The Infancy and Childhood of Jesus Christ

By: Phillip Leavitt REL 375 Lost Scriptures, Lost Christianities Dr. Charles Emerson MW 2:00-3:15pm

Christianity, as one of the great world religions, has brought, for many people, hope and peace. Nearly any person you meet on the street anywhere in the United States or Europe has, if not a belief in Christianity, at least a fair knowledge of it. There are many different legends and stories that figure into this religion, primarily of course of its founder, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ or Messiah. Of the stories that are known, very few are of his early years. The biblical accounts only tell a basic story of his birth and possible first few years, as in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; or they start at the beginning of his public ministry at age thirty or so, as in the Gospels of Mark and John. Of his years in between, we are presented with only one short story in his twelfth year, when Mary and Joseph were returning from Jerusalem after one of the great feasts, possibly Passover. Running back to look for him, they found him in the temple, speaking with the Pharisees and other teachers and leaders of the people. After this incident, we know nothing until his baptism by John the Baptist and the Holy Ghost descending to him by the sign of the dove. So, we may ask, what happened in those gaps? What was Jesus like as a child? In the last 500 years, several books been rediscovered, with stories detailing the early years of the Christ-child. Although all of these writings are considered pseudopigraphal, being written in the name of known early Christian leaders, such as James and Thomas, they were at one time accepted by the church in its own infancy as authentic reports. In the Proto-evangelion of James, we are not only presented with the birth of Jesus, but also with the miraculous birth of his mother Mary, to Anna, who had been barren, and Joachim. In this book, the Virgin Mary is brought by Joseph to Bethlehem, in accordance with the taxing by Caesar. As they are going along, and near to the city, Mary starts to suffer labor pains and gives birth to Jesus in a cave. Joseph goes to look for a midwife to assist the birth and sees that everything has stopped and is frozen in time. After this, Joseph finds a midwife, who arrives just in time to see a bright light

and the child being held by Mary, suckling at her breast. When the midwife comes across her friend Salome and tells her a virgin has born a child, Salome insists that she must test Marys virginity. After she inserts her fingers, her hand immediately starts to wither and burn. Her hand is only saved after she holds the Christ-child. After this, Herod perpetuates his slaughter of the innocents, all children two years old and younger. As Elizabeth and John, Jesus cousin, are hid by God in a mountain, Zacharias is murdered in the temple for refusing to disclose Johns whereabouts. Because of this, Simeon is put in his place to minister in the temple, and as told in Luke, is allowed to see the Christ-child before he dies. In the Gospel of Pseudo- Matthew, similar events occur. The first midwife, name Zelomi in the account, examines Mary and is surprised, that although there is no birth blood, there is a child and Marys breasts are heavy with milk. Once again we have Salome doubting the continued virginity, with her hand withering after examining Mary. Later on in the account, after being visited by the shepherds, Jesus is placed in a manger and is worshipped by an ass and an ox, in fulfillment of Isaiahs prophecy of, the ox knows his owner, and the ass his masters crib. Also a prophecy form Habakkuk was fulfilled in that, Between two animals you are made manifest. According to the First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, whose author I unfortunately have not been able to locate, the Christ-child was able, even from his cradle, to tell his mother, Mary, I am Jesus the Son of God, that word, which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel Gabriel to thee, and my father hath sent me for the salvation of the world. As in the previous accounts, Jesus is born in a cave; a marvelous light shines forth, which fades and reveals the newly born child. In this account however, there is only one midwife, who is unnamed, but who receives a blessing from touching the childs clothes. Something that this account adds is that when Jesus was circumcised, his foreskin was preserved in an alabaster box of spikenard, which by fate, was

the same box used to anoint him later on in his life; the same box that Judas Iscariot complained was a waste of money. And like the Luke account, after Marys days of purification, Jesus was presented at the temple, where Simeon, who had took Zacharias position, was able to see him and glorify him. In this account, also similar to the Matthew account, is the visit of the wise men from the East, who are identified as magi, since it is a prophecy from Zoroaster that causes them to seek out the Christ-child. In exchange for their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they are given one of Jesus swaddling clothes which, through their veneration of the elements, particularly fire, they attempt to offer to the fire. When the cloth is found to be untouched by the fire, it is kept as a great treasure. As related in the Matthew account, to escape Herods slaughter of all the young children, Mary and Joseph take Jesus into Egypt. We are given no insight as to what happened in the time that they resided there, only that when Herod finally dies, the family is able to return to Israel. And upon finding that Archelaeus, Herods son, had taken his fathers place in Judea, the family goes to Nazareth. In the Infancy Gospel, when the family enters Egypt, they come across a temple where Satan speaks out of an idol. The priest of the temple has a three year old son who is possessed by demons. When they, the holy family, take up residence in the inn, the idol tells the people that, The unknown God is come hither, who is truly God; nor is there any one beside him, who is worthy of divine worship; for he is truly the Son of God. After this, the idols of the temple fall down. Later, as Mary is hanging up the swaddling clothes to dry, the priests son takes one and puts it on his head, where afterwards the demons left him. In fear of the people, because of the broken idols, Mary and Joseph leave the city and upon coming into the area where thieves were known to hide out, the sounds of a great army, like what a king would have, were heard by the robbers and their prisoners, scaring off the robbers. Following this, in the next

several chapters, many people are cured of diseases or cleansed of demons, by various means, such as holding Jesus, being washed in water used to wash him, by kissing the child, or in one case by Mary herself looking at her. This case is similar to the man possessed by a legion of demons in the land of the Gadarenes, whom Jesus cures by sending them into a herd of swine. All of these miracles take place before the family returns to Israel. Also before returning to Israel, the family again comes upon thieves, who are named Titus and Dumachus. As Titus pays his partner to allow the family to pass through unmolested, Jesus prophesies that the two will be crucified with him, and that Titus, for his good deed, will be with him in Paradise. Following the families return to Judea and then to Galilee, the writer tells of similar miracles being performed, such as healing two children with Jesus bath water. We are also given the story of two women, both wives of one man, whose sons were both sick. The mother of one child, Caleb, brings a rug to Mary, asking for a swaddling cloth in exchange. She makes a coat from it and gives it to Caleb who is then cured. The other womans son dies, and in vengeance, she attempts to kill Caleb by first baking him in an oven and afterwards by throwing him into a well, where later she herself falls and dies. After this, the account is very similar to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, only differing in the ages that are given for Jesus. Thomas says that Jesus was five when he caused the clay sparrows to come alive, whereas the other account gives his age as seven. Also in this account is given that not only had he made sparrows, but also other animals, which he commanded to move. We are also given the story of Salem the dyer. Jesus, after throwing all the cloth into the furnace, and raising Salems ire, is able to bring out the cloth in whatever color is needed. The two accounts also offer different chronologies of many of the same events. Whereas the Thomas account gives his cursing and subsequent healing of his fellow children early on, the other account waits until after telling the story of the miraculous stretching throne

beam. This account also attempts to give Jesus more prestige by downplaying Josephs carpentry skills. In this account also he is able to save his playmates from some evil women, by turning them into kids, young goats, and calling for them, as the Good Shepherd. Later on, he is crowned by his friends as their king. Following all this is the miraculous curing of James his brother, from the bite of a viper, the raising of the boy who fell from the roof so he could be acquitted, his carrying of water in his cloak after the jar is broken, and his smiting of two boys, one who had ruined his fish pools and another who had knocked him down. Following all this is his attempted schooling by Zaccheus, who in turn is instructed. We are also told of an unnamed teacher who attempts to whip Jesus for being subordinate, who in turn dies. In the Thomas account, following the smiting of the teacher, there are several more people whom Jesus raises from the dead, including an infant and a man building a house. Both accounts however end with Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover and after they leave without him, find him back in the temple, discussing all matter of things with the priests and scribes. Where the Thomas account ends with Jesus growing in stature and wisdom before God, the other infancy gospel goes tell us that from that time, until his thirtieth year, he concealed his miracles and devoted himself to the study of the law. As previously stated, the canonical gospels give us no real clue as to Jesus life from after his birth to his approaching John the Baptist for baptism. Whereas the childhood years of many other great figures in both secular and religious history are known, it is intriguing to wonder what Jesus was like as a child. We know more about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. To many people, especially those brought up in Western society, with its intrinsic Christian traditions and values, this is unacceptable. Thus, these non-canonical books are seen to some as sorts of lifelines. I personally find them entertaining, but as a practicing Latter-Day

Saint, as a follower of Christ, I know that they are just that, entertaining fiction. In one of the standard works, or accepted scriptures, of my faith I am able to read, And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;. This is John the Baptist testifying of Christ, that although he was born as the Only Begotten Son, with Mary as his mother and God the Father as his father, he did not immediately have the powers of God from his birth. I believe that he was allowed to grow as any other child, to learn things from not only his mother and Heavenly Father, but also from his stepfather on Earth, Joseph. Though the scriptures do not give me a full accounting of Jesus younger years, I feel that this only helps me to strengthen my own personal faith in Jesus Christ. Just as the Infancy Gospel tells that he studied the law and waxed strong in the eyes of the Lord until his thirtieth year and subsequent ministry, I know that I should do the same, always striving to follow in his example. I, like many of the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles and other disciples of the New Testament, bear record to the divinity of Jesus Christ, to the knowledge of his descent from His Father, to come among us and to give us an example, and to his atoning blood and resurrection, which will allow us to return to live with Him and the Father in the next life. I bear record of this in His Holy Name.

Bibliography
Lost Books of the Bible. (1926) New York, NY: Alpha House, Inc. Ehrman, B. (2003) Lost Scriptures: Books that Did not Make It into the New Testament. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Elliot, J.K. (2008) The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church. New York, NY: Oxford University Press King James Bible (1979) Salt Lake City, UT: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1981) Salt Lake City, UT: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.