Where was Jesus between the ages of say 13 until 29?

[robbiedaug]

Hi all,

Apparently, He is not mentioned during these years in the Bible, at all.

A google search for the "The missing years of Jesus" brings us to the ancient East Indian Vedas which say He was THERE in India living with and learning from Buddhist monks.
Jesus is mentioned as St Issa in the Vedas.

Comments?

Thanks,
Robbie

 

[TuxAme]

I would imagine living a typical Jewish life in Nazareth. The gospels were modeled after Greco-Roman biographies of the time, and the subject's childhood wasn't usually of interest. Maybe their birth would be touched on, but the authors always centered on the public life and death of the individual.

 

[Sketcher]

Hard at work at carpentry.

 

[HTacianas]

Hi all,

Apparently, He is not mentioned during these years in the Bible, at all.

A google search for the "The missing years of Jesus" brings us to the ancient East Indian Vedas which say He was THERE in India living with and learning from Buddhist monks.
Jesus is mentioned as St Issa in the Vedas.

Comments?

Thanks,
Robbie

We were having a somewhat similar discussion earlier. The "ancient Indian" idea isn't true. Jesus would have had no reason to leave Israel.

I personally believe he lived among the Essenes outside Jerusalem. The Essenes were an ancient group of Jews much like the Sadducees and Pharisees. They lived Ascetic lives "in the wilderness", meaning in the desert surrounding Jerusalem. They did not marry and have their own children but adopted other people's children and raised them as their own.

I think that Joseph died while Jesus was relatively young, and that his mother allowed the Essenes to raise him. The Essenes did not consider one of their own to be an elder until he reached age 30. Jesus began his ministry at age 30.

Josephus mentions the Essenes in part:

Whereas these men shun the pleasures as vice, they consider self-control and not succumbing to the passions virtue. And although there is among them a disdain for marriage, adopting the children of outsiders while they are still malleable enough for the lessons they regard them as family and instill in them their principles of character:

...they make it a point of honor to remain hard and dry, and to wear white always.

all that the community has is laid out for them in the same way as if they were their own things, and they go in and stay with those they have never even seen before as if they were the most intimate friends. 125 For this reason they make trips without carrying any baggage at all

Of anger, just controllers; as for temper, able to contain it; of fidelity, masters; of peace, servants. And whereas everything spoken by them is more forceful than an oath, swearing itself they avoid, considering it worse than the false oath...

That in bold above are teachings of Jesus.

 

[maintenance man]

It's possible that his knowledge was divine and he had no need to attend school but it is also possible that he was trained to be a Jewish rabbi.

Here's a quote from and article titled Study Shows Jesus as Rabbi

What was Jesus doing in His early childhood and in His adolescence? We have a very strong indication from a tractate, or chapter, in the Mishnah, the Jewish “Oral Law.” The passage is as interesting as it is pertinent.

At five years of age, one is ready for the study of the Scripture, at ten years of age one is fit for the study of the Mishnah, at the age of thirteen for bar mitzvah, at the age of fifteen for the study of Talmud, at the age of eighteen for marriage, at the age of twenty for pursuing a vocation, at the age of thirty for entering into one’s full vigor…(Avot 5:2l).

 

[disciple Clint]

We were having a somewhat similar discussion earlier. The "ancient Indian" idea isn't true. Jesus would have had no reason to leave Israel.

I personally believe he lived among the Essenes outside Jerusalem. The Essenes were an ancient group of Jews much like the Sadducees and Pharisees. They lived Ascetic lives "in the wilderness", meaning in the desert surrounding Jerusalem. They did not marry and have their own children but adopted other people's children and raised them as their own.

I think that Joseph died while Jesus was relatively young, and that his mother allowed the Essenes to raise him. The Essenes did not consider one of their own to be an elder until he reached age 30. Jesus began his ministry at age 30.

Josephus mentions the Essenes in part:

Whereas these men shun the pleasures as vice, they consider self-control and not succumbing to the passions virtue. And although there is among them a disdain for marriage, adopting the children of outsiders while they are still malleable enough for the lessons they regard them as family and instill in them their principles of character:

...they make it a point of honor to remain hard and dry, and to wear white always.

all that the community has is laid out for them in the same way as if they were their own things, and they go in and stay with those they have never even seen before as if they were the most intimate friends. 125 For this reason they make trips without carrying any baggage at all

Of anger, just controllers; as for temper, able to contain it; of fidelity, masters; of peace, servants. And whereas everything spoken by them is more forceful than an oath, swearing itself they avoid, considering it worse than the false oath...

That in bold above are teachings of Jesus.

You may be onto something here, I have read scholars who indicate that John the Baptist and Joseph the stepfather of Jesus may have been affiliated with that group. I have not seen anything that gives solid evidence of this.

 

[robbiedaug]

You, nice folks, are merely offering conjecture, "I think", "I imagine" "Hard at work at carpentry". Show me where. You're all guessing.
I think the last thing we read of Jesus as a child was when he was talking to the Pharisees in the temple and he was amazing them with his knowledge. Then, "poof!" he becomes a silent carpenter for 20 or so years?
That doesn't seem odd to any of you?

He is mentioned by name St Issa in the Vedas.
There are videos of Indian monks and scholars discussing this fact.
Do the google search and read the texts or watch the videos, please. and then offer some comments.

Thanks,
Robbie

 

[robbiedaug]

It's possible that his knowledge was divine and he had no need to attend school but it is also possible that he was trained to be a Jewish rabbi.

Here's a quote from and article titled Study Shows Jesus as Rabbi

What was Jesus doing in His early childhood and in His adolescence? We have a very strong indication from a tractate, or chapter, in the Mishnah, the Jewish “Oral Law.” The passage is as interesting as it is pertinent.

At five years of age, one is ready for the study of the Scripture, at ten years of age one is fit for the study of the Mishnah, at the age of thirteen for bar mitzvah, at the age of fifteen for the study of Talmud, at the age of eighteen for marriage, at the age of twenty for pursuing a vocation, at the age of thirty for entering into one’s full vigor…(Avot 5:2l).

That's interesting. But i have to sleep now, it's 1:10 AM here.

Goodnight all
Robbie

 

[FireDragon76]

Jesus was a tekton by family profession, which is actually more like a tinkerer or day-laborer, not what we think of today as a carpenter. Some scholars believe he may have even assisted building the Greek settlements in Judea.


Jesus actually wouldn't have had to go to India to encounter Buddhists, as they were know of in cities like Alexandria. Even the Church Fathers knew about Buddha. Buddhists sent missionaries westward for centuries before Christ, and by the time of Christ, the idea of the thereputiae, or ascetical monastics, was pervasive, even among Jews (as evidenced by the Essenes).

 

[TuxAme]

You, nice folks, are merely offering conjecture, "I think", "I imagine" "Hard at work at carpentry". Show me where. You're all guessing.
I think the last thing we read of Jesus as a child was when he was talking to the Pharisees in the temple and he was amazing them with his knowledge. Then, "poof!" he becomes a silent carpenter for 20 or so years?
That doesn't seem odd to any of you?

He is mentioned by name St Issa in the Vedas.
There are videos of Indian monks and scholars discussing this fact.
Do the google search and read the texts or watch the videos, please. and then offer some comments.

Thanks,
Robbie

We can't show you where, and just because Indians mystics claim something doesn't mean anything. The gospel writers didn't feel that much between the ages of 12 and 30 was of significant importance, and traveling all the way to India- leaving Israel- would certainly be worth mentioning. On this "fact", as you put it, Scripture is silent. This isn't "odd" because this is just how biographies in this time went.

 

[disciple Clint]

You, nice folks, are merely offering conjecture, "I think", "I imagine" "Hard at work at carpentry". Show me where. You're all guessing.
I think the last thing we read of Jesus as a child was when he was talking to the Pharisees in the temple and he was amazing them with his knowledge. Then, "poof!" he becomes a silent carpenter for 20 or so years?
That doesn't seem odd to any of you?

He is mentioned by name St Issa in the Vedas.
There are videos of Indian monks and scholars discussing this fact.
Do the google search and read the texts or watch the videos, please. and then offer some comments.

Thanks,
Robbie

Modern mainstream Christian scholarship has generally rejected any travels by Jesus to India, Tibet or surrounding areas as without historical basis:

• Robert Van Voorst states that modern scholarship has "almost unanimously agreed" that claims of the travels of Jesus to Tibet, Kashmir or rest of India contain "nothing of value".[8]

• Marcus Borg states that the suggestions that an adult Jesus traveled to Egypt or India and came into contact with Buddhism are "without historical foundation".[9]
• John Dominic Crossan states that none of the theories presented about the travels of Jesus to fill the gap between his early life and the start of his ministry have been supported by modern scholarship.[7]
• Leslie Houlden states that although modern parallels between the teachings of Jesus and Buddha have been drawn, these comparisons emerged after missionary contacts in the 19th century and there is no historically reliable evidence of contacts between Buddhism and Jesus.[42]
• Paula Fredriksen states that no serious scholarly work places Jesus outside the backdrop of 1st century Palestinian Judaism.[43]

Unknown years of Jesus - Wikipedia

 

[timewerx]

There seems to archeological evidence that Jesus spent some time in Egypt.

Ironically, Jesus showed me in a dream about a tomb in Egypt that was scrawled with ancient writings inside of it. The writings looked like what appeared to be Runes or very ancient form of Sanskrit writings or both done in Egyptian ink.

It's very strange thing to find that Jesus learned to write in Runic or Sanskrit while staying in Egypt.

Although not surprising as people from all over the world travel to Egypt even those times. Jesus could have learned from people who knew Runes or Sanskrit while staying in Egypt.

It would be a huge historical significance and importance if this tomb exists in reality.

 

[robbiedaug]

Modern mainstream Christian scholarship has generally rejected any travels by Jesus to India, Tibet or surrounding areas as without historical basis

Hi,
Yes, i know all of this.
But do scholars have the last word?
Where do THEY get their information from, the Bible?

I just found this article.
10 Misconceptions About Jesus: #4 – Jesus was a carpenter

If we don't have the full story, then neither do the scholars.
So how can anyone doubt that he traveled?

In the story when Jesus extended the piece of wood for Joseph, why would He choose to toil all day for 20 years cutting wood?
Doesn't seem fitting for the Lord to cut wood and toil all day long.


Thanks,
Robbie

 

[robbiedaug]

We can't show you where, and just because Indians mystics claim something doesn't mean anything. The gospel writers didn't feel that much between the ages of 12 and 30 was of significant importance, and traveling all the way to India- leaving Israel- would certainly be worth mentioning. On this "fact", as you put it, Scripture is silent. This isn't "odd" because this is just how biographies in this time went.

Hi,
Let's not forget WHO decided on which books will be in the Bible at the 2nd Council of Nicaea in 787. Who KNOWS what they tossed to the side. Perhaps there WAS a document stating that Jesus had traveled and had studied with monks which was refused by the Council.

The Bible says so much, and yet, so little about certain topics
The Book of Enoch, for example, was omitted. Why would the Council omit an important book written by a man who walked with God.

Thanks,
Robbie

 

[disciple Clint]

Hi,
Yes, i know all of this.
But do scholars have the last word?
Where do THEY get their information from, the Bible?

I just found this article.
10 Misconceptions About Jesus: #4 – Jesus was a carpenter

If we don't have the full story, then neither do the scholars.
So how can anyone doubt that he traveled?

In the story when Jesus extended the piece of wood for Joseph, why would He choose to toil all day for 20 years cutting wood?
Doesn't seem fitting for the Lord to cut wood and toil all day long.


Thanks,
Robbie

Hi Robbie, I was just trying to help you by providing some information. Regarding Jesus spending 20 years cutting wood. It is important that Jesus was a man as well as being God. As a man it is important that he experience all of the same things that other men experience. So he starts out as a baby and learns a trade as he matures into being an adult. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. Blessings

 

[timewerx]

The Bible says so much, and yet, so little about certain topics
The Book of Enoch, for example, was omitted. Why would the Council omit an important book written by a man who walked with God.

Present day Orthodox Jews still stand by the decision.

Orthodox Judaism originated from Rabbinic Judaism which came directly from Pharisee.

It's mostly a concern of Jewish Orthodoxy so it's rather strange that Orthodox Christianity did the same thing. Judaism and Christianity are two very different religions.

 

[robbiedaug]

Hi Robbie, I was just trying to help you by providing some information. Regarding Jesus spending 20 years cutting wood. It is important that Jesus was a man as well as being God. As a man it is important that he experience all of the same things that other men experience. So he starts out as a baby and learns a trade as he matures into being an adult. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin. Blessings

Hi disciple Clint,

So, you are telling me that Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was a carpenter for twenty years?
Do you believe that?
How could you fool yourself?

It doesn't say that, does it?
It's a pretty weak verse to answer that question, for there's NO mention of carpentry or 18-20 years.
I am quite surprised that you would even offer a verse such as that and expect me to consider it as a feasible answer to the question.

Perhaps, the answer was/is in a Book which the 2nd Council of Nicaea 787 rejected.
Could you consider that as a slight possibility?

The Bible leaves a lot out. Could you agree?
For example, why is Enoch's name only mentioned once in the whole Bible?
Enoch wrote a whole book - and a very scary book, at that. Why did they even mention Enoch at all?
Genesis mentions giants. Why do that when The Book of Enoch is all about giants.
The Council considered it important to mention giants and Enoch, but why? We could have gotten by without such information. Right?
His Book was rejected by the Council because it mentioned WAY too much information.
Perhaps Enoch's book was rejected for the same reasons why Rome rejected the Dead Sea Scrolls - too much information.
Let's not forget that the Bible was not for the common people to read, back then. Only the church had the book(s) and the people were simply preached to.
Jesus preached openly, didn't He?
Why would the church withhold Jesus' teachings, Moses' words and all the other words that should have been public information? Why is it public, NOW if it was so secret, according to the church and synagogue? Why?

Religion is one thing, BUT the "church" is a whole other thing.

People say that there was no reason for Jesus, Mary and Joseph to leave the Middle East, but was there really a reason to stay there?
(I wonder which verse somebody will post next)

Too bad the Council couldn't get their hands on the Indian Vedas because that would have definitely destroyed the paper trail. They sure did put a lid of the Dead Sea Scrolls pretty quickly.

Maybe Jesus knew that if He went to India, the "church" would not have been able to destroy the Vedas. They didn't know where HE was as there is no mention of Jesus in the Bible as a teenager or as a young man in His twenties.
No, no! The question is still open.
I don't believe we will find any answers in the Bible to this question.

We'd better start looking elsewhere.
Scholars. Who PAYS the scholars their salaries to do research, anyway??

What would be so sacrilegious about Jesus living in India?

Thanks,
Robbie

 

[disciple Clint]

Hi disciple Clint,

So, you are telling me that Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was a carpenter for twenty years?
Do you believe that?
How could you fool yourself?

It doesn't say that, does it?
It's a pretty weak verse to answer that question, for there's NO mention of carpentry or 18-20 years.
I am quite surprised that you would even offer a verse such as that and expect me to consider it as a feasible answer to the question.

Perhaps, the answer was/is in a Book which the 2nd Council of Nicaea 787 rejected.
Could you consider that as a slight possibility?

The Bible leaves a lot out. Could you agree?
For example, why is Enoch's name only mentioned once in the whole Bible?
Enoch wrote a whole book - and a very scary book, at that. Why did they even mention Enoch at all?
Genesis mentions giants. Why do that when The Book of Enoch is all about giants.
The Council considered it important to mention giants and Enoch, but why? We could have gotten by without such information. Right?
His Book was rejected by the Council because it mentioned WAY too much information.
Perhaps Enoch's book was rejected for the same reasons why Rome rejected the Dead Sea Scrolls - too much information.
Let's not forget that the Bible was not for the common people to read, back then. Only the church had the book(s) and the people were simply preached to.
Jesus preached openly, didn't He?
Why would the church withhold Jesus' teachings, Moses' words and all the other words that should have been public information? Why is it public, NOW if it was so secret, according to the church and synagogue? Why?

Religion is one thing, BUT the "church" is a whole other thing.

People say that there was no reason for Jesus, Mary and Joseph to leave the Middle East, but was there really a reason to stay there?
(I wonder which verse somebody will post next)

Too bad the Council couldn't get their hands on the Indian Vedas because that would have definitely destroyed the paper trail. They sure did put a lid of the Dead Sea Scrolls pretty quickly.

Maybe Jesus knew that if He went to India, the "church" would not have been able to destroy the Vedas. They didn't know where HE was as there is no mention of Jesus in the Bible as a teenager or as a young man in His twenties.
No, no! The question is still open.
I don't believe we will find any answers in the Bible to this question.

We'd better start looking elsewhere.
Scholars. Who PAYS the scholars their salaries to do research, anyway??

What would be so sacrilegious about Jesus living in India?

Thanks,
Robbie

You are not looking for any help Robbie, so just believe what you want and be happy. Blessings

 

[robbiedaug]

You are not looking for any help Robbie, so just believe what you want and be happy. Blessings

Hi disciple Clint,

No, i am AM looking for help. Are you saying that just because you can't answer a tough question that i do NOT want help?
But you can't just post ANY ole verse and expect people to simply agree with you. I am sorry if you think that. I know it's frustrating for you to not be able to find certain answers in the Bible because those answers are not in the Bible. It's not YOUR fault nor is it my fault.
If you can't answer a question, then don't even try posting some link that's totally off topic and does not address the question being asked. That is just so juvenile to do. It's sort of like playing "pretend" -imagining things and then believing them.

I did not come here to ask WHO was Jesus. What is God? What is a church? What is a Bible? Who was Moses?
I'm asking QUESTIONS that i thought a Christian forum could answer.

Let's get something straight, here. The Bible is a book made up of many books that were merely put together by a bunch of bishops a long, long time ago. They had hundreds of books to consider, and they had cast many aside. They had to make it look like a story we could believe. But man, oh man, they did a bad job in some places.
The books in the Bible were not chosen by God, Himself. The Saints and others wrote the books - but a bunch of men judged them. Too many people wrongly believe that God wrote the Bible.
The Holy Spirit inspired people to write, yes, but there was a Gospel of Mary (Magdalene), a Gospel of Judas, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Enoch (Jared's son), and other books which the Council all discarded. They were all inspired writings.
But, yet, they decided to give us a tiny, minuscule fragment of Enoch's book and mentioned certain things only once, for some reason. They should have not mentioned Enoch and the giants, at all, then. Why did they enter as little as they did? To make their jobs much easier, while still withholding important information?
I can just imagine somebody at the Council asking, "But what if people question the gaps?"
Someone else probably responded with, "We'll just instruct the clergy to say in response, "You have to have faith, my son."
And they all looked at each other and probably said, "Agreed! Let's move on to the next item".
But no, they did NOT all agree. That's why there exists different sects of Christianity.
Some of those "forbidden" books have been included in the Bibles of different sects.

Enoch, by the way, was the first man to be taught by the angels how to write, and he wrote down, accordingly, all the secrets of astronomy, of chronology, and of the world's epochs. WOW! And his book was omitted from the Bible? Hmmm.

I don't walk around saying to people, "God bless you" and "Amen" when they say something about Jesus to show that i read the Bible or that i consider myself to be a "religious" person. I do not try to "glorify" myself like that. It seems phony to me.
When someone goes out of their way to help me do something difficult, i will say 'may God bless you for your kindness', for your consideration, or for thinking of me.
But i certainly would never say "Blessings" when i really wanted to say 'screw off, you bother me'.
I would say screw off, instead, and not use a religious word.

Take a note - When somebody can't answer a question and says, "Oh, go believe what you want to believe" followed by "Blessings" - through gritted teeth - it really means, 'screw off, bud.'

I don't ask the easy questions. There's Google for that. I ask the questions that i've always wondered about. Like, for example, who was Cain's wife in Nod when the only people on earth were the children of Adam and Eve. Try to answer that one.
I asked a priest that, once. He told me, "We have to have faith, my son".
He knew the answer but didn't want to tell me.
I know the answer, now. But do you know her name? No. It's just another mystery? Another Biblical "X-file", perhaps?
The Bible doesn't tell us her name. The Council decided it's best that we do not know who she was. And you don't question that?
What would your response be? I can imagine you and many others would probably quote a verse saying how Jesus changed water into wine and that He walked on the water, and then throw in a 'God bless you' for good measure.
God knows her name. Cain and his siblings knew her name, Adam and Eve knew her name. But maybe, because the Bible doesn't tell us her name, we should conclude that Moses didn't know her name. Right? Moses didn't know Cain's wife's name. Hmm, MAYBE...Cain didn't even know her name?
AMAZING!
Let's all say Hallelujah now, and God bless each other for not knowing.

I appreciate your effort and your curiosity, but i think your scope is too narrow.
Read John 8:32 a few times. Let it sink in.

Thanks,
Robbie

 

[JohnC2]

Hi all,

Apparently, He is not mentioned during these years in the Bible, at all.

A google search for the "The missing years of Jesus" brings us to the ancient East Indian Vedas which say He was THERE in India living with and learning from Buddhist monks.
Jesus is mentioned as St Issa in the Vedas.

Comments?

Thanks,
Robbie

We can infer he must have been earning his Rabbi credentials.

Remember that Jesus DAY JOB was NOT as a carpenter. That was an insult slandered against him by detractors. His ACTUAL day job was an officially credentialed itinerant Rabbi who made his living by preaching, teaching, and healing. This is akin to a professional evangelist who does speaking engagements or revival services today...

Notice he was allowed to teach in synagogues and in The Temple. Jesus was also allowed officially to take and train disciples. This requires official credentials and bona-fides..... As such - he must have studied under another recognized Rabbi and received official letters certifying he had earned his credentials from that Rabbi (or whatever was required)...

We don’t know where Jesus earned his credentials - but we know that he did or they would not have allowed him to teach in The Temple or to officially take and train disciples.