The Childhood of Jesus

Preface

This preface was given on July 22, 1843 to Jakob Lorber, whom He chose as the organ for this work, and May 9, 1851 as an introduction to the story of Christ’s life as a youth.

 Point 1

I, Jesus, lived until My thirtieth year in times that are well-known to all, just like any other boy who was well brought up. I became a youth, I became a man, and like any other human being I had to first awaken the divinity within through the lifestyle of the times, in accordance with Mosaic law.

As with any other respectable human being, I had to first begin to believe in a God; then with all conceivable self-denial, I had to constantly seize Him with a more powerful love and gradually and completely make Myself subject to the divinity.

Therefore, I was, as the Lord Himself, a living example for every person, and that is why everyone can attract Me as I attracted the divinity within Me. Of course, mankind can, of its own accord, become completely one with Me through love and belief, just as I as a God-man in all the infinite abundance am completely One with the divinity.

 Point 2

Regarding the question of the miracles of My childhood and My divine spiritual activities and isolated existence as a human being in My years as a youth and man, and the miracles which I performed in these years, all you have to do is think of Me as a human being and then look at a tree from spring to autumn, and you will find the answer.

In the spring the tree blossoms in a wonderful way and is controlled by great activity. After all the blossoms have fallen to the ground, the tree appears to be inactive. Towards autumn the tree again appears in full activity — the wonderful fruit is seasoned and colored and is more beautiful than the blossoms were before. When the fruit is ripe and the blessings which have been given to the fruit are getting rid of its bonds, it falls as such into the lap of hungry children.

You will be able to comprehend all this with the eyes of the heart but never with the eyes of the worldly intellect. The areas which are questionable can be easily explained without getting too close to My divinity, only by holding onto it with the belief in your heart, which is a light of God’s love. As you become pure of heart, the complete unification of the fullness of the divinity with Me, Jesus, as the human being, does not occur all at once, just as everything under the guidance of God does not occur immediately. This only occurs gradually, just like the successive awakening of the divine spirit in the human heart, which could only occur through My death on the cross, even though the divinity lived already in all its fullness in Me as the child Jesus. This divinity only emerged to perform miracles when it became absolutely necessary.

 Point 3

My physical death was the greatest condescension of the divinity into the judgment of all matter, and this established and made an entirely new relationship between Creator and creature possible.

Only through My death did God Himself become completely human, and the created human being became through the highest divine grace a newly created child of God, a God; and he can now as a creature stand face to face with his Creator in His perfected image and see, speak, recognize, and love his God, Creator, and Father above all and gain the consummate, eternal, indestructible life in God, out of God, and beside God. Through this, Satan’s power (better expressed: Satan’s will) was also broken to the extent that he can no longer prevent the divinity from completely approaching a human being and vice versa.

This can also be expressed in a much shorter way: A human being can now, through My death, fraternize completely with God, and it is no longer possible for Satan to step in between. That is why it is also written when the women visited My grave, “Go and tell My brothers.” The activities of Satan in an external form might still be noticeable; the curtain, however, between the divinity and human beings that has been torn can never be erected again by Satan and thereby reestablish the old insurmountable chasm between God and human beings.

The short explanation of this matter can now easily be seen by every thinking human being in his heart, and the infinite benefit of My physical death should now be clearly understood. Amen!

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Description

(c) Recorded by Jakob Lorber through the Inner Word, this is the First Chapter of The Childhood of Jesus.

 

The Gospel of James Concerning The Childhood of Jesus.
The Biographical Gospel of the Lord from the Time that Joseph took Mary into his House.

 

July 22, 1843

James, a son of Joseph, recorded all the events in this Epistle. But in time his writings were so greatly distorted that they could no longer be accepted as authentic and included in the Scriptures. I shall give you the original Gospel of James. I shall begin, however, with the above mentioned time period, for James also recorded Mary’s biography from the time of her birth, as well as Joseph’s biography, which are not part of these writings. Now then, begin to record the first chapter:[1]

 

Chapter 1

Joseph the Carpenter. The Lottery.
Mary Leaves the Temple. God’s Testimony about Joseph.
Joseph’s Prayer. Mary in Joseph’s House.

 

Joseph was busy building a house in the region between Nazareth and Jerusalem. A distinguished citizen from Jerusalem had this house built to serve as a hostel, because there was no shelter for the Nazarenes between Nazareth and Jerusalem.

Mary, who had been raised in the temple, had become mature and was now ready in accordance with Mosaic law to leave the temple.

For this reason, messengers were sent into all of Judea with this message to summon the fathers. If one of these fathers was found worthy, he was to take the maiden into his household.

When the message reached Joseph that a maiden was ready to leave the temple, he immediately set his axe aside and hurried to Jerusalem; and he went to the particular meeting and council chambers in the temple.

After three days when the applicants met again at the designated place, each candidate for Mary, as it was previously agreed upon, handed the priest the fresh stem of a lily. Whereupon, the priest went immediately with these little stems to the sanctuary of the temple where he prayed.

After he had completed his prayer, he left the sanctuary and returned with the stems and returned one to each candidate.

It did not take long before all the stems became spotted, and only Joseph’s, which was the last one the priest had handed back, remained fresh without any blemishes.

Some of those present, however, were in disagreement and declared this a prejudicial test and therefore invalid, and they demanded another test, one that was above reproach.

The priest was somewhat annoyed by this development, and he immediately sent for Mary; he placed a dove in her hands and asked her to step into the center of all the candidates and while there to set the dove free.

But before Mary could do so, he spoke to the candidates, “Behold, you false interpreters of Jehovah’s signs! The dove is an innocent, pure animal and does not understand our discussion. Instead, it lives solely in accordance with the will of the Lord, and it only understands the almighty language of God.

“Hold your stems high enough so that when the maiden releases the dove it can settle on one of them; and on whoever’s stem the dove settles and from there flies on one of your heads, he is the one who will take Mary home.”

The candidates were satisfied with this solution and said, “Yes, this is unmistakably an acceptable sign.”

At the behest of the priest, Mary released the dove and it flew directly to Joseph and settled on the stem, and then it flew onto Joseph’s head.

Whereupon the priest said, “That is the Lord’s will! You are an honest craftsman and you have been chosen unquestionably to be the one to receive the Virgin of the Lord. Take her in the name of the Lord into your unblemished house under your protection now and forever. Amen!”

After Joseph had heard these words, he said to the priest, “Listen, O anointed servant of the Lord, in accordance with Mosaic laws, the faithful servant of the Lord God Zebaoth, I am already an old man. I have grown sons at home and have been a widower for a long time. I shall be the object of ridicule to the sons of Israel if I take this maiden into my house.

“Therefore, select someone else, and when you do, let me remain outside, so that I will not be counted among the candidates!”

At this point, the priest raised his hand and said to Joseph, “Joseph! Fear God the Lord! Do you not know what he did to Dathan, Korah, and Abiram? Behold, the earth opened up, and because of their rebelliousness, devoured them all! Do you think He could not do the same to you?

“I tell you: You have seen and perceived Jehovah’s sign — it was completely clear, there was no error! Therefore, obey the Lord, who is almighty and just, for He always punishes those who are against His will and who defect and are obstinate.

“On the other hand, be severely afraid when you are in your house, that the Lord does not do the same to your house as he did to Dathan, Korah, and Abiram.”

These words frightened Joseph severely, and while in great fear, he said to the priest, “Pray for me so that the Lord will again be gracious and merciful towards me and then give me the Virgin of the Lord in accordance with His will.”

Whereupon the priest went to the sanctuary and prayed for Joseph before the Holy of Holies, and, while he was praying, the Lord spoke to the priest, “Do not cause any grief for this man whom I have chosen, because there is no one more righteous in all of Israel, and there is also no one in the entire world, and no one before My eternal throne in all the heavens.

“Go and give him the maiden which I Myself have raised for the most righteous man on earth.”

Here the priest smote his chest and said, “O Lord, almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, be merciful for I am a sinner, because now I realize that You will strike Your people!”

Whereupon the priest rose and with blessings in the name of the Lord he gave the maiden to the frightened Joseph.

The priest said to him, “Joseph, you are righteous before the Lord — that is why He has chosen you among many thousands! May you go in peace, Amen!”

Joseph accepted Mary and said, “May the holy will of my God, my Lord, always be done. O Lord, what You give is always good; therefore, I shall gladly and willingly accept this gift from Your hand. But bless her for me and for herself, so that I am worthy of her before You now, as always. Your will be done, Amen!”

After Joseph had said that before the Lord, he felt strengthened in his heart. He left the temple with Mary and took her to the region of Nazareth into his humble house.

But when he came home, there was quite an amount of work waiting for Joseph; that is why he wasted no time, and he said to Mary, “Behold, Mary, I have taken you in accordance with God’s will from the temple of the Lord, my God. But I cannot stay with you now and protect you. I have to leave you here, for I must finish building the house as I promised at the location which I showed you on our journey here.

“You will not, however, be alone. I have a close relative, who is my housekeeper; she is devout and just, and she will be here, as will my youngest son, and the grace of God and His blessing will not leave you either.

“I shall be home with my four sons very soon, and I shall be a guide to you in the ways of the Lord. God the Lord will now watch over you and my house. Amen!”

 

[1]Here Jesus is speaking directly to Lorber. – Trans.

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