Today I am a (precocious) child

Below is a rough translation and some preliminary remarks about Luke 2:41-52, the Gospel text from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Sunday after Christmas in Year C. This is the only 

 
⁴¹ Καὶ ἐπορεύοντο οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ κατ' ἔτος εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ τῇ ἑορτῇ τοῦ 
πάσχα. 
And his parents were going according to a year into Jerusalem in the feast of the Passover. 
ἐπορεύοντο: IMI 3p, πορεύω to go
1. The term οἱ γονεῖς is translated as parents. It is, as one might suspect, the etymological root of the English word “gonad,” and is part of a large family of words related to human reproduction – like generation, genealogies, and γεννάω, repeatedly translated in Matthew 1 as ‘begat.’ Luke uses this term plurally here, to refer to both Mary and Joseph, without twisting himself in knots trying to square the implications of this term with the attribution of Mary’s conception with the power of the Holy Spirit. 
2. The preposition κατά can take on many meanings and I’m assuming that κατά ἔτος is a colloquial way of saying, “every year” or “annually.”
3. I love when the gospel writers give a glimpse of Jesus’ family life, with observations like this, or that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath “as was his custom,” and so forth. 
4. Combining this family/community observance with the term οἱ γονεῖς, Luke is engaging in the age-old debate of “nature or nurture?” and answering, correctly, “Yes.”   
 
⁴² καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο ἐτῶν δώδεκα, ἀναβαινόντων αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς 
ἑορτῆς 
And when he became twelve years, they having gone up according to the custom of the feast, 
ἐγένετο: AMI, 3s, γίνομαι to become
ἀναβαινόντων: AAPart gpm, ἀναβαίνω to go up
I am going to honor the participle here and use a comma to make this a dependent clause, waiting until the next verse to arrive at a main verb. 
1. Most translations end this verse with a period. I am going to use a comma to show that there are a string of dependent clauses, that wait until the next verse to arrive at a main verb. 
2. The number twelve and references to twelve years of age are more common in the gospels than the more modern tendency to divide time into decades. I will leave the details to historians, but I suspect the earth’s annual trips around the sun, known primarily via agricultural seasons, led ancient peoples to observe twelve moon phases per year, making the number twelve meaningful. We recently met Anna, in vv.37-38, who was 84, the product of a week of twelves.
3. I always want this story to be a Bar Mitzvah kind of story for Jesus and it’s not hard to squeeze it into that mold, but initially the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is twelve is to honor the annual custom, not to mark a milestone for Jesus. 
 
⁴³ καὶ τελειωσάντων τὰς ἡμέρας, ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν αὐτοὺς ὑπέμεινεν 
Ἰησοῦς ὁ παῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ. 
and the days having been completed, in their returning, Jesus the child remained in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know. 
τελειωσάντων: AAPart gpm, τελειόω to make perfect, complete
ὑποστρέφειν: PAInf, ὑποστρέφω to return 
ὑπέμεινεν: AAI 3s, ὑπομένω to endure, to remain 
ἔγνωσαν: AAI 3p, γινώσκω to know 
The main verb of vv. 42-43 is ‘remained,’ so the point is that, amid all the other stuff, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem. 
1. The dependent clauses continue, until we reach the main verb of vv. 42-43: “remained.” The parents, the custom, the completion, and even the ignorance about their missing son are all context to the fact that the child Jesus remained.
2. Luke refers to Jesus as Ἰησοῦς ὁ παῖς, Jesus, the child. According to Thayer’s lexicon, “the period παῖς covers is not sharply defined.”  
3. The observation “his parents did not know” and the timing of this text in the lectionary evokes the “Kevin!” moment from “Home Alone” and I cannot deny it. 
 
⁴⁴ νομίσαντες δὲ αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν τῇ συνοδίᾳ ἦλθον ἡμέρας ὁδὸν καὶ ἀνεζήτουν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν καὶ τοῖς γνωστοῖς, 
Yet having thought him to be in the group they went a day journey and began to seek him in the company of their acquaintances.
νομίσαντες: AAPart npm, νομίζω to think 
εἶναι: PAInf, εἰμί to be
ἦλθον: AAI, 3p, ἔρχομαι to come
ἀνεζήτουν: IAI 3p, ἀναζητέω to search for 
1. The word συνοδίᾳ, the origin of the word ‘synod,’ is a combination of the prefix σύν, meaning together, and οδος, the way or the road. This is the only time it appears as a noun and it appears as a verb in Acts 9:7 to refer to those who were traveling with Saul when he had his encounter with the risen Christ. 
2. Again, we get a glimpse of first century faithful families, traveling together, minding one another’s kids, granting a bit of leeway to the young ones as they get older by allowing them to hang out with their friends, etc. The casual assumption is what makes the missing Jesus such a shock, but apart from the fact that Jesus remained behind, it is a delightful observation about how a family would negotiate this annual journey.
3. ἀναζητέω is the first of two terms that this story uses which can mean seek, search, or find. Both of those words appear in the next verse. 
  
⁴⁵ καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν. 
And having searched they returned into Jerusalem seeking him. 
εὑρόντες: AAPart npm, εὑρίσκω to find, to seek 
ὑπέστρεψαν: AAI npm, ὑποστρέφω to return
ἀναζητοῦντες: APPart npm, ἀναζητέω to search for 
1. Let’s compare/contrast the verbs εὑρίσκω and ἀναζητέω. 
a. εὑρίσκω is often translated as find, and is used 45x in Luke, starting with 2:12, “you will find the babe swaddled in bands of cloth …” In Bullinger’s lexicon, the possibilities of εὑρίσκω are “to find, as without seeking” and “to find as by search.” Likewise in Thayer’s lexicon it is either to find by seeking or to find without seeking. 
b. ἀναζητέω is a combination of the prefix ἀνα, which means up, and ζητέω, which means to seek or search. As a combined term, it only appears in vv. 44 and 45 here, and in Acts 11:25 to describe Barnabas searching for Paul. The root ζητέω, however, appears quite frequently in the NT and means “to seek in order to find.” 
The use of both terms here reminds me of a moment in The Silver Chair, one of the Chronicles of Narnia, when Jill and Eustace meet Marsh-wiggle Puddleglum, and Jill says, “We've got to start by finding a ruined city of giants.” Puddleglum answers, “Got to start by finding it, have we? … Not allowed to start by looking for it, I suppose?”
For some reason that little snatch of conversation has always kept me aware of the relationship between seeking and finding that the importance of finding something by looking for it and discovering something without looking for it.   
 
⁴⁶ καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ἡμέρας τρεῖς εὗρον αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καθεζόμενον ἐνμέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ ἀκούοντα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπερωτῶντα αὐτούς: 
And it came to pass with three days they found him in the temple sitting with the teachers and listening to them and interrogating them. 
ἐγένετο: AMI 3s, γίνομαι to become 
εὗρον: AAI 3p, εὑρίσκω to find 
καθεζόμενον: PPPart ams, καθέζομαι to sit 
ἀκούοντα: PAPart ams, ἀκούω to hear 
ἐπερωτῶντα: PAPart ams, ἐπερωτάω to ask 
1. All my previous rigmarole about words should not distract from the harrowing emotional moment that Mary and Joseph must be feeling. “After three days!” I cannot imagine. 
2. After seeking, they found him. Puddleglum would be proud of this story’s arc.
3. The child Jesus is in the temple, sitting with the teachers, listening to them, and interrogating them. Man, I wish we had a transcript of that conversation! 
4. Jesus was listening to them. 
5. I frequently like to translated ἐπερωτάω as “interrogate” rather than simply “ask,” because it is frequently the term used for disputes, challenges, or trick questions. In its best sense, it is another way of seeking in order to find. 
 
⁴⁷ ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες οἱ ἀκούοντες αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ συνέσει καὶ ταῖς ἀποκρίσεσιν αὐτοῦ. 
And all were amazed who heard of him in his synthesizing and his answers. 
ἐξίσταντο: IMI 3p, ἐξίστημι to be amazed
ἀκούοντες: PAPart nmp, ἀκούω to hear 
1. See v.50 below for more on συνέσει. I’m using synthesizing because I want to retain the prefix συν/syn, which means together.  
2. I’m also letting the genitive αὐτοῦ, of him, modify both Jesus’ synthesizing and his answers.
3. The verb ἐξίστημι means to displace, with the prefix ἐξ meaning out and the root ίστημι meaning to place or to stand. Together, it can mean to be beside oneself, so amazed or astounded are possibilities. 
 
⁴⁸ καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν ἐξεπλάγησαν, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ, Τέκνον, τί ἐποίησαςἡμῖν οὕτως; ἰδοὺ ὁ πατήρ σου κἀγὼ ὀδυνώμενοι ἐζητοῦμέν σε. 
And having seen him they were beside themselves, and his mother said to him, “Child, why did you do this to us? Behold, your father and I in torment sought you.” 
ἰδόντες: AAPart nmp, εἴδω to see
ἐξεπλάγησαν: AAI 3p, ἐκπλήσσω to be astonished 
εἶπεν: AAI 3p, λέγω to say 
ἐποίησας: AAI 3s, ποιέω to do
ἰδοὺ: εἴδω to see
ὀδυνώμενοι: PMPart npm, ὀδυνάω to be in anguish 
ἐζητοῦμέν: AAI 3p, ζητέω to seek 
1. The verb ἐκπλήσσω, like ἐξίστημι in v. 47, is usually translated amazed or astonished. And it also is a combination of the prefix ἐκ, meaning out, but this time with πλήσσω, which means to strike. It’s used 13x in the NT and usually to describe the crowd’s amazement at Jesus’ (or the church’s) teaching.  
2. The word ὀδυνάω  is used in the parable of Luke 16:24-25 to describe the Rich Man tormenting in flames after death. That’s how Mary describes her and Joseph’s last three days. It’s powerful. 
3. ἰδοὺ is often described as a particle, but it is the imperative form of the word εἴδω, to look or to see. Stricly, Mary commands the child Jesus to see what the last three days have been for her and Joseph. 
 
⁴⁹ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς, Τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖεἶναί με; 
And he said to them, “Why have you been searching for me? Do you not see that it is necessary for me to be in the things [mss? House?] of my father?
εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω to say
ἐζητεῖτέ: IAI 3p, ζητέω to seek 
ᾔδειτε: IAI 3p, εἴδω to see 
δεῖ: PAI 3s, δεῖ must 
εἶναί: PAInf, εἰμί to be 
1. The verb εἴδω (which is the root of the behold from v.48) means to see, but it often means to know, just as we say in English “I see what you mean.” This question, “Do you not see” or “Did you not know” (NRSV) is translated in the KJV with the memorable phrase, “Wist ye not?” (Wist is the past tense of the verb ‘to wit,’ which we still use on occasion with ‘witless.’ For example, if my parents had been looking for me for 3 days and I spoke back to my mom like this, my brothers would have said, “That boy’s done lost his wits!”) 
2. Wits aside, Mary tells Jesus to behold, “See!” and Jesus respond, “Did you not see?” 
3. There seems to be a significant variant in this verse, which isn’t showing up in my Greek Bible, regarding “my father’s things” v. “my father’s house.” Maybe it’s not a variant but an interpretive decision. The text I have simply has τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου, so the τοῖς is a substantive pronoun that might be the things, which is modified by the genitival phrase τοῦ πατρός μου, of the father of me.
 
⁵⁰ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐ συνῆκαν τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς. 
And they did not synthesize the words which he spoke to them.
συνῆκαν: AAI 3p, συνίημι to understand
ἐλάλησεν: AAI 3s, λαλέω to say
See συνέσει in v.47 above. 
1. The verb συνίημι appears in v.47 above in its nominal form σύνεσις. There, I translated it as “the synthesizing” and here I’m going with “synthesize. But I’m only doing that for the rough translation, to show how connected those terms are and to pick up on the prefix συν/syn. These terms don’t seem to have significant roots that the prefix σύν is modifying as much as they are nominal and verbal expressions of the σύν, the togethering, as it were. It’s usually translated as “understand” here, as in putting the pieces together to make sense of it. 
2. It seems that one can approach this text from two very different angles. Jesus, as we know through the birth narrative, is exceptional, called, the one sent from God, the son of God. In that sense, perhaps it should be obvious to Mary and Joseph, if not the onlookers who are astounded in the temple, that this is his native soil. 
I’ve heard preachers approach this story also questioning Mary’s and Joseph’s lack of synthesis as Jesus’ words imply. But just because this story follows on the heels of the infancy narratives, we should remember that it is twelve years later. And this is the only story we get of Jesus between the infancy and adult narratives. It is not a story when Jesus gets up one morning and says, “Mom, I’m going to the temple where I belong.” When they went to Jerusalem, it was the family’s custom that Jesus was part of, Jesus initiative. When they returned, they assumed that he was within their companions, which presumably he was every other time they made this annual visit. I think preachers should back down a little bit if their full-blown Christology makes it sound like Mary and Joseph were dunderheads for not saying, “Hmm, Jesus isn’t here, I guess he’s back at the temple doing his father’s business.”
However, this story is challenging, because Jesus seems entirely unsympathetic to the fact that his parents have been tormented for three days. Maybe it is because he is twelve and entirely in the moment. Perhaps other-awareness (along with temperance) are attributes of maturity and wisdom. But let’s be honest, this comment seems a little bratty. 
 
⁵¹ καὶ κατέβη μετ'αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ναζαρέθ, καὶ ἦν ὑποτασσόμενος αὐτοῖς. καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ διετήρει πάντατὰ ῥήματα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς. 
And he went down with them and came into Nazareth, and he was subject to them. And his mother treasured all these words in her heart. 
κατέβη: AAI 3p, καταβαίνω to come down
ἦλθεν: AAI 3s, ἔρχομαι to come
ἦν: IAI 3s, εἰμί to be
ὑποτασσόμενος: PPPart nms, ὑποτάσσω to be subject to 
διετήρει: IAI 3s, διατηρέω to treasure up 
1. I have to wonder if Jesus being “subject to them” is Luke’s way of saying, “Okay, he wasn’t always striking out in his own world with disregard to his parents’ feelings.” The verb ὑπο/τάσσω means to order oneself under another. 
2. Mary treasured all these words (or sayings or things) in her heart. This is a repeat of v.19, after the shepherds told about their angelic visit. In v. 19 Luke uses συντηρέω; here he uses διατηρέω. 
 
 
⁵² Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν [ἐν τῇ] σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις. 
And Jesus was advancing [in] wisdom and maturity and grace with God and humans.
προέκοπτεν: IAI 3s, προκόπτω to advance 
1. The verb προκόπτω is to lengthen something by hammering it out, or to advance by repeated stokes. It is nice of Luke to remind us of this reality before skipping ahead by twenty or so years in the next chapter. 
2. Jesus advances in maturity and grace. ἡλικίᾳ can mean physical or mental growth, just like maturity. So, some translations say years, others say stature. 

As I mentioned above, this is the only story in the Gospels that we get about Jesus in between the infancy and adult narratives. I consider that a great discipline among the gospel writers not to create childhood stories that would try to verify Jesus' divinity prior to his adult stories. There is a set of such stories, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which gives is a whirl and creates a fairly intolerable Jesus, with stories of Jesus' healing and resurrecting power, alongside his hot temper and refusal to be taught. Curiously, that "gospel" (perhaps from the 1400s) ends with this story, close but not quite the same as Luke's story:

And when he was twelve years old his parents went according to the custom unto Jerusalem to the feast of the passover with their company: and after the passover they returned to go unto their house. And as they returned the child Jesus went back to Jerusalem; but his parents supposed that he was in their company. And when they had gone a day's journey, they sought him among their kinsfolk, and when they found him not, they were troubled, and returned again to the city seeking him. And after the third day they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors and hearing and asking them questions. And all men paid heed to him and marvelled how that being a young child he put to silence the elders and teachers of the people, expounding the heads of the law and the parables of the prophets. And his mother Mary came near and said unto him: Child, wherefore hast thou so done unto us? behold we have sought thee sorrowing. And Jesus said unto them: Why seek ye me? know ye not that I must be in my Father's house? But the scribes and Pharisees said: Art thou the mother of this child? and she said: I am. And they said unto her: Blessed art thou among women because God hath blessed the fruit of thy womb. For such glory and such excellence and wisdom we have neither seen nor heard at any time. And Jesus arose and followed his mother and was subject unto his parents: but his mother kept in mind all that came to pass. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and grace. Unto him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

from http://www.gnosis.org/library/inftoma.htm accessed 12/27/24.