Many people would say these ideas are true. But others might say that knowing the truth about this is not just difficult, but impossible. They might think that if you believe in Jesus, it doesn’t matter whether the above beliefs are true or false. But the Bible doesn’t teach that. It encourages us to acquire “the accurate knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8) We can gain this accurate knowledge by examining the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). These books tell us the truth about Jesus so we can distinguish between truth and lies. So let’s see what the Gospels say about the above beliefs.
True or False? False.
The Bible does not mention the month or day Jesus was born. So where did the December 25th date come from? According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the date was chosen because some people who claimed to be Christians wanted “a date to coincide with the Roman festival celebrating the winter solstice.” This date marked the time when days started to get longer and the sun began to climb higher in the sky. Britannica also states that many customs associated with Christmas “originate from pagan agricultural and solar observances at midwinter.”
Would Jesus approve of celebrating his birthday on December 25th? Consider this: Nobody knows the exact date of Jesus’ birth. Additionally, the Bible does not direct us to celebrate his birthday. There is no evidence that the early Christians celebrated Jesus’ birth. Instead, the Bible clearly records the date of Jesus’ death. Jesus commanded his followers to commemorate his death. (Luke 22:19) Clearly, Jesus wanted people to give more importance to his death than his birth because he sacrificed his life for humanity.—Matthew 20:28.
True or False? False.
Perhaps you’ve seen paintings or nativity scenes depicting Jesus lying in a manger with three wise men presenting gifts. But this scene is not accurate.
It’s true that a group of men from the East came to visit young Jesus. However, these men were actually astrologers. (Matthew 2:1, KJV; NWT) And when they arrived, was Jesus still in a manger? No, he was living in a house. Clearly, these astrologers arrived several months after Jesus’ birth. (Matthew 2:9-11)
How many people visited Jesus? 2, 3, or 30? The Bible does not specify. But people likely refer to three wise men because the Bible mentions three types of gifts given to Jesus. (Matthew 2:11) Some even suggest these wise men represented different races, but this notion is not found in the Bible. A commentary on the Gospels indicates this belief is “the invention of an eighth-century historian.”
True or False? False.
The Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus had siblings. The book of Luke describes Jesus as Mary’s “firstborn” son, implying that Mary had other children later. (Luke 2:7) According to the book of Mark, people in Nazareth referred to Jesus alongside his brothers and sisters, suggesting he was not unique in his family. They asked: “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?”—Mark 6:3; Matthew 12:46; John 7:5.
Despite this, many theologians teach that Jesus was his parents’ only child. Some claim that the siblings mentioned were actually Jesus’ cousins. Others speculate that these were Joseph’s children from a previous marriage. But consider this: If Jesus was Mary’s only child, would the people of Nazareth make such remarks? Some of them would have witnessed Mary’s multiple pregnancies, clearly recognizing Jesus as one of her own children.
True or False? False.
Many believe that God came to earth as a man, Jesus Christ. This belief forms the basis of the Trinity doctrine, a long-held Christian teaching. However, this belief did not exist in Jesus’ time. Encyclopaedia Britannica states: “Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament. ... The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through much controversy.”
When a religion teaches that Jesus is God incarnate, it actually dishonors Jesus. How? Consider this analogy: Employees ask their supervisor for a favor. The supervisor says he doesn’t have the authority to grant it. If this is true, it shows he understands his limitations. But if he does have the authority and still says no, he’s being deceitful.
Now think about Jesus. When two of his disciples asked for special positions, what did he say? “To sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” (Matthew 20:23) If Jesus were God, wouldn’t his statement be a lie? Instead, by acknowledging his Father’s authority, he demonstrated respect for his role and showed he was not equal to God.
True or False? True.
Jesus made it clear he was more than a good man. He said: “I am God’s Son.” (John 10:36) Of course, anyone can claim to be God’s Son. But if Jesus’ claim were false, what would that make him? A deceiver, not a good man!
The most reliable witness to Jesus being God’s Son is God himself. Twice, God declared about Jesus: “This is my Son.” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) Think about it: The Bible records only a few occasions when God’s voice was heard on earth. On two of these occasions, he confirmed Jesus as his Son! This is the strongest evidence that Jesus’ claim was true.
Did you learn something new and surprising from this article? If so, why not explore the Gospels further? Doing so can be both enlightening and beneficial. After all, Jesus himself said that knowing the truth about him and his Father can lead to “everlasting life.”—John 17:3.
The Bhavishya Purana, one of the eighteen major Puranas in Hindu literature, is known for its purported prophecies about future events. Some interpretations claim it contains references to Jesus Christ, although these claims are subject to considerable debate and skepticism.
Here are the key points often cited in discussions about Jesus Christ in the Bhavishya Purana:
The Bible mentions Jesus' activities till the age of 12, when he stayed in Jerusalem for three days, sitting among the preachers in the places of worship, listening to them and asking them questions. After this, there is no mention of Jesus' life from thirteen to twenty-nine years.
These mysterious years of Jesus' life are called Silent Years, Lost Years or Missing Years in the Christian world. After that, Jesus returned to Jerusalem directly at the age of thirty and took initiation from John and after fasting for forty days, started giving religious education to the people. Finally, at the age of thirty-three, he was crucified.
In 1887, Russian scholar and explorer Notovich discovered Jesus' 'Lost Years' for the first time and revealed the secret of his stay in India during this mysterious period. During his visit to Kashmir, Notovich met a Buddhist monk in a Buddhist monastery near Zojila Pass, who told him about a saint who had attained Bodhisatva, whose name was Jesus. After a detailed conversation with the monk, Notovich pointed out many similarities between the lives of Isa and Jesus. He wrote a book named 'The Life of Saint Isa' after studying many books kept in the ancient Hemis Buddhist monastery located on the Leh road of Ladakh.
According to this very popular book, there were close trade relations between India and Israel since the time of King Solomon of Israel. The traders returning from India had spread the stories of the fame of India's knowledge far and wide. Influenced by these stories, Jesus came to India via the Silk Route without telling anyone with the aim of gaining knowledge and stayed in this ashram located on the Silk Route from the age of thirteen to twenty-nine and learned Buddhism, Vedas and Sanskrit and Pali languages. He named himself Isha in Sanskrit, which is a word symbolizing God in the mantra of Yajurveda. After getting education from here, he returned to Jerusalem.
A proof of Jesus' visit to India is also found in the Hindu religious text 'Bhavisya Purana', which mentions that Kushan king Shalivahan meets a golden-haired sage in the Himalayan region, who tells his name as Jesus. There are also references to Jesus' stay in a Buddhist monastery in many folklore of Ladakh. In the book 'The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of Christ Within You' by world-renowned Swami Paramhans Yogananda, it is claimed that Jesus stayed in India for many years and did deep study and practice of Indian philosophy and yoga. 'Los Angeles Times' and 'The Guardian' published a long report on this research of Swami Ji, which was discussed all over the world. A book 'Fifth Gospel' by Ian Caldwell explores the mysterious aspects of Jesus' life. This book also believes that Jesus stayed in India from the age of thirteen to twenty-nine. Researchers have also expressed the possibility of Jesus staying in India for a long time on the basis that there is a lot of similarity in the teachings of Jesus and Buddha. The theory of soul is a part of Indian philosophy. Before Jesus, the concept of soul did not exist in the West. Jesus accepted it as an integral part of God, which is depicted in the paintings as a white dove. It is believed that Jesus died after being crucified, but most modern researchers believe that Jesus did not die after being crucified. Jesus was declared dead very quickly and was taken down and taken to the tomb, where his disciples treated him. After recovering, he came back to India via the Middle East with his mother Mary and some other disciples.
Russian researcher Notovich has written that three days after being crucified, he came to India with his family and mother Mary via Tibet. He spent a few years in the same monastery in Ladakh, where he received education. Later, crossing the snowy mountain peaks, they reached a place called Pahalgam in Kashmir. After this, Jesus made the old area of ​​Srinagar his abode, where he died at the age of 80. German author Holger Karsten has also mentioned in his book 'Jesus Lived in India' that Jesus came to India after the crucifixion and stayed here till his death.
It is written in Part 6, page 120 of the Islamic Hadith 'Kanzul Ummal' that Jesus, the son of Mary, lived on this earth for 120 years. In the nineteenth century, Mirza Ghulam Qadiani, the founder of the Qadiani sect of Islam, has written a research book in Urdu 'Masih Hindustan' about the second and last visit of Jesus Christ to India. In this book, he has proved on the basis of evidence that Jesus survived after suffering the pain of crucifixion.
After recovering, he left Jerusalem and came to Afghanistan via Nasibus city of Iran. In Afghanistan, he continued to teach religion to the scattered twelve tribes of Israel. In the last years of his life, he came to Kashmir, where he died at the age of 120 years. According to him, the Rozabal building in Kashmir is the tomb of Jesus.
An investigative and highly discussed report was published by the BBC regarding his tomb in Kashmir, according to which there is a building made of stone named 'Rozabal' in the old city of Srinagar. There is a tomb in this building, where the body of Jesus Christ is kept. This grave cannot be of any Muslim, because it is facing north-east. In Islam, the head of the grave is towards Mecca. The local people believe that this is the grave of Joja Asaf, who came and lived here from a faraway country. During his travel in Iran, Jesus was known by the name of Joja Asaf.
Along with the grave, footprints have also been engraved here. These footprints match the footprints of Jesus, because there are marks of nails hammered on the feet on them. From the discoveries made so far, it has been believed that the initial and last time of Jesus was spent in India. He loved India, its culture and its religious-spiritual traditions. It is another matter that despite all the research and evidence, the Church does not accept these things.
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