Luke 2.41-52

Christmas 1

Hymns:34, 41, 54

We know very little about the life of Jesus following his birth in Bethlehem. What we do know is this: When the Jewish King Herod was told by the Wise Men from the Babylon area that they had come to worship a king who had recently been born, he was instantly outraged and issued a horrible edict, a heartless command that all baby boys two years of age and under should be killed. His reasons for doing so are obvious. Jesus was per-haps two years old at the time; Mary and Joseph were in no hur-ry to get back home 70 miles to the north in Nazareth.

The Lord revealed to Mary and Joseph that because of the kil-ling of the babies, the so-called, "killing of the innocents," they should go down to Egypt until the killing had stopped. Herod died about a year after that; Mary and Joseph went home.

One other thing we know about Jesus’ early life. When he was 8 days old, Mary and Joseph took him to the temple to be circum-cised, which was a covenant or type of sacrament that God had established with Abraham requiring all infant boys to have this minor operation as a sign that the Messiah would come to the world as a male child. Other than that we don’t know anything about Jesus until he was 12 years old when his parents took him to the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.

You know the story. Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem with other families from Nazareth. It was safer since they had to walk through a dangerous wilderness area where highway rob-bers were known to ambush people. And it was just more fun to travel with family and friends, not unlike some trips you may have taken with family and friends of yours.

We assume that Mary and Joseph had arranged with Jesus that they were going to leave at a certain time to walk back to Naza-reth. And since Jesus was the perfect child...he never went through a "terrible twos" period...it was assumed that he was with some of his friends when the group left town. But he wasn’t; Mary and Joseph had to walk back to Jerusalem to find their mission Son. I put this question to you: WHERE WOULD YOU HAVE LOOKED FOR JESUS?

Think of one of your children today...where would you have gone looking for them if their whereabouts was unknown? What questions would you be asking yourself in respect to the inter-ests of a child of yours that would perhaps give you a clue as to where he/she was? Does your child like to play video games? Then you’d go to a video game store you might have seen while you were in Jerusalem for the Passover. Does your child like sports? Then you’d go to the baseball diamond or soccer field or gym where a basketball game was going on. Is your child a reader? Then you’d go to the library.

Jesus said to his parents (v 49). If Jesus had loved baseball he would have said, "Why did you waste time looking for me; you know I love baseball. Why didn’t you come here to the baseball diamond? or gym (for basketball) or library (for books).

Based on what they had come to know about Jesus for 12 years, Jesus question was a good one. You know who I am and why I’m here. I’m on a mission for you and for my heavenly Father; I have a vital and important job to do that all about my heavenly Father’s business. (V 5). They didn’t get it/understand. How could that be? Jesus didn’t attempt to explain. He simply obeyed his earthly parents and, in perfect obedience, did as they said and went home with them to Nazareth.

Let’s you and I look at what Jesus meant when he said that he had to be involved in his Father’s business so we can answer the question, "Where would you have looked for Jesus?"

What was the Father’s business? Let the 30 year old Jesus an-swer this question for us as we look at a number of quotes of Jesus in the Bible. Mark 1.38. Jesus had a message to share with people and he had to be at places where people would be able to listen to him. Jn 10.10. Jesus came to give life, eternal life to the people of this planet by laying down his own life as a sacrifice for our sins. Mt 5.17. Jesus came to do for the human race what we humans cannot do for ourselves: obey the Law of God perfectly...for us...so that we can have the forgiveness of sins and the hope of heaven. Mt 10.34,35. You have heard me say before that there is no way to talk to people about Jesus who don’t want to talk about Jesus without offending them or even making them angry. Jesus couldn’t either. Jesus stirred the pot when he told people that they were not good enough to pay for their sins and earn their way to heaven. He told parents to tell their children, "As long as you do not repent of your sins you will die in unbelief and I will not see you in heaven!" Such a statement can drive a wedge between parents and children so that some parents don’t want to say that to their children...even though Christian parents know that there is not a wedge but a chasm, a wide unsurpassable gully that divides heaven and hell and will forever separate believing parents from their unbeliev-ing children. Was it painful for Jesus to tell people that as he did his Father’s business? Yes. Was it true and necessary? Yes again. The Father’s business to awaken in people the need for a Savior by telling them that their sins condemn them. And that business was to awaken in people the promise that he had come to save them from their sins by paying for sin himself, on their behalf, so that they can be forgiven. Only, believe in him! The Father’s business was to save the world...first to tell people who he was and then show people who he was...the divine and human Son of God and Savior from sin and death and hell.

Mary and Joseph should have known Jesus well enough after 12 years that they would not have gone to a soccer field or library but to the temple where he was gaining insight and explaining to the religion teachers that his business was to be the Savior from sin and death and hell.

Where would you have looked for Jesus? The focus of this story in here (v 46,47). Jesus, the human Son of Man was preparing himself to do the Father’s business by studying the Word of God , by learning what the Father’s will is, by taking to heart what he was to do to save you and me. JESUS WAS IN THE WORD SO HE COULD DO THE FATHER’S BUSINESS AND SAVE YOU FROM SIN AND DEATH AND HELL! Think about it. Would you have gone to the temple to look for Jesus because you know him so well? Isn’t that why you come here, to find Jesus and this answer Jn 6.37-40