Luke 2:29 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

I have been pondering this verse and passage for the last few days, really trying to understand it. I have always been fasinated with Luke 2:51 (But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.) What did Mary treasure in her? I so wish Luke would have just expounded on these verses a little more. But we are left wondering what Mary was thinking at end of this encounter with Jesus.

Since I am known for giving background to what I am talking about, and knowing the background generally helps us know what is going on, here I go…

In the book of Luke, Dr. Luke (the author) goes out of his way within the first 2 chapters to show the devotion of Jesus’ family to Judaism. For instance, Dr. Luke does his homework and I believe Jesus’ family spirituality was known through out the Palenstinian world. He shows the devotion of Jesus’ family to Judaism by the presentation of Jesus before the high priest after the 8th day of his birth, something which was laid out in the old testament. This made Jesus a Jew of Jews as He was of pure Jewish decent, which we see in the geneology at the beginning of the Book of Matthew. We next see Jesus’ family’s devotion to Judaism starting in Luke 2:41. It says that “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.” Adults were to attend the three major feasts in Jerusalem annually- Passover, Pentacost, and Tabernacles. For many it was impossible, but as effort was made to at least go to Passover.

Now because they didn’t go to all three feast a year, doesn’t mean they weren’t devoted. They lived 65 miles from Jerusalem, and with Jesus’ family being poor there was no way they could afford a minivan for Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the other 6-8 kids they had (Mark 6:3). They actually had to travel in caravan’s (remember not a Dodge Caravan) and we know from the end of Luke 2 that it took longer than 1 day to go from home to Jerusalem. How many of you out there have more than 5 brothers and sisters and have gone on a vacation or even out for a family night? Or you have this many children the joy of getting them all ready for church in the morning? Plus they probably weren’t the only family going down there. So that resources were maximized and there were enough supervision for all the children, families probably traveled togethered (Luke 2:44). You should then understand why it was impossible to get all those kids together for a trip to a place that is at least a 2 day walking journey 3 times a year. And when they traveled it was common that families traveled with the younger children with the woman and the older boys with the men. Jesus was 12 and at this intermediate age, Jesus could have been traveling with the women or the men. Each parent might have supposed He was with the other not that they just forgot Jesus in Jerusalem. So after 1 day of traveling they realized Jesus wasn’t with either of the parents and they turned around and traveled another day to get back to Jerusalem and then they spent 1 more day looking for Jesus. Sorry Jerusalem isn’t a small town.

This is where we pick up in the story. When they find Jesus, His is “in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” He was in His Father’s house. He was in an area of safety conversing with the teachers of the day. His wasn’t just listening to them but asking questions and even giving answers and they were literally displaced, out of their mind by the answers that Jesus was giving them. Our God is Cool!

Now Joseph and Mary find Jesus and pull Him aside and really give Him a tongue lashing. They were upset. The word “anxiously” means “to cause or suffer pain.” I mean they were sick to their stomach because they thought they had lost Jesus. But what does Jesus say, “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” The word “Father” here in the greek is “pater,” on that is the generator or male ancestor. Jesus wasn’t referring to Joseph (His earthly father) otherwise He would have been in the woodshop back in Nazereth. Joseph and Mary were hit with the reality that this was the Son of God.

Have you ever been hit with that reality? Do you ever look for Jesus and He isn’t in the places you are looking, and when you find Him, He say’s “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” The King James translates this “Don’t you know I must be about my Father’s business?” What a wake-up call. Are you doing the Father’s buisness or are you worried about everything else? This is what I believe Mary was trying to ponder in her heart in verse 51. What about the Father’s buisness was she trying to “be about”? How was she living for God right now? Good questions to think about. How about you?