Luke's narrative of Jesus' childhood ends with the account of Jesus' finding in the Temple in Luke 2:41-52. It is a sort of snapshop of the twelve-year old Jesus who now begins to go about his "Father's business" by staying in Nazareth under the guidance of Mary and Joseph. The narrative is somewhat similar to the one previous to it where Jesus is presented for the first time at the Temple (2:22-40). There, Jesus is presented at the Temple for the redemption of the first-born and Mary's purification, (b) while there, Simeon and Anna present the infant to Mary, and finally (c) Jesus' parents bring him back to Nazareth. The story concludes in 2:40 with a summary statement about how Jesus grows. These same elements are found in 2:41-52 with one difference: there is the episode of Jesus being lost. An outline can be drawn thus:
- Introduction (v. 41)
- The incident: Jesus remains in Jerusalem and is missed by his parents (vv. 42-45)
- The finding of Jesus in the Temple
- Jesus is found in the midst of teachers (vv. 46-47)
- Mary's reproach (v. 48)
- Jesus' response; his self-introduction (v. 49)
- The reaction of Joseph and Mary (v.50)
- Conclusion: Jesus returns to Nazareth with his parents (vv. 51-52)
It has been suggested that before this story was added by Luke into his gospel, it only had vv. 41-43, 45-46, and 48-50. In other words, the story -- as originally received by Luke -- is about Jesus remaining behind in Jerusalem after the Feast of Passover and his justification for it. It is therefore a pronouncement story that highlights the boy Jesus' self-knowledge. Jesus' justification for remaining behind is at the same time his self-introduction to his parents as the Father's Son. When Luke rewrites the story to fit into his gospel, he adds verse 44 to show how the drama could have been played out in a crowd of pilgrims, verse 47 to anticipate the effect that Jesus has on people when he actually starts his ministry, and finally,verses 51-52 to
- conclude the story as in 2:39-40, and
- to show how Mary, the first disciple, took in this event
The above is a scholar's reconstruction of how the story became part of Luke's gospel. The final redactor however fixes the meaning of the story and so its appearance in the gospel of Luke is determinant. Verse 41 explains how Jesus, a twelve-year old, goes to the Temple in Jerusalem which is some one hundred kilometers from Nazareth as the crow flies. The Holy Family has made it a yearly commitment to celebrate Passover in the Holy City. The feast of Passover celebrates the liberation of Israel from Egypt. It is also the occassion when the father of the household retells to the youngest member of the family the marvels that God has done for His people (cf. Ex. 12:21-28; Deut. 6:20-25). It is within the atmosphere of this pious and devout household that Jesus grew up. This yearly contact with Jerusalem as a boy also explains the tears he sheds over the city as a man (Luke 19:41) and anticipates his final journey to it (Luke 9:51).
The loss of Jesus is not the fault of negligent parents. As the dialogue in vv. 48-49 shows, it was Jesus who chose to remain behind. Josepah and Mary sought Jesus after discovering his loss at the end of a day's journey. They return to Jerusalem and seek him there some more days before finding him. "After three days" Luke informs us, alluding perhaps to the same length of time that he was lost to his disciples after his death. If this is indeed an allussion then the event anticipates the death and resurrection of Jesus. Simon's prophecy about the dagger (Luke 2:35) is now at work. Verses 44-45 is structured in such a way that the phrase "not finding him" is framed by the phrases "(they) searched for him" (44b) and "... searching for him" (45c). Joseph and Mary sought Jesus because they did not find him. The absent Jesus, as Mary's words reveal later on (v. 48), is upsetting. When there is no Jesus, there is no peace. Luke draws his readers' attention to the discovery of Jesus' loss so as to make them identify themselves with Joseph and Mary and follow them to Jerusalem. Three times in the narrave, "Jerusalem" is named (vv. 41.42.45). The name means "Vision of Peace". It is there where they will find Jesus "our peace" (cf. Eph. 2:13-14).
Jesus is found in the Temple in the midst of teachers. The scene depicts a wise man using the Socratic method on disciples. It anticipates the symposium scenes in Luke's gospel where Jesus teaches by questioning. The scene also depicts graphically what has been stated in 2:40: "The child was filled with wisdom and God's grace was with him." A comparison has been drawn with Samuel (1 Sam. 4:19-21), the last judge of Israel whose ministry was a period of significant transitions. It was through him that Israel was transformed from a confederacy to a monarchy. It was by the hand of Samuel that Yahweh transferred the kingdom from Saul to David. It was perhaps during the childhood of Samuel that the ark of the covenant was transferred from Shiloh to Kiriath-jearim (1 Sam. 4:11;7:1). In Psalm 78:60 this transfer is proclaimed in terms of God leaving "his home ... his tent where he once lived with men." The presence of a Samuel-like figure in Jesus may perhaps well be a Lucan signal of the transition that will be effected later on in the Acts of the Apostles: the proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 13:50-51).
In verse 49, Luke records the first words of Jesus. Zechariah has proclaimed him to John, the angels introduced him to the shepherds, Simeon prophesied about him to Mary. Now Jesus introduces himself to his parents and to all interested in him (Luke's readers). His introduction is occassioned by a rebuke. Jesus' response to Mary's query justifies his absence while at the same time expresses his self-knowledge. Literally he says "Why do you seek me? Don't you know I have to be among My Father's own?". The expression "his own", "my own" indicates those things/persons one values most. The closest English translation here is "Don't you know I have to be about my Father's business?". Thus at twelve years, when Jewish boys become men, Jesus starts to do the work of His Father. Luke had already shown how Jesus was conceived by the Spirit and how the angel announced him as "Son of God" (1:35). When Jesus declares that it was necessary (
dei) for him to be among his Father's own" he was referring not to Joseph's trade as carpenter, but to the affairs of the Father in Heaven. It is an affair that is signified by the Temple, the place where Israel is made holy and where, in a special way, God's name is sanctified. Luke began his gospel at the Temple and will end it with an image of the disciples praising God in the Temple (Luke 24:53). At this juncture in the Gospel, Jesus the boy is telling everyone that his work will be connected to holiness (the Temple) to freedom from slavery (Passover theme), and to obedience to the Father. This last becomes clear when he goes back to Nazareth with his parents and subjects himself to them (
hypotassomenos) in obedience to the fourth commandment: "Honor your father and your mother" (Ex. 20:12).
His parents do not understand. Joseph and Mary, like the disciples after them do not understand Jesus' words. Full understanding is a gift of the Resurrection. What they do not understand is not about Jesus' Father, but what Jesus referred to as his Father's own. Paul would writer later on that this mystery will be revealled in the Glorified Christ (cf. Rom. 14:22). Mary, the first disciple, "stored up all these things in her heart" (2:51b). Mary did the same time at Jesus birth (1:19). Both these statements link the accounts of Jesus' birth and his finding at the Temple. By these also, Luke invites his readers to do the same wherever the Christ-event is known and experienced. Paul refers to this Christ-event when he writes: "All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death" (Phil. 3:10; see also Col. 1:27). The dagger that Simeon prophesied is not a puzzle to be solved but a mystery to be lived. And Mary, representing all disciples, meditated on the Christ in the silence of her heart.
