We have only one story of Jesus as a child, Luke 2:41-52. Joseph and Mary traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover every year and probably took Jesus each time. In any case, when he was 12, they returned to Nazareth without him. Jesus stayed at the temple and questioned the teachers there.

Surely every parent can identify with the multitude of emotions Joseph and Mary must have felt as they searched for their son.

Men traveled separately from women and children in those days. A 12-year-old, one year from adulthood, could have plausibly traveled with either group. Only when they stopped for the night and families reunited did Joseph and Mary realize that no one had seen Jesus.… Read the rest