Luke 2:46

Luke 2:46. After three days. Reckoned from the time when they missed Him: one day returning (possibly part of another, as they searched on the way), another of search in Jerusalem, the third day that of finding Him. Others prefer to reckon from their departure out of Jerusalem: one day out, one to return, the third of search. Either is preferable to the theory that three full days were spent in looking for Him in Jerusalem. He must have been most of the time in the temple, and it would scarcely take them so long to think of searching for Him there.

In the temple. In one of the porches of the court of the women. They found Him where Mary might go (Luke 2:48), and in these porches the Rabbis held their schools.

Sitting in the midst of the teachers, the Jewish Rabbis. There is nothing to prove that He sat there, as a teacher. The position is mentioned to show that He was not hid, but where He could easily be seen. Nor can it be proved that scholars stood and teachers sat in these assemblies. The custom in the East is for scholars to sit cross-legged on the floor.

Both hearing them, and asking them questions . The ‘hearing' is mentioned first, which opposes the idea of His having taken the position of a Rabbi. ‘Asking them questions,' was simply in accordance with the Jewish custom: the scholars asked questions.