The Urantia Book
PAPER 126
THE TWO CRUCIAL YEARS
126:0.1 OF ALL Jesus' earth-life experiences,
the fourteenth and fifteenth years were the most crucial. These
two years, after he began to be self-conscious of divinity and
destiny, and before he achieved a large measure of communication
with his indwelling Adjuster, were the most trying of his eventful
life on Urantia. It is this period of two years which should be
called the great test, the real temptation. No human youth, in
passing through the early confusions and adjustment problems of
adolescence, ever experienced a more crucial testing than that
which Jesus passed through during his transition from childhood to
young manhood.
126:0.2 This important period in Jesus' youthful
development began with the conclusion of the Jerusalem visit and
with his return to Nazareth. At first Mary was happy in the
thought that she had her boy back once more, that Jesus had
returned home to be a dutiful son -- not that he was ever anything
else -- and that he would henceforth be more responsive to her
plans for his future life. But she was not for long to bask in
this sunshine of maternal delusion and unrecognized family pride;
very soon she was to be more completely disillusioned. More and
more the boy was in the company of his father; less and less did
he come to her with his problems, while increasingly both his
parents failed to comprehend his frequent alternation between the
affairs of this world and the contemplation of his relation to his
Father's business. Frankly, they did not understand him, but they
did truly love him.
126:0.3 As he grew older, Jesus' pity and love
for the Jewish people deepened, but with the passing years, there
developed in his mind a growing righteous resentment of the
presence in the Father's temple of the politically appointed
priests. Jesus had great respect for the sincere Pharisees and the
honest scribes, but he held the hypocritical Pharisees and the
dishonest theologians in great contempt; he looked with disdain
upon all those religious leaders who were not sincere. When he
scrutinized the leadership of Israel, he was sometimes tempted to
look with favor on the possibility of his becoming the Messiah of
Jewish expectation, but he never yielded to such a temptation.
126:0.4 The story of his exploits among the wise
men of the temple in Jerusalem was gratifying to all Nazareth,
especially to his former teachers in the synagogue school. For a
time his praise was on everybody's lips. All the village recounted
his childhood wisdom and praiseworthy conduct and predicted that
he was destined to become a great leader in Israel; at last a
really great teacher was to come out of Nazareth in Galilee. And
they all looked forward to the time when he would be fifteen years
of age so that he might be permitted regularly to read the
Scriptures in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
1. HIS FOURTEENTH YEAR (A.D. 8)
126:1.1 This is the calendar year of his
fourteenth birthday. He had become a good yoke maker and worked
well with both canvas and leather. He was also rapidly developing
into an expert carpenter and cabinetmaker. This summer he made
frequent trips to the top of the hill to the northwest of Nazareth
for prayer and meditation. He was gradually becoming more
self-conscious of the nature of his bestowal on earth.
126:1.2 This hill, a little more than one
hundred years previously, had been the "high place of Baal," and
now it was the site of the tomb of Simeon, a reputed holy man of
Israel. From the summit of this hill of Simeon, Jesus looked out
over Nazareth and the surrounding country. He would gaze upon
Megiddo and recall the story of the Egyptian army winning its
first great victory in Asia; and how, later on, another such army
defeated the Judean king Josiah. Not far away he could look upon
Taanach, where Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera. In the distance
he could view the hills of Dothan, where he had been taught
Joseph's brethren sold him into Egyptian slavery. He then would
shift his gaze over to Ebal and Gerizim and recount to himself the
traditions of Abraham, Jacob, and Abimelech. And thus he recalled
and turned over in his mind the historic and traditional events of
his father Joseph's people.
126:1.3 He continued to carry on his advanced
courses of reading under the synagogue teachers, and he also
continued with the home education of his brothers and sisters as
they grew up to suitable ages.
126:1.4 Early this year Joseph arranged to set
aside the income from his Nazareth and Capernaum property to pay
for Jesus' long course of study at Jerusalem, it having been
planned that he should go to Jerusalem in August of the following
year when he would be fifteen years of age.
126:1.5 By the beginning of this year both
Joseph and Mary entertained frequent doubts about the destiny of
their first-born son. He was indeed a brilliant and lovable child,
but he was so difficult to understand, so hard to fathom, and
again, nothing extraordinary or miraculous ever happened. Scores
of times had his proud mother stood in breathless anticipation,
expecting to see her son engage in some superhuman or miraculous
peformance, but always were her hopes dashed down in cruel
disappointment. And all this was discouraging, even disheartening.
The devout people of those days truly believed that prophets and
men of promise always demonstrated their calling and established
their divine authority by performing miracles and working wonders.
But Jesus did none of these things; wherefore was the confusion of
his parents steadily increased as they contemplated his future.
126:1.6 The improved economic condition of the
Nazareth family was reflected in many ways about the home and
especially in the increased number of smooth white boards which
were used as writing slates, the writing being done with charcoal.
Jesus was also permitted to resume his music lessons; he was very
fond of playing the harp.
126:1.7 Throughout this year it can truly be
said that Jesus "grew in favor with man and with God." The
prospects of the family seemed good; the future was bright.
2. THE DEATH OF JOSEPH
126:2.1 All did go well until that fateful day
of Tuesday, September 25, when a runner from Sepphoris brought to
this Nazareth home the tragic news that Joseph had been severely
injured by the falling of a derrick while at work on the
governor's residence. The messenger from Sepphoris had stopped at
the shop on the way to Joseph's home, informing Jesus of his
father's accident, and they went together to the house to break
the sad news to Mary. Jesus desired to go immediately to his
father, but Mary would hear to nothing but that she must hasten to
her husband's side. She directed that James, then ten years of
age, should accompany her to Sepphoris while Jesus remained home
with the younger children until she should return, as she did not
know how seriously Joseph had been injured. But Joseph died of his
injuries before Mary arrived. They brought him to Nazareth, and on
the following day he was laid to rest with his fathers.
126:2.2 Just at the time when prospects were
good and the future looked bright, an apparently cruel hand struck
down the head of this Nazareth household, the affairs of this home
were disrupted, and every plan for Jesus and his future education
was demolished. This carpenter lad, now just past fourteen years
of age, awakened to the realization that he had not only to
fulfill the commission of his heavenly Father to reveal the divine
nature on earth and in the flesh, but that his young human nature
must also shoulder the responsibility of caring for his widowed
mother and seven brothers and sisters -- and another yet to be
born. This lad of Nazareth now became the sole support and comfort
of this so suddenly bereaved family. Thus were permitted those
occurrences of the natural order of events on Urantia which would
force this young man of destiny so early to assume these heavy but
highly educational and disciplinary responsibilities attendant
upon becoming the head of a human family, of becoming father to
his own brothers and sisters, of supporting and protecting his
mother, of functioning as guardian of his father's home, the only
home he was to know while on this world.
126:2.3 Jesus cheerfully accepted the
responsibilities so suddenly thrust upon him, and he carried them
faithfully to the end. At least one great problem and anticipated
difficulty in his life had been tragically solved -- he would not
now be expected to go to Jerusalem to study under the rabbis. It
remained always true that Jesus "sat at no man's feet." He was
ever willing to learn from even the humblest of little children,
but he never derived authority to teach truth from human sources.
126:2.4 Still he knew nothing of the Gabriel
visit to his mother before his birth; he only learned of this from
John on the day of his baptism, at the beginning of his public
ministry.
126:2.5
As the years passed, this young
carpenter of Nazareth increasingly measured every institution of
society and every usage of religion by the unvarying test: What
does it do for the human soul? does it bring God to man? does it
bring man to God? While this youth did not wholly neglect the
recreational and social aspects of life, more and more he devoted
his time and energies to just two purposes: the care of his family
and the preparation to do his Father's heavenly will on earth.
126:2.6 This year it became the custom for the
neighbors to drop in during the winter evenings to hear Jesus play
upon the harp, to listen to his stories (for the lad was a master
storyteller), and to hear him read from the Greek scriptures.
126:2.7 The economic affairs of the family
continued to run fairly smoothly as there was quite a sum of money
on hand at the time of Joseph's death. Jesus early demonstrated
the possession of keen business judgment and financial sagacity.
He was liberal but frugal; he was saving but generous. He proved
to be a wise and efficient administrator of his father's estate.
126:2.8 But in spite of all that Jesus and the
Nazareth neighbors could do to bring cheer into the home, Mary,
and even the children, were overcast with sadness. Joseph was
gone. Joseph was an unusual husband and father, and they all
missed him. And it seemed all the more tragic to think that he
died ere they could speak to him or hear his farewell blessing.
3. THE FIFTEENTH YEAR (A.D. 9)
126:3.1 By the middle of this fifteenth year --
and we are reckoning time in accordance with the twentieth-century
calendar, not by the Jewish year -- Jesus had taken a firm grasp
upon the management of his family. Before this year had passed,
their savings had about disappeared, and they were face to face
with the necessity of disposing of one of the Nazareth houses
which Joseph and his neighbor Jacob owned in partnership.
126:3.2 On Wednesday evening, April 17, A.D. 9,
Ruth, the baby of the family, was born, and to the best of his
ability Jesus endeavored to take the place of his father in
comforting and ministering to his mother during this trying and
peculiarly sad ordeal. For almost a score of years (until he began
his public ministry) no father could have loved and nurtured his
daughter any more affectionately and faithfully than Jesus cared
for little Ruth. And he was an equally good father to all the
other members of his family.
126:3.3 During this year Jesus first formulated
the prayer which he subsequently taught to his apostles, and which
to many has become known as "The Lord's Prayer." In a way it was
an evolution of the family altar; they had many forms of praise
and several formal prayers. After his father's death Jesus tried
to teach the older children to express themselves individually in
prayer -- much as he so enjoyed doing -- but they could not grasp
his thought and would invariably fall back upon their memorized
prayer forms. It was in this effort to stimulate his older
brothers and sisters to say individual prayers that Jesus would
endeavor to lead them along by suggestive phrases, and presently,
without intention on his part, it developed that they were all
using a form of prayer which was largely built up from these
suggestive lines which Jesus had taught them.
126:3.4 At last Jesus gave up the idea of having
each member of the family formulate spontaneous prayers, and one
evening in October he sat down by the little squat lamp on the low
stone table, and, on a piece of smooth cedar board about eighteen
inches square, with a piece of charcoal he wrote out the prayer
which became from that time on the standard family petition.
126:3.5 This year Jesus was much troubled with
confused thinking. Family responsibility had quite effectively
removed all thought of immediately carrying out any plan for
responding to the Jerusalem visitation directing him to "be about
his Father's business." Jesus rightly reasoned that the watchcare
of his earthly father's family must take precedence of all duties;
that the support of his family must become his first obligation.
126:3.6 In the course of this year Jesus found a
passage in the so-called Book of Enoch which influenced him in the
later adoption of the term "Son of Man" as a designation for his
bestowal mission on Urantia. He had thoroughly considered the idea
of the Jewish Messiah and was firmly convinced that he was not to
be that Messiah. He longed to help his father's people, but he
never expected to lead Jewish armies in overthrowing the foreign
domination of Palestine. He knew he would never sit on the throne
of David at Jerusalem. Neither did he believe that his mission was
that of a spiritual deliverer or moral teacher solely to the
Jewish people. In no sense, therefore, could his life mission be
the fulfillment of the intense longings and supposed Messianic
prophecies of the Hebrew scriptures; at least, not as the Jews
understood these predictions of the prophets. Likewise he was
certain he was never to appear as the Son of Man depicted by the
Prophet Daniel.
126:3.7 But when the time came for him to go
forth as a world teacher, what would he call himself? What claim
should he make concerning his mission? By what name would he be
called by the people who would become believers in his teachings?
126:3.8 While turning all these problems over in
his mind, he found in the synagogue library at Nazareth, among the
apocalyptic books which he had been studying, this manuscript
called "The Book of Enoch"; and though he was certain that it had
not been written by Enoch of old, it proved very intriguing to
him, and he read and reread it many times. There was one passage
which particularly impressed him, a passage in which this term
"Son of Man" appeared. The writer of this so-called Book of Enoch
went on to tell about this Son of Man, describing the work he
would do on earth and explaining that this Son of Man, before
coming down on this earth to bring salvation to mankind, had
walked through the courts of heavenly glory with his Father, the
Father of all; and that he had turned his back upon all this
grandeur and glory to come down on earth to proclaim salvation to
needy mortals. As Jesus would read these passages (well
understanding that much of the Eastern mysticism which had become
admixed with these teachings was erroneous), he responded in his
heart and recognized in his mind that of all the Messianic
predictions of the Hebrew scriptures and of all the theories about
the Jewish deliverer, none was so near the truth as this story
tucked away in this only partially accredited Book of Enoch; and
he then and there decided to adopt as his inaugural title "the Son
of Man." And this he did when he subsequently began his public
work. Jesus had an unerring ability for the recognition of truth,
and truth he never hesitated to embrace, no matter from what
source it appeared to emanate.
126:3.9 By this time he had quite thoroughly
settled many things about his forthcoming work for the world, but
he said nothing of these matters to his mother, who still held
stoutly to the idea of his being the Jewish Messiah.
126:3.10 The great confusion of Jesus' younger
days now arose. Having settled something about the nature of his
mission on earth, "to be about his Father's business" -- to show
forth his Father's loving nature to all mankind -- he began to
ponder anew the many statements in the Scriptures referring to the
coming of a national deliverer, a Jewish teacher or king. To what
event did these prophecies refer? Was not he a Jew? or was he? Was
he or was he not of the house of David? His mother averred he was;
his father had ruled that he was not. He decided he was not. But
had the prophets confused the nature and mission of the Messiah?
126:3.11 After all, could it be possible that
his mother was right? In most matters, when differences of opinion
had arisen in the past, she had been right. If he were a new
teacher and not the Messiah, then how should he recognize
the Jewish Messiah if such a one should appear in Jerusalem during
the time of his earth mission; and, further, what should be his
relation to this Jewish Messiah? And what should be his relation,
after embarking on his life mission, to his family? to the Jewish
commonwealth and religion? to the Roman Empire? to the gentiles
and their religions? Each of these momentous problems this young
Galilean turned over in his mind and seriously pondered while he
continued to work at the carpenter's bench, laboriously making a
living for himself, his mother, and eight other hungry mouths.
126:3.12 Before the end of this year Mary saw
the family funds diminishing. She turned the sale of doves over to
James. Presently they bought a second cow, and with the aid of
Miriam they began the sale of milk to their Nazareth neighbors.
126:3.13 His profound periods of meditation, his
frequent journeys to the hilltop for prayer, and the many strange
ideas which Jesus advanced from time to time, thoroughly alarmed
his mother. Sometimes she thought the lad was beside himself, and
then she would steady her fears, remembering that he was, after
all, a child of promise and in some manner different from other
youths.
126:3.14 But Jesus was learning not to speak of
all his thoughts, not to present all his ideas to the world, not
even to his own mother. From this year on, Jesus' disclosures
about what was going on in his mind steadily diminished; that is,
he talked less about those things which an average person could
not grasp, and which would lead to his being regarded as peculiar
or different from ordinary folks. To all appearances he became
commonplace and conventional, though he did long for someone who
could understand his problems. He craved a trustworthy and
confidential friend, but his problems were too complex for his
human associates to comprehend. The uniqueness of the unusual
situation compelled him to bear his burdens alone.
4. FIRST SERMON IN THE SYNAGOGUE
126:4.1 With the coming of his fifteenth
birthday, Jesus could officially occupy the synagogue pulpit on
the Sabbath day. Many times before, in the absence of speakers,
Jesus had been asked to read the Scriptures, but now the day had
come when, according to law, he could conduct the service.
Therefore on the first Sabbath after his fifteenth birthday the
chazan arranged for Jesus to conduct the morning service of the
synagogue. And when all the faithful in Nazareth had assembled,
the young man, having made his selection of Scriptures, stood up
and began to read:
126:4.2 "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to
the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and to set the spiritual prisoners free; to proclaim the
year of God's favor and the day of our God's reckoning; to comfort
all mourners, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy in the
place of mourning, a song of praise instead of the spirit of
sorrow, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, wherewith he may be glorified.
126:4.3 "Seek good and not evil that you may
live, and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you. Hate
the evil and love the good; establish judgment in the gate.
Perhaps the Lord God will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
126:4.4 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do
evil and learn to do good; seek justice, relieve the oppressed.
Defend the fatherless and plead for the widow.
126:4.5 "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
to bow myself before the Lord of all the earth? Shall I come
before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the
Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousands of sheep, or
with rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? for
the Lord has showed us, O men, what is good. And what does the
Lord require of you but to deal justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly with your God?
126:4.6 "To whom, then, will you liken God who
sits upon the circle of the earth? Lift up your eyes and behold
who has created all these worlds, who brings forth their host by
number and calls them all by their names. He does all these things
by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power,
not one fails. He gives power to the weak, and to those who are
weary he increases strength. Fear not, for I am with you; be not
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will help
you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my
righteousness, for I am the Lord your God. And I will hold your
right hand, saying to you, fear not, for I will help you.
126:4.7 "And you are my witness, says the Lord,
and my servant whom I have chosen that all may know and believe me
and understand that I am the Eternal. I, even I, am the Lord, and
beside me there is no savior."
126:4.8 And when he had thus read, he sat down,
and the people went to their homes, pondering over the words which
he had so graciously read to them. Never had his townspeople seen
him so magnificently solemn; never had they heard his voice so
earnest and so sincere; never had they observed him so manly and
decisive, so authoritative.
126:4.9 This Sabbath afternoon Jesus climbed the
Nazareth hill with James and, when they returned home, wrote out
the Ten Commandments in Greek on two smooth boards in charcoal.
Subsequently Martha colored and decorated these boards, and for
long they hung on the wall over James's small workbench.
5. THE FINANCIAL STRUGGLE
126:5.1 Gradually Jesus and his family returned
to the simple life of their earlier years. Their clothes and even
their food became simpler. They had plenty of milk, butter, and
cheese. In season they enjoyed the produce of their garden, but
each passing month necessitated the practice of greater frugality.
Their breakfasts were very plain; they saved their best food for
the evening meal. However, among these Jews lack of wealth did not
imply social inferiority.
126:5.2 Already had this youth well-nigh
encompassed the comprehension of how men lived in his day. And how
well he understood life in the home, field, and workshop is shown
by his subsequent teachings, which so repletely reveal his
intimate contact with all phases of human experience.
126:5.3 The Nazareth chazan continued to cling
to the belief that Jesus was to become a great teacher, probably
the successor of the renowned Gamaliel at Jerusalem.
126:5.4 Apparently all Jesus' plans for a career
were thwarted. The future did not look bright as matters now
developed. But he did not falter; he was not discouraged. He lived
on, day by day, doing well the present duty and faithfully
discharging the immediate responsibilities of his station
in life. Jesus' life is the everlasting comfort of all
disappointed idealists.
126:5.5 The pay of a common day-laboring
carpenter was slowly diminishing. By the end of this year Jesus
could earn, by working early and late, only the equivalent of
about twenty-five cents a day. By the next year they found it
difficult to pay the civil taxes, not to mention the synagogue
assessments and the temple tax of one-half shekel. During this
year the tax collector tried to squeeze extra revenue out of
Jesus, even threatening to take his harp.
126:5.6 Fearing that the copy of the Greek
scriptures might be discovered and confiscated by the tax
collectors, Jesus, on his fifteenth birthday, presented it to the
Nazareth synagogue library as his maturity offering to the Lord.
126:5.7 The great shock of his fifteenth year
came when Jesus went over to Sepphoris to receive the decision of
Herod regarding the appeal taken to him in the dispute about the
amount of money due Joseph at the time of his accidental death.
Jesus and Mary had hoped for the receipt of a considerable sum of
money when the treasurer at Sepphoris had offered them a paltry
amount. Joseph's brothers had taken an appeal to Herod himself,
and now Jesus stood in the palace and heard Herod decree that his
father had nothing due him at the time of his death. And for such
an unjust decision Jesus never again trusted Herod Antipas. It is
not surprising that he once alluded to Herod as "that fox."
126:5.8 The close work at the carpenter's bench
during this and subsequent years deprived Jesus of the opportunity
of mingling with the caravan passengers. The family supply shop
had already been taken over by his uncle, and Jesus worked
altogether in the home shop, where he was near to help Mary with
the family. About this time he began sending James up to the camel
lot to gather information about world events, and thus he sought
to keep in touch with the news of the day.
126:5.9 As he grew up to manhood, he passed
through all those conflicts and confusions which the average young
persons of previous and subsequent ages have undergone. And the
rigorous experience of supporting his family was a sure safeguard
against his having overmuch time for idle meditation or the
indulgence of mystic tendencies.
126:5.10 This was the year that Jesus rented a
considerable piece of land just to the north of their home, which
was divided up as a family garden plot. Each of the older children
had an individual garden, and they entered into keen competition
in their agricultural efforts. Their eldest brother spent some
time with them in the garden each day during the season of
vegetable cultivation. As Jesus worked with his younger brothers
and sisters in the garden, he many times entertained the wish that
they were all located on a farm out in the country where they
could enjoy the liberty and freedom of an unhampered life. But
they did not find themselves growing up in the country; and Jesus,
being a thoroughly practical youth as well as an idealist,
intelligently and vigorously attacked his problem just as he found
it, and did everything within his power to adjust himself and his
family to the realities of their situation and to adapt their
condition to the highest possible satisfaction of their individual
and collective longings.
126:5.11 At one time Jesus faintly hoped that he
might be able to gather up sufficient means, provided they could
collect the considerable sum of money due his father for work on
Herod's palace, to warrant undertaking the purchase of a small
farm. He had really given serious thought to this plan of moving
his family out into the country. But when Herod refused to pay
them any of the funds due Joseph, they gave up the ambition of
owning a home in the country. As it was, they contrived to enjoy
much of the experience of farm life as they now had three cows,
four sheep, a flock of chickens, a donkey, and a dog, in addition
to the doves. Even the little tots had their regular duties to
perform in the well-regulated scheme of management which
characterized the home life of this Nazareth family.
126:5.12 With the close of this fifteenth year
Jesus completed the traversal of that dangerous and difficult
period in human existence, that time of transition between the
more complacent years of childhood and the consciousness of
approaching manhood with its increased responsibilities and
opportunities for the acquirement of advanced experience in the
development of a noble character. The growth period for mind and
body had ended, and now began the real career of this young man of
Nazareth.
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