I Must Be About the Things of My Father
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In this passage in Luke (2:41-52), we are given the only account in all four Gospels that takes place in the life of Jesus between His infancy and His three public years of ministry.
Surely we would have lots of questions about this these "silent" years of Jesus's life!
- What was Jesus like as a 4-year-old child?
- What was He like as a teenager?
- Did He ever perform any miracles in these years?
The gospels are largely silent on all these questions. (After all, they can miss the point of why Jesus came.)
But the gospel writer Luke does give us this one story. A story he would have likely come to find out in his research efforts (1:1-4) - almost assuredly from interviewing Jesus's mother, Mary.
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A summary of what takes place:
- Every year, Jesus's parents, Mary and Joseph, would travel to Jerusalem for Passover celebration. (This shows their love for the Lord and desire to walk with Him!)
- When Jesus was 12, when the Passover was over, Mary and Joseph were returning home in a large group of people. Mary and Joseph assumed that Jesus was with them in the group, but He wasn't! He had stayed behind in Jerusalem.
- After three days of searching (parents, can you imagine??), Mary and Joseph found Him in the temple.
- Jesus was with the teachers of the law, both listening to them, and asking them questions. They were amazed at His answers, and His understanding! (see Matt. 7:28-29)
- When Mary and Joseph asked Jesus why He had done this, His response was,
"Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
(Or, "... about my Father's business?" Lit. = "about the things of my Father")
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I want us to focus on Jesus's words to His parents.
From the age of 12, it is apparent that Jesus knows He has been sent on a mission by His Father. He *must* be about the things of His Father, He says.
This word "must" ("dei" in the Greek) actually becomes an important word throughout the Gospel of Luke. With its very first instance here in chapter 2.
In Luke, Jesus often uses the word "dei" to talk about the necessity of his mission. A few examples:
4:43 - "I must ["dei"] preach the good news of the kingdom of God and to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."
9:22 - "The Son of Man must ["dei"] suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
22:7 - "Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover Lamb had to ["dei"] be sacrificed."
24:44 - "... everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must ["dei"] be fulfilled."
(For more uses of "dei", see note at bottom.)
"I must preach the good news."
"The Son of Man must suffer."
"The Passover Lamb must be sacrificed."
"Everything written about me must be fulfilled."
And here, as a 12 year old young man, Jesus shows that He understood His mission early on.
"I must be about the things of my Father."
-—
Early(ish) on in Luke's gospel (9:51), it says,
"When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem."
Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem.
To go to the cross.
Where He would suffer, die, and be raised.
Could we say perhaps that His face was set to go to the cross from even this early age of 12? (Or even younger?)
There would be another Passover.
A final one.
A Passover after which Jesus again would "go missing" for 3 days.
And be gloriously found.
Jesus - who from a young age had seen lambs sacrificed every year in Jerusalem at Passover - would become the one final Lamb of God, to satisfy the wrath of his Father for the sins of all who would ever believe.
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It's a time of year where many are talking about New Year's resolutions. Being "resolved" to make changes in our lives.
Friends, from the gospel of Luke, let us see clearly the *resolve* of our Savior.
His resolve to rescue us.
His resolve to finish the mission for which He was sent by His Father.
His resolve to suffer, die, but then be raised!
His resolve even from the early age of 12.
Let's see His resolve clearly, give thanks to Him, and worship Him!
- Joe
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"dei" in Luke:
2:49
4:43
9:22
13:33
17:25
19:5
21:9
22:7, 37
24:26, 44