ver the world because of what she did for me today!"

The disciples begrudged Jesus the ointment that a loving woman pured
upon his head! That was a bad sign. Many times in these last few
months Jesus had had to speak sharply to his disciples. The longer
they were with him, the less they seemed to understand the things that
he had taught them. Jesus was growing lonelier every day, and the
hardest task was still ahead.

One time, when they were on the road, John came to Jesus, feeling very
proud of himself.

"Master," he said, "we saw a man curing people who were out of their
minds and he was using your name to do it! Naturally we told him he
would have to stop. He didn't have any right to use your name, when he
wasn't one of us!"

Jesus answered: "You shouldn't have stopped him. If he wasn't doing
us any harm, then he was on our side!"

Then there was a terrible scene one day, when Jesus found the
disciples quarreling about which of them would be the most important
when Jesus became king. Each thought that he ought to have a higher
position than the rest.

"You aren't supposed to be looking out for yourselves," Jesus told
them. "That's what the Romans do. They want to be kings, and order
other people about. But the greatest one of you will be the one who
does the most to help others, no matter what it costs him. Which would
you rather do--sit down to a dinner and have your food brought to you,
or bring the food for somebody else? You'd rather sit down and let a
servant wait on you, of course. But I am content to be a servant among
you, the servant of everyone."

The disciples could not get over thinking that some people were more
important than others, and that they themselves counted for more than
anyone else. Once some mothers brought their little children to Jesus,
hoping that he would put his hands on them and bless them. The
disciples did not think that the children counted for anything, and
they were going to send them away. They told the mothers that they
ought not to come where they were not wanted.

But Jesus called the little children to him, and said: "Let the little
children come to me, and don't stand in their way. God's Kingdom is
made up of people like these children. God hasn't any place for a
person who thinks himself important. These children aren't pushing
themselves forward. They are humble, and it would be better if you
were more like them!"

With these words Jesus laid his hands upon th