He was understanding more and more about his heavenly father. When Mary and Joseph heard this they knew that Jesus was growing up. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus knew that God was his father and that the temple was God’s special house. She wanted to know why he was still there at the temple. Mary told Jesus they had been searching and searching. Everyone there was amazed at how much this boy understood God’s word. It seems Jesus had enjoyed learning and listening so much that he had stayed to hear more. He was with the teachers of the Law and he was asking them questions. Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple courts. Where was their son, Jesus? They searched for him and finally found him. After looking everywhere, they knew that he must still be back in Jerusalem. At first they probably thought he was walking with his friends because they had been travelling a whole day when they finally realised he was not there. It was a beautiful city and everyone was there to worship God.Īfter the festivities it was time to go back home to Nazareth.īut as they headed home Joseph and Mary began to notice someone was missing. Joseph and Mary would have seen many of their friends in Jerusalem to. He might have played games and talked with them as they walked along the way to Jerusalem. Jesus probably liked walking with his friends and cousins. Sometimes there were robbers on the roads so Jesus’ family travelled along with lots of other families to be safe. Jesus and his family travelled all the way to Jerusalem. This meant that he could go to the temple and take part in the Passover Feast like the other men. Someday he would go to Jerusalem and visit the temple where the teachers were.įinally, the time had come. Jesus knew that someday he would be a grown man like Joseph. Joseph always took part in the celebration. This was a religious holiday and a special ceremony. Joseph was a carpenter so Jesus learned how to help him make things from wood.Įvery year Jesus travelled to Jerusalem to attend the Passover Feast. He played games with his friends and he went to school. Jesus grew up doing the things that little boys do. When Jesus was a little boy his family moved to the town of Nazareth. He returned home to obey his parents and grow in all of the areas humans must grow in. Jesus still needed to mature and grow before he was ready to begin his ministry in the full sense. This would have been difficult for his parents to understand. This seems to be the first time that Jesus struck out on his own faith. As parents we can imagine how Joseph and Mary must have felt. Parents need to know where we are at all times. Others were amazed at Jesus’ understanding but his parents were just worried about their son.Īs a teacher you might use this time to talk about how important it is to tell your parents where you are going to be. They finally found him in the temple courts totally absorbed in listening to the teachers and asking them questions. The third day was spent searching Jerusalem for their son. It seems they travelled one day away from Jerusalem and one day back. The city would have been full of people so it must have been quite a job finding Jesus. After searching the caravan they knew they had to return to Jerusalem. When night came, they anxiously looked for him. The day they left Jerusalem, they probably thought Jesus was with the other members of their family who had also attended the feast. Joseph and Mary stayed the full seven days of the festival, although they were required to stay only two. This may or may not have been Jesus’ first trip since he was a baby. People travelled in groups for safety reasons. Jerusalem was just over 100 kilometres (approximately 64 miles) south of Nazareth. Sometimes their wives and children accompanied them. Jewish men were required to attend the religious celebrations surrounding the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. He was now old enough to take part in the observances of the Jewish faith. When Jesus was twelve years old, it was time for him to take his place as an adult male in the religious community. Jesus would have attended synagogue school and would have observed the Sabbath and the Jewish feast days. He was known as Joseph’s son and learned his “father’s” trade of carpentry. Jesus was raised as a normal Jewish boy of his time. This fulfilled prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (verse 23). They ended up back in the town of Nazareth. Matthew tells us ( Matthew 2:19-23) that the angel came to Joseph in Egypt and told him to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. Joseph and Mary had kept Jesus in Egypt to protect him from King Herod.
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