SON OF GOD
An Angel Visits Mary
THIS pretty woman is Mary. She is an Israelitess, who lives in the town of Nazʹa·reth. God knows that she is a very fine person. That is why he has sent his angel Gaʹbri·el to speak to her. Do you know what Gaʹbri·el has come to tell Mary? Let’s see.
‘Good day, you highly favored one,’ Gaʹbri·el says to her. ‘Jehovah is with you.’ Mary has never seen this person before. She is worried, because she doesn’t know what he means. But right away Gaʹbri·el calms her fears.
‘Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ he says. ‘Jehovah is very pleased with you. That is why he is going to do a wonderful thing for you. You will soon have a baby. And you are to call him Jesus.’
Gaʹbri·el goes on to explain: ‘This child will be great, and he will be called Son of the Most High God. Jehovah will make him king, as David was. But Jesus will be a king forever, and his kingdom will never end!’
‘How can this all be?’ Mary asks. ‘I am not even married. I have not lived with a man, so how can I have a baby?’
‘God’s power will come upon you,’ Gaʹbri·el answers. ‘So the child will be called God’s Son.’ Then he tells Mary: ‘Remember your relative Elizabeth. People said that she was too old to have children. But soon now she will have a son. So you see, there is nothing that God can’t do.’
Right away Mary says: ‘I am Jehovah’s slave girl! May it happen to me just as you have said.’ The angel then leaves.
Mary hurries off to visit Elizabeth. When Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice, the baby inside Elizabeth jumps for joy. Elizabeth is filled with God’s spirit, and she says to Mary: ‘You are specially blessed among women.’ Mary stays with Elizabeth about three months, and then goes back home to Nazʹa·reth.
Mary is about to get married to a man named Joseph. But when Joseph learns that Mary is going to have a baby, he doesn’t think he should marry her. Then God’s angel says to him: ‘Don’t be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is God who has given her a son.’ So Mary and Joseph get married, and they wait for Jesus to be born.
Jesus Born in a Stable
DO YOU know who this little baby is? Yes, it is Jesus. He has just been born in a stable. A stable is where animals are kept. Mary is laying Jesus in the manger, which is the place that holds the food for donkeys and other animals to eat. But why are Mary and Joseph here with the animals? This is no place for a baby to be born, is it?
No, it isn’t. But this is why they are here: The ruler of Rome, Caesar Au·gusʹtus, made a law that everyone must return to the city where he was born to have his name written in a book. Well, Joseph was born here in Bethʹle·hem. But when he and Mary arrived, there wasn’t a room for them anywhere. So they had to come here with the animals. And on this very day Mary gave birth to Jesus! But, as you can see, he is all right.
Can you see the shepherds coming to see Jesus? They were in the fields at night taking care of their sheep, and a bright light shone all around them. It was an angel! The shepherds were very much afraid. But the angel said: ‘Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you. Today, in Bethʹle·hem, Christ the Lord was born. He will save the people! You will find him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly many angels came and began praising God. So right away these shepherds hurried to look for Jesus, and now they have found him.
Do you know why Jesus is so special? Do you know who he really is? Remember, in the first story of this book we told about God’s first Son. This Son worked with Jehovah in making the heavens and the earth and everything else. Well, this is who Jesus is!
Yes, Jehovah took the life of his Son from heaven and put it inside Mary. Right away a baby began to grow inside her just as other babies grow inside their mothers. But this baby was God’s Son. Finally Jesus was born here in a stable in Bethʹle·hem. Can you see now why the angels were so happy to be able to tell people that Jesus had been born?
Luke 2:1-20.
Men Guided by a Star
CAN you see that bright star one of these men is pointing to? When they left Jerusalem, the star appeared. These men are from the East, and they study the stars. They believe that this new star is leading them to someone important.
When the men got to Jerusalem, they asked: ‘Where is the child who is to be king of the Jews?’ “Jews” is another name for Israelites. ‘We first saw the child’s star when we were in the East,’ the men said, ‘and we have come to worship him.’
When Herod, who is king at Jerusalem, heard about this he got upset. He did not want another king to take his place. So Herod called the chief priests and asked: ‘Where will the promised king be born?’ They answered: ‘The Bible says in Bethʹle·hem.’
So Herod called the men from the East, and said: ‘Go make a search for the young child. When you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.’ But, really, Herod wanted to find the child to kill him!
Then the star moves ahead of the men to Bethʹle·hem, and it stops over the place where the child is. When the men go into the house, they find Mary and little Jesus. They bring out gifts and give them to Jesus. But later Jehovah warns the men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they return to their own country by another road.
When Herod learns that the men from the East have left for home, he gets very angry. So he gives the command for all the boys in Bethʹle·hem two years of age and under to be killed. But Jehovah warns Joseph ahead of time in a dream, and Joseph leaves with his family for Egypt. Later, when Joseph learns that Herod has died, he takes Mary and Jesus back home to Nazʹa·reth. This is where Jesus grows up.
Who do you think made that new star to shine? Remember, the men first went to Jerusalem after seeing the star. Satan the Devil wanted to kill God’s Son, and he knew that King Herod of Jerusalem would try to kill him. So Satan is the one who must have made that star shine.
Young Jesus in the Temple
LOOK at the young boy talking to these older men. They are teachers in God’s temple at Jerusalem. And the boy is Jesus. He has grown up quite a bit. Now he is 12 years old.
The teachers are very surprised that Jesus knows so much about God and the things written in the Bible. But why aren’t Joseph and Mary here too? Where are they? Let’s find out.
Every year Joseph brings his family to Jerusalem for the special celebration called the Passover. It’s a long trip from Nazʹa·reth to Jerusalem. No one has a car, and there are no trains. They didn’t have them in those days. Most of the people walk, and it takes them about three days to get to Jerusalem.
By now Joseph has a big family. So there are some younger brothers and sisters of Jesus to look after. Well, this year Joseph and Mary have left with their children on the long trip back home to Nazʹa·reth. They think that Jesus is with others traveling along. But when they stop at the end of the day, they can’t find Jesus. They look for him among their relatives and friends, but he’s not with them! So they return to Jerusalem to look for him there.
At last they find Jesus here with the teachers. He is listening to them and asking questions. And all the people are amazed at how wise Jesus is. But Mary says: ‘Child, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried trying to find you.’
‘Why did you have to look for me?’ Jesus answers. ‘Didn’t you know that I had to be in the house of my Father?’
Yes, Jesus loves to be where he can learn about God. Isn’t that the way we should feel too? Back home in Nazʹa·reth, Jesus would go to meetings for worship every week. Because he always paid attention, he learned many things from the Bible. Let’s be like Jesus and follow his example.
John Baptizes Jesus
SEE the dove coming down on the man’s head. The man is Jesus. He is about 30 years old now. And the man with him is John. We already learned something about him. Do you remember when Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth, and the baby inside Elizabeth jumped for joy? That unborn baby was John. But what are John and Jesus doing now?
John has just dipped Jesus into the waters of the Jordan River. This is how a person is baptized. First, he is dipped under water, and then brought up again. Because this is what John does to people, he is called John the Baptizer. But why has John baptized Jesus?
Well, John did it because Jesus came and asked John to baptize him. John baptizes people who want to show that they are sorry for the bad things they have done. But did Jesus ever do anything bad to be sorry about? No, Jesus never did, because he is God’s own Son from heaven. So he asked John to baptize him for a different reason. Let’s see what that reason was.
Before Jesus came here to John, he was a carpenter. A carpenter is a person who makes things out of wood, such as tables and chairs and benches. Mary’s husband Joseph was a carpenter, and he taught Jesus to be one too. But Jehovah did not send his Son to earth to be a carpenter. He has special work for him to do, and the time has come for Jesus to begin doing it. So to show that he has now come to do his Father’s will, Jesus asks John to baptize him. Is God pleased with this?
Yes, he is, because, after Jesus comes up from the water, a voice from heaven says: ‘This is my Son, with whom I am pleased.’ Also, it seems that the heavens open up and this dove comes down on Jesus. But it is not a real dove. It only looks like one. It is really God’s holy spirit.
Now Jesus has a lot to think about, so he goes away to a lonely place for 40 days. There Satan comes to him. Three times Satan tries to get Jesus to do something against God’s laws. But Jesus won’t do it.
After that, Jesus returns and meets some men who become his first followers, or disciples. Some of their names are Andrew, Peter (also called Simon), Philip and Na·thanʹa·el (also called Bar·tholʹo·mew). Jesus and these new disciples leave for the district of Galʹi·lee. In Galʹi·lee they stop at Na·thanʹa·el’s hometown of Caʹna. There Jesus goes to a big wedding feast, and does his first miracle. Do you know what it is? He turns water into wine.
Jesus Teaches on a Mountain
SEE Jesus sitting here. He is teaching all these people on a mountain in Galʹi·lee. Those sitting closest to him are his disciples. He has chosen 12 of them to be apostles. The apostles are Jesus’ special disciples. Do you know their names?
There is Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. Then there are James and John, who are brothers too. Another apostle is also named James, and another one is also called Simon. Two apostles are named Judas. One is Judas Is·carʹi·ot, and the other Judas is also called by the name Thad·daeʹus. Then there are Philip and Na·thanʹa·el (also called Bar·tholʹo·mew), and Matthew and Thomas.
After coming back from Sa·marʹi·a, Jesus began to preach for the first time: ‘The kingdom of the heavens is near.’ Do you know what that kingdom is? It is a real government of God. Jesus is its king. He will rule from heaven and bring peace to the earth. The whole earth will be made into a beautiful paradise by God’s kingdom.
Jesus is here teaching the people about the kingdom. ‘This is how you should pray,’ he is explaining. ‘Our Father in heaven, let your name be honored. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.’ Many people call this ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’ Others call it the ‘Our Father.’ Can you say the whole prayer?
Jesus also is teaching the people how they should treat one another. ‘Do for others what you want them to do for you,’ he says. Don’t you like it when others treat you in a kind way? So, Jesus is saying, we should treat other people kindly. Won’t it be wonderful in the paradise earth when everybody will do this?
He Loves Little Children
LOOK at Jesus here with his arms around the little boy. You can tell that Jesus really cares for little ones. The men watching are his apostles. What is Jesus saying to them? Let’s find out.
Jesus and his apostles have just come back from a long trip. Along the way the apostles had an argument among themselves. So after the trip Jesus asks them: ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ Really, Jesus knows what the argument was about. But he asks the question to see if the apostles will tell him.
The apostles don’t answer, because on the road they were arguing about which one of them is the greatest. Some apostles want to be more important than the others. How will Jesus tell them it is not right to want to be the greatest?
He calls the little boy, and stands him in front of them all. Then he says to his disciples: ‘I want you to know this for certain, Unless you change and become like young children, you will never get into God’s kingdom. The greatest person in the kingdom is the one who becomes like this child.’ Do you know why Jesus said this?
Well, very little children do not worry about being greater or more important than others are. So the apostles should learn to be like children in this way and not quarrel about being great or important.
There are other times, too, when Jesus shows how much he cares for little children. A few months later some people bring their children to see Jesus. The apostles try to keep them away. But Jesus tells his apostles: ‘Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to persons like them.’ Then Jesus takes the children in his arms, and blesses them. Isn’t it good to know that Jesus loves little children?
Jesus Comes as King
A SHORT time after healing the two blind beggars, Jesus comes to a small village near Jerusalem. He tells two of his disciples: ‘Go into the village and you will find a young donkey. Untie it and bring it to me.’
When the donkey is brought to him, Jesus sits on it. Then he rides to Jerusalem a short distance away. When he gets near the city, a large crowd of people comes out to meet him. Most of them take off their coats and put them on the road. Others cut off branches from palm trees. They put these on the road too, and they shout: ‘God bless the king who comes in Jehovah’s name!’
Long ago in Israel new kings would ride into Jerusalem on a young donkey to show themselves to the people. This is what Jesus is doing. And these people are showing that they want Jesus to be their king. But not all the people want him. We can see this by what happens when Jesus goes to the temple.
At the temple Jesus heals persons who are blind and crippled. When the young children see this, they shout praises to Jesus. But this makes the priests angry, and they tell Jesus: ‘Do you hear what the children are saying?’
‘Yes, I do,’ Jesus answers. ‘Did you never read in the Bible where it says: “Out of the mouths of little children God will bring forth praise?”’ So the children keep on praising God’s king.
We want to be like those children, don’t we? Some people may try to stop us from talking about God’s kingdom. But we will keep right on telling others about the wonderful things Jesus will do for people.
It was not time for Jesus to begin ruling as king when he was on earth. When will this time come? Jesus’ disciples want to know. We will read about this next.
On the Mount of Olives
It has been two days since Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the young donkey. It is Tuesday. Earlier in the day Jesus was at the temple. There the priests tried to grab Jesus to kill him. But they were afraid to do this because the people like Jesus.
‘You snakes and sons of snakes!’ Jesus called those religious leaders. Then Jesus said that God would punish them because of all the bad things they had done. After that Jesus came up to the Mount of Olives, and then these four apostles started asking him questions. Do you know what they are asking Jesus?
The apostles are asking about things in the future. They know that Jesus will put an end to all badness on earth. But they want to know when this will happen. When will Jesus come again to rule as King?
Jesus knows that his followers on earth will not be able to see him when he comes again. This is because he will be in heaven, and they will not be able to see him there. So Jesus tells his apostles some of the things that will be happening on earth when he is ruling as King in heaven. What are some of these things?
Jesus says that there will be great wars, many people will be sick and hungry, crime will be very bad, and there will be big earthquakes. Jesus also says that the good news about God’s kingdom will be preached everywhere in the earth. Have we seen these things happening in our time? Yes! And so we can be sure that Jesus is now ruling in heaven. Soon he will put an end to all badness on earth.
Jesus Is Killed
LOOK at the terrible thing that is happening! Jesus is being killed. They have put him on a stake. Nails are driven into his hands and feet. Why would anybody want to do this to Jesus?
It is because some persons hate Jesus. Do you know who they are? One of them is the wicked angel Satan the Devil. He is the one who was able to get Adam and Eve to disobey Jehovah. And Satan is the one who got the enemies of Jesus to commit this terrible crime.
Even before Jesus is nailed here on the stake, his enemies do mean things to him. Remember how they came to the garden of Geth·semʹa·ne and took him away? Who were those enemies? Yes, they were the religious leaders. Well, let’s see what happens next.
When Jesus is taken by the religious leaders, his apostles run away. They leave Jesus alone with his enemies, because they become afraid. But the apostles Peter and John do not go very far away. They follow along to see what happens to Jesus.
The priests take Jesus to the old man Anʹnas, who used to be the high priest. The crowd does not stay here long. They next take Jesus to the house of Caʹia·phas, who is now the high priest. Many religious leaders have gathered at his house.
Here at the house of Caʹia·phas they have a trial. People are brought in to tell lies about Jesus. The religious leaders all say: ‘Jesus should be put to death.’ Then they spit in his face, and hit him with their fists.
While all of this is going on, Peter is outside in the yard. It is a cold night, and so the people make a fire. While they are warming themselves around the fire, a servant girl looks at Peter, and says: ‘This man also was with Jesus.’
‘No, I wasn’t!’ Peter answers.
Three times people say to Peter that he was with Jesus. But each time Peter says it is not true. The third time Peter says this, Jesus turns and looks at him. Peter feels very sorry for telling these lies, and he goes away and weeps.
As the sun starts to come up on Friday morning, the priests take Jesus to their big meeting place, the Sanʹhe·drin hall. Here they talk over what they are going to do with him. They take him to Pontius Pilate, the ruler of the district of Ju·deʹa.
‘This is a bad man,’ the priests tell Pilate. ‘He should be killed.’ After asking Jesus questions, Pilate says: ‘I can’t see that he has done anything wrong.’ Then Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Anʹti·pas. Herod is the ruler of Galʹi·lee, but he is staying in Jerusalem. Herod can’t see that Jesus has done anything wrong either, so he sends him back to Pilate.
Pilate wants to let Jesus go. But Jesus’ enemies want another prisoner to be let go instead. This man is the robber Bar·abʹbas. It is now about noon when Pilate brings Jesus outside. He says to the people: ‘See! Your king!’ But the chief priests yell: ‘Take him away! Kill him! Kill him!’ So Pilate lets Bar·abʹbas go free, and they take Jesus away to be killed.
Early Friday afternoon Jesus is nailed to a stake. You can’t see them in the picture, but on each side of Jesus a criminal is also being put to death on a stake. Shortly before Jesus dies, one of the criminals says to him: ‘Remember me when you get into your kingdom.’ And Jesus answers: ‘I promise you that you will be with me in Paradise.’
Isn’t that a wonderful promise? Do you know what paradise Jesus is talking about? Where was the paradise that God made at the beginning? Yes, on earth. And when Jesus rules as king in heaven, he will bring this man back to life to enjoy the new Paradise on earth. Can’t we be happy about that?
