Jesus Left Behind at the Temple

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Wednesday May 29, 2024}

Luke 2:41-52

Father, we learn from this passage of the only recorded event from Jesus’ childhood. His family regularly traveled to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover (Exodus 12:14, Leviticus 23). However, the trip to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 (approximately 8 AD) was different from all the rest. As in other years, the family made the round trip in a caravan of other friends and family from Nazareth. It is a safe assumption to make that at least a few of Jesus’ six siblings were born by this date and Joseph and Mary had their hands full. They likely asked other adults to keep an eye on Jesus so that they could focus their attention on the younger children.

At the end of the first full day on the return trip, Joseph and Mary discovered Jesus was not in the caravan. There was only one place He could be - Jerusalem. They rushed back to the city and searched for Jesus for three days. Mary must have been an emotional wreck and the tension between father and mother must have been great. They were not thinking clearly enough to consider the most logical place for Jesus to be - listening to and asking questions of the teachers in the synagogue. Mary was upset with Jesus, believing that Jesus had maliciously caused His parents grief. In essence, Mary accused Jesus of a rebellious and disobedient heart (Exodus 20:12). How can she accuse Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, of sin? Father, I suspect Mary got caught up in the things of this world, which included raising a large family of children. She may have strayed from the truth that her Son was the promised Messiah.

Jesus corrected His mother without dishonoring her. “Where else would I be but the temple? My first love is to learn everything I can about My Father in heaven and the prophecies about My mission on earth. You should know that by now.”

The text tells us that Jesus humbled Himself, respected His parents, and went home with them at their command. The passage also tells us that Mary once again treasured “all these things”, that is the entire experience of raising the Son of God. Jesus grew in wisdom and stature in the community, earning the respect and favor of both God (“Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind”) and man (“Love your neighbor as yourself”). Jesus put into practice in His childhood the greatest commandment He taught His disciples in His ministry (Mark 12:29-31). Amen.