When you’re a parent, there’s nothing more frightening than losing – even temporarily – your child. It’s often described as being a parent’s worst nightmare. And it can happen so quickly.
In today’s Gospel lesson we hear about some parents who panicked when they couldn’t find their child. And to help you fully understand why Mary and Joseph were so upset when their 12-year-old son went missing, I need to describe just how important – how big – the Feast of Passover was to the Jewish people in ancient times.
The Jewish Law required all men to appear before the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year. Since many men, especially those who lived long distances from Jerusalem, were unable to make the trip so often, they often chose to make just one trip – usually to Passover, which was the most popular feast on the Jewish calendar. Technically, only the man was required to make this trip, but many would take their whole families with them.
Note that Luke tells us very specifically that Jesus was 12 years old when this trip was made to Jerusalem. At the age of 12, every Jewish boy was known as a “son of the Law,” meaning that it was time for him to be trained in the observance of all religious duties – and must begin to take part in the Jewish religious festivals. So for Jesus this trip was more than just a family thing – it represented an important stage in his growth to adulthood.
The first century Jewish historian Josephus estimated – and he was probably pretty accurate – that as many as three million people came to Jerusalem each year to celebrate the Passover. At the end of the festival, everyone headed home. People typically traveled in large groups from their villages or towns, and Mary and Joseph would have had no reason to believe that Jesus wasn’t with them somewhere in their group – but after spending a day asking others about him, they discovered that he wasn’t there. He wasn’t with anyone else. I think that all of us who are parents can understand just how upset Mary and Joseph must have been. They had spent an entire day traveling from a city that had been packed with some three million people – and their son was missing! Had something happened to him? Luke writes that Mary and Joseph were in great distress. To put into today’s terms, they were experiencing the worst nightmare that a parent can have. They surely must have expected the worst – expected that Jesus was dead. And we can only wonder if Mary may have just possibly remembered the words of Simeon when Jesus was presented at the Temple when he was just 40 days old – when Simeon looked at Mary and said that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.”
After spending a second day traveling back to Jerusalem and a third day looking for their son, Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus. And what they saw flat-out astonished them. Jesus wasn’t in trouble. Nothing had happened to Him. Luke writes that they “found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Mary addresses her son, and it’s easy to imagine that her emotions betrayed both a sense of anger and a sense of relief. “Son, why have you treated us so?” she asks. “Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And Jesus answers her with these amazing words: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
As Christians, we teach, believe and confess the two natures of Jesus – that He is true God and also true man – and these two natures of Jesus are vividly described in the words of today’s Gospel lesson. Luke twice indicates that Jesus’ growth as a child was entirely normal – was entirely human – both mentally and physically. Verse 40: “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.” Verse 52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature.” That Jesus obeyed his mother – faithfully keeping the fourth commandment’s directions to honor our fathers and mothers – is apparent by Luke’s statement that Jesus immediately “went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.”
But here, in verse 49, we hear Jesus proclaim for the first time that He also is true God. Some translations, such as The King James Version, quote Jesus as saying: “I must be about my Father’s business.” Newer translations such as the RSV, NIV and ESV quote Jesus as saying that “I must be in my Father’s house.” Actually, neither wording entirely reflects the original Greek language that literally translated says “it is necessary for me to be in this of my Father.” Or: “It is necessary for me to be among the things of my Father.” No matter how you translate it, it is apparent that Jesus is not referring to his step-father Joseph. He is referring to “my Father.” He is referring to God the Father. And if Jesus is the Son of the true God, then He also must be true God Himself!
What a remarkable statement! Many years later during His ministry, Jesus makes at least 43 recorded references to God the Father with the specific words πατρός μου – “my Father.” This first time, at the age of only 12, Jesus does so as a mere boy. He does so as a boy who was feared to be lost by his mother Mary and her husband Joseph. But the 12-year-old boy Jesus wasn’t lost. He was exactly where he should be, where He must be. He was in the house of His Father. He was sitting among the learned teachers of the Temple, listening to them … asking questions of them … and answering their questions in a way that “all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.”
There would be a time many years later when Mary would lose her son again. She would watch as He suffered and died on the cross, and this time he really was dead. Instead of being found in the Temple, Mary and everyone else knew that His lifeless body could be found in a tomb, with a large rock covering the entrance and soldiers guarding to make sure that no one could steal the corpse.
But on the third day, the tomb was empty. Mary’s son – true man and true God – had risen from the dead. Jesus had been about His Father’s business, conquering sin and death so that His mother and His disciples and all peoples – you and me – could be forgiven of our sins.
Almost 200 years ago, a man by the name of John Newton wrote a poem entitled “Amazing Grace,” and today that poem is one of the all-time favorite hymns of the Christian church. And probably like you, my favorite words from that hymn go like this: “I once was lost, but now am found.” Although Jesus wasn’t really lost, Mary and Joseph thought that he was lost when they found Him in the Temple. But we have been lost. Our sins separated us from the Father who created us. We were lost to eternal damnation. Jesus Christ the good shepherd has sought us out – He has forgiven our sins – and through the work of the Holy Spirit, we have been brought to faith. Christians who have died before us have been brought to the glories and the wonders of Heaven. One day we will join them.
But until that time, we who have been found must be “in this” or “among the things” of the Father. In our Father’s house, we have our sins forgiven by the waters of Baptism, just as we saw this morning when Skylar Mary Hicks was Baptized. When we are in our Father’s house, we are being fed by the Word of God and by the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And since we have been redeemed – we have been forgiven – we have been saved – we have been found – we cannot help but spread this good news to others who have yet to be “found.” To others who do not share the precious faith that we share. To others who do not know Jesus. My prayer as you leave God’s house today is that those of us who are no longer lost will truly be about the Father’s business in everything we do and everything we say.
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