A Story of God and All of Us Young Reade - By Roma Downey Page 0,32

lies on the floor next to Mary, his muscles aching from the long days on the

road. It feels good to get some rest, and even better to know that their son has entered the world safely. In the morning they can be counted for the census. Soon they can return home to Nazareth, where Joseph's carpentry business awaits.

Then one night, Joseph dreams of children being taken by Herod's soldiers.

He must save Jesus. Joseph wakes up in a panic. His dream felt so real that he is actually stunned to behold Mary and Jesus sound asleep. But Joseph knows God speaks to prophets in many ways, including in dreams. He is sure God has

132

given him the dream, and he knows what he must do next.

He must take his family and flee to Egypt.

By the time Herod's reign is over and it is safe to return to Nazareth, Jesus is five years old. Mary and Joseph know Jesus is destined by God to do something special. His knowledge of scripture can be a little startling at times, because it is so complex and thorough for his young age, but otherwise he behaves just like a normal boy. He does chores. He helps his father at work. He loves animals. He spends part of each day with Mary, his beloved mother, who carried the Son of God and knows his life will be extraordinary. Sometimes he's such a normal child that it's hard for Mary and Joseph to remind themselves that an angel once proclaimed to them that he is the promised King of the Jews.

God has sent someone to prepare the way, to start opening the hearts and minds of the people. He is 133 strong in spirit, intensely driven, and pure of heart. His clothes are made from the hair of a camel, and he eats locusts and wild honey for food. This prophet shuns the corruption of the towns and cities for the purity of the wilderness. He lives as he preaches, in simple and uncompromising terms. What he demands from his growing legions of followers is that they change their lives, repent their sinful ways, and commit themselves to the Lord's path. His goal is nothing less than to light a new fire in the hearts and minds of thousands of Jews. The prophet's name is John.

He is called John the Baptist because he baptizes followers of God by immersing them completely in the Jordan River, symbolically cleaning away

their sins.

John baptizes people from miles around, helping them prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah, bringing them back to God, one baptism at a time. But many don't just come to be baptized. Many who step into the Jordan at John's behest believe that John himself is actually the Messiah.

"There is one to come, more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry," John always tells those who ask. " He is the Messiah. Trust me, you'll know him when you see him."

But John sees him first. From out of the crowd steps 134

Jesus, now a young man and ready to leave his trade as a carpenter and begin his life's work.

The crowds along the shore notice the look in John's eyes. They turn to Jesus, wondering what makes him so special.

"Surely I need to be baptized by you," John says humbly. "And yet you come to me?"

Jesus gently takes hold of John's hand and places it atop his own head. "Let this be so now, John. It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

John nods in understanding. With all the people along the shore looking on, John the Baptist immerses Jesus in the cold waters of the Jordan. And in that moment, the weight of John's ministry becomes lighter. He is no longer a prophet, foreseeing the distant coming of the Messiah.

The Messiah is here . Now.

In the desert, Jesus must fight the greatest battle he has ever fought. He has traveled alone into the farthest reaches of this stark and waterless region.

Before Jesus can take on the spiritual leadership of all humankind, he must confront and overcome his opponent--Satan.

Jesus staggers as he walks, on the verge of collapse

135

from hunger. The hem of his filthy robe drags along the ground. His face is swollen, and thirst is driving him mad. It has been forty days and nights since Jesus entered the desert--his personal wilderness. Forty days, one day for each of the forty years that Moses and the Israelites wandered