Misplacing Jesus
Luke 2:41-52
Have you ever misplaced something? You knew you hadn’t lost it, you just could not find it. Maybe it was your wallet, a pen or your car keys. You know what I’m talking about. What do you do when that happens? First off you don’t know there’s a problem until you need what it is you thought you had. It is not until you go to pay your dinner ticket that you reach for your wallet and it’s not there. When you are getting ready to take the number down you realize you pen has vanished in thin air. Or as you hurry out the door to go pick your child up and you discover you no longer have your keys. Then what do you do? You began to retrace your steps so you can find what you have misplaced.
Mary and Joseph had been to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover, their twelve-year-old son was with them. When the feast was over they began to travel back home. They had traveled a whole days journey and made camp that evening before they had realized they had misplaced Jesus. Before you write them off as being bad parents and not keeping up with their kids understand they were traveling in a large group, the women and children generally would begin the journey ahead of the men, seeing how they traveled a little slower. By evening time when they would make camp the men had caught up with the women and children. I am sure Mary thought Jesus is with Joseph. And the thought of Joseph was Jesus is with Mary. So it was not until that evening they discovered Jesus had been misplaced, and even lost at this point.
How far would you have traveled before you realized that you had misplaced Jesus? Or should I ask are you sure Jesus is still with you in your travels? Are you sure you have not misplaced him? When is the last time you felt that you really needed him? When was the last time you had to call on him?
There are some here this morning you really don’t feel like you need Jesus. Maybe you feel like you are smart enough on your on or strong enough on your on. You’ll save Jesus for the BIG stuff you say. There are others that have such a shallow relationship that you think Jesus is with you but really you have misplaced him and have not realized it yet. The needs in your life have not necessitated it yet.
I. Misplacing Jesus (vs.41-45)
a. How it happens
1. Indifference and hurry
"Life in the fast lane"
2. Taking him for granted
"Joseph and Mary lost a whole day of fellowship with Jesus because they supposed him to be in the company. They took for granted something of which they should have made sure."
3. We drift
Hebrews 2:1 tells us, " Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have head, least we drift away."
b. Where he is not
1. They did not find Jesus
in their company. Your
Corporate worship of
Jesus doesn’t negate
Your intimate worship
of Jesus.
2. (v.48) Your company
is not responsible for
your precious
possessions.
c. Where he is (vs. 46-49)
To often we want Jesus
to be where we are at
instead of were he is.
As Christians we are responsible for maintaining and developing our individual relationship with Jesus.
II. Not Knowing
a. the greater danger (v.44)
b. Samson (Judges 16:20)
c. Paul, "take the test" How
easy it is for people to be
caught up in religious
activity that they lose
sight of the most
important thing of all
Jesus.
III. Rediscovering Jesus
a. What we need to see
(vs. 45-46) nothing else
mattered. Without Jesus
nothing else matters!
b. What we must do is take
responsibility for our
own relationship with
Jesus.
Conclusion: Danger zone
A foolish old farmer, so the story goes, concluded one day that the oats he had fed his mule for years were simply costing him too much. So he hatched a plan he mixed a little sawdust in with the feed, and then a little more the next day, and even more the next, each time reducing the amount of oats in the mix. The mule didn’t seem to notice the gradual change, so the farmer thought things were fine and kept decreasing the proportion of oats. But weeks later, on the day he finally fed the poor beast nothing but sawdust, the mule finished the meal and fell over dead.
I hope the point is understood, nothing can substitute our relationship with Jesus. We must set ourselves on guard lest we misplace him, or drift from him. The exchange is ever so subtle hardly even noticeable until our spiritual life collapses before us. Take day-to-day responsibility for your relationship with Him.
