Ch. 7, Jesus’ Early Manhood
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
Jesus’ Early Manhood
Other than choosing our planet for his seventh incarnation in submission to the Paradise Trinity, Jesus was born and raised as a person of his time with all of the hardships everyone else had to endure. It is important to remember the two primary reasons that Michael came to Earth. First, he had to master the full in-flesh life of a mortal on a world of time and space, and in doing so finish his requirements for complete rule of our universe. Second, Michael as the incarnated Jesus had to reveal the fatherhood of God to humanity and by doing so learn how to better lead mortals to the Universal Father. Everything else that occurred and any other benefits we received were secondary.
The Twenty-First Year (A.D. 15)
Jesus of Nazareth was now aware of his dual nature as a son of man and a son of God, and he concentrated his efforts on mastering the mortal side of his life. People can never complain to God that their suffering is unknown because in every way Jesus experienced the same trials as did the people of his time—he became tired, bored, hungry, and thirsty like everyone else. Jesus combined knowledge and experience into wisdom with grace and without sin. Until his baptism on the Jordan River, Jesus never used the super-natural power at his disposal: he submitted himself to the will of his Father so he could better understand mortals, and in turn better minister to them. And today as ruler of our universe he still holds the title, Son of Man.
This year it was Joseph’s turn to attend the Passover with Jesus. Throughout his time as their father/brother, Jesus never showed favoritism to anyone in his family. As he did with James, Jesus used the journey to and from Jerusalem to teach Joseph the history of Palestine and the Jewish people. During the Passover week they stayed with their friends in Bethany. On this trip Joseph tried to get Jesus to tell him about his future mission, but Jesus would only say that it was not yet time for him to do so. Still, Joseph managed to pick up enough of what Jesus did say that he remembered these talks later in the troubled times ahead.
The Twenty-Second Year (A.D. 16)
Jesus’ sisters and brothers were now between the ages of seven and eighteen. They were all dealing with their own issues related to puberty, adolescence, and passing through the mental stages leading to maturity. And since Jesus was their substitute father he had to help his siblings through these confusing times.
Simon graduated school and began working with Jacob, the stone mason’s son. The family had decided that it was best if each of the boys learned a different trade, rather than all of them being carpenters. That would allow them to contract and build a whole house together. Later in the year, Jesus went to Sepphoris and worked under a blacksmith for six months: that was where he learned about metal and acquired his skill at the anvil.
While he was working in Sepphoris Jesus took the opportunity to transfer the family responsibilities over to James, and before leaving he made him the head of the household in charge of the family’s finances. Jesus asked all of his sisters and brothers to promise to support James in his new role, and Jesus intentionally came home only on the weekends so James would have room to grow into his new position. While Jesus was in Sepphoris he learned much about the people and their lives, but after six months the low moral standards took their toll and he returned to Nazareth; if Jesus had stayed he would have had to work for Herod Antipas—“that fox” who had cheated the family out of his father’s back wages—and that was something that he would not do. Back in Nazareth, James remained head of the household for two years until Joseph was ready to assume the role. Step-by-step, Jesus prepared his family for his departure.
The Twenty-Third Year (A.D. 17)
With four of the children working, the family’s financial situation was improving. Miriam was selling milk and butter, and Martha was making her way as an expert weaver. Simon was old enough to go to the Passover, so Jesus took three weeks off from work and they went to Jerusalem. By varying his routes on these trips Jesus became knowledgeable of most of Palestine north of Jerusalem.
Simon enjoyed the Passover and became a new son of the commandment, while Jesus spent most of his time talking with the people. They met a rich trader from Damascus who told him all about his work in far parts of the world. This man wanted to hire Jesus, and again Jesus declined because of his family. But the seed to visit cities in far off lands germinated in his mind.
In the temple Jesus had a conversation with a Greek named Stephen. The two of them talked for four hours about God, prayer, and worship. Stephen was so impressed with Jesus that he never forgot this conversation. Fifteen years later Stephen was announcing Jesus as the world’s savior without ever realizing that he was the same man he had spoken with long ago at the Passover. That first talk with Jesus gave Stephen the courage to boldly preach the new gospel, and because of his boldness Steven was stoned to death by a mob of Jews becoming the first martyr of the new Christian faith. Furthermore, in the crowd watching Stephen being killed was a man named Saul from Tarsus. Watching Stephen willingly die for his faith was the catalyst for this man to himself believe in Jesus. Saul of Tarsus became Paul who went on to found Christianity. But unfortunately, Paul created a religion about Jesus the man rather than about Jesus’ teachings.
Jesus and Simon had many talks walking through the country and camping out at night on their way back to Jerusalem. When they returned Mary was perturbed to hear that Jesus had spent most of his time talking with strangers from far-away lands. No one else in Jesus’ family shared his desire to know people from different cultures, and they could not understand why he did. By now, Mary hardly ever thought about Jesus having a special mission in life: everyone was too caught up in their daily needs to think about the future.
The Damascus Episode
The rich trader that Jesus and Simon had met at the Passover sent a messenger inviting Jesus to visit him in Damascus. For the last four months of the year Jesus stayed with this man and his family. He and a dozen other wealthy men in Damascus wanted to fund a university that would rival the one in Alexandria. They urged Jesus to go on a world-wide tour visiting all of the other academies in their known world, and then return to lead the one they wanted to build in Damascus. Even though Jesus was nothing more than a young carpenter from Nazareth, these successful businessmen were able to see his leadership. Jesus was tempted by the offer but again refused. He knew his mission would not be associated with any university. When Jesus returned to Nazareth he never told his family about the proposal he refused, and in later years the men in Damascus never realized that it was Jesus causing all of the trouble in Palestine.
Jesus conducted his life so people could not link him to all of the events he was part of during his time on Earth. He did not want to accumulate a long list of famous achievements because it would cause later generations to worship him, the teacher. Instead, he wanted people to build a religion about his teachings, the gospel of the Kingdom of God. It did not bother him to carry various titles throughout his life, or that the people did not know they were all actually one and the same man. And when announcing this gospel, Jesus used no pressure: all who believe must do so by their own free will.
The Twenty-Fourth Year (A.D. 18)
The Jewish leaders in Alexandria asked to meet with Jesus—they wanted him to be a religious teacher in Alexandria and to offer him a job helping the chazan at the synagogue. In mid-June Jesus went to Caesarea on the Palestinian coast to hear their proposal. These Jews believed that Alexandria was going to become the world center of their culture, and that if the Jews in Palestine rebelled as was rumored the Romans would crush them to the point where no stone of theirs would be left on another.
Jesus refused their offer, again saying it was not his time. When these men tried to compensate him for his journey, Jesus refused saying his family could not accept charity as long as he and his brothers were able to work. Jesus returned home to Nazareth and continued to master his human mind.
In December, James came to Jesus and told him that he was in love. Her name was Esta, and James asked for permission to get married. Jesus consented, but said that they had to wait for two more years until Joseph, who was then turning eighteen years old, learned to take over as head of the household. After James was given permission to marry Esta, Miriam asked Jesus for permission to marry Jacob, the stone mason’s son. Again Jesus agreed, but he asked that Jacob come to him in person to make the formal request for her hand in marriage, and that they wait until Martha was prepared to take over her responsibilities as the eldest daughter.
The Twenty-Fifth Year (A.D. 19)
At twenty-five years old Jesus was one of the best physical specimens of a man since Adam, and his mind had grown many times beyond that of the other people around him. By now the children in the house were all out of school, and everyone was healthy. Financially, the family was better off: they were out of debt and putting money away for the future. This year it was Jude’s turn to go to the Passover.
Jude had already developed a reputation for trouble because of his patriotic feelings, so Jesus took the safest route for traveling to Jerusalem. Jude, like Jesus had been the first time, was excited to see the temple. When they arrived in Jerusalem they met Lazarus, and he and Jesus started making plans for the Passover dinner at Lazarus’ house later that night. While they were busy talking a Roman guard made an offending remark to a Jewish girl walking by and Jude heard it. Jude became infuriated, and yelled at the guard. The Romans did not tolerate disrespect from the Jews, so the guard arrested him. Jude just became angrier, and before Jesus could signal him to keep quiet Jude’s mouth make his predicament worst. The guard grabbed ahold of him and marched him straight to the military prison with Jesus following along.
At the prison Jesus tried to get Jude released in time for the Passover feast that night, but he was unable to do so: the next day was the Sabbath and it would have caused the Romans problems to try Jude then, so he stayed in prison until Sunday morning. Jesus remained with him the entire time. When Jude finally went in front of the military magistrate, Jesus managed to convince the judge that Jude had at least some reason to yell at the Roman guard, so the magistrate let Jude off with a warning. But, he also warned Jesus to keep an eye on his brother saying that Jude would probably bring trouble to the whole Jewish community. As it turned out, the judge was right: Jude never did learn to calm his temper and it caused Jesus more problems later in life. Because Jude was in jail he did not attend the Passover rites, and it was not until he returned several years later that he did. The trip to Jerusalem with Jude was Jesus’ last Passover with his family.
After Jude was released from prison, they went to see Lazarus and apologized for missing the Passover dinner. When they returned to Nazareth, Jesus did not tell the rest of the family what had happened. Instead, he gave Jude time to calm down and then several weeks later after the two of them had talked it over, Jude went on his own to tell everyone. Jude never forgot Jesus’ patience with him throughout this episode.
Jesus often went into periods of deep meditation, but he never let contemplating his life’s mission take precedence over the sheer joy of playing with the younger children. Little Ruth and her friends loved being around Jesus hearing about nature and animals and his trips to Jerusalem while playing with the scraps of wood that he saved for them like his father had done for him. In the back corner of the shop was a rock Jesus would sit on, usually with one or two of the little ones on his knees, and he would tell them stories. To the children Jesus was Uncle Joshua, and with him they learned to laugh with joyful innocence. Jesus could make this swing from deep serious thought to lighthearted play without effort, and that skill allowed him to spend plenty of time with the children around him.
The Twenty-Sixth Year (A.D. 20)
Jesus was aware of his creator powers, but he was also convinced that he was not supposed to use them—at least not yet, and not as the son of man. Over and above all else, whatever he did he would be subject to the will of his Paradise Father.
Jude continued to rebel: he could not control his temper and he was a constant problem for James. On top of that, he was not doing his share of the work or bringing in his share of the family income. If it were not for Jesus, James and Joseph would have kicked Jude out of the house. But Jesus advised them to be patient. He suggested that James and Joseph should try to change Jude by showing him a better way through how they lived their own lives, and by how they took care of each other. They agreed, and this stopped the family from breaking up. But Jude did not calm down until later after he married.
Step-by-step Jesus’ family learned to live without him. When the time came to be about his Father’s business, he was going to need the freedom to come and go as required. He was on Earth to experience humanity’s many facets, and in doing so earn both his right to rule our universe and reveal the Paradise Father. Mary could tell that Jesus was preparing to leave, and she was still confused about her son. Other than when she remembered Gabriel’s visit, she had about given up hope that Jesus was the Messiah. She wanted him to tell her about his and their future, but he would not speak about it to her or anyone else.
This year Jesus spent much of his time one on one with the other children in the family, often taking them for long walks in the country. When he took Jude to the uncle’s farm south of Nazareth to work the harvest, Jude eventually ran off and was found with the fishermen down at the lake. After the two talked it over, Jesus took Jude to Magdala to live with a relative and learn his trade as a fisherman. Now all the boys had entered their lifework. Esta and James, and Jacob and Miriam had a double wedding that November. Esta’s father gave her and James a small house on the west side of town. Jesus put Joseph in charge of the family. Jude started to improve his behavior, and he promised Joseph he would help out more with the family’s expenses. Miriam moved out of the house to live with Jacob next door, and Martha took over Miriam’s duties as eldest daughter.
The day after the wedding Jesus took James aside for a secret meeting. Jesus told James he was preparing to leave home, and that he wanted to transfer the family’s properties to James’ name. They also drew up an agreement saying that James now had full financial responsibility for the family, and that Jesus no longer did. But Jesus also told James that for as long as he could he would continue to send him money for the family, and that James could use that money however he wished. Jesus was now entering the phase of his adult life where he lived away from home, and right before he began to be about his Father’s business.