What do we know about Jesus’ childhood?
Luke 2 presents the one authentic biblical account of Jesus’ childhood, and the scene reveals a very normal boy with true-to-life parents. Joseph and Mary were traveling with a large caravan of friends and relatives from Nazareth to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. No doubt hundreds of people from their community went together to the feast. Men and women in such a group might have been separated by some distance, and it appears each parent thought Jesus was with the other. Jesus’ separation from His parents was rooted in this very simple misunderstanding. The gospel account by no means suggests that Jesus was being mischievous or rebellious. He was simply engrossed in the goings-on at the temple. On the day they were scheduled to depart, however, Jesus’ parents were preoccupied with preparations for the journey home. When they left, He lingered—not out of disrespect or defiance, but simply because (like all children) He was utterly absorbed in something that had arrested His attention. His true humanness never shows more clearly than it does in this account.