Since Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code speculations have abounded concerning the supposedly “lost years” of Jesus’ life. Did Jesus travel abroad? Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene? Did Jesus have children? Speculations (never a solid foundation upon which to build a conclusion) abound about those supposedly lost years which some claim are based upon the supposed silence of the Bible concerning the life of Jesus from the ages of 12-30. One writer/film-maker claims,

On one page of the Gospel of Luke Jesus is 12 years old in the Temple in Jerusalem and then . . . nothing for 18 years until Jesus shows up at the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist.

I disagree with the presumption that the Bible is silent about those years of Jesus’ life. In fact, many respected theologians from various centuries do not agree that the Bible is silent on this subject. Moreover, I think an honest, unbiased reader of the Bible will reach this same conclusion and that anything less than an objective mindset leads to a prejudiced and misleading historical revisionism. Yet, as we know, historical revisionism has often been used to try to avoid the truth. The specific point of this article is to dispute the notion that the Bible says nothing about the life of Jesus from age 12-30.

A summary of Jesus’ life between ages twelve-thirty is given in Luke 2:51-52.

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

First note that this verse is given to describe Jesus’ life in Nazareth after the incident in the Temple. So, what do we learn from these verses about Jesus?

1. He was submissive to his parents (gotta be there for that).
2. He increased in wisdom & stature (these words are about Jesus' life after 12).
3. His mother treasured up events of her oldest son’s life in her heart (probably did not keep up with his life on Facebook).

Jesus’ life in Nazareth is further explained in Mark 1:9, 6:1-4 and Luke 4:16. What can we learn about Jesus from these verses?

1. Jesus came from Nazareth -, i.e., he left Nazareth to go and be baptized by John Baptist. He did not come from India or Egypt, but he came from the place of his residence - Nazareth.
2. After his baptism, Jesus goes back to Nazareth which is called his hometown. My hometown is Screven - it is where I grew up. What is up? More than age 12, usual sense of the language is to adulthood.
3. When Jesus returns to Nazareth after his baptism, he goes to the synagogue and begins teaching and the people are amazed and offended. Someone asks, “Where did this man get these things (i.e., His teachings)?” Now it is interesting to note no one stood up and said, “Oh, don’t you know this is Joseph’s son who went on a world tour and was taught by great teachers. Why, this is educated man, we need to hear what he has to say.”
4. Jesus’ occupation and family relations in Nazareth are established. Jesus is called the Carpenter. Now I know they did not have child-labor laws in 1st century Palestine, but I’m not convinced a twelve-year-old boy would be identified as a carpenter.

Here’s the point, the people of Nazareth were not offended by Jesus and perplexed by his teaching because they do not know him. No! Familiarity breeds contempt. They are offended by Jesus because they know him and they know his family. Why do they know him? Because Jesus is from Nazareth, he grew up there, he works there, he lives there! In other words, the folks of Nazareth are saying, “Who does this carpenter think he is? Coming in here pretending to be some great teacher? Why he is nothing more than a carpenter! He has no right or qualifications to teach.”

This obvious truth is underscored by Jesus’ response.

Mark 6:4 - “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

Jesus was without honor in Nazareth (they were offended by Him) because he was known as a boy, a teenager and a simple village-carpenter among the folks of his hometown.