Luke. Diane G. Chen. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Diane G. Chen
Издательство: Ingram
Серия: New Covenant Commentary Series
Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781498246040
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characters great in adulthood were already latent in their youth. For example, Josephus, the Jewish historian, claimed that Samuel began to prophesy at the age of twelve (Ant. 5.348) and that Josiah began instituting reforms in Israel when he was twelve (Ant. 10.50). Elsewhere in Greco-Roman writings, famous figures like Alexander the Great, Epicurus, Apollonius of Tyana, and Cyrus were all seen as child prodigies who had the acumen and prowess that made them productive and powerful later in life.67 Listening to an account of Jesus as a child, Luke’s readers are primed to look for clues that will help them imagine what Jesus will be like as an adult.

      Nothing unusual occurred during the feast. It is afterwards that Mary and Joseph lose track of Jesus. The text never addresses why Jesus does not tell his parents his whereabouts. Neither is it necessary to charge the couple with negligence. Since Jesus is no longer a toddler and should be fully capable of keeping up with the group traveling together, it seems reasonable for Mary and Joseph to assume that he is within the proximity of the moving caravan, playing with other children among the relatives. In this manner they travel for an entire day northward, covering about twenty miles. Perhaps they finally notice his absence by evening when the group settles down for the night. Letting the caravan continue on its way the next day, Mary and Joseph retrace their steps and hurry back to Jerusalem. Imagine the difficulty of going “against traffic,” trying to move toward Jerusalem when hordes of pilgrims are coming out of the city. Added to the exhaustion of travel for the couple from a small village is the anxiety of trying to find their firstborn son in a large city. We can appreciate Mary’s and Joseph’s frame of mind, a mixture of exasperation and relief, when on the third day since their original departure from Jerusalem they finally locate their son in the temple (2:43–46a).

      Jesus’ response addresses the issue of who his father is and to whom he owes primary allegiance. His first counter-question, “Why were you searching for me?” (2:49a), may be heard as an expression of genuine surprise or a tinge of gentle reproach. Without the tone of his voice, it is difficult to tell if the young Jesus is really that oblivious of Mary’s and Joseph’s parental concern.

      Their knowledge of Jesus’ true origin notwithstanding, Mary and Joseph still have a hard time grasping the implications of their son’s words and actions (2:50). This incident marks a needed demarcation of Jesus’ loyalties. Priority must go to God the Father through whose Spirit Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb. In light of God’s fatherhood, the place of Mary and Joseph must be relativized. Lest Jesus be misinterpreted as a smart-alecky and insubordinate young man, in the very next verse Luke assures his readers that Jesus returns to Nazareth with his parents and remains obedient to them (2:51a). Nevertheless, Mary continues her ruminations on all these matters, first the words of Simeon about the fate of her child (2:34–35), and now Jesus’ own assertion of God’s preeminent role as his Father, over and above that of her husband Joseph (2:51b).