that heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers.

And when they saw him, they were astonished: and his mother said unto
him, "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I
sought thee sorrowing."

And he said unto them, "How is it that ye sought me? knew ye not that
I must be in my Father's house?"

And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them. And he
went down with them, and came to {50} Nazareth; and he was subject
unto them: and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and
men.

The New Testament tells us very little about the boyhood of Jesus,
but fortunately we know from other sources much of the life of
children in Palestine in those days. Among the earliest memories of
the boy Jesus must have been the tender voice of his mother, as she
sang or repeated to him the beautiful songs which we call psalms,
and told him those wonderful stories of the heroism and faith of his
ancestors, of which we read in the Old Testament. When he was five
or six years old, he began to go to school. There he sat on the
floor with the other little children of the village, forming a
semicircle about their master. He was taught at school to read and
write, and to repeat from memory large portions of the Old
Testament. He no doubt had a boy's gladness in freedom and play when
school was out. It must have been very pleasant to sit in Joseph's
shop, and watch the shavings curl from the plane, to see the wood
fashioned into various shapes of usefulness. When he grew older he
learned the carpenter's trade in this shop. Every Jewish boy had to
learn a trade. The home life was very simple. The family was poor,
and it was not always easy to make both ends meet. Jesus no doubt
helped his mother about her work, especially in drawing water from
the village well. Every Sabbath he went to the village church, or
synagogue, as it was called, and listened attentively to the
service. In the village he often caught glimpses of the outside
world, for Nazareth was on one of the main caravan routes. Here he
would see merchants from the far East, strange, bearded, swarthy men
with trains of camels, laden with bundles of precious merchandise,
rugs, and gems, and sweet smelling sandal wood. Here he might see a
company of Roman soldiers, marching under command of a centurion,
shor