The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ Read Free Page A

he was with Thomas, or Saul, or Jacob. In the end Joseph and Mary had to accept that he had been left behind, and they packed their things away and turned back towards Jerusalem. Christ rode on the donkey, because Mary was worried that he might be tired.
    They searched through the city for three days, but Jesus was nowhere to be found. Finally Christ said, 'Mama, should we go to the temple and pray for him?'
    Since they had looked everywhere else, they thought they would try that. And as soon as they entered the temple grounds, they heard a commotion.
    'That'll be him,' said Joseph.
    Sure enough, it was. The priests had found Jesus daubing his name on the wall with clay, and were deciding how to punish him.
    'It's only clay!' he was saying, brushing the dirt off his hands. 'As soon as it rains, it'll come off again! I wouldn't dream of damaging the temple. I was writing my name there in the hope that God would see it and remember me.'
    'Blasphemer!' said a priest.
    And he would have struck Jesus, but Christ stepped forward and spoke.
    'Please, sir,' he said, 'my brother is not a blasphemer. He was writing his name in clay so as to express the words of Job, “Remember that you fashioned me like clay; and will you turn me to dust again?” '
    'That may be,' said another, 'but he knows full well he's done wrong. Look - he's tried to wash his hands and conceal the evidence.'
    'Well, of course he has,' said Christ. 'He has done it to fulfil the words of Jeremiah, “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before you.”'
    'But to run away from your family!' Mary said to Jesus. 'We've been terrified! Anything could have happened to you. But you're so selfish, you don't know what it means to think of others. Your family means nothing to you!'
    Jesus hung his head. But Christ said:
    'No, Mama, I'm sure he means well. And this too was foretold. He's done this so that the psalm can come true, “I have borne reproach, and shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother's children.”'
    The priests and teachers of the temple were amazed at the knowledge of the little Christ, and praised his learning and quickness of mind. Since he had pleaded so well, they allowed Jesus to go unpunished.
    But on the way back to Nazareth, Joseph said privately to Jesus, 'What were you thinking of, to upset your mother like that? You know how tender-hearted she is. She was worried sick about you.'
    'And you, Father, were you worried?'
    'I was worried for her, and I was worried for you.'
    'You didn't need to worry for me. I was safe enough.'
    Joseph said no more.

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    The Coming of John
    Time went past, and the two boys grew to manhood. Jesus learned the trade of carpentry, and Christ spent all his time in the synagogue, reading the scriptures and discussing their meanings with the teachers. Jesus took no notice of Christ, but for his part, Christ was always forbearing, and keen to display a friendly interest in his brother's work.
    'We need carpenters,' he would say earnestly. 'It's a fine trade. Jesus is coming on very well. He will be able to marry one day soon, I'm sure. He deserves a good wife and a home.'
    By this time the man John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, had begun a campaign of preaching in the country around the Jordan, impressing the people with his teaching about the need for repentance and with his promise of the forgiveness of sins. There were many wandering preachers in Galilee and the surrounding districts at that time; some were good men, some were wicked charlatans, and some were simply mad. John was unusual in his simplicity and directness. He had spent some time in the wilderness, and dressed roughly and ate little. He invented the rite of baptism to symbolise the washing-away of sin, and many came to listen to him and to be baptised.
    Among the people who came to listen to him were some Sadducees