Luke 2:41-42
[Lk 2:41] Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. [42] When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. (NAS)

The Feast of the Passover

There were three times every year that all Jewish males within fifteen miles of the temple were required to go to Jerusalem, these commanded were spelled out by God in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy:

Exodus 23:14-17
[Ex 23:14] "Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. [15] "You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. [16] "Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. [17] "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD."

Deuteronomy 16:16
[Dt 16:16] "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed."

The particular feast that Luke describes here is the Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread). The origin of this feast dates back to when God, through Moses, released His people from slavery to Pharaoh:

Exodus 12:21-36
[Ex 12:21] Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. [22] "You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

[23] "For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. [24] "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. [25] "When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. [26] "And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?' [27] you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.' " And the people bowed low and worshiped.

[28] Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

[29] Now it came about at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. [30] Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. [31] Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. [32] "Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also."

[33] The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, "We will all be dead." [34] So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders.

[35] Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; [36] and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

We can see that it was the custom of Jesus' family to attend the Passover feast in Jerusalem. It was a lengthy walk (app. 70 miles or 113 kilometers) and it was quite an expensive proposition to worship at the temple. However, what Luke shows us in chapter two is a family that diligently followed the "habits of communal faith."

Verses 21 - 40 tell us that Mary and Joseph adhered to all the traditions of parenting a Jewish child:

1. He was circumcised on the eighth day after birth [Lev 12:3]. This ceremony celebrated the difference between the Jew and the Gentile and marked the unique relationship between God and the Jews.

2. He was taken to Jerusalem for the Redemption of the Firstborn. In this act, the parents acknowledged that the firstborn belonged to God and needed to be "bought back" through a sacrifice by the mother and father [Ex 13:2, 11-16; Num 18:15-16].

3. Purification of the Mother. A mother was ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple for 40 days after the birth of a son and 80 days after the birth of a daughter. At that time wealthy parents would offer a lamb and a dove for the mother's purification. A poor family could offer two pigeons, which is what Mary and Joseph offered. However, these offerings still had to be declared pure by the priests, a practice which lent itself to official abuse.

Despite the costs and the tremendous commitment of time, Mary and Joseph adhered to the traditions of the faith. There is an important, yet subtle grace apparent here. Although Jesus was born into an obscure and working class family, he did not lack in tradition. Perhaps one of greatest gift his earthly parents gave him was the deep sense of faithful tradition that Judaism has to offer.

Do we realize that this is one of our greatest gifts to our children as well? Long after we are gone, our children will remember our habits and our traditions. They will remember the way that we celebrate Christmas and Easter, and also, they will remember evening prayers at family meals, attending a faith-based community on Sunday, and acts of service that the family shares in together. Faith and traditions are two of the greatest gifts we can choose for our children and grandchildren.

Even more, the only time that a parent can really pick a child's friends is during the first eight to ten years of their lives. The child who is raised in the arms of a compassionate church with caring adults and a healthy Sunday School/Youth Outreach is far less likely to slip into drugs or anti-social behavior. In fact, a study by Case Western University under the direction of John DiAiellio, found that the three primary actions a father could take to keep his children off drugs were:

1. Eat dinner with his family;

2. Do homework with his children; and

3. Take his children to church.

Jesus was raised among the most common people, but he was given the richest of traditions to start his life.

Luke 2:43-47
[43] After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. [44] Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. [45] When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. [46] After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. [47] Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. (NAS)

After three days they found him

It is not that unusual that Jesus would be lost among the crowds at the temple or overlooked among the pilgrims on the way home. It wasn't even unusual that a twelve-year-old would not be panicked about being left behind (this was a culture oriented towards care of the stranger and one in which children were given great responsibilities at an early age). What was unusual was that Jesus didn't even set out after his parents. He was completely "at home" where he was left (or more aptly, had stayed).

In addition, Jesus was at a "tween" age, half adult/half child. A male child could walk with the women (in the front of the group) or with the men who came last. To deter robbers, these groups were very large and could be spread over a substantial distance. We must remember that Jerusalem would swell by up to 300,000 people on the feast days (in particular, the Passover).

Mary and Joseph were not careless parents unconcerned with Jesus. In fact, this tells us more about the culture in which they lived. One in which children were not preyed upon and parents were more secure in the adults of their community. In fact, what could be more definitive of the Hebrew concept of temple [GSN1005 bayith], than the picture in this story? Prior to the term being used in reference to a building, church or temple is described as a family. It was, in the strictest sense, a place where children could be raised in the faith and in the safety of a compassionate community. However, even the term "place" is deceptive, for the Hebrews were formed by God as nomads under Abraham and Moses. Family was the body of people you journeyed with under God's direction. Long before church was a dedicated place, it was a dedicated people.

Sitting among the teachers

This is a very contradictory verse; something we wouldn't catch with a quick overview. First of all, there is Jesus as the respectful student. Jesus was, "listening to them and asking them questions." He was not a precocious brat who disrespected his elders.

However, Jesus stood out even as a 12-year-old. "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers."

What we see is the wisest of men being formed. As a boy, Jesus was neither afraid to ask questions and listen or respectfully share his understanding. As a result of his respectful demeanor we learn a huge amount about the "child Jesus" who was becoming the "young man Jesus."

In particular, Luke is told that when Mary and Joseph found Jesus, he was "seated among the teachers." That is a huge revelation about the Lord's temperament. For, without a doubt there were men present who had been studying the Torah for years that would long for such a privileged seat.

Teachers of the Law sat (instead of stood) when it was time to teach. The fact that Jesus was allowed to sit among them was not a thing he could invite himself to do. He could only be invited by others, by the teacher's themselves, who were, "amazed at his understanding and his answers."

To be amazed [GSN1839 existemi] was the same as literally saying, "knocked on your rear", or "stopped in your tracks." This was the impact of Jesus' understanding of Scripture.

Understanding [GSN4907 sunesis] meant more than knowledge, it also meant, "to run things together." It was a term used symbolically of making two headstrong horses pulling a chariot respond as if they were but one animal.

Jesus, even as a boy on the verge of manhood, had the amazing ability to make God's plan fit with people's daily lives: To unite knowledge with application, wisdom with compassion, and make them run as one horse.

Do my words have the same effect? Have I sought that gift from the Holy Spirit? So that, no matter whom I am with, the Gospel makes simple sense in their life?

"Lord, give me that courage. To move beyond words that are really designed to impress or even confuse other (so as to pretend to make me seem brilliant). Help me embrace a servant's heart so that the few words I speak encourage the weary heart."

Isaiah 50:4
[Isa 50:4] The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

Luke 2:48-52
[48] When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

[49] "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" [50] But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

[51] Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. [52] And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (NAS)

"Son, why have you treated us like this?"

It had been twelve years since our Lord's birth. Perhaps two years were spent in Bethlehem and another three to six more in Egypt (until the death of Herod the Great in 4BC). So, the period in which Mary and Joseph's had finally returned to their familial home of Nazareth was but a few years. Still, like all of us, they seemed to have settled quickly and deeply into mundane patterns. A few unchallenged years and they were feeling like a normal family.

However, they were not normal. They were raising the King's child; they bore responsibilities beyond the "normal." Perhaps they wanted to forget it, who could blame them after the ordeals they had already faced? Yet, in forgetting this fact, these two parents were "astonished and anxious" when Jesus began to assert himself at twelve. The actual words are ekplesso [GSN1605] and odunao [GSN3600], together they mean to "agonize and panic."

I am amazed at my own weakness and how easily I "agonize with panic" when God begins a deep work in my life. I struggle too, wanting to go back to the normal, the comfortable, and the mundane. Like Mary and Joseph, I get comfortable with the infant Jesus and struggle when the teenage Jesus starts to assert himself in my life. Am I really ready for Jesus to assert himself in my life? Am I ready to move from a docile relationship with the cute baby in swaddling clothes to the Jesus who must turn the tide against sin entrenched in my life and this world?

Am I really ready for a grown-up Jesus in my life?

"Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

The spring of Jesus' twelfth year would be very different, not only for Jesus but for his entire family. On the twelfth year of any Jewish male's life they moved from being a son of their parents to a Son of the Law (Bar Mitzvah). It was the year when Jesus moved from being the official son of Joseph to a Son of the Law. It was critical for Mary and Joseph to know that Jesus didn't belong to them; he belonged to God. Jesus puts Mary and Joseph on alert with the simple but frank statement; "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" It was perhaps the gentlest way that Jesus could firmly say, "I don't belong to you."

How many times has Jesus had to say that to me?

· As a follower;

Jesus has to continually remind me that I am most a servant when I am least in control. I, like Mary and Joseph, may think that Jesus is lost, but he sure didn't think so. When I finally find him, he is exactly where he is supposed to be. Am I where Jesus is supposed to be or where I want him to be? I have to keep reminding myself; "He's not the one who is lost."

· As a parent or leader;

My children and my flock don't really belong to me. My role is to solely and completely point them to God, raising them with the sole intent of turning them loose. Am I ever mindful of preparing them to be Christ-centered in a Christ-hostile world? Am I ever mindful of John the Baptist's statement; "He must increase, but I must decrease [John 3:30]."

Jesus was giving his parents a velvet-covered brick. It would hurt to hear what he had to say, but it would "hurt good." A good parent doesn't find joy in a child's dependence but in watching them make tough choices and recover from tough odds. Does that define my parenting or shepherding?

· As a church or denomination?

How easily we begin think that Jesus plays on my team and forget that we're just one player on his. How often we find churches like a circle of wagons shooting "in," too parochial to see the prophetic. It must wound Jesus to see us so at war with each other that we can't be a witness to the world. Jesus is not interested in my theology but my compassion. He isn't concerned over my denomination but by my mercy and justice. He's tired of me defending the faith; he wants to see me practice it.

To be Christian means to quit trying to own Jesus and let him own my heart, mind and soul.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them

This verse always amazes me. The greatest minds in the Jewish world were in Jerusalem and Jesus was seated among them. He could have stayed. There were plenty of teachers who would make room for such a brilliant lad. He would have been raised as one the greatest minds in human history, far greater than David or Solomon. He might have even been an advisor to the family of Herod or Caiaphas.

Instead, he went back to Nazareth, back to a commoner's life, back to an obscure family to learn about God through the struggles of a common man. The option for elitism would have been there for Jesus, but he chose the life of the working poor. He became like the least among us:

II Corinthians 8:9
[2Co 8:9] For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. (NAS)

Hebrews 5:9
[Heb 5:9] And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, (NAS)

And Jesus didn't go back to the obscurity of Nazareth moping. In fact, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men [52]."

My question is will I ever be as mature as this 12-year-old boy? Last Saturday I gave a eulogy for a woman whose parent's wouldn't take her to church on Sundays. At the age of eight, she began to bundle herself up and walk to church alone. She finally "won permission" to take her younger siblings with her. Every Sunday morning, she would take on the role of parent, dressing all the kids up and marching them to church for worship. Her younger brother went on to become a missionary, he would lead others souls to Christ much the same as his sister led him. She preceded him into God's arms, yet in my mind I've no doubt he was the one who walked beside her on her last journey before the King.

Our choices often lie between pursuing the cushioned comfort of the privileged life or seeking Christ among the most common? Let's ask ourselves, WWJ-12-D? What Would the 12-year-old Jesus Do?