Luke 2:42–52
Now [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for Him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for Him.
After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when His parents saw Him, they were astonished. And His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been searching for You in great distress.”
And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them.
And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (ESV)
~Prayer~
I pray Thee, dear Lord Jesus, my heart to keep and train.
That I Thy holy temple from youth to age remain.
Turn Thou my thoughts forever from worldly wisdom’s lore;
If I but learn to know Thee, I shall not want for more. Amen.
What Matters
Dear Friends in Christ,
In our Epistle lesson this morning Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” There is a way the world thinks and a way that God thinks. They are opposed to each other. What the world wants for you is very different than what God wants for you. You and I both know this. Especially as we sit in church, we become very much aware of these realities. But do we always recognize this in our daily life?
Paul tells us we are to be transformed by the renewal of our mind so that we may discern the will of God. While God doesn’t give us exact directions for every decision in our lives, that doesn’t mean there aren’t biblical principles that guide us. For example, God doesn’t tell us the profession we should seek out. Yet, we know that we want to work so that we can take care of ourselves and families and support the church, and not do anything contrary to God’s Ten Commandments. We might not know if we should take a new job or not, but if it prevents us from attending a faithful church or will be spiritually harmful, those considerations should carry great weight. The world says make the most money and you will be happy. The Lord says to love him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. As we go about our life, whether it be who we marry, how we parent, what profession we seek, or the rest and leisure we choose—we should prayerfully consider if what we are doing is good and acceptable before God. How much trouble and heartache would we be spared if we just gave a moment to pray for God’s guidance and discernment before speaking or acting.
Our Gospel lesson for this morning is the only account recorded between our Savior’s infancy until the beginning of his public ministry at the age of 30. If this is the lone event the Holy Spirit considered important for us to know about Jesus’ childhood, then we would do well to pay attention to it. In our Gospel, Jesus shows us what matters. It is an important lesson for every parent and child, but really, every child of God.
Luke begins our lesson by explaining why Jesus and his parents were in Jerusalem. “Now [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.” Mary and Joseph are examples of faithful parents. They didn’t go to Jerusalem and the Temple when it was convenient, but when God instructed the people of Israel to go. They had come to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. The Passover was a festival that pointed to the past and to the future. The Feast of the Passover remembered how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The Lord had sent plague after plague upon Pharoah in Egypt, but he stubbornly refused to let the people of Israel go to worship the Lord. Therefore, the Lord sent his tenth and final plague, where the angel of death would come to kill the firstborn of every male child and animal in Egypt. However, to spare the Israelites, he instructed them to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and use the blood of the lamb to paint on their doorposts and lintels. When the angel of death went to the Israelite houses and saw the blood of the lamb, he would pass over their houses, preserving all those inside.
All the Israelites who trusted in the blood of the lamb were saved. And this is how the Feast of the Passover also pointed to the future—when the Lord would send a Savior, a perfect Lamb without blemish, who would shed his blood, so that anyone who believes in him, will be saved. When John the Baptizer later pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” all those who heard that would have understood that John was saying Jesus is the one—the Lamb—we have been waiting for! It’s no coincidence that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Feast of the Passover—where he gives us his body and blood to take away our sin so that death would pass over us. It’s also why we sing, “O Christ the Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,” right before we receive the Lord’s Supper in the communion liturgy.
After Mary and Joseph began their journey home, they soon realized that Jesus was not among their relatives and acquaintances. You can imagine the panic of any parent who loses their child. But how much more so for Mary given who Jesus was! So, they go back to Jerusalem to look for Jesus. Finally, after three days they find him in the temple we are told, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” Wouldn’t it have been amazing to see and hear Jesus conversing with the temple teachers? He showed himself to be no ordinary boy. As a human being, Jesus grew and learned the Scriptures. He understood them. He asked questions. He gave answers. What were they talking about? No doubt they were speaking about the Passover. Jesus was learning and speaking about the very blood he would have to shed as our Passover Lamb so that we could be saved from sin and death would pass over us. Even as a boy, Jesus understood his mission to save all people.
When Mary and Joseph saw this, they were astonished! Luke writes, “And His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been searching for You in great distress.’” Of course Mary was anxious. She hadn’t seen Jesus in three days! However, she had forgotten Jesus’ true purpose. Jesus reminds her who his true Father was. Not Joseph, but God. Jesus’ response was not rebellious, but true. It was his responsibility to be about his Father’s business. Through this great test, Mary was led to see God’s will. Jesus said, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” They didn’t understand. Jesus was keeping the first and greatest commandment, “You shall have no other gods.” By obeying God and studying his Word, Jesus was honoring his parents and keeping the fourth commandment.
The only account recorded for us during Jesus’ childhood teaches us the importance of attending to God’s Word and being in his house. Mary had to learn this lesson as all parents do. The most important thing you can do for your child isn’t storing up a great inheritance for them, making sure they are the best player on their team, that they attend the most prestigious school, or ensuring they get a successful job. The greatest gift you can give your child and the greatest responsibility you have toward them is to bring them to their heavenly Father’s house—so that they might learn about Jesus, the Passover Lamb who shed his blood to pay for your sins and mine, who rose triumphant on the third day so that this life would not be the end, but the beginning for those who have faith in Christ Jesus.
The things of this life are just things. They won’t last. They rot and decay. But Christ offers something that will never fade away. The forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He freely gives you a heavenly treasure, which moth and rust cannot destroy!
Children and young people can learn from Jesus’ example! If the perfect and all-knowing Son of God found it important to study the Bible—how much more so should you! Take your Sunday School lessons seriously. Study your Catechism which teaches you the chief doctrines and teachings you should know. We should want to know it by heart. But the Catechism is also for adults—it’s not a textbook which you get rid of after a class, but a book for life—so that you can know God’s commandments, how he saved you, how you are to pray, and how you receive the forgiveness of sins which we desperately need.
But why does God want us to know his Word? Why does he want us to love him above all things? Why does he want us in church on Sunday mornings? Because he loves us and wants us to be saved. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. The Word is our best defense against the devil and his lies. The means of grace bring us the forgiveness that Jesus won on the cross and strengthen our faith in him!
An early church father once said, “You cannot have God as your Father if you do not have the Church as your Mother.” The church isn’t a building. It’s God’s people gathered around his Word and Sacraments. Mary searched for three days and couldn’t find Jesus. But when she went to the temple, she found him. If we want to find Jesus, you need to go to where he can be found. If you find the Church where God’s Word is rightly preached and his sacraments properly administered—you will find Jesus.
And we need him. No parent has done a perfect job. You have had misplaced priorities, exasperated your children, and sinned. No child has perfectly honored their parents. You’ve ignored the people God has placed over you, gotten angry, and rebelled. No person has kept God’s law. We are poor sinners who are deserving of hell. But in Jesus, we find someone who has kept God’s Law perfectly for us. He loved God above all things. He gladly heard and learned the Word. He honored his parents. He loved his neighbor, showing compassion and love. “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Jesus did this so that he could sacrifice his life on the cross as the Lamb without blemish, so that he could take our sins away. So that death and hell would pass over us and we could be saved. What love! What mercy! What sacrifice!
The greatest blessing of this life is to be able to share this good news with others. Parents share it with their children. Children share it with their siblings and with their parents. You all share it with one another as you sing the hymns, sing the liturgy, and confess your faith. The world asks, “Why are you here? Why are you wasting your time?” Well, we find this time worthwhile, because it is laying the foundation for our eternal home. We know that Jesus has taught us with this example—that being in our Father’s house and learning his word and receiving his gifts is what matters in this life.
Sometimes I have heard from faithful mothers that they don’t get much done on Sundays. But I have reminded them—that they did what really matters—bringing their kids to church so that they can learn about their heavenly Father. The laundry might not have been moved, the dishes might not all be washed, but you were where God wanted you to be on Sunday morning. That’s what matters.
The older I have gotten the more I have realized that many people feel like they have not accomplished what they could have or lived up to their potential. My dad would sometimes say, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.” But another way you could put it is— “Don’t let the temporary be the enemy of the eternal.” Concern yourself with the eternal things as a parent, child, and Christian. These are what truly matter. May we also treasure up all these things in our hearts. Amen.