The time was near for Je-sus to come on the earth. God had told Ad-am and Eve of one who would save them from their sins. Mo-ses, and all the seers and wise men, spoke of him who was to give men new hearts, and help them to lead new lives.

In the days of He-rod, king of Ju-dah, there was a priest named Zach-a-ri-as. His wife's name was E-liz-a-beth. They were both old, and had led pure lives, and sought to keep God's laws. But they had no child.

One day when the priest was in the house of God by one of the al-tars, an an-gel came and stood near him. And when the priest saw him he shook with fear.

But the an-gel said: Fear not, Zach-a-ri-as, for God will give thee and thy wife a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and shall turn the hearts of men to the Lord their God.

Then Zach-a-ri-as said to the an-gel, But how shall I know that these things will be?

And the an-gel said to him, I am the an-gel Ga-bri-el, who stands near to God, and he has sent me to tell thee this good news. And for thy lack of faith thou shalt be dumb, and speak not a word till the day that these things come to pass.

Now those who were in the courts of God's house thought it strange that Zach-a-ri-as should stay so long at the al-tar where he burnt the in-cense.

And when he came out he could not speak to them, but made them know by signs that he had seen a strange sight.

Six months from this time God sent the an-gel Ga-bri-el to the town of Naz-a-reth, to a young wo-man there whose name was Ma-ry. She was one of the heirs of King Da-vid.

When Ma-ry saw the an-gel she was in great fear, for she knew not why he had come. And the an-gel said: Fear not, Ma-ry, for God has blessed thee. Thou shalt have a son, and shalt call his name Je-sus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of God. And God will make him a king, and to his reign there shall be no end.

Ma-ry said: How can this be?

The an-gel told her that what might seem hard for her was not hard for God, who could do all things. He had told E-liz-a-beth that she should have a son, and he had now sent word to Ma-ry that she should have a son; and what he had said he would do.

Then Ma-ry said, Let the Lord's will be done. And the an-gel left her.

Ma-ry made haste and went to the land of Ju-dah, and to the house of E-liz-a-beth and Zach-a-ri-as, where she spent three months. Then she came back to her own home. Jo-seph was the name of Ma-ry's hus-band; and he was a Jew, of King Da-vid's line. They were both poor, and Jo-seph had to work hard at his trade. He was a car-pen-ter.

God gave Zach-a-ri-as and E-liz-a-beth the son that he said they should have. And when the child was eight days old, the friends and kins-folk came to see it and to give it a name. Most of them said, Call him Zach-a-ri-as.

But the child's mo-ther said, Not so. He shall be called John.

And they said, There is none of thy kin-dred that is called by this name.

And they made signs to the fa-ther that he should let them know by what name the child should be called.

And the fa-ther sat down and wrote: His name is John. And they all thought this strange, as he[238]
[239] had not told them of the an-gel who spoke to him in the house of God.

As soon as Zach-a-ri-as wrote these words his speech came back to him, and he gave praise and thanks to God. And all the folks in that part of the land heard of these things, and they said, What sort of a child shall this be? And the boy grew tall and strong, and the Lord blest him, and he went out and dwelt in the woods and waste lands till he was a man, and it was time for him to preach to the Jews and to tell them of Je-sus.

Now the king of Rome was called a Ce-sar, in the speech of that land, and the Jews had to do just as he said, for they were his slaves. And he made a law that the names of all the Jews should be put down in a book, that it might be known what tribe they came from, and what they were worth. Then, too, it would not be a hard task to count them when the Ce-sar wished to know how large a force of them was in this land he had fought for and won.

And each Jew was to go to that part of the land where his fore-fa-thers dwelt, and have his name put down in the book at that place.

So, as Jo-seph and his wife were of the house of Da-vid, they both set out for the town of Beth-le-hem, where Da-vid used to feed his sheep. The way was long, and when they came to the town they found a great crowd of folks there. There was no room for Jo-seph and Ma-ry at the inn, and they knew no one at whose house they could stay.

As they went from place to place in search of a room, they came to a shed in which was a great trough or man-ger full of hay, where the poor folks who came to town fed the beasts on which they rode.

So Jo-seph and Ma-ry made their home in this shed while they had to wait to have their names put down. And while they were there God gave to Ma-ry the son that he said she should have.

And as she had no fine soft clothes to wrap the babe in, she took bands of cloth and put round him, and laid him on the straw in the man-ger.

In those days rich men kept large flocks of sheep and goats, and had men watch them at night for fear that wild beasts would seize and kill them. The men who fed and took care of the sheep were called shep-herds.

One night, as some shep-herds were on the hills where they kept watch of their flocks, the an-gel of the Lord came down to them. And a bright light shone round them so that they were in great fear.

And the an-gel said to them, Fear not, for I bring you good news which shall give joy to all the land. For Christ, the Lord, is born for you this day, in the town of Beth-le-hem, and he will save you from your sins. And this is the way ye shall know him: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a man-ger.

When the an-gel had said this, there came, like a flash of light, a great host of an-gels who gave praise to God, and sang, Glo-ry be to God on high, and on earth, peace and good-will to men.

When the an-gels had left them the shep-herds said, Let us go at once to Beth-le-hem and see these things of which the an-gel has told us.

And they came with haste, and found Ma-ry and Jo-seph, and the babe that lay in the man-ger where the ox and ass used to feed. And when they had seen the child, they went out and told what the an-gel had said to them. And those who heard were filled with awe, for it was the first time that such a thing had been done in the world. And the strange news spread fast.

Ma-ry told no one of the talk she had had with the an-gel, but thought much of these things, and took the best of care of the new-born babe. It did not seem as if it could be her own child.

When the babe was eight days old, its fa-ther and mo-ther gave it the name of Je-sus, as the an-gel had bid them. And they gave him to the Lord; that is, they vowed to the priest that they would bring up the child to serve God and to lead a good life. For[242]
[243] though he was the son of God he was sent on earth to teach men what they ought to do.

Now there was a man in Je-ru-sa-lem whose name was Sim-e-on. He was a good man, and did what was right, and for years he had been on the watch for one of whom the seers had told, and who was to save men from their sins.

And it was made known to Sim-e-on in a dream that he should not die till he had seen this King of kings and Lord of lords.

Sim-e-on was a priest in the house of God, and when Jo-seph and Ma-ry brought in the child Je-sus, he took it up in his arms and blest God, and said: Now, Lord, thy words have come true, and I can die in peace, for I have seen him who is to be the light of the world, and to save men from their sins!

Jo-seph and Ma-ry knew not what to make of this strange speech. And the priest blest them, and gave the child back to his mo-ther, and told her of some of the great things he would do when he grew up to be a man.

And there was one An-na, who kept all the fasts, and served God night and day. She was four-score and four years old, and could fore-tell what was to take place, and her fame was great. And she came in-to the house of God while Sim-e-on yet spoke, and gave thanks to the Lord, and told of him who was to come to save the Jews, and to give them back their rights.

Then Ma-ry and Jo-seph went back to their own home in Naz-a-reth. And the child grew, and was strong, and wise, and God blest him from day to day.