Luke
2:41-52
The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50
2. Testimonies to the Messiah, 2:41-4:30
i] Witness in the temple
SynopsisIn his thirteenth year an Israelite child was obliged to apply himself to the Law of Moses. For this reason, Jesus' mother and father take their son to Jerusalem, to the temple, to fulfil his obligations.
Teaching
In his visit to Jerusalem as a teenager, Jesus submits to covenant law, but he also demonstrates a higher obligation "to one whom he recognises as Father, for he is the Son of God, declared so by an angel", Danker. As Son of God, Jesus is compelled to be about his Father's business.
Issues
i] Context: See 1:1-4. Luke now moves from the infancy narratives to a set of six stories / episodes which serve to inaugurate Jesus' mission. In the Testimonies to the Messiah, 2:41-4:30, each of the episodes tell us something of Jesus' messianic character. So, Luke lets us into a secret, Jesus is the Son of God, the messiah. In the first episode, Witness in the Temple, Luke introduces us to Christ's unique character. Then follows the witness of the Baptist, and of the Father at Jesus baptism, then Jesus' genealogy, all testifying to Jesus' messianic character as Son of God. Then follows the testimony of the Jesus' temptation, illustrating his credentials as the obedient Son of God, and then Jesus' own testimony to his messianic role, 4:14-30, that of a suffering servant, rejected by his own.
ii] Structure: Witness in the temple:
Jesus' family visits Jerusalem in his twelfth year, v41-42;
Jesus goes missing in Jerusalem, v43-45;
Compounding complexities, v46-50:
The scholars are amazed, v46-47;
Jesus' parents are underwhelmed, v48;
Jesus' response, v49;
"did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
Jesus' parents are confused, v50.
Jesus submits to his parents, v51;
Jesus' developing years, v52:
Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature
and in favour with God and man.
iii] Interpretation:
This story is important for a historian like Luke, in that it maintains continuity between the infancy narratives and the commencement of Jesus' ministry proper. For Greek thinkers, stories about a hero's youth are important in understanding their character, and in this story Luke provides the key to Jesus' character - he must be about his Father's business / in his Father's house.
Luke again centres Jesus in Jerusalem, within Jewish piety, under the law, marking his declaration ouk h/deite oJti en toiV tou patroV mou dei ei\nai me, "didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?", as the central truth of the episode. Yet, it is not clear what Jesus is actually saying. Whatever the point he is making, he is stating clearly that he is under divine necessity, dei, "it is necessary / I must." It seems likely that Jesus is saying that he must be about his Father's business - this is what Mary and Joseph find Jesus doing (listening and asking questions = debating = teaching). So, as well as revealing the nature of Jesus' mission, the story serves to reveal something of his character, of his self-awareness and understanding beyond his age.
Jesus, the sinless divine man: To the mind of some, suggesting that Jesus may have acted outside his parent's authority, can undermine belief in Jesus' sinless state and therefore his capacity to be a perfect sacrifice for sin. Of course, a child's testing of their person, in relation to their parents, is all part of growing up. Sin is found in our defiance of parental authority, not our submission to it. Luke makes a point of telling us that Jesus' wilful behaviour is curtailed in his submission to his parent's authority. The gospels maintain the full humanity of Jesus, and to do so without denying his sinless deity (an example of the lateral nature of truth / truth in tension, ie., Jesus is fully human, fully divine; God is sovereign, mankind is free; liberty and equality; ......).
iv] Source
Again, there are many questions hanging over this pericope. It is clearly not part of the kerygma / the apostolic gospel tradition, but that doesn't make it a Lukan creation. The story is found in the gospel of Thomas, 19:1-5, but gains no authenticity by its use in an apocryphal gospel. Obviously, Luke would have loved to have covered Jesus' early years, as conjured up in the apocryphal gospels, but this story was the only authentic story available to him.
Evans notes that the syntax of this narrative is polished, more inline with classical Greek than that of the LXX, eg., the double genitive absolute, "they went up", "when the feast was ended." None-the-less, an Aramaic root is likely such that it "came out of Palestinian circles (Marshall). Jesus' family of friends could be the ultimate source", Bock.
v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.
Text - 2:41
Jesus' witness in the temple, v41-52: i] Luke first sets the background for the story, v41-42. A Jewish boy reaches manhood at age 13, and it is the responsibility of the boy's father to introduce him to his religious obligations before he comes of age. Jesus, now 12, is taken to the most important of the Jewish religious festivals. It was expected that Pentecost and Tabernacles be attended, as well as Passover, but the Jews of Galilee, due to distance, tended to attend Passover only. The significance of the Passover, Israel's deliverance through sacrifice, is not lost on Luke.
kai "-" - Another example of Luke's use of a transitional kai instead of de; "Now, every year ...."
kat (kata) + acc." every [year]" - according to [the year]. Common idiom, taking a distributive sense, "every year." Typically, those far from Jerusalem made only one pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year and that on the Passover. "Annually".
autou gen. pro. "Jesus'" - [the parents] of him. The genitive is adjectival, relational. Only men were required to attend, so a woman's attendance at the feast was a sign of great devotion.
eporeuonto (poreuomai) imperf. "went" - were going, travelling [to jerusalem]. Usually taken here to express iterative / repeated action, "every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem", although Culy questions this classification, suggesting that the imperfect is simply expressing a past / remote process.
th/ eJorth/ (h) dat. "for the Feast" - in = for the feast. The NIV treats the dative as a dative of interest; "for the festival of the Passover", Barclay, although an adverbial use, temporal, may be intended; "at the time of the passover festival."
tou pasca gen. "of the Passover" - of the passover. The genitive is adjectival, attributive / idiomatic, limiting "festival"; "the festival [which is] associated with the Passover", Culy. Thompson suggests it is appositional, "the festival, namely, the Passover." Properly called "the feast of Unleavened Bread", or simply "the Passover", held on 15 Nisan, March / April. Celebrating the escape from Egypt.
v42
oJte + ind. "when" - [and] when. The temporal conjunction serves to introduce a temporal clause. Note the series of temporal clauses that follow, serving to narrow the timing of the story.
etwn dwdeka gen. "twelve years old" - [he became a boy] of twelve years. "A boy" is assumed, so the genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "boy"; "when he was a twelve year old boy." The reference to Jesus' age probably indicates that he is now of an age when he can take on adult responsibilities.
anabainontwn (anabainw) part. gen. "[they] went up to" - [them] going up. The genitive participle and its genitive subject autwn, "them", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal; "when they were going up", Marshall."
kata + acc. "according to" - according to [the custom of the feast]. Expressing a standard; "in accordance with, according to." The custom being referred to is not overtly clear. Possibly the custom of a yearly visit, or even of going up to Jerusalem as part of a pilgrimage caravan. The genitive "of the feast" is ablative, reference / respect, lit. "according to the custom with reference to the feast." "They went up to the festival as they usually did", Cassirer.
v43
ii] Jesus goes missing in the house of his Father, v43-45: A pilgrimage to a religious festival was usually undertaken in a large group of family, relatives, neighbours and friends. The women and children would travel as one group, followed by the men. They would not all come together again until they met at a prearranged meeting place on the journey home. It was only then that Joseph and Mary discovered that Jesus was not with the other parent, or with their "kinsfolk."
teleiwsantwn (teleiow) aor. part. gen. "After [the feast] was over" - [and] having fulfilled, completed, finished [the days] - A temporal genitive absolute participle, with the aorist expressing completed action. Possibly indicating the family's attendance for the full seven days of the festival; another sign of devotion. "They stayed to the very end of the festival", Barclay.
en tw/ uJpostrefein (uJpostrefw) pres. inf. "while [his parents] were returning home" - in the [them] to return. The preposition en with the dative articular infinitive usually serves to form a temporal clause, contemporaneous time, as NIV. The present tense expresses durative action - Jesus' parents were journeying home. The accusative subject of the infinitive is autouV, "them." "As they were returning", ESV.
oJ paiV (paiV paidoV) "the boy" - [jesus,] the boy. Nominative "boy" standing in apposition to "Jesus".
uJpemeinen (uJpomenw) aor. "stayed behind" - remained. No value judgment is made of Jesus' staying, nor of the parents' being "unaware". Today the parents would be charged with neglect, which may indicate that parents today are overly protective, or that governments are overly intrusive in the area of parental rights, or both!!
en + dat. "in" - in [jerusalem]. Local, expressing space / place.
autou gen. pro. "-" - [and the parents] of him [did not know]. Genitive of relationship.
v44
nomisanteV (nomizw) aor. part. "thinking" - [and] having believed, supposed, assumed. The participle is adverbial, probably causal, "because they thought ...."
einai (eimi) pres. inf. "he was" - [him] to be. The infinitive introduces an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what they thought; "they thought that he was somewhere in the caravan." The subject of the infinitive "he" takes the accusative case, as usual.
en + dat. "in [their company]" - in [the company, group]. Possibly local, space / place, "in the caravan", or expressing association, "with / among the caravan."
hJmeraV (a) gen. "for a day" - [they went a way = journey] of a day. Read as a singular genitive, "day" can be classified as a genitive of time; "At the end of the first day's journey", Barclay.
anezhtoun (anazhtew) imperf. "then they began looking for" - [and] they were looking for [him in = among the relatives and the friends]. The imperfect carries a durative sense which possibly means that not only did they go searching for Jesus at the end of the day, but that they were searching for him the whole day. The NIV opts for an inceptive translation.
v45
mh euJronteV (euJriskw) aor. part. "when they did not find him" - [and] not having found him. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV.
uJpestreyan (uJpostrefw) aor. "they went back" - they returned. Aorist expressing a singular action.
eiV + acc. "to" - to, into [jerusalem]. Expressing the direction of the action and / or arrival at.
anazhtounteV (anazhtew) pres. part. "to look for" - looking for, seeking [him]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as final, expressing purpose, "in order to look for him", while the present tense, being durative, expresses an ongoing search, "Looking for him as they went", Phillips.
v46
iii] Compounding complexities, v46-50: a) Jesus' parents find him in the temple impressing the teachers of the law with his understanding, v46-47. It was at the end of the first day, after leaving Jerusalem, that Joseph and Mary discover Jesus missing. On the second day they return to Jerusalem, and on the third day they find Jesus in the temple. During festival and on the Sabbath, the teachers sat in the Temple precinct to teach their traditions and answer questions. It was in one such group that Joseph and Mary found their son "listening" and "asking questions." The members of the teaching group were "amazed" at Jesus' "understanding." The word "amazed" is used, particularly by Mark and Luke, as a preliminary response by the crowds to a powerful working of the Spirit of God in word, or sign. In this case, it is a Spirit-filled word. So, even at the age of 12, and prior to the descent of the Spirit upon him, Jesus fills the crowd with wonder and awe.
meta + acc. "after three days" - [and it became, happened] after [days three]. Temporal use of the preposition. Possibly meaning that the search in Jerusalem lasted three days, although it is more likely that it was three days after the caravan had left Jerusalem that they found Jesus. Some commentators suggest that there is an allusion here to the resurrection, eg., Johnson, ....
kaqezomenon (kaqezomai) pres. part. "sitting" - [they found him] sitting [in the temple]. As with "listening" and "questioning", the participle serves as the accusative complement of the direct object "him", and as such states a fact about the object "him"; "they found him sitting .. listening ... and inquiring."
twn didaskalwn (oV) gen. "the teachers" - [in midst] of the teachers. The genitive is adjectival, partitive / wholative. This word in Luke is usually reserved for Jesus; he usually refers to the Jewish teachers as "lawyers", or "scribes". Bovon notes that Jesus is not sitting at the feet of the teachers, but in their midst, as if he were the teacher.
akouonta (akouw) pres. part. "listening" - listening. Jesus is under instruction and not doing the teaching, but the fact that he is also "asking them questions" indicates that he is involved in debate.
autwn gen. "to them" - of them [and questioning them]. Genitive of direct object after a verb of perception, here the participle "hearing".
v47
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a change in subject to "the ones listening."
oiJ akouonteV (akouw) pres. part. "[everyone] who heard" - [all] the ones hearing, listening. If the adjective "all" is read as a substantive, "everyone", then the participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "everyone", as NIV; see "all who heard", 2:18.
autou gen. pro. "him" - of him. Genitive of direct object after a verb of perception, here the verbal aspect of the participle "hearing".
existanto (existhmi) imperf. "was amazed" - were amazed, confused, astonished. The word is often used of pre-belief, which may well be the sense here. Also, often used in association with a miracle. Also, possibly the word may just express surprise at the depth of Jesus' questions and answers. "Everyone who heard him was surprised at how much he knew and at the answers he gave", CEV.
epi + dat. "at" - upon. Here expressing cause; "because of, on the basis of."
th/ sunesei (iV ewV) "understanding" - the intelligence [and the answers of him]. With the substantive "answers" there is a possibly hendiadys, "his penetrating answers", Fitzmyer. "They were astonished at his powers of comprehension", Phillips.
v48
b) Mary and Joseph "are shocked by Jesus' apparent insubordination", Nolland, v48.
idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "when his parents saw [him]" - [and] having seen [him]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV.
exeplaghsan (ekplhssw) aor. "they were astonished" - they were perplexed, astounded. Luke's use of this word in Acts 13:12, "he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord", indicates that Jesus' parents may be astounded by the theological capacity of their son. Yet, seeing Luke has chosen a different word to that in v47, the sense is probably more like "surprised", even "shocked", Nolland, which reaction prompts Joseph and Mary's reproach. In their eyes, their son has acted wilfully and caused them no end of trouble. Their "shock" obviously indicates that it is out of character for Jesus to act this way. "When Joseph and Mary saw him they could not believe their eyes", Phillips.
teknon (on) voc. "Son" - [and the mother of him said toward him] child. This word can be used of a person of any age, particularly where it is used as an expression of endearment. Yet, it is also used to address a young member of a family, as here.
hJmin dat. pro. "us" - [why did you do] to us [thus, in this way]? Dative of interest, disadvantage. "Why have you treated us this way?"
odunwmenoi (odunaw) pres. pas. part. "anxiously" - [the father of you and i] being anxious, pained [were looking for you]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of their "searching". Here describing mental anxiety, "filled with anxiety"; "we have been worried to distraction", Barclay. Mary's complaint prompts Jesus' reply.
v49
c) Jesus' pronouncement grounds the story, v49-50. Jesus responds by telling his parents he must be about his Father's business; the Word business. Most translations have "Father's house", meaning the temple. As for "my Father", he certainly doesn't mean Joseph. Jesus may be claiming that God is his father, although the "my" probably just reflects a messianic awareness; Jesus is "the Son of God", a term which is primarily a messianic title. If Jesus is making this link, it is likely that he is not claiming a filial relationship with God the Father, even though such exists, nor is he denying his human kinship. In the end, the pronouncement is beyond the comprehension of his parents.
oJti "-" - [and he said to them why is it] that [you are looking for me? had you not known] that. The first oJti possibly serves to introduce an object clause / dependent statement of direct speech expressing the content of the question. Culy suggests that it is epexegetic, explaining the question ti gegonen oJti, "why has it happened that ..."; "why is it that you have been searching for me?", Weymouth. The second oJti, "don't you know that I must be ..." introduces a dependent statement of perception, expressing what they should have known. The negation ouk in the second question implies the affirmative answer, "yes". For Jesus, it is obvious that he would be found doing what he was doing, since the business of knowing God takes precedence over everything else, "surely you realise that I was bound to be ...?
dei "I had" - it is necessary [for me]. Often expressing divine compulsion. This is the only time it is used of Jesus' relationship with the Father; "I must", Phillips.
ei\nai "to be" - to be. The infinitive serves as a substantive, introducing a nominal phrase, subject of the impersonal verb "it is necessary", "to be in the things of my Father is necessary"; See "to write", 1:3.
en toiV tou patroV "in [my] Father's house" - in the things of the father. The neuter plural article toiV serves as a nominalizer, turning the genitive phrase tou patroV, "of the Father", into a substantive, object of the preposition en, "in". What are the "things"? Obviously not the teachers as the article is neuter. There seems to be three possible options:
•i"house", NIV etc. meaning "I must be in my Father's dwelling place (ie. temple)", presumably for the business of revelation, although the article is plural, ie., "things", not "thing". None-the-less, en, "in", together with the neuter plural and the genitive can give the sense "house" as of "involved with instruction in divine things", Bock;
•i"I must be about my Father's business", obviously again the Word business is singular; "to be engaged in the affairs of my Father (the truth business)", Nolland, cf., Brown, NKJV. Although the most likely option, it doesn't really answer Mary's question;
•iJesus must be among the teachers of the law in his Father's house. This option is not widely accepted. Whichever option we choose, Jesus is the messiah in training and must be about his vocation under God in the divine business of fine-tuning truth.
mou gen. pro "my" - of me. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, emphatic by position. Probably a full-blown filial relationship is not intended, rather it is an expression of piety, or possibly expressing Jesus' messianic role as "son of God" = messiah.
v50
d) Jesus' parents are confused, v50: Jesus' parents simply do not understand what he is up to. Given his miraculous birth, he is obviously a candidate for messiah, Son of God, but why "must" the coming Davidic messiah (a worrier king) be in the temple discussing theology?
ou sunhkan (sunihmi) aor. "did not understand" - [and] they did not understand [the word which he spoke]. "They did not understand what he meant", CEV, best captures the general sense of Mary and Joseph's failure to understand Jesus' enigmatic reply, rather than their failure to understand any filial or messianic allusions. They have not forgotten Jesus' miraculous birth, nor the prophetic word associated with that birth, but they would be fairly angry, having little patience for riddles, and would not be thinking rationally (every parent has been there!). None-the-less, their ignorance reveals an important theme for Luke - Israel's failure to understand the day of God's visitation in Christ. Luke's comment that Jesus was "obedient to them" probably reflects the reprimand Jesus received from his parents on this occasion.
autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - to them. Dative of indirect object.
v51
iv] The family returns to Nazareth, and again Mary is left with something to think on, v51. As far as his parents are concerned, the young Jesus is way out of line. Jesus rightly submits to them and returns with them to Nazareth. Mary is left to wonder about it all.
katebh (katabainw) aor. "he went down" - [and] he went down. Used of coming down in height from Jerusalem since the city was in the hill country of Palestine. Best expressed "as for Jesus, he went back with them to Nazareth", Cassirer.
met (meta) + gen. "with" - with [them and they came into nazareth]. Expressing association, as NIV.
hn uJpotassomenoV (uJpotassw) pres. pas. part. "he was obedient" - [and] he was being subject. The imperfect verb to-be + the participle forms an imperfect paraphrastic construction, possibly emphasising durative aspect and so expressing a continuing submission of Jesus to his parents until he was of age.
autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - to them. Dative of direct object.
diethrei (diathrew) imperf. "treasured" - [and the mother of him] was keeping, maintaining, treasuring. The imperfective aspect of this imperfect is possibly emphasising durative action, "Jesus' mother continued to mull over his words", but here, as also in v52, the imperfect tense may just indicate the provision of background / summary information.
ta rJhmata "these things" - [all] the matters, words [in the heart of her]. The definite article indicating that the matters are those just described, either the words of Jesus, his actions, or both.
v52
v] Luke summarises Jesus' developing years under God, v52. So, Jesus continues to grow in wisdom, as well as stature and moral integrity.
proekopten (prokoptw) imperf. "grew" - [and jesus] was increasing, advancing, growing. The imperfect is likely used for the provision of background / summary information; "As Jesus grew, he advanced in wisdom and in favour with God and men", REB.
en th/ "in" - in. The preposition and the dative article, missing in some manuscripts, applies to all three of the following nouns and functions adverbially, expressing reference / respect; "with respect to / with reference to."
sofia/ (a) dat. " wisdom" - wisdom, skill. Possibly "intellect", although "insight", and in particular, "theological insight", may well be intended.
hJlikia/ (a) dat. "stature" - [and] age, height, stature. "Bodily stature" is preferable. Nicely handled by REB.
cariti (iV itoV) dat. "in favour" - [and] in favour. The meaning "blessing" doesn't work. Advancing "in favour with God and other humans" probably indicates a moral / ethical advance. So, "Jesus progressed intellectually, physically, and morally."
para + dat. "with" - with [god and men]. Probably expressing sphere; "in the sight of, before." Possibly extending to "in the judgment of God and men."
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