the feeling of being near God. He was supposed to have gone into the holy of holies, the innermost part of the Temple, you know. This became an important turning point in Jesus’ life. In fact, he left his family and stayed in Jerusalem, wanting to be close to the feeling of God he had felt there. Eventually, his family returned to Nazareth without him.”
“That was the beginning of the missing years,” Tamara said. “That period of his life no one knows about.”
“Ah...! But that’s not true. I know what he was doing!”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me!”
Chapter 15: John the Baptist
“For a while, Jesus wandered the streets of Jerusalem, begging for food, sleeping in hidden places. He would undoubtedly have gone into the Temple daily but for the fact he had no money and the Temple requires you take a ritual cleansing bath before going in, a service for which they charged.”
Dr. Myers was warming to his task, a common trait when a college professor finds an eager audience.
“At that time in history, there was an itinerant preacher wandering around in the wilderness, talking up the coming Kingdom of God and that all should prepare themselves for it by becoming pure. His name was Yochanan the Immerser, but you know him as John the Baptist, and it was his contention that being baptized in ‘living’ water was the best way to renounce your sins and become pure so you will have a place in the coming Kingdom. ‘Living water,’ by the way, was that which came from springs or rivers, natural sources. Of course, it may be argued that all water comes from natural sources, but many came to listen to him preach of the coming salvation of the Jewish people and to partake of a dip into the Jordan River.
“Jesus had heard of John. What little he had heard of the Baptist’s views was much along the lines of what he thought himself. He went out to seek this man and found him by the river, loudly preaching to all who would hear and dunking them in living water. Well, to make a long story short, he approached John, they talked, and he became one of John’s followers. Eventually he was baptized by John and it was like a revelation, an epiphany for the young boy. He was filled with confidence that he had discovered what he was looking for: the Truth.
“John was your classic hermit preacher, wild looking, with a straggly beard and long hair matted into dreads. He wore a camel-hair tunic and was surrounded by a small handful of disciples who had chosen to stay with him, learn from him, and help spread the word.
“Jesus stayed and became one of those disciples. It was that or return to Nazareth and a stepfather he hated, a boring life tilling the fields and doing repair work, just as his father, Joseph, had. He would eventually marry and become just another peasant.
“Now, you have to remember, this teenage boy had not been accepted by his own village because he was a mamzer and, as such, was ostracized by the elders in Nazareth. Although Joseph openly claimed him as his son, Jesus did not accompany him to the gathering of elders called the synagogue. His fellow villagers kept him from the gatherings, while his older brother, James, emerged as an authority in the congregation. James could claim that he was descended from King David through his father, while Jesus’ claim to his birthright was always challenged. This birthright, which Jesus felt was rightfully his also, gave James a special place in Israel. James would go on to become an important leader in the church, especially after Jesus’ death.
“I’m sure,” Myers said, “that there was a good case of sibling rivalry there. James got to do the things Jesus could not, yet wanted to. But Jesus has never spoken of that to me. Any reference he makes to his older half-brother is polite and
“That was the beginning of the missing years,” Tamara said. “That period of his life no one knows about.”
“Ah...! But that’s not true. I know what he was doing!”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me!”
Chapter 15: John the Baptist
“For a while, Jesus wandered the streets of Jerusalem, begging for food, sleeping in hidden places. He would undoubtedly have gone into the Temple daily but for the fact he had no money and the Temple requires you take a ritual cleansing bath before going in, a service for which they charged.”
Dr. Myers was warming to his task, a common trait when a college professor finds an eager audience.
“At that time in history, there was an itinerant preacher wandering around in the wilderness, talking up the coming Kingdom of God and that all should prepare themselves for it by becoming pure. His name was Yochanan the Immerser, but you know him as John the Baptist, and it was his contention that being baptized in ‘living’ water was the best way to renounce your sins and become pure so you will have a place in the coming Kingdom. ‘Living water,’ by the way, was that which came from springs or rivers, natural sources. Of course, it may be argued that all water comes from natural sources, but many came to listen to him preach of the coming salvation of the Jewish people and to partake of a dip into the Jordan River.
“Jesus had heard of John. What little he had heard of the Baptist’s views was much along the lines of what he thought himself. He went out to seek this man and found him by the river, loudly preaching to all who would hear and dunking them in living water. Well, to make a long story short, he approached John, they talked, and he became one of John’s followers. Eventually he was baptized by John and it was like a revelation, an epiphany for the young boy. He was filled with confidence that he had discovered what he was looking for: the Truth.
“John was your classic hermit preacher, wild looking, with a straggly beard and long hair matted into dreads. He wore a camel-hair tunic and was surrounded by a small handful of disciples who had chosen to stay with him, learn from him, and help spread the word.
“Jesus stayed and became one of those disciples. It was that or return to Nazareth and a stepfather he hated, a boring life tilling the fields and doing repair work, just as his father, Joseph, had. He would eventually marry and become just another peasant.
“Now, you have to remember, this teenage boy had not been accepted by his own village because he was a mamzer and, as such, was ostracized by the elders in Nazareth. Although Joseph openly claimed him as his son, Jesus did not accompany him to the gathering of elders called the synagogue. His fellow villagers kept him from the gatherings, while his older brother, James, emerged as an authority in the congregation. James could claim that he was descended from King David through his father, while Jesus’ claim to his birthright was always challenged. This birthright, which Jesus felt was rightfully his also, gave James a special place in Israel. James would go on to become an important leader in the church, especially after Jesus’ death.
“I’m sure,” Myers said, “that there was a good case of sibling rivalry there. James got to do the things Jesus could not, yet wanted to. But Jesus has never spoken of that to me. Any reference he makes to his older half-brother is polite and
Similar Books
Viktor: Heart of Her King
Julia Mills
The Chicano/Latino Literary Prize
Stephanie Fetta
Collected Stories of Carson McCullers
Carson Mccullers
My Notorious Life
Kate Manning
Hot & Enchanting (De La Cruz Saga)
P.T Macias
The Daydreamer
Ian McEwan
One Night: Denied
Jodi Ellen Malpas
Kept Women: Two Fertile Submissive Stories
Nicole Snow
Pilgrim’s Rest
Patricia Wentworth