What Are the Two Jesus Children in Steiner's Teaching?

Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual-scientific research presents a unique teaching regarding the incarnation of Christ: there were two Jesus children, each with a distinct spiritual lineage and mission. This teaching is central to understanding the anthroposophical view of the Christ event and the evolution of human consciousness.

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1. The Two Lineages: Matthew and Luke

Steiner explains that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke describe two different Jesus children:

• The Matthew Jesus Child: Born from the Solomon line of the House of David, this child is described in the Gospel of Matthew. This lineage is associated with royal and earthly authority.
• The Luke Jesus Child: Born from the Nathan line of the House of David, this child is described in the Gospel of Luke. This lineage is more spiritual and esoteric in nature.

"We know that in Palestine, at the time which concerns us, not one but two Jesus-children were born, one of them from the Solomon line of the House of David. This is the Jesus child of whom the Matthew Gospel speaks... Then, at almost but not quite the same time, another Jesus-child was born, from the Nathan line of the House of David."
GA 131, From Jesus to Christ, "The Two Jesus Children, Zoroaster and Buddha"

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2. Spiritual Significance and the Event at Age Twelve

Steiner further reveals that the two children lived parallel lives until the age of twelve. At that point, a profound spiritual event occurred:

• The individuality of Zarathustra (Zoroaster), who had incarnated in the Matthew Jesus child, passed over into the threefold being (body, soul, spirit) of the Nathan Jesus child.
• The Matthew Jesus child then died shortly after this event, and the Nathan Jesus child continued, now bearing the Zarathustra individuality.

"And when this Nathan Jesus-child was twelve years old, the Zarathustra individuality passed over into his three-fold being."
GA 131, From Jesus to Christ, "The Two Jesus Children, Zoroaster and Buddha"

This event is also described in the original German lectures:

"So haben wir also zunächst nicht einen Jesusknaben, sondern wir haben zwei; dann aber werden diese zwei einer."
("So at first we do not have one Jesus boy, but two; then, however, these two become one.")
GA 123, Das Matthäus-Evangelium, SECHSTER VORTRAG

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3. Why Two Jesus Children?

Steiner emphasizes that this duality is not a mere curiosity, but a profound spiritual reality:

• The Matthew Jesus child brought the wisdom and experience of many previous incarnations (Zarathustra).
• The Luke Jesus child was a being of pure love, untouched by previous incarnations, and carried the forces of Buddha in his astral body.
• The union of these two streams was necessary to prepare a vessel worthy of receiving the Christ Being at the Baptism in the Jordan.

"Today the most important thing for us is to establish that in the astral body of the Jesus-child described by Luke we have the Buddha forces at work. And when this Nathan Jesus-child was twelve years old, the Zarathustra individuality passed over into his three-fold being."
GA 131, From Jesus to Christ, "The Two Jesus Children, Zoroaster and Buddha"

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4. Tradition and Spiritual Insight

Steiner notes that the tradition of the two Jesus children persisted in Christian art and legend, though it is now largely forgotten or dismissed:

"Now, you can even see in certain pictures... how the tradition of the two Jesus children was still present as a tradition for a long time. Since nothing is known about it today, people naturally scoff at these things."
GA 343, Lectures on Christian Religious Work II, Twenty-ninth Lecture

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Summary Table

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Further Reading

• GA 131, From Jesus to Christ, "The Two Jesus Children, Zoroaster and Buddha"
• GA 123, Das Matthäus-Evangelium, SECHSTER VORTRAG (German)
• GA 343, Lectures on Christian Religious Work II, Twenty-ninth Lecture

If you would like more detail or specific passages, please let me know!