WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

By John Santosuosso

      In the first century AD the number of Christians in the Roman Empire was relatively small. Some had actually known people who had met Jesus. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians is written just a few decades after the Resurrection. To these early Christians Jesus may have seemed real enough. After all he was almost a contemporary. Still, many must have wondered just who is this man. There had been none before like him. Some would simply say, he is the Son of God (Matthew 3:17). That title was applied to Jesus, but he called himself the Son of Man (Matthew 16:27), and strange as it may seem to Christians of our day, this is actually a higher title. Jesus was also known as King of the Jews (John 19:22), a priest of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:11), and by various other titles.

      Two thousand years later we read the Scriptures, we know the titles, and yet we still wonder who is this man. He is unique in all of history, and just when we may think we fully understand him, as author and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor has remarked, "He seems to have walked into the mist."

      Not surprisingly as we get into the second century the new faith has gained many more converts yet is further away from the actual time of Jesus. More questions begin to be asked about who Jesus was. We lack the time to deal with all aspects of this question, but in the season of Christmas we might turn to one area of his life where the Bible is close to silent. Matthew and Luke do have accounts of his birth, but the New Testament tells us almost nothing about his childhood with the exception of his presentation in the temple by his parents (Luke 2:22-36). It is not surprising that stories began to circulate about his childhood to fill in the gaps. New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman has said we do not know to what extent these stories were simply told for entertainment or were taken seriously as actual fact. Some seem rather outrageous to modern ears, but I believe if you read to the end of this piece you will see that all had a very serious purpose. So let us not be too quick to judge.

      The stories of the birth and childhood of Jesus are mostly found in the I and II Infancy Gospels of Thomas (not the real apostle), the Protoevangelium of James (not the brother of Jesus) and Joseph the Carpenter. While not composed before the second century, they became very popular during the Medieval period.

      One tale in the Protoevangelium claims that the birth of Jesus was so significant that at the moment of his birth time literally stopped (Chapter 18). The Protoevangelium may also be the first writing to claim Jesus was born in a cave rather than a manger.

      While some of the stories in the Infancy Gospels present a picture of a rather mischievous little boy, one reveals Jesus using his unusual powers to help his father. Joseph has a board that is too short for the project he has undertaken. Jesus tell his father to lay it next to a board that is the correct length. Joseph does it, and Jesus stretches the board to the necessary length. Joesph is delighted (II Infancy, chapter 13).

      However, the boy could frighten the neighbors. When a man tried to hit the young Jesus, he caused his hand to wither and the man fell down and died. Joseph in alarm said we cannot let the boy out of the house, as he feared he would harm other neighbors (I Infancy, chapter 20. Remember this is fiction!)

      One of the most popular stories is that of Jesus and his friends making sparrows out of clay. When Jesus clapped his hands, his flew away (II Infancy, chapter 1).

      There are many other stories that could be told, but I think no matter the plot they all point to the same thing. This Son of God, Son of Man, in some ways was beyond human comprehension. There was none like him, and in ways that could not fully be understood by either first-century or twentieth-first century Christians, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph had selected him for a mission to save us from ourselves. To those who dare to truly follow Him they will begin to partially understand who He is. The stories simply try to explain He who is beyond explanation, He who even as a child can do what none other can. No wonder they told stories and stood in awe at He who is the Christ, born to us this Christmas Day. 

      Chapter 16:1-8, the original ending to the Gospel of Mark, depicts several women looking into an empty tomb and wondering who is this Jesus and what has happened to him. The Christmas story is really the beginning of the Easter story. We are invited to look into the tomb and answer for ourselves what child was this, who is this Jesus.