CHAPTER 1
Jesus Was a Man
I often wonder if Jesus was a man of flesh and blood like ourselves, or a thought without a body in the mind, or an idea that visits the visions of man. Often it seems to me that he was a dream dreamed by countless men and women at the same time in a sleep deeper than sleep and a dawn more serene than all dawns.
Nay, Jesus was not a phantom nor a conception of the poets. He was a man ...
- Rachel, a disciple of Jesus, from The Son of Man, by Khalil Gibran
The Wedding of Jesus' Parents, Joseph and Mary
When we speak about how Jesus came to a world I want no shadows to be left.
My mother Mary was a girl of only fifteen when a young man of the village of Nazareth older than she by about eighteen years, asked for her hand in marriage. It was their destiny to become the parents of the one who would be looked to by some, as the Messiah. Only now would Mary be reminded of her chosen task in the world.
Mary was a pretty girl of diminutive size with bright blue eyes and black hair. Joseph was not a tall man, but of good stature with brown hair and grey eyes. It was after they were betrothed that Mary and Joseph found a love for each other. The marriage took place with many family members around, and it was consummated.
It has been said that God had decreed a virgin carry a child that would be known as a chosen one. Coming from a house of David it would signify that he was one of God's chosen people. Now it must be made very clear that God would not have shamed a woman by asking at that place and time for her to carry a child without a husband. Man has chosen to find Mary a virgin according to their own meaning. In those days there were many customs such as prostituting for a priest; giving a daughter for her body when a visitor arrived; fulfilling a selfish desire. Mary came to Joseph as a virgin. It was Man who conceived the idea that Joseph took a woman to him already with child. It was not so, nor was it so that he thought of putting her aside.
When Mary became aware of the task set for her she had many fears, but Joseph said to her, "Can we do otherwise than God's bidding and still be God-people?"
If God sends one to be born of woman why not then of man? Was the seed of the man created by God not a fit vehicle to bring Man to Earth? When God wishes to send someone to speak for him he needs a man to understand Man. Could a being other than Man find an understanding? Could they have ever understood or identified with one coming as a Celestial Being? Who God sends must come as a man and this was the task I had chosen to assume for God. Had I wished for my coming to be in some supernatural manner God would never have permitted this. For my task, I must be as all others. When God makes his selection of those who come to do his bidding they are well prepared to assume the difficult task a world will seek from them.
Jesus' Birth and the Flight to Egypt
Now my father planned to go to Bethlehem called Nazara, near Sepphora (sometimes Zipporah) for the paying of taxes. My mother told him that it would be a nice day for an outing and she would like to accompany him. This much is so. It is well to understand that one paid taxes at the centre of the ruling state, which is to say, the location of the government, even as today.
The short journey was made in the morning, Mary accompanying Joseph in a cart borrowed for the occasion so she would not weary herself walking.
Nazareth was a trade route stopover but not a government seat. The town known as Bethlehem was in a convenient proximity to the capital and here many abided since they were required to camp out if their distance had been long. Mary would rest here with friends while Joseph went about his business. The day was pleasant and Mary had enjoyed the outing but before Joseph returned she was alarmed to feel the first pains of the impending birth of the child. There would be no time to return home.
The countryside was a low valley surrounded by hills pocked with caves. Friends say Mary would be well advised to stay, as many are doing, in one of the caves nearby. She is attended by the women in the camp who offer her a sheepskin to rest upon.
When Joseph returns they hasten to tell him of Mary's condition. He assists her to the cave where she is made comfortable.
Evening descends and the landscape is lit by the cooking fires. Mary is attended by the women who assist the child into the world. And so Jesus is born.
They are left to themselves when Mary has been administered to and there is no other about them at all, save the God who has sent them.
The following day Mary and Joseph remain behind when the others disperse. There are those who return to Nazareth and will take the news of Mary's delivery to the family there.
On the way back from the hills, they are set upon by the soldiers. When they enter the town of Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph escape to the hills, hiding from them as they search caves and countryside and then pursue the families. Who have children of a year or less? They slaughter left and right and fear sets in as the people gather together again, as to what will befall their families at home.
It is said Rachel weeps for her children — it is so, is it not?
Weeping families pause to bury their dead. Mary and Joseph must consider now how they are to prevent the death of their newborn son, who perhaps poses more of a threat to Herod than any of the tens of babies already killed in this small place.
They hesitate to return to Nazareth but if they are to travel they must make some preparation. When the last of the weeping fades into the distance they abandon the cart and make their way homeward in the dark.
Nazareth, too, has been set upon and they are told the soldiers follow the trade route to the north. They bide their time, then gather a few belongings, tell family members they fear Herod's wrath and will leave to join relatives in Egypt. They will try to let them know how they fare but if this child is to survive, they must seek sanctuary away from the country for the soldiers will return.
They set out following roads to the east and then south using their money cautiously, finding caring people on the way. It is not difficult for any to understand their plight for they have heard of this massacre of the children. Who knows these days who will overcome the people to make of them but slaves? There is little remorse in any who can foil such governing bodies and so Mary and Joseph and the baby are passed from one to another across many miles and many days to reach the sanctuary they seek.
So it is far away in another land, they arrive safely at a home known to Joseph...
