Luke 2:45

And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

We have here the one authentic story from the life of Christ in the interval between the flight into Egypt and the beginning of His ministry. In this narrative He is standing on the threshold between childhood and youth, He is just about to enter upon the critical age of life. Luke's reference to the regular attendance of both the mother and the foster-father of Jesus at the festival of the Passover throws an interesting light upon their habits. The Law required that the men appear before the Lord three times in the year, Easter being one of the festivals when such attendance was demanded, Exodus 23:17; Deuteronomy 16:16. The women were not included in the command of the Lord, but Mary did not lack companions of her own sex, many of them taking advantage of the festival period to accompany their husbands and older sons to the capital city. Note: The regularity of the attendance is emphasized by the evangelist; a fine example for many parents in our days. When the boy Jesus was twelve years old, the parents followed the rule laid down by the elders that the sons must be trained in the observance of all religious duties and must take part in the festivals with their elders. It was the age at which the Jewish boys entered the secondary school, the Beth-ha-Midrash, the foremost of which was located at Jerusalem and usually conducted in one of the Temple-halls. This was known as ha gadol. The journey to Jerusalem upon the occasion of the great festivals was in itself a festival, especially for the younger members of the family. The people of the more remote parts of Palestine formed large parties for traveling together, most of them going afoot. From time to time some of the older members would begin to chant some of the Psalms of Degrees, Psalms 120:1; Psalms 121:1; Psalms 122:1; Psalms 123:1; Psalms 124:1; Psalms 125:1; Psalms 126:1; Psalms 127:1; Psalms 128:1; Psalms 129:1; Psalms 130:1; Psalms 131:1; Psalms 132:1; Psalms 133:1; Psalms 134:1, or some other hymns. As they came nearer to the city, and the festival spirit took hold of them, they would pluck flowers and branches from trees and wave them in unison' with the cadence of their song. In this case, Jesus had been in the company of relatives and acquaintances from Nazareth and the surrounding country, and had spent the week of the festival as an interested participant. But when the festival closed and all the pilgrims returned home, the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem without the knowledge of His parents. They believed Him to be with some of the members of their party and spent one whole day in leisurely inquiring for Him in the caravan. But when there was no trace of Him, the heart of the mother was filled with grave forebodings. They hurried back to Jerusalem. They searched the city for three days.