Free Project J by Sean Brandywine Page B

The sisters were Rachel and Tamar.   The last one, Simon, was born of Mary by another husband after the original Joseph died.   Jesus never got along with this stepfather.   In fact, he won’t even tell me his name.
     
    “Oh, I see by your expression that I’m boring you with that which you already know.”
     
    Tamara protested, “I had heard some of that, but it is interesting that you heard it from his own lips.   And this bit about a stepfather is new.”   She paused for a second.   “Say, the Bible doesn’t name his sisters, does it?”
     
    “No.   But Jesus liked them and told me their names.   Tamar, by the way, is the root of your name.   It was also one of the daughters of King David.
     
    “Well, Joseph and Mary were betrothed to marry after his first wife died.   He had a young son and wanted to remarry for that reason, if no other.   And, yes, he was considerably older than Mary.   However, as is often the case, they got a little carried away, and when the time for the marriage approached it was obvious that she was with child.   She was, as near as I can calculate, only fourteen or so at the time.   Not really that unusual in those days.   I never asked Jesus how old his father was.   Joseph died when Jesus was eleven.
     
    “Well, then as now, having sex and getting pregnant out of wedlock was a no-no, but not all that bad or uncommon. They didn’t have the pill, after all.   The problem was that Joseph lived in Bethlehem while Mary lived in Nazareth.   In the strict Jewish rules, unless she could bring witness to show that she was with the licit father, Joseph, it was assumed that she might have been impregnated by a man outside her community, possibly a prohibited person.   Rumor and gossip were no less in those days than they are today.   She was condemned for it.
     
    “This made him, in Aramaic, a ‘ mamzer’ .   This is important to know, because it affected his standing in the village where he was born and raised.   It was sort of like having to wear a scarlet ‘A’ on your clothes.   The charge that he was illicitly conceived plagued him all his life, even outside his hometown and later in life.   See John 8:13.”   He quoted from memory: “ The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
     
    “ Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
     
    “Well, being a mamzer had a strong influence on him.   For one thing, it made him more tolerant of those who were considered sinners.   It is still a touchy subject with him, so don’t call him a bastard.”
     
    The twinkle in his eye told her he was making a joke.   The very idea of calling Jesus a bastard to his face was ludicrous enough to be comical.
     
    He took in a breath and said, “Sorry, I’m digressing.   You asked about who he was.   Jesus was born in a poor village, Bethlehem.   Oh, by the way, that was Bethlehem in Galilee, not the Bethlehem near Jerusalem.   Apparently Joseph took Mary there rather than have her give birth in her home town of Nazareth.   Maybe he thought it would help with the whole illegitimate thing.   After he was born, they took up residence in Nazareth.   Anyway, Jesus was raised as a good Jewish boy, taught the oral traditions of his people and apparently had quite an interest in religious matters from the start.   When he was thirteen, his family made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Tabernacles or Sukkoth festival.   This trip had a profound influence on the impressionable Jesus.   The Temple in Jerusalem was the largest religious building in the world.   It was not only huge, but also impressive almost beyond imagining.   The walls were...
     
    “Oh, sorry, I was supposed to be giving the short version.   Well, Jesus was mightily impressed with the Temple, but more so with