Missing Years

There are several non-canonical "gospels" which deserve serious attention and which treat the subject of Jesus' travels outside of Israel. These are stories to account for the years of Jesus' life missing from the Bible. After his birth there isn't anything mentioned until he is 12, and then again until around the age of 30. At least for 18 years he could have traveled anywhere. If you put all of the stories together Jesus had knowledge of Jewish, Gnostic, Egyptian, Celtic/Druid, Buddhist, Zoroast, and early teachings that would develop into Islam. The stories do conflict but may contain some pieces of truth. It is possible to construct a timeline involving all the locations in the stories. The incorrect details of some of the stories make them suspect as being made up by people unfamiliar with Jesus. Of course details could be lost and mistakenly altered with time. They are still interesting items to contemplate.

Most historians and scholars now estimate that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, estimated around 6-4 B.C. They believe the family fled to Egypt when he was around nine to 15 months old. They are estimated to have spent seven years in Egypt and moved back to land of Israel, and decided to settle in Nazareth. Jesus would have been around 8-9 years old. The Bible tells us that Jesus stayed in Jerusalem three days alone in the temple at the age of 12. From folklore is the story that Jesus came to Britain either as a child or as a young man. Other stories say that Jesus left for India at 13, briefly stopping in Pakistan. The story says he studied for six years with the Buddhas in India, and was eventually forced to flee at 19 or 20. Different stories say that at 21 years old he came to Japan to pursue knowledge of divinity for around 10 years. While returning to Judea he spent a brief time in Persia, returning to Judea aged 29 or 30. Where he preached for three years before trial and crucifixion.

1-8 Egypt, 9-13 Israel and trip(s) to Britain through Gaul, 13 -14 through Assyria, Persia, Afghanistan, 14 Pakistan/India, 14-20 India, Nepal, Tibet, 21 Japan, back through India, Persia, Chaldea, 29 Israel
alternative timeline 1 - 14-20 India, 21-27 Nepal, Tibet, 28 India (no Japan), 29 Israel
alternative timeline 2 - 13-20 married, 20-27 Egypt, 27-29 Chaldea, 29 Israel

King Herod inquired extensively of the wise men to the date of the Messiah's birth. They indicated that the child should be about 15 months old, and were sent to locate the child in Bethlehem. He is why Herod is said to have ordered the killing of all male children under the age of two. Joseph was warned of this in a dream and the family fled to Egypt. When Herod the Great died, Joseph was told by an angel in a dream to return to Israel. However, upon hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father as ruler of Judaea he "was afraid to go thither", and was again notified in a dream to go to Galilee. Some have said that the book of Isaiah suggests a seven year presence of the Holy Family in Egypt. Seven years of abundance, of grace. Either way by the age of eight or nine they were back in Galilee. They went to Jerusalem every year then on for Passover. Jesus stayed in Jerusalem three days alone in the temple at the age of 12. Conversing with teachers and priests. 12 was the Jewish coming-of-age.


Britain
Thae tradition still survives today in parts of Cornwall and Somerset that Jesus came to Britain either as a child or as a young man. Being especially linked with Glastonbury and places like Priddy and Pilton in the Mendips. There is the tradition in Somerset that Joseph and Jesus came in a ship of Tarshish to the Summerland and sojourned in a place called Paradise". Certainly one finds the name Paradise around Burnham-on-Sea and especially around Glastonbury, and one has only to think of the proliferation of names in Somerset and Cornwall such as Christon, Marazion, Jesus Well, Port Isaac and Jacobstown to realise that the traditions may have some foundation in fact. Most of the traditions seem to be connected with Glastonbury. Glastonbury's early history suggests that the sanctity with which the place was held was due to more than Joseph of Arimathea's having settled there. From the earliest times two strange names have been used to describe Glastonbury, 'Secretum Domini' or 'Secret of the Lord', and 'Domus Dei' meaning 'Home of God', and these have been ascribed to the belief that Jesus Himself once lived here and that in this place He constructed the building which became His home. The tradition related in Cornish stories is that Joseph of Arimathaea came in a boat to Cornwall and brought the child Jesus with him, and taught how to extract the tin.

There is some reason to believe Joseph was already familiar with the British Isles long before he became a disciple of Jesus. He was a man of social distinction and official rank, was an honorable counselor, a good and just man, a rich man. The Latin Vulgate renders "honourable counsellor" as 'nobilis decurio.' And 'Decurio' was the name given to a town counsellor and also to an officer in the Roman Army. the officer in charge of a tin mine was also called a 'decurio.' A common phrase in the tin mining areas of southern England, " Joseph was in the trade". If so, then it may be said with certainty that Joseph would have come to Britain, and probably not once but many times. Britain was the main source of tin. The British Isles were referred to by classical writers as the Cassiterides - tin-bearing islands.


Sind
A history of Jesus travels through Persia, India and Tibet is contained in a manuscript titled "The Life of Saint Issa - BEST OF THE SONS OF MEN". This document was found in Tibet and Elizabeth Claire Prophet wrote a book about this discovery. Her book is titled "The Lost Years Of Jesus".
The Life of Saint Issa basically tells us that:
When Jesus had attained the age of thirteen years, when an Israelite should take a wife, the house where his parents earned their living began to be a place of meeting for rich and noble people, desirous of having for a son-in-law the young Jesus, already famous for his edifying discourses in the name of the almighty. Then it was that Jesus left the parental house in secret, departed from Jerusalem, and with the merchants set out towards Sind, with the object of perfecting himself in the Divine Word and of studying the laws of the great Buddhas. He briefly visited with the Jains in his 14th year and established himself among the Aryas. His reputation spread throughout all of northern Sind. But he left the erring worshippers of Jaine and went to Juggernaut in the country of Orissa, where repose the mortal remains of Vyasa-Krishna and where the white priests of Brahma made him a Joyous welcome. Young Jesus studied for six years among the Brahmins at Juggernaut, Rajagriha, Benares, and other Indian holy cities. The priests of Brahma "taught him to read and understand the Vedas, to cure by aid of prayer, to teach, to explain the holy scriptures to the people, and to drive out evil spirits from the bodies of men, restoring unto them their sanity. Everyone loved him, for Jesus lived in peace with the Vaisyas and the Sudras, whom he instructed in the holy scriptures. In the Buddhist Scriptures, there is a prophecy from approximately 500 B.C. of the "Holy One" who would come. One who would lead the people away from the old way, and introduce a new way. Jesus fit the prophecy completely, as the description was that of someone of Western appearance.

Jesus sought to teach the scriptures to all the people of India - including the lower castes. The Brahmins and Kshatriyas (higher castes) opposed him in this, and told him that the Sudras (a lower caste) were forbidden to read or even contemplate the Vedas. Jesus denounced them severely for this. Because of Jesus's controversial teachings, a death plot was devised against him. But the Sudras warned him and he left Juggernaut, establishing himself in Gautamides (the birthplace of the Buddha Sakyamuni) where he studied the sacred writings of the Sutras. "Six years after, Jesus, whom the Buddha had elected to spread his holy word, had become a perfect expositor of the sacred writings. Then he left Nepal and the Himalayan mountains, descended into the valley of Rajputana, and went towards the west, preaching to diverse peoples the supreme perfection of man." Following this, we are told, Jesus briefly visited Persia where he preached to the Zoroastrians. Then, at 29, he returned to Israel and began to preach all that he had learned.


There is also a brief passage on Jesus' travels in the Gospel of the Holy Twelve. Like most Gnostic texts the history is completely different than just accepted. There is a possibility that they actually mean 13 and not 18. Going to the east at 20. The stuff about Egypt likely learned but at a different time. The dating doesn't add up. Anyways here is the information from this Gospel:
13. AND in the eighteenth year of his age, Jesus was espoused unto Miriam, a virgin of the tribe of Judah with whom he lived seven years, and she died, for God took her, that he might go on to the higher things which he had to do, and to suffer for the sons and daughters of men.
14. And Jesus, after that he had finished his study of the law, went down again into Egypt that he might learn of the wisdom of the Egyptians, even as Moses did. And going into the desert, he meditated and fasted and prayed, and obtained the power of the Holy Name, by which he wrought many miracles.
15. And for seven years he conversed with God face to face, and he learned the language of birds and of beasts, and the healing powers of trees, and of herbs, and of flowers, and the hidden secrets of precious stones, and he learned the motions of the Sun and the Moon and the stars, and the powers of the letters, and mysteries of the Square and the Circle and the Transmutation of things, and of forms, and of numbers, and of signs. From thence he returned to Nazareth to visit his parents, and he taught there and in Jerusalem as an accepted Rabbi, even in the temple, none hindering him.
16. AND after a time he went into Assyria and India and into Persia and into the land of the Chaldeans. And he visited their temples and conversed with their priests, and their wise men for many years, doing many wonderful works, healing the sick as he passed through their countries.


Japan
The Last Will and Testament of Daitenku Taro Jurai, aka Jesus Christ, aka Yehoshua Ben Yosef, was found in 1935 in Ibaraki Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. Jesus Christ the carpenter was known around these parts as garlic farmer Daitenku Taro Jurai. Difficult to believe, perhaps, that a man in sandals from the Middle East found his way across Siberia, via Vladivostok, to this small corner of the world, but the villagers claim he had practice.

Shingo village claims to be the last resting-place of Jesus, buried in the "Tomb of Jesus." According to the local lore, Jesus traveled to Japan at the age of 21, where he studied theology for 12 years, after which he returned to Judea at the age of 33. He did not die on the cross at Golgotha. Instead his brother took his place on the cross, while Jesus fled across Siberia to Mutsu Province, in northern Japan, where he became a rice farmer, married, and raised a family near what is now Shingo. Another tomb in Shingō is said to contain an ear of the brother of Jesus and a lock of hair from the Virgin Mary. The claims started in 1933 after the discovery of supposed "ancient Hebrew documents detailing Jesus' life and death in Japan" that was supposedly the testament of Jesus. These documents were allegedly seized by the Japanese authorities and taken to Tokyo shortly before World War II and have not been seen since.
The English text on the sign explaining the legend of the Tomb of Christ reads:
When Jesus Christ was 21 years old, he came to Japan and pursued knowledge of divinity for 12 years. He went back to Judea at age 33 and engaged in his mission. However, at that time, people in Judea would not accept Christ's preaching. Instead, they arrested him and tried to crucify him on a cross. His younger brother, Isukiri casually took Christ's place and ended his life on the cross. Christ, who escaped the crucifixion, went through the ups and downs of travel, and again came to Japan. He settled right here in what is now called Herai Village, and died at the age of 106. On this holy ground, there is dedicated a burial mound on the right to deify Christ, and a grave on the left to deify Isukiri. The above description was given in a testament by Jesus Christ.

This is just one of the controversial claims of Jesus escaping the cross. There is also another almost exact claim except involving Kashmir. There are also stories of the replacement being someone else who looked like Jesus and not his brother. Yet another is that Jesus was only unconscious and Joseph of Arimathea revived him and spirited him away. Another possibility is that the travels after the crucifixion were like the not very ghostly/spiritual sightings of Jesus after the crucifixion mentioned in the Bible. The idea of tombs clearly sounds like a way to get tourism, although one located in Kashmir cannot be so as not many people go there. They may simply be an addition to an actual true story.


Controversial
An extensive treatment of Jesus travels in Persia and India after the time of the crucifixion used to be on the web but is there no more. Here is the relevant portion:
The proclaimed mission of Jesus was to seek, preach to and save the lost tribes of Israel. Following his escape from the cross and sensing danger in staying at the place of his persecution, we find him traveling in disguise to Damascas through Judea, Samaria, Nazareth and to the Sea of Tiberius in search of the lost tribes. The place where Jesus first stayed for a time about two miles from Damascas is even to this day know as Maqam-i-Isa (which means the resting or halting place of Jesus).

Mir Muhammad Khawand Shah Ibn-i-Muhammad wrote in his famous book "Rauza-tus-Safa fi Sirat-ul-Ambia wal Muluk wal Khulafa" (The Gardens of Purity concerning the biography of the Prophets and Kings and Caliphs) that the Jews turned Jesus out of the city and Jesus and Mary set out and went to Syria. From Syria Jesus travelled to Mosul and then to Aleppo. It is stated during his journey Jesus travelled incognito under the name of Yuz Asaf, the word Yuz stands for Yusu (meaning Jesus) and Asaf in Hebrew means gatherer, namely, one who was to collect the lost sheep of Israel. Next we hear of Jesus in Iran. It is said that Yuz Asaf came to this country from the West and preached there and many believed him. The sayings of Yuz Asaf as recorded in Iranian traditions are similar to those of Jesus. (Agha Mustafai, Ahwali Ahalian-i-Para, 219). We can then trace Jesus in Afghanistan: In Ghazni (Western Afghanistan) and in Jalabad (in the extreme south-east of Afghanistan) there are two platforms which bear the name of Yuz Asaf, for he sat and preached there. Jesus, his mother Mary, and Thomas proceeded towards Murree also in Pakistan. Mary died there and was buried at a hill top known as Pindi-Point. The town Murree was until 1875 called Mari and, was named after her. Her tomb adjoining the Defense Tower is even today called: Mai Mari da Asthan - the resting place of Mother Mary. We can trace the entry of Jesus into Kashmir through a valley called Yusu Margh, which is named after him and where the race of Yudu (Jews) is still to be found. It lies on the bridle route followed by merchants coming, generally on foot, from Kaghan and Afghanistan. The Kaghan valle has on tap y on one side touches Kashmir and on the other the Murree hills. Aish Muqam (about 47 miles from Srinagar) is not far from Yusu Margh. In fact it lies on the same route. Aish or Ashush is a perversion of Issa (Jesus).

The Tomb of Jesus in Kashmir
We have traced the life of Jesus from his escape on the cross to this travel and abode in the mountains of Afghanistan and the Vale of Kashmir in a successful search of the lost tribes of Israel and in fulfillment of his proclaimed Divine mission. Another decisive piece of evidence in support of this is provided by the discovery of his tomb in Mohalla Khaniyar in Srinagar. It is called Rauzabal and is described as the tomb of Yuz Asaf, the prophet, who is also styled as Shahzada Nabi (the Prince of Prophet). Here again we find strong evidence in support of proclamation. We find a description of the tomb in the book of the "British Resident in Kashmir" (Sir Francis Younghusband):
There resided in Kashmir some 1,900 years ago a saint of the name of Yuz Asaf, who preached in parables and used many of the same parables as Christ uses, as, for instance, the parable of the sower. His tomb is in Srinagar would be... and the theory is that Yuz Asaf and Jesus are one and the same person.


Americas
A Mormon lady named Lucile Taylor Hansen wrote a book called "He Walked the Americas" which purportedly traces the travels of Jesus in the New World through native American legends. Excerpts from this book can be found on the web at:
http://inetport.com/
one/bswalkam.html

From the Polynesian Islands to the eastern seaboard of the United States, from Canada to South America, they called him by different names - the Healer, the Prophet, the Miracle Worker, God of the Dawn Light, the Wind God, the Teacher, the White-Robed Master. Although the names were different, the legends are sung the same:

In Polynesia they tell of three great ships that sailed from the West. Moving across the water there appeared a fair-skinned man in a long white garment, brown hair and beard glowing gold in the morning sun. When He reached land the people saw that His robe was dry. Thus they knew He was a God. Scholars ascribe this legend to the 1st century AD.

Among the Toltecs of central Mexico there lived a Prophet with gray-green eyes and golden sandals. With 12 disciples He taught the people His religion of peace.

The Mound Builders of North America told of a great Healer who could raise the dead and heal the sick. He walked among the people, hands raised in blessing. A mysterious cross graced each palm. Such are the stories whispered by the Holy Men and Keepers of the Legends for nearly 2,000 years.