Luke 2:46

CHRIST LOST AND FOUND

‘And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple.’

Luke 2:46

The guardians of the Child were devout Jews. Is it not somewhat significant that we see in the life of our Lord between His nativity and His ministry, His obedience to the law? And does not this show us quite clearly and significantly how our Lord Jesus Christ came not Himself to destroy the law, but to fulfil the law, and how He was obedient to the law for man? They were devout, and kept all the observances of religion.

I. Though devout, they lost Christ.—Though they were devout, and kept all the observances of religion, yet they lost Him. Joseph, His faithful guardian, and Mary, His ever-blessed mother, lost the young lad in Jerusalem. Amid the confusion of the crowds they who had taken Him down to Egypt and brought Him back without a mishap, when they took Him to the Passover lost Him. Not only were there great crowds, but the time of the feast was a time of general conversation and arguments about all questions of religion. The doctors sat in the Temple to answer any questions that might be brought to them—the exigencies of the kingdom of Israel, or concerning the customs and ceremonies of the law. They met together from all parts to exchange their thoughts and ideas, to ask questions, and to listen to answers. And it may have been that in the interest—for surely Joseph and His mother had many questions to ask—in the interest of the occasion the Child Jesus slipped away and was lost. I want you, just from this circumstance, to remember that even devout people may at times miss the Saviour and lose Him. I dare say some of you have felt at times that your personal love for the Saviour seems to have forsaken you, that the Lord Jesus is not so close to you as He has been, and that there is something that has come between you to separate you. Well, let us remember this—that it was Joseph and His mother who first felt this separation. And I do not think that you will find that the Lord God has really deserted you, although it very often is to a faithful believer a very bitter experience, as you well know. They lost Him at the feast. Now there are many who say: ‘These festivals are so secular. Somehow or other we seem to lose religion in them.’ There are many who love the Lord Jesus who really love the fast of Lent and the quiet of Holy Week better than the feasts of Christmas and Easter. In the confusion of the feast they lose the sense of nearness to Him Who is the Master. And I ask you, has not this often been your experience? If so, it was the experience of Joseph and His mother. It often is, I believe, the experience of many.

II. They found Him in the Temple.—It is a law of natural science that if you wish to be impressed you must put yourself into communication with that which is likely to impress you. If you want to love your Saviour, go back to His home, where people love Him, where they speak about Him, where the very association of the building calls you right up to His side. Do not for one moment be without God, without Christ, without hope—a stranger from the commonwealth of Israel. You and your Saviour together in life, you and your Saviour together in death, you and your Saviour never to separate again for all eternity. It is a beautiful religion whatever you may say, and if you think there is an estrangement between you and your dear Master, go back to Jerusalem, to the Temple, and find Him.

—Rev. A. H. Stanton.