CHAPTER III.

THE GREAT PROPHET.

"Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean."

W. Now, Uncle, as you have done with Naaman, you will tell us about the lepers who were healed by Christ.

U. I must first see whether you understand what we have already talked about. Can you tell me why so much is said about the leprosy of Naaman?

P. To shew us that he was cured by obeying the Prophet of God.

U. Yes, that is one great thing. He was taught at last to place faith in Elisha; that is, to believe that what Elisha told him was true.

Em. It was told us to shew us the great power of God in curing a leper.

U. Yes, that is another reason.

None but

God could do so great a thing; and you must remember that Elisha did not say that he could do it, he only told Naaman to do the simple thing which God had put into his mind --to wash in Jordan.

Elisha could not heal the leper, the water of Jordan could not cure leprosy, but God alone by His mighty power made Naaman whole. God made Naaman first believe, and then obey Him as He spoke by the Prophet. Now we shall turn to that GREAT PROPHET, who came into the world a long time after Elisha.

I have often heard children asked "Who was Jesus?" Some little ones have said, "He was the Son of God;" others, "The Saviour of sinners;" but I have never heard any young people talk of Him as the Great Prophet, who did far greater wonders, or miracles as they are called, than all the Prophets who came before Him. We shall see this as we go on. But we cannot do without our Bible and our

JOHN THE BAPTIST.

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Bible-reader, so Walter must again open it at the 11th of St. Matthew, and read to us from the 2d to the end of the 5th verse.

W. "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them."

U. Thank you, Walter; you have read enough for much more conversation than we had about Naaman. Can Emma tell me what person it was who sent to ask Jesus the question?

Em. John the Baptist, Uncle; he who baptized Jesus in the river Jordan.

U. Yes, it was that person of whom the Prophet Isaiah spoke when he said that there

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should be " a voice crying in the wilderness,” preparing the way of the Lord. The voice was that of John, for he began to preach repentance to the people, and said of himself, "I am not the Christ," but "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the Prophet Esaias." Em. Did not John know who Jesus was, Uncle ?

U. Yes; for when he saw Him coming to the river Jordan, he said to the people, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!"

W. But, Uncle, after that, John asked, "Art thou He which should come, or look we for another?"

U. Although John was a great prophet, we must remember that he was only a man, and most likely he thought it a strange beginning of the coming of Christ, that he himself should be cast into prison; and, therefore, when he heard of the wondrous works which Jesus was

JESUS THE MESSIAH.

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doing, he sent to ask Him whether He was the Christ, the Messiah of God. But now you shall hear the answer Jesus sends to this question. He does not say to John, "I am the Christ;" but He says, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the Gospel preached to them."

poor have the

He told John

these things to prove to him that He was that Messiah, or the Anointed One of God.

How

Em. The Jews did not believe this, Uncle? U. No; for, although Jesus did such mighty acts in the presence of this people, only a few of them believed that He was "that Christ which should come into the world." true it was that Jesus "came to His own (people), but His own (that is, the whole nation) received Him not; but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of