In the second chapter of Luke , we read that Mary and Joseph, like so many of their countrymen, were making the annual trip to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Jerusalem was a little over 60 miles south of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, so this was no doubt a trip of at least 2 to 3 days by foot. We get from the context (verse 44) that they traveled in a larger group. Group travel was customary for longer trips like this in those days. I expect that it afforded a certain measure of mutual protection for the travelers; and I imagine it allowed for a certain economy of effort as food, clothing, and supplies would need to be carried along. There would have been carts perhaps, and animals to help carry the loads. Additionally, I could imagine that traveling in such a caravan would provide for mutual companionship on such a long trip, and this might have been a welcome and much anticipated part of the journey. We read in verse 41, “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”
Now, the trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover was not just an overnight visit. The Passover was observed on the 14th day of the first month of the year, and it was followed beginning on the 15th day by the seven days of unleavened bread, (Numbers 28:16,17). So, Mary, Joseph and Jesus would have been in Jerusalem at least a week. At the end of that time, when all were returning to their homes, we read that an oversight occurred which made for a few very anxious days for Mary and Joseph:
“And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him,” (verses 43-45). After leaving Jerusalem with the group returning home, Mary and Joseph went a full day’s journey before they realized Jesus was not among the group of travelers. This might seem strange, but consider that the group was large, and it would have been common for different age groups to walk and talk together; so the young people might not always have been with their parents. Thus, it might have been much easier to miss someone of the company than we might suppose at first glance. Now, when Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not with the group, they searched for Him first among their relatives and friends in the caravan, then they went back the day’s journey to try to find Him in Jerusalem. But, where might Jesus be found?
Can you imagine the panic that must have been rising in Mary’s and Joseph’s hearts as they searched from place to place around Jerusalem, retracing all their steps of the past week, and having no clue where the child might be found? Once when I was very young, I was separated from my parents for a while in a large department store in Davenport, Iowa. After some consideration, my mother knew exactly where to look for me—I was to be found in the toy department, amongst the electric trains as they ran through mountain tunnels, and down into the colorful and highly detailed railroad yard, alive with flashing lights and active crossing arms. This is where my family guessed they’d find me, and they were right! But, where would you look to find Jesus? I can only imagine Mary and Joseph’s frenzied thoughts as they tearfully went from place to place in that large, strange city, seeking for Jesus. How very sad that it took three days to think of looking in the one place where Jesus was so apt to be found—in the Temple, listening to the Word of God as it was being read and discussed. We read in verses 46 and 47, “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”
As believers, do we ever lose track of the Lord Jesus for a time? Do we ever get our eyes off Him, then go about feeling upset and alone, frantically seeking the comfort of His presence? Sadly enough, I believe that this can happen at times, even to Christians. We do live in a fallen world, and our adversary is actively seeking to distract us by taking our eyes off the Lord. He acts to intimidate us, and to discourage us by attacking where we might be vulnerable, in hopes of ruining our testimony and halting the spread of the Gospel. We read in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Dear friend, have you experienced such an attack? Perhaps even now you are recoiling from a false accusation, or maybe some calamitous event or deep disappointment in your life is now preying on your mind. Unless we have taken up the whole armor of God, with our eyes fixed steadfastly on our Lord rather than the peril before us, our defenses will be weak, and we are open to such an attack. At times like this, our energies can be diverted away from prayer and reading of the Word, and our hours might instead be consumed with worry. In those times, it can seem as though we have lost His presence, even though He is always there with His own.
As we walk this wilderness path, communion with our Lord is so important to our peace and joy. If we allow sin and worldliness in our lives, our fellowship with the Lord is broken, and this too can be a most lonely and anxious time. I mentioned earlier the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and I believe there is something here for believers today that we should always keep in mind. During the 7 days following the Passover, the Israelite would have carefully removed all leaven from the home, and no leavened bread was to be eaten during this week. Leaven, in Scripture, signifies sin and worldliness. For believers today, how important it is to be diligent to remove the leaven of sin and worldliness in our daily walk. We read in 1 Corinthians 5:7,8, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”.
What a miserable experience it is when a child of God loses sight of the Lord Jesus; how lonely it is when we lose that sense of His presence because of fear and worry, or when our communion with Him is interrupted for even a short time by sin in our lives! So where is Jesus to be found at such times? I recall that the disciples on the road to Emmaus were perplexed and troubled in their hearts after that terrible scene at Calvary (Luke 24); being so violently and, apparently permanently separated from their Lord, their hearts were quite downcast, and they did not recognize Him when He came and joined their conversation. Then, the Lord Jesus opened the Scriptures to these heavy hearted disciples, and their hearts burned within them. He had been with them all along, but they didn’t realize this; at length, they recognized His presence with them as He was revealed to them in the Word. We read in Luke 24:32, “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?” It is in the Word of God that the Lord Jesus was revealed to them—the Scriptures tell of Jesus. Once recognized of His disciples, their joy was full.
My dear friends, if for any reason we have gotten our eyes off of the Lord Jesus, we must go back to the place where we lost sight of Him, and there seek communion with our Lord. As we read His Word, He talks to us; as we pray, we talk to Him. If we purge out the old leaven in our lives, and seek Him through prayer and the reading of His Word, we will soon find that He is there, sure enough—He is ever with us. My dear Christian friend, we are never alone. We read in Hebrews 13:5, “…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. In Matthew 28:20, we read, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”.
It was at the temple in Jerusalem where Mary and Joseph found Jesus. In verses 48 and 49 we read, “And when they saw Him, they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” Mary rebuked Him because she and Joseph had been worried and had sought Him with tears. However, Jesus had not been disobedient in any way. He was simply doing the work that His Father had sent Him to do. And we read, “And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,” (verses 50-53.
My dear friend, think about this: this 12 year old boy, Jesus, whom we have been reading about in Luke 2 was the very Son of God. He was truly a boy, yet He was also Emmanuel, or “God with us”. It was by His voice that all the universe was called into existence; but, He laid His glory aside and was born in a humble manger as a baby. As true man, the Lord Jesus had to grow and learn like other children, yet He was subject to His mother Mary and to Joseph, and He returned home with them to complete His years of growing up. As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus delighted to do His Father’s will, even at this early age; that will would one day take Him to Calvary’s cross to lay down His life for poor, ruined sinners like you and me, that through faith in Him, we might be saved and have life.
Have you as yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If so, then you know that you are a child of God. We read in John 1: 10-12: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:”. Do you believe on the name of the Son of God? It is my prayer for you that you believe even now; if you do, then you are saved, and you can know the comfort of His presence at all times.
One final thought, and this is for my dear readers who have believed on Christ. In verse 49 we read the first recorded words of our Lord Jesus, “wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” If through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been given power to become the sons of God, what business then should you and I be occupied with as we wait for His return from heaven?