Jesus’s first Passover was a turning in his life. It was also when the people began to take more notice of his abilities. The time began well. As the son of man, Jesus’ human emotions were at their peak. He was full of anticipation. He was finally going to see the temple, and take part in the talks they held there. But as reality set in over time, the divine side of Jesus was disappointed in a lot of what he saw and heard.
Jesus started to make waves in Nazareth even before everyone left for Jerusalem. Passover was a man’s celebration: The women could go, but they didn’t have to be there so they usually stayed home in Nazareth. At first, Mary had no intention of going to Jerusalem. But when Jesus found out he got upset. He said to exclude the women was wrong and if his mom didn’t go, he wouldn’t go. So, Mary gave in and agreed to go to the Passover. And because she did, lot of other women from Nazareth who normally wouldn’t have gone, also went to Jerusalem.
Jesus had waited all of his life to see the great temple. But once he got inside, his excitement was replaced with disappointment. One the first day of Passover, he and all of the other boys had to go through ceremonies where they devoted themselves to obeying God and upholding Jewish laws and traditions. And as you’re probably guessing, according to those laws and traditions Mary and the other women couldn’t watch their boys becoming men. Jesus knew this was wrong and he wasn’t happy with it. But other than telling Joseph a little bit about his feelings, he held most of it back until they all got back to Nazareth.
Of course, Jesus was still asking his mom and dad a lot of questions. But the only answers they could give him were based on their Jewish beliefs. For Mary and Joseph, God was all powerful and would get angry and punish anyone who offended him. Jesus resented these answers: He knew there is never a reason for someone to fear God. After a while, Joseph got frustrated with Jesus’ attitude, and he told Jesus not to question Jewish law. But Jesus didn’t give up. He told Joseph that it didn’t make any sense that God would get angry at someone. Jesus explained to his dad that you, as my Earth father, can’t love me more than God, my heavenly father. And if you love me so much that you’d never get angry with me, then how could God, who loves me even more than you do, get mad and hurt me? That put Joseph in a spot, and from then on Jesus’ mom and dad never tried to change his belief in the love and mercy of God our Father.
Jesus Views the Temple
There were many buildings built around the temple, and they could hold up to two hundred thousand people at once. It was all noisy and crowded. Being from Nazareth, Jesus was used to a much smaller temple where everyone knew one another. He didn’t like how routine and impersonal the ceremonies were being conducted. Nothing about any of what he was seeing seemed holy or about worshiping God. Vendors were selling animals and changing money more like it was a market place than a holy temple dedicated to his Father.
But the most horrible sight of all for young Jesus were the priests slaughtering the animals to please God. The killing took place at a bronze fountain under a rock ledge in front of the temple altar. So many animals were being slaughtered that streams of blood flowed down the pavement, and the priests were gory and covered in blood. The loud crying of the herds of terrified animals was too much for him, and Jesus convinced his dad to get him out of there. He’d had enough for one day.
Jesus and the Passover
That night Mary, Joseph, and Jesus went to visit Simon’s family in Bethany. They had lamb for dinner as was the custom for the Passover rites. This was the first of seven days of ceremonies, and since it was Jesus’ first time to attend, he had to tell the story of the Passover for the guests. Jesus told the story well, but Joseph and Mary could tell he wasn’t happy with what he had seen at the temple. But what neither of them knew was that Jesus was already thinking of changing Jewish customs and throwing out the idea of killing animals to please God. It was a restless night for the family. Jesus couldn’t sleep from being distraught with what he saw, and Joseph and Mary were worried that he didn’t like Jewish customs.
The next day Simon’s son, Lazarus, took Jesus on a tour of Jerusalem. It was a better day for Jesus, and by evening he had a good idea of how find his way around the temple buildings. Jesus still wasn’t thirteen years old yet, so he wasn’t allowed to participate in the discussions that were being held. Not being able to talk kept Jesus’ questions at bay, at least for a while.
As the week wore on, Joseph and Mary usually found Jesus sitting off by himself, thinking. He was acting strangely, and they were getting worried. By this time, the two just wanted to get their boy safely back to Nazareth. Jesus’ mind was filling up with questions. Of the thousands of people from all around the world at the Passover, he got to meet and talk with over a 150 of them. He’d always been interested in other people, and by now he knew a little bit about the people in Mesopotamia, Turkestan, Parthia, Egypt, and the western Roman empire. All of these contacts just made him want to learn more about the other people in the world.
Departure of Mary and Joseph
Everyone was supposed to go back to Nazareth the day after the Passover week. The plan was that they were all supposed to meet outside the temple at about ten o’clock in the morning and form two groups, the men in one and the women and kids in the other. They always travelled separately like this when they’d go to Jerusalem. Jesus had gone to the Passover with the women’s group, and since he was now a man, he was supposed to return with the men. This caused a little bit of confusion, and Joseph and Mary each thought he was traveling with the other. Jesus though, had gone to the temple while everyone else was getting ready to leave. He got caught up listening to the priests talk about angels, and he forgot all about the trip home. So, Jesus got left behind in Jerusalem, and Mary and Joseph didn’t realize this until they met up with each other in Jericho later that night.
First and Second Days in the Temple
Jesus stayed in the temple listening to the talks all day. It was easier for him now because all of the people had left, and the place was calmer. Afterwards, he walked to Bethany and spent the night at Simon’s house. The family was happy to see him, but most of the night Jesus kept to himself meditating in the garden. He hadn’t said anything all day when he was at the temple because it was the Jewish law, but he was determined that tomorrow he was going to speak up.
The next morning on the way back to the temple, Jesus stopped on the brow of Olivet, the ridge where he’d been so excited when he first saw Jerusalem. Back then, he was full of joy. This time, though, he cried for his people. They were slaves to their religion about a mean and angry God on the one hand, and on the other hand they were ruled over and accountable to the Roman legions. Their bondage was complete.
Joseph and Mary got up early and also headed back to Jerusalem to look for Jesus. After they couldn’t find him around town, they went to spend the night with Mary’s relatives.
Jesus got to the temple before noon. He behaved like he was supposed to for his age, but he also started asking questions. Jesus was a sharp lad, and most of the teachers were okay with him joining the discussions. That was up until he questioned the justice of condemning a gentile to death just because he got drunk and wandered into a supposedly sacred area of the temple. This was too much for one of the teachers who demanded to know how old he was. Jesus told him he wouldn’t be thirteen years old for four more months, but also that he’d been consecrated at the Passover and had finished all of his schooling in Nazareth. For most of the teachers, that explained the problem. What good ever comes out of Nazareth, they all asked? So, the head teacher decided that it wasn’t Jesus’ fault that he was in the temple before he was actually 13 years old, but rather the fault of the liberal teachers in Nazareth. So, they let him stay.
The Third Day in the Temple
By the third day, the word had gotten out that there was this young lad in the temple asking a bunch of questions. And the religious leaders were being put on the spot trying to answer them. So when Jesus showed up to the temple the next day, he had an audience hoping to see him confuse the wise men of the law. Simon was there too, and had walked in from Bethany to see what Jesus was up to at the temple. Mary and Joseph were still looking for their boy, and they were actually in the temple, but it never dawned on them that Jesus would be part of the talks being held.
For more than four hours Jesus went back and forth in his discussion with Jerusalem’s religious leaders. But he didn’t argue with them. Instead, he taught them with the questions he’d asked. Or rather, in the way he’d ask his questions. Jesus always worded his questions in a way that challenged a person’s belief, while at the same time showing them a better way. He never took unfair advantage of someone, and he treated everyone with respect. His goal was never just to win an argument, but rather to always give people greater truth and a better understanding of God. By the time the day was over, everyone in the temple was pondering things like why was there a separation between men and women; if God already loves us, why do we kill animals to please him; how come people can buy and sell things in a temple dedicated to worshiping God, and is the messiah we’re all waiting for supposed to be a king on a material throne, or someone to lead a spiritual kingdom of love?
The Fourth Day in the Temple
Jesus was so caught up in the talks at the temple that he forgot about his parents. But Mary and Joseph were of course getting more worried every day, and by this point they thought that maybe he’d gone to visit John in the City of Judah. Before leaving Jerusalem to see if Jesus was hanging with John, they decided to go to the temple to see if maybe John’s dad, Zacharias, was there. Instead, they found Jesus.
All morning long Jesus had impressed those in the temple with his knowledge of the scriptures, especially for a boy of his age. They’d just started the afternoon round of talks, and Jesus had been invited to sit next to the head teacher and tell everyone his ideas about how to pray to God. Right about this time, Mary and Joseph showed up. They were both shocked to see Jesus talking with the men, but Mary was also furious. She busted in on the group, and in front of everyone started to scold Jesus. They’d been searching for him for three days, she said. What was he thinking? Didn’t he care that they were worried for him? Joseph wasn’t happy either, but he kept quiet and let Mary do the talking, or rather yelling. Everyone else just watched in amazement and wondered what Jesus was going to do.
When Mary was done venting her feelings at Jesus, he stood up in front of his mom. He said that while he was at fault, Mary was also going a little too far. She wasn’t even supposed to be in the men’s area, and he’d already been recognized as a son of the law: he was officially a young man. It wasn’t proper for her to be yelling at him in front of everyone, and especially in the middle of his Father’s temple. After a moment’s thought, Jesus then asked his mom why they’d spent so much time looking for him. He said they should’ve expected to find him in his Father’s house, since it was time for him to do his Father’s business. This answer left Mary speechless, and everyone else was astonished at Jesus’ response. After a moment, he told his mom and dad everything was alright and going according to his Father’s will, and they all left to go home.
On the way back to Jericho for the night, Jesus again stood on the brow of Olivet and looked down on Jerusalem. This time he didn’t cry. Instead, trembling with emotion, he vowed to someday return, clean out the temple, and break his people’s bondage to their old beliefs.
When they all got back to Nazareth, Jesus had a short talk with his mom and dad. He told them he’d never again cause them to worry while he lived in their house. Jesus had to balance doing his Father’s will in spiritual matters, with obeying his parent’s rules on earth. These two weren’t always the same, and sometimes they were very different. So, if there were problems between the two, Jesus wouldn’t agree with his mom and dad, but he would follow their wishes.
Joseph was confused; he wasn’t sure what to think about his son. But Mary heard what Jesus had said on the brow of Olivet: That someday he was going to return to save his people from bondage. So she held to her beliefs, and kept trying to prepare him to sit on the throne of David as the King of the Jews. Mary even got her brother, Jesus’ favorite uncle, to help her try and mold him into a Jewish patriot. But Jesus’ mission wasn’t political. It was spiritual, and not just for the Jews, but for everyone in the world.
That’s it for Son of Man, Chapter 4, “Jesus at Jerusalem.”
Next week’s Chapter 5 is titled, “The Two Crucial Years.”
Enjoy your week, my friends.