Rebellion of Yochanan

CHAPTER 7

At the tender age of twelve, Yochanan’s outspoken words of righteousness and authority on the true path to God do not sit well with the priests and results in his forced exile to the isolated community of Gimron, where he must now live.

 1 Yochanan grew and became strong in the spirit of the Lord.

 2 His mother found great happiness with his devotion to God, for she knew he had been called from birth to be a prophet of the most high and she was glad that he endeavored to be worthy of his calling and that it might be fulfilled.

 3 Nevertheless, she worried for the activities of youth, which he shunned and had no interest, and for his penchant to speak with authority to adults, which oftentimes incurred their anger.

 4 It was seldom possible for Yochanan to sit in silence during lectures given to the youth by the priests and teachers, as was expected of children. Frequently, he would stand and rebut what was being said or even the man who was speaking, and this caused much distress to his mother and among his kinsfolk.

 5 Thus, he was frequently reprimanded by his elder kinsfolk, but they could not sway his spirit of defiant righteousness, for he knew he had been called by Elohim for a high and holy purpose and even in his tender years, the spirit of God swelled his heart and spoke to his mind.

 6 One day, his uncle Nathanael came to him and said, “Yochanan, you are a mighty youth of Elohim, but you must show more respect for your elders and those in authority, for soon you will be a youth no more but a young man, and such things will not be tolerated and can cause harm to both you and your kinsfolk.”

 7 Yochanan shrugged his shoulders and answered him, saying, “I speak only the truth. Is it so painful for those in high places to hear?”

 8 Nathanael shook his head in disapproval and answered, “It is the truth only as you think in your inexperience of youth. Consider that if you are at odds with the laws and traditions of our people that have been given unto us by God, is it not against God that you are being rebellious?”

 9 And Yochanan said unto him, “I do not speak against the law, only against those who use the law or their position to sin and hide their iniquities or twist the law to justify themselves or hold power over others.”

 10 Then was Nathanael disturbed and said, “It is given only to God to judge the hidden things that men do. Can you not see that it is not your place to speak against upright men whose lives in private, be they sinful or sinless, you know not? Nor is it proper for youths to question the interpretation of the law by those to whom it has been given to oversee.”

 11 And Yochanan answered, “I do not speak of things I cannot see, only the hypocrisy that all can see, and I do not speak to condemn a man for I know that only God can judge. But I speak boldly of the sins men do; that all the others who hear my words will know without doubt of the things which are pleasing unto God and those that are not; that in their greater understanding they might not sin.”

 12 And if God has given a true understanding of the law unto me, I cannot stand idly by while it is perverted, for I am accountable to God, not unto men.”

 13 Nathanael pulled upon his hair in frustration as he spoke again unto Yochanan, saying, “It matters not whether the words you say are true or false, only that it is not a youths place to say such words to men. You must stop this foolishness, or we will be forced to send you away to a lonely place in the wilderness where you will not be able to speak disrespectfully to those in authority.”

 14 A great smile came upon Yochanan, and he said, “Perhaps you will then be doing me a favor, Uncle, for away from the stench of men, in the temple of the wilderness built by God, I will find him in ways I have never known.”

 15 Thus, it was that Yochanan became even bolder because of the admonitions of his uncle, as he looked with expectation for the day when his kinsfolk would exile him into the wilderness.

 16 After he had attained the age of twelve years, Yochanan had reached the time of transition into manhood when, as was spoken by Nathanael, his affronts to those in authority would not be tolerated as lightly as they had been when he was a youth.

 17 And it came to pass that Yochanan was sitting in a class to educate young men in the history of the Children of Israel and to train them in their adult responsibilities. Upon this day came a priest of great esteem from Jerusalem named Asa to teach the young men in the ways they should go.

 18 And Asa taught many things to them, and Yochanan sat in silence nodding his head in agreement for much of what was spoken.

 19 Then Asa came to speak on the duties of men according to the laws of God. And the list was very long.

 20 And Asa said unto the young men, “Remember every word of these laws that they may be inscribed on your hearts, for only he who keeps the letter of the law and the traditions handed down by our fathers will be granted favor by God.”

 21 Then it was that Yochanan stood up, which was not allowed, and began to speak unto Asa, as one man of authority speaks to another, which thing was also forbidden.

 22 And Yochanan said unto him, “Rabbi, obeying the law is as worthless as dust unless a man has a repentant heart and brings forth fruits worthy of a true repentance, for all men are sinners and no amount of laws obeyed can bring man to God, but only the love of God inscribed on his heart and the light of God reflected in his life.”

 23 But Asa, having been forewarned of the disruptive character of Yochanan by the local priests, had prepared for such an encounter. And rather than simply put him back in a place of silence as befitted his age, he said unto him, “God Almighty chose the Children of Israel and gave unto them his laws that they might live pleasing unto him and have his favor. If a man fully lives the law, he will be without sin; therefore, you are an impudent youth who speaks out of turn with words without knowledge. Sit down before you embarrass yourself further.”

 24 Everyone then looked to Yochanan, who did not sit down, expecting him to reply in a fury, but instead he laughed at Asa, which thing was much worse. And he said unto him, “Forgive me, learned rabbi, I thought we were speaking in seriousness and did not realize you would bring humor to our conversation, for surely you were jesting to say that if a man fully lived the law, he would be without sin, for none but God is without sin.”

 25 The rabbi Asa was flustered that Yochanan had perceived the error of his words, and he answered haltingly at first, “That is true, only the Almighty is completely without sin . . . for God is a power not a person . . . but you dishonor the righteousness of good men by the things that you say, for there are many who are close to perfection, who give great alms, who pray often and with great devotion, and who follow all the details of the law in their lives as God has asked all of his chosen children to do.

 26 Sit down now with attention and learn of the ways of your fathers that you may follow in the footsteps of your father Zekaryah and someday become a priest of the temple.”

 27 Now Yochanan was building a righteous intensity, and he said unto the rabbi, “I will never be a priest of the temple built by man, but only a priest of the temple built by God, which I am even now as I stand before you.

 28 And of what value are great alms to God unless a man is willing in his heart to give all that he has to God and be happy when he is called upon to do so?

 29 And I say unto you that God loves the poor more than the rich, for they give more of what they have little of, while the rich man gives little of what he has more of.

 30 Only when the rich man gives so much of his wealth that he must miss a meal as the poor do when they give alms will his gift be counted as pure righteousness before God.

 31 And of what worth are frequent public prayers? Is a man more righteous because he prays loudly in public that others may notice? I say unto you no! Verily, God is unseen and unknown except to those who seek him in solitude and humility.

 32 And it is the evil things that men do in secret that others do not see that condemns them, and then the law they obey in public for others to see does nothing for them except brand them as hypocrites before God, and verily, only a contrite spirit worthy of repentance will help them.”

 33 Then the rabbi was very wroth at the words of Yochanan and he said unto him, “I cannot tolerate another moment of your blasphemous words. For the sake of your father, I desired to teach you in ways that are good, but I can see you have been corrupted by the nonsense of your imagination, therefore depart and return no more to this school until you have vowed to respect your elders and the laws of God.”

 34 And Yochanan answered him, saying, “I will go with happiness to a place of greater purity, but I shall return again when I have been filled by the Almighty. Watch therefore for me, and perhaps we can speak once more when you see the whirlwind coming from the desert.”

 35 Then Yochanan returned to the house of his uncle and related all that had occurred and his uncle was very wroth, and upon calling all the kinsfolk, it was decided that Yochanan would be sent to the isolated community of Gimron to be taught by the sternness of those there so that he might yet be able to fulfill his potential without causing himself harm.