Sermon Notes

2 41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents [ saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”] 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
2 41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42 When Jesus was 12 years old, they went up to the feast as usual. 43 After the feast was over, his parents left to go back home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But they were not aware of it. 44 They thought he was somewhere in their group. So they traveled on for a day. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 They did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting with the teachers. He was listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at how much he understood. They also were amazed at his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried about you. We have been looking for you everywhere.” 49 “Why were you looking 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 meant by that. 51 Then he went back to Nazareth with them, and he obeyed them. But his mother kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. 52 Jesus became wiser and stronger. He also became more and more pleasing to God and to people.
(The Message, MSG)

In the 1990’s, Jerry Springer made “parental reveals” into a multi-million dollar tv phenomenon. Every day on his talk show he would interview families who wondered about the parentage of their children or grandchildren, and then revealed—through DNA testing—who was the true parent of a child. Often, if a child turned out to not be the biological child of a parent or grand-parent, they would invariably say, “regardless of blood, this is my child.”
While it is difficult to make the leap from 1990’s daytime television sensationalism to ancient scripture, there is nevertheless a comparison to be made. In the infancy narrative of Luke’s Gospel, the boy Jesus declares the identity of his father, through spiritual DNA, not physical DNA. From the tender age of twelve, Jesus shows a mature grasp of who he is, whose he is, and his “raison de’etra,” or the reason for his being. He says his purpose is to be about his Heavenly Father’s business. Can you image if every person knew and embraced their purpose in life at such a young age? What would the world be like if from the age of 10, 11, or 12, every child knew that they should be about their heavenly Father’s business? The world would be a radically different place because its inhabitants would be living on Divine purpose, in Divine purpose, and towards Divine purpose every day of their lives. Regardless of career trajectory, educational discipline, or professional path, every person would know their call in life was doing God’s business in and for the world! In the words of Tamela Mann, “I can only imagine…

The events of Luke 2:41-52 are set within the larger literary context of the infancy narrative of Luke (1:5 – 2:52). While both Matthew and Luke have birth narratives, only Luke includes a story from when Jesus is a boy. In the Greco-Roman world from which the New Testament emerges, stories of the precocious wisdom of the hero or philosopher were regularly included ancient biographies. In the non-canonical Apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas has wondrous stories miracles Jesus performed as a child—including raising a dead bird from the dead. However, in Luke’s Gospel the boy Jesus performs no miracles. Instead, he confounds the teachers and scribes with his astounding knowledge and wisdom.
For the Lukan writer, including a story about Jesus as a child has one singular purpose: to serve as a transition from the infancy narrative of Jesus to the public ministry of Jesus. In Luke 1:32-35, Jesus is announced as the Son of God—a title Luke consistently employs to explain Jesus’ identity. While people will say, “Isn’t that Mary’s son?,” Luke makes it clear that Jesus is God’s son. This transitional story presents Jesus’ earliest awareness of his identity as God’s son and provides a preview to his relationship to his heavenly Father, the teachers of Israel, and the temple. The narrative about the boy Jesus in the Temple at twelve years old makes a Christological point about Jesus’ identity. He is the Christ! Also this narrative grounds his wisdom and knowledge in his connection to God, his Father.

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42 When Jesus was 12 years old, they went up to the feast as usual. 43 After the feast was over, his parents left to go back home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But they were not aware of it. 44 They thought he was somewhere in their group. So they traveled on for a day. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 They did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
In the first verses of the lesson text, we pick up this infancy narrative twelve years after Jesus has been circumcised, named, and praised in the temple by Simeon and Anna. According to later Jewish custom, a male child became a man and embraced the traditions of his ancestors at the age of thirteen. At twelve, therefore, Jesus was still a child. Yet, Luke writes to share something significant about who Jesus is—even at the young age of 12. His identity and purpose are already determined. And unlike most children at that age, he knows exactly who and whose he is. In verses 41 and 42, Luke describes the setting of the story, providing geographical and chronological notices about why the family journeys to Jerusalem.
Essentially, these verses function as a travel notice about a family sojourn to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. However, verse 43 reveals a complication to the family sojourn, Jesus remains in Jerusalem without his parents’ knowledge or permission. I verses 44 and 45, Luke explains how Jesus might have been left behind and describes Mary and Joseph’s frantic search for him. Luke deftly builds narrative suspense until the story reveals Jesus’ location and purpose for “disappearing.” When Jesus’ parents do not find him within the group, they return to Jerusalem to search for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting with the teachers. He was listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at how much he understood. They also were amazed at his answers.
Mary and Joseph finally find Jesus, and he is in the temple. While most people will interpret the “after three days” as a reference to the resurrection, Luke does not use this word phrase anywhere else in this Gospel. Therefore, this is likely not a reference to Jesus’ future crucifixion and resurrection. Likewise, while teachers often sat to teach, students also sat during instruction. So, we are not sure that Luke is implying Jesus has become a master teacher at 12 years old. However, it is clear that Jesus knowledge and wisdom surpasses that of children and adults alike because the teachers are amazed at his understanding.
48 When his parents saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried about you. We have been looking for you everywhere.” 49 “Why were you looking 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 meant by that.
In these verses, Luke switches from narration to dialogue as this story drives towards the key verse of this pericope, verse 49. Like the teachers, both Mary and Jospeh are also amazed at what they see. Their amazement parallels the amazement they also felt at when Simeon’s blessed Jesus on the day of his temple dedication. Whole some might say Mary and Jospeh should not have been surprised by Jesus’ spiritual maturation because they were privy to his unique assignment before his birth, we should interpret their astonishment with grace. Any parent would be concerned, worried—or even irritated—about a child who has disappeared from their protection. Further, just because God revealed that Jesus would be a “son of God,” it doesn’t mean they understood that Jesus was “THE son of God.” Mary’s tone of correction as she questions Jesus is both understandable and expected.
Jesus’ response to his parents is the central point of this entire pericope: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Essentially he is saying his parents should have known where he was and what he was doing. He was in the temple, being “about his Father’s business” (KJV). Interestingly, the King James translation is a theologically effective translation of the original Greek because it illumines Luke’s purpose in including this transition story as Jesus begins to make his transition from childhood to adulthood and his public ministry.
Further, we should not miss the imperative that in inherent in Jesus’ response to his parents, “I had to be…” Although only twelve, Jesus understand the Divine imperative upon his life to be about his Father’s business. His life will not driven by fate, the horoscope, familial or communal expectations of him, or the socio-economic or religious politics of the day. Because Jesus understands his identity and his call, he says his life will only be guided by his relationship with God and God’s purpose for his life. One of the hardest things in life to do is to be who God called you to be, when everybody else has other expectations. God’s call on our lives may conflict with our desires for family and community acceptance or personal our desires. But, being about our Father’s business requires obedience to the call on our lives. Often the hardest decisions to make in life are not between right or wrong, but between two good and worthy options. In this biblical text, Jesus demonstrates his primary priority will be God’s purpose for his life. Everything can’t be the number one priority—something has to give.
51 Then he went back to Nazareth with them, and he obeyed them. But his mother kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. 52 Jesus became wiser and stronger. He also became more and more pleasing to God and to people.
The closing verses of the lesson text reveal that Jesus’ experience in the temple does not derail his relationship with his parents. He returns to Nazareth with Mary and Jospeh. Further, he obeys them as any Jewish child who was observant of the Ten Commandments would do. This final event in Luke’s infancy narrative then sets the stage for Jesus’ public ministry. While Mary does not fully understand what God is doing in Jesus, Mary treasures these moments demonstrating her receptiveness to God’s ongoing revelation about Jesus’ purpose and divine identity.
Ultimately, Luke 2 invites the question, is our faith in God the primary matter in our lives, shaping every aspect of our mindset, behavior, and priorities? For Luke, Jesus’ presence in the Temple at 12 years old signifies the claim that God has on our lives from the very beginning. Jesus recognized what God was calling him to do and he embraced it unreservedly, committing himself to God’s purpose for his life from his childhood. He said, “I must be in my Father’s house and be about my Father’s business?” Are we willing to be about our Father’s business?