41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 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.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Read Luke 2:41-52 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
From Jesus’ birth story until the time of His baptism when He was 30 years old, very little is known about Jesus. All we have shared in the gospels are transition statements, except for one story that only the gospel of Luke includes. This event is when Jesus staying in Jerusalem after the Passover festival while Mary, Joseph, and their extended family head back home. It is only after a full day’s travel that Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus isn’t with their group of travelers.
Once Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the temple, we see an interesting idea within Mary’s question to Jesus, and in Jesus’ response. On finding Jesus in the temple, Mary asks Jesus, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” (v. 48)
Jesus responds to Mary by saying, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (v. 49)
What is fascinating to me is that at the age of twelve, Jesus had shifted His perspective from simply seeing Joseph and Mary as His parents to seeing God as His true Father. Mary calls Joseph, “your father” in her question, but Jesus responds with the phrase “My Father” in a way that refers to God.
At age twelve, Jesus already understood His uniqueness, and Mary and Joseph probably had shared with Him the miraculous events surrounding His birth. At that point, Jesus may have even remembered some of the time they spent in Egypt or the moving trip back to Nazareth.
But the big takeaway that I see in this idea for all of us is that regardless of how old we are, we can see God as being our Father, and we can place Him in this role in our lives.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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