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!
Only in the gospel of Luke do we find an interesting event sandwiched between Jesus’ birth story and His baptism. In this event, when Jesus is twelve years old, He decides to stay in Jerusalem when His parents begin their trip back up to Nazareth. Only after a full days worth of travel do Mary and Joseph actually realize Jesus isn’t with the group. While we learn later that Jesus had stayed in the temple to spend time with the teachers there, part of me wonders why Jesus chose to do this.
“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.” (v. 46-47)
In these verses, we see what Jesus was doing, but I am curious more along the lines of why.
Perhaps Jesus wanted to get a feel for who these teachers were, or maybe He wanted to understand the angle that these teachers interpreted the Old Testament prophecies. Maybe Jesus was interested in learning how open these teachers and leaders were to new ideas regarding the Messianic role. Perhaps, Jesus knew this would be easier as a young man then it would be when He was older and actively preaching, teaching, and healing.
Or maybe Jesus wanted to try to insert some ideas in these teachers’ minds regarding a different way of looking at the scriptures. Perhaps Jesus wanted to plant some seeds that He was hoping would grow by the time He would start His ministry.
Whatever the reason, we learn in this passage that Jesus’ questioning ability, and His understanding of the scriptures amazed everyone present. This tells us that at an early age, Jesus studied the Bible, and He used it as the foundation for His ministry on earth.
This also tells me that Jesus used the scriptures to sharpen His mind, and that the more we personally study the Bible, the sharper and more discerning our minds will be.
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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