Jesus' Twenty-Eighth Year 

In March of 22 CE, when Jesus was twenty-eight years old, he left Capernaum and his job at Zebedee’s boat shop. Before he left, he asked Zebedee for enough money to cover his traveling expenses to Jerusalem. This money was just a small part of Jesus’ wages during the time that he had worked for Zebedee; most of his wages had been saved for the upkeep of his family in Nazareth. Jesus agreed to stay in Jerusalem until Passover, when a supper was planned for Jesus and all of Zebedee’s family.

Jesus also had a long discussion with John Zebedee, who had become a close friend. He told John that he planned to be away for some time and asked John to act for him in the matter of sending money home to his family until his saved wages ran out. John assured Jesus that he would care for the Nazareth family as if they were his own. He further promised: "I will disburse your funds which my father holds as you have directed and as they may be needed, and when your money has been expended, if I do not receive more from you, and if your mother is in need, then will I share my own earnings with her. Go your way in peace. I will act in your stead in all these matters."

The money that was due to Jesus turned out to be quite a large sum; John and his father agreed that a good plan would be to invest the money into real estate that might be turned into a rental property that could generate income for Jesus’ family. Zebedee knew of a small, two-room house in Capernaum that was for sale, so they decided to put Jesus’ money down on the house, holding the title for Jesus. For the next two years, the rent from the house was put into the mortgage; and later on, when Jesus sent another large sum of money to John, it was almost enough to pay off the mortgage, and this was the way that Jesus became owner of a house in Capernaum. But he was not aware of it.

During the nearly two months in Jerusalem, most of Jesus’ time was taken up by his visits to the temple, where he would listen to various discussions. Occasionally, he would visit different schools of the rabbis. On the Sabbath days, he would go to Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters lived.

Jesus took with him a letter from Zebedee’s wife, Salome, which served as his introduction to Salome’s relative Annas, a former high priest of Jerusalem. Annas and Jesus spent a lot of time together; Annas personally took Jesus to different academies of the Jerusalem religious teachers. But Annas was reluctant to try and advise him, and he didn’t think it was wise that Jesus should enter any of these schools as a student.

When Passover came, Zebedee and his whole family arrived from Capernaum, as planned; they all got together for the Passover celebrations at Annas’ large home as one big family.

Later in the week, Jesus happened to meet a pair of travelers from India. This father and son – Gonod and Ganid – were on their way to Rome and the Mediterranean regions, and they had come to Jerusalem during Passover, hoping to find someone who could accompany them in their travels. They wanted someone who could act as an Interpreter for both of them and also as a tutor for the seventeen-year-old son. When they met Jesus, Ganid, the father, wanted to hire him. But Jesus told him about his situation and that he could not in good conscience go away from his family for such a long time, leaving them to fend for themselves. But Gonod proposed that he would advance Jesus one year’s wages for his family’s needs. And Jesus agreed to join them on their trip.

Jesus told Zebedee everything about the upcoming Mediterranean trip that he was going to take with the travelers from India, but he asked him to keep it a secret from everyone, even Jesus’ own family. And Zebedee kept the secret. It was a hardship for Mary and the rest of the family to not know where Jesus was during those years, but Zebedee did his best to keep hope alive in their hearts until Jesus’ return.

In spite of their worry over Jesus, the family thrived in his absence. Jude had begun pulling his weight financially, and they were assisted by the rental of the Capernaum house, too. They required very little help, but John Zebedee did take presents to Mary and Ruth every month as Jesus had asked him to do.

The remainder of Jesus’ twenty-eighth year was spent with Gonod and Ganid, on the tour of Rome and the Mediterranean.