mission of saving this land. I am still a boy, and I struggle with growing and understanding. I only wish to become a better servant to God, so that I may glorify him. I wish all of you peace in the Lord.”
What is that about the Messiah being the son of God? That was dangerous blasphemy. And the boy’s words of peace only deepened Caiaphas’s concern. His words of love can easily hide from the ignorant the danger in his teachings, just as the sweetness of wine can hide poison dissolved within the same glass.
Suddenly, an old man and a woman in peasant garb burst in. The man’s sudden entry was odd enough, but it was the woman who caused everyone to look up in astonishment. Not only was it unheard of for a woman to enter these rooms, but she had not even bothered to cover her head. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties—certainly old enough to know better.
“We’ve been sick with worry!” she said. “We’ve been looking for you for three days!”
So, these must be the parents—the carpenter and his wife.
Caiaphas crept closer to hear. She had regained some sense of propriety, lowering her voice to keep what she said to the boy between her and him.
The boy raised an eyebrow and sighed audibly as his mother kept talking.
What impudence! The boy had caused his parents such grief and worry. He should be begging their forgiveness. Under the laws of Leviticus, a disobedient son might suffer death.
The mother paused for breath.
“Why were you looking for me?” the boy said. “Would you not know that I would be about my Father’s business?”
The mother began to weep at her son’s words. Was this just the emotional release from the stress of the last three days, or did what the boy had said mean more to her? No one else in the room seemed to catch on, but to Caiaphas there was no mistaking the intention of the boy’s words. He was talking of God as being his own father. The boy thinks of himself not only as the Messiah, but as God’s own son. What blasphemy! Now Caiaphas understood. Annas was right to entrust me with this task. This boy is dangerous far beyond his years.
But Annas had instructed Caiaphas to investigate and report back—nothing more—and as the parents led Jesus away, Caiaphas thought it best to let them go. I could have the boy whipped, but what good would that do? It would only make the little devil’s blasphemy more subtle. No, Caiaphas would report back as instructed, and Annas would certainly appreciate his wisdom in recognizing the danger the boy posed.
Most Pharisees served in the synagogues around the country, and the Sadducees served in the temple. The two sects were rivals, but there was common ground between them when it came to the danger of blasphemy and incitement to rebellion. Caiaphas would write to the Pharisee rabbi in Nazareth, asking him to keep an eye on Jesus.
Mary
After the family’s return to Nazareth, life seemed to return to normal. Joseph found work in Sepphoris, the great city of Lower Galilee. Jesus was now old enough to be a real help to him, so except for Sabbath days they awoke before dawn to make time for the long walk to work.
Mary was always the first to rise to get the daily bread ready. Jesus would be next, joining Mary on the rooftop. With Jesus off with Joseph through the long day, Mary loved this all-too-short early morning hour that Jesus spent with her.
In the predawn hour, the darkness served to heighten the senses, and the rooftop was a world of sounds and smells—the chattering of the women on nearby rooftops, the dusty aroma of the desert carried on an easterly wind from over the horizon, and the scent of dung wafted by a local zephyr from the flocks’ hillside pastures. In the birthing season, the interludes of stillness would be broken by the cries of the newborn lambs, but now Mary heard only the sound of her fist punching down the risen dough. As she punched it down, the dough released the subtle scent of
What is that about the Messiah being the son of God? That was dangerous blasphemy. And the boy’s words of peace only deepened Caiaphas’s concern. His words of love can easily hide from the ignorant the danger in his teachings, just as the sweetness of wine can hide poison dissolved within the same glass.
Suddenly, an old man and a woman in peasant garb burst in. The man’s sudden entry was odd enough, but it was the woman who caused everyone to look up in astonishment. Not only was it unheard of for a woman to enter these rooms, but she had not even bothered to cover her head. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties—certainly old enough to know better.
“We’ve been sick with worry!” she said. “We’ve been looking for you for three days!”
So, these must be the parents—the carpenter and his wife.
Caiaphas crept closer to hear. She had regained some sense of propriety, lowering her voice to keep what she said to the boy between her and him.
The boy raised an eyebrow and sighed audibly as his mother kept talking.
What impudence! The boy had caused his parents such grief and worry. He should be begging their forgiveness. Under the laws of Leviticus, a disobedient son might suffer death.
The mother paused for breath.
“Why were you looking for me?” the boy said. “Would you not know that I would be about my Father’s business?”
The mother began to weep at her son’s words. Was this just the emotional release from the stress of the last three days, or did what the boy had said mean more to her? No one else in the room seemed to catch on, but to Caiaphas there was no mistaking the intention of the boy’s words. He was talking of God as being his own father. The boy thinks of himself not only as the Messiah, but as God’s own son. What blasphemy! Now Caiaphas understood. Annas was right to entrust me with this task. This boy is dangerous far beyond his years.
But Annas had instructed Caiaphas to investigate and report back—nothing more—and as the parents led Jesus away, Caiaphas thought it best to let them go. I could have the boy whipped, but what good would that do? It would only make the little devil’s blasphemy more subtle. No, Caiaphas would report back as instructed, and Annas would certainly appreciate his wisdom in recognizing the danger the boy posed.
Most Pharisees served in the synagogues around the country, and the Sadducees served in the temple. The two sects were rivals, but there was common ground between them when it came to the danger of blasphemy and incitement to rebellion. Caiaphas would write to the Pharisee rabbi in Nazareth, asking him to keep an eye on Jesus.
Mary
After the family’s return to Nazareth, life seemed to return to normal. Joseph found work in Sepphoris, the great city of Lower Galilee. Jesus was now old enough to be a real help to him, so except for Sabbath days they awoke before dawn to make time for the long walk to work.
Mary was always the first to rise to get the daily bread ready. Jesus would be next, joining Mary on the rooftop. With Jesus off with Joseph through the long day, Mary loved this all-too-short early morning hour that Jesus spent with her.
In the predawn hour, the darkness served to heighten the senses, and the rooftop was a world of sounds and smells—the chattering of the women on nearby rooftops, the dusty aroma of the desert carried on an easterly wind from over the horizon, and the scent of dung wafted by a local zephyr from the flocks’ hillside pastures. In the birthing season, the interludes of stillness would be broken by the cries of the newborn lambs, but now Mary heard only the sound of her fist punching down the risen dough. As she punched it down, the dough released the subtle scent of
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