The Heavenly Messenger Brings Jesus a Message – Age 13 

On March 20, 7 CE, Jesus graduated from the synagogue school. This was a great day in Jesus’ family, the day when their first-born son was pronounced a "son of the commandment," a "child of the Most High," and servant of the Lord of all the earth. He was now qualified to go with his parents to Jerusalem and celebrate with them his first Passover.

The little family left Nazareth on Monday morning, April 4, 7 CE, and on Thursday, they paused for a time on the Mount of Olives, and Jesus saw for the first time (in his memory) the Holy City. He saw the showy palaces, but most of all he noted the inspiring temple of his Father. Jesus never in his life experienced such a purely human thrill as he did that April day, drinking in his first view of Jerusalem

By Thursday afternoon they had reached their lodging destination, the large home of one of Mary's relatives. The next day, Friday, Joseph took Jesus to see the temple and the academy where it had been planned that he would attend when he reached the age of fifteen. Jesus showed little interest in these future planned events and was dismayed by the sight of so many animals being prepared for slaughter. He wondered aloud to Joseph why the heavenly Father required such a thing, but he was not really convinced by his father’s reply.

Two months earlier, in February, Jesus had become humanly convinced that he was to accomplish a mission on earth that was to be for the spiritual enlightenment of mankind and that this mission would entail a revelation of God. Important decisions and profound plans were beginning to be formulated in his youthful mind. He had for some time been conflicted in his own mind about certain rites and rituals of the Jewish religion that seemed to him to be inconsistent with his own personal convictions about religious practice.

But on this Friday, Jesus experienced an intense flood of spiritual illumination and he felt affectionate compassion for the throngs of believers who had come from far and wide to celebrate these ancient Passover rituals. Jesus knew even then that these masses of Passover attendees were spiritually blind and morally unthinking. It was an extraordinary day for Jesus; and during the night, a celestial messenger appeared to him, saying: "The hour has come. It is time that you began to be about your Father’s business."

This visitation was a reminder to Jesus, even at the tender age of thirteen, that he had a mission to accomplish and responsibilities to attend to here on earth. This was the first in a long series of events which finally led up to the completion of this Son of God’s bestowal on earth.

This celestial visitation was the first supernatural event of his life and served to awaken in him a revelation of his divinity and his own self-realization of his true identity as Creator of this universe. This self-realization was completed some years later, at the time of his baptism in the Jordan river, when he experienced his second supernatural experience. After that, all doubt in his mind was erased as to the truth of his divine nature. This second experience happened just before his beginning the public work.

But between the time of the celestial messenger’s visit in Jerusalem and the events of his baptism by John, there were no more supernatural events in Jesus’ life. Nevertheless, this youth was the incarnated Creator of a universe. Up to the day of his baptism by John, he never once used any of his great powers, nor used the guidance of celestial personalities, aside from that of his guardian seraphim, in the living of his human life.

After this visitation that night in Jerusalem, Jesus continued his life; and by the time he was seventeen, four years later, he had managed to bring his human and divine natures together through his own decisions and with the aid of his indwelling spirit. Just such an indwelling spirit attends the inner lives of all mortals on earth.