Although the boy Jesus was gifted with a wisdom far beyond His years--a
wisdom which was His because He was the Son of God, yet He lived much as
other boys lived, doing the tasks that were given Him by His parents and
being subject to them in all things.
Probably the people around Him did not think very much about what He
said or did during those years. When they saw Him helping Joseph, the
carpenter, or doing the little things which Mary, His mother, bade Him
do, He seemed much like other little boys to them; they thought Him
bright and pleasing, and it may be that there was something in His looks
and in His manner which puzzled them, which set them to thinking of holy
things in a wondering way; but Mary was the only one who dwelt upon the
mystery of His life with a constant prayerful questioning as to just
what the meaning of it was.
Mary treasured all His sayings in her heart and believed that the time
would come when everyone would know that He was not simply an ordinary
child like those around Him.
After Joseph had brought his family back from Egypt because, now that
Herod was dead, it was safe for them to come into their own country
again, they lived in the city of Nazareth, and so the words of the old
prophets were true, that Jesus, the Savior of the World, should be a
Nazarene, or dweller in Nazareth.
Every year the Jews held a feast at Jerusalem called the Feast of the
Passover, in memory of the time when God passed over, or spared, His
chosen people in Egypt, although He destroyed the first-born of the
Egyptians. When Jesus was twelve years old He went to Jerusalem with
Joseph and Mary to attend this feast.
There were many of the relatives and friends of the family there, and
when they started home after the feast, there was probably some
confusion about getting the company under way, for they traveled in a
train consisting of people on foot and mounted upon donkeys, and they
had, of course, some needful provisions to take with them, together with
the things which they had brought for their comfort upon the journey and
during their stay in Jerusalem; and as the parents of Jesus did not
think of His remaining behind, they neglected to look for Him, supposing
He was somewhere in the train; so, when they had traveled for a day on
the return trip, they were greatly surprised and troubled to find that
He was missing.
They immediately started back for Jerusalem, wondering as they went what
could have happened to their boy and fearful about it; but after three
anxious days they found Him in the temple talking with the learned men
there, listening to their wise words, and asking questions which
astonished everybody who heard them, because they were full of an
understanding of holy things that was not to be expected of a boy.
When His parents had found Him, Mary said to Him, sorrowfully, "Son, why
hast Thou dealt thus with us? Thy father and I have sought Thee
sorrowing."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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