The Early Years of Jesus

Luke 2:38–51

Have you ever heard these stories about Jesus? One tells of five‑year‑old Jesus forming twelve clay sparrows on the Sabbath. When his father Joseph rebuked Him, Jesus clapped His hands and the birds came to life and flew away. Another story claims Jesus was playing with a friend who fell from an upper level of a house and died. The parents accused Jesus of pushing their son, but Jesus raised the boy so he could testify that it was an accident. Still another story says a boy mocked Jesus, so Jesus struck him dead. The people complained to Joseph that his son was killing their children. Joseph grabbed Jesus by the ear, and Jesus warned him not to make Him angry.

Most people have never heard these stories because they come from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a pseudepigraphal work written by Gnostic authors in the second century. Thomas did not write it; he had been dead long before it appeared. Many such “gospels” attempt to provide extra‑biblical accounts of Jesus’ early life, often focusing on supposed childhood miracles.

The four inspired Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—give only one account of Jesus’ childhood: His trip to Jerusalem for the Passover when He was twelve. They tell us He was born in Bethlehem, dedicated at the Temple at eight days old, and taken to Egypt around age two to escape Herod’s murderous plans. After Herod died, the family returned to Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus grew up there from early childhood to about age thirty. He had siblings—at least four brothers and one sister (Mt. 12:47–49; Mk. 6:3).

The Gospels do not embellish Jesus’ early years to satisfy our curiosity. Instead, they give only what is necessary for the story of redemption. When Luke records Jesus’ visit to the Temple at age twelve, he includes it because it contributes to that purpose.

After the Passover feast, Joseph and Mary began their journey home, assuming Jesus was traveling with relatives or friends. When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem. They eventually found Him in the Temple. Throughout His life, Jesus—the Son of God—was often found in unexpected places: a manger, Egypt, Nazareth, a carpenter’s shop, and ultimately a cross.

What Was Jesus Doing at the Temple?

• Worshiping God

In Jewish custom, age twelve marked a transition. Before this age, a boy was called katon (“little”). Afterward, he was considered gadol (“grown up”) and began learning a trade from his father. Joseph was a carpenter. The Law of Moses required every male to go to Jerusalem three times a year—at Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Ex. 23:14–17; 34:23; Deut. 16:16).

Jesus traveled with His family to keep the Passover. Nazareth was about seventy miles from Jerusalem. The Passover lasted eight days—one day for killing the lamb and seven days for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 8:15). Later in His ministry, Jesus continued to observe the Passover each year.

From childhood, Jesus learned to worship God alone. When Satan tempted Him to worship otherwise, Jesus replied, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover, and Jesus went with them (Luke 2:41–42). Parents today must likewise teach their children that God is worthy of worship. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

• Learning and Sharing God’s Word

Members of the Sanhedrin often met the public in the Temple courts to teach. So, it was natural that Mary and Joseph found Jesus there after three days— “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” (Luke 2:46–47).

The Temple was the place for someone with a spiritual mind to grow. Jesus not only learned wisdom but also shared it by listening and asking thoughtful questions.

Today, children need God’s Word more than ever. Early in American history, the Bible served as a primary textbook for reading and history. Now children spend seven or eight hours a day in school without access to Scripture and only a few hours at best learning from it. Like Timothy, they need to know “the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15).

Jesus quoted Scripture from memory when Satan tempted Him (Luke 4). He often asked, “Have you not read?” He read—and unlike many, He applied what He read.

• Developing a Special Relationship With God

When Joseph and Mary found Jesus, they expressed understandable concern. “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously” (Luke 2:48). Jesus replied, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).

These are the first recorded words of Jesus in the Gospels. They come as a rhetorical question. Where else would He be but in His Father’s house?

Jesus called God “My Father,” not “the Father.” Later, this claim of unique relationship would lead the Jews to accuse Him of blasphemy (John 5:17–18; 10:29–31). Even at twelve, Jesus understood His identity as the Son of God and His obligation to do His Father’s work.

Young people today must also learn their relationship to God. Solomon wrote, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth” (Eccl. 12:1). They need to know that God loves them (John 3:16), knows them completely (Matt. 10:30–31), and wants them to be His children.

• Submitting to His Parents

Even though Jesus recognized His special relationship with God, He “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them” (Luke 2:51). The Greek word for “subject” is a military term meaning “to fall in rank under the authority of another.” Vincent notes that the verb indicates habitual, continuous submission.

Although Jesus had to be about His Father’s business, He was still a child and obedient to Joseph and Mary. If the Son of God could help with daily chores around the house, young people today should have no difficulty submitting to their parents’ authority.

Jesus demonstrated submission throughout His life. He submitted to John’s baptism, though He had no sin. He paid the Temple tax, though it was His Father’s house. He taught obedience to Caesar’s laws. He submitted even to death, though He was innocent. For the next eighteen years, He lived quietly in Nazareth and became known simply as “the carpenter’s son.”

Are children today living in submission to their parents? Do they fall in rank under their parents’ authority, or do they complain? God commands this obedience: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right…” (Eph. 6:1–3).

The Gospels remain silent about Jesus’ life from Luke 2:52 until He was about thirty and baptized by John in the Jordan. During those years, His childhood provided a perfect model for all children. His worship, His relationship with God, His study of Scripture, and His obedience to His parents prepared Him for His mission. “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9).

by Daniel R. Vess