LUKE 2:41-52 LEAVING JESUS BEHIND2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 2:41-52 Leaving Jesus Behind

00:00
You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. Well, here as we look at Luke chapter 2, verses 41 through 52, we have a very interesting passage before us this morning. And it's interesting for a few reasons. One of the reasons it's interesting is because it's the only passage

00:28
childhood account of Jesus that we have. Now there's lots of myths and stories and things that people tell about Jesus in his childhood, but those, the majority of them are not true. The only one that is true, the only one that is real, is what we have here in the portion we have before us this morning. We also have in this passage, it's interesting because here we have recorded the first recorded words of Jesus.

00:57
Of course, this is not the first time he spoke, but this is the first time that we have him speaking. And so his first words recorded in the scripture are here in this passage. And then a final reason why this passage is interesting is because here we have the last mention of Joseph in the life of Jesus. That throughout the rest of Jesus' life, Joseph is not participating, he's not a part of it. And so there's a couple interesting aspects to this.

01:25
As we look at this passage, I want to share with you that I'm going to go through the passage. We're going to talk about what it means and some of the things that we're going to go on. But I'm going to share a little bit differently than I normally do in that I'm going to come back afterwards and look at some specific things that God has put upon my heart.

01:43
Because as we look at this account, there's some parallels in our Christian walk that I believe God wants to speak to us about and some things that he needs to address within our hearts this morning from the example and the account that we have here in Luke chapter 2. And so we'll go through the passage and understand what it means, but then come back, circle back and see what is God speaking to us this morning as a result of this passage.

02:10
Well, let's pick it up again in verse 41. It says this,

02:27
Here as we start out in this portion, we find once again that Joseph and Mary are walking faithfully with the Lord. It tells us here that every year at the feast of Passover, they would go up to Jerusalem. This was something that God had commanded for all the men of the nation of Israel.

02:49
Now, not everyone was obedient to the Lord and followed the Lord, but Joseph and Mary were obedient. In Deuteronomy chapter 16, verse 16, God says there's three times a year that all the men are to go to Jerusalem. At the time of the

03:04
At the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that's the feast that's connected with Passover that we'll talk about in just a moment. Also there to go up at the Feast of Weeks, which comes a little bit later in the year. And then the Feast of Tabernacles, which comes even yet further in the year. So three times a year, all the men...

03:24
Typically, they would bring their families as well, but specifically the men were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate and participate in these feasts. Now, this particular feast was the Passover. And the Passover, if you want to refresh your memory on what the Passover was all about, I would encourage you later on, check out Exodus chapter 12.

03:49
And in Exodus chapter 12, you have the account of the children of Israel being set free from their bondage in Egypt. You remember they were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. But God sent Moses to tell the Pharaoh, let my people go.

04:07
And the Pharaoh would not let the people go and so God began to send plagues upon Egypt and he protected his people in the midst of those plagues and used those things to bring Pharaoh to the point that he would finally say, okay, your people can go. But that last straw was the tenth plague, which is the plague of the firstborn, where God said, I'm going to put to death the firstborn and

04:36
Throughout all the land of Egypt. Whoever is a firstborn, they're going to be put to death. Now the children of Israel would be protected from this plague if they would do what God instructed. And that was to take a lamb, take care of the lamb and take care of it like a pet for four days. And then as they were taking care of this lamb, then after four days, they were to sacrifice the lamb. They were to take blood from the lamb and put it on the doorpost, on the top and then on the two sides.

05:05
And as they would do this, this would be the mark as they're obedient to God that the angel would pass over their house, not touch the firstborns in their home. So the angel would pass over their house and move on to another house that was not obedient to the Lord. And that's how it got the name Passover. And so this was a...

05:30
A memorial. It was a time to remember how God brought his people out of Egypt. Now for you and I as believers today, the Passover has even more significance than that.

05:42
The Passover represents and speaks to us about Jesus because Jesus is our Passover lamb. That is that he has freed us from bondage. He has set us free from the bondage to sin and death. He set us free from the things that once held us captive and he's removed our sin. He's led us out so that we could be in right relationship with him.

06:10
And so the Passover is very significant to us. It's interesting here, Jesus is celebrating this Passover, which speaks so clearly about him and who he will be, the things that he will do later on in his ministry.

06:25
Well, we find out also here in these first couple of verses that Jesus is about 12 years old. Now, 12 years old for a Jewish boy in that day meant that he was just about to become a man. He was just about to be called a son of the law.

06:45
That is that he would be accountable to the law. When he turned 13, that was the age that they understood that that meant at that time that a Jewish boy would be accountable for his actions and his behavior. He would be responsible to know what God said in his word and to live his life accordingly.

07:06
And that's why he would be called the son of the law or bar mitzvah. It's something that they celebrate to this day, that coming of age, that time when they are accountable and responsible to the law. And so what would happen, because they turn 13 and this would happen, so for their whole 12th year of their life, they would be studying intensely the word of God. Because...

07:31
At age 13, they were going to be accountable for it. And so they had to make sure and the parents would make sure that they knew what the law said and what God said so that they would be able to behave according to the law as they were now accountable to it.

07:47
Now many Bible scholars believe that it was at this time as Jesus is studying intensely the law and getting ready for that 13th birthday as he becomes accountable to the law, they believe that it's about this time that he begins to become aware of who he is and the plan that God has for him. And that's subject to lots of discussion and debate, but it's an interesting possibility. Well, verse 43 says,

08:16
When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother did not know it. But supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances.

08:33
Here in verse 43 and 44, we have now the story progressing with some interesting turns. The Passover has finished. The Feast of Unleavened Bread has finished. About eight days have passed. Now they could have gone a little bit early and they might have stayed a little bit, you know, a couple of days after the feast. We don't know. But about eight days where the feasts were concerned have passed. And now it's time to head home. They finished the dates.

09:02
And so now that it's time to head home, they start gathering together. They pack up and they head out. But what they don't know is that Jesus is not with them.

09:14
Now, I think many times, you know, we kind of relate it to our day, right? And so we kind of picture, well, how would that happen? So, you know, Joseph and Mary, they go get in the car and they drive off and they forget, oh, Jesus isn't in the car seat in the back. No, no, it's not like that. In those days, they would travel in caravans, especially for something like the Feast of Passover.

09:34
Because it wasn't just Joseph and Mary heading to Jerusalem from Nazareth. All of their family up there, the neighbors, most of the people would gather together and go in caravans to these feasts when they would travel. They would travel in these big groups.

09:51
And I kind of liken it in my mind to a big family gathering. And maybe you can think back to perhaps this last Easter you were able to spend time with the family or some other event or family reunion. And you know how it is whenever families get together. Typically, you know, there's the groups that are formed, right? The guys are all hanging out together in one place.

10:14
Usually the ladies are off, you know, in the living room or in the kitchen area. They're hanging out together. And then the kids are everywhere, right? They're running around. They're having a good time. They're just chasing each other and playing with toys or whatever. And so there's this kind of chaos, but there's these groups that are happening.

10:30
Well, the caravans would be much like that because usually the women and the children would be at the front of the caravan and then the guys would come behind them to make sure that nobody fell behind, that nobody was left behind. And so there would be these different groups. And so as everybody's gathering together, they're all getting together to caravan to go back to Nazareth.

10:53
And Jesus is left behind. He stays behind in the temple. And Joseph and Mary don't realize that he's not with the group. You could easily see how Mary's probably thinking, oh, Jesus must be with Joseph. And Joseph's in the back of the caravan thinking, well, Jesus is probably with Mary. Or they're thinking, you know, they're with the kids running around somewhere. They weren't real concerned about it because, as you can imagine, Jesus was perfect, right? So,

11:22
Pretty much all the time, he was exactly where they expected him to be. He always did what he was supposed to do. And so they're just figuring, yeah, he probably is in the group, you know, nothing to be worried about, nothing to be concerned about. Running around with his brothers and sisters, you know. They didn't give much thought to it until they made camp for the evening. So, after a day's journey, they come to the end of the day, okay, time to make camp, time to rest for the night. They begin to make camp and...

11:51
Joseph and Mary, you know, they hook up and they say, hey, where's Jesus? I thought he was with you. I thought he was with you. Where is he? And you can imagine now the panic that would begin to develop. And so it tells us that they go around to all their friends and acquaintances. They go around all throughout the caravan. Hey, have you guys seen Jesus? Do you know where Jesus is? You know, maybe they're wandering through the camp calling out, Jesus! Jesus! Trying to find him and find out where he's at.

12:21
Now as we look at this example, we look at this account of Mary and Joseph, I think there's some practical things for some of you who are parents here. And that is, you know, think about Mary and Joseph. They were the ones that God entrusted his own son to. I mean, this is kind of the best of the best as parents go. And so if you lose your kid from time to time, don't worry so much about it, okay? It doesn't make you a terrible parent.

12:44
Even Joseph and Mary did. And then the flip side of that too is if your kid wanders off from time to time, it doesn't make him the devil, okay? So don't treat him like that. Even Jesus was left behind there in Jerusalem. Verse 45. So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him.

13:05
Now so it was that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening and asking them questions. And so they come back to Jerusalem to find Jesus. They head back, they spent a day traveling, now they have to spend a whole other day heading back, and then it tells us they spend a third day searching for Jesus. On this third day they find him.

13:33
Now, three days, you know, it doesn't sound like a lot of time, but I'm sure in the midst of it, it felt like three weeks. It just was agonizing, the time that they had to spend to find Jesus. And I picture in my mind, you know, they went and searched everywhere in Jerusalem except for the temple because that's where God is, right? They were like, I don't want to go tell God we lost his son. You go tell God we lost his son. So they searched that place last and that's where they found him.

13:59
And you can imagine it would be difficult too because the Passover feast had just taken place. All of Israel had come to Jerusalem for this feast. So there's lots of people. There's lots of hustle and bustle. There's a big crowd. And yet finally they find him there at the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers.

14:21
He's sitting there in the temple and there's teachers around him. And this was a common practice of the day. The Jewish teachers would gather together specifically around the Passover. The Sanhedrin would meet in the public there in the temple court and they would invite the public to discuss and have discussions and exchanges with them. They would ask the people questions about

14:44
A lot of times they would ask children questions. And then they would allow the people and the children to ask them questions. And so there would be this dialogue, this exchange that goes on between them there in the temple courts. And so that's where they find Jesus, right there in the middle of the scene, having these exchanges, this discussion with the leaders and teachers of the day.

15:09
Now there was something significant about this discussion and these exchanges that they were having because verse 47 says, "...and all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers."

15:24
This word understanding, it means to have insight. Everybody was astonished as they were hearing this discussion. As they were hearing Jesus talk and ask questions and answer questions, they were astonished at how much insight he had. This was not a normal 12-year-old boy. Man, he really knew about the things of the Lord. He really had a connection with God that was unique and different.

15:49
And as he's answering questions that they're asking him, they're just blown away by the things that he is sharing. This word astonished is an interesting word. It simply means to be amazed, to be beside yourself, or to be in wonder. But it's interesting because it's used throughout the rest of the New Testament, always in reference to the people's response to miracles.

16:18
It was always used as people saw miraculous things take place. One example is the Apostle Paul. When people saw the transformation in his life, how he went from persecuting Christians to now sharing the gospel and being an evangelist, the people are astonished. They're blown away by this transformation that has taken place. Another example is when Peter was released from prison.

16:45
You might remember that in the book of Acts where Peter has been locked up by the Jewish leaders. And the church is all gathered together and they're praying, Lord, please help Peter. Please be with Peter. Please set Peter free. And God sends an angel and opens the gates and tears off the chains. And so Peter is able to leave and he goes and the church is all gathered. They're praying and they hear a knock at the door.

17:08
It's Peter. And it says that they were all astonished. They were blown away. They couldn't believe it. I mean, it was unthinkable what had happened. This word astonished is used to describe the people when they saw Jesus raise someone from the dead. When they saw Jesus cast out demons, it tells us that the people were astonished.

17:29
So it wasn't just, you know, kind of a very interesting conversation or discussion, but the people were blown away. They were seeing miraculous things happen in the answers and the questions and the discussion that was going on there with Jesus. It was as if someone had risen from the dead. It was something that stood out, something that was amazing. Verse 48 says,

17:52
So when they saw him, it says, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And so now they finally find him.

18:06
They see what's happening. Everybody's blown away by the conversation that's going on. And Mary kind of sneaks up to him and says, Son, what have you done? Why have you done this to us? She expresses her concern to Jesus. She says, look, we've been looking for you anxiously, anxiously. And if you put yourself in Mary's sandals for a moment, you could understand that word anxiously. I mean,

18:33
You might have left your kid at the mall one time, but you didn't leave him there for three days, right? I mean, he's been missing for three days. She didn't know where he was. She is torn up trying to find him. She says, we've been looking for you anxiously. That word anxiously, it carries with it the idea of torment. In fact, in Luke chapter 16, when Jesus gives that account of

18:59
of the rich man and Lazarus and how Lazarus, not Lazarus, but the rich man when he died, then he went to the place of torment and the guy says, you know, I'm burning up, I'm in torment, send Lazarus to put a drop of water on my tongue. When he says that he's in torment...

19:17
It's the same word that Mary uses when she said, we've been looking for you anxiously. She says, it's been like we've been in hell. We've been in torment and agony looking for you. It's been intensely heavy upon our hearts as we've been searching for you. Clearly she's upset. Clearly this has affected her heart. Verse 49 says,

19:42
And he said to them, "Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?" Here we have Jesus' first recorded words. And what does he say? He says, "Didn't you know that I must be about my father's business?" Interesting. Mary says, "Your father and I have been searching for you." And what does Jesus say?

20:09
He says, didn't you know that I must be about my father's business? We see an indication here. Jesus understands that he is the son of God. Now, we don't know a lot about how the deity and the humanity of Jesus really works, right? I mean, we don't know. At two years old, how much did he know?

20:36
At 12 years old, how much did he know? We don't know. That's a great mystery and God can spend the rest of eternity explaining it to us. But what we do see here is that at 12 years old, Jesus knows something for sure. And that is that he is the Son of God.

20:53
And he says, I must be about my father's business. William Barclay, a commentator, says that this is the story of the day when Jesus discovered who he was. And so he's suggesting that it's at this time that he realizes that he is the Son of God. And we don't know if that's exactly the time, but...

21:14
But the reality is that he knows who he is. He knows he's the son of God. And so he looks to Mary and he says, Oh, Mom, I understand you're concerned, but no need to panic. I'm okay. I'm exactly where God wants me to be.

21:30
He's about his father's business. Jesus was always doing the father's business. He was always about the father's business. And that's interesting to me because his father's business did not just include the things that took place at the temple. For Jesus, the next 18 years of the father's business would involve him being a carpenter,

21:55
providing for the family. As I mentioned earlier, this is the last time we see Joseph here in this passage. And so at some point he dies and now Jesus as the eldest has a responsibility to provide for and take care of the family. And so he learns the trade of Joseph. He becomes a carpenter and he lives happily

22:18
Maybe, you know, what we would consider kind of a normal life. He's learning a trade. He's providing for the family. He's meeting needs physically and to his family, the responsibilities that he has. And this was his father's business. It's not until he's 30 years old that we see him enter into his public ministry.

22:42
And in fact, the Gospels that we have record for us the time period of when he's 30 years old to about 33 and a half years old. And so there's a lot here in the Gospels, but it just records a few years of his life, the public ministry that was going on. But prior to that, God's will, God's business for his life involved taking care of the family, involved learning a trade, involved earning a living, it involved farming.

23:12
being subject to and responsible to his parents. And I point this out to say and to highlight, to remind us all, listen, God's business is not just what takes place here on this property. That you and I, as we are to be about our Father's business, that includes everything else in our lives as well.

23:39
That God has plans and purposes and He desires to work, not just here in this place, but at your home and in your workplace, that He expects you to be doing His work and His will for your life. And for you, that may involve learning a trade. It may involve earning a living. It may involve raising a family or providing for brothers and sisters. It may involve lots of different things, but

24:06
But God's business is not just what happens here or on a missions trip. And those things are important. But so is the rest of your life. And so Jesus is about the Father's business. He's doing God's will. And that includes Him growing up. It includes Him learning how to put boards together, build things, learning carpentry.

24:32
It involves him submitting to his parents as we'll see in a couple of verses. It involves him living the life that we would expect from a Jewish man of that day. Now at 30 years old, things began to change radically as he began his public ministry. But that wasn't the beginning of, okay, finally now I can do God's business.

24:57
He was doing God's business all the whole time up until that point and then through the rest of his life. It's all God's business. It's all God's work. It's all part of God's will. Ministry is not just what happens here, but it's how God uses you throughout your whole life. Verse 50 says,

25:16
But they did not understand the statement which he spoke to them. So he says, hey, why did you seek me? Didn't you know I must be about my father's business? And they didn't understand what he was saying. This word understand, it means to put different pieces together and make sense of it.

25:35
It's the idea of putting a puzzle together. And so, you know, if you have a puzzle, you have the picture there and it's all in a bunch of different pieces and you take a look at one piece and you figure out, okay, how does this fit? How does this connect with the other pieces? Where is this in the big picture? How does it fit into this scene that I'm trying to put together here? That's the idea. They did not understand this.

25:59
They're trying to put it all together. Now in verse 51 it tells us, We've seen this a few times already here in Luke's Gospel.

26:15
Things are happening and Mary is keeping them in her heart. And they're kind of different pieces that she's trying to put together and make sense of what is the picture here? What is the plan for this boy, my son, named Jesus? Back when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her there's going to be a special work. The Holy Spirit's going to come upon you. You're going to conceive and give birth to a son.

26:44
And she's blown away. How can this be since I'm a virgin? He says, God's going to do a supernatural work and he's going to be the savior of the world. And Mary has a piece of the puzzle there and she's holding on to that. She's thinking, wow, this is amazing. How does it fit into this whole picture? What does this mean? And then she goes to visit Elizabeth and Elizabeth says, oh my goodness, you bring me such joy because the child that you are carrying is my Lord.

27:13
And now Mary has another piece of the puzzle. Okay, he's the Savior, he's the Lord, it's a miraculous work. Alright, it's starting to come together. What's happening? What does this mean? And then as she gives birth that evening, the shepherds come and declare how the angels appeared to them. And she treasures it up in her heart and she has another piece and she's thinking about the shepherds and she's thinking about the angels, she's thinking about Elizabeth. And then they go dedicate Jesus at the temple as he's 40 days old.

27:41
And then Simeon comes in and prophesies over him and Anna comes along and agrees with Simeon and there's this incredible work going on and all these pieces are there and she's trying to fit them together. And now she comes back to Jerusalem, she finds Jesus in the temple and it's another piece to the puzzle. But she's not yet understanding. She doesn't have the whole picture of what's going on. She can't put it together yet.

28:07
So they don't understand the statement which he spoke to them. They don't have it all figured out yet. They don't know exactly what it means until later on.

28:17
I think that happened a lot. I kind of picture it, you know, like the disciples that we see in the Gospels many times after Jesus teaches, the disciples kind of look at each other and go, do you know what he meant? I don't know what he meant. Do you know what he meant? They're trying to figure out. I think Mary and Joseph had a lot of those moments as Jesus was growing up. I don't know what this guy's talking about. You know, we'll just trust that he knows what's going on. You know, he really had some insight that they didn't understand.

28:44
But what's interesting about that is there again in verse 51, it says, he went down with them to Nazareth and was subject to them. Jesus was subject to them. And then verse 52, and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. Consider that for just a moment, that Jesus was subject to Mary and Joseph. So Jesus is beginning to understand who he is. He understands I'm the son of God, but he's subject to

29:17
to Joseph and Mary, his imperfect parents who accidentally left him behind in Jerusalem that one time. He's subject to them. He's submitted to them. Jesus was not being rebellious. Think about that. Throughout all his teen years, he wasn't rebellious. How nice that would have been, huh? He was subject to them. If there was any kid who could honestly say, "Hey, I know way more than my parents." It was Jesus, right? All kids think they know more than their parents at some point, right?

29:53
But the only one who really did was Jesus, and yet Jesus was submitted to his parents. Now you might be saying, Jerry, you dismissed the junior high and high schoolers. They need to be here for this. Why are you telling us this? Well, it's important for us as well as adults because the principle is the same. It's about submission to authority. And submission to authority really has nothing to do with how much you know or whether or not you're the son of God. It has to do with God's

30:22
or your place in God's plan. Your obedience to the authorities that He's placed over you. Becoming the person that He's called you to be. John Corson puts it this way. He says, even if you know more than they do, if you are wise, you will submit to your parents, your employer, and your leaders. Because submission is not a matter of the right decision. It's a matter of becoming the right person.

30:54
Submission is not about only submit if they know more than you or if they're stronger than you. Submission is about you being obedient to those authorities that God has placed in your life. And so Jesus, although he's the son of God and he knows more than his parents, he's got insight. He goes back to Nazareth and he's subject to them.

31:19
He's obedient to them. In the same way, you and I are to be obedient and subject to our workplace authorities, our government authorities, those that God has placed over us. Whether or not we know more than they do is beside the point. It's about the authority and the order that God has set.

31:42
Well, we see also here that Jesus increased. He increased in wisdom, that's intellectually. He increased in stature, that's physically. He increased in favor with God, that's spiritually. And then he increased in favor with men, that's socially. And so he grew up

32:00
physically, intellectually, spiritually, socially. He grew up and took his place in society, took his place in his family, and he became the man of God that God had called him to be. And for the next 18 years,

32:16
The process is Jesus growing up, being prepared for his earthly ministry, for his public ministry. And that involved him being submitted to his parents, it involved him learning carpentry, and it involved him providing for his family. He grew up. Something I'm not going to get into in detail here, but just to throw out as something for you to chew on, and that is that growth takes time. It's always the case. Growth takes time.

32:47
We can look at the scriptures and see what God has for us. We can have insight into perhaps things that God wants us to do. And that's exciting. And we want to be there right now. We want to be fulfilling that ministry. We want to be doing that work. We want to be doing that right now. We can see that in the apostles. Remember Peter said, I want to follow you. And Jesus said, you can't follow me yet. You have to wait.

33:11
You're going to fall away, but when you've come back, then you can strengthen the brethren. There's this process that takes place. Growth takes time. We want to be done with sin, you know, those things that we struggle with. We just want to be done with it. Or we get caught up in a situation and it's uncomfortable, it's difficult. We just want it to be over. But growth takes time. And even for Jesus, He grows up. It takes time. It's through the process of time that God prepares Him for

33:38
for his public ministry. In the same way for you and I, God is preparing us. And he's using all these different aspects of our life to prepare us for the things that he wants to do in us as well as through us. Well, that's the account here that we have before us of Jesus being left behind there at the temple.

34:00
And so now what I want to do is circle back and look again at some parallels, some spiritual things that coincide with you and I as believers, things that God placed upon my heart. I kind of wrestled with this. I don't normally teach in this way and come back and share these things. And I don't usually use the scripture to teach in this style either. But

34:23
But I wrestled with it and God told me to do it. So that's why I'm going to do it. So, you know, these are things I believe God wants to speak to your heart today. These are things God said, look, there's people here who need to hear these things. There's people here who are in this place and need to be reminded about not leaving Jesus behind. And so the first point I want to

34:45
Go back and revisit and highlight for you is to not leave Jesus behind. Don't leave Jesus behind. Look again at verse 43. It says, When they had finished the days as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and his mother did not know it. But supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances.

35:12
And so here again, Joseph and Mary, they leave Jesus behind. It wasn't on purpose. It was accidental. And it happened because they supposed that he was there amongst the group. Now for you and I spiritually as Christians, this is a very real possibility and danger. It's something we need to consider. Because for you and I, it's easy to leave Jesus behind and

35:41
In the hustle and bustle of the day. I think many times as Christians, we, like Joseph and Mary, we suppose He's there in the mix, but we've not made sure ourselves. We suppose somewhere in the day, Jesus is there, He's with us, He's amongst us, but we haven't purposefully connected with Him.

36:05
You could think about it this way. How could this story have been different here in Luke chapter 2? Well, it could have been different if Joseph and or Mary had made certain, had made a point, alright, I need to make sure, I need to see him physically here with us as we head out. I need to make eye contact with him. I need to talk with him. I need to make sure that he's here with us as we go, as we head out from Jerusalem.

36:35
And if they had purposely made that connection with Jesus, then the story would be completely different. But that's not what they did. They just supposed that he was there. They just assumed, hey, he's going to be in the group. He's going to be in the mix. And many times as Christians, we do that. We get up, we go about our day, and we suppose, yeah, Jesus is with us. He's in the mix. He's part of the day. But many times, you and I as believers,

37:15
we leave Jesus behind. We go on ahead without making that connection with Him. You see, it's necessary for you and I as believers to purposely, to make a point, to connect, to make eye contact with Jesus. Of course, I'm not talking physically. We don't have the 12-year-old Jesus here with us. But I'm talking spiritually. And it's not just about reading a couple of verses, but taking the time to spend time with Him.

37:51
to make sure I've shared my thoughts and I've heard from Him. I've given Him opportunity to direct my day, to give me instruction, to speak to my heart. It's something we must do purposefully. It's necessary in order to not leave Jesus behind. Because we very easily get caught up and we go about our business. But have you been connected with Jesus? Have you heard His voice? Has He been speaking to your heart?

38:29
Have you been sharing with Him your heart and the things that are going on? Have you purposely made Him a part of your day? Do you know that you are where He wants you to be? Or have you just supposed that He's with you? You go to work and you just suppose that He's with you.

38:48
You go home and you just suppose that He's with you. Or are you connecting with Him and saying, Lord, here I am. I'm on my way home. Lord, what do you want to do in my family? How do you want to work? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to share? Are you connecting with Him and hearing His voice and purposely involving Him in the things that are going on? Or have you just supposed that He's there in the mix because you went to church on Sunday or you read your Bible yesterday or this morning and

39:20
And so he must be in the mix. He must be part of it. Or are you purposely involving him? Now there's some signs, there's some evidence that you can look at and understand in your life that you have left Jesus behind. And the big one that sticks out here in this passage is anxiety. Are you anxious? Is there a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety in your life? This is what happened to Mary and Joseph when they left Jesus behind.

39:51
They supposed he was in the mix. They went about on their way. They went about their day. Because they had left Jesus behind, it brought great anxiety to their hearts. There's other aspects you could look at, but we'll just camp on that one. Consider that one. Are you anxious? How long can you go before you realize that you've left Jesus behind? For Mary and Joseph, it was a day.

40:22
They went to full day. They're traveling. They're going about their day. They get to the end of the day. They make camp and they realize, where's Jesus? How long is it for me and you? In my own life, it's gone more than a day. I know that for sure. It's so easy for us to get involved in the routine and for us to count on our religious activities and forget to connect with Jesus.

40:58
And sometimes it's a couple of days. Sometimes it's a couple of weeks. Sometimes it's a couple of months before you realize, I've not really been spending time with the Lord. I've been going to church. I've been reading the Bible, but I don't know Him. And I haven't heard from Him recently. And I haven't been sharing with Him the things that I'm going through. I haven't been reading to hear from Him. I've just been reading because that's what I'm supposed to do as a Christian. It's my habit. It's my ritual.

41:27
But there's a necessity for us to connect, to not leave Jesus behind. And so the first thing I want to encourage you in is to not leave Jesus behind. The second goes right along with it, and that is to seek Jesus and find Jesus. Look again at verse 45. It says, So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him. Now so it was that after three days they found him in the temple.

41:58
So they go around to all their friends and acquaintances there in the group. They can't find him. And so they go back to Jerusalem seeking him. They're seeking Jesus. When you've left Jesus behind, it's now time for you to seek Jesus. And here's the great news. If you have left Jesus behind, you can go back and find him. He's not lost for good.

42:27
If you've left him behind, perhaps on accident like Joseph and Mary, you've just supposed he's been part of your day, but you've not really been connecting with him and enjoying that intimate relationship with him. Or maybe it's been an act of rebellion that you've turned and you've ran away from God. Either way, when you've left Jesus behind, you can go back and you can find him. In Deuteronomy chapter 4, God is sharing with his people about the importance of

43:01
not leaving him behind. In Deuteronomy 4.23, God says, take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God. He says, take heed to yourselves, pay attention to yourselves, make sure you don't forget about your relationship with me, God says. But then he goes on to say, look, if you do forget about me,

43:23
Here's what's going to happen. You're going to begin to walk away from me. You're going to begin to practice sin. And then what's going to happen is you're going to experience the consequences of that sin. And you're going to experience the judgment that comes from rebelling against me. But then God says in Deuteronomy 4, verse 29, He says, But from there...

43:43
from that place of rebellion, from that place where you've come to because of your wandering away from God. He says, from there, you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. God says, look, here's what I promise. If you wander away from me, you're going to experience some consequences. But as you experience those consequences, if you will turn back to me, if you will seek me with all your heart, you will find me.

44:15
God promises. And so Mary and Joseph, they go back to Jerusalem. They're seeking Jesus. It's a model for us. It's a parallel for us spiritually that when we've left Jesus behind, we need to go back. Just like when you've lost anything else, what do you need to do? You retrace your steps. Where were you last with that thing that you lost? In the same way, that relationship with Jesus, you go back to where you left it. Go back to

44:48
To where you wandered off. And so Joseph and Mary go back to Jerusalem. You remember what Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2? Remember what he said to them? He said, you've left your first love. They left Jesus behind. Now they were busy. They had lots of good works. They were very religious. They were very active in the church. But they left Jesus behind. And Jesus said,

45:15
tells them in Revelation 2.5. He says, Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works. Jesus says, Remember where you left. Go back and do those first things.

45:33
Where was it that you had that connection with Jesus? When was it? What was going on in your life when you had that real relationship with him where he was speaking to your heart? Where was it or what was going on when you would hear his voice and he would give you insight and he would use you to minister to people? Where was it? What was going on before you left Jesus behind? Jesus says, go back and do those first works. Go back and do those first things.

46:02
In Ephesus, they were busy doing lots of things for God, but they'd left that relationship with Him, that connection with Him. And so for those who have left Jesus behind, accidentally or in rebellion, it's time to go back and do those first things. When Jesus was speaking to your heart last, was it at a time when you were immersing yourself in the Word of God? You were passionate about it, it was a priority in your life? Go back to that.

46:38
Put the Word of God in that place of prominence in your life once again. Was it at a time where you had carved out time that you were worshipping the Lord? And when you worshipped here at church, it was something you were engaged in. You were seen to the Lord with your heart. Go back and reconnect with the Lord in that way. Was it serving God in some capacity? Whatever the case may be, retrace your steps. Go back and do those first works.

47:12
I need to encourage you. I need to warn you. Don't wait for the crisis to try to do this. After three days of searching for Jesus, they find Him. Now there is truth to the idea that no matter how far you walk away from Jesus, He's always one step back. You've probably heard that before. Listen, you can wander off supposing He's in the mix. You can be in rebellion and you can run for Jesus. But no matter how far you run away from Him, when you do an about-face...

47:45
He's one step back. He's ready to receive you. At the moment, at the instant of repentance, He's there for you. That's true. But here's what happens many times. Christians, they leave Jesus behind and they wait for the moment of crisis. Now some catastrophe has happened. And it drives them back and they go, Okay, Jesus, I need to hear from you. I need to hear your voice. What do you want me to do? But they've been away for so long that

48:31
It's difficult to know what the Lord wants, to know what the Lord would say. Jesus is right there. He receives us fully when we repent. But it takes time to reconnect, to build that relationship and to remember His voice. To recognize and remember, oh, that's what it's like when the Lord's speaking to me. If you wait until the crisis, it's going to be much more difficult for you to try to learn at that point

49:06
what the Lord's voice sounds like in your heart. Now, for those who are walking with the Lord, the same crisis will still hit. It's not... It's, you know, it's for all of us, just like what happened with Pastor Sisko. But if you're walking with the Lord...

49:23
And you're familiar with him and you're connecting with him regularly. You know how to hear his voice. You know when he's speaking to you and you know how to speak to him. You've built that relationship. You're better equipped. It'll still be a crisis. It'll still be hard. But the Lord's right there with you. His yoke's upon you. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. He's right there. You're arm in arm. You're better equipped to handle that. When you hit that crisis and you're not...

49:50
accustomed to that relationship with God through Jesus. It's going to be much more difficult to you. And you know what's going to happen? Anxiety. Anxiety. See, the person who's walking with God can hit the crisis, and it's a crisis, but there's peace. But the person who's left Jesus behind hits the crisis, and there's anxiety. It's heavy on the heart. Man, it hurts. It's a great burden. Don't wait till the crisis.

50:25
Now, if you wait for the crisis, Jesus still accepts you back. It's just going to be difficult for you. But seek Him and you will find Him when you search for Him with all your heart. And you know what? When you find Him, you'll be astonished at His insight and His answers. Just like Joseph and Mary. They come, they find Jesus there in the temple area and everybody's astonished at His insight and the things that He's sharing.

50:51
In the same way, you'll be astonished. When you reconnect with Jesus, you'll be astonished at His insight. Sometimes older believers begin to have the attitude, you know, hey, I've read through the whole Bible, I've heard every teaching. And so they lose that connection with Jesus. They think, ah, I've heard it all. Listen, when you reconnect, it doesn't matter how long you've walked with the Lord, you'll be amazed, you'll be astonished at the insight that He has for you and the things that He will speak to your heart.

51:21
There's more that God wants to reveal to you. Don't get lazy. Don't get lukewarm. Be diligent to seek and find Jesus. Well, finally, the third thing that God put on my heart through this portion is that you need to know that Jesus is about the Father's business. Look at verse 48. So when they saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to him, Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously.

51:51
And he said to them, why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business? Why did you seek me? He says. Didn't you know I would be doing my father's work? Mary and Joseph are anxious. They've been looking for him for three days. They're anxious. Their heart is heavy. And Jesus says, why are you anxious? I'm doing my father's will. I'm about the father's business.

52:27
Jesus was always doing the will of the Father. He was always about the Father's business. We can see this all throughout his life. There in the Gospels, in John chapter 4, Jesus told his disciples, My food is to do the will of him who sent me to finish his work. He was always doing the will of God.

52:51
In John chapter 17, as Jesus is praying to the Father, it's kind of his conclusion of his public ministry. He's about to be crucified. And he tells the Father, I've finished the work which you've given me to do. Jesus was always doing God's will. He was always making sure God's will is fulfilled. He only did God's will. He made sure the Father's business was completed the way that he wanted it to be completed.

53:20
And even now, Jesus is about the Father's business. So let me ask you, why be anxious? Why be anxious? You need to know that Jesus is about the Father's business. You know, there's the verse that we all know and love, Romans 8, 28. God works all things together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. He works all things together for good.

53:53
Jesus is about the Father's business. He's working it out for good. So why are you anxious? Why are you stressed out? Why is there this amount of worry that's in your heart? Jesus is accomplishing God's will.

54:14
Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 4, he says, What does Paul say? Paul says, How? He says,

54:40
Have that relationship with God. Present your request to God. Get to know God through Jesus Christ. You see, anxiety is an evidence that you've left Jesus behind. And you need to reconnect through Jesus Christ to our Heavenly Father. And as you present your request to God, you'll have everything you need to be anxious for nothing.

55:13
And the peace of God which passes understanding, that means your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers look on and say, oh my goodness, how are you not anxious? How are you not stressed out? How can you have rest? How can you be at peace? It doesn't make any sense. I don't understand. And you can say, I've connected to Jesus. And He's about the Father's business.

55:41
It doesn't mean it's not hard. It doesn't mean it's not a crisis. But I've got peace that passes all understanding because I know He's about the Father's business. He's accomplishing God's will. Jesus promised to never leave us nor forsake us. But sometimes we leave Him behind. We go on ahead. We suppose He's with us, but we forget to connect with Him and purposefully include Him in our day. Not on purpose, but

56:18
Maybe some have done that. They've rebelled against God. But for the most part, I think God is speaking to those who, it wasn't intentional. You didn't mean to walk away. You didn't mean to grow lukewarm. You didn't intend. You didn't wake up and say, well, I'm going to run from God today. You didn't do a Jonah. But slowly, supposing he's in the mix, you've lost that connection. And one of the main evidences of that in your life is anxiety. And God wants to tell you,

56:56
seek Jesus and you will find him. Reconnect and get the peace of God which passes all understanding. Know that Jesus is about the Father's business. He's working all things together for good. And you can only have that peace, that confidence, that comfort through Jesus Christ as you walk in relationship with him. Let's pray. God, I lift up our hearts before you today. And Lord, we all know what it's like to be anxious.

57:33
We all have experienced stress. Lord, there's crisis around every corner these days. There's difficulties in our lives. And yet, God, in the midst of all of this, I pray that you would help us not to be anxious, not to leave you behind. Lord, help us to seek you with all of our hearts that we may find you. Help us, Lord, to purposefully include you in each aspect of our lives, to seek you.

58:09
in regard to our workplace, to seek You in regard to our finances, to seek You in regard to our home, to seek You in regards to our church. Lord, that we would put You first in all things. That we would learn to hear Your voice once again. God, that we would find the rest and the peace that comes from walking with You. Lord, that we would learn once again that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. So those who are listening to this, Lord, that have left You behind,

58:47
I pray, Lord, that you would open their eyes, reveal, show, Lord, where it was that they've left you. Help them, God, to go back and to begin to walk once again in that fellowship with you that you desire. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

59:27
We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.