Category:Childhood of Jesus (subject)

Childhood of Christ (1620 Honthorst), art

Christ in the House of His Parents (1850 Millais), art

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple (1860 Hunt), art

Young Jesus in The Son of Man (2005 Dornford-May), film

Childhood of Jesus refers to the events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth following his Nativity, before the "undocumented" Hidden Years that preceded the beginning of his Ministry.

Jesus at Nazareth -- Jesus among the Doctors
Cf. Madonna and Child -- Joseph and Jesus -- Holy Family

< Life of Jesus : Nativity of Jesus -- Childhood of Jesus -- Jesus' Hidden Years -- Ministry of Jesus (Parables of Jesus, Miracles of Jesus) -- Passion of Jesus -- Resurrection of Jesus -- Relics of Jesus >

< Fiction : Child Jesus (art) -- Child Jesus (cinema) -- Child Jesus (literature) -- Child Jesus (music) >

Overview

The Gospel of Luke and especially the Infancy Gospel of Thomas are the only ancient sources dealing with these years in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The narratives are driven by theological concerns and have little historical value. Due to the lack of documentation, scholars and artists can only speculate on the whereabouts of Jesus as a boy growing up at Nazareth.

In 6th-7th cent., the History of Joseph the Carpenter adds a few elements to the tradition. In a speech to his disciples, Jesus himself reveals how much he loved his parents. Joseph in reality was his stepfather, who took in his care in his house Mary, when he was 90 years old and Mary twelve. Jesus was born when Mary was 15 and ever since he lived with his parents and two step-brothers (Judas and James the Less) Joseph had from a previous marriage. Joseph died when he was 111 years old and Jesus eighteen; see Jesus' Hidden Years.

Childhood of Jesus, in ancient sources

Gospel of Luke

Luke 2:40-52 (NRSV): Jesus among the Doctors -- 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

History of Joseph the Carpenter (6th-7th cent.)

11. Now Justus and Simeon, the elder sons of Joseph, were married, and had families of their own. Both the daughters were likewise married, and lived in their own houses. So there remained in Joseph's house, Judas and James the Less, and my virgin mother. I moreover dwelt along with them, not otherwise than if I had been one of his sons. But I passed all my life without fault. Mary I called my mother, and Joseph father, and I obeyed them in all that they said; nor did I ever contend against them, but complied with their commands, as other men whom earth produces are wont to do; nor did I at any time arouse their anger, or give any word or answer in opposition to them. On the contrary, I cherished them with great love, like the pupil of my eye.

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The text describes the life of the child Jesus from the age of five to age twelve, with fanciful, and sometimes malevolent, supernatural events. He is presented as a precocious child who starts his education early. The stories cover how the young Incarnation of God matures and learns to use his powers for good and how those around him first respond in fear and later with admiration. One of the episodes involves Jesus making clay birds, which he then proceeds to bring to life, an act also attributed to Jesus in Quran 5:110,[10] and in a medieval work known as Toledot Yeshu, although Jesus's age at the time of the event is not specified in either account. In another episode, a child disperses water that Jesus has collected. Jesus kills this first child, when at age one he curses a boy, which causes the child's body to wither into a corpse. Later, Jesus kills another child via curse when the child apparently accidentally bumps into Jesus, throws a stone at Jesus, or punches Jesus (depending on the translation).

When Joseph and Mary's neighbours complain, they are miraculously struck blind by Jesus. Jesus then starts receiving lessons, but arrogantly tries to teach the teacher, instead, upsetting the teacher who suspects supernatural origins. Jesus is amused by this suspicion, which he confirms, and revokes all his earlier apparent cruelty. Subsequently, he resurrects a friend who is killed when he falls from a roof, and heals another who cuts his foot with an axe.

After various other demonstrations of supernatural ability, new teachers try to teach Jesus, but he proceeds to explain the law to them instead. Another set of miracles is mentioned in which Jesus heals his brother, who is bitten by a snake, and two others, who have died from different causes. Finally, the text recounts the episode in Luke in which Jesus, aged 12, teaches in the temple.

Although the miracles seem quite randomly inserted into the text, three miracles are before and three are after each of the sets of lessons. The structure of the story is essentially:

Bringing life to a dried fish (this is only present in later texts)

(First group)

3 Miracles - Breathes life into birds fashioned from clay, curses a boy, who then becomes a corpse (not present in Greek B), curses a boy who falls dead and his parents become blind Attempt to teach Jesus which fails, with Jesus doing the teaching

3 Miracles - Reverses his earlier acts (this would include resurrecting the two boys and healing the blind parents), resurrects a friend who fell from a roof, heals a man who chopped his foot with an axe.[11]

(Second group)

Three Miracles - carries water on cloth, produces a feast from a single grain, stretches a beam of wood to help his father finish constructing a bed Attempts to teach Jesus, which fail, with Jesus doing the teaching

Three Miracles - heals James from snake poison, resurrects a child who died of illness, resurrects a man who died in a construction accident

Incident in the temple paralleling Luke

Childhood of Jesus, in the arts

For a list of works of art on Child Jesus, see Category:Child Jesus--art (subject)

The only "canonical" narrative related to Child Jesus is the episode of Jesus among the Doctors in the Gospel of Luke. Not surprisingly, most portraits of Child Jesus show him in such a setting.

The representations of the Holy Family usually depict Baby Jesus with his parents, relatives and young John the Baptist. Only occasionally, they deal with Child Jesus.

Entirely focused on Child Jesus are the works of art that show him at work with his parents at Nazareth.

Jesus among the Doctors

Child Jesus at Nazareth

Childhood of Jesus, in literature

For a list of novels on Child Jesus, see Category:Child Jesus--literature (subject)

Several novels focus on the childhood of Jesus. They are generally written for a juvenile audience.

Childhood of Jesus, in the movies

For a list of films on Child Jesus, see Category:Child Jesus--cinema (subject)

Only a limited number of Jesus movies showed interest in the Childhood of Jesus, rather focusing of his Nativity, Miracles, and Passion.

The first movie on the Life of Jesus, La vie et la passion de Jésus-Christ (1903), devoted to the Childhood of Jesus two scenes, which were quite different in tone. "The Holy Family at Nazareth" offered a quite "realistic" picture of Jesus working with his father, while "Jesus among the Doctors" was more formal and stereotyped in its presentation of the "canonical" subject. See YouTube.

The realistic path was followed by the "Protestant" From the Manger to the Cross (1912 Olcott), feature film. An experienced child actor, Percy Dyer, was hired to play the part and the film was shot on locations, in Palestine and Egypt. Olcott drew inspiration from the work of James Tissot and the few silent scenes involving Child Jesus were a reenactment of some of Tissot's most famous paintings; cf. Life of Jesus (1894 Tissot), art. See YouTube.

The influence of James Tissot is noticeable also in Christus (1916 Antamoro), feature film. The "Catholic" movie, also shot "on locations," offered however a quite stereotyped picture of Jesus as a child modeled on his adult life. The theological concern was to stress that Jesus had since his childhood a clear self-consciousness of his messianic role, to the point that Child Jesus (featured by Renato Visca) is shown constantly followed by a group of children "disciples," whom he leads, and preached to, with authority. See YouTube.

In 1972 Jesús, María y José (1972 Zacarías), film was the first movie entirely to focus on the childhood of Jesus at Nazareth and speculate on his whereabouts as a boy. The Mexican movie was traditional in its approach to the subject; the father of Jesus, Joseph of Nazareth, was portrayed as an old man acting as a guardian or grandfather of Jesus. Yet the script had necessarily to create an original narrative, besides the Lukean episode of Jesus among the Doctors, so inaugurating a new genre that would be soon followed by other movies.

In Jesus of Nazareth (1977 Zeffirelli), film, the TV miniseries format gave the opportunity to elaborate on Jesus' childhood, devoting two major scenes to the subject. Child actor Lorenzo Monet was chosen for his blond hair and distinctive blue eyes. Filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli's goal was to create a sharp contrast between Jesus' appearance, on one hand, and on the other, the "normality" of his family (Joseph now had the age and behavior of a real father) and the very realistic Jewish setting in which Jesus lived. The contrast reminded the viewers that Jesus, although living in this world, did not really belong to it but came from "elsewhere." The setting of the first scene is the synagogue of Nazareth. Zeffirelli insisted in having Young Jesus perform a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, even though consultant Rabbi Albert Friedlander reminded him that such ceremonies were practiced only from the 15th century. Friedlander tried to teach Lorenzo Monet to read a short portion of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, though he mumbled it and the director was not satisfied (eventually the reading was done mostly in English). The ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of Roman soldiers, which allows the filmmaker to stress the reality of Roman occupation and the violent opposition of the Zealots. The second scene illustrates the "biblical" episode of Jesus among the Doctors in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Another successful TV miniseries, Un bambino di nome Gesù (A Child Called Jesus / 1987 Rossi), TV mini-series, focused in 1987 entirely on the childhood of Jesus at the time of the stay of the Holy Family in Egypt until their return to Nazareth. Joseph was still older than Mary but like in Zeffirelli, was a mature man in the fullness of his strength. The plot was only vaguely related to the Gospel of Matthew. As a boy Jesus had to escape a murder attempt by Herod Archelaus and grew up more and more conscious of his destiny.

Jesus movies continued occasionally to include a few scenes on Young Jesus, most notably, Jesus (1979 Sykes, Krisch), film (following the Gospel of Luke). The Son of Man (2005 Dornford-May), film and Color of the Cross (2006 LaMarre), film offered the first portrays of Jesus as a black child.

In 2006 a third movies appeared to focus entirely on the childhood of Jesus, after Jesús, María y José (1972 Zacarías), film and Un bambino di nome Gesù (A Child Called Jesus / 1987 Rossi), TV mini-series. In La sacra famiglia (2006 Mertes), film, Joseph was a widower and father of three sons, who struggled to understand the true identity of the new child, born from his virgin wife. The movie followed the canonical gospels in the description of the events of the nativity of Jesus, and apocryphal narratives related to his childhood. As Young Jesus began manifesting his healing powers, suspicious and fear spread among his own relatives and neighbors.

While following the traditional narrative, Io sono con te (Let It Be / 2010 Chiesa), feature film shifted the emphasis on the anti-conformist education Jesus received from his high-spirited and independent mother, who taught his son to ask questions and challenge the tradition.

In The Young Messiah (2016 Nowrasteh), feature film, Adam Greaves-Neal is a seven-year-old Jesus, who tries to discover the truth about his life when he returns to Nazareth from Egypt. He gradually realizes that he is the Son of God, sent by God, to be the savior of humanity.

@2014-17 Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan

Performing Child Jesus (cinema & television)

1890s	Child Jesus	Film	Country
1898	(uncredited)	La vie et la passion de Jésus-Christ (The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ / 1903 Zecca, Nonguet), feature film

1910s	Child Jesus	Film
1912	Percy Dyer (age 12) / George Hollister Jr. (age 4)	From the Manger to the Cross (1912 Olcott), film
1914	Gabriel Briand	# Life of Our Saviour (1914)
1916	Renato Visca (age 12)	Christus (1916 Antamoro), feature film
1918	Harold Quintin Driscoll	Restitution (1918 Gaye), feature film

1920s	Child Jesus	Film	Country
1923	Erik Ode (age 12)	I.N.R.I. (Crown of Thorns / 1923 Wiene), feature film	Germany

1950s	Child Jesus	Cinema / Television	Country	Notes
1956	Richard Palmer (age 12)	Jesus of Nazareth (1956 BBC), TV mini-series	United Kingdom	Imdb

1970s	Child Jesus	Film
1971	Donizetti Vago (child)	A Vida de Jesus Cristo (1971 Regattieri), film
1971	Alfredo Melher	Jesús, el niño Dios (Jesus, the Child of God / 1971 Zacarías), feature film
1972	José Alberto Castro (age 5) -- Jorge España (age 8) -- David Bravo (age 12)	Jesús, María y José (1972 Zacarías), film
1973	Robert Elfstrom Jr.	Gospel Road (1973 Elfstrom & Cash), film
1975	Mustapha Ferchiou	Il Messia (The Messiah / 1975 Rossellini), film
1977	Lorenzo Monet (age 12)	Jesus of Nazareth (1977 Zeffirelli), film
1979	John Rubinstein - Tiger Thompson (child)	In Search of Historic Jesus (1979 Schellerup), documentary
1979	(uncredited)	Jesus (1979 Sykes, Krisch), film

1980s	Child Jesus	Film	Country
1987	Matteo Bellina (age 8)	Un bambino di nome Gesù (A Child Called Jesus / 1987 Rossi), TV mini-series
1987	(uncredited)	Marie de Nazareth (Mary of Nazareth / 1995 Delannoy), film

1990s	Child Jesus	Film
1998	Asher Cohen (age 12)	I giardini dell'Eden (The Garden of Eden / 1998 D'Alatri), film
1999	Toby Bailiff	Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999 Connor), film
1999	Jurji Gentilini (age 11)	Giuseppe di Nazareth (Joseph of Nazareth / 1999 Mertes), film

2000s	Child Jesus	Film
2000	Adam Welsh (voice)	The Miracle Maker (2000 Hayes, Sokolov), animated feature film
2003	Bruno Cariati (age 7)	Maria, Mãe do Filho de Deus (Mary, Mother of the Son of God / 2003 Góes), feature film
2005	Gianmarco Giovi (age 12)	Maria, figlia del suo figlio (Maria: Daughter of Her Son / 2000 Costa), film
2005	Dakota Carter (age 7) / Daniel Szumilas (age 12)	The Life and the Passion of Christ (2005 Bouson), documentary
2005	(uncredited)	The Son of Man (2005 Dornford-May), film
2006	Brando Pacitto (age 10)	La sacra famiglia (2006 Mertes), film
2006	Alex Collins	Color of the Cross (2006 LaMarre), film
2009	Guillermo Estrella	Jesusito de mi vida (Dear Child Jesus / 2009 Pérez-Miranda), short film

2010s	Child Jesus	Film	Country
2010	Mohamed Idoudi (age 12)	Io sono con te (Let It Be / 2010 Chiesa), feature film
2014	Kenley Weesner	Jesus: The Desire of Ages (2014 Hamilton-Myers, Orozco), feature film
2015	Zoubir Abou Alfadel (child)	Killing Jesus (2015 Menaul), TV mini-series
2016	Lucius Hoyos (age 12)	Joseph and Mary (2016 Christian), feature film	Canada
2016	Adam Greaves-Neal (age 7)	The Young Messiah (2016 Nowrasteh), feature film	USA