56
The Desire of Ages
Returning to Jerusalem, they pursued their search. The next day,
as they mingled with the worshipers in the temple, a familiar voice
arrested their attention. They could not mistake it; no other voice was
like His, so serious and earnest, yet so full of melody.
In the school of the rabbis they found Jesus. Rejoiced as they were,
they could not forget their grief and anxiety. When He was with them
again, the mother said, in words that implied reproof, “Son, why hast
Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee
sorrowing.”
“How is it that ye sought Me?” answered Jesus. “Wist ye not that
I must be about My Father’s business?” And as they seemed not to
understand His words, He pointed upward. On His face was a light
at which they wondered. Divinity was flashing through humanity.
On finding Him in the temple, they had listened to what was passing
between Him and the rabbis, and they were astonished at His questions
and answers. His words started a train of thought that would never be
forgotten.
And His question to them had a lesson. “Wist ye not,” He said,
“that I must be about My Father’s business?” Jesus was engaged in the
work that He had come into the world to do; but Joseph and Mary had
neglected theirs. God had shown them high honor in committing to
them His Son. Holy angels had directed the course of Joseph in order
to preserve the life of Jesus. But for an entire day they had lost sight of
Him whom they should not have forgotten for a moment. And when
their anxiety was relieved, they had not censured themselves, but had
cast the blame upon Him.
It was natural for the parents of Jesus to look upon Him as their
own child. He was daily with them, His life in many respects was like
that of other children, and it was difficult for them to realize that He
was the Son of God. They were in danger of failing to appreciate the
blessing granted them in the presence of the world’s Redeemer. The
grief of their separation from Him, and the gentle reproof which His
words conveyed, were designed to impress them with the sacredness
of their trust.
In the answer to His mother, Jesus showed for the first time that
He understood His relation to God. Before His birth the angel had said
to Mary, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:
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