Matthew 2, Luke 2:39-52

In these two chapters we catch a glimpse into Jesus early life. From Matthew, we see that He is already fulfilling prophecies from the prophets of old. From Micah, we have the prophecy of where He will be born:

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are no poor relation—
For from your people will come a Ruler
who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.

From Jeremiah 31, Matthew shows a prophecy of mother's weeping over their children, relating to Herod slaughtering all sons under the age of two:

A voice will be heard in Ramah,
weeping and wailing and mourning out loud all day and night.
The voice is Rachel’s, weeping for her children,
her children who have been killed;
she weeps, and she will not be comforted.

With the flight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt, Matthew recalls from Hosea this passage:

Out of Egypt I called My Son.

And finally, Joseph choosing to settle in Galilee fulfilled yet another prophecy that "the Savior will be a Nazarene."

It's a bit heavy handed, but Matthew is trying to make it as clear as possible for his Jewish audience: this is the One. Jesus is the One we have been waiting for. He is finally here!

While Matthew makes the setting very clear, Luke dives in a little bit deeper into some of Jesus early childhood interaction with His parents. In particular, he relates a story from when Jesus was twelve. It was during passover and Jesus family had traveled to Jerusalem in order to celebrate. While there, apparently Joseph and Mary lose track of Jesus. They don't realize they have lost track of Him until they are most of the way home. They rush back to Jerusalem, only to discover Jesus at the temple asking questions and engaging in discussion with the religious leaders.

This story seems pretty crazy to us today. If this happened today, Mary and Joseph probably would have gotten reported to Child Services and Jesus would be in foster care. While the reaction in Jesus' day was a little different, it was still a big deal. Where today we would blame His parents, they would lay all the blame on Jesus. By not following his parents home, He was being incredibly disrespectful to them, or so it seemed. This is what leads Mary to ask:

Son, why have You treated us this way? Listen, Your father and I have been sick with worry for the last three days, wondering where You were, looking everywhere for You.

Why did you do this to us? Didn't you know we would be worried sick? I do not believe Jesus was unaware of the worry and concern He was causing his parents. I also do not believe that He was unconcerned for their welfare. His response is incredibly powerful and gives amazing insight into His person:

Why did you need to look for Me? Didn’t you know that I must be working for My Father?

Jesus was more concerned with the work of His Father than He was worried about his parents or how they might react. This is the truth we will continue to see throughout His life.  His identity is grounded in being a son of the Father. He does what His Father asks Him to do. He follows where His Father leads. And His Father takes great delight in Him.