The Cousins

Then Zekharyah raised both his hands high and sang a most beautiful song of praise to El Gibbor:

"Blessed be HaShem, Elohim of Israel, He has come to set His people free!" He took his small son in his arms. The baby whimpered a little after the Rabbi circumcised him. Zekharyah looked down into the tiny face with love and wonder, and said, "You, my child, are the prophet of the Highest. You will go ahead of the Master to prepare His way".

Everyone knew that this was a Word from the Most High, and the people talked about all these things for a long time after, wondering what kind of child this would be.

Zekharyah and Elisheva took wonderful care of their boy. They depended on the Ruach HaKodesh for wisdom, to guide them. They taught him the Word of Adonai, the Torah, and he grew up knowing and loving Adonai with all his heart. He loved hearing, again and again, the story of the great angel. And Zekharyah would remind him, over and over, that he had been sent specially to prepare the way for the Messiah.

Miryam, Elisheva's cousin from Natzeret, was very much younger than Elisheva. Miryam also had a little boy, six months younger than Yochanan, and they often visited each other's homes. There was an even greater mystery about the birth of Y'shua, Miryam's son. She had told Y'shua the story as soon as he was old enough to understand, and like his cousin, he enjoyed hearing it over and over. But whenever she talked about it, Miryam felt a strange fear tugging at her heart.

"Yosef and I were not yet married when you began to grow inside me", she told him. "So, he is not your real Abba. But you are the son of the most wonderful Father there is. A beautiful angel came to tell me that you were coming, and that you would have the most important work to do, that anyone ever had".

Y'shua would get a faraway look in his darkbrown eyes as he listened. Only later, as he grew older, did he begin to hear and wonder about the slight anxiety behind her words.

When the two little boys discovered they had an angel in common, they were highly excited. They often talked about it as they played together. They loved each other very much and were more like brothers than cousins; although Y'shua had younger brothers and sisters of his own, Yosef's own children, there was a special bond between him and his cousin.