The Urantia Book
PAPER 125
JESUS AT JERUSALEM
125:0.1 NO INCIDENT in all Jesus' eventful earth
career was more engaging, more humanly thrilling, than this, his
first remembered visit to Jerusalem. He was especially stimulated
by the experience of attending the temple discussions by himself,
and it long stood out in his memory as the great event of his
later childhood and early youth. This was his first opportunity to
enjoy a few days of independent living, the exhilaration of going
and coming without restraint and restrictions. This brief period
of undirected living, during the week following the Passover, was
the first complete freedom from responsibility he had ever
enjoyed. And it was many years subsequent to this before he again
had a like period of freedom from all sense of responsibility,
even for a short time.
125:0.2 Women seldom went to the Passover feast
at Jerusalem; they were not required to be present. Jesus,
however, virtually refused to go unless his mother would accompany
them. And when his mother decided to go, many other Nazareth women
were led to make the journey, so that the Passover company
contained the largest number of women, in proportion to men, ever
to go up to the Passover from Nazareth. Ever and anon, on the way
to Jerusalem, they chanted the one hundred and thirtieth Psalm.
125:0.3 From the time they left Nazareth until
they reached the summit of the Mount of Olives, Jesus experienced
one long stress of expectant anticipation. All through a joyful
childhood he had reverently heard of Jerusalem and its temple; now
he was soon to behold them in reality. From the Mount of Olives
and from the outside, on closer inspection, the temple had been
all and more than Jesus had expected; but when he once entered its
sacred portals, the great disillusionment began.
125:0.4 In company with his parents Jesus passed
through the temple precincts on his way to join that group of new
sons of the law who were about to be consecrated as citizens of
Israel. He was a little disappointed by the general demeanor of
the temple throngs, but the first great shock of the day came when
his mother took leave of them on her way to the women's gallery.
It had never occurred to Jesus that his mother was not to
accompany him to the consecration ceremonies, and he was
thoroughly indignant that she was made to suffer from such unjust
discrimination. While he strongly resented this, aside from a few
remarks of protest to his father, he said nothing. But he thought,
and thought deeply, as his questions to the scribes and teachers a
week later disclosed.
125:0.5 He passed through the consecration
rituals but was disappointed by their perfunctory and routine
natures. He missed that personal interest which characterized the
ceremonies of the synagogue at Nazareth. He then returned to greet
his mother and prepared to accompany his father on his first trip
about the temple and its various courts, galleries, and corridors.
The temple precincts could accommodate over two hundred thousand
worshipers at one time, and while the vastness of these buildings
-- in comparison with any he had ever seen -- greatly impressed
his mind, he was more intrigued by the contemplation of the
spiritual significance of the temple ceremonies and their
associated worship.
125:0.6 Though many of the temple rituals very
touchingly impressed his sense of the beautiful and the symbolic,
he was always disappointed by the explanation of the real meanings
of these ceremonies which his parents would offer in answer to his
many searching inquiries. Jesus simply would not accept
explanations of worship and religious devotion which involved
belief in the wrath of God or the anger of the Almighty. In
further discussion of these questions, after the conclusion of the
temple visit, when his father became mildly insistent that he
acknowledge acceptance of the orthodox Jewish beliefs, Jesus
turned suddenly upon his parents and, looking appealingly into the
eyes of his father, said: "My father, it cannot be true -- the
Father in heaven cannot so regard his erring children on earth.
The heavenly Father cannot love his children less than you love
me. And I well know, no matter what unwise thing I might do, you
would never pour out wrath upon me nor vent anger against me. If
you, my earthly father, possess such human reflections of the
Divine, how much more must the heavenly Father be filled with
goodness and overflowing with mercy. I refuse to believe that my
Father in heaven loves me less than my father on earth."
125:0.7 When Joseph and Mary heard these words
of their first-born son, they held their peace. And never again
did they seek to change his mind about the love of God and the
mercifulness of the Father in heaven.
1. JESUS VIEWS THE TEMPLE
125:1.1 Everywhere Jesus went throughout the
temple courts, he was shocked and sickened by the spirit of
irreverence which he observed. He deemed the conduct of the temple
throngs to be inconsistent with their presence in "his Father's
house." But he received the shock of his young life when his
father escorted him into the court of the gentiles with its noisy
jargon, loud talking and cursing, mingled indiscriminately with
the bleating of sheep and the babble of noises which betrayed the
presence of the money-changers and the vendors of sacrificial
animals and sundry other commercial commodities.
125:1.2 But most of all was his sense of
propriety outraged by the sight of the frivolous courtesans
parading about within this precinct of the temple, just such
painted women as he had so recently seen when on a visit to
Sepphoris. This profanation of the temple fully aroused all his
youthful indignation, and he did not hesitate to express himself
freely to Joseph.
125:1.3 Jesus admired the sentiment and service
of the temple, but he was shocked by the spiritual ugliness which
he beheld on the faces of so many of the unthinking worshipers.
125:1.4 They now passed down to the priests'
court beneath the rock ledge in front of the temple, where the
altar stood, to observe the killing of the droves of animals and
the washing away of the blood from the hands of the officiating
slaughter priests at the bronze fountain. The bloodstained
pavement, the gory hands of the priests, and the sounds of the
dying animals were more than this nature-loving lad could stand.
The terrible sight sickened this boy of Nazareth; he clutched his
father's arm and begged to be taken away. They walked back through
the court of the gentiles, and even the coarse laughter and
profane jesting which he there heard were a relief from the sights
he had just beheld.
125:1.5 Joseph saw how his son had sickened at
the sight of the temple rites and wisely led him around to view
the "gate beautiful," the artistic gate made of Corinthian bronze.
But Jesus had had enough for his first visit at the temple. They
returned to the upper court for Mary and walked about in the open
air and away from the crowds for an hour, viewing the Asmonean
palace, the stately home of Herod, and the tower of the Roman
guards. During this stroll Joseph explained to Jesus that only the
inhabitants of Jerusalem were permitted to witness the daily
sacrifices in the temple, and that the dwellers in Galilee came up
only three times a year to participate in the temple worship: at
the Passover, at the feast of Pentecost (seven weeks after
Passover), and at the feast of tabernacles in October. These
feasts were established by Moses. They then discussed the two
later established feasts of the dedication and of Purim. Afterward
they went to their lodgings and made ready for the celebration of
the Passover.
2. JESUS AND THE PASSOVER
125:2.1 Five Nazareth families were guests of,
or associates with, the family of Simon of Bethany in the
celebration of the Passover, Simon having purchased the paschal
lamb for the company. It was the slaughter of these lambs in such
enormous numbers that had so affected Jesus on his temple visit.
It had been the plan to eat the Passover with Mary's relatives,
but Jesus persuaded his parents to accept the invitation to go to
Bethany.
125:2.2 That night they assembled for the
Passover rites, eating the roasted flesh with unleavened bread and
bitter herbs. Jesus, being a new son of the covenant, was asked to
recount the origin of the Passover, and this he well did, but he
somewhat disconcerted his parents by the inclusion of numerous
remarks mildly reflecting the impressions made on his youthful but
thoughtful mind by the things which he had so recently seen and
heard. This was the beginning of the seven-day ceremonies of the
feast of the Passover.
125:2.3 Even at this early date, though he said
nothing about such matters to his parents, Jesus had begun to turn
over in his mind the propriety of celebrating the Passover without
the slaughtered lamb. He felt assured in his own mind that the
Father in heaven was not pleased with this spectacle of
sacrificial offerings, and as the years passed, he became
increasingly determined someday to establish the celebration of a
bloodless Passover.
125:2.4 Jesus slept very little that night. His
rest was greatly disturbed by revolting dreams of slaughter and
suffering. His mind was distraught and his heart torn by the
inconsistencies and absurdities of the theology of the whole
Jewish ceremonial system. His parents likewise slept little. They
were greatly disconcerted by the events of the day just ended.
They were completely upset in their own hearts by the lad's, to
them, strange and determined attitude. Mary became nervously
agitated during the fore part of the night, but Joseph remained
calm, though he was equally puzzled. Both of them feared to talk
frankly with the lad about these problems, though Jesus would
gladly have talked with his parents if they had dared to encourage
him.
125:2.5 The next day's services at the temple
were more acceptable to Jesus and did much to relieve the
unpleasant memories of the previous day. The following morning
young Lazarus took Jesus in hand, and they began a systematic
exploration of Jerusalem and its environs. Before the day was
over, Jesus discovered the various places about the temple where
teaching and question conferences were in progress; and aside from
a few visits to the holy of holies to gaze in wonder as to what
really was behind the veil of separation, he spent most of his
time about the temple at these teaching conferences.
125:2.6 Throughout the Passover week, Jesus kept
his place among the new sons of the commandment, and this meant
that he must seat himself outside the rail which segregated all
persons who were not full citizens of Israel. Being thus made
conscious of his youth, he refrained from asking the many
questions which surged back and forth in his mind; at least he
refrained until the Passover celebration had ended and these
restrictions on the newly consecrated youths were lifted.
125:2.7 On Wednesday of the Passover week, Jesus
was permitted to go home with Lazarus to spend the night at
Bethany. This evening, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary heard Jesus
discuss things temporal and eternal, human and divine, and from
that night on they all three loved him as if he had been their own
brother.
125:2.8 By the end of the week, Jesus saw less
of Lazarus since he was not eligible for admission to even the
outer circle of the temple discussions, though he attended some of
the public talks delivered in the outer courts. Lazarus was the
same age as Jesus, but in Jerusalem youths were seldom admitted to
the consecration of sons of the law until they were a full
thirteen years of age.
125:2.9 Again and again, during the Passover
week, his parents would find Jesus sitting off by himself with his
youthful head in his hands, profoundly thinking. They had never
seen him behave like this, and not knowing how much he was
confused in mind and troubled in spirit by the experience through
which he was passing, they were sorely perplexed; they did not
know what to do. They welcomed the passing of the days of the
Passover week and longed to have their strangely acting son safely
back in Nazareth.
125:2.10 Day by day Jesus was thinking through
his problems. By the end of the week he had made many adjustments;
but when the time came to return to Nazareth, his youthful mind
was still swarming with perplexities and beset by a host of
unanswered questions and unsolved problems.
125:2.11 Before Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem,
in company with Jesus' Nazareth teacher they made definite
arrangements for Jesus to return when he reached the age of
fifteen to begin his long course of study in one of the best-known
academies of the rabbis. Jesus accompanied his parents and teacher
on their visits to the school, but they were all distressed to
observe how indifferent he seemed to all they said and did. Mary
was deeply pained at his reactions to the Jerusalem visit, and
Joseph was profoundly perplexed at the lad's strange remarks and
unusual conduct.
125:2.12 After all, Passover week had been a
great event in Jesus' life. He had enjoyed the opportunity of
meeting scores of boys about his own age, fellow candidates for
the consecration, and he utilized such contacts as a means of
learning how people lived in Mesopotamia, Turkestan, and Parthia,
as well as in the Far-Western provinces of Rome. He was already
fairly conversant with the way in which the youth of Egypt and
other regions near Palestine grew up. There were thousands of
young people in Jerusalem at this time, and the Nazareth lad
personally met, and more or less extensively interviewed, more
than one hundred and fifty. He was particularly interested in
those who hailed from the Far-Eastern and the remote Western
countries. As a result of these contacts the lad began to
entertain a desire to travel about the world for the purpose of
learning how the various groups of his fellow men toiled for their
livelihood.
3. DEPARTURE OF JOSEPH AND MARY
125:3.1 It had been arranged that the Nazareth
party should gather in the region of the temple at midforenoon on
the first day of the week after the Passover festival had ended.
This they did and started out on the return journey to Nazareth.
Jesus had gone into the temple to listen to the discussions while
his parents awaited the assembly of their fellow travelers.
Presently the company prepared to depart, the men going in one
group and the women in another as was their custom in journeying
to and from the Jerusalem festivals. Jesus had gone up to
Jerusalem in company with his mother and the women. Being now a
young man of the consecration, he was supposed to journey back to
Nazareth in company with his father and the men. But as the
Nazareth party moved on toward Bethany, Jesus was completely
absorbed in the discussion of angels, in the temple, being wholly
unmindful of the passing of the time for the departure of his
parents. And he did not realize that he had been left behind until
the noontime adjournment of the temple conferences.
125:3.2 The Nazareth travelers did not miss
Jesus because Mary surmised he journeyed with the men, while
Joseph thought he traveled with the women since he had gone up to
Jerusalem with the women, leading Mary's donkey. They did not
discover his absence until they reached Jericho and prepared to
tarry for the night. After making inquiry of the last of the party
to reach Jericho and learning that none of them had seen their
son, they spent a sleepless night, turning over in their minds
what might have happened to him, recounting many of his unusual
reactions to the events of Passover week, and mildly chiding each
other for not seeing to it that he was in the group before they
left Jerusalem.
4. FIRST AND SECOND DAYS IN THE TEMPLE
125:4.1 In the meantime, Jesus had remained in
the temple throughout the afternoon, listening to the discussions
and enjoying the more quiet and decorous atmosphere, the great
crowds of Passover week having about disappeared. At the
conclusion of the afternoon discussions, in none of which Jesus
participated, he betook himself to Bethany, arriving just as
Simon's family made ready to partake of their evening meal. The
three youngsters were overjoyed to greet Jesus, and he remained in
Simon's house for the night. He visited very little during the
evening, spending much of the time alone in the garden meditating.
125:4.2 Early next day Jesus was up and on his
way to the temple. On the brow of Olivet he paused and wept over
the sight his eyes beheld -- a spiritually impoverished people,
tradition bound and living under the surveillance of the Roman
legions. Early forenoon found him in the temple with his mind made
up to take part in the discussions. Meanwhile, Joseph and Mary
also had arisen with the early dawn with the intention of
retracing their steps to Jerusalem. First, they hastened to the
house of their relatives, where they had lodged as a family during
the Passover week, but inquiry elicited the fact that no one had
seen Jesus. After searching all day and finding no trace of him,
they returned to their relatives for the night.
125:4.3 At the second conference Jesus had made
bold to ask questions, and in a very amazing way he participated
in the temple discussions but always in a manner consistent with
his youth. Sometimes his pointed questions were somewhat
embarrassing to the learned teachers of the Jewish law, but he
evinced such a spirit of candid fairness, coupled with an evident
hunger for knowledge, that the majority of the temple teachers
were disposed to treat him with every consideration. But when he
presumed to question the justice of putting to death a drunken
gentile who had wandered outside the court of the gentiles and
unwittingly entered the forbidden and reputedly sacred precincts
of the temple, one of the more intolerant teachers grew impatient
with the lad's implied criticisms and, glowering down upon him,
asked how old he was. Jesus replied, "thirteen years lacking a
trifle more than four months." "Then," rejoined the now irate
teacher, "why are you here, since you are not of age as a son of
the law?" And when Jesus explained that he had received
consecration during the Passover, and that he was a finished
student of the Nazareth schools, the teachers with one accord
derisively replied, "We might have known; he is from Nazareth."
But the leader insisted that Jesus was not to be blamed if the
rulers of the synagogue at Nazareth had graduated him,
technically, when he was twelve instead of thirteen; and
notwithstanding that several of his detractors got up and left, it
was ruled that the lad might continue undisturbed as a pupil of
the temple discussions.
125:4.4 When this, his second day in the temple,
was finished, again he went to Bethany for the night. And again he
went out in the garden to meditate and pray. It was apparent that
his mind was concerned with the contemplation of weighty problems.
5. THE THIRD DAY IN THE TEMPLE
125:5.1 Jesus' third day with the scribes and
teachers in the temple witnessed the gathering of many spectators
who, having heard of this youth from Galilee, came to enjoy the
experience of seeing a lad confuse the wise men of the law. Simon
also came down from Bethany to see what the boy was up to.
Throughout this day Joseph and Mary continued their anxious search
for Jesus, even going several times into the temple but never
thinking to scrutinize the several discussion groups, although
they once came almost within hearing distance of his fascinating
voice.
125:5.2 Before the day had ended, the entire
attention of the chief discussion group of the temple had become
focused upon the questions being asked by Jesus. Among his many
questions were:
125:5.3 1. What really exists in the holy of
holies, behind the veil?
125:5.4 2. Why should mothers in Israel be
segregated from the male temple worshipers?
125:5.5 3. If God is a father who loves his
children, why all this slaughter of animals to gain divine favor
-- has the teaching of Moses been misunderstood?
125:5.6 4. Since the temple is dedicated to the
worship of the Father in heaven, is it consistent to permit the
presence of those who engage in secular barter and trade?
125:5.7 5. Is the expected Messiah to become a
temporal prince to sit on the throne of David, or is he to
function as the light of life in the establishment of a spiritual
kingdom?
125:5.8 And all the day through, those who
listened marveled at these questions, and none was more astonished
than Simon. For more than four hours this Nazareth youth plied
these Jewish teachers with thought-provoking and heart-searching
questions. He made few comments on the remarks of his elders. He
conveyed his teaching by the questions he would ask. By the deft
and subtle phrasing of a question he would at one and the same
time challenge their teaching and suggest his own. In the manner
of his asking a question there was an appealing combination of
sagacity and humor which endeared him even to those who more or
less resented his youthfulness. He was always eminently fair and
considerate in the asking of these penetrating questions. On this
eventful afternoon in the temple he exhibited that same reluctance
to take unfair advantage of an opponent which characterized his
entire subsequent public ministry. As a youth, and later on as a
man, he seemed to be utterly free from all egoistic desire to win
an argument merely to experience logical triumph over his fellows,
being interested supremely in just one thing: to proclaim
everlasting truth and thus effect a fuller revelation of the
eternal God.
125:5.9 When the day was over, Simon and Jesus
wended their way back to Bethany. For most of the distance both
the man and the boy were silent. Again Jesus paused on the brow of
Olivet, but as he viewed the city and its temple, he did not weep;
he only bowed his head in silent devotion.
125:5.10 After the evening meal at Bethany he
again declined to join the merry circle but instead went to the
garden, where he lingered long into the night, vainly endeavoring
to think out some definite plan of approach to the problem of his
lifework and to decide how best he might labor to reveal to his
spiritually blinded countrymen a more beautiful concept of the
heavenly Father and so set them free from their terrible bondage
to law, ritual, ceremonial, and musty tradition. But the clear
light did not come to the truth-seeking lad.
6. THE FOURTH DAY IN THE TEMPLE
125:6.1 Jesus was strangely unmindful of his
earthly parents; even at breakfast, when Lazarus's mother remarked
that his parents must be about home by that time, Jesus did not
seem to comprehend that they would be somewhat worried about his
having lingered behind.
125:6.2 Again he journeyed to the temple, but he
did not pause to meditate at the brow of Olivet. In the course of
the morning's discussions much time was devoted to the law and the
prophets, and the teachers were astonished that Jesus was so
familiar with the Scriptures, in Hebrew as well as Greek. But they
were amazed not so much by his knowledge of truth as by his youth.
125:6.3 At the afternoon conference they had
hardly begun to answer his question relating to the purpose of
prayer when the leader invited the lad to come forward and,
sitting beside him, bade him state his own views regarding prayer
and worship.
125:6.4 The evening before, Jesus' parents had
heard about this strange youth who so deftly sparred with the
expounders of the law, but it had not occurred to them that this
lad was their son. They had about decided to journey out to the
home of Zacharias as they thought Jesus might have gone thither to
see Elizabeth and John. Thinking Zacharias might perhaps be at the
temple, they stopped there on their way to the City of Judah. As
they strolled through the courts of the temple, imagine their
surprise and amazement when they recognized the voice of the
missing lad and beheld him seated among the temple teachers.
125:6.5 Joseph was speechless, but Mary gave
vent to her long-pent-up fear and anxiety when, rushing up to the
lad, now standing to greet his astonished parents, she said: "My
child, why have you treated us like this? It is now more than
three days that your father and I have searched for you sorrowing.
Whatever possessed you to desert us?" It was a tense moment. All
eyes were turned on Jesus to hear what he would say. His father
looked reprovingly at him but said nothing.
125:6.6 It should be remembered that Jesus was
supposed to be a young man. He had finished the regular schooling
of a child, had been recognized as a son of the law, and had
received consecration as a citizen of Israel. And yet his mother
more than mildly upbraided him before all the people assembled,
right in the midst of the most serious and sublime effort of his
young life, thus bringing to an inglorious termination one of the
greatest opportunities ever to be granted him to function as a
teacher of truth, a preacher of righteousness, a revealer of the
loving character of his Father in heaven.
125:6.7 But the lad was equal to the occasion.
When you take into fair consideration all the factors which
combined to make up this situation, you will be better prepared to
fathom the wisdom of the boy's reply to his mother's unintended
rebuke. After a moment's thought, Jesus answered his mother,
saying: "Why is it that you have so long sought me? Would you not
expect to find me in my Father's house since the time has come
when I should be about my Father's business?"
125:6.8 Everyone was astonished at the lad's
manner of speaking. Silently they all withdrew and left him
standing alone with his parents. Presently the young man relieved
the embarrassment of all three when he quietly said: "Come, my
parents, none has done aught but that which he thought best. Our
Father in heaven has ordained these things; let us depart for
home."
125:6.9 In silence they started out, arriving at
Jericho for the night. Only once did they pause, and that on the
brow of Olivet, when the lad raised his staff aloft and, quivering
from head to foot under the surging of intense emotion, said: "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, and the people thereof, what slaves you are
-- subservient to the Roman yoke and victims of your own
traditions -- but I will return to cleanse yonder temple and
deliver my people from this bondage!"
125:6.10 On the three days' journey to Nazareth
Jesus said little; neither did his parents say much in his
presence. They were truly at a loss to understand the conduct of
their first-born son, but they did treasure in their hearts his
sayings, even though they could not fully comprehend their
meanings.
125:6.11 Upon reaching home, Jesus made a brief
statement to his parents, assuring them of his affection and
implying that they need not fear he would again give any occasion
for their suffering anxiety because of his conduct. He concluded
this momentous statement by saying: "While I must do the will of
my Father in heaven, I will also be obedient to my father on
earth. I will await my hour."
125:6.12 Though Jesus, in his mind, would many
times refuse to consent to the well-intentioned but
misguided efforts of his parents to dictate the course of his
thinking or to establish the plan of his work on earth, still, in
every manner consistent with his dedication to the doing of his
Paradise Father's will, he did most gracefully conform to
the desires of his earthly father and to the usages of his family
in the flesh. Even when he could not consent, he would do
everything possible to conform. He was an artist in the matter of
adjusting his dedication to duty to his obligations of family
loyalty and social service.
125:6.13 Joseph was puzzled, but Mary, as she
reflected on these experiences, gained comfort, eventually viewing
his utterance on Olivet as prophetic of the Messianic mission of
her son as Israel's deliverer. She set to work with renewed energy
to mold his thoughts into patriotic and nationalistic channels and
enlisted the efforts of her brother, Jesus' favorite uncle; and in
every other way did the mother of Jesus address herself to the
task of preparing her first-born son to assume the leadership of
those who would restore the throne of David and forever cast off
the gentile yoke of political bondage.
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