That Boy Child of Mary
The story in brief is this. Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for Passover. It was a long trip, and they stayed several days. When the festival was over, they started their journey back to Nazareth –– a three-day trip on foot.
Luke, who tells the story, says that they were in a caravan(v. 44). That makes sense, because many families would have gone from Nazareth to Jerusalem for Passover. It made sense to travel together. There was safety in numbers. Besides that, men enjoyed talking with other men –– and women enjoyed talking with each other –– and children enjoyed playing together along the way.
But at the end of the day –– after walking maybe 20 miles –– husbands and wives started looking for each other and parents started looking for children. Mary and Joseph searched and searched, but they couldn't find Jesus anywhere. You parents know how that feels. At first you're aggravated –– "Where is that kid!" Then you're worried. At some point panic sets in.
Once Mary and Joseph had scoured every corner of the caravan looking for Jesus, they realized that he just wasn't there –– so, tired and worried they began the long trip back to Jerusalem. Once they got to the big city, they continued their search. Luke says that it took them three days to find Jesus. Can you imagine how they felt!
Whenever I hear this story, I think of an incident which happened several years ago here in Columbia at EdVenture. Dawn and I had gone with the kids and three of the four went exploring inside of Eddie and we could only find two when they came out. Joseph was missing in action. You see it was my watch and Joseph had slipped out of the second floor exit. After calling security and locking the place down, we found little Joseph wandering about the upstairs exhibits engrossed in the different hands-on exhibits, truly at a loss to understand our anxiety at finding him missing.
Another thing that comes to mind when I hear this story of Jesus in the temple is,
"How could Mary and Joseph have gone a full day without looking for Jesus?" Were they negligent? The Bible clearly presents them as anything but. God chose them to be the parents of the Messiah, because God knew them to be good and faithful people. They just got caught up in the caravan –– caught up in talking with friends –– caught up in the business of putting one foot in front of another mile after mile. They knew that the children were having fun playing together along the way.
Things like that happen. They don't happen all the time, but they happen often enough –– and they happen even to good parents:
• One pastor when I was a kid, took his kids shopping one afternoon, came home and unloaded the groceries, and locked everything up – including the house. All the while the children sat in the heart until a neighbor rang the door bell.
• Or they leave their babies in a hot car while shopping –– and stay longer than they intended. Although unintended, this sad story often has an unhappy ending.
• Or they stop for a cup of coffee and forget to pick up the baby when they leave.
If it hasn't happened to you, it would be more appropriate to give thanks than to feel superior. The tougher your day, the more likely you are to make a mistake.
Mary and Joseph made a mistake. They didn't keep close enough tabs on Jesus. Too late, they found that he was not in the caravan. They walked back to Jerusalem to find him. And after three days, they found Jesus in the temple. The teachers were gathered around him. Luke tells us that Jesus was "listening to (the teachers) and asking them questions"(v. 46). Listening! Asking questions! Teachers love it when students listen! They love it when a student asks questions. It shows the student is learning –– is thinking!
Luke goes on to say:
"And all who heard (Jesus)
were amazed at his understanding
and his answers"(v. 47).
But Mary and Joseph weren't amazed at his understanding. They didn't see a boy filled with great wisdom. They saw a boy who had caused them great pain. Mary said:
"Child, why have you treated us like this?
Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety."
But, as Jewish teachers so often did, Jesus answered Mary's question with his own question:
"Why have you been searching for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (v. 50)
That's a cheeky response, isn't it –– impudent –– insolent! We expect better of Jesus. But it is also the point of this story. Jesus had always been known as Joseph's son. Now a transition was taking place. He had begun to understand that, even though his friends knew him as Joseph's son, his true identity was as God's son.
That's what Jesus meant by "my Father's house." He was in the temple ––God's house –– and God was his Father. He wanted Mary and Joseph to know that. As Luke wrote his Gospel, he wanted us to know that. Yes, Jesus was, in some sense, Joseph's son. But he was more truly God's son.
Jesus' identity as God's son would shape the rest of his life:
• Because Jesus was God's son, he would care about poor people and sick people.
• Because Jesus was God's son, he would expose the phony religiosity of the holy men of his day and would call people to true faithfulness.
• Because Jesus was God's son, he would die on a cross to save us from our sins.
We, too, are children of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-21; Galatians 3:26; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1, 10). It isn't that we are equal to Jesus. He was the son of God in a unique sense. But we are, nevertheless, sons and daughters of God –– created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27) –– legitimate sons and daughters of God –– heirs of the kingdom, joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29; Ephesians 3:6; Titus 3:7).
If we are the sons and daughters of God –– and we are –– that should shape our lives. It should determine how we will live day by day. If Jesus devoted much of his ministry to healing the sick and helping the poor, we should do the same. If Jesus spent much of his time teaching people the truth and calling them to true faithfulness, we should do the same. If Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself in our service, we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves in the service of God –– and in the service of other people.
And, if we live with the conviction that we are, indeed, children of God, that will change our lives.
