THE BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

Luke 2:40-52

Key Verse: 2:49

“‘Why were you searching for me?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’”

In the last passage, as we began our study of Luke’s gospel, we saw the light of Jesus beginning to shine into this world. Jesus is God’s light for revelation to Gentiles, and Jesus is the glory of all God’s people. In today’s passage we can see Jesus shine more and more. Today’s passage contains the only event recorded in any of the gospels between Jesus’ infancy and the start of his public ministry when he was about 30 years old. But this one event gives us all we really need to know about how Jesus the Son of God grew from a boy to a man. The way Jesus grew is a model to us of how we are meant to grow in Jesus. So as we study this passage, let’s pray that Jesus’ life may grow in us.

First, the child grew (40).

Look at verse 40. “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” This verse summarizes 12 years of Jesus’ life, his childhood. It teaches us one very important fact: the boy Jesus grew. Joseph and Mary provided the environment for baby Jesus to grow in. To protect Jesus’ life from murderous King Herod, Joseph had to flee with Mary and the child to Egypt. After Herod died, Joseph brought them back to raise Jesus in Nazareth. So Jesus is called “Jesus of Nazareth”, because that was his hometown. Apostle Nathaniel tells us this place was like a hole in the ground: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (Jn 1:46) But in fact this was a good place for the Messiah to be raised. He would learn about work, what it is like to have siblings, he could see babies born and others get old and die, and all these experiences came out in his teaching. Jesus learned how to interact with people. There was also a synagogue in Nazareth (4:16). As a Jew, Jesus would have learned the law and how to worship corporately with God’s people.

Verse 40 also says that during his youth, Jesus grew and became strong and was filled with wisdom. Jesus’ growth was not one-dimensional. He grew strong. He ate and slept well. He was healthy and active. He was also filled with wisdom. He grew in knowledge and understanding through education. Jesus, as the perfect man, grew in all areas, as a balanced man. From boy Jesus we learn that growing is natural and proper human behavior. Even though Jesus never committed sin, still he grew, because that is what human beings are supposed to do.

Most of us are pretty much grown up physically. It’s been many years since I faced the fact that I would not be a tall person. Some of us are still growing in knowledge, hopefully, because we are still in school, and if we don’t grow in knowledge we can’t get an ‘A’. But growing is also a spiritual matter. We are meant to grow spiritually throughout our lives. Peter said, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1Pe 2:2).” When we first trusted Jesus, at whatever age that happened, we became spiritual newborns. So we know we have a lot of growing to do. Later on in this passage, we will see how Jesus also began to grow spiritually. Thank God that all of us here are interested in growing. So we pray for our church to be an environment that encourages spiritual growth. We think about how our example can help others grow.

The last part of verse 40 says, “...and the grace of God was upon him.” The root reason for Jesus’ successful growth was that the grace of God was upon him. The real cause of growth is the grace of God. In our sinful nature, our life is in a downward spiral and we can never really change and be free of our root life problem. In our sinful nature, we are really stuck; all the life changes we can make are superficial. But when the grace of God is upon us, we genuinely grow. God’s grace is more powerful than the devil and our sinful nature (1Jn 4:4) and the net result is that we are changed and we grow in the image of Jesus. We must believe that by the grace of God, we are chosen to grow and become more than we were. At this point, let’s remember God’s admonition to us in 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Second, Jesus attends post-conference Bible study (41-47).

Verse 41 reads, “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.” The Passover was the opening dinner of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which God commanded his people to celebrate every year. It was the most important of the three feasts that all Israelite males were required to attend each year, according to Deuteronomy 16. For Jesus’ family, the journey to the feast was about 65 miles; it could take as much as three days, because the people often traveled in large caravans. To attend the whole Feast would take as much as two weeks time. If someone worked for a Gentile, it must have been really hard to get time off! Women were not required to attend, but they could choose to. In the Old Testament, Hannah was one faithful woman who went to the temple yearly with her husband to pray earnestly. Here we see that Mary, Jesus’ mother, also went.

Why was going to the Passover feast so important? The Passover is the commemoration of God’s mighty work of delivering his people from slavery in Egypt. Through the blood of the Passover Lamb, Almighty God had at once protected his people from the angel of death and made them a nation of free men and women. God established the Passover feast for his people to celebrate so they would keep this salvation work and his promise in the forefront of their minds, so that they wouldn’t lose their identity as God’s people and melt into the culture around them.  In this passage we see that God also made the Passover for his own Son to celebrate, to learn from, and finally to fulfill by becoming the Lamb of God. Thank God that Joseph and Mary were faithful to attend the Passover feast every year, and to bring Jesus.

Verse 42 says that Jesus went up to the Passover Feast with his family when he was twelve years old. We don’t know if Jesus had gone to the Passover before this, but this time, when he was twelve years old, was significant. Do you remember when you were twelve years old? The age of twelve is a time when big changes are coming. Becoming a teenager is the time of beginning to find one’s own identity; it’s the time of self-discovery. It’s when we first struggle to have independent thought and try to figure out the world for ourselves. So it’s also an important point in the development of spiritual life.

The Jews recognized this. There was a custom that at the age of twelve a boy would be considered “a son of the law,” and be put on a course of instruction and trained in fasting and attendance in public worship. Still today, at the age of 12 or 13, Jewish boys and girls celebrate the Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. It indicates the age at which a person becomes responsible for his own obedience to the Jewish Law, and begins to participate in the Sabbath service as an adult. Jesus, at this stage of life, was brought to the temple of God. His parents’ education had prepared him for this moment, and now he was ready.

The passage doesn’t record what Jesus did during the feast, but only what happened after it was over. Look at verse 43. “After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.” After the feast was over, it was time to go home. Joseph needed to get back to work. There were tables to make, farm instruments to repair, and money to be made. But it was at this time that Jesus made his first independent decision recorded in the Bible. What did he do? He decided to stay in Jerusalem after the Feast. At the age of twelve, Jesus had a desire for God and made a decision to pursue that desire. In fact, this is not something remarkable. We learn from Jesus that seeking God is the normal human desire. As a normal human being, yet one without sin, Jesus naturally grew up to be a spiritually aware person who sought God’s kingdom.

What about us? What were your desires at the age of 12? For many of us, instead of building on the desire for God, we instead built up our sinful desires. When I was twelve years old, I made a decision to sneak away from my parents in the mall to go peek at the pornographic magazines. And I began to try to feed my soul with empty rock songs. Because of sin, we really got sidetracked and got a late and slow start to know God. Many of us didn’t make an independent decision to study the Bible until our college years, or later. Others of us are so blessed because they have been taught the Bible from their youth, like Jesus was. But still we are so slow to come to a decision to seek God. Now, however, we know that we have spent enough time doing what pagans choose to do, gratifying the desires of our flesh (1 Pe 4:3) We know how sin made us waste our lives instead of growing as we should. Now, in view of the boy Jesus, let’s cultivate the holy desire and decide to seek God and his kingdom.

Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem without realizing what Jesus had done; they assumed Jesus was somewhere among the large company of friends and relatives. It was only after they had not seen him for one day that they began to wonder where he was. Then they looked around and discovered that he was not among the relatives or friends; they had lost the Son of God! What a nightmare! Imagine the frantic journey for one day back to Jerusalem, searching the whole way. Then, even after they arrived in Jerusalem, they could not find him for three days.

Why couldn’t they find him for three days? It seems like they looked everywhere except the temple courts: their friends’ houses, the bowling alley, the shopping malls, 노래방, the police station... Joseph and Mary must have gone half-crazy spending three days imagining what kind of trouble Jesus must be in. But when they finally found him, where was he, and what was he doing? Let’s read verse 46. “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Jesus stayed behind in order to study the Bible in the temple! Of course! During the feast, the members of the Sanhedrin would come out and teach the crowds of teachers and rabbis that gathered. Maybe it was like one of our post-conference leader’s conference. Jesus was there among the teachers, listening to these great Bible scholars.

What was Jesus’ level of Bible study at age 12? Verse 47 says, “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Jesus at age 12 was able to understand and participate in the Rabbi’s lectures. It was because he faithfully studied the Bible from his childhood. Jesus wasn’t a “know-it-all”. He was not in the temple showing off his Bible knowledge. He was learning the Bible, actively. Jesus listened to the teachers. He asked questions to ensure his understanding. Jesus also shared what he learned, submitting to questions and giving relevant and insightful answers. We strive to imitate Jesus’ style of interactive Bible study: listen intently, ask questions, write down our testimonial answers and share them with others.

Some Bible students are so bored when they receive each week’s Bible study questionnaire. Maybe the passage is already familiar; the questions don’t seem interesting; the answers all seem so obvious. “I already know all this stuff!” But when we faithfully write out our answers and discuss them with our Bible teacher, we experience mysterious joy and inner growth as we take deep root in the grace of God. Let’s not have a habitual attitude toward Bible study. Let’s learn from Jesus how to study the Bible well and grow.

Third, “I had to be in my Father’s house” (48-50).

Jesus’ Bible study made an impression on those listening to him. They were amazed at his understanding of the messages, and the weight of his insightful answers. But when Jesus’ parents finally found him, they were not nearly so delighted. They had been searching for three days for him, and here he was in the temple courts studying the Bible!  Look at verse 48. “When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.’” Mary’s question reveals the deep pain in her heart. “Son, why have you treated us like this?” Anyone ever heard that from your mom?

Jesus hadn’t been lost. He hadn’t been accidentally left behind. Instead, he had independently chosen and willfully decided to stay behind in Jerusalem, without telling them! What a shock! But Jesus did not intend to hurt his parents. He wasn't being rebellious to Mary. 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 said, “Why were you searching for me?” Jesus expected they should know where he was, and what he was doing. He thought Joseph and Mary were on the same page with him. Jesus thought they knew it was time for him to study the Bible. But they did not. Mary and Joseph did not see Jesus correctly. Maybe when they looked at him, they still saw him as the baby boy that Simeon held aloft. You know parents; even after their children are grown up, parents always say, “You are still my little baby.” But parents should know their children and see them from God’s eyes, and know what they should be doing. “Mom and dad, didn’t you know it was time for me study the Bible?” At twelve years old, it was God’s time for Jesus to begin to take deep root in the word of God and honor his Father God. Many parents think that when their children begin to honor God, they are dishonoring them. But it is not so. Children honor their parents most by seeking God’s kingdom first.

Let’s think more about this key verse, which is Jesus’ earliest recorded words. Jesus said, “I had to be in my Father’s house.” Jesus answered Mary’s comment, “Your father and I” by identifying God as his Father. Jesus is clearly identifying himself now as the Son of God. Moreover, these words show that Jesus’ consciousness of God as his Father was growing. He began to move on from his human parents to recognizing God as his Father. Jesus was finding his identity in God his Father. We need to do the same. We can only find our identity in our Father God. When we begin to acknowledge God as our Father, we become normal human beings, on the path to become like Jesus some day. Many of us are studying a major or preparing a career in a specific field. But a career alone is not identity. Our identity must be rooted in God; he is the one who created us, and has a purpose for us in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10).

We need to know our Father in heaven and have a relationship with him. We need his loving involvement and caring direction in our lives. Sinless Jesus was born and grew to know God his Father naturally. But we sinners first must be born again. This happens when we repent our sins and accept Jesus as Savior in our hearts. God unites us with himself, and gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit assures us we are God’s children, and we cry out, “Abba, Father!” We experience his fatherly love and care. The life of Jesus can grow in us and we come to know God our Father. If anyone doesn’t have this growing relationship with God, please ask Jesus to come into your heart and live.

Jesus’ words also show that he loved his Father. This is the Law’s greatest commandment, as Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus loved God with all his heart, keeping the greatest commandment. Jesus’ relationship with God explains his attitude toward the word of God. When Jesus loved God with all his soul, he gave his mind and heart to study the Bible, allowing the word of God to mold his thought world and attitude.

The famous passage in Deuteronomy 6 also relates the love of God to the love of his word. After the verse that says, “Love the Lord your God...” it continues by saying: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Sometimes we think it is because we are fallen or have some problem that we need to study the Bible. If someone is obviously messing up his life, we say “They REALLY need Bible study.” That’s true, but sinless and perfect Jesus also studied the Bible, out of love for God, and it became the  foundation of his spiritual life. When Satan tempted him in the desert, Jesus quoted the Bible from Deuteronomy. In his first recorded sermon in the book of Luke, Jesus quotes the book of Isaiah and applies it to himself. Where did Jesus learn to do this? It was from building his life on the word of God. How is your attitude toward Bible study? Is it like Jesus’? Does it reflect genuine love and longing for your heavenly Father? Psalm 1:2: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

We should also notice that this verse refers to Jesus’ location. “I had to be in my Father’s house.” Throughout Jesus’ life, he showed us that the house of God means the place for the word of God.  Jesus spent extra time in God’s house to study his word. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of studying the Bible together in the Bible center. Did Jesus say, “I’m the Son of God, I can study the Bible all by myself in my room and become smarter than anybody”? No! Rather, when Jesus, the Son of God, wanted to learn from God his Father, he sought out an environment where he could interact with God’s people and other Bible teachers. So he said, “I had to be in my Father’s house.” So then, our coworkers who come to the Bible center day after day to carry out Bible studies have great growth potential. Isaiah 2:3 prophesies: “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’” Thank God that when we teach the word of God in our Bible center, this Bible center is the house of God. Jesus will be here, and this prophecy is fulfilled among us.

Let’s look at one last thing in verse 49. Jesus said, “I had to be in my Father’s house.” The words “had to be” reveal Jesus’ inner conviction—his priority system—what he was absolute about. It came from his relationship with God. When he knew God his Father, he had conviction of what he must do as the Son of God. In this way, he could begin to take responsibility for his spiritual life. When people have no relationship with God, they have no inner conviction; they don’t seek God actively, but only struggle to follow their petty desires as restless wanderers on the earth. Only following our desires makes our attitude totally superficial. Knowing what we really have to do comes only when we know God our Father.

When we have identity in God our Father, and a personal decision to study the Bible and seek God’s kingdom, then we can say to our parents as Jesus said, very respectfully, “Mom, Dad, I don’t belong to you; I belong to God. It’s time for me to do God’s work.” And parents must admit that their children don’t belong to them but to God. Let’s pray that we may live before God, and experience deep conviction of what we must do, and carry it out by faith. That is the life of the children of God.

Fourth, Boy Jesus practices the word of God (51-52).

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.” Mary did not understand what Jesus meant about being in his Father’s house, but she responded prayerfully and held this event in her heart. Then later, she could understand and be used to pass on this important event. As for Jesus, he was not hurt by his parents’ misunderstanding; he did not become discouraged and crooked. Nor did he despise his parents, as if he were now past them. Rather, Jesus humbled himself and continued to be obedient to his earthly parents.

Many people today think rebellion is the path to becoming a real person. But we learn from the boy Jesus that humble obedience is a part of normal and healthy human behavior. Obeying our parents is the first way God gives us to put his word into practice. Through this submission, Jesus developed as a human being. He learned carpentry from Joseph, and so became known as “son of the carpenter” (Mt 13). Jesus’ growing life, in preparation for his ministry, is so important. We all want to do something great for God. But seldom do we want to practice  humble obedience in God’s time of preparation.

Look at verse 52. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus was not a social outcast. He grew well and commended himself in every way until he was prepared to begin his public ministry. Jesus is the Son of God, but he is also God’s normal human being, showing how we are meant to grow as children of God.

We all need to grow as people of character and content, with identity in God. In this passage the boy Jesus shows us how to grow by learning about God our Father through his word and practicing obedience. It is the way to live life to the full as a human being. Maybe our growth was delayed for too long because of our sin. But when we are born again through faith in Jesus, we can receive a new life and grow and grow. May God help us to come into this relationship with our Heavenly Father. May our delight be the same as that of Jesus: “I had to be in my Father’s house.”