Chapter 6: First Teacher, Zacchaeus

1A teacher named Zacchaeus (was) standing (there), listening to Jesus say these things to his father Joseph, and he was greatly amazed.

2He said to Joseph, “Come, brother, give him (to me), so that he may be taught letters, know all knowledge, learn to love those his own age, honor old age, and respect elders, so that he may acquire a yearning for children and teach them in return.”

3But Joseph said to the teacher, “Who can control this child and teach him? Do not think of him as a small person, brother.”

4The teacher said, “Give him to me, brother, and do not let him concern you.”

5The child Jesus looked at them and addressed the teacher with this speech: “Being a teacher comes naturally to you, but you are a stranger to the name by which you are called, because I am outside you and within you on account of the nobility of my birth in the flesh. But you, a lawyer, do not know the law.”

6He said to Joseph, “When you were born, I already existed, standing beside you so that, as a father, you might be taught by me a teaching that no one else knows or can teach. And you will bear the name of salvation.”

7The Jews cried out and said to him, “Oh, new and incredible wonder! The child is perhaps five years old, and oh, what words he speaks! We have never known such words. No one—neither a lawyer nor a Pharisee—has spoken like this child.”

8The child answered them, “Why are you amazed? Or rather, why do you not believe the things I have said to you? The truth is that I, who was created before this world, know exactly when you, your fathers, and their fathers were born.”

9All the people who heard this were speechless and could no longer talk to him. But he went up to them, skipped around, and said, “I was playing with you because I know you are small-minded and amazed by small things.”

10When they seemed comforted by the child’s encouragement, the teacher said to his father, “Come, bring him into the school. I will teach him letters.”

11Joseph took his hand and led him into the school. The teacher flattered him and brought him into the school. Zacchaeus wrote the alphabet for him and began to teach him, repeating the same letter frequently. But the child did not answer him.

12The teacher became irritated and struck him on the head.

13The child became irritated and said to him, “I want to teach you rather than be taught by you, since I know the letters you are teaching more accurately. To me, these things are like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal that does not bring out the sound, the glory, or the power of understanding.”

14When the child’s anger ceased, he recited all the letters by himself, from alpha to omega, with great skill. Looking directly at the teacher, he said, “If you do not know the nature of the alpha, how can you teach someone else the beta? Hypocrite! If you know, first teach me the alpha, and then I will trust you to speak about the beta.” Then he began to teach the teacher about the first element, and the teacher could say nothing to him.

15While many listened, he said to the teacher, “Listen, Teacher, and understand the arrangement of the first element. Now notice how it has sharp lines and a middle stroke, which you see pointing, standing with legs apart, coming together, going out, dragging behind, lifting up, dancing around, <…>, in triple rhythm, two-cornered, of the same form, of the same thickness, of the same family, raised, balanced, isometric, and of equal proportions. These are the lines of the alpha.”