Jesus the Child                                          Luke 2:41-52

We have accounts of Jesus birth. We know he started his ministry when he was about thirty years old. In between we have thirty years of silence with one exception: this account of twelve-year-old Jesus at the Temple. This lack of information has been used as fodder for those who try to disprove the existence of Jesus. And more recently I heard how some try to fill this gap with stories of Jesus traveling to India and China to study religions. I admit I don’t know everything, but I don’t believe this lull in information disproves Jesus. And as the Bible is so detailed I believe if Jesus was traveling to India, it would have been recorded.

As I researched this, I developed two ideas about why this account is included in scripture. I believe first, it gives us a model for how we are to spiritually raise our children.

Verse 41, “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.” This shows us Jesus was being raised in a God loving home. He was being educated in his faith. And he was being taught how to sacrifice for that faith.

By keeping the festivals, Mary and Joseph are educating the boy in the history and worship of their faith and of God. He is not being taught just “this is what we do,” he is being taught “this is why we do this.”

Verse 42, “When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.” At age twelve, Jesus was not obligated to keep the festival. He wouldn’t be held accountable until he was thirteen. Jesus was being raised to be an active participant in his faith.

 Growing up I was brought to church, but it was more like an hour I had to endure. I was never invited to participate, in fact, I can remember asking questions in Sunday School and being told to be quiet, “that’s just how it is.” Without being taught the “whys,” without being able to understand, I did what many of my peers did, I fulfilled the obligations my parents set, and then drifted away. When we don’t know the “why we do it,” the act becomes meaningless and unimportant.

Verse 43, “After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home…” The distance the family traveled was about sixty miles one way. And though not required, the family stayed the entire eight days of the festival. This journey required advanced planning, time commitment, and a financial commitment. This pilgrimage was expensive in time and finances for the family, and they did this every year. This teaches the young Jesus about the sacrifices God expects of each of us as part of our dedication to him.

A friend recently returned from her pilgrimage to Meccas. And while our faith doesn’t require pilgrimages to religiously significant sites, our faith does tell us God expects sacrifices from us; sacrifices of our time and resources in the aiding of others. Our faith tells us everything we have, homes, money, talent, are all gifts from God. And the sharing of those gifts to the less fortunate or needy, is a cornerstone of our devotion to God. Proverbs 19:17, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord…” Deuteronomy 5:11, “Therefore, I command you, you shall open your hand to your brother, to the needy, and to the poor in your land.” James 1:7, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…” Matthew 5:42, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” This is so important, there are over one hundred verses on it throughout the Old and New Testaments.

I said I thought there were two reasons this account was included in the gospels, and I believe the second is to give strength to what we’re told in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.”

How can we have a high priest who understands us if he didn’t go through what we do? Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, but that alone doesn’t cover all the experiences of humanity. Jesus was born a vulnerable baby. He crawled, walked, had siblings and extended family. Jesus knows us because he is us.

Our account goes on to tell us Jesus did not join the caravan with his family as they returned home, he stayed in Jerusalem. When Mary and Joseph realized this, they went looking for him.

Verse 46, “After three days they found him in the temple courts…” We’ve seen the number three before. It represents divine power and perfection. It represents judgement and redemption. It’s a symbol of life and death. And it’s a symbol of rejoicing. Luke tells mankind, even as Jesusa is just a twelve-year-old boy, he is the means of life and death, he is and always will be perfect, he is our means of redemption, he is God on earth, and we should rejoice in him.

Verse 49, “Why were you searching for me?” These are the first recorded words of Jesus. With these first words, Jesus points us to the cross and the resurrection; Luke 24:5, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”

Verse 49 again, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Some say Jesus took the title “father” away from Joseph thereby rebuking his parents. This is not true, look at verse 51, “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” Jesus was not dismissing his parents, he was laying the foundation for what he builds on in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to me and doesn’t hate their mother and father, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his life, he cannot be my disciple.” We know Jesus doesn’t mean “hate” in our modern interpretation of the word. That day in the Temple, by his words and actions, Jesus is telling the world to honor the relationships in one’s life, but don’t let any of them interfere or prevent your relationship with God.

Verse 52, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This shows Jesus’ growth in four ways, each necessary. He grew in wisdom, he grew in physical stature, he grew in his relationships with men, and in his relationship with God.

This line used to confuse me; I didn’t understand it. Now I see this; Jesus is fully God, and fully human. He was born with an infant’s limitations, and he matured into a man. He grew physically and spiritually, because only in this way could he know us and be our high priest.

And last I noticed something in Luke’s gospel. Joseph is only mentioned one more time in Chapter 3, verse 23, where he is giving Jesus’ genealogy. Mary is only mentioned again in Luke 8:19, and not even by name. From here on, the emphasis of Luke’s gospel is solely on Jesus.

I love picking apart and examining scripture, there is so much buried in each line. This story of twelve-year-old Jesus shows us, don’t just teach “how we worship”, but “why” we worship. This is how we develop a relationship with Jesus in our children and in others we share with.

We see God wants us to be generous with our lives in our work among others. We are told that relationships are important, but not to let our family and friends interfere with our relationship with God. We can be confident in approaching Jesus, whatever we are confronted with or going through, because he experienced the entirety of human life experiences, and he understands all.

Be blessed by your relationship with Jesus.

Amen.