Jesus's Twin: The Greatest Story Never Told

CHAPTER 1

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.

Luke 1:76

The prophecies of old must be fulfilled and a savior, a Messiah, must be born unto Israel, thought Nicodemus the Pharisee. Now is the time and who, if not, I will be the one to obey His word. After all, the Lord God has no hands, feet or voice on earth but ours. He has pre-ordained our salvation through His prophet. He hears His people’s cries. Israel has lost all sense of itself and must be reborn. A foreign power occupies the land and with its’ idolatrous practices, the Temple is defiled. Men serve themselves and not the Lord God. The people groan for the coming of the Promised One. He will deliver His chosen people once again as He did in the time of Moses. He is God and we are His people. The nation of God will be resurrected. Only I, with God’s help, can do this. The time foretold is upon us. The Lord has opened my eyes to His plan. All I need do is be obedient and act accordingly. His will be done.

All these thoughts flooded the mind of Nicodemus as he made his way to his appointed and fateful meeting with the priest Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth. In countless hours of prayer his plan and God’s deliverance had been made known to him. God grant me the strength and wisdom to do your will, he prayed silently. It seemed all his life had been merely a prologue to this moment.

Nicodemus arrived at mid-day in the relatively poor, backwater town in which Zechariah made his home. He padded down the dirt streets, his sandals raising puffs of dust with each weary step. The town was an unremarkable collection of mud brick buildings and homes with the attached palm frond roofs. Almost all had hard-packed dirt floors. The most impressive structure-if it could be called so-was the town’s synagogue with its wood floor and rows of seats for worshippers. There was a middle-class comprised of merchants and craftsmen, but most residents were poor shepherds.

Nicodemus was clad in ordinary clothes for travel and was undistinguishable from the general populace. This suited his covert mission. No one took notice of him as he made his way to the home Zechariah.

Nicodemus arrived at the home of the elderly Zechariah after a long and hot journey north from Jerusalem. It was especially arduous for the rather stout, but robust man. He was acquainted with Zechariah as a priest in the division of Abijah and a descendent of Aaron.

Greetings and peace be with you, Zechariah said to the thinning brown-haired Nicodemus when they met. This is my beloved wife Elizabeth, who I don’t believe you have met. It was apparent she was pregnant in spite of her middle age.

Shalom to you both, Nicodemus greeted them in return, and bless you for the hospitality of your home. Believe me when I say that I am convinced the Lord our God has brought me to you both with a message and task, if you are receptive to it. I am happy that He has sent me to you and I am honored to be His servant.

Zechariah said, You know that I am God’s servant also and I am anxious to hear His commands as they have been revealed to you.

Congratulations on your wife being with child. The Lord has assured me you will be blessed with a son and this is the reason for my message.

This is wonderful news! This child alone is a blessing at our age.

More wonderful is my assurance that your son will be a great prophet and prepare the way for our Messiah, who will shortly come to our nation for His chosen people.

Praise God almighty for His generous love! May our Lord deliver us from the unholy rule of Herod and his spawn and the Roman swine who put him in power and who subject our nation to dishonor. We will raise our son as a Nazarite in thanks to God for fulfilling the prophecies.

We also, Elizabeth added, will raise him up as a righteous Jew fully able to discharge his duty as God’s prophet.

Make no mistake, Nicodemus said, you both have a responsibility to see to it that your son will be heard by the people and obeyed.

What must we do? they asked.

First, you must agree to always do exactly what I command without question or objection, regardless whether you assent or how you feel about it. Do you agree and give your oath?

As God is our witness, Zechariah said, we agree and swear it.

Very good. May your faith be rewarded and your service to God be credited to you as righteousness.

Secondly, I now give you this command. You will name him John and he will be a joy and delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth.

How appropriate that John means ‘the Lord is gracious’ because He most certainly is, Zechariah remarked.

Quite so, but much more will be required of you both.

How can we best serve the Lord?

Since you have been concerned about your pregnancy because of your age, you, Elizabeth, must continue to remain in your home as you have already done and remain silent about it. Zechariah will announce it as I instruct him.

So be it.

Zechariah, I have used my influence in the Temple to arrange for you to be chosen ‘by lot’ to be the priest who will burn incense to God.

But how—?

Nicodemus leaned forward in his chair and in a raised voice said, Stop there. Don’t ever again question me on my methods. It is enough that I have said it will be so.

Let it be as you have said, Zechariah replied meekly. What else must we do?

When you come out from burning the incense you are not to speak—not even a word. The priests will know that you have seen a vision. Say that the angel Gabriel appeared to you and promised you a son whom you are to name John. The angel will promise you that your son will be a joy and a delight to you and be great in the sign of the Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit in the spirit and power of Elijah. He will be raised as a Nazarite who will not drink wine or cut his hair.

These things you will make known when you speak again and you will say that John is to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And having said these things, this is exactly how you are to raise your son. He will prepare the way for the Messiah who is coming.

But how can we know that the Messiah will come now, asked Elizabeth, and how will a virgin be with child as prophesied?

Just how these things will come to pass will depend on us with God’s help, said Nicodemus. As you know, will come out of the House of David. We will require a man of this lineage and a woman to bear the child. Do you know of any that would suit our needs?"

A couple comes immediately to mind, but Elizabeth and I must pray and discuss this before we recommend them, said Zechariah. Let us go to the Lord God and ask for His guidance.

Very well, responded Nicodemus. The fate of our people rests on us and nothing should be done by us without His guidance and blessing. Ours is a fateful task and God will surely guide our feet if we are faithful.

Then let us dine together and seek His word until morning when we will speak again.

After supper, Nicodemus retired to his room for the evening and Elizabeth and Zechariah to their rooms.

My wife of many years I know your mind and I believe I know what you are thinking, Zechariah said when they were alone. Your cousin Mary and her betrothed, Joseph, of the House of David, is this not so?

You sometimes know my mind better than I know it myself after all these years, she replied. It is so.

Then I believe that God has brought Nicodemus to us in particular to fulfill his plan. They would be ideal if God leads them to agree. However, we must ask God’s guidance before we discuss this with him. And so they went to the Lord in prayer throughout the night.

When morning came, they awoke and Zechariah said to Elizabeth, God has answered my prayers by assuring me that Mary and Joseph are pre-ordained to bear the savior. What have you been told?

The same, my husband. This is surely God’s plan. We must propose it to Nicodemus.

CHAPTER 2

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,

and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

Zechariah, Elizabeth and Nicodemus made their way on foot to Nazareth, except for Elizabeth who rode on a donkey due to her condition. Although she felt well in the sixth month of her pregnancy, they were taking no chances.

Upon arriving in Nazareth, which resembled Zechariah’s hometown, where Elizabeth’s cousin Mary and Joseph lived, they came to Mary’s home.

As Mary, the very young and pretty, greeted them, Zechariah said, Please welcome Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, who is with us.

Greetings, said Nicodemus to Mary, you who are highly favored! The Lord be with you.

What kind of greeting is this? Mary wondered.

May we talk with you and your fiancé Joseph? We are convinced God has a plan for you both which we would like to discuss.

All this is very troubling, but I will send for Joseph at once so we can hear God’s plan.

When Joseph arrived it was clear that he was considerably older than Mary. He was a rather unremarkable Galilean in appearance, but had a wise and humble look about him.

Greetings Joseph. Has Mary told you why we wish to speak with you? asked Nicodemus.

She spoke of a plan God himself has for us.

Yes, son of David, we are here at God’s direction to see if you will fulfill your destiny to bring our long awaited Messiah to the world with Mary.

Both Joseph and Mary looked visibly shaken and confused. Clearly they were unable to make any response so Nicodemus went on.

The Scriptures foretell His coming at this time. Never have we needed Him more. The stench of Herod is always in our nostrils and our eyes behold a Roman puppet on the throne. The King cares only for power and his own family’s position. They care nothing for the rule of God. The Temple and our priests are defiled. The people, especially you Galileans, are in the mood for insurrection. Even now Judas the Galilean is organizing for rebellion. Now is the time that the Messiah must come to establish His kingdom here on earth and lead His people to victory. All of us here believe God is calling you to be His instrument to bring this about.

Yes, it’s true, agreed Zechariah. Elizabeth and I also think you are perfect for God’s purpose and that our prayer will be answered if you both will submit to His will.

What, then, is God’s will? asked Joseph. Mary and I are not yet married.

Nicodemus answered saying, We propose that Zechariah marry you now secretly with only your closest family as witnesses. Once Mary becomes pregnant with a son as God has promised us, you will be married in public. In this way we may say that a virgin has given birth to the Messiah.

This may seem unfaithful to the scripture, but we would not even consider asking you to conceive a child out of wedlock. Our Savior cannot come into the world as a result of sin since He will be sinless to bear our inequities. This itself raises an important issue. You must agree to raise your son as one who will willingly sacrifice himself in time for the greater good of His chosen people, Israel.

This is a hard thought to bear, replied Mary, but let it be as God ordains it. Do you agree, Joseph?

So be it, I agree, said Joseph sadly.

God be praised, Elizabeth said, This is a wonderful day for now a Savior will be born unto God’s chosen people.

Let us proceed then, said Nicodemus, as the sooner we can end our suffering the better. Zechariah will perform the marriage ceremony just as soon as you can have your witnesses join us. Who will stand with you for these holy vows?

Mary spoke first. My identical twin brothers, Aaron and Moses will be my witnesses as my parents are both dead. Who will stand with you, Joseph?

My older brother Cleopas, he said.