Eusebius on Early Christian Interpretations

• Jesus (Yeshua) may have spent his early years in Egypt, and studied there as an adult during the lost biblical years (ages 12-30).
• Egypt was close to Jerusalem, with a legacy as the motherland of the ancient mysteries.
• Egypt has a history of Judeo-Christianity from Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.
• The first translation of the Torah (Old Testament) from Hebrew into Greek in Alexandria mid 3rd century was known as the Septuagint followed by the travels of Jesus and his Apostles.
• The first Apostolic church in Alexandria was founded by Mark, a disciple of Apostle Peter, contributing to a long history of Orthodox and Gnostic Christianity.

Jesus in the Temple at Age 12

• Luke tells of the holy family's visit to Jerusalem for Passover when Jesus was 12.
• During the visit, Jesus was brought to the temple for review before the high priests.
• Upon returning home, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple courts conversing with priests and elders.
• The priests and elders were impressed by Jesus's depth of knowledge.
• The Apocryphal Infancy Gospels provide a detailed account of this dialogue.
• Jesus answered questions from high priests, philosophers, astronomers, mathematicians, and physicians.
• He displayed in-depth knowledge of sacred mysteries and sciences.

The Egyptian Jewish Therapeutae

• Jesus traveled to Alexandria with his family and spent time among the Zadokites and likely the Therapeutae (Healers).
• The primary source about the Therapeutae is "The Contemplative Life" by Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (20 BCE – 50 CE).
• Therapeutes means one who is attendant to the gods, and has a meaning of attending 'to heal,' or treating in a spiritual or medical sense.
• Philo explained the name as either physicians of souls or servants of God.
• They descended from Jews who settled in Egypt since the time of Moses and flourished in Alexandria.
• The Therapeutae had close ties with the Essenes, sharing similar traditions.
• They lived in shared communities away from cities and practiced initiatory and cleanliness rituals.
• These rituals included fasting and water baptisms performed in white linen.
• The Therapeutae possessed a vast collection of sacred literature.

Interpretations and Practices

• The sacred literature included the Holy Biblical scriptures, interpreted allegorically, and other ancient philosophical, metaphysical, and theological writings.
• Eusebius of Caesarea identified the Therapeutae as the first Christian monks with renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, and solitary lives.
• The 2nd-century Egyptian Christian Gnostics regarded the Therapeutae as the first Hellenic Jewish followers of the Mystery of Moses.
• The Therapeutae were seen as forerunners of the Mystery of Jesus (Yeshua).
• For the Gnostics, the cross was a symbol of cosmic processes, the crucifixion of the soul, and regeneration.
• Gnostic sects developed sacramental and baptismal rituals for rebirth into the realm of spirit.
• This was similar to Jewish visionary traditions and Egyptian Osiris myth rituals.
• Gnostic and Apocryphal literature, and amulets contained prescriptions for physical and spiritual illnesses, using natural ingredients, rituals, and prayers.

Miracles, Magic, and Accusations

• There was no distinction between miracles and magic in classical antiquity, however during the development of Christianity in late antiquity a charge of magic was a polemical device.
• Stories of Jesus practicing Egyptian magic and other malicious rumours were constructed by opponents of the new faith.
• Opponents and followers of Jesus disagreed on the source of his miraculous powers.
• Early Christian sources attributed Jesus' abilities to his relationship with God.
• Anti-Christian propaganda accused him of performing magic.
• Christian Gnostics were accused of practicing magic, identified as "the source of all heresies."
• By the 2nd century, Jewish tradition accused Jesus of using magic learned in Egypt.
• The Tract Sanhedrin extends Jesus’ trial to allow people to defend him, but states that Jesus was executed for sorcery.
• The Talmudic tradition claims that Jesus' second allegation of magic was learning it in Egypt.
• The Toledoth Yeshu accuses Jesus of practicing Egyptian magic and necromancy and stealing the "Ineffable Name of God."
• Stealing the ‘Ineffable Name of God’ allowed him to perform miracles and claim ownership as the Jewish Messiah (Christ).
• Celsus, a 2nd-century Neoplatonic philosopher, attacked Christianity and reinterpreted Jesus as a magician.
• Celsus claimed Jesus acquired magical powers in Egypt.
• Early Christian iconography depicts Jesus holding a wand or rod while performing miracles, leading scholars to believe early Christians saw Jesus as a magician.
• Additionally, marine archaeologists discovered a ceramic bowl from the 1st century in Alexandria with an ancient inscription that reads ~'By Christ the Magician'.

Infancy Gospel Dialogue

• When Jesus was twelve years old, they brought him to Jerusalem to the feast when it was over, they returned.
• But the Lord Jesus continued behind in the temple among the doctors and elders, and learned men of Israel to whom he proposed several questions of learning, and gave them answers.
• Iesous said to the Rabbis, "Whose son is the Messiah?" They answered, "the son of David." Iesous said "Why does he in the spirit call him Lord?..."
• A Rabbi asked him, "Hast thou read the books?" Jesus answered, he had read both books and the things within them.
• What followed was an explanation of the law, precepts, statutes and mysteries within the prophet's books.
• Another Astronomer enquired whether he had studied astronomy, and Jesus explained the number of the spheres, heavenly bodies, their natures, operations, courses, and movements.
• A philosopher well skilled in physic and natural philosophy, asked the Lord Jesus, Whether he had studied physic and medicin, and he explained physics and metaphysics and more including composition and dissolution.
• Mary and Joseph searched tirelessly and when she saw him among the doctors, in turn proposing questions and offering answers, she asked "Why hast thou done this?".
• The doctors then said, "O happy the Mary, to who has had the grace to bare such a holy son."
• Then he returned to Nazareth, and his mother kept all these things in her mind. And the Lord Jesus grew in stature and wisdom, and favour with God and man.

Miracles and Healing

• Jesus passed by a man blind from his birth and his disciples asked him whose sin was it that made the man have to live his entire life without sight.
• Jesus answered that it was not the sin of him or his family, but a test by God so that we may bare witness to his Devine intervention.
• Christ then spit on his palms, wiped the saliva into mud and anointed the eyes of the blind man before saying to him "wash in the pool of Siloam and be freed of your disability."
• Obedient to the word of Christ, the man washed his eyes in the pool of Siloam and came back seeing.

Rituals and Recipes

• Jesus instructed to his disciples, "Bring me grapevines, so that you may receive the baptism of fire."
• He offered up incense from juniper berries, myrrh, frankincense, mastic, nard, cassia flowers, turpentine, and oil of myrrh.
• Along with the sacred herbs the disciples were to consume the bread and wine in front of the offering.
• Before having them dress in linen garments and crowned with pigeon and doghead grass, before putting pebble with the seven voices inside their hands.
• He instructed them to put chrysanthemum flowers in both of their hands, and knotgrass below their feet before putting the holy herbs before the disciples.
• Recipes for treatment exist, such as a laxative made from Cummins, fennel, parsley, kostos root, and more.
• When three men came across Jesus in the desert asking "what treatment can be given to the sick?", the master said that.
• "I have given olive oil and myrrh for those who believes in the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit and the Son."
• Other recipes were prescribed for the Angels to perform and give to the believers that are in need of physical or spiritual healing.
• One prescription involves grinding wild basil seed with wine for difficulty in urination.

Philo and the Therapeutae

• Philo met many of them in Greece where he had the fortune of seeing their arts of medicine, more excellent than in those cities.
• He wrote that the number of such men are best found in, Egypt, Alexandria and its districts.
• These men would devote themselves, from morning and to the evening, to meditating the sacred scripture and philosophies.
• It was an investigation into the allogories of national philosophy, to show that the expression of true nature can only truly be shown through scripture.
• The men also took the stories of their own, the allegories made by those gone before, as a kind of model for how to continue to live a dignified rhythm.

Eusebius of Caesarea and the Therapeutae

• Eusebius of Caesarea wrote that the Therapeutae and Therapeutrides would apply remedies and heel the souls, like physicians.
• Moreover Eusebius claimed that these Therapeutae would spend their time in allegorical manner, with the bible itself providing hidden symbols of truth from the past.
• From this it must be recognised that Eusebius had been giving view to Herald's of the Gospel that was at the time given forward, a historical account to Apostles handed down form the beginning.
• In addition to this one can find the order of dignities that are the backborn of servile, as well as the bishop.