The Father’s Business Luke 2:39-52 delivered by Dallas Cerny

Sunday March 1, 2026

NASB 
Return to Nazareth

39 When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, [a]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “[b]Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I [c]have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s [d]house?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He [e]had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these [f]things in her heart.

52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and [g]stature, and in favor with God and men.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:30

If anybody's happy to be here today, say amen. Thank you. It's good to be here. What I'm thankful for? I'm thankful for butterflies. Because even after 50 years of doing this, I still get butterflies every time I get up. In our Sunday school class, which is down the hall, first door on the left, we're going through the uh gospels in a special way. We're doing it chronologically, the way it happened. Um and I had to skip this part that I'm preaching today. So because I had a feeling my Sunday school class wouldn't show up today if I didn't. If I well, anyway, so they're all here today. Thank you very much. When I entered into the ministry when I was in my late 20s, um I I dug in deep. I I learned, I couldn't learn enough quick enough. I learned how to teach, I learned how to preach, I learned how to pray with people, I learned how to pray for people. Uh I learned the time to laugh with some, I learned the time to cry with many. Um I had a hard time with was questions. Because I so many times I had to say, I don't know. And the preacher shouldn't be afraid to say that because you always follow it up with, but I will find out. And I got questions, you know, from the Garden of Eden, was it really a snake? What was a serpent? Was it an apple? What kind of fruit was it? How did Noah get all those dinosaurs in the boat? Was the Red Sea really parted? I mean, how does that happen? And of course, the the story of the birth of Christ, you mean Mary at nine months pregnant rode a donkey for 85 miles? Really? Um, I think my favorite, of course, is was John really a Baptist? No, no, beloved. He was a baptizer. He was a baptizer. So um, I think the questions that got most under my skin, and I still get them uh from people, is about the youth of Jesus. How come we don't know anything about Jesus when he was young? Well, Luke gave us 31 verses, and a lot of people think that's all that was written, but it's not really. There were more. We have four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in our canon. But believe it or not, there's actually approximately 47 gospels. We've only picked four. The other 43 were sometimes we have a few paragraphs, we have several chapters, but they range from the ridiculous that Jesus was this young miracle worker to the insulting, actually, what I think that Jesus was just an ordinary boy. He made mistakes, he asked questions, he made excuses, and that's kind of ridiculous. But um, we rely upon the four gospels, um not the ridiculous. And it's important that we look across uh these 31 verses. Of course, Pastor Byron did a number of them before. We're gonna be looking at 14 today, and I'm gonna read them and I want you to follow along. So if you haven't opened your Bible, I can hear some pages rustling. And we're in Luke chapter 2. We're gonna look at starting in verse 39. Luke 2, 39. Now, these 31 verses, most of the information Dr. Luke got was from Jesus' mother, Mary. Uh, most scholars believe that. In verse 39, it says, When they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own city of Nazareth. The child continued to grow, that's Jesus, and become strong, and increasing in wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. Take a pen and underline verse 40. That's important. Because when you go from verse 40 to verse 41, that's actually about 10 to 11 years span that one verse. Now, every year at the feast of Passover, it was their habit to go. And when he was 12, they went up there according to the custom of the feast. And as they were returning after spending a full number of days, which would be about a week, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of it, but supposed him to be in the caravan. And they went a day's journey and they began looking for him among the relatives and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for him. Then, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking questions. Underlying the word teachers, it's the uh it's actually should be interpreted as doctors. These were the heads. This was, if you're familiar with any Hebrew history, this was Gamelel, this was Halel, this was Shemai, these were the top-notch people in the Hebrew. And they were there, and they always came during Passover, and they would sit in a semicircle with the other rabbis, and then they would have an audience that would be sitting on the floor in front of them. And when it says that Jesus was among them, most likely that meant that they called him up to find out what he was saying and how he was interpreting it. Verse 47, and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you. And he said to them, Why is it that you are looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be about my father's house? You note takers underlined that word, house. Actually, the correct interpreter, you know, I'm not a huge fan of the authorized King James, but actually the authorized King James version has it right. Didn't you know I had to be about my father's business? That's a correct, a better interpretation. It's not the location, it's not the house, but it's the work of the father. Um I'm not sure why they do that, but that's the way they did it. Uh it it verse the next verse, didn't you know that I must be about my father's house? Deals with a particular location, which would be the temple. And what Jesus was trying to tell them is he was about his father's business, the spiritual things. It says in verse 50 that they did not understand what he meant. And I breathe a sigh of relief because they lived with Jesus and they didn't understand it. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. And that's the last verse of chapter 2. And if you put an asterisk there, between that last verse of chapter 2 and the first verse of chapter 3, that's 18 years. So there's quite a span there. One of the commentators I read this past week, I got a kick out of it because he he started out by saying, Hi, my name's Joseph. I lost the savior of the world. Did you ever wander when you were a kid? Anybody here uh old enough to remember the leash? Okay, yeah. Those were so ridiculous. I'm glad I wasn't a part of that group. But I I had a large family. There were 12 of us. Yeah, amen. And somebody was always getting what I would call misplaced. Have you seen Robert or Peter? Where's Paul or Yvonne? We were always wandering off somewhere. Uh, that's just the nature. It was like something like curd and squirrels. That's what our family was. Um given the times that Joseph and Mary lived in, you didn't travel this road. They lived approximately a hundred miles, the trip they had to make. You didn't travel that alone. Nazareth was larger than a village. It had a population of probably around 1,500 people. So they would have gathered a caravan together. And the caravan in those days are usually split in two. The women were in one and the men were in the other. The men and the older boys were in the other. And the women always went ahead first because they traveled slower. It's kind of like when you and your wife take two cars and you let her go ahead because you know you'll get there before her anyway. That's just the way it works. That's married life. But let's not be too hard on Mary and Joseph. What people don't realize is that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Remember, he's been around for 12 years now. So there's a few more little Nazarenes running around that belong to Mary and Joseph. He had four brothers by name: uh James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. And he had two sisters at least, though we don't know the names of them. Um, they were about a week's journey out from Jerusalem, and they went there every single year for the festival. The Hebrew men were required to go to three if they lived within two weeks' travel. Um, that was the feast of uh Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. So they had gone to this one and they get to it every year. We don't have any idea of the past, of when they went, how often they went. Um as far as we know, Joseph went 12 times because that was the law. But with this is the first time that we have uh that we're reading that Jesus went along. Um, some some scholars uh argue the point that this could very well have been Jesus's bar mitzvah. It's possible. I mean, I'm not gonna negate that. Normally the bar mitzvah happens right around 13, and in this case, Jesus is 12, uh, probably later in his 12th year. Bar mitzvah's uh the translation is son of the law or son of the commandment. Um, it basically put the responsibilities of the family on the shoulders of this young man who is now becoming into manhood. So the question has always been in my mind, why now? Why why this one? If he'd already been gone 12 times, and I would imagine they they took, even though they did it it wasn't required by law for the women and children to go, they did on this occasion. So it must have been something special. The turn after three days in verse 46. Uh, he he was at the uh temple for three days. They do have quarters in the temple. Uh they would have recognized something was wrong. Um, I'm sure there the other children running around. They say, well, uh Jesus is probably with Mary, and Mary's saying, well, he's probably with Joseph. And they found out that he wasn't anywhere there, so they needed to start back a day's journey into to Jerusalem, and they they searched the second day and found him in the temple. Now I remember reading this for the first time at what Mary said, and the first thing that crossed my mind, doesn't she know who she's talking to? This is the son of God. You don't scold the son of God, but it's a typical Jewish mother. That's it's it's the words relate the worry that she had felt. But one interesting point I've always thought through all of this, Joseph never says a word. And there could be any number of reasons for it. Perhaps Mary wanted to uh solidify the fact that God was his father, Joseph was his stepfather. And I agree to a certain extent, but I also know fathers. And I know if my wife and I took my 12-year-old son to a Cubs game, and after the game was over, we lost track of him, and we found him down there on the sideline talking to Ernie Banks and Ron Santo. I would be standing there with this big grin on my face. And there's Jesus down there with Hillel and down there with Shemai and down there with Gamelel and all of the rabbis, and he's conversing at 12 years old with these educated men, these doctors. Yes, that would have brought a smile on my face. Jesus' reply. It was Abba. Um and he introduces us to a special way of living through that. If you read it the way God intends you to read it, you know, we all live three types of lives. We live one-dimensional lives or two-dimensional lives or three-dimensional lives. All of us do. Before we accept Christ, after we accept Christ, and sometimes even a long time after we accept Christ. Now, one-dimensional lives is what I call center living. That means you are the center of the universe, and we all are kind of like a solar system that revolves around you. I think we all know at least one person like this. They can be tedious, they can be delightful, they could be hard-nosed. They're the ones that take over the party and organize the games, and they just walk into a room with a presence and they are in charge. Those of you who are who love uh history, I love history. If you've ever uh wanted to read a really good history book, read the story of Teddy Roosevelt.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Teddy Roosevelt was a he was this guy.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

President uh Nixon said of him, he was the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. That's just who he was. Disasters were viewed in terms of inconvenience. There could be scores hurt, and what you heard was I had to get out of my hotel and I had no hot meals. That's the way it came out. Everything else basically was window dressing. And I have to admit, this is the perfect description of me when I was young. It was. I was the sun, and everything else revolved around me until I went into the Marine Corps. And you'd be surprised how fast things change. I found out I was not who I thought I was. It changed my life completely. And this is, I think, where we find most of ourselves before we accept Christ and sometimes even afterwards. I call it political living. Political living. Politics is uh a politician, no offense, Mayor Bob. A politician is someone who will say, I agree with you in principle. Whenever they say that, what they really mean to say in a gentle way, let me tell you just how wrong you really are. That's politics. We tend sometimes, especially uh the problem I had uh as as I got married and had had children, I tended to patronize my children. Um a lot of my parenting was two-dimensional. I had a certain way that I wanted things to be done, and when it wasn't done, I withheld my approval. A lot of times we tend to patronize our kids. We tell them when they need to wear a sweater because it's cold, or put your rubbers on because it's raining, or eat your veggies because it's nutritional. In my reading this week, I came across a great definition of a parent. A parent is a person who has to give a lecture on nutritional values to a kid who has reached six foot six by eating potato chips. That's what it is. We make political deals with our children. No lounge this week because you did not succeed the way I wanted you to, or you failed in some respect. I think that's a little bit of what's happening here. Son, why have you treated us this way? It kind of followed in parentheses, after all we've done for you. Of course, we've never heard that phrase, right? Yeah, right. Okay. But his answer, did you not know that I had to be about my father's business? Didn't you know I had to be about ABBA's business? That brings in a third dimension. Now, two-dimensional, you're like a wheel that has no spokes and no hub. We're interconnected to each other. Our relationship with what's with one another. Two-dimensional is I call it a trade-off. As long as you're doing what you should be doing and I'm doing what I'll be doing, we'll get along fine. We have that contract. I'll do my part. I'll laugh at your jokes, but you better laugh at mine. I'll mow the lawn, but you better do the dishes. I'll do this as long as you do that. It's a trade-off, and it goes on a lot worse than that in two-dimensional living. But he brings a third-dimensional into the life. Jesus introduces us to covenant living, and this is where we need to be as believers. Covenant living. I admit, I'd be the first to admit, it's really easy to fall back into the two-dimensional life as a believer. I mean, it's a it's a constant effort to hold to covenant life. It's no longer husband and wife, it's no longer uh parent and child, it's no longer boss and employee, it's all of that plus the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Without the hub and the spokes, the wheel.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

We say, Lord, here's my mate, or here's my child, or here's my boss, or here is my friend. When you can leave them with the father, it totally frees you from any coercing, any more manipulating in any way, and allows you the freedom to be what God intends you to be, and your relationship with the Savior. I read a long, long time ago, and the Lord brought it to mind. Um The past few weeks as I was preparing for this. Have you ever fallen on your knees before God and said, Lord, I need help with my son or my daughter or my wife or my husband, or I need help with my boss and my job. Things have got to change there. This isn't right. This isn't the way it should be. And God showed me a long time ago, and I've forgotten a little bit. Sometimes He puts you in that, so you will change. And all too often we look at others when we actually need to be standing in a mirror and looking in a mirror. It's like the the gallow asked your coworker, Did you wake up grouchy today? She said, No, I let him sleep in. Freedom is a wonderful thing. Jesus submitted to his parents and their wishes, and he returned home with them, but not before the introduction to the third party in the relationship. And that's what he did. Yes. Mother and stepfather, and my Abba, the Lord. We have a choice of living a one-dimensional life, of being the center of attraction. Well, actually, we'll gain you more enemies than it will anything else. We can live a two-dimensional life, that political living, but you better make sure you're doing your part. So the others will do their part. Or you can have a three-dimensional life. One where you don't worry about the other person because they're in God's hands. Just like you're in God's hands. And he's concerned about you. Someone once said this week, stop worrying about your partner, your wife, your work, fellow worker, whoever. Stop worrying about their salvation. Witness to them, yes. But the only thing you have to worry about is are you saved? Share the gospel, but first make sure you're saved. That's the most important part. Are you living the life? I have to examine that every day on purpose. Am I living the life? God wants me to live. You could work that single life. It's like the gal who walked into the greeting card store and said, I want to get a specific Valentine's for the man I love. And so she looked through it and she said he found one that said, To the only man I ever love. She said, That's fine, I'll take three. What's in your world? Paul said it best in Romans 14. And if you haven't highlighted that in your Bible, you need to. I apologize, that's awful small. Anyway, Romans 14. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master, he stands or fails. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. For not one of us lives for himself, not one of us dies for himself. For if we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or we die, we are the Lord. I want to close with a short story I read this past week.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

It's about a young girl. She lives in North Dakota.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

And if any of you ever been to North Dakota in the wintertime, it's blistery. I mean, there's nothing there. And one winter's day, she's in a one-room schoolhouse, and this blizzard starts to happen, old North Dakota blizzard. And as the blizzard got worse, parents started to show up and pick their children up to take them home. And pretty soon it was just Ruth and the teacher. And they sat down, and as the light began to fade, the teacher said, Ruth, I've got a bucket of coal and one sandwich. I hope that'll be enough to make it through the night. And Ruth said, Don't worry, my father will be here to pick us up. And she was skeptical because the light was fading and night was coming. And the blizzard got worse. Teacher said, How do you know that your father's coming? She pointed to the ceiling and says, Well, I talked to my father, and he will tell my other father to come and get us.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

My mother taught me that.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

And as afternoon went tonight, sure enough, the buttboard pipped up, filled up, father got out and rescued both of them.

SPEAKER_00 27:33

That's three-dimensional living. That's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Sometimes we're not aware of uh the way we live, and that's what I wanted to bring up this morning. The bottom line to three-dimensional living is this verse 52 underline it, and Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in the favor of God and man. That's what three-dimensional living does. And you don't have to be seven years old to start it. It's never too late. So where are you? Are you in that third dimension? Are you still in two dimensions? I won't ask about one dimension. If you've been living in a two-dimensional life, you're wasting energy. You're living a life God doesn't want you to live because it's a waste of his good energy. He wants you in third dimension. But you know what? Without Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you cannot. It's impossible to live a covenant life, a three-dimensional life. Because he's the hub, he's what holds it all together. And that's what I'm praying, and that's what I've been praying, that the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart today. I always remembered a survey that was done by Christianity today many, many years ago, where it says, if you look out into your congregation, one out of every three people in your congregation aren't saved. And that always crosses my mind. And now is the time. Today is the day, as scripture says. So everybody take a moment and bow your heads and close your eyes. This is a time of invitation, a time that may never come. There are many, many people, scores of people that have been killed over the past day, 24 hours, who will never have the opportunity to accept Christ as their savior.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

You have that opportunity today. With your heads bowed, your eyes closed, and your thoughts on God.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

If that's something you think you might want to do, I want to just take a minute and I want to lead you in a short prayer. And pray with me, please. Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I have fallen short of everything that you require. And I know that you require perfection. And I come to you confessing my sinful nature. And I ask your forgiveness, not only for my past sins, but for my present sins and my future sins, which you died for on the cross. And I pray right now, in your holy name, that you would come into my heart and that you would take control of my life and help me to live a life for you. Come and be my Lord. And I ask it in Jesus' holy name. Amen. If you've been living in one or two or three dimensions as a believer, I invite you to change today with this scripture to Him who is able to make all grace abound towards you, so that you, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. Amen. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this message. Thank you for preaching to me before I ever open my mouth. And I just pray your Holy Spirit would move amongst the people here and help us to realize that as we live here today, we live in three dimensions with you guiding us and help us to bring that message out into the world. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Go and be blessed.