THE SILENT YEARS Luke 2:41-52 Not many biographies tell a lot about childhood or even many events that took place in people's lives before they reached adulthood. During childhood, we learn from others rather than contribute much to the common interests of more than our own personal family. Luke wrote this part of the narrative as the only incident recorded about Jesus’ childhood. There are other fanciful books written later on that tell of the supposed childhood experiences of Jesus. “The Infancy Gospel of Thomas” is a collection of legends about Jesus as a child written in the second century.
This account in the Gospel of Luke gives a brief glimpse of Jesus' normal childhood, during which He identified Himself with our humanity when He was young. We need to have this account of an important incident in His life in that it shows Him as a normal human being, the firstborn son in a family, who has come near to manhood. Until the family made the journey to Jerusalem for the feast, He would likely have been considered a child and stayed close to His mother or Joseph. At twelve, He would have been more independent and could be with His mother, Joseph, or friends and relatives as they walked the three-day journey. People in those days would travel in groups for safety, with the women and children forward and the men guarding the back of the caravan, guiding the way, and watching for possible difficulties.
The fact that the Lord knew the scriptures at His age and could ask pertinent questions should encourage Christian parents today to realize their children begin learning from them very young. What we teach them is not always in the form of a lesson that is formally taught, although that is important. Much of what is learned is caught. Attitudes toward other people, regardless of their ages, are learned by observation, hearing the tone of voice, and watching the body language. Children’s attitude toward God is usually learned by how their parents read the Bible, attend the gatherings of the assembly, and participate in the church's life.
If we read the Bible in their hearing and have them read the word of God for themselves, it indicates to our children that what God says in His word is important to their parents. If they are essential to the mother and father, they will likely be more important to the children. The way we pray and worship the Lord is under observation by our own children. By the time they are twelve, they are responsible for what they believe and will do with the spiritual truths they have been taught.
Mary and Joseph are still the focus of the narrative in this chapter because Jesus was still under their care. However, at this time, a new direction had come in the development of Jesus as the Son of Man. He had experienced infancy and childhood as our children do, and He had been an obedient son to both Mary and Joseph. A child with wisdom and grace would have been very unusual. Yet, Jesus was socially and physically a normal young person in Nazareth who would do what His parents said and, at twelve, was also interacting with other people. His humanity was evident to all who knew Him. “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” Joseph must have died several years later when people said, “Is not this the carpenter?” These comments indicate Jesus was a well-known member of the community.
Children of God are not called to be odd or out of touch with what is going on in a community. Our separation is spiritual and moral and occasionally physical when the activities of a village or family are sinful morally and spiritually. Three times a year, there were feasts in Jerusalem, which the men were supposed to attend. The Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles would be like our Bible conferences today. Families would accompany the men when they were old enough to travel or able to travel. It was a three-day walk from Nazareth to Jerusalem. Those special times would have been very unifying experiences for the children of Israel. Fellowship with other believers is an important part of Christian family life. Connections are made during such times of gathering that affect families and individuals for a lifetime.
When Jesus was twelve, He would have had access to many other people His age. As a natural communicator, He would have been quite open to listening to older people, asking them questions, and talking with His friends. The temple layout was such that various teachers could have a place where people could gather to hear what they taught. Several teachers of different sects and interests would be able to have something similar to their own school in the porticos of the temple area. That would have been a major attraction to people who could listen to their favorite scribe. Likely, Gamaliel would have been one of those teachers, and a young boy named Saul would have been learning from him. The wisdom of older people was an important part of education in those days. Saul of Tarsus was “brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and was taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers…” Luke recorded that comment in the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles.
When Joseph and Mary and the people of Nazareth left Jerusalem, like normal parents when their boy, who was nearly a man, was not with them, they would have thought He was with His contemporaries or other family members, socializing as they traveled. Jesus was truly a human in a normal family doing normal things. He was not like some alien from outer space. Rather, He was a normal, sociable person approaching manhood and independence with normal human interests. Our Lord was like us so He could experience humanity like us, only without sin. In that way, He could truly take our place as the substitute for our sins on the cross. When Jesus was missing after a day’s travel away from Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary had a day to return to Jerusalem and search for Jesus.
Being out of touch with the Lord Jesus, even for one day, will affect our fellowship, joy, and usefulness to Him. It is of great importance that we keep our communication and communion with our Lord constantly intact. Lost time can never be regained. Far too often, we take the things of God for granted and mistakenly think we can pick up where we left off and go on without any consequences. Our failure to keep in touch with the Lord and keep the faith does not only affect us but also those associated with us. By its very nature, normal life keeps us busy and, if we are not consciously aware of it, will take us away from the Lord.
Thankfully, we can return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on us. When we confess our sins and failures to our Gracious Father, He willingly and justly forgives us because of the efficacy of the blood of Christ. God doesn’t abandon His children. When they should know the importance of fellowship with Him, He will wait as long as it takes for pride, possessions, and people between us to be set aside and/or rejected. When we come to Him again with a full heart, there will likely be tears of remorse and, hopefully, repentance. They can be turned to tears of joy and gladness when fellowship is restored, and we accept His forgiveness and acceptance of us.
The court of the Gentiles in the temple square had places for official scribes and teachers the priests sanctioned and other teachers who could pass on their interpretations of the law and the prophets. A twelve-year-old boy with pertinent questions and thoughtful answers would have attracted the attention of those teachers. He would likely have made wise contributions to the discussions and thought-provoking questions about what they were teaching. Perhaps He was bringing up some things He would ask and teach eighteen years later. The coming of the Messiah was always a hot topic among Jewish scholars. Jesus’ understanding and wisdom about the scriptures astounded those men and His parents when they found Him. - It is not easy for parents, and in Jesus’ case, His mother, to let a child go and watch them move into adulthood. She had been told years before who He was: the Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God, but seemed to have become used to having a very good firstborn son who would do what she wanted. Perhaps this was the first time tension had come into the family from Jesus. She returned to Jerusalem looking for a boy and found a man instead. Not just a young man but a man among men of learning and wisdom.
There is a time in family life when we have to back off and let our children start to become adults in their own right. The problem parents have is to let them be adults in their own way. Teachers must let their students go and hope they will become teachers themselves. Leaders have to step back and let those who followed them lead them. To let young people go and assume responsibility is not easy. It is especially hard when they do things differently than we did and for us to accept that as okay. Giving them their responsibility for what they do and believe is one of the hardest things Christian parents can do.
When Joseph and Mary found where Jesus was, Mary referred to Joseph as “your father,” but Jesus replied by referring to His heavenly Father as “My Father” and the temple as His house as well as His work, “My Father’s business.” Even with this clarification, Jesus, the Son of God, obeyed His human parents. He didn’t neglect His family or His responsibility to them. Doing the Lord’s work doesn’t mean we have a right to neglect our family and their needs. Family members may not like, understand, or accept what we are committed to in the Lord’s work, but we cannot let that affect us in one way or another.
Jesus had brothers and sisters for whom He was responsible. Perhaps Joseph died during those silent years, and instead of being “the carpenter’s son,” He became known as “the carpenter.” He would have been responsible for meeting His family's needs. By the time He was thirty, His siblings would have been able to be on their own. The regular life routine would have given our Lord Jesus Christ most of the experiences that normal human beings go through. He was indeed one of us even though He was the Son of God, who was also the Son of Man.
Our Lord Jesus was a unique Person who had a normal childhood, lived in a typical family, developed in usual ways into manhood, and experienced the life of an ordinary working man. He knew people, related to people in many ways, and had a personality that would set Him apart from others because of His sinlessness. He seemed to have a balanced life of childhood, youth, manhood, and responsibility. As a man, God loved him, and loving God made Him love others, some who would love Him in return and some who would hate Him. Some people would want to be around Him and with Him, while others would avoid Him and leave Him alone because His light could not mix with their darkness.
Despite other books written about those silent years of His life, the only words we can accept as the whole truth are those written in the Bible. Luke likely got this account of a weekend in Jerusalem from Mary, an “eyewitness.” We praise God for it and are reminded again that “Mary treasured all those things in her heart.” Jesus was an obedient son to His earthly parents, but His uniqueness and maturity were evident in His wisdom and the favor God and people showed toward Him.
LUKE 3 JOHN THE BAPTIST