I mean, if i were to point out the most important time in one's life where character is formed, maturity starts to settle, and a person leaves childhood in order to become a man, it is exactly the period of time in the life of Jesus that is exempt from the Bible. Why does the Bible not accept the 'other' gospels where there is mention of this. I must think that this is a no brainer. I want to know more about this man, not that I don't know enough, but I want to connect to his 'human' side. Let us not fool ourselves, this 'void' was not a missprint, or was it?
2007-02-16 19:14:14 · 20 answers · asked by Quijano 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Excellent question! I, too, would like to know what Christ was doing during the formative years of His life, between the ages of 12 (when He was found at the temple) and 30 (when He was baptized of John). It would certainly be a book full of insight.
Let me tell you right now, I do not believe that God does not want us to know, or that this insight is not useful or important. Certainly it would be a great portion of the Bible, especially for young men such as you and me. However, we do have very limited knowledge. Why? You might ask. It's simple. History.
You see, the writers of the Gospels were disciples of the Lord, following Him and speaking with the 12 apostles to gain insight for their books, which were actually finished several years after Christ's death (Mark, it is believed, was the first book to be written). The apostles simply did not know Christ during his adolescence--He called them after he had been baptized at the age of 30. They would have heard stories, but nothing could really be substatiated by the writers of the gospels. Plus, you have to think about the purpose of the books. Mark wrote with a sense of expediency. You'll see that the message of his writing is "Hurry, follow Christ now!" He didn't want to spend time on unessential details (however important they might be) because they detracted from his piece of Christian propaganda. The later gospel writers would have had even less contact with the Savior.
As for the Gnostic gospels that do contain stories of Christ's childhood, they were largely written centuries after His death and resurrection. These writers were writing in basically the same situation as one of us today would be writing about George Washington. We don't have any contact with his family. We can't ask about his childhood, because there's nobody to ask. I think we'd probably end up with a summary phrase of George just like the one in the Bible...he continued to grow in favor with God and man. Adolescence is one of those things that just gets lost in history.
So, as painful as it may be to be without that insight, we have to accept the scriptures for what they are--writings of men, inspired men who have not written down the full story (they were mortals, too). There's plenty to study, though, even with their weaknesses, and you have to give them credit for getting their point across.
2007-02-16 19:52:39 · answer #1 · answered by Brandon S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not an expert on this...FAR from it....but my understanding is that the other gospels....or books...were discarded because they were more gnostic, and thus did not support the foundation of a church...or organized religion....as well as the Gospels that were chosen. The group that chose between the Gospels was supposedly ordained by God if I understand this correctly.
2007-02-16 19:19:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope, it wasnt a "misprint". God doesnt WANT you to know. Otherwise He would have put it in there. He says, "He grew in stature and in favor with God and man." That is ALL He feels we need to know. The "other gospels" such as The Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Barnabas, etc, etc. arent in the bible because they came a couple of hundred of years after the fact, and contain obvious errors and discrepancys. This is what is a "NO-BRAINER": If God wanted us to know He would have told us.....theBerean
2007-02-16 19:24:13 · answer #3 · answered by theBerean 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Remembering that Jesus was "God in the flesh", I think it would be pretty unlikely that he ever truly rebelled, he was not you're average teenager after all. The simple fact that as a man, he never sinned, and showed nothing but grace and compassion and love towards the very lowest of people in his society speaks volumes. And of course the one Biblical account of Jesus as a young boy tells of him nicking off on his earth parents to spend time in his Fathers house (the chuch)...not much of a rebellion if you ask me.
2007-02-16 19:36:19 · answer #4 · answered by Lotty 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to the books called The Lost Years of Jesus he had become a Rabbi but went searching for more knowledge from different religions before starting his own ministry.
2007-02-16 19:27:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing is written about Jesus's life between the ages of 12 to 32 but I would say he helped his stepfather in the carpentry and was a very obedient son
God Bless You
2007-02-16 19:23:11 · answer #6 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Those other Gospels you mentioned didn't pass the test of authenticity. Concerning his other years, I imagine they were pretty ordinary, a lot like your and my youth. He was the son of a carpenter and his father probably died some time early on. Though I have wondered also about his youth, I'm guessing that we might have taken those years and tried to make too much of them. Maybe they are left out on purpose.
2007-02-16 19:21:19 · answer #7 · answered by Mr.X 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No dear it is not a "missprint" as you put it. God left it out intentionally because it was not necessary to our understanding of the main point, which is salvation. We needed to know about His birth because He had to be God to be the sacrifice, we needed to know about the incident in the temple when He was twelve because it shows us His mission (His Father's business), and then we needed to know His adult ministry etc. All we need to know about the "silent years" was given to us in a nutshell - He grew in favor with God and man. God is very much a "need to know" God - things outside of that are just used by satan to sidetrack us from the main issue. He gave us all we "needed to know" for salvation, life, and heaven. And believe me, you concentrate on just that and you will have your hands full because there is an enemy after your soul.
2007-02-16 19:29:23 · answer #8 · answered by wd 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having devout Jewish parents, it is presumed that Jesus had the typical Jewish upbringing of his day, and was a wise, thrifty, and obediant son to his parents, raised to follow his "father" Joseph in the carpentry trade, yet as he waxed wise, and developed, he became "aware" of his higher calling and left his parents, exclaiming to his mother, that he didn't have anything to do with her (now that he was officially a "man", and therefore must be busy about his "Father's business" - His calling from his heavenly Father.
Jesus spoke in the Jewish Temple astounding the men with his vast knowledge, but was accused of blasphemy when He appeared to understand He was the Incarnation of God Almighty!
2007-02-16 19:24:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I be about my father's business? -Luke 2:49. Jesus was passionate about his works from an early age.
Jesus was found by his family in the temple amid the doctors of the Jewish law, hearing them and asking questions (Luke 2:46)
You need to look no further than Christ's own words to learn where he was between the Luke verse and his capture and crucifiction:
...I sat daily with you teaching in the temple... -Matthew 26:55.
2007-02-16 19:24:26 · answer #10 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋