Tuesday, April 1

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Luke 2: 41-52
Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.

Why were you searching for me?he asked. didnt you know I had to be in my Fathers house?But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.


Most parents have a story about temporarily losing a child in a mall or in a crowd and being terrified. My wife and I once got home after church and realized that we only had 3 of our 4 sons. While 3 out of 4 is a pretty good percentage in baseball or basketball, its not good when it comes to your children!  We had driven two cars to church and each thought the other had picked up that particular son. So one of us rushed back to find him before we were discovered to be terrible parents!

I love this little story that Luke includes in his telling of the gospel! I love it because its the only story we have in scripture about Jesuschildhood; and I love it because its such a classic and completely understandable family story!

Scholars tell us that it is likely that Jesusfamily made the trip to Jerusalem as a kind of annual pilgrimage at the time of Passover. Its also likely that they traveled in a large group with extended family; aunts, uncles and cousins all together in one big group. So if we imagine four or five families traveling together, with 15 or 20 children between them, we can imagine how easy it would be lose track of one of those children!

So that part of the story is totally understandable. What makes the story unusual is the reason that Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem!

His mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.

Why were you searching for me?he asked. didnt you know I had to be in my Fathers house?But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

This is a beautiful and mysterious story. Was Jesus simply a spiritually curious young man who got caught up in a theological discussion and lost track of time? Or, as many scholars believe, was Jesus making a statement about his identity and his destiny?

I think theres a good chance he was doing both.

Twelve years of age would have been the stage of adolescence when a boy in that culture would start understanding the direction of his life. He would go through the ceremony called “bar mitzvah” - and become a “son of the law.”

Some have suggested that Jesus, at age twelve, already understood within himself that he was different from other boys; that he had a unique relationship to God the Father. Perhaps he chose this particular opportunity to learn more about the Passover and, specifically, how the Passover applied to him.

Notice that the young Jesus is described as “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.” Why would the Son of God need to ask any questions? We dont have a clear answer to this question other than to say that God seems to value the process of growth. Luke concludes the whole story with these words:

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

I think Luke is telling us that Jesus purposefully stayed behind in Jerusalem, not because he was being disobedient to his parents or desired to cause them pain, but because he was being obedient to his Father in Heaven.

Notice that when his mother says, “Your father and I have been searching anxiously for you,” he responds, “...didnt you know I had to be in my Fathers house?”

Jesus had two fathers; an earthly father named Joseph and a heavenly Father, and it was time for him to grow in understanding his unique relationship to his Father in heaven.

This is the part that Mary and Joseph, in the frustration of their search and in the relief of finding their son, failed to fully grasp. Luke says,

But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

In many ways we still struggle to understand the mystery of how Jesus could have been fully human and fully God all at the same time.

But, scripture teaches, he was; and because he was, we can be saved.



Pastor Brian Coffey

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