Carey's Bible Study Notes
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jesus in the temple
life of christ: luke 2.41-52
jesus in the temple
introduction
When we come to the story of Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12, we come to the only story in the Bible about His childhood. Whereas this story is important for what it tells us about Jesus during these formative years, it is almost as important for what it does not tell us. When you read other Christian non-biblical accounts about Jesus during this time in His life, you discover stories which are fantastical in nature: Jesus raising birds from the dead, etc. The fact that Luke does not indulge in such fantastical stories indicates that he is really trying to be a first-rate historian who accurately reports what really did happen. This should give us the confidence that whenever Luke does record the miracles of Jesus, he is recording history and not myth.
jesus' first journey to the temple
According to Luke, Jesus� parents made it a custom of going each year to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover (the feast which commemorated God�s passing over the Israelites� households when the death angel struck the first born in all Egypt). The Law actually required that every Jewish male attend 3 feasts each year in Jerusalem: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. As time passed and the Jews became scattered all over the world, they found it impossible to keep this command. As a result, those living outside Israel attempted to visit Jerusalem during Passover at least once in their lifetime. Those living in Israel attempted to celebrate at least the Feast of Passover each year; for them, the other 2 feasts were more optional. Joseph made it his custom of celebrating the Passover each year. Since Mary was a female, she was not required to attend Passover; however, being a pious Israelite, she nevertheless honored the feast with her husband.
(One note about Palestine. During this time of the year, Galilee is always beautiful. The route Jesus would have taken from Nazareth to Jerusalem would have been through hills and small mountains covered with grass. Palestine borders on being a desert, and for much of the year it tends to be very arid; however, in March-April, the rainy season has just come to an end, and the countryside in Samaria and Galilee is lush with growth. Mustard plants with their yellow flowers cover the landscape. Little flowers grow everywhere in Galilee and Samaria. Jerusalem itself experiences cool temperatures during this time of the year. It really is a wonderful time of the year in Israel.)
Most likely the last time Jesus visited the Temple was when He was 8 days old and His parents took Him there to be circumcised and dedicated to God. Now at the age of 12, He was becoming a "son of the commandment," what today in Jewish circles is called bar mitzvah. The Jews believed that at this age each Jewish male became morally responsible to God for his own actions. He became civilly responsible later at the age of 20 when he could entered into contractual relationships with others. Jesus is celebrating this feast in honor of the fact that He has now entered into adulthood.
The Feast of Passover lasted for eight days. The first day of the feast actually consisted of preparing the meal and sacrificing the Passover lamb in the Temple. That evening, the beginning of the second day, marked the eating of the Passover meal. After this, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 7 days. The 2 feasts were combined to form the Feast of Passover. Whereas those living in Jerusalem probably celebrated all 8 days of the feast, those living outside Jerusalem probably celebrated only the main part of the feast, the eating of the Passover lamb. According to the Law, the lamb had to be killed in the Temple area and eaten only in Jerusalem. As a result, those who were not in Jerusalem could not celebrate Passover. Again, as we shall see later, it is most likely that Jesus and His parents celebrated only the major part of the Feast of Passover, the eating of the Passover lamb, and then left after 2 days.
Jesus and His parents would not have traveled alone from Nazareth to Jerusalem and back again. Travel was very unsafe during the first century, the Parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrating how unsafe it really was; therefore, the holy family would have traveled with others from Nazareth or areas/villages adjacent to Nazareth in a caravan. Now the women and younger children would head up the caravan, whereas the men would bring up the rear. Those older children like Jesus would either go with the women or else tag along with their fathers in the rear. When the caravan from Nazareth left Jerusalem, Mary assumed that Jesus was with Joseph since He was not with her. Likewise, Joseph assumed that Jesus was with Mary in the front since He was not with him. Little did they know that He was with neither of them. (Notice the level of confidence that Mary and Joseph placed in Jesus. We can very easily assume that Jesus had proven Himself to be such a remarkably responsible Son that they had not felt any need to check up on Him every moment).
At the end of the first day of travel, the caravan from Nazareth would have reached at least Jericho. As the caravan settled down for the night, the various family units would come together to make sleeping arrangements. At this time did Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus was not with them. Panic began to set in. They would have scoured the entire caravan to make sure that Jesus was not there. On the next day, they journeyed back to Jerusalem. This second day of journey would have been more difficult and taken longer to travel than the first because of the steep ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem. (Remember also the dangerous leg of this journey because the Jericho road to Jerusalem was inhabited with thieves and robbers; Joseph and Mary are now alone without the protection of the caravan). By the third day, Mary and Joseph reached Jerusalem and began to search for Jesus there. Since Jerusalem was not a large city (people�s homes were crammed next to each other), it probably did not take them long to discover that Jesus was in the Temple.
During the 3 days while Mary and Joseph were traveling, Jesus had stayed in the Temple, being engaged in a discourse with the rabbis. During the feasts, the rabbis would go to the Temple where they would teach the people. Their method of instruction consisted of answering questions put to them by the crowd and then asking their listeners questions. The depth of the questions put to them by the students in the crowd revealed how smart the students actually were. Jesus is involved in this kind of exchange with the rabbis. Now from what we know about this particular date, it is quite possible that some of the rabbis included Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Gamaliel, Caiaphas, and even Annas the High Priest. Whichever rabbis were there, they were impressed with Jesus. His questions were far more probing than any they had ever heard from most adults, much less 12-year olds. His answers to their questions betrayed a deep understanding of God�s Word. They were duly impressed with this young man.
While Jesus is engaged in these teaching discourses, Mary and Joseph find Him in the Temple. Mary pounces on Jesus: "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You." In order to understand fully Jesus� response, we need to look carefully at what Mary says: "Your father . . ." Jesus responds: "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father�s house?" When Jesus replies, He is not rebuking His parents but rather expressing surprise. First, as the Messiah no harm will come to Him until the Father wills it. Second, He is correcting Mary�s misstatement. Although Joseph legally is His father, His true Father is none other than God and as such it is only natural that He be in His Father�s home. (Those who use the KJV will see a discrepancy between the translation of this verse in the modern translations and the translation the KJV gives it. Although the words literally translate: "in the things of My Father," a more accurate translation is "in the house of My Father." The words here are a Greek idiom meaning "in someone�s house.")
Whatever else Jesus� response may indicate, it primarily indicates Jesus was consciously aware of His unique relationship to the Father. Paul informs us that when Jesus left heaven, He emptied Himself and took the form of a bond-servant. By emptying Himself, Jesus probably emptied Himself of His supernatural powers and superior amount of knowledge. In other words, He truly and voluntarily became a baby like any other baby. He had to go to school and probably learn just like you and me. He had to go to the local synagogue to study the Bible probably in order to learn it; however, He was nevertheless truly God and was able to advance in each and every stage of His life perfectly. One thing though He did not empty Himself of, His awareness that He was God�s Son. Proclaiming this awareness is the primary point of this story. Even at the age of 12, Jesus knew without a doubt that He was God�s Son in a unique sense, that He was God the Son.
After Jesus responds to His parents, He submits to their authority and returns home to Nazareth. Luke then summarizes the next 18 years of Jesus� life with the statement that He continued to grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with man. He grew in wisdom, that is, He grew in His knowledge of the Bible and how it applies to everyday life. When Luke says that He grew in stature, He means that Jesus grew physically. Growing in favor with God and man means that not only was God impressed with His Son but that the people around Him were impressed also. He was the perfect model of what a man was supposed to be. People were naturally attracted to Jesus; look at the multitudes who hung around Him during His three years of ministry. Only when He began to make claims upon their lives did they turn on Him.
application of the story
The first element in this story that impresses me is Jesus� claim that He had to be in His Father�s house. When we call a home a father�s home, we are not slighting the moms; we are just rightly recognizing the dominant role the father has in shaping the household. I can remember every dining room in every house we lived in since 1956, and although I cannot tell you where all the rest of the family sat during supper, I can tell you where my dad sat. Dads just naturally dominate homes; they are that important whether they recognize it or not.
Moreover, it is only natural that sons and daughters want to be in their fathers� home. When my brothers, sisters, and I were growing up, we loved to scour the neighborhood. In Maryland and Fort Worth, we lived at the bottom of hills which we would roller-skate down as fast as we could. In one Maryland home, we had a little hill nearby we would ride down in our sleigh when winter hit. In another Maryland home, we lived next to some woods we would scope out and play in. I remember drinking water from little brooks which ran behind our neighbors� house. Our neighbors would play with us too while we roller-skated, rode down the hills in our sleds, etc. When evening came and it was time for supper, we all knew where we were supposed to go and where we were welcomed to go. We didn�t go home with our neighbors unless it was a special event; we always went to our father�s home. We were always welcome there.
Well, as much as our earthly fathers and mothers welcome us to their homes, how much does our heavenly Father welcome us to His home. Not only does He welcome us there, He wants us to remain there in a spiritual sense. How do I remain in my Father�s home in a spiritual sense? By having a relationship with Him. This means primarily 2 things: (1) spending time with Him and (2) obeying Him. We need to spend time with our Father on a consistent basis by exposing ourselves constantly to His Word and by prayer. I am never going to grow in that relationship with Him until after I�ve learned what the Bible means through the preaching and teaching of God�s Word, I come to encounter Him through that Word on an individual basis.
Moreover, I must obey Him. Fathers and not children set the rules for the house. While growing up, I could not imagine telling my dad which chair was his at the supper table and which chair was his in the den. I could not imagine telling him when his curfew was although he was very adamant about my curfew. I would never have limited the amount of time he spent on the phone although he limited me to just three minutes per phone call. That�s the way homes are set up, and if I want to remain in my father�s home, then I need to abide by his rules. The same applies to our heavenly Father. He sets the rules for living in His home. Just like the rules we as earthly fathers make for our children, so our heavenly Father makes rules which ultimately benefit us His children.
The second element that impresses me is that Jesus left the Temple in submission to Joseph and Mary. We need to let that settle in for just a moment. God the Son submitted Himself to the authority of Joseph and Mary. One of the sad outcomes of the 60�s was a disdain for authority, God�s authority, parental authority, the authority of the husband, and even governmental authority. The Bible clearly teaches that God has set up structures of authority in society and expects us to submit to them: the children to the parents, the wives to the husbands, the employees to the employers, the church members to the leadership of the pastor, and the citizens to the state and its representatives. What prevents us from submitting to the authorities in our lives? We first object because that authority figure is no better than us! That may be true; however, Mary and Joseph were not any better than Jesus, and yet Jesus submitted to them. Second we object because many times we know better than the authority in our lives. Maybe so; however, Jesus knew better than Mary and Joseph, and still submitted to them. List every objection you can come up with for submitting to the authority God has placed in your life and Jesus overcame each and every one of them when He, God the Son, submitted to His earthly parents.
The third element which impresses me is the 18 years of silence between this episode and the next we hear about in the life of Jesus, His entrance into His public ministry at the age of 30. Eighteen long and wasted years. Doing what? Learning how to be a carpenter so that He could take care of His family after Joseph passed away. Eighteen years in a hole in a wall called Nazareth, far away from events which were shaping the world. When you think about how much Jesus accomplished during His 3 years of ministry, it boggles the mind to think how much He would have accomplished if He had started His ministry 3, 5 or even 10 years earlier!
The truth though is that God was not ready for His Son to enter public ministry. John the Baptist had not yet appeared on the scene to introduce Him to the Jews. Moreover, we need to remember that God�s timing is not our timing. Many times we feel that in order to accomplish something wonderful, we need a lot of time to do it. Not so with God. God accomplished more during those three years Jesus ministered than during any other 3-year period in the history of the world. We live to be 70 and 80, and yet never accomplish anywhere near the magnitude that Jesus accomplished. In our own personal lives, we may seem to be stuck in Nazareth sawing away at some wood; however, if we are responding positively to all that God is doing during that time, He is probably preparing us for a wider area of service just like He prepared His Son during those 18 years.