The Finding in the Temple is the last of the infancy narrative that we know of Jesus from scripture. After this is the secret years of the Holy Family until Jesus starts his ministry.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.
The Holy Family went to Jerusalem each year as was required for the Passover feast. It was one of three such compulsory feasts that required physical attendance at the Temple. The one mentioned here is the Passover but the other two are the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. The reason physical attendance was necessary was because of the sacrifices which had to be done at the Temple itself. Passover takes place in Nisan, the first of the Hebrew months which is roughly March/April time. It depended on the moon so it could vary slightly. At it’s peak some one million Jews would be in attendance in Jerusalem during this feast.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom;
When Jesus is twelve years old they go up as usual for the Passover Feast. Some Jewish traditions hold that the prophet Samuel was twelve when God called him so some commentators suggest that Luke makes note of this event specifically because of this.
In the first century, the age of twelve for boys was also seen as the pivot point to adulthood. This would be the moment when they would be instructed officially in the Torah. The Mishnah, compiled in the second century says boys aged twelve to thirteen are to begin “learning the commandments”. This is likely to have been in place at the time of Jesus. Our sense of maturity because of laws and cultural development can lead us to glance over the detail of Jesus’ age in this passage but in its own context, this is the age a boy starts becoming a man. This could be the reason Luke includes this as the final part of the childhood narrative as to them, this actually is in a sense the end of Jesus’ childhood.
43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,
After the Feast ends, which lasts seven days, the Holy Family begin their journey back to Nazareth. This would take approximately two days to complete. The business of Jerusalem and the comings and goings of caravans of entire towns making their pilgrimages causes a bit of confusion for the Holy Family. They assume Jesus is simply with someone else in the caravan as the rest of the Nazerenes make their way back but he actually stays behind without Mary or Joseph realising.
Some suggest that Mary and Joseph must have been careless but again, these journeys were not done alone, they were not just a family of three walking together, all the Jews of their town would have gone together and the closer you are to Jerusalem on this journey, the more intermixed you are with other towns in their caravans. We are talking thousands upon thousands travelling in one direction. It’s easy for the most attentive of parents to lose their child in a sea of a hundred people let alone thousands. Jesus’ age being one of burgeoning maturity also means they were likely to have given him some independence in this journey, they were definitely not careless.
44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances;
Mary and Joseph assume Jesus is simply with their kinfolk within their caravan and after a days journey which is roughly half-way to Nazareth they seek him among the towns caravan.
45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.
After searching through all their fellow Nazerenes, Jesus is nowhere to be found. Mary and Joseph make their way back to the city in order to search for him there.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions;
After three days, one day to travel back to Jerusalem and then two days of searching the city itself they find him in the Temple. This is likely to be in the outer court of Herod’s Temple complex. Either the Court of Gentiles or the Court of Women. The next two inner courts, the Court of Israel would be for ritually pure Jewish adult men only and the Court of Priests was for priests only as the name implies. The other two outer courts would have been open to the child Jesus.
Jesus is found with the teachers of the Law, this would have been the scribes and pharisees. He is listening to them and asking them questions.
47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Considering the age again as it was the age of learning the Torah, this was supposed to be the time for Jewish boys to be instructed but Jesus demonstrates a profound understanding of the Law already. Something that shocks the teachers there. They are used to a child this age just starting to learn but he appears to have so much knowledge that they are amazed.
Something that always sticks out to me is Jesus is only twelve in this episode of his life. In eighteen years he will be preaching in these courts himself. It is very likely that the scribes, pharisees and maybe even priests who sit here in bewilderment of his knowledge at such a young age will be the same people who condemn him to die. When he is a child it is seen a novelty, a crowd is probably gathered, all amused but not quite fully understanding why this boy is so knowledgeable and also something not threatening but as he gets older, these men and crowds will turn on him.
48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.”
His parents are astonished at seeing him but does not tell us exactly what they are astonished about. It is most likely that he is interacting so casually with authoritative teachers of the Law. Mary shows genuine distress and asks her Son why he has treated them so? They are not aware of why he stayed in the Temple and did not go with them. Although Mary was told unknowable things about her Son to she did not know all the details of his life. This would be a surprise.
Mary tells Jesus that both her and his father have been looking for him anxiously. This is the last time in scripture we have referencing Joseph being alive.
49 And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
The first words of Jesus are now spoken. “How is it you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house”. The fact these are the first recorded words of Jesus is phenomenal and are much to ponder on from a spiritual standpoint but that is not the point of these commentaries. When Jesus asks why did they look for him we should not see this as a rude question, it is because to him, it should be self evident where he would be. This tells us that even at twelve Jesus is fully aware of who he is.
Jesus calls the Temple “my Father’s house”. The Temple was the House of God. That was its purpose, to serve as a dwelling for God. Jesus in his first words is stating from his own knowledge that he is the Son of God. People make a big fuss of Jesus not explicitly saying that he is divine and claim that it is only in John, which to me just means they have never read the Gospels at all. To be a son of something is to share its nature. If the Temple is his Father’s house and the Temple is the House of God then Jesus is saying he is the Son of God and therefore has the same nature as him. This is a divine statement and he says it at age twelve.
50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.
Mary and Joseph of course do not understand what this means. The mystery of the incarnation was difficult for everyone and although Mary was told many things about her Son by the angel Gabriel, it would have still be very confusing. We have the advantage of two thousand years of the Church, things that were considered impossible are literally our starting point. Like the resurrection of Jesus for example. The incarnation was an unknowable mystery, Jesus will repeat things to his disciples many times, they will see his miracles and still not get “it”. We should not be hard on Mary and Joseph for not understanding what Jesus meant by this statement.
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
Jesus goes with Mary and Joseph back to Nazareth and was obedient to them. This obedience is an example of divine condescension on a level that is very hard for us mortals to grasp. God incarnate is being obedient to his earthly parents.
Mary keeps all these moments in her heart. She ponders them, she takes the very events into her being which is why heart is used by Luke in this verse. Life is in the blood and the heart pumps the life around. Using this term is not one of wishy-washy emotional hallmark cards. Mary took this moment into her Soul.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.
Jesus grows in his human nature like a normal boy does, this does not negate his divinity. He does not exercise infinite knowledge in his ministry or his childhood. Luke is describing Jesus’ physical growth (stature) and he increases in human wisdom. Jesus also grows in favour with God and man. This line seems an allusion to 1 Samuel again which uses similar language describing the prophet Samuel. Jesus is positioned as a new Moses, a new David, a new Adam and Luke in this passage seems to be highlighting Jesus also as a new Samuel.
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