Luke 2:41-52
Year C
“What did the president know and when did he know it?” On June 29, 1973, Senator Howard Baker Jr., vice-chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, asked former White House Counsel John Dean this famous question to protect President Nixon. Instead, Dean explained the president’s knowledge of the break-in and deep involvement in the cover-up. Senator Baker’s question is now a part of the American lexicon, often referenced when assessing someone’s knowledge of and involvement in less-than-upright actions.
A paraphrase of the Watergate question — “What did Jesus know and when did he know it?” — is a succinct summary of a debate that dates back to the earliest years of church history and theology. At one end of the spectrum are those who maintain Jesus must have known everything because of his divine nature. Those at the other end of the spectrum argue just as strongly that Jesus was as limited in his knowledge as any other human being. For example, in his book, Jesus: God and Man, Raymond Brown cites Cyril, the 5th-century patriarch of Alexandria, who said of Jesus, “We have admired his goodness in that for love of us he has not refused to descend to such a low position as to bear all that belongs to our nature, INCLUDED IN WHICH IS IGNORANCE.” The emphasis on the last phrase is original to Cyril.
Our Gospel text for this first Sunday after Christmas, Luke 2:41-52, is the only story in the four gospels about Jesus’s childhood other than his birth. On the one hand, Luke seems to acknowledge the idea that Jesus possessed some extraordinary knowledge. After three days, his parents “found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46-47). On the other hand, Luke concludes this unique story with the observation that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52). This is not the first time Luke mentions Jesus’s growth and development. After Jesus and his parents returned to Nazareth following his dedication in the temple, “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40).
The amazement exhibited by those who heard Jesus talking with the teachers that day in the temple is characteristic of the reaction of the crowds throughout his ministry. When Jesus taught in Capernaum, “they were astounded because he spoke with authority” (Luke 4:32). After Jesus forgave the paralytic man’s sins and commanded him to get up and walk, “amazement seized all of (the crowd), and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today’” (Luke 5:26). According to Mark (1:27), the crowds were amazed when Jesus healed the man with an unclean spirit and said, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority!” Matthew concludes the Sermon on the Mount with the report that “the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:29).
None of this is to say, however, that the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple knew everything there was to know. It appears Luke gives us a glimpse into the early stirrings of Jesus’s sense of vocation, deeply rooted in the traditions and teachings of his faith. Throughout the birth story and today’s story, Luke repeatedly tells us that Joseph and Mary did for their son what was necessary “according to the law of Moses and the law of the Lord.” And, of course, when Jesus began his ministry in his hometown, “he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom” (Luke 4:16). Luke establishes from the beginning that Jesus’s vocation and coming ministry are grounded in God’s law and the central importance of the temple in Jerusalem.
As we look into a new year on the first Sunday after Christmas, we are faced with uncertainties and challenges. Yet, we can commit to seeking God’s knowledge and find strength and resolve therein. Certainly, we will not have the wisdom and authority of Jesus. However, Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers applies to us who follow Jesus, “Since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10).
Questions for reflection for the first Sunday after Christmas
- What do you think Jesus knew and when did he know it?
- What spiritual disciplines do you use to grow in the knowledge of God?
- How can your congregation’s Christian education program and worship life help people be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so they can live faithful, obedient, and fruitful lives for the Lord?
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View the corresponding Order of Worship for the first Sunday after Christmas.
