The 18 Missing Years Of Jesus Christ

By Estela Bolton


Until today, there are so many scholars who are trying to discover what happened during the time that Jesus was a child and up until He reached the age of thirty where he had already started His ministry. This gap in the history of the Messiah is also known as the 18 missing years of Jesus Christ. Because there are no hard facts or evidences that can support or back up what really happened, people started making their own speculations and interpretations instead.

Now the Bible actually did mention a few minor details about what had happened when He was an adolescent. The scriptures in the book of Luke would actually state some passages where in He would follow His parents to Jerusalem. Every year when the Feast of the Passover would commence, He would always travel with His parents there to celebrate.

Because the only details about these years were only given in these few passages, people started to make their own speculations. A group of mystics speculated that He had gone to other lands like India in order to become wiser and learn new religions. Bible scholars rejected these speculations because no facts could actually back up these claims.

Scholars actually had their own interpretation of the missing years but based everything on what was written in the chapter of Luke. Now this gospel also stated that aside from attending the Passover Feast, he would also be seen in temples surrounded by religious teachers and conversing with them. According to the passage, these teachers had never heard anyone speak about God much like Jesus did because His knowledge was so extensive.

Teachers and regular citizens alike were very impressed by His extensive knowledge as the things He said were not something a mere teenager would know. He literally amazed everyone by His knowledge and wisdom of the scriptures. Even the wise men were at awe because He was just the son of a mere carpenter.

Of course there have been other theories about what He was doing during this time period that were rejected because of lack of evidence. One Arthurian legend suggested that Christ as a young man, visited Britain and spread the Word there. Apparently, this was the reason why Christianity became the predominant religion in this country.

Others speculated that He only traveled within the middle east with a group called the Essenes. The Essenes was actually a sect that stemmed out from Judaism and became more known when Christ was a little older. Theories state that He went traveling along the desert of Judea with this group.

Because of the big lack of evidence, no one will actually ever know what happened during the 18 missing years of Jesus Christ. One can only imagine what had happened based on the scriptures that were given in the New Testament. But aside from what the book of Luke states, everything will remain cloaked in the shadows.




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