Page:Jesus of Nazareth the story of His life simply told (1917).djvu/168

 XXI.

A SABBATH AT NAZARETH.

Our Lord was now on His way to Galilee. His fame was spreading far and wide, and His fellowtowns-*men of Nazareth and other Galileans, many of whom had gone up to Jerusalem with Him year after year at the time of the great Feasts, were curious to see again and consider more attentively this Man of whom they had thought so little in the past. He came among them as before, simple and gentle, but with that charm of manner, that power of attracting hearts which has had nothing like it before or since.

What we would give to have a true picture of Him as men saw Him when He went to and fro among the people of His day! If only we knew what it was that made the crowds flock after Him, forgetting food, sleep, business, weariness, anything and everything so they might be with Jesus of Nazareth, so they might look upon His Face, and hear the tones of His Voice, and drink in His beauty as the thirsty ground drinks in the summer rain!

But we have no such picture. In one of the Roman catacombs is a very old painting of Him. There we see an oval face, the beard not long and ending in a double point, the eye dark and penetrating, the expression of the countenance grave and sad, yet full of sweetness, the long hair parted on the forehead and flowing over the shoulders. He wore a long tunic gathered in at the waist with a leathern belt, over this a kind of mantle or cloak, a veil bound round the head to protect the forehead and neck from the sun, and