One of the essential literary techniques used in all Jesus novels is that of filling in the narrative gaps of the Gospels with imaginative extrapolations. Even though all fictionalizers fill gaps, their methodologies differ and are often influenced by their theological outlooks. Many pious Christians are motivated out of love and curiosity to explore imaginatively and to experience vicariously more of the life of their Lord. These rewriters typically believe that the Gospels offer faithful portrayals of Jesus, so their aim is not to disassemble those portraits but simply to add to them. The plots of these complementing novels often are based on traditional Gospel harmonizations that attempt to respect, as much as possible, the chronology and theological formation of those events in their original Gospel settings.
62 To use the mosaic analogy once again, complementing novels use a harmonized Gospel Jesus and try to leave that picture intact. They prefer to add additional jewels in the spaces between the original mosaic pieces in the hope of making the portrait of the king become even more lively and beautiful. The Hidden Years is one such gap-filling novel. Like many other orthodox novels, this one appears to have been written with pious intentions spurred on by curiosity about the life of Jesus. From its pages emanates a great deal of love for Jesus and respect for the evangelists' portrayals of him. As we have already noted, when the novel's timeline intersects with that of the Gospels, it leaves the Gospel pieces in place and does little to reformat them. The novel faithfully complements the testimonies of the evangelists while also filling out their reports with further details, dialogue, character analysis, and, of course, a very large section about Jesus' earlier years. Because of these features, The Hidden Years qualifies as a gap-filling novel rather than a mosaic-moving one. As we shall see more clearly in a moment, Boyd's life of Jesus presents a portrait in miniature of a much larger mosaic whose structure the novel has been careful to maintain.
3. Gospel foreshadowings
Even more important than offering a complementary plotline is the fact that complementing novels do not go against the theological contours of the Gospel portraits. Regardless of the stage of life portrayed in these novels, the fictional Jesus' character remains consistent with that of the mature Jesus painted in the Gospels. In fact, much of what the Gospel Jesus will later do and say is foreshadowed in these fictional versions of his earlier life.
The second hallmark of complementing novels that we observe in Boyd's novel is this foreshadowing of Jesus' later life as it is portrayed in the Gospels. These foreshadowings anticipate anything from events to teachings to future characters. For example, in The Hidden Years, major Gospel characters, such as the disciples, Jesus' mother Mary, and Mary
63 Magdalene, are introduced during Jesus' hidden years. Minor characters, such as the women who will later travel with Jesus (139; cf. Luke 8:3) and the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (169-170; cf. Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1), are mentioned as well. We also see that Jesus' later Gospel teachings are consistent with his "earlier" opinions expressed during these years. For example, the Gospel Jesus' later response to the question about the greatest commandment (Matt 22:34-40) is anticipated by this fictional Jesus' statement about true religion being loving God and doing his will (123) and in his "big idea" that we are to "love everyone as we love ourselves" (138). Many of the Gospel Jesus' parables are also prefigured in events that take place during the novel; one such instance is the incident in the temple with the proud Pharisee praying loudly and comparing himself to Levi, the tax collector, who humbly sits at the back and refuses to even lift his head towards heaven (172-173; cf. Luke 18:9-14).
We can see additional examples of the foreshadowing of future Gospel events in The Hidden Years. When Boyd's Jesus visits the Court of the Gentiles and says that it looks more like a market than a place of prayer (163), this incident anticipates the Gospel Jesus' future cleansing of the temple (cf. Matt 21.12-13; John 2.14-22). Likewise, Simon Peter's later walking on water in the Gospels is foreshadowed throughout the novel with the running joke between Simon and Jesus that one day Jesus will teach him to walk on water (129, 140, 152, 203-204; cf. Matt 14:28-33). Other examples of Gospel foreshadowings are the allusions to the Gospel Jesus' future ministries and conflicts seen through various relationships and interactions that Boyd's Jesus has. In the novel, Jesus' relationships with Mary Magdalene, the prostitute (108-111), and Levi, the tax collector (148), cause people to spread rumors and question his integrity as others will later do during the Gospel Jesus' ministry (148; cf. Matt 9:11-13; 11:18- 19). Also similar to the original versions, this Jesus conflicts with Sanhedrin officials (62-65) and with Pharisees (152-153), whom he considers hypocrites (cf. Matt 23:1-36). Like the Gospel Jesus, Boyd's Jesus also cares for the poor, the gentle, and the lowly (125, 224, e.g.,
64 Matt 11:5); loves children (46, 58, 76; e.g., Matt 9:13-14); and pays more respect to females than is typical in his society (73, e.g., Luke 10:38-40; John 4:42).
Even Jesus' own suffering and its atoning quality are alluded to in Boyd's novel. When Jesus carries a tree downhill after felling it, he appears to be carrying a cross. Jesus comments, "[I]t felt like the weight of the world," and someone observing him says, "You'd think he was on his way to crucifixion" (31). Later, Jesus will tell Asuph, the foreign camel driver, that he will give his own life for him (73), and during his baptism, Jesus looks like "a lamb about to be slaughtered" (201).
Essential to the complementing classification is not only the existence of these foreshadowings but also the manner in which the Gospel material is anticipated. These proleptic descriptions must be consistent in character and in trajectory with the later Gospel material, and, as the above examples show, the Gospel foreshadowings in The Hidden Years are.
4. Backgrounds for teaching material
The Hidden Years, like many complementing novels focusing on Jesus' earlier years, explains who influenced Jesus and from where he learned much of what he would later teach. Not surprisingly, Boyd's Jesus learns a great deal from his mother Mary who focuses on the present day and refuses to worry about tomorrow.106 One of Mary's other core beliefs is that the poor are particularly important to God. Always willing to share whatever she has with
106 Mary would often say, "Tomorrow's bread has no taste for me. . . . Today's is sweet enough." Reflecting on his mother, Jesus thought, "Tomorrow was as distant for her as a hundred years hence. If you look to the future, try to live in it, you only cheat yourself of the present" (13; cf. Matt 6:25-34).
65 anyone in need, she teaches Jesus to do the same (e.g., 14-15; cf. Matt 5:3; 19:21; Luke 4:18; 14:12-24).107
Besides his mother, Jesus is most influenced by the village Rabbi Ezra, a fictional but historically plausible character rather than a Gospel import. Ezra is a beautiful example of a leader who ministers to his congregation in many ways—by taking their sorrows upon himself (38), by carrying the people on his back (239; cf. Matt 11:28-30), and by offering his own body up for them (51; Luke 22:19-20). Through observing their relationship, the reader sees how Jesus learns to love his people by watching Ezra's example. In addition to these two characters, Jesus is influenced by the Rabbi Hillel's version of the golden rule (18; cf. Matt 7:12). He also admires Rabbi Samuel, who uses simple parables to show the people the unimportance of outward expressions of piety like wearing amulets (165-166; cf. Matt 6:1-4).
Explaining Jesus' sources for much of his teaching is a prime example of fictional gap filling in Jesus novels. That their teachings match those of the later Gospel Jesus is a particular hallmark of complementing narratives.
5. OT typological portrayals of characters and events
Another way in which The Hidden Years complements the Gospels is by its stylistic imitation, particularly of Matthew's Gospel, of using OT typology when describing characters and events. For example, the Rabbi Ezra is frequently portrayed as one of the OT prophets, speaking to God for his people (37-38; 50-54).108 The Nazarenes are pictured as the Israelites wandering in the desert, grumbling against God because of their lack of food, and wanting to
107 Also like most complementing novels and contrary to competing ones, Jesus and Mary have a very loving and uncomplicated relationship. Wangerin's Jesus, however,would be an exception to this rule of thumb because in this novel we see a very complex and often acrimonious relationship between the two.
108 In the synagogue, he was known to address the assembly "as if he were Elijah mocking the false prophets of Baal" (53) or to speak to God in their hearing as Abraham and Moses used to do (51). Like the prophets, he would physically enact his messages by doing crazy stunts like placing an iron chain over his shoulders while quoting Amos (51) or pouring out a bag of dead locusts and telling God that this is their congregation's offering to God (38).
66 return to Egypt (37, 52). The drought in Nazareth is compared to Jeremiah's prophesies of Judah's suffering, (62-63), and the locust invasion is likened to the plagues of Egypt (32). Jesus himself typifies the Song of Solomon by becoming the lover and viewing the people as the bride to whom he is pledged to marry (30), and in the temptation scene, he is connected with both Moses and Israel (211, 212). These typological descriptions of events and people bring this new rewrite even closer in line with its biblical progenitors.