Dear Luke,
I can sense your frustration and
fascination with this project—they both come through in your letters. I know this is a giant leap from the kind of
thinking you are accustomed to doing, and I know that it takes a lot to believe
it to be true. Stick with it, Luke, and
I trust you will find it worthwhile. I
believe that the reward for a life of faith is even richer than we can imagine,
but I don’t expect you not to have questions—this is immensely hard for anyone
to wrap their minds around. Even those
who believe, like myself, still struggle with some questions, especially the
ones you raised about not knowing more about his childhood. I have so many questions to which there are
no answers! When you think about the
extraordinary and very public life Jesus lived, you would imagine there to be
more information, but remember that the pivotal events of his life did not
occur until the end of it. In the
beginning, he was just a baby, just a boy, just a carpenter’s son—as amazed as
Mary and Joseph were by the infant Jesus, I’m sure some of that wore off after
cleaning up after him and chasing a baby boy around the house!
There is a sizeable gap in what we
know about Jesus as a young man. You
related a story from his twelfth year, and I wish I had volumes of information
to give you that would follow up on the incredible story of the boy in
Jerusalem. Unfortunately for both of us,
there is nothing I have found credible that gives account as to the life the
boy lived as he grew into a man. I
assume that he follow his father into carpentry, but any specific questions
will remain unanswered by me, and those that dare to give answers should be
greeted with a healthy amount of skepticism.
Perhaps there is still more information out there that we have not
discovered yet, but I will say that I have found nothing to satisfy my strong
curiosity on the matter.
The next place the trustworthy
facts pick up is actually the story of Jesus’ cousin, John, born to Elizabeth
just before Jesus. It’s as though the
trail goes cold, and before we are permitted to pick it up once more we have to
be warmed up, to have Jesus introduced, so that when he arrives on the scene we
will not be shocked by what we find.
While we have a rather void space in the historical record of Jesus, the
next three years are packed full of testimonials to how he lived, and John
serves to transition us, to prepare us, for what is to come.
Tiberius had been emperor for
fifteen years when John appeared on the public scene. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and
Galilee was ruled by Herod, while Philip ruled Ituraea and Trachonitis. Abilene was ruled by Pysanias, while Annas
and Caiaphas were high priests. I say
this merely to add historical weight to the record of events that I am about to
describe. John, the son of Elizabeth and
Zechariah, had been in the wilderness for many years, living a strange and
unique life. The word of God came to
him, though, and suddenly he was everywhere around the Jordan, preaching about
forgiveness of sins and a baptism of repentance. Had this not happened, John’s entire life
might have passed by without many paying attention to him, but because God
spoke in him, we find ourselves discussing him these many years later. He spoke not with his own words, but rather
used the words of the prophet Isaiah, discussing how the voice of one in the
wilderness, by which I presume to understand that he means himself, called out
to prepare the way of the Lord, to make his paths straight. John talked about valleys being filled, about
mountains brought down, about the crooked being straightened out and the rough
places smoothed over. All of this would
lead to each person seeing the salvation of God. It was the message he preached across the
region, and there was something to it, because the crowds rushed out to hear
him preach, to see this singular individual speak with passion and fury. He didn’t flatter the crowds, didn’t use
honeyed words to attract them, but rather called them broods of vipers and
warned them to flee for their lives from the wrath that would descend upon
them.
You can imagine the reaction people
had to this—they were stunned to hear such words from this man. It’s hard to imagine that they stayed to
listen, but they did, and they heard him preaching that they should be filled
with the fruit of repentance, that their claim to Abraham is not enough to save
them. He didn’t differentiate between
the people and the rocks that surrounded them, telling the people that God
could do anything, and that he’ll cut the people down for destruction like a
farmer cuts down a tree and burns it if they don’t bear good fruit.
Of course, the people wanted to
know what to do. It’s the same response
you or I have to any sort of preaching that attacks our lifestyles. John’s message was fairly simple—he told them
to share with the poor and the needy.
This included sharing a coat with one who has none, or food with the
hungry.
Perhaps it was the simplicity of
the message, or maybe people were simply drawn to the truth, but how they came! They came and were baptized by this wild
man. Even the tax collectors came for
baptism! They asked what to do, and he
didn’t tell them to stop collecting taxes as some might—rather, he told them to
collect no more than they were supposed to, to leave their corruption and
threats behind. Soldiers would come and
ask John how to live, and he’d tell them not to make threats or false
accusations to extort money, to live a life that is within the means of their
salaries. It was a simple message, but
it resonated with the people. They felt
like they could live by his demands, and that God was speaking through him.
You may not grasp the longing the
people had in their hearts for a Messiah, for a deliverer, but I assure you
that people had been waiting centuries for the Messiah to arrive. Each public figure was scrutinized, and John
was no different. The people wanted to
be saved, to be delivered from the Roman Empire, and they were questioning John
from the bottoms of their hearts, wondering if he was finally it, their
Savior. John never claimed the title for
himself, though, understanding his role as the predecessor of the Messiah. Surely their hearts were overjoyed when they heard
John say how close the Messiah was, but I wonder if they weren’t a bit scared
by the language he used—he described the baptism with water he had brought, but
he said that the Messiah would be more powerful, one whom John would be
unworthy to even untie his sandals. (Can
you imagine someone before whom you felt so unworthy as to even take off his
shoes?) John spoke of the Messiah as one
who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and that his winnowing
fork was in his hand, and the wheat would be gathered up and stockpiled, but
the chaff would be burned with an undying fire.
As you can tell, John didn’t mince
words to make things easier on those who came to hear him. He proclaimed Good News, but I wonder if many
didn’t have to search hard for the good part of this news. It was a hard message for many, and some of those
in power didn’t approve of John’s message.
One of these was Herod, whom I described before—John rebuked Herod
because he was doing things with his brother’s wife (Herodias) that he
shouldn’t have been doing. John also
talked about evil things Herod had done, so Herod locked up John in prison,
putting a muzzle on this barking figure.
But it wasn’t before Jesus could be
baptized. It’s hard to understand why
Jesus would need to be baptized, but he came just as the others came, for
remember that while he was the Son of God, he was human, too. After Jesus’ baptism, while he was praying,
it is said that the heavens themselves opened up, and a dove came down,
believed by many to be the Holy Spirit in bodily form. At the same time, a voice boomed from the
open heavens that proclaimed, “You are my Son, the Beloved; I am well pleased
with you.”
What I would give to have seen
this! To see the heavens open and such a
sight descend, to hear God’s voice race from horizon to horizon, to see such
wonders! This side of heaven, I will
have to imagine what it was like, but I assure you that I wonder about such
things constantly.
I hope this has sated some of your
curiosity. I know that it does not
answer the question about Jesus’ boyhood, but I assure you that when we reach
the end of the story, you will know more than enough about the man that is
Jesus Christ. The end is even more
spectacular than the beginning!
Just for your reference, I have
included the list of Jesus’ ancestors below.
If you are ever interested, feel free to trace his heritage through
Jewish history. The stories that are
contained in this family tree could occupy us for the next century.
Sincerely,
Theophilus
Jesus’
work began at the age of thirty. He was
the son (as everyone believed) of Joseph, son of Heli, son of Matthat, son of
Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, son of Mattathias, son of
Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, son of Maath, son of
Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, son of Joanan, son of
Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, son of Melchi, son of
Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, son of Joshua, son of Eliezer,
son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of
Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, son of Melea, son of Menna, son of
Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz,
son of Sala, son of Nahshon, son of Amminadab, son ofAdmin, son of Arni, son of
Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham,
son of Terah, son of Nahor, son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of
Eber, son of Shelah, son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah,
son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, son of Enos, son
of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment