charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.'"

But Jesus knew that though the words were the words of God, the voice
was the voice of the tempter, and He answered,

"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Then in a vision again He seemed to see, from the top of a very high
mountain, all the kingdoms of the world spread out before Him with
their kings, and armies, and cities; their beautiful homes and lovely
women, and great men with their gold, and jewels, and precious works of
art, and the tempter said,

"All these things will I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship
me."

Then all the Divine power in Jesus rose up against this evil whisper,
and He said,

"Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord
thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'"

We shall never know all that Jesus suffered during this long time when
He was away from His home in Nazareth, and away from every human being,
tempted by evil, surrounded by wild beasts, and faint from hunger, but
we know He won a great victory over evil for us. So he became the
Elder Brother and Friend of all who are tempted.

After His long fast and struggle with the powers of evil, angels came
and cared for Him, bringing heavenly strength and comfort, and He rose
in that strength and came again into the valley of Jordan, and found
that spring had come while he had been in the desert, and the willows
were green by the river side. John was still preaching and baptizing,
but was a little farther up the river at Bethabara.

As Jesus came near John pointed to Him and said to the people,

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This
is He. . . . And I knew Him not, but He that sent me to baptize with
water, the same said to me, 'Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit
descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with
the Holy Ghost.'"

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FIRST DISCIPLES.

The next day while two men named John and Andrew were talking with John
the Baptist, Jesus passed by, and again John said, "Behold the Lamb of
God." These two men had been priests and disciples of John, but they
turned and followed Jesus, and John was content to have them do so, for
he sought no honor for himself. Jesus when he saw them following said,

"What seek ye?"

And they, hardly knowing what to say, and wishing very much to know
Him, said,