Our reading is Luke 2:41-52. According to the scriptures, it was time for the Passover, a holy festival when the Jews remembered how God had liberated their ancestors from Egypt. The law required all Jewish men to go to Jerusalem to observe the Passover, but legislation was not necessary. People wanted to go to Jerusalem; Passover served as a great reunion. Entire communities would travel together because there is safety in numbers. The women and younger children would travel in the front of the caravan. The men and older boys would travel in the rear of the caravan. That is how Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem.
According to the scriptures, Jesus was twelve-years-old at the time of the Passover. Do you remember being twelve years old? It is an awkward age. You are no longer a child, yet you are not an adult. Being twelve years old is hard. Does Jesus travel in front of the caravan with his mother and the other women, or does Jesus travel in the rear of the caravan with his father and the other men? It is not surprising that Mary and Joseph lost track of Jesus. Mary thinks Jesus is with Joseph and Joseph thinks Jesus is with Mary. It is at the end of a long day they discover Jesus is missing. Mary and Joseph must have panicked. Yet, it is in this family crisis we learn three divine truths about being twelve years old. Let me explore each one.
This is divine truth number one: Every twelve-year-old needs a foundation.
According to the scriptures, it took Mary and Joseph three days to find the twelve-year-old Jesus. According to verse 46, they found him in the temple courts with the teachers of the law. He was listening and asking questions. Jesus was not lecturing, Jesus was learning. Jesus had a few questions, because Jesus had a few spiritual hunger pains. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) said, “Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in God.” When you are twelve years old you discover your own mortality. Death is uncomfortable for mortals. I have never met a person who didn’t want to go to heaven.
In the nineteenth century Scottish preacher Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) asked 253 Christian friends, “at what age were you converted?” Here’s what he
discovered:
Under 20 years of age – 138
Between 20 and 30 – 85
Between 30 and 40 – 22
Between 40 and 50 – 4
Between 50 and 60 – 3
Between 60 and 70 – 1
Over 70 – 0
Those numbers are revealing. Most converts accept Christ when they are young. The older a person grows, the less likely they will be converted. In the results he found that fifty-five percent of his study group were converted at twenty years of age or under. Ninety-seven per cent of his study group accepted Christ under forty years of age. This study was done in the nineteenth century, but those figures hold true today.
Today, twelve-year-olds have many options. I love to see children participating in wholesome activities. I love to see them playing pee-wee football. I love to see them in the band. I love to see them at the YMCA. I love to see them playing baseball and basketball. Those are great things, but where I really want to see them is in heaven! Twelve-year-olds have spiritual hunger pains. Wholesome activities are not enough, they need a spiritual foundation. Twelve-year-olds need Jesus!
Divine Truth Number Two: Twelve-year-olds need family and friends. According to verse 44, when Mary and Joseph discover that the boy Jesus was missing, they start to look for him among family and friends. This is not surprising because they understood what we often forget – it takes an entire community to raise a child.
When I served a church, I always viewed baptizing a baby as a great privilege. There are many things to love about infant baptism. The baby is always precious. The parents are always proud. Numerous family members and friends come to witness the event. It is easy to overlook the part the church plays in infant baptism. In traditional Methodist baptism, the church promises to create an atmosphere where the child can learn about Jesus, so that some day those babies can accept Jesus for themselves. Through the eyes of God, we are not just church members. We support and encourage one another in the Christian faith. Twelve-year-olds need family and friends.
Divine Truth Number Three: Every twelve-year-old needs a father. According to the scriptures, when Mary and Joseph discovered Jesus sitting in the temple courts being instructed by the teacher, they were upset. Mary reprimands the boy and Jesus responds by saying his first recorded words. In verse 49 Jesus says, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” The Greek word Luke uses for “Father” is not the one used to describe a relative. The Greek word Luke uses can also be translated “Daddy.” The twelve-year-old Jesus took God out of the cold formal structure of the temple and placed him at our point of need. I have never met a person who wasn’t interested in God when life was hard.
When I was twelve years old my Uncle Carlisle had a fatal heart attack. He was forty-four years old. He was my father’s younger brother and my father’s only brother. I remember going to the funeral. I sat between my parents. It was at the funeral that I saw something I had never seen before. My father cried uncontrollably. I never saw my father cry again, but I will never forget his grief. Life is hard! From time to time, we all need help. It was my mother who held my hand until the service was over. However, there are times when we need God, our daddy, to hold our hands when life is hard. Twelve-year-olds need a father.
I was twelve years old in 1969. Richard Nixon (1913-1974) was president of the United States. Joe Namath (born 1943) was quarterback of the World Champion New York Jets, and America was at war in Vietnam. It is hard being twelve years old! I wasn’t a child, but I wasn’t a man! I will admit it. Like all twelve-year-olds, I needed a few things. First, I needed a foundation. I wouldn’t accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior for another five years! Second, I needed family and friends. I needed a group of people to support and guide me. I needed a group of people to love me. Third, I needed a heavenly Father to help me when life was hard. Do you remember being twelve years old? Perhaps you needed those things too? Maybe you still do?
Russ Adams 