The Bible Book

188

See also: The Exodus 74–77 ■ The Annunciation 178–79 ■

The Birth of Jesus 180–85 ■ The Magi 186 ■ The Coming of Salvation 189

E

very year, Jesus and His

parents travel to Jerusalem

for the feast of Passover.

One year, when Jesus is 12 years

old, He stays in Jerusalem after

His parents have set out for home.

Thinking their son is among their

fellow travelers, Mary and Joseph

do not realize He is missing until

a whole day has passed, at which

point they return to Jerusalem to

look for Him. After three days of

searching, they find Him debating

with the rabbis in the Temple.

Everyone who listens to Jesus is

amazed by Him, but Mary rebukes

her son. In an instant, Jesus turns

from His debate with the rabbis to

address His mother: “Why were you

searching for me? Didn’t you know

I had to be in my Father’s house?”

(Luke 2:49). Jesus’s reply confuses

His parents, who do not understand

that He is revealing His knowledge

of His divine lineage.

The author’s use of dramatic

irony was probably intended to

amuse early Christian readers of

Luke. Other literary devices include

foreshadowing and allusion: Jesus’s

three-day absence from His family

anticipates His three days in the

grave after His death, and the

combination of the Passover setting

and Jesus’s claim to be the Son

of God allude to the Exodus, in

which Israel is also called God’s

son (Exodus 4:22). Such devices,

and the fact that this is the only

depiction of Jesus’s adolescence

in the Gospels, lead some scholars

to view the episode as theological

fiction rather than historical fact,

the main purpose of which is to

highlight Jesus’s divinity. ■

DIDN’T YOU KNOW

I HAD TO BE IN MY

FATHER’S HOUSE?

LUKE 2:49, A CHILD IN THE TEMPLE

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Luke 2:41–51

THEME

Jesus reveals His

divine lineage

SETTING

c. 6–7 ce Jerusalem.

KEY FIGURES

Jesus The 12-year-old son

of Mary and adopted son of

Joseph, who is also the

Messiah and Son of God.

Mary and Joseph Devout

Jews from Nazareth, identified

as the earthly mother and

adoptive father of Jesus.

The rabbis The teachers of

the scriptures, who gathered

in the Jerusalem Temple to

debate points of Mosaic Law. In William Holman Hunt’s highly

symbolic The Finding of the Savior in

the Temple (1860), a blind rabbi (bottom

left) clutches the Torah as though he

and his religion are under threat.

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189

See also: The Suffering Servant 190–93 ■ The Divinity of Jesus 190–93 ■

The Baptism of Jesus 194–97 ■ The Empty Tomb 268–71

J

ohn the Baptist was a Jewish

prophet who heralded Jesus

in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke

3, John goes out into the country

and calls the people to repent and

be forgiven. He baptizes those

who accept his message in the

River Jordan.

The author of Luke presents

John’s actions as the fulfillment of

a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah.

John quotes Isaiah 40:3, in which

a voice in the wilderness exhorts

listeners to prepare the way for

the Lord. They are to make the

path straight, level, and smooth,

and then all will see the coming of

God’s salvation. Although Isaiah’s

prophecy spoke first about God’s

rescue of the Israelites from exile in

Babylon, the Gospel of Luke reports

that John the Baptist interpreted it

to have a further fulfillment in his

own ministry.

Baptism by fire

In the next scene, the followers of

John begin to wonder if he is the

Christ. John affirms his role as

messianic precursor, declaring that

he is not worthy to untie the sandal

of the one who is to come. He says

that while he baptizes with water,

the one more powerful than him

will baptize with the Holy Spirit

and fire. John concludes his

message with an image of Christ

as a winnower, separating the

wheat from chaff and burning the

chaff with unquenchable fire (3:17),

symbolizing the Final Judgment.

John hopes that all will hear the

news of the coming Christ, repent,

and be saved. ■

THE GOSPELS

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Luke 3:1–18

THEME

The prophecy fulfilled

SETTING

c. 26 ce The country around

the River Jordan.

KEY FIGURES

John the Baptist Son of

Elizabeth and Zechariah.

A prophet who baptizes Jesus

and is later beheaded by

King Herod.

Isaiah An ancient Israelite

prophet, to whom the Book

of Isaiah is ascribed.

Jesus The Messiah and Son

of God in the period before

He begins His ministry.

PREPARE THE WAY

FOR THE LORD

LUKE 3:4, THE COMING OF SALVATION

The ax is ... at the root

of the trees, and every tree

that does not produce good

fruit will be cut down.

Luke 3:9

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