his hair, and they never let him drink wine, or eat grapes,
or eat raisins. That was the way they did in those days to show that
he belonged to God.

When John was old enough to understand, he gave himself to God. And as
he grew older, he made up his mind that he would leave his home and
friends, and go and live in the wilderness; and his food there was
locusts and wild honey. Locusts are like large grasshoppers, and poor
people in the East often eat them. They taste like shrimps, but are
not so nice.

God had said that John should go before the Messiah to prepare the way
for Him--to get people's hearts ready for the Saviour. And when John
was in the wilderness, God told him to begin his work. So John went
down from the wild hills of Judaea to the River Jordan, and he began to
preach to everyone who passed by. There were many people passing by,
for he went to the place where people crossed the Jordan.

[Illustration: The River Jordan.]

John said, REPENT!' (that means, 'Be really sorry for your sins'), 'FOR
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is AT HAND.' A very great many people went from
Jerusalem, and out of all the land of Judaea, on purpose to hear John
preaching. And when they had heard him, some of them said to him,
'What shall we do then?' And John told them that they were to be kind
to one another; that they were to give food to the hungry and clothing
to the naked.

Some even of the proud Rabbis came down to the Jordan to John, and John
told these Rabbis that they must not be proud because they were Jews,
but must try to be good really and truly.

A great many of the people who heard John preach felt sorry for the
things they had done, and they told John how sorry they were, and John
baptized them in the River Jordan. John told the people that he could
only baptize their bodies with water, but that some one else was coming
who would be able to baptize their hearts with the Holy Spirit. This
was Jesus.

[Illustration: Jericho, from plains above.]

After John had baptized a great many persons, he saw coming to him, one
day, for baptism, a Man about thirty years old; and when John looked at
Him, he saw that He was quite different from all the people who had
been to him before. It was Jesus who had come to be baptized before He
began His work. He wanted to obey God in everything; and He wanted to
show that He was the Brother and Friend of all the people whom John had
been baptizing. And so, as Jesus wis