The Father’s Business: Luke 2:40-52
When I was in college I had my life all planned out. After I finished my eligibility playing football, and graduated, I would stay on as a graduate assistant and begin my coaching career. It wasn’t something I was just thinking about. I had already talked to Coach Morris and the plan was in place. I would help coach the linebackers and do the other jobs of a graduate assistant. In my plan, after a couple of seasons, I would get a full-time coaching job somewhere, if not at Cameron University. If I worked hard, in time I would work my way up the coaching ladder and become a defensive coordinator, and then one day, if I did my job well, I’d become a head coach. After becoming a head coach I’d work for several years, get fired, and take home a buy out of several million dollars. That last part wasn’t part of my plan, but after watching all of these head coaches the past several years fail at their job and become multi-millionaires because of their failure, it doesn’t seem like a bad plan at all. I had my plan and I had shared that plan with Connie when we got engaged.
Then, everything changed. My plan wasn’t God’s plan for my life. The summer before my senior year I worked at a summer camp called Kanakuk and through a series of events while I was at camp, God changed my plan. I came home from camp and told Connie, “I don’t think the Lord wants me to coach football.” Connie said, “What do you mean?” I said, “I think he wants me to share Christ with kids.” Connie asked, “How?” “I don’t really know what that looks like, but I think that is what He wants me to do.” I went to visit with a pastor, the only pastor I knew, and told him what had happened to me. He said, “You need to go to seminary.” I went to meet with Coach Morris and told him about my change of plans.
Connie and I got married. I applied to seminary. We had our first child. We loaded up the UHaul and headed to Texas Christian University and I began preparing for learning how to share Christ with kids. Seminary classrooms were a totally different world than the locker rooms I had spent my life in. A degree in Physical Education doesn’t quite prepare you for what you will experience in seminary. It was hard, demanding, humiliating, but I had to follow where the Lord was leading me.
In my first year of seminary I met Dr. David Darnell because I was about to quit and go back to coaching football. David hired me as his youth pastor under one condition…that I not quit seminary. I had the blessing of working with David for over five years. I would have spent the rest of my life working with David if it had been up to me, but then God called us to come to Britton Christian Church. Connie and I had to follow where the Lord was leading us. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this past week as I’ve been studying our Scripture for today found in Luke 2:40-52. Let’s read it together and then we will see what we can learn.
40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. 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. (Luke 2:40-52 NKJ)
This has been such a powerful story to study this past week and I am so glad Luke included it for us. Do you know this is the only glimpse we get of Jesus’ childhood in any of the four Gospels? Matthew tells us about the baby Jesus: His birth, the announcement to the shepherds, the visit of the wise men, and the escape to Egypt in order to save Mary’s son’s life, but then Matthew picks up the story when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Luke alone gives us a glimpse into Jesus’ life as a twelve year old boy. And what does Luke tell us about Jesus at twelve? Well, he brackets this powerful story by verses 40 and 52. In those verses we learn Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” That’s verse 40. In verse 52, Luke tells us, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” That’s verse 52. What is Luke trying to tell us? He’s telling us about the doctrine of the Incarnation…God became a man, a human being, just like you and me, except He never sinned, not once. Jesus, like every other twelve year old, grew, gained wisdom, and experienced life. Kent Hughes writes,
The great historic doctrine of the church is that the Son of God became a real man–not just someone who appeared to be a man. When he was born, God the Son placed the exercise of his all-powerfulness and all-presence and all-knowingness under the direction of God, the Father. He did not give up those attributes, but he submitted their exercise in his life to the Father’s discretion. Though he was sinless, he had a real human body, mind, and emotions–complete with their inherent weaknesses. (Hughes, Kent. Luke: That You May Know the Truth, pg. 85)
God became one of us and by becoming one of us He knows what it is like to be us, to go through what we are going through. This is such a revolutionary truth for each and every one of us. It is so powerful that everyone needs to not only hear this story, but take it to heart.
Every Wednesday at 5 pm I share God’s Word with a group of kids who are ages 10-16. The kids all play tennis with the BCC Tennis Academy. The adolescent years of 10-19ish are some of the toughest of all. They have very little experience with life, not a shred of wisdom of their own, and yet they are called to navigate middle school and high school, changes in their bodies and personalities, and a crazy peer group who doesn’t have a clue. Sounds pretty bleak doesn’t it? It certainly can be, but that is why I shared this story with them on Wednesday night. Jesus knows what it is like to be twelve years old. He knows what it is like to go through puberty. He knows how awkward those teenage years can be and He invites us to call out to Him, to learn from Him, to trust in Him instead of trusting in our heart or our peers. What an amazing advantage for those kids who are in my Bible study, and for all of us who will take Him up on His offer! Let’s get back to our Scripture. Let’s read verses 41-42 once again.
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. (Luke 2:41-42 NKJ)
We learn here that Joseph and Mary made the trip every year from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a trip of about 80 miles, for the Feast of the Passover. According to Exodus 23:14-17 and Deuteronomy 16:16, all males were required to travel to Jerusalem three times a year for the celebration of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Women and children were not required to make the journey, but we learn here that Mary and Joseph went every year. They were devoted to the Lord and the eighty mile trip was more than an obligation, it was a blessing. On this occasion, Jesus, who was twelve at the time, went with them. There was a reason for Jesus going along when He was twelve. At thirteen all Jewish boys become a “son of the commandment,” a full member of the synagogue, according to the Mishnah, which is really a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures. Modern day Jews carry on this tradition by having a bar mitzvah for boys when they turn thirteen. Jewish girls have a bat mitzvah when they turn twelve. So, Jesus was twelve and Joseph and Mary were preparing Him by familiarizing Him with the Feast of Passover.
It has been estimated that the population of Jerusalem was normally about 40,000, but during the times of the three festivals it would swell to 200,000 to 250,000 people. The city was electric! Priests and merchants and beggars and the faithful filled the streets. On the day of Passover, Jesus would have heard the rams horn echo throughout the city and watched Joseph along with the other men slaughter their families lamb. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would have taken the lamb back to where they were staying and roasted it before sundown, before the feast began. At the Passover meal they prayed, sang the Hallel Psalms, and at the conclusion of the feast the son, Jesus, would have asked, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Then Joseph would have told the story of how God delivered the former Hebrew slaves from Egypt. How ironic that Jesus experienced this when He was twelve. One day, Jesus would be the Lamb unlike any other lamb that had ever been slaughtered at Passover. Paul wrote,
7 …Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NLT)
Jesus took it all in and when the Passover ended and the Feast of Unleavened Bread ended, the families gathered up their belongings and headed back to where they came from. Read along with me from Luke 2:43-44.
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. (Luke 2:43-44 NKJ)
Some people have wondered how in the world Joseph and Mary could have lost track of Jesus? How quickly we forget don’t we? Don’t you remember Peter and Kate McCallister? Remember when they boarded the flight to Paris and Kate just knew she had forgotten something? Peter went through the list just to make sure when suddenly Kate screamed, “Kevin!”
Joseph and Mary weren’t making the eighty mile trip from Jerusalem to Nazareth with only their family. The road from Nazareth to Jerusalem was dangerous. There were robbers and hoodlums looking to cause trouble along the way so they traveled by caravan. Archeologists believe the population of Nazareth at this time was several hundred to a thousand people. The men, along with the women like Mary who chose to make the trip, and the kids who went along would have traveled together, as a group. The women and younger children would have been together and the men, along with the older boys would have traveled together as well. The kids were full of energy. They threw rocks, played Hide n’ Seek, and made a fun time out of the journey moving from one group to another.
When they left Jerusalem they were talking and walking, walking and talking, and at the end of the day Joseph and Mary reconnected. Mary said, “Where’s Jesus?” Joseph said, “I thought He was with you.” “He hasn’t been with me all day,” Mary said, “I thought He was with you.” There’s no doubt in my mind that Mary screamed just like Kate, “Jesus!” They looked around the group, asked their friends if they had seen Him, but He was nowhere to be found. Mary was frantic!
Joseph and Mary made the day-long trip back to Jerusalem and then they spent another day looking for Jesus. Where could He be? Maybe He’s at the video arcade? Nope, He’s not there. Do you think He might have gone to the mall with His friends? Let’s look there. Nope, He’s not there. Where would a twelve year old boy, left unsupervised for three days, end up? That’s a great question and if that were to happen today there are a limitless number of possibilities and most of them would not be good knowing twelve year old boys. Then, Luke tells us,
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. (Luke 2:46-47 NKJ)
Joseph and Mary found Jesus at church. He was sitting in Bible study listening to the teachers discuss the Bible. It is obvious that Joseph and Mary had read the Bible with Jesus, they had studied the Hebrew Scriptures with Jesus, there is no other explanation for what we just read. Jesus was asking the teachers good questions about the Scriptures. You need to know that there are “other gospels” not in our Bible. You’ve probably heard about some of them like the Gospel of Thomas. There is another gospel called the Infancy Gospel of Thomas which dates from the second century that tells us about Jesus’ childhood.
And all men paid heed to him and marveled how that being a young child he put to silence the elders and teachers of the people, expounding the heads of the law and the parables of the prophets … For such glory and such excellence and wisdom we have neither seen nor heard at any time. (Infancy Gospel of Thomas. 19:2, 4).
In the Infancy Gospel of Thomas we find Jesus instructing the astronomers in the mysteries of the universe, making birds out of clay, breathing on them, and watching them fly away, and causing a young boy to wither up and die. One day Jesus was working with Joseph in his carpenter’s shop. Joseph cut a board too short so Jesus simply reached out and stretched the board to the right length. Now, that’s not in the Bible. What is in the Bible is that Jesus grew, like every other twelve year old. He wasn’t instructing the teachers at the temple…He was listening and asking questions. Make no mistake about it, the people were astonished at His understanding and His answers, but He was a student and not the teacher at this point.
I should point out for us that this is the only time in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus is referred to as the student. Next week we will jump forward eighteen years in Jesus’ life when we turn to Luke 3. From the time Jesus begins His public ministry He will always be called “Teacher.” Turn with me to the next section of Luke’s story and let’s read together beginning in verse 48.
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. (Luke 2:48-50 NKJ)
First, Mary was amazed at what she saw and heard and then her mother’s instinct kicked in: “Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously.” See that word “anxiously?” In the Greek New Testament it is “ὀδυνάω” (odynaō) and it means “to cause intense pain, to be in anguish, or to be distressed.” Luke is the only biblical writer that uses the word and he uses it four times to describe intense physical pain as well as mental anguish.
Jesus answered His mother: “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Now, I want you to know that I chose to use the New King James Version this morning because of this one verse. Most every other translation of this passage reads, “Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house.” To me, “In My Father’s house” and “About My Father’s business” are two different things. The Greek word for word reads, “in the (ἐν τοῖς) of my father (τοῦ πατρός μου) it is necessary for me to be (δεῖ εἶναί με). “My Father’s business” is much more comprehensive than being in the Father’s house.
I want to point out something that I’ve spent a lot of time with this past week. Jesus said, “I must be…” The Greek word translated “must be” is the word “δεῖ” (dei) and it means, “it is necessary.” This would not be the last time Jesus used this forceful word. Once His ministry began, Jesus used this word over and over again. In Luke 4:43, Jesus said,
43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43 NIV)
In Luke 9:23, following the discussion with His disciples about who people thought He was and what He was doing, Jesus said,
22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Luke 9:23 NIV)
After Jesus was crucified and buried His followers scattered. Two men, Cleopas and his friend, were leaving Jerusalem dejected and discouraged because they thought Jesus was the One, the One who had come from God to deliver His people. You can read about it in Luke 24. Jesus appeared to them and told them,
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27 NIV)
Are you getting the picture? This little Greek word makes it crystal clear that Jesus must preach the Kingdom of God, He must suffer and die for those He came to save from sin and death, He must rise again from the dead, and all of this was to fulfill all of the prophecies that spoke about Him in the Scriptures!
At the age of twelve Jesus knew that He must be about His Father’s business. He would wait on the Lord until the time was right. Another eighteen years would pass before John began to announce, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” What did He do during those eighteen years? Luke tells us He went home with His mother Mary and Joseph and He submitted to them. He lived an ordinary life, just like you and me as He waited for God’s timing. Paul tells us,
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. (Galatians 4:4-5 NIV)
Jesus came to live among us to show us what it means to love the Father, to serve the Father, and to be used by the Father to do His will instead of our own. All of these things are true, but ultimately Jesus came to die, to die for you and for me so that we might live, truly live, both now and forevermore. That was His Father’s business. Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote,
It was his Father's business made him sweat great drops of blood; his Father's business ploughed his back with many gory furrows; his Father's business pricked his temple with the thorn crown; his Father's business made him mocked and spit upon; his Father's business made him go about bearing his cross; his Father's business made him despise the shame when, naked, he hung upon the tree; his Father's business made him yield himself to death, though he needed not to die if so he had not pleased; his Father's business made him tread the gloomy shades of Gehenna, and descend into the abodes of death; his Father's business made him preach to the spirits in prison; and his Father's business took him up to heaven, where he sitteth at the right hand of God, doing his Father's business still! His Father's business makes him plead day and night for Zion; the same business shall make him come as the Judge of the quick and dead, to divide the sheep from the goats; the same business shall make him gather together in one, all people who dwell on the face of the earth! Oh, glory to thee, Jesus; thou hast done it! Thou hast done thy Father's business well. (Spurgeon, Charles. Christ About His Father’s Business. March 15, 1857)
If I had ten thousand tongues I could not thank Him enough for being about His Father’s business and rescuing you and rescuing me. How do we respond to such love, such sacrifice on our part? Listen in and then simply walk away and go back to life as we knew it before we learned about what He has done? That would be the tragedy of all tragedies my friend. Instead, we should choose this morning to surrender our lives from this day forward to learning more and more about our Savior and His desire for us to be about His Father’s business as well. Won’t you invite Him in?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
November 16, 2025
