Luke 2:41-52 - Twelve-Year-Old Jesus - January 3, 2021

For people like us, people who are deeply interested in the life of our Savior, Jesus – there’s one thing that can be somewhat disappointing: compared to many far less important historical figures – even other Biblical figures – Jesus’ biography is exceptionally short. So short, in fact, that we recite nearly all of it every Sunday in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds. Jesus lived for 33 years on this earth. His life is recorded in the four Gospels. We are given a fairly extensive overview the last three years of his life: his public ministry, his suffering, death and the days following his resurrection. But out of the 89 chapters in those books, only four (Matthew 1 & 2, Luke 1 & 2) give us any insight into the first 30 years of his life.

As Jesus’ disciples, that might leave us hungering for more. Wouldn’t you love to know what kind of child Jesus was? Did He go to bed before his parents told him? Did he ask for extra vegetables at supper? What about his education? Did he know the answer before his teacher asked the question? Did his classmates resent him? How did he handle adolescence? When he joined his father, Joseph, in the carpentry business, was he exempt from the rule of measuring twice and cutting once? As a 20 something, was he a first century Jeff Bezos: did he grow his father’s business into the hottest thing since unleavened bread? Wouldn’t it be helpful for us to know more about Jesus’ life before his public ministry; wouldn’t it be filled with countless examples of how to do life right?

Since the first century AD, many authors have set out to satisfy those desires. One of the more famous is the Gospel of Thomas which contains all sorts of bizarre stories from Jesus’ childhood. (However, this Gospel dates no earlier than the 2nd century AD and was most certainly not written by Thomas.) But there are other, more modern authors who undertake the attempt to make Jesus into more of a practical example than Savior. You can find their ideas on Amazon and YouTube. They make Jesus into little more than a social justice warrior, a radical reformer, a model of leadership, a wise teacher, a marriage counselor, etc. These notions may sound good and helpful, the problem is that you won’t find Jesus as any of these things in the inspired Word of God. God didn’t give us his Word to satisfy our curiosity but to save our souls (John 20:31). So today, instead of speculating about the things we don’t know about Jesus’ life, we’re going to stick to the words of Luke’s Gospel and learn why he wanted us to know about this incident in his Son’s life.

The story itself is pretty straightforward, but it’s helpful to briefly review the background. Every year his parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Festival. Every culture has its traditions and customs, but this was different. In Deuteronomy 16 the Lord commanded: Three times a year all of your males are to present themselves before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, at the Festival of Weeks, and at the Festival of Shelters. (Deuteronomy 16:16) Jesus’ parents were devoted believers. Even though the law didn’t command Mary to attend these Feasts, she did. As for Jesus, we can’t know for sure whether he attended the feasts prior to this. But the fact that he attended this Passover Feast is important – because at the age of twelve a Jewish boy was considered a ben hathora, a son of the Law, and became responsible for keeping the ceremonial aspects of the Law of Moses. Now, the age of twelve wasn’t prescribed anywhere in God’s Law, it was simply Jewish tradition – thus we have no reason to establish 12 or any other age as the age at which a child suddenly becomes accountable to God.

As the story continues, think about where you would point the finger of blame. When the days had ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it. Since they thought he was in their group, they went a day’s journey. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. Who do parents blame when their children get lost? Their children. But as parents, we know better. We know that children are our responsibility. We know that when we lose track of them – it’s our fault. And that’s exactly the conclusion that Luke leads us to with his emphasis on Mary and Joseph’s lack of unawareness, presumption, and failure to check on Jesus. Maybe it sounds cruel to blame Mary and Joseph for losing the Son of God, but according to Luke, that’s what happened.

That Jesus was totally innocent in this situation is emphasized when we see where He was: not at the market drooling over the latest toy or with the other 12-year-olds playing pin the tail on the donkey. No, he’s in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Don’t picture Jesus standing on the broad temple steps, teaching hundreds of people. Rather, picture him in one of the surrounding areas, maybe a smaller classroom-type area, where the Jewish men and rabbis gathered to discuss Scripture. But even though Jesus’ goal wasn’t to amass an audience, that’s exactly what he got, because all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. It is amazing, although perhaps, for us, in a little different way. How does the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6) ask and answer question from sinful, human teachers? How can the Creator of everything learn anything (John 1:1-4)? How can the perfect Son of God grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people? It’s utterly beyond our comprehension.

But more important than how is why. Why did the holy, sinless Son of God have to go to Jerusalem for the Passover and spend an additional three days learning in the temple courts? We aren’t the first ones to ask that question: when his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? See, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” Mary seems to be on to something there, doesn’t she? Wasn’t Jesus obligated to honor and obey his parents as part of the 4th commandment? Well, yes! And he was – as his response demonstrates: Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be taking care of my Father’s business? We’ve already established that Jesus was perfectly innocent in regard to his being left behind in Jerusalem – that was his parent’s fault. But did you notice how Jesus cut right to the chase? It wasn’t really about him being lost or Mary and Joseph’s neglect. It wasn’t even about where Jesus was but what he was doing. By studying and learning and growing in his knowledge of Scripture, Jesus was obeying the 4th commandment: he was obeying his heavenly Father. Luke tells us that they did not understand what he was telling them. Do we?

Do we understand why Jesus had to be in the temple carrying out his Father’s business? Why he had to leave there and always be obedient to his parents? We’ll take the second question first. Most of us here have already experienced life as a twelve-year-old. I don’t know about you, but for me, most of it is a blur of school, grades, sports, getting into trouble, trying to get out of trouble, piano lessons, and countless other growing pains. I certainly did not spend my days in deep discussions of God’s Word and church was often the last place I wanted to be. I was not the perfect 12-year-old. Were you? Our nation’s laws and culture have conditioned us to think that children are not responsible for their actions – that for some reason, nothing you do before the age of 18 should count. But before God, that’s not true. The Ten Commandments apply to the one day old infant and the 90 year old great grandmother equally. Every time you and I talked back to our parents or cheated on a test or fought with our friends – we broke God’s Law and earned his eternal anger. And, apart from Jesus, we are still liable to pay for those sins with eternal death in hell. Jesus had to be in the temple that day, obeying the 3rd and 4th commandments perfectly in order to save us from our sins.

But there’s an even deeper, more profound answer to why we need this account; one that can be illustrated by our thoughts and actions during this past Advent and Christmas season. Did you eagerly take every opportunity to be here in God’s house to gladly hear and learn God’s Word over the past month – or did you place work and family and rest over and above God? Did you come, but only grudgingly – questioning why we need to have so many services? And I’m not just pointing a finger here; I’ll confess that I wasn’t always glad to be writing and preaching twice as often as usual. But how does that explain why Jesus had to be taking care of [his] Father’s business in the temple? Simple: because we haven’t. We haven’t – not as 12 year olds, not as 72 year olds – recognized that our obligation to God is far more important than our obligation to our families and friends and traditions and rest and relaxation. The fact that we haven’t taken care of our Father’s business, that we make up reasons not to, that often we really don’t want to, reveals that 12 year old Jesus possessed three things we won’t possess until heaven: perfect fear, perfect love, and perfect trust in God. Jesus was in the temple those days because his will was perfectly in line with his Father’s; he wanted only what his Father wanted and never wanted anything except why his Father willed. In that way this incident isn’t really about the 3rd commandment but the 1st – Jesus feared, loved and trusted his Father perfectly – and demonstrated it by his life – because we haven’t.

And so while it might be tempting to apply this account as nothing more than an example of what God expects and demands in the 3rd and 4th commandments; that’s not really what this text is about. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke is showing us that from the moment of his birth, through tween and teen and adolescent years and into adulthood, Jesus feared, loved and trusted God perfectly. Even set aside the full use of his power and glory, his wisdom and strength, to be born and to experience growing up as boy; even though he faced every challenge, every temptation, every excuse not to do his Father’s will – he did it, and not just as a twelve year old boy in the temple but as a thirty year old man who offered himself up to death on a cross. And he did it for you and for me – because we haven’t and we can’t.

We call this Jesus’ active obedience. And here is what gives us joy even as the lights and gifts of Christmas fade: before you were born, before you could ever decide to obey God, before you were ever taught one of the 10 Commandments – Jesus obeyed them for you. Even though we never asked for it, wanted it, or knew we needed his perfect life – Jesus lived it for us. And when he took us by the hand to the waters of Baptism – he said to you “here, dear brother or sister, here is my perfect life, the life my Father demands of you – take it as my free gift.” When we think back to being twelve years old – or twelve hours ago – we can hardly claim innocence and perfection. But because of Jesus, when God sees your 12 or 32 or 62 year old self – he see only the perfectly obedient life his Son lived and freely gave to you. And in a few minutes, Jesus will come to you with his true body and blood to assure you that now, for his sake, you, too, have God’s favor.

That is why Luke included this story in his gospel. That is what sustains our Christmas joy even as the others parts of the season begin to fade. That is why Jesus went to the Passover. That is why He stayed behind at the temple. That is why he was studying God’s Word. That is why he returned to Nazareth as an obedient son. That is why Mary treasured up all these things in her heart. He was conceived and born, he grew and obeyed, he suffered, he died, he rose, and he rules – for you. Amen.