Lesson 9 – The Boy Jesus in the Temple

As a boy, Jesus was found in His Father’s house. In God’s house, I hear His Word, learn that Jesus is my Savior, and receive His gifts of forgiveness and salvation.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible DIscovery Guide and the Lesson 9 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees Jesus asking questions at the Temple. Also paper and colored pencils or crayons will be needed.

Review the Faith Words on page 4 of the leaflet.

Listen to the hymn "Within the Father's House".

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank You for being about Your Father's business-the business of earning our salvation. Please forgive us our sins and help us rejoice when we are in Your house to receive the gifts of grace that You lavish upon us through Your Word and Sacraments. Help us listen as we learn and study Your Word today and guide our understanding. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

God Speaks

In the Bible Discovery Guides on pages 8-9, find Nazareth and Jerusalem on the map. The distance between the two cities is about seventy miles.

In this lesson, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and their extended family travel this distance by walking to the Passover feast in Jerusalem. The journey probably took about a week. At this time, Jesus was twelve years old.

On page 2 of the leaflet, follow  the directions and solve the maze by finding the way from Nazareth to Jerusalem and back to Nazareth.

This lesson is about the only event recorded in Scripture that tells about Jesus' childhood after the Christmas narratives and the visit of the Magi (Wise Men). Jesus went to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph. We're also going to think about how Jesus went to Jerusalem to die for our sins.

In Bible times, young men learned the trades of their fathers So, if a boy's father worked as a carpenter, he likely would also. As a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus was probably learning Joseph's carpentry trade. Carpenters build furniture, doorframes, cabinets, and other small pieces. Like carpenters today, they also built houses.

Read page 11 in the Bible Discovery Guide, entitled "The Carpentry Trade.

 

We Live

 

Read Luke 2:41-52

This is the story about Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary realized Jesus was missing on the trip back to Nazareth they searched for him and found Jesus in the temple. Mary said, "Son why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been searching for You in great distress" (Luke 2:48).

Why was Mary so upset? She and Joseph hadn't been able to find Jesus.)

Then Jesus asked His mother, "Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:49). Jesus was about His Father's business.

What is the Father's business? To save all people; Jesus was here on earth to earn our salvation.

 Did Jesus' response to Mary surprise you? Actually, it is Mary's question and her response to the situation that should probably surprise us instead of Jesus' question. Mary and Joseph probably were frantically looking for their missing son.

God's ways confused them. They did not understand that Jesus' mission of earning our salvation was His most important concern. Perhaps, as parents who loved their son, they had forgotten that Jesus would save the world from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

God's ways confuse us, as they did Mary and Joseph. We try to control God by praying for things that are not in God's will for us or others or by expecting something of God that He has not promised. We try to put conditions on God through our thoughts, words, and deeds.

How do we do that? We pray that an ill family will get better, but he or she only gets worse. We think that if only we had more money or a larger house, more clothes or toys, we would be happier and our life would be better. We try to make deals with God-that if we pass a test we didn't study for, we will study more diligently in the future. The will of Jesus, our Lord, is to save us from these sinful actions and thoughts.

How did He earn our salvation? Jesus earned our salvation by taking the punishment for our sins when He died on the cross and rose again.

Jesus entered Jerusalem as a twelve-year-old boy at the time of the Passover. He went to the temple and talked with the teachers of the law. When Jesus was much older, He again entered Jerusalem at the time of the Passover.

Why? To suffer and die on the cross.

He received the punishment for our sins--for the times when we expect

God to serve us instead of us serving Him, when we fail to love our neighbors, when we covet and want things that don't belong to us. This is why Jesus had to die on the cross in Jerusalem. He took our sins upon Himself and suffered the punishment we deserved.

The Jesus as a Boy activity on page 3 of the leaflet summarizes Jesus' life between the time of His presentation as an infant and the beginning of His ministry.

Follow the directions and try to solve the puzzle.

The correct answer for the puzzle is "And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:40).

What does this verse tell us about Jesus? Jesus grew in wisdom, and the favor of God was upon Him. This means that Jesus was perfect in every way. He was true God and true man in order to save us and to bring us to heaven.

Read the Third Commandment and its explanation at the bottom of page 3 in the leaflet.

Even at a young age, Jesus showed that He loved His Father's house. He asked Joseph and Mary why they were surprised to find Him there. But Jesus, God's Son, is always about His Father's business.

Dying for our sins to earn our salvation was Jesus' business. He accomplished God's will by His death and resurrection, and now He rules over all for our eternal salvation.

When we go to church, what do we hear? God's Word read and preached.

What else happens in the Divine Service? The pastor announces God's Word of forgiveness of sins in the Absolution; God cleanses us from sins in the water of Baptism; and God gives His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith in the Sacrament of the Altar.

This is why we long to be in God's house, where we get all of the blessings of the work that Jesus did on earth-we need God's love, forgiveness, and grace.

Read about the key parts of the church sanctuary in the Being in God’s House page at the end of this lesson.

Closing

Read the words or sing along with the hymn "Within the Father's House".Stanza 2 is about Jesus in the temple with those that teach God’s law.

This past week, we observe the Epiphany of Our Lord each year after Christmas on January 6. The Gospels read in church on the Sundays after the Epiphany focus on Jesus' ministry to humankind, as God's Son, coequal with the Father and the Holy Spirit--true God

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for always being about Your Father's business--the business of our salvation. Thank You for all the other gifts You give for our daily living food, clothing, house, home, our families. Everything we have comes from Your gracious hand. Please help us always to be thankful to You and generous with others. In Your name we pray. Amen.