Subject:
������ THE MISSING YEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST ‑By
������ Bertrand L. Comparet
�� Date:
������ Fri, 20 Apr 2001 10:43:50 ‑0700
� From:
������ "Bob Jones" <[email protected]>
��� To:
������ <Undisclosed‑Recipient:;>
��� CC:
������ "Pastor Bob Jones" <[email protected]>
THE MISSING YEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST
�������������� By Bertrand L. Comparet
���� The four gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell
of the life and ministry of Yahshua the
���� Christ. The gospel of Matthew traces Him from His birth through
His short sojourn in Egypt, then back
���� to Nazareth, still as a baby. He next appears in this gospel in
chapter 3, at the time of His baptism, just
���� before His 40 days of temptation at the beginning of His ministry.
In Mark, the baptism, temptations and
���� the beginning of His ministry, are all in Chapter 1. In John, as in
Mark, His childhood is not covered;
���� chapter 1 covers His baptism and the beginning of His ministry.
���� In Luke we have been given more details. Chapters 2 and 3 trace
Him from the return to Nazareth
���� through His baptism, temptations and the beginning of His
ministry. Luke 3:23 tells us Yahshua's ministry
���� started at the age of thirty. Luke 2:41‑ 52 traces Him on one visit
to Jerusalem when He was 12 years
���� old. All four gospels are silent on the 18 years between His 12th
and 30th years. Where was He, what
���� was He doing during those years? It can be well demonstrated
that He was absent from Palestine for at
���� least part of this period, let's trace this absence.
���� Luke 1:36, 39‑56 tells us that Elizabeth, mother of John the
Baptist, was a cousin of Mary the mother of
���� Yahshua the Christ. There was a very close, friendly relationship
between the two families. Immediately
���� after the angel told Mary she was to bear Yahshua, she went to
the home of her cousin Elizabeth and
���� stayed in Elizabeth's home for about 3 months. It is only natural
that this close friendship would endure
���� throughout the years thereafter.
���� The law required that all the men and male children must come
to Jerusalem at three feasts each year.
���� Deuteronomy 16:16 states, "Three times in a year shall all the
males appear before Yahweh thy God in
���� the place which He shall choose: in the feast of unleavened
bread and in the feast of weeks and in the
���� feast of tabernacles." The feast of weeks was held 50 days after
Passover, in our day is called Pentecost.
���� The feast of tabernacles was a weeklong feast, the last of the fall
festivals. The families of Yahshua and
���� John the Baptist, had to bring them both to Jerusalem three
times every year. The families, being such
���� good friends, surely met and the children must have played
together on those occasions. So, Yahshua
���� and John the Baptist were very well acquainted. Between
Yahshua's 12th and 30th years, the Scriptures
���� nowhere even hint Yahshua was in Palestine. We find evidence
He was absent from Palestine throughout
���� the greater part of that period.
���� John 1:29‑33 records the event of Yahshua being baptized by
John the Baptist, in these words. "The next
���� day, John seeth Yahshua coming unto him and saith, Behold the
Lamb of Yahweh, which taketh away
���� the sins of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh
a man which is preferred before me,
���� for He was before me. And John bare record saying, I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like a
���� dove, and it abode on Him. And I knew Him not." John had
received the vision by which he identified
���� Yahshua as the Lamb of Yahweh. However, he didn't recognize
him as a person, a relative of his for he
���� says, I knew Him not. If John the Baptist had seen his cousin
Yahshua 3 times each year to that time, he
���� certainly would have recognized Him. If Yahshua had been in
Palestine during those 18 years, John
���� surely would have seen Him. Therefore Yahshua must have
been absent during those years.
���� This is not the only evidence� of Yahshua's absence, for He was
required to pay the stranger's tax. In the
���� original Greek, Matthew 17:24‑27 reads, "And they having
arrived at Capernaum, the collectors of the
���� didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does not your teacher pay
the didrachma? He saith yes. And when
���� they had come into the house, Yahshua anticipated him saying,
Which to thee seems right Simon? The
���� kings of the earth: from whom do they take custom or head tax?
From their sons or from the aliens? To
���� him said Peter, From the aliens. Yahshua said to him, Then the
sons are exempt. But that we may not
���� offend them, going to the sea cast thou a hook, and the first fish
ascending take up; and opening the
���� mouth of him, thou wilt find a stater; taking that, give it to them
for Me and thee."
���� Here is clear proof that Yahshua was regarded as a stranger in
the land. Remember, this took place at
���� Capernaum, in His home district of Galilee. Note that the tax,
which He was called upon to pay, the
� ���didrachma, was a head tax levied by the Romans on all
strangers. This tax of a didrachma, a Greek silver
���� coin, was not the Jewish temple tax of a half shekel, paid by all
who were of the Jewish religion. Merely
���� to ask if He paid the temple tax would have been an insult as
doubting His citizenship. If this tax had been
���� the temple tax, this was not levied on any alien, only on the
Judeans. If this were the case Yahshua could
���� not have said that this tax was levied on the aliens and the sons
are exempt. Therefore it was clearly the
���� Roman didrachma head tax, levied only on strangers. Also
notice how Yahshua said to pay it. A fish
���� would be caught, having in its mouth a stater, which was another
Greek coin. The Jewish temple tax
�� ��could only be paid with a Jewish half‑shekel coin, not a coin
issued by pagans.
���� Yahshua spoke of the kings of the earth collecting the tax. The
priests, not by a king, collected the temple
���� tax. So we see that Yahshua had been gone so long that, in His
own home district of Galilee, He was not
���� recognized as a local resident. He was asked to pay the
stranger's tax, the didrachma.
���� If Yahshua was absent from Palestine for many years, between
the age of 12 and 30, where was He
���� during this time? The various enemies of Christianity have
originated many legends about this. Some of
���� the various forms of devil worship of Asia claim that He spent
these years in their lamaseries in Tibet and
���� in the ancient oasis in the Gobi desert, learning their teachings.
Of one thing we can be sure, He who was
���� Yahweh in the flesh did not waste His time studying devil
worship among the pagans! He didn't borrow
���� any of His teachings from them!
���� Where did He spend these years? Before we can go into this, we
must lay a foundation for it. We must
���� learn some facts, as background, which will show how likely our
explanation is the true one.
���� A fairly prominent character in the New Testament is Joseph of
Arimathea. Arimathea was 8 miles north
���� of Jerusalem, the first stopping off place of northbound caravans
and an important commercial center in
���� its day. Matthew 27:57 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was
wealthy, while Mark 15:43 and Luke
���� 23:50‑51 tell us that he was an honorable counselor or member
of the Great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem.
���� All four gospels praise him as a good man and Matthew and
John further tell us that he was one of
���� Yahshua's disciples. However, during Yahshua's life he
remained a secret disciple, for fear of the Jews.
���� The Jews would have persecuted Joseph much more savagely
than just a poor nobody, had they known
���� he was a follower of Yahshua the Christ.
���� This tradition is evidently well founded, for Matthew 27:57‑60
records that Joseph of Arimathea went to
���� Pontius Pilate, asked for the body of Yahshua and was given it.
He then buried Yahshua in his own tomb.
���� This seems like a highly dangerous thing to have done. This
showed reverence for the remains of one
� ���who was so bitterly hated by the Jews and who had been
condemned to be killed as a criminal.
���� There were two cemeteries outside Jerusalem reserved for the
bodies of condemned criminals. Here was
���� a man who, during Yahshua's lifetime, had not dared to openly
admit that he was Yahshua's disciple. He
���� now openly shows reverence and affection for the remains of
the One they had killed that very day.
���� Pontius Pilate had consented to the murder of Yahshua, after
officially adjudging Him completely innocent
���� of any crime at all. He had done this astonishingly evil act to
avoid offending the Jews. It was unlikely that
���� he would have authorized an honorable private funeral for
Yahshua, if the leaders of the Jews had not
���� consented to it. Only one explanation of this can be found. Under
both Jewish and Roman law, it was the
���� duty of the nearest relatives to provide burial for anyone,
regardless of how they died. Despite all their
���� hatred, the Jewish authorities could hardly refuse permission to
the uncle to bury his nephew. The
���� Palestinian tradition of this relationship was probably correct.
���� What if Joseph of Arimathea was our Savior's uncle? Palestinian
tradition is that his wealth came from
���� being an importer of tin, from mines that he owned in Cornwall
in the British Isles. Naturally he would
���� have frequently gone with his ships to Cornwall, to inspect his
properties there. What would be more
���� natural than he would take this wonderful nephew of his along. If
this did occur, there must be some
���� record or tradition of it in the place to which they went. Next, let
us look for such evidence,
���� First, a little review of what was then known about the tin trade.
The ancient writers agree that the
���� Phoenicians were the earliest traders who brought tin from the
islands beyond the Straits of Gibraltar.
���� Without tin, it was impossible to make bronze. Copper alone,
without tin to harden and strengthen it, was
���� not good enough, so tin was very valuable. Ships of many other
nations tried to follow the Phoenician
���� galleys, to find where they were able to get tin. The Phoenicians
were such expert sailors; they were
���� usually able to get away from their pursuers.
���� Other records tell of one who could not shake off a Roman ship
which followed him and who finally
���� wrecked his own ship to avoid being traced to the source of the
tin. This record tells how his countrymen
���� reimbursed him for the loss of his ship, being grateful to him for
his having protected the valuable secret at
���� so great a cost.
���� Ezekiel 27:12, written about 595 B.C., mentions the tin trade of
the ancient city of Tyre. "Tarshish was
���� thy merchant, by reason of the multitude of all kinds fiches: with
silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded in
���� thy fairs". This tin trade originating in Britain was very ancient,
going back to at least 1500 B.C. A
���� tremendous amount of bronze (mistranslated brass in the King
James Bible) was used in the construction
���� and equipment of King Solomon's temple. The tin mines of
Cornwall probably supplied most of the tin
���� for this bronze. Remember that Ezekiel mentioned tin and lead.
Both of these metals as well as some
���� copper were mined in Britain in those days. An ancient pig of
lead has been found, bearing the stamp of
���� Britannicus, the son of Claudius. This shows that the mining of
lead in Britain was in progress during the
���� time of Yahshua.
���� Despite all Phoenician efforts to keep it secret, the Greeks
discovered the source of tin in Britain in the
���� year 330 B.C. The Phoenician monopoly was broken. So in
Yahshua's lifetime, his uncle Joseph of
���� Arimathea was the owner of tin mines in Cornwall. Did he take
the young Yahshua there?
���� The first tradition that he did so is found in Cornwall. In Baring
Gould's Book of Cornwall he writes,
���� "Another Cornish tradition is to the effect that Joseph of
Arimathea came in a boat to Cornwall and
���� brought the boy Yahshua with him. The latter taught him how to
extract tin and purge it of the wolfram.
���� When the tin is flashed, then the tinner shouts Joseph was in the
trade". We find it again at Priddy, a little
���� village lying at the top of the Mendip Hills, right in the center of
the ancient lead and copper mines.
���� We next find the tradition that Yahshua was brought to Britain, at
Somerset, by his uncle Joseph of
���� Arimathea. The tradition says,"They came in a ship of Tarshish
to the Somerland, and sojourned in a
��� �place called Paradise". The Summerland is Somerset. At the
mouth of the Brue river, which runs down
���� from Glastonbury, lies Burnham and Godney. Old ordinance
survey maps give the name of the area
���� around Burnham, Paradise. It is still known by that name.
Ancient writings have said that Glastonbury
���� was once known as Paradise. About a mile from Glastonbury lies
the village of Godney. Godney means
���� God's marshlands. The Glastonbury traditions are more
concerned with Yahshua's visit during His
���� manhood.
���� Tradition also attests that much of Yahshua's sojourn in Britain
was spent at or near Glastonbury. Later
���� there was built at Glastonbury a great Abbey. For almost a
thousand years the greatest kings, bishops,
���� saints and heroes of the British race were buried there. In its day
it was the greatest abbey in Britain.
���� Royal charters were signed in the church. King Cnut still in
existence, the one signed by King Ina in 704
���� A.D. and one signs two of these there, in 1032 A.D. In 1184 A.D,
the abbey buildings and the famous
���� library of Glastonbury, covering a thousand years of history, was
burned. Therefore, today we only have
���� scattered references to these things in the works of various
historians of the early days. However, there
���� were many of these.
���� Taliesin the Druid, the great Welch prince and Bard of the sixth
century wrote, "Christ, the Word from
���� the beginning, was from the beginning our teacher, and we
never lost His teachings." The great church
���� historian, Hugh Paulinus de Cressy, writing in 1668 A.D. said,
"This, our land of Brittany, though called
���� by the Romans another world, as being divided from the whole
then discovered habitable earth, yet the
���� riches of Divine mercy received the beams of the Son of
Righteousness before many other countries
���� nearer approaching to the place where He first rose."
���� Further support is lent to these ancient reports by what
happened later, after Yahshua's crucifixion. The
���� Jews bitterly persecuted the Christians, as we know. John
12:10‑11 tells how even during Yahshua's
���� lifetime, the Jews plotted to murder Lazarus, because Yahshua
had raised him from the dead.
���� Cardinal Baronius, a very careful church historian who was
librarian to the Vatican, quotes a Vatican
���� manuscript dated 35 A.D. This manuscript reports that in that
year the Jews had arrested Joseph of
���� Arimathea, the Virgin Mary, Martha, and two other Christians.
They were put in a boat and were set
���� adrift in the Mediterranean without oars or sails. They finally
reached land and went to Britain. Many
���� early historians confirm this.
���� St. Gregory of Tours, in his history of the Franks written shortly
before 600 A.D., Haleca, Archbishop of
���� Saragossa and the Chronicon of Pseudo Dexter, all agree that
Joseph of Arimathea was the first to
���� preach the gospel of Christianity in Britain. Hugh Paulinius de
Cressy says, "Now the most eminent of the
���� primitive disciples and who contributed most to this heavenly
building, was St. Joseph of Arimathea and
���� eleven of his companions along with him, among whom is
reckoned his son of the same name. These,
���� toward the latter end of Nero's reign and before St. Peter and St.
Paul were consummated by a glorious
���� martyrdom. By the testimony of ancient records they were said
to have entered this island because of its
���� isolation, the benevolence of the British princes and freedom
from Roman tyranny. This place was more
���� opportune and better prepared for entertaining and learning the
gospel of the kingdom, than almost any
���� country under the Romans."
���� Various historians, of these early times, such as Gildas and
William of Malmesbury, record that the
���� British King Arviragus granted to Joseph of Arimathea a
considerable area at Glastonbury. This was to
���� be held forever, free from all taxes, as a site for a church and its
accessory buildings and fields.
���� That this is no mere legend is proven by one of the greatest
official records of all British history. After
���� conquering England in the year 1066 A.D., William the Conqueror
had a survey made of all the lands of
���� the kingdom, as to what taxes had been paid. This record called
Domesday Booke was completed in
���� 1088 A.D. and it contains this record. "The Domus Dei, in the
great monastery of Glastonbury, called the
���� secret of Yahweh. This Glastonbury church possesses in its own
villa XII hides of land which have never
���� paid tax." Note that this official record names this early church
Domus Dei, the home of God, and the
���� secret of Yahweh.
���� Joseph of Arimathea and his companions erected a mud and
wattle church at Glastonbury. Among their
���� first converts were members of the royal family, children of
Aractious, cousin of King Arviragus of South
���� Wales. Still existing royal charters granted by King Ina, dated 704
A.D., and by King Cnut dated 1032
���� A.D., attest that these kings in this church signed them.
���� Ancient records tell of its being preserved by a shell built around
it of boards covered with lead. Later a
���� stone building was erected, enclosing the original church. St.
David erected a large stone church as an
���� addition to this in 546 A.D. A record he made of this on a bronze
tablet was still in place at the time of
���� the seizure and dissolution of the monastery under orders from
King Henry VIII.
���� Even in Ireland is found the tradition of Joseph of Arimathea
having founded the Glastonbury church. St.
���� Patrick, who had spent considerable time at Glastonbury and
who returned there for the last years of his
���� life, no doubt brought the record to Ireland.
���� This great abbey was the one destroyed by fire in 1184 A.D.
Immediately thereafter, King Henry II of
���� England issued a royal charter for the rebuilding of Glastonbury
Abbey. The charter called the abbey,
���� "The mother and burying place of the saints, founded by the
very disciples of our Lord".
���� Well‑substantiated ancient records tell of the death and burial of
Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury.
���� The epitaph on his tombstone read, "I came to the Britons after I
buried the Christ. I taught, I rest."
���� Between 1345 A.D. and 1367 A.D., the body was placed in a
silver casket with a beautiful stone
���� sarcophagus, which was still in position in the year 1662 A.D.,
when the St. Joseph chapel containing it
���� had become partially ruined.
���� Later, out of fear that Puritan fanaticism would result in it being
destroyed as an object of idolatry, the
���� sarcophagus was secretly removed by night to the parish
churchyard. Saying that the initials J.A. carved
���� on it stood for John Allen concealed its identity. Thus it escaped
destruction.
���� In 1928, it was found nearly buried in the soil. It was removed
into the church, in the north transept of the
���� ancient St. Katherine's Chapel. Its construction indicates it was
made to fit the silver casket. It bears the
���� initials J.A., with a dacuceus between the initials. The caduceus,
a winged staff with two serpents twined
���� around it, is used today as the emblem of physicians. Originally
it was the badge of Mercury, the
���� messenger of the Gods. Even today it has been assimilated into
the symbolism of some Christian
���� churches. In our own times, the patriarchs of the eastern
churches have a caduceus, not a crozier, carried
���� before them in official processions. It was an official badge,
which would not have been put on a mere
���� common person's grave.
���� Therefore we see that not only ancient legends and ancient
historical records, but the official acts and
���� records of the kings of the middle ages, have recognized the
close connection of Joseph of Arimathea,
���� the uncle of Yahshua the Christ, with Cornwall and Glastonbury
in Britain. All of these lend strong
���� support to the ancient legends and records of these places that
it was here that Yahshua spent those 18
���� years of His life, which the Bible does not account for. Where
else would we expect Him to go, but to
���� what was to become the principal home of His own people
Israel.