by Dr. Pelham Mead (c) 2016, Xlibris Publishers.

Jesus and John (The Early Years)

Written by

Dr. Pelham K. Mead III

Based on research from the Dead Sea Scrolls

JESUS AND JOHN

Jesus and John

By Dr. Pelham K. Mead III

Image #1 cover picture of stain glass photo of Jesus and John

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my friends Glenn Bornsen of El

Cajon, Calif., and Paul Renfrew of Boston, and George

Schandel of Mastic Beach, Long Island, New York.

And also to the memory of my mother Doris Grace Mead who

taught me to read at age one, and

Continued to support my reading adventures all my life.

Index Page

Introduction……………………………………………………..……page 4

Chapter 1-In the beginning…the birth of John………………………page 7

Chapter 2-The birth of Jesu (Jesus) of

Nazareth…………………….page 16

Chapter 3-The flight into Egypt of the Holy Family……………….page

22

Chapter 4-Young Jesus at age 6…………………………………….page 46

Chapter 5- Young John of Hebron ………………………………..Page 82

Chapter 6- Jesus at age 12………………………………………….page 48

Chapter 7- The Mount Carmel Essenes…………………….……….page 53

Chapter 8-The funeral of Joseph of Nazareth……………………..page 87

Chapter 9- Jesus the Essene Healer…………………………………page 66

Chapter 10-The voice of one crying in the

wilderness…………….page 92

Chapter 11- The Baptism of Jesus…………………………………page 110

Chapter 12- John questions who Jesus really

was?……………………page 116

Chapter 13-The Righteous Teacher………………………………page 118

Chapter 14-The Sermon on the Mount……………………………page 122

2.

Chapter 15-The Beginning and the End………………………….page 137

Glossary

Bibliography

Introduction

The purpose of this novel is to reveal secrets about Jesus

and John the Baptist when they were infants until when they

formally met again, when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in

the Jordan River. This novel also seeks to answer how Jesus

and John got all their formal training, and how that became

the basis of their ministry. I did a great deal of research

into what happened when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled into

Egypt for four years. My basis for research for the Egyptian

flight of the Holy family is recorded in the oral and written

traditions of the modern day Egyptian Coptic Church. The

Egyptian Coptic Church places as much significance on oral

tradition, as they do in written tradition that might explain

the many miracles they claim happened in the flight to Egypt

of the Holy Family. Oral tradition passed down over 2,000

years is bound to change.

I also researched extensive parallels in what John the

Baptist taught, and what Jesus of Nazareth preached, and how

much can be traced to Essene ideas, prayers, and Gospels.

The monastic Essene community of Qumran near the Dead Sea was

close enough for John to travel from Hebron, and seek

membership. Walking distance from Jesus’ house in Nazareth

was the secret Essene community on Mount Carmel. It was all

very convenient for both Jesus and John that Essene societies

were close by at the time.

What Jesus and John revealed to the world was a philosophy of

the Essenes, who were around more than 100 years before

Jesus, and John. No one in the days of Jesus ever realized

that both Jesus and John were secret Essenes. The Essenes

were concerned with the coming of the Messiah, and or the

return of the “Teacher of Righteousness,” who died 150 years

before the birth of Jesus. Here in 15 A.D. when Jesus joined

the Mount Carmel Essene community was an opportunity to raise

up another “Teacher of Righteousness,” “The son of Man,” or a

“Messiah,” by Simon the Essene leader. The Essenes learned

not to get involved with the local authority when spreading

its messianic word. It cost the original Essenes the life of

their many of their beloved brethren, when they attempted to

interfere with local politics. As a result, they withdrew

from the cities, and fled to Qumran near the Dead Sea, and

otherwise, became secret societies in Nazareth, Jerusalem and

other major Judean cities.

The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal much about Essene Philosophy at

the time of Jesus.

3.

Jesus of Nazareth, and John of Hebron (the Baptist) were both

secret Essenes, as I shall demonstrate later in this book.

If you compare what John the Baptist taught in his ministry

and what Jesus of Nazareth taught in his ministry with the

Essene documents recorded on the Dead Sea Scrolls of the

Qumran Essene community, it is easy to see how John and

Jesus’ ideals imitate the Essene philosophy of praying for a

messiah or “Righteous Teacher,” to come and save the Jews.

Baptism and repentance were a way of life for the Essenes and

the core of John the Baptist’s teachings. The Essenes were

the best healers of the day and it is no consequence that

Jesus was a great healer who had many years of training and

experience somewhere like the Essene community of Mount

Carmel.

The Essenes looked upon these two men as a way of getting the

Temple in Jerusalem to reform, and bring the people to

salvation. Many things had to fall in place for the coming

of the Messiah to happen, and the Essenes knew that, and

prayed about it daily. One of their missions in life believed

in the coming of a Messiah who would deliver them from the

Romans, and other authority. Another mission was to copy

manuscripts, the Old Testament, secret religious documents,

and secret healing documents. The question is, was the

timing for the Essenes in the Jesus story right?

Many religious scholars fail to point out that in the

beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he was not as popular as John

the Baptist. John’s charisma helped to attract thousands to

be baptized, however, few if anyone had heard of Jesus yet

when he was 29 or 30 years of age. In this novel, I attempt

to fill in the missing years of Jesus’ childhood, and John’s

childhood based on bible references, Gospels not included in

the Bible, Essene Gospels, Dead Sea scrolls, and established

academic research by scholars in Biblical research. Sheer

speculation fills in the gaps in this story where no direct

evidence exists.

I tried to answer the questions, how did Jesus become a

â€oewalking Bible?†What preparation in the knowledge of the

Bible did he get, and where? Who trained Jesus to be so

knowledgeable in the Torah and the Bible? That is the great

mystery in the story of Jesus because the bible has been

edited again and again by the Catholic Church in the first

and second hundred years to fulfill the dogma that the church

wanted and not paid heed to the real facts about Jesus in his

developing years.

Another question to answer in this book is why is it that

John the Baptist’s philosophy was so similar to the Qumran

Essene community ideals of baptism, repealing sins, and the

coming of the Messiah? John the Baptist used the

proclamations of Elijah from the Gospels of the Essenes to

form the basis for his ministry.

4.

He never healed anyone in his ministry or attempted to

convert anyone to the Essene community. His message was the

same message that the Essenes were declaring and that was the

proclamation that the coming of the Messiah was at hand and

that everyone should repent of their sins and evil ways.

Jesus philosophy was more liberal than John’s philosophy, but

definitely Essene in origin. You have only to read some of

the Essene books included n the appendix of this book to

realize that Jesus philosophy and the Essene philosophy were

the same, even to the point of become a vegetarian, using

baptism on a daily basis, believing in the coming of the

second “righteous teacher,” and learning to live a pure life.

Jesus must have been trained at the Mount Carmel Essene

community that was walking distance from Nazareth, where

Jesus and his family lived. Jesus could read all the sacred

Hebrew texts, but somehow never learned to write, or become a

Scribe. Why is that? Perhaps when Jesus was eligible to begin

the Essene training for a Scribe at age 21 he may have chosen

to become a Healer instead, therefore, never learning how to

write in Hebrew script.

Learning to heal people was like becoming a Doctor in Jesus

day with no formal medical school or institutions to help in

learning. Healing was a guarded skill by the Essenes in

Jesus’ day. The Essenes were the best healers in Judea and

Galilee because they studied cures from around the world and

recorded their findings found on the Dead Sea scrolls two

thousand years later. They grew special herbs in their

gardens, and lived on honey and date palms. They traded for

special potent seeds, and powders to store in their

collections. Essene men were known at Jesus’ time to live a

long life into their 60’s and 70’s when the average age span

at the time was 30. Jesus could have trained with the Essenes

of Mount Carmel to become a great healer, and to also use the

“laying on of hands,” which required a great deal of faith

for the healer, as well as the patient. All of this shall be

explained by the kind of training Jesus went through to

become an Essene at age 20, and to be baptized into the Mount

Carmel

Essene Community. After becoming a learned Essene leader in

the scriptures and the philosophy of the Essenes, Jesus may

well have spent the majority of his life in learning Essene

Healing techniques, drugs and “laying on of hands.”

After extensive research of the Dead Sea Scrolls I have

included some samples of Essene gospels to give direct

evidence that Jesus took his Sermon on the Mount from Essene

prayers, and Gospels. He shortened the Essene Lord’s Prayer

because it was too long for a common person to remember, and

the average Jew did not pray to Mother Earth, as did the

Essenes, which was the first paragraph of the prayer.

5.

The blessings all come directly from the Essene texts as you

can see for yourself at the end of the book in the Appendix.

Of the 1,000 Dead Sea scrolls found, many in cave 4 and 11,

are most useful in my research, especially with references to

the “Righteous Teacher.”

The Essenes prayed that the “Righteous Teacher,” would be

resurrected, and return to lead them. This is why the Jesus

of Nazareth story is so important following the Essene idea

of death and resurrection. No direct mention is made of

Jesus in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the image of the

“Righteous Teacher,” certainly is likened to the image of

Jesus. It is possible that after the Dead Sea Scrolls were

found and if there were references to Jesus being an Essene

healer or becoming the Essene “righteous leader,” the

Catholic Church may have destroyed these scrolls as they lie

in storage for over 40 years.

It is unfortunate that in 70 A.D. the Romans for the Jewish

revolt against the Romans destroyed all the Essene

communities across Judea and Galilee, as well as the Temple

in Jerusalem as punishment. All of the Qumran 1,000 plus

leather and copper scrolls were put in jars, or otherwise in

a rush, just thrown in caves and boarded up with stones,

until an Arab child discovered them in the late 1940’s. What

ever happened to the scrolls of the other Essene communities

around Israel at the time in 70 A.D.? There may never be an

answer to that question unless someday a hidden cache on

Mount Carmel or under the remains of the Jerusalem Temple are

discovered.

We may never know where the scrolls from the Mount Carmel

Essene community, Damascus Essenes, and other community

scrolls were actually buried or hidden in a cave. How many

secret scrolls went underground in Jerusalem, burned or

destroyed during the Jewish revolt of 70 A.D. that ended so

badly, we will perhaps never know? “The end of time,” that

the Essenes preached about, came suddenly in 70 A.D. many

years after they had originally predicted it. The Romans in

retaliation for revolting in 68 A.D. crushed the rebellion,

destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and all of the Essene

communities in the desert and on Mount Carmel and other

cities in Judea.

With the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, we might one day

discover scrolls more that might reveal more than the

Christian churches wanted to be revealed about Jesus, and

whether he was really an Essene Healer and Rabbi.

Chapter 1- In the Beginningâ€.The birth of John

Bible: Book of Luke

6.

1:5 THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a

certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and

his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was

Elizabeth. 1:6 and they were both righteous before God,

walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord

blameless. 1:7 and they had no child, because that Elizabeth

was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s

office before God in the order of his course, 1:9 According

to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn

incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 1:10 And

the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the

time of incense. 1:11 and there appeared unto him an angel of

the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

1:12 and when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear

fell upon him. 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not,

Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth

shall bear yo u a son, and you shall call his name John. 1:14

and you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice

at his birth. 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the

Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he

shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s

womb. 1:16 and many of the children of Israel shall he turn

to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he shall go before him in the

spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers

to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the

just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 1:18 And

Zacharias said unto the angel, W hereby shall I know this?

For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 1:19

And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that

stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto you,

and to show you these glad tidings. 1:20 and, behold, you

shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that

these things shall be performed, because you believe not my

words, which sha ll be fulfilled in their season. 1:21 and

the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried

so long in the temple. 1:22 and when he came out, he could

not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a

vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained

speechless. 1:23 and it came to pass, that, as soon as the

days of hi s ministration were accomplished, he departed to

his own house. 1:24 And after those days his wife Elizabeth

conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 1:25 Thus has

the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me,

to take away my reproach h among men

So it was that John the Baptist was born against all odds.

His mother was old, and yet according to the Angel, she would

still be able to bear a child. The story is similar to Joseph

of Nazareth and Mary his betrothed. Zacharia and his aged

wife were finally having a child after being barren for so

many years. It would truly be a miracle for Elizabeth to

have a child in her advanced years.

7.

According to the Angel Gabriel their son would be named John,

not Zacharias, as in normal Jewish custom. The Angel also

goes on to say that John will be a great person in the eyes

of the lord. He will be a person filled with the Holy Spirit.

He would be a prophet, because many of the children of Israel

shall he turn to the Lord their God. He shall have the power

of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,

and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready

a people prepared for the Lord. It seems John’s mission was

to be a prophet of the Lord right from the beginning.

Bible:

And, behold, your cousin in Elizabeth, she has also conceived

a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her,

who was called barren. 1:37 For with God nothing shall be

impossible. 1:38 And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the

Lord; be it unto me according to your word. And the angel

departed from her. 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and

went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

1:40 and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted

Elizabeth. 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elizabeth

heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;

and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit: 1:42 And she

spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed are you among

women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb

So according to the scriptures Mary of Nazareth was informed

by an Angel that her cousin Elizabeth, despite her old age,

was already six months pregnant. So Mary went to visit her

cousin Elizabeth to the city of Judah called Hebron. A second

reason was because when she realized that she was with child,

and she could have been stoned to death for having a child

out of wedlock. Joseph may have decided to abandon her for

having a child without lying with him. Fortunately, Joseph

had a vision, and an Angel came to him, and told him not to

worry that Mary would bear a male child who would become a

leader among men, and his name would be called Jesus (Jesua).

Joseph feared for Mary’s life, and he was himself confused.

A young woman that became pregnant without a husband was

stoned to death in those days. He knew it was best that Mary

go to her cousin Elizabeth for a few months, so that his

relatives would forget Mary for a while. This would give him

time to announce that he intended to marry Mary. It was the

safest way for Mary, Joseph concluded.

It was a hot sunny day in Nazareth that day in the year 1 BC

in the country of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great,

a governor put in place by the Romans. Mary, a short,

longhaired brunette was a Jewish girl of age thirteen living

in Nazareth, a city in northern Galilee in Israel. She was

preparing for the three-day journey to the south of Judea to

the town of Hebron to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

TO be continued or read in Kindle format on Amazon.com