As the Son of God, Jesus could have chosen to live anywhere. He could have lived in a rich home, or He could have lived in a king’s palace. Instead, He grew up among the poor people of Nazareth.
According to the Bible, “The little child began to grow up. He became stronger and wiser, and God’s blessings were with him” (Luke 2:40, ICB). Jesus’ mind was bright and active. He was sweet and unselfish, and He enjoyed helping others. He stood firm for the right, but He never failed to be gentle and courteous.
Jesus didn’t attend school like the other children, but God showed Mary through the Holy Spirit how to teach her Son. Mary taught Jesus from the Holy Scriptures, and He learned to read and study them for Himself. He also loved to study the things that God had made, and He learned about God through these things. The Bible says, “Jesus
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continued to learn more and more and to grow physically” (Luke 2:52, ICB).
Every year Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem, to the feast of the Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old, He went with them. People traveled to this feast from all parts of Palestine and even from other countries. As they traveled, parents told their children of the wonderful things God had done for them.
At the temple in Jerusalem, a lamb was offered upon the altar every morning and evening. As Jesus looked at the innocent lamb being sacrificed, the Holy Spirit told Him what it meant. Jesus realized that that He was the Lamb of God and that He would one day die for the sins of men and women, boys and girls. With such thoughts in His mind, Jesus wanted to be alone, so when his parents started for home He was not with them.
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Jesus wandered into a room beside the temple, where there was a school taught by the rabbis. Jesus sat down and listened. The Jews had many wrong ideas about the Messiah, but Jesus did not argue with the rabbis. Instead, He asked them questions. Jesus read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which speaks of the Savior’s death, and asked them what it meant. The rabbis couldn’t give Him an answer. They began to question Jesus, and they were amazed at how well He knew the Scriptures.
In the meantime, Joseph and Mary had begun the journey home. They thought Jesus was traveling with some of their friends in the company. But when they stopped to camp for the night, they couldn’t find Him. Had something bad happened to Him?
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With sorrowful hearts Joseph and Mary hurried back to Jerusalem. On the third day they found Him in the temple talking with the priests and teachers of the law. They were very happy to see Him again.
Joseph and Mary loved Jesus, yet they had been careless in losing Him. In the same way, we may lose sight of Jesus when we do not think about Him or pray to Him. But if we really desire His company, He will always be with us.
Jesus returned home with Joseph and Mary and lived with them until He was about thirty years old. He “went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them.… People liked him, and he pleased God” (Luke 2:51, 52, ICB). |
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