The Untold Story of Jesus
The gospels record Jesus at the age of twelve teaching in the temple. Then there is a big void until at the age of 30, Jesus shows up at the River Jordan to be baptized by John. This leaves 17 years uncounted; Luke wrote the child increased in wisdom and stature while working in his father’s carpentry shop.
Okay, I give up! What in the world did he learn in his father’s shop that would prepare him for what he was about to endure?
Let’s start at the beginning to see how religion changed the facts to suit their needs. It was reported that:
Jesus was born in a manger.
Fact: Jesus was born in a cave.
Jesus was born in the winter.
Fact: Jesus was born in late June or July.
The baby was named Jesus.
Fact: The baby was named Joseph Ben Joseph (Joseph son of Joseph).
Jesus was born to a Virgin Mary.
Fact: This is a religious concept to give more credibility to the idea that Jesus was the Son of God.
Jesus was an only child of Mary and Joseph.
Fact: Mary and Joseph had several children, including James, who was reported to be Jesus’ twin brother. Wow! This leaves a lot of questions.
Joseph and Mary were just ordinary people.
Fact: Joseph came from a noble and illustrious line. Beginning with Abraham through Isaac, Jacob to King David, then through Solomon to Jacob, the Father of Joseph, and Mary.
Now of course the question “was Mary a Virgin or not” can be argued by many scientists and religious leaders for the next 10,000 years. But that is not the issue of this book. What we are trying to do here is to determine what Jesus did during his seventeen years between the age of thirteen and thirty.
Now here is a question for you. Do they expect you to believe that Jesus spent 17 years in his father’s carpentry shop building tables and chairs when he could have been out there saving the world?
Here is the story, as I know it. At the age of 4 Joseph Ben Joseph was all ready a gifted and knowledgeable child. Joseph and Mary enrolled little Joseph in the exclusive school of the Essenes. The Essenes were the ancient sect of Hebrews who had knowledge of the Kabbalah and ancient scrolls going back into the earliest times of the Hebrew people. When Joseph had been at the school for approximately 2 years, the elders at the school realized he was something really special and changed his name to Jesus to justify the prophecy that a messiah would come and his name would be Jesus. Jesus spent 8 years with the Essenes and mastered all of their skills and knowledge.
At the age of twelve, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with Joseph, Mary and his brothers and sisters. He had at least 4 brothers and 2 sisters. When the time came to leave Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary gathered up their clan and started the journey back to Nazareth. About halfway home they noticed Jesus was not with them, kind of a Macaulay Culkin in the movie “Home Alone”. They returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus in the temple teaching the rabbis. Now here comes the strange part: which one either Mary or Joseph, had the guts to chew out the son-of-God? Anyway, Jesus left the temple and returned with his family to Nazareth. Now some religions want us to believe he spent the next 17 years building coffee tables and rocking chairs and at the age of 30 he decided to start his mission. I don’t think so.
Jesus left Jerusalem and traveled north to Damascus, then headed east to Baghdad, then north to Persia (Iran) to Afghanistan to Kabul, and then into Pakistan, Rawalpirndi and Lahore to India to New Delhi then Benares then headed north to Tibet to Lhasa, then west to Ladakh.
Jesus was known as Issa in India and Tibet. Issa secretly left his parents at the age of 13 and together with the merchants of Jerusalem turns towards India to become perfected in the Divine word and then to Tibet for the study of the laws of the great Buddha.
All this he did and more, not as a Son of God but in a fulfillment of a known path of self-mastery, a natural soul-evolution. He seemed to have been making a strong statement etched in every footprint; that this was a path preordained by the Father, obtainable by all sons.
As Jesus entered this thirteenth year, the Israelites according to their national custom, get married at this age. All of Joseph and Mary’s friends were eager to have Issa (Jesus) as their son-in-law. Issa was unwilling to marry. He had already attained fame by these expositions/manifestations of the nature of God. At the proposal of marriage, he decided to leave his parents’ house in secret. He left Nazareth, joined a group of traders, and set out for the land of Sind (South Pakistan) in due course he arrived at the home of Jagannath and became a disciple of the Brahmins. He endeared himself to everyone and it was there that he began reading, learning, and expounding the Vedas.
Next he lived six years in Rajagrilta, Kasi, and other holy places. Then he set out for Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Having lived there for six years with the Buddhist monks, he learned Pali thoroughly and began studying the Buddhist scriptures. From there he toured Nepal and the Himalayas and proceeded westward. Gradually he arrived in Persia, where the doctrines of Zarathusta were followed. Soon his fame spread everywhere. Then he returned to his homeland at the age of 29 and began spreading the word of peace amongst his oppressed countrymen.
When Jesus was about to leave Tibet, his parting words were: “I came to show human possibilities, what has been created by me, all men can create; and that which I am all men will be. These gifts belong to all nations and all lands, for this is the bread and the water of life.”
If you will reread Jesus’ words every day, you will know the meaning of life.