Luke 2:40-52
40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 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. 48 And when his parents [1] saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” [2] 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature [3] and in favor with God and man.
Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text today is the Gospel lesson, especially these verses: “His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in Christ. Have you ever lost something, and had to search and search and search to find it? I can’t tell you the number of times I didn’t know where my car keys were, and I searched and searched, looking and looking for them, until finally figuring out that they were still in my coat pocket. Or maybe you have been shopping at a busy store before Christmas, and just for a few minutes, one of your children stopped to look at a toy without your noticing, and you have had to search and search to find them. Or finally, after the last few snowy days you can relate to searching and searching with a shovel to finally find your sidewalk that has been missing.
In our text today, Mary and Joseph are searching and searching for Jesus. They have travelled with a 12 year old Jesus to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. This was a big trip for the Holy Family, as they left their small town of Nazareth, about 1500 people, and headed off to the big city of Jerusalem, a densely populated metropolis of more than 100,000 people, busy with pilgrims for the feast. Mary, Joseph and Jesus went with a large group of family from Nazareth to Jerusalem. And having completed the feast they begin the trek back to Nazareth. But on the way back, they realize they can’t find Jesus. They realize that he isn’t where they thought he was.
Imagine you are Mary or Joseph. Imagine that moment of sheer horror when you realize you can’t find your child. Mary and Joseph run around, asking all their friends and relatives where Jesus is, and no one knows. They begin panicking, and they head back to Jerusalem. They search and search for Jesus, retracing their steps. Asking people they met. Their oldest child is gone, and they can’t find him. The one that God had spoken to them about, the one God had entrusted to them is gone.
Mary and Joseph search Jerusalem for three days. Finally they turn to their last resort. Finally they travel to the temple mount, a huge 40 acre area bustling with people, with all sorts of nooks and crannies to search, and there they find Jesus, sitting with the scribes and teachers. Jesus is doing what he will do for the rest of his life, teaching them, asking them questions and giving them answers so that they might realize the truth. That God would rescue his people by a bloody gruesome sacrifice.
You can imagine the relief of Mary and Joseph as they found their Son. You can imagine them shouting for joy and giving Jesus a huge hug, before finally, as we see in our text, the frustration hits. “Where were you” Mary asks, “Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.”” In fact the text says that it wasn’t only worry that Mary and Joseph felt. It was terror. The greeks says “We were in terror searching for you!” They were terrified because they had lost the child God gave to them with the promise of forgiveness of sin. But Jesus responds, “Did you know that I would be in my father’s house?” or some translations, “that I would be doing my Father’s things?”
Mary and Joseph were searching everywhere for Jesus, but Jesus was there in the Holy Temple going about the work of God the Father. God made flesh, Immanuel is doing the things that He was sent to do. While Mary and Joseph were frantically searching, Jesus was doing his Father’s work.
Dear friends in Christ, this text has so much to say to us. This text is such a beautiful reflection of our own lives, for we often spend so much time of our lives searching and searching. No, I don’t mean searching for keys, or searching for a child at the store, or searching even for your sidewalk under feet of snow. But you and I spend a lot of time of our lives searching for answers, searching for meaning, searching for God. We spend huge amounts of our lives searching for something to fulfill our life. And the whole time we are searching, Jesus is going about his business – the business of saving us from our sins.
We search to fulfill our life, and we find all sorts of things to cling to. Maybe it is sexual addiction – an addiction to fulfill our own carnal desires. Maybe we seek to fulfill our lives with drugs or alcohol, using them to numb our existence. Or maybe we look to family friends or work, making them number one in our lives, making them the most important thing. Or perhaps we have moved around, valuing each of these things and then moving on to another as we discover these things can’t really bring us happiness.
Friends, many people even search as far as churches go. We see people who search and search in faith matters. They go to this church or that church, until finally for some reason or another, they switch to another. Perhaps you have even heard people that say things like this, “I am not really sure what I believe, I am searching for answers, I am uncertain.” This searching may even lead to silly things like saying, “I am religious, I just don’t go to church, I don’t need all of that stuff, but good for you for going.”
And what exactly are people searching for? An assurance, an assurance that this life isn’t all meaningless. An assurance that there isn’t an end, an assurance that I am a valuable person, and that someone or something actually cares about little old me. We just want to belong and feel loved. We want something more, and so we search and search, but in this world, nothing we look at, nothing we can find in our sin will actually assure us. It might numb the pain for a while. It might give us a false sense of hope for a time. But in the end, we will still are empty and alone. And as we search, we just like Mary and Joseph are in terror. We wonder what awaits us, we wonder what happens if we don’t fulfill our lives. We live in terror of what tomorrow holds for us.
Just like Mary and Joseph, we are looking and looking, but we aren’t finding on our own what we need and what will actually be beneficial for us. We seek, but we don’t look in the right places. In our sin, we can’t, for in our sin we can’t actually come to fulfillment at all, not on our own.
But while we are seeking, while we are looking, Jesus is doing exactly what he is supposed to be. While we search and search, Jesus is going about his Father’s Business, he is doing what his Father demands. And as I said earlier, Jesus’ job is to come to sinners like you and me, sinners who are searching. And when he comes to us, Jesus creates faith in our hearts, and carries us into eternal life.
WHILE WE SEARCH, JESUS FINDS US AND RESCUES US FROM THIS WORLD.
Jesus comes to us in Baptism, and tells us, “you don’t need to search, I am here with you, and will never forsake you. You already belong to me, for I have found you, found you and washed you in my blood.” And in our baptism, we have assurance of our salvation. We don’t need to look any further than the gift that Jesus has given, for scripture says, “He who believes and is baptized WILL be saved.” There isn’t doubt, Friend if Jesus has washed you, you can be sure that you are his.
And Jesus comes to you also with his own body and blood for forgiveness life and salvation. As you search, he comes to you and says, “Here I am, this is my body, this is my blood, and I give it to you for the forgiveness of sins.” And Jesus furthermore says, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” Friends, you don’t need to search for faith or assurance, you don’t need to search for Jesus, for he tells you right where he is. Here at this altar, and here in this font. SEARCH NO MORE! HERE IS JESUS! And he has come for you.
Friends, Jesus is going about his Father’s business. Jesus is going about what God desires for him. We know this, because some 20 years after Jesus came to Jerusalem in our text, he came for another Passover feast. Only this time, he was not lost for three days, but instead laid three days in a tomb because he had been murdered on a cross. He had given up his life so that you might live. And after laying dead for three days, he rose from the dead, and announced to the world, Search no more, for I have found you and I have rescued you.
Friends, you might have to search for your keys. You might have to search for a kid at the store, or even these last few days for things lost in the snow. But friends, something you will never need search for is Jesus. Because Jesus tells you where he is, and because Jesus comes searching for you. And we know that he has found you in baptism, and fed you in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus has found you, and brought you into his heavenly kingdom. Amen.
