Scene from Jesus' Childhood

Have you ever wondered what Jesus' childhood was like?  No...??  Well, I have...  All we know from the gospels is how he was born and a short incident in the temple when he was 12.  Other than that, it's silent until he's like 30!  What was going on?  We know that he was human in all points like we are, so he probably had a fairly "normal" childhood going through all the stuff children normally go through.  But we also know that he was without sin!  So he was a sinless child!  That's quite a concept!  Well, I was reading in a history book one day about a town being built close to Nazareth during the time when Jesus would have been growing up.  The book said that Joseph, as a carpenter, would have likely had lots of work there.  So it captured my imagination, and just for fun, I wrote this conversation between Jesus and Joseph which I'm going to share with you...
(p.s. I couldn't decide whether to use Jesus or Yeshua, and the result is that I use both, and it doesn't really make sense, but just bear with me.  And don't judge me to harshly...I don't consider this my finest work or anything.  And it's not that exciting...just a conversation between him and Joseph.  Okay, I'm done with the disclaimers.)

Joseph pounded away with his hammer, beads of sweat forming on his forehead underneath the strap holding his head covering in place.  He stopped, and motioned for the water flask, which Jesus handed to him.  Closing his eyes, he took a long drink, and listened to the sounds of Sepphoris clamoring all around him.  The murmur of conversation, and haggling going on in a nearby marketplace.  The sounds of the construction project they were working on.  He heard the distinct bray of a donkey, and the plod of camels' hooves, as a caravan passed by.  A man called out in a foreign language to a friend.  A Roman's chariot drove by, going at a quick pace.
Joseph finished his swig, and opened his eyes, wiping his mouth.  As he handed the flask back to Jesus, some Gentile women with heavy make-up, and uncovered heads walked by, making provocative gestures, jewelry jangling from their wrists.  A few of the Jewish men on the job stopped working to watch the seductive show.  One of them sidled up to them, and made a lewd comment.
Joseph shook his head in disgust, and turned back to his work.  "Yeshua, you know how important it is for the Jews to stay away from Gentile affairs, particularly in marriage."  Joseph looked pointedly at him.
Jesus was looking sadly at the man talking to the women.  "Haven't they read, 'Do not give your daughters to their sons, nor take your sons for their daughters?'  Don't they know it will turn their hearts away?"  He paused.  Then with a softer voice said, "Like Solomon."
Joseph raised his eyebrows at his son.  His knowledge and the way he retained Scriptures never ceased to amaze him.  Though he taught the boy as much as he knew, Jesus seemed to grasp so much more than the carpenter thought possible.  And the way he had said 'Solomon', just now...it was almost as though he knew Solomon personally, and was lamenting the king's poor choices, rather than talking about a dead king he'd heard about from the Tanahk.
Joseph shook his head, and kept hammering.  "And you know, son, even within our own people, there's cause for caution.  We're different...our family is set apart."  He grunted as he pounded in the last nail, and reached for the next piece of timber.  "We're of the Davidic line.  Which means we're the great king's descendants.  And we have to keep the royal bloodline pure."  He turned and looked at Jesus' bright eyes boring into him, and added, "So when you look for a wife, son, be sure to look for a good woman of the tribe of Judah."
He smiled and motioned for the pouch of nails.  Jesus bent down to grab it.  The thought crossed Joseph's mind that he should possibly lighten up the conversation.  "What kind of woman would you like to marry, hmm?  You're getting closer to that age."
Jesus shook his head solemnly, as he handed Joseph a handful of nails.  "I must be about my Father's business."
Joseph laughed.  "Well now, you can be a carpenter and still get married.  Why, look at me.  You don't have to devote all your time to work, you know."  He grinned at Jesus.
The boy cocked his head to one side, and a smile touched the corners of his mouth.  Then he turned, and his eye seemed to catch something. "What is that building?" he asked, pointing to a structure behind them.
Well, I guess he's done with that conversation, Joseph thought, slightly amused.  He glanced over to see what Jesus was talking about then grimaced.  "Ah, that's one of the towers being built for Herod Antipas' new palace."  He turned back to his work.
"Why is it only half-finished when the other buildings around it are completed?" Jesus asked.
Joseph grunted, steadying the beam he was working on.  "Because the builders didn't count the cost.  Didn't have enough funds to finish it.  You'd think if a king has enough sense to plan out his army going to war, he'd plan out the cost of his extravagant palace.  But no.  That tower's become a laughingstock among the people."
Jesus nodded.  "We should count the cost in our lives too, shouldn't we?"
Joseph looked quizzically at him.
Jesus smiled, and hopped down from the ledge he was sanding to help Joseph hold the beam in place.  "Some men don't marry for the kingdom of heaven's sake, because they count the cost of their lives.  He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."  He smiled, and added, "You know, the angels in heaven don't marry, and they get along just fine."
The beam tipped a little, and Joseph caught it, as he chuckled at the boy's insight.  "I suppose so."
Jesus continued, "but you know the wife I would want? I would want her to be pure, undefiled, and unspotted.  A chaste virgin.  Holy, and without blemish."  Suddenly, Jesus lowered his head, and murmured, "Not a treacherous harlot...with a whore's forehead."
Joseph looked at him sharply, in surprise.  "Now, what in HaShem's name made you say that?!"
Jesus didn't answer, but reached for another hammer, and pounded in the last nail on the other side of the beam, then returned to the ledge he had been sanding.
Joseph's eyes trailed after the child.  He seemed to remember similar language to what the boy had said in the prophet Jeremiah's writings.  But surely the child hadn't been thinking of that!  Sometimes the things he said astonished him.  Other times he couldn't make sense of them.  There certainly was something different about this boy.  The one the angel spoke of...