Meeting the New Teacher Again - Part II of Three

I, Jairus, am writing again. 

I had written earlier about the new teacher in our area, this man called Jesus. As a leader in the synagogue, one needs to do a bit of homework around whom we let teach in our synagogue – if we have the choice. As I said last time, we need to protect or Law from misinterpretation and our synagogue and the privileges it enjoys from being abused. You will recall that this Jesus had come to our synagogue one Sabbath by surprise, so I was caught off guard at the time. 

I had asked around and learned a bit more about where this Jesus came from. He was indeed the son of a carpenter, Joseph, and his wife Mary, from Nazareth. He had several brothers and sisters. When I asked about the origins of his family I was stunned to find out he was not a real Galilean, but that his ancestors were Judeans, from Bethlehem in fact. Indeed, when we had all had to go to our homelands when a previous governor, Quirinius of Syria had ordered that for a census – orders that came from the Emperor Augustus in Rome by the way – this family had returned there and that was where Jesus had been born. Could there be something to those rumours of his possibly being the Messiah? I did not dwell long on such thoughts though. If Jesus’ birth was indeed important in that regard, our religious leaders would have found that out already. Instead, I was already hearing about caution coming from them about this man, if not outright questioning of his apparent authority and powers.

Just the same, the stories of what the people believed to be miracles he performed kept coming in. When I actually got to talk about these with some of those directly involved, you could not deny the truth of their story and the strength of their faith in this man. Indeed, for some at least, the performance of a miracle not only changed them in the area of healing involved, it seemed to mark for them the beginning of a brand new phase of their lives. It was like they had been reborn in their outlook, their attitude to life and to our faith. Regardless of their circumstances, and many of these people were poor and came from backgrounds many in our society frowned on – even hated tax collectors and prostitutes! – they seemed somehow happier, more confident, more at peace and content. Sometimes I had wished I could feel that way, what with all the stress of my position.  

Some of them then began to say that, along with the healing, Jesus had told them their sins were forgiven. My ears had perked up at that. This was a new twist. None of our miracle workers had ever added that to their incantations. Only God could forgive sins. Everybody knew that. For a human to say that would amount to blasphemy. Indeed, some of our more prominent leaders I got to ask about this said they were beginning to think what Jesus was saying was blasphemous in these and other areas. He seemed to be making preposterous claims for himself, allying himself with God in an easy and familiar way that none of our other teachers ever dared.

I was beginning to feel pulled in two directions. Part of me said, stay away from this man, he is dangerous, don’t even let him back in your synagogue. Another part of me said, go and hear this man some more, make up your own mind about him. Well, my chance came sooner than I expected. I had heard that this Jesus and his followers were touring around Galilee, teaching and performing miracles. He had evidently even cured a leper. That was something none of our healers could do. Only the prayers of the priests, following the rules laid down by the prophet Moses – well, actually given by God - had ever accomplished that. And this man was no priest.

Then I had heard that Jesus was back at the place in Capernaum he called home. I heard that a crowd had gathered to hear him speak so I decided to chance it and go and hear what he had to say. I say ‘chance it’ because I knew by now that there were those among our leaders who were not in favour of him and might question my presence there as the local synagogue leader.

I had not even reached the door of the home – well, in fact, I could not get near for the crowd – when some sweaty young men carrying a stretcher rushed towards us. Apparently, the pale and twisted body lying on it was their friend who had become paralyzed, unable to walk. They were hoping Jesus could heal him. However, the crowd was so thick there was no way they were going to penetrate that mass of humanity. After some words between themselves and those around I noticed them go around the aide of the house and next thing I knew they were on the roof, tearing away at the straw and tiles! Then, they dropped the man on the stretcher down into the room! A hush came over the crowd and even I could hear Jesus speaking out loudly and clearly to the man. They had surely gotten his attention by that feat!

“Son, your sins are forgiven.” What? So, this Jesus did say those things! I heard some talking amongst those inside but I could not make out the words. Then I heard Jesus say, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk? So you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” then he must have turned to the man dropped through the roof again, as he followed with “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” Before I had much of a chance to process what I was hearing the crowd parted and a young man, his face beaming but at the same time looking puzzled, as if he did not know what had just happened, passed by us. He was carrying his mat and quickly joined by his friends who had hustled back down from the roof, stretcher and all. They were so happy, slapping him on the back and saying how happy they were, but also thanking Jahweh.

Many in the crowd too were praising Jahweh and saying things like “We have never seen anything like this!”

Some of the crowd was leaving now, among them a small group of men I recognized immediately by their dress and accent to be from Jerusalem or at least Judea. Their faces were stern and they, unlike the rest of the crowd, were not praising God, but instead were talking about how this man was blasphemous and not to be listened to. They were not only saying this to themselves but warning the crowd as they passed through it and left. Fortunately, not being local men, they did not recognize me or they might have asked me why I was there. Mind you, I could have asked them the same. Seems we are all curious about what this Jesus is saying and doing.

Now, I had heard with my own ears some of the sayings our leaders have been concerned about. To tell someone your sins are forgiven, and that you have authority to do this – that seems a bit much. And to refer to himself as the Son of Man. That is a very sacred title, not used lightly. I had never heard anyone say that about anyone I knew, or anyone else for that matter, let alone about their own self. It is only a title one reads in our holy writings.

Yes, and there it is indeed connected in some places with the one to come, the Messiah. Was Jesus really saying he was The Messiah? It hardly seemed probable. He certainly did not fit our expectations in that regard.

I was really no closer to making sense of this all when another Sabbath rolled around and Jesus showed up again in or synagogue. I noticed that some of those same men, or ones like them, that I had seen at his home a few days back, were tagging along close behind him in the crowd following him. Then I noticed that one of our citizens whose hand had become shrunk and deformed was there, right in front of Jesus it seemed. A hush descended over those assembled as everyone watched to see how Jesus would react. They did not have to wait long.

Jesus saw the man and said, “Come forward.” The man hesitated but then he stepped out in front of Jesus. Jesus turned and looked at the crowd, and I saw he looked directly at those visiting religious leaders: “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” A flash of anger crossed his face as he said this, especially facing those visitors. It was replaced just as quickly by a look of deep sadness when no one dared to answer. I don’t blame them. Who would dare give an opinion in front of those leaders, those Pharisees and their friends. 

Turning back to the man, Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand.” People gasped as he did, not only that he was able to but that it now looked and moved perfectly normally. The man looked at his hand, opened and closed his fist, bent his wrist up and down. He was stunned, but then he realized, he had just been healed. He could not contain the joyful grin that spread across his face. He bowed and thanked Jesus profusely. The crowd’s response, indeed that of the man, was now considerably more muted than what I had sometimes seen and heard before. I understood. 

Jesus had placed his healing in the context of the Sabbath and according to our laws, or at least our traditions, that was work and not allowed. One could understand that with all that our other healers required of people to be healed, but with Jesus it was different. He did not seem to do any ‘work.’ He just spoke, and it happened. It was like how our scriptures talk of Jahweh at Creation – everything happened just by his word. Who was this man? Was there something divine about him?

The healed man could see that those visiting religious folk were not impressed. Had he just taken part in something wrong? Was he in trouble? They did not say anything to him, so he just turned and slipped away.

Meanwhile, I could hear those Pharisees, those teachers of the law, murmuring amongst themselves. They were talking about how Jesus was blasphemous, how he was breaking our laws, and that meant he deserved the death penalty. In fact, I heard some of them say as they rushed past me to leave, that they were going to report this to King Herod’s people.

Wow! Things were moving fast indeed. Would they really arrest this man? Charge him with these offenses under our law? I understood where they were coming from but I tell you, I was also deeply troubled. This man did not seem to be doing anything really wrong. Should it not be right to help people on the sabbath? What kind of god would prohibit that? Jesus seemed to say things with such authority. To him it all seemed so clear. I wished it was that clear to me. I resolved that before he came to our synagogue again, I would see if I could get an audience with him. I had a lot of questions. He seemed to have answers.

Meeting the New Teacher - Part I of Three

Shalom, my friends! Let me introduce myself. I am Jairus, and my home is in Galilee, Capernaum to be exact. Capernaum is a busy town on our Sea of Galilee. I am privileged to have the honour of being one of the leaders of our local synagogue. This is a serious responsibility. The synagogue is our local place for worship of Jahweh and the teaching of our Law. We have to be ever vigilant for correct teaching and interpretation of our Law - and staying away from politics. This last is because of the Romans, who occupy our land. They do not stand for anything that smells of rebellion.

Now, especially in Galilee, it seems our people are prone to breeding rebels. Some of these individuals have also made claims of being The Messiah. According to our holy writings, The Messiah is a descendant of our great King David, who will someday appear and free us from all oppression and restore Israel to its former glory.

I had heard of someone who was being referred to as a new rabbi. Some were even beginning to ask if he was The Messiah. But I am getting ahead of myself.

In the first place, this new teacher, oddly enough, was from Nazareth, a small village northwest of here from where no one of note had ever come. That should have been enough to quell ideas of his being The Messiah, as our prophets have written in our holy writings that he was to be born in The City of David, Bethlehem, way south in Judea. I had heard through the grapevine that he had been a top student of our teachers in Nazareth. He had been slated to go for advanced education after his bar mitzvah but then his father died. Instead, he took up his father’s trade of woodworking to support his family. That was quite a sacrifice but also a noble thing to do. The life of a rabbi would certainly have been preferable to the hard work of a carpenter. 

But then, I guess when he judged his family was capable of surviving on their own, he had left home. I had heard about his turning to teaching. He had even begun to gather around him some followers, as proven rabbis do. However, this young man had no track record yet that would have been thought to attract such disciples. Furthermore, these were not young men noted for being students, for their academic ability. They were fishermen! An odd choice for a rabbi if you ask me.  What’s more, I had heard he had performed what actually seemed to be miracles – such as healing the sick and casting out demons. Some of our people claimed to be able to do these things too. However, they had to take training as to how to do this, which was not free. As a result, the services they offered their clients, who were obliged to go through all sorts of rituals, necessarily allowed for the exchange of money, sometimes considerable amounts of such. Well, this man – his name was Jesus by the way – was reported to perform healing and exorcism on first meeting an individual and merely by his word, free! 

People were beginning to flock to where he was on a regular basis. Apparently large crowds followed him at times, seeking healing and freedom from unclean spirits. But he was also teaching, words said to be a powerful message of the need to repent and seek forgiveness, similar to another recent preacher who had appeared in our midst, one called John the Baptizer, so called because he was baptizing people who repented of their sin and wanted to turn over a new leaf. But this Jesus seemed to be adding a new twist to this message. He was saying that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This phrase alone was enough to make one wary of what might yet come of him.

Thus, I was somewhat on edge this particular Sabbath Day when I saw a crowd approaching our synagogue and near its front, was a man, striding along, occasionally stopping to place his hand on some poor supplicant and, evidently, from what I gathered, performing some healing. Some people were calling out things like, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” So, was this the Jesus I had heard about?

I was at the door of the synagogue when this Jesus approached. He stopped and, raising his hands and turning his face heavenward, seemed to be mouthing a prayer. Such a look of peace and determination seemed to then envelop his face. Then he looked straight at me with a look that was both gentle and powerful. Don’t ask me to explain that combination but that’s what I felt.

He bowed to me with clasped hands, walked in and sat down near the front. I quickly followed, almost pushed along by the throng. I conferred briefly with my colleagues and we agreed that, since this man was gaining recognition as a rabbi, the only polite and correct thing was to let him read the scripture and teach. One of our elders then handed him a scroll, from which he read and then began to teach.

In spite of ourselves, we were quite taken aback by his teaching. He did not go on and on reciting the sayings of rabbis from the past to explain the passage, like so many of our young teachers do. And he was so well-versed in the scriptures, the Torah! He quoted freely from it to support what he was saying. In spite of myself, I could not deny the power and authority with which he seemed to speak. It was actually quite refreshing, if I do say so myself.

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a shout, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know how you are, the Holy One of the God!” We had all turned to look at where the disturbance was coming from and could not help but catch our breath at those words. Jesus was indeed being addressed as if he were the Messiah! But the voice was coming from a disheveled figure in rags whom we all recognized immediately as someone possessed by an unclean spirit. He should not even have been in our synagogue. I was about to summon some of my colleagues to see if we could get him removed. However, before we could do so, this Jesus stopped his teaching and approached the man. Facing him square on he said in a loud clear voice, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The man fell to the floor in a writhing convulsion, shrieking and then lay still. We knew the demon was gone. Jesus reached down his hand and pulled the man to his feet. The man turned in a daze and left the building with his friends. 

The teaching session was over though. Everybody was talking at once about what they had just seen. They were amazed at the authority we had just witnessed. Some wondered who this was and what kind of new teaching this was. It was unheard of to simply command the spirits like this and see them obey. My own head was spinning from what I had heard and seen. Part of me said I had just seen one of our laws broken. Our rabbis had taught that healing was work and not to be performed on the Sabbath. However, before I could do anything further, Jesus and the crowd were disappearing down the road. I heard later they had gone to the home of one of his fishermen followers and that he had healed this man’s mother-in-law. What’s more, after Sabbath was over that evening, the house had been filled with people seeking healing and deliverance from unclean spirits. What indeed was going on here?

The Story of Mary III: Catholic Version The Ministry Years - Chapter 21 – Jesus is Rejected

NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress

After spending a few days with Jesus in Capernaum, Mary decided she needed to go home. She had enjoyed being able to spend time with Jesus’ new friends, and even their families. The family of the one called Simon, in particular, had been such good hosts.  

She had listened with intent wonder at the things she heard Jesus sharing with the young men, and not only them, but the crowds that seemed to gather around nonstop. Jesus was getting known. More amazingly, she saw Jesus healing people of diseases and even casting out evil spirits. Sometimes she wondered if Jesus was overdoing it. He hardly seemed to take a rest. It was hard to believe this was her son doing all this. It made her realize anew what all those voices from the past had said about her child. Now, she was seeing it come true. But where would it go? She was soon to find out one of those possibilities.

Mary pulled Jesus aside one morning and said, “I think I need to go home. The children are getting restless. Your brothers need to go back to work. Why don’t you come back with us? Our people in Nazareth could also benefit from hearing your teaching and even from your healing.”

“Thank you mother, for your invitation,” Jesus replied. “I must ask the Father about it. Why don’t you go on home with the family and I will follow if it is his will.” Suddenly pulling her close, Jesus kissed both of her cheeks and added, “You know I love you mother, and always will. Our Father will take care of you. Go in peace.”

Mary turned to gather her children and her things, marveling again at Jesus’ manner of speaking. Suddenly he was a mature man, speaking with authority. Where had this come from?

Not long after, Jesus left that place and came to his hometown,making his way back to Nazareth after all. One Sabbath day, he went to the synagogue. His disciples were with him too (Mark 6:1). People had heard about the things Jesus was doing and were glad to see him. Those who had known him better growing up and knew what a brilliant student he had been, were eager to hear what he had to tell them. They had also heard of the miracles he was doing in the villages and towns around the Sea of Galilee and were hoping they could see some miracles too. 

Mary was told he was at the synagogue and she hurried to see what was happening. She had not seen Jesus for some time and missed him dearly She was beginning to realize how much she had come to depend on him after Joseph’s death. She knew he had ended up at Capernaum and seemed to be making that his home. He was apparently staying at the home of one of the young men Mary had met at the wedding in Cana, a fisherman named Simon, son of Zebedee.

Jesus’ brothers and sisters followed alongwith Mary and they arrived at the synagogue just as they could see through the door that Jesus was standing up and making his way to the front. Doing so indicated he was ready to take a turn at reading. The leader of the synagogue gave him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read. Jesus took the scroll and unrolled it to find this passage:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:16-19).”

Luke 4:20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 4:21Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”

Those in the audience were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands?  They turned to one another,  speaking well of him.  Ashe went on to explain what he meant, his fellow Nazarenes nodded in approval andamazement. (Luke 4:20-22). They believed they knew what it meant to be poor, as many of them were. Many also had experience being captives. They certainly felt oppressed, even under their own King Herod, let alone the Romans. Hearing that it was time to proclaim “the year of the Lord’s favour” lifted their spirits. Was Jesus going to help them shake off the yokes of their oppressors! It all sounded too good to be true.

As they listened to this some naysayers began to question what he said. They said to each other, Isn’t this the carpenter, Joseph’s son? Is ne not the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?”  (Mark 6:2-3, Luke 4:22)?  Whereas just a short time before they had been buoyed by his words, they now began to question how a local boy like Jesus could make these claims for himself. So, they took offense at him. They soon had everyone beginning to discount what Jesus was saying. They had expected him to do some miracles for them but he was doing nothing of the kind. Without such deeds, how could they believe he had any power to do what he was talking of.

As if reading their minds, Jesus saidto them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ You really feel like saying, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’”He added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown and among his relatives, and in his own house (Mark 6:4). Let me remind you of a truth from the prophets: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian (Like 4:23-27.” 

When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. How could Jesus talk of occasions where God had seemed to pour his favour on Gentiles. Given the Jews animosity to the Gentiles, going back especially to the time of Babylon, then Greece and now Rome, this was not something they could accept. How could their God help the Gentiles? Had Jesus forgotten all they had suffered under the Gentiles? The Gentiles had not done them any favours.

How could Jesus only speak of good things done to Gentiles? It sounded as if he was twisting the words of the prophets to make them say something new and different. They really did not know what Jesus was trying to tell them. They only knew they did not like the sound of something they could not understand. It sounded to them like blasphemy, to so misuse the prophets and attribute grace to the Gentiles to God! 

Suddenly they were all on their feet and rushing to the front of the synagogue. Jesus’ followers were caught off guard by this sudden onset of hostility. Before they could intervene, the crowd pushed forward, grabbed Jesus and practically carried him out of the synagogue and dragged him out of the town. The penalty for blasphemy was death and this mob was intent on that. 

Mary was shocked as she saw her beloved son treated this way. She wanted to cry out and tell them they were mistaken, to beg them to let Jesus go. Jesus would never say anything to favour evildoers like the Gentiles. But seeing the murderous looks on her neighbours faces and hearing their angry cries, she felt afraid for her other children, let alone herself. How could they turn on one of their own like this? What if they turned on them, as Jesus’ family? And where were Jesus’ young friends? Could they not have helped stop this?

Mary followed from a distance, keeping well back of the crowd. She saw Jesus’ friends at the back of the crowd, trying vainly to break through to help their teacher, but to no avail. She had to see what was going to happen to Jesus. She gripped the hands of her children and ordered them to stay with her. She saw the crowd drag Jesus to the brow of the hill at the edge of the town, pushing him to the edge of the cliff. They wanted to throw him over the edge! It was obvious they really were intent on killing him. But, suddenly she saw Jesus simply turn back, pass through the crowd and into the circle of his friends and together they simply disappeared. No one could touch him (Luke 4:28-30)!

Mary had seen it all unfold. She was still too terror stricken to really appreciate what she had just seen, that Jesus had been spared. She had felt powerless in the face of these angry citizens. She wished she had not come; she felt especially sorry that Jesus’ siblings had seen and heard this. What questions they would have, never mind the confusion in her mind. What would they think of their brother when they saw how their fellow Nazarenes thought of him. That Jesus deserved to die for what he had said? And how could people be so unbelieving? Sometimes Mary had begun to wonder if Jesus was going a bit too far, getting carried away with his deeply ingrained sense of mission and God’s calling. 

Mary’s heart ached as she trudged home. She was glad that she had heard some people crying out in his defense that Jesus had indeed laid his hands on them and healed them. Mary assumed that had been before she and her family had caught up with Jesus at the synagogue. However, he was not able to do many miracles there, except to lay his hands on these few sick people and heal them. 6:6Jesus told her later, he had been amazed because of their unbelief.

Mary got her children their evening meal but she really had no appetite herself. She was glad for their silence, that she did not have to answer questions about all of this. As she wearily lay down for the night, she just felt exhausted, and was glad for sleep. All she had energy for was to quickly breath a silent prayer to Yahweh for Jesus, first of thanks for his apparent deliverance, but then also for his safety and his future. 

The Story of Mary III - Chapter 26 – Jesus is Rejected By His Own - Updated July 4

NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress

After spending a few days with Jesus in Capernaum, Mary decided she needed to go home. She had enjoyed being able to spend time with Jesus’ new friends, and even their families. The family of the one called Simon, in particular, had been such good hosts.  

She had listened with intent wonder at the things she heard Jesus sharing with the young men, and not only them, but the crowds that seemed to gather around nonstop.  Jesus was getting known. More amazingly, she saw Jesus healing people of diseases and even casting out evil spirits. Sometimes she wondered if Jesus was overdoing it. He hardly seemed to take a rest. It was hard to believe this was her son doing all this. It made her realize anew what all those voices from the past had said about her child. Now, she was seeing it come true. But where would it go? She was soon to find out one of those possibilities.

Mary pulled Jesus aside one morning and said, “I think I need to go home. The children are getting restless. The boys need to go back to work. Why don’t you come back with us. Our people in Nazareth could also benefit from hearing your teaching and even from your healing.”

“Thank you mother, for your invitation,” Jesus replied. “I must ask the Father about it. Why don’t you go on home with the family and I will follow if it is his will.” Suddenly pulling her close, Jesus kissed both of her cheeks and added, “You know I love you mother, and always will. Our Father will take care of you. Go in peace.”

Mary turned to gather her children and her things, marveling again at Jesus’ manner of speaking. Suddenly he was a mature man, speaking with authority. Where had this come from?

One Sabbath day, not long after, Jesus, having made his way back to Nazareth after all, went to the synagogue. People had heard about the things he was doing and were glad to see him. Those who had known him better growing up and knew what a brilliant student he had been, were eager to hear what he had to tell them. Mary was told he was at the synagogue and she hurried to see what was happening. She had not seen Jesus for some time and missed him dearly She was beginning to realize how much she had come to depend on him after Joseph’s death. She knew he had ended up at Capernaum and seemed to be making that his home. He had attracted some young followers and it seemed he was staying at the home of one of them, a fisherman named Simon, son of Zebedee.

Jesus’ brothers and sisters followed alongwith Mary and they arrived at the synagogue just as they could see through the door that Jesus was standing up and making his way to the front. Doing so indicated he was ready to take a turn at reading. The leader of the synagogue gave him the Torah to read. Jesus took the scroll and found this passage:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:16-19).”

Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” As he went on to explain what he meant, his fellow Nazarenes nodded in approval andamazement at the gracious words coming out of his mouth (Luke 4:20-22). They believed they knew what it meant to be poor, as many of them were. Many also had experience being captives. They certainly felt oppressed, even under their own King Herod, let alone the Romans. Hearing that it was time to proclaim “the year of the Lord’s favour” lifted their spirits. Was Jesus going to help them shake off the yokes of their oppressors! It all sounded too good to be true.

As they listened to this some naysayers began to question what he said. They said to one another, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Whereas just a short time before they had been buoyed by his words, they now began to question how a local boy like Jesus could make these claims for himself. They soon had everyone beginning to discount what Jesus was saying. They had expected him to do some miracles for them but he was doing nothing of the kind. Without such deeds, how could they believe he had any power to do what he was talking of.

As if reading their minds, Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’”He added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. Let me remind you of a truth from the prophets: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 

When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. How could Jesus talk of occasions where God had seemed to pour his favour on Gentiles. Given the Jews animosity to the Gentiles, going back especially to the time of Babylon, then Greece and now Rome, this was not something they could accept. How could their God help the Gentiles? Had Jesus forgotten all they had suffered under the Gentiles? The Gentiles had not done them any favours.

How could Jesus only speak of good things done to Gentiles? It sounded as if he was twisting the words of the prophets to make them say something new and different. They really did not know what Jesus was trying to tell them. They only knew they did not like the sound of something they could not understand. It sounded to them like blasphemy, to so misuse the prophets and attribute grace to the Gentiles to God! 

Suddenly they were all on their feet and rushing to the front of the synagogue. They grabbed Jesus and practically carried him out of the synagogue and dragged him out of the town. The penalty for blasphemy was death and this mob was intent on that. 

Mary was shocked as she saw her beloved son treated this way. She wanted to cry out and tell them they were mistaken, to beg them to let Jesus go. Jesus would never say anything to favour evildoers like the Gentiles. But seeing the murderous looks on her neighbours faces and hearing their angry cries, she felt afraid for her other children, let alone herself. How could they turn on one of their own like this? What if they turned on them, as Jesus’ family?

Mary followed from a distance, keeping well back of the crowd. She had to see what was going to happen to Jesus. She gripped the hands of her younger ones and ordered the older ones to stay with her. She saw the crowd bring him to the brow of the hill at the edge of the town, pushing him to the edge of the cliff. They wanted to throw him over the edge! It was obvious they really were intent on killing him. But, suddenly she saw Jesus simply turn back, pass through the crowd and disappear. No one could touch him!

Mary had seen it all unfold. She was still too terror stricken to really appreciate what she had just seen, that Jesus had been spared. She had felt powerless in the face of these angry citizens. She wished she had not come; she felt especially sorry that Jesus’ siblings had seen and heard this. What questions they would have, never mind the confusion in her mind. What would they think of their brother when they saw how their fellow Nazarenes thought of him. That Jesus deserved to die for what he had said. Sometimes Mary had begun to wonder if Jesus was going a bit too far, getting carried away with his deeply ingrained sense of mission and God’s calling. 

Mary’s heart ached as she trudged home. She got her children their evening meal but she really had no appetite herself. She was glad for their silence, that she did not have to answer questions about all of this. As she wearily lay down for the night, she just felt exhausted, and was glad for sleep. All she had energy for was to quickly breath a silent prayer to Yahweh for Jesus, first of thanks for his apparent deliverance, but then also for his safety and his future. 

Chapter 19 - Still More Travel

NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress

After the men had saddled their camels again and turned to leave, Joseph turned back into his home. “Joseph,” Mary said, looking up at him as he approached her, “What do we make of all this? Isn’t The Highest One amazing? He sends angels, shepherds, Simeon and Anna in the temple, and now these travellers. But what do these gifts mean? Gold makes sense for a king. We can always use it. And I suppose frankincense fits in with worship and offering respect. But myrrh?” Mary did not even want to voice it but all she could think of was that this was something sometimes used to embalm the bodies of the dead. But these men knew they had come to worship a newborn. So why bring something that seemed to have to do with death? There was still so much she did not fully understand.

But then Mary remembered something else the men had said and piped up, “Do you remember what else they said? It is written in the prophets that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem! I did not remember that prediction. So, our having to come to Bethlehem seems now to be part of God’s plan! Isn’t our Lord wonderful? Who knows what might have happened to us if we had been back in Galilee? Surely, Jehovah is reinforcing with us what we have been chosen for - and who this little one is,” she added, looking fondly down at her son. “But then she looked up again with an expression of grave concern, “But now King Herod knows there is a special baby here. Someone we keep being told is destined to be the Messiah, our saviour and ruler. Are we safe?”

Joseph sighed as he lowered himself down beside her, “I just don’t know, Mary, our life certainly seems to be out of our control, doesn’t it? We have been told who this child that was given us is, but we have no instructions as to how to raise him safely or what we are to look for to help him grow up to fulfil the purpose he is born for.”

“Well,” Mary responded with quiet resolution, “we have been told much already. We must just wait on Jehovah and he will surely tell us what we need to know in his time. Now, we need to sleep.”

They drifted off to sleep when Joseph had a feeling he thought he had experienced before. Indeed, he seemed to be surrounded by brilliant light and there at his feet stood an angel again! “Joseph,” the angel was speaking softly but urgently, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him (Matthew 2:13). I warned the wise men from the east in a dream not to return to Herod so now he is going to be enraged and come after you (Matthew 2:12)!”

Joseph shot up from his cloak. He blinked, again – all was dark and still. It was another dream. But what the angel said confirmed their worst fears. They were not safe before King Herod.

“Mary, Mary,” he called, grabbing her arms and shaking her awake.

“What, what, what is it,” she asked, troubled by the alarm in his voice.

“An angel just came to me in a dream again. He told me we have to flee to Egypt – now – because King Herod is going to come and look for our son to kill him!”

“Oh, no,” Mary cried, “what shall we do? What about our families?”

“We will just have to send word to them later,” said Joseph. “We have to go now though. We have no choice. Do you think I would choose to do something like this?” He was gathering up the gifts and beginning to wrap them up in their blanket. Mary moved to let him finish and began to gather some things together to take along to eat. 

“Mary,” Joseph said, “You feed Jesus and I will go and pay our landlord what we owe in rent and buy one of his donkeys. We will need it for the trip. I will explain as much as I need to but of course I will not say where we are going. We can’t let Herod find that out.” With that, Joseph vanished into the darkness.

It wasn’t long before he was back. “The Highest One was with us,” he said, “I got the donkey with no problem and not too many questions. And since he knows your parents, I asked him to send word to them that we had to leave but would communicate with them later, to tell them that we are doing what The Highest One is telling us to do. Let’s get ready and go.”

Joseph helped Mary and Jesus on to the donkey and slung all their possessions over its back. Talking Mary’s hand in his he raised his eyes to the dark sky and quickly sent up a plea to the Lord for wisdom, guidance and safety on this journey they believed he had sent them on. Then, grabbing his walking stick, he began to lead them down the road and out of the town. They were tired but fueled by fear, and with the growing conviction that Jehovah was with them, they made sure they were well out of the region of Bethlehem before they stopped by the side of the road to get some sleep. 

The sun was already up when they woke next morning. Joseph quickly helped Mary and Joseph back on to the donkey with their possessions and they began trudging on towards Egypt. Now, of course, this was somewhere they had never been before. However, Joseph knew that if they continued on this road to the sea they would find their way to Egypt. 

“Joseph,” Mary asked eventually, where in Egypt will we stay?”

“I really don’t know,” Joseph replied. “However, I do know there are many Jews in Alexandria. Maybe we will find a welcome there. It is on the sea so it should be easy enough to get to. And,” he added, looking back at their things, “we have those gifts that should come in handy to help us get established there until it is safe to return to Judea.” Of course, Joseph had no idea how far it was, but he would find his way.

Eventually, some two weeks later, they knew from fellow travellers they had met by that time and were sharing the road with, they were approaching Alexandria. They could see buildings appearing on the horizon. Far to the right they could see a large intriguing structure that they would later learn was a famous landmark of the city – its magnificent lighthouse.

They made their way into the city and after a number of inquiries found a place in which they could stay. They were relieved with that. Finally, they could settle down again, at least for a while.

The young couple did not take long to establish connections with the Jewish community. Mary made some friends and Joseph was able to get some work. Somehow, the Lord always seemed to be looking out for them. They could not help but conclude that it had something – everything? – to do with the precious child they bore.

Joseph was invited by one of his associates to go with him to synagogue one Sabbath Day. It was a much larger and more grand structure than any synagogue he had ever seen before. They found a place to stand among their fellow-worshippers and the service began. His friend alerted him to the fact that some of the service and reading would be in Greek. At first this somewhat surprised Joseph – worshipping their Jehovah in a foreign, a Gentile tongue. But then he remembered that he had heard that in Alexandria where the scriptures had already been translated to Greek because so many people used that language. 

So, it was not surprising then that Joseph found he could not understand a lot of what was going on. But his ears perked up when he heard the leader begin to read passages in Aramaic from the prophets, and particularly when -  and he could hardly believe his ears - he heard the words, “out of Egypt I have called my son (Hosea 11:1).” He could hardly wait to get home to share this with Mary.

“Mary, Mary,” Joseph called when he got home, “Let me tell you what I heard at synagogue today! The prophet said Jehovah called his son out of Egypt.”

“See,” Mary said, “What did I say, if that is referring to our son, God is working his plans out, because here we are. And, even better, it reassures us we will not always be here. Out of Egypt The Highest One calls his son,” she repeated. “Now we just have to wait to see when that day will be.”

Mary - Chapter 10 - The Wedding

NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress

Joseph sometimes found it hard to concentrate on his work in the following days. He wanted to please his employer and do the best he could. He also wanted to learn from him and even others he saw working around him. Someday he hoped to be able to work on his own. He felt good about the skills he was acquiring working with stone, plaster and wood. There was so much to learn. Someday he hoped he could also learn to work with marble. 

Something else he saw in the finer buildings he had occasion to be involved with was the fine work of the mosaic tilers. Their artistry amazed him. Sometimes he felt uncomfortable with some of that work though. These artisans often incorporated human figures into their murals and floors and in Joseph’s mind that was against the law of his people. They were not to make any image of anything human, lest it become an object of worship. He felt especially guilty when thee mosaics were built on the background of floors and walls he had helped make. He made sure to pray and ask Jehovah for forgiveness if this made him break the law by preparing the surface for this work. He would also try to remember to include a prayer about this with the sin offerings he would bring to the temple in Jerusalem when he would go there with his family.  

But his thoughts continually strayed to his personal life. He thought about the angels’ visits to Mary and then himself. He thought about how fortunate he was to have become engaged to Mary. She was not only beautiful, she had the most pleasing disposition. She was ever polite, courteous, obedient and helpful. She was always so positive. Now that they were betrothed, he got to spend more time with her and there was nothing about her he did not love. There was also something so innocent and trusting about her that it stirred his deepest feelings of wanting to care for and protect her. He sometimes wondered how much of that might be called for in the days ahead. Most importantly, he was challenged by her faith. Girls were not allowed to go to synagogue school as he had been fortunate to do until he was 12, so they did not get to hear the scriptures read other than on synagogue on Shabbat. That made it all the more amazing that she knew as much about the stories of Israel and about the law as he did.

Finally, there came the day when he was already seated with Anna and Mary, ready for the evening meal, when Joachim walked in and announced, “It’s all arranged, in 1 week you young people will be married!”

Mary gasped and leapt to her feet to throw her arms around her father and kiss him, “Oh, Papa, I am going to be the happiest wife in the world. And I just know Joseph is going to be a wonderful husband and father,” she added, turning her warm smile on Joseph.

In their moments together, Joseph, impressed by the significance of this pregnancy that was ostensibly underway in Mary, had promised her that they would not need to consummate their marriage until after the child’s birth. Mary had been utterly impressed by this expression of Joseph’s commitment and self-discipline; it only deepened her love and respect for this quiet young man from Nazareth. 

That week flew by. Preparations were made for a small gathering of their two families and some close relatives and friends. When the day came, Joseph and Mary, who were now staying with his parents in Nazareth, were given brand new clothes to wear. Then they all walked solemnly across the village to the synagogue. The young couple were given seats of honour at the front of the synagogue, facing the leader of the synagogue and the local rabbi. The rituals of a first century Jewish marriage were followed, ending in a prayer to Jehovah for a blessing on the couple and a wish for many children. When the brief ceremony was over, Joseph stood up and, taking Mary’s had in his, led the happy throng back to his parents’ place. Some of the villagers had joined them with pipes and tambourines as they went merrily along, dancing in front of the couple. As they walked, Joseph and Mary also heard the blessings from all they passed. When they arrived back at Joachim's place their two families were joined in a small feast by some of their closest friends' families. The two families still wanted to keep things as low key as possible.

There had been questions about why so soon when the engagement had only been a couple of month earlier. Joachim and Jacob had simply affirmed to all who asked that this was revealed to them as the will of The Highest One. That unusual answer usually caught the questioners so off guard they scarcely knew how to press the issue further. In any case, when they did, the two fathers were steadfast in their decree and offered no more.