Luke 2:40-52

⁴⁰As Jesus grew up, he became strong and very wise, and God was very pleased with him.

⁴¹Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival.

⁴²So when Jesus was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem as they always did.

⁴³When the celebration ended, his parents started to return home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not realize that Jesus stayed there.

⁴⁴They thought that he was with the other people who were traveling with them. They walked all day. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵They did not find him, so they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.

⁴⁶Two days later, they found him. He was in the Temple courtyard, sitting with the Jewish religious teachers. He was listening to what they said, and he was asking them questions.

⁴⁷Everyone who heard what he said was amazed at how much he understood and how well he answered the questions that the teachers asked.

⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were very surprised. His mother said to him, “My son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried as we (exc) have been searching for you!”

⁴⁹He said to them, speaking about the Temple being God his Father's house, “◄I am surprised that you (dl) did not know where to find me!/Why did you not know where to find me?► RHQ ◄You (dl) should have known that it was necessary for me to be in my Father's house!/Did you not know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father's house?► RHQ”

⁵⁰But they did not understand the meaning of what he said to them.

⁵¹Then he returned with them down to Nazareth. He always obeyed them. But his mother kept thinking about all those things.

⁵²As the years passed, Jesus continued to become wiser and he grew taller. God and people continued to approve of him more and more.