Is the Bible silent about Jesus’ life between 12 to 30 years of age?

Very many things have been given to us in God’s Word the Bible about God, His kingdom, our relationship with Him, His works, attributes, Laws, Commandments etc. but not everything about God has been given in the Bible. God in His Word has got written that which He wants us to know and follow so that we can draw near to Him, be saved, and become members of His family.

Although the Bible does not give us any details about Lord Jesus since the time He was a boy of 12 to the time when He started His ministry at the age of 30, but the Bible is not entirely silent about this time period either. This is a misinformation spread by those who oppose God and the Lord Jesus that the Bible is silent about the Lord’s life between 12 and 30 years of age; and based upon this misinformation they spread another falsehood that the Lord Jesus between this time period had gone to India, learnt spiritual things here and then returned to Israel to preach them. The fact is that the Bible very clearly states that the Lord Jesus has always lived with His family in Israel. In this context, take a look at some verses from the Gospel accounts from the Bible:

Matthew 13:54 “And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?”

Mark 6:2-3 “And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 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?" And they were offended at Him.”

Luke 2:39-40 “So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

Luke 2:51-52 “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Luke 4:16 “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”

John 7:15 “And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"”

Take note that the references from Matthew, Mark, and John clearly show that everybody was amazed at the Lord’s teachings, as to how did He learn all that He preached ‘having never studied’. In other words, the people knew that the Lord Jesus had never gone anywhere to learn, He had remained amongst them, yet He had learnt such wonderful things, and preached so amazingly and magnificently. Had the Lord gone anywhere, then it would have been written about Him that the “people realized or understood that He had learnt it all in the foreign place He had gone to” – but nobody ever said this about Him. Secondly, all that the Lord Jesus preached was based upon and quoted the part of the Bible we now know as the Old Testament. Had the Lord learnt something anywhere else then He would not have taught from the Old Testament but would have then taught according to the ‘knowledge’ He had acquired from outside – but it was never so. All His teachings were based on the Old Testament part of God’s Word.

Take not of the references from Luke – these three references very clearly show that the Lord Jesus’s upbringing was in Nazareth of Galilee, the place where He resided with His family.

So although the Bible may not provide any details about the life of Lord Jesus between 12 and 30 years of age, but it does inform us that He was always there in Nazareth, in Israel during that time period and the people had seen Him live and grow up in that region.