The Story

Every one of the children can tell me where the Lord was born. In Bethlehem. And you can show me the town on the map, just a little south from Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph no doubt went from Bethlehem when they took the Child Jesus to present Him in the temple. If we had only the story in Luke, we should suppose that they went immediately from Jerusalem to Nazareth, the little town of Galilee, which had been Mary and Joseph's home (Luke 2:39), but from Matthew, it seems that they first went back to Bethlehem, and after the visit of the wise men, went into Egypt until the death of Herod. Then they came back from Egypt and were told by the angel to go to the old home in Galilee.

I wish you could climb with me up the steep path from the great plain of Esdraelon to the little meadow with the circle of hills about it, where Nazareth is. The low stone houses of the town, with flat, earthen roofs and little domes, nestle together on the sunny hillside at the head of the meadow. Near by is the springhouse where we would stop for a drink of water, and where we should see the girls from the town washing wool and filling their water jars. The Lord often drank from this spring. Then we would walk through the narrow streets of the town and look into some of the houses and see the little bare rooms with earthen floors. We should hear the millstones as the women grind the meal for making bread. The Lord lived in such a home. We would go through the streets of little shops where shoemakers are busy and workmen of other trades. Here a carpenter is at work, and boys sit on the floor helping him. This was Joseph's trade, and the Lord Himself was known as "the carpenter."

Then we would leave the houses and follow one of the paths up to the top of the hill behind the town. In places the paths are deeply worn in the soft rock. How many, many feet must have passed over them! The Lord Himself must often have walked here. And we would sit down on top of the hill and look at the beautiful view, the great green plain and the hills of Samaria to the south, the blue water of the Mediterranean to the west, and range upon range of hills and mountains in the north. The Lord must often have looked upon this view, for Nazareth was His home from when He was a very little boy until He was about thirty years old. We are told very little about the Lord's life as a boy in Nazareth. "The Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him." He was subject to Mary and Joseph. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." And we know that the Child Jesus was truthful and kind and useful, for He has told us that children ought to be so. It will many times be a help to you when the thought of doing wrong comes to your mind, to think that the Lord as a little Child in Nazareth bravely put such thoughts away, and did what was right.

We are told of one thing that happened when the Lord was twelve years old. It was springtime, when the meadows were green and the hills were bright with flowers. A company of friends were journeying from Nazareth to Jerusalem to the Passover, the great feast of the year, and the Lord was going with them. Can you tell me when the first Passover was kept? On the night that the children of Israel came out of Egypt; and it was kept each year at Jerusalem in memory of the deliverance. Pilgrims came at that season from all parts of the country and from foreign lands. The company from Nazareth were among them. It was a wonderful experience for the children who were old enough to go for the first time to the Passover. It was still more wonderful and holy to the Lord, for when He saw the beautiful city and the great temple and the ceremonies of the feast, He saw a holy meaning in all these things, which no one else knew.

The celebration lasted for some days, but when the night of the special feast was over the people began to scatter to their homes. The friends from Nazareth drew off a little from the confusion of the crowded city, and stopped in some quiet place to make ready for the journey home. You know what happened, how the Lord was not with them, how Mary and Joseph turned back to Jerusalem, seeking Him, and how, after three days of sad searching, they found Him in the temple. And He went back with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth. Now let us read the story.

1. Where is Nazareth? When is it first mentioned in the Gospel story? When did it become the Lord's home?

2. What was the Passover? At what season was it kept?

3. What was the reason of the visit to Jerusalem when the Lord was twelve years old? What did He say when they found Him in the temple? 4. What is the Father's business?

It often seems that it would be a help to us if we might know more about the Lord's life in Nazareth. Much more is told us in the Old Testament, for the whole Bible is about the Lord. (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, 44) It is true that the Old Testament tells little about the outward circumstances of the Lord's life. The Gospels tell all of these things that we need to know, and we can see the town of Nazareth and the paths where the Lord walked, and feel how real the story is. But the Old Testament tells what is much more interesting and important to know, the inner experiences, the inner thoughts and feelings, of the Lord's life. The stories of Abraham and Joseph and Samuel tell in a deeper sense about Him. Abraham especially represents the Lord in His childhood. Abraham's journeys describe the Lord's progress as a child in knowledge and intelligence. Abraham's wars describe the terrible conflicts with evil thoughts and feelings and evil spirits, that the Lord endured even as a little child, so that He might be able to help us. You will greatly enjoy reading parts of A. 1458, 1460, 1461, 1673, 1690, 1705.

The question which the Lord asked when Mary and Joseph found Him in the temple means a great deal to every growing boy and girl. "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" We are old enough to realize that the Lord is our Father and that He has made us as His children in His image and likeness, and that He has work for each one of us to do, some little part of His great work of making people better and happier. There is often a choice between something that will please ourselves and something that we know the Lord, wishes us to do. It is a help at such times to say, "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" (E. 430)

If we know that the Lord is our Father and we are trying to do His work, ought it to make us less obedient to our natural parents, or impatient with the humble, narrow circumstances of our life, or neglectful of natural duties? What was the Lord's example? "And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." We must be obedient to natural parents and patient with narrow circumstances and faithful in natural duties. In such patience and faithfulness we do the Father's business best.

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