The Untold Story – Part Three
Paul Maier muses that perhaps Herod’s reaction to the Magi visit would have been different if they had asked their question in a different way. But in spite of this, it is known that Herod mistrusted everyone and that he was in constant fear that someone would try to seize his throne. But being shrewd, he questioned the Magi on the pretence of being interested in visiting the child himself. Of course we know that the Magi do not return to Herod. It is believed that this is what sets him off on his gruesome mission.
But Herod was not always this bitter, twisted figure that appears in the Bible. In his early days, he was a wise and exceptional ruler. He rebuilt many towns and oversaw the refurbishment of the Temple in Jerusalem. He established new ports and stimulated trade and commerce. Rome highly respected him but the people of Palestine had a different view. In spite of his great achievements, he was something of a tyrant and even went so far as to execute any of his family whom he believed had any designs on taking his throne. To add fuel to the fire, Herod had designed his mausoleum in a place he called Herodium close to Bethlehem. With everything that Herod was thinking, feeling and planning, it was inevitable that he would go down in history as the Monster of the first Christmas.
And while Herod’s plan is carried out, Joseph, Mary and the baby escape to Egypt. But before this happened, the family had already made two trips: one for the circumcision of the infant at the age of 8 days and the second for the purification of Mary forty days after the birth. Then, after the visit of the Magi, the family had to take an even longer and unexpected journey. In a dream, Joseph is warned of the impending danger from Herod and is told to take his family and flee to Egypt. The New Testament tells us nothing about the actual route but it is most likely that they took the coastal route from Bethlehem through Gaza and on to Egypt. There are at least two places claiming to be the place in Egypt where the family lived. One is in Cairo itself where there is a crypt below the church of St. Sergius. I myself was able to see this crypt on a visit to Cairo in 2000. But their time in Egypt was not long. When Herod was dead, word came to Joseph in a dream again. But the son of Herod named Archelaus was on the throne and he was as ruthless as his father; and so the family continued on their way past Bethlehem and on up to Nazareth where they could resume their life in the midst of family and friends.
Joseph, the carpenter, was leading a quiet life in Nazareth fully expecting to carry on his father’s business, get married and raise a family in peace. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to be asked to be the foster father to the Son of God. It is a miracle and a great blessing for all of us that Joseph accepted his role in the events that brought God into the world in human form and that he continued to provide for and defend his young family. He is only mentioned once more in the record and that is when Jesus is 12 and the family visit the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. IT is believed that Joseph had passed away before the culmination of Jesus’ ministry. There is no record that he was with Mary in the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. This is inferred from the time when Jesus was presented at the temple and the aged Simeon turns to Mary and prophesies that her heart will be pierced. The prophet spoke directly to her and not to Joseph. Of course, no one could even imagine that Jesus would die so young.
As for Mary, tradition in many of the Christian branches of the church makes much of her. She is the one chosen to carry the seed of God and to bear the child and bring him into the world. Her name is an alternate form of the name of Moses’ sister Miriam. Mary means “the Lord’s beloved” and it was a common name in that day. Her parents are identified as Joachim and Anna. And in spite of the fact that attempts have been made to identify the home where Mary was when the angel visited her and later the home where Joseph and Mary raised Jesus, the only site that we can be certain of is the one known as the well of Mary. It remains the only public well in Nazareth and no doubt was the same well that Mary would have drawn water.
Unlike Joseph, Mary appears several times throughout the ministry of Jesus. She is portrayed as a woman of much spiritual sensitivity, loyalty and concern. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Mary is seen as being involved in the founding of the church in Jerusalem. From there various accounts place her in Asia Minor with John. One tradition maintains that she died in Ephesus while another maintains that she died in Jerusalem.
Mary would always share a unique bond with her children as most mothers do but the bond she would share with Jesus was one beyond any other. His conception and birth set him apart from all others in the world and set her apart from all other women. Scripture records that she pondered all these things and kept them in her heart. And while we are far from those days, we can certainly believe that when Luke wrote his version of the Christmas story that he had the first hand account of the one who had lived it – Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The final part of this untold story is perhaps the best known. After all the first Christmas is about the baby; it is about the one who grew up to become the person we know as Jesus Christ. But born He was and His birth changed history, it wrenched the world’s chronology so that its years pivot around His birth and His life has touched and continues to touch countries, cultures, civilizations and untold millions of lives.
The supreme paradox must be this: the person behind this achievement taught publicly for only three and a half years; he wrote no book; he had no powerful religious or political machine behind him; and yet he became the central figure in human history. The book about his life and accomplishments has been read by billions of people in more than 2,000 languages and yet there is no biography of his life. The four accounts which we know as the gospels describe parts of His life but the focus is on the message He brought. The Gospels never pretended to be biographies for their purpose was to give the reasons for Christ’s birth, life and death.
But this has not stopped people over time from seeking to find out stories about Jesus in those missing years. But the truth is that His childhood was probably similar to those around him. He would have studied at the synagogue from the age of five and no doubt learned the Torah as well as the languages of Aramaic and Hebrew and common Greek which was the universal language of the Roman Empire. He worked in his father’s shop and would have been apprenticed to learn the family business.
He was a gifted orator who spoke with authority. Yet to those who did not share His vision, He was a deceiver, a false prophet. One thing is for sure there was never a neutral feeling. People either loved Him or despised Him. And He was no ascetic: He enjoyed a good time, provided party supplies on one famous occasion and loved good friendships with all kinds of people. He was no legalist, He was not intolerant, and He was no wimp. He had stamina.
Whether he is recognized as the Son of God or not, Jesus is widely regarded as one of – if not the most – influential people in all history. Yet it is said that in spite of all that He said and did in His life, He probably never forgot that story his mother told him of that time when he was born. And I am sure that even He marvelled at the story of angels over Bethlehem, adoring shepherds and humbled wise men, the story of the first Christmas.