CHAPTER VI
It was Sabbath morning, and our little party on the yacht were gatheredabout the breakfast table, Dr. Harold having just come down from thedeck, where he had spent the last few minutes.
"What of the weather, Harold?" asked his mother.
"It is cool and cloudy," he said in reply; "rather too cool and dampfor ladies and children to pass much time on deck, I think, mother. Imay gather the men there and read them a sermon, but the rest of you, Ihope, will be content to pass at least most of the day in these lower,warmer quarters."
"I think we can very contentedly, if mother will lead us in some Biblelessons," said Grace, with a loving, smiling look at her whom, until oflate, she had been wont to call Grandma Elsie.
"Very willingly, daughter mine," was the sweet-toned, smilingassent, received by all the children with looks and words of pleasedanticipation.
On leaving the table they had family worship in the saloon, Dr. Haroldleading the service as usual. Then he went upon the deck and the othersgathered about Grandma Elsie.
Then Elsie Raymond, sitting there Bible in hand, exclaimed eagerly,"Oh, grandma, I am glad of this opportunity to ask you about what Ihave been reading here--this miracle of the Lord Jesus feeding so many,many folks--five thousand men, besides women and children--on only fiveloaves and two fishes. It couldn't have been nearly enough, except byJesus blessing it and making it more, could it, grandma?"
"No, indeed, Elsie. Five large loaves, such as you are accustomed toseeing, would hardly be enough to feed fifty such hungry men; and thosefive loaves were much smaller than ours--probably little, if any,larger than our soda crackers; hardly enough to satisfy the appetite ofone hungry boy."
"There were two fishes besides, you know, grandma; but if they weresmall ones, a boy could eat them, too."
"Yes; so no wonder the disciples thought it utterly impossible to feedthat great crowd of hungry people, and begged Jesus to send them awayto go into the villages and buy themselves victuals."
"Do you suppose they had any money to buy with, grandma?" asked thelittle girl.
"I think it probable that most of them were poor people with littleor no money about them," replied Grandma Elsie. "And even if they hadmoney, they were too many to find sufficient food in the little nearbytowns. Jesus knew all that; He could see how weary and hungry many,if not all of them, were, particularly the women and little children.Jesus pitied and was ready to help them as no one else could, and nodoubt he was glad He had the power. He bade His disciples not to tellthem to depart, but 'Give ye them to eat,' He said; and they replied,'We have here but five loaves and two fishes;' and Jesus said, 'Bringthem hither to me.' And He said, 'Make the men sit down.' John tells usthere was much grass in the place, and that the men sat down, in numberabout five thousand. Then He (Jesus) took the five loaves and the twofishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and brake the loaves, andgave them to His disciples, and they distributed them among that greatmultitude. All ate till they were satisfied; then Jesus said, 'Gatherup the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.' John tells us,'Therefore, they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets withthe fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and aboveunto them that had eaten.'"
"It was very, very wonderful, grandma, wasn't it?" exclaimed the littlegirl thoughtfully.
"Yes, indeed! a miracle that none but God could work. It proved thatJesus was divine. You have been reading Matthew's account of thismiracle; now turn to the sixth chapter of Mark, and you will find thesame story told by him. Then in the eighth we will find that he tellsof another time when Jesus had worked a similar miracle--when He fedfour thousand on seven loaves and a few small fishes; and they took upof the broken meat that was left seven baskets."
"Yes, grandma," said the little girl, turning over the leaves of herBible, "and it says after that first time that He departed into amountain to pray. But after the second, 'and straightway He enteredinto a ship with His disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.'Where was that, grandma?"
"It was a town on the west coast of the sea of Galilee. Read on now tothe fourteenth verse."
Elsie read, "And the Pharisees came forth and began to question withHim, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. And He sigheddeeply in His spirit, and said, Why doth this generation seek aftera sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given untothis generation. And He left them, and entering into the ship, againdeparted to the other side."
"Weren't the bad men wanting to do Jesus harm?" asked Ned.
"Yes, they were, indeed," replied his grandma; "they hated Him becauseHe told them of their sins. 'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites: for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men thatwalk over them are not aware of them.' Then to the people: 'Beware yeof the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.' Again He saidof them: 'In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines thecommandments of men.... Woe unto you, lawyers, for ye have taken awaythe key of knowledge; ye entered not in yourselves, and them that wereentering ye hindered.' And as He said these things unto them, thescribes and Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and to provoke Himto speak of many things; laying wait for Him, and seeking to catchsomething out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him. They were angryand wanted to kill Jesus, because He exposed their wickedness. Inanother chapter we are told, 'And He went into the temple, and beganto cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying untothem, It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but ye have madeit a den of thieves.' And He taught daily in the temple. But the chiefpriests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroyHim, and could not find what they might do; for all the people werevery attentive to hear Him."
"So they went out at night, when the crowds of people who loved Himwere in their homes and asleep, I suppose, the wicked, money-lovingJudas showing them where He was, and led Him away to the high priest,and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes," sighedElsie Raymond.
"Yes," said her grandma; "and they went through a mock trial, but couldnot get their witnesses to agree. And the high priest stood up in themidst and asked Jesus, saying, 'Answerest thou nothing? What is itwhich these witness against thee?' But Jesus made no answer. And thehigh priest asked him, 'Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?'Jesus said, 'I am; and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the righthand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.' Then the highpriest rent his clothes and said, 'What need we any further witnesses?Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye?' And they all condemnedHim to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on Him, and to coverHis face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy: and theservants did strike Him with the palms of their hands."
"And He could have struck them all dead without a word, couldn't He,grandma?" asked Ned.
"Indeed He could," she replied; "but in His great love for you and forme and all His people, He chose to bear it all--all that and all theawful agony of the death upon the cross, that we might be saved. TheBible tells us, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt besaved.' The dear Saviour, who died that awful death for us, invites usall to come to Him and be saved. For God so loved the world that Hegave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should notperish, but have everlasting life. Those are His own words, spoken toNicodemus."
"Grandma, couldn't Jesus have hindered those wicked men from treatingHim so? Couldn't He have made them all die that minute if He had chosento?" asked Ned.
"Yes, he could; but as I have just told you, He bore it all, and theawful death on the cross, that we might be saved--we and all whowould give themselves to Him. The Bible says Christ died for our sinsaccording to the Scriptures. He took upon Himself our human nature thatHe might bear our punishment and save us from eternal death."
"And all His earthly life long He was looking forward to that awful,agonizing death," sighed Grace in tones tremulous with emotion. "Oh,how can we help loving Him with all our hearts?
"
"And striving to be like Him," added Grandma Elsie--"so unselfish, soforbearing and forgiving. Think of His loving, cheering, sympathizingtalk with His disciples in that very night in which He was betrayed andHis awful suffering began. Remember, He knew all the agony He was to gothrough that very night--in the garden of Gethsemane, where He prayedin so great an agony that His sweat became as it were great drops ofblood falling down upon the ground. After that the betrayal, arrest,trial before the Jewish authorities, with all the abuse heaped uponHim there, then in the morning before Pilate and Herod, the scourging,the clothing with the purple robe and crown of thorns, the mockingsalutation, 'Hail, King of the Jews,' the smiting of His head with thereed they had put in His right hand, the mocking bowing of the kneesand spitting upon Him. Then He was led out wearing the purple robe andcrown of thorns, the cry of the chief priests and officers, 'CrucifyHim! Crucify Him! Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!'"
Grandma Elsie paused, her eyes filled with tears, her lips tremblingwith emotion.
"Oh, how wonderful it was that Jesus bore it all, when even without aword He could have made every one of those dreadful persecutors die,"said Elsie Dinsmore.
"Yes," said her aunt; "His love and compassion for us sinners waswonderfully great. Oh, how we should love Him, how carefully obey allHis commands! Ah, how sweet it is to belong to Him! 'Since He is mineand I am His, what can I want beside.'"
"Grandma, I want to belong to Him," said Alie Leland; "how shall I getto be His, and know that I am?"
"Give yourself to Him, dear child, asking Him to make you just what Hewould have you to be. His promise is, 'Him that cometh to me I will inno wise cast out;' and who shall doubt His own word? And how kind andforgiving He was! Peter, who had denied Him, then repented with bitterweeping, seems to have been one of the first to whom He appeared afterHis resurrection. You remember, the angel whom the woman found sittingin the tomb said to them, 'Go tell His disciples and Peter.'"
"And if we are really His disciples we will be forgiven, too, won't we,grandma?" said Elsie Raymond.
"Yes; we will ask Him to help us to be so, and He will."
"Grandma," said Ned, "wasn't it strange that when Jesus could makevictuals so easily He should say to the disciples, 'Gather up thefragments that remain, that nothing be lost'?"
"I think it was to teach us all that waste is sinful; that nothingwhich could be made useful to us or to any one else should be thrownaway. Let us take the lesson to heart and carefully obey this,and every teaching of our dear Lord and Master," was the gentle,sweet-toned reply, the eyes of the speaker shining with love to Himof whom she spoke, and joy that she was His very own for time and foreternity.