Solve at last!

What happened during the missing years of Christ?

These were the years from the age of twelve years old when we last read about Jesus in the temple to the time when He began His ministry at the age of thirty years.

Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli (Luke 3:23)

Almost eighteen years were missing! The conspiracy theorists and people who want physical evidence before they believe in anything are searching for the answers to Jesus missing years.

Let us research the Bible to find clues to the missing years.

1.  Jesus was born in a stable in the city of David called Bethlehem in Judea. (Luke 2:1-7)

2.  At eight days old according to the custom of Israel, Jesus was circumcised and given the name in Hebrew: Yĕhowshuwa.

This name was translated into Greek as Iēsous.

This was then transliterated into English as Jesus. The name means: whose help  (salvation) is Jehovah. (Strongs Hebrew Dictionary) (Matthew 1:21)

3.  Jesus’ parents escaped to Egypt with Him, while He was still a young baby, from Herod’s wrath (Matthew 2:13-14).

4. When the child was still young, Herod died and they returned to the land of Judah and lived in a city called Nazareth ( Matthew 2:19-23).

5.  When it was time for Mary’s purification she took her baby to be presented to the Lord.

The custom was that every male who opened the womb must be called holy to the Lord. The parents would bring a sacrifice of two turtledoves or pigeons  (Luke 2:22-38).

6.  After the purification, the family returned home to Nazareth.

So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. ( Luke 2:39-40)

7.  According to the above scripture, the child grew in grace, strength, and wisdom until He was twelve years old we heard of something spectacular about Him.

8.  When Jesus was twelve years old He went with His parents to Jerusalem at the feast of the yearly Passover.

At the end of the feast, Jesus did not return home with His parents but remained in Jerusalem.

His parents thought that He was with family until after a day’s journey when He did not show up for dinner or breakfast, they decided to return to Jerusalem to search for Him.

After searching for three days they found Him in the temple listening and debating with the scholars of the temple.

All of the teachers and priests were amazed at His intelligence. His parents were relieved to find Him but being a worried parent, His mother scolded Him. This was Jesus reply,

“And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. (Luke 2:49-50).

9.  After this incident, the lad returned home and remained obedient to His parents.

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:51-52)

We did not hear of any more incidents of Jesus. The next time we heard about Him, He was a fully grown man.

Jesus began His ministry when He was about 30 years old. What happened to Him between the age of 12 to 30, approximately 18 years?

Were these years missing?

Where did Jesus go during this period? What did He do?

Did He remain at home?

Many people speculate about this time. As usual, most people tend to lean towards the wild and elaborate stories.

The conspiracists said that He went to India to learn from the Hindu where He gained wisdom and powers. If this was the case then we should have more people from India who can perform all the miracles that Jesus did.

Others said He was a Buddhist monk and they have ancient records to prove this. Some of the pseudepigrapha and other apocryphal books contained elaborate stories of Jesus during this so-called missing years.

Suffice it to say we do not have to speculate about these missing years of Jesus because the Bible recorded these eighteen years.

Jesus did not disappear from His hometown. Neither did He disappear from the Bible.

The Bible states that Jesus grew and increased in wisdom and stature. This means He grew up with His parents into a strong healthy and wise young man.

No doubt He worked with His father as a carpenter. No doubt He excelled in school.

No doubt He was well behaved because the Bible states that after the incident at twelve years old, He was subjected to His parents. The incident in Jerusalem did not reoccur.

Being good parents who were concerned about their son’s safety and wellbeing I doubted that Mary and Joseph would allow Jesus to be galivanting all over the world with a backpack on His back.

Furthermore, Jesus’ parents were aware of His divine destiny because of the many prophetic revelations that they had received at His birth. And also the many records of His destiny by the Old Testament Prophets. For example, Isaiah 53.

The duty of Mary and Joseph was to nurture and raised their son, and to keep Him safe until He was ready to do the work of God.

The Bible also states that Jesus increased in favor with God and man. So whatever He did and wherever He went the favor of God and men was upon His life.

Jesus was well loved by many and more so by God His Father.

Jesus’ years were not missing!

Jesus had a normal childhood. He had a normal adolescent and He was groomed into manhood by the guidance of Joseph His earthly father and God, His heavenly Father.

No doubt Jesus was mentored by the priests, teachers, and scribes of the law in the commandments and ordinances of God.

Jesus was well acquainted with the laws and prophets and the purpose of the Holy Temple of God.

Hence, later during Christ’s ministry, He felt He had the authority to chase out the money changers and merchants from the temple who were turning it into a den of thieves instead of a house of prayer.

The mystery of the missing years is solved!

But, was there any mystery about Christ’s whereabouts?

Think about it and leave your comments in the reply box below.

We will be happy to hear your views.