hill country of Judea; and it was in the wilderness or thinly-settled region that his voice was first heard proclaiming the coming of his Lord.

He was called the Baptist, because he taught the people that they must repent and be baptized; and he performed for them this rite by the banks of the Jordan.

The Jews had been accustomed to the use of baptism when a heathen convert was received into their religion. But John baptized those who added to the religion of their fathers repentance of their sins, and belief in the immediate coming of Christ.

Baptism had always been to the Jews a symbol of purification; and as such Jolin administered it.

Multitudes flocked to him from all the cities around; not only the poor, but soldiers and tax-gatherers also came, and asked what they should do to show their repentance. To the one class he would say, "Do no violence;" and to the other, "Exact no more than is right, and appointed by the law."

It was in October, just before the autumnal rains, as we suppose, when Jesus left Nazareth and came to the banks of the Jordan, to see John, and to be baptized by him.

He was now ready to commence his ministry; and before entering upon its labors he would receive this ordinance. He found the Baptist near Bethabara; the Ford of the