Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up {there} according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they {began} looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.
The Passover feast was one of the many feasts that took place in Jerusalem [weeks, unleavened bread, tabernacles, etc.]. Every male was to appear three times a year before the Lord (Ex. 23:17; 34:23). It has been noted in historical records that male children were not required to be in Jerusalem for these assemblies, but they had to wait until they were of age before it became a mandatory decree. It was at the age of twelve, according to the Jewish writings, that a young boy began to learn a trade, wore the phylacteries of the prayer offering for the first time and was then considered responsible for making the trip to Jerusalem three times a year.
The text tells us, “when He [Jesus m.l.h.] became twelve, they [Mary, Joseph and Jesus m.l.h.] went up” to Jerusalem. Jesus would now make His appearance in Jerusalem to uphold His responsibilities to the Law in a Jewish family. Matthew Henry said on this, “The child Jesus, at twelve years old, went up with them. The Jewish doctors say that at twelve years old children must begin to fast from time to time, that they may learn to fast on the Day of Atonement; and that at thirteen years old a child begins to be a son of the commandment…” It seems that anyone could come to these gatherings in Jerusalem, because it was important for them to hear the Scriptures and gain the understanding of them (See Neh. 8:2). We all know that Jesus had more knowledge than any rabbinic authority in His day, being by virtue and appointment, the Son of God. At the same time, it was vital that Jesus experience learning and obedience in the way that mankind would come to know God and His Divine commandments.
This trip for Jesus and His earthly family was about 70 miles one-way. Being from, what has been thought of as, a poor family, they must have made some sacrifices to meet with God’s people for these times of fellowship and service to the Lord. Do we make the necessary sacrifices in our lives to make sure that we spend time with God’s people in the assemblies of the New Testament church and in our times of visitation throughout the week? Do we have the dedication to the service of the Lord that will cause us to go great distances to do His will?
The text continues, “and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem”. After spending the appointed amount of time in obedience to the command to keep the Passover Feast (Leviticus 23:4-6), Joseph and Mary were returning home to Nazareth. I want to make one application point here regarding our spending the appointed time in keeping this Passover feast. Each week we have the privilege and the obligation to remember Jesus as our Passover Lamb (I Cor. 5:7; I Cor. 11:23f; Acts 20:7; also, Matt 26:2).
Do we make sure that we are gathered together on the first day of every week to take the Lord’s Supper. We may not have to keep a feast to remember the blood that was shed and placed over the door posts that turned God’s wrath away from His people in the Old Testament, but we certainly have to keep the feast where we remember the shed blood of Jesus Christ that was applied to our sins and will save us from the wrath to come in the final judgment. Paul said of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17,
“Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.”
This is an important feast that we keep each and every week.
As Luke continues, he tells us that Jesus had decided to stay behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and Mary were not aware that He had done this. It is a scary thing to lose a child. When you are out in a public arena and you have your child, but they come up missing, it is like a piece of your heart is lost. Luke wrote, “His parents were unaware of it [His stay in Jerusalem m.l.h.], but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they {began} looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.”
As we look at this story, we may be shocked that Mary and Joseph would not have paid more attention to their only Child. Let us remember though, that at feasts like this one, people traveled in large caravans that consisted of relatives and neighbors. This made their travels less of a burden and made it more efficient as everyone was going to have to go on this trip regardless of whether they traveled alone or with companions. When the feast had begun, no doubt the large group that had gathered began to mingle and as Mary and Joseph were about to leave, they had verified that Jesus was close by. But as they left, Jesus stayed back in Jerusalem and they went a day’s journey away from him (about 30 miles, which to them, was almost halfway home).
I remember the first time I watched the movie, “Home Alone” when a young boy named Kevin, was left at home due to all of the thoughts that were on the minds of the parents as they left hurriedly in the hustle and bustle of the extended family in the house. The only problem was, they were getting on a plane and going to France during a busy holiday weekend. When the mother realized that her son was missing from their flight, she began to panic and do everything that she could to reach him and find out if he was doing well.
What a terrible feeling to lose your child and be filled with all of those emotions! We need to pay careful attention to our young people today, not only taking them with us physically, but spiritually. We cannot afford to lose them. Many young people are leaving the faith for other things.
I also remember as a child, the feeling of being lost and how much it hurt not to be able to find my parents. You learn to stick close to your parents when you know how it feels to be lost. We will learn to grow closer to our heavenly Father when we learn what it truly means to be spiritually lost (See Prodigal Son; Luke 15:11f).
After saying all of that, we need to remember that Jesus had a special reason for staying in Jerusalem on this occasion. Luke is going to show us that He had a spiritual purpose for residing there.
When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
Mary and Joseph were not fortunate in locating Jesus among their traveling companions and they made the long journey back to Jerusalem to find him. It took them three days to seek and find Jesus, and what they were about to learn about Him would forever change their perspective regarding who He was. Their dedication to Jesus brought them back to find Him. If you ever lose Christ, will you be diligent to return and find Him? If you have never found Him, will you seek and find Him? It is one thing to be separated from the Savior for three days, but imagine being separated from Him for an eternity?
Jesus was in the temple, sitting with the teachers and listening, while asking questions. Jesus shares here, some of His Divine knowledge, as those who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers to their own questions. It is not that Jesus was being disrespectful to His elders, but He was joining in on the customary religious discussions that took place in the temple court, so that He might grow in wisdom. It may have been here, that Jesus realized His ability to share divine wisdom, since so many were amazed at His answers.
Sometimes people ask the wrong source for answers to their spiritual questions. I cannot tell you how many people will say, “I have to ask my preacher” or “I have to take that question to my church authorities”, when all the while, they have had the answers of the One who has all authority in heaven and earth, recorded in the pages of the holy word of God (Matthew 28:18-20). If you are going to ask me a spiritual question as an evangelist, if I cannot give you a Scripture to support my answer then you need to consider what I say to be my opinion or my take on that issue and not the truth on that matter. Why not ask Jesus the answers to our questions? While I know we cannot literally sit with Him like these teachers in the temple, we can certainly search the Scriptures and see what the Lord has revealed to us (John 12:48-50). We can even pray and ask God to guide us as we seek solutions to our spiritual dilemmas (James 1:5).
The Bible gives us answers for everything that pertains to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3) and it is profitable for doctrine (teaching), reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness so that we might be fully equipped for every good work (II Tim. 3:16-17). We need nothing more than what God has already revealed!
Perhaps we too would be amazed, like the teachers in the first century, if we found that through a careful study of the Bible and a willing mind, we could find the answers to our spiritual questions as well. There are a great many instructors in religion today who would do well to sit at the feet of Jesus.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you." And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in My father's {house?} " But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all {these} things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
When Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple court, they are astonished. They probably respond this way for several reasons. First, they had much anxiety about His whereabouts for that last three days. Second, what was Jesus doing in the temple court with such high and noble religious teachers? Third, the text doesn’t seem to suggest that He felt lost (He didn’t come running back to them), but rather that He was preparing to teach His parents a profound lesson about who He really was.
Imagine, finding your son after he has been lost for three days and saying to him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you." And then your child replies, “"Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in My father's {house?} " What? Why were we looking for you? Whatever do you mean when you say, you must be in your father house and about his business (other translations use this phrase)? Mary must have thought, “By law Joseph is your father and this is not his house. His house is in Nazareth and that is where you live!”
Joseph is not mentioned after this point in our gospel account. It is said that he died along the way during the life of Jesus, and he is not the focal point as the Father of Jesus, since it has been shifted to God in heaven. These being the first recorded words of Jesus, tells us that He took His mission seriously.
It is no wonder that the text continues, “But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.” Jesus was not being disrespectful or disobedient; He was simply teaching some much needed lessons to Mary and Joseph about His upcoming ministry. Luke informs us that Jesus, “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them”. Jesus never forsook His earthly parents, but always saw the need to respect and honor them. We need children today who are willing to do the same to their parents (See Ephesians 6:1-3).
At some point though it hits Mary that this was a lesson she was to learn from, and Luke tells us that, “His mother treasured all {these} things in her heart.” In her mind she must have been thinking, if Jesus called the temple His Father’s house and what He was doing, being about His father’s business, He must have been teaching that God was His true Father. If He asked us why we came looking for Him, perhaps He knows what His purpose is on the earth, and we are unaware of all of the details.
You would think that Mary and Joseph would have understood more about their Son after all that God had revealed to them about Him as the Savior of the world. They were told that Jesus was the Son of God. This should have been a clear picture of the relationship that He and the Father in heaven shared together.
Are we sometimes that shortsighted? God reveals in plain terms, His will for our lives and the lives of others. How do we respond to His instructions when He asks us to obey Him? Why do so many people fail to believe in who Jesus was, and what His real mission on the earth was?
Sometimes we need something traumatic in our lives to get us to see what is really happening. That is exactly what transpired on this occasion. Could today be your day for fully grasping what Jesus is to you? Do not wait until it is too late to realize who Jesus is and what He should mean to you!
This section of our text concludes in a similar fashion to the previous one where Luke states, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” In our previous lesson Luke recorded,
“The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40)
Here we see that with this event, Jesus takes one step closer to being prepared for His ministerial service to His Father. Again, His growth is found in the areas that are most important (physical, mental, and spiritual). The word increasing here literally means, “advancing”. Jesus was advancing His kingdom.
Are you in a good relationship with the heavenly Father today? Can I assist you in making the decision to put full trusting faith in the Christ? Do you need to be baptized for the remission of sins? Please reach out to me and I will connect you with a good church that can help you to obey the gospel. Do not wait until the judgment to bow your knees to Jesus (it will be too late) but take this opportunity to realize that Jesus was sent here from God to die for your sins and that He has revealed the Father’s will that we might obey it and be saved.
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