Presenting Two More Chapters
The Humanity of Jesus and the Rebellion of John
Today, I'm excited to post another two chapters of my new novel, which is in the process of becoming published. Last week I posted the first chapter which covered Jesus’ birth and introduced his family.
Today, we see a little more of Jesus and his brother, James as boys, ages 11 and 9 respectively. I have been interested in paying attention to the personality of James a little bit more than his other brothers, because James later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and wrote the book of James, found in the New Testament, in which he castigates the wealthy. However, during Jesus’ ministry on earth as an adult, James was likely the family ringleader of opposition to Jesus' work as a preacher/rabbi. We know from the Gospel writers that Jesus' brothers were skeptical of his authenticity as a spiritual leader, miracle worker. Mary even seems to have been pulled into it. possibly more from family pressure than outright skepticism, since surely she would understand his calling, from knowing his birth circumstances. At any rate, in the book of Mark, his family members try to get control of him, saying Jesus was out of his mind, and a few sentences later, Mary and the brothers are trying to get his attention while he is teaching, possibly to get him to go home with them (Mark 3:21,31). James, as the oldest one of the younger brothers, is most likely the one to be pushing it. In the Gospel of John, his brothers seem to mockingly encourage him to go openly to Jerusalem for a feast day, so everyone can see what great works he can do. It must have been said mockingly, because John immediately adds that his brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). James who must have had leadership abilities, rising as he did to become the foremost Christian leader in Judea, later on, and being the oldest after Jesus left, was quite likely the one speaking in this way. Because of these interesting developments later in Jesus’ ministry and even later after the Resurrection, I have enjoyed developing the personality of James and his relationship with Jesus.
(Regarding the naming of Jesus' other brothers, there are two listings of his brothers which have a difference in which of the brothers is the youngest of them. I arbitrarily chose the one in Mark, in which Simon is listed last, as the youngest and Jude is second to the youngest).
Included in the first chapter is a reason that Jesus could definitely know how to read. Some scholars are skeptical that Jesus the son of a carpenter would know how to read. However, real life and history give us many examples of individuals who are the exception to the rule.
In the third chapter of my novel, John the Baptist is introduced. I do not refer to him in the book as John the Baptist because in his youth he would have been known as John, son of Zechariah, which was how most people were identified at that time. I have really enjoyed writing about John and I believe most readers will enjoy reading about him!
Update on the price of subscription for my Substack column. Today I was able to restore $5 a month as the lowest subscription price. Remember that after today, in order to get the free chapters of my novel, you will need to be a paying subscriber. Free subscribers can still get my regular columns.
Here are the second and third chapters of The Humanity of Jesus and the Rebellion of John:
Chapter 2
Meanwhile, back in the shop, after Jesus and James had tried their hand at work on the wooden yoke, Joseph told them to go have some fun, giving them a mite coin to buy a treat. As they walked away, James commented, “Wow, Abba sure is in a good mood, giving us money!”
“Yeah,” Jesus agreed with a laugh, “I think he was happy to get rid of us. Teaching us boys is not easy for him!”
Right away, James challenged Jesus to a race to the market, getting a head start. Jesus gave it his best, knowing James would probably beat him, but also glad in a way. They were actually getting along today, instead of arguing! Soon they were at the market place.
“I like going to see the rabbi, but I wish I had more time to do stuff with you.” Jesus told James.
“Yeah, yeah, right,” James said, sarcastically, but half joking. “I know! Actually, you just love getting out of having to work at home.” Jesus reacted and started to argue as usual, that it wasn’t true, but then decided to just laugh. Today, we will get along! He thought to himself.
As they walked further into the market, they noticed the poor beggar man, who often sat near the street. He was dressed in rags and looked like he was in much pain.
James very quickly said, “Jesus, please don’t give him our money.”
Jesus responded, “I wish I had a whole bag of coins to give him, but this mite is half yours, so I won’t.”
“Yeah, and don’t forget it, Jesus!” James answered, with a grin. “Actually, though, I feel sorry for him too. The other day I noticed that fat, rich guy who lives across town kicking the beggar after he asked the rich guy for money. That was so mean! I can’t stand rich people! They cheat Abba and are mean to the beggars.”
“Someday the rich will pay for their meanness! I think God sees the poor and He’ll reward them in the next life.” Jesus responded.
“Do you really think there is a next life?” James asked.
“I sure hope so. Well, really, I’m sure of it! The poor have it tough in this life and God is a good God.”
“Yeah, the bad part is we’re part of the poor! But, yay, today we have a mite!” James responded, with a laugh.
“Hey, let’s pretend we really are rich and find the best treat a mite can buy. It’ll be fun, even if we have to share it.” Jesus answered. “C’mon! The best sweets are around the corner!” Off the two boys went running, side by side. Jesus felt glad again that for once he and his younger brother were getting along.
When they got home, Jesus said, “Abba, we saw that same poor beggar again today. He looked thinner than ever.” Then he said, “James, tell Abba about what you saw the other day.”
James eagerly started telling Abba about the beggar being kicked by the obviously rich guy. “Doesn’t the beggar have any sons to take care of him?” he asked Abba.
Abba angrily answered, “Oh, he has sons, but a few of the greedy priests got to them several years ago and got them to pledge to give their inheritance to the temple and declare it ‘Corban.’
“Corban!” James and Jesus both said. “What is that?
Abba answered, “That’s a word for the trick some priests use to fill their treasury, which they have access to. It means “Dedicated or promised to God.”
“The elderly parents know then that if they lose their income, the sons are not obligated to help them and actually can’t because their money has been promised to the temple. That beggar used to be a regular farmer who worked hard and had a pretty decent living. He had an accident one day losing his leg and now he can’t farm any more. He lost his farm, and the sons, who have their own big families, can’t afford to care for him. He has to beg. His children occasionally help a little, but not enough to provide well.” Jesus was shocked at hearing this. “Are our religious leaders that greedy and uncaring?” he thought.
That night Jesus thought about his day, and what his father had shared about the priests who tricked the relatives of the beggar, but also about his good afternoon with James. So often he and his brother argued and James seemed to be getting more and more resentful, complaining that Jesus got out of work just because he got to spend more time with the rabbi. Today had been a good one. Jesus hoped James would remember this good day, but sadly he knew there would be many more arguments in the future about Jesus getting to spend extra time with Rabbi Jonathan.
Of course, all the boys spent some time with Rabbi, as they all called him, because all boys were taught the bare rudiments of reading so they could read the important Jewish laws, but it mostly amounted to memorization. However, Jesus spent extra time three days a week with Rabbi. Jesus knew that although it might seem like a lot of time to James, Rabbi had told him that if Jesus were being taught like the rabbis taught their students in Judea, Jesus would have been spending all day with him, six days a week, memorizing scripture, and he would have started much younger. Boys attending those schools had to memorize every single word of the first five books of their sacred writings, the Pentateuch. Rabbi told Jesus that he was capable of that, but Abba would not allow him to spend that much time with Rabbi. Abba always said that Jesus needed to learn a trade for his future in case being a rabbi didn’t work out.
“My future!” Jesus whispered, in dismay. “The rabbi wants me to become a rabbi, like him, but I can tell Abba really wants me to follow him in his trade. Agh! I can’t please them both! Abba needs all the help he can get, so I’m really grateful that I get to study and learn. I love being able to read all of the old Hebrew scriptures. They are God’s Words to his chosen people!”
Soon Jesus was rubbing his head. Thinking too much about his future was starting to give him a head ache! “I guess all I can do is continue memorizing scripture for Rabbi,” Jesus whispered, “and do whatever Abba wants me to do when I’m home.” I do wish sometimes that I had more time with my brothers and sisters, though. I’m afraid they’ll all end up resenting me like James already does,” Jesus thought to himself.
Jesus then began to think back to when he first started meeting with the rabbi by himself. It seemed like a long time ago. He was only six when Rabbi came to the house. Jesus was in another room, peeking and listening through the dividing curtains. Rabbi and Abba sat on mats by themselves, after Eema had brought them something to drink and left the room. Rabbi started out by saying that he was concerned about who would be the future rabbi for their village, because alas, his sons were like their mother’s brothers and had a very poor memory and very little inclination to try to learn. However, he had noticed that Jesus was especially attentive and smart when he, Rabbi, gave Scripture reading lessons to the boys.
“Usually, the boys who we train to be rabbis start memorizing the law at an even younger age than Jesus is, but I have noticed he is way above average in his ability to memorize things. I want him to meet with me every day, except the Sabbath, to memorize the words of our scripture and to learn about the history of our people. Will you allow him to meet with me?”
Abba had sat a very long time, it seemed, quietly thinking. Then he called Eema in. That was really surprising! Men always make the decisions for the family. Jesus knew that, even at age six. Abba asked Rabbi to tell Eema what Rabbi was asking. Rabbi started to make a long, repetitive explanation of the issue, but Eema soon interrupted, “I understand exactly what you are saying. Let me think.”
After a long moment of thought, with her eyes closed, she had turned to Abba and quietly said, “This might be a sign. You know what I mean.”
Abba had slowly nodded with a sigh, as if he didn’t really want to, but said to Rabbi, “I will allow him to meet with you, but not every day. He already meets with you with the other boys learning how to read. Maybe three afternoons a week. He needs to also learn my trade. Being a rabbi might not work out for him. Then what? He needs to learn a trade too.”
The rabbi had sighed. “I’m not sure that will be enough for him to become a recognized rabbi, but I’ll try to make it work since he is amazingly smart!”
Jesus now thought about all the time he spent, memorizing the important parts of the Law and learning the early history of his people. Eventually, he would study the writings of the Prophets. It was quite a bit, and sometimes not very fun, but in general he loved it. Rabbi was serious and seemed to expect a lot out of Jesus, but Jesus felt the good rabbi loved him in a quiet way. When Jesus quoted the Law properly, Rabbi would nod his head and say quietly, “Good!” nothing else, but that one word meant so much to Jesus. When Jesus went in to see Rabbi, he could see a twinkle in his eye, and he knew Rabbi loved him.
Chapter Three
A few days later, after Abba, Jesus and James, with Joses tagging along, came in from the workshop, Eema served the meal with a big, excited smile. “I have a surprise I’ll share after I serve the food.”
After everyone was served and had half eaten the meal, Eema began, “You’ll never believe who came by today, Joseph. My great aunt, Tabitha, who said she had made a trip to Jerusalem and got to visit with Elizabeth.” To the children, Eema explained, “Elizabeth is my grandmother’s cousin. Elizabeth is married to a priest, named Zechariah.”
“Oh, really? Tabitha spent time with Elizabeth?” Abba asked in surprise. “That’s surprising. They never have time for us when we go to Jerusalem for the feast days. They think they’re too good for us!”
“Joseph, you know that Elizabeth has not been in good health for a very long time. I think Zechariah is just afraid to have all the children around her, disturbing her or making her condition worsen. He’s a good, honest priest!” Eema exclaimed. “At any rate, evidently Elizabeth told Aunt Tabitha that their son, John, is quite a handful.
“So, is John our cousin?” Jesus asked.
“Yes, but not a close cousin like Aaron and Shem. He’s actually a second cousin to my mother. Elizabeth was quite old when she had John. In fact, that reminds me of what a wonderful miracle his birth was. It’s a great story! Kids, finish eating and come sit down beside me and I’ll tell it to you.”
A story! The kids were always eager to hear a good story from Eema. She had the best way of telling stories and this was about a relative! Soon, they had finished eating and they all quickly sat around her on her mat, with Abba holding baby Simon.
“Like I just told you, Elizabeth was not young when all of this happened. She was well over 50. She had never had a baby and was very, very sad about that. One day an angel appeared to Zechariah.
“Really, an angel?” Joses asked.
“Yes, Zechariah was in the temple making a sacrifice, when the angel appeared and told Zechariah that his wife would have a baby and they were to name him John. The angel said he would have a great calling in life to bring people closer to God and to each other. He was never to drink wine and he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth.
“However, Zechariah didn’t believe the angel, and questioned him, so the angel said, ‘Since you don’t believe me, you will not be able to speak until after he is born.’ And sure enough, Zechariah was speechless for nine whole months. He had to write everything down on a slate whenever he wanted to say something.
“When the baby was born and the relatives asked Elizabeth what they were going to name him, Elizabeth told them he would be named ‘John.’ They were all surprised and said, ‘Really? You don’t have any relatives named John.’
“When she said to ask Zechariah, they called him in and asked him what his name would be. He asked for something to write with and then wrote on a tablet, ‘John.’ As soon as he wrote that name down, he was able to speak again!”
“Wow! That’s pretty cool!” said Rachel and the others nodded.
“What did you mean when you said, John is a handful?” Jesus asked.
Eema answered, “Evidently, he gives them a hard time about studying to be a priest. He says he doesn’t want to be a priest. He keeps walking out of class and going off to the desert. You see, when he was very young, his uncle, Elizabeth’s younger brother, would often take John, along with his grandsons, to the desert to explore, so he learned to love the wilderness and all the interesting things in nature.
Elizabeth and Zechariah try to discipline him, but he’s hard to discipline, partly because he’s not really disrespectful. In fact, he’s very loving to his mother and dutiful with his father. He’s just willful about school and leaves whenever he wants to. They can’t figure him out. He does pay attention, his teachers say, but once he has learned his scripture lesson, he takes off and doesn’t stay for anything he doesn’t want to study. He wants to be in the desert, not in a temple. Isn’t that strange? You know, the oldest sons of priests always become priests. That’s just the way it is, and really, in my opinion, it’s an honor!”
However, Jesus thought to himself, “It might be strange of John and an honor to be a priest, but it must be hard to hate doing what everyone says is his future life. Poor guy! I wish I knew him!