As a parent today we spend so much time protecting our children and striving to raise them to not only survive in this rough world but shine a light for Jesus as they go. In my study time today I looked at Jesus' trip to the temple at age 12. As I read not only the story but also a commentary by HL Hester called Heart of the New Testament I was able to really broaden my perspective. For each of us our children are not considered adults until they are 18 and usually that is when they graduate High School. Many times even then parents still keep a close hand on their kids as they walk through their college years and get ready to enter the work force. However, back in biblical times this was not the case. Boys were considered an adult at 12 years old. This trip Jesus was taking to Jerusalem was not just for the passover but it was to present him to the Priests and for Jesus to become what they called a "Child of the Law". (Hester pg 105)
I loved the picture of community you get when you read this in scripture. You do not realize that his family is traveling in a caravan until their trip home but in Luke 2:44 we see this picture. "Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends." During this time in history people rarely traveled on their own, they would travel in large groups and since this was for passover I suspect they were traveling in a very large group. I can picture the Mothers walking and talking together as they dealt with their itty bitty children and the fathers orchestrating the entire group to keep them on track and moving. Amongst this I can see Jesus and the older children running and playing while they traveled. I can picture Mary thinking Jesus is with is brothers or cousins. He was 12 and now considered a man. She did not need to keep a close eye on him. Yet, when they began to look for him they realized he was not there.
I cannot begin to wrap my brain around how they must have been feeling. Striving not to panic but knowing that he should be somewhere in the group. In this panic and worry I wonder if it crossed their mind, that He was God's son and they lost him or was their worry limited because they knew he was God's son and mature for his age, so it was more frustration? Did Mary pray as she looked? What did that conversation with God sound like? It is amazing that as parents we can let our fear over our children overwhelm us to a point of panic...was Mary there? What really hits home for me in their search is that they looked for 3 days! Oh yes. Once they realized he was gone they had traveled 1 day and then they looked for 3 days. That means they had no idea where their son was for 4 days! I would have been a complete mess. There were not police to call and file a missing persons report. Jerusalem was a large city that housed the temple, most people were too busy to probably help them look for a missing boy. I wonder if any friends or family came back with them to help them look. What did they do with their other children? Did they bring them or send them on with the caravan?
It is these questions that really make me move these stories from being just Bible stories but to experiences in the lives of real people. Trying to picture their emotion, words or thoughts. What catches me most in this story is when they finally find Jesus. He is sitting in the Temple, having been there for the past 4 days, talking with the teachers. When they found him I love how Mary reacted just like a Mother and she said, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." Luke 2:48 I can hear this come out in her Momma voice, can't you? Listen to the exasperation and relief all at once as she is speaking to him. Did she want to grab his hand and drag him from the temple glad it was finally over or as he spoke to her did she realize again who her son actually is? Jesus said this to her: "Why were you searching for me? He asked. Did you know I had to be in my Father's house? Luke 2:49. In the next verse we learn that they did not understand what he was saying to them, but he obeyed and went back to Nazareth with his parents.
The passage says that Mary treasured all these things in her heart and that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. It also says he had favor with God and men. As a parent I keep trying to picture what Mary took away from this experience. Was this one of God's ways to lay the ground work knowing her son would not walk a path any other would walk? Was this a way God tried to remind her that Jesus was not just a boy but God himself in a human body? Did Mary think back to her visit with the angel and realize that as Jesus grew his life would no longer be predictable or normal? We all say that hindsight is 20/20 vision. As Mary gained distance and hindsight over this experience I wonder how it changed her as a mother?
This story is the first moment in scripture where we see Jesus step out of what is expected by others to seek and follow his heart. To sit in a temple for 4 days talking about scripture, life and God shows what passion he had and he was only 12! In my mind I can see Mary looking back at this and realizing that no matter how she tried Jesus was never going to be like her other children...he was deity...he was driven...he knew his purpose even at 12. To me I wonder if this was the point where Mary had to just hand Jesus over to the Lord knowing that he would do things she would not understand, so all she could do was trust the Lord.
As parents it is hard to hand our children over to the Lord as they get older. Our world is wicked and unpredictable. My prayer as I look at this story and look at my girls is that I will help them develop a passion for God similar to what Jesus had. I want them always seeking the Lord first and putting all else second. I want them to desire to sit under teachers to talk, learn and question. I want them brave enough to step out on their own trusting in the calling the Lord has given them. None of this is easy, I am not good at any of it but this story I think is helping me move one step closer.
