Jesu Juva
“Who’s Really Lost?”
Text: Luke 2:40-52; 1 Kings 3:4–15
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ childhood. Very little actually. There are some documents that were written several centuries after Jesus came, which claim to give us some stories of when Jesus was young. Stories of an out-of-control child deity, haphazardly trying to learn how to harness His power, creating birds out of mud and cursing to death friends who bump into Him. But such stories do not agree with what the Bible says and come from those who want Jesus to be something He is not.
From Scripture, all we have is the story we heard today - of twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. Our curiosity would like to know more, what the child Jesus was like, what it was like in Joseph and Mary’s household, what it’s like raising a perfect child - but more we are not told. The Scriptures weren’t written to satisfy our curiosity or answer all our questions. They were written to tell us what Jesus did for us and for our salvation. And so the Scriptures concentrate on that, beginning from His baptism and to His death and resurrection.
But what we have here, what we heard today, does tell us something of Jesus. He is eager to learn. He didn’t amaze the teachers in the Temple with His questions and answers because He was pulling some secret God-knowledge out of the back pocket of His divine nature! Rather, we see in Jesus man as man was meant to be. With a mind untainted, unhindered, and unaffected by the ravages of sin. And so He learns quickly and well. He knows that the Temple is His Father’s house, and He wants to be there. And then, after His parents find Him and tell Him it’s time to go home, He does not resist them or protest, demanding His own way, but is submissive to them. He obeys them. Even though as God He created them, as man, He was placed under their care and authority. So He stays in God’s good order, perfectly fulfilling the Fourth Commandment, just as He perfectly keeps all the Law for us, in our place.
But that’s not the main point of this reading today - obedience. We need to think a little deeper. For there’s one more thing we heard today - that last line, which should not be overlooked. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Jesus continued to grow, He continued to learn, and He found favor not just with God but with men. For untainted by sin, He was wise but not proud, obedient but not condescending, good but not arrogant.
We get a picture of this kind of man with King Solomon, who we heard about in the Old Testament reading today. He was a young man when he rose to the throne of Israel, and God gave him great wisdom, such that Solomon became known far and wide as the wisest man in the world. People came from all over the world to see and hear such a king, and he found favor with both God and men. Just like Jesus.
But Solomon was no Jesus. The taint of sin would corrupt His good and perfect gifts, and Solomon lost favor with God. He allowed the people and things of this world to lure Him into a thirst for power and a myriad of sins, including adultery and idolatry. Though wise, He became foolish, and while still admired by men he fell away from God.
For Jesus, though, it was exactly the opposite. Untainted by sin, He would not allow the people and things of this world to lure Him away from His mission - to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And because He proclaimed this fact, who He was and what He had come to do, and didn’t say what men thought He should say and do what men thought He should do, Jesus lost favor with men. And though some believed in Him, many opposed Him and finally, put Him on the cross for it.
So how is it with you? You who have been made a child of God in baptism and given great gifts as well, including the wisdom of God’s Word, and wisdom in the flesh - Jesus Himself! How is it with you? Are you more like Solomon, or more like Jesus? What is more important to you - the favor and admiration of men, or the favor of God? Or, maybe we could put it this way: what do you fear losing more? The favor of men or the favor of God?
Of course, we know what the answer should be! We know what we want to answer for ourselves! But tainted by sin, it’s the Solomon in us that too often bubbles up to the top isn’t it? We, too, foolishly seek the favor of the world instead of the favor of God. Like, when maybe we remain silent when we should speak up. Or we hide our beliefs under the excuse of not wanting to offend others. Or we go along with the crowd instead of standing up for the truth. Or we love the things of this world too much and God too little. It’s true, isn’t it? And if it happened to someone as wise as Solomon, we should not be surprised that it happens to us, too. New Christians, long-time Christians, even pastors.
So here’s where Jesus in the Temple can not only teach us or serve as an example to us, but also comfort us. When Jesus was in the Temple, Joseph and Mary thought Jesus was lost. He wasn’t where they thought He would be, or should be. For three I’m-sure-quite-long days, they searched for Him. And when they found Him in the Temple, He calmly tells His (I’m sure by then) frantic and anxious parents: I wasn’t lost! Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?
Because the truth is that it’s we who are lost, not Jesus. It is we who have wandered away from God. And it is Jesus who has come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). And as we hear the story of Jesus, as we will again this Church Year, it is Jesus who is always finding the lost. He finds disciples and calls them to follow Him. He finds sinners and forgives them. He finds those who bodied has been ravaged by sin and heals them. He finds those without hope and gives them hope - especially after another three days when they thought Jesus was lost . . . lost to death and the grave. The Marys came looking for Him then, too, and He wasn’t where they thought He would be, or should be - in the tomb. But the now-resurrected-Jesus finds them! And He finds His disciples hiding in the upper room. And He finds the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. And He finds His disciples when they are back on the Sea of Galilee, fishing. And He brings them home again. Back home in faith. Back home in the forgiveness of sins. Back home in a resurrection to a new life.
And you, too. For as we will hear again this year (and can never hear enough!), though Jesus found favor with God, He took our place under the wrath of God for our sinfulness and foolishness on the cross, and gave us His place of favor. He became the foolish sinner and made us the perfect sons. And after three days in the grave, He rose and went to His Father’s house, to His Father’s right hand, where He will never leave, but rules all things for you. To provide for you the forgiveness, life, and wisdom you need.
So, like Joseph and Mary, while we may not understand everything, all that happens in this world and in our lives, and why and where and when; and while we may not even understand all that we do, and why and where and when . . . like Mary, who treasured up all these things in her heart, we can treasure up all these things of Jesus and His Word in our hearts, too. And it will grow. It will grow faith and wisdom and mercy and love and that new life Jesus has for us. And when we act and live foolishly, it will grow repentance, too.
And that, really, is true wisdom. To repent of our sins and receive our Lord’s forgiveness. To look to Him for all that we need, and not rely on our own goodness, our own wisdom, our own faithfulness, our own steadfastness, but rely on the one who is what we could never be, and gives these things to us, all that we need, including His Body and Blood to feed and strengthen us. For the things and favor of this world come and go, but the favor of God lasts forever.
So Jesus is back in His Father’s house today. Here. Right where He has promised to be for us. So that we may live in our Father’s house, forever. As His children, dearly beloved. And that is what you are. And right where you should be.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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