16
The Story of Jesus
As they traveled, parents told their children of the wonderful things
that God had done for Israel in ages past. And often they sang together
some of the beautiful psalms of David.
In the days of Christ the people had grown cold and formal in their
service to God. They thought more of their own pleasure than of His
goodness to them.
But it was not so with Jesus. He loved to think about God. As He
came to the temple, He watched the priests in their work. He bowed
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with the worshipers as they knelt to pray, and His voice joined in the
songs of praise.
Every morning and evening a lamb was offered upon the altar. This
was to represent the death of the Saviour. As the child Jesus looked
upon the innocent victim, the Holy Spirit taught Him its meaning. He
knew that He Himself, as the Lamb of God, must die for the sins of
men.
With such thoughts in His mind, Jesus wanted to be alone. So He
did not stay with His parents in the temple, and when they started for
home He was not with them.
In a room connected with the temple there was a school taught by
the rabbis, and to this place after a while the child Jesus came. He sat
with the other youth at the feet of the great teachers, and listened to
their words.
The Jews had many wrong ideas about the Messiah. Jesus knew
this, but He did not contradict the learned men. As one who wished to
be taught, He asked questions about what the prophets had written.
The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah speaks of the Saviour’s death, and
Jesus read this chapter, and asked its meaning.
The rabbis could give no answer. They began to question Jesus,
and they were astonished at His knowledge of the Scriptures.
They saw that He understood the Bible far better than they did.
They saw that their teaching was wrong, but they were not willing to
believe anything different.
Yet Jesus was so modest and gentle that they were not angry with
Him. They wanted to keep Him as a student, and teach Him to explain
the Bible as they did.
When Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem on their journey toward
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home, they did not notice that Jesus stayed behind. They thought that
He was with some of their friends in the company.