How Long Was It Before Joseph And Mary Discovered Jesus Was Missing

The Time Joseph & Mary Lost Jesus

This year marks the eleventh birthday of our daughter, so this part of Scripture resonates with me in a fresh manner at this point in my life. In addition, we have an eight-year-old kid. A parent’s biggest nightmare is to discover that their child has gone missing. For any parent, being in a busy location and losing sight of their child, or simply thinking for a few second that they have gone missing, is a dreadful thing to experience. It occurred to us last summer in Disneyland when my son ran away and I lost sight of him in a dense throng for a few brief seconds before realizing what had happened.

When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary were separated from him in Jerusalem for several days, not just a few seconds.

The location where they eventually discovered Him demonstrates that Jesus was no ordinary kid and demonstrates His power, knowledge, and authority.

They are intelligent and capable, and I have no doubt that they will receive assistance; yet, we all know how cruel this world is, and it may be lethal for youngsters who are left alone in this world.

This is the harsh reality of our fallen world in which we live.
He was totally safe, and he was able to manage very well on his own.
So, where did Jesus disappear to, and what was He up to?
“Every year, his parents traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover with their family.
After the Feast was ended and his parents were on their way home, the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, but they were completely oblivious of what had happened.

Afterwards, they began seeking for him among their family and acquaintances.” Luke 2:41-44 (KJV) In the case of parents, you could be wondering: “How do you leave on a trip and forget your child, then travel for a full day without seeing Him?!” It appears to be completely reckless, but remember that God was at work.

It appears as though God intervened in some way to allow Joseph and Mary to continue their journey without Him in peace.
In current day and age, Jerusalem is approximately 91 kilometers distant from Nazareth by vehicle.
During my study, I discovered that it would have taken them anywhere from two to five days to travel back to their house.
“When they were unable to locate him, they returned to Jerusalem to continue their search.
“Everyone who heard him was astonished by his grasp of the situation and his responses.” Luke 2:45-47 (KJV) Many people are familiar with Jesus’ appearance in the temple as a small child, but they are less familiar with the fact that He was separated from His parents and gone for four days.
They didn’t locate Him for another three days!
What exactly did He do over the next four days?

Even in a single day, much alone four, a lot may happen.

What did He eat, and who provided it for Him?

What a blessing it must have been for the individuals who had to look after Him throughout that period!

Is it possible that He stayed at the temple the entire time, even sleeping there, or that He slept with a virtuous family that assisted Him?

His ability to wow them was due to the fact that Jesus is the Word!

The foundation of the universe was laid by Him, and He is abundant in grace and truth!

God said in the beginning, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” He was there with God at the beginning of time.

There was life in him, and that life was the light that illuminated the world.

This is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father and is full of grace and truth.” We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father and is full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (New International Version) It was for this reason that Jesus amazed them!

Jesus is the Word of God that is alive and active today!
Hallelujah!
When his mother confronted him, she exclaimed, “Son, why have you treated us like this?” “Your father and I have been looking for you with bated breath.” “Can you tell me why you were looking for me?” he inquired.
“Didn’t you realize I had to be at my Father’s?” However, they were unable to comprehend what he was saying to them.” Luke 2:48-50 (NASB) His parents must have been overjoyed to discover Him, and I would have said something along those lines.
I would likewise be overjoyed at the prospect of locating them and would wrap them in a great embrace.
They were unaware that He was God manifested in human flesh, that He had come to pay for our sins, and that He was still in the midst of His mission at the time of His death.
Then He confirmed His identity as the God’s Son, the One and Only who existed before the beginning of time.

Despite the fact that His parents were unable to comprehend what was happening, Jesus revered his parents and returned with them to Nazareth.

His mother, on the other hand, held all of these things close to her heart.

That was a great family memory, to say the least!

Please accept our gratitude for loving us to the point of death for us!

It is because of you that we are able to celebrate Christmas and every day of the year.

Have a beautiful and very Merry Christmas, everybody!

I am a Christian author (One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life), blogger, and evangelist for Jesus Christ.

My primary objective in writing this blog is to assist people in coming to know Jesus, assisting people in understanding the Bible, and ministering to a lost and hurting world, among other things.

I’m delighted you’re here, and may God continue to bless you! Ryan Callahan is the copyright for the year 2021. All intellectual property rights are retained. See all of Ryan Callahan’s blog postings.

Left Behind: The Boy Jesus in the Temple

James Armstrong is the preacher. Scripture reference: Luke 2:41-52 Thousands of people were on the move all across Jerusalem, pushing with one another as they crammed into the city’s small streets. The atmosphere was not tense, but everyone was focused on the important task of getting through the swarm of people and out of town as soon as they possibly could. It was time to return home after the week-long feast of Passover had come to an end. Mary, Joseph, and their children were among those in attendance.

It’s possible that the women and children, who move at a slower pace than the males, were the ones to set out first.
As a result, we may suppose that Mary and Joseph both imagined that their eldest son, Jesus, who was twelve years old at the time, was travelling with the other.
After all, he was just a year shy of the age of thirteen, at which point Jewish boys were legally considered to be adults.
He’d been abandoned by the group.
Imagine the astonishment they felt when they arrived at their night’s resting area and decided to pitch their tents.
Mary was alone since Jesus was not present.
They looked with family and friends — in fact, they checked with everyone – but Jesus was nowhere to be found, and no one in the traveling party had ever seen him.

How did he end up in this situation?

Imagine the drained spirits of the parents as they retraced their ways back to Jerusalem, pausing at each rest stop and every broad spot in the road to inquire if anybody had seen their kid and hoping without hope that they would receive a favorable response.

Finally, after three days of futile searching, Mary and Joseph arrived at the Temple and proceeded to the uppermost levels of the sacred structure, known as the outer courts.

And it was here that they discovered Jesus.

He was not imparting knowledge to the instructors, as is commonly stated or assumed in connection with this text.

Thought he was simply being a good student, “everyone who heard him was astounded with his knowledge and replies,” says the professor.

Consider the figure of a young Sheldon, a scholar of ancient Jewish law.

What was this poor carpenter’s kid doing debating the law and the prophets with some of the most brilliant religious minds the country has to offer?

Perhaps most significantly, it is the only account in the Bible that has a young Jesus as the central character.

This fact, I believe, allows us to correctly conclude that Jesus’ youth was basically ordinary in nature.

Throughout these legendary tales, Jesus is depicted performing miracles such as bringing clay birds to life, lengthening a board that had been cut too short, and raising a neighbor kid from the dead, among other things.

Consider the contrast between that and what we have here: Jesus sitting in the Temple, engaging with the teachers of the law.

The narrative may seem somber as we listen in on a discussion among religious academics in the chilly shadows of the Temple courtyard, but it is not without drama, as we will learn right now when Mary and Joseph enter the scene and begin to act.

What Jesus taught Mary when he was “lost”, and then found

During the Saturday after our Savior’s repose in the tomb, according to tradition, Blessed Mary was the only one who maintained her faith, even in the midst of her anguish. It is possible that she did not accompany the other ladies to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning because she understood that she could not look for the living amongst the dead because of her perfect confidence in Jesus. This may have been the reason why she did not go with them on Easter Sunday morning. How did Mary know that Jesus would rise from the dead?

What incident, if any, can be pinpointed as the exact time when Mary first realized that her darling Son would die and rise again is worth remembering.
Mary had already misplaced her Jesus.
And when he was twelve years old, they took him up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast, as was customary at the time.
As a result of their assumption that he was present, they traveled a day’s distance in search of him among their relatives and acquaintances.
2:41-45 (Luke 2:41-45) Take note of the fact that a) the incident takes place in Jerusalem and b) it takes place around the time of the Passover.
It is now well-known that Mary had done nothing wrong.
The fact that the Christ Child was lost should make it abundantly evident that there was no sin (not even any actual imperfection) involved in the event.

Jesus did absolutely nothing wrong.

However, there is pain and consternation since, although Mary never made a mistake, she (unlike the Christ) did not know everything.

He permitted himself to become disoriented for a little while in so that Joseph and his mother may grasp the significance of the plan of redemption that was to be fulfilled in him.

Then, after three days passed, they discovered him at the temple, sitting right in the center of the physicians, listening to them and asking them questions.

They were taken aback when they saw him.

And he inquired of them, saying, “How did you come to seek me?” Did you not realize that I had to be attending to my father’s business?

(See Luke 2:46-50 for further information.) Mary and Joseph go on a hunt for Jesus, and on the third day they come across him.

And that he should be discovered at his Father’s house, carrying out his Father’s instructions.

For three days, the entire world would remain unaware of Christ’s existence.

However, he would rise and be discovered three days later.

Ambrose (quoted in the Catena Aurea) has something to say about it: “After three days He is found in the temple, that it might be for a sign, that after three days of victorious suffering, He who was believed to be dead should rise again anti manifest Himself to our faith, seated in heaven with divine glory,” St.

This is what Jesus was telling Mary and Joseph – that he would die and rise again on the third day – and this is what he was teaching them.
As a result, Mary’s heart is filled with agony and sadness as she confronts her holy Son with the following question: Son, [she asks with great love] why hast thou done this to us?
In place of that, though, she queries and requests – “educate me, my Son; explain to me the mysteries.” And he starts to teach her new things.
And he went down with them, and they took him to Nazareth, where he became their subject.
(See Luke 2:51.) We may be convinced that our Lady had long before come to some sort of knowledge of the fact that the Christ would suffer and die, and then rise again.
She was aware that Abraham had presented Isaac as a sacrifice, and that he had been accepted back alive.
For faith is the act of trusting in something that cannot be seen, this understanding was not always apparent to me.
As a result, Mary came to a better knowledge of what she had previously thought, step by step.
Theophylus: “The Virgin, whether she understood or whether she could not yet comprehend, equally put everything up in her heart for thought and meticulous analysis.” As a result, it follows that, and his mother had all of these things ready, and so on.
Because she surrendered to Him not as a boy or as a man, but as a woman who had surrendered to God.

And while she was thinking about one thing at a time, she was also thinking about another that she desired to be more clearly revealed to her; this was her continual rule and law during her whole life.” While meditating on these things in her Immaculate Heart, the Blessed Mother came to comprehend that, although though it appeared as though her Son had been lost to her forever by his death, he would, on the third day, be brought back to her and to everyone via his resurrection from death.

She had previously misplaced her Child, in Jerusalem, at the feast of Passover; nevertheless, she had come to realize that he was carrying out his Father’s instructions, and she was pleased to see that he was safely restored to her.

Mary’s faith was sustained by the recollection of the discovery of the Child Jesus in the Temple, which helped her to endure the grief of the first Holy Saturday. Mary, the role model for all Christians Pray for those of us who have come to you for help!

The lost years of Jesus: The mystery of Christ’s missing 18 years

Known as the “Lost Years” of Jesus Christ, the period between the ages of 12 and 30 between his birth and death is a scriptural riddle that has perplexed historians and Christians alike for many centuries. It is unknown where Jesus may have been or traveled during that time period, creating a theological vacuum that has been filled with beliefs that are mostly inspired by religious belief, rumor, and mythology depending on the sources used to develop them. In this essay, whether readers are believers or not, the author examines the diverse spectrum of stories that have emerged since the early 1900s.

This has resulted in legends of his traveling to far-flung regions such as India to study with Eastern mystics, Persia, and even North America, as well as claims of him having visited Europe.
So, what proof do we have to back up the claim that Jesus traveled hundreds of kilometers from Judea to other countries on his mission?
Jesus is thought to have been born at Bethlehem, but according to the Gospels, his family moved away shortly afterward and resided in the town of Nazareth, thereby fulfilling the prophecy of the Bible that Jesus would be known as a Nazarene.
A popular narrative is that Jesus went three miles away to the bustling town of Sepphoris, which at the time was noted for its beautiful mosaic artwork made by the Romans, in the middle Galilee area of today’s Israel, in search of employment because he had little possibility of finding it.
It is possible that Jesus spent the majority of these intervening years working as a carpenter in Galilee, as some Christian scholars think; nevertheless, there are few allusions to this in the Scriptures.
Jesus may have gone on an epic ‘walkabout’ from his home in Nazareth, according to one idea about his disappearance and his missing years.

Most likely, while living at Sepphoris, the young Jesus received his first awareness of the world by both speaking the Aramaic language and learning to read, which is how he came to be known as “the Christ.” According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus walked into the synagogue and read from the scroll of the prophets, which is the only piece of recorded scripture that supports this theory so far.

Such information may have served as an impetus for Jesus to seek answers in the outside world, and it may have had an impact on his choice to abandon his family, which would have been contentious at the time.
This ‘walkabout,’ which lasted nearly two decades, may have begun when he was 13 years old and continued until his death.
Whatever obligations a young Jesus may have had to his mother and extended family in Nazareth, it must have been a contentious decision for him to abandon those closest to him at such an early age in order to embark on an epic and risky journey on foot.
To put it another way, if anything was significant, it would have been included in the Bible.
For many years, there have been rumors that the Vatican contains strange information concerning the life of Jesus and his eighteen years that were never revealed.
To this day, nothing has been disclosed concerning the existence of such records, as well as what Jesus was doing and where he was throughout the period between the ages of 13 and 30.
When a Russian traveller claimed to have uncovered authentic scriptures at a monastery in India in the late nineteenth century, it was widely believed that Jesus had been to India and taught there as well as elsewhere in the East.

He is a tin merchant who some think to be his uncle, however other ‘canonical gospel’ sources characterize him primarily as a wealthy businessman and disciple of Jesus.

The Holy Grail is said to have been housed in the first church built by Joseph in order to protect it.

Did those old feet tread along the green of England’s mountains in ancient times?

This account may have added to the mystique surrounding the Holy Grail and its existence in England.

This theme is also mentioned in another variation, which claims that Joseph buried the Holy Grail beneath Glastonbury Tor, which is said to be the entrance to the underworld and where a natural spring known as the ‘Chalice Well’ first began to spring up.

The ‘Holy Thorn’ is mentioned in another legend associated with Joseph of Arimathea, which describes him bringing it to the town of Somerset.

One of the most intriguing stories relating to Joseph of Arimathea, and one that is considered to be a recent invention, is that, as a tin merchant by trade, he brought the young Jesus along with him on a trading voyage to south-west Britain and Cornwall, where tin was abundant, according to tradition.

Twenty-three years later, in 1922, the tradition of Jesus visiting Britain was included in a book written by the Reverend Lionel Smithett Lewis, vicar of St John’s church in Glastonbury, Somerset, who was also a member of the Church of England at the time.
After expanding the story to approximately two hundred pages by the time it reached its final edition in 1955, the Apostolic Church of Britain claimed that Glastonbury was the burial place of the Virgin Mary.
The text made the surprising assertion that Jesus had traveled to India during the years of his life that had been lost and had studied as a Buddhist monk.
Notovitch provided an account, explaining that he had broken his leg during the journey and had been forced to recuperate in a remote monastery at Hemis in the highlands of Ladakh, India, due to his injuries.
It was written in the Pali language (an Indo-Aryan language) and was published in two large volumes with cardboard covers and yellowed leaves due to the passage of time.
This man could only have been the biblical Jesus, as Issa is the Arabic name for Jesus in Islam.
According to the text, Jesus left Judea when he was 13 years old and embarked on an epic journey of self-discovery that included study of other religious traditions.
Then he traveled to the Himalayas, where he spent time in Tibetan monasteries studying Buddhism before returning to Judea, where he was 29 years old at the time of his return.
Notovitch’s book, published more than a century and a quarter ago, has mostly been forgotten, and the contents and claims it makes have been consigned to the realms of imagination by his contemporaries.
Even at the time of Notovitch’s publications, a number of individuals were skeptical of his statements and thought them to be unbelievable.

Notovitch’s allegations, according to one well-known Indologist, are “a huge fat lie.” When Muller inquired about Notovitch’s alleged recovery at a monastery, he received a response stating that no westerners had visited the monastery in the previous fifteen years and that no ancient documents similar to the one described by the author had been discovered therein.

Archibald Douglas, a professor of English and history at the Government College in Agra, India, paid a personal visit to Hemis monastery and spoke with the Head Lama, who confirmed that Notovitch had never visited the monastery before.
Even after Notovitch claimed to have seen a document proving that Jesus had stayed at Hemis monastery and claimed to have taken a photograph of the mysterious manuscript itself, no physical evidence was found to support his claim, including no photograph of the mysterious manuscript itself.
I took many interesting photographs during my travels, but when I returned to India and examined the negatives, I was dismayed to discover that they had been completely destroyed’, says the author.
The Scottish public servant and foreign correspondent for The Times newspaper revealed that, after meeting Notovitch several times in July 1887, he claimed that the Russian traveller offered his services as a’spy’ for the British government in India on one of the occasions.
Nothing else was heard from him on the matter, and the writer’s assertions about Jesus visiting India were dismissed as nothing more than a fiction with no basis in truth.
It is said in The New Testament that the Galilee and Judea were the primary venues for Jesus’ mission, with activity also going place in nearby areas such as Peres and Samaria.
Taking into consideration that a committed individual on a mission might complete the 150–200 km journey from Judea to Galilee on foot in six days, it is likely that an experienced walker with knowledge of the terrain could cover far greater distances in a much less amount of time.

The most common form of transportation was on foot, with an average daily mileage of roughly 20 miles, but oxen, donkeys, and camels were also used by locals.

According to the usual walking habits and skills of the time, such a long and arduous journey, reportedly done by Jesus alone and over a period of many years, may be physically feasible.

At the time of Jesus’ teachings (AD 27-29), Judea was under Roman rule and subject to tyranny at the hands of its Roman rulers, who were given the authority to punish with death.

Even though they were conquerors, the Romans were responsible for more travel facilitation than any other empire, having built major roads and cleared the seas of pirates.

A traveler could make his way from the Euphrates River’s shores to the border between England and Scotland without having to cross any foreign borders, according to historian Lionel Casson.

Ship travel was the most efficient mode of long-distance transportation, but it was only available between April and October due to the dangers of the winter seas.

It is estimated that by AD 300, the Romans had constructed an 85,000-kilometer network of well-maintained roads throughout their empire, mostly for military purposes.

This is true despite the possibility of illness, injury, and other misfortunes along the way.

A Mysterious Incident from Jesus’ Childhood

This Sunday, we commemorate the Mysteries of the Holy Family, which are celebrated worldwide. It must have been difficult for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to live together. Each one of them is a very unique individual! When you combine all three, the result is. stunning. Today, we have reality shows about unique and amazing families, but back then, there were no such things as reality television. We are fortunate in that we are given a look into the Holy Family’s home life in this passage. And it is a sight granted by none other than the Virgin Mary.

Missing Child!

In the Holy Family’s history, this occurrence takes place on a holiday, particularly, on the Feast of Passover. The Gospel of Luke recounts that the Holy Family traveled up to Jerusalem each year for the feast of Passover, reportedly in the company of “their kinsfolk and acquaintances,” and that when Jesus was twelve, he remained in Jerusalem with his parents and siblings. They didn’t know it until they had already traveled “a day’s trip” back to Nazareth, at which point they recognized he was not with them.

Also, take note of the foreshadowing: Was there ever another moment in Jesus’ life, such as at Passover or in Jerusalem, when Mary would be separated from him?

“On the Third Day”

As a result, Joseph and Mary return to Jerusalem, where they eventually locate him “after three days.” According to the information available, the three days are as follows:

The first day was spent traveling away from Jerusalem, the second day was spent traveling back to Jerusalem, and the third day (or part of a third day) was spent searching for him in Jerusalem.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the three days are a euphemism for Jesus’ three days (or, more correctly, portions of three days) in the tomb, during which Mary and the disciples were separated from Jesus but were reunited with him “on the third day” (cf. Lk. 9:22).

Why Weren’t They Monitoring Jesus More Closely?

That Joseph and Mary were unaware that Jesus was not there among them may come as a surprise to some people. The obvious issue is why Joseph and Mary weren’t keeping a closer eye on Jesus at all times. Our generation is preoccupied with the idea of always being able to locate and supervise children. So much so that we’ve developed electronic baby monitors and unique child-tracking applications for their smartphones. However, in the ancient world, things were a little more laid back. My own boyhood memories include going out and playing in the woods or walking miles by myself or with other children, long before the advent of the “play date” and before the attitude of “children must never be left alone for even a single minute” took hold.

Commentary from Pope Benedict XVI: “This comes as a surprise to us, given our maybe overly limited conception of the holy family.

On the voyage, the twelve-year-old was free to spend time with friends and youngsters his own age, and he was allowed to remain in their company at all times. His parents, understandably, anticipated to see him when the evening came ” (Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives).

In His Father’s House

When Mary and Joseph rediscovered Jesus, the location held special significance. He was in a good mood “When he was at the temple, he sat among the instructors, listening to them and asking them questions; and everyone who heard him was astounded by his comprehension and the answers he provided. ” Joseph and Mary were “astonished,” according to Luke, but he does not specify whether they were surprised to discover him talking with such erudite company or surprised that he had remained behind. Most likely, both.

As you can see, your father and I have been seeking for you with bated breath.” Jesus answers as follows: “What brought you to me, and how can I help you?

Backtalk?

Although some have interpreted Jesus’ response as a reproach, it is not necessary to interpret it that way. It’s possible that Jesus is taken aback by their amount of worry and perplexity. Because he was still in Jerusalem, they had made the proper deduction. They were well aware that Jesus did not have a biological father. Mary had been informed by an angel that Jesus is the Son of God (Lk. 1:32, 35). The temple serves as God’s residence. How difficult should it be to make a guess as to where Jesus is most likely to be found?

“And Was Obedient to Them”

Even yet, there is an explicit statement in the text reminding readers that Joseph is simply Jesus’ foster father and not his biological father. However, this does not imply that Jesus rejects the authority of Joseph, nor does it imply that Jesus was a wild or rebellious kid as a result of the occurrence. As Luke makes clear, he was an unexpected kid who was also obedient, as he says, “he traveled down with them and came to Nazareth, and he was obedient to them.”

How We Know This

“And his mother treasured all of these things in her heart,” Luke says at the conclusion of the passage. Mary is identified as the source of the information in this way. This was a memorable event for her, and she shared it with others in the following years, maybe including Luke himself. Without a doubt, by that point, the foreshadowing of the event—the Passover at Jerusalem, being separated from Jesus for three days, and his subsequent return to his Father—had all become evident.

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