Jesus in the New Testament and The Urantia Book, Part 1
Introductory Background and Early Life of Jesus
Urantia Book Papers 120 through 129
Introductory Background
- Urantia Paper 120: The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia (This paper is not found in the New Testament)
- Urantia Paper 121: The Times of Michael's Bestowal—While this paper is not in the New Testament, there is to be noted in
this connection:
- l. The prologue to John's Gospel (not in the Urantia Papers) John 1:1-18
- 2. The preface to Luke's Gospel (not in the Urantia Papers) Luke 1:1-4
- 3. Two genealogies of Jesus (not in the Urantia Papers) Matt. 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38
The Birth of Jesus through age 29
- Urantia Paper 122: Birth and Infancy of Jesus
- UP 122:1Choosing Palestine -- Joseph and Mary. No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 122:2Gabriel Appears to ElizabethLuke
1:5-25
- a. Mary visits ElizabethLuke 1:39-56
- b. John's birth, March 25, 7 B.C.Luke 1:57-80
- UP 122:3
Gabriel's Announcement to Mary.Luke
1:26-38
- "Joshua"--the name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua. Yeshua is itself a contraction of the Hebrew name Yehoshua. And Yehoshua in English is Joshua.
- UP 122:4 Joseph's Dream.Matt. 1:18-25
- UP 122:5 Jesus' Earth Parents. No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 122:6 The Home at Nazareth. No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 122:7 The Trip to Bethlehem. Luke
2:1-5
- "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. "-Dated papyri in Egypt tell of a 14 year cycle of census inaugurated by the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus (27 B.C. - A.D. 14), and record one in A.D. 20. Counting backwards 14 years from A.D. 20 we come to A.D. 6, the date of the census that would have preceded this A.D. 20 census. And other records confirm that a census was indeed held in A.D. 6. Counting backwards 14 more years from A.D. 6 we come to the first census, the one originally decreed by Caesar Augustus, at 8 B.C. This was the census attended by Joseph and Mary. However, because of Jewish opposition to "being numbered" (and paying taxes to Rome) Herod is thought to have been slow in instituting this first census of the Roman World. (Master Study Bible, p. 1330)
- But it is not likely that Herod would have long delayed this census of "all the world", which was decreed by the Emperor himself. If we assume that Herod held the census the next year we can date Jesus' birth at 7 B.C.
- This date of 7 B.C. is also consistent with two other recorded events associated with Jesus' birth. Herod (Ch. 7, fn. 1), who was alive at the time of Jesus' birth, died in 4 B.C. (see also Ch. 9, fn. 3). Sometime before his death, in an attempt to kill Jesus, he had killed all babies two years and younger. This suggests a birth date of at least two or three years before Herod's death in 4 B.C. (6 or 7 B.C.). Also, the three extraordinary conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn, which would explain the new "star" in the sky noticed by the Magi (Ch. 7, fn. 2), took place in 7 B.C.
- The modern calendar is based on calculations made by Dionysus Exegines, a Roman abbot who lived over 500 years after the time of Jesus. Because of insufficient historical data the monk erred in fixing the time of birth and this error persists in our calendar to this day.
- UP 122:8 The Birth of Jesus. Luke 2:6,7
- The angels and the shepherds Luke
2:8-20
- "keeping watch over their flock by night."--During the wintertime, from November until April, when pasturage became slim and rain and cold weather threatened, sheep could no longer be kept outdoors and were placed under cover. Since the sheep were out at night it is likely that Jesus' birth occurred in or around the warmer summer months. Thus we may conclude that Jesus was born around the middle of the year 7 B.C., rather than early or late in that year.
- The star of Bethlehem. Matt.
2:9-12. (Note. Luke
2:21, dealing with circumcision, is not in the Urantia Papers.)
- "we
have seen his star in the East"--The most likely explanation of
this new star in the sky concerns the extraordinary triple conjunction
of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces that took place
on three separate nights in 7 B.C. This new bright light in the
sky, which would probably have been described as a new "star" appeared
on the nights of May 29, September 30, and December 5, 7 B.C.
This is by far the most popular explanation for the star of Bethlehem. Johannes Kepler, after seeing the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Pisces a few days before Christmas in 1603, calculated backward and discovered the 7 B.C. event. But Kepler was certainly not the first to call attention to it. In 1977, David H. Clark and two colleagues quoted a similar assertion in English church annals dating from A.D. 1285." (Sky and Telescope, December 1986, p. 632, Computing the Star of Bethlehem.) - "When
they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly. "-This implies that
when the wise men left Herod the star reappeared. And this further
suggests that they first saw the star in the East and then journeyed
to Jerusalem. During this time the star was not to be seen until
it suddenly reappeared over Bethlehem following their visit with
Herod.
Knowing the dates of the conjunctions we may reason that the Magi first saw the star the night of May 29, 7 B.C. (the first conjunction). They then made the long journey (probably from Babylon in the East) to Jerusalem; it is estimated that this trip would have taken around three months traveling by camel. The reappearance of the star after the audience with Herod would then correspond to the second major conjunction, which took place around September 30.
Since the second appearance of the star was immediately followed by the discovery of the baby Jesus we may use the date of the second conjunction (September 30) to approximate Jesus' birth to around August or September, 7 B.C.
- "we
have seen his star in the East"--The most likely explanation of
this new star in the sky concerns the extraordinary triple conjunction
of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces that took place
on three separate nights in 7 B.C. This new bright light in the
sky, which would probably have been described as a new "star" appeared
on the nights of May 29, September 30, and December 5, 7 B.C.
- UP 122:9 The Presentation in the Temple. Luke 2:22-39
- UP 122:10
Herod Acts. (Flight to Egypt) Matt.
2:13-23
- "Herod the King"-Also called Herod the Great. Herod was the son of the governor of Idumea (the area south of Judah). He rose to a high position in the government of Judah during the reign of the aging high priest, Hyrcanus 11. However, Hyrcanus's younger nephew, Antigonus, rebelled against Hyrcanus's rule. Antigonus raised an army in Syria and, securing the help of many Judeans unhappy with Hyrcanus's reign as well as the Parthians to the east, he overthrew Hyrcanus in A.D. 40. Herod fled to Rome, taking his case directly to Mark Anthony, who received Herod as an old family friend. And through the assistance of the Roman rulers Anthony and Octavian he was proclaimed king of Judah by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. He captured Jerusalem in 37 B.C. from Antigonus and ruled from Jerusalem until his death in 4 B.C. His kingdom eventually expanded beyond Judea and Idumea to include Samaria, Galilee, Gaza, Perea, and the territory east of the Sea of Galilee.
- "departed for Egypt "--Alexandria was the location of a large Jewish settlement in Egypt and would have been a natural place for them to live during their sojourn there.
- "according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men."--Probably the time of the first conjunction, May 29, 7 B.C. (see Ch. 7, fn. 3). Calculating backward one and a half to two years we come to the time of Herod's order to kill all babies two years and younger at late 6 B.C. or early 5 B.C.
- "When Herod died"--The Jewish historian Josephus (who lived in the latter half of the first century A.D.) records the death of Herod (at age 70) shortly before April 12, 4 B.C.
- "Archelaus reigned over Judea"--Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C.
By Herod's final will his son Archelaus was named as ruler over Judea,
Samaria, and Idumea. Most of the remainder of Herod's kingdom was
divided among his other two sons: Herod Antipas was made ruler over
Galilee and Perea, while Herod Philip became ruler over the Transjordan
lands of Batanea and Trachonitis.
Herod Antipas was the man who later ordered the death of John the Baptist. In A.D. 6, Caesar Augustus replaced Archelaus with a series of military prefects. The most famous of these rulers was Pontias Pilate, who was to order Jesus' death. - "withdrew to the district of Galilee."--If Jesus' birth is put around August-September, 7 B.C., he would have been around three years old when the family returned to Nazareth after the death of Herod in 4 B.C.
- Urantia Paper 123: The Early Childhood of Jesus
- UP 123:0 Two years in Alexandria . Leave for Bethlehem in August 4 B.C.
- UP 123:1 Back in Nazareth.Matt. 2:23, Luke 2:39,4
- UP 123:2 The Fifth Year (2 B.C.). No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 123:3 Events of the Sixth Year (1 B.C.). No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 123:4 The Seventh Year (A.D. 1). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 123:5 School Days in Nazareth . No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 123:6 His Eighth Year (A.D. 2). No New Testament Correspondence
- Urantia Paper 124: The Later Childhood of Jesus
- UP 124:1 Jesus' Ninth Year (A.D. 3). Contrast of Galilee with Alexandria. No New Testament Correspondence.r
- UP 124:2 The Tenth Year (A.D. 4). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 124:3 The Eleventh Year (A.D. 5). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 124:4 The Twelfth Year (A.D. 6). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 124:5 His Thirteenth Year (A.D. 7).Luke 2:41-51
- UP 124:6 The Journey to Jerusalem. No New Testament Correspondence
- Urantia Paper 125: Jesus at Jerusalem
- UP 125:0 No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 125:1 Jesus Views the Temple. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 125:2 Jesus and the Passover. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 125:3 Departure of Joseph and Mary. Luke 2:41-44
- UP 125:4 First and Second Days in the Temple. No New Testament Correspondence.
- Parents return to Jerusalem. Luke 2:45
- UP 125:5 The Third Day in the Temple . No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 125:6 The Fourth Day in the Temple. Luke
2:46-51
- "the Feast of the Passover."--The Passover Feast began on the 15th day of Nisan, a date that fell somewhere in March or April each year. It was the most important of the yearly Jewish religious festivals and commemorated the time when the Hebrews were delivered out of their economic slavery in Egypt.
- "when he was twelve years old"--If Jesus were born in late summer 7 B.C. he would have turned 12 around August, A.D. 6, and this passover would have occurred around April, A.D. 7.
- Urantia Paper 126: The Two Crucial Years. (Ages 14 and 15)
- UP 126:0 No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 126:1 His Fourteenth Year (A.D. 8). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 126:2 The Death of Joseph. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 126:3 The Fifteenth Year (A.D. 9). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 126:4 First Sermon in the Synagogue. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 126:5 The Financial Struggle. No New Testament Correspondence
- Urantia Paper 127: The Adolescent Years
- UP 127:l The Sixteenth Year (A.D. 10). Conscious of preexistence. Property going--struggle increases. No New Testament Correspondence
- UP 127:2 The Seventeenth Year (A.D. 11). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 127:3 The Eighteenth Year (A.D. 12). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 127:4 The Nineteenth Year (A.D. 13). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 127:5 Rebecca, the Daughter of Ezra. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 127:6 His Twentieth Year (A.D. 14). No New Testament Correspondence.
- Urantia Paper 128: Jesus' Early Manhood
- UP 128:1 The Twenty-first Year (A.D. 15). Twofold purpose of the bestowal. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:2 The Twenty-second Year (A.D. 16). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:3 The Twenty-third Year (A.D. 17). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:4 The Damascus Episode. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:5 The Twenty-fourth Year (A.D. 18). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:6 The Twenty-fifth Year (A.D. 19). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 128:7 The Twenty-sixth Year (A.D. 20). No New Testament Correspondence.
- Urantia Paper 129: The Later Adult Life of Jesus
- UP 129:1 The Twenty-seventh Year (A.D. 21). Detaches himself from his family. No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 129:2 The Twenty-eighth Year (A D. 22). No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 129:3 The Twenty-ninth Year (A.D. 23)0 No New Testament Correspondence.
- UP 129:4 The Human Jesus. No New Testament Correspondence.
A service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship
Serving the Readership since 1955