When Jesus was twelve years old,
they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to
Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among
the other travelers. But when he didn’t
show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and
friends. When they couldn’t find
him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the
Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking
questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and
his answers. His parents didn’t
know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to
us? Your father and I have been frantic,
searching for you everywhere.” “But
why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t
you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they didn’t understand what he meant. Luke
2:42-50 (NLT)
Raising a son like Jesus could not have been a boring
experience..
Jesus' mother and father must certainly have been confused at times. On
his first to Jerusalem as a boy, Jesus stayed behind when his parents left. When they finally realized he was not in
camp, they retraced their steps and caught up with him at the temple.
The elders were sitting with their chins scraping the
ground in amazement. Jesus was teaching
the teachers, the religious elite of Israel.
They'd never heard such wisdom, especially
from a boy. Mary and Joseph were also
amazed, worried and confused. Jesus
seemed to treat it lightly; “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s
house?”
We would be tempted to say that Jesus confused
them. However, it is more accurate to
say they were
confused. It is also more in line with Scripture;
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
saints.[1]
Trace the life of Jesus backward from the temple
incident about 10 years. See Jesus as a
two-year-old, toddling around the carpenter's shop. Watch as he nears the bench where Joseph is
putting together a chair – one of eight for a large order from a rich
merchant. Inquisitively, Jesus begins to
pick up one of Joseph's sharp woodcarving knives. Jesus…son…No! Don't touch those...they will hurt you. Can you see the face of Jesus as he looks at
his father, looks back at the knife, smiles ever so demonically and sticks his
tongue at Joseph?
Can you see the Christ child stomping his feet and
saying NO! Of course you
cannot.
Even though Jesus was a two-year-old at one point, he
never acted like one. Certainly he had
to learn language and to like green beans; he had diaper issues too. Jesus did not however, have sin or Adam’s seed of
rebellion.
Therein is the root of the confusion for Mary, Joseph,
and the rest of us humans; Mary and Joseph, like you and I, expect two-year-olds and
twelve-year-olds (and fifty-year-olds) to be rebellious, selfish and
self-absorbed.
Jesus never was any of that; the confusion was (and
is) ours.
We expect
things to go wrong – to see hatred, envy, planes fly into Trade Centers and
Pentagons. That is the nature of a
fallen world. When we see Jesus who is love,
joy, peace, gentleness, goodness – it confuses us.
For You Today
As a believer, your purpose and call is to follow
Christ and be His disciple.
Remember, the world will not understand. They will be as confused as Mary and Joseph
and the temple elders.
But the confusion is theirs – be about your Father's
business anyway!
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