Luke 2:41 - Meaning and Application

We have here the only story recorded about our blessed Savior from his childhood until he appeared to Israel at about twenty-nine years old. So we should pay close attention to it, because it is vain to wish for more than Scripture gives. Here is Christ going up with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover (Luke 2:41, Luke 2:42).

This was their regular practice, as the law required, even though the trip was long and they were poor. They likely had to stretch their means to make it. Public worship must be attended, and we must not neglect meeting together, as some do. Worldly business must yield to spiritual duties. Joseph and Mary had a Son at home who could teach them better than all the rabbis in Jerusalem, yet they still went up for the feast. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the homes of Jacob, and so should we. Joseph likely also went up for Pentecost and Tabernacles, since all the men were to appear three times a year. Mary went for Passover, the greatest of the three feasts and the one with the clearest picture of the gospel.

The child Jesus, at twelve years old, went with them. Jewish teachers said that children should begin fasting from time to time at twelve, so they could learn to fast on the Day of Atonement. At thirteen, a child became, as they said, a “son of the commandment,” meaning one fully responsible for the duties of grown members of the covenant people. The text does not say this was Jesus’ first time going up to worship at the feast. He may well have done so for several years already, with wisdom and understanding beyond his age. All who can hear with understanding should attend public worship (Nehemiah 8:2). Children who are forward in other things should also be encouraged in religion. It honors Christ when children attend public worship, and he welcomes their praise. Children dedicated to God in infancy should be brought, when they are grown, to the gospel Passover, the Lord’s Supper, so they make that commitment their own.

Christ then stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it, and in this he gave an early sign of the work he was appointed to do. His parents did not leave until the feast days were completed. They stayed the full seven days, even though many people went home after the first two days. It is good to stay until an ordinance is finished, like those who say, “It is good to be here,” and not rush away as if we were unwilling to remain before the Lord.

The child stayed behind in Jerusalem, not because he was unwilling to go home or did not love his parents, but because he had business to do there. He wanted them to learn that he had a Father in heaven, and he was bound to obey him above all others. Respect for God must not be mistaken for disrespect toward parents. Some think he remained in the temple, since devout Jews often went there first on the morning they were leaving, to worship God before going home. Others think he stayed at the house where they lodged, or at a friend’s house, since a child like him would have been loved by everyone. Then he may have gone to the temple only at the usual time of worship. In any case, he stayed behind. It is a good sign when young people are willing to remain in the house of the Lord, because then they are like Christ.

His parents traveled the first day without suspecting that he was left behind, because they assumed he was with the company (Luke 2:44). The crowd was large, especially on the first day of travel, and the roads were full of people. So they thought he had gone along with some neighbors. They looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances on the road as they went down. They asked in effect, “Have you seen our Son?” Like the bride in Scripture, they were searching for the one their hearts loved. He was worth seeking. They knew everyone would want his company, and that he would gladly do good among his relatives and friends. But they did not find him there (Luke 2:45). There are many, too many, among our relatives and acquaintances, whom we cannot avoid, and yet find little or nothing of Christ among them.

When they could not find him among the travelers, they hoped they would see him at their lodging that night. But there was no news of him there either. Compare this with Job 23:8, Job 23:9. When they did not find him that night, they turned back to Jerusalem the next morning, seeking him. Those who want to find Christ must keep seeking until they do. He will be found by those who seek him, and he rewards them generously.

Those who have lost their comfort in Christ, or the signs that they belong to him, should think back to where, when, and how they lost them. They should return to the place where they last had them. They must remember where they have fallen, repent, do their first works, and return to their first love (Revelation 2:4, Revelation 2:5). Those who want to regain close fellowship with Christ must go to Jerusalem, the city of our appointed feasts, the place he chose for his name. They must attend him in his ordinances, especially in the gospel Passover, and there they may expect to meet him.

On the third day they found him in the temple, in one of the rooms where the teachers of the law held their meetings and discussions. There he was, sitting among them (Luke 2:46). He was not standing there as a student being examined or taught, because he had shown such knowledge and wisdom that they allowed him to sit among them as one of their company. This shows not only that he was full of wisdom (Luke 2:40), but also that he wanted to grow in it and was ready to share it.

Here he is an example for children and young people. They should learn from Christ to enjoy the company of those from whom they can gain good. They should rather sit among teachers than among idle companions. Let them begin at twelve years old, and even earlier, to seek knowledge and keep company with those who can instruct them. In youth, a desire to learn is a hopeful and promising sign.

Many young people at Christ’s age would have been playing with children in the temple, but he was sitting with the teachers in the temple. He listened to them, and those who want to learn must be quick to hear. He also asked them questions. Whether he did this as a teacher, since he had the right to ask, or as a learner, since he showed humility, or as one searching for truth with others, the point is that truth is often found through friendly discussion.

He also gave answers that were very surprising and fully satisfying (Luke 2:47). His wisdom showed in both the questions he asked and the answers he gave, so everyone who heard him was amazed. They had never heard anyone, young or old, speak with such sense and insight. Like David, he had more understanding than all his teachers, yes, more than the elders (Psalm 119:99-100).

Christ showed a few rays of his glory there, but only for a moment. As Calvin said, he gave them a taste of his divine wisdom and knowledge. This public appearance in the temple, as a teacher, seems like Moses’s early attempt to help Israel, which Stephen understood as a sign of what God would later do through him (Acts 7:24-25). They might have taken the hint and received him then, but they did not understand it. So, like Moses, Christ withdrew again into hidden life, and for many years they heard no more of him.

His mother then spoke with him privately about it. When the group broke up, she took him aside and asked him about it with tenderness and affection (Luke 2:48). Joseph and Mary were both amazed to find him there, and amazed that he had been given such respect as to sit among the teachers and draw their notice. Joseph stayed silent, since he knew he was only his legal father.

Mary told him how painful it had been: “Son, why have you treated us like this? Why did you put us through such fear?” They may have thought of many terrible things, perhaps even that he had been attacked or taken by some enemy. Since Herod had once tried to kill him as a child, they might have feared the worst. “Why did you give us cause for this? Your father and I have been looking for you, full of sorrow.” They were not only upset that they had lost him, but also ashamed that they had not watched him more closely and brought him with them.

Those who think they have lost Christ may rightly complain of their loss. But their sorrow should not lead to despair. They must keep searching. If we want to find Christ, we must seek him with sorrow, sorrow that we lost him, sorrow that we have driven him away, and sorrow that we did not seek him sooner. Those who seek him in that way will eventually find him, and their joy will be greater for the wait.

He gently corrected their anxious concern (Luke 2:49): “Why were you looking for me? You might have trusted that I would follow you home when I had finished what I had to do here. I could not be lost in Jerusalem. Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” Some read this as, “I must be about my Father’s affairs.” Either way, he meant that he belonged where his Father’s work was being done.

He also meant, first, that he was under his Father’s care and protection. They should have trusted God with him instead of carrying the burden themselves. Christ is like an arrow hidden in his Father’s quiver (Isaiah 49:2). God cares for his church in the same way, so we should never despair of its safety.

Second, he meant that he must be about his Father’s business. That was his calling, and he could not return home as quickly as they expected. Have you not already seen that about me, he says, that I have given myself to religion and must attend to its work? Here he left us an example. Children of God should, like Christ, give first place to their heavenly Father’s work and make all other work yield to it.

We now understand this saying well, because Christ explained it in what he later said and did. Doing his Father’s will and finishing his work was his mission in the world, and his food and drink as well. Yet at that time his parents did not understand what he meant (Luke 2:50). They did not see what work he had to do in the temple for his Father. They believed he was the Messiah who would take David’s throne, but they thought that would lead him to the royal palace, not the temple. They did not yet understand his role as a prophet, and much of his work would be done in that way.

Then comes their return to Nazareth. This glimpse of his glory was brief. It was over, and he did not ask his parents to stay in Jerusalem or to settle him there, even though that was the place where he could have grown in public honor and shown his wisdom best. Instead, he gladly returned to the quiet life at Nazareth, where for many years he was, as it were, buried alive. He surely went up to Jerusalem three times a year for the feast, but we are not told whether he ever again spoke with the teachers in the temple.

We are told, first, that he was subject to his parents. Once, to show that he was more than a mere man, he withdrew from them to attend his heavenly Father’s work. But this was not his constant pattern. For many years after, he remained under their authority, followed their directions, and likely worked with Joseph at the carpenter’s trade. In this he gave children an example of dutiful obedience to their parents in the Lord. Though he was born of a woman and was under the fifth commandment, he showed the faithful how to live as a faithful people. Though his parents were poor and lowly, and though Joseph was only his legal father, he still obeyed them. Though he was strong in spirit and full of wisdom, yes, though he was the Son of God, he was subject to his parents. How, then, will those answer for their disobedience who are foolish and weak, yet refuse their parents?

Second, his mother did not fully understand her son’s words, but she kept them in her heart. She waited, expecting that they would later be explained to her, and that she would then understand them fully and know how to use them.

Even if we may ignore human sayings because they are unclear, we must never think that way about God’s words. Something that seems dark at first, so that we do not know what to make of it, may later become clear and plain. For that reason, we should store it in our hearts for later use (John 2:22). We may find that what does not seem useful now will be useful at another time. A student keeps grammar rules in mind even when he does not yet see why they matter, because he is told they will help him later. We should treat Christ’s words the same way.

He also grew, and that growth was remarkable (Luke 2:52). “He increased in wisdom and stature.” In his divine nature, Christ could not increase at all, since God is already perfect. This refers to his human nature: his body grew in height and strength as he passed through the years of childhood and youth, and his human soul grew in wisdom and all the gifts fitting for a real human soul. The eternal Word was united to his human soul from the moment of his conception, yet the divine life within him showed itself to his humanity little by little, in keeping with what his human nature could receive.

As his human faculties became more developed, the gifts from his divine nature were more fully shown. He also grew in favor with God and man, meaning that all the qualities that made him pleasing were increasingly seen by both. In this way Christ fit himself to the humbled life he had taken on. He came down to be an infant, a child, and then a young man, and as he grew, the image of God shone more clearly in him than it could when he was younger. Young people should do the same: as they grow in body, they should grow in wisdom. Then, as they grow in wisdom, they will also grow in favor with God and with people.