2000 YEARS IN THE MAKING . . .Things I Have Wondered About Jesus

Let’s talk about Jesus Christ for a few minutes. You know Jesus, the son of God. The Christ. The one who suffered and died on the cross of Calvary for you and I. That one. The only one. That’s who I am talking about. And this, my dear friends, is a first for me--writing about Jesus and I want this story to be near-perfect for the simple reason that He is looking over my shoulder and I do not want to screw this up. He deserves my BEST.

Just what do you and I really know about Jesus? In Hebrew, His name is Yeshua. Oh, Jesus has many more names besides Jesus throughout The Bible. The Word; Judge; Lamb of God; Good shepherd; Messiah; The Christ; The way, the truth and the life; the living bread; the living water; the lion that roareth out of Judea; the rose of Sharon; the lily of the valley; Prince of peace; Prince of angels; Prince of Heaven; Intercessory priest; friend who sticketh closer than a brother; kinsman redeemer and that is just a scratch on the surface. He is all of these names and my favorite name that He is called by: the risen savior.

Now do not misunderstand. This is not a sermon in written form. I am not here to preach, teach, judge or condemn. I am here only to talk about Jesus, who was born in a manger in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary and her husband, Joseph. Do not hold this against me. I’ve always wanted to approach the subject of Jesus in written form, but until lately, never had the courage, nerve or faith. But from all that I have read in the King James Version of the Bible, it states that the Lord God has fathomless wisdom and understanding and does not look at things like we mortals do, so I think I am safe with the heartfelt comments I have already made and for those I will make later.

Truth is, there is NO way in creation that I or anyone with plenty of time, space, or paper could ever truly describe or contain the proper and elevated phrases about Jesus. Even the Holy Bible does not describe or contain His life fully. There are things that the King James translators must have left out of the Bible for I find several gaps in the life of Jesus and wonder why these enlightened Bible scholars felt that we didn’t need to know about Jesus life and its entirety?

And the point of my story, although you may think it’s of a comedy nature, it is not. I can assure you of that. I am just by nature, a curious person with questions that have been growing in my mind for a long time and since HubPages came into my life, I feel that this is the proper vehicle to air my thoughts and see how readers and other Hub writers will respond.

My story, “Things I Wonder About Jesus,” starts with . . .

Jesus’ childhood. The Bible doesn’t give one inkling of what type of friends he had as playmates or what games, if any, that He played. The Book of John, in the first chapter, states, “that the Word (Jesus), was God and was with God in the beginning and the Word was made flesh,” so I am prone to think that Jesus just didn’t start preaching, teaching, and healing the sick immediately after his birth to the Virgin Mary. He must have had a childhood as other children did. God, His Father, did not alter the laws of nature just for Jesus, although God had the right to do that, He didn’t. And I wonder what happened when He and his children playmates were involved in a competitive game, and knowing that Jesus was not one to outdo anyone, what would his teammates do when He would allow the opposing team to score? I can hear the alleged dialogue: TEAM COACH: Jesus! JESUS: Yes sir! TEAM COACH: What are you doing out there? JESUS: enjoying the game, sir. TEAM COACH: Jesus, listen. You are supposed to help your team to win, not let the other team get by you. Understand? JESUS: Yes, coach, I understand every . . .I mean, I was only allowing Philippi to feel good about himself, for in years to come, he will meet with an accident and not feel good. That might be what He would say. Still, I would love to get my hands on materials or manuscripts that DID tell of Jesus’ childhood years.

About when, as a child, Jesus stomped his toe on a rock or hit his head on a piece of lumber in his earthly father, Joseph’s carpentry shop. Would He just stop and yell, “Oh ME!” Or just think to Himself, there might be more of this pain in my future. I would have to study about the human side of Jesus.

Many hints in the Bible tell us that Jesus was, at times, a loner who didn't want to stand out in the crowd to draw attention to Himself. That would have made Jesus the very first James Dean of the fifties generation--”the lone wolf,” with His own mind and not marching to the beat of the common drummer. That makes sense. A playmate might be seen coming to Mary and Joseph’s house to get Jesus to go on a fishing trip. He would ask Joseph, “Sir, is it agreeable with you if Jesus goes fishing with me this evening?” Joseph, not really knowing that much about Jesus “true” self would reply, “Fishing? Did you say fishing? What does Jesus, my son, know about fishing? Besides, he’s not here. He said something about ‘being about His father’s business,’ whatever that means. I will tell Him of your inquiry when He returns.” Joseph chuckles to himself as he walks back to the work table and says, “Kids today. What can we do with them?”

About Jesus’ teenage years. This would be a must-read for all Christians of all areas of the world. Now we do know that according to the Scriptures, Jesus was never to marry, but when he became a teenager, the local bevy of girls would surely have noticed Him as he worked for Joseph in the carpentry shop. That is only nature. One pretty teenage Israeli girl might remark, “Oh, I just adore his beard--you know, that scruffy look. It makes my heart flutter.” While another girl might remark, “Well, I am from Samaria and I don’t think I am a one-man girl. I think I will have as many as four husbands when I am of age. And to meet Jesus? Yeah, right. That’s as probable as Him asking me for a drink of water.”

A big “IF” here prefaces this thought I've had about Jesus’ teenage years. If Jesus were allowed to have dates, He would have no trouble impressing the girl’s dad, who in those days, WAS the head of the house. A knock comes on the door. GIRL’S DAD: Yes. JESUS: behold. I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and lets me in, I will sup with him and him with me.” GIRL’S DAD: A simple, is ‘Tara ready?’ would have been okay. What’s your name anyway? JESUS: Well, sir, it’s not ‘anyway,’ it’s Jesus, of Nazareth. Nice to meet you. GIRL’S DAD; Oh yeah, Joseph and Mary’s son. I've heard good things about you and all are good I might add. Heard last week that an old man broke his leg and you walked by and he started walking again. JESUS: Not my will, but the will of my Father. And sir, I will respect your daughter. I helped make her, I mean, she will be back by 8 p.m., if that’s agreeable. You see, I have some prayer time to do at home and I cannot afford to miss talking to my Father. GIRL’S DAD: Great with me! I must say that of all the boys that Tara has dated, you are THE most unusual I've ever seen. JESUS: Oh, just give my Father the credit. GIRL’S DAD: Joseph taught you these nice manners and respect? JESUS: Oh, yes sir. And my Father. GIRL’S DAD: Huh? Never mind. You kids today talk that young people’s lingo so old folks like me cannot understand. JESUS: Oh, Tara, you look great. My Father did a great job with you. TYRA: Oh, that’s soooo sweet. Bet you say that to all of the Israeli girls. JESUS: I am bound to be honest. No, Tara. Just you. Shall we go? The donkey is waiting.

Pertaining to Jesus and the chosen 12 disciples and the various ministerial journeys that they were always taking. When nighttime came and they made camp, what kind of food did they eat? In the Bible, (New Testament), we read of Jesus eating with many people at various times, but it’s not revealed what He ate. Was it fruit, vegetables, some poultry? Jesus knew the Jewish health laws, and was not going to dishonor them. At all, so my question is what did His hosts serve Him? In one place in the four gospels, he instructs the disciples to ‘eat that which is set before you’ so that was to his disciples, what about Jesus? I know that Jesus taught fasting, but what about the times that He sat with the sisters, Martha and Mary? What was served to him? Since catfish and shellfish were no no’s of the health laws, could it be possible that Jesus only ate bread? Maybe some tomatoes? This will puzzle me for the rest of my life.

And as for physical exercise, I would have to say that Jesus was in World Class shape for he walked everywhere He and his disciples went. Walking is good for the heart, circulatory system, and the body in general. We do not read anywhere in the Bible of Jesus ever doing calisthenics at daybreak wearing a Marine DI’s khaki uniform with a whistle in his mouth making is disciples do a 10-mile walk with full robe, or do 50 push-ups before they ate breakfast. Even this area of Jesus’ life has been a source of wonderment for me over the years.

And there is this modern-day teaching of “Divine Health,” and how we mortals can strive to have this in our lives. But I wonder did Jesus ever have any allergies, headaches, stress, or head colds? I would say no, since HE WAS Divine Health on earth and knew what to eat and what not to eat and how to keep Himself healthy. I just wish the King James translators had, if they had one, put in the section about His personal health.

God made everything in the beginning. This includes artists and painters too. Then why didn't anyone of these gifted artists take time to paint Jesus while He walked on the earth?

And we also know that Jesus wasn't to ever marry. But, (here’s that word) “if” He had chosen a bride. This is is how I would have pictured that situation. JESUS’ WIFE : He’s late again--his second coming this week and late too! After I roast these chestnuts over a hot fireplace. A knock comes on the door. “Must be Him,” His wife snaps. “It’s me, honey! Sorry I was late. Me and the boys were down at the local infirmary and morgue doing some physical healing and raising people from the dead,” Jesus says, but senses that the wife is irritated. “And you couldn't have sent a messenger boy to tell me where you were? Didn't they have messenger boys down there?” she asks with anger in her voice. Jesus walks over to his wife and says, “I am truly sorry for causing you this inconvenience. I will not let this happen again.” “Well, Jesus, I don’t care how much healing and raising the dead that you and the boys do, just send me a message once in a while. And oh, I heard some disturbing news about one of your crew: Judas Iscariot. Someone told that me that he is money-hungry and cannot be trusted,” Jesus’ wife explains. “Oh, ha, ha, ha,” Jesus laughs. “That Judas is a card alright. He was playing a new game with us on the way home tonight and I think he called it, “What Is My Favorite Number?” Peter guessed six; Andrew guessed ten, James thought it was seven, I just guessed THIRTY and lo and behold, I was right!” “Jesus, you are ALWAYS right. Now sit down and eat your chestnuts, unleavened bread and fresh tomatoes.”

Since Jesus was present at the Creation, if he were ever lonely as a teenager or adult and no one was around to talk to, I have often wondered if He had talks with donkeys, lambs, camels, and maybe some eagles to pass the time away?

And when Jesus and his disciples were asked into a house to dine, don’t you sometimes think that if his hosts, who actually knew who Jesus was, always asked Him to say grace over the food. And no, I am not so far out there that I would dare to think that He would say, “Thank ME for this food and water,” that is senseless of me to even say that. When He and the disciples fed the 5,000 men, women and children, he first gave thanks (to the Father), then broke the bread and multiplied the bread and fish so everyone could have something to eat. Jesus was not opposed to public prayer, but He WAS against JUST praying so your friends could hear you praying to make them think how holy you were.

I may not ever find the answers to the “Things I Have Always Wondered About Jesus,” in this present world. So I think I will prepare for myself a long list of questions that I will ask of Him upon his second advent to this earth.

And when I walk up to Him on His throne and present my list of questions to Him, I just hope and pray that He doesn't say . . .

“ . . .and you are whom?”