Corrections About Christian Departure

Luke 2:43-46

“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” (Luke 2:43).

After the Passover celebration, Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem without Christ.

We have CORRECTIONS about Christian departure.

I. The Instance of the Departure. v.43a

“When they had fulfilled the days” (Luke 2:43).

At the end of a high spiritual experience, they departed from Christ.

Often after a high spiritual experience, many saints fail and fall.

Revival is sometimes followed by ruin.

Folk have a tendency to let down their guard after a high spiritual experience, and Satan sees the opening and attacks.

II. The Ignorance in the Departure. v.43b

“Joseph and his mother knew it not” (Luke 2:43).

The fact that Joseph and Mary were unaware that Christ was not with them is incredible.

You would think, in view of Who Jesus was, that His absence would have been very evident to them.

Yet it took a whole day for them to realize He was not with them.

The spiritual application is that many people travel many days and years in life without Christ unaware of what they are missing.

III. The Investigating after the Departure. v.44

When Joseph and Mary realized Jesus was not with them they began to investigate where He might be.

The supposing in the investigating.

“They, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey” (Luke 2:44).

Their first act of investigating was one of supposing that Christ was with the group traveling with them.

People did not travel in autos, buses or trains as we do today but had to walk.

So Jews traveled in large groups to and from the religious occasions in Jerusalem both for safety and for socializing.

When Joseph and Mary first realized Jesus was not with them, they assumed He was somewhere in the traveling group.

This was a bad assumption. NEVER assume your spiritual condition. Make certain of it!

The seeking in the investigating.

“They sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance … found him not” (Luke 2:44,45).

It is not uncommon to not find Jesus in your relatives and friends.

The seriousness of the investigating.

“When they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him” (Luke 2:45).

Joseph and Mary were alarmed when they could not find Christ in the group they were traveling with, so they decided to head back to Jerusalem.

This was serious investigating, for they would have to go back a day’s journey on their own without the safety of their group.

Conclusion:

Kevin Miller, executive vice president, Christianity Today International shared this story about the cost of deceptions we believe in our lives. Here is what he said: In April of 2008, I had to drive to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for work, so I went to Enterprise to rent a car. They gave me a big, brand-new, comfy Chrysler 300 to drive—and I loved it! In fact, I enjoyed feeling large and in charge so much that I blew right past the first tollbooth. You see, I’m not used to stopping for tollbooths, because I have an I-PASS in my own car—a little device that signals I’ve already prepaid my tolls.

After passing the first tollbooth, I thought about it: Oh! This car doesn’t have an I-PASS! But just as I started to worry about it, I thought, This car belongs to the rental-car company—not me. So they’re probably responsible for any tolls. That must be what your rental money goes toward covering.

When I got on I-294, I drove past another toll, thinking, Even if I am responsible for the tolls, there’s only a few tolls between here and Indiana—maybe $4 round trip. I’m sure there’s some threshold where they don’t even bother sending you a bill for the tolls. I mean, it wouldn’t be worth their time to send me a bill for only $4. Nothing’s going to happen!

After I returned home from my business trip, a month or two went by. Nothing happened—and I knew nothing ever would. But then, in October, I received a piece of mail that read: “Notice of Toll Violation.” I was right, to a degree. The Tollway Authority wouldn’t bother sending me a bill for my measly $3.90 in tolls. But when you add in a $20 fine for every one of the 5 tollbooths I drove past, they did bother sending me a bill for $103.90!

I about had a heart attack. They had me dead to rights. They had a photo of my rental-car’s license plate. They even knew the exact lane number I was in. The fact that months had gone by and nothing had happened didn’t mean that nothing was ever going to happen. Kevin thought he was making progress and going forward in his journey. He was going to leave those toll booths behind and not worry about paying the fees. In this situation, he thought he was getting away with wrong, but in reality he deceived himself. He paid a very expensive penalty for his neglect.

Beloved, you may think you are making great gains in your life or are successful, but if you disobeying God’s Word and have left the Lord behind or out of your life, you are not successful at all. Your gains are not gains at all. Satan endeavors to deceive us into thinking that happiness is found in things, money, power, position, or popularity, and not the Lord. Without Christ, however, you have nothing that will really satisfy you. Leaving the Lord out of your life is to rob yourself of strength, peace, joy and what really matters in life. When you leave the Lord behind, you end up paying a price for it. You may not realize your loss until later and it will become a nightmare for you. If you die without Christ, you will spend eternity in Hell and it will be too late to do anything about it.