The 27-book canon of the New Testament has been almost universally recognised within Christianity since the 7th century.
It does, however, miss significant passages in the origin story of Christianity.
This is most true of the depiction of the life of Jesus Christ, with a blackout of information about him from the ages of 12 until 30.
The Lost Gospels, or Gnostic Gospels, plug this hole, a series of ancient texts discovered by a farmer near the town of Nag Hammadi, North Egypt, in 1945.
Around 52 gospel texts were found in a sealed jar, collected in 13 leather-bound papyruses.
One manuscript, the Infancy Gospel of James, essentially “rewrites” the birth story of Jesus, re-emphasising his poverty, Mary’s chastity, and the awe surrounding his birth.
As the documentary explained: “The story sets out that Jesus wasn’t born in a stable, but a cave.”
Joseph, a man who is already a father to several children from another wife, is depicted as frail and old, and reaching the end of his life.
The symbolism, according to Marvin Meyer, Professor of Bible and Christian studies at Chapman University, is intended to draw attention to Mary’s purity and legitimise the story of Jesus.
He explained: “The fact of retelling the story this way, with Joseph as an old man, who was previously married and had children, allows Mary to be pure Joseph to be removed even further from Mary. Joseph can stay in the story but he keeps himself out of the bed of Mary.”
Meanwhile, Bart Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, said: “On this account, before they reach Bethlehem, Mary goes into labour and she’s going to give birth in this cave.
“Joseph doesn’t want to do the delivery himself so he runs off to try and find a midwife. As he goes out, he suddenly sees a miracle.”
In the gospels, Joseph describes the miracle of the birth of Jesus: “I saw the clouds astonished, and the fowls of the air stopping in the midst of their flight.
“And I looked down towards the earth and saw a table spread, and working people sitting around it, and their hands were upon the table, but they did not move to eat. All their faces were fixed upwards.”
While he sets out in search of a midwife, on returning, the boy has already been born.
The Infancy Gospel goes on to claim that a newborn Jesus walks towards Mary and begins suckling, only furthering the mystery around him.
It’s unclear why the Lost Gospels were buried away and kept out of sight for so long.
Some have suggested that they represented a time when early Christians were grappling with carving the story of their religion, deciding what to include and leave out.
They are thought to have lost favour in 367 AD after the condemnation of St Athanasius, who attacked the use of non-canonical books.
