The events leading to Jesus' exchange with his parents begin with their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The parents of Jesus were devout Jews. The Old Testament commanded such a trip for three festivals a year:
- The Passover was the major feast celebrated at the beginning of the Jewish year. Only men were required to make the journey, so Mary's presence shows her commitment (Preisker 1964:373). Jerusalem was 129km from Nazareth, so the trip would take three days. Though some have argued that women and children travelled separately from the men as a way to explain how Jesus got lost, there is no ancient text that describes this practice.
- Jesus is twelve years old. If the Mishna is relevant to the first-century Jewish practice, which is likely in this case, then religious instruction would have become more intense for Jesus upon his reaching twelve. The custom of bar mitzvah for a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy was not in place at this time (Fitzmyer 1981:440).
Whole households would set out, leaving very few people at home. Along the way, the pilgrims joined other bands of pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. After arriving in Jerusalem, members of these expanded groups tended to remain together, worshiping, studying and walking about the city in the company of those with whom they had journeyed to Jerusalem. By the time pilgrims began their journey home, they had spent more than a week with the members of their group. A self-confident child could easily have spent the first day of the return journey away from his parents, among the large number of new and old acquaintances, without his parents becoming concerned or being thought irresponsible.
Apparently, after one day's journey back to Jerusalem and a day looking for Jesus, it is on the third day that Joseph and Mary discover him at the temple, listening to and asking questions of the teachers. When the parents finally find him, Mary steps forward to address the young Jesus in a way that both parents and children can appreciate. She expresses concern about the anxiety Jesus has caused by remaining at the temple. The mild parental complaint leads to Jesus' self-declaration of his mission. Jesus' parents and Luke's readers need to appreciate that Jesus understood his mission. From the very beginning he is reflecting on the will of God. He starts revealing himself right in the center of Judaism's religious capital.
Jesus refers to God as his Father. This alludes to the sense of family relationship and intimacy Jesus has with his heavenly Father (Lk 10:21-22). Such closeness to God not only is something Jesus' parents need to appreciate but also is a point the disciples will struggle to grasp (Lk 9:59-62; 14:26; Mk 10:29-30). In fact, Luke makes this the first note in a series of revelations that will build the case for who Jesus is. The infancy material stresses Jesus as Messiah, but this text is one of two hints early in Luke's Gospel that he is also much more. Luke reveals Jesus' identity gradually, bringing the reader along in an understanding of who Jesus is. So, this first clue comes from Jesus himself. The other major clue comes in the infancy section, where Jesus' divine origin is tied to the Spirit (Lk 1:31-35).
Jesus is breaking new ground with his parents here and they need to understand who he is, just as Luke's readers do. The text makes it clear that at the time they still did not understand what he was saying to them. But Mary treasured (or pondered) all these things in her heart, an appropriate response to Jesus' somewhat enigmatic remarks. Mary does what Luke wants his readers to do as well. It is good to pause and contemplate who Jesus is and the mission he performs. Even two thousand years of history does not do away with the need for such reflection.
Obedient to his parents, Jesus goes home with them to Nazareth. While there, he grows in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men (Lk 1:80; 2:40).
From: catholicidentity.com
