41 And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of
the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up
after the custom of the feast; 43 and when they had fulfilled the
days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in
Jerusalem; and his parents knew it not; 44 but supposing him to be
in the company, they went a day’s journey; and they sought for him
among their kinsfolk and acquaintance; 45 and when they found him
not, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking for him. 46 And it came
to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in
the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and asking them
questions: 47 and all that heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were
astonished; and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus
dealt with us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing. 49
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? knew ye not
that I must be in my Father’s house? 50 And they understood not
the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with
them, and came to Nazareth; and he was subject unto them; and his
mother kept all _these_ sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God
and men.
It has been said that the boyhood of Jesus is like a walled garden from
which we have been given but a single flower, but this is so fragrant as
to fill our hearts with a longing to enter within the secret inclosure. We
have but a single incident of his boyhood days; it is recorded for us only
by Luke, a visit to Jerusalem paid by Jesus when he was twelve years old.
At about this age a young Jew became a “son of the law” and began to
observe its requirements, among which were the pilgrimages to the holy
city to observe the sacred feasts. On this first visit to Jerusalem, Jesus
was unintentionally left behind by his parents as they started on their
return journey to Nazareth. At the end of the first day they failed to
find him in the long caravan which was moving northward toward Galilee.
The day following, Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem, and on the third
day they discovered Jesus in the Temple in the midst of the teachers who
were surprised at his knowledge of the sacred Scriptures. There was an
implied rebuke in the words of Mary, “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with
us? behold, thy father and I sought thee sorrowing?” In the reply of Jesus
there was something of surprise and also of reproof, yet there were deep
undertones of love, of spiritual vision, and of solemn resolve: “How is it
that ye sought me? knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house?”
These are the first recorded words of Jesus and they are an index and an
explanation of his entire career; for their preservation this story was
recorded by Luke. If they contained a rebuke for Mary, it must have been
conveyed in accents of reverence and affection; and was there not involved
a delicate compliment? Jesus does not reprove his parents for seeking him,
but for not seeking him in the Temple first of all; and does he not seem
to have implied that his parents had taught him to love the house of God
and to delight in the law of God? He was saying in effect: “Why thus did
you seek me? Why did you not remember that the Temple is the very place
where I should be found?”
These words are thus a revelation of the life in the home at Nazareth. It
was not by a miracle or due to some divine attribute, but because of the
training he had received from his pious parents, that Jesus at the age of
twelve was a master of the Scriptures, and had learned to reverence and
adore all that was related to them and to the worship of God. Is it not
possible for parents to-day to awaken in the hearts of their children a
love for the house and the Word and the will of God?
These words, further, were a revelation of the consciousness of divine
sonship. Jesus already realized that in a unique sense God was his own
Father, the true source of his being. He instantly corrected the words of
Mary, “thy father,” which referred to Joseph, with his own words “my
Father,” which referred to God. Luke depicts Jesus as the ideal Man, but
always as one conscious that he was the Son of God.
Our children should learn to regard God as their Father, not in the unique
sense employed by Jesus as the eternal Son, nor yet in the sense which can
apply to all created beings, but as denoting that intimate relationship
with God made possible for believers through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Most important of all, these words are the revelation of a firm resolve,
of a great molding purpose; Jesus perceived that it was his duty to be in
the house of his Father—not merely in the literal Temple, but in the
sphere of life and activity of which the Temple was the great expression
and symbol and sign. He had determined, that is, to devote all his
thoughts and energies and powers to the definite service of God. At the
age of twelve are not most children sufficiently mature to form a somewhat
similar purpose and to recognize in the service of God the supreme and
comprehensive duty of every life?
With this definite ideal in mind Jesus returned to Nazareth and continued
to live in submission to his parents, toiling for eighteen years as a
carpenter and in the quiet retirement of an obscure village receiving a
training for his public career which would have been impossible amidst the
formalism and the distractions of Jerusalem. His development was as
natural as it was perfect; he “advanced in wisdom and stature, and in
favor with God and men;” his bodily and mental growth were no more marked
than his increasing charm and spiritual power. Such development is
possible in the humblest sphere for those whose lives are yielded to the
will of God.