"Matthew counts 42 forebears, starting with Abraham via David up to the son of Joseph, whereas Luke leads back to the ancestors via David and Abraham to the primordial patriarch Adam. Only with the names between Abraham and David to the lists (almost) coincide. With David's sons the line divides: the one goes via David's son Solomon, the other on via Nathan.... How, then, is the double genealogical tree explained?" -- Christoph Rau

The two contradicting genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels have long puzzled biblical scholars. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research led him to a controversial theological conclusion--that there were two Jesus boys born into two holy families.

Two boys were necessary, he says, as part of the spiritual preparation of forming a suitable human body for the incarnation of Christ into the earthly realm. Both apocryphal texts and the writings of the Essenes (as discovered at Qumran by the Dead Sea) now appear to support this view, with references to messianic figures from both royal and priestly lines. Various authors have developed Rudolf Steiner's observations, although much of such literature lacks the rigor of accurate and broad scholarship.

This volume, The Two Jesus Boys, is not just a derivative rehash of those previous publications but offers a fresh investigation of primary sources, coupled with an objective determination that allows the facts to speak for themselves. Christoph Rau thus reaches the unavoidable conclusion that Rudolf Steiner's presentation of a chronology of the two births needs revision. Further, the most recent discoveries and interpretations of Essene scrolls reveal that the Jewish sect expected not one but three Messiahs.

Rau quotes from and analyzes numerous documents from the landscape of early Christianity and Judaism. His findings provide a secure foundation for the historical existence of two Jesus boys in the prelude to Christ's incarnation on Earth, as well as a revelation of the Essenes' long expectation of three Messiahs.

This volume was originally published in German as Die beiden Jesusknaben und die Messiaserwartung der Essener: Geleitwort von Vicke von Behr (Verlag Johannes M. Mayer, Stuttgart, 2010).