HEY! Have You Seen Jesus

Luke 2:41–46 41 Now 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 after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

ILLUSTRATION: WHEN TRACY LOST ELIJAH IN ROSS’

I. They Got Used To Him

Luke 2:42 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

After some 12 years of Jesus being around maybe His parents just got used to Him. At first it had to be something REALLY special.

Imagine Mary and Joseph when they found out what they were in for.

MARY: Luke 1:26–38 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Where is this baby coming from? “Mary, this baby is from The Holy Ghost!”

Who is this baby? “Mary, this baby is the Son of God!”

Joseph: Matthew 1:18–25 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

This baby isn’t mine! “Joseph, you’re right! He was conceived by the Holy Ghost!”

I don’t know what I’m supposed to name Him? “Joseph, call Him Jesus (which means Saviour), because He is the One you have been waiting for!”

That had to be some sobering thoughts for Mary and Joseph. From the Holy Ghost, the Son of God, Saviour of the world and promised Messiah.”

Then, there was Simeon, who, had been promised by God that he would see, “the Lord’s Christ” before he died. When they brought Jesus to the temple for circumcision Simeon took Him in his arms and said, Luke 2:29–33 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart In peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

THIS IS A LOT FOR HUMANS TO TAKE IN! They probably took extra care with Him. Made sure there was extra padding in His crib. Made sure everyone washed their hands three or four times before they held Him. Triple checked that He was secured in what ever form of transportation they had one before they moved it.

Now 12 years later, maybe He isn’t as special. They have gotten used to Him. He isn’t treated as carefully. He’s no longer The Son of God from the Holy Ghost, Saviour, Messiah. Now, “Oh, that’s just Jesus. He’s our 12 year old little boy. Isn’t He just precious!

How easy is it for us to get used to Him. When we first get saved He something special. Then after a period of time we just become accustomed to Him.

WHICH LEADS US TO MY NEXT POINT.

II. They Took His Presence For Granted

Luke 2:43–44 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

Now, not only have they gotten used to Him, but they begin to take His presence for granted.

You say, “isn’t that the same thing as getting used to Him?” Here I want to make application of our relationship with Him.

Listen to what David said after he had commited adultery with Bathsheba. Psalm 51:11–12 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit.

Now, David was a saved man here, so he isn’t saying, “Don’t take away my salvation” when he says, “take not thy holy spirit from me.” He is saying, “I don’t want to lose the feeling of closeness with you! I don’t want to feel estranged from you. ESTRANGED: Withdrawn; withheld; alienated We cannot lose our salvation, but what we can lose is our close walk with the Lord. We will say it this way, “he/she is cold and indifferent.” “They are away from God.” “Brother so and so is backslid.”

We all are going to have those times in our life when we are in that type of condition. But, why do we get there? I believe that many times it is because we take His Presence for granted.

Look back at Luke 2:43–44 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

A. They Thought He Would Automatically Be Where They Were

“Well, we first heard about Him almost 13 years ago now. We met Him 12 years ago when He came into our home. So, since He has been around so long we don’t have anything to worry about. He will always be here no matter where we are.”

B. They Thought They Could Find Him By Looking Among Other People Who Knew Him

Sometimes we think that just because we come to church we will be OK. However, there is more to the Christian life than that. It takes a commitment. Not for salvation, but for fellowship with Him. Mary and Joseph thought, “surely, if He isn’t with us He must be with Aunt....., or Uncle..... Maybe, He’s with Cousin.....”

Just being around other Christians IS NOT ENOUGH. It is essential to the Christian life, Hebrews 10:24–25 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. So it is a Biblically sound statement that we need fellowship, and we need to be with other Christians, but Mary and Joseph didn’t lose Jesus because they weren’t fellowshiping with other people in there company. They lost Him because they thought, “Well, since He is obviously with them we can go get Him whenever we want Him.”

What they discovered was this:

His supposed presence with other people did not automatically grant them His close, personal presence.

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEXT POINT:

Now they realize, “Uh-oh! He is no where around here!”

Maybe Mary look at Joseph and said, “You know, I have seen Jesus since yesterday. Why don’t you go find Him and tell Him He needs to eat supper with us tonight.” Joseph then begins to search through the places he thought Jesus might be. He goes to first one group, and then another.

“Hey Bill, it’s a hot day isn’t it? By the way, have you seen Jesus? We thought He may have been hanging out with your son.”

“Hey, Zacharias! We haven’t seen you and Elizabeth in a month of Sundays! How is John doing? Glad to hear it! Yeah, I heard he likes to eat locust and honey more than regular food. I mean at least there is lots of protein in them. I don’t know how those wings don’t get stuck between his teeth though! Anyway, I’m looking for Jesus, and thought He might be playing with John. Tell me John don’t have Him eating bugs! Mary would lose it!”

After maybe three or four times of people saying, “No, the last time I saw Him was back in Jerusalem.” Joseph isn’t doing the small talk thing anymore. He just goes from one group to the next, “HEY! HAVE YOU SEEN JESUS?” “HEY HAVE YOU SEEN JESUS?” And without fail they all say, “Nope, haven’t seen Him since Jerusalem.”

So, they have a choice. They can say, “Well, He is bound to catch up. After all, He loves us just as much as we love Him, and He is just as used to being around us as we are used to being around Him. So, hey! There’s nothing to worry about! Right?”

Thankfully, that was not the attitude Mary and Joseph had.

III. They Returned To Where They Last Saw Him

Luke 2:45–46 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

Notice, “they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.” They had a purpose in going back to Jerusalem. They did not just say, “well, I guess Jerusalem is as a good a place as any.” NO! They were seeking Him in the last place they saw Him.

They did not go further once they realized they had lost Him. They didn’t go to another town. They didn’t look Him with other companies of travelers. THEY WENT STRAIGHT TO WHERE HE WAS LAST IN THEIR PRESENCE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WHERE THEY WERE LAST IN HIS PRESENCE!

CLOSING:

That is EXACTLY where you and I will find Him when we wander astray. We won’t find Him in a contemporary religion. We won’t find Him in some new age religion. We won’t find Him in a support group or by going back to the world.

We will only find Him by going back to the place we left Him. Getting right with God isn’t about steps and programs and talking Him into it. It’s just about going back to where we left Him!