Parents are given the delightful and daunting charge by God to raise their children: delightful because we love our children; daunting because raising them is often beyond our natural abilities to ensure a good life for them. The recent movie Cheaper by the Dozen has one main point—and it is true. If you mess up in raising your child(ren), then you have messed up. No other success can fill the void of such a failure. As if we parents needed more pressure!

As far as we know, Joseph and Mary were not given any special instructions for raising this child. They raised Jesus the way covenant children should be raised. They taught him to pray and have a personal relationship with his heavenly Father. They taught him the scriptures as they had been taught. Their relationship with the Almighty was a central part of their lives and schedules. They regularly went to the larger festivals and assemblies. They prayerfully pondered the responsibility they had been given. Several times in the Luke we read that Mary pondered these things in her heart. These are all things we are called to do in raising our children.

We can be encouraged by the example of Joseph and Mary who raised Jesus. Jesus was the sinless Son of God, but that did not make their task easy. If you think your children have difficult questions for you, just think what they had to deal with. Those wise men in the temple were amazed at his questions. Raising a prodigy is difficult and Jesus was no ordinary prodigy.

Our text is a case in point. The holy family went to Jerusalem for the Passover, as was their custom, but this year Jesus did not come back with them. Certainly Jesus had been a responsible young man. He knew when they were leaving to return home. When they left, they assumed that he was among their group heading back to Nazareth.

As the journey went north, they did not find Jesus with anyone they knew. Panic that grips every parent who has been separated from their child set in. They spent three days looking for him in Jerusalem. Imagine—three days! When they finally found him, he was in the temple talking deep theology with the learned men.

You can hear the exasperation in his mother’s greeting. Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. How many mothers have said that to a child who thoughtlessly strayed out of sight? But Jesus was the sinless Son of God. Jesus’ response was not one of rebellion or forgetfulness. He knew of his purpose from his heavenly Father. "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?" After all, Jesus was now of age. At 12, a Jewish boy is bar mitzvahed and considered a man. It would be understandable that his ministry would start at age 12.

Still this was not the time for his ministry to begin. He needed to wait for John the Baptist to prepare the way. He needed to wait until he was nearly 30, the age of an elder. Most importantly, he submitted himself to the authority of his parents and returned home with them.

Teens often question their parents’ decisions. They chafe under their parents’ authority thinking that their folks do not understand things. Here is a lesson for all children, especially teens. If Jesus, the Son of God did not think himself above his parents, then why should you think yourself above your parents? If any child could pull rank on his parents, it would be Jesus. He did no such thing. He was obedient to his parents, and so should you be.

What is the end result of this parenting? In the Bible we read that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. His body grew strong. His mind and soul blossomed as well. He grew in favor with other people and with God. As parents, this is what we want for our children. As children, this is what we want for ourselves. How do we make this happen? By following the instruction God gave us in his Word, seen demonstrated in Jesus’ life.