Isaac of Juttah
This Judean is one of the shepherds of the Nativity.[1]
He is greatly tried by life:"In the night of my misery, in the sorrow of my infirmity, I always looked at a sky dotted with stars: the face of my mother, the only joy of my orphan life, the face of a wife who was never mine and to whom I kept my love beyond death."[2]The massacre of the innocents drives him onto the roads like all the other shepherds. He ends up at Jutta, a town near Judea, where his kidney disease worsens to the point of making him crippled.[3] He lives there miserably, helped as best as possible by the other shepherds of the Nativity, such as Elijah, as well as by Joachim and Sarah, compassionate neighbors.[4] Healed by Jesus[5], he will become an important disciple entrusted with a real Mission of evangelization of Judah[6], then with training the Disciples and guiding their work.
"Meanwhile, you will train with Isaac. He is so good, and the Spirit of God has truly taught him during his long illness. And he is the man who has always forgiven everything..." said Jesus to John of Endor.[7]One of his first Missions is precisely to evangelize Judea "as you did in Jutta." His hut in Jutta will be transformed by the inhabitants into a prayer room to meditate on the teaching of Jesus.[8]
Thus, if not for the Upper Room and the foundation of the Eucharist, as well as all the places where Jesus teaches, this place would be the first Christian Church.
An indefatigable evangelizer, he is very active and is given pastoral responsibilities. By chance during his travels, he meets at Enon the young Benjamin whom he tries to rescue from Alexander, his cruel and violent master by redeeming him. Lost cause, the money is pocketed and the shepherd is still kept there and mistreated, until Jesus arrives, confronts Alexander and performs two miracles.[9]
Character and Appearance
The tireless pilgrim[10], in his fifties, short. He is a faithful character tempered by illness:"I would rather have rejected life, in the midst of the torments than reject you, my blessed memory, my Newborn Jesus!" (...)
"Now, if I look back, now that as an old man I have become young again, what do I see of the past? Nothing. It is the past".[11]
"Isaac must have destroyed all impatience, all resentment, all outbursts during his long illness... He never reacts! Even if slapped, he smiles... What a peaceful man!"[12]
Apostolic Journey
Witness to the Nativity[13], to the Crucifixion[14], to the Resurrection[15], to the Ascension.[16]
Isaac quickly appears as a leader of the group of Disciples, active, taking initiatives and entrusted with responsibilities by Jesus. "I do in my Mission what I did during my illness." Isaac willingly teams up with Joseph of Emmaus the merchant accused of incest (unwittingly) and Timon of Aera, the synagogue leader of Belle-Water.[17] He is appointed pastor of this small group[18] enlarged by the first Disciples.[19] It is as a good "chief" of the Disciples that Jesus names him.[20]
Having devoted his life to Jesus "from his birth to his death", he begs the Resurrected One to take him with him: "Now this is what I want: to follow you. Yet may it be as you will, now and always."[21] His wish will be granted: on the night following the Ascension, Isaac will die, thus ending a life consecrated actively, in pain and effort, to Jesus.[22]
His Name
Isaac (Iş'hac) expresses the joy "May (God) laugh!". Historical reference: the son Abraham had with Sarah, despite her old age and sterility. Isaac was the one almost offered as a holocaust.
Where is he mentioned in the work?
EMV 30Apostolic journey in Judea: EMV 75 EMV 76 EMV 79 EMV 81
Selection of the last Apostles: EMV 87 EMV 88 EMV 89 EMV 90 EMV 104 EMV 105
In Judea before common life: EMV 112 EMV 116 EMV 117 EMV 118
Teachings on the Ten Commandments: EMV 119 EMV 124
End of year celebrations: EMV 136 EMV 141 EMV 162 EMV 164 EMV 169 EMV 170 EMV 171 EMV 172 EMV 173 EMV 180 EMV 190 EMV 193 EMV 198 EMV 202 EMV 206 EMV 206 EMV 209 EMV 210 EMV 212 EMV 237 EMV 248 EMV 250 EMV 251 EMV 252 EMV 253 EMV 270 EMV 275 EMV 237 EMV 277 EMV 278 EMV 333 EMV 334 EMV 344 EMV 346 EMV 347 EMV 348 EMV 349 EMV 350 EMV 362 EMV 363 EMV 368 EMV 375 EMV 387 EMV 404 EMV 427 EMV 440 EMV 443 EMV 446 EMV 466 EMV 485 EMV 488 EMV 493 EMV 495 EMV 497 EMV 499 EMV 500 EMV 504 EMV 505 EMV 509 EMV 510 EMV 535 EMV 538
The exile in Samaria: EMV 565 EMV 574
The return to Jerusalem: EMV 581 EMV 584
Holy Week: EMV 590 EMV 598 EMV 623 EMV 624 EMV 626 EMV 635 EMV 638 EMV 639