Who were Jesus’ “parents” (Luke 2:41)?
Jesus’ earthly parents were His stepfather Joseph and His mother Mary,
but Jesus is God who has always existed, so He didn't have parents who brought Him into existence. Even Mary is
just the human vessel through whom Jesus came to us in fully human form.
What is the “feast of the Passover” (Luke
2:41)?
See
Passover.
What is meant by “the caravan” (Luke 2:44)?
For a major feast like the Passover, “relatives and
acquaintances” (Luke 2:44) from the same town typically
traveled to and from Jerusalem together, both for safety and to help
each other if any need arose.
Why would Joseph and Mary suppose Jesus to
have been in the caravan?
Since Jesus was “twelve years old” (Luke
2:42), some if not all of
Jesus’ half brothers and sisters would have been born by this time,
so Joseph and Mary may have been busy with the younger children and
supposed that Jesus must be somewhere in the caravan, perhaps with boys
His age.
When did they realize their mistake?
When the caravan stopped for the night after
“a day’s journey” (Luke 2:44).
Had Jesus snuck away from the caravan and
gone back to Jerusalem?
He had simply “remained behind in Jerusalem” (Luke
2:43) at the temple (see next page). Chances are, they visited the temple,
then left, and erroneously assumed that Jesus had left with them.
Did they look for Jesus in Jerusalem or on
their way back to Jerusalem?
Most probably both, as
Joseph and Mary are likely to have searched
through all of the caravans headed away from Jerusalem that they
encountered on their way back to the city.