The Collector Written July 23, 2023
			Good afternoon, Luke.
			Ethan!  Thanks for coming by, old friend!  You know my wife Claudia, and over there are our friends Matthew and John. Hello, Ethan. We're glad to meet you.
			Ethan is a professional collector.  But relax, he's not a tax collector I used to collect taxes, but I had to retire from that business.  I was working for the Romans, and my neighbors despised me.
			As well they should!  You were a traitor!  Tax collectors take half our money and keep a big commission for themselves. Quiet, dear, the men are talking.  And the tax rate is not “half.”
			Also, Claudia, the taxes I collected went to the emperor, who used them to build our roads and wharves and theatres ... He should have given all of those things to us out of the goodness of his heart. ... and to feed the Roman army. We certainly could do without those brutes!
			Ahem.  So anyway, Ethan, if you no longer collect taxes, what do you collect?
			I collect stories.  Tales of what happened in the old days, when people were young or even before they were born.
			Why would you do that? For posterity, John.  As you know, when authors write their histories, they don't base them only on royal annals.  They gather more details from anecdotes and eyewitness reports.
			And the same applies to the three of us, for the books each of us are writing.  That is why I've invited Ethan to come here, gentlemen.  We need to know what happened when Jesus of Nazareth was young.
			Jesus of Nazareth, you say?  Some kind of troublemaker, as I recall.  He was executed about 30 years ago, wasn't he?
			Yes, by crucifixion in the time of Pontius Pilate.  We don't know the exact date.  It was a bloody, gruesome affair.  But we now believe he came back to life.
			No kidding?  He didn't stay dead? And we believe that although he was never formally crowned, he was the promised King of the Jews — the Messiah.
			In Greek, the “Christ.”  We are called Christians, and we preach what Jesus taught.
			He called himself the Son of Man.  We call him the Son of God!  However, we have a big problem, Ethan.
			What's that, Matthew? Jesus taught for only about three years, and we know nothing about his life before then!  If we're going to tell people about him, we ought to have a proper biography describing where he came from.  His parents, his education, that sort of thing.
			Couldn't you ask his family to help you with that? As far as we know, he didn't have a wife or children. I've heard that his brother James was one of the first Christians.  Galatians 1:19~And we think Jesus and James were survived by their mother, but we've heard nothing from her.
			So what do you know, Luke? We have traditions.  They've been handed down to us from the original eyewitnesses and servants of the Gospel.  That means “good news” in Greek.  Luke 1:2~
			Our friend Mark put some of these into a small book he calls “The Good News of Jesus Christ the Son of God.”  Mark 1:1~
			I'm planning to expand on Mark's work and compile a somewhat larger Gospel. So am I, Luke.  And John, I heard you're writing a Gospel too. I am.  Coincidentally, another John is the first character in Mark's story.
			The Baptist. Correct.  Mark tells us that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, got baptized by John the Baptist, went on a religious retreat, and then started preaching. Mark 1:9-14~And that's it!  That is all we know of his beginnings.  We'd like to know more, wouldn't we, Luke?
			Indeed.  And about his life in general.  It was only yesterday that I heard a story about forgiveness, a story that people have attributed to Jesus. What's that?
			Supposedly there was a boy who left home and wasted his inheritance and returned broke.  His father forgave his foolishness, though his brother didn't.  Luke 15:11-32~This could be added to the parables that Mark has already given us.
			Here's another example.  One man told me that when Jesus died, God caused there to be a huge earthquake.
			That's interesting, if it's true.  I could investigate.  The Empire will have records about unusual events, and that could allow us to determine the exact date of the crucifixion.
			I understand that the Temple suffered some damage, and tombs outside the city broke open and the corpses spilled out.  And after Jesus came back to life, some of those corpses likewise rose up and entered the city.
			Dead people walking around like zombies?  That has to be a tall tale. Many people saw them.  Or so I'm told.  Matthew 27:50-53~
			Anyway, Ethan, we'd like you to go around the country collecting material like that.  Preferably tales we haven't heard yet — but believable ones.  Especially stories about when he was younger.  Surely some people still remember.
			I'm not so sure, Luke.  If this Jesus was executed 30 years ago, he would have been born maybe 60 years ago.  Many people who were adults then will have passed on by now. But they must have told the old stories to their children.
			Well, I'll see what I can find.  Is there anything particular you folks are looking for?
			His genealogy, for one thing.  Evidence of royal blood that would entitle him to be King of the Jews.  I'd like to discover that he was descended from King David.  I could work up such a family tree.  Matthew 1:1-17~
			So could I, Matt.  Luke 3:23-38  And we need stories of his childhood.  Jesus must have been a bright boy.  He must have discussed Scripture with his elders.  Luke 2:46-47~
			More importantly, we need stories of his birth.  If Jesus of Nazareth was truly the King of the Jews, his birth would obviously have been a momentous event foreseen by astrologers.
			How do you mean? The Babylonian text Enuma Anu Enlil has lots of charts for reading signs in the sky.  Maybe clouds hiding part of the moon could be interpreted as foretelling the death of a king.  The birth of a new king might have been signaled by a bright new star, or maybe a comet.
			An unusual astronomical event would have been noted in the Empire's annals.  I could look it up.  So when was Jesus born? During the reign of Caesar Augustus, most likely.
			Any particular date? Some people have suggested it would be appropriate to celebrate his birthday around March 21, when seeds that have been buried begin to “spring” to life again.
			Others would prefer to think he must have been born around December 25.  That's when pagans make merry because the sun is returning and the days are getting longer, you see.  And December 25 has been celebrated as the birthday of many pagan gods over the centuries:  Adonis, Dionysus, Horus, Mithra, Osiris.
			If a sign appeared in the sky heralding the birth of a new ruler in Judea, foreigners who believe in omens might have wanted to seek out the infant and present him with gifts.  It's only right.  The newborn king might grow up to reward them with favors.  Matthew 2:1-2~
			Remind me:  who was the actual Jewish king 60 years ago?  Herod the Great, right?  Wouldn't he have wanted his successor to be one of his own sons, not some outsider like this Jesus?
			Of course.  If he heard of a rival to his throne, even a baby, he would not have hesitated to eliminate the potential usurper by any means possible.  He could have killed all the babies.  Matthew 2:16~
			Really, Matthew?  Do you think a king would commit mass pedocide?
			It happens.  Herod was a bloodthirsty tyrant who even executed his own wife.  And recall that down in Egypt, Pharaoh tried to have all Hebrew boys killed at birth, but Moses was saved.  Exodus 1:15-2:10
			To protect the newborn Jesus, his parents might want to carry him far away.  Perhaps north to Syria.
			Or perhaps the other direction, south to Egypt.  Then, after Herod was no longer on the throne, the family could return from Egypt to Bethlehem.  That would enable them to fulfill the words of the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”  Matthew 2:14-15~
			Actually, I think that verse refers to the Exodus.  The term “my son” means the nation of Israel.
			Also, Matthew, you mentioned returning from Egypt to a place called “Bethlehem.”  Do you think that village might be the birthplace?
			Prophecy reveals that truth to us, Ethan.  In the book of Micah, God promises to Bethlehem:  “From you will come a king for me over Israel.”  Matthew 2:4-6 ~
			Actually, I think “a king over Israel” refers to someone who did grow up in Bethlehem, the City of David — namely King David. What?  How could that be, Luke?  Micah wrote his prediction hundreds of years after David's reign!
			No, my studies indicate that it's not a prediction but a postdiction, a vaticinium ex eventu or purported prophecy.  Micah made it appear to precede David when it actually was written in hindsight.  Poetic license, you know.
			Am I allowed to ask a question?  Why are you men discussing “Jesus of Nazareth”?  If he was a native of Bethlehem, shouldn't you call him Jesus “of Bethlehem”?
			“Jesus of Nazareth” is what all his disciples called him.  Nazareth is a town in Galilee, where he did most of his preaching.
			People do move, Claudia.  People can be born in Bethlehem and grow up elsewhere.  After the return from Egypt the family obviously wanted to keep far away from Herod's palaces, so they probably settled way up north in Galilee, perhaps in Nazareth.  Matthew 2:22-23~ I'll see whether any census records still exist.
			From what I've heard, the family home was in Nazareth all along.  They were merely visiting Bethlehem when the birth occurred. That would satisfy Micah's prophecy, wouldn't it? Well, maybe.  But why would they have been visiting?
			Probably they went to see a distant relative.  Or maybe the tax collectors ordered them to make the trip, for some reason. Luke 2:1-5~ I seem to recall that Governor Quirinius once issued an edict.
			Also, Matthew, I've never heard Jesus described as a prince visited by a delegation of foreign rulers.  I'd like to believe he was far more humble than that, an ordinary person of the people.  His birth would not have been trumpeted across the world.
			That's true.  Had it been, our historians would have known about it.  If it was announced at all, it would have been done quietly.
			But maybe angels appeared to a few neighbors and told them the news. Where did you get that idea, Luke?
			A couple of elderly women told me about it.  Ask around, Ethan!  Maybe some farmers remember the time when their grandfathers saw unidentified flying lights in the night sky and heard voices.  Luke 2:8-14~
			You're getting into fantasy, I'm afraid.
			But we need a more dramatic start to our story!  Something better than Mark's bland beginning, “Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized in the river.”
			Yes, a supernatural beginning would be helpful if we plan to sell this story to the Gentiles.  The Greeks have legends about the births of their own deities.
			Right, John!  Greek gods are said to impregnate earthly mothers.  For example, their main god is Zeus.  His sons include Hermes by the mortal Maia, and Hercules by the virgin Alcmene, and Perseus by Princess Danae.
			And don't forget Dionysus, born to Zeus's mortal lover Semele.  The Greeks claim that Dionysus died and was buried; he descended into hell, but then he rose again from the dead.
			Stop speaking like pagans, you two!  What are you suggesting? Was Jesus only half-divine like Dionysus?
			Yes!  Jesus could have literally been the son of a heavenly father with an earthly mother.  Luke 1:34-35 We could persuade the Gentiles to believe that.
			But would the Jews believe it?  I doubt that the parentage was recorded that way in the Bethlehem vital records office.
			And a divine being impregnating a mortal woman sounds like a fanciful Greek myth.  Wouldn't the Jews have a major problem with something so unscriptural?
			The answer's in Genesis.  Chapter 6, verse 4:  “There were giants in the earth in those days, when the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of men and they bore children to them.”
			But suppose Jesus was one of those sons of God — the fullness of the Deity living in bodily form.  Colossians 2:9~He could have come down to earth without requiring a mortal mother at all!  Why couldn't he have been part of the most high God?  Why couldn't he and his father be one, all part of the same substance? John 1:1-2~
			Great idea, John, but will Ethan be able to find eyewitnesses to testify to that?  Or to Luke's idea?  Would any such supernatural claims be authentic knowledge?  I doubt it.
			And think of the children!  All this sex and violence --- those things don't belong in a Gospel.  An illegitimate birth?  Killing babies?  Such talk will only confuse and frighten the little ones!  I think we should just admit that Jesus was born on earth, somewhere and sometime 50 or 60 years ago, and let his origin story be no more than that.  We could invite everyone to an annual birthday party!
			With gifts? We could decorate our houses for the celebration, with branches and candles and everything.  Ethan, I'll bet you can find a story somewhere about a kindly old soul who secretly goes around giving presents to children. Secretly?  How could he do that without being observed?
			Maybe he tosses presents through the children's windows.  Or he sneaks into their house after dark on the Night before Birthday, after they've been tucked into bed.  He finds the clothes that they've hung up with care, and he slips in a fig or a pomegranate for them to discover on Birthday Morning!  Wouldn't that be fun? And every child gets a fruit?
			Perhaps only the good little boys and girls receive presents.  That would only be fair. But Claudia, how would this secret benefactor know which children are the good ones?
			God would tell him!  God sees everything.  He knows if you've been bad or good, children, so be good for goodness sake.  If you've been naughty, you might find a rock in your clothes on Birthday Morning!
			Well, thank you, my dear, but I doubt whether the Gospels we're writing should include a childish story like that.  It contributes little to the true meaning of the coming of Jesus.
			But there are so many more appropriate tales that could be told.  If we were to record them all in detail, I suppose the world could not hold the books that would result.  John 21:25~
			That's right, John.  It's been many years now, but the tales are out there.  They deserve to be written.
	Click here for other Bible stories I've retold in the first person.