Jesus of Nazareth had his own agenda. From the beginning, it had confounded even those closest to him.

* We think of Joseph and Mary searching anxiously up and down the caravan line for their twelve-year-old son, only to discover that he had remained in Jerusalem to sit among the teachers at the Temple (Luke 2:41-52).

* We think of Jesus standing as a young man in the synagogue at Nazareth reading from the book of Isaiah, concluding the reading with the astonishing claim, "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:16-21).

* We think of the wedding at Cana, when Jesus’ mother informed him that there was no more wine for the guests, only to be answered sharply, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:1-4).

* We think of his family fea…