First Sunday of Christmas
Jesus Is Lost in Jerusalem

Luke 2: 41 - 52

Every faithful Jewish person was required in Jesus' time to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover in the spring (the temple is no longer standing). Though many people could not afford the time or the money to make the journey, Mary and Joseph made a point of going to Jerusalem for the Passover every year. The road from Nazareth to Jerusalem is about 65 miles long, and they probably walked the whole way.

The Feast of the Passover is still celebrated world-wide by Jewish people today. It is a time to remember how God saved the first-born son of every Jewish family when they were slaves in Egypt after the time of Joseph. It is a special time to remember how God showed Moses the way from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land of Canaan.

1. Where did Mary and Joseph think Jesus was?

[They thought he was with other relatives and friends who had also made the trip.]

2. What was Jesus really doing?

[Jesus was listening to and asking questions of the teachers in the Temple.]

3. How many days was Jesus missing?

[Mary and Joseph looked for him for three days.]

4. Did Jesus think he was lost?

[No, he thought he was where he was supposed to be.]

5. What did Jesus call the Temple?]

[He called it his father's house.]

5. Who did he mean was his father?

[He was saying that God in Heaven was his father.]

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