You might be surprised to hear that we know almost nothing about the first three decades of Jesus’ life. We evidently know a great deal about the circumstances of his birth (and celebrate them in a very special way each year), but between the visit of the wise men (most likely about the time Jesus was a toddler) and the start of his earthly ministry (around the age of 30), we have only a single story—recorded in the Gospel of Luke—in which Jesus’ parents accidentally leave him behind in Jerusalem only to find him days later in the temple, sitting with the teachers of law, listening to them, asking questions, and amazing them with his answers.
This unusual little story shows us that, even at a relatively young age, Jesus knew who his true Father was. When his parents finally arrived back at the temple, Mary says to her son, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress” (Luke 2:48b). Of course, Mary had her husband in mind when she spoke these words, but Jesus’ response shows that he had profoundly internalized the truth of his existence. He knew that he was in fact sitting in his Father’s house in that very moment (and apparently had been for quite some time). He answered her, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). Now, Jesus would have certainly respected his adoptive father Joseph greatly, but he also knew that his life had been set apart for a very specific purpose, one which an angel had proclaimed to Joseph himself twelve years earlier, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus’ knew that his purpose was to obey the law perfectly, like no one else could, in the place of all who would trust in him. He knew that he was to bear the wrath that burned against them on account of their sins. As the apostle Paul would later write, he knew his purpose was to “reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20).
Even at twelve years old, this fascinating little story shows us a small sliver of the internal life of an adolescent Jesus who was surprisingly clear on his purpose and mission. And he, having fulfilled that mission, has given that same message of reconciliation to the church to proclaim to the ends of the earth, summed up perfectly by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:18—“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” As his church, with him as our head, may we all proclaim the good news of the reconciling work of Jesus to a world that desperately needs to hear it!
All the best,
Luke
