The narrative begins with
Jesus, Mary and Joseph are residing in Egypt
along with Cleopas and his wife Miriam along
with their son, James. There are more
children but James is most interactive with
the child Jesus. Imagine the Savior as a
curious, sensitive and playful seven-year-
old, who has his share of troubles but not
so much that he doesn't enjoy being who He
is, - a seven-year-old boy. The Holy family
leaves Egypt after Joseph has a dream that
Herod the elder has died. The problem is,
unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph, is that
there is an order from Herod's son to
eliminate the Child Jesus.
Cleopas is cast as the
humorous relatives .When Joseph learns
through a dream that it was safe for the
family to return to Nazareth, he retorts
with, "What is it with dreams, angels and
this family?" When Jesus was presented to
the rabbi in Nazareth and is able to not
only recite Sacred Scripture but anticipate
what the rabbi will ask. Cleopas says, "They
have rabbis in Egypt too."
The entire focus of the plot is that the
Jesus Christ wants to know the circumstances
surrounding His birth and who He is. There
are instances where Jesus is praying to His
Father in heaven. He nearly has James
revealing the circumstances that will give
Him a clue to His true identity. James cuts
himself off from revealing those
circumstances after which Cleopas prods
Joseph and Mary to speak with Jesus about
his birth.
There is a wonderful scene where Mary, and I
am paraphrasing, tells Jesus that He shall
grow in wisdom but should keep those
powers inside until God the Father makes it
known when they are to be revealed.
This film was fast moving and very creative
filling in some of the blanks of the Lord
Jesus' childhood.