Tween Jesus

Sunday School Chronicles

Me: Have y’all ever seen those westerns where there’s a bunch of people in wagons traveling together?

Students: Yeah!

Me: So Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the whole fam which includes cousins, friends and everyone in between travel to Jerusalem for the Passover. The holiday is over and the crew heads back to Nazareth. But guess what?

Class: What?

Me: Mary and Joseph accidentally left Jesus back in Jerusalem! They thought He was with family. Oh and Jesus is 12!

Student 1: Oh my gosh!

Me: They make it a whole day’s journey before they realize they lost Jesus. So they’re freaking out! It’s one thing to lose a regular human kid. That sucks! But it’s a whole other thing to lose the Savior of the freaking universe! It’s not like God was picking virgins to have more holy kids. It was one and done! Jesus was it!

Student 2: I bet they were scared!

Me: Ya think! Imagine that prayer, “Ummm. Hey God. You remember how 12 years ago you gave me this super divine baby and stuff? Well, He’s not lost. I just can’t find Him.”

Student 2: Yeah. That’s a good way to say you lost Jesus.

Me: They head back to Jerusalem. At this point, Jesus has been missing for at least 48 hours. The parents finally head to the temple and see their 12 year old interacting with these geniuses but they’re still mad. So Mary’s like, “Do you know how worried we were? My heart rate is all up and you got my blood pressure going crazy!” So Jesus said, “Mama, why were you looking for me? You know I’m gonna be in my Father’s house.” If you’d said that to your mom after worrying her to death, what do you think would happen?

Students: I’d get grounded! No internet! No iPad!

Me: Y’all are so soft! My mama is old school. First of all, she would’ve given me an opportunity to correct myself with a, “You said what?” Then she would’ve given me the whoopin of my life! Jesus could’ve easy said, “Mama. Everything’s Gucci! Calm down. You’re doing the most. I do what I want!” He had that option because He was God! He created His parents, the ground they’re standing on and everything else.

Student 1: He sure did! He’s Jesus! He could shut THEIR mouths!

Me: Yes! But Jesus didn’t. Scripture tells us that Jesus chose to submit to His parents. He may have been God in a Bod but He was still a 12 year old kid. Who are we trying to be like?

Students: JESUS!

Me: Yes and if Jesus disrespected His parents then you can too. If your parents got on your nerves you’d be like, “In Luke 2, Jesus told His parents to shut up! So how bout you obey scripture and shut your mouth!” But Jesus had to be an example to us. He had to show us the right way to do things. But let’s be honest, parents are annoying.

Students: Totally. Yes! Ugh!

Reflect: Jesus was a kid just like you. Sometimes, the last thing you want to do is listen to your parents. But, you have to remember that your parents love you more than anything. They want what’s best for you. Jesus understood this and still chose to listen to His parents. Even though He knew better, even though He was right, He still listened. Pray and ask God to teach you how to listen to your parents well.