Luke 2: 41-52
Epiphany 1, 2012
Ps. 100
Isaiah 61: 1-3
Romans 12: 1-5
Epiphany 1 Intriot: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. I heard the voice of a great multitude saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Epiphany 1 Collect: Lord God heavenly Father, in mercy You have established the Christian home among us: We beseech You so to rule and govern our hearts, that we may be good examples to children and those subject to us, and not offend them by word or deed, but faithfully teach them to love Your Church and hear Your blessed Word. Give them Your spirit and grace, that this seed may bring forth good fruit, so that our home life may advance Your glory, honor and praise, our own improvement and welfare, and give offense to no one; through the same, Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
This morning, I am going to attempt to take you back to your childhood and certain incidents. So if you will, take a moment to think back. I will try to help you a little bit. Were you always obedient to your parents? Did you ever tell them a lie or fudge on the truth? Did you steal small amounts of money out of your mom’s purse to buy candy? Did you ever argue and fight with your brothers and sisters? Were you ever angry with your parents or did you complain and/or rebel against your parents because their treatment of you? How many times did you pout and cry or throw a tantrum because you did not get your way? Now you might respond to all of these points saying, “But that is all forgiven and in the past.” Yes, it is, but it is forgiven because of what we learn about our Savior this morning. So I bid you to keep the “snapshots” of your youthful days close at hand as we go through the lesson.
Jesus is now twelve a “Son of the Law” under obligation to learn and observe the provisions of the Levitical law and ceremonies. This explains, partly, why Jesus is in the Temple and why He is “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” But there is a lot more to this and that is what I wish to unfold for you this morning. This morning we learn the spiritual implication of:
JESUS’ FIRST WORDS AND ACTIONS
His first words.
His first actions.
JESUS’ FIRST WORDS.
The question that is often asked by Christians is this: “Why is it that we have only one account of Jesus in His childhood?” We go from Jesus’ birth to age 12 and then don’t hear about Jesus until His Baptism. Where is the information in between? First of all, Luke surfaces as the only Gospel writer to record the events surrounding the day of our Savior’s birth and his childhood. Secondly, Luke is unique as he tells us specifically how he wrote his Gospel: “I decided to check everything carefully from the beginning and write it down for you, excellent Theophilus.” Luke introduces his Gospel in a well-written, researched, and historical record of Jesus’ life and teachings.
One of Luke’s sources had to be Mary herself. No one else would have had such intimate knowledge of Jesus’ birth in a manger and especially the incident in the Temple. The Temple incident would have cut deeply into the heart of Mary. She thought that she had lost the Son God had entrusted to her care. As a parent, you can understand the thoughts that must have flooded her mind: was he killed by robbers; was he abducted by slave traders; was he lying along the road? Had she neglected to protect adequately the LORD who was destined to go to the cross allowing Him to be lost or killed? And so this one event left a deep impression on her soul. Yet, the LORD used this anguish in the life of Mary to teach us so much about our Savior.
Thus, as Mary approaches Jesus, in her desperation she says, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” The answer Jesus gives is the one divine and eternal reason that this single event in the young life of Jesus is recorded, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”
The first of these words that strike us are the words, “My Father.” Jesus does not say, “Our Father.” With these two words, Jesus lays claim to the title, “Son of God.” This lesson stands to underscore and thus comfort us that Jesus was the Son of God incarnate at His conception and birth. God has come to His people in the flesh.
However, the words of Jesus not only tell us who He is, but at the age of 12, Jesus explains to Mary and Joseph the nature of His existence on this earth, “I must be in my Father's house?” The Greek text literally says, “It is necessary for me to be in the things of My Father.” He is there in devotion to His heavenly Father’s will as the devoted Son of God to take the road to the cross. He underscores this “road” with the Greek term which is translated “must.” Jesus must be in the Temple. Jesus must be about His Father’s “business.” Jesus must go to the cross. That “must” is Gospel. Jesus does not suggest for one moment that the road He will take to the cross is negotiable. At the age of 12, Jesus determines to go to the cross for your sins.
JESUS FIRST ACTION.
Now, I ask you again to take out whatever “snapshots” of your youth you have available to you in the memory banks of your mind. Many of us had Christian parents that tried to make sure we attended church and heard the Word of God. The snapshots I ask you to look for are the ones where your parents “made” you go to church or Sunday School. Had the thought ever crossed your mind in your youth that you wished your parents would let you stay home on Sunday? Did you ever rebel against them, if not actively, at least in your mind closing your ears to the instruction of the teacher and the sermon of the pastor? Did you think the whole church thing was very boring? These youthful sins are not to be taken lightly. They are damnable. We should be facing an eternity in hell for them. Because the sins of our youth are damnable, we need to consider the first recorded youthful actions of our Savior.
This single event in the life of our Savior finds Him in the Temple, not pouting because He has to be there; not bored to death because He has to listen. Our lesson says, “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” This is the first action of our Savior recorded in the Bible. The Son of God, the LORD of Israel, the Word made flesh enters in human, bodily form into His own Temple. The Tabernacle and Temple represented the presence of God among the Children of Israel. Now the God of all Creation sits in His own Temple, not to dictate new rules or punish His people, but to be present among them as their Savior. Jesus is present in His House to conduct the business of salvation. God has come home to the place where He will accomplish our salvation and make the supreme sacrifice.
But the presence of Jesus in the Temple continues today. Where? Listen to Jesus, “For where two or three have come together in My Name, there I am among them.” As we hear His Word, as we administer His Holy Sacraments, our LORD comes to us, not to condemn us for our youthful rebellion, but to tell us our sins of all time are forgiven. This is why we call this area of the Church the “Sanctuary,” that is, the Holy place where our Savior is present among His people.
This last week I heard on one of the radio stations that the best way to keep children from becoming troublesome, despondent, alienated or delinquents is to gather them around the Supper table each evening. There, at the table, parents have the opportunity to step into the busy lives of their children so much dominated by the world counseling them and guiding them. Jesus has established a Supper for His holy Children, you and me so that He might step into our busy lives also so much dominated by the world and reassure us that we are loved and his chosen children and most of all forgiven when we rebel against Him. In this Supper, Jesus is truly present, not with fire and brimstone, not with bitter herbs and poison-laced wine, but with His very Body and Blood filled with the eternal nutrient of forgiveness.
But there is more. For all those times we rebelled against hearing God’s Word, the action of Jesus in the Temple, is now credited to us through the faith we are given in Holy Baptism. Dear Christian, this text is not here merely as an example of what you and I should have done in our youth and should do as adults. This text is here to show us what Christ has done to keep the entire Law in our place. This is what we call “His active obedience.”
That Active Obedience goes farther. Our lesson tells us, “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.” The Holy Spirit caused Luke to include these words for our comfort in regard to the sins of our youth. Where you and I often rebelled against our parents, Jesus placed Himself under the earthly authority which God has ordained. This is Fourth Commandment stuff. This is God fulfilling His own Command which shows us the divine mandate behind that command which must be fulfilled. But Jesus fulfilled it for you and me because of that “must.”
So what does all this mean for us today? How many of us are not haunted by some silly, sinful, rebellious thing we did as a young person directly against the Fourth Commandment and the authority under which God has placed us. How many of us are haunted by our rebellion against our LORD yet this day and the authority of His rule: the rebellion of lust and sexual thoughts, the sin of greed and discontent in how our Heavenly Parent treats us, the sin of bitterness and anger and malice against our neighbor. This account is meant to stand as the remedy against your troubled conscience. The first words of Jesus tell us that His “business” always was about our Salvation, always about the cross. His first actions are meant to comfort us that the Law, with all of its threats, has been kept and can no longer be our accuser on the Day of Judgment. When the sins of youth or the sins as an adult come up against you, recall the Words of Jesus, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Jesus spoke those words in the context of our entire life of sin. Come to the Table this morning and let your Heavenly Father counsel you with the Words of forgiveness, for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Go in peace. Amen.
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