Christmas 1C. Gospel

The boy Jesus in the temple. 2:41-52

Introduction
Luke now moves from the infancy narratives to a set of stories which serve to inaugurate Jesus' mission. Each episode tells us something of Jesus' messianic character. Luke lets us into a secret; Jesus is the "Son of God". Although this is a messianic title, it also reveals something of the very character of Jesus. Jesus is in a unique relationship with the Father God. In this first episode, Witness in the Temple, Luke introduces us to Christ's unique character.

The passage
v41-42. A Jewish boy reaches manhood at age 13, and it is the responsibility of the boy's father to introduce him to his religious obligations before he comes of age. Jesus, now 12, is taken to the most important of the Jewish religious festivals. It was expected that Pentecost and Tabernacles be attended as well as Passover, but the Jews of Galilee, due to distance, tended to attend Passover only. The significance of the Passover, Israel's deliverance through sacrifice, is not lost on Luke.
v43-45. A pilgrimage to a religious festival was usually undertaken in a large group of family, relatives, neighbors and friends. The women and children would travel as one group, followed by the men. They would not all come together again until they met at a prearranged meeting place on the journey home. It was only then that Joseph and Mary discovered that Jesus was not with the other parent or with their "kinsfolk."
v46. It was at the end of the first day, after leaving Jerusalem, that Joseph and Mary discover Jesus missing. On the second day they return to Jerusalem, and on the third day find Jesus in the temple. During festival and on the Sabbath, the teachers sat in the Temple precinct to teach their traditions and answer questions. It was in one such group that Joseph and Mary found their son "listening" and "asking questions."
v47. The members of the teaching group are "amazed" at Jesus' "understanding." The word "amazed" is used, particularly by Mark and Luke, as a preliminary response by the crowds to a powerful working of the Spirit of God in word or sign. In this case, it is a Spirit-filled word. So, even at the age of 12 and prior to descent of the Spirit upon him, Jesus fills the crowd with wonder and awe.
v48. Jesus' parents are similarly awestruck, quite unable to understand what is going on. Their only response is to chastise Jesus, and this rightly so.
v49. Jesus responds by telling his parents he must be about his Father's business, the Word business. Most translations have "Father's house", meaning the temple. As for "my Father", he certainly doesn't mean Joseph. He may be claiming that God is his father, although the "my" probably just reflects his messianic claims; Jesus is "the Son of God." "Son of God" is primarily a messianic title, and by claiming the title Jesus is not necessarily revealing his filial relationship with God the Father, nor is he denying his human kinship.
v50. His parents simply do not understand what he is up to. Given his miraculous birth, he is obviously a candidate for messiah, Son of God, but why "must" the coming Davidic messiah (a worrier king) be in the temple discussing theology?
v51. As far as his parents are concerned, the young Jesus is way out of line. Jesus rightly submits to them and returns with them to Nazareth. Mary wonders about it all.
v52. Meanwhile, Jesus continues to grow in wisdom, as well as stature and moral integrity.

Conflicting obligations
Of first importance we bound to hear Luke and so be reminded of Jesus' messianic credentials. We follow no ordinary man. Yet, there is an interesting side issue in this passage which touches on the human condition.
Clearly, Jesus in out of line when he heads off to the temple to do his own thing. Without considering his parent's he gets caught up in his "Father's business", wrestling with the wisdom/truth that in years to come will be the center of his messianic ministry. Yet, although his intentions are worthy, the social consequences are anything but worthy. His parents are rightly miffed. Jesus tries to calm the waters with an explanation (always taken by the accuser as an excuse), but then immediately submits to their parental authority. He was "obedient to them".
This incident reminds us that Jesus shared our human condition, yet did not sin under the law. Here he is caught in the classic bind of honour to one causing offence to another. Only in a sinful world are we faced with such a problem. Yet, the inadvertent breaking of the law does not condemn Jesus. When corrected, he obeys. Unintentional sin does not condemn, in fact, it was the only type of sin covered by the sin offerings in Old Testament law.
So, this simple human story should remind us to be forgiving of our daily unintentional blunders. God does not expect us to rack our brain and ferret out every unconfessed failing, as if it undermines our salvation. We do well to remember that in a fallen world the options we face will often conflict and our chosen path will end up less than perfect, even compromised. Thankfully salvation rests on God's grace, not on our capacity to rightly handle life's myriad choices.

Discussion
Consider examples of conflicting choices you have faced in your life.

Textual notes Abbreviations, Bibliography

Hermeneutics
The side issued touched on in the sermon above obviously requires careful treatment by the preacher. In the mind of some, suggesting that Jesus may have been acting outside his parent's authority, could well undermine a sense of Jesus' sinless state and therefore his capacity to be a perfect sacrifice for sin. Of course, a child's testing of their person, in relation to their parents, is all part of growing up. Sin is found in our defiance of parental authority, not our submission to it.
Also, such a sermon introduces the subject of Jesus' humanity. The apocryphal gospel's treatment of Jesus' childhood well illustrates our inability to conceive of Jesus as a boy with a runny nose etc. We need to tread sensitively.

Greek notes

v41
kat etoV "every year" - according to the year. Typically, those far from Jerusalem only made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year, namely Passover.
oiJ geneiV "parents" - the parents. Only men were required to attend, so a woman's attendance at the feast was a sign of great devotion.
tou pasca "the Passover" - Also called "feast of Unleavened Bread", 15 Nisan, March/April. Celebrating the escape from Egypt.

v42
etwn "[twelve] years old" - of years. Genitive of quality. This is Jesus' last year before coming of age at 13.
anabainontwn (anabainw) part. gen. "they went up" - going up. Probably best read as a genitive absolute forming a temporal clause, "when they were going up", Marshall; "to the city", Phillips.
thV eJorthV (h) gen. "the feast" - [the custom] of the feast. Genitive of association. The custom was a yearly visit to the feast.

v43
teleiwsantwn (teleiow) aor. part. gen. "was over" - having fulfilled, completed, finished [the days] - Temporal genitive absolute participle. Possibly indicating the family's attendance for the full seven days of the festival; another sign of devotion. "They stayed to the very end of the festival", Barclay.
uJpemeinen (uJpomenw) aor. "stayed behind" - remained. No value judgment is made of Jesus' staying, nor of the parents' being "unaware". Today the parents would be charged with neglect, evidencing that today, "the law is an ass."

v44
nomisanteV (nomizw) aor. part. "thinking" - having believed, supposed, assumed.
hJmeraV oJdon "for a day" - a day's way. "At the end of the first day's journey", Barclay.
th/ sunodia/ (a) "their company" - the company, group. "In the caravan."
anezhtoun (anazhtew) imperf. "they began looking for [him]" - they were looking for. The imperfect carries a durative sense which possibly means that not only did they go searching for Jesus at the end of the day, but that they were searching for him during the day.

v45
uJpestreyan (uJpostrefw) aor. "they went back" - they returned. Aorist expressing a singular action.
anazhtounteV (anazhtew) pres. part. "they began looking for" - looking for, seeking. The present participle expresses an ongoing search, possibly also expressing purpose, "they were unable to find him so they went back to Jerusalem", "looking for him as they went", Phillips.

v46
meta hJmeraV treiV "after three days" - Possibly meaning that the search in Jerusalem lasted three days, although more likely that three days after the caravan had left Jerusalem, they found Jesus.
twn didaskalwn (oV) "the teachers" - A word usually reserved for Jesus. Luke usually calls the Jewish teachers "layers" or "scribes".
akouonta (akouw) pres. part. "listening" - Jesus is under instruction; he is not doing the teaching.

v47
existanto (existhmi) imperf. "was amazed" - were amazed, confused, astonished. The word is often used of pre-belief and may well be the sense here. Also possibly the word may just express surprise at the depth of Jesus' questions and answers. "Everyone who heard him was surprised at how much he knew and at the answers he gave", CEV.
th/ sunesei (iV ewV) "understanding" - the intelligence. "Were astonished at his powers of comprehension", Phillips.

v48
exeplaghsan (ekplhssw) aor. "astonished" - perplexed, astounded. Luke's use of this word in Acts 13:12, "he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord", indicates that Jesus' parents are probably taken back by the theological capacity of their son. "When Joseph and Mary saw him they could not believe their eyes", Phillips.
ti "why" - Interrogative pronoun
odunwmenoi (odunaw) pres. pas. part. "anxiously" - being anxious, pained. Expressing intensive mental pain or trauma; "we have been worried to distraction", Barclay. Mary's complaint prompts Jesus' reply.

v49
oJti "-" - [why] that [you are looking for me]. The hoti clause here serves to explain the substance of the question (ie. epexegetic), "why is it that you have been searching for me?", Weymouth.
dei "I had" - it is necessary. An important tag expressing divine compulsion, "I must", Phillips.
ouk - The negative construction of the question implies a positive answer. It is obvious where Jesus would be found since the business of knowing God's will takes precedence over everything else, "surely you realize that I was bound to be ...?
en toiV tou patroV "in [my] Father's house" - in the things of the father. A neuter plural article functioning as a substantiver with the genitive of "the father" indicating "things" in relationship with "the father." What are the "things"? Obviously not the teachers as the article is neuter. Either i] "house", NIV etc. meaning "I must be in my Father's dwelling place (ie. temple)", presumably for the business of revelation, although the article is plural, ie. "things", not "thing"; ii] "I must be about my Father's business", presumably again, the Word business, NKJV; "to be engaged in the affairs of my Father", Nolland. As messiah in training, Jesus must be about his vocation under God, the divine business of fine tuning truth.
mou "my [Father's house]" - of me. Probably a full-blown filial relationship is not intended, rather it is an expression of piety or possibly expressing Jesus' messianic role as "son of God" = messiah.

v50
ou sunhkan (sunihmi) aor. "did not understand" - "They did not understand what he meant", CEV, best captures the general sense of Mary and Joseph's failure to understand Jesus' enigmatic reply, rather than their failure to understand any filial or messianic allusions. They have not forgotten Jesus' miraculous birth, nor the prophetic word associated with that birth, but they are hot under the collar and at this moment have little patience for riddles. Luke's comment that Jesus was "obedient to them" probably reflects the serve Jesus received from his parents on this occasion.

v51
hn uJpotassomenoV (uJpotassw) pres. pas. part. "was obedient" - he was being subject. An imperfect paraphrastic expressing a continuing submission of Jesus to his parents until he was of age.
diethrei (diathrew) imperf. "treasured" - was keeping, maintaining. "Jesus' mother continued to mull over his words."
ta rJhmata "these things" - the matters, words. The definite article indicating that the matters are those just described, either the words of Jesus, his actions, or both.

v52
proekopten (prokoptw) imperf. "grew" - was increasing, advancing, growing. Probably "progressed" is better. "As Jesus grew, he advanced in wisdom and in favor ....", REB.
en th/ sofia/ (a) "in wisdom" - wisdom, skill. Possibly "intellect", although "insight", and in particular, "theological insight", may well be intended.
hJlikia/ (a) "[in] stature" - age, height, stature. "Bodily stature" is preferable. Nicely handled by REB.
cariti (iV itoV) "in favor" - The meaning "blessing" doesn't work. Advancing "in favor with God and other humans" probably indicates a moral/ethical advance. So, "Jesus progressed intellectually, physically, and morally."

Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons

Luke

Notes