Bethel Lutheran Church - Pastor Luke Bernthal
Soli Deo Gloria

The Father\'s Business ; Luke 2: 41 - 52; 2009-12-27

The Bulletin (order of service)

Text: Luke 2: 41 - 52;
41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously." 49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

May the joy and peace of salvation through the Christ-Child fill your hearts and minds every day of your lives,

A 10 year old girl had gone with a group of family and friends to see some Christmas light displays at various locations throughout the city. At one church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at the beautifully done nativity scene. “Isn’t that beautiful?” said the little girl’s grandmother. “Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.” “Yes, Grandma,” replied the granddaughter. “It is really nice. But, there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn’t baby Jesus ever going to grow up… He’s the same size he was last year!”

Yes, the baby Jesus did grow up!  Our text for this morning is the only account from Jesus’ childhood that we have recorded for us in the Bible.  Did you notice our text even mentioned that?  The very last verse, v. 52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52).  In other words, Jesus grew smarter and He grew taller.  That really is an amazing verse when you think about it!  Jesus, true God, God’s Son, grew and learned!  How can God grow and learn?  Well, the answer, of course, is that Jesus is true man as well as true God.  He became a man—fully 100% human, just like us—in order to carry out His Father’s plan to save all mankind.  In this account Jesus is only 12 years old.  He wouldn’t start His public ministry until 18 years later when He was 30.  Yet even at this young age we see that Jesus was completely focused on His mission.  He was completely and fully intent on carrying out “His Father’s Business” (v. 49). 

How about us?  You and I are children of God through faith.  Are we always focused on carrying out Our Father’s Business?  There are a number of lessons we can learn from Jesus’ example in this account about carrying out The Father’s Business —even though He was still just a young boy.

The first lesson we can learn from young Jesus’ example is His attitude toward worship.  Our text tells us, “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast (v. 41-42).”  Think about how remarkable that verse actually is: As the promised Savior, the Messiah, true God Himself the temple in Jerusalem was built to worship Him!  The sacrifices, worship services, and ceremonies that were conducted in the temple were ordained by God to point the worshippers’ hearts and minds to Jesus, the promised Savior.  Now, Jesus is going to the temple to worship and celebrate a festival that actually was focused on Him and the deliverance from sin and death He would bring.  (Remember in the Passover feast they would sacrifice an unblemished lamb.  Jesus would be “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” – John 1:29). 

What does that tell us about the importance of worship when it comes to Our Father’s Business?  If the Son of God Himself felt the need to worship and be in fellowship with God’s people how much more should we make our church attendance & worship a top priority in our lives?

The second lesson we learn from young Jesus in our text is closely related to the first: We can learn from His attitude toward the Word.  “Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” (v. 46-47).  There are a couple of remarkable things to notice in these two verses.  First of all, it says that Jesus was there in the temple for “three days” doing Bible study with the teachers of the Law.  “Three days”?!  When have we ever spent three days of our lives studying, discussing, and meditating on God’s Word?  And yet we see Jesus, at just 12 years old, doing this very thing!  And Jesus was Himself the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14).  He is God’s Word in human form.  As true God He doesn’t need Bible study—He is the Word, He knows the Word perfectly, and He Himself is what the entire Word of God is about!  And yet, did you notice in our text Jesus’ humility when He was in the temple with the teachers?  He was “both listening to them and asking them questions” (v. 46). 

What does this tell us about the importance of the Word when it comes to Our Father’s Business?  If the Son of God Himself spent much of His days learning, reading and discussing God’s Word, how much more should we make the reading, study, and discussion of God’s Word—both at home and here at our Bible Studies and church services?  We are coming to the beginning of a New Year; how about making the study of God’s Word our top priority in 2010?

Finally, the third lesson we learn from young Jesus in our text is His obedience.  This is a huge part of Our Father’s Business!  When our Father commands something He expects us to obey Him.  That’s exactly what we see Jesus doing in our text.  He obeyed both His Heavenly Father and His earthly father and mother.  And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them” (v. 49-51).  As true God Jesus is not “subject” to anyone, but as true man Jesus willing put Himself under God’s Law.  One of those laws is “honor your father and mother,” the fourth commandment.  Can you imagine the humility that would have taken for Jesus to do this?  The God of the universe willingly placing Himself under the authority of sinful, mistake-prone parents, who obviously didn’t even fully grasp His mission as the Savior or all that doing The Father’s Business would entail for Jesus?  And yet He was obedient—perfectly obedient.  Not just in regards to His parents and the fourth commandment, but to all of God’s Laws! 

That’s one of the reasons we’re so thankful that Jesus did “grow up.”  He didn’t just stay a baby.  He lived out His 33 years of life in perfect obedience to God’s Law, because we couldn’t.  Now that perfection is credited to you and me.  At the end of that perfect life He died an innocent, sacrificial death on the cross for you and me as well to pay for all the times we haven’t been obedient to God’s commands and haven’t perfectly been about Our Father’s Business.  But Jesus also rose again from the dead so that we would be certain that we too will not only be forever a part of Our Father’s Business, but also forever in our Father’s house in heaven!  Thanks be to God that Jesus was and is always about Our Father’s Business.  Amen.