“And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it… When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety. And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2:42, 43 & 48, 49
PSYCHIATRIST THEODORE LIDZ of Yale University defines adolescence as “the period between pubescence and physical maturity …the transition from childhood initiated by the prepubertal spurt of growth and impelled by the hormonal changes of puberty to the attainment of adult prerogatives, responsibilities, and self-sufficiency.”
When God became a man, He took upon Himself all the attributes of human nature, He grew up as we all do and at twelve, He entered adolescence with one significant difference – He did not sin. We know Jesus did not sin from the statement, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Sin is independence from God, self-reliance, and rebellion to God and His law. When Jesus Christ turned twelve His hormones kicked in, and as He transitioned from childhood to adult responsibilities He was compelled by innate holiness to obey God and fulfill the Father’s will.
Dear Christian, let us not forget that Christmas is about the miracle of God’s birth into the human race as a sinless man; that which gives Christ’s death and resurrection meaning is His sinless life.
This Christmas let us remember, “Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, “Be holy because I (am) holy.” 1Peter 1:14-16
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