January 2, 2023: Luke 2:43 - The Boy Jesus Lingered in Jerusalem

“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…” - Luke 2:43

After the Feast of the Passover had ended, Joseph and Mary were ready to travel home with their son Jesus. However, unbeknownst to Joseph and Mary, Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem. We will read about why He had stayed behind in verses 46-50. I can relate to this account in two different ways, one as a parent whose child went missing, and the second as a child myself when I was lost from my parents.

As a parent myself, I can imagine Mary and Joseph’s fear and concern for Jesus’ safety when they realized that He was missing. My husband and I once took our young son to an indoor playground called “Discovery Zone” back in early 1990s. I had kept my eyes on our son the whole time, for the place was packed with children and parents, who were in all the different zones of this place. But in what seemed like an instant, I had lost sight of our son. I kept looking for him and when I could not see him with my eyes, I started to panic. I told my husband and he also told our friend, who had also come with his young daughter. We searched that place in a frenzy looking for our son. Finally, thank God, we found him, safe and sound. The relief I felt in being reunited with our child was indescribable.

As a young child, I really don’t know what age I was but possibly about nine years old, my parents and me and my brother went to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA. I remember my parents telling me to stay by their side and don’t wander off. However, I remember that right after we had entered it, I saw something that I wanted to go look at. Ignoring my parents’ instruction, I went from them and went to look at what I had seen. I hadn’t been there long and was ready to go back to my parents, but when I looked up, I could not find them. It was like they had vanished; they were nowhere to be found. Here I was in a strange place, packed with people, and I could not find my parents. I kept looking but to no avail. I was a lost child. Finally, after what seemed to me like hours, I don’t know if an employee noticed my likely panicked face as a lost little girl or if I had gone to this person for help, but I remember talking to this person and telling him or her that I could not find my parents. I think an announcement must have been made for a lost child looking for her parents, and not long after that, I was reunited with my parents. I was never as happy to see them as I was that day!

My experience of being a disobedient child, reminds me of all the times I have been disobedient to God, not heeding His commandments, for something glittery, something appealing, had caught my eye and led me astray. Every single time I am disobedient, it not only hurts me but it hurts Him. I am sure that my parents must have been overwhelmed with worry when they couldn’t find me, but when I had been reunited with them, they had welcomed me with open arms, just as Jesus, our Savior, will welcome us back when we turn back to Him. As we will learn in the next several devotionals, Jesus’ intentions of lingering in Jerusalem were to serve His Father, but my intentions were not to serve Him or my parents but to seek that which I had seen and wanted.

The book of Genesis and the temptation of Eve is a good reminder of what happens when we disobey our heavenly Father to satisfy our flesh. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat the fruit of any tree except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Then the serpent had come along and questioned Eve as to what God had instructed her and Adam. Eve told the serpent what God had said but she also added something that God had not said to them, and told the serpent that if they ate or touched it, they would surely die. The serpent then lied to Eve and said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then temptation set in for Eve. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” We know what then happened to Adam and Eve. They would have to receive the consequences of sinning against God. (Genesis 2-3)

Sin starts out small. We think to ourselves, “Oh, it won’t hurt me to just look at this thing which I desire.” But then it moves from looking, lusting, desiring something, to acting upon that which we desire, as Eve and Adam did, with the Devil there beside us, encouraging us to sin and ignore what God has told us. Yes, I was a young child when I had wandered away from my parents at the humongous flea market, but I had seen something I wanted and had disobeyed them.

How many of us have wandered from our heavenly Father, not heeding His voice and His commandments, which are pure in heart and are only meant to protect us from the consequences of sin? As we will read in Luke 2:46-50, Jesus’ intentions of lingering behind in Jerusalem were to do His Father’s business, but my intentions in disobeying my parents were to satisfy myself. The difference between the two intentions is a wide chasm, and unless we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, that chasm separates us eternally from the One who loves us more than we could ever know. Jesus is waiting for all to turn to Him, to believe in Him as our Savior, and when we do, He welcomes us back with open arms. Will you turn to Him today? ✝️