> Download these notes in PDF here: https://www.studyyourbible.org/new-testament/luke/an-orderly-account/handouts/session-11-my-fathers-business-the-sons-calling-in-an-obedient-life/ # My Father's Business -- The Son's Calling in an Obedient Life (Luke 2:39-52) *Series: Luke: An Orderly Account - Dr. Randy White* ## I. The Son Grows in an Obedient Household (vv. 39-42) ### Obedience Continues Beyond the Temple - Having performed the required observances according to the law of the Lord, the family returns to Nazareth. The remarkable testimonies of Simeon and Anna lead back into ordinary household life. - Luke is a historian attentive to chronology. This reads as a natural return to Nazareth after the Temple experience; we must reconcile our common understanding of the flight to Egypt with this passage. - Jesus belongs within Israel's covenant history. His family's observance of the law does not introduce the later order of the Body of Christ or replace Israel's promises. ### Real Growth Bears God's Favor - The child grows, becomes strong in spirit, and is filled with wisdom. His humanity includes actual development; the promised Son does not merely appear to pass through childhood. - "The grace of God was upon him" describes divine favor, not forgiveness of personal sin. Increasing wisdom does not require a previous life of moral folly. - The household travels to Jerusalem every year at Passover. At twelve Jesus participates in Israel's worship; Luke identifies His age without describing a coming-of-age ceremony or calling this His first visit. ## II. The Son Astonishes Those Who Hear Him (vv. 43-48) ### Faithful Parents Discover Their Limits - After the festival Jesus remains in Jerusalem while Joseph and His mother begin their return. They suppose Him to be in the company and look among relatives and acquaintances. - Their assumption proves mistaken, and they return to Jerusalem seeking Him. Their privileged place in His upbringing has not given them complete knowledge of His movements or purpose. - Mary speaks of their real anguish: "thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." Her words express parental concern; Luke does not ask us to imagine either indifference in the parents or contempt in the Son. ### Extraordinary Wisdom Appears in a Real Child - They find Him in the Temple "after three days," among the doctors, hearing and asking questions. These are teachers, not physicians; Luke describes an exchange rather than a public ministry already begun. - All who hear Him are astonished at His understanding and answers. His questions accompany remarkable comprehension, though Luke preserves neither their subjects nor the answers He gave. - The wisdom announced in verse 40 is now witnessed in Jerusalem. Yet admiration alone does not explain Him: His own words will identify the relationship governing His presence there. ## III. The Son Declares His Father's Claim (vv. 49-50) ### "My Father" Reveals Who He Is - Mary has said "thy father" of Joseph; Jesus answers with "my Father" of God. He recognizes Joseph's household place while declaring a relationship that reaches beyond it. - Gabriel had already announced the Son of the Highest and the Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35). Jesus does not become God's Son in the Temple; His first recorded words in Luke disclose His consciousness of that identity. - "Wist ye not" means "Did ye not know?" His question calls them to consider what His identity means for His actions, rather than treating Him simply as a child whose whereabouts are unexplained. ### "I Must" Reveals What Governs Him - "I must be about my Father's business" expresses necessity arising from His Father's claim. His presence concerns the Father's affairs, not merely an absorbing personal interest or Joseph's occupation. - The Temple gives that business a concrete setting. The KJV's wording also carries the larger concern: what belongs to His Father governs where He is and what He does. - Later Jesus will speak of His necessary suffering and resurrection (Luke 9:22). The Father's purpose governs the whole course, though this childhood saying does not disclose every later event to His parents. - They do not understand this saying. Receiving true revelation does not mean grasping every implication immediately; their difficulty cannot change the truth of the Son's declaration. ## IV. The Son Returns to an Obedient Life (vv. 51-52) ### His Father's Claim Includes Household Submission - Jesus goes with them to Nazareth and "was subject unto them." His declaration of divine sonship leads into continuing household obedience, not a demand for exemption from it. - Honoring father and mother belongs to Israel's law (Exodus 20:12). The Son's obedience accords with His Father's command; parental submission does not diminish His identity. - We must read His declaration and His submission together. His unique calling gives no warrant for ordinary children to dress disobedience in religious language. ### Quiet Years Still Belong to the Father - Mary keeps these sayings in her heart. What she cannot yet explain she preserves; the account honors thoughtful remembrance without pretending she already understands everything. - Jesus increases in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. The growth surrounding this encounter is real and sinless; His divine nature does not become more divine. - Favor with people does not promise universal approval throughout His ministry. Simeon has already foretold opposition (Luke 2:34-35); the Father's approval remains decisive. - The chapter closes at home rather than with public acclaim. His Father's business encompasses the quiet years as surely as the extraordinary Temple moment: the same Son declares His calling and lives obediently within it.