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- Herausgeber: e-artnow
- Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
This carefully crafted ebook: "The Wonderful Life (Christmas Classic)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Hesba Stretton was the pen name of Sarah Smith (1832-1911), an English writer of children's books. Content: THE CARPENTER: THE HOLY LAND JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM IN THE TEMPLE THE WISE MEN NAZARETH THE FIRST PASSOVER THE PROPHET: JOHN THE BAPTIST CANA OF GALILEE THE FIRST SUMMER SAMARIA THE FIRST SABBATH-MIRACLE HIS OLD HOME CAPERNAUM FOES FROM JERUSALEM AT NAIN MIGHTY WORKS A HOLIDAY IN GALILEE IN THE NORTH AT HOME ONCE MORE THE LAST AUTUMN LAZARUS THE LAST SABBATH VICTIM AND VICTOR: THE SON OF DAVID THE TRAITOR THE PASCHAL SUPPER GETHSEMANE THE HIGH PRIEST'S PALACE PILATE'S JUDGMENT HALL CALVARY IN THE GRAVE THE SEPULCHRE EMMAUS IT IS THE LORD HIS FRIENDS HIS FOES
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The Wonderful Life
(Christmas Classic)
Table of Contents
PREFACE.
The following slight and brief sketch is merely the story of the life and death of our Lord. It has been written for those who have not the leisure, or the books, needed for threading together the fragmentary and scattered incidents recorded in the Four Gospels. Of late years these records have been searched diligently for the smallest links, which might serve to complete the chain of those years passed amongst us by One who called Himself the Son of Man, and did not refuse to be called the Son of God. This little book is intended only to present the result of these close investigations, made by many learned men, in a plain continuous narrative, suitable for unlearned readers. There is nothing new in it. It would be difficult to write anything new of that Life, which has been studied and sifted for nearly nineteen hundred years.
The great mystery that surrounds Christ is left untouched. Neither love nor thought of ours can reach the heart of it, whilst still we see Him as through a glass darkly. When we behold Him as He is, face to face, then, and only then, shall we know fully what He was, and what He did for us. Whilst we strain our eyes to catch the mysterious vision, but dimly visible, we are in danger of becoming blind to that human, simple, homely life, spent amongst us as the pattern of our days. “If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of Him.” Happy they who are content with being known of God.
Christmas, 1874.
BOOK I.THE CARPENTER.
CHAPTER I.THE HOLY LAND.
Very far away from our own country lies the land where Jesus Christ was born. More than two thousand miles stretch between us and it, and those who wish to visit it must journey over sea and land to reach its shores. It rests in the very heart and centre of the Old World, with Asia, Europe, and Africa encircling it. A little land it is, only half the length of England, and but fifty miles broad from the Great Sea, or the Mediterranean, on the west, to the river Jordan, on the east But its hills and valleys, its dusty roads, and green pastures, its vineyards and oliveyards, and its village-streets have been trodden by the feet of our Lord; and for us, as well as for the Jews, to whom God gave it, it is the Holy Land.
The country lies high, and forms a table-land, on which there are mountains of considerable height Moses describes it as ‘a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness. A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year.’ The sky is cloudless, except in the end of autumn and in winter, and no moisture collects but in the form of dew. In former times vineyards and orchards climbed up the slopes of every hill, and the plains were covered with wheat and barley. It was densely peopled, far more so than our own country is now, and over all the land villages and towns were built, with farm-houses scattered between them. Herds of sheep and goats were pastured in the valleys, and on the barren mountains, where the vines and olives could not grow.
There are two lakes in Galilee, one in the northwest, the other south-west, with the river Jordan flowing between them, through a deep valley, sixty miles long. The southern lake is the Dead Sea, or Sea of Death. No living creature can exist in its salt waters. The palm-trees carried down by the floods of Jordan are cast up again by the waves on the marshy shore, and lie strewn about it, bare and bleached, and crusted over with salt Naked rocks close in the sea, with no verdure upon them; rarely is a bird seen to fly across it, whilst at the southern end, where there is a mountain, and pillars of rock-salt, white as snow, there always hangs a veil of mist, like smoke ascending up for ever and ever into the blue sky above. As the brown and rapid stream of Jordan flows into it on the north, the waters will not mingle, but the salt waves foam against the fresh, sweet current of the river, as if to oppose its effort to bring some life into its desolate and barren depths.
The northern lake is called the Sea of Galilee. Like the Dead Sea, it lies in a deep basin, surrounded by hills; but this depth gives to it so warm and fertilizing a climate, that the shores are covered with a thick jungle of shrubs, especially of the oleander, with its rose-coloured blossoms. Grassy slopes here and there lead up to the feet of the mountains. The deep blue waters are sweet, clear, and transparent, and in some places the waves ebb and flow over beds of flowers, which have crept down to the very margin of the lake. Flocks of birds build among the jungle, and water-fowl skim across the surface of the lake in myriads, for the water teems with fish. All the early hours of the morning the lark sings there merrily, and throughout the live-long day the moaning of the dove is heard. In former times, when the shores of the lake were crowded with villages, hundreds of boats and little ships with white sails sailed upon it, and all sorts of fruit and corn were cultivated on the western plain.
The Holy Land, in the time of our Lord, was divided into three provinces, almost into three countries, as distinct as England, Scotland, and Wales. In the south was Judea, with the capital, Jerusalem, the Holy City, where the Temple of the Jews was built, and where their king dwelt The people of Judea were more courtly and polished, and, perhaps, more educated than the other Jews, for they lived nearer Jerusalem, where all the greatest and wisest men of the nation had their homes. Up in the north lay Galilee, inhabited by stronger and rougher men, whose work was harder and whose speech was harsher than their southern brethren, but whose spirit was more independent, and more ready to rebel against tyranny. Between those two districts, occupied by Jews, lay an unfriendly country, called Samaria, whose people were of a mixed race, descended from a colony of heathen who had been settled in the country seven hundred years before, and who had so largely intermarried with the Jews that they had often sought to become united with them as one nation. The Jews had steadily resisted this union, and now a feeling of bitter enmity existed between them, so that Galilee was shut off from Judea by an alien country.
The great prosperity of the Jewish nation had passed away long before our Lord was born. An unpopular king, Herod, who did not belong to the royal house of David, was reigning; but he held his throne only upon sufferance from the great emperor of Rome, whose people had then subdued all the known world. As yet there were no Roman tax-gatherers in the land, but Herod paid tribute to Augustus, and this was raised by heavy taxes upon the people. All the country was full of murmuring, and discontent, and dread. But a secret hope was running deep down in every Jewish heart, helping them to bear their present burdens. The time was well-nigh fulfilled when, according to the prophets, a King of the House of David, greater than David in battle, and more glorious than Solomon in all his glory, should be born to the nation. Far away in Galilee, in the little villages among the hills, and the busy towns by the lake, and down in southern Judea, in the beautiful capital, Jerusalem, and in the sacred cities of the priests, a whisper passed from one drooping spirit to another, ‘Patience! the kingdom of Messiah is at hand.’
As the land of our Lord lies many hundreds of miles from us, so His life on this earth was passed hundreds of years ago. There are innumerable questions we long to ask, but there is no one to answer. Four little books, each one called a Gospel, or the good tidings of Jesus Christ, are all we have to tell us of that most beautiful and most wondrous life. But whenever we name the date of the present year we are counting from the time when He was born In reality, He was born three or four years earlier, and though the date is not exactly known, it is now most likely 1877, instead of 1874, years since Mary laid Him, a new-born babe, in His lowly cradle of a manger in Bethlehem.
CHAPTER II.JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM.
Jerusalem was a city beautiful for situation, built on two ridges of rocky ground, with a deep valley between them. It was full of splendid palaces and towers, with aqueducts and bridges, and massive walls, the stones of which are still a marvel for their size. Upon the ridge of Mount Zion stood the marble palaces of the king, his noblemen, and the high priest; on the opposite and lower hill rose the Temple, built of snow-white marble, with cedar roofs, and parapets of gold, which, glistening in the bright sunshine and pure moonlight, could be seen from afar off in the dear, dry atmosphere of that eastern land. From ridge to ridge a magnificent viaduct was built, connecting the Temple Mount with Mount Zion and its streets of palaces.
Every Jew had a far more fervent and loyal affection for the Temple than for the palace of the king. It was, in fact, the palace of their true King, Jehovah. Three times a year their law ordained a solemn feast to be held there, grander than the festivities of any earthly king. Troops of Jews came up to them from all parts of the country, even from northern Galilee, which was three or four days’ journey distant, and from foreign lands, where emigrants had settled. It was a joyous crowd, and they were joyous times. Friends who had been long parted met once more together, and went up in glad companies to the house of their God. It has been reckoned that at the great feast, that of the Passover, nearly three millions of Jews thronged the streets and suburbs of the Holy City, most of whom had offerings and sacrifices to present in the Temple; for nowhere else under the blue sky could any sacrifice be offered to the true God.
Even a beloved king held no place in the heart of the Jews beside their Temple. But Herod, who was then reigning, was hateful to the people, though he had rebuilt the Temple for them with extraordinary splendour. He was cruel, revengeful, and cowardly, terribly jealous, and suspicious of all about him, so far as to have put to death his own wife and three of his sons. The crowds who came to the feasts carried the story of his tyranny to the remotest comers of his kingdom. He even offended his patron,’ the emperor of Rome; and the emperor had written to him a very sharp letter, saying that he had hitherto treated him as a friend, but now he should deal with him as an enemy. Augustus ordered that a tax should be levied on the Jews, as in other conquered countries, and required from Herod a return of all his subjects who would be liable to the tax.
This command of the Roman emperor threw the whole nation into disturbance. The return was allowed to be made by Herod, not by the Romans themselves, and he proceeded to do it in the usual Jewish fashion. The registers of the Jews were carefully kept in the cities of their families, but the people were scattered throughout the country. It was therefore necessary to order every man to go to the city of his own family, there to answer to the register of his name and age, and to give in an account of the property he possessed. Besides this, he was required to take an oath to Caesar and the king; a bitter trial to the Jews, who boasted, years afterwards, under a Roman governor, ‘We are a free people, and were never in bondage to any man.’ There must have been so much natural discontent felt at this requirement that it is not likely the winter season would be chosen for carrying it out. The best, because the least busy time of the year, would be after the olives and grapes were gathered, and before the season for sowing the corn came, which was in November. The Feast of Tabernacles was held at the close of the vintage, and fell about the end of September or beginning of October. It was the most joyous of all the feasts, and as the great national Day of Atonement immediately preceded it, it was probably very largely attended by the nation; and perhaps the gladness of the season might in some measure tend to counteract the discontent of the people.
But whether at the Feast of Tabernacles, or later in the year, the whole Jewish nation was astir, marching to and fro to the cities of their families. At this very time a singular event befell a company of shepherds, who were watching their flocks by night in the open plain stretching some miles eastward from Bethlehem, a small village about six miles from Jerusalem. Bethlehem was the city of the house of David, and all the descendants of that beloved king were assembled to answer to their names on the register, and to be enrolled as Roman subjects. The shepherds had not yet brought in their flocks for the winter, and they were watching them with more than usual care, it may be, because of the unsettled state of the country, and the gathering together of so many strangers, not for a religious, but for a political purpose, which would include the lowest classes of the people, as Well as the law-loving and law-abiding Jews.
No doubt this threatened taxing and compulsory oath of subjection had intensified the desire of the nation for the coming of the Messiah. Every man desires to be delivered from degradation and taxes, if he cares nothing about being saved from his sins. It was not safe to speak openly of the expected Messiah: but out on the wide plains, with the darkness shutting them in, the shepherds could while away the long, chilly hours with talking of the events of the passing times, and of that promised king whom, so their teachers said in secret, was soon, very soon to appear to crush their enemies.
But as the night wore on, when some of them were growing drowsy, and the talk had fallen into a few slow sentences spoken from time to time, a light, above the brightness of the sun, which had sunk below the horizon hours ago, shone all about them with a strange splendour. As soon as their dazzled eyes could bear the light, they saw within it a form as of an angel. Sore afraid they were as they caught sight of each other’s faces in this terrible, unknown glory. But quickly the angel spoke to them, lest their terror should grow too great for them to hear aright.
‘Fear not,’ he said, ‘for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’
Suddenly, as the angel ended his message, the shepherds saw, standing with him in the glorious light, a great multitude of the blessed hosts that people heaven, who were singing a new song under the silent stars, which shone dimly in the far-off sky. Once before ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy’ because God had created a world. Now, at the birth of a child, in the little village close by, where many an angry Jew had lain down to a troubled sleep, they sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’
The sign given to the shepherds served as a guide to them. They were to find the new-born babe cradled in a manger, with no softer bed than the fodder of the cattle. Surely, the poorest mother in the humblest home in Bethlehem could provide better for her child. They must, then, seek the Messiah, just proclaimed to them, among the strangers who were sleeping in the village inn. All day long had parties of travellers been crossing the plain, and the shepherds would know very well that the little inn, which was built at the eastern part of the village, merely as a shelter for such chance passers-by, would be quite full. It was not a large building; for Bethlehem was too near to Jerusalem for many persons to tarry there for the night, instead of pressing forward to the Holy City. It was only on such an occasion as this that the inn was likely to be over full.
But as the shepherds drew near the eastern gate, they probably saw the glimmering of a lamp near the inn. It is a very old tradition that our Lord was born in a cave; and this is quite probable. If the inn were built near to a cave, it would naturally be used by the travellers for storing away their food from the heavy night dews, although their mules and asses might stay out in the open air. A light in the cave would attract the shepherds to it, and there they found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. A plain working man, like themselves, his wife, and a helpless new-born child; how strangely this sight must have struck them, after the glory and mystery of the vision of angels they had just witnessed! How different was Mary’s low, hushed voice as she pointed out the child born since the sun went down, from that chorus of glad song, when all the heavenly host sang praises to God.
A strange story they had to tell Mary of the vision they had just seen. She was feeling the first great gladness and joy of every mother over her child born into the world, but in Mary's case this joy was brightened beyond that of all other women, yet shadowed by the mystery of being the chosen mother of the Messiah. The shepherds’ statement increased her gladness, and lifted her above the natural feeling of dishonour done to her child by the poor and lowly circumstances of his birth; whilst they, satisfied with the testimony of their own senses, having seen and heard for themselves, went away, and made known these singular and mysterious events. All who heard these things wondered at them; but as the shepherds were men of no account, and Joseph and Mary were poor strangers in the place, we may be sure there would be few to care about such a babe, in those days of vexation and tumult Had the Messiah been born in a palace, and the vision of the heavenly host been witnessed by a company of the priests, the whole nation would have centred their hopes and expectations upon the child; and unless a whole series of miracles had been worked for his preservation the Roman conquerors would have destroyed both Him and them. No miracle was wrought for the infant Christ, save that constant ministry of angels, sent forth to minister unto Him who was the Captain of salvation, even as they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
CHAPTER III.IN THE TEMPLE.
Joseph and Mary did not remain in the cave longer than could be helped. As soon as the unusual crowd of strangers was gone, they found some other dwelling-place, though not in the inn, which was intended for no more than a shelter for passing travellers. They had forty days to wait before Mary could go up to the Temple to offer her sacrifice after the birth of her child, when also Joseph would present him to the Lord, according to the ancient law that every first-born child, which was a son, belonged especially to God. Joseph could not afford to live in idleness for six weeks; and as he had known beforehand that they must be detained in Bethlehem so long, he probably had carried with him his carpenter’s tools, and now set about looking for work. It is likely that both he and Mary thought it best to bring up Jesus in Bethlehem, where He was born; for they must have known the prophecy that out of Bethlehem should come the Messiah. It was near to Jerusalem, and from His earliest years the child would become familiar with the Temple, and its services and priests. It was not far from the hill country, where Zacharias and Elizabeth were living, whose son, born in their old age, was still only an infant of six months, but whose future mission was to be the forerunner of the Messiah. For every reason it would seem best to return no more to Nazareth, the obscure village in Galilee, but to settle in Bethlehem itself.
At the end of forty days, Mary went up to Jerusalem to offer her sacrifice, and Joseph to present the child, and pay the ransom of five shekels for Him, without which the priests might claim Him as a servant to do the menial work of the Temple. They must have passed by the tomb of Rachel, who so many centuries before had died in giving birth to her son; and Mary, whose heart pondered over such things, may have whispered to herself, as she clasped her child closer to her, ‘In Rams, was a voice heard; lamentation and weeping, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not’ She did not know the full meaning of those words yet; but, amid her own wonderful happiness, she would sigh over Rachel’s sorrow, little thinking that the prophecy linked it with the baby she was carrying in her arms.
At this time the Temple was being rebuilt by Herod, in the most costly and magnificent manner, but we will keep the description of it until twelve years later, when Jesus came to His first passover. Mary’s offering of two turtle-doves, instead of a lamb and a turtle-dove, proves the poverty of Joseph, for only poor persons were allowed to substitute another turtle-dove or young pigeon for a lamb. These birds abound in the Holy Land, and were consequently of very small value. After she had made her offering, and before Joseph presented the child to the Lord, an old man, dwelling in Jerusalem, came into the Temple. It had been revealed to him that he should not see death before his eyes had beheld the blessed vision of the Lord’s Christ, for whom he had waited through many long years. Now, seeing this little child, he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, saying, ‘Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.’ Whilst Joseph and Mary wondered at these words, Simeon blessed them, and speaking to Mary alone, he continued: ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’
This was the first word of sorrow that had fallen upon Mary’s ears since the angel had appeared to her, more than ten months before, in her lowly home in Nazareth. Hitherto, the great mystery that set her apart from all other women had been full of rapture only. Her song had been one of triumphant gladness, with not a single note of sorrow mingling with it. Her soul had magnified the Lord, because He had regarded her low estate; she was hungry, and He had filled her with good things. She had heard through the countless ages of the future all generations calling her blessed. A new, mysterious tender life had been breathed through her, and she had been overshadowed by the Highest, whose shadow is brighter than all earthly joys and glories. Now, for forty days she had nursed the Holy Child, and no dimness had come across her rapture. Yet, when she brings the child to His Father’s house, the first word of sorrow is spoken, and the first faint thrill of a mother’s ready fears crept coldly into her heart.
So as they walked home in the cool of the day to Bethlehem, and passed again the tomb of Rachel, Mary would probably be pondering over the words of Simeon, and wondering what the sword was that would pierce her own soul. The first prick of that sharp anguish was soon to make itself felt.
Besides Simeon, Anna, a very aged prophetess, had seen the child, and both spoke of Him to them that looked for redemption or deliverance in Jerusalem. Quietly, and in trusted circles, would this event be spoken of; for all knew the extreme danger of calling the attention of Herod to such a matter. They were too familiar with the cowardice and cruelty of their king to let any rumour reach him of the birth of the Messiah. It does not appear, moreover, that either Simeon or Anna knew where He was to be found. But a remarkable circumstance, which came to pass soon after, exposed the child of Bethlehem to the very peril they prudently sought to shield Him from, and destroyed the hopes of those who did not know that He escaped the danger.
CHAPTER IV.THE WISE MEN.
Among the many travellers who visited Jerusalem, which was the most magnificent city of the East, there came at this time a party of distinguished strangers who had journeyed from the far East. They were soon known to be both wise and wealthy; men who had given up their lives to learned and scientific studies, especially that of astronomy. They said they had seen, in their close and ceaseless scrutiny of the sky, a new star, which, for some reason not known to us, they connected with the distant land of Judea, and called it the star of the King of the Jews.
There was an idea spread throughout all countries at that time, that a personage of vast wisdom and power, a Deliverer, was about to be born among the Jews. These wise men at once set off for the capital of Judea; for where else could the King of the Jews be born? Possibly they may have expected to find all the city astir with rejoicings; but they could not even get an answer to their question, ‘Where is He?’ Those who had heard of Him had kept the secret faithfully. But before long Herod was told of these extraordinary strangers, and their search for a new-born King, who was no child of his. He was an old man, nearly seventy, and in a wretched state, both of body and mind; tormented by his conscience, yet not guided by it, and ready for any measure of cunning and cruelty. All Jerusalem was troubled with him, for not the shrewdest man in Jerusalem could guess what Herod would do, in any moment of rage.
Herod immediately sent for all the chief priests and scribes, who came together in much fear and consternation, and demanded of them where the Messiah should be born. They did not attempt to hesitate, or conceal the birth-place. If any of them had heard of the child of Bethlehem, and Simeon’s and Anna’s statement concerning Him, their dread of Herod was too powerful for them to risk their own lives in an attempt to shield Him. ‘In Bethlehem,’ they answered promptly. Right glad would they be when Herod, satisfied with this information, dismissed them, and they went their way safe and sound to their houses. Thus at the outset the chief priests and scribes proved themselves unwilling to suffer anything for the Messiah, whose office it was to bring to them glory and dominion.
Privately, but courteously, Herod then sent for the wise men, and inquired of them diligently how long it was since the star appeared; and bade them seek the child in Bethlehem, and when they had found Him to bring him word, that he might go and do homage to Him also. There was nothing in the king’s manner or words to arouse their suspicions of his real purpose, and no doubt they set out for Bethlehem with the intention of returning to Jerusalem.
Still it appeared likely that there would be some difficulty in discovering the child, of whom they knew nothing certainly, except that they were to search, and to search diligently, for Him in Bethlehem. They rejoiced with exceeding great joy, therefore, when, as they left the walls of Jerusalem behind them in the evening dusk, they saw the star again hanging in the southern sky, and going before them on their way. No need now for guides, no need to wander up and down the streets, asking for the new-born King. The star, or meteor, stood over the humble house where the young child was, and, entering in, they saw Him, with Mary, His mother, and fell down, doing Him homage as the King whose star was even now shining above the lowly roof that sheltered Him. There was no palace, no train of servants, no guard, save the poor carpenter, whose day’s work was done, and who was watching over the young child; but they could not be mistaken. The future glorious King of the Jews was here.
They had not come from their distant country to seek a king empty-handed. Royal presents they had prepared and brought with them; and now they opened their treasures, and offered costly gifts to Him, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, such as they would have presented, had they found the child in Herod’s own palace in Jerusalem. Then, taking their leave, they were about to return to Herod, when a warning dream which they could not mistake or misinterpret, directed them to depart into their country another way.
The hour was at hand when the costly gifts of the wise men would be necessary for the preservation of the poor little family, not yet settled and at home in its new quarters. Even as a babe the Son of Man had not where to lay His head; and no spot on earth was a resting-place for Him. After the wise men were gone, the angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him.’
Mary’s chilly fears then were being realized, and she felt the first prick of the sword that should pierce her soul. The visit of the wise men from the far East had been another hour of exultation and another testimony to the claims of her son. Possibly they may have told her 'that the king himself wished to come down from Jerusalem, and worship Him; and dreams of splendour, of kingly and priestly protection for the infant Messiah, might well fill her mind. But now she learned that Herod was seeking the child’s life, to destroy Him. They could not escape too quickly; there was no time to be lost. The angel’s words were urgent, ‘Arise, at once.’
It was night; a winter’s night, but there must be no delay. At daybreak the villagers would be astir, and they could not get away unseen. Before the grey streak of light was dawning in the east, they ought to be some miles on the road. Mary must carry the child, shielding Him as best she could from the chilly dampness of the night; and Joseph must load himself with the wise men’s gifts. Little had she thought, when those rich foreigners were falling down before her child in homage, that only a night or two later she would be stealing with Him through the dark and silent streets, as if she was a criminal, not the happy mother of the glorious Messiah. And they were to flee out of the Holy Land itself, into Egypt, the old land of bondage!
Unseen, unnoticed, the flight from Bethlehem was made. They were but strangers there; and very few, if any, of the inhabitants would miss the strangers from Nazareth, who had settled among them so lately, and who had now gone away again with as little observation as they came.
