Imagine a young boy growing up in the Land of Israel in the Second Temple period. Around the age of three, he may experience his first hair cut, possibly leaving the side curls called "payot" like many in the Orthodox community do today. He is an active child, and very bright - but regardless of his obvious intelligence, he will still be taught in the same manner as all the other little boys in his village. Beginning at this age he is taught his letters, and given an appreciation for learning, and for the Scriptures.

When the young boy turns five, it is time for him to move to a more formal education. He walks to the synagogue where he is introduced to Scripture in a careful and prescribed way. The first lesson involves licking honey from his slate, which has Hebrew letters written upon it. His first reading lesson is from these words of Vayikra [Leviticus]. His first memorization project is to commit Vayikra to memory.

Our young boy was like every other boy in his village in the education he received. It was good training. It was according to the prescription and method later written down in the Mishnah:

...A five-year-old begins Scripture, a ten-year-old begins Mishnah [Oral Law], a thirteen-year-old becomes obliged to observe the commandments...
Pirkei Avot 5:25

By the time he was ten, he had memorized the entire Torah and many of the Psalms and writings - just like every other ten-year-old boy of the era was expected to do.

But our young boy was not just any other boy. At age three, He was bright and precocious no doubt - but at age five, with the study of Vayikra [Leviticus], it became clear that He was a gaon, a genius. His grasp of the details and nuances of the opening chapters of Vayikra was uncanny in the minds of the adults around Him.

What was more amazing is how this young boy grasped something that was outside of His family experience. You see the young boy was not a Levite, from the tribe of Levi. His father had never served as a priest. Neither would He ever serve as a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.

By the age of twelve, even the Sages of Israel would marvel at young Yeshua's understanding of Scripture. And imagine His education all began with these verses we are reading in our weekly Scripture portion. These words of Leviticus were Yeshua's first reading material. These are what He memorized.

One might ask, "Why?" What is the purpose for teaching five-year-olds from the Book of Leviticus? Especially those boys who would never be priests. Yeshua, our Great High Priest, is not a priest according to the order of Aaron. Hebrews 8:4 tells us that he did not serve as a priest while on earth, "For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest..." So why is it so important for children to learn these verses we are studying? Why did the Master excel in understanding these passages?

Yes, they were ultimately His words. And yes, they were about Him - but maybe in ways that you have not yet considered. As we saw last week, there is a lot of misunderstanding regarding the offerings [korbanot] detailed in the Book of Leviticus. Gladly, many Christians come to the good understanding that Yeshua was a "sacrifice" that was efficacious in removing our sin - but sadly, that is far as their understanding of the concept goes.