Jesus Christ may be one of history’s most prominent blue-eyed boy, but his life story is still shadowed by doubt and alternate versions to his past. Much has been debated about whether his crucification really lead to his death or was there another explanation for his supposed ‘resurrection’.

While several religious groups vehemently believe what the scriptures say, a recent BBC documentary proves otherwise. The BBC film, Did Jesus Die? explores the likelihood of Jesus actually being ‘resuscitated’ instead of being ‘resurrected’. Further, the film states that during this time, he may have left Israel and either traveled to South France with Mary Magdalene or journeyed towards India.

There are several aspects explored in this controversial documentary, and some have nearly convinced us about the alternate history of the Jesus mythology. Here are a few contrary facets of his life the film questions and explores.

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Dying on the cross

Did Jesus really ‘die’ on the cross? And is it possible to die after being crucified for six hours? Controversial questions like these have bothered historians and skeptics for years.

While gospels and scriptures have different versions that lead to the same apparent ‘truth’, in its earliest versions the gospel has no direct reference to a resurrection. Instead, the gospel ends with the sighting of an empty tomb, and allusions to resurrection were added nearly 200 years after the earliest versions.

Crucification

Every year, people around the world, especially in the Philippines conduct re-enactments of the crucification. In those recreations, and after years of witnessing similar patterns, it is clear that being crucified for six hours does not guarantee death. It takes much longer, and one is more likely to die of asphyxiation, as it gets harder to support their weight without their legs.

Gospels claim that it took a mere four to six hours for Jesus to die. However, it is also stated that when he was taken to his tomb, several herbs were brought to him. These herbs happened to be aloes with healing properties and may have been used to revive the prophet and aid his recovery. His survival would have been a scandal back in his day, as he still was a man sentenced to crucification. And this alone could have been reason enough for his temporary disappearance.

Journey to the South of France or beyond

One theory suggests that Jesus might have traveled to the South of France with Mary Magdalene. However, France, being a Roman colony, would not have been the best hiding place for a man condemned by the Roman empire.

In this situation, traveling East through the silk or spice route would have been his best bet. And several scholars speculate that this is when he went back to where he apparently came from — India.

The three wise men

In Buddhist culture, when a supreme monk or lama dies, the monks seek help from the starts and journey across the globe in search of his successor — an infant who is considered as his reincarnation. The film suggests that the three wise men were likely to be Buddhist monks who were in Israel in search of their next leader. And they believed that the leader may be the newborn baby Jesus.

From there, according to explorer Nicolas Notovitch, baby Jesus could have been taken to India and given teachings of Buddhism and Vedic texts in his formative years. Evidence of this can be found in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of Hemis in Ladakh, India. In Hemis, there are a few scriptures titled The Life of Saint Issa — Issa being an alternate name for Jesus or ‘son of God. In the scripture, he is also referred to as a boy from a poor family in Israel who was given these teachings at ages 13 to 29. This is the most significant evidence as there is no Biblical or historical record in the Middle Eastern or Western region of Jesus’s presence. This time is famously known as ‘The Lost Years’.

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Connection to Kashmir

A particular tribe in the Indian state of Kashmir claim to be the descendants of the ‘lost tribes of Israel’. The tribe claims that Jesus came back to them in his thirties, and lived with them till his eighties. Here he was apparently known as Yuzasaf which loosely translates to ‘shepherd’ and ‘leader of the healed.

You may or may not believe this controversial theory to be true, but you cannot deny how fascinating it is to explore an alternate version of this particular piece of history and mythology.

Watch the full documentary here: