'Never such a youth as Jesus'
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"How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49)
These are the first words attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. He spoke them when Mary and Joseph returned from their homeward journey to find Him teaching in the temple in Jerusalem.In Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage wrote: "The silence with which the early period of the life of Jesus is treated by the inspired historians is impressive; while the fanciful accounts written in later years by unauthorized hands are full of fictitious detail. . . .
"None but Joseph, Mary, and the other members of the household could have furnished the facts of daily life in the humble home at Nazareth; and from these qualified informants Matthew and Luke probably derived the knowledge of which they wrote. . . .
"With hallowed silence do the inspired scribes honor the boyhood of their Lord; he who seeks to invent circumstances and to invest the life of Christ with fictitious additions, dishonors Him. Read thoughtfully the attested truth concerning the childhood of the Christ: `And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.' " (Luke 2:40.)
Elder Talmage further wrote that knowledge of Jewish life justifies the inference that, as a boy and young man, Jesus was well taught in the law and the scriptures, for such was the rule.
Elder Talmage noted it was not unusual for a 12-year-old boy to question the professional expounders of the law; it was part of the educational training of Jewish youths. But certainly the learned men had never encountered such a youth as Jesus.
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(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study.
Information compiled by Gerry Avant
Sources: Jesus the Christ, by Elder James E. Talmage, and general conference reports, October 1982 and April 1985.
