Question
Dear Gramps,
Do you have any information on the validity of the Savior traveling the world with Joseph of Arimethia and his tin trade . . . and the Savior showing up in India and Britain before his ministry started? Was his family wealthy? Thank you.
Rick
Answer
Dear Rick,
There is a legendary account that Joseph of Arimethia was a distant relative of the family of Jesus; that he derived his wealth from tin mines in Cornwall, which he visited from time to time; and that Jesus as a teenager accompanied Joseph on one such visit. Based on that legendary account, William Blake (1757-1827) wrote the following poem:
And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God on England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here among those dark satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem in England’s green and pleasant land.
It was Joseph of Arimethia who was reputed to be wealthy, rather than the family of Jesus; although, legend has it that Joseph was a distant cousin of Jesus.
In terms of the Savior visiting India, that story may have come from a belief of, I believe, the Hindu religion, that a person by the name of Apollonius was the reincarnate of Jesus. Jesus is reputed to have lived from 24 BC to 9 AD, and Apollonius of Tyana from 16 to about 97 AD. He was born and also died in India.
Gramps
