GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 2:45-46
45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
Where is he? Where is he? What parents in a grocery store haven’t had the same panicked question, making the same sinking, hopeful but desperate search? Imagine it going on for days. Perhaps the three days included the travel time (one day out, one day back, and one day searching), but perhaps it was three days of searching—we don’t need to know that detail. The important details are these things we find in the text:
1 . They found their boy, and he was safe.
2 . He was keeping the festival in a new way
3 . He was respectfully asking questions of the rabbis
4 . He was amazing everyone with his understanding
5 . He was amazing everyone with his answers
6 . He already knew who he was
7 . He submitted to Mary and Joseph
The first three of these seven truths are here in verse 46. Of the seven, the first one was the only one important to Mary and Joseph until the moment they found him, and then their world was changed forever. Jesus had remained behind in Jerusalem, in the temple, finding a spot or corner in which to get some sleep (1 Samuel 3:2). We can assume that he found something to eat, as well—perhaps the rabbis shared their meals with him (one can fare a lot worse than getting Passover leftovers).
The point of the Passover was to commemorate the miraculous rescue of Israel from Egypt. But Jesus showed with his actions that the true meaning of any festival, from any ordinary Sabbath day to the Passover itself, is really about pursuing God’s message to us in his word. The Great Psalm teaches: “May your unfailing love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise” (Ps. 119:41). This means that we will hear about God’s unfailing love when we listen to his word, and getting to church should be our regular practice to this end. But it also means that we will want to pursue what God’s word says and means actively, asking questions, listening to our instructors, and talking about it with one another. It also means avoiding false teachers who will at best confuse us, and at worst—we must never let them do their worst. Jesus was keeping the Passover festival in a new way, and yet it was what God has intended all along (Exodus 13:14).
Thirdly, we see Jesus respectfully listening to what the rabbis were teaching. He was also asking them questions. The method of teaching by asking questions and finding the answers in Scripture is called catechesis, and it’s the purpose of catechisms like the ones written by Martin Luther. His Small Catechism contains the basic teachings of the Bible: The Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ministry of the Keys and Confession, and the two Sacraments. Luther’s Large Catechism is made up of sermons he preached while preparing and distributing the Small Catechism throughout the churches in Germany. Go back to your Small Catechism, or buy a new one if you don’t have it anymore, and read it again. It focuses our attention on the fundamental basics of our faith. It’s like spending time with Jesus in the temple, asking questions, and growing in our faith with every single answer.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota