Except for a mention in one of Paul’s letters no where in the New Testament Bible does Jesus mention the Essenes. He talks about the Saduccees and the Pharisees, but never about the Essenes. A fourth political faction the Zealots was also not mentioned, however Judas was believed to be a Zealot. Why is it that the one political group in Judea is never mentioned yet it was the only group that preserved and copied the Bible and many religious and medical documents of the day? The Essenes were once a strong part of the Temple in Jerusalem until they had a falling out with the corrupt priests. They decided to pull out of Jerusalem and worship God on their own away from the corrupt practices of the temple. The Essenes were also found in Damascus, Syria and Mount Carmel near Nazareth. One of the gates in Jerusalem is called the Essene gate for the Essenes that used to be such a critical part of the temple.

There were many Essene communities in Jesus’ day. One monastic community near the Dead Sea south of Jerusalem was called Qumran and here along the Dead Sea Essenes collected many medical herbs and minerals for healing. They practiced Baptism on a daily basis and believed strongly in Angels. Much of what Jesus included in his ministry is identical to the Essene beliefs. A comparison of their prayers from the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been translated into English show the similarities in beliefs.

The New Testament portrays Jesus as a miracle worker with the sick and dying. Actually he was a well trained Physician having gotten his training over 15 years with the Mount Carmel Essenes. Jesus never reveals his secret training with drugs and healing. People in his day confused miracles with medicine and healing. The Essenes were said to the the best book of medicines in the known world at the time of Jesus. They collected drugs, herbs, and medicines from the traders who came from Asia, India, and China. The Essenes prided themselves on their medical knowledge and the Fact that they wrote everything done on how to collect and administer the medicines they traded for. The Dead Sea Scrolls tell of the Book of Healing and Medicines that the Essenes had which to date is lost to history.

My novel “Jesus and John,” takes a historical perspective about the possible training of Jesus with the Mount Carmel Essenes that worshipped on Mount Carmel a 30 minute walk from Nazareth. John on the other hand had a different philosophy than Jesus which reflects the teachings of the Qumran community near the Dead Sea. They were a closed community that only allowed people that could show a lineage to the Priests which John had since he was the son of a Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Hopefully my historical fiction novel will open some Christians eyes as to the human nature of Jesus and how he developed his skills of healing in his ministry.