246 BOYS OF THE BIBLE.

thing is true of Mark, the friend and companion of the
Apostle Peter. Matthew tells us of the visit of the Magi,
and records the flight into Egypt and the return to Naza-
reth, and there his story ends. For all the rest we are
indebted to the Evangelist Luke, and even then, after gath-
ering all the fragments of the story together, we cannot
help regretting that we know so “ttle of what we desire to
know so much.

If we gather these precious fragments and group them
as far as possible in their proper order, we shall find all
that the gospels tell us of the birth and boyhood of Jesus is
comprised in the following nine brief records:

The Angelic Announcement, Luke i., 26-38.

The Birth of Jesus, Matt. i., 25; Luke ii, 6, 7.

The Song of the Angels, Luke ii., 8-14.

The Visit of the Shepherds, Luke ii., 15-18.

Circumcision and Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, Luke ii., 22-38,
The Homage of the Magi, Matt. i., 12. ;

The Flight into Egypt, Matt. ii, 13-15.

Return from Egyt to Nazareth, Matt. ii., 19-23.

In the Temple at the Passover, Luke ii., 40-52.

Brief as are these outlines of the birth of the Son of
God, it is wonderful to note how the lowly advent in the
crowded inn of Bethlehem has laid hold upon the heart of
the world and fixed itself forever in its memory. Nations
sometimes agree to make the birthdays of their kings or
warriors or poets, days of jubilance and celebration. In this
fashion we keep green the memory of Washington and Lin-
coln. But these celebrations are few in number and are gen-
erally limited to one nation. But it is not so with the birth-
day of Jesus Christ. One day in the year the whole world
unites to celebrate his advent. The Twenty-fifth of Decem-
ber may not be the actual anniversary of the birth of Jesus.
It is not possible to be quite certain about the date. But

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