Secret Lives of Jesus on National Geographic Channel

The National Geographic Channel will air a special on December 17 at 9 PM (Eastern) titled “The Secret Lives of Jesus”. A press release describes it as follows:

More than 1,500 years ago, ancient writings were buried that offered alternative narratives about Jesus of Nazareth. There were many of these alternative gospels that rendered very different versions of the story and were considered scandalous and deemed heretical. Rediscovered within the last century, these texts offer more questions than answers. Secret Lives of Jesus examines these mysterious lost stories of Christ, exploring the fundamental questions surrounding the texts. Who wrote them and why? How do they compare to the accepted New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? And why were the stories forgotten for so long? Secret Lives of Jesus deconstructs the forces at play during this time of radical religious ideals — and offers a tantalizing glimpse inside the logic behind some of the most bizarre stories ever told about Jesus Christ.

I heard about the special last month when a producer contacted me looking for images related to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. I sent her some manuscript images, including an illumination from a fifteenth-century Ambrosian manuscript (L58) of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (several images from the manuscript are featured in Elliott and Cartlidge’s Art and the Christian Apocrypha book). The channel will also air an encore presentation of their special on the Gospel of Judas December 18.