Are there any events or aspects of Jesus' life that the Bible leaves out?

by The_Kalawishis

Things from other sources, preferably those that show him in a different light.

jasoncaspian

I will be honest, this is nearly an impossible question to answer. The problem (as I've cited many times on /r/askhistorians, so I apologize for repeating myself) is that we have absolutely no primary sources on Jesus' life from within his own lifetime. But this is to be expected since we have pretty much no reliable data from any of the apocalyptic Rabbi's that were wandering around Judea and Israel from around this time period.

That said, there are various different sources which paint Jesus in a variety of different lights -- most of which (I would argue) are not very reliable and many historians have argued why most should not be relied upon as historically viable. I will however, give you one great example of what you are asking for. The Coptic Gospel of Thomas (not to be confused with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas which was written by someone completely different all-together) was recently discovered in 1945 and it's unlike any other book we have of the New Testament, whether canonized or non canonized.

History of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Most Early Christian historians believe the gospel was written a bit later than the other gospels, most likely in the second century. Some historians have argued it was written much earlier, maybe even in the late first century, but I believe this is unlikely. Leading Theologian Robert Van Voorst worked with experts in ancient handwriting, paleographers, who date it to the second century. Here is a PDF of it, so you can actually read it

Contents of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas

The Coptic Gospel of Thomas is sort of like an ancient book of proverbs, since it's a grouping of 144 sayings of Jesus, and only that. They refrain from any mention of any of his actions or miracles. His death and resurrection are completely left out as well. So what does the Gospel actually, report? Well, quite a lot actually.

Some of the says may seem familiar to those who know the canonized Gospels: 34) Jesus said: If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall into a pit. (54) Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

On the other hand, a few of them sound quite odd.

(37) His disciples said: On what day wilt thou be revealed us, and on what day shall we see thee? Jesus said: When you unclothe yourselves and are not ashamed, and take your garments and lay them beneath your feet like little children, and tread upon them, then [shall ye see] the Son of the living One, and ye shall not fear. (51) His disciples said to him: On what day will the rest of the dead come into being? And on what day will the new world come? He said to them: That which ye await has come, but ye know it not. (61) Jesus said: Two shall rest upon a bed; one shall die, the other live.

As you can see, some of these seem more like folksey wisdom rather than moral tenants to live your life by. This does show that there are some sources that don't 100% align with the Jesus that we know from our current narratives.

Now, clarifier here is that, as the introduction to this Gospel states, "These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them down," they are meant to be critic since they are supposed to be a secret in one way or another.

Hope this helped. Please let time know if you have any other follow up questions or want more examples.

*edits for formating