Jesus At Twelve Years Old

Luke 2: 41-52 

Today we will look at the only glimpse we have been given of Jesus's childhood. He had grown from a Child into a Boy, but not yet matured into a Man. 

Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 

Passover was one of the three feasts that God had invited His people to come to His house for a week-long party: Passover, the Fifty Days (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16). We're not told if they made the trip for all three every year, but I would suspect that they did. 

And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 

This tells us of one particular year they went for this feast, when Jesus was twelve years old. This was a year before the traditional age of responsibility when a Jewish boy is considered mature enough to take part in the official Hebrew religion, and boys often accompanied their parents to the ceremonies a year or two before this in order to learn of them.

and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, 

They had spent the full week there for the feast. 

the Boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 
but supposed Him to be in the caravan, 

The caravans could be quite large, with the men and women traveling in different groups, the children with the women, and the older boys with the men. So it was not neglectful or unusual for them to not miss Him that first day of traveling. 

and went a day's journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 

So when they stopped for the night, and Jesus was not with either Joseph or Mary's group, they searched among the other groups of people Jesus knew and might be with. They would not think that He wouldn't be somewhere there. 

When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 

So they took another day to return to the city, and a second day looking among all the people and places they had just frequented the past week, where He might have been. 

Then, after three days they found Him in the Temple, 

Where would a normal twelve year old boy want to hang out? By the third day they finally went back to the Temple. 

At church? This would not be expected, no wonder it took them a while to find Him. And why would He hang out there? What was He doing? 

sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 
And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 

Jesus was hanging out with the teachers, increasing His education in the Scriptures, and asking such insightful questions that seemed beyond a twelve year old's understanding. And He was even giving them some answers.

J. W. Doeve suggests that Jesus engaged in a midrashic discussion of biblical texts: "Their amazement must relate to His deducting things from Scripture which they had never found before" (Jewish Hermeneutics in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts [Assen: Van Gorcum, 1954], p. 105). (The Expositors Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor; Vol. 8, p. 852.)

I don't think I would go that far, He was still just a 12 year old Boy, and still learning; even though He was probably more highly intelligent than others, and certainly more aware of spiritual connections (see Isaiah 11: 1-3, "...of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord..."). 

When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You. 

Here we see that those who should have known Him best are still surprised when He went to the teachers to hang out instead of leaving town with the rest of the family. He always was such a good Boy, why would He not be cooperating with their program now? 

And they'd looked everywhere a normal twelve year old would be, and were really worried about Him. She says, "Why did You do this to us?" as though He was being mischievous, or even disobedient. 

The word she used, anxiously, is unusually strong, often indicating pain or suffering. She apparently took His delay personally! Very human of her.

And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?" 
But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 

He, in effect, said, "Don't you realize yet who I am? I'm just getting a better understanding of Myself, but you should already know!" 


We can forget so much over the years. They hadn't let His personality and character remind them of His divinity, and He was still growing in His awareness and understanding.  

And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; 

So He continued to obey their authority over Him, and went back home then.

and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 

Another item in the treasury of her heart. All these things were always there, but since they were not needed in the day-to-day of family life, they may have been buried pretty deep. That's why she "forgot" to remember them at the times she needed to, to understand, like here. 

(And in Mark 3: 21, 31-32, "His kinsmen (family) went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, He has lost His senses;" and "His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him and they said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.'" 

I'm sure He took a moment to go out to them & remind His mother of all the "things she treasured in her heart" about His deity.)

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. 

So Jesus continued to grow up just like we all do, increasing in His learning and understanding, and in His physical and personal development into maturity, and in His good reputation among people and with His Father in Heaven. 

O my Father,  thank You for every word in Your Word. Thank You for showing us the humanity of even the most godly of Your saints, which is so encouraging to us. Thank You for Loving us just as we are, but You don't leave us there. We all are "growing up" just as even Jesus needed to grow up from an Infant to a Child to a Boy to the Man He became to be our Redeemer.

May You strengthen us and help us to gain the victory over all the problems and tests and detours that are thrown into our path. Keep our hand in Yours, every step on this journey we are traveling toward that Eternal Day. 

Teach us, Father, all Your ways, that we might shine Your Light into the darkness of this world, to the end that all Your lost ones can find their way to You through Your children. 

And every created being will comprise Your Heavenly Choir, praising Your Holy Name; that Christ Jesus, born in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem, and risen from the dead, is Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!