유란시아 책
IV 부. 예수의 생애와 교훈
Paper 123
The Early Childhood of Jesus
The Early Childhood of Jesus
베들레헴에 머물면서 맛본 불안정과 염려 때문에, 알렉산드리아에 안전하게 도착할 때까지, 마리아는 아기에게 젖을 떼지 않았고, 이 가족은 거기에 정착해서 정상으로 생활을 할 수 있게 됐다. 그들은 친척들과 함께 살았고, 요셉은 도착한 후 얼마 되지 않아서 안정된 일자리를 얻었으므로, 가족을 잘 부양할 수 있었다. 그는 몇 달 동안 목수로 고용되어 일하다가, 당시에 건축 중이던 어느 공공건물에 고용된, 큰 집단의 인부를 감독하는 직책으로 승진했다. 새로운 이 체험은 요셉이 나사렛으로 돌아온 후에, 하청업자 및 건축업자가 되는 계기가 됐다.
123:0.1 (1355.1)
OWING to the uncertainties and anxieties of their sojourn in Bethlehem, Mary did not wean the babe until they had arrived safely in Alexandria, where the family was able to settle down to a normal life. They lived with kinsfolk, and Joseph was well able to support his family as he secured work shortly after their arrival. He was employed as a carpenter for several months and then elevated to the position of foreman of a large group of workmen employed on one of the public buildings then in process of construction. This new experience gave him the idea of becoming a contractor and builder after their return to Nazareth.
예수가 무기력한 아기였던 이 처음 몇 해 동안 내내, 마리아는 앞으로 이 세상에서 이뤄야 할 그의 사명을 어떤 방법으로든지 방해하거나, 아이의 복지를 위태롭게 할지도 모를 어떤 일이 생기지 않도록, 시종일관 계속 가까이서 돌봤으며;어떤 어머니도 마리아보다 더 아이에게 헌신적일 수 없었을 것이다. 예수가 우연히 살게 됐던 그 집에는, 마침 비슷한 나이의 아이가 둘 있었고, 가까운 이웃 가운데에도, 놀이-동무로 받아들일 만큼 비슷한 또래의 다른 여섯 아이가 있었다. 처음에 마리아는 늘 예수를 곁에 가까이 두려고 했다. 마리아는 예수가 다른 아이들과 마당에서 놀도록 허락하면 어떤 일이 생길지도 모른다고 걱정했지만, 요셉은 친척의 도움을 받아서, 그렇게 하는 것은, 같은 또래 아이들에게 어떻게 적응하는지 배우는 유익한 체험을 예수에게서 빼앗을 수 있다고 마리아를 설득했다. 그리고 마리아도, 과도한 격리와 유별난 보호의 그런 계획이, 어쩌면 그를 수줍어하고 어느 정도 자기-중심적이 되게 만들 수도 있다는 것을 깨닫고, 결국 이 약속의 아이를 다른 보통 아이들처럼 자라게 허락하자는 계획에 동의했으며;이런 결정에 순종했지만, 마리아는 아이들이 집 주변과 마당에서 노는 동안 항상 지켜보는 것을 일과로 삼았다. 깊은 애정을 지닌 어머니만이, 갓난아기 때와 어린아이 시절 동안 아들의 안전 때문에 항상 마음에 품고 다녔던, 마리아의 그 무거운 짐을 알 수 있을 것이다.
123:0.2 (1355.2)
All through these early years of Jesus’ helpless infancy, Mary maintained one long and constant vigil lest anything befall her child which might jeopardize his welfare or in any way interfere with his future mission on earth; no mother was ever more devoted to her child. In the home where Jesus chanced to be there were two other children about his age, and among the near neighbors there were six others whose ages were sufficiently near his own to make them acceptable play-fellows. At first Mary was disposed to keep Jesus close by her side. She feared something might happen to him if he were allowed to play in the garden with the other children, but Joseph, with the assistance of his kinsfolk, was able to convince her that such a course would deprive Jesus of the helpful experience of learning how to adjust himself to children of his own age. And Mary, realizing that such a program of undue sheltering and unusual protection might tend to make him self-conscious and somewhat self-centered, finally gave assent to the plan of permitting the child of promise to grow up just like any other child; and though she was obedient to this decision, she made it her business always to be on watch while the little folks were at play about the house or in the garden. Only an affectionate mother can know the burden that Mary carried in her heart for the safety of her son during these years of his infancy and early childhood.
그들이 알렉산드리아에 머물렀던 2년 내내, 예수는 건강을 누렸고 계속 정상적으로 자라났다. 몇몇 친구와 친척을 제외하고는, 누구에게도 예수가 “약속의 아이”라는 사실을 말하지 않았다. 요셉의 친척 가운데 한 사람이, 멤피스에서 이크나톤의 먼 후예인 몇몇 친구들에게 이것을 누설했으며, 나사렛 가족이 팔레스틴으로 돌아가기 직전에, 그들은 알렉산드리아에서 작은 무리의 신자{信者}들과 함께 요셉의 친척이자-후원자의 호화로운 집에 모여서, 나사렛 가족이 평안하기를 소망했고 아이에게 경의를 표했다. 이때 모였던 친구들이, 히브리 성서의 그리스어 번역판 사본 전권{全卷}을 예수에게 선물로 줬다. 그러나 유대인의 신성시되는 문서의 이 사본은, 이집트에 남아있기를 바라는 멤피스와 알렉산드리아 친구들의 청을 요셉과 마리아가 마침내 사양할 때까지, 요셉의 손에 들어오지 않았다. 이 신자들은, 운명의 아이가 팔레스틴의 어떤 이름난 장소보다 알렉산드리아에 거주함으로써, 이 세계에 더 큰 영향력을 발휘할 수 있을 것이라고 주장했다. 이런 설득 때문에, 헤롯이 죽었다는 소식을 접한 후에도, 그들은 팔레스틴으로 떠나는 일을 얼마 동안 연기했다.
123:0.3 (1355.3)
Throughout the two years of their sojourn at Alexandria, Jesus enjoyed good health and continued to grow normally. Aside from a few friends and relatives no one was told about Jesus’ being a “child of promise.” One of Joseph’s relatives revealed this to a few friends in Memphis, descendants of the distant Ikhnaton, and they, with a small group of Alexandrian believers, assembled at the palatial home of Joseph’s relative-benefactor a short time before the return to Palestine to wish the Nazareth family well and to pay their respects to the child. On this occasion the assembled friends presented Jesus with a complete copy of the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. But this copy of the Jewish sacred writings was not placed in Joseph’s hands until both he and Mary had finally declined the invitation of their Memphis and Alexandrian friends to remain in Egypt. These believers insisted that the child of destiny would be able to exert a far greater world influence as a resident of Alexandria than of any designated place in Palestine. These persuasions delayed their departure for Palestine for some time after they received the news of Herod’s death.
123:0.4 (1356.1)
Joseph and Mary finally took leave of Alexandria on a boat belonging to their friend Ezraeon, bound for Joppa, arriving at that port late in August of the year 4 b.c. They went directly to Bethlehem, where they spent the entire month of September in counsel with their friends and relatives concerning whether they should remain there or return to Nazareth.
마리아는, 예수가 다윗의 성읍인 베들레헴에서 성장해야한다는 생각을 온전히 포기한 적이 한 번도 없었다. 요셉은, 아이가 자라서 이스라엘의 왕으로서 구원자가 될 것을 정말로 믿지는 않았다. 게다가, 자신이 실제 다윗 자손이 아님을 알고 있었으며;자기가 다윗의 족보에 포함된 것은, 조상 가운데 한사람이 다윗 혈통 후손의 가문에 입양됐기 때문인 것도 잘 알고 있었다. 물론, 마리아는 다윗의 왕위를 이을 새 계승자가 양육되기에는 다윗의 성읍이 가장 적합한 곳이라고 생각했지만, 요셉은 헤롯 안티파스의 형제인 아켈라오 보다는 헤롯 안티파스와 함께 있게 되기를 더 바랬다. 그는 베들레헴이나 유대지방의 어떤 다른 도시 경우에도 아이의 안전에 대해 매우 염려할 수밖에 없었으며, 갈릴리를 다스리는 안티파스보다는, 아켈라오가 그의 아버지 헤롯의 위협적인 통치 방법을 더 추구할 것이라고 짐작했다. 그리고 이런 모든 이유 외에도, 요셉은 그 아이를 기르고 교육할 곳으로는 갈릴리가 더 좋은 장소라고 주장했으나, 반대하는 마리아를 설득하기까지 3주가 걸렸다.
123:0.5 (1356.2)
Mary had never fully given up the idea that Jesus ought to grow up in Bethlehem, the City of David. Joseph did not really believe that their son was to become a kingly deliverer of Israel. Besides, he knew that he himself was not really a descendant of David; that his being reckoned among the offspring of David was due to the adoption of one of his ancestors into the Davidic line of descent. Mary, of course, thought the City of David the most appropriate place in which the new candidate for David’s throne could be reared, but Joseph preferred to take chances with Herod Antipas rather than with his brother Archelaus. He entertained great fears for the child’s safety in Bethlehem or in any other city in Judea, and surmised that Archelaus would be more likely to pursue the menacing policies of his father, Herod, than would Antipas in Galilee. And besides all these reasons, Joseph was outspoken in his preference for Galilee as a better place in which to rear and educate the child, but it required three weeks to overcome Mary’s objections.
10월 1일 경에, 요셉은 나사렛으로 돌아가는 것이 최선이라고 마리아와 모든 친구들을 설득했다. 따라서 그들은, 기원전 4년 10월 초에 베들레헴을 떠났고, 리다와 스키토폴리스를 거쳐서 나사렛으로 갔다. 어느 일요일 아침 일찍 출발했는데, 마리아와 아이는 짐을 나르는 새로 구입한 짐승을 탔고, 요셉과 다섯 친척은 걸어갔으며;요셉의 친척은, 저희가 나사렛으로 홀로 여행하도록 허락하지 않았다. 예루살렘과 요단 계곡을 거쳐서 갈릴리로 가기를 두려워했고, 서쪽으로 가는 길도 어린 나이의 아이와 함께 두 명만의 여행자가 가기에는 결코 안전하지 못했다.
123:0.6 (1356.3)
By the first of October Joseph had convinced Mary and all their friends that it was best for them to return to Nazareth. Accordingly, early in October, 4 b.c., they departed from Bethlehem for Nazareth, going by way of Lydda and Scythopolis. They started out early one Sunday morning, Mary and the child riding on their newly acquired beast of burden, while Joseph and five accompanying kinsmen proceeded on foot; Joseph’s relatives refused to permit them to make the trip to Nazareth alone. They feared to go to Galilee by Jerusalem and the Jordan valley, and the western routes were not altogether safe for two lone travelers with a child of tender years.
여행한 지 4일째 되던 날에, 일행은 안전하게 목적지에 당도했다. 아무런 예고 없이 나사렛 집에 도착했고, 그 집에는 요셉의 결혼한 형제 가운데 하나가 3년 넘게 살고 있었는데, 그들을 보자 무척 놀랐으며;일을 매우 은밀히 추진했기 때문에, 요셉의 가족은 물론 마리아 쪽도, 그들이 알렉산드리아를 떠난 것조차 모르고 있었다. 이튿날 요셉의 형제가 자기 가족과 함께 이사했고, 마리아는 예수가 태어난 후 처음으로 단출한 가족끼리 자기 집에서 지내는 생활을 즐기면서 정착했다. 요셉은 한 주가 지나기 전에 목수로서 일감을 확보했고, 그들은 무척 행복했다.
123:1.1 (1356.4)
On the fourth day of the journey the party reached its destination in safety. They arrived unannounced at the Nazareth home, which had been occupied for more than three years by one of Joseph’s married brothers, who was indeed surprised to see them; so quietly had they gone about their business that neither the family of Joseph nor that of Mary knew they had even left Alexandria. The next day Joseph’s brother moved his family, and Mary, for the first time since Jesus’ birth, settled down with her little family to enjoy life in their own home. In less than a week Joseph secured work as a carpenter, and they were supremely happy.
123:1.2 (1356.5)
Jesus was about three years and two months old at the time of their return to Nazareth. He had stood all these travels very well and was in excellent health and full of childish glee and excitement at having premises of his own to run about in and to enjoy. But he greatly missed the association of his Alexandrian playmates.
123:1.3 (1356.6)
On the way to Nazareth Joseph had persuaded Mary that it would be unwise to spread the word among their Galilean friends and relatives that Jesus was a child of promise. They agreed to refrain from all mention of these matters to anyone. And they were both very faithful in keeping this promise.
123:1.4 (1357.1)
Jesus’ entire fourth year was a period of normal physical development and of unusual mental activity. Meantime he had formed a very close attachment for a neighbor boy about his own age named Jacob. Jesus and Jacob were always happy in their play, and they grew up to be great friends and loyal companions.
123:1.5 (1357.2)
The next important event in the life of this Nazareth family was the birth of the second child, James, in the early morning hours of April 2, 3 b.c. Jesus was thrilled by the thought of having a baby brother, and he would stand around by the hour just to observe the baby’s early activities.
같은 해 한여름에 요셉은, 마을의 공동 우물과 대상{隊商}들이 묵어가는 장소 근처에 작은 작업장을 지었다. 이후로 날이 갈수록 그는 목수 일을 거의 하지 않았다. 두 형제 및 기술자 몇 사람과 연합했고, 그들을 일하러 내보낸 동안, 작업장에 남아서 멍에나 쟁기 등을 만들거나 다른 목공일을 했다. 가죽을 가공하고 밧줄과 천막 만드는 일을 하기도 했다. 예수는 자라면서 학교에 가지 않을 때에는 어머니의 집안일을 돕는 데, 그리고 아버지가 가게에서 일하는 것을 구경하면서, 사방에서 오는 대상 안내자와 여행객들의 대화와 잡담에 귀 기울이는 데 거의 똑같은 시간을 보냈다.
123:1.6 (1357.3)
It was midsummer of this same year that Joseph built a small workshop close to the village spring and near the caravan tarrying lot. After this he did very little carpenter work by the day. He had as associates two of his brothers and several other mechanics, whom he sent out to work while he remained at the shop making yokes and plows and doing other woodwork. He also did some work in leather and with rope and canvas. And Jesus, as he grew up, when not at school, spent his time about equally between helping his mother with home duties and watching his father work at the shop, meanwhile listening to the conversation and gossip of the caravan conductors and passengers from the four corners of the earth.
123:1.7 (1357.4)
In July of this year, one month before Jesus was four years old, an outbreak of malignant intestinal trouble spread over all Nazareth from contact with the caravan travelers. Mary became so alarmed by the danger of Jesus being exposed to this epidemic of disease that she bundled up both her children and fled to the country home of her brother, several miles south of Nazareth on the Megiddo road near Sarid. They did not return to Nazareth for more than two months; Jesus greatly enjoyed this, his first experience on a farm.
나사렛으로 돌아온 후 1년 조금 넘었을 때, 소년 예수는 개인적으로 그리고 진심으로 첫 도덕적 결정을 내릴 나이에 이르렀으며;낙원 아버지의 거룩한 선물인 사고 섭리사가 예수 안에 거하려고 도래했는데, 이 섭리사는 전에 마키벤타 멜기세덱과 함께 복무한 적이 있었고, 그리하여 필사자를-초월하는 존재가 필사 육신과 똑같은 모습으로 사는 육신화와 관련해서 활동하는 체험을 획득했다. 이 사건은 기원전 2년 2월 11일에 일어났다. 예수는 신성한 관찰자가 자신에게 온 것을 자각하지 못했으며, 그날 이전이나 이후에, 수많은 다른 아이의 정신 속에 거하면서 그 정신의 궁극적 영화{靈化}를 위하여 일하고, 그의 진화하는 불멸{不滅}하는 혼의 영원한 생존을 위하여 일하도록, 이 사고 섭리사를 받아들이는 그들과 마찬가지였다.
123:2.1 (1357.5)
In something more than a year after the return to Nazareth the boy Jesus arrived at the age of his first personal and wholehearted moral decision; and there came to abide with him a Thought Adjuster, a divine gift of the Paradise Father, which had aforetime served with Machiventa Melchizedek, thus gaining the experience of functioning in connection with the incarnation of a supermortal being living in the likeness of mortal flesh. This event occurred on February 11, 2 b.c. Jesus was no more aware of the coming of the divine Monitor than are the millions upon millions of other children who, before and since that day, have likewise received these Thought Adjusters to indwell their minds and work for the ultimate spiritualization of these minds and the eternal survival of their evolving immortal souls.
123:2.2 (1357.6)
On this day in February the direct and personal supervision of the Universe Rulers, as it was related to the integrity of the childlike incarnation of Michael, terminated. From that time on throughout the human unfolding of the incarnation, the guardianship of Jesus was destined to rest in the keeping of this indwelling Adjuster and the associated seraphic guardians, supplemented from time to time by the ministry of midway creatures assigned for the performance of certain definite duties in accordance with the instruction of their planetary superiors.
예수는 같은 해 8월에 다섯 살이 됐으며, 따라서 우리는 이때를 그의 생애에서 (달력으로) 다섯 살 되던 해라고 부를 것이다. 기원전 2년인 이 해에, 예수의 다섯 번째 생일을 한 달 남짓 남겨놓은 날인 7월 11일 밤에, 예수는 여동생 미리암의 탄생을 무척 기뻐했다. 이튿날 저녁에, 예수는 다양한 종류의 세상 생명체가 각기 독자적인 개체로서 태어나는 방식에 관해, 아버지와 긴 이야기를 나눴다. 예수의 어린 시절 교육 중에서 가장 중요한 부분은, 그의 사려 깊고 탐구적인 질문에 대한 부모의 답변으로 이뤄졌다. 요셉은, 이 아이의 끝없는 질문에 시간을 할애해서 충실히 대답하는 일을 소홀히 한 적이 없었다. 예수가 다섯 살이었을 때부터 열 살 될 때까지 질문이 끊어지지 않았다. 그의 질문에 언제나 대답해 줄 수는 없었지만, 요셉과 마리아는 그럴 때마다 그의 질문에 대해 그와 함께 토론하고, 갑자기 그의 마음에 떠오른 문제에 대해 만족스런 답을 찾으려는 그의 노력에, 도움 될 만한 가능한 모든 방법을 모색했다.
123:2.3 (1357.7)
Jesus was five years old in August of this year, and we will, therefore, refer to this as his fifth (calendar) year of life. In this year, 2 b.c., a little more than one month before his fifth birthday anniversary, Jesus was made very happy by the coming of his sister Miriam, who was born on the night of July 11. During the evening of the following day Jesus had a long talk with his father concerning the manner in which various groups of living things are born into the world as separate individuals. The most valuable part of Jesus’ early education was secured from his parents in answer to his thoughtful and searching inquiries. Joseph never failed to do his full duty in taking pains and spending time answering the boy’s numerous questions. From the time Jesus was five years old until he was ten, he was one continuous question mark. While Joseph and Mary could not always answer his questions, they never failed fully to discuss his inquiries and in every other possible way to assist him in his efforts to reach a satisfactory solution of the problem which his alert mind had suggested.
나사렛으로 돌아온 후부터 이 가정은 몹시 바쁜 나날을 보냈으며, 요셉은 새 가게를 지었고 또한 일을 다시 시작하느라 평소보다 더 바쁘게 지내고 있었다. 따라서 일에 너무 매여 있느라 야고보에게는 요람을 만들어 줄 시간이 없었으나, 미리암이 태어나기 오래 전에 요셉이 미리 요람을 만들어 놨으므로, 미리암은 편안한 침대에 누워서 그 주위에 둘러선 가족의 사랑을 받았다. 그리고 어린 예수는 이런 모든 자연스럽고 정상적인 가정을 실컷 체험했다. 그는 어린 남동생 및 아기 여동생과 무척 즐겁게 지냈고, 그들을 돌보는 마리아에게 큰 힘이 됐다.
123:2.4 (1358.1)
Since returning to Nazareth, theirs had been a busy household, and Joseph had been unusually occupied building his new shop and getting his business started again. So fully was he occupied that he had found no time to build a cradle for James, but this was corrected long before Miriam came, so that she had a very comfortable crib in which to nestle while the family admired her. And the child Jesus heartily entered into all these natural and normal home experiences. He greatly enjoyed his little brother and his baby sister and was of great help to Mary in their care.
123:2.5 (1358.2)
There were few homes in the gentile world of those days that could give a child a better intellectual, moral, and religious training than the Jewish homes of Galilee. These Jews had a systematic program for rearing and educating their children. They divided a child’s life into seven stages:
123:2.13 (1358.10)
It was the custom of the Galilean Jews for the mother to bear the responsibility for a child’s training until the fifth birthday, and then, if the child were a boy, to hold the father responsible for the lad’s education from that time on. This year, therefore, Jesus entered upon the fifth stage of a Galilean Jewish child’s career, and accordingly on August 21, 2 b.c., Mary formally turned him over to Joseph for further instruction.
123:2.14 (1358.11)
Though Joseph was now assuming the direct responsibility for Jesus’ intellectual and religious education, his mother still interested herself in his home training. She taught him to know and care for the vines and flowers growing about the garden walls which completely surrounded the home plot. She also provided on the roof of the house (the summer bedroom) shallow boxes of sand in which Jesus worked out maps and did much of his early practice at writing Aramaic, Greek, and later on, Hebrew, for in time he learned to read, write, and speak, fluently, all three languages.
예수는, 어머니의 도움으로 이미 아람어의 갈릴리 사투리를 유창하게 말할 수 있었으며;이때부터 아버지가 그리스어를 가르치기 시작했다. 마리아도 그리스어를 약간 알았지만, 요셉은 아람어와 그리스어를 모두 유창하게 구사했다. 그리스어 교본으로는, 그들이 이집트를 떠나올 때 선물로 받은 히브리 성서 사본--곧 시편을 포함해서, 율법서와 예언서 전권{全卷}--이 사용됐다. 나사렛 전체에, 그리스어로 번역된 성서 전권 사본이 두 개 밖에 없었고, 그 가운데 하나를 이 목수 가정에서 갖고 있었으므로, 많은 사람이 이 집을 찾아오게 됐고, 예수는 자라면서 진지한 연구자와 신실한 구도자{求道者}를 끝없이 접할 수 있었다. 이 해가 끝나기 전에, 예수는 그 신성시되는 책을 알렉산드리아의 친구와 친척들이 자신에게 선물로 줬다는 말을 여섯 번째 생일에 듣고 나서, 이 귀중한 책의 보호관리를 맡게 됐다. 그리고 얼마 지나지 않아서 그는 쉽게 그 책을 읽을 수 있게 됐다.
123:3.1 (1359.2)
Already, with his mother’s help, Jesus had mastered the Galilean dialect of the Aramaic tongue; and now his father began teaching him Greek. Mary spoke little Greek, but Joseph was a fluent speaker of both Aramaic and Greek. The textbook for the study of the Greek language was the copy of the Hebrew scriptures—a complete version of the law and the prophets, including the Psalms—which had been presented to them on leaving Egypt. There were only two complete copies of the Scriptures in Greek in all Nazareth, and the possession of one of them by the carpenter’s family made Joseph’s home a much-sought place and enabled Jesus, as he grew up, to meet an almost endless procession of earnest students and sincere truth seekers. Before this year ended, Jesus had assumed custody of this priceless manuscript, having been told on his sixth birthday that the sacred book had been presented to him by Alexandrian friends and relatives. And in a very short time he could read it readily.
123:3.2 (1359.3)
The first great shock of Jesus’ young life occurred when he was not quite six years old. It had seemed to the lad that his father—at least his father and mother together—knew everything. Imagine, therefore, the surprise of this inquiring child, when he asked his father the cause of a mild earthquake which had just occurred, to hear Joseph say, “My son, I really do not know.” Thus began that long and disconcerting disillusionment in the course of which Jesus found out that his earthly parents were not all-wise and all-knowing.
요셉에게 처음 떠오른 생각은, 지진은 하나님이 일으킨 것이라고 예수에게 말해주는 것이었지만, 그런 대답은 더 어렵고 당황스런 질문을 즉시 야기할 것이라고, 순간적인 깨우침이 떠올랐다. 심지어 예수가 아주 어렸을 때에도, 물리적 또는 사회적 현상에 관한 질문에, 그저 아무 생각 없이 그런 것들은 모두 하나님이나 마귀의 책임이라고 대답하기가 무척 어려웠다. 정신적이고 영적인 현상에 대한 그럴듯한 설명으로서 선한 영과 악한 영에 대한 교리를, 예수도 오랫동안 기꺼이 받아들였고, 이것은 유대 민족의 일반적인 믿음과 조화를 이뤘으나, 자연계의 물리적 현상을, 그런 보이지 않는 영향력 탓으로 돌리려는 것에, 그는 아주 일찍부터 의문을 갖게 됐다.
123:3.3 (1359.4)
Joseph’s first thought was to tell Jesus that the earthquake had been caused by God, but a moment’s reflection admonished him that such an answer would immediately be provocative of further and still more embarrassing inquiries. Even at an early age it was very difficult to answer Jesus’ questions about physical or social phenomena by thoughtlessly telling him that either God or the devil was responsible. In harmony with the prevailing belief of the Jewish people, Jesus was long willing to accept the doctrine of good spirits and evil spirits as the possible explanation of mental and spiritual phenomena, but he very early became doubtful that such unseen influences were responsible for the physical happenings of the natural world.
123:3.4 (1359.5)
Before Jesus was six years of age, in the early summer of 1 b.c., Zacharias and Elizabeth and their son John came to visit the Nazareth family. Jesus and John had a happy time during this, their first visit within their memories. Although the visitors could remain only a few days, the parents talked over many things, including the future plans for their sons. While they were thus engaged, the lads played with blocks in the sand on top of the house and in many other ways enjoyed themselves in true boyish fashion.
예루살렘 근방에서 온 요한과 만난 후에, 예수는 이스라엘 역사에 대해 비상한 관심을 보이기 시작했고, 안식일 제례와 회당 설교와 연례 기념일 축제의 의미에 대해 아주 자세히 질문하기 시작했다. 아버지는 이런 모든 절기의 의미에 대해 설명해줬다. 첫째는 한겨울에 행해지는 불을 밝히는 축제였는데, 8일간 계속됐고, 첫 날 밤에 한 개의 촛불을 켜고, 매일 밤마다 등불을 한 개씩 늘려 가는 것이었으며;이것은 유다 마카비가 모세의 예배 의식을 회복한 후에 성전을 봉헌한 것을 기념하기 위한 것이었다. 다음은 이른 봄철의 부림절, 즉 에스더를 기념하고 그로 인해 이스라엘이 구출된 것을 기념하는 축제였다. 그다음에는 장엄한 유월절이 이어졌는데, 어른들은 가능할 때마다 예루살렘에 모여서 기념하는 반면, 아이들은 집에서 일주일 내내 누룩을 넣지 않은 빵만 먹어야한다는 것을 기억하곤 했다. 그다음에 수확하는 축제가 이어졌으며;마지막으로는 가장 엄숙한 절기로서, 속죄의 날인 신년{新年} 축제가 있었다. 이런 축전과 행사 중에서 어떤 것은 예수의 어린 마음으로 이해하기 어려웠으나, 이런 것들에 대해 심각하게 숙고했고, 그런 후에는, 모든 유대 민족의 연중{年中} 휴가철인, 바깥에 초막을 짓고 야영을 하면서 희락과 즐거움을 만끽하는 장막절 축제의 즐거움에 적극 참여했다.
123:3.5 (1359.6)
Having met John, who came from near Jerusalem, Jesus began to evince an unusual interest in the history of Israel and to inquire in great detail as to the meaning of the Sabbath rites, the synagogue sermons, and the recurring feasts of commemoration. His father explained to him the meaning of all these seasons. The first was the midwinter festive illumination, lasting eight days, starting out with one candle the first night and adding one each successive night; this commemorated the dedication of the temple after the restoration of the Mosaic services by Judas Maccabee. Next came the early springtime celebration of Purim, the feast of Esther and Israel’s deliverance through her. Then followed the solemn Passover, which the adults celebrated in Jerusalem whenever possible, while at home the children would remember that no leavened bread was to be eaten for the whole week. Later came the feast of the first-fruits, the harvest ingathering; and last, the most solemn of all, the feast of the new year, the day of atonement. While some of these celebrations and observances were difficult for Jesus’ young mind to understand, he pondered them seriously and then entered fully into the joy of the feast of tabernacles, the annual vacation season of the whole Jewish people, the time when they camped out in leafy booths and gave themselves up to mirth and pleasure.
123:3.6 (1360.1)
During this year Joseph and Mary had trouble with Jesus about his prayers. He insisted on talking to his heavenly Father much as he would talk to Joseph, his earthly father. This departure from the more solemn and reverent modes of communication with Deity was a bit disconcerting to his parents, especially to his mother, but there was no persuading him to change; he would say his prayers just as he had been taught, after which he insisted on having “just a little talk with my Father in heaven.”
123:3.7 (1360.2)
In June of this year Joseph turned the shop in Nazareth over to his brothers and formally entered upon his work as a builder. Before the year was over, the family income had more than trebled. Never again, until after Joseph’s death, did the Nazareth family feel the pinch of poverty. The family grew larger and larger, and they spent much money on extra education and travel, but always Joseph’s increasing income kept pace with the growing expenses.
123:3.8 (1360.3)
The next few years Joseph did considerable work at Cana, Bethlehem (of Galilee), Magdala, Nain, Sepphoris, Capernaum, and Endor, as well as much building in and near Nazareth. As James grew up to be old enough to help his mother with the housework and care of the younger children, Jesus made frequent trips away from home with his father to these surrounding towns and villages. Jesus was a keen observer and gained much practical knowledge from these trips away from home; he was assiduously storing up knowledge regarding man and the way he lived on earth.
이 해에, 가족의 협동과 가정 규율의 요구사항에 대해, 예수는 강한 느낌과 왕성한 자극을 조절하는 데 많은 진보를 보였다. 마리아는 자애로운 어머니였으나 상당히 엄격하게 규율을 지키는 사람이었다. 그러나 여러 면에서 예수를 더 많이 통제하는 역할을 요셉이 했는데, 이는 소년과 함께 앉아서, 가족 전체의 번영과 평안을 위해 개인의 욕망을 자제하는 훈련이 왜 필요한지, 그 참된 근본적 이유를 충분히 설명하는 것이 그의 습관이었기 때문이다. 그 상황이 다 설명되면 예수는 늘 총명하게 기꺼이, 부모가 소망하는 것과 가족의 규칙에 협조했다.
123:3.9 (1360.4)
This year Jesus made great progress in adjusting his strong feelings and vigorous impulses to the demands of family co-operation and home discipline. Mary was a loving mother but a fairly strict disciplinarian. In many ways, however, Joseph exerted the greater control over Jesus as it was his practice to sit down with the boy and fully explain the real and underlying reasons for the necessity of disciplinary curtailment of personal desires in deference to the welfare and tranquillity of the entire family. When the situation had been explained to Jesus, he was always intelligently and willingly co-operative with parental wishes and family regulations.
123:3.10 (1360.5)
Much of his spare time—when his mother did not require his help about the house—was spent studying the flowers and plants by day and the stars by night. He evinced a troublesome penchant for lying on his back and gazing wonderingly up into the starry heavens long after his usual bedtime in this well-ordered Nazareth household.
123:4.2 (1361.2)
The play life of Jewish children in the times of Jesus was rather circumscribed; all too often the children played at the more serious things they observed their elders doing. They played much at weddings and funerals, ceremonies which they so frequently saw and which were so spectacular. They danced and sang but had few organized games, such as children of later days so much enjoy.
123:4.3 (1361.3)
Jesus, in company with a neighbor boy and later his brother James, delighted to play in the far corner of the family carpenter shop, where they had great fun with the shavings and the blocks of wood. It was always difficult for Jesus to comprehend the harm of certain sorts of play which were forbidden on the Sabbath, but he never failed to conform to his parents’ wishes. He had a capacity for humor and play which was afforded little opportunity for expression in the environment of his day and generation, but up to the age of fourteen he was cheerful and lighthearted most of the time.
이때까지 예수가 유일하게 겪은 실제 사고는, 천막으로 지붕을 만든 침실로 올라가는 뒷마당 돌계단에서 떨어진 것이었다. 이것은 예기치 못했던 7월의 모래폭풍이 동쪽에서 불어오는 동안에 발생했다. 고운 모래 돌풍을 동반하는 이 뜨거운 바람은, 대개 우기{雨期}에 불어왔고, 3월과 4월에 특히 심했다. 그런 폭풍이 7월에 분 것은 이례적이었다. 그 폭풍이 몰려왔을 때 예수는 습관처럼 지붕 위에서 놀고 있었는데, 건기{乾期} 중에는 이곳이 그의 익숙한 놀이터였기 때문이다. 그는 지붕에서 내려오다가, 모래 때문에 앞이 보이지 않아 계단에서 떨어졌다. 이 사고가 있은 후, 요셉은 계단 양옆에 난간을 설치했다.
123:4.5 (1361.5)
The only real accident Jesus had up to this time was a fall down the back-yard stone stairs which led up to the canvas-roofed bedroom. It happened during an unexpected July sandstorm from the east. The hot winds, carrying blasts of fine sand, usually blew during the rainy season, especially in March and April. It was extraordinary to have such a storm in July. When the storm came up, Jesus was on the housetop playing, as was his habit, for during much of the dry season this was his accustomed playroom. He was blinded by the sand when descending the stairs and fell. After this accident Joseph built a balustrade up both sides of the stairway.
123:4.6 (1361.6)
There was no way in which this accident could have been prevented. It was not chargeable to neglect by the midway temporal guardians, one primary and one secondary midwayer having been assigned to the watchcare of the lad; neither was it chargeable to the guardian seraphim. It simply could not have been avoided. But this slight accident, occurring while Joseph was absent in Endor, caused such great anxiety to develop in Mary’s mind that she unwisely tried to keep Jesus very close to her side for some months.
123:4.7 (1361.7)
Material accidents, commonplace occurrences of a physical nature, are not arbitrarily interfered with by celestial personalities. Under ordinary circumstances only midway creatures can intervene in material conditions to safeguard the persons of men and women of destiny, and even in special situations these beings can so act only in obedience to the specific mandates of their superiors.
123:4.8 (1361.8)
And this was but one of a number of such minor accidents which subsequently befell this inquisitive and adventurous youth. If you envisage the average childhood and youth of an aggressive boy, you will have a fairly good idea of the youthful career of Jesus, and you will be able to imagine just about how much anxiety he caused his parents, particularly his mother.
123:5.1 (1362.2)
Jesus was now seven years old, the age when Jewish children were supposed to begin their formal education in the synagogue schools. Accordingly, in August of this year he entered upon his eventful school life at Nazareth. Already this lad was a fluent reader, writer, and speaker of two languages, Aramaic and Greek. He was now to acquaint himself with the task of learning to read, write, and speak the Hebrew language. And he was truly eager for the new school life which was ahead of him.
그는 --열 살이 될 때까지-- 3년 동안, 나사렛 회당에 소속된 초등학교에 다녔다. 3년의 이 기간에, 히브리어로 기록된 율법서의 기초 과정을 공부했다. 그다음 3년 동안 상급학교에 진학하여, 신성시되는 율법 중에서 좀 더 심오한 교훈을 큰 소리로 반복하는 방법으로 암기하는 과정을 거쳤다. 열세 살 되는 해에 이 회당 학교를 졸업했고, 회당 관리{官吏}들은 교육받은 “계명의 아들”이 된 그를 부모에게 인계했으며--즉 이때부터는 이스라엘 국민으로서 책임 있는 시민이 되고, 예루살렘에서 열리는 유월절 행사에 참여할 수 있는 모든 자격이 부여됐으며--;따라서 이 해에, 부모와 동행하여 처음으로 유월절 행사에 참여하게 됐다.
123:5.2 (1362.3)
For three years—until he was ten—he attended the elementary school of the Nazareth synagogue. For these three years he studied the rudiments of the Book of the Law as it was recorded in the Hebrew tongue. For the following three years he studied in the advanced school and committed to memory, by the method of repeating aloud, the deeper teachings of the sacred law. He graduated from this school of the synagogue during his thirteenth year and was turned over to his parents by the synagogue rulers as an educated “son of the commandment”—henceforth a responsible citizen of the commonwealth of Israel, all of which entailed his attendance at the Passovers in Jerusalem; accordingly, he attended his first Passover that year in company with his father and mother.
123:5.3 (1362.4)
At Nazareth the pupils sat on the floor in a semicircle, while their teacher, the chazan, an officer of the synagogue, sat facing them. Beginning with the Book of Leviticus, they passed on to the study of the other books of the law, followed by the study of the Prophets and the Psalms. The Nazareth synagogue possessed a complete copy of the Scriptures in Hebrew. Nothing but the Scriptures was studied prior to the twelfth year. In the summer months the hours for school were greatly shortened.
123:5.5 (1362.6)
These synagogue schools, of course, had no textbooks. In teaching, the chazan would utter a statement while the pupils would in unison repeat it after him. When having access to the written books of the law, the student learned his lesson by reading aloud and by constant repetition.
123:5.6 (1362.7)
Next, in addition to his more formal schooling, Jesus began to make contact with human nature from the four quarters of the earth as men from many lands passed in and out of his father’s repair shop. When he grew older, he mingled freely with the caravans as they tarried near the spring for rest and nourishment. Being a fluent speaker of Greek, he had little trouble in conversing with the majority of the caravan travelers and conductors.
123:5.7 (1362.8)
Nazareth was a caravan way station and crossroads of travel and largely gentile in population; at the same time it was widely known as a center of liberal interpretation of Jewish traditional law. In Galilee the Jews mingled more freely with the gentiles than was their practice in Judea. And of all the cities of Galilee, the Jews of Nazareth were most liberal in their interpretation of the social restrictions based on the fears of contamination as a result of contact with the gentiles. And these conditions gave rise to the common saying in Jerusalem, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
123:5.8 (1363.1)
Jesus received his moral training and spiritual culture chiefly in his own home. He secured much of his intellectual and theological education from the chazan. But his real education—that equipment of mind and heart for the actual test of grappling with the difficult problems of life—he obtained by mingling with his fellow men. It was this close association with his fellow men, young and old, Jew and gentile, that afforded him the opportunity to know the human race. Jesus was highly educated in that he thoroughly understood men and devotedly loved them.
123:5.9 (1363.2)
Throughout his years at the synagogue he was a brilliant student, possessing a great advantage since he was conversant with three languages. The Nazareth chazan, on the occasion of Jesus’ finishing the course in his school, remarked to Joseph that he feared he “had learned more from Jesus’ searching questions” than he had “been able to teach the lad.”
123:5.10 (1363.3)
Throughout his course of study Jesus learned much and derived great inspiration from the regular Sabbath sermons in the synagogue. It was customary to ask distinguished visitors, stopping over the Sabbath in Nazareth, to address the synagogue. As Jesus grew up, he heard many great thinkers of the entire Jewish world expound their views, and many also who were hardly orthodox Jews since the synagogue of Nazareth was an advanced and liberal center of Hebrew thought and culture.
(유대인은 이때 의무교육법을 방금 시작했는데,) 일곱 살이 되어 학교에 들어가게 되면, 학생들은 자신의 ‘탄생 기념 성구{聖句}’를 선택해서, 공부하는 동안 내내 일종의 황금률{黃金律}이 되게 하는 것이 관습이었으며, 그들은 열세 살에 졸업하게 됐을 때, 이 성구에 대해 상세히 설명하곤 했다. 예수는 예언서인 이사야서에서 구절을 선택했다:“주 하나님의 영이 나에게 임한 것은, 주께서 나에게 기름 부으시기 위함이며;온유한 자들에게 기쁜 소식을 전하고, 마음이 상한 자를 고치고, 포로 된 자들에게 자유를 선포하고, 영적으로 갇힌 자들을 해방시키려고 그분이 나를 보내셨다.”
123:5.11 (1363.4)
When entering school at seven years (at this time the Jews had just inaugurated a compulsory education law), it was customary for the pupils to choose their “birthday text,” a sort of golden rule to guide them throughout their studies, one upon which they often expatiated at their graduation when thirteen years old. The text which Jesus chose was from the Prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to set the spiritual prisoners free.”
나사렛은 히브리 나라에서 24 제사장 중심지 가운데 하나였다. 그러나 갈릴리 지방의 제사장들은, 전통적인 율법을 해석할 때, 유대지방의 학자나 랍비들보다 더 개방적이었다. 그리고 나사렛에서는 안식일 준수에서도 역시 더 자유로웠다. 그래서 요셉은 안식일 오후에 예수를 데리고 종종 산책하는 것이 습관처럼 돼있었으며, 그들이 좋아하는 소풍 가운데 하나는, 사방의 갈릴리 지방이 훤히 내려다보이는, 집 근처의 높은 언덕에 올라가는 것이었다. 맑은 날에는, 북서쪽으로 갈멜산 한쪽 능선이 바다를 향해 뻗어 내려간 것도 볼 수 있었으며;예수는, 오래된 계통의 히브리 선지자들 가운데 초기 사람인 엘리야에 관해서 아버지가 이야기하는 것을 여러 번 들었는데, 엘리야는 아합을 책망하고 바알 사제들의 가면을 벗긴 사람이었다. 북쪽으로는 눈 덮인 헤르몬 산 봉우리가 장엄한 모습으로 하늘 위로 우뚝 솟아있었고, 높이가 3천 피트나 되는 상부 능선은 만년설{萬年雪}로 반짝였다. 멀리 동쪽으로는 요단 계곡을 식별할 수 있었고, 그 너머에 모압의 바위 언덕들이 자리잡고 있었다. 또한 그들은, 남쪽과 동쪽으로, 데가볼리의 그리스-로마 풍 도시를 둘러싸고 있는 대리석 벽에 해가 비칠 때, 원형 극장 그리고 허세부리는 듯 서있는 높은 신전과 함께 그 도시들을 볼 수 있었다. 그리고 서편으로 지는 해를 보려고 머뭇거리는 동안, 그들은 서쪽으로 멀리 지중해에서 항해하는 배들을 식별할 수 있었다.
123:5.12 (1363.5)
Nazareth was one of the twenty-four priest centers of the Hebrew nation. But the Galilean priesthood was more liberal in the interpretation of the traditional laws than were the Judean scribes and rabbis. And at Nazareth they were also more liberal regarding the observance of the Sabbath. It was therefore the custom for Joseph to take Jesus out for walks on Sabbath afternoons, one of their favorite jaunts being to climb the high hill near their home, from which they could obtain a panoramic view of all Galilee. To the northwest, on clear days, they could see the long ridge of Mount Carmel running down to the sea; and many times Jesus heard his father relate the story of Elijah, one of the first of that long line of Hebrew prophets, who reproved Ahab and exposed the priests of Baal. To the north Mount Hermon raised its snowy peak in majestic splendor and monopolized the skyline, almost 3,000 feet of the upper slopes glistening white with perpetual snow. Far to the east they could discern the Jordan valley and, far beyond, the rocky hills of Moab. Also to the south and the east, when the sun shone upon their marble walls, they could see the Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis, with their amphitheaters and pretentious temples. And when they lingered toward the going down of the sun, to the west they could make out the sailing vessels on the distant Mediterranean.
123:5.14 (1364.2)
When they did not climb the heights to view the distant landscape, they strolled through the countryside and studied nature in her various moods in accordance with the seasons. Jesus’ earliest training, aside from that of the home hearth, had to do with a reverent and sympathetic contact with nature.
예수는 여덟 살 되기 전에, 나사렛의 모든 어머니와 젊은 여자들에게도 잘 알려졌고, 그들은 우물가에서 그를 만나 이야기를 나눴는데, 이 우물은 그의 집 가까이 있었으며, 사람들이 만나서 마을 전체에 관해 한담을 나누던, 교제 중심지 가운데 하나였다. 같은 해에 예수는, 집에서 기르는 소의 우유를 짜고 다른 가축을 돌보는 일을 배웠다. 이 해와 다음 해에, 그는 또한 치즈 만드는 법과 천 짜는 법도 배웠다. 열 살이 되자 베틀을 능숙하게 사용할 수 있게 됐다. 예수와 이웃 소년 야곱이, 흐르는 샘물 가까이서 일하던 도공{陶工}과 친한 친구가 된 것도 바로 이때였으며;물레에서 흙을 빚는 나단의 능숙한 손놀림을 보면서, 그들은 커서 함께 도공이 되겠다고 여러 번 마음먹었다. 나단은 이 아이들을 무척 좋아했고, 종종 진흙을 줘서 갖고 놀 수 있게 했고, 여러 다른 물건과 동물을 경쟁적으로 만들게 하여 그들의 창조적 상상력을 자극하려고 애썼다.
123:5.15 (1364.3)
Before he was eight years of age, he was known to all the mothers and young women of Nazareth, who had met him and talked with him at the spring, which was not far from his home, and which was one of the social centers of contact and gossip for the entire town. This year Jesus learned to milk the family cow and care for the other animals. During this and the following year he also learned to make cheese and to weave. When he was ten years of age, he was an expert loom operator. It was about this time that Jesus and the neighbor boy Jacob became great friends of the potter who worked near the flowing spring; and as they watched Nathan’s deft fingers mold the clay on the potter’s wheel, many times both of them determined to be potters when they grew up. Nathan was very fond of the lads and often gave them clay to play with, seeking to stimulate their creative imaginations by suggesting competitive efforts in modeling various objects and animals.
123:6.1 (1364.4)
This was an interesting year at school. Although Jesus was not an unusual student, he was a diligent pupil and belonged to the more progressive third of the class, doing his work so well that he was excused from attendance one week out of each month. This week he usually spent either with his fisherman uncle on the shores of the Sea of Galilee near Magdala or on the farm of another uncle (his mother’s brother) five miles south of Nazareth.
123:6.2 (1364.5)
Although his mother had become unduly anxious about his health and safety, she gradually became reconciled to these trips away from home. Jesus’ uncles and aunts were all very fond of him, and there ensued a lively competition among them to secure his company for these monthly visits throughout this and immediately subsequent years. His first week’s sojourn on his uncle’s farm (since infancy) was in January of this year; the first week’s fishing experience on the Sea of Galilee occurred in the month of May.
123:6.5 (1364.8)
This year Jesus made arrangements to exchange dairy products for lessons on the harp. He had an unusual liking for everything musical. Later on he did much to promote an interest in vocal music among his youthful associates. By the time he was eleven years of age, he was a skillful harpist and greatly enjoyed entertaining both family and friends with his extraordinary interpretations and able improvisations.
123:6.6 (1365.1)
While Jesus continued to make enviable progress at school, all did not run smoothly for either parents or teachers. He persisted in asking many embarrassing questions concerning both science and religion, particularly regarding geography and astronomy. He was especially insistent on finding out why there was a dry season and a rainy season in Palestine. Repeatedly he sought the explanation for the great difference between the temperatures of Nazareth and the Jordan valley. He simply never ceased to ask such intelligent but perplexing questions.
2월에, 예루살렘 랍비 학교의 선생 가운데 하나인 나홀이 예수를 만나려고 나사렛에 왔는데, 그는 비슷한 사명을 띠고 예루살렘 근처에 있는 사가랴의 집을 이미 방문했었다. 그는 요한의 아버지의 부추김을 받아서 나사렛에 왔다. 종교적인 문제에 대한 예수의 솔직함, 그리고 틀에 박히지 않은 태도에 처음에는 다소 충격 받았으나, 예수의 이런 태도를 갈릴리가 히브리 정통 교육과 문화에서 격리돼있는 탓으로 돌렸고, 예수를 예루살렘으로 데리고 가도록 허락하여, 유대 문화의 중심지에서 배우고 훈련하는 혜택을 누릴 수 있게 하는 것이 좋을 것이라고, 요셉과 마리아에게 조언했다. 마리아는 그의 설득에 거의 동의했으며;맏아들이 메시야 곧 유대인의 구원자가 되리라는 확신을 갖고 있었으나;요셉은 주저했는데;예수가 자라서 운명의 사람이 될 것이라는 데는 동의했지만, 그런 운명이 어떻게 나타날 것인가에 대해서는 도무지 확신이 없었기 때문이다. 그러나 아들이 이 세상에서 어떤 중대한 사명을 수행하리라는 것은 전혀 의심하지 않았다. 예수를 예루살렘에 머물게 하는 것이 현명한지, 나홀의 조언을 생각할수록 더욱 자신이 없었다.
123:6.8 (1365.3)
In February, Nahor, one of the teachers in a Jerusalem academy of the rabbis, came to Nazareth to observe Jesus, having been on a similar mission to Zacharias’s home near Jerusalem. He came to Nazareth at the instigation of John’s father. While at first he was somewhat shocked by Jesus’ frankness and unconventional manner of relating himself to things religious, he attributed it to the remoteness of Galilee from the centers of Hebrew learning and culture and advised Joseph and Mary to allow him to take Jesus back with him to Jerusalem, where he could have the advantages of education and training at the center of Jewish culture. Mary was half persuaded to consent; she was convinced her eldest son was to become the Messiah, the Jewish deliverer; Joseph hesitated; he was equally persuaded that Jesus was to grow up to become a man of destiny, but what that destiny would prove to be he was profoundly uncertain. But he never really doubted that his son was to fulfill some great mission on earth. The more he thought about Nahor’s advice, the more he questioned the wisdom of the proposed sojourn in Jerusalem.
이처럼 요셉과 마리아의 의견이 달랐으므로, 나홀은 모든 문제의 결정을 예수에게 맡기자고 제안했다. 예수는 주의 깊게 듣고 나서, 요셉 및 마리아와, 또한 이웃의 가장 친한 놀이 친구 야곱의 아버지인 석공{石工}과 이 문제를 의논했고, 그리고 나서 이틀 후에 대답하기를, 부모와 충고자들의 의견이 너무 다르기 때문에, 그리고 전체 상황을 고려해 볼 때, 자신은 어느 한쪽으로도 특별히 선호하고 있지 않으므로, 그런 결정에 대해 자신이 책임지고 싶지 않기 때문에, 마침내 “하늘에 계신 내 아버지께 의논해” 보기로 결정했지만, 거기에 대한 응답에 완전한 확신이 없어서, 차라리 “내 아버지 어머니와 함께” 집에 남아있는 것이 낫겠다는 생각을 했다고 말했으며, “나를 진정으로 알지 못하기 때문에 단지 내 외모를 보거나 내 마음을 관찰할 뿐인 낯선 자들보다는, 나를 그토록 사랑하는 부모가 나를 위하여 더 많은 것을 해 줄 수 있고, 나를 안전하게 인도해 줄 수 있을 것”이라고 느꼈다는 말을 덧붙였다. 그들은 모두 그의 대답에 경탄했고, 나홀은 예루살렘으로 돌아갔다. 그후로, 예수가 집을 떠나는 문제를 다시 고려하게 된 것은 여러 해 지난 다음이었다.
123:6.9 (1365.4)
Because of this difference of opinion between Joseph and Mary, Nahor requested permission to lay the whole matter before Jesus. Jesus listened attentively, talked with Joseph, Mary, and a neighbor, Jacob the stone mason, whose son was his favorite playmate, and then, two days later, reported that since there was such a difference of opinion among his parents and advisers, and since he did not feel competent to assume the responsibility for such a decision, not feeling strongly one way or the other, in view of the whole situation, he had finally decided to “talk with my Father who is in heaven”; and while he was not perfectly sure about the answer, he rather felt he should remain at home “with my father and mother,” adding, “they who love me so much should be able to do more for me and guide me more safely than strangers who can only view my body and observe my mind but can hardly truly know me.” They all marveled, and Nahor went his way, back to Jerusalem. And it was many years before the subject of Jesus’ going away from home again came up for consideration.