Luke 2:49

Verse of the Day Devotion Luke 2:49 

“And He said to them, why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” – Luke 2:49 

I am going to start 2022 by looking at verses that are specific quotes of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our first one will be the first words of Jesus as recorded by any of the gospels. This being our focus verse, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Luke 2:49.  They were in Jerusalem to obey the Law regarding the feasts. “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.” Exodus 23:17.  And now that Jesus was twelve, He was now permitted to go as well, as a son of the law, to take part in the celebration of the sacred festival.

Now after this was complete they headed back home. “and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him.” Luke 2:43-45.  They supposed that He was with them in the caravan, but after having looked for Him, they returned back to Jerusalem.  And after three days they found Him.  “And it came about that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” Luke 2:46-47. Because it seems improbable that they would not have gone to the temple three days after arriving back, according to theologian John Peter Lange, “It seems more probable that we must allow one day for their departure, vs. 44; one for their return, vs. 45; and the third, vs. 46, for their search; and that they found Him in the sanctuary at the close of the latter.”

They probably found Him in one of the porches of the Court of the Women, where the schools of the Rabbis were held and the law regularly taught. They were surprised to see Him there, and therefore Mary asked Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”  Luke 2:48b.  What happened here is definitely different than the norm in this culture.  In the male-dominated temple one would expect Joseph rather than Mary to address Jesus. It could be that the unique spiritual bond she had with Jesus prompted her making this statement.  And she addresses Him not as boy, or young man, but as son, or child. She says here they have been diligently looking for Him.

We then see His response in our focus verse. “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” Luke 2:49. The first thing I want to discuss is the last word in this verse.  In the Greek, the use of the word ‘house’ can also be translated as business. Greek scholar Bill Mounce says the following, “But the plural τοῖς nags me, and suggests it is the ”things” of the father that was motivating Jesus to stay behind.” Thus, I believe what was meant here is ‘My Father’s things or affairs’, not ‘My Father’s house’.  And this makes additional sense, in that because Mary brought up the idea of Joseph as father, that He was referring to God’s business or affairs over Joseph’s, not the Temple over Joseph’s house. In other words, what God wanted Jesus to do was far more important that anyone else’ desires.

 The one thing that stands out to me regarding this verse is that Jesus saw His work for God as more important than anyone else’s, including Joseph and Mary.  And I want us all to be challenged to think the same way.  God’s calling on our lives is far more important than anything else.  We should never look at the desires of another to take priority over the desires of God.  We must always look at God’s ways as greater than ours.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.  Jesus here is laying out what should be our most important priorities.  Let us follow them as He did.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Luke 9:62

Verse of the Day Devotion Luke 9:62 

“But Jesus said to him, No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62  

After spending some time speaking about the twelve with the disciples, Jesus now enters into conversations with three would-be followers.  These three brief exchanges differ from the classic ‘call to follow’ stories as laid out in the synoptic gospels.  In these earlier stories each call is issued by Jesus to named persons, and each individual follows without resistance or delay.  Here, contrary to the former stories, the first and third conversations are initiated by those desiring to follow Him, while the second is called by Jesus.  Let us look at each of these incidents and see what occurred, namely what Jesus laid out as the conditions of discipleship..

The first candidate, whose name is unknown tells Jesus He will follow Him anywhere He goes. However, Jesus’ response is, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Luke 9:58. Jesus was essentially telling him that animals can adapt to nature and survive and accept this lifestyle.  However, the Son of Man has not been sent into the world to adapt to it. And therefore, His followers should not adapt to it either.  How foreign this Jesus to the domesticated Jesus of nineteenth-century liberalism so comfortably conventional. The world may claim shelter as an inalienable human right, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head; it may claim the right to a better future, but the Son of Man offers hope only in the coming kingdom of God; it may claim the right to rest, peace, and justice, but the Son of Man finds only tribulation in the world.

The second man was invited by Jesus to follow Him; however, his response was, “Permit me first to go and bury my father.”  The question raised here is, was his father already dead, or was he in danger of dying soon?  We do not have an answer regarding this, but Jesus’s answer regards the aspects of the Law covering the burial of the dead. Jews regarded proper burial of the dead among the “decrees and instructions” commanded in Torah. Burial was a paramount example of a “work of love,” enjoining tears, mourning, and fervent wailing. To not neglect burial was for all ancients, Jews and Greeks, a virtually inviolable duty.  However, what He was telling him was the keeping of the law, and in this case the burial laws, must become secondary to following Him and His ways and work. 

And finally, another one comes to Jesus. “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” Luke 9:61. Jesus would later speak on this idea that anyone who chooses to follow Him must put Him above everyone else in their lives. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26.  Basically, His message is if you love anyone or anything more than me, than you are not worthy to be my disciple.

We must also remember that, as Christians, nothing else can take precedence over Jesus and the work He has called us to. And we should not look and think about how things could have been like.  And this is the basis of our focus verse, which is, “But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62. Jesus now points to commonsense farming wisdom to portray discipleship as single-minded detachment from the life and social systems one has known. A farmer who is plowing a field had best look ahead rather than backward. And Jesus means now; the field is already being readied for planting.  To look back at your former life can put us in a position of regret regarding what could have been.  We must believe that following Christ is the best life we could possibly have and want in the present and future, and what is in the past has no comparison.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.