The Good Shepherd | Page 3

written down and his age, and many other things about
him. Every twenty years Augustus had a census taken, so that he might
know how much money the Jews ought to pay him, and how many Jew
soldiers he ought to have.
In Palestine, at census time, people had to go to the towns where their
fathers' fathers lived a long time ago, and had to have their names put
down there instead of having them put down in their own homes. Now,
both Joseph and Mary belonged to the family of the great king David,
who was born in Bethlehem. So Mary had to prepare for a long journey,
and go with her husband to Bethlehem. Bethlehem is six miles from
Jerusalem. It is on the top of a hill, and people have to climb up a steep
road to get into the town.
An inn is a large house that people stay at when they are on a journey.
The inns in Palestine have four walls, with a door in front, and with a
great empty space for camels and horses inside. In the middle of the
empty space is a fountain; and all round the walls, a little bit higher
than the part where the animals are, there are a number of places like
empty stone arbors. These empty places are called leewans, and they
are open in front, so that everybody can see into them. Yet Mary and
Joseph, after all their long journey from Nazareth, could not find even
an empty leewan to lie down in.
[Illustration: The shepherd's care.]

Near that inn there was a place in which asses and camels were kept. It
was perhaps a cave in the side of the hill. And because there was no
room for them in the inn, Mary and Joseph had to go into that stable to
sleep, and in that stable Jesus Christ was born. Mary wrapped Him in
swaddling clothes, and laid Him in the manger in the place where the
animals' food was kept.
On the hill where Bethlehem stands there are green places where
shepherds feed their flocks. There are wild animals in Palestine; and all
night long the shepherds of Bethlehem watched to see that no harm
happened to their sheep. One night an angel of the Lord stood by them
and a bright light shown round about them. The shepherds were afraid;
but the angel said, 'FEAR NOT; FOR BEHOLD, I BRING YOU
GOOD TIDINGS (OR NEWS) OF GREAT JOY, WHICH SHALL BE
TO ALL PEOPLE. FOR UNTO YOU IS BORN THIS DAY IN THE
CITY OF DAVID A SAVIOUR, WHICH is CHRIST THE LORD.'
And suddenly there was seen with the angel a number of the angels of
heaven. And they praised God, and said, 'GLORY TO GOD IN THE
HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD
MEN.'
When the light faded, and the song ended, and the angels had gone
back into heaven, the shepherds climbed quickly over the hillside to
Bethlehem. And there, in the stable near the inn, they found Mary and
Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger, as the angels had said.
Jesus was the eldest son of His mother. And the eldest sons in Jewish
houses, when they were forty days old, were taken to the Temple, and
given to God.
So now, when Jesus was nearly six weeks old, He was brought from
Bethlehem by Mary and Joseph to the Temple at Jerusalem. The
mothers used to take a lamb with them, or two pigeons, as a sacrifice to
God. Mary took two pigeons. She was not rich enough to buy a lamb.
A long way on the eastern side of the Jordan, there were countries
where the people used to watch the sun and the moon and the stars very
carefully. If they saw anything new and strange in the heavens, they

thought it meant that something wonderful was going to happen. But
some of them knew and had heard from the Jews about God, and about
the Messiah who was coming; and they, like the Jews, were longing for
Jesus.
One day these wise men saw a bright star which they had never seen
before. And as they looked at it they felt sure that a great King of the
Jews had been born in Judaea. So they took camels and rich presents of
gold and sweet-smelling stuff--such as people gave to kings in those
days--and they loaded their camels, and left their homes, and rode for
many weeks till they came to Jerusalem. And when they got there they
said, 'Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His
star in the east, and are come to worship Him.'
[Illustration: Bethlehem.]
When Herod