| Luke 2: 41-52 |
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The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 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, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching 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 And when his parents[a] 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.” 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?”[b] 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 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. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature[c] and in favor with God and man. |
Jesus speaks with the teachers
Have you misplaced or lost something precious to you? Maybe lost sight of your child and had that horrible sense of panic?
In today’s passage Joseph, Mary and Jesus were travelling from Jerusalem to Nazareth after the Passover Festival when they discovered Jesus was missing. They returned to Jerusalem to search for Him and eventually found Him talking to and questioning the religious teachers in the Temple.
Can you imagine how frantic they were, searching everywhere for three days for this special child?
As we celebrate Christmas and 2020, approaches maybe God is searching for us; we may have lost our way too. We may be too busy running around, taking it for granted that God is always there and only really spending time with Him in times of desperation or need. Or our relationship is shallow, and we need to spend more time in conversation with Him developing our relationship by studying His Word and asking questions, just as Jesus did when He was with the teachers in the Temple.
For Jesus it was the most natural thing to take time to spend with His Father, vs 49 ‘Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?’ As we start a new year maybe we should challenge ourselves to spend more time really exploring God’s Word and asking how He wants to use us to help Him welcome others who have lost their way, back into the safe arms of their Heavenly Father.
Andrea and Megan