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Luke 2:41-52

I have to confess that most of the time I read this story; I never look to get much out of it. While it is the only story outside of the nativity that gives us a glimpse into the early life of Jesus, I never think about trying to gain any deep theological or spiritual insights from Jesus staying behind in the Temple. When many people read this, the question that seems to come up the most is how it could have taken Mary and Joseph a full day to realize their little boy wasn’t with them? Of course the answer is that Mary and Joseph weren’t travelling just as a family. Many times extended family groups would travel to Jerusalem for the Passover and as these groups travelled they would often divide into age groups with young children travelling with their mothers and older boys with their fathers or with other children. Since Jesus was 12 at this point, he fell into that awkward stage of being too old to be with his Mom, but maybe too young to be with his Dad, so each parent could have thought the other one had him, or that he was travelling with the older children. So it wouldn’t have been until the end of the first day that they would have realized Jesus wasn’t with them.

While this might not usually be a passage we think about getting much out of, today I want to challenge us to think about this passage in a totally different way. What if this passage is fundamental to how we live out our faith? I want to propose that this story is really one of the most important stories for us to consider in the life of the church because maybe this is the key for us to understanding what we need to do to grow in our faith, and here’s why. The story of Jesus in the temple shows us the first recorded choice of Jesus. Think about it, up until this point, all that has taken place in Jesus life has been at the direction of God, angels or his parents. God chose the moment and the method and the location of Jesus birth. Angels gave direction to Mary and Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth and they were the ones to announce the birth of Jesus and gather the shepherds. And once Mary & Joseph settle in Nazareth, as Jesus parents, they would have been the ones making the decisions about Jesus physical, emotional and spiritual development. So up until this point everyone around Jesus has been making decisions, but in this story Jesus makes his first decision and in I believe that in that decision Jesus makes a statement about what is primary and foundational to our spiritual development.

The very first decision Jesus made was to stay in his father’s house and be about his father’s business. 2:49 is translated, I must be in my father’s house, but Jesus isn’t just saying that he wants to stay in the temple. The deeper meaning of Jesus statement is that Jesus must be about the work of his father. In the KJV this is translated, I must be about my father’s business. In other words, Jesus wants to make God’s priority his priority, and he wants to be doing the things that are of upmost importance to his father in heaven. So God’s priority and the work that is most important to God is what we see Jesus doing in the temple and what Jesus is doing in the Temple is sitting with a small group of people learning and sharing with others. So beyond all the teaching of Jesus that is to come, beyond all the words and examples about how we are to love, forgive, serve and sacrifice for God and others – what forms our lives of faith and the primary business God is calling for us to engage in is small group discipleship. God’s business for us first and foremost is to learn and grow together in small groups.

Look at 2:46-47. It says Jesus is sitting among the teachers listening to them and asking questions – so he is there to learn and grow himself, but he is also there to teach and share because it goes on to say that all who heard Jesus’ answers were amazed at his understanding. So at 12 years old, Jesus is not just learning from those around him, but he is also sharing his own insight and understanding as well. One of the things that this reminds us is that we have a lot to learn from our children and youth. Children can have amazing insights and understanding so it is important for us to open our hearts and our ears to listen and to learn from them.

I’ll never forget one Christmas Eve when I learned an amazing new truth from a child. Every year during the Christmas Eve Candlelight service I do a children’s sermon on the legend of the candy cane, I ask the children to share with me all the ways a candy cane reflects the life of Jesus. It’s a J for Jesus, it’s a shepherd’s staff, the red represents the blood of Jesus and the white reminds us that we are washed clean by his blood, and a candy cane is also sweet, just as Jesus is sweet and kind to us. Just as I was about to finish with a prayer the little boy next to me said, “And look, if you put them next to each other they form a heart.” And he held out his candy cane to me and when I held mine up to his – it formed a heart. I was totally overwhelmed by his statement because it was such simple and yet profound truth from a child. Think about it, the love of God really is only experienced in fullness and power when we are willing to come together with others. Maybe that’s part of what Jesus is trying to say to us here in Luke 2. That we can read all about God on our own – but we will never really learn of God’s love and experience God’s love and truth and power until we come together with others in small groups. God’s great desire for us is grow in our love for Him and each other which happens most effectively and most powerfully we share and learn together.

So in Luke 2, the 12 year old Jesus makes his first choice and what he chooses to do is make God’s business his business, and God’s priority his priority – and this work of God needs to continue to be the top priority for the church today. Learning, sharing and learning to love God and one another in small groups is the work God calls us to be part of through the church. Small group discipleship is the foundation to our faith – I would be so bold as to say that without it, we will not grow. Worship alone will only take us so far in our walk with God. Now don’t misunderstand – worship is important to our faith. In many ways worship comes first. Notice that worship is already a part of Jesus life. Jesus is in Jerusalem with his family in the first place for worship, they are there to celebrate the Passover feast. Passover is the most important worship celebration for the Jewish people, it’s like Christmas and Easter all rolled into one and because Jesus is in Jerusalem to begin with it shows us that worship is already a part of Jesus life.

While worship is the foundation on which we need to build our faith, our faith needs more structure and development, and that comes through small groups. In his book, the purpose driven life, Rick Warren says that the primary purpose of our life is worship. Bringing enjoyment to God, Warren says, living for God’s pleasure is the first purpose of our life, and bringing pleasure to God is called worship. So worship lays the foundation. Bringing glory and pleasure to God through worship is where we start, but it is not where we end. Rick Warren goes on to say that our second great purpose is to be part of God’s family. We were created to be part of God’s family and choosing to be an active part of God’s extended family is the choice we see Jesus making here in Luke 2. Jesus chooses to stay behind and be part of God’s family because this is God’s will for us. We were created to be part of this extended family of God which means we will not be complete and fulfilled in life until we are part of that family. This is why small groups are so important for us, because we were created to be part of this kind of extended family of faith. We weren’t created to just be a part of a crowd, and we weren’t just created to be part of our own biological family, God created us to be of his family and the way we become part of his family is to take the time to connect with others in small groups.

What’s interesting is that if we keep reading in Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life, we see that it is only after we become part of God’s family that we discover and live out the other purposes of our life. We only grow to become like Christ and serve God and discover our mission and ministry in this world through our involvement in small groups. It is important for us to understand that we were not created to discover or live out God’s purposes on our own – we were created to discover our purpose and live out our faith in small groups. So while worship is the foundation on which we build, worship alone is not enough.

On a personal note, one of the reasons I am so passionate about small groups is because my life of faith has been shaped and formed by the love and power and learning found in small groups. I was looking back on my life this week and realized that at every stage of my life I have been part of some kind of small group of faith. When I was in elementary school I loved Sunday School. I loved Sunday School so much that when I got to 6th grade and our church didn’t offer any Jr/Sr high Sunday School class, I asked if I could stay in the 5th grade class for another year. In High School, my church youth group was the small group that provided me with unconditional love and support which helped me develop a strong sense of self worth. It was as part of a small group bible study in college that I was confronted with the call of Jesus on my life and it was through that small group that I gave my heart and life to Jesus. It was part of a small group Bible Study in seminary that kept me focused and grounded during 3 years of studying and searching, and it has been being part of Sunday School classes, Men’s Bible studies and Sunday School classes in 3 churches that has kept my faith growing and alive as I have been a pastor. What’s interesting is that when I look back at my life, the time I struggled the most in my faith was when I was not part of a small group. The few years between college and seminary when I wasn’t part of a church or small group, was when I struggle the most with my faith.

I am so passionate about small groups because I am convinced that God formed us to be part of his family and that means God created us to be part of small groups of faith in which we can learn, love and grow, and Jesus makes this his top priority. The first recorded choice of Jesus was to stay in the temple and be part of a small group. When asked why he was there he said, because I need to be about my father’s work – so God’s work, God’s business, God’s desire and passion for us is to be part of a group that will help us learn, love and grow deeper in our faith. If you are not part of a small group – make it a priority in your life. If you are not part of a small group, join one, and it doesn’t matter what kind of group it is. Join one of the new small groups that are starting next week. Join a Sunday School classes today. If you are a youth – get involved in the youth group which starts tonight. If you are a child – ask you parents to let you stay for Sunday School today. Get connected today.