4. When Jesus Was Lost

(Luke 2: 41-52)

One morning when Jesus lived in the little white stone house in Nazareth, his father, Joseph, said: “Jesus, you are now twelve years old. You are to go to the feast in Jerusalem with us this year.” This made Jesus very happy. He had been looking forward a long time to the day when he could go to the great city of Jerusalem that was to him the most sacred and most wonderful city in the world. So, when the morning to start came, Jesus was ready. When they started there were great throngs of people from different towns and lands going up to the feast, traveling together and crowding the roads. The women and aged men rode on donkeys, or mules, or horses, or camels. The men walked by their side, staff in hand. The boys ran on before or played by the side of the road. These great caravans of people slowly traveled together as far as they could by day and rested at night in tents or booths. The boys had tents in which they could sleep together, and Jesus was with the boys. On the fourth day, suddenly in the distance, on a hill, Jesus caught the first glimpse of the high towers and great walls of the city, and the shining roof of the temple and palaces. The people cried out, “Jerusalem! Jerusalem!” singing psalms of joy together, accompanied by music of various instruments, as they journeyed onward. Soon they reached the city. It was a new and wonderful world to Jesus, this wondrous boy of twelve years old, who had lived in the country and had never seen a large city before. He opened his eyes wide to see the crowded streets, the marble palaces, the strong towers, and then the temple courts and buildings. He saw the bright robes of the priests. He saw the smoking altars and their bleeding sacrifices of oxen and lambs and doves. He stood in front of the great blue veil of the holy of holies and wondered what was within. He knew this was his heavenly Father’s house, and he liked to be there better than anywhere else. He watched the daily sacrifice and all parts of the feast. During the seven days of the feast, Jesus walked about the streets looking at the stores, the wonderful articles for sale, the animals for sacrifice, the forts, the great gates, and other interesting things in the city, but he always liked to go back to the wonderful temple.

When the feast was over, Joseph and Mary started toward home. But as the roads were so crowded, especially toward Nazareth, with the thousands of returning pilgrims, his parents, supposing he was in the company, did not discover that he was missing until they pitched their tents at the close of their first short day’s travel. Jesus was lost. They searched everywhere and asked everybody they met, and when they could not find him they were greatly worried, fearing that King Herod might have caught him and put him to death. They hurried back to the city very early the next morning and searched everywhere for the missing boy but could learn nothing of him. At last, on the third day, they went into one of the side rooms of the temple, a room where the teachers and wise men met, and there was Jesus in the center of a group of white-bearded teachers, listening earnestly to what they said, and asking them harder questions than they had ever heard before. Mary said: “Jesus, my son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” Jesus replied: “Mother, how is it that you sought me? Did you not think that I would be here, in my Father’s house?” While Jesus had been at the feast during those seven days he had found out what every boy and girl sooner or later must find out, what he is to do and to be in the world. But though Jesus now knew what he was to be and do, yet at once he said to the great teachers, “Good-bye,” and went back with his parents to Nazareth, a cheerful, obedient Jewish boy.

And in all that land no son was ever so thoughtful, so kind, so loving, and so helpful to his parents and to his brothers and sisters, as was this noble boy and young man, whom his neighbors knew as Jesus, the young carpenter of Nazareth.