There’s an interesting (but mostly weird) theory that says Jesus visited England with Joseph of Arimathea before he died. The legend involves King Arthur, a drop of Jesus’ blood, and the Holy Grail, but it is not nearly as interesting as another legend, very similar, from another part of the world – did you know that Jesus actually died in Japan?
According to the legend, Jesus let one of his brothers take his place in the crucifixion (how considerate) while he left the scene. BBC fills us in:
The story goes that after escaping Jerusalem, Jesus made his way across Russia and Siberia to Aomori in the far north of Japan where he became a rice farmer, married, had a family and died peacefully at the age of 114.
There’s a grave there marked with a cross, which is odd, since this legend claims that he didn’t die on one. There are also locals who claim to be descendants of Jesus Christ.
This is the sign they place near the grave, so you can read the entire legend for yourself. What’s the matter, you don’t read Japanese?
Supposedly, in the 1930’s, Hebrew documents were uncovered in the area that told the story. Unfortunately, these documents were seized by the Japanese government before WWII and never seen again. I’m pretty sure this involved a bureaucrat carting the papers through a large maze of wooden boxes containing other mystical archaeological objects.
All in all, it’s still more plausible than The DaVinci Code.
“This guy, again? That’s it – I’m going to Japan.”
(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com)