QA244 QUESTION: I understand the Bible does not account for Christ’s life between approximately the ages of 12 and 30. I have read that during his teens and early twenties, roughly, Christ went through training in secret orders. Then he conducted a worldwide ministry before returning to the Middle East to conduct the last period of his life mentioned in the Bible. Is this true and would you give more details?
ANSWER: This is partly true. It is true that Jesus traveled widely during certain phases and periods of his life. The training came much more from his own inner channel with God, the Creator of all that is. But he spent some time with some sects, secret orders, and other more esoterically oriented religious schools.
His purpose was to supplement what they were lacking, and also to bring – in forms that were acceptable and comprehensible to his own culture – some of the truths of these other orientations. He unified truths of various cultures that first appeared contradictory. Even pagan cultures contained some values and truths that came directly from God.
Jesus Christ was and is and always will be the great unifier. By his presence, he left his breath on those other cultures and religions that could never be wiped out, no matter how little he was consciously understood or his influence and his teachings perpetuated on an intellectual level. This was one of the great purposes of his travels.
You must understand, my friends, that no one knew more than Jesus. Even as a youngster, he astounded his elders with his wisdom, his knowledge, his profound insight way beyond his age. No possible schooling and teaching from outside could have accounted for this.
