A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, from his book, The Genius of Jesus (p. 42). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
We always, it seems, want to give answers but it's in our questions where we really find ourselves and learn?
Erwin says, "For three days Jesus sat there, deep in conversation with experts on the Torah and the teachers of the Law. These men had spent their entire lives studying the ancient text we know as the scriptures. They were also the stewards of the over 613 laws that had been added to the Law and the Prophets, dictating the Israelites’ behavior and everyday lives. We are told that Jesus sat among these great teachers for days, listening to them and asking them questions. It is one thing for a twelve-year-old to have information memorized by rote repetition. It’s quite another for him to understand the complexity of the material well enough to ask meaningful questions."
He continues, "This part of the story has always fascinated me. Luke writes that the experts in the Law were amazed by Jesus’s understanding and his answers. But, just before that statement, we were told that he sat among them listening and asking questions. It makes you wonder if Jesus gave any answers at all.
"In my experience, the most profound answers are always questions. They are the questions that haunt us, that force us to see truth we would rather avoid. Where is God in our suffering? Is our existence random, or are we here by intention? Why does my soul long for what I do not know? Are we alone in this universe? Is there love, and why is it so elusive? Am I too broken to be healed? Can we know God?"
He goes on, "I remember years ago studying the phenomenon of the Baka people, who live in the African rainforests. By the age of twelve, the children of this obscure tribe amass a PhD-level knowledge of botany. What we consider to be prodigious is, for them, simply the skills and knowledge necessary to survive in the most dangerous ecosystem in the world. Children are capable of unimaginable learning, especially when their lives depend on it.
"Here, it seems, Jesus knew his life depended on not only knowing the scriptures, but on knowing the God of the scriptures. He found himself in conversation with those who had gained an academic knowledge of the scriptures but were found tragically absent of the wisdom of God. In the Gospel accounts, we learn that these powerful men had used the scriptures to justify racism and bigotry, enforce corruption and greed, and hold the poor and broken hostage by withholding grace from the sinner. They had corrupted the meaning of the Sabbath and used its prohibition against work as a means of withholding compassion from the sick and the poor. These men had used religion to make fools of the sincere, and they thought they were too smart to get caught. Even as a boy, Jesus could see right through them.
"Jesus somehow knew what he should not have been able to know. We are later told by the gospel writer John, 'But Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew all people.' He did not need the Temple scholars and religious leaders to tell him about humanity. He knew exactly what was in each person. The way most of us can see the light of the sun, Jesus could see the darkness within the human heart.
"After three days, those men who prided themselves on their intellect, expertise, and knowledge of the scriptures found themselves sitting at the feet of this child."
Erwin then says. "Perhaps it was because Jesus had achieved in his adolescence what most of us find elusive throughout our entire lives, what that very Temple was built to achieve.
"He had found oneness with God."
And that is what we desperately need to find, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought
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