140112 I Must Be in My Father's House

Luke 2:41-52 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

From now until mid-May, at least, I plan to preach a series on the life of Christ. That's the plan and I will try to stick to it. During the Christmas season we covered the coming of Christ into the world. So we begin today with the boyhood of Jesus. Joseph and Mary, along with Jesus, seems to have stayed in Bethlehem for some time after his birth. Perhaps as much as two years passed before Herod found out about the birth and set out to kill the new King of the Jews. They traveled to Egypt to get out of Herod's jurisdiction. Then, after the death of Herod, they returned to Nazareth to live. Now, perhaps 8 to 10 years later, the family came to Jerusalem for Passover.

I believe God intended that the husband/father should be the spiritual head of the home. In no way do I want to put down women and their important spiritual role in the family. Sometimes the wife/mother must serve as the spiritual leader but I believe God's preference is that the man step up and lead his family in a time of prayer and Bible reading on a daily basis. When the boys were home we used the breakfast table as our family altar.

Joseph led his family to be faithful in worship.

They were able to come to temple at his birth. Remember these words from Luke 2:22? And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Jesus had been born in Bethlehem and so it was easy for them to dedicate him to God at the temple. Had he been born in Nazareth he would probably have been dedicated to the Lord in a family setting. Perhaps they would have gone to the local synagogue but we don't know that for sure. We do know that the synagogue was used as a place for public meetings and for Sabbath services each Saturday. During the Sabbath services the scrolls would have been opened and Scripture would have been read and discussed among the men led by the local Rabbi. I believe it's safe to assume that Joseph would have been a part of the local synagogue and that the boy Jesus would have often been present to watch and listen.

There are so-called "gospels" written many years after Jesus' resurrection that tell about his childhood. Don't ever get taken in by them they are all phony! The only reliable information we have about Jesus' childhood is contained in these verses.

While the family may have had prayer in the home and Scripture reading/teaching in the synagogue…

They came each year to Jerusalem. The law of Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 16:16-17 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

For those who were in Jerusalem a visit to the temple might have been a daily happening. We know that Peter and John went up to the temple to pray (Acts 3) and we may assume that was a normal every day activity.

But there were special events: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or Passover, the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, and they were times when all Jewish men were expected to present themselves to the Lord at the Temple. I doubt very seriously this was faithfully carried out by most families especially those who lived far away from Jerusalem. It would've been expensive and time-consuming. So they may have chosen one of the feasts to attend, and that would be only occasionally. We are told however that Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem every year at Passover. Apparently Jesus did not come with them in the early years. But we see from Luke's account that…

They brought Jesus with them when he was 12 years old.

Jesus was on the verge of becoming a "Bar Mitzvah" that occurs when a Jewish boy is 13 years old. The words "bar mitzvah" means "son of the commandment". At that time in life a Jewish boy has the same rights as a full-grown man. From that time forward he is responsible for his decisions and actions. He is no longer to be treated as a boy. So it would have been natural for Jesus to come to Jerusalem for the Passover. So far as we know, this would be the first time he had been at the temple since he was an infant.

It was obvious that…

Joseph and Mary trusted Jesus.
They had watched him grow up. Luke must have gotten his information from Mary and he tells us about it in Luke 2:39-40 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Obviously Jesus had proved to be a trustworthy child. They watched him grow and become strong. They saw that he was filled with wisdom. Now, he was approaching the time when he would be considered a man by society. They had no reason not to trust that he would be with them when they left Jerusalem. Of course, if it had only been the family group they would have known immediately that he wasn't with them. However…

They traveled with a large group of people.

In fact, the group they traveled with was large enough that they did not miss Jesus until the end of the first day's travel. When they began to ask about him no one remembered seeing him. This would be very disturbing to any parent. To have their child disappear far away from home would be frightening. There was nothing for them to do about it so…

Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is not a huge city. Well compared to Nazareth it may be considered large. Yet, Luke tells us that they searched for him for 3 days. Now, we don't know if that was one day out, one day back and then a day of searching the city or if it was 3 days of searching in the city. Whatever it means they had time to look everywhere. They would have gone to where they had stayed at. Perhaps the local Motel 6! Well, it could even have been the Inn in Bethlehem that had turned them away at his birth. That would've made the search longer because Bethlehem is about 5 miles away from Jerusalem. We do not know how many days they had stayed there or what sites may have been attractive to the boy Jesus. They would have looked at each location he had shown an interest in. Perhaps the wall around the city or some of the shops and restaurants. Maybe the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane.

It's always true that what we look for is found in the last place we look.

Jesus was in his Father's house — the Temple. It would seem to me that they would have looked at the Temple first. But that obviously was not the case. When they did find him…

Jesus was listening and asking questions.

We need to stop for a moment and remember that this young man is the creator of the universe — the Lord of Glory! Part of the Nicene Creed says this about him: … one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man…

Now can you imagine with me that this amazing person who is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,… being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; would be sitting there in the Temple listening and asking questions! He was all-knowing! Yet something was obviously going on here. Paul explains to us what it is in Philippians 2:6-8 though he was in the form of God, (he) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. The Lord of the Universe emptied himself and became nothing. We know that he knew who he was because of what he said to his parents later. He had obviously limited his omniscience. He did not, while on earth, know everything! Else he could not have increased in wisdom as our text tells us he did. I suppose it is possible that Jesus knew who he was fairly early in life. I doubt seriously that his mother, or stepfather, would have told him that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would be called the Son of God.

When he came to Jerusalem at Passover he then knew that he had a Father other than Joseph. About 20 years later he would come to Jerusalem for another Passover and he would be the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world.

When his parents found him, the last place they looked, Mary said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."

There he was, seated in the Temple, surrounded by the rabbis and…

The teachers were amazed. A similar event occurred later during his ministry we are told about it in Matthew 13:54-58 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Apparently Jesus often came to the synagogue and was allowed to read the Scripture of the day and comment on it. This is one of those opportunities. He came to Nazareth where he had grown up and he sat down in the synagogue and taking the scroll he began to teach. He taught with such wisdom and grace that all those around him were amazed! They recognized him as being the son of the carpenter who had grown up in their midst. They named his brothers and spoke of "all his sisters" who were there in Nazareth, even at that time. Where could he have gotten the wisdom that he was speaking with and the mighty works they knew he had done? Instead of rejoicing over such a great person coming from their little village they took offense at him!

Jesus was not offended. He knew that, just like Jeremiah, a prophet would often be dishonored by his own people. The last words in this passage are sad indeed, "And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief."

Just as when he was 12 years old and the teachers were astonished, now his neighbors were astonished. Now he understood what it is all about but, when he was 12 years old…

Jesus appears not to have understood. Let's look at what he said to his parents when they found him Luke 4:49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

He had become aware of who his real Father was and was surprised that his earthly parents did not understand. We do not know how much Mary and Joseph had told him about his birth. We do know that Mary treasured the things (concerning his birth) in her heart and must have often thought of them. But we have no idea whether she talked of these things to anyone, including Jesus.

Mary certainly did talk of them to Luke possibly during the 2 years that Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea.

Joseph and Mary did not understand the words that he spoke to them that day. After all, it's a real stretch to think that the child who grew up in your home and played with his brothers and sisters there was really the Son of God! Jesus submitted himself to his parents for another 18-20 years and increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

We must remember that everything written in the Bible is for our instruction. When we need it we will know what it means. This passage shows us a picture of a poor family living in Judea and Galilee during the days of the Roman occupation. This family was different from all others because the oldest child was the Son of God. Joseph and Mary both knew that this child was unique but they did not fully understand what that meant. They were the first people on earth to have to struggle with the question, "What will you do with Jesus?" Some 21 years later these words would be spoken by Pilate just before he sentenced Jesus to death on a cross. Every human being will have to answer that question for themselves. Their answer will decide what their future in eternity will be. Some will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father and pass from this life into Life eternal. Many will say, "What does Jesus have to do with me?" Those will pass from this life into eternal death — in HELL!

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.