Have you ever wondered what Jesus was like as a young boy and as a teenager? The canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) do not go into this at all, but rather expound on Jesus' ministry and the miracles, and of course the passion. There is a little known book that circulated around the Roman Empire in about 185 AD., which fills in the gaps between when Jesus was born, and when his ministry began. The book is called 'The Infancy Gospel Of Thomas.' In this book, the boy Jesus is a bit dark and moody. In the Infancy Gospel, Jesus at age 5 is down by the river Jordan playing in the sand. Neighbors complained to Joseph that this was unacceptable behavior as it was the sabbath. Joseph goes down to the river and chastises Jesus for playing in the sand, and asks what he is making. Jesus shows Joseph that he is making sparrows out of the sand. Joseph tells Jesus to follow him home, and with a sigh Jesus stands up and claps his hands. At that instant, the sparrows turned to life and flew away. Joseph had the look of astonishment on his face, and Jesus turned to him and said, "Remember this of me."
Another story has Joseph being berated by an unsatisfied customer, and not being able to take it anymore, Jesus blinds the man and he goes running out of Joseph's shop.
Jesus is playing on a rooftop with a playmate named Zenan. Some villagers down below sees Jesus push poor Zenan off of the rooftop and the boy dies. Jesus makes his way off of the roof and checks on his friend who is motionless. The crowd that has gathered begins to shout at Jesus and blames him for killing the boy. Jesus denies the accusation, and then raises the boy from the dead in front of the crowd. Jesus asks the boy if he was pushed off of the roof, and the boy replies, "No lord, you had nothing to do with my death."
As Jesus approaches his teenage years he becomes more like the Jesus we know from the bible. He begins to heal villagers, including his brother James who was bit by a poisonous viper. Joseph, complains that he cut one board to short and was lamenting how he would have to start all over again, and Jesus takes the board and stretches it to the proper length.
This book was too fantastical to be considered for inclusion into the holy bible. Birds coming to life, raising the dead at age 7, blinding people. These were things that were not going to make it in the Christian faith we know today. One odd thing is that what the Christians considered heretical, the Muslims saw as divine. You will find parts of the Infancy Gospel in the Koran.
For more about the Infancy Gospel Of Thomas follow this link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infancy_…
Did you know that at the time the bible was being put together, two versions of the Apocalypse were being considered. There is the one we all know which was the Revelation of St. John, but there was another called The Apocalypse Of Peter.
Here, we are shown a hell were the punishment really does fit the crime. Liars are hung by their tongues, fornicators are hung by their testicles, etc. What made this book unique was the ideal of universal salvation. It was this thought that doomed it from making into the holy bible. The story goes that Peter was talking to Jesus about the end times, and Jesus showed him all these terrible punishments taking place in Hell. Jesus could tell that Peter was mortified by what he saw, and he asks Peter to keep an important secret. He tells Peter that some Angels in heaven already complained to God that they could see the suffering going on down in hell, and that it was too much, even for them, to bear. God tells the Angels to take heart, that he was eventually going to reprieve all damned souls in Hell. Now Jesus tells Peter not to breath a word of this, lest people start sinning like crazy because they know that they will eventually be saved anyway.
For more about The Apocalypse Of Peter follow this link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyp…
My continued prayers to my friends Canan, Mia, Thelma, Minna, Chas, and Shell
To my friends and watchers I wish you a wonderful and prosperous week ahead...
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