GETTING TO KNOW " THE MIND OF CHRIST"

Conclusion of Early Life and Influences

Jesus was raised by God-fearing parents who cared for him. His mother, Mary, was an outstanding woman. Recall that when greeting her, the angel Gabriel said: "Good day, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you." (Luke 1:28) Joseph too was a devout man. Each year he faithfully made the 90-mile journey to Jerusalem for the Passover. Mary also attended, even though only males were required to do so. (Exodus 23:17; Luke 2:41) On one such occasion, Joseph and Mary, after a diligent search, found 12-year old Jesus in the temple in the midst of the teachers. To his worried parents, Jesus said: "Did you not know that I must be in the house of my Father?" (Luke 2:49) "Father" -that word must have had a warm and positive connotation to young Jesus. For one thing, he evidently had been told that Jehovah was his real Father. In addition, Joseph must have been a good adoptive father to Jesus. Surely Jehovah would not have selected a harsh or cruel man to raise his dear Son!

During his last years in Nazareth, Jesus learned the carpentry trade, likely from his adoptive father, Joseph. Jesus so mastered the craft that he himself was called "the carpenter." (Mark 6:3) In Bible times, carpenters were employed in building houses, constructing furniture (including tables and making farming implements. In his Dialogue With Trypho, Justin Martyr, of the second century C.E., wrote of Jesus: "He was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes." Such work was not easy, for the ancient carpenter probably could not buy his wood. More likely, he went out and selected a tree, swung his ax,and carried the wood home. So Jesus may have known the challengers of earning a living, dealing with customers and making ends meet.

As the oldest son, Jesus probably helped to care for the family, particularly since it appears that Joseph died before Jesus. Zion's Watchtower of January 1, 1900, said: "Tradition declares that Joseph died while Jesus was yet young, and that the latter took up the carpenter's trade and became the support of the family. this finds some support in the Scriptural testimony where Jesus himself is called a carpenter, and his mother and brethren are mentioned, but Joseph is ignored. (Mark 6:3) . . . It is quite probable,then,that the long periods of eighteen years of our Lord's life, from the time of the incident [recorded at Luke 2:41-49] to the time of his baptism, was spent in the performance of the ordinary duties of life." Mary and her children, including Jesus,likely knew the a pain that results when a beloved husband and father dies.

Clearly, Jesus was not born into a cushioned life. Rather, he experienced firsthand the life of ordinary people. Then, in 29 C.E., the time came for Jesus to carry out the divine assignment awaiting him. In the fall of that year, he was baptized in water and was begotten as a spiritual Son of God. 'The heavens were opened up to him,' evidently indicating that he could now recall his prehuman life in heaven, including the thoughts and feelings that went with it. (Luke 3:21, 22) So when Jesus embarked on his ministry, it was with knowledge, insight and depth of feeling that no other man could have had. With good reason, the Gospel writers devoted most of their writings to the events of Jesus' ministry. Even so, they could not record everything he said and did. (John 21:25) But what they were inspired to record enables us to peer into the mind of the greatest man who ever lived.

Next time: What Jesus Was Like as a Person

Watchtower, 2000