Jesus talks with teachers in the temple as a young boy
41 Every year, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.
2:41 Passover is a time when the Israelites remembered that God had rescued them from Egypt. They had been slaves in Egypt. Every year, the Jews continued to remember this. We can read about the first Passover in Exodus 12. 42 When Jesus was 12 years old, his parents took him with them to Jerusalem. They went as usual for the festival. 43 When the week finished, Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem to return home. But Jesus stayed behind and his parents did not know this. 44 They thought that he was with their group on the way home. They travelled for a whole day. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends.
45 They could not find him, so they went back to Jerusalem. They looked for him there. 46 After three days, they found him in the temple. He was sitting there among the teachers. He was listening to what they were saying. He was also asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard Jesus was very surprised. He understood so many things and he could answer difficult questions. 48 When Jesus' parents saw him there, they were also very surprised. His mother said to him, ‘My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have looked everywhere for you. We have had a lot of trouble in our mind.’
49 Jesus answered them, ‘You should not have needed to look for me. I must be in the place where my Father wants me to be. You should have known that.’ 50 But his parents did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then Jesus returned to Nazareth with them. He did what they wanted. His mother, Mary, was careful to remember all the special things that had happened. She thought about them a lot. 52 Jesus grew up into a man. He became strong and he could understand more and more things. God was pleased with him, and people were pleased with him too.
