Print

By Tyson Thorne

July 21, 2016
 
 

Luke 2.41-58

For some reason Luke skips over the wise men, the ruler’s decision to have all boys three years of age and under slaughtered, and the escape to Egypt. Due to the fact that this is an introduction only to the ministry life of Jesus, I imagine he felt he needed to leave it out. An introduction to a book can only be so long. So instead Luke moves us ahead 12 years to the event of his withdrawal from his parents after the feast of Passover to spend time in the temple. The timing, and number of days missing, are significant.

There is much to take note of in this familiar passage, the first of which is where Mary and Joseph find Jesus: in the temple. This passage follows Jesus’ dedication at the temple, where he was set aside for special service to God. By referring to it as “his Father’s house” he declares an intimacy with God that they cannot fully understand but have deduced in part. Mary informs the boy that she and his father have been looking for him, and Jesus responds by implying obedience to the heavenly Father. This is a break in their authority over him. While he may have been obedient to them after in an attempt to console them, in another year he would be considered a man by Jewish standards and he would have to begin training for his mission.

The second item of importance is what Mary and Joseph found him doing. He was asking questions of the teachers of the Law of Moses who were “astonished” by him. No one is taken aback by questions, not ordinarily, indicating that he began a very specific teaching style of his own. Today we call it the Socratic Method, after Socrates who taught his students lessons by asking them a series of questions that would ultimately guide them to a proper conclusion. Jesus exercises this method regularly as we will see in the following passages.

The third important aspect of this story is when they found Jesus. Notice the setting provided by Luke: They were in Jerusalem celebrating Passover. Jesus is lost to them and they return to Jerusalem to look for him. On the third day they find him the temple. Exactly 21 years later (nearly to the day) Mary will have a similarly frightful experience, losing her son a second time but now to Death, only to reunite with him three days later when he resurrects from the grave. It was a valuable lesson the young couple didn’t even know they were learning.

Which leads us to the final observation of the passage, the why of Jesus’ behavior. While I’m a protestant and not particularly fond of those who hold the office of Pope, John Paul II made a very astute observation about this passage:

His Mother asked Jesus: “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously” (Lk 2:48). Here we can discern an echo of the “whys” asked by so many mothers about the suffering their children cause them, as well as the questions welling up in the heart of every man and woman in times of trial. -- The Gospel for Sunday, December 31, 2006

Mary didn’t understand the lesson or Jesus’ sudden departure of his characteristic obedience. We know this for certain as Luke records for us, “Yet his parents did not understand the remark he made to them.” Likewise, there are many times in our life we do not understand the suffering we endure. Most of the time suffering comes as a result of our own bad decisions or the sins of others or even as a result of the broken nature of this world, but such is not the case here. No, sometimes our suffering comes from the actions of God and when this is the case we should understand it does not come from any malicious intent. Indeed, it is most often a lesson to prepare us for greater trails ahead.