PicoBlog

This episode opens with a flashback of a toddler Jesus playing with his mother and father. There is no real dialogue in the scene but shows us the loving and joyful household of the Holy Family. We then return to our current timeline to find that Jesus has visited Mother Mary in Nazareth for a festival. Mary asks Jesus how his followers are doing, and He assures her all is well. Jesus continues with some small talk while learning that Lazarus and his sisters were in town for the festivities as well. Then, Jesus tells Mary that he is going to need “the box.” We are a little unsure at this time exactly what is the importance of the box, but the conversation that follows is about this being Jesus’s last visit to His hometown, His Time approaching, and His need to do the Father’s will.

We learn that the town is buzzing with excitement very quickly into the next day. We see Mary and Jesus run into Rafi and Dinah (the parents of the bride at the wedding of Cana), and they apologize for the miracle of the wedding leading to such popularity. We are then introduced to Lazarus playing a joke on Jesus and adding fuel to the intrigue. Mary is very excited to question Jesus about the validity of stories while Martha cautions her to not stick her nose where it doesn’t belong giving us great insight into these two characters. Lazarus shows his charisma as he talks the local rabbi into allowing Jesus to do the reading and give the teaching.

Lazarus and Jesus join in on a game, where Jesus shows that he is not very adept at athletic competitions and is rather uncoordinated and clumsy. Everyone is rather embarrassed for him. We then transition to what everyone has been waiting for and that; Jesus teaching in his hometown synagogue. Jesus reads from Isaiah proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. The Spirit of the Lord has come upon Him, and He has been anointed. The hearers are very interested in why Jesus stopped where he did, and what he has to say about the reading. Jesus opens by claiming that the prophecy is being fulfilled in their presence. The unease builds as Jesus calls on the people of Nazareth to turn away from sins, so they may be saved through belief in Him. As the implications of Jesus’s words become more clear, questions arise about His miracles and His claims of being Messiah. Jesus then definitely states that He is the Law. He is the Messiah. At this defense of himself, the people revolt and demand that Jesus be executed for being a false prophet.

Lazarus jumps in to protect Mary as Jesus is removed from the synagogue and taken to the cliffs on the outskirts of town. When the crowds reach the cliffs, Jesus stands in defiance and announces that this will not happen today and walks out of their midst.

The episode then gives us a long flashback with a young Jesus spending time working in the shop with Joseph. Jesus is learning to read and learning to build. We see a loving father in Joseph with a young boy seeking to please His father. This flashback ends with Joseph showing Jesus what is in the box we heard about earlier in the episode. Joseph shows Jesus a bit and bridle from the mule that Joseph’s ancestors used to flea Egypt. He tells Jesus that although he may not be able to continue to pass it along, it is still His as Joseph’s heir.

We leave the flashback to Jesus standing outside of a tomb. He is quickly joined by Mother Mary and Lazarus. She is obviously shaken after what has happened. Jesus provides comfort to both Mary and Lazarus that he is fine, but that his mission has begun and there is no going back. The episode ends as our three characters look upon Joseph’s tomb in anticipation for the events to come.

When Jesus sits down to eat with Mother Mary, He looks across the table and asks, “So, no James and Jude?” Mary responds, “Well… they felt it was best to celebrate in Sepphoris while you were here… just to avoid conflict.” There is tension in the scene but their conversation quickly shifts. In that short exchange though an important question is raised. Did Jesus have biological brothers? The answer is no. Mary did not birth any children other than Jesus. 

I’ve discussed briefly the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity in the review of Episode 3 of Season 2. Saint Augustine tells us that Mary “remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin, in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin.” (CCC 510). Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin both believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary (more information on that HERE).  

So who are James and Jude? One thing is for certain, they are not biological sons of Mary. Siblings of Jesus are mentioned several times throughout holy scripture: Mark 3:31-35, Mark 6:3, 1 Corinthians 9:5, Galatians 1:19, just to note a few. It is in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-56 that we get the names James and Jude/Judas, along with Simon and Joses/Joseph. In Semitic languages the words “brother” and “sister” do not refer only to children of the same parents. These familial terms also refer to nephews, nieces, cousins, and half-siblings. In many cultures brothers and sisters don’t indicate biological but rather spiritual relation. There are many varying interpretations of these passages. Some suggest Joseph had children from a previous marriage. Others suggest Mary and Joseph raised orphaned relatives as their own. The simplest explanation, I believe, is that the words “brother” and “sister” in scripture are not meant to be taken literally as meaning biological siblings. Whether it is a translation issue or the ambiguity of the language of the time in how it relates to familial relations, it’s unreasonable to insist that these passages disprove Church doctrine on the perpetual virginity of Mary. If Mary had other sons, why would John the disciple take Mary into his home and care for her after Jesus’s crucifixion? (John 19:27).

During the Bible Roundtable for this episode, Dallas Jenkins, his Evangelical mentor Dr. Doug Huffman, and Rabbi Jason Sobel all agree that it is highly likely that Mary and Joseph would have had other children after Jesus. Dr. Doug Huffman even states, “The protestant reading of those passages in the Gospels would tend to take them at face value…the protestant takes this report of his mother being his literal mother and his brothers being his literal siblings… Protestant are satisfied taking that all at the face value of those terms.” Curious, I’m not sure Dr. Huffman would see all scripture that way. Do protestants also take Matthew 26: 26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, John 6:48-59 (Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and Bread of Life Discourse) literally? I don’t think so, but that’s an error of sola scriptura discussion for another time. Dr. Huffman needs to be careful here too because if he actually means “literal sibling”, is he saying that Jesus is not the only Son of God or that Jesus is not even the Son of God?

Dallas, Dr. Huffman, and Rabbi Sobel are fairly dismissive of the Catholic teaching and shrug it off, basically saying that it doesn’t matter. Dallas says that Mary’s perpetual virginity isn’t necessary for giving birth to Jesus. However, it’s quite the opposite. Her perpetual virginity does matter and it should be defended. First, there is the importance of acknowledging truth in this world of relativism. The doctrine of the Church regarding Mary’s perpetual virginity was rarely questioned for a millenia and a half. Church Fathers and even reformers taught that this truth is based in scripture. Second, Mary’s virginity foreshadows the life that is to come in heaven where no one marries or is given in marriage. Third, Mary is a prefigurement of the Church, “undefiled yet wed.” explained St. Ambrose. Finally, Mary was not only given to John at the foot of the cross but she was also given to all of us, each and everyone, as our mother too. Because she had no other children, she gives us an example of how we are to offer our whole lives for Christ, in perfect and total devotion. Mary’s perpetual virginity should matter to all Christians. It isn’t just an “unnecessary” Catholic idea.

Who is Jesus’s father? In some ways this may be a very easy question to answer. In our Scriptures, it is rather clear that Jesus is referring to the “big guy upstairs” as His father. The Trinitarian form makes it rather clear as well. 1st person = Father. 2nd person = Son. This episode however gives us a great depiction of what Jesus’s silent years would have been like. In this depiction, we get to see the relationship between Jesus and Joseph. But, before we look at the flashback, Joseph is praised as an honorable man by Nazareth’s rabbi when Jesus is taken to the cliff. Then we see some heart-warming parenting from Joseph. While Joseph works on a project, he guides Jesus’s reading lessons and then invites Him over to assist with his work. These common parenting moments are touching. We then see just what a sacrifice Joseph has made to raise Jesus. The unique position Joseph was placed into has not prevented him from guiding the young Jesus into growing in wisdom and stature as we read about in the gospel of Luke. His tremendous character and virtue lead to the young Jesus calling him, “Abba.”

We’ve talked before in previous episodes about the expectations that the Jewish people had about the Messiah. It was briefly highlighted in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. It was a popular belief during Jesus’s time that the Messiah would be a great warrior who would liberate the Jewish people from the oppression of the Roman Empire.

I’m sure that all of you were thinking, “He’s right there next to you,” when Rabbi Benjamin prays to God for the arrival of the mashiach. I do have to say that I love Jesus’s little grin at the irony of the prayer. But it is because of these expectations that people are not able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

This scene highlights two of the problems that were occurring with the Jewish people and particularly Jewish faith leaders during the life of Jesus. The first of these issues was that the Jewish people took their salvation for granted. They believed that because they were the chosen sons and daughters of Abraham, they did not require any further repentance to be saved. The other issue was that the Jewish elders had become so afraid of repeating the errors of their ancestors that they had started to implement new laws that were not given to them by God. They were trying so hard to guard themselves from sin and blasphemy that they were not able to hear the truth in Jesus’s words and recognize that He was in fact the Messiah that they had been awaiting.

Ask Jesus to save you. It’s important for us to know that He has already offered us salvation but we must also acknowledge and accept this invitation.

Passage Jesus Reads

Isaiah 61:1-2

Jesus references the Old Testament

1 Kings 17 and 1 Kings 5:1-14

The Rejection at Nazareth

Luke 4:16-30

Mark 6:1-6

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