Bringing Clay Sparrows to Life
A Story from Yahushua’s Childhood
My younger brothers have made some cool clay creations.
I am not the best at working with clay, but I like spending time with my brothers.
I tried making a bowl. It ended up being a lot harder than I thought. Bowl “Take 2” wasn’t much better.
I tried flowers, thinking they would be easier. I made my first flower too big, and it crumbled before drying. Working with clay is challenging!
While we worked on our projects together, my youngest brother told me how they extracted the clay from the ground.
I thought for a minute, then replied, “Did you know Yahushua (Jesus) made clay creations when he was a boy?”
My brother was surprised.
“You mean Yahushua did things that normal kids do?”
“Yes, and he was pretty good at making clay animals too—unlike me,” I said as I looked down at my squishy project. I had made the mistake of adding too much water.
My brother pondered that for a moment.
“I guess I always imagined him different from other children. I didn’t imagine Him playing or anything.”
I smiled. I had often thought about Yahushua’s childhood the same way.
I proceeded to tell my brother a story that I had read about Yahushua’s childhood. He and some other children were making creations from clay. Yahushua made sparrows.
“When He finished,” I said, “He clapped His hands over the sparrows. Suddenly, they came to life and flew away! His friends were amazed and told their parents. Sadly, their parents thought Yahushua was a sorcerer and forbade their children to play with Him again.”
“Hmm,” he said. I could tell the story had made an impression.
This story can be found in both the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (dating to the early 2nd century) and the Gospel of the Hebrews (possibly dating to mid 1st century). Many Christian historians mentioned these gospels over the first few centuries. Scholars have suspected a strong relationship between the biblical Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of the Hebrews.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas includes a few additional stories of Yahushua and childhood clay creations. This story has also been included in other sources that I would not recommend. However, the many accounts of Yahushua bringing clay sparrows to life are most noteworthy.
Extra-biblical books help show Yahushua’s humanity. He was once a child. He loved to get His hands dirty, play, and create.
At the same time, He was more than an ordinary child. He was the child who turned clay into flying sparrows!
Yahushua is amazing! The more I learn about Him, the more I am in awe.
Sarah
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I liked how you mentioned Yahushua's human side as a child and the side of Him that was greater than human.
Yes, reading about that miracle of the clay sparrows in The Gospel of Hebrews was inspiring to me as well.
An amazing story! Even as a child, Yahushua had the power and authority to create life.