Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: Before Good Friday to Easter Sunday, Jesus was lost for three days as a 12-year-old. He continued to be subject to His parents growing up. He learned, grew, and matured as a “real” human child.
You’re probably thinking that I’m talking about Good Friday to Easter Sunday, those three days. But I was reading this morning in Luke 2, and I thought I’d share this as well. This is the story where Jesus was visiting Jerusalem for the Passover, and His parents left with their crowd of people, and a day later, a whole day, they realized, “Hey, Jesus isn’t part of this crowd,” and they went back to Jerusalem to find Him.
I’m going to read the scripture beginning in Luke 2:41. “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of Passover, and when He was 12 years old, they went up there, according to the custom of the feast. And as they were returning, after spending the full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it.” Maybe He’s with mom, maybe He’s with dad, maybe He’s with His friends, just that community of loss.
“Instead, they thought He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey, and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days, they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
“When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered, and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You,’ and He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had been in My Father’s house?’ And yet on their part, they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth. He continued to be subject to them, and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and people.”
So it’s interesting that they’ve journeyed a day, then they discovered Him missing, and then they took a day to go back, and it was three days. And when I saw that, it just really flashed me to the Easter story, to that part of the life, and it’s just repeated—the Jonah days, the Jesus lost in the city days.
The footnotes in this section also talk about Jesus. He wasn’t being malicious or sneaky in any way. He was just left behind. And so where would He go? He went to a safe place where there were trusted adults in a safe place for Him to be.
And I like how it concludes here. I never really noticed it before. But He continued to be subject to them. Part of the footnotes in the section talk about Jesus growing up and that sometimes He’s omniscient and sometimes some of that is blocked by His submission to being human. And the Father blocked some things like to know the time of the end. It also discusses how He learned and He grew and He expanded in wisdom and intelligence through learning, practice, and living here on earth.
He wasn’t granted everything. It was available to Him, but He didn’t take it. He didn’t take hold of all knowledge and all wisdom and all power and all glory. But He followed God’s will that they created together to be our salvation.
So interesting. Wanted to share that. And if you don’t know Jesus, Christ died for your sins. He would like to get to know you and let you know that you’re sinful, but through Him you look 100% pure, fully redeemed before the Father because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for you.
You be blessed!
