Jesus' Fifteenth Year 

Jesus, having lost his father at age fourteen, became the sole supporter of a huge family. Their savings were expended by the end of his fifteenth year. Despite the setback, he shouldered the responsibility of providing for his family, shouldering the burden of supporting his mother and siblings. The disappointment resulting from the unjust decision of Herod Antipas regarding Joseph’s inheritance further solidified his disillusionment with the ruling authorities. Notwithstanding these challenges, Jesus exhibited unwavering determination, demonstrating remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.

Amidst the financial struggles, Jesus demonstrated an exceptional level of maturity, not only in shouldering the financial burdens but also in guiding his younger siblings and managing the family's garden plot. His engagement in agricultural activities and his wish for a life in the countryside showcased his practical yet idealistic nature. Despite the growing responsibilities and the pressing challenges, he did not abandon his spiritual pursuits, still finding time for periods of meditation and prayer. The sermon he delivered at the Nazareth synagogue, filled with profound and earnest teachings, highlighted the depth of his understanding of human nature and the spiritual needs of his community, foreshadowing the beginning of his public career as a spiritual leader.

On Wednesday evening, April 17, CE 9, Ruth, the baby of the family, was born. Jesus tried his best to comfort and minister to his mother during this trying and peculiarly sad ordeal in the place of his father.

By the middle of this fifteenth year, Jesus had worked out the details of how to manage his family. After Joseph's death, Jesus attempted to teach the older children to express themselves individually in prayer, but they were unable to grasp this concept and continued to fall back to reciting memorized prayers. So Jesus created phrases to stimulate their thinking, to inspire them to continue with the idea and create their own personal reflection. Without intention on his part, these suggestive lines ended up associated together and evolved into the structure he later taught to his apostles when pressed for a prayer. It became known as “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Family responsibilities shelved any hope of being about his Father’s business. He fully realized he could not shirk his obligations and the support of his earthly father’s family was his primary obligation.

Jesus was puzzled on how he was going to fulfill what he discerned to be his purpose on earth. He loved his father’s people, and wanted so badly to help them, But he could not see himself leading armies to kill those who dominated them. He had no intention of sitting on a throne, specifically that of David. The prophecies of a Messiah, which the Jews understood to be the predictions of the prophets, were of a warrior-king. He rejected fulfilling these expectations. He meant to bring divinity to earth. And that included the entire planet, not just to the Jewish people.

Jesus studied scripture to find an answer. In the synagogue library at Nazareth, he found a little-known apocalyptic book called the Book of Enoch. In the book, he found the designation, “The Son of Man.” The description is of one who dwelled in the splendor of Paradise with his Father, God, and decides to leave all this glory to come down to help mankind, to proclaim salvation to needy mortals. This touched Jesus’ heart. Imagine a divine personage who becomes a “Son of Man” by leaving heaven and becoming a man, living a life, and experiencing all the trials that people on this planet face, teach them what he knows, live the best way one can live, and then return to his heavenly abode having gained a full understanding of what it’s like to be human. Jesus recognized this as the closest prediction of himself in all the scriptures. He had an unerring ability to recognize truth, and embrace it regardless of the source. Jesus decided that he would introduce himself as “The Son of Man.”

Now that Jesus settled the nature of his mission on earth, confusions from scripture that crystalized from his younger days again resurfaced. Would there ever arise a national deliverer, a Jewish teacher or king from the house of David? Is that him? If this refers to another who would come, what should be his relationship to this leader? Wasn’t he of the house of David? His mother said yes, his father no. Jesus decided that he was not. Were the prophets unclear, or perhaps others misinterpreted them as to the nature and mission of the Messiah? The Jews lived under the rule of foreigners. Perhaps their interpretations were tainted by their fondest hopes of freedom. The prophets made these forecasts long ago.

Each of these momentous uncertainties turned over in his mind and seriously pondered while he continued to work at the carpenter’s bench, laboriously making a living for himself, his mother, and eight others in the household.

When a young man reached the age of fifteen, he could officially read scripture from the pulpit. As such, the chazan arranged for Jesus to conduct the morning service on the very first Sabbath after his birthday. All the faithful in Nazareth attended and Jesus selected scripture from Isaiah, Amos, and Micah. His reading began with the following: “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.”

The people went home and pondered the words that Jesus had so graciously read. Never had the people in Nazareth seen him so magnificently solemn; never had they heard his voice so earnest and so sincere; never had they observed him so manly, decisive, and authoritative.

The family was forced to return to the simpler life of years ago. Their food and clothing were plain. Each month demanded more frugality. Their meals were basic. If they had something special, they saved it for the evening meal. Thankfully, the Jews did not deem a lack of wealth as a lower social standing.

The family’s finances became stretched-out even more as a weak economy brought lower wages. Jesus, a common day-laboring carpenter, earned an equivalent of twenty-five cents a day from working early each morning and late into the night. Taxes came due: civil, synagogue assessments, the temple tax of one-half shekel, and then the tax collector tried to squeeze extra revenue out of Jesus, threatening to take his harp. Hope of a just settlement of his father’s death while working on a public building shattered when Herod Antipas decreed that his father had nothing due him.

Jesus attributed everything to experience. He learned how people lived in his day, in the home, field, and workshop, as shown by his many references in later teachings. Truly, he was one of the people.

His revelation of his Father's love for us was delayed. He had a bad situation with no easy solution. Jesus persisted and was encouraged. He took each day as it came, trying to meet his many obligations. Jesus' life comforts all disappointed idealists forever.

At the end of this year, Jesus transitioned from a carefree child to a fully responsible adult. His daily workload, obligations, and caring for his family stifled much of the often dangerous and difficult experiences of adolescence. Jesus found himself ready for new opportunities that would encourage further development of a noble character.