My Father's Business

Introduction

A few weeks ago, I introduced Kassandra to the classic film, Forrest Gump. There is a scene in that movie in which Jennie, the love of Forrest’s life, has walked out on him. To deal with the pain, he starts to run. And he says very little as he runs. He runs back and forth through the United States, and within time, people begin to follow him and run with him. At the end of the scene, Forrest stops running, turns around and you hear someone in the crowd of people shush everyone. “Quiet. Quiet. He’s gonna say something.” The camera closes in on him as everyone waits in silence. Then he speaks, “I’m pretty tired. Think I’ll go home now.” The befuddled crowd parts as he walks in the middle of them and that shushing character asks, “Now what are we supposed to do!?”

There was great anticipation as to what Forrest Gump’s first words would be; what wisdom would he impart? Obviously, the crowd did not know him well.

This morning, we are looking at the first words of Jesus we have recorded, not just in Luke, but anywhere. And these words have far reaching effects. So as study this passage we will see Jesus’s mission and what that means for us. And we’ll see it in four turn of events. So we first will look at the place of Jesus’s person, the pain of Jesus’s parents, the purpose of Jesus’s position, and finally the progress of Jesus’s person.

The Place of Jesus’s Person

The Pain of Jesus’s Parents

The Purpose of Jesus’s Position

The Progress of Jesus’s Person

Luke 2:41–52 ESV

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

The Place of Jesus’s Person

The first turn of events comes as Luke instructs us about Jesus’s whereabouts. He tells us the place of Jesus’s person, of Jesus himself, and he does so in relation to his parents. I believe that this is critical to the narrative that Luke told Theophilus. I say the “place” of Jesus’s person, but in reality there are three places of that Luke directly or indirectly tells us as to the person of Jesus.

The first place that we find Jesus is at home in Nazareth. If we go back a verse, we find that once the presentation and cleansing rituals were done, Jesus’s parents took him home to Nazareth. And that seems to be where he stayed until he was 12 years old.

Luke 2:41 ESV

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

Notice in verse 41, Mary and Joseph would go to the Feast of Passover, but Jesus did not. He was not required under law to go. However, once the boy turned 13, he was supposed to make the trek every year. Luke pointed out that though Jesus’s parents went, they never took him along. He stayed home probably with relatives or friends. When his parents returned, they would fully and rightfully expect to see Jesus again—safe and sound. They knew where he was and where they could find him.

But then, we see this turn of events: he was with his parents this time.

Luke 2:42 ESV

And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.

The law stated that when a boy came to the age of maturity, he was supposed to celebrate certain festivals. Today, we tend to think of bar mitzvahs being celebrated at the age of 13, but that wasn’t always the case or custom. So it is easy to accept that Jesus may have already celebrated his bar mitzvah or they were preparing him for it to come soon. But as for now, once again, Jesus’s whereabouts were known. Mary and Joseph know exactly where he is.

The problem comes in the third place we find Jesus, or rather where we don’t find him.

Luke 2:43–44 ESV

And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

This is where the story gets troublesome. Mary and Joseph lost the Son of God! Notice though, it wasn’t Jesus who left them. It was they who left him. They were the ones returning to Nazareth. Jesus stayed put. They assumed Jesus was somewhere in their group. They supposed him to be among their relatives and acquaintances.

Oh how often we take Jesus’s presence for granted! Certainly we know that Jesus’s Spirit is with believers everywhere we go. He has promised to be with us day in and day out until the end of time. He has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us. But we don’t think about his body so much do we? We’re probably more like Thomas than we care to admit. Even when we take of the Lord’s Supper and we hear the words, “this is my body,” does it cause us to stop and ponder about the personhood of Jesus and where he is in his body? We know the bread merely represents the body so that as we see it, as we taste it, we remember the actual person of Jesus in the flesh. Do this—see this, touch this, smell this, taste this—in remembrance of me.

What does it mean though, when we can’t see him? What does it mean when we can’t find him? When we feel alone? Ever feel that way? Ever feel like Jesus wandered away?

Brothers and sisters, Jesus has never strayed from us. It is we who have drifted from him. In reality, he is there. His Spirit is within you. But you can’t see him. You can’t feel him. You can’t sense him. You can’t hear from him. But it is not his doing; it is our own. Like Mary and Joseph, we are the ones who have walked away. Sometimes inadvertently; sometimes purposefully. But what do we do?

The Pain of Jesus’s Parents

Let’s see what Mary and Joseph did. The first turn of events came about in the place of Jesus’s person. The second comes about in the pain of Jesus’s parents. So what did they do?

Luke 2:44 ESV

but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

It’s easy to lose track of Jesus, isn’t it? If his parents could do it, how much easier is it for us!? What did they do when they realized that Jesus wasn’t with them? They began to search for him. That’s a good start! If you lose your child, the first thing you should do is start looking for them. And so they did. They looked among family members. They looked among those people they knew. But he was not there.

You can imagine what’s going on can’t you? If you’ve ever lost your child, you certainly can. You can hear Mary call his name, “Jesus.” but there’s no answer. She calls it again, louder this time “Jesus!”, and looking around. The vocalization of the name becomes a question by the third time “Jesus?!”; she tries to remain calm. She and Joseph split up to question family, and with every shaking head and response of no the heart drops and the tears form. Family and friends chip in to help; strangers do too. He’s no where to be found. Did he wander away? Did someone take him? How could God allow this to happen?

Beloved, when we don’t sense Jesus’s nearness, it is best to stop our journey lest we move further away and instead start seeking. It is good to start with family and friends. And by family, I mean our dear brothers and sisters in Christ. While Jesus was not with his physical family and friends, he is with his spiritual ones. That day when Jesus rose from the dead, the women were together going to the tomb. When they went to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, we find they were together. When Jesus visited them, they were again together. When the Holy Spirit came upon them they were in the upper room together. Could it be that our natural response should be to start with our family of faith when we are struggling with the presence of Jesus?

Luke 2:45 ESV

and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.

Plan B - go back to where they were when they were with him. That word “searching” is another word that is a present, active, participle. Remember the present participle denotes time. Thus what we see here is that it wasn’t just that they spent time searching for him among family and friends and then again in Jerusalem, but all along the way they were searching for Jesus.

When God had sent the Israelites into exile in Babylon, he promised that they’d return to Judah. He gave them a promise that is ours as well,

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

You better believe that Mary and Joseph were seeking Jesus, God the Son but also their son, with their whole being. Mary and Joseph started with the family and friends, but they ended going back to Jerusalem only with each other’s company. Again, it is not that Jesus is not among the family and friends, just like he is not absent from you in your time of distress. It just may be that he does not reveal himself through them.There are just some journeys we must take with one or two precious friends. We read in

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

A few months ago, I was reading in a book, that pointed out that Paul called on “you who are spiritual,” as if to say, not everyone in the church is spiritual. Some are not mature enough to go on this journey with you. That is not necessarily a shameful thing, though it might be. If you’ve been a Christian for decades but cannot restore a brother or sister in gentleness, it might be to your shame that you are not yet spiritual enough to do so. Sometimes we seek with only a couple of spiritual partners. Incidentally, if you want to know what it means to be spiritual, take a look at the verses immediately before (Gal. 5:22-25).

Luke 2:46 ESV

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

As promised, they sought with all their hearts and they found him. It wasn’t an easy three days by any stretch of the imagination. It was agonizing. How do we know? Because of Mary’s telling us.

Luke 2:48 ESV

And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”

That word astonished has the idea of not simply being surprised, but overwhelmed. Again, if you’ve lost a child, you know this feeling. The joy of finding him, the fear dissipating, the anger rising that they put you through this, its too overwhelming for the heart. They were searching for him in great distress, Mary says. Luke used this same word for when the rich man wanted Lazarus to dip his finger in water to quench his tongue as he was in torment.

You who have ever felt that darkness, rather than Jesus, was your only companion, you know what it is to be in this torment, this anguish, this distress. But do not stop seeking to find Jesus. It may take longer than you would like, but you will find him, so long as you continue to seek him with your whole heart.

The Purpose of Jesus’s Position

And in so doing, you may—you may—find out the reason he veiled his lovely face from you for that moment. The first turn of events involved the place of Jesus’s person. The second turn of events involved the pain of Jesus’s parents. The third one now involves the purpose of Jesus’s position. Mary asked him, “Son, why have you treated us so?” Don’t you ever want to ask that question to Jesus? “Jesus, why did you treat me like this?” “Jesus, why would you allow me to go through this?”

Do you remember Jesus’s response?

Luke 2:49 ESV

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Here are the first recorded words of Jesus. And if we aren’t careful, we might think he was scolding his parents, but we’d be wrong. He wasn’t scolding them; he was enlightening them. No need to search everywhere for Jesus. No need to be frantic as if they may never see him again. Had they forgotten who Jesus was? Had they forgotten what Gabriel had told them? He would be holy—Son of the Most High. Where could he be found? Would it not be with the Father?

Now we need to understand one thing quickly. The word “house” is not in the original. That’s why you may see some translations say house and others say business. In the original, we only have the word “the.” It’s called a substantive. In other words, we have to fill in the blank. Most times its easy to figure out what is meant. Usually, we can fill it is with “person” or “thing.” In this case, it’s a little more complicated. We could fill it in with “thing” but the only problem is: what is the thing? Did you not know that I must be in/about my Father’s thing—house or business. Either works. House certainly fits the context as they were looking for him in a certain place.

But I would choose the word “business” or “matters” even. Why? Because Jesus was born to be about the Father’s business. He lived his life always going about the Father’s business. He spoke only what his Father told him to say. He died doing the Father’s business. He rose doing the Father’s business. He ascended doing the Father’s business. Everything that Jesus does is because he is faithful to the Father’s business. It was his purpose then; it is his purpose still! That is the purpose of his position. As the Son of God he is to be about the Father’s business. As one commentator wrote the phrase “must be” is used frequently in Luke; “it expresses a divine compulsion.”

As a twelve year old boy who has been growing in strength and being filled with wisdom, this meant listening to the teachers and asking questions.

Luke 2:46 ESV

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

He sat himself down among the teachers. He heard their teachings and then asked probing questions. We know they were probing because the teachers were astonished.

Luke 2:47 ESV

And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

But this would not always be the business he was about. Do you know what his business is about now? To intercede for us.

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

When Stephen was being stoned, he looked up into the heavens and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He has been there since he has ascended and has been about the same business since that moment.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is there as our High Priest, granting us access to the Father’s throne of grace. It’s an image that the Jews would have readily understood. The ark of the covenant being inside the temple of God had a cover over it. On each side was a cherub facing each other with its wings spread above it. That covering was called the mercy seat or the throne of grace. The high priest would once a year, enter into the holy of holies and sprinkle the mercy seat, the throne of grace with the blood of the sacrificial goat making way for the forgiveness of sin and access of the people to God who had been blocked because of their sin.

This is the Father’s business that Jesus is about. This is the purpose of his position as the Son of God and our High Priest. Thomas Goodwin, in his book The Heart of Christ, wrote,

He was ordained for men, that is, for men’s cause, and for their good. Had it not been for salvation of men, God had never made Christ a priest. So that he is wholly to employ all his interest and power for them for whose cause he was ordained a priest, and that in all things that are between God and man. He is to transact. . . all thing that are to be done by us towards God, or for us with God, he is to take up all our quarrels with God, and to mediate a reconciliation between us and him. He is to procure us all favour from God, and to do all that which God would have done for our salvation. And that he might do this willingly, kindly, and naturally for us, as every high priest was ‘taken from among men’, so wast Christ, that he might be a priest of our own kind, and so be more kind unto us, than the nature of an angel could have been.

Brothers and sisters, if you want to find Christ, find him at the throne of grace. He is there interceding for you, taking up all your quarrels with God, mediating a reconciliation between you and him, procuring God’s favor toward you, and doing it willingly, kindly, and naturally. He is about his Father’s business.

The Progress of Jesus’s Person

It seems appropriate that as we started with Jesus’s personhood, we should end with it. It’s our fourth turn of events. Once Mary and Joseph locate Jesus and he explained to them what he was doing wasn’t necessarily to them but for his Father, he actually went home with them.

Luke 2:50–52 ESV

And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke states that he was submissive to them. The Son of God submissive to ordinary parents. The holy one submissive to sinners. They were after all his parents, and having been born of a woman, born under the law, Jesus obliged himself to honor his father and mother.

Submission is a hard pill to swallow. We have all these thoughts as to what it might mean and what it might imply. But here is the Son of God, submitting to his earthly parents and voluntarily doing so. You know, just because you or I may be the smartest person in the room does not mean we ought not show humility and submit ourselves to someone else’s leadership. Just because God has gifted us in certain areas doesn’t mean we ought not submit to those who have not been so gifted.

And Luke tells us again that he was increasing—continually increasing—one could rightly say, advancing in wisdom and stature. And here we are again with this inclusio where we Luke began and ended with the same concept. In Luke 2:40, we see Jesus growing and gaining in wisdom, and now here again we see the same thing. In verse 40, he was in favor with God and here we see it again, but this time we also see mankind also favored him. Jesus was always making progress—always seeking to grow. If at the age of 12, the teachers were amazed, imagine how shocked they’d be when he reached 30! His wisdom may just go beyond being astonishing and might actually become offensive.

Conclusion

As we close out this section, I want to say that this is the second time Mary is said to have treasured words in her heart. Would that we would follow suit. To treasure the words, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business.” Taking those to heart, then meditating on them as to what that means. What that meant then. What that means now. What that means in the future. For those who have trusted in Jesus, as many of us have, it means mercy. It means compassion in spite of our sins. It means Christ intercedes for us and advocates on our behalf and ushers us before the throne of grace. It means he will return and save us to the uttermost.

But for those who have not entrusted him with their whole being, it means he will be their judge.

Revelation 20:11–15 ESV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Christ must be about his Father’s business. The business of kindness and mercy to all who trust in him. The business of judgment and wrath to all who do not.