There are features of this incident that both parents and youngsters will recognize. However, there is one difference: Jesus was perfect. Since he was obediently subject to Joseph and Mary, we cannot imagine that he failed to obey some arrangement that they made with him. (Luke 2:52) It is far more likely that there was a breakdown in communication. The parents assumed that Jesus was in the company of relatives and acquaintances. (Luke 2:44) It is easy to imagine that, in the bustle of leaving Jerusalem, they would give their first attention to their younger children and assume that their eldest son, Jesus, was coming along too.

Lessons Learned

What lessons can we learn from this experience? Teenagers are prone to assume that their parents know what they are thinking. They are often heard to say: “But I thought you would know.” Parents, if your teenager has ever said this when there was a misunderstanding, you are not the first to have the problem.

As children approach adolescence, they become less dependent on their parents. This change is natural, and parents need to make adjustments to allow for it. Yet even with the best of training, misunderstandings will arise and parents will have their share of worries. However, if they follow the fine example of Joseph and Mary, when crises do arise, the training given will stand their children in good stead.

Apparently Jesus’ parents kept working with him through his teenage years. After the event just considered, he submissively “went down with them” to his hometown and “continued subject to them.” With what result? “Jesus went on progressing in wisdom and in physical growth and in favor with God and men.” So this episode had a happy ending. (Luke 2:51, 52) Parents who follow the example of Joseph and Mary, who help their children to grow in divine wisdom, who give them a good home atmosphere and expose them to the fine influences of godly association, increase the likelihood that something similar will happen to their offspring. Such children are more likely to enjoy a happy life as they grow to responsible, Christian adulthood.