historians are debating is the christmas card scene of his humble birth in a manger, heralded by a star in the east and attended by three wise men. it s only mentioned by matthew and luke, and they don t always agree. so is any of it true? scholars say yes to a degree. when we look at the gospel of matthew and the gospel of luke, we can see that there are about 12 pieces of information, 12 facts that they share in common that they both know about jesus early years. they both know that his mother is mary, that the father or stepfather is joseph, that they re from the family of david, that the birth took place in bethlehem. so they have this string, a skeleton of information about the very formative years of jesus and his conception. but they don t have much beyond that.
it s likely true, since king herod, who went on a murderous rampage when he heard of jesus birth, died in 4 b.c. but after his birth, jesus largely disappears from view, and the mysteries of his early life deepen. who were jesus parents, his brothers and sisters? just how did jesus grow up? jesus was probably doing what most other teenagers were doing honing their job skills, meeting other people, helping to support the family, learning what he could about his community and his tradition. his tradition was jewish, and his community was the village of nazareth in rural galilee. just as the ancient prophets had said, the messiah would be a nazarene.
jesus, in his 12-year-old, know-it-all state says, well, didn t you know, i needed to be about my father s business? and he understands that his destiny is somehow here. the temple is where he belongs, discussing these religious issues is what he s supposed to do. how could mary and joseph fail to notice jesus was missing? did this mean that the family was so large, a child like jesus could just disappear? the gospels speak of jesus four brothers, james, joseph, judas and simon and at least two sisters. but many believe that mary remained a virgin all her life, and that these siblings were either stepchildren from joseph s earlier marriage or cousins. scholars who have read the text closely say that doesn t seem to be the case, and they don t need the controversial ossuary to make their point. the word that s used of james
it s likely true, since king herod, who went on a murderous rampage when he heard of jesus birth, died in 4 b.c. but after his birth, jesus largely disappears from view, and the mysteries of his early life deepen. who were jesus parents, his brothers and sisters? just how did jesus grow up? jesus was probably doing what most other teenagers were doing honing their job skills, meeting other people, helping to support the family, learning what he could about his community and his tradition. his tradition was jewish, and his community was the village of nazareth in rural galilee. just as the ancient prophets had said, the messiah would be a nazarene. avo: the volkswagen sign then drive sales event is back. which means it s never been easier to get a new passat,
this kid has a real gift. we should sign him up. let s get him to enroll. he s wasted up there in nazareth. it was a mission, the gospels say, that jesus thought more important than his earthly family. for when they had departed for nazareth, jesus was still in the temple. and on the way home, mary and joseph suddenly realized after a few days that jesus is missing. this always struck me as somewhat like home alone. and they come back and they discover him in the temple. and mary is very upset and says, how could you do this? jesus, in his 12-year-old, know-it-all state says, well, didn t you know, i needed to be about my father s business? and he understands that his destiny is somehow here. the temple is where he belongs, discussing these religious issues is what he s supposed to do. how could mary and joseph fail to notice jesus was missing? did this mean that the family was so large, a child like jesus could just disappear?