Introduction
Except for the Gospel of Luke, the other gospels record Jesus from when he became an adult. Of course, the Gospel of Matthew records the circumstances when Jesus was born, Magi from the East who came and worshiped Jesus, and the story of Jesus' escape to Egypt, but it does not show Jesus' childhood.
Luke is the only one who records Jesus' childhood. Since the main recipients of the Gospel of Luke were Greeks, this can be seen as written to show the Son of God who came as a man. Perhaps Luke heard the story of Jesus' childhood firsthand by asking Mary. After hearing the entire story of Jesus' childhood, Luke only introduced one unusual thing that happened when Jesus was twelve years old.
Luke only recorded that Jesus was circumcised on the eight day after birth and went to the temple in Jerusalem to perform a purification ceremony, and omitted the stories of the visit of Magi from the East and escape to Egypt. And Luke summarized Jesus' life before he was twelve in one verse, verse 40. “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” Luke, then, summarized Jesus' life after what happened when he was twelve in one verse 52: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
I. Jesus’ life and appearance until he was twelve (v. 40).
First, Jesus grew up. Jesus differed from ordinary people only in that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in a virgin body, but in everything else he was the same as ordinary people. Jesus grew normally in Mary's womb for ten months, was born in the same way as us, and grew up in the same way. Why did Jesus grow up going through the same growth process as us? Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.” Because Jesus is the Son of God, he has no sin. But He faced the same challenges we face as we grow up. Therefore, Jesus knows all the joys and sorrows people experience and can sympathize with their weaknesses. And in order to bear all the sins we committed, Jesus grew up just like us.
Second, Jesus became strong. Jesus became physically strong and healthy. That is why, at the age of twelve, Jesus was able to make the long and difficult journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem without much care from his elders. As we know from Mark 6:3, Mary's husband Joseph was a carpenter. Therefore, Jesus may have assisted the carpenter in his work from his childhood. The work that a carpenter does is not mental labor, but hard physical labor. Therefore, Jesus must have been well-disciplined physically. Since Jesus had no sin, he would have had no choice but to always have a strong mind and body. So, during his public ministry, Jesus was able to walk long distances to minister and often stay up all night to pray.
Third, Jesus was filled with wisdom. This text shows us in a practical way the image of Jesus, who was filled with wisdom. When Jesus was twelve years old, he sat among his teachers in the temple, listening to them and asking them questions. At that time, even the teachers were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and his answers. As Jesus grew, he was filled with God's wisdom.
Fourth, God’s grace was upon Jesus. Of course, the grace spoken of here does not mean the love that God gives freely to sinners like us. Because Jesus had no sin. So what does it mean to say that God’s grace was upon Jesus? When Jesus was baptized, God looked at him from heaven and said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22). In this way, God loved and was pleased with Jesus. Grace here is used in the same sense.
II. Jesus in the temple (vv. 41~47)
Every year during Passover, Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem and celebrated the Feast (v. 41). Joseph and Mary lived a life of obedience to the Law of Moses. Jesus grew up well under these godly parents. And it is said that when Jesus was twelve years old, his parents went up following the customs of this Feast (v. 42). There is no detailed explanation in the Bible, but traditionally, Jews held a coming-of-age ceremony when a boy turned thirteen, called ‘Bar Mitzvah’ or ‘Son of the Commandment.’ From this time on, man was freed from the care of his parents and keep the commandments of God on his own.
When their sons turned twelve, a year before they turned thirteen, the Jews took their sons up to Jerusalem and celebrated the Passover with them. They did so on an educational purposes. This was so that their sons could celebrate the Passover on his own from the following year. In this context, when Jesus was twelve years old, he first went up to Jerusalem and celebrated the Passover. At that time, Jesus would have seen the priest of the temple slaughtering a lamb for Jesus' family and sprinkling its blood on the altar. Jesus was full of God's wisdom. Therefore, as Jesus watched the lamb being killed and its blood sprinkled on the altar, he would have clearly seen who he was and what his mission was. In other words, Jesus must have known right away that he was the Lamb of God who must take upon himself all the sins of this world. And he knew that about twenty years from now, right here in Jerusalem, Jesus himself would have to shed red blood like a lamb and die. Therefore, Jesus' heart must have been burning with holy passion as he saw the Passover lamb being killed and its blood sprinkled on the altar.
Jesus' parents, Joseph and Mary, returned to Nazareth of Galilee after completing the Passover Feast, but boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. But his parents did not know that (v. 43). During Passover, people from the same village gathered together and went to the temple in Jerusalem. So the men went up to the temple together, the women with their women, and the children with their children. And it was the same when they came back. When Joseph and Mary returned from socializing with their relatives and neighbors, they thougth that Jeus would be among the children. Because Jesus was a child who had wisdom and obeyed to his parents.
However, Jesus did not hang out with other children in the temple in Jerusalem. Amazingly, Jesus sat among his teachers in the temple, listening and asking them questions as he discussed the Bible. The teachers heard the amazing words of God coming from the mouth of a boy. Perhaps the boy Jesus lost track of time as he discussed the Word of God with teachers. So he may not have known that his parents and relatives had returned after the Feast.
If Jesus had known, he would have stayed in the temple on purpose. Jesus probably wanted to deliver an important message to Joseph and Mary through this incident. Before Jesus was the son of Joseph and Mary, he was the son of God. Therefore, through this incident, Jesus wanted to clearly let Joseph and Mary know that he was the Son of God and that he had a mission to fulfill as the Son of God.
Jesus’ parents thought that Jesus was in their company and traveled on for a day (v. 44). It was a four-day journey from Jerusalem to Nazareth, so after the one-day journey, the family had to gather together for dinner and then go to bed. Only then did Joseph and Mary realize that Jesus was not with them. Joseph and Mary began looking for Jesus among their relatives and acquaintances. Because Jesus was loved by everyone. They began to go back the way they had come, looking for Jesus.
More than a million people gather in Jerusalem during Passover, so where can they find the lost child? There is no missing child reporting center like there are these days. Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem, continuing to ask for Jesus. Dear believers! Joseph and Mary thought they were walking with Jesus, but Jesus was not with them. By the way, aren't we also living in the same way, thinking that we are walking with Jesus when Jesus is not with us? After three days, they found Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. If we have lost Jesus, think about when, where, and how we became distant from Him, and hope to get Jesus back. From now on, I hope that our lives will be one in which we always walk with Jesus without losing sight of him even for a moment.
Look at verses 46 and 47. “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.” Jewish education is interactive, not crammed. Therefore, the teachers and Jesus listened and asked each other questions. However, every time Jesus gave a wise answer, the listeners were greatly surprised. Those listening could not help but be amazed at the understanding and answers of a boy who was only twelve years old.
III. Parents’ reaction and Jesus’ answer (vv. 48~52)
Joseph and Mary were astonished to see the young Jesus sitting among the teachers so calmly that he did not even look for his parents (v. 48a). Perhaps Joseph and Mary thought that Jesus was desperately looking for them just as they were desperately looking for Jesus. But their expectations were completely wrong. Jesus seemed to have no interest in such matters and was just concentrating on talking about the Bible with the teachers. Perhaps the parents were astonished to see Jesus' calm appearance, unlike their panicked appearance.
Mary turned to Jesus with resentment and asked, “Son, why have you treated us like this?” (v. 48b). Joseph and Mary were so filled with anxiety about Jesus that they searched for him for three days (v. 48c). They must have worried about whether something would happen to Jesus, whether he got sick, how to solve the problem of lodging and food, etc. They thought that Jesus was hurting them by acting on his own terms and not being with them on the way home.
At that time, Jesus gave a surprising answer. Look at verse 49. “'Why were you searching for me?' he asked. 'Didn't you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus already knew that he was the Son of God and he called God ‘my Father.’ Jesus then answered that since the temple was his father's house, he thought it was only natural that he should be in the temple. And he couldn't understand why his parents had wondered from place to place to search for him. This is because Jesus thought that Joseph and Mary would already know through the angel that Jesus was the Son of God.
In fact, Joseph and Mary were Jesus' temporary parents. Jesus’ eternal Father is God. The house in Nazareth was also Jesus' temporary home. Jesus' eternal home is God's house, symbolized by the temple. So Jesus asked, “Have you forgotten that my Father is God? Don’t you know that my proper place is in the temple, my Father’s house?”
But Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus said (v. 50). Joseph and Mary did not know the relationship between Jesus and the temple. Before she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit, Mary clearly heard the words from the angel Gabriel: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). Joseph also heard from an angel that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that he would save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20~21). Then they should have thought about the fact that Jesus, as the Son of God, was old enough to begin God's work. But they never thought of such a thing.
The boy Jesus did not insist on remaining in the temple in Jerusalem when his parents came searching for him. Look at verse 51. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” Jesus said that God was his father, but Joseph and Mary were also his parents, so he knew he had to obey them. So, although Jesus received grace in the temple, he obeyed his parents and obediently returned home to Nazareth.
When we live our lives of faith, there are times when we place too much importance on vertical relationships and neglect human relationships. Just because what we believe is right, it is easy for us to ignore all orders and stubbornly follow our own path, but that is not yet mature. The more our faith matures, the more obedient we become to people. Because God works through people. Jesus knew that God had entrusted Himself to Joseph and Mary, and that to obey them was to obey God.
How can we obey God? It is through obedience to those whom God has entrusted. Obeying our parents is not just about obeying them. That is what it means to obey God. And God wants our love for God to be shown through loving people around us and helping those in need. So although Jesus was good at temple ministry, he held off until the right time and went to Nazareth to serve his family by working as a carpenter. Jesus' filial piety toward his parents must have been a valuable example for his many younger siblings who were born after him.
Mary treasured all these words from Jesus in her heart. We do not know whether Mary understood what Jesus said at the time or not. Mary did not ignore or neglect the words of Jesus. Mary kept Jesus' words deep in her heart. Our attitude toward receiving the word of God should be like this. Sometimes, we may not be able to easily understand God's word because we lack understanding. However, we should not neglect the word of God. We must receive the word of God as it is and treasure it in our hearts. Even if we don't understand it now, there will be a time when we will understand the words clearly by the grace of God.
Look at verse 52. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus' growth was normal. Wisdom means intellectual growth. Jesus is the Son of God, but he did not learn all the truth suddenly. Jesus also went through a process of growth physically. And Jesus grew spiritually and socially so that he became beloved to God and people. In this way, Jesus grew in a balanced way in all aspects.
Conclusion
I hope we can become more in favor with God and men. In this way, I hope that our Rehoboth Church will become a church filled with God’s love.
