Whose House Are You In?- Jesus at the Temple

Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Luke 2:41-50

Have you ever misplace or lost your child? At the grocery store, a ballgame...AT CHURCH? As a parent, you know how terrifying that can be. So, most of us can understand Mary and Joseph's panic and reaction. But, what we probably do not understand...is the boy Jesus' reply and actions.

"Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?"

It can also be translated "in the things of My Father", but the idea is the same. Jesus was affirming His divine sonship and His mission to do the will of the Father.

That is huge, a major point...a true foundation that He will base His entire ministry and focus on the rest of his life.

This morning we looked at the traits of the boy Jesus we could see from our passage in Luke

1. He grew in a BALANCED way without neglecting any part of life. (Luke 2:52)
2. His PRIORITY was to do the WILL of His Father (Luke 2:49 & see Matthew. 6:33)'
3. He knew how to LISTEN. (Luke 2:46)
4. He knew how to ASK the RIGHT questions. (Luke 2:46)
5. He LEARNED how to work.
6. He was OBEDIENT to His parents. (Luke 2:51)

Please note that on the verse Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well, notice that "all these things" is referring back to verses 31 & 32/31. So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

We pray amiss and out of God's will when we take this verse to mean "everything"...God gives us what we need in accordance to His will, His plan, & His purpose for us in His kingdom.

It is these traits, these inherrent characteristics that begin to form the man Christ Jesus as he steps into ministry. This is our ONLY look at his childhood, Jesus the boy, and what we see is very impressive. We will not get another glimpse at this Jesus by God's Word until he is age 30, and comes to John baptizing in the river Jordan

So, What was happening to Jesus between the ages of 12 and 30? There are some apocryphal books that attempt to fill the gaps. But even a casual reading will show that these were written much later than the first century and are fairy tale-like stories. One tells of Jesus changing toy pigeons into real birds. It isn't unusual to find gaps in biographies in the Bible. The story of Jesus isn't unusual in this way.

The most likely explanation is that nothing of paramount importance to His ministry or fulfilled prophecy happened in this period. The Bible tells us only that he grew in grace and wisdom and appeared to be the ordinary son of a carpenter. He was an apprentice carpenter with Joseph his father. This is apparent when he speaks of things like yokes, what makes a good foundation and whether or not a building could stand, and many other "carpentry" like terms in his teachings.

With these kind of core values, this kind of upbringing & teachings, this type of foundation... no wonder the Father proclaimed, "This my MY beloved son, I am well pleased in Him." The real question we must ask is, "Can the Father say the say the same thing about us?"

Questions to Discuss:
1. How did Jesus respond to his parent’s frantic arrival? How did he answer his parent’s concern for him? (2:49) How did he then behave?(2:51)
2. How does this story illustrate the tension that Jesus may have felt between obedience to his heavenly father and obedience to his earthly parents?
3. Of the four ways in which Jesus grew (in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God, in favor with man), which one needs the most work in your life? (2:52). What would our life be like if we embraced and put into practice the 6 traits we see in the boy Jesus...how would it make our lives different?

Scriptural references for the 6 traits in this morning's sermon-(Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 21:21, Proverbs 8:34-35, 2 Timothy 2:15, Luke 11:9-10, Mark 6:3 & Exodus 20:12)