BEYOND THE TEMPLE

After three days they found him in the temple courts,
sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions.
Everyone who heard him was amazed
at his understanding and his answers.

Luke 2:46-47 (read 2:41-52) – NIV

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Mary and Joseph were living in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. After two years and the visit of the Magi they fled to Egypt to escape from the persecution of King Herod. Upon returning from Egypt they moved to Nazareth in order to stay away from the danger that Herod represented in Jerusalem. Jesus exercised his ministry far from Jerusalem and returned there only to be crucified at the end of his ministry.

But the Gospel according to Luke tells the story very differently. For Luke, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth and went to Bethlehem for a census registration. Jesus was born in Bethlehem during their journey. After fulfilling their religious rites there, the family returned to their home in Nazareth. Every year the family went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Jesus visited Jerusalem many times before the last visit when he was crucified.

The text speaks of one such trip when Jesus was twelve years old. On the return trip the parents of Jesus found him missing and returned to Jerusalem to search for him. They found Jesus “in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions."

Since boyhood, Jesus sought knowledge by listening, wondering and asking questions. That's how he grew, not only in physical stature, but also in wisdom. The teachers of the law were amazed at his intelligence and understanding and by his questions and answers. They liked him very much.

But in the continuation of the narrative of Luke the adult Jesus created serious problems for the teachers of the Law because of his questions and answers. His wisdom was far beyond that of the temple. His visits became confrontations. They began to hate him enough to want to kill him.

For Jesus, the Temple was "Daddy's" home, but Daddy was away from home most of the time. Daddy went out to people who didn’t come by for a visit. Daddy didn’t stay at home waiting to be visited. The temple wasn’t big enough to receive the thousands who needed fatherly and motherly care. Daddy could be found anywhere there were people, especially people in need.

The growth of Jesus should serve as a model for our own development. Our religious institutions have their value as points of support, but should never become ends in themselves. Doctrines and dogmas should never be closed or exclude segments of humanity. The teachers of the Law had trapped themselves in a system of exclusion. They were afraid to open up to the world.

Our growth should free ourselves from the limitations of institutional Temples. There is a vast universe out there to reach out to, and it won't come to us.

LUKE 2:41-52 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.