Q:Why is there a gap in the Bible of the story of Jesus' life?

A:It is true that we know very little about Jesus' childhood, teenage, and young adult years. Luke's gospel contains the most lengthy account of Jesus' younger years, which still proves to be quite sparse. Two verses speak of Jesus' growth to adulthood: "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him" (Luke 2:40). Then, following a brief instance of Jesus in the temple at age 12, Luke summarizes, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52).

People have long noticed this "gap" in Jesus' life story. In fact, there are several apocryphal writings that invent stories concerning Jesus' childhood to try to fill in these gaps. In the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, for instance, Jesus crafts two clay pigeons which he then brings to life. These accounts, however, are quite late (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas dates to the second or third century) and are not reliable.

Finally, we cannot fully account for why there is a chronological gap in the gospels during Jesus' childhood years. We can say, however, that the gospels contain everything we need for faith in Jesus (cf. John 20:30-31). This is why Mark's gospel opens: "The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). Mark is stating his purpose for writing: to share the gospel of Jesus. Mark then proceeds to devote approximately 38 percent of his gospel to the week of the Passion (chapters 11-16) and 20 percent to the day of Jesus' death (chapters 14-15). Mark, along with the other gospel writers, wants us to know what Jesus has done on our behalf through the cross!