Luke 2:41–52

This is another testimony to the devotion of Mary and her husband, and it may be that this is why the fact is noted. It does not even say whether Mary took the child Jesus with her on these occasions. Scripture adds not a word to satisfy human curiosity. It gives only what serves the object the Spirit of God has in view. All of it is divinely perfect, because every word of Scripture expresses divine wisdom. Indeed, the fact stated in verse 41 is only the introduction to the incident that follows.

Verse 41 notes that Joseph and Mary made a practice of going to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast. Their poor circumstances did not hinder this important occasion. Nor was it a short, easy journey, but about a three or four day trip each way on foot or donkey. What a reproof to Christians who make many excuses for not attending gatherings and conferences of the people of God!

In the days of our blessed Lord it was the opposite. We find the people keeping all the set feasts, as the law required (Ex. 23:17). The men went up three times a year to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem, and a great many of the women and children went as well (Luke 2:41). Scribes and teachers of the law were everywhere, and there was hardly a town without its synagogue.

He goes back to Nazareth and is subject to His parents. Scripture uses that word of Joseph as well as Mary, recognising the place of responsibility he held. There was absorption in His Father's business and subjection to those in the place of earthly responsibility.

Jesus is subject to Joseph as His father, though His own ground of conduct lay altogether beyond that claim. But it was never a matter of feeling when the claim was in exercise for His service, as One sent and come into the world in grace.

It is this, their yearly visit to Jerusalem, that accounts for their being at Bethlehem when the Magi came up from the East. The wise men certainly did not arrive right after the Babe was born. It can hardly be doubted that it was on one of their later regular visits. They not only went up to Jerusalem; as we can understand, they also turned aside to Bethlehem. That town now had more than ever the deepest interest in their eyes, as the birthplace of the Child given to them — the Messiah.

Verse 41 notes that Joseph and Mary made a practice of going to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast. Their poor circumstances did not hinder this important occasion. Nor was it a short, easy journey, but about a three or four day trip each way on foot or donkey. What a reproof to Christians who will make many excuses for not attending gatherings and conferences of the people of God!

The Lord would now be a "son of the Law" after "confirmation." He would begin to wear fringes and tassels. He was also now required to attend the festivals at Jerusalem (Ex. 23:14 ff., Deut. 16:16).

This was the age at which a Jewish child began to come up to Jerusalem for the festivals. Here, no doubt, the schools of the greater Rabbis were open to Him for the first time. How strongly the teaching and the discussions of Israel's spiritual leaders must have drawn Him — the very men He would stand toward so differently later on!

We are still walking with Christ inside Jewish hopes; that is, as a Man the grace or favour of God was upon Him... He is a Man, and Scripture speaks of Him as such. Those around Him keep within the limits of His manhood, and so treat Him as a Jew, according to their place. It says: "His parents," and "according to the law," and "the custom of the feast."

This is just the age when a boy usually has neither the simplicity of a child nor the tested good sense of a man. Yet here we find Jesus so occupied. Boys of the same age were no doubt set on their games, or on feeding their curiosity in such a city, wasting the most valuable time of all — time that never comes back... But Jesus was lowly and filled with wisdom at the same time. He used the golden opportunity. He sat among the teachers, listening to them (a proof of His humility) and asking them questions (a proof of His interest in the Scriptures).

Twelve years passed by, and Scripture mentions only two things about this whole period... One of them is that His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover. This is another testimony to the godliness of Mary and her husband, and that may be why the fact is noted. Scripture does not even say whether Mary took the child Jesus with her on these occasions. Not a word is added to satisfy human curiosity. We are given only what the purpose of the Spirit of God requires. All is perfect, because every word of Scripture expresses the wisdom of God.

All that time He was under the law, growing up like a pure sheaf of grain, the only pure sheaf of human fruit... One unbroken delight rested on Him from the manger to the cross — perfect delight in the mind of God. That delight might change its character, but never its measure. There was not a single flaw in it from first to last... He was just as perfect growing up in subjection to His parents as He was when the temple veil was torn.

Jewish records suggest that twelve was the age when a Jewish youth became old enough to take up his own responsibilities before God. A boy who had reached this age was called "son of the law," and only then did he come under legal obligations. Whatever the case, we are told that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem when He was twelve. The account points His age out on purpose, and that must mean something. What happened at the feast is not recorded. Instead our attention goes to Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem when Joseph and Mary set off home.

The Authorized Version usually translates this word as "patience." J. N. Darby's New Translation has "endurance." The Greek word originally meant "remaining behind." It comes from the verb "I remain behind," and that is how Luke 2:43 renders it.

There is no more morally attractive sight anywhere, even in God's Word. At just that age a boy usually has neither the simplicity of a child nor the tested good sense of a man. Yet here we find Jesus busy like this. Others of the same age were no doubt set on their play, or on satisfying their curiosity in such a city. They were wasting the most valuable time of all, time that never returns. Soon the rush of human life begins, with the great struggle in which so many lose themselves. But Jesus was found lowly and at the same time filled with wisdom. He used the golden opportunity. He sat among the teachers and listened to them, which proves His humility, and He asked them questions, which proves His interest in the Scriptures.

It may seem strange that Joseph and Mary had not made sure a twelve-year-old child was with them. They did not miss Him until they had gone a day's journey. Clearly they took His presence for granted. He had proved dependable to them in every respect, so they supposed He would be in the company. But they were certainly not enjoying His company. He is so faithful. So let us not simply take His presence with us for granted, but cultivate the fellowship of His company. Their neglect cost them two days of travel as well as three days of searching for Him. We too will find that a lack of closeness with the Lord costs us something.

Failing to find Him among their relatives and friends, they turned back to Jerusalem to look for Him. For three days they searched, anxious and distressed in heart. God surely arranged this. Until the "child Jesus" had done His Father's will, nothing could interrupt Him.

He was not yet anointed by the Holy Spirit. Yet He was perfect man and true God, the child of Mary, and subject not only to her but to her husband — in law, His father. The incident shows His perfection as a child feeding on the word of God. It shows just as clearly His awareness that He was the Son of God, far beyond anything Joseph or Mary thought. And with that it shows His subjection to them, "His parents," in that human place He had come down to from divine glory, in a love no less divine.

The numbers going up to worship must have been at times very large. This is plain from Luke 2:44… The many little companies meeting each other would greatly increase the whole crowd as they came near the city of the feasts.

It may seem strange that Joseph and Mary had not made sure that a twelve-year-old child was with them. They did not miss Him until they had gone a day's journey. Clearly they had taken His presence for granted. He had proved dependable to them in every way, so they supposed He would be in the company. But they were certainly not enjoying His company. He is so faithful. So let us not just take His presence for granted, but build up real fellowship with Him. Their neglect cost them two days of travel besides three days of searching for Him. We too will find that lack of communion with the Lord will cost us something.

It was only natural that they supposed He was in the company. So they made a day's journey without worry. But then they failed to find Him among their relatives and acquaintances, and they turned back to Jerusalem to seek Him. For three days they searched with anxiety and distress of heart. God surely arranged this. The "child Jesus" could not be interrupted until He had done His Father's will.

What was the reason they had sought Him? If God's will had been their concern, they would have been led straight to Him. Did they not realize that He would be occupied with His Father's interests? … Did they expect Him to want only the company of other children at such a time, with no interest in the temple, the very center of Israel's interests? … This should have been the first place they looked for Him.

If He had acted on His rights, He was the Lord of that temple… But no. He, the Master, is found there as a disciple of the Word of God. He does not set that Word aside for Himself. Instead He seeks the good of that Word, which was on the lips of these teachers.

The enjoyment of the presence of Christ may be lost in a moment; it may, and often does, take days to recover it. Forgiveness, on confession of sin, is immediate; but the restoration of communion can only be gradual, and a work of time.

A more attractive sight morally there is nowhere even in God's Word. At this age a boy usually has neither the simplicity of a child nor the tested good sense of a man. Yet this is how we find Jesus. Others of the same age were no doubt set on their play, or on feeding their curiosity in such a city. They were wasting the most valuable time, which never comes back. But Jesus was lowly and filled with wisdom at once, and He used the golden opportunity. He sat among the teachers and heard them — a proof of His humility. He asked them questions — a proof of His interest in the Scriptures.

Literally teachers; also called doctors, or teachers of the law. They were men who gave themselves to the study and teaching of the Jewish law.

Had He acted on His rights, He was the Lord of that temple. He might have taken up the word of Malachi, which testified of His coming there in power and glory. He might have claimed, as Jehovah, to "suddenly come to His temple." "But who can endure the day of His coming?" … But no. He, the Master, is found there as the disciple of the Word of God. He did not set that Word aside for Himself. Instead He would gain from that Word which was on the lips of these teachers. It was, after all, His Father's Word: so He hears them and asks them questions… His questions led to the showing of divine truth.

He was making no display of His knowledge. He took the place that suited a twelve-year-old, gladly listening to the explanations of the teachers and asking them questions… Butter stands for the Word of God made good to the soul through exercise. It is the Word itself. Honey stands for the ministry of the Word. The worker bees gather and digest it, then give it for the good of the whole hive. It is what believers gather to share with others. What the learned teachers gave of the law that was really from God was honey, and the Lord received it. But the butter came first — God's own Word made good to the soul in personal exercise. If the blessed Son of Man needed this, how deeply we need both the Word itself and the ministry of the Word, so that we may tell good from evil and choose the good.

They could not find Him among their relatives and friends, so they turned back to Jerusalem to look for Him. For three days their search filled them with worry and distress of heart. God surely arranged this. Nothing could interrupt the "child Jesus" until He had done His Father's will.

Why did they have to look for Him at all? If their hearts had been set on the will of God, it would have led them straight to Him… Most children of that age would have little interest in the temple and in the learning of the teachers of the law. But did they not expect Him to care deeply about it? This should have been the first place they looked for Him. It was His first chance to ask the learned men about matters of the highest importance.

Though He was the Son of God and fully conscious of it, He was also the obedient man, perfect and sinless in His very being and always so. He was an obedient child, whatever sense He also had of another relationship — one that in itself had nothing to do with being subject to human parents. Consciousness of the one did not injure His perfection in the other. His being the Son of God secured His perfection as a man and a child on the earth.

First, as a child, He kept the place, and behaved as a child. He heard the recognised teachers speak as becomes a child. He asked questions like a child. But He did not try to teach. That would not have been fitting for a child. Second, as the Son of His Father, and conscious of it, He was about His Father's business, as He told His mother. Yet with the full knowledge of His Godhead, the Father's Son, He was then a child, and kept the place of one. All were amazed at His understanding and His answers. But no one could raise a finger against how He conducted Himself. And third, as the child of His mother, He went down with her and Joseph to Nazareth, and was subject to them.

He might have claimed His right as Jehovah to "suddenly come to his temple." "But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?" But no. He, the Master, sits there as a learner of the Word of God. He does not set that Word aside for Himself. Instead He would seek the profit of that Word which was on the lips of these teachers. It was, after all, His Father's Word. So He hears them and asks them questions. "And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers." His questions brought out divine truth, and His answers did so even more. We see this, because they also put questions to Him.

Later His public ministry made His hearers exclaim, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?" (Matthew 13:54). And again, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" (John 7:15). This shows that His knowledge did not appear to come from the usual sources, that is, from rabbis or from writings. It was personal and intuitive.

In the temple, the place of Jehovah's Name, He heard the teachers and asked them questions. His own answers and understanding astonished those who heard Him. Even honoured Joseph and Mary did not understand when Jesus spoke of His Father's business. Many today are astonished at the teaching of Christ, but have not themselves received Him as their own Saviour! In the same way, many whom He has truly saved understand little of the vast business He came to carry out for His Father's glory.

Butter is the cream of the milk in solid form, typically the Word of God made good to the soul through exercise. It is the Word itself. Honey is typical of the ministry of the Word, gathered and digested by the worker bees before being given for the good of the whole hive — so, what believers gather to share with others. Whatever the learned teachers gave of the law that was truly of God was honey, and the Lord received this, though the butter was first, that is, God's Word itself made good to the soul in personal exercise. If the blessed Son of Man needed this, how deeply we need both the Word itself and the ministry of the Word.

There is one use of the word teknon (child) worth noting, because it bears on the person of the Lord. We use it in the same affectionate way ourselves: "My child, go and do such-and-such" (see Matthew 9:2; Matthew 21:28). His mother speaks to the Lord this way in Luke 2:48: "Child, why have you treated us so?" But no other passage applies this word to Him. Perhaps it is not used of Him because He was never less than "God over all." It would be inconsistent to use a word that implies life and nature derived from another.

For three days He was lost to them. May this not be a reminder of the three days He was thought lost by His disciples? Here the human weakness of Mary comes to light. She was nervously anxious. Her words have an accusing tone. Her greatest mistake was to name Joseph as "your Father." … He corrects His fallible mother, who had said, "your Father and I." His Father, He declares, is the One whose house He had entered. It is the first self-witness to His Deity.

Two things stand out in her words to Jesus. The first is the implied reproach in them. The second is that she includes Joseph with herself: "your father." We need not mark these things as failures, though we cannot doubt that they sprang from purely natural feelings and relationships. On the other hand, it is just as clear that the manner of her speech came out of her intense affection for her perfect Child.

He could not accept any reproof. His two questions were gentle reproofs in return. What was the reason they had sought Him? If God's will had been their concern, it would have led them straight to Him. Did they not realise that He would occupy Himself with His Father's interests? … Most children at that age would have only slight interest in the temple, or in the learning of the teachers of the law. But did they not expect Him to have a vital interest in it? This should have been the first place they looked for Him.

Our blessed Lord was devoted to the glory of God and to the interests of His house. This devotion lifted Him above every natural claim that anyone might urge against Him. So when Mary found Him in the temple and asked why He had treated them so, He replied, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" The Father's claim was absolute in His soul. He had come to do His Father's will, and that claim shut out every other. Acknowledging it always was His unceasing delight. It was His daily food.

From early youth our Lord had the consciousness of being the Son of God above all earthly claims. But exactly as grace acknowledges the law, so the eternal Son acknowledges His human place as the child of Mary. He declared and proved that in His own consciousness He was truly the Son of the Father, and that He must therefore be about His Father's business. It was neither open to Him nor possible for Him to set aside His Father's will. That will was the first object before His heart. Yet with all this devotion as Son of God, and though His parents did not understand what He said, He went down with them to Nazareth and was in subjection to them.

He came, not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him. His "Father's business" is His first recorded saying (see Luke 2:49). "It is finished" fell last from His blessed lips, before He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (see John 19:30).

Joseph and Mary were amazed. Mary reproached Him for having been absent from them all this time. But He could not accept any reproof. He answered with two questions that were reproofs to them, though gentle. What was the reason they had sought Him? If they had been exercised as to the will of God, they would have been unerringly led to Him. … The temple should have been the first place they looked for Him, for it was His first chance to ask the learned men about matters of vital importance.

Here the human weakness of Mary comes to light. She was nervously anxious. Her words have an accusing tone. The greatest mistake she made was mentioning Joseph as "your father." But how wonderful the answer of the twelve-year-old boy! He is astonished that they should have sought Him; He came to seek them. He is astonished that they did not know that He had to be about His Father's business. What an answer it is! These are His first words recorded in the Gospels. He corrects His fallible mother, who had said, "your father and I." His Father, He declares, is the One in whose house He had gone. It is the first self-witness to His Deity.

In Luke 2:49 they translate "I must be in my Father's house," putting the evident sense "about my Father's business" in the margin.

The literal meaning is, "Did you not know that I must be in the things of My Father?" His Father's 'things' were the very atmosphere in which He lived. Yet see Him, the Lord of Glory, return with His parents to that humble home; and there He "was submissive to them."

From His early youth our Lord had the consciousness of being the Son of God above all earthly claims. But just as grace acknowledges the law, so the eternal Son acknowledges His human place as the child of Mary. He asserted and proved that in His own consciousness He was really the Son of the Father. So He must be about His Father's business. It was not open to Him, nor possible for Him, to set aside His Father's will. This was the first object before His heart. He was devoted as the Son of God, and His parents did not understand what He said. Still, He comes down with them "to Nazareth and was submissive to them."

When Jesus, at the age of twelve, said to His parents, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business," it must have been a riddle to them. As it says, "They did not understand the saying that He spoke to them." But "His mother treasured up all these things in her heart." The time came when she received, with His disciples, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of sonship. Then she would be able to cry with all His own, "Abba, Father," and enter into the meaning of what Jesus had said so long before.

In answering His mother, Jesus declared that He knew His own divine relationship. He also announced that He had come to do His Father's will. Mary had said of Joseph to Jesus, "Your father." The answer was that He had remained in Jerusalem because, as He said, "I must be about My Father's business." His Father's will was to be the supreme law of His life, and it was His joy to acknowledge it. In acknowledging it He answered Mary's question in full and removed the open reproach she had made. No wonder they "did not understand the saying that He spoke to them."

His mother rebuked Him for the anxiety they had felt because of Him. He answered her, and this is His first recorded sentence: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" But they did not understand the saying. No; for He spoke of His delight in a relationship they could not yet know. But "the grace of God was upon Him." He could call God His Father. In the same way, after He had accomplished redemption, He told Mary Magdalene to pass on the knowledge of that same relationship to His disciples: "His Father and their Father." (See John 20:17.) Blessed redemption!

Joseph and Mary were amazed. Mary reproached Him for having been absent from them all this time. But He could not accept any reproof. He answered with two questions that were reproofs to them, though gentle. What was the reason they had sought Him? If they had been concerned about the will of God, it would have led them straight to Him. Did they not realise that He would occupy Himself with His Father's interests? Mary had said, "Your father and I," but He set this aside with His words, "My Father's business." Did they expect Him to care only for the company of other children at such a time, and to have no interest in the temple, the very centre of Israel's interests? This should have been the first place they looked for Him.

So from early youth our Lord was conscious of being the Son of God, above all earthly claims… In His own consciousness He was truly the Son of the Father; He said so and proved it. So He must be about His Father's business. It was not open to Him, nor possible for Him, to set aside His Father's will. This was the first object before His heart. But He was devoted as Son of God, and His parents did not understand what He said. Despite both, He goes down with them "to Nazareth and was in subjection to them." Meanwhile His mother keeps all these sayings, little understood, in her heart.

Understanding is of the heart (Matt. 13:15). It was in her heart that Mary kept the deep sayings about the Christ, and in secret she kept pondering them so that she might eventually understand (Luke 2:19, 51).

When Jesus, at the age of twelve, said to His parents, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business," it must have been a riddle to them. As it says, "They did not understand the saying that He spoke to them." But "His mother kept all these sayings in her heart." The time came when she received, with His disciples, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of sonship. Then she could cry with all His own, "Abba, Father," and enter into the meaning of what Jesus had said so long before.

Still, "He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them." What majesty in His whole life! His being God secured His perfection as a child and as a man here on earth. He always had the blessed consciousness of His relationship to His Father. He was an obedient child, yet He was also conscious of a glory that had nothing in itself to do with being under human parents. He belonged to Mary and even Joseph; in another sense He was not theirs.

At the same time He returns with His parents. He obeys them as dutifully as if He were only a spotless human child — their child. The Son of the Father He was, as really as the Son of man. "He came to Nazareth and was submissive to them." He is the divine person, and yet the perfect man, perfect in every relationship that suited such a person.

His reply to Mary in the temple throws a flood of light on all the years between His first Passover and His baptism. By that reply He had clearly defined His position. He was here to be "about His Father's business." So when He was subject to Joseph and Mary, He was doing His Father's will just as much as when He stayed behind in Jerusalem. There was not, and there could not be, any split between His daily life and what people call the more sacred duties.

Then He went down with them to Nazareth and was "submissive to them." Yes, "submissive to them." Words of deep and mighty meaning. In this way He gave the recognition of parental authority, and submission to it, a wonderful dignity. His own word, in 2 Timothy 3, condemns disobedience to parents. Here He sets the perfect example of the opposite. The lowly grace seen at Bethlehem only grows brighter at Nazareth. So the childhood of Jesus is no less a model for His people than His manhood is.

He knew when to accept the claims of His mother when she made them. He knew when to refuse them, even though she made them. And He knew when to honour them when she had not asked (Luke 2:51; Luke 8:21; John 19:27).

In the end of the chapter the Lord was in perfect submission — Son of God — but entirely subject. He does nothing at all until called out — what a lesson for us (verse 51).

The veil now drops for eighteen years. Scripture is silent about what took place in them, except that He was subject to His parents. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3) — these seem to be the words of careless, scornful unbelief. But I do not think these eighteen years were idle moments for the Blessed Lord. He was always about His Father's business.

It was in her heart that Mary kept the deep sayings about the Christ. In secret she kept pondering them, so that in time she might understand (Luke 2:19, 51).

Luke gives us more of the reality of His childhood than the other Gospels. He was not made man fully formed like Adam.

How can we reconcile such statements with His being God Himself, though man? Most clearly He was always perfect. But then He was the perfect Baby, and the perfect Youth, as we shall also find Him in due time to be the perfect Man. At any given moment He was absolutely perfect, and yet He grew.

"He increased in wisdom." Does this present any difficulty? Certainly no more than that "He was filled with wisdom." Both are true. Both are true of the same complex person who was God and man in one. He was truly God, but as truly man — in infancy, childhood, or maturity — and always consistent with what belongs to each stage of human life.

As God He is all-wise. Yet as a child in this world He "grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40)... It is an unsearchable mystery that the source of all wisdom should, as Man, increase in wisdom. But this only brings out the perfection of His Manhood.

Verse 52 of the same chapter says that "Jesus increased in wisdom." These words are difficult, if not impossible, to understand if He did not take a human spirit in becoming man. Wisdom belongs to the spirit rather than to soul or body.

There was nothing of unnatural progress in Him: all was orderly increase. His wisdom kept pace with His stature, or age. He was the child first, then the man.

There was nothing unnaturally advanced for His age — nothing like the silly stories told in the made-up Gospels — only absolute purity in every relationship.

Also He increased in favour with God and man. This favour (or grace) was because of a character that fully deserved it. Each day of His life was a fresh occasion of delight to the heart of God the Father. Man too could not ignore it, and appreciated it — until He began to press the claims of God upon men. It was like Saul, who loved David until he realised that David, by his character and by God's will, was entitled to be the king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:21; 18:6-11).

Then He went down with them to Nazareth and was "subject to them." Words of deep and mighty meaning. This gave wonderful dignity to recognizing parental authority and obeying it... So the childhood of Jesus is no less a model for His people than His manhood.

Then for eighteen years God drops a veil over His life. All we know of that period is this, that when He came out men said, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3). So I conclude that this blessed Son of God, here in human form on earth, worked with His hands. Let no one think, then, that service or toil is a lowly thing to be avoided.