Jesus Begins to Get the Picture
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 they 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 looking for you anxiously." And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:46-49, RSV.
The scene is understandable enough. A Jewish boy entered manhood when he was 12 years of age. At that time he became "a son of the law" (what would later be called bar [son of] mitzvah [the commandment]). After his Bar Mitzvah a Jewish youth is morally responsible for his actions and is eligible to participate in public worship.
As a result, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem with His parents for the ceremony. But the story takes an unexpected twist when they depart without Him and had to return to find their "lost" Son.
But Jesus wasn't lost. To the contrary, on that short trip He had discovered His real "home." The Temple ceremonies as He viewed them for the first time led to an understanding of His mission in life. The Desire of Ages notes that day by day He saw the meaning of the Temple services more clearly, especially through the sacrificing of the Passover lamb. "Every act seemed to be bound up with His own life. New impulses were awakening within Him. Silent and absorbed, He seemed to be studying out a great problem. The mystery of His mission was opening to the Saviour" (p. 78).
Meanwhile Mary and Joseph were in a state of panic. No one likes to lose a child, but to lose the promised Savior must have been a jolt to their hearts.
Two things stand out upon their discovery of their growing Son. First, He subtly disowned Joseph as His father. Mary had called Joseph "your father." But Jesus responded that He had all the while been in "my Father's house," indicating that He had grasped the fact that He was the Son of God in a unique way. A second point to note is the amazement of the nation's foremost teachers as this young man asked them penetrating questions about the meaning of the Temple system and set forth profound answers in the mutual discussion.
Inspiration includes these few verses in the story of Christ's life because they represent a major turning point: Jesus now knows more fully who He is and the nature of His life's mission as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Yet that recognition did not make Him proud or haughty to Mary and Joseph. He returned with them and remained "obedient to them" (Luke 2:51, RSV).
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 they 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 looking for you anxiously." And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:46-49, RSV.
The scene is understandable enough. A Jewish boy entered manhood when he was 12 years of age. At that time he became "a son of the law" (what would later be called bar [son of] mitzvah [the commandment]). After his Bar Mitzvah a Jewish youth is morally responsible for his actions and is eligible to participate in public worship.
As a result, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem with His parents for the ceremony. But the story takes an unexpected twist when they depart without Him and had to return to find their "lost" Son.
But Jesus wasn't lost. To the contrary, on that short trip He had discovered His real "home." The Temple ceremonies as He viewed them for the first time led to an understanding of His mission in life. The Desire of Ages notes that day by day He saw the meaning of the Temple services more clearly, especially through the sacrificing of the Passover lamb. "Every act seemed to be bound up with His own life. New impulses were awakening within Him. Silent and absorbed, He seemed to be studying out a great problem. The mystery of His mission was opening to the Saviour" (p. 78).
Meanwhile Mary and Joseph were in a state of panic. No one likes to lose a child, but to lose the promised Savior must have been a jolt to their hearts.
Two things stand out upon their discovery of their growing Son. First, He subtly disowned Joseph as His father. Mary had called Joseph "your father." But Jesus responded that He had all the while been in "my Father's house," indicating that He had grasped the fact that He was the Son of God in a unique way. A second point to note is the amazement of the nation's foremost teachers as this young man asked them penetrating questions about the meaning of the Temple system and set forth profound answers in the mutual discussion.
Inspiration includes these few verses in the story of Christ's life because they represent a major turning point: Jesus now knows more fully who He is and the nature of His life's mission as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Yet that recognition did not make Him proud or haughty to Mary and Joseph. He returned with them and remained "obedient to them" (Luke 2:51, RSV).
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