January 4, 2026
"Jesus Kept God's Word"
Luke 2:40-52
Our text is a snippet of Jesus’ life before He began His ministry at the age of thirty. At that time Jesus was twelve years old. We’re told that He and His family went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. This they did every year. This was the most important feast for the Israelites. So in keeping with God’s command to observe the Passover, Jesus’ family went to Jerusalem.
If we remember, the Passover originated in Egypt, just before the Israelites had left the land. The Egyptians had refused to release the Israelites from slavery. God had sent nine plagues on the land in an effort to change the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, but to no avail. Pharaoh had remained hard-hearted and wouldn’t let the people go. It wasn’t until God had sent the last plague—the death of all the firstborn—that Pharaoh let the people go. The firstborn of the Israelites, however, had been spared. The angel of death had passed over the houses of the Israelites, leaving their firstborn untouched and alive. But the firstborn of the Egyptians were killed.
By observing the Feast of the Passover, the people of Israel were reminded of how God had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians. They were reminded of God’s almighty power every time they observed it, which was every year.
When I think of the Passover, I think of how God had spared His people for the purpose of being a blessing to the world in the future. The Israelites would be a blessing to the world in that the Savior of the world would come from them. According to Jesus’ human nature, He was an Israelite. God had spared His people from the Egyptians so all of this could come to pass.
The Passover was one of three feasts the Israelites were to observe every year. Three times a year a man and usually his family were required to go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices at the Temple. It could be that because of distance and expense, not all Israelites were able to observe all three of the feasts each year. But they certainly tried to observe the Passover.
In our text we see that Jesus and His family went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in accordance with God’s word. It appears that during this time the city was very crowded. Jews from all over the world would gather there for the Passover. As I have said, it was a special time for the Jews.
I do want to mention here that this isn’t the only time the Bible tells us about Jesus’ observing the Passover. If we remember, Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples on the night He was betrayed. He and His disciples had gathered in an upper room where this took place. It’s from this observance of the Passover that the Lord’s Supper was instituted. Jesus commanded His disciples to observe the Lord’s Supper from then on.
To this day, we observe the Lord’s Supper. Each time we observe it, we receive the forgiveness of our sins. We are reminded of how Jesus died for our sins and delivered us out of the hands of the devil. Just as the Israelites were reminded in the Passover of God’s delivering them from slavery, so are we reminded in the Lord’s Supper of Jesus’ delivering us from the slavery of sin. I hope we see the connection between the Passover and the Lord’s Supper. For us Christians, the Passover has morphed into the Lord’s Supper.
Well, back to Jesus and His family in Jerusalem. As I said, they were there for the Passover. And as I said, it was very crowded in the city. It was so crowded that Jesus’ parents lost track of Him. They thought He might have been with family members, so they weren’t too concerned, yet. But then they began to worry. They had already left Jerusalem on their way home and didn’t find Jesus among their relatives and friends. And so, they returned to Jerusalem and eventually found Him in the Temple. They had looked for Him three days. Imagine that.
I’m sure we would certainly worry about our child if we hadn’t been able to find him/her for three days. I think we can understand Joseph’s and Mary’s concern.
This is why Mary got on Jesus’ case for a bit. She had probably hoped that Jesus would have told her that He would be in the Temple. She would then know where to find Him. But this hadn’t happened.
Was this an act of disobedience on the part of Jesus? No, it wasn’t. It appears that His parents had never told Him to inform them of His whereabouts. They probably had assumed that He would just follow along after them. So, Jesus didn’t sin against His parents. He simply caused them a little angst. Our text says that Jesus was obedient to them.
We’re told this because Luke wanted to make it clear that Jesus came to uphold the commandments and not abolish them. The fourth commandment is honor your father and mother. Jesus gave us an example to follow by keeping this commandment. Jesus wasn’t the type to say, “Do as I say and not as I do.” For Jesus, it was, “Do as I say and do.” He commanded us to obey our parents, and obeyed that commandment Himself.
It was the same with the Passover Feast. God had commanded the Israelites to observe this feast every year. Jesus could have said that He didn’t have to observe the Passover because He was God. He could do whatever He wanted. It’s true that He could have, but He didn’t. To give us an example to follow, He obeyed God’s law. In the case of the Passover, He observed it up until the day He died.
It appears that Jesus had a normal childhood. He was certainly a gifted child. At the age of twelve, He amazed many of the adults in the Temple. Children of His age didn’t ask the questions He did. I wish Luke had written down for us some of the questions Jesus had asked that day, as well as the responses of the teachers to His questions. But Luke doesn’t give us that information. We’re left only to guess. They must have been deep questions based on the reaction of those who were present in the Temple on that day.
Luke writes that Mary treasured all these things in her heart. She certainly knew that there was something truly special about her son. My guess is she knew He was a remarkable child, but to what extent? As a child, Jesus had never performed miracles. He hadn’t displayed His almighty power. Mary knew that Jesus was a very wise child but was unaware of what He was really capable of doing.
It wasn’t until Jesus performed His first miracle at the wedding at Cana, where He turned the water into wine. I’m not so sure Mary was expecting this. She figured Jesus would take care of the situation. That she knew. If we remember, the wedding party had run out of wine. They didn’t know what to do. But Mary knew that Jesus would figure it out. That’s why she told those in charge of the wedding party to listen to Jesus. “Do whatever He tells you,” she had said. But I’m not so sure she had expected a miracle. As I said, Jesus hadn’t performed a miracle up to this time. He hadn’t performed any miracles as a child.
Jesus’ life up to the age of thirty appeared to be quite normal. He probably had helped His father who was a carpenter. It doesn’t seem that Jesus travelled much. He pretty much stayed in the territory of present day Israel.
Because Jesus appeared to be a normal human being, many had a hard time believing that He was God. Even when He began His ministry and began performing miracles, many people who had known Him as a child and young adult couldn’t bring themselves to accept Him as God. They couldn’t switch their thinking about Him. He was still a carpenter, a person like everyone else.
What Jesus experienced is kind of like what we experience. Our parents sometimes have a hard time switching their thinking about us. For years, we were their little children, and they treated us as such. But then we became adults. At times, they still treat us as if we were still their little children. They have a hard time with the change.
Jesus had always been God, but He hadn’t really revealed that to the world until He began His ministry and began to do miraculous things. People had a hard time accepting this change in Jesus.
My guess is you are wondering what the main point of the message is. The main point is that Jesus has given us His example to follow. He kept all of God’s commands, as He Himself was God. He kept the Passover according to God’s word and was obedient to His parents, thus keeping the fourth commandment. He didn’t place Himself above the word of God.
May it be our desire to emulate our Lord Jesus in the matter of keeping all of God’s commands to us.