ou all that you owed me--should you not have
been merciful to your fellow servant, as I was merciful to you?' Very
angry, the king threw the unjust man into jail to remain there until his
whole debt was paid.

"Neither can you be forgiven," concluded Jesus, "unless you forgive
others from your heart."

After a moment John said: "Do you really think God pays attention to us.
Master? He seems so far away. Oh, I know he watches over the nation--but
I am not sure he cares what happens to me!"

Jesus nodded toward Simon. "Simon loves his children," he said. "Simon,
if your little son should ask you for a piece of bread, would you give
him a rock to eat? Or if he asked for a broiled fish, would you give him
a poisonous snake instead? Or if he asked for an egg, would you give him
a scorpion with a deadly stinger?"

"No, of course not!" exclaimed Simon.

"Well, then, if you can do that much for your children, do you not think
that God will do far more for those who trust him?"

Jesus lifted his arms to pray. It seemed to Simon that Jesus was praying
specially for him when he asked the Heavenly Father to send the Holy
Spirit upon them all. As they left the place of prayer, Simon and Andrew
dropped behind the others.

"What I cannot understand," said Andrew, "is how he knows all these
things. Where did he learn it all?"

"It is strange," agreed Simon. "You would almost think he came down from
heaven, wouldn't you?"

[Illustration]

8. HE IS MORE THAN A TEACHER

Far away to the south, John the Baptizer was imprisoned in King Herod's
fortress at Machaerus. Through the bars of his tiny window he could see
the green waters of the Dead Sea far below and the rocky hills of Judea
beyond. He did not expect to lie in this dungeon long. At any moment the
Day of Judgment might come; God would send hosts of angels to punish
wrongdoers and to reward his faithful servants.

John listened intently to the news that his followers brought about
Jesus. They told him all that Jesus did: his demand that all men should
repent; the new teaching about the Kingdom of God which was the talk of
men everywhere. John was amazed at the power Jesus had to heal many sick
people; he was glad when he heard that Jesus was not afraid of the
Pharisees.

But as days passed, doubts began to creep into the Baptizer's mind.
Could God have chosen this man to deliver His people? John could not
understand why the deliverance did not come. Jesus was