SECTION II Chapter 2 - Jesus' Childhood As we have seen in the previous chapter, only Matthew and Luke discuss Jesus' birth and childhood. (Mark and John never discuss Jesus' birth or childhood, but instead begin their historical discussion of Jesus shortly before his baptism by John the Baptist. (Footnote: Although the gospel of John does not specifically mention a baptism, yet the time setting is still the same.) Aside from the birth narratives, only Luke gives any information on Jesus' childhood. Luke tells us that "the child [Jesus] grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom..." It is also Luke that describes how at the age of twelve, Jesus stayed on at the Temple in Jerusalem during one Passover, astonishing all the learned people inside with his understanding and answers. Despite the miraculous events surround the birth of their son, Jesus' parents seemed to be slow in understanding Jesus' real purpose in the Temple: "And he [Jesus] said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? AND THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE SAYING WHICH HE SPOKE TO THEM" (Luke 2:49-50). There is an interesting parallel to Jesus' childhood genius that appears in Josephus' biographical story of his own early life. In his LIFE 2:8, Josephus boasts how, when he was about fourteen years old (51-52 C.E.), he had impressed the chief priests and Jewish leaders, with his wisdom and knowledge of Jewish scripture. During his teenage years, he then explored various Jewish schools of learning, even becoming a Pharisee. (Of course, it may only be an interesting coincidence that both stories have this similar theme.) Apocryphal Stories Regarding Jesus' Childhood Because the gospels are largely silent regarding the life of Jesus before the age of thirty when he began his ministry, there is a large gap in how a divine personage of Jesus Christ would have spent his childhood. There is an apocryphal work on the childhood of Jesus (believed to date from the third century C.E.) that purports to fill in this gap. Known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the work tells miraculous childhood tales of Jesus from the ages of five to twelve. As we shall see, though, it's pretty questionable whether these tales are genuine (which is why the early Christian councils voted to keep this work out in the first place.) Indeed, in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is presented as a somewhat spoiled brat with dangerous powers. (The story reminds me of an old Twilight Zone plot, of a child who had "amazing" powers, but used them to wish people "away") In the interests of time, I have summarized the storyline below. The actual text can be found in M.R. James translation in THE APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT and in Joseph Hoffman's JESUS OUTSIDE THE GOSPELS: The author of the apocryphal work identifies himself as Thomas, the Israelite, who is writing the account of Jesus' childhood for all the Christian brethren. The first scene tells how the five-year old Jesus fashioned twelve sparrows out of soft clay, clapped his hands, whereupon the sparrows came to life. When the son of Annas, the scribe decided to take a branch of a willow and disperse the waters in the brook Jesus used to mix the clay, an angry young Jesus said to him, "O, evil, ungodly, and foolish one, what hurt did the pools and the waters do thee? Behold, now ' also thou shalt be withered like a tree, and shalt not bear leaves, neither root, nor fruit." The child immediately withered away. His parents angrily complained to Joseph--but he could not control his powerful son. Later, a child accidentally ran into the shoulder of the young Jesus. The angry Jesus saw to it that he immediately "fell down and died". Again the parents complained bitterly to Joseph. When Joseph admonished the young Jesus for his deeds, the young Jesus said, "I know that these thy words are not thine: nevertheless for thy sake I will hold my peace; but they shall bear their punishment. ' And straightaway they that accused him were smitten with blindness." Later on, Jesus helps some children. By now the young Jesus' reputation is such, that when a child accidentally fell out of a window, he was falsely blamed for casting him out with his powers. The young Jesus then commanded the child to arise from the ground. The child immediately rose and witnessed how he had really fallen out of the window, saying, "Nay, Lord, thou didst not cast me down, but didst raise me up." Jesus also cured the foot of a young man which had been accidentally cut with an axe. However, this legendary tale has the young Jesus at it again.-- When a teacher volunteered to teach him how to read and write, the young Jesus is purported to have said, "If thou be indeed a teacher, and if thou knowest letters well, tell me the power of the Alpha [first letter of the Greek alphabet] and then I will tell thee the power of the Beta [second letter of the Greek alphabet]. The teacher unwisely hit the young Jesus on the head for this statement, and Jesus caused him to fall dead. Joseph was described to have been grieved on how Jesus killed everyone that made him angry. As the legendary Jesus grew older, he began to use his supernatural powers more humanely.-- He cured his brother James, who was bitten by a viper. He also became popular with the villagers. Later when he was twelve, we hear what is basically Luke's rendition of how Jesus astonished all the learned men in the Temple with his knowledge. At this point, this work on Jesus' childhood comes to a close-- and concludes with the lines: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and grace. Unto him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Ibid p 117-123) Most scholars obviously pay little credence to this work. Again, the point is to show how some of the early legends that surrounded the childhood of Jesus, are indeed very old. (To repeat, this one is believed to have gone back to the third century C.E..) Mary, Mother of Jesus The oldest gospel, Mark never mentions Mary as having a special role -- Indeed, there is no mention of an annunciation, or a virgin birth. Mary is presented as not understanding or approving of Jesus' preaching. Matthew mentions the virgin birth (although the angel appeared to Joseph not to Mary.) However, Matthew hints, along with Mark, that Mary did not approve of Jesus' ministry: "While he [Jesus] was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. But he said in reply to the one who told him, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50) The scene would imply that Jesus' mothers and brothers wished to speak with him on some important matter and indeed wanted to speak to him while he was speaking to the crowds.) Jesus however does not give him his time, insisting that their roles as mother and brother and sister have been replaced by anyone who does the will of the heavenly Father. It is Luke that presents Mary as having a very special role in the conception of Jesus. In Luke's version (unlike Matthew), the angel appears to Mary (not Joseph), saying "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God". Mary relies, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done according to your word." Luke also reports the scene of the shepherds finding Joseph and Mary in a manger. Everyone present was amazed by the message repeated by the shepherds, and Luke says how "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (The scene where Jesus does not want to speak to Mary and his brothers is not present in either Luke or John.) In John, there is no mention of Jesus' birth scene, or that Mary was a virgin. John tells of Mary being present during Jesus' first miracle (or sign) of turning water into wine at a wedding. Jesus shows a distant attitude towards his mother in this scene. After Mary tells Jesus that there is no wine at the wedding, Jesus replies "Woman, how does your concern affect me?" Nevertheless, he complies and performs the miracle. (Mary is not mentioned again at the scene.) John is the only gospel writer that places Mary at the scene of Jesus' crucifixion. When he sees her next to the disciple whom he loved, Jesus cries out to Mary, "Woman, behold, your son". (Note how John again reports that Jesus addresses Mary as "woman") And to the disciple, Jesus says "Behold, your mother". And then John reports that the disciple took Mary into his home from that hour forward.