Every year, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. It was a special journey they made every year to celebrate and worship God in the Temple.

When Jesus was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to custom for the feast.

Imagine Jesus, a twelve-year-old boy, making this journey with His family! Jerusalem was a big and important city. The Temple was magnificent, covered in gold, the holiest place for God's people!

They spent the days of the feast in Jerusalem. Jesus saw the Temple, participated in prayers, heard the teachings. Everything was wonderful!

But when the feast days were ended and everyone was returning home, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem!

He didn't say anything to Mary and Joseph. He simply stayed.

Mary and Joseph didn't notice! They thought Jesus was with other relatives or friends in the large caravan of people returning together.

They traveled a whole day's journey thinking Jesus was somewhere in the group.

But when evening came and they stopped to rest, Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus for dinner.

Where was Jesus?

They looked among the relatives. He wasn't there.

They looked among the acquaintances. He wasn't there.

They asked everyone. No one had seen Him!

Jesus was lost! Or at least, Mary and Joseph thought He was lost!

Imagine Mary and Joseph's fright! Their precious son, lost somewhere! Where could He be?

They returned immediately to Jerusalem. They must have walked all night, worried, anxious, praying!

Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days! Three whole days!

They searched through the streets of Jerusalem. They asked everyone. They looked everywhere.

Where was Jesus? What had happened to Him? Was He safe? Was He hungry? Was He lost and scared?

Mary and Joseph must have been very worried!

Finally, after three days, they found Him!

And where was He? In the Temple!

Jesus was sitting among the teachers of the law - very wise and important men, teachers of the Scriptures!

He wasn't just listening. He was asking questions! And also answering their questions!

And you know what happened? All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers!

Those wise men, who had studied their whole lives, were impressed with a twelve-year-old boy!

Jesus knew the Scriptures deeply. He understood the things of God in a special way. Because Jesus wasn't just an ordinary boy - He was the Son of God!

When Mary and Joseph saw Jesus, they were astonished!

There He was, safe and sound, sitting among the great teachers as if He were one of them!

But Mary was still worried. She said:

Mary called Joseph "your father" because Joseph was the father who raised Jesus, even though he wasn't His biological father.

And she said "in great distress" - they had suffered much searching for Jesus!

Jesus answered with a question:

Jesus called the Temple "my Father's house"!

He didn't say "the house of God" or "the house of our Father." He said "MY Father's house" - showing a special relationship with God!

Jesus was saying that God was His true Father. And that He needed to be doing His Father's things!

Even at just twelve years old, Jesus already knew who He was: the Son of God!

Mary and Joseph didn't fully understand what Jesus meant. It was something deep, mysterious.

But Mary treasured all these words in her heart, thinking about them.

Then Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth. And He was submissive to them - He obeyed Mary and Joseph as a good son.

Jesus grew in four ways:

- In WISDOM - He learned and became wiser

- In STATURE - He grew physically, became taller and stronger

- In FAVOR WITH GOD - His relationship with God deepened

- IN FAVOR WITH MAN - People liked Him

Jesus was the Son of God, but He also grew like a normal child! He learned, grew, developed.

What do we learn from this story?

First, we learn that even as a child, Jesus already knew who He was - the Son of God. He had a special purpose!

Second, we learn that Jesus loved the house of God. He wanted to be in the Temple, the place where people worshiped His Father!

Third, we learn that Jesus grew and learned like any child. God became truly human, going through all the stages of human life - baby, child, teenager, adult.

Fourth, we learn that Jesus was obedient to His parents. Even though He was the Son of God, He obeyed Mary and Joseph!

And fifth, we learn that the things of God were most important to Jesus. He said, "I must be in my Father's house" - showing that doing God's will was His priority!