The unknown years of Jesus (also called his silent years, lost years, or missing years) generally refers to the period between Jesus's childhood and the beginning of his ministry, a period not described in the New Testament.
The phrases "lost years of Jesus" is usually encountered in esoteric literature (where it at times also refers to his possible post-crucifixion activities) but is not commonly used in scholarly literature since it is assumed that Jesus was probably working as a carpenter in Galilee from the age of twelve till thirty, so the years were not "lost years", and that he died in Calvary.
In the late medieval period, Arthurian legends appeared that the young Jesus had been in Britain. In the 19th and 20th centuries theories began to emerge that between the ages of 12 and 30 Jesus had visited India, or had studied with the Essenes in the Judea desert. Modern mainstream Christian scholarship has generally rejected these theories and holds that nothing is known about this time period in the life of Jesus.
The use of the "lost years" in the "swoon hypothesis", suggests that Jesus survived his crucifixion and continued his life. This, and the related view that he avoided crucifixion altogether, has given rise to several speculations about what happened to him in the supposed remaining years of his life, but these are generally not accepted by mainstream scholars.
Following the accounts of Jesus' young life, there is a gap of about 18 years in his story in the New Testament. Other than the generic statement that after he was 12 years old (Luke 2:42) Jesus "advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52), the New Testament has no other details regarding the gap. While Christian tradition suggests that Jesus simply lived in Galilee during that period, modern scholarship holds that there is little historical information to determine what happened during those years.
The ages of 12 and 30, the approximate ages at either end of the unknown years, have some significance in Judaism of the Second Temple period: 13 is the age of the bar mitzvah, the age of secular maturity, and 30 the age of readiness for the priesthood, although Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi.
Christians have generally taken the statement in Mark 6:3 referring to Jesus as "Is not this the carpenter...?" as an indication that before the age of 30 Jesus had been working as a carpenter. The tone of the passage leading to the question "Is not this the carpenter?" suggests familiarity with Jesus in the area, reinforcing that he had been generally seen as a carpenter in the gospel account before the start of his ministry. Matthew 13:55 poses the question as "Is not this the carpenter's son?" suggesting that the profession tektōn had been a family business and Jesus was engaged in it before starting his preaching and ministry in the gospel accounts.
The phrases "lost years of Jesus" is usually encountered in esoteric literature (where it at times also refers to his possible post-crucifixion activities) but is not commonly used in scholarly literature since it is assumed that Jesus was probably working as a carpenter in Galilee from the age of twelve till thirty, so the years were not "lost years", and that he died in Calvary.
In the late medieval period, Arthurian legends appeared that the young Jesus had been in Britain. In the 19th and 20th centuries theories began to emerge that between the ages of 12 and 30 Jesus had visited India, or had studied with the Essenes in the Judea desert. Modern mainstream Christian scholarship has generally rejected these theories and holds that nothing is known about this time period in the life of Jesus.
The use of the "lost years" in the "swoon hypothesis", suggests that Jesus survived his crucifixion and continued his life. This, and the related view that he avoided crucifixion altogether, has given rise to several speculations about what happened to him in the supposed remaining years of his life, but these are generally not accepted by mainstream scholars.
Following the accounts of Jesus' young life, there is a gap of about 18 years in his story in the New Testament. Other than the generic statement that after he was 12 years old (Luke 2:42) Jesus "advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52), the New Testament has no other details regarding the gap. While Christian tradition suggests that Jesus simply lived in Galilee during that period, modern scholarship holds that there is little historical information to determine what happened during those years.
The ages of 12 and 30, the approximate ages at either end of the unknown years, have some significance in Judaism of the Second Temple period: 13 is the age of the bar mitzvah, the age of secular maturity, and 30 the age of readiness for the priesthood, although Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi.
Christians have generally taken the statement in Mark 6:3 referring to Jesus as "Is not this the carpenter...?" as an indication that before the age of 30 Jesus had been working as a carpenter. The tone of the passage leading to the question "Is not this the carpenter?" suggests familiarity with Jesus in the area, reinforcing that he had been generally seen as a carpenter in the gospel account before the start of his ministry. Matthew 13:55 poses the question as "Is not this the carpenter's son?" suggesting that the profession tektōn had been a family business and Jesus was engaged in it before starting his preaching and ministry in the gospel accounts.
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ReplyDeletejews travelled to india from around 550 bc onwards - kinda tracked and captured - many traits thats loudly visible in jesus is the gracious traits and powers of vedic or hindu origin - there is an unclaimed study that states jesus was somewhere related to the shavik powers and acquired immense knowledge and enlightnment in south india mosty TN and connected to Bringi the saint before he travelled back at the age of 28-30 - make absolute sense but christanity may not be interstred
ReplyDeletejews travelled to india from around 550 bc onwards - kinda tracked and captured - many traits thats loudly visible in jesus is the gracious traits and powers of vedic or hindu origin - there is an unclaimed study that states jesus was somewhere related to the shavik powers and acquired immense knowledge and enlightnment in south india mosty TN and connected to Bringi the saint before he travelled back at the age of 28-30 - make absolute sense but christanity may not be interstred
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