Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 2:46
And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
46. after three days ] This, in the Jewish idiom, probably means ‘on the third day.’ One day was occupied by the journey to Beeroth; on the second, they sought him in the caravans and at Jerusalem; the next day they found him in the Temple. The unsettled state of the country would add to their alarm.
in the temple ] Probably in one of the numerous chambers which ran round the Court, and abutted on the actual building.
sitting ] Doubtless at the feet of the Rabbis, as was the custom of Jewish boys when sitting began to be permitted.
in the midst of the doctors ] Rather, teachers. The most eminent Rabbis of this period some of whom may have been present were Hillel, his rival Shammai, and his son Rabban Shimeon, Babha ben Butah, Nicodemus, Jochanan ben Zakkai, &c.
hearing them, and asking them questions ] Obviously with all modest humility. The Apocryphal Gospels characteristically degrade this scene, and represent the boy Christ as behaving with a forwardness which most flagrantly contradicts the whole tenor of the narrative, and would have been specially displeasing to Jewish elders ( Pirke Abhth, V. 12. 15).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
After three days – This means, probably, on the third day after they had left Jerusalem – that is, the first day they went toward Galilee, on the second they returned to Jerusalem, and on the third they found him. Compare Mat 27:63; Mar 8:31.
In the temple – In the court of the temple, for Jesus, not being a Levitical priest, could not enter into the temple itself. See Mat 21:12.
In the midst of the doctors – The teachers, the rabbis, who were the instructors of the people in matters of religion.
Asking them questions – Proposing questions to them respecting the law and the prophets. There is no reason to suppose that this was for the purpose of perplexing or confounding them. The questions were doubtless proposed in a respectful manner, and the answers listened to with proper deference to their age and rank. Jesus was a child, and religion does not teach a child to be rude or uncivil, even though he may really know much more than more aged persons. Religion teaches all, and especially the young, to treat others with respect, to show them the honor that is due, to venerate age, and to speak kindly to all, 1Pe 2:17; 1Pe 3:8, 1Pe 3:9; Exo 20:12; Mat 23:3; Rom 13:7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 2:46
After three days they found Him in the Temple
The finding of Jesus in the Temple
I.
A lesson to boys and young men–THE MANLINESS OF OBEDIENCE AND SUBJECTION TO A MOTHER.
II. Teachers may learn THE BEST METHOD OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE, by asking and answering questions.
III. Mothers are by this incident reminded that THEIR CHILDREN HAVE OTHER INTERESTS THAN THOSE OF THIS WORLD.
IV. A lesson for all: JESUS, LOST IN THE BUSTLE AND EXCITEMENT OF THE CROWD, IS ALWAYS TO BE FOUND AGAIN IN THE TEMPLE. (D. Longwill.)
The Saviour lost and found
Jesus Christ is only lost by sin; when lost, He must be found by repentance and grace.
I. WE MUST KNOW OF OUR LOSS We often lose Him, at first, without knowing it, just as His parents did; we, like them, sooner or later find out our loss.
1. We must know of our loss if we would seek to regain it; we should not seek Jesus Christ if we did not know that we had lost Him. The beginning of salvation is the knowledge of sin. He who does not know that he sins, is not willing to suffer correction.
2. We must know of our loss, or we can never render God fitting honour and glory for our recovery from it.
II. OUR WAY MUST BE BETRODDEN. We must look back, by examination of conscience, over that past life during which we have lived without Jesus Christ.
1. Sweep all sin away by our detestation of it (Luk 15:8).
2. Cover all our defilements in the robe of grace, that we may be meet for Jesus Christ (Son 3:2).
III. THE LOSS MUST BE MOURNED FOR. Contrition follows examination.
1. Undo, as far as possible, the dishonour done to God.
2. Punish sin in ourselves. The heart being the fount of sin, we afflict it with sorrow and remorse.
IV. WE RETAIN OUR RECOVERED TREASURE.
1. NO gain to have found Jesus Christ with sorrow and hurt, if He be lost again.
2. A second time we may not be able to find Him. (M. Faber.)
Jesus at home in the Temple
It is easy to understand that the Temple must have had a wonderful attraction for Him, so that He found it very difficult to tear Himself away from it. Our Lord, having now ceased to be an infant, and become a child, was fully conscious who He was. He was now able to look back to His former state of existence, when He lay in His Fathers bosom from all eternity, and was worshipped as a Person in the blessed Trinity by the holy angels. As His faculties opened, it would dawn upon His memory what He had been. Now, therefore, mark the effect upon Him, when He sees for the first time the services of the Temple. The Temple was a little figure or model of heaven; the Temple music of the praises of God continually sung in heaven; the Temple services of the pure and holy worship which the angels continually offer in heaven Heb 8:5). When He saw the Temple services for the first time, they struck a chord in His memory, which vibrated sweetly and solemnly. The priests and Levites, offering their sacrifices and their incense, and singing their psalms, reminded Him of the blessed angels paying their homage to God and chanting His praises in heaven. He had never been the like upon earth before; and it is quite probable that, in a world of sin and sorrow, the blessed Jesus (even as a child) felt out of place, and away from His true home. Can you not imagine a person who had passed his early childhood in a southern clime, where there were birds of rich plumage, lovely stars at night, being suddenly banished to the North Pole, where his eye rests upon nothing but ice and snow, and all the beauties of nature seem to be locked up by a perpetual winter? Suddenly a bunch of bright flowers, or a bird of beautiful plumage, is brought to him as a gift from the south. It reminds him of his native country, and brings back in a moment the flowers, birds, and landscapes of that happy land. Something of this sort may have been our blessed Lords memories, on seeing in early childhood the services of the Temple. He would feel that the Temple gave a true idea of His Fathers house in heaven–was His Fathers house on earth. Now a Father house is a home; and what dutiful child is there who does not love home; who is not drawn towards home, when away from it; who does not feel it to be a place of shelter, security, happiness, and peace, and cling to it accordingly? (Dean Goulburn.)
Christ engaged in Bible study
Jesus was not satisfied with worship alone, nor yet with passive hearing of Bible expositions. He wanted a share in Bible study. He had questions to ask of the teachers, and He was willing to be questioned. Although He was the Son of God, He felt the need of Bible study; and, feeling that need, He went into the Bible school, where the need could be met. If there is a man nowadays who thinks that he doesnt need Bible study, or that it is beneath his dignity to be in the Bible school, he either seems to suppose that he knows more than Jesus knew, or he seems to count it hardly safe to be on the same plane with the Son of God. Yet there are men and women who put a high value on worship, and none at all–for themselves–on social Bible study. They are regularly at the preaching services, but never in the Sunday School. Poor, needy, conceited creatures! (H. C. Trumbull.)
The power of simplicity
One striking feature in the life of Christ upon the earth is the unexpected places where we find Him. His advent was a surprise in its humbleness. Reason would never have deigned to stoop to a manger for a Messiah. Philosophy would scarcely have dreamed of pointing out the Christ of God with plane and hammer at the carpenters bench. Faith itself was surprised to discover Him as a lad among the bearded doctors of Israel. But there He is. The great-browed scholars of the Temple do not in the least suspect the character of the wonderful Child standing in their midst. They debate with Him and are puzzled at His arguments. Their ritualism will not hold together before that young and radiant face. How little the Masters realize that from those tender lips, pronouncing such sublimely simple things, shall fall words of fire which shall utterly consume all their traditions! That gentle youth, astray from His mother, by His quiet life, and innocent language, shall ere long expose and overthrow the last vestige of pretentions and priestly religion, and establish a living religion, vital with an energy which shall conquer death and the grave. The Rabbins have handled the parchment so long and mumbled the letter so much, that they cannot understand the gospel of the Child. How often does Christ stand among the learned systems and schemes of this world, unknown and unsuspected, because so simple and unobtrusive! (Alexander Clark.)
Christ in the Temple school
It was not in the more sacred parts of the Temple, nor in the Holy Place, nor even in the Court of the Altar of Burnt-offering, that our Lord was found. There were chambers in the precincts of the Temple, which were used sometimes for the meetings of the Sanhedrim, sometimes as schools where the doctors might teach. This last was a very proper arrangement: for the training of young persons in Gods Jaw is a work of piety most acceptable to God, and may be fitly carried on in the house of prayer. Perhaps our Lord, during the eight days of His parents stay at Jerusalem, may have been attracted by the schools in the Temple, and have liked to linger there and to hear what was going on. And so His parents may have thought of seeking Him in these schools, feeling that, if in Jerusalem at all, He was sure to be there. Let us observe that what drew Him to the Temple was not only the beautiful and solemn worship which went on in it, but the teaching which was given there. He loved not only prayer and praise, but learning also. Oh, that there were more children like Him! while there are some who like the Church service well enough, if it is conducted with stateliness and music, how very few are there who show a desire for religious instruction, who take great pleasure in their preparation for confirmation, and listen to sermons eagerly, trying to get what good they can out of them. (Dean Goulburn.)
The spirit and method in which to learn
The young should be eager to learn, as Christ was in His boyhood.
1. He showed a thirst for the knowledge of Gods law, when but twelve years old; and how are we to judge of what is wrong in us, but by taking Him as our model, and asking what there is in us, which does not watch with His example? As a ruler applied to a line which we have drawn with our hand, shows that it is not straight, so our Lords example, applied to any particular piece of human conduct, shows at once how far it is from being what it ought to be.
2. Our Lord submitted to learn of the appointed teachers of His nation. It is not surely very much that He should require of us submission to all in authority over us.
3. We see also that quite the best way of learning is for the pupil to ask questions of the teacher. Only let them be thoughtful questions. Nothing will more open the mind of the taught than the explanation of a difficulty which has been raised in the mind by something the teacher has said. Very often the question will be useful to the teacher as well, leading him into some new and interesting train of thought upon an old and well-worn subject. Questions force people to think. (Dean Goulburn.)
Answers
I. Christ gives a clear answer about the spiritual world.
II. Another cry of the soul is answered by Jesus when He tells us, that God is the heavenly Father of mankind.
III. The Lord Jesus answered another question of humanity by showing that our heavenly Father knows the secret inner life of every man.
IV. Jesus answers the cry of the soul by telling us, that our Fathers business is the highest work of humanity. (W. Birch.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 46. Sitting in the midst of the doctors] The rabbins, who were explaining the law and the ceremonies of the Jewish religion to their disciples.
Asking them questions.] Not as a scholar asks his teacher, to be informed; but as a teacher, who proposes questions to his scholars in order to take an occasion to instruct them.
In the time of Josephus, the Jewish teachers were either very ignorant or very humble: for he tells us that, “when he was about fourteen years of age, the chief priests, and the principal men of the city, were constantly coming to him to be more accurately instructed in matters relative to the law.” See his Life, sect. ii. If this were true, it is no wonder to find them now listening, with the deepest attention, to such teaching as they never before heard.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
46. hearing . . . askingThemethod of question and answer was the customary form of rabbinicalteaching; teacher and learner becoming by turns questioner andanswerer, as may be seen from their extant works. This would givefull scope for all that “astonished them in His understandingand answers.” Not that He assumed the office of teaching“Hishour” for that “was not yet come,” and His equipmentfor that was not complete; for He had yet to “increase inwisdom” as well as “stature” (Lu2:52). In fact, the beauty of Christ’s example lies very much inHis never at one stage of His life anticipating the duties ofanother. All would be in the style and manner of a learner, “openingHis mouth and panting.” “His soul breaking for the longingthat it had unto God’s judgments at all times” (Ps119:20), and now more than ever before, when finding Himself forthe first time in His Father’s house. Still there would be in Hisquestions far more than in their answers; and if we maytake the frivolous interrogatories with which they afterwards pliedHim, about the woman that had seven husbands and such like, as aspecimen of their present drivelling questions, perhaps we shall notgreatly err, if we suppose that “the questions” which Henow “asked them” in return were just the germs of thosepregnant questions with which He astonished and silenced them inafter years: “What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? IfDavid call Him Lord, how is He then his Son?” “Whichis the first and great commandment?” “Who is myneighbour?“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass, that after three days,…. From their first setting out from Jerusalem, when Jesus tarried behind; or on the third day, which may be reckoned thus; the first day was spent in journeying, and the second in coming back the same journey, and the third day they sought all Jerusalem for him, when
they found him in the temple; his Father’s house, the house of God, a figure of a Gospel church, where the word and ordinances are duly administered, and where Christ is to be found. What part of the temple Christ was in, is not easy to say; it was not in the holy of holies, for none but the high priest went into that, and that only on the day of atonement; nor in the court of the priests, for he was not among them, but the doctors; nor in the court of the Israelites, where the common people worshipped: it may be best judged of, by observing where their several consistories, or courts of judicature were a; the grand sanhedrim sat in the sanctuary, in the room Gazith; the lesser sanhedrim, which consisted of twenty three persons, and the bench of three; the one sat in the gate of the court (of the Israelites); and the other in the gate of the mountain of the house (or court of the Gentiles); it seems most likely, that he was in the room Gazith, where the grand sanhedrim sat; for here was the largest number of doctors; and it was the more amazing to his parents, to find him here; unless it should be rather thought, that he was in the synagogue in the temple, for such an one there b was there; where, after service was over, he might be admitted to a conversation with the learned doctors that belonged to it: it follows,
sitting in the midst of the doctors: the principal doctors in being at this time, were Hillell and Shammai, the one the president, and the other vice president of the council; and Rabban Simeon, the son of Hillell, who succeeded him in his office; and R. Judah, and R. Joshua, the sons of Bethira; Jonathan ben Uzziel, the author of the Chaldee paraphrase; and R. Jochanan ben Zaccai. The sanhedrim sat in a semicircular form, like the half of a round corn floor; so that they could see one another, and the prince, and the father of the court, could see them all; and before them sat three rows of the disciples of the wise men, or scholars; and in each row there were three and twenty men: the first row was next to the sanhedrim, and the second row below that, and the third row below that; and in every row they sat according to their superiority in wisdom c: on a seat, in one of these rows, I think, Christ sat among the scholars; and this may be called sitting among the doctors, because these seats were just before them, and were in a semicircular form; at least he might be here at first; when upon the questions he put, and the answers he made, he was taken particular notice of by the doctors, who might call him up, and place him between them; for this, in some cases, was done to scholars. Thus, it is said d,
“if one of the disciples, or scholars, say, I have something to say in favour of him, (one that is on his trial,) they bring him up, and “cause him to sit in the midst of them”; and he does not go down from thence all the whole day.”
Both hearing them: their debates and decisions about points in the law of Moses:
and asking them questions; upon those points. Had this been a “Midrash”, or school, there would be no difficulty of producing instances of putting questions to the doctors there; but there was no such place in the temple, or synagogue, where teachers were interrogated by their hearers; for which reason I think the passages, produced by Dr. Lightfoot, are not so pertinent, since they refer to such a place: it is very likely, since there were such a number of scholars admitted to sit before the sanhedrim to hear their controversies, and determinations, and were allowed, in some cases, to speak; so they might be suffered to put questions, in order to gain knowledge.
a Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 10. sect. 2. Maimon. Hilch. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 3. b Jarchi in Misn. Yoma, c. 7. sect. 1. c Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 4. sect. 3, 4. Maimon. Hilch. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 7. d Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 5. sect. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After three days ( ). One day out, one day back, and on the third day finding him.
In the temple ( ). Probably on the terrace where members of the Sanhedrin gave public instruction on sabbaths and feast-days, so probably while the feast was still going on. The rabbis probably sat on benches in a circle. The listeners on the ground, among whom was Jesus the boy in a rapture of interest.
Both hearing them and asking them questions ( ). Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel (Ac 22:3). Picture this eager boy alive with interest. It was his one opportunity in a theological school outside of the synagogue to hear the great rabbis expound the problems of life. This was the most unusual of all children, to be sure, in intellectual grasp and power. But it is a mistake to think that children of twelve do not think profoundly concerning the issues of life. What father or mother has ever been able to answer a child’s questions?
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
After three days. From the time of separation.
In the temple. “We read in the Talmud that the members of the Temple – Sanhedrin, who, on ordinary days, sat as a court of appeal from the close of the morning to the time of the evening sacrifice, were wont, upon Sabbaths and feast days, to come out upon the terrace of the temple, and there to teach. In such popular instruction the utmost latitude of questioning would be given. It is in this audience, which sat upon the ground, surrounding and mingling with the doctors, and hence during, not after, the feast, that we must seek the child Jesus” (Edersheim, “Life and Times,” etc., 1 247). From this, Edersheim argues that the parents set out for home before the close of the feast.
Sitting. Not occupying a teacher ‘s place, but sitting in the circle among the doctors and their hearers. See above. Compare Act 22:3.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And it came to pass, that after three days,” (kai egeneto meta hemeras treis) “And it occurred that after three days,” first, the long day before they missed Him, second, the day of their diligent and anxious inquires as they returned to Jerusalem, where they saw Him last, and third, after the third day was well spent.
2) “They found him In the temple,” (heuron auton en to hiero) “They found (located or spotted) him in the temple,” found Him in His Father’s house, Joh 2:16. He was in a wing, or attached room to the temple, where Rabbis taught their schools.
3) “Sitting in the midst of the doctors,” (kathezomenon en meso ton didaskalon) “Sitting right in the midst of the teachers,” not in the sanctuary proper, where only Priests were to enter, Luk 1:9; Luk 2:27, among the doctors and lawyers of Moses’ Law, as if at home, where he should be, Joh 2:17.
4) “Both hearing them,” (lai akouonta auton) “Both hearing (listening to) them,” listening attentively to them, undaunted by their doctoral formality and veneer of piety.
5) “And asking them questions.” (kai eperotonta autous) “And repeatedly questioning or quizzing them,” as a model scholar would do. He could not inquire relevantly and intelligently unless He listened attentively and thoughtfully, which He did. For He was yet to increase in wisdom and stature, Luk 2:52. He later astounded them with the questions: 1) What think ye of Christ? 2) Whose son is ?Hebrews , 3) Which is the first and great commandment? etc.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
46. Sitting in the midst of the doctors Rays of divine brightness must have evidently shone in this child: otherwise those haughty men would not have permitted him to sit along with them. Though it is probable that he occupied a lower seat, and not the rank of the doctors, yet such disdainful men would not have condescended to give him an audience in a public assembly, if some divine power had not constrained them. This was a sort of prelude to his public calling, the full time of which had not yet arrived. In this way, however, he intended to give nothing more than a taste, which would immediately have faded from the recollection of men, had not Mary kept it for us laid up in her heart, (Luk 2:19,) to bring it out afterwards, along with other treasures, for the use of all the godly.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(46) Sitting in the midst of the doctors.A chamber of the Temple was set apart as a kind of open free school. The doctors or teachersfamous doctors of the Law (Act. 5:34)sat in Moses seat; the older students on a low bench; the younger on the ground, literally at the feet of their instructor. The relation between master and scholar was often one of affectionate reverence and sympathy, and was expressed by one of the famous scribes in a saying worth remembering, I have learnt much from the Rabbis, my teachers; I have learnt more from the Rabbis, my colleagues; but from my scholars I have learnt most of all. It is interesting to think that among the doctors then present may have been the venerable Hillel, then verging upon his hundredth year; his son and successor, Simeon; his grandson, the then youthful Gamaliel; Jonathan, the writer of the Chaldee Targum or Paraphrase of the Sacred Books; and Shammai, the rival of Hillel, who bound where the latter loosed.
Both hearing them, and asking them questions.The method of teaching was, we see, essentially and reciprocally catechetical. The kind of questions current in the schools would include such as, What is the great commandment of the Law? What may or may not be done on the Sabbath? How is such a precept to be paraphrased; what is its true meaning? As the Targum of Jonathan included the books of Joshua, Judges 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets, the questions may probably have turned also on the meaning of prophecies, the expectations of the Christ, and the like. The legends of the Apocryphal Gospels make the wisdom of the child Jesus take a wide range over astronomy and other sciences.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
46. After three days One day spent in going homeward, one in returning, and the third on which he was found. The parents with their son doubtless rejoined their caravan.
In the temple Where he was yet to dispute with the national doctors in a different style. The last time he had been in the temple was at his circumcision, when holy Simeon blessed him. Jesus was not in the temple building proper, but in some one of the apartments in the enclosure.
Probably it was in one of the porticoes of the court of the women, where the schools of the Rabbis were held. But Lightfoot thinks it may have been even in the Sanhedrim.
Sitting The sceptical claim that pupils always stood to receive the lessons of the doctors is not well established. Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel, (Act 22:3.) But in fact Jesus was not a pupil but an auditor.
Sitting in the midst of the doctors Cavillers have here raised many minute objections. An effort, say they, is made by Luke to make the boy Jesus a monstrous prodigy. He sits as chief doctor in the midst of a circle of listening rabbies, who are amazed at his miraculous teachings. All this is futile. The so-called Apocryphal Gospels are indeed guilty of the puerile folly of making Jesus a monstrosity of boyish doctorship. The Jewish doctors admit that they promoted R. Eleazar Ben Azariah to the presidency of the Sanhedrim at sixteen. And the historian Josephus shows a similar vanity in regard to his own precocious knowledge of law. “In my education, I attained to a great reputation for learning, appearing to excel in memory and understanding. Yet being a boy of about fourteen years, I was eulogized for my love of learning, and the chief priests and the first men of the city always collected to learn from me something more accurate about points of law.” The modest statement of Luke is in striking contrast with the exaggerations alike of the Apocryphals, the doctors, and the historian, yet gives us a most interesting and natural view of his pure but eminent development. No position of superiority or even equality to the rabbies, is intimated; and yet surely to no young Samuel or Moses would so deep a reverence be due even from hoary rank and learning as to this young Messiah.
The seats of the doctors were raised fronting the rest of the assembly and in the Sanhedrim at any rate, formed a semicircle, so that the half-surrounded Jesus could easily be in their midst. Of the doctors , didaskaloi, Greek for teachers. The root of this Greek word , dach, is the same as the Latin root doc, and the same as the Saxon teach. Hence , doctor, and teacher, are the same word in different forms. Some of the greatest doctors of Jewish history lived about this period. The great Hillel, the restorer of ancient rabbinical lore, “a second Ezra,” whose scholars were thousands, died this very year. His successor, Simeon, first received the title of rabban, and was followed in line by Rabban Gamaliel, Paul’s tutor, and by others who were named among the greatest of Jewish geniuses and holy men.
Hearing them and asking questions But it is not said teaching or disputing. He sat not as a doctor, but as an inquirer among the doctors. The method of instruction among the Jewish doctors was very conversational and catechetical; teacher and pupil indulging in both interrogation and reply.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And it came about, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and asking them questions.’
It would take the parents all night, and even some of the next day, to get back to Jerusalem and then they began their search. Nor would they find Him immediately, for they probably went to different places where relatives had been staying to check there. It was thus not until the following day that they found Him in the Temple. He was either completely oblivious of the fact that He would be missed, or having discovered that they had gone, was making the best of it. (His thought would be that after all, if they wanted Him, they would know where He was. To Him it was so obvious that it did not need to be spelled out).
They discovered Him sitting among the Teachers, and listening to their wise words, and asking them questions. He had soon learned to discern which of them had something worth while to say. It was quite normal for great Teachers (and not so great Teachers) to sit in the Temple speaking to their disciples, and whoever else wished to listen.
‘After three days.’ That is, not on the day they returned, but the next day. Jesus had seemingly spent at least two nights in the Temple. But it was well lit and He had possibly not noted the passage of time, and He would have been able to snooze whenever He needed to. Furthermore at this feast kindly folk would also have gladly given Him food. It was a time for generosity. He meanwhile clearly assumed that His parents must be quite content as they had not sent for Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
His Father’s business:
v. 46 And it came to pass that after three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.
v. 47. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
v. 48. And when they saw Him, they were amazed. And His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.
v. 49. And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?
v. 50. And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them. The three days’ search with its attendant anxiety may well have aroused the thought in Mary’s heart that the prophecy of Simeon was even now being fulfilled. But at last Mary and Joseph found Jesus, after assiduously searching over the whole city, in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the learned teachers, in the hall where the school-classes of the children of the Law, the great high school, assembled for advanced instruction to learn to keep the commandments. There He was sitting, outwardly in the role of a pupil, but in reality in earnest conference, in which He assumed almost a teacher’s functions. He was giving due attention to the explanations of the doctors, but He was also putting searching questions, to the amazement of all those that were present to hear Him. His understanding, His ability to penetrate a given matter, and the answers which He gave, were of a kind to provoke astonishment. Here was something of the rare insight and the ease of presentation which in later years delighted His audiences. But Mary and Joseph were disturbed on account of the apparent audacity of the boy, which seemed to them like forwardness. And Mary, still full of the excitement of the search and with her mother’s heart yearning toward her Son, reproachfully asked why He had dealt with them thus, not realizing that the fault was not His, but theirs. Note: The tactful way in which Mary refers to Joseph is an indisputable proof of the wisdom with which she brought up her Child; a lesson for many modern parents. They had sought Him with anxious solicitude. But Jesus does not accept the reproof. Not reproachfully, but with all the sincerity and boldness of holy childhood, He asks her why they had sought in that manner. He gives them an inkling of the purpose of His life. They should know that He must be about His Father’s business. This is the obligation of His life: the things of His Father He must be engaged in, be concerned about. The Temple was the place where the service of His Father was supposed to be most perfect, where the Word of grace was supposed to be taught. “Wherefore the Temple was also called His sanctuary and sacred dwelling, since there He, through His Word, showed His presence and permitted Himself to be heard. Thus Christ is about His Father’s business when He speaks to us through His Word and through it brings us to the Father. ” This answer of Jesus, with its implication of divine sonship, was beyond the understanding even of Mary, who had remembered all the sayings concerning her Son.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 2:46. They found him in the temple On the morrow after their arrival, the parents of Jesus, to their great joy, found him in one of the chambers of the temple, sitting among the doctors, who at certain seasons, and particularly at the great festivals, taught there publicly; a custom hinted at in Jer 26:5-10. See also Joh 18:20. There were no less than three Sanhedrim, or assemblies of the doctors, who had apartments in the temple, two of these consisted of twenty-three persons each, one of which sat at “the east gate of the mountain of the house,” the other “at the gate Nicanor,” or, “the east gate of the court of Israel;” as the great Sanhedrim, consisting of seventy-one, did in the room named Gazith, near the great altar. The doctors sat on seats in the form of a crescent, but the disciples on the ground, till after the death of Gamaliel. Into which of these courts our Lord came; is quite uncertain: however, it was customary in these assemblies to propose doubts concerning the meaning of the precepts of the law, and the traditions of the elders, which was generally done by way of question. The wordhearing, is used in the rabbinical writingsto imply such skill in the traditions of the elders, as to be capable of proposing any questions concerning them, and likewise of giving answers to such as were proposed. It is certainly a great injury to the character of our blessed Redeemer, to represent this history, whether in pictures or words, as if Christ went up into the seats of the doctors, and there disputed with them. Not one word is said of his disputing by the evangelist; but only of his asking some questions, and answering others. It was a very usual thing in these assemblies, and indeed the very end of them; for they were principally designed for the catechetical examination and instruction of young people. All was conducted, no doubt, with the utmost modesty and decorum; and if Jesus were with others at the feet of these teachers, where, as we observed, learners generally sat, he might be said to be in the midst of them, as they sat on benches of a semicircular form, raised above their auditors and disciples. See Lightfoot, Drusius, and Doddridge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
Ver. 46. Sitting in the midst of the doctors ] Christus prius sedet in medio doctorum (ut recte distin. 36, Gratian) quam publice coepit munus Mediatoris obire.
Hearing them, and posing them ] In this very year the temple was profaned, even at the passover. For the priests having opened the temple doors by night, as the manner was, found a great company of dead men’s bones in the morning thrown here and there through the whole house. This, saith Josephus, was thought to have been done by the Samaritans, in spite of the Jews. But others think God had a special hand in it, to signify that the temple services were shortly to die and determine, now that the Lord of heaven and earth had taught therein with his own lively voice.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
46. ] Some (Grot., Kuin.) interpret the three days , of their one day’s journey out, one back , and one in Jerusalem: but they were more likely three days spent in search in Jerusalem (De Wette); or, at all events, reckoned from their discovery of His not being with them (Meyer).
] In one of the rooms attached to the temple , where the Rabbis taught their schools. A tradition mentioned by Lightfoot, that till the death of Gamaliel the scholars stood in these schools, appears to be false, as Kuinoel has shewn.
No stress must be laid on ; it is only among Nor must it be supposed from . that our Lord was acting the part of a master . It was the custom in the Jewish schools for the scholars to ask questions of their teachers; and a great part of the Rabbinical books consists of the answers of the Rabbis to such questions.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 2:46 . , three days, measured from the time they had last seen Him, not implying three days’ search in Jerusalem. The place where they had lodged and the temple would be among the first places visited in the search. : probably in a chamber in the temple court used for teaching and kindred purposes. Some think it was in a synagogue beside the temple.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 2:46 . , sitting; therefore, it has been inferred, as a teacher, not as a scholar, among ( ) the doctors, for scholars stood, teachers only sitting. An unwelcome conclusion, to which, happily, we are not shut up by the evidence, the posture-rule on which it rests being more than doubtful ( vide Vitringa, Synag. , p. 167). : nothing unusual, and nothing unbecoming a thoughtful boy.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
after = with. Greek. meta. App-104.
sitting. This was strictly according to rule.
doctors = teachers: i.e. Rabbis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
46.] Some (Grot., Kuin.) interpret the three days, of their one days journey out, one back, and one in Jerusalem: but they were more likely three days spent in search in Jerusalem (De Wette); or, at all events, reckoned from their discovery of His not being with them (Meyer).
] In one of the rooms attached to the temple, where the Rabbis taught their schools. A tradition mentioned by Lightfoot, that till the death of Gamaliel the scholars stood in these schools, appears to be false, as Kuinoel has shewn.
No stress must be laid on ; it is only among Nor must it be supposed from . that our Lord was acting the part of a master. It was the custom in the Jewish schools for the scholars to ask questions of their teachers; and a great part of the Rabbinical books consists of the answers of the Rabbis to such questions.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 2:46. , three) A mystical number. It was the same number of days that, whilst lying dead, He was regarded by His disciples as lost; ch. Luk 24:21. See Ord. Temp., p. 234.- , in the temple) in the outer courts of the temple.- , sitting in the midst) for the sake of dignity, and not in the fashion of one who was learning, or of one who was teaching, but of one holding a conference with others: comp. Luk 2:47.-, asking questions) He was proposing the questions, and solving them in His answers: Luk 2:47.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
after: Luk 2:44, Luk 2:45, 1Ki 12:5, 1Ki 12:12, Mat 12:40, Mat 16:21, Mat 27:63, Mat 27:64
the doctors: Luk 5:17, Act 5:34
both: Isa 49:1, Isa 49:2, Isa 50:4
Reciprocal: Deu 33:3 – they sat 2Ki 4:38 – were sitting Psa 26:8 – Lord Psa 84:10 – For Pro 20:11 – General Eze 20:1 – and sat Hag 2:7 – and the Mal 3:1 – and Luk 8:35 – sitting Luk 10:39 – which Act 22:3 – at
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRIST LOST AND FOUND
And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple.
Luk 2:46
The guardians of the Child were devout Jews. Is it not somewhat significant that we see in the life of our Lord between His nativity and His ministry, His obedience to the law? And does not this show us quite clearly and significantly how our Lord Jesus Christ came not Himself to destroy the law, but to fulfil the law, and how He was obedient to the law for man? They were devout, and kept all the observances of religion.
I. Though devout, they lost Christ.Though they were devout, and kept all the observances of religion, yet they lost Him. Joseph, His faithful guardian, and Mary, His ever-blessed mother, lost the young lad in Jerusalem. Amid the confusion of the crowds they who had taken Him down to Egypt and brought Him back without a mishap, when they took Him to the Passover lost Him. Not only were there great crowds, but the time of the feast was a time of general conversation and arguments about all questions of religion. The doctors sat in the Temple to answer any questions that might be brought to themthe exigencies of the kingdom of Israel, or concerning the customs and ceremonies of the law. They met together from all parts to exchange their thoughts and ideas, to ask questions, and to listen to answers. And it may have been that in the interestfor surely Joseph and His mother had many questions to askin the interest of the occasion the Child Jesus slipped away and was lost. I want you, just from this circumstance, to remember that even devout people may at times miss the Saviour and lose Him. I dare say some of you have felt at times that your personal love for the Saviour seems to have forsaken you, that the Lord Jesus is not so close to you as He has been, and that there is something that has come between you to separate you. Well, let us remember thisthat it was Joseph and His mother who first felt this separation. And I do not think that you will find that the Lord God has really deserted you, although it very often is to a faithful believer a very bitter experience, as you well know. They lost Him at the feast. Now there are many who say: These festivals are so secular. Somehow or other we seem to lose religion in them. There are many who love the Lord Jesus who really love the fast of Lent and the quiet of Holy Week better than the feasts of Christmas and Easter. In the confusion of the feast they lose the sense of nearness to Him Who is the Master. And I ask you, has not this often been your experience? If so, it was the experience of Joseph and His mother. It often is, I believe, the experience of many.
II. They found Him in the Temple.It is a law of natural science that if you wish to be impressed you must put yourself into communication with that which is likely to impress you. If you want to love your Saviour, go back to His home, where people love Him, where they speak about Him, where the very association of the building calls you right up to His side. Do not for one moment be without God, without Christ, without hopea stranger from the commonwealth of Israel. You and your Saviour together in life, you and your Saviour together in death, you and your Saviour never to separate again for all eternity. It is a beautiful religion whatever you may say, and if you think there is an estrangement between you and your dear Master, go back to Jerusalem, to the Temple, and find Him.
Rev. A. H. Stanton.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6
It was three days before they found their son. The doctors were the teachers in the law of Moses. Hearing and asking questions shows that Jesus was conducting what is sometimes termed a “forum” in which questions and answers may be exchanged between the people in the assembly.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
[Sitting in the midst of the doctors.] I. “There are three courts of judicature in the Temple; one in the gate of the Court of the Gentiles; another in the gate of the Court of Israel; a third in the room Gazith.”
There was also a synagogue in the Temple, which must be observed. “The high priest came to read” [those places which were to be read on the day of atonement]. “The chazan of the synagogue takes the book, and gives it to the ruler of the synagogue; the ruler to the sagan; the sagan to the high priest,” etc. Where the Gloss: “There was a synagogue near the court, in the Mountain of the Temple.”
In which of these places Christ was found sitting amongst the doctors, let those tell us that undertake to shew the place where his parents first missed him.
II. It is not easy to say what place he could be admitted to amongst the doctors, especially when that custom obtained which is mentioned: “The Rabbins have a tradition: From the days of Moses to Rabban Gamaliel’s, they were instructed in the law standing. But when Rabban Gamaliel died, the world languished, so that they learned the law sitting.” Whence also that tradition, that, “since the death of Rabban Gamaliel, the glory of the law was eclipsed.”
Now when it was come to that pass after Gamaliel’s death, that the disciples sat while the master read, how did they sit? On the ground. Hence that passage; “Rabh would not sit upon his bed, and read to his scholar, while he sat upon the ground.” Gloss: “Either both should be on the bed, or both upon the ground.”
“The disciples of R. Eleazar Ben Shammua asked him, ‘How came you to this great age?’ He answered them, ‘I never made the synagogue a common way ‘ [that is, I never took my passage through the synagogue for a shorter cut]. ‘And I never walked upon the heads of the holy people.’ ” The Gloss is, “upon the heads of his disciples, sitting upon the ground.”
Whether on the naked floor, might be a question, if there were place for it; but we let that pass at this present. For this custom of sitting prevailed after the death of Gamaliel, who took the chair many years after this that we are now upon. The great Hillel possessed the seat at this time; or if he was newly dead, his son Simeon succeeded him: so that it was the disciples’ part in this age to stand, not to sit in the presence of their doctors. How therefore should it be said of Christ, that he was “sitting among the doctors”? Let the following clause solve the difficulty:
[And asking them questions.] It was both lawful and customary for the disciples, or any that were present, publicly to inquire either of the doctor that was then reading, or indeed the whole consistory, about any doubtful matter wherein he was not well satisfied. Take but two stories out of many others that may illustrate this matter: —
“R. Judah ordained R. Levi Ben Susi for a doctor to the Simonians. They made him a great chair, and placed him in it. Then propounded questions to him [occasioned from Deu 25:9], If thy brother’s wife should have her hands cut off, how should she loose the shoe of her husband’s brother? If she should spit blood; what then? ” Most profound questions certainly! Such as require a most cunning sophister to unriddle them.
“There is a story of a certain disciple that came and interrogated R. Joshua, Of what kind is evening prayer? He answered him, It is arbitrary. He came to Rabban Gamaliel and asked him; he told him, It is that we are in duty bound to. ‘How then,’ saith he, ‘did R. Joshua tell me it is voluntary?’ Saith the other, ‘Tomorrow, when I come into the Consistory, do thou come forth and question me about this matter.’ The disciple stood forth and asked Rabban Gamaliel [then president of the Sanhedrim] ‘Of what kind is evening prayer?’ He answers, It is a thing of duty. ‘But behold,’ saith the other, ‘R. Joshua saith, It is a thing at pleasure.’ Saith Gamaliel to Joshua, ‘Dost thou affirm it to be a thing of pleasure?’ He saith unto him, ‘No.’ ‘Stand upon thy feet,’ saith the other, ‘that they may witness against thee.’ Rabban Gamaliel was then sitting and expounding. [Probably this very article.] r. Joshua stood on his feet till all the people cried out to him. They say to R. Hospith the interpreter, ‘Dismiss the people,’ They say to R. Zenon the Chazan, ‘Say, Begin ye’; and they said, ‘Begin thou’; so all the people rose up and stood on their feet. They said unto him, ‘Who is it thy wickedness hath not touched?’ They went out straightway and made R. Eleazar Ben Azariah president of the council. How many seats were there? R. Jacob Ben Susi saith, fourscore seats for the disciples of the wise, beside those who stood behind the bars. R. Jose Ben R. Bon saith thirty, besides those that stood behind the bars.” We have the same story in Babylonian Beracoth; folio 27. 2.
This we transcribed the largelier, not only for proof of what we said, of the disciples’ asking the doctors questions in the court, but that the reader might have a little sight of the manner of that court, and how there were many, not only of the disciples of the Wise, but others, too, that flocked thither.
We may further add: “In a city where there are not two great wise men, one fit to teach and instruct in the whole law, the other who knows how to hear, and ask, and answer, they do not constitute a Sanhedrim, although there were a thousand Israelites there,” etc. “In a city where there are not two that may speak, and one that may hear, they do not constitute a Sanhedrim. In Bitter, there were three: In Jabneh four; viz. R. Eliezer, R. Joshua, R. Akibah, and Simeon the Temanite. He judged before them, sitting on the ground.” By him who hears they mean one skilful in the traditions, that can propound questions, and answer every question propounded. Such a one was Simeon the Temanite; who though he was a man of that learning, yet, not being promoted to become one of the elders, he sat upon the ground; that is, not on any of the benches of the fathers of the Sanhedrim; but on one of the seats that were near the ground; for they speak these things as done in the times after the death of Gamaliel. There is nothing absurd therefore in it, if we should suppose Christ gotten into the very Sanhedrim itself. Thither Joseph and his mother might come, and seeking him, might find him on the benches of the fathers of the council for that time, they having found him so capable both to propound questions and answer them. For it is plain they did admit of others, for other reasons, to sit sometimes in their seats. And it is less wonder if they suffer him to sit amongst them, being but twelve years of age, when as they promoted R. Eleazar Ben Azariah to the presidency itself when he was but sixteen. But if it was in a lower court, it is still less wonder if he sat amongst them. But that which might be chiefly inquired is, whether Christ sat amongst them as one of their disciples? This indeed is hardly credible.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Luk 2:46. After three days. Reckoned from the time when they missed Him: one day returning (possibly part of another, as they searched on the way), another of search in Jerusalem, the third day that of finding Him. Others prefer to reckon from their departure out of Jerusalem: one day out, one to return, the third of search. Either is preferable to the theory that three full days were spent in looking for Him in Jerusalem. He must have been most of the time in the temple, and it would scarcely take them so long to think of searching for Him there.
In the temple. In one of the porches of the court of the women. They found Him where Mary might go (Luk 2:48), and in these porches the Rabbis held their schools.
Sitting in the midst of the teachers, the Jewish Rabbis. There is nothing to prove that He sat there, as a teacher. The position is mentioned to show that He was not hid, but where He could easily be seen. Nor can it be proved that scholars stood and teachers sat in these assemblies. The custom in the East is for scholars to sit cross-legged on the floor.
Both hearing them, and asking them questions. The hearing is mentioned first, which opposes the idea of His having taken the position of a Rabbi. Asking them questions, was simply in accordance with the Jewish custom: the scholars asked questions.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The place where the child Jesus is found, In the temple: where could there be a more likely place to find the Son of God, than in the house of his Father? No wonder that his parents found him there; but that they went not first to seek him there.
Observe, 2. At twelve years old our Saviour disputes in the temple with the doctors of the law: never had those great rabbies heard the voice of such a tutor. Thus, in our Saviour’s non-age, he gives us a proof of his proficiency; even as the spring shows us what we may hope for of the tree in summer.
Our Saviour discovered his accomplishments by degrees: had his perfections appeared all at once, they had rather dazzled, than delighted, the eyes of the beholders; even as the sun would confound all eyes, should it appear at its first rising in its full strength. Christ could now have taught all those great rabbies the deep mysteries of God; but being not yet called by his Father to be a public teacher, he contents himself to hear with diligence, and to ask with modesty.
Learn hence, that parts and abilities for the ministerial function are not sufficient to warrant our undertaking of it without a regular call. Christ himself would not run, no not on his heavenly Father’s errand, before he was sent, much less should we.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
2. The meeting: Luk 2:46-50.
As it is improbable that they had sought for Jesus for two or three days without going to the temple, the three days must certainly date from the time of separation. The first was occupied with the journey, the second with the return, and the third with the meeting.
Lightfoot, following the Talmud, mentions three synagogues within the temple enclosure: one at the gate of the court of the Gentiles; another at the entrance of the court of the Israelites; a third in the famous peristyle lischchat hagasith, in the S.E. part of the inner court. It was there that the Rabbins explained the law. Desire for instruction led Jesus thither. The following narrative in no way attributes to Him the part of a doctor. In order to find support for this sense in opposition to the text, some critics have alleged the detail: seated in the midst of the doctors. The disciples, it is said, listened around. This opinion has been refuted by Vitringa; and Paul’s expression (Act 22:3), seated at the feet of Gamaliel, would be sufficient to prove the contrary. Nevertheless the expression, seated in the midst of the doctors, proves no doubt that the child was for the time occupying a place of honour. As the Rabbinical method of teaching was by questions,by proposing, for example, a problem taken from the law,both master and disciples had an opportunity of showing their sagacity. Jesus had given some remarkable answer, or put some original question; and, as is the case when a particularly intelligent pupil presents himself, He had attracted for the moment all the interest of His teachers. There is nothing in the narrative, when rightly understood, that savours in the least of an apotheosis of Jesus. The expressions, hearing them, and asking them questions, bear in a precisely opposite direction. Josephus, in his autobiography (c. i.), mentions a very similar fact respecting his own youth. When he was only fourteen years of age, the priests and eminent men of Jerusalem came to question him on the explanation of the law. The apocryphal writings make Jesus on this occasion a professor possessing omniscience. There we have the legend grafted on the fact so simply related by the evangelist. , understanding, is the personal quality of which the answers, , are the manifestations.
The surprise of His parents proves that Jesus habitually observed a humble reserve.
There is a slight tone of reproach in the words of Mary. She probably wished to justify herself for the apparent negligence of which she was guilty. Criticism is surprised at the uneasiness expressed by Mary; did she not know who this child was? Criticism reasons as if the human heart worked according to logic.
To the indirect reproach of Mary, Jesus replies in such words as she had never heard from Him before: Wherefore did ye seek me? He does not mean, You could very well leave me at Jerusalem. The literal translation is: What is it, that you sought me? And the implied answer is: To seek for me thus was an inadvertence on your part. It should have occurred to you at once that you would find me here. The sequel explains why.
The phrase is found in Act 5:9. , did ye not know? not, do ye not know? The expression may, according to Greek usage, have either a local meaning, the house of, or a moral, the affairs of. The former sense is required by the idea of seeking; and if, nevertheless, we are disposed to adopt the latter as wider, the first must be included in it. Where my Father’s affairs are carried on, there you are sure to find me.
The expression my Father is dictated to the child by the situation: a child is to be found at his father’s. We may add that He could not, without impropriety, have said God’s, instead of my Father’s; for this would have been to exhibit in a pretentious and affected way the entirely religious character of His ordinary thoughts, and to put Himself forward as a little saint. Lastly, does not this expression contain a delicate but decisive reply to Mary’s words, Thy father and I? Any allusion to the Trinitarian relation must, of course, be excluded from the meaning of this saying. But, on the other hand, can the simple notion of moral paternity suffice to express its meaning? Had not Jesus, during those days of isolation, by meditating anew upon the intimacy of His moral relations with God, been brought to regard Him as the sole author of His existence? And was not this the cause of the kind of shudder which He felt at hearing from Mary’s lips the word Thy father, to which He immediately replies with a certain ardour of expression, my Father?
That Mary and Joseph should not have been able to understand this speech appears inexplicable to certain critics,to Meyer, for instance, and to Strauss, who infers from this detail that the whole story is untrue. But this word, my Father, was the first revelation of a relation which surpassed all that Judaism had realized; and the expression, to be about the business of this Father, expressed the ideal of a completely filial life, of an existence entirely devoted to God and divine things, which perhaps at this very time had just arisen in the mind of Jesus, and which we could no more understand than Mary and Joseph, if the life of Jesus had never come before us. It was only by the light Mary received afterwards from the ministry of her Son, that she could say what is here expressed: that she did not understand this saying at the time.
Does not the original source of this narrative discover itself in this remark? From whom else could it emanate, but from Mary herself?
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
On the second day, Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem, which evidently took the whole day. Then on the third day they began searching for Jesus and found Him in the temple sitting among the rabbis listening to their teaching and asking them questions. Luke’s reference to His being in their "midst" suggests Jesus’ centrality in this august group, though He was then a learner and not a teacher (cf. Psa 119:99-100).
"Already early in life Jesus values the pursuit of comprehending God, as he increases ’in wisdom and stature’ (Luk 2:52). His approach to knowing God and seeking understanding pictures how we should pursue the same, even at a young age." [Note: Bock, Luke, p. 100.]
Jesus’ understanding and His answers amazed (Gr. existanto) them all (cf. Luk 4:32; Luk 9:43). One suspects that some of these rabbis remembered this incident when Jesus later became a popular teacher Himself. Obviously Jesus already had unusual wisdom and insight into the Scriptures, which were the center of these discussions. [Note: See J. W. Doeve, Jewish Hermeneutics in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, p. 105.]