Sermon Dec. 28, 1997 Home Alone based on Luke 2:41-52 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Introduction The situation in our text reminds me of the movie Home Alone. That was a movie that came out several years ago which had the setting of Christmas time. A family was going on a vacation, but one ten year old child was forgotten at home. It took a while for the parents to notice that the child was missing, and when they did, they were in the middle of an international plane flight. The child was stuck home alone for a couple of days, in which he endured many trials. The situation with Jesus in our text reminds me of the movie, because Jesus was accidentally left behind also. His family was visiting in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. This feast was at least as important as our Christmas and Easter feasts are today. The Jews were to travel to Jerusalem for this Feast, and so there were large crowds in that city. Jesus' parents traveled with other relatives for this visit to Jerusalem, when Jesus was twelve year's old. After the feast was over, they left, thinking that Jesus was with them. After traveling a day, they looked for Jesus among their relatives, but didn't find Him. They returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus after three days. He had been left alone for three days. Jesus in the Temple Courts During those three days, Jesus did not get into trouble like the star of Home Alone. Instead, Jesus spent His time in the temple courts, that is in the area outside the temple, the one, central worship site for the Jewish religion. There He was sitting with the teachers or rabbis. He was listening to them and asking questions. And everyone was amazed with Him. The text says they were amazed with His understanding and His answers. Can you picture Jesus listening and asking questions? These are more passive activities. He was among these teachers in a humble role. It seems to be the case that He did not stand and lecture to them and tell them what to believe. Instead He used the techniques of listening and asking questions. We are reminded of some of Jesus' later questions: Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? . Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? . Why do you call me good? . Who do you say I am? . These were some of Jesus' greatest teaching moments. Even back at age 12 in the temple courts Jesus amazed people by listening and asking questions. 1 In the Father's House When Jesus' parents finally find Him He has a classic reply for their questions, "'Why were you searching for me?' He asked. 'Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?'" His point was that it should have been obvious to Mary and Joseph where to find Jesus. They should have known where to look. Jesus had to be in His Father's house. He had to be about His Father's business. Mary and Joseph did not understand what He was talking about. This was probably because they didn't understand who Jesus meant when He said "My Father." This lack of understanding would suggest that they didn't really understand who Jesus was. In any case, Mary kept thinking about these things, and pondering them in her heart. You would expect that at some later point Mary would exclaim, "I get it!" She never seems to do that according to the Biblical record, however. Jesus our Model Jesus' conduct in this entire situation of our text has something to teach us. From Jesus' behavior we see a model for our behavior. I hesitated to include that last sentence because I know there is a misunderstanding which stems from seeing Jesus' life as a pattern for our lives. The misunderstanding is that Jesus primarily lived the life of a human being in order to be an example for us in our lives. See many people believe this is what Christianity is all about. They believe Jesus was the wise master who came as our example. Now they say that, as Christians we try to live like Jesus lived and that is the main part of Christianity. But this is a problem because the main part of Christianity is not about morality. It is not about Jesus our example. Instead, it is about what Jesus did for us. Rather than being about what we do for Jesus, in Christianity we learn of God's grace to do it all for us. He was born that we no more may die; born to give us second birth, not born so we can learn how to be good. So there is a danger in what I am saying that we fall into the misconceptions which much of the world has about Christianity. With that warning, I hope you can stay focused on the truth of Christ. Being Home Having said that, we do see Jesus modeling the ideal behavior for us in our text. He spent His time at the temple, discussing religious matters with the teachers even at age twelve. He told His parents they should have expected to find Him there. Should we not also desire to be in our heavenly Father's house? Shouldn't we want to be here rather than any other place? Our attitudes about coming to divine services and Bible study ought to be attitudes in excess of what you might have experienced prior to opening Christmas gifts. We ought to prize and value the opportunity to come here. Luther, in the Small Catechism, said do not, "despise preaching and His Word, but gladly hear it and learn it." Consider if you treat this as your Father's house. Is it some place very special for you? This is the place where God dwells. This is where we receive the very body and blood of our Savior and hear the Word of God. Perhaps our preparation is not in line with where we are, either. Are you 2 wearing your best clothes, so that we honor the Lord who comes to us here? Many do not get enough sleep on Saturday night, and so come to the Lord's house tired. Jesus' life can serve as a model for us, and that model will function as Law. We will see where we come up short. We see our heavy loads of care and guilt which bend us low. We will learn, once again, of our need for a savior; our need to be forgiven. Then we turn to another part of Jesus' life. This is the part where He died on the cross. This part of Jesus' life is not a model for us. We are not to die for our sins, because Jesus is our substitute. This is where the idea of Jesus as only our wise example falls apart. Instead, we see that Jesus endured what we deserved, death on the cross, so that we would not have to endure it. Jesus lived the sinless life so that our sins could be taken away. Jesus paid for our sins and that is not something He did as an example for us. Instead, He did it in place of us. We take comfort in knowing that our sins are forgiven by our substitute. God and sinners are reconciled! Our Ransom bought us God's bright eternity. About Jesus' Sinning Since Jesus Christ is our Savior, we respond with thanksgiving and praise. We also desire to learn more about Him. In our text we have a tiny glimpse at the younger years of Jesus. What else does our text teach us about Jesus? I was asked a question about Jesus' obedience to His parents in the events reported in this section. In the confirmation class we are including daily Scripture reading as one of the assignments and from that reading, the students are to bring in a couple of questions. One student asked in regards to our text, if Jesus had disobeyed His parents. It would almost seem to be the case, because Mary asked Jesus, "Why have you treated us like this?" Later it said that Jesus was obedient to His parents upon returning with them and speaks of Him growing in wisdom and stature. It may seem to suggest to us that Jesus was developing and growing up in matters of obedience toward His parents. Does this mean that Jesus did something wrong? Did He fail to leave Jerusalem with His parents the first time, when they had asked Him to come along? Before we can jump to any conclusion such as the above, we need to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. We apply other verses of the Bible to help us understand these verses in our text. Hebrews 4:12 says of Jesus, "we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." Jesus did not sin. In order to serve as our perfect sacrifice, Jesus would have obeyed God's law completely. So, we must answer that our text does not lead us to think that Jesus disobeyed His parents. There are certainly other ways to explain the events than Jesus' disobedience. It says that Mary and Joseph were unaware that Jesus stayed behind. Like the movie, Home Alone, the parents were at fault for leaving the child behind. Maybe Jesus told His parents that He would be in the temple and they forgot. Certainly Joseph and Mary were very upset with a child they could not find, and their emotions might explain their statement, "Why have you treated us like this?" In anger and anxiety, many 3 a parent has been known to try to place the blame on their child. We cannot conclude, however, that Jesus sinned against Mary and Joseph. Jesus' Growth The last verse of our text has the potential to cause much confusion. "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." This may lead some to believe that Jesus was a mere human being. Some propose that Jesus was just a man who developed and got better and better and eventually became superhuman. They might teach that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God only after He had developed. God having finally found the perfect human chooses him for a son. This is all heading off in the wrong direction. Instead, as Scriptures teach, God came into human flesh and blood at Christ's conception. Jesus was always God, but the Son of God took on human frailties to save us from our sins. The step down which God took is called His humiliation. In doing so, God determined to not use His powers as God all the time or at their full strength. Mild, He lays His glory by. He voluntarily humbled Himself. Philippians 2:6-8 describes this humiliation of Jesus, "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." We would properly understand the last verse of our text then to refer to the growth in Jesus' human nature, which matured as any other child. He was at the same time God, who was restricting His nature. "Jesus grew up in intelligence and in size or age," is what the verse literally says. That last verse also says in the translation read, "He grew in favor with God and man." This could be improperly understood to mean that Jesus was becoming more and more favorable in the eyes of God and the eyes of men. This is a misunderstanding. What it really says is that Jesus grew in grace before God and men. In the presence of God and in the presence of men, the grace which Jesus expressed advanced. The grace is the kindness, mercy, and goodwill. This is certainly the case, because the various miraculous healings and other demonstrations of mercy which Jesus did were part of His later years. The mercy which Jesus demonstrated grew, reaching its peak when He died on the cross for us. This growth in Jesus, in His intelligence, height, and expression of mercy was something seen by God and men. Nothing here denies the truth taught by the Scriptures that Jesus was always God and was human since His conception in the womb of Mary. See the -head, that is, God Himself, covered with the veil of flesh. He is our God incarnate deity, meaning God in bodily form Conclusion This one who has always been God, took on human flesh and blood for our benefit. He was found in His Father's house and about His business by the parents who did not understand. Many fail to understand Christ today also. They think His major role was to serve as our example. We know otherwise. We know that Christ came to serve a unique function of being our Savior, 4 through His death on the cross. By His death, He forgives all our sins of treating our Father's house with less respect than it deserves. Jesus lived the sinless life, always having been God, but limiting Himself to human flesh and blood. He is the prince who was born to bring you peace, the peace of forgiveness. Glory to the newborn king, Jesus Christ. Amen. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 5