As noted in a previous week’s study, it seems possible that Luke may have met Mary and heard some stories about Jesus. This story is the kind of anecdote a mother might share. The family has traveled up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Every Jew dreamt of doing this at least once in their life. But Mary and Joseph evidently felt it was important to go every year. This couldn’t have been easy. It took money and time away from the carpentry shop. Passover was eight days long, so with travel time this was a significant time away from home. There was also the uncertainties of travel, although this last was lessened by traveling in a large group. (It is tempting to speculate whether the friendship with Martha and Mary’s family in Bethany went back to the childhood of Jesus, having met on these annual trips to the holy city.)
At twelve, Jesus would have had a level of independence. He may have explored the city on his own and visited the temple to listen to the scholars discussing theology. Mary and Joseph don’t seem to have known all his movements but trusted him to be on his own. But, as with many adolescent boys, he may have lost track of time and become focused on his interests, forgetting what his family was doing.
At the end of Passover, Mary and Joseph and the younger children started back with group they had traveled with. It must have been a large party and they likely assumed Jesus was simply spending time with friends. But three days of not seeing him must have been unusual, so after surely searching carefully, they rushed back to Jerusalem. As loving parents, they must have been quite frightened. Passover was a time of unrest in Israel as the people remembered a time of liberation in their history. The parents’ imagination must have gone wild. Could he have been arrested by the Romans? Caught up in violence and hurt? Was he sick?
After searching, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple. Those who were experts in the laws and traditions of Judaism were clearly impressed with the boy. But Mary and Joseph were filled with the anxiety of the search and scolded him for having made them worry. He asked why they’d searched (referring to combing the city instead of going straight to the temple?) for couldn’t they have known he’d be in his Father’s house. He is often pictured as though a mature adult simply responding as though his parents were a bit foolish. But realistically, he was an adolescent boy. It would be natural if there was a bit of childish bravado and embarrassment mixed in with his words. After all, he was being scolded in front of respected men of Israel. And, he had caused his parents a great deal of worry, trouble and expense. Luke reports that he returned home and was obedient to his parents.
Joseph and Mary did not entirely understand the event. But Mary kept these memories and treasured them. If she was sharing anecdotes with Luke, we can well imagine her tone of voice as she told of the little boy she’d loved as a mother long before others came to love him as Lord and Savior.
Luke concludes the story by saying that Jesus grew up, gaining favor with both God and his human community.
Other gospels were written following the death of Jesus. Some purported to tell stories of his childhood as well. One is charming – the little boy making clay birds and bringing them alive. Others are less so, such as him getting angry at some other children and his words causing their death. These gospels were not deemed by the church to be authoritative or helpful accounts of the good news of Jesus. (It should be noted, however, that they contain some information that is also found in the four gospels of the Bible.)
Scholars, such as that of the Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary, point out that the stories of the childhood of Jesus are similar or parallel to that of Samuel in the Old Testament, raising questions for some whether Luke fashioned the story to show this parallel. It might, of course, be equally pointed out that two precocious young boys with a special calling from God might inevitably have parallel experiences in growing up. Luke, as a literary master, might have recognized this. Nonetheless, there are significant differences between the childhood of Samuel and that of Jesus. Samuel was raised by an irascible old man, having been brought to him by his parents at the age of five. On the other hand, Jesus had a more “normal” childhood, growing up with two loving parents. Mary and Joseph were devout in both outward religious practice and in heartfelt spirituality. If we take seriously the fact that Jesus was fully human, (the incarnation) then these influenced him.
What do you feel about the idea of Jesus being a normal adolescent boy?
Can you think of places in Jesus’ teaching where he may have been remembering his childhood home?
Martha and Mary were clearly very good friends of Jesus. What do you think about the possibility that this friendship began when they were all children?
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