Going Home Without Jesus

3/20/22

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Sermon Transcript

Good morning. You can have your Bibles open to the Book of Luke. Just keep them there. We’ll be looking at something from the Book of Luke today. You know, one of the most wonderful things about the New Testament, there are many wonderful things about the New Testament, but one of them is that we have four gospel accounts. We see the life of Christ from four different perspectives, Each inspired, of course, but four different perspectives, different emphases, written at different times. God knew how important it was that we know all about Christ, so he gave us the four gospel accounts. And let’s look this morning at a passage from the Gospel of Luke. Each of the gospel accounts, as I say, has kind of a different emphasis. When we look at the Gospel of Luke, we see one aspect of the Gospel that’s stressed more than perhaps occurs in the other Gospel accounts, and that is that the Gospel is a universal Gospel. The Gospel is for all, both Jew and Gentile. That great promise to Abraham back in Genesis chapter 12, that through Christ all the families and the earth be blessed. Both Jew and Gentile. And Luke’s gospel, perhaps more than the other three, announces that that great day had come. You know, the evidence suggests that Luke himself was a Gentile. And maybe that’s why he stresses that aspect so much, because he was so appreciative that that blessing was for all. But whatever the reason, in the gospel account of Luke all the barriers are down. Jesus Christ was for all people without distinction. The long-promised worldwide blessing that at last arrived. And we see that in Luke’s gospel. Luke alone tells the parable of the good Samaritan. Luke alone shows us Jesus citing Naaman the Syrian as a shining exam. It’s in Luke that the Roman centurion is praised for the greatness of his faith. It’s in Luke that Jesus says men will come from the east and the west and the north and the south and sit at the table in the kingdom of God. All four gospel writers quote Isaiah 40 when they give the message of John the Baptist. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway to our God,” but only Luke continues the quotation to its triumphant end, “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” All flesh. The gospel is brought. That’s the great reconciliation of God with his creation through Jesus Christ. And if, as some suggest, that is the central theme of the Bible, that great reconciliation of God with his creation through Christ. Then perhaps that theme rings with its greatest clarity here in the Gospel account of Luke. And perhaps nowhere is that theme better illustrated than in Luke chapter 15, the great lost and found chapter in the Bible. Find the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. And while our topic this morning is on the lost and the found, we’re not going to be looking at Luke chapter 15. We’re going to be looking at an event from Luke chapter 2. In the closing verses of Luke chapter 2, starting at verse 41, Luke provides the only recorded event we have of Jesus’ boyhood after his infancy. And Luke also provides us with the earliest recorded words of Christ. And in that early event, I think Luke provides for us a glimpse of his beautiful theme of reconciliation. We’re all familiar with the details of what happened. Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover and they take 12 year old Jesus with them. And as they head home, they discover Jesus is no longer with them. And they rush back and find him in the temple listening to and asking questions of some religious leaders. And then comes one of the key passages in the life of Christ. Mary says to him, “Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously,” and Jesus responds, “Did you not know that I must be about my father’s business?” By that response, Jesus very gently, but very definitely took the name father from Joseph, gave him to God father. Jesus understood even at age 12 his unique relationship to God and that understanding did not fill him with pride, did not cause him to look down upon his humble parents, no. Jesus went home with them and was obedient to them. I like what one commentary said about that. He said these rabbis had never met such a boy. This was not a mind that was advanced beyond the boy’s age, but something of a far higher quality. A mind that was filled with the heavenly wisdom of God’s Word and truth beyond that of these learned rabbis. Yet all unassuming and only eager to learn. It’s a priceless picture that Luke has drawn and our only regret, he writes, is that he did not draw more of these from the early years of Jesus. But we have this one. Aren’t we glad that we do? Thousand sermons could be preached on this short passage of Scripture and its implications, but let’s focus our thoughts today on a single point. In a book that is focused on the theme of reconciliation of God with man, the very first incident we find in the life of Christ beyond his infancy involves loss and reconciliation. Mary and Joseph went home without Jesus and then they returned and they found him. I think there are some great spiritual lessons for us lurking in that event.

The first thing we notice is that Jesus was left behind by the most unlikely of people, his own parents. Now let me stress right from the start, there’s nothing I say here today should be taken as a criticism of Mary or Joseph. In fact, there’s a very logical explanation for why this happened. The men and the women would travel in a caravan but they wouldn’t all leave at the same time. Might come as a big surprise but the women and the children children were slower and so they would leave first and then the men would leave later and they’d all kind of catch up around the same time when they camped for the night. The younger boys usually traveled with the women, the older boys traveled with the men. At age 12 Jesus was right on the borderline between the younger boys and the older boys and no doubt Joseph thought he was with Mary and the women and Mary thought he was with Joseph and the men. And it wasn’t until they met up for evening camp that they found out he wasn’t with either of them. Now, if we had to assign blame to somebody, we had to. I imagine that Joseph, after walking all the way back to Jerusalem with Mary and listening to Mary all the way back to Jerusalem, probably knew exactly whose fault this was. But we’re not going to decide that. Understandable or not, the fact remains that Jesus was left behind by the most unlikely of people, his own parents. And I think from a spiritual perspective, that happens today as well. It shouldn’t surprise us that unbelievers leave Jesus behind. But could that be true of somebody here? Could that be true of somebody who goes to church every week? Well, of course it could. Jesus can be left behind by the most unlikely of people, by religious people, by moral people, even by people who loudly proclaim their love for him. In Matthew 26:35, Peter and all the apostles said to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And yet very soon they all left him behind, and not by accident, they left him behind intentionally. The first lesson for us is that no one is immune from leaving Jesus behind. It can happen to anyone. And if anyone thinks they are immune, they need to listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:12. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” As soon as we say something like that can never happen to us, Satan knows where we have no defenses. We told him our weak point. It can happen to anybody, even the most unlikely of people.

The next thing we notice is that Mary and Joseph did not decide to intentionally leave Jesus behind, but it happened anyway. Despite their good intentions, Jesus remained behind in the city. And the same thing can happen spiritually today. You know, I’ve often found it amazing that in no other field of endeavor, none, does mankind place such a high premium on good intentions as it does in the area of religion. In other areas, we don’t want people who just intend to be right, we want people who are actually right. When I go to the doctor, I don’t care too much about their good intentions, I want them to actually know what they’re doing and be right about it. But with religion, all that goes out the window. And suddenly, long as we’re good and sincere and have good intentions, then all will be well with the world. If Jesus is not with you, then no amount of wishful thinking or good intentions alone is gonna change that fact. Instead, you need to act, you need to do something. And isn’t that exactly what Mary and Joseph did when they discovered Jesus was not with them? They sincerely thought he was there and they were wrong. And so what did they do? They acted, they did something to correct that problem.

The third thing we notice is that Mary and Joseph left Jesus. Jesus didn’t leave them. Jesus didn’t run away from his parents. He remained in the temple. They left him behind. Jesus never moved. There’s a spiritual lesson for us there also, isn’t there? Jesus is the fixed point, we’re not. It’s Jesus who’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8. Not us. If we have left Jesus behind, then we’re the ones who have moved away from him, not vice versa. Isn’t that what John told us in 2 John 9? “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.” Isn’t that what Paul told us in Galatians 1:6? “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel.” They were the ones who had moved. They were the ones who had turned away. They were the ones who had gone on ahead. Christ and his gospel had not moved away from them. And if we move away from Jesus, we shouldn’t expect Jesus to follow along after us. That’s not how it works. What did Jesus do when the rich young ruler walked away and left him behind in Matthew 19? Jesus watched him go. He did not run after him and offer him some kind of a compromise plan. Jesus is king, not us. Jesus is Lord, not us. Jesus leads, we follow. Servant is not above his master. Those sound like such simple propositions, but how many of our troubles come from reversing them? We run around acting like we are God and we react with amazement when the universe has other ideas. If Jesus is no longer with us, then it’s because we’ve left him behind, not because he’s left us behind. He, like the father of the prodigal son, eagerly longs and awaits the return of anyone who has left him behind. But like that father, Jesus will not follow that person into the far country.

The fourth thing we see here is that Mary and Joseph were at first unaware that they’d left Jesus behind. They didn’t know they left him behind. And from a spiritual perspective, that may be the greatest danger of all. We could be traveling without Jesus and not even know it. Isn’t that what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23? “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name, and then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Those people in Matthew 7 were genuinely shocked that not only was Jesus not with them, but Jesus didn’t even know them. It would be as if when Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus in the temple, He turned to them and said, “Who are you?” And yet that same sad fate awaits so many. But Matthew 7 also contains a solution, doesn’t it? Those who travel with Jesus are those who do the will of his Father who is in heaven. No one who walks in disobedience to Christ should ever claim surprise that Jesus is not walking with them, that they’ve left Jesus behind. Although many are unaware that they’ve left Jesus behind, they shouldn’t be unaware. People leave Jesus behind as soon as they decide to walk down that well-traveled road of disobedience.

The next thing we see is that Mary and Joseph ended up traveling quite a distance before they realized that Jesus was not with them. They went a long way. And once again, there’s a spiritual analogy, isn’t there? “The gate is wide, the way is easy, that leads to destruction.” “There are those who enter it are many,” Matthew 7:13. The road that leads away from Christ is a wide and easy road. It’s a four lane highway, headed in the wrong direction. And when the road is wide and easy, you can go a long, long way before you realize how far you’ve gone. We might tell ourselves, we’re just gonna head a little ways down that road, then we’re gonna turn right around and come back. But it’s so easy just to keep going a little further, just a little further, and before you know it, you’re miles, miles down that road. The solution, of course, is not get on that road in the first place. Don’t take that exit. How many of our problems begin with the simple phrase, Just this once. Just this one time. Just this one drink. Just this one infidelity. Seems like such a small step. But very soon, how far those small steps can take us away from God. The lesson is we should never take that step at all. It is Satan whispering in our ear, just this once. Sadly, for some people, their purpose in life is just to serve as a warning for others. And the surest way to make that your purpose in life is to live by the motto, “Just this once.” If we live by that motto, we’re very soon going to find ourselves very far away from Christ.

The sixth thing we notice is that Mary and Joseph thought Jesus was with someone in the family. Maybe not with them, but he’s with someone in the family. And I think we have a spiritual lesson there too. God’s plan of salvation is not a family plan. It’s an individual plan. Paul told us in Philippians 2:12 to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” But how many people today believe Jesus is with them because he’s with someone in their family? Think about the faithless children who are relying on the faithfulness of their parents. Think about the godly wife with a faithless husband who thinks he has a table for two reserved in eternity. You may live together as man and wife, you may travel together, you may spend all your time together, and yet one of you may be miles and miles away from Christ. You know, we talk about Christian homes, we talk about Christian marriages, we talk about Christian colleges, we talk about Christian bookstores, we talk about Christian music. The only thing that can be a Christian is a person. And just because someone in your home or in your marriage is a Christian does not make you a Christian. And anyone planning to enter heaven based on their marital status needs to take a look at Matthew 22:30, “and the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage.” God’s plan of salvation demands an individual response. And just because Jesus is with someone in the family, doesn’t mean he’s with you.

The next thing we see is that Mary and Joseph both assumed Jesus was with them. But apparently they didn’t double check. You know, the world is full of people who are trying to assume their way into heaven. They don’t need to double check anything. They’re just doing what their parents did and their parents couldn’t have been wrong. They’re just doing what the preacher tells them and the preacher can’t be wrong. I don’t need to double check. I’ll just assume they’re right. We all remember what the Bible says about the Bereans in Acts 17:11. “Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.” “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Why were the Bereans noble? Because they double-checked. I bet they triple-checked. Why? Because they didn’t just assume that what they’d been told was right, even when the person telling them was the Apostle Paul. They went to the source and they made sure for themselves. We need more Bereans today, but you know there’s a problem. There’s a problem with being a Berean. And I don’t think I’m telling anything new to any of the Bereans among us today. The problem is that while the Bible says the Bereans were noble, the Bible never once said the Bereans were popular. And people who measure the world by the word will never be popular. But noble beats popular every day, doesn’t it? We all know how dangerous assumptions can be. We see it in the news every day. Pilots, airplane pilots, they have a detailed checklist before they take off. Surgeons, they have checklists on difficult operations. Lawyers have checklists when they’re preparing for trial. Experience tells them don’t base such important actions on assumptions. Don’t just assume something’s been done right or it’s been done at all, but double check, make sure. They check, they check again, but how many people today are basing their eternal destiny on assumptions that have never been checked by them. The spiritual lesson for us is that we must not just assume Jesus is with us, we must know it. And the Bible tells us we can know it. 1 John 3:24, “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him, and hereby we know that he abides in us by the Spirit which he hath given us.” We can know for sure, but like the noble Bereans, we must not base our eternal destiny on assumptions.

The next thing we see is that Mary and Joseph left Jesus behind, most likely because they were focused on other things. They were getting ready to leave, getting the caravan together, getting everything organized. They had some other things on their mind, most likely. And people who leave Jesus behind today do so more often than not because they are focused on other things. They’re diverted by other pursuits. The word in their hearts is like the seed sown among the thorns in Matthew 13:22. “The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. It proves unfruitful.” But focus takes effort, particularly in our modern world. We’re the great leisure class. We’re all plugged in. We have countless diversions that threaten to hypnotize us. Long before our modern electronic age, C.S. Lewis called our world the kingdom of noise. And for so many, that noise is drowning out what they so need to hear. Satan detests silence because silence leads to contemplation. Silence leads to focus. Satan thrives on noise. Satan thrives on confusion. And the solution, the solution is spiritual focus. What does that mean? We should all focus on Jesus. What does that mean? Well, Jesus tells us, Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” He tells us in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” What is purity of heart? It’s a focused heart. It’s a pure heart. It’s an undivided heart. It’s a focused heart. So I think what Jesus is saying in that great beatitude is blessed are those who focus on God, for they shall see Him. You know, we may think we can keep one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world, but Jesus tells us otherwise. “No man can serve two masters.” Matthew 6:24. Isn’t this all what Paul’s telling us in Romans 8:5? “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” That’s focus. We can be focused on the wrong things or focused on the right things. When Paul is talking about setting our minds on something, he’s talking about focusing on that thing. Those who are focused on Jesus set their mind on spiritual things. The one thing they do is press forward toward their goal, Philippians 3:13-14. They lay aside every weight to run with endurance. Hebrews 12:1. That is spiritual focus. Can’t we just picture Mary and Joseph doing the exact same thing as they hurried back to find Jesus? Can’t we just picture their focus on their goal? Laying aside every weight. Don’t you bet they left the luggage behind? pressing forward toward their goal? You think they took some sightseeing trips on their way back? Running the race with endurance? Don’t you think they were hurrying? We need to do the same thing spiritually.

The ninth thing we see is that to find Jesus, Mary and Joseph had to turn completely around, completely around and go back. Can you imagine Mary and Joseph’s reaction when they realized they left Jesus behind? Can you imagine their anxiety as they traveled back to the city and started looking for him there? We don’t have to imagine, verse 48 tells us they were greatly distressed. You think they hesitated for even a moment when they realized Jesus was not with them? You think they went home first to think about what they should do? You think they decided to sleep on it? Do you think they decided to, “Well, we’ll just pick him up next year when we come back.” They turned around completely and went back immediately with urgency to where they had last seen him. There was no hesitation. Jesus was missing. They had to find him immediately. But those who realize they are spiritually away from Jesus react with any less urgency than that. The road to hell is filled with the nonchalant. That voice telling you you have all the time in the world is the voice of Satan. God is telling you that your life is like a vapor. God is telling you that today is the day of salvation. God is telling you that tomorrow may be too late. And if someone here is away from Jesus, you’re not going to find Him without moving from where you are. Mary and Joseph turned themselves completely around physically. You will need to turn yourselves completely around spiritually and head in the opposite direction from the way in which you’ve been going away from Christ. Judas and Peter both walked away from Jesus, and both were sorrowful that they had done so, but only one of them turned around and went back.

The final thing we notice is that Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the most obvious place, the temple. Verse 44 tells us they first looked for Jesus among their own company, but he wasn’t there. And we don’t know where all they looked when they arrived in Jerusalem, but they found him in the temple. You know, many people are looking for Jesus today. There’s a lot of lookers, a lot of searchers. They’re looking for Jesus in man-made religious institutions. They’re looking for Jesus within themselves, they’re looking for Jesus in others, they’re searching for Jesus on Google, they’re searching for Jesus in philosophy, psychology, politics, and nature, and science. They’re looking everywhere, except the most obvious place, his Word. They sit with their Bibles closed, awaiting a word from God. And what they need to do is open and read. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-15 that the Holy Scriptures were able to make him wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. If we want to find Jesus, we need to look for him in his word. And when we’d open his word, we will find him. We will find his gospel, which is the power of God to salvation. We will find what we need to do, find Christ and never leave Him behind. The event in Luke chapter 2 had a happy ending, beautiful reconciliation between Jesus and His worried parents. And the good news of the gospel is that you can also experience a happy ending. You can experience a spiritual reconciliation with Jesus. There’s no need for anyone here this morning to go home without Jesus. If Jesus is not with you because you’ve left him behind, you were once with him, but he’s not there anymore because you’ve gone on without him, then you need to repent and go back to where you left him because Jesus hasn’t moved. He’s been waiting for you. He’s been pleading for you to return. If as in 1 Peter 2:25 you have strayed like sheep, then you must now return to the shepherd and overseer of your soul. If Jesus is not with you because you’ve never obeyed his gospel, then you must do so at once with urgency, immediately. Now is the day. You must turn your life completely around. You must repent of your sins. You must confess that Jesus is the Son of God. You must be baptized for the remission of your sins. must live faithfully unto death, never leaving Jesus. Now is the day of salvation. Whatever you do, don’t go home today without Jesus. If we can help in any way, please come while we stand and while we sing.