B.L.U.F
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Today we will look at the story of Jesus when he was 12 years old. He was in Jerusalem with his parents for the Passover celebration and the parents went back home forgetting Jesus and they had to go back to find him. They found him in the Temple and they brought him back home.
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We will look at this story and apply some principles of our walk with God and how easy it is to leave Jesus behind too.
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Use Connect Card today
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Going to the Feast
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Luke 2:41 (NRSV)
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41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.
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Many of you have heard about the Passover feast. It is one of the feast days that Israel celebrates to remember the “Passing Over” of the 10th plague in Egypt which led to the Exodus from Egypt.
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It’s their 4th of July
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It’s a national holiday. People come from all over to celebrate. Every Jewish male was expected to show up. It wasn’t just a one-day thing either.
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It wasn’t a “come in the morning leave at night” kind of trip.
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This required travel arrangements. Transportation, lodging, food preparation, etc.
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Preparations were made in the Joseph and Mary household.
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Jesus would be attending this feast as he approaches his Bar-Mitvah (Son of the Commandment).
?Luke 2:42 (NRSV)
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42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.
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So this verse gives us Jesus’ age. A 12-year-old boy going on a trip with his parents. He must be excited.
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Luke 2:43 (NRSV)
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43 When the festival ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.
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Nothing is said of the experience during the time in Jerusalem. This feast last 7 days. So for 7 days what was Jesus doing in Jerusalem?
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What were the parents doing? What places did they visit? Who did they see? What restaurants did they eat at? How many ceremonies did they attend? Did anything special happen that year during the feast?
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How many people were there?
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Did Jesus go to the Temple every day?
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Did Jesus befriend the rabbis and priests?
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Jesus saw for himself the ceremonies and began to see how the ceremonies have so much meaning.
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The link between Passover is not only to the past but also to the agricultural link. The Passover feast was immediately followed by the feast of unleavened bread, followed by the feast of first fruits, where people gave thanks to God for the barley harvest by setting aside the first fruits from the crop and dedicating it to the Lord.
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So many questions between verses 42 and 43. But I guess Luke didn’t think it was necessary information. He just talks about how they went and that they left.
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Luke gives us the background, the setting, and sets the stage for the main point of the story.
?Luke 2:44 (NRSV)
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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.
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“Assuming” - making assumptions. Now tell me about making assumptions.
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“To take for granted or true” - Webster’s Dictionary.
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So, Joseph & Mary took for granted, they believed as a matter of fact that Jesus was within the group of travelers.
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Question: How can you go one full day without knowing that your son is not with you?
How would Joseph and Mary not know that their own son was not with them?
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One must think that Mary and Joseph were not traveling within the group. They went a whole day thinking that Jesus was hanging out with the other kids.
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If they went a whole day without realizing Jesus’ absence, it must have been at night, when they stopped for the night. When they expected Jesus to show up and spend the evening with them and get ready to sleep.
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How easy it is to go ONE DAY without Jesus. How? Assuming that he’s “in the group.”
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Let’s say, this worship service is the last day of the Passover feast and right after the service we begin our pilgrimage back home. You assume Jesus is somewhere in the car or that he went with his friends in the other car. That night you wonder why Jesus hasn’t checked in with us only to find out that he’s not in the group after all!
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How could that be? He was with us at church this morning. You ask around and everyone says, “I don’t know. I thought he was with you.”
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In life, one day can become days and weeks, and even years. It’s not until it gets dark that you begin to sense that something is wrong. You begin to feel far from Jesus. You begin to wonder what is going on in my life. You realize that you left Jesus somewhere and you must search for him again.
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We get spiritually lazy or complacent, thinking that our relationship with Jesus is linked to our relationship with the group. That Jesus is with someone in my relatives and friends and we seem to be ok with that.
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Luke 2:45 (NRSV)
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45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
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They did not find Jesus among family and friends. You can look all you want for Jesus among the spiritual people in your family or in the group, you have to find Jesus for yourself. Family and friends can point you to Jesus, but it is up to you to stay connected/engaged with Jesus.
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Staying connected with Jesus requires some thought. Where did we last see Jesus? After tracing their steps back, they realized that they didn’t see him at any of the checkpoints or rest stops and that the last place they saw him was in Jerusalem.
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Day 1 - you don’t know Jesus is with you. They had already traveled one day.
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Day 2 - They get up early and walk back to Jerusalem
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One day without Jesus lead them to one day of traveling where they had the time to ask themselves, “how did we let this happen?”
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“We are such bad parents.” or
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“What is wrong with this boy?”
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“Why would Jesus do this to us?”
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“Why isn’t he where he’s supposed to be?”
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Day 2 - This is a day of questioning. It was a day to take stock of their current state. They had just left on a spiritual high, but how could we be so negligent to leave Jesus? How spiritual can we truly be if we leave our son behind?
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They think back on the week. They enjoyed so much the ceremonies, the fellowship, catching up with friends, the food, the laughter, the conversations, and the yearly ritual, which can become routine and lose it’s meaning.
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What good was it to come to a spiritual event, if we lose Jesus?
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Their minds and hearts go back to the angel announcing that Mary was pregnant with a special child. How could we lose the Son of God? The way Jesus was born, the star, the shepherds, the visit of the Wisemen from the East. This is no doubt that Jesus was sent from God, but now what have we done?
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They remember Simeon, the old man in the Temple, taking Jesus into his arms and worshiping God, for he had seen God’s salvation through Jesus. A light unto the gentiles and the the glory of God’s people - Israel.”
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They remember those encounters which confirmed that they were chosen by God for a special mission.
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That was one long day back to Jerusalem. Sadness, anger, confusion. They’re tired.
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I’m sure Joseph and Mary had a couple of arguments along the way. “This is your fault.” I thought he was with you.
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Luke 2:46 (NRSV)
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46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
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After arriving in Jerusalem, probably that night (end of day two), they find him the next day (the third day).
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What a relief!
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They found him in God’s house.
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Not just sitting, but listening and asking questions.
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Apparently, young Jesus didn’t seem to be too afraid.
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Where did he sleep the last two nights? Probably in the Temple with the teachers.
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People nowadays make a big deal about the place where God can be found. A big deal in the sense that it’s a common phrase to say, “I don’t need to go to the temple to find God.”
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I don’t need to go to church to find God or to grow spiritually.
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I don’t need to be among God’s people.
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I prefer God’s nature to God’s people.
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Now - that doesn’t mean that those who are here are better than those who are not.
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Coming to weekly worship services where we have ceremonies and rituals, doesn’t mean your connection with God is better.
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I mean, look at Mary & Joseph after a high Sabbath.
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It is true though that after a close encounter with God, being with God’s people, listening and asking questions, and learning from the word of God, we may be better equipped to face life's challenges. It is also true that that night the devil will tempt you.
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As a pastor, I could be on cloud 9 as to how well the day went. Great service, great conversation, and lives being changed, God uses me in a special way. The service had been planned out in advance, we had the right music, the right elements, but then the night comes, everyone is gone, you’re alone and thoughts of inadequacy, of emptiness begin to creep in and I begin to ask yourself, but wasn’t I with Jesus all day?
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I witnessed firsthand that God can speak through a donkey. God used me in spite of me. Then those thoughts fade as I focus on getting back home, to my routines, to my job, to my school, and back to Nazareth.
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We enjoy the spiritual fellowship yet our mind shifts to the next thing coming up. I’m already thinking about the week, before I am able to fully enjoy being in God’s presence and letting the presence go beyond a worship experience, once a week, I forget to make sure that I need to stay close to Jesus. Luke 2:47
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Luke 2:47 (NRSV)
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47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
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There were people who lingered to hear more from Jesus. There were people so amazed, that the feast was over, people had gone home, but there remained some, who wanted to hear more.
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Luke 2:48 (NRSV)
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48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”
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What were they “astonished” about? That they found him? First impression was not relief, but astonished.
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That word “astonished” is seen later on in the gospels when referring to how people will respond to Jesus’ teaching, his wisdom and mighty works.
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Matthew 7:28 (ESV)
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28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
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Matthew 13:54 (ESV)
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54 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?
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Jesus began his teaching ministry pretty much here. He learned from the teachers how they ask questions and he learned how to ask questions too. Jesus was curious about how teachers think and talk.
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When Joseph and Mary show up they too are astonished at what Jesus was doing. They didn’t find him crying in a corner or sitting on a park bench just waiting around. They didn’t find him at the police station.
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They found him in the temple.
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“This boy is different. He doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about us and where we were.”
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Instead he was engaging the teachers and amazing them with his wisdom.
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Mary & Joseph had taught Jesus the Scriptures, so he had questions, he was understanding the words he heard and in turn responding with more questions.
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They had just spent the last 2 days wondering where Jesus was and they were afraid for his life.
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Their fear turned into amazement. They were “blown away.”
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Has Jesus ever amazed you?
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Mary & Joseph had forgotten Jesus, yet when they find him, he’s not upset, he’s not complaining, holding it against them.
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Why? - how many times do we ask why God apparently does things that we don’t understand?
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I have been amazed that when I’ve left Jesus behind in some way, he’s there waiting for me. Not with, “I told you so’s” or “where in the world have you been.” Amazed by his grace.
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Luke 2:49 (NIV)
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49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
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What kind of question is this Jesus? Why were you searching? Because they thought you were lost! Jesus thought they’d know exactly where to find him.
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Oh, wait! You weren’t lost, M & J were lost without you.
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Jesus, you’ve abandoned me
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You’ve left me alone
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You forgot about me
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Jesus, I thought you were with me
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Jesus, I called out for you, I looked for you and you were gone!
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“It is one of the axioms of theology that if a man be lost, God must not be blamed for it; and it is also an axiom of theology that if a man be saved, God must have the glory for it.” - C. H. Spurgeon
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Son of God, Son of Man
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A theological point here:
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You see Jesus grappling with his two identities -
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Son of God and Son of Man
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I must be obedient to my heavenly Father
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I must be obedient to my earthly parents
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We see Jesus here for the first time declaring his Divine Sonship, leaving his earthly parents perplexed about what Jesus had just said.
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He’s about his Father’s business but then Luke 2:50
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Luke 2:50–51 (NIV)
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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.
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Jesus is coming to terms with who he is at this age. Who really am I? Where is my loyalty? Faithful to my heavenly Father yet still obedient to Joseph & Mary
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Luke 2:52 (NIV)
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52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
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Friends, where did you leave Jesus?
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Scenarios:
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I haven’t left Jesus.
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I am fully aware of his presence in my life. Why would I leave Jesus? That would be dumb.
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I haven’t left Jesus (I think).
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I left Jesus some time ago and you are searching for him and you’ve made your way back to the Temple and Jesus says, “I’m here.”
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I left Jesus, didn’t realize it, I even blamed God when things got tough, not realizing that he never left me, instead, I disengaged and disconnected myself.
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I got too caught up in life, in work, my family, and my pursuits. I believe that faith is important and I’ve stayed somewhat loosely connected.
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I’ve trusted the faith of family and friends to keep me connected. I look for Jesus among the group since they are connected with Jesus and that’s how I stay connected with my faith. But I’ve noticed that those in my group are not as connected with God, just connected to the church.
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There may be many other scenarios, and right now it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are here today, and Jesus is about his Father’s business welcoming you back, glad that you are back, and wanting to go home with you today.
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Pastor, you’re assuming a lot by saying I left Jesus. Friends, the greatest assumption would be that we are so diligent in our faith that we’ve never left Jesus behind. That may not be you today, but that may be many of our stories today.
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So many of our kids from church have walked out through those doors, only to show up to Feast Days like Christmas, Easter, a wedding, or a funeral and hopefully realize that the Jesus they left behind can still be found here.
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May we be pointing people to Jesus when they ask about Jesus.
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May we not point out their deficiencies and delinquencies.
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May they find Jesus in this place, and find Jesus still working on us, doing his Father’s business.
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May we be humble enough to admit that we have left Jesus behind when we turned our religion into a ritual.
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May we realize that we left Jesus behind when we turned our relationship with God into a weekly event, with weekly church chores.
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Isaiah 55:6 NRSV
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;
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Seek him before we’re too far off, call him while we haven’t wandered off for too long because we’ll get used to the distance and take longer to make it back.
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He can be found this morning and my prayer is that we see him here today and that you will respond to his invitation.
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PRAY:
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Our Heavenly Father, when we lose sight of Jesus, we also lose sight of your business, the things that matter to you.
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Many times we’ve been caught up in our own business, even while sitting in this place of worship, we get caught up with the mundane, the cares of this world, and unintentionally go about our business forgetting yours and traveling on the metaphorical day not knowing that we’ve left you behind only until darkness begins to creep in and we wonder why you are not by our side.
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May our search lead us back to you, not to our traditions, rituals, or ceremonies. May our search not lead us back to the customs of what we do here, giving us a false sense of connection with you.
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May our search lead us back to YOU. If anyone here identifies with this call, God speaks to their heart, and their conscience and leads them to you.
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In Jesus’ name amen.
