Luke 2:39-52
Below is a sermon manuscript from January 4, 2026. Watch the sermon here.
Introduction
As we were leaving to visit family over Christmas, I had one of those moments where your stomach drops. I realized I couldn’t find my wallet. You know that feeling. You replay where you’ve been. You start thinking through everything that’s in it—what you’ll have to cancel, replace, explain. And suddenly something small takes over your attention.
We ended up managing without it for a while, and later it turned up. But for those moments, the anxiety was real—even if the problem was relatively minor. But what we encounter in Luke 2 is something far more serious. Mary and Joseph don’t lose something inconvenient or replaceable. They lost their son.
And Luke invites us into their fear and distress not to criticize them, but to show us something far greater: a Son who knows exactly where he belongs, and a Savior who is already living in perfect devotion to the Father.
Jesus Is Committed to The Father
Jesus lived a committed life
One aspect that is clear in this passage is that Jesus is committed to the Father. His response to his parents after they find him is that he is in his father’s house. It indicates his primary allegiance. The messiah is here, and he is committed to a heavenly mission. The context that Luke gives in this gospel is important. Here we have Jesus at the age of discernment, 12, the last picture before his adult life. While we don’t have additional Biblical material of the in-between years between this and Jesus’ public ministry, we know “In the Jewish tradition, a boy became a man at age thirteen and was fully responsible for keeping the law.[1]”
We also have, within the narrative of Luke, two references to the Passover: this one and the one before Jesus’ death. And in both cases, we see Jesus doing the Father’s will. Luke 22:42 is where Jesus says, “not my will but yours be done.” And here we have him showing primary commitment to be with the Father.
This is how Jesus answers his parents. He says basically, you should have known that I would be in my Father’s house. House is not in the Greek, and because of that, some have interpreted it “I would be about my Father’s business.” There is precedent for both renderings in other passages, but the house makes sense of where they find him, in the Temple.
In any case, Jesus is now instructing them as to his mission and his unity with the Father. Unlike others who are speculating about the Messiah and longing for him to come, now he is on scene, and we have a glimpse of him instructing others. But they don’t fully understand what all this means. This is no mistake on Jesus as teacher, but it is all part of how Jesus’ identity gets slowly clarified over time. Even here, we have glimpses of Jesus doing the Father’s will, seemingly lost, and then reappearing to them in three days – perhaps a faint pointer of what’s to come. But we also have a pointer to the pain to come as well.
Sometimes our commitment to God will create tension
Jesus’ commitment to the Father was interpreted as a lack of care. But Luke gives us no reason to think Mary and Joseph were harsh or accusatory. What we hear instead is the voice of loving parents expressing how his absence has personally affected them. They were afraid. They were distressed. They loved their son.
And yet—his devotion to the Father still caused them pain. Here we begin to see Simeon’s prophecy unfolding. In verse 35, he told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul. She would experience real anguish as the mother of the Messiah, and already that pain is present. Jesus did not intend harm toward his mother or father. Luke will go out of his way to show his devotion and submission to them. But in a fallen world, even faithful obedience to God can be misunderstood or can bring distress to those we love most.
And that is not unique to Jesus. Parents today don’t want their children rejected—or separated—for the sake of faith. And sometimes, even when the call of God is clear, it still creates real sorrow. Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” reflected in his writings on how even godly family members can unintentionally struggle with a minister’s calling—not because they oppose God’s work, but because obedience often leads somewhere they wish it wouldn’t.
I’ve felt that tension myself. Even on a recent visit to Michigan, more than one relative said to me, “I’m glad you’re serving the Lord—but I wish it were here. I keep praying that God would call you back. “And I understand that heart. But what I wanted to say was this: pray that God would help me be faithful where I am. Pray for the ministry entrusted to me here at Blue Course Community Church. They didn’t mean anything negative. But it’s a reminder that love and distress can coexist when obedience to God leads us somewhere unexpected.
Jesus Submits To His Parents
Jesus’ parents faithfully served the Lord
We should also recognize that Jesus’ commitment to the Father, while unique in that he fulfills it perfectly, is not displayed in isolation. It is set within a family that faithfully served the Lord. From everything Luke shows us, Joseph and Mary are a godly family. Only men were required to make the annual journey to Jerusalem, yet here we see Mary and Jesus going as well. Whether this was Jesus’ first trip or not, Luke’s language suggests that Mary’s coming was a regular practice. It underscores a pattern of devotion, not a one-time religious gesture.
Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The angel of death passed over the households marked by the blood of a lamb (Exodus 12). It was celebrated in the month of Nisan, with lambs sacrificed at the temple and families gathering to eat together. The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed for seven days, and over time these celebrations were often spoken of together as “Passover.”
Passover was one of three pilgrim feasts Jewish men were expected to attend. Given the difficulty and danger of travel, Luke’s note that Joseph’s family went every year is significant. As Clinton Arnold observes, this regular journey reflects the piety of the family—made even more evident by the presence of Mary and Jesus, who were not required to attend.[2]
Jesus’ parents help us see what faithfulness looks like. It is not concerned with checking off the bare minimum. It is trained by love toward God. Obedience is not an obligation but a delight. How different will this be than some of the religious leaders that Jesus encounters later on, who are concerned with promoting themselves through what they do, checking off the boxes, and making sure others notice. We noticed last week that Jesus’ family wasn’t a wealthy family materially, but it does look like it was full of godly character.
What do you desire to pass on to others? What kind of context do you want to create? Not everyone has the same opportunities, gifts, or abilities, but each of us can seek to be people of character who serve others not out of obligation but delight. The gift of selflessness is more precious than anything with a price tag.
Jesus’ primary call transcended but did not eliminate his other callings
In our recent series on callings, we discussed how Christians have an ultimate calling and several subordinate callings. Our primary calling is by Christ, to Christ, for Christ. And we live this out in our secondary callings in the workplace, at home, at church, as a citizen. Here we see Jesus living this out. He is on his divine mission, but that did not take away from his call to submit to his parents. In doing so, he was actively fulfilling the law on our behalf.
We see Jesus do this in our passage this morning. We don’t know all the reasons why he was left behind. We are given the time frame of three days. Jews would often use time inclusively. So the three days likely included the one day they traveled away from Jesus, the one day they returned, and the day they found him.
Arnold shows how it may have happened,
The family is probably traveling in a caravan of relatives and friends for protection from bandits on the roads. This explains how Jesus’ parents could have left without him, assuming he is elsewhere in the caravan.[3]
In any case, Jesus is left behind through no fault of his own. And when his parents find him, his response is not defiance, but obedience. In this scene, not only do we see Jesus transcending ordinary relationships, but we also see him fulfilling them. Luke tells us that he went down with them and was submissive to them. And that obedience leads Mary to reflect and ponder these things in her heart.
While Jesus is unique and does this perfectly, he also serves as an example. Ordinary obedience, offered faithfully to God, can have a profound and lasting impact—often in ways we don’t immediately see.
Maybe you know someone like that. Someone whose faithfulness wasn’t loud or dramatic, but steady. They showed up. They prayed. They persevered. And over time, their obedience strengthened your own faith.
Justin Poythress tells a story about his father, Dr. Vern Poythress. As a child, Justin remembers hearing his dad in the next room quietly reading Scripture—so softly it sounded almost like a whisper, what he later described as a kind of “sanctified hissing.” It wasn’t showy. It wasn’t meant to be noticed. It was simply a daily habit of being with God’s Word. And yet, that quiet, ordinary obedience left a deep impression. Not because it was extraordinary, but because it was consistent. Faithfulness practiced day after day, in ordinary life, became a testimony within his own home. That is what we are called to. And though we will fail to do this perfectly, we rest in Jesus’ perfection for us, and from that rest we live in ordinary obedience that impacts those around us.
Jesus Grows and Learns
Jesus learned from others
Another prevalent aspect of this passage and one that gives unique insight into the life of Jesus is that we see that he increased in wisdom. Luke tells us in verses 40 and 52 that Jesus was filled with wisdom, and in between, he shows us what that looks like. We have the account of Jesus sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. This was a typical practice among Rabbis.
Jesus’ home was a place where he learned and grew. We see Luke pointing out details for us. And we also see the direct reference to teachers in the temple. There is a parallel for us today: Godly homes and Godly churches are mutually reinforcing. I want my kids to learn from godly men and women here in the kids ministry. Thank you to those who serve and take their roles seriously; it is incredibly important. Here is Jesus at age 12, who is learning from others. This age matters. Godly, equipped leaders matter.
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature
One thing this passage tells us is that Jesus was human. He grew. He did not come with a human brain that contained every piece of information. He did not come into the world as a grown adult. He grew in knowledge and understanding, and he grew in height. This does not mean that he was not God, nor that he had to grow into divine knowledge.
Doctrinal Clarification
It’s worth saying a word about what Luke is – and is not – showing us here. Luke is not suggesting that Jesus became the Son of God at age twelve, nor that he set aside his divinity in order to learn. From the very beginning of this Gospel, Jesus is the Son by virtue of who he is, not what he later achieves. What Luke gives us in the temple is a glimpse of Jesus’ true humanity: a real human mind that listens, asks questions, grows in wisdom, and delights in the Father’s presence. The early church summarized this carefully at the Council of Chalcedon, confessing that Jesus is one person in two natures, fully God and fully man, without confusion or division. And that’s exactly what we see here—always the one person of the Son acting, sometimes according to his humanity, never apart from his divinity. Jesus does not grow into divinity, nor does he stop being divine in order to be human; rather, as the eternal Son, he lives a fully human life in faithful dependence on the Father. That is precisely what qualifies him to save us.
And the good news is this: the same Jesus who was committed to the Father, misunderstood by those who loved him, obedient in ordinary life, and growing in wisdom and grace, is the Savior who walks with us as we learn to follow him in our own ordinary faithfulness.
Conclusion
Taken together, Luke is showing us not just what Jesus did as a boy, but who he is. And what kind of Savior he has come to be. When God came walking in the garden after Adam’s sin, he asked a simple question: “Where are you?” Adam was still in the garden, a place where God dwelt with man, a kind of temple. But he was hiding, afraid, ashamed, and cut off. That question marked the rupture of humanity’s fellowship with God. From there would be further distance, exclusion from the garden temple.
Now fast forward to Luke 2. The first recorded words of Jesus are spoken in the temple. And this time the question is reversed. Jesus says, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” There is no hiding here. No fear. No distance. Where the first Adam withdrew from God’s presence, the true Son dwells in it because this is exactly where he belongs. Luke is showing us that before Jesus ever goes to the cross, he already stands where Adam fell, at home in the presence of the Father, so that one day, through his obedience, we who hide might be brought near again. This is good news.
Are you still hiding this morning? This morning, come to the One who was perfectly obedient to the Father, who perfectly kept the law in your place, come to the one who came for sinners – those who have rejected him. He stands willing and able to take your sin and your shame and to bring you back where you belong in the presence of a Holy God. It is only through Jesus that we have access. Come to him this morning.
[1] David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 143.
[2] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 350.
[3] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 349.
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