Luke. Diane G. Chen
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characters great in adulthood were already latent in their youth. For example, Josephus, the Jewish historian, claimed that Samuel began to prophesy at the age of twelve (Ant. 5.348) and that Josiah began instituting reforms in Israel when he was twelve (Ant. 10.50). Elsewhere in Greco-Roman writings, famous figures like Alexander the Great, Epicurus, Apollonius of Tyana, and Cyrus were all seen as child prodigies who had the acumen and prowess that made them productive and powerful later in life.67 Listening to an account of Jesus as a child, Luke’s readers are primed to look for clues that will help them imagine what Jesus will be like as an adult.
Jesus’ parents have a habit of making an annual trip to Jerusalem to observe the Passover, so this year is no different (2:41–42). Jewish men were required to attend three annual pilgrimage feasts, namely, Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Exod 23:14–17).68 For many Jews, going to Jerusalem three times a year would pose a hardship. Still, the feasts were well attended. These pilgrimages soon became a family affair as women and children went up to Jerusalem as well.69 Traveling with other families as a group reduced costs and provided protection from robbers along the way (2:44).70 There is no indication that this is Jesus’ first return to Jerusalem since his presentation as an infant. We assume that Mary and Joseph have been bringing him with them for some time already.71 At twelve, Jesus is a year shy of entering the religious community officially but old enough to appreciate the significance of Passover.
Nothing unusual occurred during the feast. It is afterwards that Mary and Joseph lose track of Jesus. The text never addresses why Jesus does not tell his parents his whereabouts. Neither is it necessary to charge the couple with negligence. Since Jesus is no longer a toddler and should be fully capable of keeping up with the group traveling together, it seems reasonable for Mary and Joseph to assume that he is within the proximity of the moving caravan, playing with other children among the relatives. In this manner they travel for an entire day northward, covering about twenty miles. Perhaps they finally notice his absence by evening when the group settles down for the night. Letting the caravan continue on its way the next day, Mary and Joseph retrace their steps and hurry back to Jerusalem. Imagine the difficulty of going “against traffic,” trying to move toward Jerusalem when hordes of pilgrims are coming out of the city. Added to the exhaustion of travel for the couple from a small village is the anxiety of trying to find their firstborn son in a large city. We can appreciate Mary’s and Joseph’s frame of mind, a mixture of exasperation and relief, when on the third day since their original departure from Jerusalem they finally locate their son in the temple (2:43–46a).
At this point, the reader may be tempted to dive into the interchange between Mary and Jesus. Instead, the author focuses first on what Jesus is doing, to make sure that an important point is not overshadowed by the emotions of the reunion. Jesus is engaged in active conversation with a group of teachers, listening to them and asking questions in return (2:46b). They are probably discussing the fine points of the law. Even at twelve, Jesus impresses the teachers with his acumen and depth of understanding (cf. 2:40). The teachers of the law do not know that Jesus is the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah, but the readers do. Isaiah speaks of the shoot from the stump of Jesse as being imbued with God’s Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and knowledge (Isa 11:1–4).72 While these teachers may find this precocious young man delightful, next time Jesus is shown to be in discussion with other learned elites at the temple, those teachers will not be amused (19:47—21:38).
An astute reader may wonder how Jesus managed for two days on his own. Was he allowed to stay at the temple? Did someone take him in for the night? Did he think about his family? Was he scared? These questions may very well have crossed Mary’s and Joseph’s minds while searching for Jesus. But when they are finally reunited with him, the first thing that comes out of his mother’s mouth is a note of rebuke: “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety!” (2:48).73 It is Mary who speaks on behalf of both of them. Luke continues to de-emphasize Joseph’s role even though he is acknowledged to be Mary’s husband and Jesus’ adoptive earthly father.
Jesus’ response addresses the issue of who his father is and to whom he owes primary allegiance. His first counter-question, “Why were you searching for me?” (2:49a), may be heard as an expression of genuine surprise or a tinge of gentle reproach. Without the tone of his voice, it is difficult to tell if the young Jesus is really that oblivious of Mary’s and Joseph’s parental concern.
The second counter-question is more telling, “Did you not know that I must be en tois tou patros mou” (2:49b)? The word-for-word translation of en tois tou patros mou is “in/among/about the [something] of my father.” Both the preposition en and the dative article tois are grammatically ambiguous, especially when the noun that follows the article is not provided. There are three options. First, most English versions use “in my Father’s house” because Jesus is physically found in the temple precincts.74 The temple is where God’s presence resides, hence the house of God (Ps 11:4; Hab 2:20). Jesus is asking his parents a rhetorical question: “Isn’t it obvious that of all the places in Jerusalem I ought to be right here in the temple?” Jesus’ answer states the obvious but does not explain why he did what he did. The second option, “I must be about the affairs of my Father,”75 implies that the discussion with the teachers of the law is part and parcel of Jesus being involved in God’s work and mission. This rendering enhances the first option without contradicting it. Jesus is in the temple engaged in conversations about God’s law with the officers of the temple. This makes sense because as Israel’s Messiah he will be embodying God’s salvation and interpreting the precepts of God to God’s people. There is yet a third possibility: “I must be among those who belong to my Father.” While this translation is grammatically acceptable, the meaning is too vague to be useful.
I suggest we take advantage of the grammatical ambiguity and allow for a nuanced interpretation of Jesus’ answer that combines the first two options. On one level, Jesus has to be found in the temple because this is where he is doing God’s work, engaging the teachers in the matters of the law. On another level, Jesus is compelled to align himself with the affairs and purposes of his heavenly Father, even at the cost of causing emotional upheaval for his earthly parents. The Greek verb, dei (“it is necessary”), is frequently used in Luke’s Gospel to denote a divine necessity that something must happen as God’s plan unfolds.76
Their knowledge of Jesus’ true origin notwithstanding, Mary and Joseph still have a hard time grasping the implications of their son’s words and actions (2:50). This incident marks a needed demarcation of Jesus’ loyalties. Priority must go to God the Father through whose Spirit Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb. In light of God’s fatherhood, the place of Mary and Joseph must be relativized. Lest Jesus be misinterpreted as a smart-alecky and insubordinate young man, in the very next verse Luke assures his readers that Jesus returns to Nazareth with his parents and remains obedient to them (2:51a). Nevertheless, Mary continues her ruminations on all these matters, first the words of Simeon about the fate of her child (2:34–35), and now Jesus’ own assertion of God’s preeminent role as his Father, over and above that of her husband Joseph (2:51b).
One final summary statement brings the infancy narrative to a close. Similar to the earlier statement in 2:40, Jesus is said to grow in wisdom and in hēlikia, which can be translated either as “age” or “stature” (2:52).77 The former coheres with the increase in wisdom along the lines of his becoming “older and wiser,”