The Boy Jesus at the Temple

Fully God, fully human. Jesus is God the Son, but He was also born a real baby and grew up as a real boy. “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom” (2:40). An ordinary town. After they had done everything the law asked, the family “returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth” (2:39). Nazareth was a small, plain town. God's Son grew up in a quiet place, not in a palace. Grace on Him. “And the grace of God was upon Him” (2:40). Grace is God's kindness and favor. The Father's love rested on His Son every day of His childhood. A family that worshiped. “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (2:41). The trip took several days on foot. Mary and Joseph made it a habit to put God first. The Passover. At Passover, Israel remembered how God rescued them from Egypt. Long ago, God had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). Families ate a lamb together and thanked God. Twelve years old. “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast” (2:42). A custom is something people do again and again. What we learn. Jesus knows what it is like to be a kid, because He was one. You can grow up loving God too. Going to worship with your family is a good habit to keep.

The law kept (2:39). Mary and Joseph “performed all things according to the law of the Lord.” That meant the circumcision, the purification and the presentation of Jesus at the temple (2:21-24). Jesus was raised in a home that obeyed God's Word. Matthew 2:19-23 tells us that the family also lived in Egypt for a time before they settled in Nazareth. Real growth (2:40). Jesus did not skip childhood. He grew in body and in spirit, and He was “filled with wisdom.” The eternal Son of God took on a real human body and a real human mind: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Charis (2:40). The Greek word for grace is charis (say: KAH-rees), God's free kindness and favor. “The grace of God was upon Him.” The same word comes back in 2:52, where it is translated favor. Pilgrim feasts. The Law told Israel's men to appear before the Lord three times a year at the place He would choose (Deuteronomy 16:16). Passover was one of them. The command was given to the men, but Mary went every year as well. Passover week. Passover was followed by seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-6). Families ate roasted lamb “with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs” (Exodus 12:8) and remembered how God set them free. Twelve (2:42). At twelve, a Jewish boy was close to taking on adult duties in keeping the Law. In later Jewish custom, a boy became a son of the commandment at thirteen. Why it matters. Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He lived through every stage of growing up, so He understands yours, and He can help you in it.

Jesus is God's Son. He is also a real person. He was born as a baby in Bethlehem. Then He grew up in a little town called Nazareth. He learned to walk and talk like other children. Year by year, He grew taller and stronger. The Bible says He was filled with wisdom. Wisdom means knowing what is right and doing it. God's grace was on Jesus. Grace is God's kindness. Every year His family walked to Jerusalem for the Passover. Mary and Joseph loved God and obeyed His Word. They took Jesus to worship God with them. Jesus knows what it is like to be a kid. He understands you!

Jesus was a real boy. He grew bigger and stronger. God's grace was on Him. His family went to God's house every year.

Staying behind. “The Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it” (2:43). Lingered means stayed on. Jesus did not sneak away to do something wrong. He stayed in His Father's house. Never a sin. Jesus never sinned, not even as a boy. He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). A big crowd. Families traveled home together in large groups. Mary and Joseph supposed Jesus was “in the company” (2:44), with relatives and friends. After a whole day, they started to look for Him. Back to the city. They “returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him” (2:45). They must have been very worried. Where He was. “They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers” (2:46). The temple was the center of worship for all of Israel. Listening first. Jesus was “both listening to them and asking them questions” (2:46). Even God's Son listened before He spoke. Amazing answers. “And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” (2:47). Astonished means very surprised and amazed. What we learn. Jesus loved God's house and God's Word. You can ask questions about God too. Good questions help you learn, and God is happy to teach you through His Word.

Lingered (2:43). The feast days were finished, but Jesus stayed behind. He did not sin by staying. He was tempted in every way as we are, “yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Verse 49 gives His reason: He was in His Father's house, about His Father's business. The company (2:44). Pilgrims from Galilee traveled together in large groups of relatives and neighbors. A twelve-year-old could walk with cousins or friends, so Mary and Joseph did not worry at first. After three days (2:46). That is one day's travel out, one day back to Jerusalem, and a search through the crowded city. The teachers. These were teachers of the Law who taught in the temple courts. Students learned by listening, and by asking and answering questions. Astonished (2:47). The word means they were almost beside themselves with amazement. A boy of twelve understood God's Word far more deeply than they expected. Malachi 3:1. Malachi had promised, “And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple.” Many Christians see a small picture of that promise here: the Lord sat in His own temple, and the teachers did not yet know who He was. Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Jesus treasured God's Word as a boy. He later answered every temptation with it (Matthew 4:4). Application. Jesus listened before He spoke, and He asked real questions. Be a student of God's Word: listen well, ask honest questions, and keep learning from people who teach the Bible faithfully.

Jesus was not lost and scared in Jerusalem. He was right where He wanted to be. He was in the temple, God's house. Jesus loved being near His Father. He sat with the teachers of God's Word. First, He listened carefully to them. Then He asked them questions. The teachers were amazed at His answers. Jesus understood God's Word very well. Jesus never did anything wrong, even when He stayed behind. His parents just did not know His plan yet. We can be like Jesus in God's house. We can listen to our teachers. We can ask questions about God. Church and Bible time are great places to learn.

Jesus stayed at God's house. He listened to the teachers. He asked good questions. Everyone was amazed!

A worried mother. “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously” (2:48). Anxiously means with worry and pain. Mary loved her Son very much. His first words. These are the first words Jesus speaks in the Gospel of Luke: “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (2:49). Two fathers? Mary said “Your father,” meaning Joseph. Jesus said “My Father,” meaning God. Joseph cared for Jesus on earth, but God is His Father. The angel had told Mary that her baby “will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). I must. Jesus said “I must.” He knew His Father had given Him work to do, and nothing would stop Him from doing it. His Father's business. That meant His Father's house and His Father's work. Jesus came to teach, to heal and, most of all, to save us from sin. Not understood yet. “But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them” (2:50). Mary and Joseph would understand much more later. What we learn. Jesus always knew who He was: God's Son with God's work to do. When you trust Jesus, God becomes your Father too. Then you can live to please Him every day.

Anxiously (2:48). The word means aching with pain. Simeon had told Mary, “a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (2:35). Many Christians see this sorrow as an early taste of that sword. Your father, My Father. Mary spoke of Joseph as “Your father.” Jesus answered with “My Father.” Joseph was the legal father who raised Him, but Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Jesus corrected her gently and did not dishonor her. Dei (2:49). “I must” translates dei (say: DAY), it is necessary. Later Jesus used the same word when He said the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, be killed and be raised the third day (Luke 9:22). From His first words to the cross, Jesus lived to do what His Father planned. In the things of My Father. The words behind My Father's business say, word for word, in the things of My Father. They can mean His Father's house or His Father's work. Both fit: He was in the temple, and He was about His Father's work. Not yet understood (2:50). Even faithful Mary and Joseph did not grasp it yet. Understanding grew over time, as it does for us. A life with one center. Jesus later said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34), and, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). Application. Jesus' life had one center: His Father's will. Ask what your own life is centered on. Pray as Jesus taught: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9).

Mary and Joseph were very worried. Mary said, “Your father and I were very worried about you.” Jesus answered with a question. He asked, “Why did you have to look for me?” Then He said something very important. He said He must be where His Father's work is. Mary was talking about Joseph. But Jesus was talking about God! God is the Father of Jesus. Joseph was the kind man who raised Him. Jesus knew who He was, even at twelve. He knew God had sent Him to do a special job. Mary and Joseph did not understand yet. But God would show them more later.

Mary and Joseph were very worried. Jesus said God is His Father. He came to do His Father's work. Jesus always obeyed God.

Subject to them. “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them” (2:51). Subject means He obeyed them and followed their lead. The Son who obeyed. Jesus knew God was His Father, yet He humbly obeyed Mary and Joseph. Knowing who He was did not make Him proud. The command kept. God's law says, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Jesus kept that command perfectly, every single day. Mary's heart. “His mother kept all these things in her heart” (2:51). She thought about them again and again. Growing in four ways. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (2:52). Wisdom is His mind. Stature is His body. Favor with God is His walk with His Father. Favor with men is how He treated people. Quiet years. Jesus lived in Nazareth until He was about thirty years old (Luke 3:23). Before He did a single miracle, the Father said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Those ordinary years pleased God. What we learn. Obeying your parents is part of following Jesus (Ephesians 6:1). Keep growing in God's Word, in your body, in prayer and in kindness.

Hypotasso (2:51). Subject to them translates hypotasso (say: hoo-poh-TAHS-soh), to place oneself under someone. The form of the verb pictures ongoing obedience, year after year. Humility. The One who had just called God “My Father” went home and obeyed Joseph and Mary. Philippians 2:8 says, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Nazareth was the start of that path. Mary kept (2:51). Mary treasured what God was doing, as she had after the shepherds came (2:19). She is a faithful believer who thought deeply about God's works. Increased (2:52). The word means to move forward, like cutting a path ahead. Jesus' growth was steady and real. Stature (2:52). The word can mean height or age. Jesus grew taller and older like every boy. Fully God and fully man. How can God grow in wisdom? Jesus is fully God and fully man. As a man, He truly learned and grew. He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). He never stopped being God, but He lived as a real human being who depended on His Father. Samuel's echo. Similar words describe the boy Samuel, who grew in favor with the Lord and with men (1 Samuel 2:26). Jesus is the greater Servant who pleased God perfectly. Application. Growth with God takes time. Read your Bible, pray, obey your parents and serve others, and trust Jesus to grow you.

Jesus went home to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. Jesus is God's Son, yet He obeyed them. He listened to His mom and dad. He did what they asked. Mary remembered all these things in her heart. Jesus kept on growing. He grew wiser every year. His body grew taller and stronger. God was pleased with Him. People liked Him too. Jesus shows us how to grow. We can learn God's Word. We can obey our parents. Kindness to others is part of growing too. Jesus helps us grow when we trust Him.

Jesus went home and obeyed. He grew wiser and taller. God was pleased with Him. People liked Him too.

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

🎉 All Matched!