{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38775/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38775","id":"gutenberg_38775","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38775","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Easter -- Juvenile literature","Jesus Christ -- Resurrection -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Produced by Michael Gray, Diocese of San Jose\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nALTEMUS'\nBEAUTIFUL STORIES SERIES\n\n\nTHE FIRST EASTER\n\nBY\n\nJ. H. WILLARD\n\n\nILLUSTRATED\n\n\nPHILADELPHIA\nHENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY\n\n\n\nAltemus' Illustrated\nBeautiful Stories Series\n\nTHE FIRST CHRISTMAS.\nTHE FIRST EASTER.\nONCE IN SEVEN YEARS.\n         The Story of the Jubilee\nWITH HAMMER AND NAIL.\n          The Story of Jael and Sisera\nFIVE KINGS IN A CAVE.\n         The Story of a Great Battle\nTHE WISEST MAN.\n         The Story of Solomon\nA FARMER'S WIFE.\n         The Story of Ruth\nTHE MAN WHO DID NOT DIE.\n         The Story of Elijah\nWHEN IRON DID SWIM.\n         The Story of Elisha\nWHAT IS SWEETER THAN HONEY.\n         The Story of Samson\n\n\nCopyright, 1906\nBy Henry Altemus\n\n\n\n[Illustration: TWO ANGELS.]\n\nTHE FIRST EASTER\n\nIN the story of The First Easter, as in the story of The First\nChristmas, there is much that is hard to understand, but if we review\nsomewhat the Blessed Life of Jesus, we shall better appreciate the\nglorious significance of the day.\n\nJesus had passed through His human life, everywhere uttering words of\npity, and stretching out hands of mercy. To suffer was to have a\nclaim upon Him. He had not used His supernatural powers for His own\nbenefit, but for the good of others. He employed them freely,\nhelping, comforting, healing, blessing, wherever He went.\n\n[Illustration: \"HELPING, COMFORTING, HEALING, BLESSING.\"]\n\nShepherds, led by angels, were the first witnesses of Jesus' birth.\nHis boyhood was spent at Nazareth, and was entirely without sin. He\nstudied the Old Testament Scriptures in the synagogues, but in no way\ndid He become identified with the Pharisees or their instructions,\nyet when He began His ministry He was able to teach with authority.\n\nJesus was baptized by John, who was only six months older than\nhimself, and then, after successfully resisting the temptations of an\nevil spirit, He began to exercise His higher powers and gifts, thus\nentering upon His public activity.\n\nThe life of Jesus was a wandering one during His short ministry on\nearth. He visited Jerusalem twice, Samaria once, Nazareth once, and\nCapernaum several times, besides pausing on the banks of the Jordan,\nand traveling from place to place in Galilee. He said of Himself,\nthat He had not _\"where to lay His head.\"_\n\nIt is thought that Jesus wore the usual dress of a rabbi, or teacher;\na blue robe worn over a long undergarment of white, or pale gray\nstriped with crimson; a covering of folded linen to protect His head,\nand sandals for His feet.\n\nMany beautiful incidents in the life of Jesus occurred between the\ntime of the first manifestation of His miraculous powers at Cana,\nwhere He turned water into wine at a wedding feast, and the calling\nof the Twelve Apostles.\n\nOn one of His visits to Capernaum Jesus was surrounded by sick and\nhelpless people, and He healed them all; made them well and strong\nand happy. With heavy burdens lifted, and sorrowful hearts cheered,\nthe little town slept; but Jesus set out before daylight, and,\nreaching a solitary place on a mountain, prayed to His Father, God.\n\nThen from village to village, Jesus carried His message and ministry\nof Love. One day a poor leper came to Him. Jesus touched him, and he\nwas a leper no more.\n\nNot long, after this--again at Capernaum, four men carried a\nparalyzed cripple on a litter to the house where Jesus was teaching.\nThe crowd about the door was so great that they could not enter, so\nthey lifted their burden onto the flat roof of the house, and having\nmade an opening, lowered the sick man, still on his litter, into the\nroom where Jesus was.\n\n_\"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee,\"_ said Jesus, _\"I say unto thee,\narise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.\"_\nInstantly cured the man departed, carrying his litter as he had been\ncommanded.\n\nThe following Sabbath day Jesus publicly healed a man in the\nsynagogue, whose hand was withered and powerless. The unbelieving\nrabbis, and others who were present, were so angry at Him for doing\nthis, that in their hatred and malice they consulted with the\nsupporters of the Roman government, whom they usually regarded as\nenemies, as to the surest way of bringing about His death.\n\nThen came the calling of the men whom Jesus named the Apostles. They\nwere twelve in number and became associated in new and peculiar\nrelations to Him. It was also the first step towards a regular method\nof spreading far and wide His blessed teachings.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES.]\n\nFollowing the choosing of the Apostles, Jesus gave to the crowds who\nflocked to hear Him that beautiful address, which we call \"The Sermon\non the Mount,\" and after this he performed many more wonderful cures\nand miracles, and taught the people by means of parables or stories\nthat they could understand.\n\n[Illustration: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.]\n\nIn the little village of Bethany was a humble home which Jesus often\nvisited. The family consisted of a man named Lazarus and his two\nsisters, Martha and Mary. Lazarus was taken sick, and died. Jesus was\ngreatly affected by his death, for he dearly loved him. Lazarus had\nbeen in the tomb for three days before Jesus appeared at the home of\nthe sisters, but he at once went to the tomb of his friend, and\ncalled out to him to _\"come forth,\"_ and the man who had been dead\nfor three days arose sound and well.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN DEAD AROSE.\"]\n\nAfter the raising of Lazarus from the dead, many of the leading\nrabbis of Jerusalem, dreading the growing influence of Jesus over the\npeople, and perhaps persuading themselves that it might lead to a\nrevolt against the Roman government, brought all their power against\nHim.\n\nA council was hurriedly called; the acting high-priest that year\npresided, and it was formally decided to put Jesus to death. The only\npoint to be considered was the easiest way of accomplishing their\npurpose. Jesus knew the malice in their hearts, and went away to a\nlonely village called Ephraim. Here He remained until He made his\nlast journey to Jerusalem.\n\nWhile on this journey, certain mothers brought their little ones to\nJesus, in the hope that He might touch them, and were rebuked by the\nApostles for doing so. When Jesus heard the rebuke, He lifted the\nlittle ones tenderly in His arms, and fondly blessed them, saying,\n_\"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them, not: for\nof such is the kingdom of God.\"_\n\nAs Jesus pursued His way to Jerusalem, the roads were thronged with\npeople going there to keep the Passover, and among the crowds were\nmany beggars. The way led by Jericho, and close by the entrance to\nthe city sat one of those beggars, a blind man named Bartimeus.\n\nHearing some one in the crowd say that Jesus of Nazareth was passing\nby, Bartimeus called loudly for help. In vain the people bade him be\nsilent; he only repeated his cries more loudly. Jesus listened,\nstopped, called the man to him, and asked, _\"What wilt thou that I\nshould do unto thee?\"_ The blind man answered eagerly, _\"Lord, that I\nmight receive my sight,\"_ and immediately he received it.\n\nOn the afternoon of Friday, the eighth day of the Hebrew month Nisan,\nJesus' once more reached the friendly home at Bethany, and there,\nwhere His welcome was always sure, He spent His last Sabbath upon\nearth.\n\nIn the evening, He and His Apostles attended a feast at the house of\na friend of Martha and Mary, a man named Simon who had once been a\nleper, and was not unlikely indebted to Jesus for his cure. Lazarus,\nwho had been dead but was now alive again, was also present.\n\nDuring the meal, Mary anointed Jesus' feet with a perfume of the\ncostliest kind. Some of the Apostles, led by Judas Iscariot, objected\nto this on the ground that it was wasteful; but Jesus reproved them,\ndeclaring that wherever the Gospel should be preached throughout the\nworld, Mary's act of devotion should _\"be spoken of for a memorial of\nher.\"_\n\n[Illustration: MARY ANOINTED JESUS' FEET.]\n\nThe news of Jesus' arrival at Bethany soon reached Jerusalem, and\ncaused His enemies to plan for the destruction of Lazarus, also,\nbecause his restoration to life had made such an impression on the\npeople.\n\nOn the next day--the Jewish Monday, which we commemorate as \"Palm\nSunday\"--Jesus entered Jerusalem. It was the custom for pilgrims to\nenter that city for the Passover in orderly processions, with music,\nand carrying banners. As there was no longer any need to restrain the\nardor of the people Jesus prepared to conform to the custom.\n\nFollowing His instructions two of His disciples found at Bethpage, a\nvillage close by, a young animal which had never carried or drawn a\nburden. From very early times such animals had been chosen for sacred\npurposes. It was on this colt, with the mantles of the disciples\nthrown over it, that Jesus rode attended by a great multitude, who\nspread their garments and branches plucked from trees in the way.\n\nBetween the vineyards, orchards, and olive gardens that bordered the\nroad, the procession wound slowly along, welcomed by glad throngs\nthat had poured out of Jerusalem to meet it, shouting, _\"Hosanna!\nBlessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord!\"_\nCrossing the bridge over \"the brook Kidron,\" Jesus entered Jerusalem.\n\n[Illustration: THE BROOK KIDRON. _From a Photograph._]\n\nPilgrims were not allowed to go beyond the foot of Mount Moriah\nwithout purification, according to the Jewish ceremonial law. At this\nplace the crowd dispersed, and Jesus, first removing His sandals,\nentered the Temple alone. As the day was drawing to a close, He staid\nthere but a short time, and then returned to Bethany.\n\nBut the next morning, Jesus was back in Jerusalem, and once more he\nexpelled the merchants and money-changers from the Temple courts.\nThen the blind, and lame, and all who needed bodily relief surrounded\nHim, and He healed them willingly. The angry priests and rabbis would\nhave seized Him if they had not feared the excited crowd, and so the\nday passed on, Jesus returning to the cottage at Bethany at its\nclose, only to return to the city the next morning.\n\nThe opportunity for which the enemies of Jesus were watching so\neagerly came at last. One of His own trusted disciples went to the\nchief priests, asking what they would give him to betray his Master.\nHis name was Judas Iscariot, or Judas of Kerioth, a little village in\nthe south of Judea.\n\nThe priests received Judas gladly, and agreed to pay him the price of\na full-grown slave--thirty silver pieces, a sum equal to about twenty\ndollars of our money. He promised to find them an opportunity of\narresting Jesus quietly, at a time when there would be no fear of\ninciting a riot among the people.\n\nActing upon instructions from Jesus, Peter and John, two of the\nApostles, secured a room in Jerusalem, and prepared for a celebration\nof the Passover. All was made ready, and Jesus and His twelve\nApostles met for \"The Last Supper.\"\n\nDuring the meal Jesus taught His disciples a touching lesson in\nhumility; laying aside His upper robe, He washed and wiped their\nfeet. Then He told them that one of their number was to betray Him,\nsaying to Judas, _\"That thou doest, do quickly.\"_ Judas rose and went\naway hastily, but none but Jesus knew his errand.\n\nJesus then instituted the Holy Communion, which we observe in our\nchurches, and then conversed with His beloved \"Eleven,\" cheering\ntheir sinking spirits by promises of unspeakable sweetness. When the\nhour of parting came, a hymn was sung, and the little company broke\nup for the last time.\n\nThrough the city gate, across the Kidron bridge, into the olive\ngarden called Gethsemane, they went, leaving eight of the disciples\nnear the entrance. Jesus and the remaining three entered the quiet\nshadows of the olive trees, to pray. Worn and weary, the three fell\nasleep. Three times Jesus awakened them, the last time saying, _\"Rise\nup, let us go! lo! he that betrayeth Me is at hand.\"_\n\n[Illustration: \"THE THREE FELL ASLEEP.\"]\n\nAs He spoke, torches flamed over the quiet garden, and the forms of\narmed men showed indistinctly in their light. Their guide was Judas\nof Kerioth. Stepping to the side of Jesus, he kissed Him, and said,\n_\"Hail, Master!\"_ the agreed way of designating Jesus to the\nsoldiery.\n\nNot many words were spoken. Jesus surrendered at once, only\nstipulating that no harm should come to His Apostles, who, beside\nthemselves with fear, forsook Him and fled.\n\nBound, and a prisoner, Jesus was led back into the city, and to the\npalace probably occupied by Caiaphas, the high-priest and Annas his\nfather-in-law and president of the Sanhedrim, or great Jewish\ncouncil.\n\nFirst, He was taken to Annas, and from him to Caiaphas, but not\nbefore He had been subjected to much insulting treatment. False\nwitnesses had been summoned, only to have their evidence fall to the\nground, and the only hope that Caiaphas had was to secure from Jesus\nHimself some admission that could be construed into blasphemy.\n\nIn reply to the high-priest's question, Jesus replied that He was the\nChrist, the Son of God. Turning to the council, Caiaphas exclaimed,\n_\"Ye have heard the blasphemy! What think ye?\"_ and the reply was,\n_\"He is guilty of death.\"_\n\nAlthough thus condemned by the Sanhedrim, the sentence could not be\ncarried out unless confirmed by Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator\nof Judea, who was on his way to Jerusalem, a part of his duties being\nto maintain order there during great festivals. Before Pilate could\nbe seen, Jesus was left to the brutal violence of the Roman soldiers.\n\nOnce before Pilate, who was unwillingly obliged to investigate the\nmatter, Jesus was charged with _\"stirring up the people,\"_ and with\ncalling Himself the _\"King of the Jews.\"_ Pilate was infirm of\npurpose, as well as unprincipled. Convinced that Jesus was the victim\nof ill will and jealousy, he told the priests and rabbis that He was\ninnocent. Then he caught at a chance of escaping responsibility.\n\nThe prisoner was called Jesus of Nazareth; Nazareth was in Galilee;\nand Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, was at that moment in\nJerusalem. The two rulers were not on good terms, but Pilate sent\nJesus to Herod for judgment.\n\nHerod questioned Jesus, but received no answer. Angered at His\nsilence, Herod first mocked Him, and then sent Him back to Pilate,\ndressed in a gorgeous robe. Pilate then resorted to a stratagem.\nEvery Passover a prisoner was set free, and Pilate bade the crowd\nchoose between Jesus and Barabbas, a robber who had committed murder\nin an insurrection and was then lying in prison, feeling sure that\nthey would choose Jesus.\n\nBut the priests and rabbis exerted their power to the utmost. They\nstirred the people to a frenzy, and then with threats and bribes\nurged them to demand the rebel instead of Jesus, whom, but a few days\nbefore, they had acclaimed as the Messiah.\n\nTo the dismay of Pilate, the crowd shouted their decision, _\"Away\nwith this Man! And release unto us Barabbas.\"_ In angry helplessness,\nPilate called for water, and publicly washed his hands, crying out,\n_\"I am innocent of the blood of this just person! See ye to it.\"_\nInstantly the frenzied people yelled in reply, _\"His blood be on us\nand on our children!\"_\n\nPilate then asked what he should do to Jesus, and as one great voice\nthe answer came, _\"Crucify Him!\"_ The cowardly Pilate had one last\nhope. Possibly the cruel multitude might be touched if they saw Jesus\npunished by the scourge--a whip into which pieces of lead and bone\nhad been plaited.\n\nJesus bore the agony meekly. Then over His bruised and bleeding body\na cast-off cloak was flung; a rude crown of sharp thorns was placed\nupon His head; and in His right hand a reed, as a mock scepter, was\nplaced; while in heartless derision the mob sneeringly hailed Him as\nKing of the Jews. With unwearying patience Jesus submitted to their\ntaunts and jeers.\n\n[Illustration: \"JESUS SUBMITTED TO THEIR TAUNTS AND JEERS.\"]\n\nNow exposed where all could see Him, the chief priests led, and the\ncrowd again took up the cry, _\"Crucify Him, Crucify Him!\"_ Cowed by\nthe words, _\"If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend;\"_\nfeeling that he could not spare one accused of treason against the\nRoman emperor, Pilate yielded to the voice of the people. Hastily\nJesus was stripped of his robes, and hurried towards the city gate,\nwhile with Him, also under guard, went two criminals who were to be\ncrucified at the same time and place.\n\nSinking under the burden of the cross upon which He was to be nailed,\nJesus fell to the ground before reaching the place of execution. The\nsoldiers of the guard transferred the cross to a man whom they met\njust then, and Jesus stumbled on to die. Behind Him walked sobbing\nwomen, whose tears were all the sympathy He had.\n\n[Illustration: THE PLACE OF EXECUTION.]\n\nThe hill was climbed; a few rapid preparations made; and Jesus was\ncrucified like a common criminal. At the moment when the spirit left\nHis body, an earthquake shook the earth, chasms opened in the rocks,\nand tombs were thrown open by the convulsion. The Veil-of-Partition\nin the Temple was rent from top to bottom.\n\nJoseph of Arimathea obtained permission to remove the body of Jesus\nfrom the cross. He was a rich man, and the owner of a garden near by,\nin which a tomb had been hewn from a rock. Reverently the body was\nlowered, bathed, wrapped in perfumed linen, and laid in the rocky\nrecess. Then a great stone was used to close the entrance to the\ntomb. No more could be done that day, and the little company of\nmourners dispersed. Their faithful footsteps died away, the night\nwinds swept past, and the Passover moon shone full upon the spot.\n\n[Illustration: \"LAID IN THE ROCKY RECESS.\"]\n\nJesus lay dead, but His enemies were not at ease. A guard was\nordered, and for better security a cord was drawn across the stone\nand sealed with clay at both ends, upon which the Roman seal was\nplaced.\n\n[Illustration: \"THEIR FAITHFUL FOOTSTEPS DIED AWAY.\"]\n\nThe night seemed long to eyes weary with weeping and waiting for the\nfirst signs of dawn. Hardly had the eastern sky began to redden, when\nthree women set out, laden with spices, for the garden where Jesus\nlay. They were Mary of Magdala, Mary the sister of Jesus' mother, and\nSalome, the mother of John the Evangelist.\n\nHurrying along in the dusk of morning, they wondered on whom they\nmight depend to roll away the stone at the mouth of the tomb, for of\nthe guards and the seals they knew nothing. Nearing the tomb, to\ntheir unspeakable astonishment they found it open and empty, and the\nsentinels prostrate with terror, for they had seen an angel descend\nfrom heaven, and roll away the stone.\n\nMary of Magdala stayed for a moment to be sure that the body of Jesus\nwas no longer there, and then sped to the city to tell Peter and John\nwhat had happened. Quickly the two Apostles set out for the spot\nwhere Jesus' body had been laid to rest.\n\nMeanwhile, the other women remained, lost in perplexity, at the\nentrance to the tomb. Suddenly an angel appeared, who told them that\nJesus had risen, and that they should see Him. Bewildered with\nsurprise and joy, the startled women ran to tell what they had seen\nand heard to the Apostles, but their news was received with\nincredulity, and treated as idle tales.\n\n[Illustration: \"SUDDENLY AN ANGEL APPEARED.\"]\n\nMary of Magdala followed Peter and John to the garden. John outran\nPeter and was the first to look into the empty tomb. Peter, as soon\nas he arrived, entered the tomb, and noted its orderly condition. The\nwrappings were laid carefully aside, and the linen that had bound\nJesus' head was smoothly folded, and laid apart from the wrappings.\n\nVague as were Peter's ideas of the resurrection of Jesus, he believed\nthat He had indeed risen as He had promised the Apostles. John\nstooped and entered the tomb, and he, too, was convinced. Both knew\nthat the First Easter Day had dawned upon the world.\n\nHe who had conquered death, gladdened the eyes of those who loved Him\nfive times before the close of that Easter Day. Mary of Magdala was\nthe first to see Him. She heard a voice, and, thinking it must be\nthat of the gardener, she asked piteously where the body of Jesus had\nbeen laid. No answer came, but soon she heard her name pronounced,\n_\"Mary!\"_\n\n[Illustration: \"SHE HEARD HER NAME--'MARY!'\"]\n\nTurning hastily, Mary saw Jesus, and no words can describe her\nrapturous joy. Jesus then told her to hasten to tell the Apostles\nthat she had seen Him, and she obeyed. Meanwhile, the other women,\nwho had returned to the garden by another path, met Jesus, and their\nloving hearts were set at rest.\n\n[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS.]\n\nOn the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a village some eight miles from\nthe city, two of His disciples were joined by Jesus, but not until He\nhad become a guest at their evening meal did they recognize Him.\n\n[Illustration: SUPPER AT EMMAUS.]\n\nIn some friendly house in Jerusalem, all the Apostles except Thomas\nwere gathered. Eager feet had come through the darkness, and eager\nvoices had demanded admittance. Now the doors were fastened for fear\nof wrathful priests and rulers. The two who had talked with Jesus on\nthe way to Emmaus had told their story, and in turn had learned that\nJesus had appeared to Peter.\n\nNine of the ten Apostles present had not yet beheld Jesus since His\nresurrection. They had listened attentively to those who had seen\ntheir risen Lord, but still they were perplexed. An interval of\nsilence came; then, though no door had opened, no footstep sounded,\nJesus stood in their midst, breaking the stillness with the words,\n_\"Peace be unto you!\"_\n\nGrief was slow to change to joy, but as a last convincing proof of\nHis presence, Jesus asked for food and ate it. _\"Peace be unto you!\"_\nHe said again; _\"Receive ye the Holy Ghost!\"_ He added, as His form\ncould no longer be discerned. Silently, and as suddenly as He had\nappeared, Jesus had disappeared, and the First Easter Day was at an\nend.","title":"The First Easter","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":3818}