Luke 2:48-52 48And when they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you done so to us? Look, your father and I while being in distress have been searching for you.” 49And he said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that it is necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” 50And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these events in her heart. 52And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and people.
Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus in the temple courts speaking with the rabbis. The word for amazed (exeplagēsan) shows astonishment to the point of being overwhelmed. Mary and Joseph had probably become quite frantic over the past three days looking all over for Jesus in the surrounding villages along the route and the large city of Jerusalem. If they would have thought through the situation from the perspective of God’s mission for Jesus, they may have started with the temple, but they were thinking from an earthly perspective as human parents. One of the key contrasts in this passage is Jesus’ relationship between his earthly parents and his heavenly parent. At stake is Jesus’ identity in relation to God.
Mary was the one to express her feelings and frustrations about the situation. Two words indicate their exasperation. First is the form of the question with the word why, which seeks the motive and reason for Jesus’ actions. This question sets up the contrast between the two “parents” of Jesus. The second is the adverbial participle being in distress (odynōmenoi) which can express significant pain and even torment. This was no ordinary search but created significant worry for Mary and Joseph. They really did not understand the situation and may have not realized the full identity of Jesus as the Son of God and not their son. Twelve years can change one’s thinking or dim one’s memory. This experience was a revelation to them and reminder of their role as the earthly caretakers of the Messiah.
The boy Jesus’ response in verse 49 draws out the contrast. On the surface, it may seem that Jesus is being impolite or even disrespectful to his parents by the way he responds. This is the first time Jesus speaks in the Gospels, and his words reveal much about his future agenda. He would confront people in gentle ways to correct their thinking about him. His questions assume the answer “yes” from Mary and Joseph; they should have concluded quickly where he was. On the divine level, this story was a teaching experience for them as a reminder of Jesus’ true identity. They still did not understand the situation. It may have taken many years to think back and reflect on the significance of what happened. Luke likely got his information about this episode directly from Mary who may have looked back over the many years and determined that story to be of special significance.
The story concludes with what could be interpreted as a change of attitude by Jesus towards Mary and Joseph. However, this interpretation fails to consider the context, which mentions multiple times the extraordinary insight Jesus had as a child, and also Mary’s response of treasuring these events up in her heart. Although Jesus gently corrected his parents through a rhetorical question, he was submissive to them, meaning he honored and obeyed them. Joseph and Mary were reminded through this experience that they did not have full control of Jesus. At some point, their rolls would be reversed, from caring and guiding Jesus as a child to being obedient and submissive to him as Lord.
Verse 52 gives the final summary of all of Jesus’ early life up until he began his public ministry. In the following years, he continued to make progress and advancement in the essentials that would enable him to have an effective ministry. God is the source of true wisdom (sophia). In the biblical perspective, wisdom begins in worship and submission. Stature (hēlikia) refers to the maturity that comes with age and experience. Favor (chariti) is the word often translated as “grace” and refers to a good disposition towards others. Jesus grew in all of these over the years, first before God who blessed him in all ways, and second before people who noticed something special about him.
For older posts, click here.